Encounter Help - Troglodyte Warrens

Hi,

my players are currently running into a cave full of troglodytes. I took the map from Dungeon Magazine #122 (The Adventure FInal Resting Place) as well as some ideas.

Basically, the players just want to cross the cave, to get to a deeper part of the underdark, where they want to reach a place called "Earth End", a place run by earth creatures like Geneasi, Jaani, Stonechilds, that has a portal to Sigil. Earth Creatures (IMC) go there when they want to leave the material plane.
The players need to go there to find the hiding place of a vrock. This vrock is actually controlled by the Drow of Mirith Glarnon, hiding place of a defeated drow house that started a giant invasion on cormyr, to win back the favor of Lolth. (At Mirith Glarnon they will learn of the Multiverse wide Drow invasion that is the Plot hook for Expedition to the Demonweb Pits.)

The cave of the troglodytes has a simple layout: There is a huge main cavers, a water fall where the players will enter, a stalagtide that looks like the mouth of a Ethereal Marauder (This is where the Mindflayer controlling the Trogs set up is camp), a side cave with a huge fungus field, a side cave with the grafting pools, a side cave with a pool (where the Mind Flayers pet, a Chuul lives) and an exit tunnel.

The basic idea is, the Mind Flayer controls the tribe of troglodytes and does grafting experiments with them. To what end? No one nows. It is a Mind Flayer after all...

I do not want this episode to take to much game time, but I want it to leave a mark, so to say. My players never fought a Mind Flayer before, so I want the encounter to be interesting.

The Players:
A Goliath Fighter6/Barbarian1
A Aasimar (LA0) Sorcerer7
A Woodelf Ranger7
A Riverspirit Folk Druid7

The Opposition (So far):
The Mind Flayer (No advancment possible, exept for items, as he is CR8 allready)
The Chuul (CR7)
20 Troglodyte Warrior1 (Many of them with grafts, so some can walk on walls, other may have reach, some may jump huge distances)
2 Troglodyte Ballista (These have grafts that make them 4 leged creatures, on their back is a huge crossbow, which they can operate with 2 tentacles)

How would you run this encounter? Any good ideas what might be added? Should I remove something? I think the whole encounters laks a bit in believability.

The Trog Warriors:

TROGLODYTE WARRIOR CR 1
Troglodyte; humanoid 2 / warrior 1
CE Medium humanoid ( reptilian )
Init -1; Senses Darkvision (90'), Listen +5, Spot +0
Languages Draconic

AC 22, touch 9, flat-footed 22; ,
hp 25 (3 HD)
Fort +9, Ref -1, Will +0

Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)
Melee mace, heavy +4 (1d8+2 ) and bite +4 (1d4+1 )
Melee claw +4/+4 (1d4+2 ) and bite +4 (1d4+1 )
Ranged javelin +1 (1d6+2 )
Face 5 ft. Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +2; Grp +4

Abilities Str 14, Dex 8, Con 18, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 8
Feats Multiattack, Improved Multiattack
SQ Humanoid Traits, Stench (Ex) DC 15
Possessions chain shirt; javelin (x5); mace, heavy; shield, heavy;

note:
Chuul Paralsis Fort 19
Mind Flyer Stunning Will 17

Combo Breaker!

0 = Surprise Round
1,2,3,etc -> combat rounds

0) The troglodyte/ballistas should be on opposite high ledges, surveying the waterfall entrance.
Also, perhaps give them 4 extra humanoid HD because of their "improvement", and to make them less than a 1-shot kill.

1)

a/The rest of the troglodytes should arrive in groups of five once the ballista-guys give the alarm (preferably by using bolts with a Thunderstone as an arrowhead for the first shot), in a pincer move (avoid full damage from Area of Effect spells).

b/Then the Chuul leaves its pool to charge at any visible target, or positions itself for a charge. (not at the tincans [cleric, fighter], remember it might be a dumb monster, but it is controlled by an Illithid)

c/With our heroes distracted (SRD: -5 listen and spot checks for being distracted, -10 if they engaged combat), the Mind Flyer sneaks from his home levitating (Hide +10, Move Silently +10).

2)

a/Many trogs die, probably the ballistas are finished this round

b/
Chuul charges in or
continues the attack or
transfers a grabbed enemy to its tentacles.

c/Mind flyer positions himself to blast all dryskins, preferably the ones without armor. (Doesn't care about stunning trogs, he does care about his pet).

he, that definately sounds good. Thanks a lot. I am rather fearful the Mind Flayer will go down before doing a lot, sneaking in seems to be a good idea. Still, it is extremly fragile...

I think I will add a bunch (like 30 or so) "Kobolds" as immature Troglodytes, protected by some not advanced females. (ie. MM stock Trogs). I thought the fungus forest might be a good place for the trogs brood nest, I imagine sone kind of swampy fungus forest, with little trogs trying to hide... nothing that will make the encounter more dangerous (as these will not take part in the big battle) but it will give the cave a more believable flair.

If the Mind Flayer is killed, surving Trog Warriors will go there to protect what is left of their tribe...

Extremeley fragile?
Then give him some protection in the form of... full hp!

HD 8d8+8; hp 44; <-- Pretty weak for CR 8

HD 8d8+8; hp 72; <-- Still weak but might stand a hit or two

nothing that will make the encounter more dangerous

Click to expand...

Trust me, if you have a waist-high water tank (swamp) with murky water, filled with piranhas (kobolds underwater), you will be doing some serious damage. (Swarmfighting from Complete Warrior + aid another)

Of course, that is if you want to picture troglodytes as bloodthirsty maniacs... (I'm not saying they aren't).

---

But that goes beyond the initial encounter.

... thats just evil... I love it!

If my players want to wipe out the whole tribe they will have to go through that encounter, otherwise they might ignore it... I like the idea of the victims (the "little baby trogs") being actually a major nuisance

I'm glad you like it

Did they go through the encounter?

We just played the encounter... and had a blast. It was brilliant!

They just had to pass through, so they tried to get through the cave invisible and spider climbing on the celing of the huge cave, but the troglodytes were warned that they might be coming (their scout went in before, and was detected by a troglodyte wis antenae graft. it had tremorsense), so the mind flayer devised a plan (not willing to let them pass, it wants brains!)

It gathered most of its troops and the chuul at the caves exit, hidden in the dark. it then placed the antenae graft trog in the middle of the caves exit (thus the characters were unable to pass by without the trog noticing them)

The players did not want to let take the chance of passing by invisible (the Mind Flayer showed its precense before, hoping to lure them out of invisiblity inside the cave, where the balistae trogs could hae helped, they thought it might have means to cancel invis anyway) so they attacked the antena trog.

They were not supprised to see more trogs (12 of them) stationed near the exit (where the trogs kept their pack lizards) and a small fight broke out... but when the Chuul arived, they were supprised. The Ranger was able to notice before, something wet had exited the cave. The Mind Flayer had positioned the chuul in the tunnel leading away from the cave, because no invisible creature would have been able to pass by. (Being as wide as the small tunnel)

What was even more disturbing though, the mind flayer used the chuul as relay for its mind blast, thus being able to stay at distance. The sorcerer and the druid were instantly stunned... the fighter and the ranger saved. Weird, but, oh well...

The fight became better and better, with the goliath desperatly trying to bull rush trough the last three trogs to reach the mind flayer (the others were dead or stunned by the mind blast/the sorcerers color spray) while the ranger was attacked by the chuul. It didn't take the creature a long time to get him into its tentacles, but somehow he was able to resist the paralysis.

The Mind Flayer tried to Charm the goliath using its charm monster after drinking a fly potion to stay out of reach of this melee monster. He did not care, and was able to severly wound the mind flayer using his bow... the ranger was finally able to shoot at the mind flayer, as the chuul now tried to get the goliath into its fangs. He was able to wound it even more, so it figured plane shift should be the strategy and disapeared.

The surviving trogs feld into the fungus forest (the stun ended), into the savety provided by their hatchlings. (I prepared a kobold mob using the DMG2 template), I hoped to lure the players there.

The Chuul, still undamaged was able to paralyse the goliath and was quickly departing into the deep water hole, where it live. The rest of the party, now "unstunned" followed, tried to rescue the goliath, but they were not fast enough, the chuul disappeared underwater. The Druid (River Spirit Folk) summond a huge shark and followed himself. Trying to kill the wounded chuul and rescue the tank.

Meanwhile, the Ranger and the Sorcerer came under fire. I figured, while the "normal" trogs retreated into the fungus forest, hoping for their tribe to survive and knowing that the broodlings might be their best weapon, the balistae trogs would be more like things, shooting at intruders.

They did, and with great success. Later in the battle, the sorcerer was in the negative hit points and the ranger crawling to heal him, while the Spirit Hammer summoned by a Hammersphere was able to finish the balistae.

At the same time, the chuul was killed by the shark, and the goliath tried to get ot of the water. (they fell to a depth of 120ft)... lukily, the spider climb was still active. Did not have to swim up.

After that, the party just wanted to leave the trogs grotto. They were not even able to steal the surviving Trogs pack lizards, as those followed them to save all their belongings. (6 armored ones, 20 MM standards, the femals)

Well, I was not able to use the broodling swarm/mob... but it was a fantastic encounter.

Excellent.

And now they've got a very pissed off Illithid who will return home to find his pet and his experiments destroyed.
I'd rather not be them.