[KOTS] Help me come up with a first encounter that doesn't suck

[Phebius]

Tonight's game was so awesome. There was page 42 ruling the day and a session long skill challenge and an undead dragon and the forces of hell being purposfully summoned in order to combat the forces of the Abyss. One of the PCs did a diving attack from 20 feet up and rule of cooled herself to not get killed, but wound up at the feet of the head ghoul. Which let him see that the statue they were digging up was a smaller version of the one from the original AD&D players handbook and its eye socket would fit that slaying stone rather well. And it has two eye sockets. Then she used action points to really ruin the ghoul's day. And the wizard blasted the dragon to smithereens via burning hands with 3 hp to her name. Earlier, the paladin had announced her divine challenge by saying aloud, "This is MY party. You attack any of us, you attack ME FIRST!"

After the day was won by our heroes, I was informed that, "Holy crap, I thought we were dead!" by everyone. Damn, I love this game.

 

[Rechan]

Sounds like you got your stuff together, Phelan. Also makes KotS look take.

Also, demons vs. devils? Where what who huh?

Since it seems like they're dealing with Undead and Demons and getting the statue, this would be a great place to drop in communication with Kalarel or some other sort of hint to steer them towards Winterhaven if that is your ploy.

... Or was the statue being excavated (and the undead dragon) related to the burial site near Winterhaven?

 

[Phebius]

Sounds like you got your stuff together, Phelan. Also makes KotS look take.

Also, demons vs. devils? Where what who huh?

Since it seems like they're dealing with Undead and Demons and getting the statue, this would be a great place to drop in communication with Kalarel or some other sort of hint to steer them towards Winterhaven if that is your ploy.

... Or was the statue being excavated (and the undead dragon) related to the burial site near Winterhaven?

There was also copious booze, so yeah my last post was a bit heavy on the excitement, light on the detail.

The devil vs demon part, was the Tiefling paladin enjoying her transformation power that she just got (name escapes me) which turns her into a hellbeast. She plays up her diabolical nature when she does this, and in this case really played up racial memories of the Blood War.

The fight took place at the burial site where the PCs arrived just in time to see the completion of a ritual which animated the dragon and transformed all of the cultists present into undead. Every undead thing repeatedly said the word, "Kalarel," so I have a feeling that the party's going to be a bit interested in finding out more.

 

[Phebius]

Next session is the big throwdown with Irontooth I've heard so much about. I'm completely changing what Irontooth is, his having been under the influence of a second slaying stone, The Demonomicon of Iggwilv, and numerous other Demony things. He's quite mad and has learned that fixing the stone into the eyesocket of the Orcus statue from the dig will net him power that he thinks will be enough to take out Kalarel. Kalarel's well aware of this and is going to try to solve two problems and have him and the PCs kill each other off with a well-timed summoning to finish off whoever's left. Neither Kalarel nor Irontooth are aware that The Wizard has another slaying stone. Also the kobolds the PCs befriended in Gorizzbad (predates this thread) will make an appearance and allow for a dramatically timed revolution of kobolds.

 

[Phebius]

We decided that the best way to celebrate the end of final's week was with a 12 hour marathon session. The group had figured out the implications of page 42, (or whatever page it is now) the week before, and thus this week was some of the most cinematic, gonzo insanity that I haven't seen since 2nd edition when my old group used to just make things up all of the time.

The PCs met a new villain right off the bat, as the sacrifice victim they'd rescued at the end of the last session turned out to be neither and instead was a necromancer (She's fun. This is who I'm using instead of the underpriest) who had set up a necrotic event to lure the PCs to her and get the slaying stone from them. (she succeeded)

The wizard remembered that she still had a ritual scroll from the Slaying Stone adventure and contacted the sage in town to help her "amp up the range on it," Which led her to realize that there was not one slaying stone within range, but two. Oh, and Ninaren, the obvious traitor was not and showed up in time to turn the tide in this initial encounter. He was eventually killed in the final battle. My players now have no idea who is and isn't trustworthy.

The second one was in the hands of Irontooth who damn near TPKd the group. A well-timed 20 on a stabilization check and good use of action points won the day, along with the arrival of a pack of kobolds riding Iron Guardians. IRontooth was destroyed but not before Kalarel made his (spectral) appearance and summoned a small demon to nick the stone from Irontooth.

So we have two stones in the hands of two baddies, with the PCs having a statue of Orcus with eye slots where they obviously go. I've got 2 weeks to come up with something cool for the next bit.

 

[Rechan]

[MENTION=12648]Phebius[/MENTION] - NICE adjustments. I like the tieing of the slaying stone ot the statues, and how you actually gave Irontooth something to be. Also, I love the kobold revolution and that they had made allies. Go Kobolds! I presume the Underpriest is working for Kalarel.

The typical reason Irontooth encounter is so lethal is that Dms had surviving kobolds retreat into the waterfall cave (or kobolds in the cave came out) - mixing the two encounters, creating a mega-encounter Pcs just couldn't handle.

Questions:

What is the next bit, so that we can help. Is it the beginning of the Keep itself?

What gonzo cinematic action did they actually do?

Why did Ninaren help?

How are the PCs moving the Orcus statue around?

Do the PCs hate Kalarel yet?

 

[Phebius]

Thanks for the kind words.

[MENTION=12648]Phebius[/MENTION]
Questions:

What is the next bit, so that we can help. Is it the beginning of the Keep itself?

That's probably next on their agenda. The kobolds want to reclaim the keep dungeons they were kicked out of by the goblins. When this happened, there was a split in the tribe, some joining up with the dragon from the DMG and eventually Irontooth and the rest going to Gorizbadd where they met the PCs and got their brand new shiny Iron Guardians. And two sessions ago, there was a rift that opened up, causing nasties to spill into the world temporarily. Through private research and talking to various npcs )Read: a session long skill challenge, they learned that what they saw was a sort of "cosmic echo" of something bigger that someone is attempting to create which was sent back in time. This sort of thing is probably going to keep happening.

What gonzo cinematic action did they actually do?

My favorite of which was the Paladin whispering blessings on the halfling as she threw him at two demonic kobolds while holding two vials of holy water. I used a version of the combined attack rules that druids are fond of and let him use sneak attack damage on both enemies.

Why did Ninaren help?

Ninaren had been working undercover to find the source of the cult and was acting like a dick because he didn't want the PCs to blow his cover.

How are the PCs moving the Orcus statue around?

The Orcus statue conveniently shrunk down in size and weight the first time someone said something aloud about the possibility of transporting it. I'm sure that's a cooincidence.

Do the PCs hate Kalarel yet?

Oh yeah. Though they hate the Necromancer woman more.

Here's my ideas for the next session:

I may have the dragon from the aforementioned DMG adventure make an appearance next time, possibly in the vein of, "we'll help you take the goblins if you help us cement our position of authority among the kobolds of the area. "

The PCs found a refugee from an attacked caravan who is currently tied to a slab in a jail cell after the temple staff were unable to do anything with his constant attempts at self harm and quoting what seems like jibberish. In two days if the PCs don't deal with him, it will be midsummer, (when the Raven Queen is weakest) and the fact that his jibberish and self harming are a rather elaborate ritual to raise the dead from the cemetery will be made rather obvious.

 

[Rechan]

The question is if the PCs want to ally with the dragon. The dragon may very well not be very good. Because while the kobolds seem less intent on razzing the locals, the dragon might have Intentions. It could make an interesting dilemma for the PCs - especially because the dragon and kobolds will take the dungeon once the PCs leave, so do they try to defeat the dragon now, later, or what? And then there's the question of how the kobolds/dragon will actively help in clearing the dungeon.

And probably play up the haunted element of the Keep, what with it being the site of Keegan's massacre, and it pumped full of necrotic info. I'm sure you've seen the "stay the night" skill challenge, but there are other ways - like how the place is gloomy, about glimpses of the ghosts out of the corner of their eyes, and other haunted house gotchas - and of how the goblins are afraid or huddled close together, possibly the rooms with goblins have wards against ghosts.

Also sounds like the PCs could learn 1) how to defeat/delay the ritual Kalarel is doing now that they have an idea of what he IS doing, 2) try to find a way to safeguard themselves against a Slaying Stone's activation.

The PCs found a refugee from an attacked caravan who is currently tied to a slab in a jail cell after the temple staff were unable to do anything with his constant attempts at self harm and quoting what seems like jibberish. In two days if the PCs don't deal with him, it will be midsummer, (when the Raven Queen is weakest) and the fact that his jibberish and self harming are a rather elaborate ritual to raise the dead from the cemetery will be made rather obvious.

The only thing I'll say about this is that it would probably be best if the undead swarm the town after the PCs go into the dungeon. Possibly once they slay the goblins, and encrouch deeply into the 1st level of the dungeon, they get warning.

Actually, that would be a cool trick to do: the PCs slay the goblins and then leave, and come back to find the place darker, more menacing, the ghosts making their presence known in the rooms that have been cleared. The reason being that the more deaths that happen in the Keep, the stronger the dark Force around the place gets.

 

[Dragon Sin-Camealot]

Glad it went well from what you posted. My first two sessions as a DM went fairly good too. The PC's made it to the end without getting lost in design mechanics.

I like this low/high level approach. In 4.0 most characters have high AC and Ref. So I created characters that hit fortitude and will and intergrated them into the story.

As long as you don't go God-modding with a character the game should remain fair. I'd like to know if I could get paid to do this. But they don't notice you when you're small like a gnome.

 

[Phebius]

Had a new player join the group. (6 players now. 4 women, 2 men. All playing female characters. In your face, demographics!) The new girl's Dragonborn fighter was to be the star of the episode, but then she had to cancel at the last minute, as did another player, so suddenly I had 4 players and a bunch of encounters I couldn't do. Luckily I've been pretty much making stuff up as I go since I started anyway and making encounters on the fly in 4E is a snap.

The kobold's leader whose name is Pun Pun, (none of the players have 3E experience, so they have no idea why I keep giggling when they mention his name) gathered the tribe from Gorizzbad and decided that it was up to him to reclaim their old lair (The Keep) which was taken from them by the Goblins. He knew there was a kobold king at kobold hall which had to be addressed. The pcs and the kobolds decided that the kobolds should scout out kobold hall and the party would decide what to do then.

Into town they went where the midsummer festival was beginning. Alas, the party didn't get too long to appreciate it, as the halfling rogue was arrested immediately for some rather ill advised burglary the session before. A frontier style trial ensued, but luckily one of Spyder's people in the area was a fairly effective lawyer. Well, a lawyer anyway. She was actually really bad at it. The halfling was released on the condition that the party figures out what the hell is going on at the Keep and allow one of the militia to accompany them. (the new PC)

Meanwhile, the person they'd rescued from a caravan before had gone batshit loco and had to be restrained for his own protection. This proved ineffective and he escaped, but the Paladin managed to stop him. I then did a weird skill challenge sort of thing where the two of them were transported into the inside of an Ioun Stone, location unknown, and via skill checks was able to heal the guy's physical wounds and mind, though he immediately died. I have no real idea where I'm going with that. I made it up literally on the spot, but it was really cool.

Anyway, the party then remembered Bairwin the merchant existed and decided to check out his store. The store was empty except for Bairwin in the basement, ritually scarred, crucified and very dead. Next to him was a cauldron of some sort of brew and an hourglass that seemed to be ticking down to two days from present. (Midsummer's Day incidently)

They decided to go to the Keep at that point. We only had an hour left to play, so I did what any rational DM would do and said, "Screw it. I'll throw a dragon at them." As they left town, the kobold king, who is a green dragon rather than a white one, as I've had a green dragon mini for 3 friggin years and have never been able to use the damn thing. The dragon won initiative, breathed on everyone successfully, poisoning and slowing them. The group was absolutely terrified of this thing. So of course they rolled ridiculously well and dropped the damn thing in 3 rounds. I had chosen to use the old stats for it because there were only 4 of them plus Pun Pun, and I thought that the extra attack a round would be too deadly for them. Which still may have been true, but without it, It was laughably easy for them to kill. I'll need to run the entire group through a proper dragon encounter at some point.


So next session they finally get to go to the keep. Which I have to pretty much recreate from the ground up, as there are 6 of them and they're pretty close to 4th level at this point.