NEW (AGAIN)- Thunderspire Labyrinth- Stat analysis #25 Shrine to Baphomet

[Goonalan]

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #10 Area 9 The Maze of Caves

The place appears to have been abandoned, or else cleared out and tidied- the bodies of the Goblins the PCs killed in their last excursion here have gone. Carefully, quietly and cautiously- lead of course by Winstanley, the PCs head to the place they saw a set of stairs leading down, which was in the Excavation Site.

So down they go, ready to call out the secret pass-phrase, but... this doesn't look right, the PCs' find themselves in an unworked cavern. They spread out a little and peer through the dark in search of someone they can talk to...



Rats!

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 2 (HP37)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 2 (HP31)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 2 (HP30)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 2 (HP27)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 2 (HP29)

Bad Guys 625XP Level 2 Encounter.
Giant Rat Level 1 Minions [GR] (x13) (HP1)
Ochre Jelly Level 3 Elite Brute [OJ] (HP102)

Initiative- 23 Dirty 20 Grey & Kaspard 14 Phrenic 9 Winstanley 8 Giant Rats 7 Ochre Jelly

Only Winstanley is ready for Giant Rat attack.

Surprise round

Winstanley- First Strike Combat Advantage GR1; Hit 23 damage- DEAD.

GR1- DEAD.

GR2- Charge Phrenic; Hit 3 damage (26 HP).

GR3- Charge Phrenic; Hit 3 damage (23 HP).

GR4- Charge Phrenic; Miss.

GR5- Charge Kaspard; Hit 3 damage (28 HP).

GR6- Charge Dirty; Miss.

GR7- Charge Dirty; Hit 3 damage (34 HP).

Time to play 7 minutes including setting up of minis and map.

End of Round-

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 2 (HP34/37)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 2 (HP28/31)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 2 (HP30)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 2 (HP27)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 2 (HP23/29)

Bad Guys 625XP Level 2 Encounter.
Giant Rat Level 1 Minions [GR] (x13) (HP1) 1 DEAD
Ochre Jelly Level 3 Elite Brute [OJ] (HP102)

Action Points 0 Total 0
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 0 Total 0
2nd Winds 0 Total 0
Crits 0 Total 0
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 0
Bad Guys Action Points 0 Total 0

Comment: The players are somewhat amused- a bunch of rats, that's all... They know there's something else coming, it can't just be rats, they're wary...

 

[Goonalan]

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #10 Area 9 The Maze of Caves

Round #1.

Dirty- Cleave GR3; Miss. Marked.

Grey- Scorching Burst GR2-4; Hit GR3-4 7 Fire damage each- both DEAD.

Kaspard- Shift back. Sacred Flame GR5; Hit 7 Radiant damage- DEAD & 4 Temp HP Dirty.

Phrenic- Viper's Strike GR2; Miss.

Winstanley- Sly Flourish GR6; Hit 9 damage- DEAD.

GR1- DEAD.

GR2- Bite Phrenic; Hit 3 damage (20 HP).

GR3- DEAD.

GR4- DEAD.

GR5- DEAD.

GR6- DEAD.

GR7- Bite Dirty; Miss.

GR8- Charge Phrenic; Miss.

GR9- Charge Phrenic; Hit 3 damage (17 HP).

GR10- Charge Phrenic; Hit 3 damage (14 HP bloodied).

GR11- Move. Charge Dirty; Hit 3 damage (34 HP).

GR12- Move. Charge Dirty; Miss.

GR13- Move. Charge Winstanley; Miss.

OJ- Move. Readies Action. Unseen.

Time to play 8 minutes.

End of Round-

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 2 (HP34/37)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 2 (HP28/31)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 2 (HP30)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 2 (HP27)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 2 (HP14/29)

Bad Guys 625XP Level 2 Encounter.
Giant Rat Level 1 Minions [GR] (x13) (HP1) 5 DEAD
Ochre Jelly Level 3 Elite Brute [OJ] (HP102)

Action Points 0 Total 0
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 0 Total 0
2nd Winds 0 Total 0
Crits 0 Total 0
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 0
Bad Guys Action Points 0 Total 0

Comment: So I swamp the PCs with Giant Rats, and bloody Phrenic in the process, but that's not difficult is it... All the time the Ochre Jelly moves closer, none of the PCs passive perceptions are good enough to spot the creature, now if one of them called for an active Perception check...

Ochre Jelly is now in place and with a readied action, and guess who's nearest to the creature?

 

[Goonalan]

Remembered to put the map in at the start of this encounter.

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #10 Area 9 The Maze of Caves

Round #2.

Dirty- Cleave GR12; 9 damage- DEAD & GR11; 3 damage- DEAD.

Grey- Scorching Burst GR2 & 9-10; Hit All 6 Fire damage each- all DEAD.

Kaspard- Sacred Flame GR7; Miss. Healing Word +6 HP Phrenic (27 HP).

Phrenic- Viper's Strike GR8; Miss. Shift. Readied Action OJ Charge Phrenic Hit 7 damage (20 HP) & ongoing 5 Acid damage. Phrenic screams heartily.

The PCs laugh a little- James (Phrenic) has to explain that Oozes are monsters too. The four other players are amused rather than frightened.

Winstanley- Shift back. Sly Flourish OJ; Hit 11 damage (91 HP).

GR1- DEAD.

GR2- DEAD.

GR3- DEAD.

GR4- DEAD.

GR5- DEAD.

GR6- DEAD.

GR7- Bite Dirty; Miss.

GR8- Move Flee OJ. AoO Phrenic Longsword; Hit 8 damage- DEAD.

GR9- DEAD.

GR10- DEAD.

GR11- DEAD.

GR12- DEAD.

GR13- Move. Bite Winstanley; Miss.

OJ- Slam Phrenic; Miss.

Time to play 8 minutes.

End of Round-

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 2 (HP34/37)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 2 (HP28/31)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 2 (HP30)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 2 (HP27)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 2 (HP20/29)

Bad Guys 625XP Level 2 Encounter.
Giant Rat Level 1 Minions [GR] (x13) (HP1) 11 DEAD
Ochre Jelly Level 3 Elite Brute [OJ] (HP91/102)

Action Points 0 Total 0
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 1 Total 1
2nd Winds 0 Total 0
Crits 0 Total 0
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 0
Bad Guys Action Points 0 Total 0

Comment: Yep, that's right, Phrenic gets in the way again, for a sort-of Defender he certainly puts himself in the thick of it.

 

[the Jester]

Do you do this in you games? Or am I a bad DM? Every now and then and when I want the PCs to understand that this is not going to be a pushover, and when circumstances are just right- two encounters become one.

Absolutely. In fact, when I ran KotS, Balgron the Fat and another encounter merged into one as well!

Edit: Really enjoying this, btw- the wry asides about the players' attitudes and stuff are cool!

 

[Aran Thule]

My money is on Dirty cleaving the jelly in two.

 

[Goonalan]

Absolutely. In fact, when I ran KotS, Balgron the Fat and another encounter merged into one as well!

Edit: Really enjoying this, btw- the wry asides about the players' attitudes and stuff are cool!

Thanks for that, much appreciated.

My money is on Dirty cleaving the jelly in two.

That's a pretty safe bet.

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #10 Area 9 The Maze of Caves

Round #3.

Dirty- Move. AoO GR7; Miss. Charge OJ; 11 damage (80 HP). Marked.

Grey- Move back. Magic Missile OJ; Miss.

Kaspard- Sacred Flame GR13; Hit 9 Radiant damage- DEAD & 4 Temp HP Phrenic.

Phrenic- 5 ongoing Acid damage (19 HP). Leaf on the Wind OJ; Hit 12 damage (68 HP). Save vs ongoing Acid- Success.

Winstanley- Move. Sly Flourish OJ; Hit 10 damage (58 HP).

GR1- DEAD.

GR2- DEAD.

GR3- DEAD.

GR4- DEAD.

GR5- DEAD.

GR6- DEAD.

GR7- Bite Kaspard; Miss.

GR8- DEAD.

GR9- DEAD.

GR10- DEAD.

GR11- DEAD.

GR12- DEAD.

GR13- DEAD.

OJ- Slam Dirty; Hit 8 damage (27 HP) & ongoing 5 Acid damage. Action Point. Slam Phrenic; Hit 9 damage (10 HP bloodied) & ongoing 5 Acid damage. AoO Dirty; Miss. OJ Marked.

Time to play 7 minutes.

End of Round-

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 2 (HP27/37)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 2 (HP28/31)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 2 (HP30)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 2 (HP27)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 2 (HP10/29)

Bad Guys 625XP Level 2 Encounter.
Giant Rat Level 1 Minions [GR] (x13) (HP1) 12 DEAD
Ochre Jelly Level 3 Elite Brute [OJ] (HP58/102)

Action Points 0 Total 0
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 0 Total 1
2nd Winds 0 Total 0
Crits 0 Total 0
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 0
Bad Guys Action Points 1 Total 1

Comment: The Ochre Jelly is taking a beating, but wait for its party trick- the players haven't seen this before, it should be fun.

 

[Goonalan]

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #10 Area 9 The Maze of Caves

Round #4.

Dirty- Ongoing 5 Acid damage (22 HP). Spinning Sweep OJ; Crit 17 damage (41 HP bloodied) & Marked. Immediate Reaction OJ Splits into two. 2nd Wind (31 HP). Save vs ongoing Acid damage- Fail.

And the players giggle like fools- that's not the reaction I expected, admittedly I did the 'Sluuuuuuurp-POP!', sound effect when the Ochre Jelly split, but...

Grey- Burning Hands OJ1-2; Miss both. Move away.

Kaspard- Shift away. Sacred Flame OJ2; Hit 10 Radiant damage (10 HP bloodied) & 4 Temp HP Phrenic. Healing Word +4 HP Phrenic (22 HP).

Phrenic- 5 ongoing Acid damage (21 HP). Shift away. Scorching Burst OJ1-2; Hit both- OJ1 7 Fire damage (14HP bloodied) & OJ2 7 Fire damage (3HP bloodied). Save vs ongoing Acid damage- Fail.

Winstanley- Move. Positioning Strike OJ1; Hit 9 damage (5 HP bloodied) & Slide 3 away.

GR1- DEAD.

GR2- DEAD.

GR3- DEAD.

GR4- DEAD.

GR5- DEAD.

GR6- DEAD.

GR7- Move. Bite Kaspard; Miss.

GR8- DEAD.

GR9- DEAD.

GR10- DEAD.

GR11- DEAD.

GR12- DEAD.

GR13- DEAD.

OJ1- Slam Dirty; Miss.

OJ2- Flowing Form. Slam Dirty; Miss.

Time to play 9 minutes.

End of Round-

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 2 (HP31/37)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 2 (HP28/31)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 2 (HP30)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 2 (HP27)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 2 (HP21/29)

Bad Guys 625XP Level 2 Encounter.
Giant Rat Level 1 Minions [GR] (x13) (HP1) 12 DEAD
Ochre Jelly Level 3 Elite Brute [OJ] (HP41/102 then SPLIT 5/21 & 3/20)

Action Points 0 Total 0
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 1 Total 2
2nd Winds 1 Total 1
Crits 1 Total 1
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 0
Bad Guys Action Points 0 Total 1

Comment: Damn, too few hit points, and the Ochre Jelly is failing to hit, the buggers are going to kick my backside.

 

[Aran Thule]

Dirty- Ongoing 5 Acid damage (22 HP). Spinning Sweep OJ; Crit 17 damage (41 HP bloodied) & Marked. Immediate Reaction OJ Splits into two.

Yay i win... umm what do i win?

Shame its not hitting, they should squash it before it can act next.

 

[Goonalan]

Yay i win... umm what do i win?

Shame its not hitting, they should squash it before it can act next.

Ta daa...

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #10 Area 9 The Maze of Caves

Round #5.

Dirty- Ongoing 5 Acid damage (26 HP). Cleave OJ1; Hit 11 damage- DEAD & OJ2; Hit 3 damage- DEAD. Move to GR7. Save vs ongoing Acid damage- Success.

Grey- Magic Missile GR7; Hit 9 Force damage- DEAD.

Time to play 2 minutes.
Total time to play 41 minutes.

End of Combat-

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 2 (HP26/37)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 2 (HP28/31)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 2 (HP30)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 2 (HP27)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 2 (HP21/29)

Bad Guys 625XP Level 2 Encounter.
Giant Rat Level 1 Minions [GR] (x13) (HP1) 13 DEAD
Ochre Jelly Level 3 Elite Brute [OJ] (HP41/102 then SPLIT 21 & 20) 2 DEAD

Action Points 0 Total 0
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 0 Total 2
2nd Winds 0 Total 1
Crits 0 Total 1
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 0
Bad Guys Action Points 0 Total 1

Comment: Well, that was easy- so we do a deal, yes this is an uninhabited (by Goblins anyway) and unvisited section of the caverns beneath the Keep, but I point out the PCs may need a bolt hole sometime. If they can clear it out, by which I mean investigate it thoroughly and make sure there's nothing down here to do them harm, then I will allow them one free extended rest down here, should they need it- they're buying a little safety in advance. The PCs agree, partially because of my offer, but mostly because the splitting of the Ochre Jelly made them giggle- is that the appropriate response? Regardless they're in the mood for strange creatures like that (and more Minions), I rub my hands, nod sagely, and do my best not to grin.

And so a brief nosey around and the PCs note a pair of badly eroded bronze doors to the west, scratched into which in the common script are the words- 'Stay Out. Really!' The PC's decide against this route and instead head south, the passage continues, to who knows what...

Stats: It took a little while, and made the PCs giggle- when the Ochre Jelly split in two, I even managed a 'schlurp-POP!' sound in the way of special effects when it divided, however the PCs always had the fight under control. PC hit rate 70.97% versus the monsters at 45.83%- no contest really, particularly as the PCs hit twice as many times as the monsters- PCs 22 hits from 31 attacks, bad guys 11 hits from 24 attacks.

It didn't help that the monsters had the second least hit points in total that the PCs have faced in an encounter, that's 115 hit points; encounter #1 had the least- 101 hit points. Winstanley again manages to hit with 100% of his attacks, that Halfling is a killer. It did take six rounds to play out but that's mainly because the Ochre Jelly didn't turn up till late on in the piece.

A note about Phrenic, he suffered one less attack than Dirty (Dirty 10 attacks, Phrenic 9), while Dirty only took 3 wounds, Phrenic was damaged on seven occasions- either James is not learning or else he's fulfilling his function perfectly, you (and James) decide.

Combined Stats: The PCs have now played 3 x Level +0 Encounters and 5 x Level +1 (as well as one each at Level +5 and Level +6). What can be seen from the Level +0 and Level +1 encounters is that firstly the PCs are earning a similar amount of XP/turn; Level +0 = 119.64 on average, Level +1 = 120.5 average. And secondly the Level +1 encounters take longer to play through; Level +0 average 4.67 turns and 34.67 minutes, Level +1 average 5.6 turns and 43.4 minutes. So, and this still has yet to be fully analysed- more date needed, Level +0 takes X turns to play out, Level +1 takes X+1 turns to play out.

All combat encounters, as I've stated previously have a turn or two when the Minions and easy to kill creatures are dead and the tougher opponents have to be worn down, increasing the difficulty of an encounter i.e. Level +1 as opposed to Level +0 adds another round to this attrition phase of the combat. How does that sound?

Grind, tentatively, equates to those turns in combat when, regardless of the outcome, the two sides are wearing each other down. Actually scratch that- start again, grind occurs during those turns that the PCs are wearing the bad guys down, if it was the other way around- the monsters wearing the PCs down then that certainly wouldn't be grind- that would be terror, fear and panic for the PCs.

Is this obvious?

 

[Goonalan]

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #11 Area 10 Kruthik Lair.

The passage continues south, Winstanly spots a hole in the ground ahead- there's something down there, the remains of a Goblin by the looks (and smell) of things. It's only ten feet down, Dirty fishes a rope out and Winstanly is lowered down to investigate.



Less than ten seconds later something strange happens, small cascades of dirt from the eastern wall- vibration, Winstanly presses his hand against the wall in the hole- it's shaking. He scrambles back and attempts to climb out of the pit, alas Dirty doesn't have a firm hold of the rope, it slips through his hands as he tenses and stares about him searching for the source of the rumble.

Too late, bursting from the walls come some horrible insect like creatures- Kruthik!

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 2 (HP37)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 2 (HP31)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 2 (HP30)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 2 (HP27)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 2 (HP29)

Bad Guys 736XP Level 2 Encounter.
Kruthik Hatchling Level 2 Minions [KH] (x6) (HP1)
Kruthik Young Level 2 Brute [KY] (x3) (HP43)
Kruthik Adult Level 4 Brute [KA] (HP67)

Initiative 24 Winstanley 17 Grey & Dirty 16 Phrenic 11 Kruthik Adult 9 Kruthik Hatchling 8 Kruthik Young 4 Kaspard

Surprise round.

Winstanley- Something's coming! Move but can't get out pit. Athletics check – Fail.

The Kruthiks start to burrow into the chamber.

Grey- Magic Missile KH1; Hit 9 Force damage- DEAD. Grey screams and shouts- 'they're coming from the walls'.

KA- Double Move in southern corridor- heading towards PCs, unseen and unheard.

KH1- DEAD.

KH2- Charge Phrenic; Hit 4 damage (25 HP).

KH3- Charge Dirty; Hit 4 damage (31 HP).

KH4- Charge into pit with Winstanley; Hit 4 damage (26 HP).

KH5- Charge Phrenic; Miss.

KH6- Charge Dirty; Miss.

KY1- Burrow in walls.

KY2- Burrow in walls.

KY3- Burrow in walls.

Kaspard- Sacred Flame KH2; Hit 7 Radiant damage- DEAD & 4 Temp HP Phrenic.

Time to play 7 minutes including setting up of minis and map.

End of Round-

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 2 (HP31/37)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 2 (HP31)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 2 (HP26/30)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 2 (HP27)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 2 (HP25/29)

Bad Guys 736XP Level 2 Encounter.
Kruthik Hatchling Level 2 Minions [KH] (x6) (HP1) 2 DEAD
Kruthik Young Level 2 Brute [KY] (x3) (HP43)
Kruthik Adult Level 4 Brute [KA] (HP67)

Action Points 0 Total 0
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 0 Total 0
2nd Winds 0 Total 0
Crits 0 Total 0
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 0
Bad Guys Action Points 0 Total 0

Comment: 'They're coming from the walls...', what a good line, what film was that from- Aliens?