Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Playtest Campaign: Second Session TPK
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="MortalPlague" data-source="post: 6055687" data-attributes="member: 62721"><p>For session two, the fifth member of our group was able to make it. He rolled up a character, and I placed him as the surviving member of a group of adventurers who hadn't fared so well.</p><p></p><p><strong>Rosco Tealeaf</strong> the Impostor, Male Halfling Rogue - Ambush Specialist, Guild Thief Background - <em>A friendly halfling. The Impostor title was added later.</em></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 15px">The Delve Continues</span></strong></p><p></p><p>Battered and bloodied, but still alive, our heroes decided to hole up in an abandoned room. But before they could get there, they heard footsteps approaching. Lo and behold, they made the acquaintance of Rosco Tealeaf! The halfling told them he'd heard something coming their way.</p><p></p><p>The PCs accepted the halfling into their little company (after all, with Palisa dead, they had need of a rogue), and they set about preparing for combat. Sure enough, a pair of troglodytes, their giant spider pet, and a captive goblin attacked! The battle was ferocious (especially with Estoriel at a loss for spells), but the PCs managed to win without serious injury. They killed both troglodytes, and the spider, but the goblin slave surrendered, and was set free.</p><p></p><p><em>Under the hood: This was one of my random encounters, valued at 150 xp. By the book, it should be somewhere between an average challenge and a tough challenge, and it lived up to that in play.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>One of the conceits of this dungeon is the random encounters; I'm rolling frequently, and I have a list of encounters ranging from 100 xp to 550 xp, with the frequency heavily tilted towards lower level encounters (though that changes on lower levels). My players have been informed that not every fight will be winnable, and that the dungeon will not play fair.</em></p><p></p><p>Following the battle, the party set about holing up for the night. Everyone gathered in the abandoned room. They lit a cook fire and began roasting the snakes they'd killed. Mink, meanwhile, decided he'd go exploring. He climbed up a shaft in the ceiling and explored some cramped tunnels, eventually coming across the kobold's main lair. But on his way back, he heard the sound of more foosteps approaching; what sounded like dogs, and some heavy paws.</p><p></p><p>Unfortunately, Mink was cornered, and the pair of dogs turned out to be hell hounds, in the service of a rather unsavory gnoll named Obrist the Ravenous. The party heard the hounds growling, and decided to emerge from their room to do battle in the hallway. Mink was holding off some gnolls as they tried to climb up to get him, but the rest of the party fared very poorly. They charged out, then everyone but Brolf and Rosco were felled by the hell hound's breath weapon. Then the other hound bit Brolf, dragging him down too. Only Rosco was left alive, and he made an ill-fated dash past the hounds only to be brought down by the opportunity attacks. Mink fought in the tunnel, dispatching the two normal gnolls, but Obrist, his hounds, and his carnivorous monkey were still lingering below. With no other option in sight, Mink tried to use step of the wind to outrun the hounds, but some poor rolls saw him caught and brought down.</p><p></p><p><em>Under the hood: Unfortunately for my PCs, I decided the smell of roasting meat would call for a random encounter roll, and it came up positive. And then I rolled a 98%, just within the 5% chance for the toughest encounter on my list. 550 xp: Gnoll leader, 2 gnolls, 2 hell hounds, and a carnivorous monkey. This would be well beyond a challenging encounter for a first level party, and it worked out exactly as expected: TPK.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>On one hand, I felt like a dick throwing an encounter like that at my PCs, especially worn down by the day's encounters. But on the other hand, one of the central themes of the campaign is the deadliness of the dungeon. The very idea that the dungeon isn't fair, that not all fights are winnable, that I'm not going to pull punches simply because the chips are down. In this place, the heroes make their own luck, and sometimes discretion is the better part of valor.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Besides, maybe it's better to get a TPK out of the way early, to knock the complacency out of my players.</em></p><p></p><p>We set about creating new characters. Everyone decided to play the same class, though stats were re-rolled and some backgrounds / specialties were changed up.</p><p></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 15px">The Second Party</span></strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Brelf</strong>, Male Human Fighter - Endurance Specialist, Guide Background - <em>Brolf's older, wiser brother. Brelf is everything Brolf ought to have been but wasn't. Where Brolf was just big, Brelf is actually in shape. He is looking for his brother, and he fears the worst.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Handmaiden Meriele</strong>, Female Elven Cleric of Pelor - Healer Specialty, Sage Background - <em>A very proper, feminine cleric who is looking into Valanthe's disappearance. She is intending to write a detailed treatise on undead creatures. Nowhere near as zealous as Valanthe was.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Estel Farwatch</strong>, Female Elven Wizard (Academic) - Arcanist Specialty, Spy Background - <em>She's the assassin hired by House Trelayin to kill Estoriel, and bring back proof that the deed is done.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Mork</strong> of the House of Mink and Mindy, Male Dwarven Monk - Endurance Specialist, Bounty Hunter Background - <em>Another monk. Not a lot of character to this one either.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Rosco Tealeaf</strong>, Male Halfling Rogue - Ambush Specialist, Guild Thief Background - <em>The <strong>real</strong> Rosco Tealeaf, wondering who's been impersonating him these last couple of days? Turns out the last one was an impostor!</em></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 15px">The Second Delve</span></strong></p><p></p><p>The newly-formed party met in the Hall of the Lost, where friends and relatives of missing adventurers come to share information and hold out hope for their loved ones. They decided to join forces (conveniently). A mercenary named Drekkis offered his services for thirty gold, which they accepted, and the six of them made their way into the dungeon on the following Parade Day.</p><p></p><p>They navigated the traps at the entry with little trouble, and found their way down into the dungeon proper. They wound up in the same area as before, and discovered quickly the evidence of their previous characters' rather gruesome demises. Chewed bones and the remnants of some gear, all except Mink (who died running, and this died elsewhere). They decided to take out their anger on the kobolds, and using the secret shaft in the roof, they came upon the kobold lair from behind.</p><p></p><p><em>Under the hood: Fifteen kobolds is worth 150 xp, which ought to be somewhere between average and tough. It was firmly in the easy camp. But I wasn't too surprised at the outcome.</em></p><p></p><p>They quickly butchered the fifteen kobold warriors in the main hall, though during the battle, an escapee notified the chief of the attack. He began to setup a defense in the halls, using the trapped section to his advantage.</p><p></p><p>The PCs emerged, but they detected the traps, and while the rogue tried to disarm them, one of the kobolds blasted at him with a wand of magic missile. Not being a wizard, he needed to make an attack roll (which he missed). Rosco wisely decided to take cover. The PCs also discovered a secret passage that let them bypass some of the traps, however, so using that, they attacked.</p><p></p><p>There was a pitched battle: the chief (an improved dragonshield) and his hobgoblin ally fought alongside a kobold trapmaster and two dragonshields. The hobgoblin was taken down with a single radiant lance crit, while a crit from Brelf took down the trapmaster. Brelf then crit the chief to wrap up the fight and claim the spoils.</p><p></p><p><em>Under the hood: Two encounters ran together here. The chief was worth 25 xp, the hobgoblin was worth 40. The trapmaster was worth 70 xp, and the dragonshields 20 each. So all put together, it was 175 xp worth of trouble, most of the way to a tough encounter. The battle played out accordingly; the PCs had the upper hand, but they took their lumps, including a savage blow that took the NPC warrior Drekkis well into the negatives. Meriele had to heal Brelf during the fight, as he had been taken down to 2 hit points. But only Drekkis actually went down.</em></p><p></p><p>Looting, and gathering together, they rigged the trapped corridor again and decided to camp in the middle of it, using it as the more defensible ground. They posted watches, and managed to avoid any further encounters through the night. With the dawn, they had enough xp to reach second level, and we called the session there.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MortalPlague, post: 6055687, member: 62721"] For session two, the fifth member of our group was able to make it. He rolled up a character, and I placed him as the surviving member of a group of adventurers who hadn't fared so well. [b]Rosco Tealeaf[/b] the Impostor, Male Halfling Rogue - Ambush Specialist, Guild Thief Background - [i]A friendly halfling. The Impostor title was added later.[/i] [b][size=4]The Delve Continues[/size][/b] Battered and bloodied, but still alive, our heroes decided to hole up in an abandoned room. But before they could get there, they heard footsteps approaching. Lo and behold, they made the acquaintance of Rosco Tealeaf! The halfling told them he'd heard something coming their way. The PCs accepted the halfling into their little company (after all, with Palisa dead, they had need of a rogue), and they set about preparing for combat. Sure enough, a pair of troglodytes, their giant spider pet, and a captive goblin attacked! The battle was ferocious (especially with Estoriel at a loss for spells), but the PCs managed to win without serious injury. They killed both troglodytes, and the spider, but the goblin slave surrendered, and was set free. [i]Under the hood: This was one of my random encounters, valued at 150 xp. By the book, it should be somewhere between an average challenge and a tough challenge, and it lived up to that in play. One of the conceits of this dungeon is the random encounters; I'm rolling frequently, and I have a list of encounters ranging from 100 xp to 550 xp, with the frequency heavily tilted towards lower level encounters (though that changes on lower levels). My players have been informed that not every fight will be winnable, and that the dungeon will not play fair.[/i] Following the battle, the party set about holing up for the night. Everyone gathered in the abandoned room. They lit a cook fire and began roasting the snakes they'd killed. Mink, meanwhile, decided he'd go exploring. He climbed up a shaft in the ceiling and explored some cramped tunnels, eventually coming across the kobold's main lair. But on his way back, he heard the sound of more foosteps approaching; what sounded like dogs, and some heavy paws. Unfortunately, Mink was cornered, and the pair of dogs turned out to be hell hounds, in the service of a rather unsavory gnoll named Obrist the Ravenous. The party heard the hounds growling, and decided to emerge from their room to do battle in the hallway. Mink was holding off some gnolls as they tried to climb up to get him, but the rest of the party fared very poorly. They charged out, then everyone but Brolf and Rosco were felled by the hell hound's breath weapon. Then the other hound bit Brolf, dragging him down too. Only Rosco was left alive, and he made an ill-fated dash past the hounds only to be brought down by the opportunity attacks. Mink fought in the tunnel, dispatching the two normal gnolls, but Obrist, his hounds, and his carnivorous monkey were still lingering below. With no other option in sight, Mink tried to use step of the wind to outrun the hounds, but some poor rolls saw him caught and brought down. [i]Under the hood: Unfortunately for my PCs, I decided the smell of roasting meat would call for a random encounter roll, and it came up positive. And then I rolled a 98%, just within the 5% chance for the toughest encounter on my list. 550 xp: Gnoll leader, 2 gnolls, 2 hell hounds, and a carnivorous monkey. This would be well beyond a challenging encounter for a first level party, and it worked out exactly as expected: TPK. On one hand, I felt like a dick throwing an encounter like that at my PCs, especially worn down by the day's encounters. But on the other hand, one of the central themes of the campaign is the deadliness of the dungeon. The very idea that the dungeon isn't fair, that not all fights are winnable, that I'm not going to pull punches simply because the chips are down. In this place, the heroes make their own luck, and sometimes discretion is the better part of valor. Besides, maybe it's better to get a TPK out of the way early, to knock the complacency out of my players.[/i] We set about creating new characters. Everyone decided to play the same class, though stats were re-rolled and some backgrounds / specialties were changed up. [b][size=4]The Second Party[/size][/b] [b]Brelf[/b], Male Human Fighter - Endurance Specialist, Guide Background - [i]Brolf's older, wiser brother. Brelf is everything Brolf ought to have been but wasn't. Where Brolf was just big, Brelf is actually in shape. He is looking for his brother, and he fears the worst.[/i] [b]Handmaiden Meriele[/b], Female Elven Cleric of Pelor - Healer Specialty, Sage Background - [i]A very proper, feminine cleric who is looking into Valanthe's disappearance. She is intending to write a detailed treatise on undead creatures. Nowhere near as zealous as Valanthe was.[/i] [b]Estel Farwatch[/b], Female Elven Wizard (Academic) - Arcanist Specialty, Spy Background - [i]She's the assassin hired by House Trelayin to kill Estoriel, and bring back proof that the deed is done.[/i] [b]Mork[/b] of the House of Mink and Mindy, Male Dwarven Monk - Endurance Specialist, Bounty Hunter Background - [i]Another monk. Not a lot of character to this one either.[/i] [b]Rosco Tealeaf[/b], Male Halfling Rogue - Ambush Specialist, Guild Thief Background - [i]The [b]real[/b] Rosco Tealeaf, wondering who's been impersonating him these last couple of days? Turns out the last one was an impostor![/i] [b][size=4]The Second Delve[/size][/b] The newly-formed party met in the Hall of the Lost, where friends and relatives of missing adventurers come to share information and hold out hope for their loved ones. They decided to join forces (conveniently). A mercenary named Drekkis offered his services for thirty gold, which they accepted, and the six of them made their way into the dungeon on the following Parade Day. They navigated the traps at the entry with little trouble, and found their way down into the dungeon proper. They wound up in the same area as before, and discovered quickly the evidence of their previous characters' rather gruesome demises. Chewed bones and the remnants of some gear, all except Mink (who died running, and this died elsewhere). They decided to take out their anger on the kobolds, and using the secret shaft in the roof, they came upon the kobold lair from behind. [i]Under the hood: Fifteen kobolds is worth 150 xp, which ought to be somewhere between average and tough. It was firmly in the easy camp. But I wasn't too surprised at the outcome.[/i] They quickly butchered the fifteen kobold warriors in the main hall, though during the battle, an escapee notified the chief of the attack. He began to setup a defense in the halls, using the trapped section to his advantage. The PCs emerged, but they detected the traps, and while the rogue tried to disarm them, one of the kobolds blasted at him with a wand of magic missile. Not being a wizard, he needed to make an attack roll (which he missed). Rosco wisely decided to take cover. The PCs also discovered a secret passage that let them bypass some of the traps, however, so using that, they attacked. There was a pitched battle: the chief (an improved dragonshield) and his hobgoblin ally fought alongside a kobold trapmaster and two dragonshields. The hobgoblin was taken down with a single radiant lance crit, while a crit from Brelf took down the trapmaster. Brelf then crit the chief to wrap up the fight and claim the spoils. [i]Under the hood: Two encounters ran together here. The chief was worth 25 xp, the hobgoblin was worth 40. The trapmaster was worth 70 xp, and the dragonshields 20 each. So all put together, it was 175 xp worth of trouble, most of the way to a tough encounter. The battle played out accordingly; the PCs had the upper hand, but they took their lumps, including a savage blow that took the NPC warrior Drekkis well into the negatives. Meriele had to heal Brelf during the fight, as he had been taken down to 2 hit points. But only Drekkis actually went down.[/i] Looting, and gathering together, they rigged the trapped corridor again and decided to camp in the middle of it, using it as the more defensible ground. They posted watches, and managed to avoid any further encounters through the night. With the dawn, they had enough xp to reach second level, and we called the session there. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Playtest Campaign: Second Session TPK
Top