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Running dungeons with high level PCs (my players don't read - and yes, I'll know!)
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<blockquote data-quote="Byrons_Ghost" data-source="post: 1249683" data-attributes="member: 7396"><p>Well, I've never read or run the RA module. So I have no idea what it might contain. But here's some thoughts based on experiences with other high-level groups in dungeons.</p><p></p><p>Like you said, the environment is not really an obstacle an longer. So, in some sense, the "classic dungeon crawl" feel isn't going to be replicated. One option is to alter the types of environmental challenges, say by making them more high-magic. A lot of older modules, like "Ghost Tower" or "White Plume Mountain", had odd, magical architectures that required the use of spells to get around. "Ghost Tower", for instance, had a level for every element, and the PCs needed to burn water breathing or fly spells just to be able to function. In doing so, they still get to use their abilities, but in a way that works within the setting's parameters instead of violating them.</p><p></p><p>High-magic features like this may not work for your campaign, and they may not fit into the RA module. The other main thing would be to shift the focus to creature tactics- make the monsters/villains/whatever more organized, give them communication lines, etc. This sort of emphasizes the environment indirectly, since the dungeon's inhabitants know it better than the PCs. So the enemies tracking them can pick the right spots for ambushes, use hit-and-run tactics, that sort of thing. So now, if someone turns into an umber hulk and just digs straight through a maze, they're going to make a very easy target for small, quick creatures who can snipe them and disappear into well-known tunnels.</p><p></p><p>A similar idea, some of the party's spells may actually hurt them. I took a higher-level group (16th level or so) through "Demon God's Fane" and scaled it up some, putting a lich at the end as the temple's leader. About halfway through, the party encounters a succubus, who naturally tries to bargain with them for her life. They get the information out of her, then try to kill her, so she teleported to the lich to tell him what was going on. The party immediately followed (homebrew spell that sort of "piggybacks" someone else's teleport), and found themselves in a pitch-black crypt, with no obvious exit, and facing off with a lich who had a lot of his evil minions with him and suspected they were coming. The results were not pretty...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Byrons_Ghost, post: 1249683, member: 7396"] Well, I've never read or run the RA module. So I have no idea what it might contain. But here's some thoughts based on experiences with other high-level groups in dungeons. Like you said, the environment is not really an obstacle an longer. So, in some sense, the "classic dungeon crawl" feel isn't going to be replicated. One option is to alter the types of environmental challenges, say by making them more high-magic. A lot of older modules, like "Ghost Tower" or "White Plume Mountain", had odd, magical architectures that required the use of spells to get around. "Ghost Tower", for instance, had a level for every element, and the PCs needed to burn water breathing or fly spells just to be able to function. In doing so, they still get to use their abilities, but in a way that works within the setting's parameters instead of violating them. High-magic features like this may not work for your campaign, and they may not fit into the RA module. The other main thing would be to shift the focus to creature tactics- make the monsters/villains/whatever more organized, give them communication lines, etc. This sort of emphasizes the environment indirectly, since the dungeon's inhabitants know it better than the PCs. So the enemies tracking them can pick the right spots for ambushes, use hit-and-run tactics, that sort of thing. So now, if someone turns into an umber hulk and just digs straight through a maze, they're going to make a very easy target for small, quick creatures who can snipe them and disappear into well-known tunnels. A similar idea, some of the party's spells may actually hurt them. I took a higher-level group (16th level or so) through "Demon God's Fane" and scaled it up some, putting a lich at the end as the temple's leader. About halfway through, the party encounters a succubus, who naturally tries to bargain with them for her life. They get the information out of her, then try to kill her, so she teleported to the lich to tell him what was going on. The party immediately followed (homebrew spell that sort of "piggybacks" someone else's teleport), and found themselves in a pitch-black crypt, with no obvious exit, and facing off with a lich who had a lot of his evil minions with him and suspected they were coming. The results were not pretty... [/QUOTE]
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