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

[Goonalan]

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #2 A1 Kobold Ambush

My intention was to have the PCs have another easy encounter at the Dragon Burial Site encounter, which I was going to get the PCs to try to play without using their Daily Powers and/or Action Points- a kind of practice run for the real thing. All that however bit the dust with Dirty and Winstanley's shenanigans in Wrafton's Inn.

And so the PCs head out of Winterhaven, briefed about the Kobold's lair- supposedly hidden behind a waterfall, they have a crude map in their possession- things should be easy, or so they think.

The sun is out then and the PCs are back on the road, Dirty with a sore head, and Winstanly looking a little sheepish...



This time the Kobold ambushers are better prepared for the PCs, and well hidden- although DC19 Perception check, as required in the module, is a little rough. However of the PCs only Grey Morlock gets above 10 on their Perception checks. The Kobolds have a surprise round... morning all!

Good Guys
McGyver, Male Dragonborn Paladin of Bahamut 1 (HP27)
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 1 (HP31)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 1 (HP26)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 1 (HP25)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 1 (HP23)

Bad Guys 625XP Level 2 Encounter.
Kobold Skirmisher Level 1 Skirmisher [KS] (HP27)
Kobold Dragonshield Level 2 Soldier [KD] (x3) (HP36)
Kobold Wyrmpriest Level 3 Artillery [KW] (HP36)

Initiative 26 Grey; 21 Kobold Dragonshields; 16 Winstanley & Dirty; 15 Kobold Skirmisher & Kaspard; 14 McGyver; 9 Kobold Wyrmpriest.

Surprise Round.

KD1- Charge with Surprise McGyver; Miss.

KD2- Charge with Suprise and Mob Attack McGyver; Miss.

KD3- Charge with Surprise, Mob Attack & Combat Advantage McGyver; Miss.

KS- Move- Sneaks & Hides behind boulders, get a better attack on Grey.

KW- Acid Orb with Surprise McGyver; Miss.

Time to play 8 minutes including setting up map and minis.

End of Round- at which point the players laughed at me, I must have looked a little crestfallen.

Good Guys
McGyver, Male Dragonborn Paladin of Bahamut 1 (HP27/27)
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 1 (HP31/31)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 1 (HP26/26)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 1 (HP25/25)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 1 (HP23/23)

Bad Guys 625XP Level 2 Encounter.
Kobold Skirmisher Level 1 Skirmisher [KS] (HP27/27)
Kobold Dragonshield Level 2 Soldier [KD] (x3) (HP36/36)
Kobold Wyrmpriest Level 3 Artillery [KW] (HP36/36)

Action Points 0 Total 0
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 0 Total 0
2nd Winds 0 Total 0
Crits 0 Total 0

Comment: Four attacks and no hits- the dice hate me, I think KD3 needed something like an '8' to hit- four dice rolls and the highest I got was a '6'- it sucks to be a Kobold.

 

[firesnakearies]

Looks like your PCs are gonna mop this one up, too. Kinda too bad about the failed surprise round. But I'll bet it made the players feel cool, so that's good.

 

[Aran Thule]

Shame they didnt get to head for the dragon graveyard first, being level 2 before hitting the waterfall would have improved their chances.
With regard to the grind, i found that if the monsters realise they are going to loose then they could try to run or surrender.
Either way it can make things interesting stategicly and the roleplay doesnt hurt either.
Information is power and knowing about your enemy gives you the advantage.
Question is who gets the info on the others first, the party or the kobolds...

 

[firesnakearies]

Would have been hilarious if the kobolds ambushed them, all missed their attacks, and then immediately hailed the party and tried to negotiate, acting like they just wanted to talk.

 

[Goonalan]

Shame they didnt get to head for the dragon graveyard first, being level 2 before hitting the waterfall would have improved their chances.
With regard to the grind, i found that if the monsters realise they are going to loose then they could try to run or surrender.
Either way it can make things interesting stategicly and the roleplay doesnt hurt either.
Information is power and knowing about your enemy gives you the advantage.
Question is who gets the info on the others first, the party or the kobolds...

As stated above it was my intention to send them to the Dragon Burial first but with Winstanley and Dirty (to a lesser extent) getting in trouble I figured it'd be the ideal opportunity to teach the PCs that they are not always the masters of their own destinies. Also that as a PC you can do anything- including breaking into peoples houses, but if you mess up there's a price to be paid.

I explained to the players that Winstanley's actions had changed my plans and that what lay ahead of them would be difficult, they're all noobs so I'm counselling them through the opening encounters, when they get into the Keep they're on their own.

My words of wisdom (and caution) as regards the Kobold expedition were met with, well... 'bring it on!'

The PCs loved the first combat- Action Points and Daily Powers all spent in one mad (short) blow out. They've a touch of the invincibles.

As to the run/surrender option, I agree (sometimes), I try to play monsters like monsters, so when I played on maptools I had a macro (& table) that would randomly insert a battle cry ('my mother hits harder than you'; 'is that all you've got'; 'I am the Walrus- koo-koo-ka-choo!') with each attack. Another for when the creature is bloodied, and yet another for the creature's last words. Some of the bloodied quotes ('me no like- you hurt uz big bad') would inform my decision as to what to do next, if the bad guy was in a bad way with not many friends left alive then I'd try to get him out of there- surrender/retreat or just flee. However if I got a different result ('Gobnob eat you and yer fiends...') then it was a fight to the end- once again subject to the situation being right and the monsters intelligence.

So sure sometimes the bad guys will run or surrender- you'll see it in this write up, however where possible, and definitely when the story needs it they will fight to the last.

Yes, that brings grind but it's also about making the finale all the more climactic, if you surrender too often then the PCs are going to be in tip top condition throughout- see previous statements about this.

Wait till we get to the 'Kobold Lair: Inside' fight, you'll see what I mean, not that I think you don't understand, that fight just demonstrates beautifully what I'm talking about.

Quote-

Looks like your PCs are gonna mop this one up, too. Kinda too bad about the failed surprise round. But I'll bet it made the players feel cool, so that's good.

I wouldn't be so sure firesnakearies, from memory one of the PCs drops either next round or the round after; haven't got the data before me as I'm at work at the moment and should really be marking my students work.

Cheers Goonalan

 

[Goonalan]

Would have been hilarious if the kobolds ambushed them, all missed their attacks, and then immediately hailed the party and tried to negotiate, acting like they just wanted to talk.

Why didn't I think of that? Damn, opportunity missed.

KD1 Charge McGyver, yelling "I'm going to eat yer gizzard yer big bag o'..."; Miss, adding 'Have you considered Travel Insurance?"

KD2 Charge Mob Attack McGyver, yelling "Your father was a hamster and your mother smelled of elderberries..."; Miss, adding 'So, it's a lovely day isn't it- any plans for the weekend?"

KD3 Charge Mob Attack Combat Advantage McGyver, screaming "I am woman- hear me roar..."; Miss, adding "Haircut, sir?"

That kind of thing?

Goonalan

 

[Goonalan]

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #2 A1 Kobold Ambush

Round #1

Grey- Move to cover. Magic Missile KD3; Hit 11 Force damage (25 HP).

KD1- Shortsword with Mob Attack & Combat Advantage McGyver; Hit 9 damage (18 HP).

KD2- Shift. Shortsword with Mob Attack McGyver; Hit 8 damage (10 HP bloodied).

KD3- Shortsword with Mob Attack & Combat Advantage McGyver; Hit 4 damage (6 HP bloodied).

Winstanley- Move Combat Advantage KD3. Positioning Strike KD3; Hit 17 damage (8 HP bloodied). Slides KD3 between Dirty and Kaspard.

Dirty- Reaping Strike with Combat Advantage KD3; Crit 15 damage- DEAD. Move to support McGyver.

KS- Move (Hidden) to Kaspard. Spear with Combat Advantage Kaspard; Hit 10 damage (16 HP). Shift away.

Kaspard- Healing Word +5 HP McGyver (17 HP). Lance of Faith KS; Hit 7 Radiant damage (20 HP). Move back to Defenders.

McGyver- Divine Challenge KD1. Dragon Breath KD1-2; Hit both 3 Fire damage each (33 HP each|). Valiant Strike KD1; Miss.

KW- Move. Incite Faith- KD1-2 & KS get 5 Temp HP & shift 1. Acid Orb McGyver; Hit 5 Acid damage (12 HP bloodied, again).

Time to play 10 minutes.

End of Round-

Good Guys
McGyver, Male Dragonborn Paladin of Bahamut 1 (HP12/27 bloodied)
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 1 (HP31/31)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 1 (HP16/26)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 1 (HP25/25)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 1 (HP23/23)

Bad Guys 625XP Level 2 Encounter.
Kobold Skirmisher Level 1 Skirmisher [KS] (HP20/27)
Kobold Dragonshield Level 2 Soldier [KD] (x3) (HP33/36 & 33/36) 1 DEAD
Kobold Wyrmpriest Level 3 Artillery [KW] (HP36/36)

Action Points 0 Total 0
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 1 Total 1
2nd Winds 0 Total 0
Crits 1 Total 1

Comment: McGyver takes a beating and the players get the idea that all encounters will not be as easy as their first. Nice Positioning Strike by Winstanley, when the player did it I could see a few lights going on around the table- starting to think a little bit more about tactics, and in particular if I do this then he can do that- hopefully some teamwork will follow. I say hopefully...

 

[Goonalan]

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #2 A1 Kobold Ambush

Round #2

Grey- Move to the front line. Burning Hands KD1-2 & KW; Hit KD2 10 Fire – 5 (Resist 5 Fire) = 5 Fire damage (28 HP) & KW 10 Fire damage (26 HP).

KD1- Shortsword McGyver; Hit 8 damage (4 HP bloodied). Shift away.

KD2- Shortsword Grey; Hit 5 damage (18 HP).

KD3- DEAD.

Winstanley- Move. Deft Strike KW; Hit 5 damage (21 HP).

Dirty- Move to KD1- Dragonshield Tactics- shifts away, attack foiled. Charge KW AoO KD1 en route- Miss. Charge KW; Hit 11 damage (10 HP bloodied). KW Marked.

KS- Shift. Spear Kaspard Crit 8 (8 HP bloodied) Immediate Interrupt Armour of Bahamut reduces Crit to rolled damage = 5 (11 HP bloodied). Shift out.

Kaspard- Shift. Healing Strike KS; Hit 11 damage (14 HP)- Healing Surge +3 HP Self (20 HP). Healing Word +8 HP McGyver (18 HP).

McGyver- Move to KD1- KD2 Dragonshield Tactics shifts away. Channel Divinity- Divine Strength. Radiant Smite KD1; Hit 21 Radiant damage (17 HP bloodied).

KW- Dragon Breath Dirty; Hit 6 Acid damage (25 HP). Spear Dirty; Hit 1 damage (24 HP).

Time to play 9 minutes.

End of Round-

Good Guys
McGyver, Male Dragonborn Paladin of Bahamut 1 (HP18/27)
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 1 (HP24/31)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 1 (HP20/26)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 1 (HP25/25)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 1 (HP18/23)

Bad Guys 625XP Level 2 Encounter.
Kobold Skirmisher Level 1 Skirmisher [KS] (HP14/27)
Kobold Dragonshield Level 2 Soldier [KD] (x3) (HP17/36 & 28/36) 1 DEAD
Kobold Wyrmpriest Level 3 Artillery [KW] (HP10/36)

Action Points 0 Total 0
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 2 Total 3
2nd Winds 0 Total 0
Crits 0 Total 1
Bad Guy Crits 1 Total 1

Comment: Kobolds resistant to Fire? They didn't like that, although they're also beginning to see the value of having a good number of Healing Surges. A bit of a war of attrition here, it's bound to be the Kobolds that drop first however let's see what they're like when they get to 'Inside the Kobold Lair.' They also miss their Minions it seems, the PCs like the idea of killing something every round.

 

[Goonalan]

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #2 A1 Kobold Ambush

Round #3

Grey- Move out of danger. Scorching Burst KD1-2 & KW; Hit KD 5 Fire damage -5 (Resist 5 Fire) = 0 damage & KW 5 Fire damage (5 HP bloodied)

KD1- Shortsword McGyver; Hit 7 damage (11 HP bloodied).

KD2- Shift. Shortsword with Mob Attack McGyver; Hit 8 damage (3 HP bloodied). Shift out.

KD3- DEAD.

Winstanley- Move. Combat Advantage KW. Sly Flourish KW; Miss.

Dirty- Cleave with Combat Advantage KW Crit 15 damage- DEAD & 3 damage KD1 (14 HP bloodied) & Marked. 2nd Wind- Full HP.

KS- Move Combat Advantage McGyver. AoO Kaspard Mace; Hit 3 damage (11 HP bloodied). Spear Combat Advantage McGyver; Hit 10 damage (-7 HP dying). Shift.

Kaspard- Move to McGyver. AoO KS; Miss. Heal check '20'; McGyver Healing Surge (9 HP bloodied).

McGyver- Stand up. Valiant Strike KS Crit 12 damage- DEAD.

KW- DEAD.

Time to play 10 minutes.

End of Round-

Good Guys
McGyver, Male Dragonborn Paladin of Bahamut 1 (HP9/27 bloodied)
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 1 (HP24/31)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 1 (HP20/26)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 1 (HP25/25)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 1 (HP18/23)

Bad Guys 625XP Level 2 Encounter.
Kobold Skirmisher Level 1 Skirmisher [KS] DEAD
Kobold Dragonshield Level 2 Soldier [KD] (x3) (HP14/36 & 28/36) 1 DEAD
Kobold Wyrmpriest Level 3 Artillery [KW] DEAD

Action Points 0 Total 0
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 1 Total 4
2nd Winds 1 Total 1
Crits 2 Total 3
Ko'd PCs 1 Total 1
Bad Guy Crits 0 Total 1

Comment: The first PC to hit the deck- McGyver briefly visits negative hit point land, then he's back up, still makes me feel like I'm doing my job. Otherwise the tide turns and the PCs are back on top. Bit of a mess up in this one, and it happens again I think, for some reason I thought that a successful Heal check on a dying PC allows the dying PC to spend a Healing Surge rather than just stabilise... My bad. It was a natural '20' though on the roll for the Heal check, so that's okay then.

 

[Goonalan]

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #2 A1 Kobold Ambush

Round #4

Grey- Magic Missile KD1; Hit 10 Force damage (4 HP bloodied).

KD1- Shortsword Dirty; Miss. Shift away. AoO Dirty; Miss.

KD2- Shortsword with Mob Attack McGyver; Miss. Shift away.

KD3- DEAD.

Winstanley- Move Combat Advantage KD1. Sly Flourish; Hit 20 damage- DEAD.

Dirty- Shift to KD2- Dragonshield Tactics- shifts away. Intimidate KD2- Fail. Draw & Throw Dagger KD2; Miss. KD2 Marked.

KS- DEAD.

Kaspard- Sacred Flame KD2 Miss. Move forward to engage.

McGyver- Move. Divine Challenge KD2. Valiant Smite KD2 Hit 9 damage (24 HP).

KW- DEAD.

Time to play 6 minutes.

End of Round-

Good Guys
McGyver, Male Dragonborn Paladin of Bahamut 1 (HP9/27 bloodied)
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 1 (HP25/31)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 1 (HP20/26)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 1 (HP25/25)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 1 (HP18/23)

Bad Guys 625XP Level 2 Encounter.
Kobold Skirmisher Level 1 Skirmisher [KS] DEAD
Kobold Dragonshield Level 2 Soldier [KD] (x3) (HP24/36) 2 DEAD
Kobold Wyrmpriest Level 3 Artillery [KW] DEAD

Action Points 0 Total 0
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 0 Total 4
2nd Winds 0 Total 1
Crits 0 Total 2
Ko'd PCs 0 Total 1
Bad Guy Crits 0 Total 1

Comment: McGyver battles on, trying to save face, while Dirty is very unhappy he forgot about the Dragonshield's shift away tactic.