Action-Filled Battles

[Rechan]

Share some fun fights you've had that had something interesting going on, be it in a cool location, or there were just rules for weird stuff happening in the environment (On an airship, rules for falling off).

Like a battle on moving platforms, or a swaying rope bridge in the middle of a storm, or a chase scene. Something even as simple as "Fighting a druid in a thorn-hedge maze, and he used his woodland stride to move through the walls."

The first thing that pops into my mind:

In a game of Exalted, we were fighting a man fused with a water dragon thing. He intercepted us while we were crossing a river, and we went over the falls - onto these rocks sticking out of the waterfall's cliff-face. The party was spread across the rocks (some 30ft across and 50ft up and down). We had to move from rock to rock to get to our people.

 

[MarauderX]

I tend to use locations of places I know or odd buildings I have plans for. Many make for decently unusual settings for our high level (20) campaign.

Once I had the party make their way over an underground acid pool by jumping from one swiveling disc platform to another. If they flew, a beholderkin would tag them with an antimagic field.

Another featured an earthy theme with the BBEG as an immobile being in the center before an alter. Walls of Stone popped up as quickened actions, Flesh to Stone saves abounded, and if electrical attacks were used they were sucked away by a special pyramidical 'grounding' system.

The lower level has multiple settings per game, and last time I had them fight knee-deep in water against troglodytes, and the wizard even drowned one of them. An earlier fight took place near an abandoned dwarven distillery with kegs that had been fermenting for decades. The lone enemy wizard cast a fireball at the PCs who were in the middle of it...

 

[Rechan]

Another featured an earthy theme with the BBEG as an immobile being in the center before an alter. Walls of Stone popped up as quickened actions, Flesh to Stone saves abounded, and if electrical attacks were used they were sucked away by a special pyramidical 'grounding' system.

Reminds me of creatures as encounters.

 

[shilsen]

A battle between the PCs in my Eberron campaign (see sig) and two rakshasas (one warrior and one wizard), which occurred on the giant hand of a rakshasa rajah held in stasis within a volcano, surrounded by walls of lava held magically in place. While the rakshasa wizard was trying to free the rajah with a special key. And also called forth a demon which was concealed inside the paladin's sword and was secretly giving him his powers. First time I saw a PC willingly hurl himself into lava!

 

[Rechan]

And also called forth a demon which was concealed inside the paladin's sword and was secretly giving him his powers. First time I saw a PC willingly hurl himself into lava!

I remember that from the Rat Bastard thread. That was great.

 

[shilsen]

I remember that from the Rat Bastard thread. That was great.

Thanks. I should have clarified in the previous post that it wasn't the paladin who hurled himself into the lava. He just wanted to

 

[demiurge1138]

When my Planescape game took a brief detour into Greyhawk, they went off to go hunt a dragon, 'cause that's what you do as an adventurer on the Prime (they also needed a dragon femur, but it's a long story). Their first encounter with the dragon was as they were crossing a rickety (and flammable) rope bridge over a ravine. At the far end was a huge thorny tree, which the dragon used as a larder, impaling still-living animals and humanoids on to keep them fresh for consumption later (inspired by the behavior of butcherbirds). At the base of the tree was a hole small enough for the PCs to fit through, but that the dragon couldn't, that led to the cave complex higher up the mountain where the dragon laired.

...and did I mention that the dragon had improved invisibility?

The actual climactic encounter with the dragon was also pretty complicated, both in terms of terrain and combatants. A mob of goblinoids worshiping the dragon like a god surrounded it, presided over by the high priest of this twisted cult, a mutant human zipping around on a flying carpet, casting spells and trying to bull rush PCs into the ravines of lava deep below.

That game also had a fun encounter on the banks of the River Cocytus in Acheron. A styx devil pulled PCs into the water and released them so they'd dash against the rocks below a nearby waterfall, while marrashi harried those trying to save the swept away victims with arrows. While another iron cube sped towards the party.

Demiurge out.