An army of skeletons against a 9th level party - dumb?

[Bad_English]

Army of Skeletons?

Something I did to my daughter in the last game.
OK skeletons laying about in a crypt with some sarcophaguses ( Hmmm Bad English Bad) they stood up and attacked then got knocked down leaving the pair to deal with the other skeletons. Hmmmm behind them the skeltons that had fallen re-assembled and attacked from behind.
Bad Dad Bad. They were forced to flee not knowing that ...
1. When the skeltons get to half hit points in damage they collapse then after a sufficently evil pause. reassemble and attack. At 75% damage I had them fall and only partially rebuild and mostly cling and tangle.
2.They do stop attacking honest... At 0 hit points.
3. No regeneration just delay and terror.
I believe the Skeleton variant came from here and was called
" Dry Bones"
PEACE

 

[Kershek]

Look at Tomb of Abysthor from Necromancer Games. They have a great idea for skeletons in the beginning of their dungeon.

 

[GMVictory]

Fantasy Flight Games has a template in their Monster's Handbook called a "Swarm." You might check that out. I liked how it handles a large number of opponents in a manner that wouldn't drag out a combat significantly.

The swarm template is also located in the Mastercraft Anthology they released recently.

 

[Sir Whiskers]

I'm with everyone who has suggested that you not force the party to fight this out. If, however, you want the party to encounter a room like this for other reasons, a couple ideas come to mind:

1) Create a tall room, with doors near the floor and near the ceiling. A narrow bridge travels from one upper door to another. Below is a chamber packed full with skeletons. The door on the other side of the bridge is locked or otherwise secured. Perhaps the walls of the room are rough enough that some skeletons can successfully climb them to reach the party and attempt to pull pc's down. Or give the skeletons spider climbing ability (or have spider climb an ability granted to anyone inside the room by some permanent magic). Regardless, the party has to cross the bridge, unlock the door, and get out of the room without having any party members dragged down. If you add ledges near each door, other party members can deploy and attempt to stop any climbing skeletons while the rogue (or a spellcaster with a knock spell) attempt to cross the bridge and open the door.

2) How in the world did 100 skeletons end up in one room? Who or what is creating them? If those questions are the point of this room - to give the party some hints or such - perhaps you could change the encounter so that the party can sneak into the room full of skeletons with others being animated, assembled, whatever. You could have a small ledge near the ceiling accessible to the party, an open archway with shadows nearby for a rogue to sneak up, or something similar to give the party access. The party doesn't have to battle the skeletons, unless it gives its position away, but they still get the visual impact of the room.

 

[the Jester]

I ran a combat with the party vs. 100 gibberlings in the Gates of Firestorm Peak (which I converted to 3e)... it was pretty cool and surprisingly quick. You'd be amazed at how many bad guys die per fireball.

 

[zorlag]

-

Hey, how about using swarm rules on smaller skeletons? That could be quite terrifying and hitting the characters wouldn't be problem...

Z.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I had a party accidentally end up with a nasty minor artifact consecrated (desecrated?) to Nerull. While it was out it the world, it animated any dead bodies within a small radius - any dead bodies - who set about, as skeletons and zombies, to attack the bearer (who couldn't get rid of it).

The constant distraction of skeletal mice and bugs was annoying, the occasional humanoid or bigger animal kept them alert, but no big deal to a 3rd-4th level party.

Fortunately, after discovering where the artifact had to be returned (long-abandoned temple in the swamp), they did a little research, and discovered that the most direct route would take them directly through what was, some hundreds of years earlier, a hotly-disputed border. Full of ancient battlefields. With thousands of dead bodies buried all over the place.

With that in mind, they took a slightly less-direct route, which meant they only fought a couple of small armies of skeletons, not a vast and endless horde They worked out a tactic where the monk (the bearer) would run in circles, attracting the skeletons into a tight bunch, where the cleric could zap them all at once with a Turn attempt.

But then they got to the temple, and the skeletons there could think for themselves, and things got tougher...

-Hyp.

 

[Sejs]

Make 'em Human Warrior (or Fighter) 1 or 2s with the Bone Creature template from BoVD.

That means they'll be intelligent. That means they'll be able to use tactics. And work in teams.

Then toss in that whole waist-deep water thing.

Then give 'em some longspears.




Those PCs will actually be in a good ammount of trouble.

 

[thullgrim]

every third skeleton can be a fighter or other class with the Skeleton template applied from the Book of Vile Darkness.

 

[Olive]

Well, turning doesn't destroy undead unless you have the Sun domain.

From the SRD

"Destroying Undead
If a combatant has twice as many levels (or more) as the undead have Hit Dice, the combatant destroy any that the combatant would normally turn."

"Sun Domain

Granted Power: Once per day, the character can perform a greater turning against undead in place of a regular turning (or rebuking) attempt. The greater turning is like a normal turning (or rebuking) attempt except that the undead creatures that would be turned (or rebuked or commanded) are destroyed instead."

So the Sun domain means that you destroy them when you'd normally just turn them, not that this is the only way to destroy them.