D&D 4E Dragon Mountain (4e conversion - complete!)

[Quickleaf]

Yep, user-friendly is the goal.

I'm wondering if I can frame the whole "weight of eyes" thing as a pacing mechanic / threat timeline (kinda like the horizon concept) which advances or retreats based on certain player actions? That seems the simplest solution, though perhaps not the most transparent.

The more the "timeline" advances (say its tracked by sliding a paper clip/ticking off numbers/a prominently displayed die/gummi bears in a bowl/etc), the more the DM would narrate the oppressive feelings within the Mountain, the constant pressure from the kobolds, etc. As it advances, there'd also be a greater chance of run-ins with the Kobold Commando encounter (with corresponding difficulty boosts/buffs) as you suggested.

In addition, some steps on the timeline would deal with rituals the dragon might cast to halt the PCs' progress as well as psychic attacks "from the Mountain" causing claustrophobia/granting combat advantage/allowing kobolds with mob tactics or combined fire to benefit from "ghosted" allies which probably only exist in the target's head.

This allows me to do everything (kobold readiness & dragon magic & supernatural mountain) under one roof, so to speak. Once I finish the "timeline" the main overhead in running it will be recognizing what player actions/events change the "timeline" marker, and then narrating it in such a way that the evolving "timeline" makes sense & helps players connect the dots between their actions and the "timeline."

How does that approach sound?

 

[Manbearcat]

I think that approach sounds good and especially with a transparent meta-game prop to silently convey the gravity and mechanical underpinnings. I do this with my Skill Challenges. I narrate the introduction to the scene and the stakes. I then place one dice for successes (face up on the number of successes needed), and the other dice for failures (face up on the number of possible failures before "losing"). Both dice silently tick down (clock-like) as counters as the narrative progresses toward its ultimate conclusion. We use the same colored dice for this always and they are displayed prominently in the center of the table when a Skill Challenge commences. Its very ritualized (so its practiced and well understood by now) and transparent enough in addressing the metagame that my players know they are in a Skill Challenge while not being too "invasive" to the flow of play.

You could easily use the same methodology for your approach here.

 

[Quickleaf]

Here's my second stab at this...this is just a preliminary outline, I'll fill in the details when I've got more time.

Weight of Hundred Eyes
The deeper you venture into Dragon Mountain, the more you see them. Red beady kobold eyes are lit by your torches momentarily before retreating back into narrow honeycombed tunnels. Sometimes though, the eyes linger, and then you feel the weight of some dread force - the dragon? the mountain itself? - pressing down on your spirit.

Stage 0: "Kobolds? Hah!"
The PCs have just entered Dragon Mountain and have yet to experience the true terrors it has to offer.
Kobold Commandos encountered on 12 on d12.

Stage 1: "Something isn't right..."
PCs have had an encounter that made them realize there is more to the kobolds than meets the eye, and that something wicked is at work in the Mountain.
Kobold Commandos encountered on 11, 12 on d12.
All kobolds gain First Strike, gaining combat advantage against any enemies that haven't yet acted on the first round.

Stage 2: "I swear I saw a kobold right there!"
The PCs sinking suspicions are beginning to be confirmed, and they can feel themselves being watched by a malevolent presence throughout the Mountain.
Kobold Commandos encountered on 10, 11, 12 on d12.
All kobolds gain +2 Stealth and the DC to notice their traps increases by +2.

Stage 3: "The Mountain is out to get us."
All doubt has been removed from the PCs' minds - the Mountain itself seems to be bent on their destruction, and some of them may crack under the relentless pressure.
Kobold Commandos encountered on 9, 10, 11, 12 on d12.
Add an extra trap to encounters with Kobold Commandos.
During their next rest (short or extended) in the Mountain, the PCs are subject to an attack of sorts: +15 vs. Will; if hit, a PC experiences claustrophobia and overwhelming dread, perpetually granting combat advantage until they get out of the Mountain or a healer tends to them during an extended rest (Heal DC 20).

Stage 4: "The dragon is watching us!"
After facing countless kobolds and traps, it begins to dawn on the PCs that the dragon is divining their every move through the Mountain. Opportunities to escape her baleful gaze are precious few, indeed escaping the Mountain with treasure becomes more difficult.
Kobold Commandos encountered on 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 on d12.
The dragon casts a ritual.....
PCs who try to leave Dragon Mountain with any loot they found within have a random encounter: 1 roll on KOBOLDS TABLE, and 1 roll on TRAPS TABLE.

Stage 5: "There's nowhere to hide!"
At this stage, the PCs are constantly pressed for resources while within the Mountain and usually must fight at disadvantage. Escaping alive is nigh impossible.
Kobold Commandos encountered on 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 on d12.
All kobolds deal double damage with combat advantage and gain +2 Perception.
If the PCs try to leave the Mountain, they have a random encounter: 2 rolls on KOBOLDS TABLE and 2 rolls on TRAPS TABLE.

Increasing the Stage: Weight of the Mountain
*Trying to rest in the Mountain without precautions.
*A particularly loud encounter which attracts attention.
*A PC is abducted or their maps/plans are stolen.
*"Failing" an encounter, either the objective or being forced to retreat.
*Certain "iconic" encounters might have special ways of increasing the stage.

Decreasing the Stage: Wit of the Heroes
*Successfully getting a rest in the Mountain (eg. with ritual wards).
*Avoiding an encounter with cunning or stealth.
*Defeating the kobolds commandos.
*Recuing captives of the kobolds.
*Performing a divination ritual (DM's discretion).
*Certain "iconic" encounter might have special ways of decreasing the stage.

 

[Manbearcat]

Something that might really rattle them is to have the Kobold Commando encounters be nothing but hit and run (hence the shift and hide rider). No engagement. Absolute guerrilla warfare that just ablates their resources (HP and surges primarily), wears them down, annoys the hell out of them and makes them paranoid. Surprise round (hopefully) or one round of combat, shift away, hide and escape through crevices, chutes, natural or hewn chimneys, etc. Or a quick arrow slit volley in a murder hole and leave.

Pacing concern-wise, under each stage, how many encounters per day would you expect from a Kobold Commando hit squad?

 

[Quickleaf]

Something that might really rattle them is to have the Kobold Commando encounters be nothing but hit and run (hence the shift and hide rider). No engagement. Absolute guerrilla warfare that just ablates their resources (HP and surges primarily), wears them down, annoys the hell out of them and makes them paranoid. Surprise round (hopefully) or one round of combat, shift away, hide and escape through crevices, chutes, natural or hewn chimneys, etc. Or a quick arrow slit volley in a murder hole and leave.

Yes, that's exactly what I've put in the "tactics" section for the "wandering" kobold commando encounter.

Pacing concern-wise, under each stage, how many encounters per day would you expect from a Kobold Commando hit squad?

Obviously, pacing is going to vary by group according to how much healing they have, style of play, and other factors. That said, throughout the entire dungeon crawl, the exploration skill challenge requires 12 checks to explore all of Dragon Mountain. And for each check (or equivalent) made, a roll takes place on the master encounter table which has a 9 out of 12 chance (75%) of kobolds IIRC. And then of those encounters with kobolds, the chance of kobold commandos increases from 8% to 50%.

For *my* group of 5-7 players I'm guessing they won't explore more than three areas on a given level in a single adventuring day. So, with each level having 6-8 areas, I'm guessing 1-2 days per level.

Which translates to about 4 master encounter table checks every adventure or two. And of those 4 random encounters, maybe 3 will have kobolds. And of those 3 maybe 1 will have kobold commandos. So once per day?

As you can see, however, that's a LOT of conjecture. The pacing will be largely up to the players I imagine.

 

[Manbearcat]

An interesting thought popped into my mind that you may, or may not, want to use.

What if the Kobold Commandos were all automotons? What if they were constructs; flesh golems or clay golems carved and contrived perfectly to look as kobolds? What if there is a Kobold Mad Scientist somewhere who has constructed this giant Divination/reconnaisance device (Weight of a Hundred Eyes) with the powers to oppress and weigh down the subconscious built-in? A high level mad scientist/Artificer. A rogue outside of the clan hierarchy under explicit tutelage and instructions from Infyrana to protect her lair proper. What if only after several encounters do the PCs manage to bring down a Commando and reveal this fact? Then you have a fun Skill Challenge to locate the mass-production laboratory, confront and kill this Artificer and destroy the lab (which could be an extremely fun battle with all manner of constructs and a chamber that defends itself and moves and morphs, etc). You would also have a strong fluff backing to investigate and a Skill Challenge to uncover it. You would also have a pacing conceit built-in as a "factory" or "mass-production center" means that the PCs will be hunted forever unless they do something about it.

 

[jrowland]

You could model weight of a hundred eyes with "concordance". Loud encounters move you up a stage, failing an encounter moves you up, specific "iconic" encounters could move you up. Moving down would be things like successfully avoiding an encounter, magical warding during a rest, setting up ambushes, etc.

The more "concordance" with the mountain, the more it weighs down on them, anticipating their moves (commando hit squads) and giving them disadvantage. Having a visual tracker would encourage the players to figure out what moves them down the tracker and avoid things that move them up, a meta-game.

 

[Manbearcat]

Having a visual tracker would encourage the players to figure out what moves them down the tracker and avoid things that move them up, a meta-game.

I agree with this as per my post upthread regarding the props I use for Skill Challenges. I've also used a track with a counter for other things; basically a line squares with a chip in it that would progress or regress. Using that meta-game artifact would likely help the transparency. I understand your players are meta-game averse but you could have this out in the open and not explicitly talk about "the curtain or the man behiind it". Just basically a nod to the meta-game that is happening concurrently with the fiction.

 

[Quickleaf]

What if the Kobold Commandos were all automotons? What if they were constructs; flesh golems or clay golems carved and contrived perfectly to look as kobolds? What if there is a Kobold Mad Scientist somewhere who has constructed this giant Divination/reconnaisance device (Weight of a Hundred Eyes) with the powers to oppress and weigh down the subconscious...

That is out there! And it would make sense since I am adding a golem works to part of the adventure. But I would hesitate to go with the "kobold look-alikes" only because it implies the premise of "low-level, high-threat kobolds commandos" doesn't really work (IOW constructs...or kobold-morphed fire giants, or whatever...are needed to *really* challenge the PC).

You could model weight of a hundred eyes with "concordance". Loud encounters move you up a stage, failing an encounter moves you up, specific "iconic" encounters could move you up. Moving down would be things like successfully avoiding an encounter, magical warding during a rest, setting up ambushes, etc.

The more "concordance" with the mountain, the more it weighs down on them, anticipating their moves (commando hit squads) and giving them disadvantage. Having a visual tracker would encourage the players to figure out what moves them down the tracker and avoid things that move them up, a meta-game.

Those are excellent ideas, and definitely the same lines I'm thinking along.

I do wonder about your use of "concordance", which essentially means harmony or concord...

EDIT: I added some changes to "weight of hundred eyes" in orange.

 

[Quickleaf]

I agree with this as per my post upthread regarding the props I use for Skill Challenges. I've also used a track with a counter for other things; basically a line squares with a chip in it that would progress or regress. Using that meta-game artifact would likely help the transparency. I understand your players are meta-game averse but you could have this out in the open and not explicitly talk about "the curtain or the man behiind it". Just basically a nod to the meta-game that is happening concurrently with the fiction.

Actually, while they tend to be meta-game adverse they like to use props (and so do I). Go figure.

I have one of those savage worlds customizable GM screens where you can slip whatever you want into the panels. What I might do is sketch up a quick graphic to represent this 6 stage track then slip it into the players side of the screen. I could then mark it up with dry erase markers to track which "stage" they're at.

We'll see...my group doesn't meet up again until January 4th, so I've got some time over the holidays to figure it out.