[ELH Adventure] Anyone Try Running This? {Spoilers}

[Cloudgatherer]

Complimentary SPOILER warning. Read at your own risk.

This is for those of you who have ran through the adventure or have simply just read it and would like to discuss. If you plan on playing in the ELH Adventure, this is NOT the thread to read.

I recently played in the adventure as a "one-shot, what the hey" kind of deal. There were two party members, myself, a 26th level wizard, and a monk 26th level.

{rant}
Alrighty, what is the deal with that dragon? When we ran into the Infernal, we "took" the deal and threw the "cold bomb" at the dragon. So we hurt it..... Um, then what the heck were we supposed to do? Even with two characters at 26th level, we could not harm it in the slightest (and it was regenerating, joy). I think I needed an 18+ on my SR check and my monk companion couldn't scratch it.

In the end, we ran for the tower and the Infernal killed it. Bleh, mark one for the heroic adventures, eh?
{/rant}

For most of the adventure, we crept around the tower stealthily (thank god for wands of improved invis). The Mithral Golems kicked the crap out of us, we dodged the fight with the lava wrights, then we started loosing party members (total 2 PC, 1 NPC) to the "mirror" (as we learned later).

Fortunately, I was able to find the efreeti, and the "confiscated" equipment (I thought I had made out like a bandit, darn, too bad I was playing LG). As the efreeti and I investigated the cocoon room (with the mirror on the ceiling), I thanked my lucky stars for foresight, and smashed the mirror with my staff. This released my captured party members, and the guy we were there to rescue. thought I was in danger (I was going to *fry* those damn roaches).

So then we get the whole story from the guy who was trapped in the mirror. At this point I was all around angry, so the monk and I charged upstairs and *killed* all 12 of those monsters. It was a close battle toward the end, I started running out of spells and monks are not combat machines.

Then the guy who was rescued suggests we hand over the codex of the planes to the infernal, and he'll let us go free. Yeah, uh-huh, sure. That sits well with a 26th level LG wizard. Not. We spend the day preparing/looting the tower, the entire time the NPCs characters (from the DM) suggest we simply hand over the codex.

I say if I fall/disappear in battle, *then* they can hand over the codex. Hopefully, my contingency spell (teleport me over there if I'm about to die) will save me in a worst case.

So, all alone I fought the infernal (yeah, the others weren't up for it, even the other PC). Let's just say it was a learning experience (Infernal's have *nasty* abilities). I used two maximized time stops, but guess what, the second one didn't work....

Thankfully, a heightened imprisonment on a scroll from the tower saved the day....

Anyone else run the adventure? What was your experience? I'm particular interested in what you did with the "dragon" portion of the adventure (did anyone defeat it? How?)

Later!

 

[BiggusGeekus]

We ran the adventure and the dragon was the second encounter and basically put a pallor over the game for about an hour. I'm frankly a little surprised this made it past playtesting. We played with three 23rd level charcters (the module says the adventure was written for 21-23) and I had to use DM fiat several times to keep the party alive.

Using core rules, the WotC "splatbooks", and the ELH I see no way that a party could survive the dragon. It is CR 35 and even if that cold bomb does 1,000 hit poitns of damage the critter still has over 400 left. The dragon's spell resistance is too high and I don't think its possible to overcome its DR without +7 weapons which level 23 can't afford.

 

[Cloudgatherer]

Personally, I can't believe the dragon made it through playtesting (was there any?)

Anyone else try the Epic Level Adventure? What was your experience with it?

 

[Cloudgatherer]

(Bump) I find it hard to beleive no one has played through it.... or at least read it over.....

 

[Synicism]

Heh. This sounds like more of the same trend I've noticed with WotC's modules. the last one I played was the Bastion of Broken Souls and we were all wondering, after a party of six long-running characters had a decent challenge, how four 18th level PC's straight out of the book could even survive.

The modules require you to play a certain way: munch out, power up, and bowl everything in your path. That advanced dragon getting you down? One scratch from your absorbing shield and it's toast. If your cleric's got good spell penetration, he can kill practically anything with a Harm/Cause Light Wounds combo. Or your fighter who's critting with his vorpal scimitar almost half the time, and so on.

Cheese? Yup. But the module designs seem to assume that players will use it, so they design modules to suit.

 

[cybernetic]

I've read through it...but did not like it enough to run...I generally don't like published modules all that much...I usually get examples of things not to do...than things to do from WotC modules anywayz...I'd rather design it myself..

 

[ruleslawyer]

1) I think we can all agree that the dragon shouldn't have made it into the adventure. Better to have included a "plain old" great red wyrm; these are a HECK of a challenge to even epic-level characters and perfectly deadly in their own right. Instead, the designers committed one of the great sins of adventure design: Include a monster far too powerful for the characters to defeat, and then include the nifty device that'll kill the monster anyway, thereby cheapening the fact that it was too powerful to kill in the first place. Hmph.

2) If one DOES use the dragon, then the cold orb artifact is supposed to inflict (100d10)x2 damage, because the dragon is a [fire] subtype creature. This is worth remembering. Still and so, the average damage from this is going to be a mere 1100 hp damage, leaving the dragon with over 300 hp. OTOH, perhaps your characters are supposed to have the foresight to use a wish or similar spell to force the orb to inflict maximum damage; that's probably asking a bit much, though.

3) Cloudgatherer: Your DM wasn't playing the ranger correctly. He's supposed to be scared to death of the infernal, but willing to fight it if your PCs offer their help in doing so. With his help and that of his sister, the infernal should be a VERY difficult, but still possible, encounter.

In any case, there's no question that this module has design flaws, although I'll really say that the dragon is the single major flaw. Substitute him with a GW red, and I think you'll be fine.

 

[Cloudgatherer]

I agree about the dragon. Perhaps a CR 20 dragon instead of the one in the adventure and then remove the "cold bomb".

3) Cloudgatherer: Your DM wasn't playing the ranger correctly. He's supposed to be scared to death of the infernal, but willing to fight it if your PCs offer their help in doing so. With his help and that of his sister, the infernal should be a VERY difficult, but still possible, encounter.

Well, I think the DM knew or at least read that part of the adventure. Then he looked at the Infernal's abilities and the story became "we should give him the book and go on our merry way." My character (LG Wiz26) wasn't going to allow that, so he ended up fighting the infernal alone. The other's would have just gotten in the way, but I did not manage to kill the infernal, merely imprison it (but that is still a win!).