Wow, thanks for all the replies. I must leave now...when next we meet, I'll have some reports on the game to share. The prophecy is that these adventurers are to defeat this dragon, who, 550 years ago, waylaid the town and was soon after banished...but vowed to return. The Gods decided they wanted to play a game and made these items for them...whether they actually fullfill the prophecy is up to them (the players). The beginning has the dragon making good on his promise, as the players are swiftly taken to a secret location where the weapons were being guarded by a solar. The first adventure is really just a testing ground the gods made to give them a challenge and some experience. Followers of the dragon cult will hound them throughout their adventuring days, but for now they're just getting their feet wet. There will be plenty of adventures that really won't have anything to do with the dracolich, except for them getting more experience, so that they MIGHT be able to defeat him when the time comes. And that's the way I like it...something different every adventure...not fighting cult followers all the time. Anyway...that's it for now...thanks again...I like the idea of letting the powers grow with time by the way...hmmm...
First time DM has some questions
- Thread starter jontherev
- Start date
Well, it went well last night. The first encounter was 6 skeletons, who knocked one character down to zero hit points. The cleric missed his first turn attempt. Had I rolled halfway decent on my attack rolls, 2 players would’ve gone down in the first round (unconscious). The 2nd turn attempt resulted in 4 turned skeletons (2 had been killed by the monk before), which they dispatched in a few rounds of chasing. I gave them each a potion of cure light and the cleric a couple of scrolls of cure light before they headed out.
Ok, next encounter was an imp. No one could spot him hiding under the desk, so he smacked the rogue but good and did 3 points of dex damage. The fighter killed him in the second round. He was rolling very well for damage, but then again so was I (I had 2 or 3 criticals last night). The imp missed his 2nd attack. Everyone was confused about what was going on, so the solar that was guarding their weapons reappeared (he was following them) to answer a few questions and healed up the rogue. Then, he leaves for good.
Next up was a derro, who would’ve been trouble, but I forgot the wizard had cast light, so when I cast darkness they just canceled out. He poisoned the rogue for 3 strength damage before being killed by another massive damage roll from the fighter. No solar this time, so he’ll have to deal with the temporary loss.
So, they made it through a cr 2, another cr 2, and a cr 3 encounter. Now, they have to rest before moving on, or they will go down. However, like I said, the skeleton battle might have turned out pretty bad with a few better rolls. And generally just having 1 creature makes battles easier on the party because they can gang up on it. I think as long as my bad guys are hitting and using up some of their resources, it’s all good. I’m not here to kill them off. I don’t think the items played that large of a part in the battles…the dice played the biggest part.
Oh, and I did decide to nerf the items and only give them some of the powers. Some powers will manifest themselves over time, and others will have to be actually enchanted through gold/exp expenditure. I think the items will be ok, especially since I’m regulating the gaining of power.
Most importantly, everyone had a good time, which was the key ingredient. Thanks for the replies…I’ll respond later when I have a chance.
Ok, next encounter was an imp. No one could spot him hiding under the desk, so he smacked the rogue but good and did 3 points of dex damage. The fighter killed him in the second round. He was rolling very well for damage, but then again so was I (I had 2 or 3 criticals last night). The imp missed his 2nd attack. Everyone was confused about what was going on, so the solar that was guarding their weapons reappeared (he was following them) to answer a few questions and healed up the rogue. Then, he leaves for good.
Next up was a derro, who would’ve been trouble, but I forgot the wizard had cast light, so when I cast darkness they just canceled out. He poisoned the rogue for 3 strength damage before being killed by another massive damage roll from the fighter. No solar this time, so he’ll have to deal with the temporary loss.
So, they made it through a cr 2, another cr 2, and a cr 3 encounter. Now, they have to rest before moving on, or they will go down. However, like I said, the skeleton battle might have turned out pretty bad with a few better rolls. And generally just having 1 creature makes battles easier on the party because they can gang up on it. I think as long as my bad guys are hitting and using up some of their resources, it’s all good. I’m not here to kill them off. I don’t think the items played that large of a part in the battles…the dice played the biggest part.
Oh, and I did decide to nerf the items and only give them some of the powers. Some powers will manifest themselves over time, and others will have to be actually enchanted through gold/exp expenditure. I think the items will be ok, especially since I’m regulating the gaining of power.
Most importantly, everyone had a good time, which was the key ingredient. Thanks for the replies…I’ll respond later when I have a chance.
Had a thought:
If there's a dragon cult and the dragon knows about the prophecy (so the cult does too,) and since the cult knows about the weapons:
Big fighters with big weapons and sunder!
Want to take a weapon away _and_ have an adventure?
Pop one of these bad boys in.
Large weapon (two handed, half again Strength bonus), high strength, power attack (max bonus into damage), Sunder, should get a nice chance to do some damage. Do weapon specialization and weapon focus if high enough level.
Maybe some tumble to get them in close, and maybe a buddy rogue to backstab while they are sundering.
If this one gets defeated, good for the party, more xp's, next Sunderer's a little tougher (increase level, maybe Strength, etc)
If the Sunderer suceeds, our heroes have to find someone to reforge/repair these great artifacts.
It also will make the party rather more cautious knowing that the bad guys are after the weapons and don't care about living themselves, or the party that much.
And it makes the weapons more important, too.
But what about the fact that the Sunderer has to have a magic weapon of equal enhancement to break a magic weapon and you don't want the party having them?
Magic Weapon, Greater, is a 3rd level Wizard/Sorcerer spell and is therefore apt
for a potion. And you can make a potion of higher level. So, our villain has a potion (oil, made by a high level Wizard/Sorcerer [cult leader?]) that she applies right before combat, and, along with a nice number of minions, goes to town and does well (or badly).
When our heroes check for magic, they find a master work greatsword (greataxe, etc) that has a magic oil on it that will fade in a few hours.
And since this would probably be a suicide mission, no great cash, or other magics.
And don't forget the nearby cleric to do Shield of Faith right before battle, as well as Bull's Strength, Endurance, etc. Maybe increase one boosty spell per encounter: first one has bull's strength & shield of faith, next one has bull's strength & shield of faith & Endurance, next one has bull's strength & shield of faith & Endurance & prayer, etc, etc.
And, finally (I promise) some higer level encounters:
Sunderer comes in, and her partner is an invisible cleric (potion or trickery domain) with Shield Other on. Just stays there and heals herself and the sunderer if she can.
Sunderer with Stone skin.
Fighting party in bad environment with appropriate safeguard: in wall of fire with resist fire, in cloud kill with delay poison, etc.
Have fun with it.
More later,
Vahktang
If there's a dragon cult and the dragon knows about the prophecy (so the cult does too,) and since the cult knows about the weapons:
Big fighters with big weapons and sunder!
Want to take a weapon away _and_ have an adventure?
Pop one of these bad boys in.
Large weapon (two handed, half again Strength bonus), high strength, power attack (max bonus into damage), Sunder, should get a nice chance to do some damage. Do weapon specialization and weapon focus if high enough level.
Maybe some tumble to get them in close, and maybe a buddy rogue to backstab while they are sundering.
If this one gets defeated, good for the party, more xp's, next Sunderer's a little tougher (increase level, maybe Strength, etc)
If the Sunderer suceeds, our heroes have to find someone to reforge/repair these great artifacts.
It also will make the party rather more cautious knowing that the bad guys are after the weapons and don't care about living themselves, or the party that much.
And it makes the weapons more important, too.
But what about the fact that the Sunderer has to have a magic weapon of equal enhancement to break a magic weapon and you don't want the party having them?
Magic Weapon, Greater, is a 3rd level Wizard/Sorcerer spell and is therefore apt
for a potion. And you can make a potion of higher level. So, our villain has a potion (oil, made by a high level Wizard/Sorcerer [cult leader?]) that she applies right before combat, and, along with a nice number of minions, goes to town and does well (or badly).
When our heroes check for magic, they find a master work greatsword (greataxe, etc) that has a magic oil on it that will fade in a few hours.
And since this would probably be a suicide mission, no great cash, or other magics.
And don't forget the nearby cleric to do Shield of Faith right before battle, as well as Bull's Strength, Endurance, etc. Maybe increase one boosty spell per encounter: first one has bull's strength & shield of faith, next one has bull's strength & shield of faith & Endurance, next one has bull's strength & shield of faith & Endurance & prayer, etc, etc.
And, finally (I promise) some higer level encounters:
Sunderer comes in, and her partner is an invisible cleric (potion or trickery domain) with Shield Other on. Just stays there and heals herself and the sunderer if she can.
Sunderer with Stone skin.
Fighting party in bad environment with appropriate safeguard: in wall of fire with resist fire, in cloud kill with delay poison, etc.
Have fun with it.
More later,
Vahktang
Desdichado
Hero
My advice is not to trust too much to the CR/ECL numbers anyway. They're really not much of a better guide than simply using the XP or HD of creatures like we had to do in 1e -- they're certainly no substitute for knowing what you're characters are capable of (and what they're not capable of.)
If you follow this advice, then having items that are "overpowered" for the character's level is a moot point.
If you follow this advice, then having items that are "overpowered" for the character's level is a moot point.
Orius
Unrepentant DM Supremacist
jontherev said:Hey, thanks for playing.Well, I've played Dnd off and on for about 21 years, but I've never really been a DM...until now! I'm starting things off with a bang, wiping out the village (sorry Thunderstone) and putting my players on the run from a dracolich at 1st level. Don't worry, it's a long time coming before they actually meet face to face. Anyway, I love making magic items, so I decided to give everyone some REALLY nice intelligent items at 1st level to kick things off (part of the story...they are the prophecy to kill this dragon, and the Gods made the items, blah blah blah).
Has anyone ever done this at 1st level, and if so, did this blow the whole CR/EL system out of whack?
Not quite; however I did have campaign where one of the PCs was destined to fight a powerful demon lord. There where also 8 magical artifacts in the campaign needed to imprison the demon. Unfortunately, the party got too overconfidant, and underestimated the strength of a goblin tribe when they went after the 4th artifact. This resulted in a TPK, messing up the storyline.
Bottom line: although prophecy storylines are sort of a staple of fantasy, they make for really bad D&D campaigns. There's too many unknowns in an RPG, especially a dice-based one like D&D, to plan things too far ahead.
This was the first campaign I played with 3e rules, and while I didn't totally screw the CRs, I was still used to the XPs of 2e. So the characters advanced more slowly than they should have.
These items are intelligent, but I didn't make them as per the DMG...basically they just speak common and telepathically, and everything else, I just made up (i didn't roll on the charts at all, or even use them). I'll give you an idea of the power level I'm talking about: the cleric's going to get a suit of chainmail that is an alloy of mithril and adamantine that gets both benefits. It's +1, gives 2d6 holy damage to any evil creatures who attempt to grapple wearer, and the item casts wish to boost his wisdom up 1 upon first donning the armor. (his stat rolls sucked big time, so I wanted to help a bit). In addition, all of these items can be improved in one way (in this case, the armor bonus) as if he had all the prerequisites...he just pays the proper gold and exp (which I will determine those values later). If they want to add a different power to the item, they have to have an ego battle, which they WILL lose. The point is that I wanted to give them all cool special items that they will keep for their entire lives and that would grow in power with them.
This sword is just nasty, but I don't think it's a game killer...Morpheus...a +1 platinum/adamantine longsword that can be wielded in one hand normally by a medium-sized creature. It does 2d6 damage and gives the wielder use of the Blindfight feat. Also, the sword can morph into any metallic melee weapon (standard action). However, it likes the longsword form the most, so it won't allow you to walk around with him as a pair of gauntlets and switch when combat starts.
I know these are REALLY sweet, but are they TOO sweet? Will it just give me headaches down the road? Should I really skimp on magic and/or gold to offset this? Thanks.
These items do seem a bit powerful for 1st level characters to be starting with. You can skimp on treasure, or you can always throw more powerful enemies at them, given that they have such powerful gear.
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