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Help a party of five 20th level PCs defeat an Ancient Red Dragon
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<blockquote data-quote="n00bdragon" data-source="post: 6085790" data-attributes="member: 6689371"><p>First off, I'd make the blood a consumable item they can use on their weapons. Since they had to undergo a quest to gain it and it's in limited quantity don't be afraid to make it wildly overpowered; +25 damage and daze (save ends) on the next hit against her isn't in any way out of line.</p><p></p><p>I would back away from using the red dragon in the books as a template. For one, red dragons are soldiers, which means they work best (and really only work at all) when paired with a more dangerous threat. This is a tier-ending battle so it's best to start from the ground up and make the monster how you'd like it. I'd go with a level 20 brute or skirmisher base and then, instead of multiplying HP by 5 to get a flying brick multiply it by 10-12 and make it a three stage fight. Just throwing out ideas but you could do something like this:</p><p></p><p>Stage 1: After entering her lair the PCs are in a massive cavern with sulfur vents strewn about blasting poisonous fumes everywhere. The dragon sits on a high ledge up above the battlefield with only a narrow path leading up to her near the back of the battlefield. A few dozen kobold minions block the way backed up by a shaman or two. At the end of every round more minions spawn (2 to 4 is good) from holes in the wall. The dragon should sit back on her ledge and shoot fire or perhaps swoop in for a flyby attack every now and then. When reduced to 2/3ds of her max HP she leaps backwards into a seemingly bottomless pit behind her circling down into the darkness. The only way for the PCs to follow will be a narrow staircase circling the pit.</p><p></p><p>Stage 2: As they descend suddenly the dragon flies up breathing fire and attacking briefly, then retreats. Schedule the attacks every three rounds or so. Two rounds of fighting, one round of safety. Now here's where it gets fun: When she arrives each time she can use her fire to destroy some of the staircase as a free action, so if the PCs don't move fast they can be stranded and killed. Create platforms and ledges every so often that are large enough to hold the dragon and the party but not much else for those fighting rounds. When reduced to 1/3rd of her max HP she retreats down into the darkness of the pit and does not return.</p><p></p><p>Stage 3: Following the dragon down further to the bowels of her lair they encounter her atop a massive pile of gold, jewels, magic items, and the like. The hoard should be about 6x6 squares (big enough for the dragon and a few creatures to surround her) and is surrounded by a moat of molten lava narrow enough to jump across but wide enough for the jump to be scary. Here there is no escape and the dragon fights to the death. Gouts of flame burst out of holes here and there. It's so hot everyone's taking 10 fire damage a round. Whenever someone scores a critical hit or a critical miss the cavern shakes and rocks fall on everyone except the dragon. Let it all hang out.</p><p></p><p>The dragon should have abilities tailored to each of these fights and be heavy on the damage to make up for it's short amount of HP. If you ever get to thinking "Man, this thing is killer. I don't know if they can beat this." Add about 25% more and then call it quits. Level 17 PCs are tough. VERY tough. They are also very very deadly. Let them surprise you.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="n00bdragon, post: 6085790, member: 6689371"] First off, I'd make the blood a consumable item they can use on their weapons. Since they had to undergo a quest to gain it and it's in limited quantity don't be afraid to make it wildly overpowered; +25 damage and daze (save ends) on the next hit against her isn't in any way out of line. I would back away from using the red dragon in the books as a template. For one, red dragons are soldiers, which means they work best (and really only work at all) when paired with a more dangerous threat. This is a tier-ending battle so it's best to start from the ground up and make the monster how you'd like it. I'd go with a level 20 brute or skirmisher base and then, instead of multiplying HP by 5 to get a flying brick multiply it by 10-12 and make it a three stage fight. Just throwing out ideas but you could do something like this: Stage 1: After entering her lair the PCs are in a massive cavern with sulfur vents strewn about blasting poisonous fumes everywhere. The dragon sits on a high ledge up above the battlefield with only a narrow path leading up to her near the back of the battlefield. A few dozen kobold minions block the way backed up by a shaman or two. At the end of every round more minions spawn (2 to 4 is good) from holes in the wall. The dragon should sit back on her ledge and shoot fire or perhaps swoop in for a flyby attack every now and then. When reduced to 2/3ds of her max HP she leaps backwards into a seemingly bottomless pit behind her circling down into the darkness. The only way for the PCs to follow will be a narrow staircase circling the pit. Stage 2: As they descend suddenly the dragon flies up breathing fire and attacking briefly, then retreats. Schedule the attacks every three rounds or so. Two rounds of fighting, one round of safety. Now here's where it gets fun: When she arrives each time she can use her fire to destroy some of the staircase as a free action, so if the PCs don't move fast they can be stranded and killed. Create platforms and ledges every so often that are large enough to hold the dragon and the party but not much else for those fighting rounds. When reduced to 1/3rd of her max HP she retreats down into the darkness of the pit and does not return. Stage 3: Following the dragon down further to the bowels of her lair they encounter her atop a massive pile of gold, jewels, magic items, and the like. The hoard should be about 6x6 squares (big enough for the dragon and a few creatures to surround her) and is surrounded by a moat of molten lava narrow enough to jump across but wide enough for the jump to be scary. Here there is no escape and the dragon fights to the death. Gouts of flame burst out of holes here and there. It's so hot everyone's taking 10 fire damage a round. Whenever someone scores a critical hit or a critical miss the cavern shakes and rocks fall on everyone except the dragon. Let it all hang out. The dragon should have abilities tailored to each of these fights and be heavy on the damage to make up for it's short amount of HP. If you ever get to thinking "Man, this thing is killer. I don't know if they can beat this." Add about 25% more and then call it quits. Level 17 PCs are tough. VERY tough. They are also very very deadly. Let them surprise you. [/QUOTE]
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Help a party of five 20th level PCs defeat an Ancient Red Dragon
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