Noumenon
First Post
I have a player who's a classic "instigator" as described by the 4E DMG.
If an encounter is going smoothly, he'll grease something and make everyone fall off a cliff. When he walked into the boiling bubble in White Plume Mountain, the first thing he did was fire off some ranged spells that could break the bubble if they missed. I want to give him a big red button that says "Don't push me" and watch him push it.
The party is currently halfway through the adventure "Cave of the Spiders," and I had the idea that the one big empty cavern on the map could be filled with one four-story-high spider web, which is destructible terrain that the players could climb around in. If I put some fights in the web, responsible players will do things that don't risk destroying the web. My instigator will break out the burning hands. I hope.
So what can I do that makes the web fun and interactive? I want to have a giant egg sac in the center. It can sag the first time players destroy its supports and fall and break the second time, releasing... swarms of Tiny monstrous spiders that do 2d6, Distraction DC 14 and Poison DC 10 (1d2 Str)? I also want to have prisoners hanging in the web so they don't out-and-out destroy it. I guess I need some kind of unexpected treasure that results from busting up the web too -- any ideas? I also would like some threads to snap like whips when you cut them, but physics seems to dictate they wouldn't hit the person who cut them.
As for fighting in the web, I was thinking of making some thick strands that you could Balance on and sticky strands you could Climb on if you didn't get entangled. I have araneas available as an enemy, haven't thought of much else.
Any ideas for making this encounter more fun for an instigator? Anything needed to make it a realistic encounter that is easy to DM and the players can't solve with a single spell I didn't think of yet?
An instigator . . .
✦ Likes to make things happen.
✦ Takes crazy risks and makes deliberately bad choices.
✦ Thrives in combat and dislikes having nothing to do.
✦ Takes decisive action when things grind to a halt.
Engage the instigator by . . .
✦ Including objects and encounters that invite
experimentation
✦Letting her actions put the characters in a tight spot but not
kill them all.
✦ Including encounters with nonplayer characters who are as
feisty as she is.
If an encounter is going smoothly, he'll grease something and make everyone fall off a cliff. When he walked into the boiling bubble in White Plume Mountain, the first thing he did was fire off some ranged spells that could break the bubble if they missed. I want to give him a big red button that says "Don't push me" and watch him push it.
The party is currently halfway through the adventure "Cave of the Spiders," and I had the idea that the one big empty cavern on the map could be filled with one four-story-high spider web, which is destructible terrain that the players could climb around in. If I put some fights in the web, responsible players will do things that don't risk destroying the web. My instigator will break out the burning hands. I hope.
So what can I do that makes the web fun and interactive? I want to have a giant egg sac in the center. It can sag the first time players destroy its supports and fall and break the second time, releasing... swarms of Tiny monstrous spiders that do 2d6, Distraction DC 14 and Poison DC 10 (1d2 Str)? I also want to have prisoners hanging in the web so they don't out-and-out destroy it. I guess I need some kind of unexpected treasure that results from busting up the web too -- any ideas? I also would like some threads to snap like whips when you cut them, but physics seems to dictate they wouldn't hit the person who cut them.
As for fighting in the web, I was thinking of making some thick strands that you could Balance on and sticky strands you could Climb on if you didn't get entangled. I have araneas available as an enemy, haven't thought of much else.
Any ideas for making this encounter more fun for an instigator? Anything needed to make it a realistic encounter that is easy to DM and the players can't solve with a single spell I didn't think of yet?