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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CapnZapp" data-source="post: 7548359" data-attributes="member: 12731">What I can say is this:Lest anyone think I have gone entirely off my rails, when I plan to inflict 225 damage on average to players who fail their DC 23 saves... <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />...I can inform the readership of the party composition:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">2 characters have efreeti armor and thus have fire immunity. One of them is a Barbarian and should be firing up bear rage (and its "double hit points" feature since none of the damage here is psychic)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">2 characters have improved evasion (and there's a LOT of dex saves). The trickster hit points are gonna get eaten by the lava though.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">1 character has fire resistance (and is the sorcerer who should hang back, and in any event will be immune to the prismatic sphere if using her spider climb ability) </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The remaining character doesn't have any of this, but is the druid, and so he has a hundred or so hit points extra</li> </ul>In other words, yes, it can go south, but the only showstopping danger here is, as always really, the save or sucks: banishment in particular. (blinding should be recoverable) To that end, let me remind you that one of the characters carry the witch doll that gives etherealness, which should let him or her go and bring back banished characters.(If they all enter the ethereal plane before starting the fight, I'm simply going to rule the lava and Acecerak is there too)The bitter truth (that Acecerak doesn't realize) is that if his initial onslaught doesn't kill the party, nothing he does will. (And the secret is: damage is seldom unbalanced, saves are. This fight is meant as a horrendously intensive End of Campaign rocket tag style fight, but since its six against one, the party will likely kill him off in three rounds)One thing is clear though - setting up this fight has been the most difficult task by far, system mastery wise. Getting any offensive juice out of 5E Time Stop is a real bitch.The 24d10 <s>frck you</s> force damage at the end will top off the fight nicely thou <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />PS. I am well aware this discussion does not take several possible strategies into account. For example: a character heroically sacrificing himself by grabbing Acecerak and moving into the Sphere of Annihilation. That would probably be one of the safest and fastest way of winning the encounter, given how a lich is neither strong or large, and it would be okay. Logic dictates that such a course of action is inconceivable to Acecerak, so it's not something he's taken special precautions against (beyond invisibility and possible mirror images). (My players are far too mercenary to do this. I think)My own goal is: as long as Acecerak gets off the prismatic sphere + reverse gravity combo, everything else is just gravy. If he's shut down without doing anything I will be disappoint, as they say.</blockquote>

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