Voi_D_ragon
Explorer
I'm preparing a oneshot for a group of 5 fairly experienced players at level 11. I was just wondering what other DMs would think of the day they're about to head into (ideally).
All players have 2 rare magic items at their disposal, plus the Aberrant Dragonmark feat, which I've souped up for them: they each get an additional 1st level spell Prof Bonus (so 4) times per long rest, plus a 2nd or 3rd level spell once per long rest tied to the powers they took from the Mark: for example, I have a Player who took Fire Bolt and Burning hands, so in addition they get Chromatic Orb (fire only) and Scorching Ray. Just to point out that this party is pretty souped up.
Mostly what I'm looking for is advice on where to put the possibilty of a rest, Short or Long, and if there's some things that should be dialed down in generalno matter the rests.
Encounter 1
-1 Gladiator, 5 Veterans, all with Blindsight 10ft, immunity to poison gases, and vulnerability to thunder damage, +1 Conjurer Wizard. These guys storm in to the room the party is in after chucking in tear gas (Stinking Cloud, save DC 15) canisters. I expect a decent fight out of this.
Encounter 2
-They need to steal an object from an office in a building guarded by:
4 Clockwerk Oaken Bolters, 3 Clockwerk Stone Defenders, plus another one on the top floor and a few thugs. They can stealth their past potentially but even if they do fight to the death they should come out on top here.
Encounter 3
-3 Champions, just straight up. Might give one a glaive and Polearm Master + Sentinel.
Encounter 4
-One of either of these two:
A Beholder, in its lair, supported by 5 Dolgaunts, 20 Dolgrims, some Chokers, Gibbering Mouthers, and Nothics. (Minions can be broken up into a few separate encounters, but the boss fight will have at least a hanful of melee mooks)
-Eidolon + Statue and a Living Cloudkill in a room that has a Dex 16 tp halve 4d10 trap at the end, in the direction a PC would flee if scared by the eidolon. Followed by a room covered in Circles of Death that activate at initiative 20, followed by a Harm that targets a single player in range at initiative 10, in a room with 10 Specters and a Cadaver Collector.
Final Encounter
-Warlord, 5 Gladiators, 1 Evoker, 1 Abjurer, 1 Diviner. This encounter has at most a Short Rest between it and the last one, or it would be too easy (especially if they reach Encounter 4 at full strength).
I might be nuts, but I think they can take it. However, the max level I've played up to this point is level 10 (Curse of Strahd), so I'm not sure what players at higher levels can take on. I was also planning on having them level up roughly after encounter 3 and again after encounter 4 (any new features and hit points they gain are at full capacity, even in the case they get no rest while leveling up) - weird, and I wouldn't do it normally, but for a oneshot it'll do.
Anyway, I don't even know if these explanations are any good, but I'm hungry so I'll clarify any issues later if needed.
All players have 2 rare magic items at their disposal, plus the Aberrant Dragonmark feat, which I've souped up for them: they each get an additional 1st level spell Prof Bonus (so 4) times per long rest, plus a 2nd or 3rd level spell once per long rest tied to the powers they took from the Mark: for example, I have a Player who took Fire Bolt and Burning hands, so in addition they get Chromatic Orb (fire only) and Scorching Ray. Just to point out that this party is pretty souped up.
Mostly what I'm looking for is advice on where to put the possibilty of a rest, Short or Long, and if there's some things that should be dialed down in generalno matter the rests.
Encounter 1
-1 Gladiator, 5 Veterans, all with Blindsight 10ft, immunity to poison gases, and vulnerability to thunder damage, +1 Conjurer Wizard. These guys storm in to the room the party is in after chucking in tear gas (Stinking Cloud, save DC 15) canisters. I expect a decent fight out of this.
Encounter 2
-They need to steal an object from an office in a building guarded by:
4 Clockwerk Oaken Bolters, 3 Clockwerk Stone Defenders, plus another one on the top floor and a few thugs. They can stealth their past potentially but even if they do fight to the death they should come out on top here.
Encounter 3
-3 Champions, just straight up. Might give one a glaive and Polearm Master + Sentinel.
Encounter 4
-One of either of these two:
A Beholder, in its lair, supported by 5 Dolgaunts, 20 Dolgrims, some Chokers, Gibbering Mouthers, and Nothics. (Minions can be broken up into a few separate encounters, but the boss fight will have at least a hanful of melee mooks)
-Eidolon + Statue and a Living Cloudkill in a room that has a Dex 16 tp halve 4d10 trap at the end, in the direction a PC would flee if scared by the eidolon. Followed by a room covered in Circles of Death that activate at initiative 20, followed by a Harm that targets a single player in range at initiative 10, in a room with 10 Specters and a Cadaver Collector.
Final Encounter
-Warlord, 5 Gladiators, 1 Evoker, 1 Abjurer, 1 Diviner. This encounter has at most a Short Rest between it and the last one, or it would be too easy (especially if they reach Encounter 4 at full strength).
I might be nuts, but I think they can take it. However, the max level I've played up to this point is level 10 (Curse of Strahd), so I'm not sure what players at higher levels can take on. I was also planning on having them level up roughly after encounter 3 and again after encounter 4 (any new features and hit points they gain are at full capacity, even in the case they get no rest while leveling up) - weird, and I wouldn't do it normally, but for a oneshot it'll do.
Anyway, I don't even know if these explanations are any good, but I'm hungry so I'll clarify any issues later if needed.