ConcreteBuddha
First Post
Zephalon said:
Give them a hint that normal acid can affect the creature. (If they really need help, you can always put a couple barrels of normal PHB acid flasks in the module.)
How to kill a black pudding
- Thread starter Zephalon
- Start date
Give them a hint that normal acid can affect the creature. (If they really need help, you can always put a couple barrels of normal PHB acid flasks in the module.)
Arrows won't work, first it has DR 5/+2 which means that if you're lucky you overcome the damage resistance and you, well, split it. The split ability works on arrows too...
I think I'll do, the variant with decreased attack/damage/size. Then they at least can hack it to undangerous pieces. Area of Effect spells afterwards are a very good idea but with spell resistance 15 + saving throws for each of them, it'll be hard to destroy them all...
I think I'll do, the variant with decreased attack/damage/size. Then they at least can hack it to undangerous pieces. Area of Effect spells afterwards are a very good idea but with spell resistance 15 + saving throws for each of them, it'll be hard to destroy them all...
thegreatbuddha
First Post
Sonic Substitution and non-elemental spells like magic missile become your best friend here. All you can really do is Sonic Substitute everything on your spell list and play hit and run, hoping enough of your spells beat its SR (with Greater Spell Penetration, you're even money for beating it).
A CR 9 critter is a potential TPK for a 5th-level party; they should attempt to flee or bypass it. If they are forced to fight this pudding to the death, using only the standard abilities of 5th-level PCs, they have only the slimmest chance of survival.
My suggestion is to make the encounter into a puzzle rather than a combat. Give them clues right at the outset that they can't affect the monster, and give them a small head start running away. Then it turns into a game of hide-and-seek, as it hunts them through the dungeon while they search for a way to kill it.
ConcreteBuddha's suggestion of nonmagical acid is a good one, as long as there's some in-game reason for large quantities of acid to be lying around. This sounds like a job for the old rickety-catwalk-above-an-open-vat-of-toxic-waste convention. Dropping it into a fresh lava flow would also work; resistance 20 doesn't help much when it's taking 20d6 damage per round.
Or, you could contrive to let the PCs find a few Arrows of Ooze Slaying. With the pudding's abysmal AC, an archer is unlikely to miss; the monster will need to roll a 13+ on a Fort save or be destroyed.
I was going to suggest a scroll of Flesh to Stone, but it turns out to be very inefficient. Considering the activation check (for a 5th-level reader), the SR roll, and the pudding's save, it'd only have an 18% chance of working.
My suggestion is to make the encounter into a puzzle rather than a combat. Give them clues right at the outset that they can't affect the monster, and give them a small head start running away. Then it turns into a game of hide-and-seek, as it hunts them through the dungeon while they search for a way to kill it.
ConcreteBuddha's suggestion of nonmagical acid is a good one, as long as there's some in-game reason for large quantities of acid to be lying around. This sounds like a job for the old rickety-catwalk-above-an-open-vat-of-toxic-waste convention. Dropping it into a fresh lava flow would also work; resistance 20 doesn't help much when it's taking 20d6 damage per round.
Or, you could contrive to let the PCs find a few Arrows of Ooze Slaying. With the pudding's abysmal AC, an archer is unlikely to miss; the monster will need to roll a 13+ on a Fort save or be destroyed.
I was going to suggest a scroll of Flesh to Stone, but it turns out to be very inefficient. Considering the activation check (for a 5th-level reader), the SR roll, and the pudding's save, it'd only have an 18% chance of working.
AuraSeer said:
Fact is, most critters don't have CR9 stamped on their forehead
They will find out, after one of them is dust...
If this beast is the first to act, it just grapples someone (Improved Grab + Constrict ability) dealing slam + acid damage (4d6+4 damage, thats 18 on average), then drowns him in the water pond it is living in all the while dealing it's damage through constriction and furthermore destroying the victim's armor and weapons. Escaping the grapple will turn difficult for the hapless, it has Str 17 and is huge (grapple +16). The other party members just can't kill it in less than 4 rounds... (which would be 72 damage on average)
Even if the characters flee and equip themselves somehow, theres no way that a level 5 party has the resources to just buy tailor-made magical firepower against this beast. And sorry, i stated it's spell resistance wrong, it is SR20 not SR15...
This is a no-win encounter. The best you can hope for is cripple it's attack ability by splitting it into a few smaller critters (reminds me of terminator, lethal attacks couldn't stop him, just slow him down), and then using the mentioned acid flasks to destroy it or moving it into a trap (like a pit trap, it can't climb). The party is well advised to carry a LOT of extra weapons with them. I can't believe this encounter went through any playtesting. The only thing which i am missing is that the criter regenerates
I may be mistaken, as I am working from memory, but I believe a creature is supposed to have more int than the the pudding to qualify for the fiendish template. Of course, WotC themselves put it in th module, but even if you make it non-fiendish, it still going to rip the crap out of a party that tries to go up and melee it. If your party is incapable of fighting a black pudding without heavy losses either
1) replace it with something else
2) give them enough hints to run or deal with it somehow
3) let if put a big hurting on them and hope the the survivors/replacement characters have learned something
I've been trying #3 on my current group, and it is a very slow and frustrating process.
1) replace it with something else
2) give them enough hints to run or deal with it somehow
3) let if put a big hurting on them and hope the the survivors/replacement characters have learned something
I've been trying #3 on my current group, and it is a very slow and frustrating process.
Well, that's one way to do it. But IMO it's rather unreasonable to kill a PC off before the party even knows they're outclassed. The DM has a responsibility to telegraph the overwhelming strength of the opposition; then, if the party decides to stick around to fight it anyway, then they deserve what they get. Blindsiding them with the hidden immunities of a templated creature is entirely different. Killing a PC in that manner is a good way to make the players upset.Zephalon said:
Fact is, most critters don't have CR9 stamped on their forehead
They will find out, after one of them is dust...
Yeah, that's why I suggested that the encounter be made into a puzzle. Find the magic McGuffin that kills the beast, before the beast kills you.
Try a pit trap and you're in for a rude surprise. Black puddings have a Climb speed of 20.
AuraSeer said:
You are right about that, but I dislike the voice from behind which whispers "run away" to the PCs. This one can't be telegraphed except for the standard eerie feeling and evil aura. The monster is expected to surprise the PCs (well, they have a spot check DC20 to spot it first).
Some information about this adventure: it's an old mine converted to a temple by evil Shar worshippers. The beast is some sort of totem, blessed by the evil goddess. The sect moved it there and it's not very convincing that they keep a magic gimmick around to kill it (it doesn't attack them). One option would be to kill the dark priestess, who could have some sort of controlling amulett.
Try a pit trap and you're in for a rude surprise. Black puddings have a Climb speed of 20.
True, but not in this case, the game designers decided to substitute the climb speed with a swim speed. Thats why it lives in a pond.
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