KotS TPK

[GoodKingJayIII]

"Walord"

I don't get it...

 

[Goobermunch]

I ran the module last night, and there were three deaths out of 4 PC's. Never underestimate the compulsive power of revenge. After the first encounter, the Eladrin Ranger began to track the enemies back to where they came from (impromptu skill challenge, 5 successes before 3 failures, DC 20). He succeeded, and took the Dragonborn Paladin, Tiefling Warlord, and Half Elf Warlock along with him.

SBlock'd for Minor Spoilers
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They handled the group of Kobolds outside the waterfall well, but suffered minor damage. Healing Surges after the combat brought them back up to full, however. The Ranger noticed a kobold spying on them from around the edges of the waterfall and the group charged in.

This is where it got nasty.

The minions had formed a line and on their initiave all threw javalins at the PC's as they came through the water. Spurred on by two of the Dragonshields and the Skirmisher, they quickly surrounded the PC's and started plinking heavily at them. Eventually, the Wyrmpriest arrived and let every bad guy shift and gave them temporary hit points to boot.

The PC's soldiered on, almost robotically dispatching minions and bearing down the enemies.

When they finally killed the last visible bad guy, the horn sounded and Irontooth made his appearance with the last Dragonshield. I played it very strategically with both of them using their free shifts to surround and flank enemies, but even then the fight was going to the PC's until they bloodied Irontooth.

Then he killed two of them on his action.

Bam. Bam. Just like that. 1d8+1d10+4 with a +8 to hit, he dropped the Paladin and the Warlord as they were flanking him. The Dragonshield shifted to the Warlock, and followed him when he tried to shift away, then dropped him when he tried to use Eyebite to help himself get away. The Ranger, seeing this, ran.

And honestly, I don't blame him.

The corpses of the PC's will now be used as descritive elements when the new group who joins up with the ranger makes their way to the Head Priest. I think it's a suitable end for them. All-in-all though, it went better than I thought since they were just 4 PC's at first level in a Level 6 encounter. As one player put it, "Not feeling like you're a first level PC is both the most awesome, and most dangerous, thing about the new system."
[/sblock]

When next you run the adventure, you must give the kobolds three rolls on Mearls' kobold success chart:

[sblock]

(Inspired by last night's 4e session.)

Kobolds are poor, abused, misused, maltreated, underdogs. The poor little sods are so beaten down that their language lacks a word for victory. The closest they have roughly translates into Common as, "The lack of understanding and realization that we're really, really going to lose again."

(Kobold is much like German in that it takes massive, complex concepts and squishes them down to one word. That's because kobolds, with their ridiculously short lifespans, believe in saying a lot with few words.)

If a kobold does manage to drop an adventurer, an intense (though invariably brief) celebration is in order. Roll a d20 and consult the following chart:

1 - 10. No effect.
The kobold lacks the imagination to do anything interesting. It might chitter or giggle, but it really doesn't know what to do when it defeats something.

11. Kill things, take their stuff!
The kobold picks an item off the fallen adventurer as its trophy. It spends a minor action next round dancing in celebration before running off.

12. Ask not what the tribe can do for you...
The kobold spends a round standing on the fallen adventurer's body, delivering a victory speech. All kobolds heal 5 hit points.

13. I attribute my success solely to good fortune.
The kobold immediately hides in its victim's backpack or under his unconscious/dead form.

14. Whoah. Srsly?!?
The kobold is stunned for one round, shocked by its own success.

15. Who's yer daddy?!?
The kobold marches off to challenge the tribe's chief to a duel for supremacy.

16. C'mon guys, we can do this thing!
The kobold lets out an inspiring whoop that grants all kobolds +1 on attacks for the rest of the fight.

17. Who's next?!?
The kobold gains an action point.

18. I worry this will only anger them.
The kobold drops its weapon and runs away. It comes back to the fight in 1d4 rounds.

19. I'm the Quidditch Hat Rack*!
The kobold taps into the true nature of its draconic heritage. In time, he will grow to become a messiah amongst his people, a herald of a new race of draconic kobolds who shall rule the world. Unless, of course, the surviving adventurers squash him. In any case, he can now breath fire, blast 3, 1d8 + his level in fire damage.
*When I saw the movie version of Dune, before I read the novel, I thought this was what Paul called himself. I think it sounds like a neat title for a kobold messiah.

20. WHO'S A MINION NOW MOTHERF****R?!?!
The kobold becomes blessed by Kurtulmak. He becomes size Large, gains 16 hit points and gets +2 on attacks, damage, and defenses.

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--G

 

[phil500]

Bad tactics, bad rolls and only 4 characters. That's totally asking for a TPK....

were their tactics bad this time around?

also- did the warlord use his daily on ironfoot? if that daily hits their attacks should go through him like butter.

 

[Stomphoof]

Where can one get an updated PDF of the "Walord"....

Cause I just realized that I had downloaded the wrong blasted version. *grumbles*

 

[Ruined]

I don't get it...

The first version of the Warlord sheet Wizards released was typoed 'Tiefling Walord' .

Where can one get an updated PDF of the "Walord"....

They updated the one posted.

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4dnd/20080522a

 

[BlackMoria]

I don't get it...

The PDF had Warlord misspelled as Walord.

Remarkable, really. Most people would notice that in about a second after opening the PDF (I noticed it in even less time), yet the keen eyed editors at WOTC somehow missed that Warlord was misspelled in a very large 20 pt font.

Edit: D'oh. Ninja'd

 

[Stomphoof]

They updated the one posted.

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4dnd/20080522a

Thanks my friend. Did they ever put PDF's up for the KotS character sheets?

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

The PDF had Warlord misspelled as Walord.

Gotcha. I must not have gotten to the PDF until after the update.

 

[Ruined]

Thanks my friend. Did they ever put PDF's up for the KotS character sheets?

None that I've found yet. Hopefully they won't be buried like the errata page is for the module.