Lair Assault: Attack of the Tyrantclaw

[Zuche]

Whew! Last night was the second time the adventure got to TPK. Two wizards made it easier to shield Hyacinth from attack, but one triceratops got in close and hit her near the start, denying them the Dryad Defender award.

Things were looking good for their fighter/cleric hybrid right up until he wound up in a tar pit with no way to escape that didn't draw attacks of opportunity or subject him to further ongoing damage. Only two out of four attacks hit, but one was a crit by the tyrannosaur, dropping him. The beast took enough out of a bite out of him and one of the wizards in the next round that each was finished off by a single orc.

Three ankylosaurs ganged up on the monk after the paladin fell, and both of them fell to coup de grace by orcs. This left the other wizard on a crate in the middle of a tar pit, and the ranger in one of the towers. This put both of them out of range for the ankylosaurs (all of the triceratops abandoned the field by this point), the reavers, the last savage, and the one pummeler left, and there was no way the tyrannosaur was going to reach the ranger. Unfortunately, they still had to deal with the storm conjurers and two pterodactyls. One of the latter hauled the ranger off the roof and dropped him 70 feet into the tar pit for an instant kill. The tyrannosaur then took down the last character, leaving one of the storm conjurers to finish the job.

I was grateful to the players who'd experienced the second part of the adventure for managing to keep it a secret from the three who'd only ever seen Hyacinth dead by the end of the fourth round. They were pleasantly surprised by what happened in the second stage.

Total time elapsed: Three hours and forty minutes. It should go a bit more quickly now that I'm used to tracking things on a tablet, but I'm still not looking forward to the first time six players attempt nightmare mode. The map and initiative chart were both crowded enough yesterday as it was!

 

[interwyrm]

I've played this twice now. hen Hyacinth transformed, the DM had all other dinosaurs run away. Is that not how it's written?

I've found that high defenses are pretty much mandatory for this LA. I ran a Warden|Cleric that topped out at 31 AC, and I only got hit on crits. The second time I went with a temp hp/regeneration build, and got nearly dropped in one round. Next go I'm thinking about trying a cleric|invoker with mark of warding and +defense powers to extend that goodness to the whole party.

Also, the U6 from primordial adept is godly in this encounter. The boxes can be destroyed, but the icicles from this power are just blocking terrain with no stats. A few characters with that power can build a cage that most of the dinos can't get through without squeezing. Throw a phantom chasm one square up one square off the ground, and the fliers can't take off without getting re-proned, leaving only the shaman as major concerns.

 

[Taed]

I've played this twice now. hen Hyacinth transformed, the DM had all other dinosaurs run away. Is that not how it's written?

I don't know how it's written, but what I remember from our only encounter with BFD Hyacinth is that only the bloodied dinos ran away. But I might be mis-remembering.

 

[Zuche]

A consistent 31 AC, interwyrm? That is tough to beat, even if most of your opponents will still be able to crit on a 20.

Your utility suggestion is a bit risky, as it damages anyone other than the creator, including the druid. Your idea with the phantom chasm might also experience a few problems, as grounded pterodactyls effectively start in the zone if it's only one square up, and have room to fly beneath it if it's placed higher than that. It's still a creative idea and it's still likely to be a nuisance to your opponents, especially if you combine it with Collateral Damage.

I don't know how it's written, but what I remember from our only encounter with BFD Hyacinth is that only the bloodied dinos ran away. But I might be mis-remembering.

No, you remember correctly.

 

[Zuche]

Tuesday's group was successful, aided by three ballistae, five mercenary hirelings, and a lot of caltrops. They even picked up their award for killing three or more dinosaurs (everything but the triceratops). Three out of five party members perished in turn, two of them devoured (coup de grace) in the tyrannosaur's last turn. The death's weren't in vain, as I made it clear that the only reason their enemy didn't flee the map was because "Grumpy" still had targets within reach. (The other two had found shelter within or above the tar pits, where only a suicidal charge could reach them.) Most of them also managed to pick up the award for completing the challenge without spending a healing surge.

Before the start of play, caltrops were scattered all along the eastern edge of the map, which was coincidentally where the minion rush entered the field in the fourth round. None of them could make it across six squares of caltrops, and only one survived what happened in the next round. Though there was no time to cast rituals, I had to admit it would take less time to sew 24 squares with caltrops than it would have for all the times they set up 14-20 crates.

As reluctant as I am to have attackers ignore Hyacinth, it is imperative that the orcs take out any ballista crews the party have in play. Their accuracy is adequate, the damage respectable, and a hit also knocks the target prone. A PC can generally do better, but that combination turns minion hirelings into a genuine threat.

I neglected to use one of the tyrannosaur's attacks and a trait that would have been very useful this session. While these factors wouldn't have changed the outcome, the extra option might have made it look a little more uncertain. I'll make sure to review her abilities more carefully before next time.

 

[Zuche]

Things went well at the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo. The first table (4 players) survived until the Big Reveal, but they were completely unprepared for that and were quickly overwhelmed.

The second table's start time was delayed by about half an hour because the fire marshal was limiting access, but we got finished with time to spare. This group of six had a better grasp on their roles, but one slip put their defense of the druid in a reactive state, and they were all out of position when the ankylosaurs came calling in round three. Since we still had ninety minutes, I let them play on to the end as though Hyacinth had infinite life. It was soon apparent that they'd just needed a little bit more time to get a feel for the rest of the group, because they completely dominated the field from that point on.

This was a relief to me, as they were using pregens I'd designed and I wasn't sure either the binder or the warlord would measure up. Fortunately, both controller and leader were played by people who preferred those roles, and both found them acceptable. Fun was had all around, and I got to hand out a lot of the promotional cards I've piled up over the last year of Encounters.

I'll be running this at one last convention, though it takes place a week after the new season starts. Much as I'd love to run Spiderkiller, I need to know I can fit the event into the allotted time slot-- one reason Talon of Umberlee wasn't an option for this weekend. (Despite how crowded the map can get in Attack of the Tyrantclaw, it plays out much more quickly than previous seasons.)