Low Level Bad Guy with a High Level Scroll

[Kelleris]

Out of interest, what adventure is this from?

Olaf the Stout

[sblock=It's from...]Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, the recent update of the classic adventure, and pretty early on. The cleric in question is a fallen cleric who's found a nasty book of nastiness and attempted to raise his deceased son from the undead. Instead he got a monster called a blaspheme, that's in the basement of the church where this encounter takes place. The PCs are there to stop the zombie plague the creation of the blaspheme has produced. Mr. crazy cleric doesn't want them to rekill his son, so he hides behind the altar and uses this scroll, torn out of the book he got the blaspheme "recipe" from, to take a whack at them. I look askance at the encounter primarily because it's not really a climactic fight - the actual blaspheme they need to kill comes later. The circle of death thing certainly sets the tone for the adventure, though. [/sblock]

 

[CyberSpyder]

Can the pcs buy items like this? If so, the npc should be able too as well. Let him blast them with it, if everyone dies, they can chalk it up as a learning experience.

Wherein they learn what, exactly?

I guess it might teach them not to let enemies cast from scrolls, but that's not always an avoidable circumstance.

 

[Slife]

At least it's better than the trope I see in a lot of modules - rogues with 1 charge wands.

From my experience, apparently half of all the wands at any time have only a single charge remaining.

 

[ScotMartin]

Wherein they learn what, exactly?

I guess it might teach them not to let enemies cast from scrolls, but that's not always an avoidable circumstance.

My thoughts exactly. The most likely scenario I see happening is this: "Okay, on the cleric's turn, he draws out a scroll and begins reading <roll die>. I rolled an 8, so he successfully casts his Circle of Death. I need the four front party members to all roll their DC 19 Fort saves. Two of you failed? Okay, you're dead. What do the rest of you do?". At that point, *if* they survive the rest of the encounter (the cleric is not the toughest bad guy in the area), they then have two dead PCs to deal with. They're not high enough level to raise them, and there's no one in this area that is. Adding someone of that level in the area, would raise other complications in the adventure.

In my opinion, this encounter requires cleaning up. I could do so by altering the domains of the cleirc so that he can legally cast the spell (or just hand wave that rule based on the unique status of the scroll), then by adding an NPC in the area to raise the characters and coming up with reasons why the NPC won't/can't help further and why the NPC hasn't become more involved in the events of this adventure previously. And none of that addresses the increased probability of a TPK from the rest of the encounter once two party members are dead.

Or, I could clean up the encounter by changing the spell to something still interesting, but less likely to knock off two PCs in one shot. This is simpler, cleaner and (IMHO) more entertaining for the players.

If this were the BBEG of the module they were meeting, I wouldn't be as hesitant, but he's not even the toughest guy in this encounter...

-Scot

 

[chitzk0i]

They're not high enough level to raise them, and there's no one in this area that is.

Don't forget reincarnate. A waaaay cheaper option.

 

[Bad Paper]

Don't forget reincarnate. A waaaay cheaper option.

...that doesn't work on corpses slain with death effects.

 

[frankthedm]

Wherein they learn what, exactly?

That if you want to play in setting that has magic available, your foes have it too.

That the cleric should be using his 4th level slots on Death Ward, not Divine Power.

Don't be shy about reading actions to disrupt spellcasters. A scroll takes 1 HP to sunder.

 

[interwyrm]

At least it's better than the trope I see in a lot of modules - rogues with 1 charge wands.

From my experience, apparently half of all the wands at any time have only a single charge remaining.

I think you mean...

tripe: something poor, worthless, or offensive

not

trope: a word or expression used in a figurative sense


No arrogance intended.

 

[Kelleris]

That the cleric should be using his 4th level slots on Death Ward, not Divine Power.

Don't be shy about reading actions to disrupt spellcasters. A scroll takes 1 HP to sunder.

Since this encounter is supposed to take place around 6th level, you can't exactly get upset at the PC cleric for not preparing death ward since, y'know, he can't. That's sort of the whole reason the OP is wondering about the value of this encounter. Likewise, the room set-up makes it extremely hard to stop the cleric from the reading the scroll - there's only one wide-open entrance, he's all the way across the room, and he has cover from the altar he's hiding behind. And if I remember correctly, the whole place is strewn with rubble as well, making charging effectively impossible. Even if the PCs win initiative, there's precious little they can do to stop this guy from casting the circle of death.

On top of that, the cleric, as written, can't use the scroll unless you make some kind of hand-waving allowance for its admittedly unusual origin. So this isn't even a matter of what's good for the goose is good for the gander either.

 

[William drake]

This is what I would do

You obviously want to use that scroll, but not to sure if its to rough for the players. And there seems to be an inssue if the cleric should be able to cast it at all anywas.

So, the Dc19 sounds a bit rough, and you shouldn't use spells that will just up and smoke your players. Wound, mame, disfigure...cause them to rest and wait in a town for a few months for their bones to heal, fine, but dont just up and play for one spell to slay two of the party memebers right off the bat.

If you want to use it still, warn the party. NOt you the Dm, but MPCs, put up the talk about this guy and how dangerous and deadly. Hes not a Bond Villian, he wont talk to them first. Once he sees them, hes going to go for the gun and shoot them dead.

Another way to do it. Make that parchment locked away in the back of the church or building or wherever he is, and make it so that the playeres have to get to him before he uses it. Put innocencts in the way, so that the players can just run, and that they arn't just saving their own hides, but the other peopl in the church or w/e.

put guards in their path, make it so that they have to really try adn stop this guy because if they dont, they can very well die.