D&D 5E "My X is underpowered compared to Y." So?

[steeldragons]

Ah. Thanks. Don't know where I got the bag/hidden thing.

Also totally forgot about the restorative potion.

 

[Greg Benage]

For the record, I'm not a "doomsayer" and love B2. I was just using it to make the point that "balance" or "level-appropriate encounters" weren't the same priority in those days as they are today. I guess "disguised" isn't the right word. The medusa isn't the helpless prisoner the PCs might expect at first, uh, glance, when they come around the corner.

 

[steeldragons]

For the record, I'm not a "doomsayer" and love B2. I was just using it to make the point that "balance" or "level-appropriate encounters" weren't the same priority in those days as they are today. I guess "disguised" isn't the right word. The medusa isn't the helpless prisoner the PCs might expect at first, uh, glance, when they come around the corner.

Oh yeah.

I totally got your point. Sorry. And agree with you.

I was just digressing. Happens sometimes in this wandering mind o' mine.

 

[ExploderWizard]

For the record, I'm not a "doomsayer" and love B2. I was just using it to make the point that "balance" or "level-appropriate encounters" weren't the same priority in those days as they are today. I guess "disguised" isn't the right word. The medusa isn't the helpless prisoner the PCs might expect at first, uh, glance, when they come around the corner.

Yeah, that is an instructional module and that encounter is a teachable moment- in the dungeon not everything is what it seems to be.

The main difference I see between those days and today is that many of today's players would cry " not fair" instead of laughing it off and rolling up another character. Too much of a serious business attitude has crept into gaming for my taste.

 

[Remathilis]

Yeah, that is an instructional module and that encounter is a teachable moment- in the dungeon not everything is what it seems to be.

The main difference I see between those days and today is that many of today's players would cry " not fair" instead of laughing it off and rolling up another character. Too much of a serious business attitude has crept into gaming for my taste.

I dunno, the fact their is a reversal potion that can be won/found makes this encounter much more palatable. Imagine if it lacked such a reversal element; you go in to rescue the maiden and now you're rolling up a new PC. It might teach some caution, but it can teach them to be selfish instead.

 

[S_Dalsgaard]

Yeah, that is an instructional module and that encounter is a teachable moment- in the dungeon not everything is what it seems to be.

The main difference I see between those days and today is that many of today's players would cry " not fair" instead of laughing it off and rolling up another character. Too much of a serious business attitude has crept into gaming for my taste.

I would probably just wonder who put her there and didn't think it was smart to cover her head, and didn't search her for stuff like potions. I haven't read this particular module, but that is my problem with many of the so-called classics. They don't make much internal sense (which, to be fair, didn't bother me that much when I started playing back in the eighties).

 

[Greg Benage]

I would probably just wonder who put her there and didn't think it was smart to cover her head, and didn't search her for stuff like potions. I haven't read this particular module, but that is my problem with many of the so-called classics. They don't make much internal sense (which, to be fair, didn't bother me that much when I started playing back in the eighties).

Because zombies!

There are several skeletons still chained to the wall, and one scantily clad female - a fair maiden obviously in need of rescuing! As she is partly around a corner, at first only her shapely legs and body up to the shoulders can be seen. Those who enter and approach closer are in for a rude shock! This is actually a medusa recently taken by the evil priest’s zombie guards.

Not hard for the shapely medusa to hide a small vial from a bunch a zombies. Note that the elixir is a way out if you got stoned, but no help for you if one of her snakes bit you and you failed the save vs. poison.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Heh. Funny timing. I started my current 5E campaign with a (highly modified) version of KotB. The party's just about wrapped it up, but they still have the east wing of Cave K to explore--which means this exact encounter is coming up. (The medusa isn't just some random prisoner, but the queen of an underground kingdom, and if she survives will pop up later as either enemy or ally, depending on how the PCs treat her here.) I'm looking forward to seeing how they react to her, actually.

I agree that her having the reversal magics on her is kind of dumb, so instead she'll be able to tell the PCs where to find them.

You're right, though, that a lot of KotB makes no internal sense. The valley/cave complex itself is absolutely unsustainable given the physical size and population numbers given in the original module. And just a little bit, but by an order of magnitude.

 

[Inchoroi]

...maybe its just me and my group, but beyond the bloody beastmaster ranger, I don't see any class really outshining the others in damage. Even the battlemaster fighter with Sharpshooter and Precision Attack doesn't outshine the swashbuckler rogue or the barbarian.

Is that just me?

 

[Morlock]

Disclaimer: I am newly reacquainted to D&D (haven't played since 2nd Edition). Am I feeling this way because I haven't lived through 4th Edition and it's emphasis on combat? Thoughts?

Judging by what I read on forums, things like game balance and following RAW have become a BIG DEAL in RPing (D&D at least) in the years since 2e. Like you, I'm getting back into D&D, and the last time I was into the game, 2e was current. I like balance, but close enough is close enough for me. Number-crunching to expose the small imbalances isn't my cup of tea.