NEW (AGAIN)- Thunderspire Labyrinth- Stat analysis #25 Shrine to Baphomet

[Goonalan]

I agree that the traps were too obvious. I played it essentially as written, but got around that in two ways. First, when they opened the doors, they saw a semi-fresh dead body of an adventurer on the floor and Splug (who had been with them, but ran away two encounters previous) was looting the body. Splug was surprised to see the PCs and ran to the other exit (recall that the traps do not affect evil creatures). So, one of the PCs ran after him... right into the big statue trap. Second item was that once the trap was sprung, the door magically shut (despite them knocking it off the hinges previously), locking one in the room and the rest still in the hallway. That bothered them quite a bit, and they were quite eager to get into the room and attack the trap that was attacking their party member.

However, they saw the traps of the dragon statues and the water trap a mile away, so they just blasted them from afar.

Nice move with Splug, my players didn't even want to let him go- Dirty was all for killing him, he's a 'no prisoners' kinda Dwarf, in previous outings in KOTS I've got good mileage out of Splug. These guys however are like 'Dungeon Auditors'- Grey is mapping the place, and every exit and/or passage has to be checked, and the further they go in, the more calm (and in cases over-confident) they seem to get.

The traps were all too obvious though, although I guess it depends on the ages of the players, younger members of the community may prefer to 'go see' rather than blast from range.

More of the same follows...


H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #22 Area 17: Ghoul Warren.

The PCs saunter on, another pair of doors, which Winstanley approaches and peeks through- Zombies.



Dirty grins, spits on his hands, hefts his Vicious Maul and kicks the doors in- 'it's clobbering time!” he declares, losing the Surprise Round in the process.

Over-confidence and/or a healthy disrespect for Zombies- a bit of both really.

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 3 (HP43)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 3 (HP35)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 3 (HP35)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 3 (HP31)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 3 (HP34)

Bad Guys 1031XP Level 5 Encounter.
Zombie Rotters Level 3 Minion [ZR] (x12) (HP1)
Clay Scout Level 2 Lurker [CS] (HP31)
Zombie Level 2 Brute [Z] (x2) (HP40)
Ghoul Level 5 Soldier [Ghoul] (HP63)

Initiative 29 Grey 27 Winstanley 23 Ghoul 22 Phrenic 19 Kaspard 13 Clay Scout 8 Zombies 7 Dirty 2 Zombie Rotters.

Round #1.

Grey- Move. Scorching Burst Z1 & ZR2; Hit both ZR2 6 Fire damage- DEAD & Z1 6 Fire damage (34 HP).

Winstanley- First Strike Sly Flourish Combat Advantage Z1; Crit 27 damage (7 HP bloodied).

Ghoul- Move. Charge Phrenic; Hit 8 damage (24 HP) & Immobilised.

Phrenic- Immobilised. Steel Monsoon Ghoul; Miss. Save vs Immobilised- Fail.

Kaspard- Move. Turn Undead Ghoul & ZR1&3; Hit ZR1&3 9 Radiant damage- both DEAD & Miss Ghoul 4 Radiant damage +5 (Vulnerable) = 9 damage (54 HP).

CS- Move. Mind Touch Kaspard; Hit 4 Psychic damage (31 HP) & Dazed & Clay Scout Invisible to Kaspard.

Z1- Move. Slam Kaspard; Miss.

Z2- Double Move- lurching towards PCs.

Dirty- Shift. Crushing Blow Ghoul; Crit 38 damage (16 HP bloodied). Action Point- Tactical Presence/Assault from Phrenic +2 To Hit & +4. Reaping Strike Ghoul; Miss 7 damage (9 HP bloodied).

ZR1- DEAD.

ZR2- DEAD.

ZR3- DEAD.

ZR4- Move. Charge Kaspard; Hit 5 damage (26 HP).

ZR5- Move. Charge Dirty; Miss.

ZR6- Double Move close in on PCs.

ZR7- Move. Charge Dirty; Miss.

ZR8- Double Move close in on PCs.

ZR9- Double Move close in on PCs.

ZR10- Move; Charge Kaspard. AoO Dirty; Miss. Charge Kaspard; Hit 5 damage (21 HP).

ZR11- Double Move close in on PCs.

ZR12- Double Move close in on PCs.

Time to play 20 minutes including set up map and minis.

End of Round-

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 3 (HP43)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 3 (HP21/35)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 3 (HP35)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 3 (HP31)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 3 (HP24/34)

Bad Guys 1031XP Level 5 Encounter.
Zombie Rotters Level 3 Minion [ZR] (x12) (HP1) 3 DEAD.
Clay Scout Level 2 Lurker [CS] (HP31)
Zombie Level 2 Brute [Z] (x2) (HP7/40 & 40/40)
Ghoul Level 5 Soldier [Ghoul] (HP9/63)

Action Points 1 Total 1
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 0 Total 0
2nd Winds 0 Total 0
Crits 2 Total 2
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 0

Comment: And my Ghoul is buggered in the first turn of play, damn them!

 

[Goonalan]

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #22 Area 17: Ghoul Warren.

Round #2.

Grey- Move. Fire Shroud Ghoul & Z1 & ZR4-8&10-11; Hit ZR5&8&10 for 9 Fire damage- all DEAD & Z1 9 Fire damage- DEAD & Ghoul Crit 17 Fire damage- DEAD. Action Point- Action Surge +3 To Hit & Tactical Presence/Assault from Phrenic extra +2 To Hit & +4 Damage for total +5/+4. Scorching Burst Z2 & CS & ZR11; Hit ZR11 10 Fire damage- DEAD & Z2 10 Fire damage (30 HP).

Winstanley- Deft Strike ZR7; Hit 8 damage- DEAD. Tumble. Action Point- Tactical Presence/Assault from Phrenic +2 To Hit & +4. Sly Flourish Combat Advantage CS; Hit 14 damage (17 HP).

Why are they using up their Action Points you ask?

Simple, they've decided that an Extended Rest will follow this Encounter, Winstanley is on zero Healing Surges and they figure they have enough XP now for Level 4...

Ghoul- DEAD.

I miss him so much.

Phrenic- Immobilised. Scorching Burst CS & Z2; Hit Z2 9 Fire damage (21 HP). Save vs Immobilised- Fail.

Kaspard- Dazed. Healing Strike ZR4; Miss. Save vs Dazed- Fail.

Clay- Shift. Move away. Flee.

Z1- DEAD.

Z2- Move. Slam Dirty; Miss.

Dirty- Spinning Strike Z2; Hit 16 damage (5 HP bloodied) & Prone. Marked.

ZR1- DEAD.

ZR2- DEAD.

ZR3- DEAD.

ZR4- Slam Kaspard; Hit 5 damage (16 HP bloodied).

ZR5- DEAD.

ZR6- Move. Slam Kaspard; Hit 5 damage (11 HP bloodied).

ZR7- DEAD.

ZR8- DEAD.

ZR9- Move. AoO Grey Staff; Hit 1 damage- DEAD.

ZR10- DEAD.

ZR11- DEAD.

ZR12- Move. Slam Kaspard; Miss.

Time to play 18 minutes including Grey's To Hit rolling frenzy.

End of Round-

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 3 (HP43)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 3 (HP11/35)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 3 (HP35)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 3 (HP31)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 3 (HP24/34)

Bad Guys 1031XP Level 5 Encounter.
Zombie Rotters Level 3 Minion [ZR] (x12) (HP1) 9 DEAD.
Clay Scout Level 2 Lurker [CS] (HP17/31)
Zombie Level 2 Brute [Z] (x2) (HP5/40) 1 DEAD
Ghoul Level 5 Soldier [Ghoul] (HP63) DEAD

Action Points 2 Total 3
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 0 Total 0
2nd Winds 0 Total 0
Crits 1 Total 3
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 0

Comment: I hate Zombies, they're absolutely worthless- doors open and a clump of staggering Undead shuffle forward, don't get me wrong for a moment I can paint a picture in game but the reality is the PCs have no fear here. Even Kaspard doesn't mind standing in the midst of the bad guys and trading blows, any time Kaspard gets her Mace out I know things are going badly for me.

I can't imagine this is going to last much longer.

 

[Goonalan]

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #22 Area 17: Ghoul Warren.

Round #3.

Grey- Shift back. Scorching Burst ZR4&6 Hit (ZR6 with Wand of Accuracy) both for 10 Fire damage- both DEAD.

Winstanley- Shift. Sly Flourish Combat Advantage (Prone) Z2; Hit 15 damage- DEAD.

Ghoul- DEAD.

Phrenic- Immobilised. Inspiring Word +3 HP Kaspard (23 HP). Save vs Immobilised- Fail.

Kaspard- Dazed. Mace ZR12; Miss. Save Dazed- Success.

CS- Double Move. Flee.

Z1- DEAD.

Z2- DEAD.

Dirty- Reaping Strike ZR12; Miss. Marked

ZR1- DEAD.

ZR2- DEAD.

ZR3- DEAD.

ZR4- DEAD.

ZR5- DEAD.

ZR6- DEAD.

ZR7- DEAD.

ZR8- DEAD.

ZR9- DEAD.

ZR10- DEAD.

ZR11- DEAD.

ZR12- Move. Slam Dirty; Hit 5 damage (38 HP).

Time to play 6 minutes.

End of Round-

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 3 (HP38/43)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 3 (HP23/35)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 3 (HP35)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 3 (HP31)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 3 (HP24/34)

Bad Guys 1031XP Level 5 Encounter.
Zombie Rotters Level 3 Minion [ZR] (x12) (HP1) 11 DEAD.
Clay Scout Level 2 Lurker [CS] (HP17/31) FLED
Zombie Level 2 Brute [Z] (x2) (HP40) 2 DEAD
Ghoul Level 5 Soldier [Ghoul] (HP63) DEAD

Action Points 0 Total 3
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 1 Total 1
2nd Winds 0 Total 0
Crits 0 Total 3
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 0

Comment: So one Zombie Rotter holding his own against the might of the PCs, I look forward to kicking their collective backsides next turn. Come on!

 

[Goonalan]

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #22 Area 17: Ghoul Warren.

Round #4.

Grey- Magic Missile ZR12; Hit 9 Force damage- DEAD.

Lucky. I was just about to lay into them.

Time to play 1 minute.
Total time to play 45 minutes.

End of Combat-

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 3 (HP38/43)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 3 (HP23/35)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 3 (HP35)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 3 (HP31)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 3 (HP24/34)

Bad Guys 1031XP Level 5 Encounter.
Zombie Rotters Level 3 Minion [ZR] (x12) (HP1) 12 DEAD.
Clay Scout Level 2 Lurker [CS] (HP17/31) FLED
Zombie Level 2 Brute [Z] (x2) (HP40) 2 DEAD
Ghoul Level 5 Soldier [Ghoul] (HP63) DEAD

Action Points 0 Total 3
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 0 Total 1
2nd Winds 0 Total 0
Crits 0 Total 3
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 0

Comment: The fight finishes to exaltation and joy- all of the PCs now have enough XP to advance to Level 4, which they are going to do immediately, actually there follows a rush for the PC & laptop, and the Character Builder. Pizza and beers are taken, in game the PCs back track all the way out of the lair, into the ruins of the Keep itself, and set up camp. This after a search of the Zombie chamber reveals a Bag of Holding containing a bunch of coin.

In the short break we discover that Kaspard, the Half-Elf, is short an Encounter Power for her Dilettante ability. The PCs can change their Powers after they have completed the scenario for now this, for most of them, is the first time they have seen what other Powers are available to them.

Stats: An absolute massacre, confirmed from the moment my Ghoul took a massive Crit and soon after hit the deck. The PCs dished out 111 hit points damage in Turn #1, and topped that with 120 in Turn #2- with the bad guys doing 20 and 18 in the same turns, respectively. No contest.

Winstanley manages another 100% connection rate, Grey with 72.22% and alas the other PCs with below 50% connection rates- Kaspard & Dirty 40%, and Phrenic with only 33.33%. Where did it all go wrong?

Bloody Grey, the Action Point turn delivered 73 points of damage in a Turn, that and Dirty's Crit on the Ghoul- nothing left, bloody Zombies.

PCs overall connection rate 62.86% against the bad guys with 58.33%, although the PCs made 35 attacks as opposed to the bad guys with just 12. Grey made 18 attacks alone, more than half the total- bring on the Fire.

The PCs also delivered 69 points of damage/turn, the bad guys 9.25- as I say an absolute massacre.

Combined Stats: What can I say, the PCs have only been in three Combat Encounters at Level 3 and already they have enough XP for Level 4. I'm not sure that three encounters is enough to base any analysis on.

A brief at look at Level 3 stats next time.

 

[Goonalan]

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
PCs Level 1 versus Level 2 versus Level 3 Stat Attack!

Strap in again.

First up the PCs went through 8 combat encounters at Level 1, 9 combat encounters at Level 2, amd only 3 combat encounters at Level 3. That's 56 turns play at Level 1, 50 turns play at Level 2, and 20 turns play at Level 3.

There are going to be lots of 'NA' below because I'm working on a minimum of 5 attacks made in order to generate a %, and less would seem not worth analysing.

Dirty Dwarf Fighter

Dirty's attacks.
(Format: Attack Type- Hit rate Level 1- Hit rate Level 2- Hit rate Level 3- Overall)

Charge Maul 62.5% - 75% - NA - 65%
AoO Maul 41.67% - 50% - NA - 40%
AW- Cleave 55.56% – 55.56% - NA - 58.62%
AW- Reaping Strike 50% - 63.64% - 42.86% - 53.33%
E- Spinning Strike 33.33% - 71.43% - NA – 53.33%
D- Brute Strike 50% - 60% - NA - 53.85%

Overall 50% - 60.78% - 50% - 54.2%

Damage Done: 385 – 474 – 190 – 1049
Average/Enc. 48.13 – 52.67 – 63.33 – 52.45
Damage Taken: 220 – 311 – 117 - 531
Average/Enc. 27.5 – 34.56 – 39 – 32.4
+/- Total +165 - +163 - +73 - +401
+/- Average +20.63 - +18.11 - +24.33 - +20.05

Action Points 7 – 5 – 2 - 14
0 HP 2 – 0 – 0 - 2
Crits 4 – 4 – 2 - 10
Healing Surges 12 – 14 – 4 - 30
Daily Powers 4 – 6 – 1 - 11

Monsters vs Dirty
Level 1 Attacks 64 Hits 31 Connection 48.44%
Level 2 Attacks 87 Hits 41 Connection 47.13%
Level 3 Attacks 29 Hits 12 Connection 41.38%
Overall Attacks 180 Hits 84 Connection 46.67%

Who can say, there's not enough to go on here. What is obvious(-ish) to me is the groupings- lots of stats bunched around the same area, it may sound dumb but-

Dirty hits just below 55% of the time (54.2%)- and when he hits he does a chunk of damage (52.45/Encounter), he gets hit just over 45% of the time (46.67%), and he gets attacked a lot (180) and takes plenty of damage (32.4/Encounter). He has the most Crits (10) and eats through his Healing Surges at a rapid rate (30), and makes good use of his Daily powers (11). Through it all he dishes out more damage than he absorbs (+20.05/Encounter), and therefore he preserves- he is a Defender.

Grey Human Wizard

Grey's attacks.
(Format: Attack Type- Hit rate Level 1- Hit rate Level 2- Hit rate Level 3- Overall)

AW- Magic Missile 64.29% – 52.94% - 62.5% - 58.97%
AW- Ray of Frost 66.67% - 57.14% - NA - 63.94%
AW- Scorching Burst 54.29% - 72% - 88.24% - 68.63%
E- Burning Hands 59.26% - 70% - NA – 60%
E- Fire Shroud NA – NA – 68.42% - 68.42%

Overall 60% - 64.77% - 72.55% - 64.63%

Damage Done: 475 – 540 – 355 - 1370
Average/Enc. 59.38 – 60 – 118.33 – 68.5
Damage Taken: 90 – 51 – 7 - 148
Average/Enc. 10 – 5.67 – 2.33 – 7.4
+/- Total +385 - +489 - +348 - +1222
+/- Average +49.38 - +54.33 - +116 - +61.1

Action Points 5 – 5 – 1- 11
0 HP 1 – 0 – 0 - 1
Crits 0 – 0 – 2 - 2
Healing Surges 4 – 3 – 0 - 7
Daily Powers 2 – 1 – 0 - 3

Monsters vs Grey
Level 1 Attacks 17 Hits 11 Connection 64.71%
Level 2 Attacks 12 Hits 8 Connection 66.67%
Level 3 Attacks 2 Hits 1 Connection 50%
Overall Attacks 31 Hits 20 Connection 64.52%

Grey hits just under 65% of the time (64.63%)- and when he hits he does a huge chunk of damage (68.5/Encounter), he gets hit just below 65% of the time (64.52%), but rarely gets attacked (31) and takes very little damage (7.4/Encounter). He has only just rolled his first Crits (2) and rarely uses his Healing Surges (7), and almost never uses his Daily powers (3). Through it all he dishes out a massive amount of damage, much much more than he absorbs (+61.1/Encounter)- he is a Controller, but I prefer to think of him as the Artillery.

Kaspard Half-Elf Cleric

Kaspard's attacks.
(Format: Attack Type- Hit rate Level 1- Hit rate Level 2- Hit rate Level 3- Overall)

AW- Lance of Faith 46.67% – NA – NA - 55.56%
AW- Sacred Flame 57.69% - 72.73% - 57.14% - 65.14%
E- Healing Strike NA - 40% - NA – 33.33%
E- Turn Undead NA – 66.67% - 80% - 70%
D- Beacon of Hope NA - 20% - NA – 22.22%

Overall 52.08% - 65.57% - 50 – 58.14%

Damage Done: 145 – 417 – 124 - 686
Average/Enc. 18.13 – 46.33 – 41.33 – 34.3
Damage Taken: 70 – 39 – 33 - 142
Average/Enc. 8.75 – 4.33 – 11 - 6.41
+/- Total +75 - +378 - +91 - +544
+/- Average +9.38 - +42 - +30.33 - +27.2

Action Points 5 – 5 – 0 - 10
0 HP 0 – 0 – 0 - 0
Crits 0 – 1 – 0 - 1
Healing Surges 2 – 0 – 1 - 3
Daily Powers 2 – 1 – 1 - 4

Monsters vs Kaspard
Level 1 Attacks 16 Hits 11 Connection 68.75%
Level 2 Attacks 19 Hits 8 Connection 42.11%
Level 3 Attacks 9 Hits 6 Connection 66.67%
Overall Attacks 44 Hits 25 Connection 56.82%

Kaspard hits just under 60% of the time (58.14%)- and when she hits she does a chunk of damage (34.3/Encounter), she gets hit just over 55% of the time (56.82%), but rarely gets attacked (44) and takes very little damage (6.41/Encounter). She still has only one Crit (1) and very (very) rarely uses her Healing Surges (3), and almost never uses her Daily powers (4). Through it all she dishes out a good amount of damage, more than she absorbs (+27.2/Encounter), although much of this comes from the Undead she lays waste to- she is a Leader, a laser Cleric with a first aid kit keeping all the other PCs on up and at the bad guys.

Phrenic Tiefling Warlord

Note Phrenic only played 4 encounters with the party as a Level 1 PC.

Phrenic's attacks.
(Format: Attack Type- Hit rate Level 1- Hit rate Level 2- Hit rate Level 3- Overall)

Charge Longsword NA – NA – NA – 66.67%
AW- Viper's Strike 55.56% – 55.56% - NA - 56.67%
AW- Wolf Pack NA - 40% - NA - 37.5%
E- Leaf on the Wind NA – 66.67% - NA - 70%
E- Scorching Burst NA – 57.14% - 40% - 51.61%
D- Lead the Attack NA – NA – NA - 80%

Overall 57.14% - 58.62% - 50 - 56.57%

Damage Done: 94 – 293 – 105 - 492
Average/Enc. 23.5 – 32.56 – 35 – 30.75
Damage Taken: 125 – 196 – 93 - 414
Average/Enc. 31.25 – 21.78 – 31 – 25.88
+/- Total -31 - +97 - +12 - +78
+/- Average -7.75 - +10.78 - +4 - +4.88

Action Points 1 – 5 – 1 - 7
0 HP 2 – 1 – 0 - 3
Crits 0 – 2 – 1 - 3
Healing Surges 7 – 7 – 4 - 18
Daily Powers 1 – 3 – 1 - 5

Monsters vs Phrenic
Level 1 Attacks 23 Hits 13 Connection 56.52%
Level 2 Attacks 51 Hits 24 Connection 47.06%
Level 3 Attacks 11 Hits 7 Connection 63.64%
Overall Attacks 85 Hits 44 Connection 51.76%

Phrenic hits just over 55% of the time (56.57%)- and when he hits he does a fair amount of damage (30.75/Encounter), he gets hit just over 50% of the time (51.76%), and he gets attacked a fair amount (85) and takes plenty of damage (25.88/Encounter). He eats through his Healing Surges at a good rate (18), and makes some use of his Daily powers (5). Through it all he dishes out a little more damage than he absorbs (+4.88/Encounter), he also heals as he goes- serving a dual purpose- he is a Leader.

Winstanley Halfling Rogue

Winstanley's attacks.
(Format: Attack Type- Hit rate Level 1- Hit rate Level 2- Hit rate Level 3- Overall)

AW- Deft Strike 100% – NA – NA – 92.31%
AW- Sly Flourish 77.42% - 71.79% - 76.92% - 74.7%
E- Positioning Strike 83.33% - 71.43% - NA - 80%
D- Trick Strike NA – NA – NA - 80%

Overall 82.69% - 73.47% - 68.42 - 76.67%

Damage Done: 581 – 454 – 187 - 1222
Average/Enc. 72.63 – 50.44 – 62.33 – 61.11
Damage Taken: 74 – 47 – 61 - 182
Average/Enc. 9.25 – 5.22 – 20.33 – 9.1
+/- Total +507 - +407 - +126 - +1040
+/- Average +63.38 - +45.22 - +42 - +52

Action Points 6 – 6 – 2 - 14
0 HP 2 – 0 – 0 - 2
Crits 1 – 3 – 2 - 6
Healing Surges 4 – 2 – 1 - 7
Daily Powers 4 – 4 – 1 - 9

Monsters vs Winstanley
Level 1 Attacks 22 Hits 11 Connection 50%
Level 2 Attacks 16 Hits 7 Connection 43.75%
Level 3 Attacks 15 Hits 9 Connection 60%
Overall Attacks 53 Hits 27 Connection 50.94%

Winstanley hits just over 75% of the time (76.67%) WOW- and when he hits he does a huge chunk of damage (61.11/Encounter), he gets hit just over 50% of the time (50.94%), and he gets attacked a fair amount (53) and takes a small amount of damage (9.1/Encounter). He hardly uses his Healing Surges (7), and makes good use of his Daily powers (9). Through it all he dishes out a lot more damage than he absorbs (+52/Encounter), he is an out-and-out Striker.

Encounters.

Encounter Path (X = Extended Rest SC = Skill Challenge)

PCs Level 1- Level +0 – X – Level +1 – Level +0 – Level +5 – X – Level +1 – X – Level +1 – Level +1 – Level +6 - X.

PCs Level 2- X - Level +1 – X - Level +0 – Level +0 – Level +1 – X – Level +1 – Level +1 – SC – Level -1 – Level +2 – Level +2 – X.

PCs Level 3- X – Level +4 – Level +0 – TRAPS – Level +2 – X.

At 3rd Level the PCs have had a much more dangerous encounters, although very few of them.

Time/Encounter
(As Level 1 PCs –
As Level 2 PCs –
As Level 3 PCs -
Overall)

Encounter Level -1
(0) NA –
(1) 19 minutes 3 Turns –
(0) NA -
(1) 19 minutes 3 Turns

Encounter Level +0
(2) 31.5 minutes 4 Turns –
(2) 50 minutes 7 Turns –
(1) 70 minutes 10 Turns -
(5) 48.6 minutes 6.4 Turns

Encounter Level +1
(4) 43.5 minutes 6 Turns –
(4) 41 minutes 5.25 Turns –
(0) NA -
(8) 42.25 minutes 5.63 Turns

Encounter Level +2
(0) NA –
(2) 56.5 minutes 6 Turns –
(1) 45 minutes 4 Turns -
(3) 52.67 minutes 5.33 Turns

Encounter Level +4
(0) NA -
(0) NA -
(1) 58 minutes 6 Turns -
(1) 58 minutes 6 Turns -

Encounter Level +5
(1) 90 minutes 13 Turns –
(0) NA -
(0) NA -
(1) 90 minutes 13 Turns

Encounter Level +6
(1) 101 minutes 11 Turns –
(0) NA –
(0) NA -
(1) 101 minutes 11 Turns

Overall at Level 1 the PCs average encounter was EL 2.88 (Level +1.88) took 7 Turns to play and lasted 53.5 minutes.

At Level 2 the PCs average encounter was EL 2.78 (Level + 0.78) took 5.56 Turns to play and lasted 44 minutes.

At Level 3 the PCs average encounter was EL 5 (Level + 2) took 6.67 Turns to play and lasted 57.67 minutes.

And for all encounters to date-

Average encounter EL 4.4 takes 6.3 Turns to play and lasts 50.35 minutes.

Three encounters is really too few to make any sense of, but that's how XP works.

 

[Goonalan]

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #23 Area 18: The Cathedral of Shadow.

Now fully rested the Level 4 PCs re-enter the Keep on the Shadowfell and make their way all the way down again, from my perspective I'm keen to get KOTS finished, I didn't really want to throw any more encounters at the PCs during their extended rest- the climax has been a long time coming.

And so back to the Ghoul Warren and down the stairs, alas the Clay Scout is on the look out for PCs, the creature spots them and screams- there are shouts from beyond, no chance of surprise.

The PCs stumble their way into the Cathedral of Shadows, and everything comes to a halt- I've just unfolded the map, to whistles and contented chuckles. I must admit it's a lovely map (both sides).



Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 4 (HP55)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 4 (HP41)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 4 (HP41)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 4 (HP36)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 4 (HP44)

Bad Guys 1100XP Level 5 Encounter.
Vampire Spawn Fleshripper Level 5 Minion [VS] (x5) (HP1)
Clay Scout Level 2 Lurker [CS] (HP31)
Dark Creeper Level 4 Skirmisher [DC] (HP54)
Human Berserker Level 4 Brute [HB] (x2) (HP66)
Orcus Underpriest Level 5 Controller [OU] (HP64)

Initiative 32 Winstanley 27 Clay Scout 23 Dark Creeper 22 Grey 17 Orcus Underpriest 16 Dirty 13 Phrenic 12 Human Berserkers 11 Vampire Spawn 6 Kaspard

Round #1.

Winstanley- Move. First Strike. Sly Flourish Combat Advantage CS; Hit 15 damage (9 HP bloodied).

CS- Mind Touch Winstanley; Miss. Move away- screaming.

DC- Double Move sneaking around to the side of the PCs.

Grey- Move. Magic Missile OU; Hit 9 Force damage (55 HP).

OU- Double Move close in on PCs.

Dirty- Move. Charge HB2; Miss. Marked.

Phrenic- Move. Charge HB1; Hit 6 damage (60 HP).

HB1- Greataxe Phrenic; Hit 10 damage (34HP).

HB2- Greataxe Dirty; Miss.

VS1- Move. Charge Kaspard; Hit 5 damage (36 HP).

VS2- Move. Charge Kaspard; Miss.

VS3- Move. Claw Combat Advantage Phrenic; Hit 5 damage (29 HP).

VS4- Charge Phrenic; Miss.

VS5- Move. Guard OU- Ready Action.

Kaspard- Turn Undead VS1-2; Hit VS1 only 9 Radiant damage- DEAD. Shift away.

Time to play 14 minutes.

End of Round-

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 4 (HP55)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 4 (HP36/41)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 4 (HP41)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 4 (HP36)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 4 (HP29/44)

Bad Guys 1100XP Level 5 Encounter.
Vampire Spawn Fleshripper Level 5 Minion [VS] (x5) (HP1) 1 DEAD
Clay Scout Level 2 Lurker [CS] (HP9/31)
Dark Creeper Level 4 Skirmisher [DC] (HP54)
Human Berserker Level 4 Brute [HB] (x2) (HP60/66 & 66/66)
Orcus Underpriest Level 5 Controller [OU] (HP55/64)

Action Points 0 Total 0
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 0 Total 0
2nd Winds 0 Total 0
Crits 0 Total 0
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 0

Comment: A bit of a meandering start the PCs are more intent on a close examination of the map, lots of 'oohs' and 'aaahs', the PCs don't seem to have hit their stride yet.

 

[Goonalan]

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #23 Area 18: The Cathedral of Shadow.

Round #2.

Winstanley- Sly Flourish VS2; Miss. Move a little to get between it and Kaspard.

CS- Move toward OU. Mind Touch Dirty; Miss.

DC- Dark Step. Combat Advantage Dagger Winstanley; Miss.

Grey- Scorching Burst VS3-4; Hit both 8 Fire damage- both DEAD. Immediate Reaction VS3 Death Strike Phrenic; Miss. Immediate Reaction VS4 Death Strike Phrenic; Hit 5 damage (24 HP).

OU- Move. Combat Advantage Mace Phrenic; Hit 10 damage (14 HP bloodied).

Dirty- Crushing Blow HB2; Miss. Marked.

Phrenic- Shift. Steel Monsoon OU; Miss. Inspiring Word +5 HP Self (30 HP).

HB1- Move. Combat Advantage Greataxe Phrenic; Miss.

HB2- Greataxe Dirty; Miss.

VS1- DEAD.

VS2- Move. Claw Kaspard; Hit 5 damage (31 HP).

VS3- DEAD.

VS4- DEAD.

VS5- Charge Phrenic; Miss.

Kaspard- Shift away. Hand of Radiance VS2; Miss & DC; Miss & OU; Hit 7 Radiant damage (48 HP).

Time to play 10 minutes.

End of Round-

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 4 (HP55)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 4 (HP31/41)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 4 (HP41)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 4 (HP36)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 4 (HP30/44)

Bad Guys 1100XP Level 5 Encounter.
Vampire Spawn Fleshripper Level 5 Minion [VS] (x5) (HP1) 3 DEAD
Clay Scout Level 2 Lurker [CS] (HP9/31)
Dark Creeper Level 4 Skirmisher [DC] (HP54)
Human Berserker Level 4 Brute [HB] (x2) (HP60/66 & 66/66)
Orcus Underpriest Level 5 Controller [OU] (HP48/64)

Action Points 0 Total 0
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 1 Total 1
2nd Winds 0 Total 0
Crits 0 Total 0
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 0

Comment: Still meandering, the PCs just can't hit, it doesn't help that my guys are not hitting either. They were also a little perturbed when the Dark Creeper suddenly appeared on the scene, bit of a scrum going on which is preventing the artillery (Grey) from getting in the big hits- however that's about to change.

 

[Goonalan]

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #23 Area 18: The Cathedral of Shadow.

Round #3.

Winstanley- Shift back. Sly Flourish DC; Hit 10 damage (44 HP).

CS- Mind Touch Phrenic; Miss.

I've not rolled over a '5' To Hit for the Clay Scout.

DC- Dark Step. Combat Advantage Dagger Kaspard; Miss.

Bugger me! I can't hit a thing.

Grey- Scorching Burst VS2; Hit 11 Fire damage- DEAD & DC; Hit 11 Fire damage (33 HP). Move. Action Point- Action Surge +3 To Hit & Tactical Presence/Assault from Phrenic extra +2 To Hit & +4 Damage for total +5/+4. Fire Shroud VS5; Miss & HB1; Hit 14 Fire damage (46 HP) & HB2; Hit 10 Fire damage (56 HP) & OU (with Wand of Accuracy); Hit 10 Fire damage (38 HP) & all ongoing 5 Fire.

Business as usual.

OU- 5 ongoing Fire damage (33 HP). Mace Grey; Miss. Shift away. Save vs ongoing Fire- Success.

Dirty- Spinning Strike HB2; Miss. Marked.

Dirty needs a '6' to hit the Human Berserker, he's not managed it yet.

Phrenic- Shift. Leaf on the Wind OU; Miss. Aid the Injured Self Healing Surge (41 HP).

HB1- 5 ongoing Fire damage (41 HP). Shift. Greataxe Phrenic; Miss. Save vs ongoing Fire- Success.

HB2- 5 ongoing Fire damage (51 HP). Greataxe Dirty; Miss. Save vs ongoing Fire- Success.

VS1- DEAD.

VS2- DEAD.

VS3- DEAD.

VS4- DEAD.

VS5- Shift. Claw Grey; Hit 5 damage (31 HP).

Kaspard- Shift away. Sacred Flame DC; Miss.

Time to play 12 minutes.

End of Round-

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 4 (HP55)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 4 (HP31/41)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 4 (HP41)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 4 (HP31/36)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 4 (HP30/44)

Bad Guys 1100XP Level 5 Encounter.
Vampire Spawn Fleshripper Level 5 Minion [VS] (x5) (HP1) 4 DEAD
Clay Scout Level 2 Lurker [CS] (HP9/31)
Dark Creeper Level 4 Skirmisher [DC] (HP33/54)
Human Berserker Level 4 Brute [HB] (x2) (HP41/66 & 51/66)
Orcus Underpriest Level 5 Controller [OU] (HP33/64)

Action Points 1 Total 1
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 1 Total 2
2nd Winds 0 Total 0
Crits 0 Total 0
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 0

Comment: Ever had this happen- save Grey and a few of the others, and the dice play there part, nothing doing- it's got to get better.

 

[Goonalan]

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #23 Area 18: The Cathedral of Shadow.

Round #4.

Winstanley- Sly Flourish DC; Hit 11 damage (22 HP bloodied).

CS- Mind Touch Dirty; Miss.

And again!

DC- Shift. Dagger Kaspard; Hit 8 damage (23 HP).

Grey- Shift back. Burning Hands HB1; Miss & VS5; Hit 15 Fire damage- DEAD Immediate Reaction Death Strike Phrenic; Hit 5 damage (36 HP) & CS; Hit 15 Fire damage- DEAD.

OU- Shift back. Shadow Curse Phrenic; Miss- screams his annoyance (and mine).

Dirty- Reaping Strike HB2; Hit 10 damage (41 HP). Marked.

He hits.

Phrenic- Shift back. Scorching Burst OU; Hit 10 Fire damage (23 bloodied HP) & HB1; Hit 10 Fire damage (31 HP bloodied) Immediate Reaction HB1 Battle Fury- no PC in range.

HB1- Shift. Greataxe Phrenic; Crit 31 damage – Armour of Bahamut – reduced to 15 damage (21 HP bloodied).

HB2- Greataxe Dirty; Miss.

VS1- DEAD.

VS2- DEAD.

VS3- DEAD.

VS4- DEAD.

VS5- DEAD.

Kaspard- Healing Strike DC; Hit 18 Radiant damage (4 HP bloodied) & Healing Surge +3 HP Self (36 HP). Shift away. Healing Word +6 HP Phrenic (38 HP).

Time to play 11 minutes.

End of Round-

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 4 (HP55)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 4 (HP36/41)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 4 (HP41)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 4 (HP31/36)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 4 (HP38/44)

Bad Guys 1100XP Level 5 Encounter.
Vampire Spawn Fleshripper Level 5 Minion [VS] (x5) (HP1) 5 DEAD
Clay Scout Level 2 Lurker [CS] (HP9/31) DEAD
Dark Creeper Level 4 Skirmisher [DC] (HP4/54)
Human Berserker Level 4 Brute [HB] (x2) (HP31/66 & 41/66)
Orcus Underpriest Level 5 Controller [OU] (HP23/64)

Action Points 0 Total 1
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 2 Total 4
2nd Winds 0 Total 0
Crits 0 Total 0
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 0
Bad Guys Crits 1 Total 1

Comment: A little more damage done but the fight seems to be entirely under control, no need for the splurge of Action Points and/or Daily Powers, the PCs are going to get through this without the big guns- or so it seems.

 

[Goonalan]

Thanks for that Jester, much appreciated- we're getting there, 24 Encounters in total in KOTS and this is number 23.

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #23 Area 18: The Cathedral of Shadow.

Round #5.

Winstanley- Sly Flourish DC; Miss.

CS- DEAD.

DC- Shift. Dagger Winstanley; Miss.

Grey- Scorching Burst OU; Hit 10 Fire damage (13 HP bloodied) & HB1; Hit 10 Fire damage (21 HP bloodied). Shift back.

OU- Move back. Infuse with Shadow- HB1 +5 To Hit & 10 HP back (31 HP bloodied).

Dirty- Reaping Strike HB2; Hit 14 damage (27 HP bloodied) Immediate Reaction Battle Fury Dirty; Hit 16 damage (39 HP). Marked. 2nd Wind Healing Surge (51 HP).

Phrenic- Viper's Strike HB1; Hit 5 damage (26 HP bloodied).

HB1- Greataxe Phrenic; Hit 12 damage (26 HP).

HB2- Greataxe Dirty; Miss.

VS1- DEAD.

VS2- DEAD.

VS3- DEAD.

VS4- DEAD.

VS5- DEAD.

Kaspard- Sacred Flame DC; Hit 8 Radiant damage- DEAD Immediate Reaction Killing Dark Winstanley- Blind & Save for Winstanley from Sacred Flame vs Blindness- Fail.

Time to play 10 minutes.

End of Round-

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 4 (HP51/55)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 4 (HP36/41)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 4 (HP41)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 4 (HP31/36)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 4 (HP26/44)

Bad Guys 1100XP Level 5 Encounter.
Vampire Spawn Fleshripper Level 5 Minion [VS] (x5) (HP1) 5 DEAD
Clay Scout Level 2 Lurker [CS] (HP31) DEAD
Dark Creeper Level 4 Skirmisher [DC] (HP54) DEAD
Human Berserker Level 4 Brute [HB] (x2) (HP26/66 & 27/66)
Orcus Underpriest Level 5 Controller [OU] (HP13/64)

Action Points 0 Total 1
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 0 Total 4
2nd Winds 1 Total 1
Crits 0 Total 0
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 0
Bad Guys Crits 0 Total 1

Comment: Once again the attrition, preserving the PCs major powers for the final confrontation, which the PCs know can't be too far away.