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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Iron Sky" data-source="post: 4957363" data-attributes="member: 60965">Scenario: Abyssal Rifts in the Elder Wyld[sblock]XP Encounter Difficulty: Level 7+(Level 5 party)Brief summary: The PCs are tracking down a pair of Kenku who stole their Abyssal Portal book (don't ask how the PCs got it).  They finally catch up to them too late; the Kenku has 5 Kenku hatchlings gutted and the ritual is complete, 5 demonic rifts rending open out of the bodies of the sacrificed baby Kenku.Area setup: The area is a grove deep in the woods.  The PCs enter at the southern edge of the map.  Squares are difficult terrain (bushes, deadfall) unless stated otherwise.  Scattered around are Medium and Large trees that function as walls.Near the north edge of the map, about 20 squares from the PCs  is the stump of an ancient tree where the two Kenku have just finished summoning a Gnarled Demon.  Around the stump for about 10 squares the difficult terrain has withered away and is normal terrain.  The rift itself is Large.Entering the rift deals 10 necrotic damage on entering and at the start of any creature's turn that is inside it.  Standing in a square adjacent to the rift deals 5 necrotic damage.The larger rift can be closed by any creature within 3 squares of it making 5 DC 20 Arcana checks.  If the main rift is closed, roll a d4 at the start of each round.  If the roll equals the number of one of the smaller rifts that's still open(see below), that rift closes.There are 4 small rifts scattered around the map.  They deal 10 necrotic damage to any creature than enters them and may be closed by any adjacent creature that makes a DC 20 Arcana check.Small Rifts:1) In a small hacked-out clearing in the woods about 10 squares to the west and 5 squares north of where the PCs start.2) At the edge of the main clearing to the north, about 15 squares north of rift 1.3) As 1), except 10 squares to the east and 5 squares north.4) 10 squares north of rift 3), but 4 squares up, atop a broken-off, 20' tall Large tree.Enemies:1+ Gnarled Demon, Level 5 Elite Brute (Custom monster)[sblock]Gnarled Demon    Level 5 Elite Brute (Leader)Large elemental magical beast(demon)    XP 400Initiative +2        Senses Perception +3Demonswarm aura 5; All demons in the aura do 1 extra damage per demon adjacent to their target.  When the Gnarled Demon is bloodied, all Demons in the aura also do an additional 1d6 damage if at least two demons are adjacent to the target.HP 160; Bloodied 80AC 19; Fortitude 20; Reflex 16; Will 17Resist 10 varies (2/encounter); Vulnerable 5 radiantSaving Throws +2Speed 4Action Points 1m Claw (at-will; standard) • NecroticReach 2; +8 vs AC; 2d8 + 4 damage and 5 ongoing necrotic damage(save ends).C Demon Fury (at-will; standard) Close burst 1; +6 vs AC; 1d10 + 4 damage, +1d10 if the Demon hits more than one target, and 5 ongoing necrotic damage(save ends).Dangerous Foe (at-will; immediate reaction) When hit by a melee attack; make a Claw attack aginst the target.No Obstacle (recharge 5 6; move) The Gnarled Demon makes a saving throw, then moves its speed+2, ignoring difficult terrain.Rift Shield (recharge 5 6; minor) All demons in the Gnarled Demon's aura gain resist 10 radiant until the end of the Gnarled Demon's next turn and 1d6 temp hp. Alignment Chaotic Evil    Languages AbyssalSkills Athletics +11Str 18 (+6)    Dex 10 (+2)    Wis 12 (+3)Con 20 (+7)    Int 10 (+2)    Cha 15 (+4)[/sblock]3+ Demonling Hunters(see enemy setup below), Level 5 Minion Skirmishers (Custom monsters)[sblock] Hunter Demonling    Level 5 Minion SkirmisherSmall elemental magical beast(demon)    XP 50Initiative +8        Senses Perception +3; darkvisionHP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion.AC 19; Fortitude 17; Reflex 18; Will 16Resist 10, all types except radiant.Speed 6, climb 3m Claw (at-will; standard) +10 vs AC; 5 damage.Leap (at-will; move) The Demonling makes a jump check and doubles the result.  This jump can exceed it's normal movement.Alignment Chaotic Evil    Languages —Skills Athletics +9, Stealth +11Str 14 (+4)    Dex 18 (+6)    Wis 12 (+3)Con 14 (+4)    Int 8 (+1)    Cha 10 (+2)[/sblock]1+ Demonling Scythewing(see enemy setup below), Level 5 Minion Skirmisher (Custom monster)[sblock]Scythewing Demonling    Level 5 Minion SkirmisherSmall elemental magical beast(demon)    XP 50Initiative +8        Senses Perception +4; darkvisionHP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion.AC 19; Fortitude 17; Reflex 18; Will 17Resist 10, All except radiant.Speed 3, fly 6m Claw (at-will; standard) +10 vs AC; 5 damage.Unbalancing Flyby (at-will; standard) The Demonling flies its speed and makes a Claw attack.  If it hits, any movement it makes does not provoke opportunity attacks from the target until the end of the Demonling's turn.Alignment Chaotic Evil    Languages —Skills Athletics +9, Stealth +11Str 14 (+4)    Dex 18 (+6)    Wis 14 (+4)Con 14 (+4)    Int 8 (+1)    Cha 10 (+2)[/sblock]1 Riftwalker Cultist, Level 3 Controller (Custom monster)[sblock]Riftwalker Cultist    Level 3 Controller (Leader)Medium natural humanoid    XP 150Initiative +1        Senses Perception +1HP 43; Bloodied 21AC 17; Fortitude 15; Reflex 15; Will 16Speed 6m Dagger (at-will; standard) +6 vs AC; 1d6 + 3A Dark Energy (at-will; standard) • NecroticArea burst 1 in 5; +7 vs Reflex; 1d6 + 3 necrotic damage.  Effect: The center square becomes a zone of necrotic energy that lasts until the end of the Cultist's next turn.  Any creature entering or starting it's turn in the square takes 5 necrotic damage.Riftleap (encounter; immediate interrupt, when targetted by a melee attack) The cultist teleports 5 squares.  The square it left becomes a Dark Energy square.  The attacker is pulled into the Dark Energy Square.C Riftswell (recharge 5 6; standard) • NecroticClose burst 5; all Dark Energy squares in the burst persist for another round.  All allies in the burst deal 1d6 extra necrotic damage on their next attack before the end of the Cultist's next turn.Alignment Unaligned    Languages CommonSkills Arcana +6, Stealth +6Str 11 (+1)    Dex 11 (+1)    Wis 11 (+1)Con 11 (+1)    Int 11 (+1)    Cha 14 (+3)[/sblock]1 Riftchanged Cultist, Level 4 Soldier (Custom monster)[sblock]Riftchanged Cultist    Level 4 SoldierMedium natural humanoid    XP 175Initiative +5        Senses Perception +4HP 54; Bloodied 27AC 20; Fortitude 17; Reflex 15; Will 16Speed 5m Scythe Arm (at-will; standard) • Necrotic+11 vs AC; 1d6 + 4 damage, 5 ongoing necrotic damage(save ends), and the target is marked until the end of the Cultist's next turn.Mutate (encounter; standard) Usable when bloodied.  The Cultist gains 3d6+3 temporary hitpoints, +2 to all defenses, +1d6 damage to all attacks, vulnerable 5 radiant, and gains the Elemental and Demon types.Alignment Chaotic Evil    Languages CommonSkills Arcana +7, Athletics +11, Endurance +9Str 18 (+6)    Dex 12 (+3)    Wis 14 (+4)Con 14 (+4)    Int 10 (+2)    Cha 10 (+2)[/sblock]Enemy setup: 1 Demonling is adjacent to Rifts 1, 2, and 3.  The Skythewing is adjacent to rift 4.  At the end of each round, roll a d4 for the number of Demonlings that come through the rifts.  For each, roll another d4 to see which rift they come from.  If the Demonling spawns at 4, it's a Scythewing, otherwise it's a Hunter.If the main rift isn't closed at the end of 5 rounds, a second Gnarled Demon can be seen clawing its way through the abyss towards the mouth of the rift.  It takes the Gnarled Demon 2 rounds after that to enter the battle.  For purposes of attacks targeting it, the Demon is dazed until it exits the rift.How it went: The party druid cranked his speed way up and rushed up ahead, where he took focused fire from the two Cultists, the Gnarled Demon, and a couple Demonlings.  The others slogged their way slowly through the difficult terrain, battling Demonlings as they went.Once they reached the main clearing, they went toe-to-toe with the Riftchanged cultist and the Gnarled Demon, harassed by Demonlings on every side and blasted by the Riftwalker Cultist.  In intense fighting, they managed to take down the Riftchanged and the party swordmage started attempting to close the large rift.The druid bled out since he was behind the enemy lines and at the time, the party had no leader to bring him back.They managed to take down first Gnarled Demon - to a round of cheers - but the exultation was short-lived as the second Gnarled Demon became visible.The swordmage and sorcerer busted out the arcana to try to close the rift, but the Gnarled Demon got through anyway.  They managed to take it down by the skin of their teeth (and every encounter, daily, item daily, and all but 1 of their healing potions) - and still had the rifts open spitting out minions.They managed to finish closing the main rift and, to their relief, saw one of the other rifts wink out.  The swordmage managed to close a couple of the rifts, the last one winked out, and they barely dispatched the last minion.Actual Difficulty: It was far harder than the initial xp value would have predicted.  1d4 minions around over 7-8 rounds of combat AND an extra elite made it much harder, especially since one of the players went down in round 1 and died in round 4.How well did it work(on a scale of 1-10): 9.  It was supposed to be hard and scary(I don't think fights vs demons should ever be "fun" or "easy").  I wasn't anticipating the druid bleeding out, so that was a bit of a bummer, but they pulled it off![/sblock]</blockquote>

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