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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 4976291" data-attributes="member: 1210">Okay, so here are the two combat encounters from the session I ran a week or so ago.Scenario: In the Chasm[sblock]XP Encounter Difficulty: Level 17 Encounter (we only had 4 pcs at the beginning of this fight) vs. 17th level partyBrief summary: The party teleports to mystery coordinates that they know are close to their goal but probably dangerous. They face the guards set in their arrival area (at the bottom of a deep chasm). Area setup: Chasm about 20' across, longer than they can see. No real light from above; the chasm is of unknown but very large height. Two plateaus of rock about 10' in diameter rise up 20' from the base. Enemies:3 Wrath Spirits (OG 151; level 17 soldiers) 4800 xp1 Bone Devil (MM 62; level 17 controller) 1600 xpEnemy setup: The wrath spirits are ahead of the bone devil; all are about 60' from the party's starting point. How it went: Pretty well. The bone devil teleported around a bunch, the wrath spirits got to throw their heads and one of them escaped to warn the party's ultimate foe that they are comin' on up. I was disappointed that nobody (except one of the wrath spirits) put the plateaus to any use. Actual Difficulty: About right, given that an equal level encounter shouldn't tax the party much. This was kind of a warm up encounter since we haven't played in a while. How well did it work(on a scale of 1-10): 7.5. It worked just fine, but nothing really special. [/sblock]Scenario: Up the Stairs[sblock]XP Encounter Difficulty: Level 17 Encounter vs. level 17 party.Brief summary: The party is ascending a narrow, steep stairway up the chasm from the last encounter. The enemy pours out from above to stop them. It's really easy to fall off the edge of the stairs.Area setup: The stairway is narrow and steep, hewn from the rock of the cliff, with no bannister or railing. It is slightly less than 10' wide and runs about 40' across and 30' up before switching back on itself as it ascends. A character on the outside square of the stair that is hit must make a saving throw or fall down a level on the switchbacks, taking falling damage. The entire stair is difficult terrain, but a creature can make Acrobatics checks (DC 20) to ignore this effect. Likewise, creatures can climb the wall as well (Athletics DC 20). Enemies:12 Strahd's dread zombies (OG 198; level 16 minions) 1 rakshasa assassin (MM 217; level 17 skirmisher)3 wyverns (MM 268; buffed up to level 17 skirmishers)Enemy setup: The dread zombies and rakshasa came from above; the wyverns fly at the pcs from outside the stairs. How it went: Very cool. The dread zombies reanimate at the start of their next turn unless killed by fire or radiant damage, so a lot of them got killed, fell a level down on the stairway (because the chasm gradually widens as you go up), then came back to life to trouble the pcs from below. Eventually the cleric cleaned them up, but for a while they were a little worried about 'em! The wyverns were tough, too, flying by and knocking characters off the edge- until the fighter jumped onto one and rode it to death. Actual Difficulty: Due to the terrain, prolly a level 18 difficulty. How well did it work(on a scale of 1-10): 9. The staircase thingie worked really well, and the minions were the coolest minions I've used in ages. [/sblock]</blockquote>

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