Replacement for thunderspire Dragon

[vagabundo]

Hmm I think I'll have another look at the dragon to see what made it tick. I think I'll save a dragon for my climax though - I now have an image of a Duergar riding a dragon around the Seven Pillared Hall causing all sorts of havoc.

 

[TerraDave]

Just ran it. Fun overall, though the dragon was a little meh, and yes, getting the traps invovled is key, and can really bring the hurt (though was tricky for me as the party was good at getting out of the various chambers).

Also, this is one of the false endings that seem to be so much loved in these early adventures. The real badasses are in the inner sanctum, and they can quickly bring the hurt. If the pcs have a tough encounter then waltz into the sanctum expecting a reward...its TPK time.

Edit: bring the hurt? twice? Oh well.

 

[Evilhalfling]

My players loved this encounter - both sides went to great trouble to avoid being hit by the "Spiky ball of elemental death." They were disappointed when afterward I told them how little it actually did. Giving it +2 to hit +5 damage would help it out.

you could upgrade the dragon similarly to the Black dragon from gencon, now printed in a intro adventure

Traits
Acid Blood (when bloodied)
whenever the dragon takes melee damage when bloodied, the attacker takes 5 acid damage.

Instinctive Devouring
as a free action the dragon can make a charge (bite) attack on its initiative +10. If the dragon cannot make this attack due to being dominated or stunned, it ends that effect instead of attacking.

(cloud of gloom replaces fear aura

Cloud of Gloom (Zone) ♦ Encounter * standard action
Close Burst 5 (enemies)
Effect: all targets gain vulnerability to acid (5) and take a -2 to attacks till end of the encounter. This can be ended with a standard action heal check DC 10, on self or adjacent ally.

 

[LightPhoenix]

My players loved this encounter - both sides went to great trouble to avoid being hit by the "Spiky ball of elemental death." They were disappointed when afterward I told them how little it actually did. Giving it +2 to hit +5 damage would help it out.

Same for us when we played through it. The concept was scary enough that the effect never came into play. That's what made it awesome though.

As for the encounter, our GM changed it to a demonic minotaur, in keeping with the general themes of the adventure. He made sure it could shove us around too.