Level Up (A5E) Scarlet Citadel for A5E

[GKEnialb]

So they finally returned to citadel with 6 of them at 4th level (two a couple of tries to get in - I put some ankhegs outside of it, 3 regular and a queen, and that was enough of a battle to send them back to town). Once they got back in, they found the gas trap on the first level and all failed their save except one, so a nice intra-party battle broke out.

Eventually the made it to the second level, which is rated for 4 characters of 3-4 level, so should have been pretty easy. That hasn't been the case so far. They bypassed the traps pretty easily but fought the hybrid gelatinous cube / ochre jelly after distracting the alchemist. At one point, 3 of the party were unconscious and 1 of those had to make a Con save to avoid being insta-killed by the gas bubble in the hybrid (showed that the Level Up version of massive damage is way better than O5E). Another was brought to 5 fatigue because of being knocked down a lot combined with a house rule that they can perform a bonus action when at 0 hp for 1 fatigue and a full action for 2 fatigue, which allowed him to escape but he's soooo close to being Doomed).

After resting a bit, they met the dire gelatinous cube, which went better than the battle with the hybrid, but drained a lot of spells and hp. They decided to push on and met Cagoth-ze in the time stream room. He almost convinced one to walk into the time stream, but the others talked her out of it. Then they antagonized Cagoth-ze to the point where I ended it on a cliff hanger with a battle breaking out. It'll be interesting to see if they can all survive.

I used the O5E stats for the two monsters they battled (inside the citadel, I used the A5E for both ankheg variants), which worked seamlessly. The two A5E things that came up in the session (the massive damage and fatigue) were definitely a bonus in the excitement.

 

[GuyBoy]

That second level is tough!
My lot got hit by the trap at the base of the stairs, battled through the hybrid ooze and negotiated a retreat with the alchemist, before getting ambushed by zombies ( spawned from the pit on level 1) on the way out, exhausted.
On return they killed the alchemist (which caused some arguments within the party!) and eventually killed Cagoth-Ze (which caused absolutely no arguments at all!) and partially fell foul of the “time machine” but survived.
They regrouped in Redtower, and have just descended to level 3. Things are about to get bloody!

 

[GKEnialb]

What level were your characters (and how many)? I imagine my group will need to be a couple levels higher than recommended to go to level 3 (even with 6 of them). Then again, I tend to roll really well and they tend to roll really poorly.

 

[GuyBoy]

They were level 3 during level 2 of the dungeon, and they’ve just risen to level 4. They haven’t seen any action yet on the lower dungeon level, as we finished with them descending the stairs.
The party comprises a paladin, an artificer, a bard and a fighter. All the players are very experience; we’ve been gaming together for over 20 years.

 

[GKEnialb]

Wow, they're good - seems like 4 of them at level 3 are about equivalent to 6 of mine at level 4!

 

[GKEnialb]

And they survived Cagoth-ze, though were pretty beat up by his lightning bolt. He would start his turn in the time field, walk out (away from any melee range), cast a spell, and walk back into the time field, but some really good rolls (for a change) for ranged weapons and spells did him in.

One of the party wandered off while the others were resting and released the devil, offering it Cagoth-ze's body - I figured there was no reason it wouldn't just take the body and return to its plane without attacking the party.

And then came the ink guardian. It brought down one PC, bringing him to 6 fatigue :0. Luckily the others were able to get his body, agreed not to bring him back until they were out of the Citadel to make sure he didn't get brought down to 7 fatigue, and bravely ran away. First the first time, Doom was real threat, and it was very exciting!

That'll be it for a while, as they're off on a different adventure.

 

[GuyBoy]

My lot, including @TheSword , just got a butt-kicking from the trollkin on level 3, narrowly avoiding a TPK by a full-fledged retreat.

 

[GKEnialb]

Yeah, that looks tough. I imagine my players will hit that when they're 6th level.

 

[blackflame]

Pah-It was hardly a Butt kicking. I'd call it more of a reconnaissance in force that ended with a skillful (and dignified) withdrawal. Did 'Yakety Sax' play during this gallant retreat? It's possible. All I know is that I was fine and the others need to jolly well play up for the honour of the party and play smarter like I do. Perhaps by convincing three other people to stand between them and danger (it works for me).