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General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Setting Party level vs an Ancient Red Dragon
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<blockquote data-quote="Tormyr" data-source="post: 7297495" data-attributes="member: 6776887"><p>The problem with an 8th-level party is that the breath weapon is enormous (DC 24 DEX save, 90-foot cone, 91 [26d6] fire damage) and can wipe out lots of them in one blast. Its Frightful Presence splits the party, and it can grab a week PC, fly away with it and finish it off, return for another one with a recharged breath weapon, etc.</p><p></p><p>I generally scale the monsters when there are more than 4 PCs in the party. An ancient red dragon is about the XP per day for 4 level 14 PCs. This would be a difficult but winnable fight with maybe 1 or 2 dying / going unconscious. I would then boost it by 90 hit points for each PC above 4. Each unit of 90 hp can be used for an additional legendary resistance if needed. There will be a lot more spellcasters using save or suck spells.</p><p></p><p>So the ancient red dragon would have 1086 hp, and you can take 90 hp off if the dragon is being barraged by save or suck spells, attempts by a monk to stun, etc. My guess is the dragon survives about 3-4 rounds with a couple PCs going down in the first round or 2 depending on their starting hit points and how the breath weapon went. </p><p></p><p>Make sure everyone knows what they are going to do before their turn comes up as they play characters with completely new powers. With 10 players, the enemy is going to be slow play rather than the dragon.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Tormyr, post: 7297495, member: 6776887"] The problem with an 8th-level party is that the breath weapon is enormous (DC 24 DEX save, 90-foot cone, 91 [26d6] fire damage) and can wipe out lots of them in one blast. Its Frightful Presence splits the party, and it can grab a week PC, fly away with it and finish it off, return for another one with a recharged breath weapon, etc. I generally scale the monsters when there are more than 4 PCs in the party. An ancient red dragon is about the XP per day for 4 level 14 PCs. This would be a difficult but winnable fight with maybe 1 or 2 dying / going unconscious. I would then boost it by 90 hit points for each PC above 4. Each unit of 90 hp can be used for an additional legendary resistance if needed. There will be a lot more spellcasters using save or suck spells. So the ancient red dragon would have 1086 hp, and you can take 90 hp off if the dragon is being barraged by save or suck spells, attempts by a monk to stun, etc. My guess is the dragon survives about 3-4 rounds with a couple PCs going down in the first round or 2 depending on their starting hit points and how the breath weapon went. Make sure everyone knows what they are going to do before their turn comes up as they play characters with completely new powers. With 10 players, the enemy is going to be slow play rather than the dragon. [/QUOTE]
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Setting Party level vs an Ancient Red Dragon
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