RangerWickett
Legend
I wanted to set up an encounter with a solo that rewarded PC ingenuity. I figured it'd help avoid grind. I'm posting the encounter text here, with the stat block attached because it doesn't format well.
The idea is that the PCs are trying to get to a keep to arrest a villain, guarded by a fey in a hedge maze. An assassin NPC has a lead on them, and he ran across the top of the hedge maze, setting fire to it in a few spots. The assassin wants to kill the villain in the keep; the PCs just want to arrest him.
The Labyrinth of Gillie Dhu
Action/Social. Tactical. Heroic. Level 1.
A furious fey tries to thwart the PCs’ path to a keep in the center of his hedge maze home, but he can be convinced that another intruder who moments earlier set fire to the labyrinth is a greater threat.
{{Stat Block Here}}
Tactics and Terrain
When the assassin reached the hedge, he ran across it, his footsteps igniting a few spots. When the PCs arrive here they spot Gillie Dhu beating his shillelagh at a burning hedge at the edge of his labyrinth. The fire goes out and the bit of hedge withers to ash, opening up a path into the maze.
When Gillie Dhu spots the PCs he disappears into the maze, shouting haughtily, “Your flaming friend may have gotten by, but I shall not let you pass!”
Burning Hedges: Any effect that causes ongoing fire damage can set a hedge on fire. Attacks that affect an area can set fire to every hedge square in that area. Single-target attacks can set fire to one square. Hedges do not get saves to end this ongoing damage, and only stop burning if Gillie Dhu ends his turn next to them.
Because each square of burning brush does damage to him, usually Gillie Dhu will disengage from the PCs and rush to put out fires on his turn. He assumes he’ll have time to get back to the party before they can navigate the maze. If a PC is creating a lot of fire, though, he’ll focus his attacks on that character. Even if the PCs themselves have no fire powers, their allied soldiers each have a flask of alchemist fire. Clever PCs can manage to keep Gillie Dhu busy putting out fires until they get to the central keep.
Negotiating: Gillie Dhu gladly talks with the PCs during combat, calling them scalawags and fools for thinking they can get past him. He assumes the assassin is actually on the same side as the PCs. If the PCs suggest that the assassin means to kill the Gillie Dhu's master, whereas they just want to take him prisoner, a hard (DC 19) Diplomacy check can convince him to stand down and let them into the keep.
What do you think? Would it be an interesting encounter? Any suggestions for spicing it up? Considering the party's only 1st level, will the solo be a credible challenge?
The idea is that the PCs are trying to get to a keep to arrest a villain, guarded by a fey in a hedge maze. An assassin NPC has a lead on them, and he ran across the top of the hedge maze, setting fire to it in a few spots. The assassin wants to kill the villain in the keep; the PCs just want to arrest him.
The Labyrinth of Gillie Dhu
Action/Social. Tactical. Heroic. Level 1.
A furious fey tries to thwart the PCs’ path to a keep in the center of his hedge maze home, but he can be convinced that another intruder who moments earlier set fire to the labyrinth is a greater threat.
{{Stat Block Here}}
Tactics and Terrain
When the assassin reached the hedge, he ran across it, his footsteps igniting a few spots. When the PCs arrive here they spot Gillie Dhu beating his shillelagh at a burning hedge at the edge of his labyrinth. The fire goes out and the bit of hedge withers to ash, opening up a path into the maze.
When Gillie Dhu spots the PCs he disappears into the maze, shouting haughtily, “Your flaming friend may have gotten by, but I shall not let you pass!”
Burning Hedges: Any effect that causes ongoing fire damage can set a hedge on fire. Attacks that affect an area can set fire to every hedge square in that area. Single-target attacks can set fire to one square. Hedges do not get saves to end this ongoing damage, and only stop burning if Gillie Dhu ends his turn next to them.
Because each square of burning brush does damage to him, usually Gillie Dhu will disengage from the PCs and rush to put out fires on his turn. He assumes he’ll have time to get back to the party before they can navigate the maze. If a PC is creating a lot of fire, though, he’ll focus his attacks on that character. Even if the PCs themselves have no fire powers, their allied soldiers each have a flask of alchemist fire. Clever PCs can manage to keep Gillie Dhu busy putting out fires until they get to the central keep.
Negotiating: Gillie Dhu gladly talks with the PCs during combat, calling them scalawags and fools for thinking they can get past him. He assumes the assassin is actually on the same side as the PCs. If the PCs suggest that the assassin means to kill the Gillie Dhu's master, whereas they just want to take him prisoner, a hard (DC 19) Diplomacy check can convince him to stand down and let them into the keep.
What do you think? Would it be an interesting encounter? Any suggestions for spicing it up? Considering the party's only 1st level, will the solo be a credible challenge?
