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[SPOILERS] Enhancing Tomb of Annihilation
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<blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 7383005" data-attributes="member: 20323"><p>Normally I don't prepare adventures too far in advance, but ToA is a different beast: planning, foreshadowing, and adapting for your party pay off in spades with this adventure...</p><p></p><p>And when it comes to running Acererak at the end, well the only way I can hope to portray a 27 Intelligence lich against the collective genius of four players is preparation. This is confounded by Acererak's unusual spell list.</p><p></p><p>Obviously, a DM can change this. Many have blogged about this, including <a href="http://slyflourish.com/acereraks_spells.html" target="_blank">Mike Shea</a>, <a href="http://themonstersknow.com/undead-tactics-liches/" target="_blank">Keith Ammann</a>, and <a href="https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/185-how-to-play-a-lich-like-a-dark-overlord" target="_blank">James Haeck</a>.</p><p></p><p>However, I like to give the D&D designers (Chris Perkins, Will Doyle, Steve Winter, and the rest) more credit and assume they choose Acererak's spell list for precise reasons relating to the Tomb of the Nine Gods and his overall strategy. Though I wish they'd been more transparent, I'm going to attempt to do some game design forensics to deduce how Acererak is intended to be played (both tactically & holistically)...</p><p></p><p>First, here are Acererak's prepared spells according to ToA:</p><p></p><p>[SECTION]Cantrips (at-will): <em>mage hand, ray of frost</em> (attack, 4d8), <em>shocking grasp</em> (attack, 4d8)</p><p>1st level (at-will): <em>ray of sickness</em> (CON), <em>shield</em></p><p>2nd level (at-will): <em>arcane lock, knock</em></p><p><u>3rd level (at-will): <em>animate dead, counterspell</em></u></p><p>4th level (3 slots): <em>blight</em> (CON), <em>ice storm</em> (DEX), <em>phantasmal killer</em> (WIS, conc.)</p><p>5th level (3 slots): <em>cloudkill</em> (conc.), <em>hold monster</em> (conc.), <em>wall of force</em> (conc.)</p><p>6th level (3 slots): <em>chain lightning</em> (DEX), <em>circle of death</em> (CON), <em>disintegrate</em> (DEX)</p><p>7th level (3 slots): <em>finger of death</em> (CON), <em>plane shift</em> (CHA), <em>teleport</em></p><p>8th level (2 slots): <em>maze</em> (conc.), <em>mind blank</em></p><p>9th level (2 slots): <em>power word kill, time stop</em>[/SECTION]</p><p></p><p><strong>Reaction Spells.</strong> Every combat round Acererak is reserving his Reaction to cast either <em>shield</em> or <em>counterspell</em>, as needed. If there is a <em>counterspell</em>-slinging PC, remember that he can <em>counterspell</em> a <em>counterspell</em>.</p><p></p><p><strong>Animate Dead (Legendary Action, upcast).</strong> A key thing to remember is that Acererak can use any one of his at-will spells as a Legendary Action. This includes <em>mage hand, ray of frost, shocking grasp, ray of sickness, arcane lock, knock,</em> and <em>animate dead</em>. Common interpretation I've seen among DMs on the web is that, yes, Acererak can cast <em>animate dead</em> with a legendary action, meaning within 1 round instead of requiring 1 minute. Given the description of Area 77: Death God's Nursery – no corpses, but there are bones in the walls like an ossuary – these undead will be skeletons; though inferior to zombies, the image of skeletons crawling from the walls is pretty cool! Whether or not Acererak can upcast his at-will spells (of which he has no spell slots) is a bit ambiguous. Assuming he's modeled after a wizard (he explicitly casts wizard spells with Intelligence as his spellcasting ability) with a version of Spell Mastery & Signature Spells, however, I'm going to say "yes, he can." So when he casts <em>animate dead</em> using a Legendary Action, he always upcasts and animates multiple skeletons...a 4th level slot conjures 3 skeletons, a 5th level spell slot conjures 5 skeletons (I'm liking 5th level slots, cause his 5th level spells are ALL concentration), and a 6th level slot conjures 7 skeletons. He'll reserve higher level slots for other spells.</p><p></p><p><strong>Teleport or Plane Shift (last resort).</strong> Acererak saves one 7th level slot to escape if reduced to 100 hp or fewer. Presumably this bypasses (or ends) the usual restriction on teleporting out of the Tomb of Nine Gods. Might be wise to save *two* slots if there's a <em>counterspell</em>-slinging PC in the party!</p><p></p><p><strong>Arcane Lock? Knock? What the...??</strong> <em>Arcane lock</em> and <em>knock</em> are unusual spell choices. <em>Knock</em> makes sense within the greater context of moving around the Tomb of the Nine Gods, where <em>knock</em> is specifically called out as bypassing a barrier or trap (Area 38: Revolving Room Trap, I'm looking at you). But does <em>knock</em> have any combat application in Area 77: Death God's Nursery? Maybe opening one of the many lich phylacteries? Though there's nothing in D&D lore AFAIK that details what doing that would mean. Opening the Soulmonger? Acererak wouldn't want to do that. So, no, no combat application for <em>knock</em> – it's mean as an exploration backstory element for Acererak, and miiiiight come into play if the final fight moves around the Tomb (a possibility! see below!) What about <em>arcane lock</em>? Obviously, Acererak can use this to re-seal anything he <em>knocks</em> his way past...but what about a combat application, such as splitting the party? Unfortunately, there aren't any doors in Area 77...except for the Skeleton Gate...which explicitly says: "The door and its seals are impervious to damage and spells, and cannot be opened in a manner other than that which is prescribed above." (ToA p.180) Well, that looks like it'd be a DM judgment call whether Acererak's <em>arcane lock</em> would do anything to the Skeleton Gate...at a minimum, Acererak would have to close the Skeleton Gate first (perhaps with <em>mage hand</em>? or commanding skeletons?)...though the adventure doesn't detail how to close it once opened. Personally, I like the drama of Acererak shutting off their escape route on the 1st round, so I may just go with it.</p><p></p><p><strong>Time Stop - how does Acererak use it?</strong> Usually <em>time stop</em> is used to set up defenses or, more rarely, as a means of escape. However, Acererak doesn't have classic defensive spells prepared & <em>time stop</em> ends prematurely if Acererak affects another creature or an object being worn/carried by another creature. Also, the bonus turns do NOT grant Legendary Actions (as those only trigger on <em>another</em> creature's turn ending). So what are his options? </p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><em>Mind blank</em> on himself? While his staff already makes him immune to being charmed, immunity to psychic damage is good. Immunity to divination would be good too, if he had a way to turn invisible. Alas, he doesn't. However, what's cool about <em>mind blank</em> is that if Acererak ever becomes separated from the party during the battle (more on that below!), they won't be able to find him with <em>locate creature</em> or similar magic...letting him come at them from a new angle of attack. Honestly, however, <em>mind blank</em> is the sort of spell he should cast on himself while PCs battle the atropal – I'll chalk this up to his flaw "I underestimate the resolve of my enemies." <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><em>Wall of Force</em>? Acererak should use this to maximum effect to divide the PC party & set up <em>cloudkill</em> later (clustering low-CON PCs). <strong>Alternately</strong>, if facing a melee-heavy party, he could use it to cover the lava pit, forcing PCs closing to melee to walk on the <em>wall of force</em>. If they disrupt his concentration, the melee fighters and Acererak plummet into the lava! Or he can <em>teleport</em> away and just cease concentrating on the <em>wall of force</em>. Suitably dickish move for Acererak!</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><em>Teleport</em>? While teleporting into/out of the Tomb is supposed to be a Bad Idea (I say "supposed" because Acererak seems able to disregard this to escape), he certainly can teleport *within* the Tomb. Though this would be a nightmare to DM, it strikes as an exceptional strategy, as Acererak can retreat to safety while letting the PCs suffer whatever ongoing spell he cast & just keep throwing skeletons at the PCs until they catch up with him (or he re-teleports back in).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">If the <em>time stop</em> lasts longer than 3 turns, Acererak will end it with a non-Concentration hostile spell like <em>ice storm</em> – which helps set up <em>cloudkill</em> by creating difficult terrain.</li> </ul><p></p><p><strong>Maze & Plane Shift: spells that separate the party.</strong> These are great spells to cast from a strategic standpoint, but are a challenge to DM and still keep all players involved. For <em>maze</em>, I'd reserve it for once Acererak has finished other high-priority Concentration spells like <em>wall of force</em>, and instead of a nondescript demiplane, I'd have the PC sent somewhere dangerous within the Tomb the party hadn't yet explored. Ideally, Acererak would <em>maze</em> a PC while the PC was in a dangerous spot (e.g. while standing on <em>wall of force</em> over lava), so when they reappear they suffer. Though, to be sporting, it would be fun to devise some mini-puzzle the player can figure out to reappear at the Skeleton Gate rather than in harm's way. </p><p></p><p>For <em>plane shift</em>, there is no ongoing Intelligence check to escape. Fail your save and you're stranded on another plane. Period. However...creatures plane shifting in the Tomb end up in Area 57: Oubliette (see magical conditions ToA p.128). While it's unclear whether Acererak himself is subject to all those magical restrictions or not, it seems reasonable to assume PCs still are, even if they're being involuntarily plane shifted. I like this solution because it still gives a PC a *chance* of returning to the party & gives them a fun challenge to overcome. An alternative would be sending the PC into the Border Ethereal – with Acererak maniacally cackling "watch as I destroy your friends!" – and providing some means to return to the Material Plane in Area 71: Lair of the Sewn Sisters.</p><p></p><p>Those are my initial thoughts. As I run ToA for my group, I'll write up a more formal strategy for Acererak.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Quickleaf, post: 7383005, member: 20323"] Normally I don't prepare adventures too far in advance, but ToA is a different beast: planning, foreshadowing, and adapting for your party pay off in spades with this adventure... And when it comes to running Acererak at the end, well the only way I can hope to portray a 27 Intelligence lich against the collective genius of four players is preparation. This is confounded by Acererak's unusual spell list. Obviously, a DM can change this. Many have blogged about this, including [url=http://slyflourish.com/acereraks_spells.html]Mike Shea[/url], [url=http://themonstersknow.com/undead-tactics-liches/]Keith Ammann[/url], and [url=https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/185-how-to-play-a-lich-like-a-dark-overlord]James Haeck[/url]. However, I like to give the D&D designers (Chris Perkins, Will Doyle, Steve Winter, and the rest) more credit and assume they choose Acererak's spell list for precise reasons relating to the Tomb of the Nine Gods and his overall strategy. Though I wish they'd been more transparent, I'm going to attempt to do some game design forensics to deduce how Acererak is intended to be played (both tactically & holistically)... First, here are Acererak's prepared spells according to ToA: [SECTION]Cantrips (at-will): [I]mage hand, ray of frost[/I] (attack, 4d8), [I]shocking grasp[/I] (attack, 4d8) 1st level (at-will): [I]ray of sickness[/I] (CON), [I]shield[/I] 2nd level (at-will): [I]arcane lock, knock[/I] [U]3rd level (at-will): [I]animate dead, counterspell[/I][/U] 4th level (3 slots): [I]blight[/I] (CON), [I]ice storm[/I] (DEX), [I]phantasmal killer[/I] (WIS, conc.) 5th level (3 slots): [I]cloudkill[/I] (conc.), [i]hold monster[/i] (conc.), [i]wall of force[/I] (conc.) 6th level (3 slots): [I]chain lightning[/I] (DEX), [I]circle of death[/I] (CON), [I]disintegrate[/I] (DEX) 7th level (3 slots): [I]finger of death[/I] (CON), [I]plane shift[/I] (CHA), [I]teleport[/I] 8th level (2 slots): [I]maze[/i] (conc.), [i]mind blank[/I] 9th level (2 slots): [I]power word kill, time stop[/I][/SECTION] [B]Reaction Spells.[/B] Every combat round Acererak is reserving his Reaction to cast either [I]shield[/I] or [I]counterspell[/I], as needed. If there is a [I]counterspell[/I]-slinging PC, remember that he can [I]counterspell[/I] a [I]counterspell[/I]. [B]Animate Dead (Legendary Action, upcast).[/B] A key thing to remember is that Acererak can use any one of his at-will spells as a Legendary Action. This includes [I]mage hand, ray of frost, shocking grasp, ray of sickness, arcane lock, knock,[/I] and [I]animate dead[/I]. Common interpretation I've seen among DMs on the web is that, yes, Acererak can cast [I]animate dead[/I] with a legendary action, meaning within 1 round instead of requiring 1 minute. Given the description of Area 77: Death God's Nursery – no corpses, but there are bones in the walls like an ossuary – these undead will be skeletons; though inferior to zombies, the image of skeletons crawling from the walls is pretty cool! Whether or not Acererak can upcast his at-will spells (of which he has no spell slots) is a bit ambiguous. Assuming he's modeled after a wizard (he explicitly casts wizard spells with Intelligence as his spellcasting ability) with a version of Spell Mastery & Signature Spells, however, I'm going to say "yes, he can." So when he casts [I]animate dead[/I] using a Legendary Action, he always upcasts and animates multiple skeletons...a 4th level slot conjures 3 skeletons, a 5th level spell slot conjures 5 skeletons (I'm liking 5th level slots, cause his 5th level spells are ALL concentration), and a 6th level slot conjures 7 skeletons. He'll reserve higher level slots for other spells. [B]Teleport or Plane Shift (last resort).[/B] Acererak saves one 7th level slot to escape if reduced to 100 hp or fewer. Presumably this bypasses (or ends) the usual restriction on teleporting out of the Tomb of Nine Gods. Might be wise to save *two* slots if there's a [I]counterspell[/I]-slinging PC in the party! [B]Arcane Lock? Knock? What the...??[/B] [I]Arcane lock[/I] and [I]knock[/I] are unusual spell choices. [I]Knock[/I] makes sense within the greater context of moving around the Tomb of the Nine Gods, where [I]knock[/I] is specifically called out as bypassing a barrier or trap (Area 38: Revolving Room Trap, I'm looking at you). But does [I]knock[/I] have any combat application in Area 77: Death God's Nursery? Maybe opening one of the many lich phylacteries? Though there's nothing in D&D lore AFAIK that details what doing that would mean. Opening the Soulmonger? Acererak wouldn't want to do that. So, no, no combat application for [I]knock[/I] – it's mean as an exploration backstory element for Acererak, and miiiiight come into play if the final fight moves around the Tomb (a possibility! see below!) What about [I]arcane lock[/I]? Obviously, Acererak can use this to re-seal anything he [I]knocks[/I] his way past...but what about a combat application, such as splitting the party? Unfortunately, there aren't any doors in Area 77...except for the Skeleton Gate...which explicitly says: "The door and its seals are impervious to damage and spells, and cannot be opened in a manner other than that which is prescribed above." (ToA p.180) Well, that looks like it'd be a DM judgment call whether Acererak's [I]arcane lock[/I] would do anything to the Skeleton Gate...at a minimum, Acererak would have to close the Skeleton Gate first (perhaps with [I]mage hand[/I]? or commanding skeletons?)...though the adventure doesn't detail how to close it once opened. Personally, I like the drama of Acererak shutting off their escape route on the 1st round, so I may just go with it. [B]Time Stop - how does Acererak use it?[/B] Usually [I]time stop[/I] is used to set up defenses or, more rarely, as a means of escape. However, Acererak doesn't have classic defensive spells prepared & [I]time stop[/I] ends prematurely if Acererak affects another creature or an object being worn/carried by another creature. Also, the bonus turns do NOT grant Legendary Actions (as those only trigger on [I]another[/I] creature's turn ending). So what are his options? [list][*][I]Mind blank[/I] on himself? While his staff already makes him immune to being charmed, immunity to psychic damage is good. Immunity to divination would be good too, if he had a way to turn invisible. Alas, he doesn't. However, what's cool about [I]mind blank[/I] is that if Acererak ever becomes separated from the party during the battle (more on that below!), they won't be able to find him with [I]locate creature[/I] or similar magic...letting him come at them from a new angle of attack. Honestly, however, [I]mind blank[/I] is the sort of spell he should cast on himself while PCs battle the atropal – I'll chalk this up to his flaw "I underestimate the resolve of my enemies." ;) [*][I]Wall of Force[/I]? Acererak should use this to maximum effect to divide the PC party & set up [I]cloudkill[/I] later (clustering low-CON PCs). [B]Alternately[/B], if facing a melee-heavy party, he could use it to cover the lava pit, forcing PCs closing to melee to walk on the [I]wall of force[/I]. If they disrupt his concentration, the melee fighters and Acererak plummet into the lava! Or he can [I]teleport[/I] away and just cease concentrating on the [I]wall of force[/I]. Suitably dickish move for Acererak! [*][I]Teleport[/I]? While teleporting into/out of the Tomb is supposed to be a Bad Idea (I say "supposed" because Acererak seems able to disregard this to escape), he certainly can teleport *within* the Tomb. Though this would be a nightmare to DM, it strikes as an exceptional strategy, as Acererak can retreat to safety while letting the PCs suffer whatever ongoing spell he cast & just keep throwing skeletons at the PCs until they catch up with him (or he re-teleports back in). [*]If the [I]time stop[/I] lasts longer than 3 turns, Acererak will end it with a non-Concentration hostile spell like [I]ice storm[/I] – which helps set up [I]cloudkill[/I] by creating difficult terrain.[/list] [B]Maze & Plane Shift: spells that separate the party.[/B] These are great spells to cast from a strategic standpoint, but are a challenge to DM and still keep all players involved. For [I]maze[/I], I'd reserve it for once Acererak has finished other high-priority Concentration spells like [I]wall of force[/I], and instead of a nondescript demiplane, I'd have the PC sent somewhere dangerous within the Tomb the party hadn't yet explored. Ideally, Acererak would [I]maze[/I] a PC while the PC was in a dangerous spot (e.g. while standing on [I]wall of force[/I] over lava), so when they reappear they suffer. Though, to be sporting, it would be fun to devise some mini-puzzle the player can figure out to reappear at the Skeleton Gate rather than in harm's way. For [I]plane shift[/I], there is no ongoing Intelligence check to escape. Fail your save and you're stranded on another plane. Period. However...creatures plane shifting in the Tomb end up in Area 57: Oubliette (see magical conditions ToA p.128). While it's unclear whether Acererak himself is subject to all those magical restrictions or not, it seems reasonable to assume PCs still are, even if they're being involuntarily plane shifted. I like this solution because it still gives a PC a *chance* of returning to the party & gives them a fun challenge to overcome. An alternative would be sending the PC into the Border Ethereal – with Acererak maniacally cackling "watch as I destroy your friends!" – and providing some means to return to the Material Plane in Area 71: Lair of the Sewn Sisters. Those are my initial thoughts. As I run ToA for my group, I'll write up a more formal strategy for Acererak. [/QUOTE]
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