Suggestions for fun EL 18 encounters (John, Mike, Avi stay out!!!)

[Enkhidu]

The Fenzied Berserker is probably the best possible BBEG for the fight - judicious use of magic on the part of the villians to get the fight started and then run would leave the party fighting with itself in order to get the FB under control. Then the baddies can make an immediate comeback while the party is less prepared.

 

[shilsen]

Never mind the targeted greater dispels... what about Crush Item and Magic Drain . Now that'd put the fear of god into many players I've seen...

Down the same line of thinking. Bebeliths can also rend armour. Not sure whether those tactics might cause too much upset though?

PC equipment is definitely going to be a target in some encounters. Since the whole evening might be spoilt for the players if they're suddenly walking around carrying wooden clubs to replace their +5 weapons, I've compensated by providing them with a special benefit. Their equipment and the PCs themselves will regenerate at the end of each fight. Very videogamey, but it lets me pull the stops out without having to worry about responses to destroyed equipment or what happens when a PC bites the dust (and I am expecting a few deaths, esp. in session 2) midway through the session.

I think you can definitely challenge them with CR apt encounters... by the sound of it, things would be all be about how smart you use the bad guys. A 'demonic party' would be great - wide scope for unpleasant tactics. And Int scores to justify that kind of thing.

That's what I'm shooting for. AN EL 18 encounter should be a walk in the park for these guys. So it's a good tactical test for me as a DM to make it really challenging for them, and running high Int/Wis enemies (which is what most of them are) allows me to justify really smart tactics.

Sounds like a fairly balanced out party. Frenzied Beserker is sure to be fun... Wonder if he will cause more casualties than the encounters. That's an interesting challenge for you to deal with. Powered up 18th level PCs. Yikes!

I don't think powered up does justice to them. The FB, for example isn't "just" a FB. He's a half-ogre, Bbn4/Ftr2/FB6/Bear Warrior1/Warshaper4. The cheese liveth on!

The only other thought I had was the old high level classic... A Dragon hunt! IIRC, there are plenty of planar environment dragons in print?

The big fight to wrap up the entire adventure is going to involve a dragon, actually. A wyrm brass dragon, to be precise, with his rider, a fallen planetar cleric. The adventure involves the PCs being a hit squad sent to take this guy out.

Edit: Did think of something else! As the Cleric and Wizard are being created especially, I'd eyeball what scrolls they pick up... Pretty cheap for a one shot game and could have all kinds of 'interesting' effects?

Good point. I've asked the players to send me a copy of the PCs before the game.

 

[shilsen]

Add in a time factor, too. All too often even standard encounters of an appropriate level seem less-than-challenging because the PCs have all the time in the world. A time factor keeps everyone honest and on their toes.

True. The PCs will be under a time crunch, both because they have to take out the planetar (see above post) out quickly and also because some of the special benefits they are getting last only a couple of days.

The Fenzied Berserker is probably the best possible BBEG for the fight - judicious use of magic on the part of the villians to get the fight started and then run would leave the party fighting with itself in order to get the FB under control. Then the baddies can make an immediate comeback while the party is less prepared.

It's like you're reading my notes here

 

[Nightfall]

So I've heard Alas, I don't own the module.

Easily fixed. DTRPG.com has all three mods on their site VERY cheap. And they aren't DTR either.