Total Party Kill (Possible RToEE Spoilers)

[Renshai]

Well... after months of play it finally happened. We have been running through Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil since Mid 2001... their had been a couple of deaths, but nothing too overwhelming. Last weekend (at 10th level) they breached the Outer Fane.

The initial fight with the dragon went well but it spiraled downward from there... They encountered two drow that really hurt them, and were then led into the chamber of a Cornugon Devil.

The devil ate their lunch. Its whip was devastating. Stun AND Wounding properties were just too much for them. Then the Devil was successful at summoning 5 Hamatulas. It was all academic from there.

So, that was the end months and months of game time. One player got really, really mad.. but the others understood that they went in too far without a full compliment of party members at full health.


So it looks like I'll be able to start a Freeport campaign sooner than I thought

Ren

 

[AGGEMAM]

What people don't do for a chance to play Freeport?

 

[Roland Delacroix]

Its tough, yeah. This is why i'm telling my players from 1st level, no mercy once they enter the module. They all have several interesting backup character concepts ready to go.

 

[Eryx]

Yep, my group suffered a smiliar fate.

They had managed to get into the Outer Fane and were actually breezing it due to clever tactics, wise use of spells and such, but then they all died in the Fire Temple. A mix of complacency, greed and overconfidence ended with one being a red smear (Literally) and the rest being killed by priests and their monsters.

*Sighs*

It was a good game though.

 

[WanderingMonster]

After everyone (save one player) lost multiple characters in the Temple, we gave up. It was fun, but my players like to get attached to their characters and develop them. The cycle of life and death was too short to be able to enjoy themselves for long. Ultimately, it just didn't suit our style of play.

 

[Renshai]

I agree. All in all it didn't sit too well with me. Their was no time to train between levels because if you played it right, the clerics would have new defenses ready for you when you returned. Realistic, but a pain in the rear when you start to feel like you aren't getting anywhere.

My players roamed the Crater Ridge Mines for months of play and felt like they weren't getting very far. They knew they were on a limited time schedule, so the whole campaign felt hectic.

After the session I realized that I don't think I will be running any more publushed modules.

On another note. For all those that think the FRCS feats/classes are more powerful than the core rules + character builder books, think again. These were characters that used feats and classes from the FRCS in a way that made them very powerful. Core NPCs and monsters straight from the Monster Manual were able to challenge them and ultimately kill them after months and months of play...

Ren

 

[KnowTheToe]

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILERS. there is nothing in your post to tell us we will be reading about RttToEE. Please edit your posts to add spoilers for RttToEE

 

[Thaumaturge]

Spoilers

I had a party reach the water temple and they were liquefied by the Huge water elemental's vortex. Yummy goodness.

Thaumaturge.

 

[Apok]

Funny, the Cornugon didn't give us too much of a problem, though he was annoying. In fact, we had breezed through much of that module with little trouble. What got us was the Vampire Blackguard/Fallen Paladin. The wizard cast a Wall of Force spell to keep it from escaping via Gaseous Form once we killed it. All it ended up doing was prevent our escape after he slaughtered the mage and our fighter. TPK, end of adventure.

 

[Vecna]

The devil ate their lunch. Its whip was devastating. Stun AND Wounding properties were just too much for them. Then the Devil was successful at summoning 5 Hamatulas. It was all academic from there.

Ren

My party annihilated the 2 Cornugons summoned by Hedrak(?) in a couple of rounds, but the evil cleric run away.