World's Largest Dungeon in actual play [Spoilers!]

[twofalls]

Bump.

 

[Bestopheles]

Hey Guys,

I've been pondering how to handle items for players joining late (or replacement charcters as people fail saves, get eaten by fiendish critters, etc.) The standard responde, IMO, is to say that all of the deceased's items are destroyed by whatever causes their death. However, after reading about the celestial seals starting in room A108, i had a different idea. What if instead of giving the various resistance bonuses, each seal blessed imbued an item of a champion of good with certain mysterious abilities. (So mysterious that they would intially just know how to access one or two...for example, a level two character could shove a sword into the pool of water in room a108, and would find it blessed with great power. However, initially, he's only really able to take advantage of it's fine balance...so it gives him a +1 to attack rolls. At level 4, he's master a few more of it's abilities, maybe giving him a +1 or 2 to attack rolls, and he can also use it to cast bless a few times a day...etc, etc. Or perhaps the clerics gloves initillay give a +1 resistance bonus, and later gives bonuses to heal checks, or allows him to "lay on hands" 1 per day. Of course, if this option is used, perhaps future treasure should be curtailed....hmm. Just putting it out there...

Jason

 

[twofalls]

Legendary Weapons

Check out Unearthed Arcana pg. 162 for Legendary Weapons.

 

[Bestopheles]

Good Catch! Will do twofalls!

Jason

 

[BlueBlackRed]

As players die, let the group decide what happens to the items.
The whole party faught hard for the equipment, no reason to add insult to injury when a party member falls by turning the PC to ash.

When a new player joins or a PC gets replaced, let him have the bare minimum equipment for a PC of that level. Keep permanent magic items to a minimum and you can use it as an excuse to throw in someething the party may need. (How many times has a simple wand of cure light wounds saved the day?)

 

[Bestopheles]

Sorry to spam post, but I have a bit of a conundrum, and I want to make sure the question is at the end to get an answer. Here's the deal. Last week, my players battled it out with the kobold in room A69. We ended the night with them capturing two of the kobolds (2 warriors) with a sleep spell, and slaughtering everyone else, with questioning to begin next session (this Thursday). My problem is that it says the kobolds know about the secret door to room 108, but room A108 has no secret doors. There are a few secret doors you can use to get to the section of the dungeon where A108 is, but I'm not at all clear which door is being referred too (especially since all of those rooms are a fair distance away from these kobolds). Also, it refers in the text to the fact that the kobolds "don't understand that the door is one way, and just assume that the haven't been able to open it", and I have no idea what this means. Perhaps I'm just slow... (it was a long day at the hospital today), eitherway I would appreciate it if someone could explain this one too me before Thursday.

On the topic of equipment, my only concern with equipment is that with PC deaths we'll get a big item creep ... (as in a glut of magic items brought in with new characters) and that new built characters will have advantage in that they will be able to customize all their magic items, while normal pcs will have to make do with what they find. I've been in campaigns where players would spend their wad on magic armor, knowing that their last pc just died with a magic axe, for example.

 

[BlueBlackRed]

On the topic of equipment, my only concern with equipment is that with PC deaths we'll get a big item creep ... (as in a glut of magic items brought in with new characters) and that new built characters will have advantage in that they will be able to customize all their magic items, while normal pcs will have to make do with what they find. I've been in campaigns where players would spend their wad on magic armor, knowing that their last pc just died with a magic axe, for example.

Don't let them do that. The party, without the input of the new player or now-deceased PC, decides what happens to the equipment on the deceased PC.

The player should be making characters without using any knowledge they already have from inside the game.

You are the DM. If you believe that they are incapable of acting without using information they should not be using, then hose them over. Teach them a lesson. Heck, with my players, the threat of screwing them over keeps them honest (it helps that they're generally pretty honest though .

If they make a character that is specialized in axes conveniently after the party just found a sweet magical axe...then suddenly that axe turns into a backbiter axe, or better yet, a berserker axe.

An idea someone is using (can't remember who though). If a player loses his PC, then he can't make another PC of that type for the remainder of the module.

When a new player joins or a PC gets replaced, let him have the bare minimum equipment for a PC of that level.

I meant that. At level 1, give them the least amount of gold the PHB suggests.
At level 2, give them the avg gp for level 1 + a healing potion.
Level 4, a masterwork medium armor and 50 gp.

Now if your players are totally incapable of self control...then freely blast the daylights out of them. Something to the tune of a 50hp darkmantle with an XP value of ZERO.

They're your players. You know them best. And I'm just trying to give ya some ideas.

 

[twofalls]

My problem is that it says the kobolds know about the secret door to room 108, but room A108 has no secret doors.

The Door being reffered to is actually on the northwest wall of room 103. It opens into the passageway only (can be used from room 103 to get into the passage beyond, not the other way around). This is the room in which the PC's battle Longtail and his familiar if you are using the book as is.

 

[doseyclwn]

My group is purely fighters, no rogues, no bards, no wizards, no clerics. It's glorious.

And those rat swarms getting old? check out this new swarm from GR:

http://64.17.155.164/gr_files/ab_pre.pdf

time to upgrade those rat swarms a bit! They do very very nicely for a change.

Oooooooooooooooh, that's nasty! I gotta try that!

 

[Bestopheles]

The Door being reffered to is actually on the northwest wall of room 103. It opens into the passageway only (can be used from room 103 to get into the passage beyond, not the other way around). This is the room in which the PC's battle Longtail and his familiar if you are using the book as is.

Thanks for the quick response twofalls! That was backed up in an e-mail from Jim.

BlueBlackRed: This group really isn't that abusive, it's just that I've had problems with this issue in other long dungeon crawls. I think that severely limiting future player wealth is probably the ticket. I gave them a portable hole, so as long as they're looting the dungeon nice and proper, pc's that stumble into the party in the future should be able to be well equipped. It should all be good.

On a side note, I thought it was weird that after all the build up in the beginning of the book about not allowing players to have web, that a room in the beginning of the first section (A69) has a wizard with web in his spellbook. I changed that spell to melf's acid arrow.

Jason