World's Largest Dungeon in actual play [Spoilers!]
- Thread starter haiiro
- Start date
The party has a 10th level rogue shadowdancer, a 9th level human fighter with a double scimitar and the improved critical feat, a 9th level human sorcerer dragon disciple and a 10th level half-orc cleric of Pelor. They are high level for this region so Ive been using some of the encounter adjustment options in the book.
i leave some the same, however, so they feel like they're really gaining power.
The first round they walked into F77 where the rakshasa had already boosted himself up with mage armor and invisibility. They bartered with the minotaurs in F75 for several rounds and Rashmarik heard them.
The room (F77) was crawling with evards black tentacles. The party never encountered this spell before so they thought they could hack their way through. I ruled that the fighter could take 5 ft adjustments each round to try and pass through the tentacle area but that it provoked a LOT of AoO. It made the whole thing cool and cinematic. The rakshasa (which I "voiced" in a calm and sinister tone) was taunting the party while the minotaurs were helping Gartuk. I also fudged the idea that these minotaurs propped her up and she could talk, ordering them to attack.
Of course, by the rules, this was impossible with her having a strength of 0, but it made the encounter even crazier and fun, so that won out over the rules.
Rashmarik cast around 4 or 5 lightning bolts during the course of the encounter which would arc out and blast everyone in their path. His backwards paws crackling with electricity helped him to stand out as a memorable villian.
He also summoned a fiendish crocodile for the party to fight.
The fighter, Zynn Battlereach, tried to make his way through the tentacles trying to get to Rashmarik. The shadowdancers shadow companion went through the wall to try and find the rakshasa but Rashmarik blasted him with a lightning bolt and killed him!
The dragon disciple had a fire elemental familiar that was killed by one of the minotaurs. So BOTH of their companions were slaughtered during the course of this fight!
Eventually the rakshasa fled the room when Zynn got close enough to him (I had changed up spells to give him fly). Recasting invisibility he flew down the tunnels and into the northern corridor of F75 (right behind the strengthless Gartuk).
Zynn got through the room EVENTUALLY only to find the creature gone. So he chased after him not quite having the area figured out. He went right instead of left going to F74 then to F66 then F64 trying to find his way back. I think he wasted like 9 or 10 rounds doing this alone.
Gartuk stood up as the last of her minotaurs were killed (again, fudging rules in sake of the cinematic). She started to speak but fell over dead as the rakshasa stood behind her, having just killed his worthless "ally."
The rogue moved into the hallway with the cleric. The half orc was trying to summon a fiendish wolf on the following round, so the rogue could sneak attack. However, Rashmarik compelled the rogue to leave him alone and the plan was foiled. When the rakshasa tried to blast the cleric and rogue with the last of his lightning bolts two rounds later, the rogue got to make another save and realized he was duped.
(As all this happened, the fighter was running around trying to get back. Heh!)
The cleric also attempted to dismiss rashmarik but he made his save.
She summoned the wolf again 2 rounds later. ( She like summoning crap!)
The sorcerer couldnt overcome the tigerman's SR, so he went into F77 (right after the tentacles spell finally wore off) looking for anything to help. He was still zipping around on his flying carpet, looking about for any magical items. He found the chest but not the key so he was screwed. He had no way to open it!
No fighter and the sorcerer couldnt do anything!
By this point, its time to stop. But we cant. Not until this is FINISHED, by gum! The real world will have to wait. You cant stop mid-encounter! Theres an unwritten law, damn it!
The rakshasa's DR was too much for the group without Zynn so the rogue came up with a plan: his rod of wonder. The chaos this thing brings to the game is always great. Elephants. Rainbows. Purple skin. Its always a good time.
The first attempt was a fireball which was used when the minotaurs were still kicking. This time brought about the slow spell and it couldnt of come at a better time. The rogue grappled Rashmakik and tried to shove his flask of poison down its throat. The vial shattered. Rashmarik bit the rogue. The plan had failed.
Eventually the rogue got the rakshasa flanked and gave him the ol' sneak attack like 3 rounds in a row. The fiendish wolf tripped him after it bit him.
The fighter ran in a round later to kill the fiendish wolf that the cleric summoned and lost control of (since they dont unsummon in my game. They stay there like everything else.)
Thats about as "round-by-round" as I can remember. It was 19 rounds afterall!
The dice rolls in conjunction with what the book said and what the PC's did, made the encounter great. The stars aligned. Great stuff.
And thanks for checking in, Jim. Have a great new year!
(We might play tomorrow. I'll post if anything cool went down!)
i leave some the same, however, so they feel like they're really gaining power.
The first round they walked into F77 where the rakshasa had already boosted himself up with mage armor and invisibility. They bartered with the minotaurs in F75 for several rounds and Rashmarik heard them.
The room (F77) was crawling with evards black tentacles. The party never encountered this spell before so they thought they could hack their way through. I ruled that the fighter could take 5 ft adjustments each round to try and pass through the tentacle area but that it provoked a LOT of AoO. It made the whole thing cool and cinematic. The rakshasa (which I "voiced" in a calm and sinister tone) was taunting the party while the minotaurs were helping Gartuk. I also fudged the idea that these minotaurs propped her up and she could talk, ordering them to attack.
Of course, by the rules, this was impossible with her having a strength of 0, but it made the encounter even crazier and fun, so that won out over the rules.
Rashmarik cast around 4 or 5 lightning bolts during the course of the encounter which would arc out and blast everyone in their path. His backwards paws crackling with electricity helped him to stand out as a memorable villian.
He also summoned a fiendish crocodile for the party to fight.
The fighter, Zynn Battlereach, tried to make his way through the tentacles trying to get to Rashmarik. The shadowdancers shadow companion went through the wall to try and find the rakshasa but Rashmarik blasted him with a lightning bolt and killed him!
The dragon disciple had a fire elemental familiar that was killed by one of the minotaurs. So BOTH of their companions were slaughtered during the course of this fight!
Eventually the rakshasa fled the room when Zynn got close enough to him (I had changed up spells to give him fly). Recasting invisibility he flew down the tunnels and into the northern corridor of F75 (right behind the strengthless Gartuk).
Zynn got through the room EVENTUALLY only to find the creature gone. So he chased after him not quite having the area figured out. He went right instead of left going to F74 then to F66 then F64 trying to find his way back. I think he wasted like 9 or 10 rounds doing this alone.
Gartuk stood up as the last of her minotaurs were killed (again, fudging rules in sake of the cinematic). She started to speak but fell over dead as the rakshasa stood behind her, having just killed his worthless "ally."
The rogue moved into the hallway with the cleric. The half orc was trying to summon a fiendish wolf on the following round, so the rogue could sneak attack. However, Rashmarik compelled the rogue to leave him alone and the plan was foiled. When the rakshasa tried to blast the cleric and rogue with the last of his lightning bolts two rounds later, the rogue got to make another save and realized he was duped.
(As all this happened, the fighter was running around trying to get back. Heh!)
The cleric also attempted to dismiss rashmarik but he made his save.
She summoned the wolf again 2 rounds later. ( She like summoning crap!)
The sorcerer couldnt overcome the tigerman's SR, so he went into F77 (right after the tentacles spell finally wore off) looking for anything to help. He was still zipping around on his flying carpet, looking about for any magical items. He found the chest but not the key so he was screwed. He had no way to open it!
No fighter and the sorcerer couldnt do anything!
By this point, its time to stop. But we cant. Not until this is FINISHED, by gum! The real world will have to wait. You cant stop mid-encounter! Theres an unwritten law, damn it!
The rakshasa's DR was too much for the group without Zynn so the rogue came up with a plan: his rod of wonder. The chaos this thing brings to the game is always great. Elephants. Rainbows. Purple skin. Its always a good time.
The first attempt was a fireball which was used when the minotaurs were still kicking. This time brought about the slow spell and it couldnt of come at a better time. The rogue grappled Rashmakik and tried to shove his flask of poison down its throat. The vial shattered. Rashmarik bit the rogue. The plan had failed.
Eventually the rogue got the rakshasa flanked and gave him the ol' sneak attack like 3 rounds in a row. The fiendish wolf tripped him after it bit him.
The fighter ran in a round later to kill the fiendish wolf that the cleric summoned and lost control of (since they dont unsummon in my game. They stay there like everything else.)
Thats about as "round-by-round" as I can remember. It was 19 rounds afterall!
The dice rolls in conjunction with what the book said and what the PC's did, made the encounter great. The stars aligned. Great stuff.
And thanks for checking in, Jim. Have a great new year!
(We might play tomorrow. I'll post if anything cool went down!)
BlueBlackRed
Explorer
I'd say 600 posts (1/3 of this thread), is a tad more than a few. 
Hussar
Legend
Lost quite a few pages actually. Ouchies. I have a copy of the fantastic file that Pokedigimaniac did compiling the ideas for the Dungeon. I'll post it back up when I get home. That should help.
I am in need of a bit of inspiration. I've got the beginning and the end of a plot, but I need something in the middle. Let me 'splain.
The party is about to enter Region G. In addition to this, the party will also be in possession of a fairly powerful weapon known as Blackrazor. Blackrazor has the ability to "eat" those it kills, sucking them into the weapon and making them unresurectable.
As G stands, there is really no point in trying to assassinate Cylerbrai. Evalyn has the abilities of a 17th level cleric, meaning she can True Res. Even if someone did manage to off Cylerbrai, they'd have to do in the planetar as well. Not too likely.
However, now there is a weapon floating around that can do the job. Blackrazor is just what the demons need. Get the weapon, send in a Babau assassination squad and do the deed. The trick is, how do I get the weapon away from the party and into the demon's hands without simply offing the party (no fun), DM's fiat (again, no fun) and in a fun and realistic way.
I'm thinking the demons could send a succubus or two to try to charm Blackrazor away from the party. Failing that, perhaps enlisting Narla the tiefling assassin to off Blackrazor's wielder and steal it.
Maybe an idea is just to randomly toss theft attempts at the party as a means of keeping them going. Babau hit squads, succubi, that sort of thing. Eventually, they are going to get very tired of things and go to the heart of the matter.
This sounds so lame though. What can I do to jazz it up?
I am in need of a bit of inspiration. I've got the beginning and the end of a plot, but I need something in the middle. Let me 'splain.
The party is about to enter Region G. In addition to this, the party will also be in possession of a fairly powerful weapon known as Blackrazor. Blackrazor has the ability to "eat" those it kills, sucking them into the weapon and making them unresurectable.
As G stands, there is really no point in trying to assassinate Cylerbrai. Evalyn has the abilities of a 17th level cleric, meaning she can True Res. Even if someone did manage to off Cylerbrai, they'd have to do in the planetar as well. Not too likely.
However, now there is a weapon floating around that can do the job. Blackrazor is just what the demons need. Get the weapon, send in a Babau assassination squad and do the deed. The trick is, how do I get the weapon away from the party and into the demon's hands without simply offing the party (no fun), DM's fiat (again, no fun) and in a fun and realistic way.
I'm thinking the demons could send a succubus or two to try to charm Blackrazor away from the party. Failing that, perhaps enlisting Narla the tiefling assassin to off Blackrazor's wielder and steal it.
Maybe an idea is just to randomly toss theft attempts at the party as a means of keeping them going. Babau hit squads, succubi, that sort of thing. Eventually, they are going to get very tired of things and go to the heart of the matter.
This sounds so lame though. What can I do to jazz it up?
Wow. This sucks. Lotsa valuable info gone. 
Well, we played this past Sunday after an extremely lengthy absence. The ENTIRE session involved M65 and then M64. It was just two massive brawls of drider and golem goodness. Nothing makes me smile more than a player rolling a crit against a golem, get really happy, and then remember its a construct!
In M65 they were sucking hard but finally managed to open a cage for some assistance. They chose the lamia who I roleplayed quite sinister. They finally decided to do it and the lamia, furious at his captors, lept out attacking a flesh golem. Long story short, the lamia died as did the driders, it was as near a TPK as can be rolled without fudging, and they allied themselves with Melody and Windshadow.
M64 they fought more driders and more golems. A cool moment was when I decided Windshadow would let a PC ride him in battle. The combat needed a little something special and that seemed to work (rules be damned!). Plus, when else can you have mounted combat in a dungeon crawl? Not very often.
We never even finished the fight in M64. These encounters turned out to be really fun. I didnt know what to expect. Kudos, WLD writers!
The other thing is I plan on taking Jim's suggestion he made many posts ago (probably now deleted. *sigh*) of having a beholder controlling the Spider Kings. I'm going to have that off-tunnel to the left lead to a vertical cavern system for something different. Im even thinking about it leading to an exit! I'm still debating that one, though! I thought it would be cool to lead to a cliffside high above Region M with the "true" leader of this region revealed. I likes me beholders!
Anywho, lets all retype all those posts we made these past 5 months!!!! Anybody? hello...? oh...
Well, we played this past Sunday after an extremely lengthy absence. The ENTIRE session involved M65 and then M64. It was just two massive brawls of drider and golem goodness. Nothing makes me smile more than a player rolling a crit against a golem, get really happy, and then remember its a construct!
In M65 they were sucking hard but finally managed to open a cage for some assistance. They chose the lamia who I roleplayed quite sinister. They finally decided to do it and the lamia, furious at his captors, lept out attacking a flesh golem. Long story short, the lamia died as did the driders, it was as near a TPK as can be rolled without fudging, and they allied themselves with Melody and Windshadow.
M64 they fought more driders and more golems. A cool moment was when I decided Windshadow would let a PC ride him in battle. The combat needed a little something special and that seemed to work (rules be damned!). Plus, when else can you have mounted combat in a dungeon crawl? Not very often.
We never even finished the fight in M64. These encounters turned out to be really fun. I didnt know what to expect. Kudos, WLD writers!
The other thing is I plan on taking Jim's suggestion he made many posts ago (probably now deleted. *sigh*) of having a beholder controlling the Spider Kings. I'm going to have that off-tunnel to the left lead to a vertical cavern system for something different. Im even thinking about it leading to an exit! I'm still debating that one, though! I thought it would be cool to lead to a cliffside high above Region M with the "true" leader of this region revealed. I likes me beholders!
Anywho, lets all retype all those posts we made these past 5 months!!!! Anybody? hello...? oh...
Hussar said:
Don't have the Demons take Blackrazor... have the demons take something else to TRADE for Blackrazor. Power, fame, .... a way home, a chance to put the whole dungeon behind them,... and it can be theirs, if they only turn over the sword...
Short of that, find an ally the party likes. Perferbly someone weak, who couldn't defend themselves, and hold them for ransom. And if they flinch and don't give the sword, have the demon kill the friend, and offer to release the victim's soul for the sword. Make sure the demon reminds them that he won't be offering more over time... but less...
There's always the "have the demon show a vision of the PC's home town" reminding them that he can't leave, but he has friends on the outside, and with the PC's here, who will protect their families...?
A little over the top, but come on... they're DEMONS!
Hussar
Legend
As promised, here is the compilation thread for the past while. Lots of just unbelievably way cool goodies in there.
Xiag - not a bad idea. My guys are into the rp well enough that they might go for it. Maybe. Although, really, they're going to smell a trap a long ways off.
Paranoia is a good thing sometimes.
Was thinking of this: a shapeshifted succubus with non-detection sets up a mock ambush with a pair of babau, maybe a vrock, something dangerous, but not too much so. The party swoops in to rescue the fair maiden and she insinuates herself into the party. This might even be good enough to get her taken into the Celestial camp as well. She snaches the axe while they are sleeping, and makes the attempt on Cylerbrai.
Xiag - not a bad idea. My guys are into the rp well enough that they might go for it. Maybe. Although, really, they're going to smell a trap a long ways off.
Paranoia is a good thing sometimes.Was thinking of this: a shapeshifted succubus with non-detection sets up a mock ambush with a pair of babau, maybe a vrock, something dangerous, but not too much so. The party swoops in to rescue the fair maiden and she insinuates herself into the party. This might even be good enough to get her taken into the Celestial camp as well. She snaches the axe while they are sleeping, and makes the attempt on Cylerbrai.
Similar Threads
