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Message: <blockquote data-quote="erucsbo" data-source="post: 3365374" data-attributes="member: 40110">and in to Region MDiscussion within the party about whether or not to search for the reagents needed to complete the ritual to destroy one of the twins looked like having the group go backwards, especially with them worried that the Spider Kings would be harder to stop after Eight-Strike Fang had been stolen from the party.The rebels convinced them that having Madness around gave them the excuse to maintain an outpost and keep the driders away (from their rebel base - but they didn't tell the players that).A map was provided of Region M (see above post) and the party were ushered through the slave pens and dumped at M36 (just before the side passage to the infirmary - though they weren't told about that).They knew that the drider key could get them past the wardstone, but not how to use it, so the dwarf who was carrying it got to within 5' of the wardstone (leaving the rest of the party down the corridor), then the party tried to file past - setting off the alarm  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> I allowed them to see the cavern beyond - being backlit by the lava.The mystic theurge cast silence on the ward stone (which really screwed up their ability to make listen checks when the Invisible Stalker arrived!) - the MT said "oops" when this was eventually discovered and dismissed the silence.The driders and drow stayed back and the sorcerer lobbed a fireball at them - three of the drow failling their saves spectacularly and dying (even with fire resistant leather).We ended up with the dwarf (wizard/fighter/eldritch knight), and fighter going toe to toe with the stalker (not realizing what it was) and the rest in a spell battle with the driders. I had the drow usher the slaves out. They would have been mown down by the spells (lightning bolts and fireballs) being traded on both sides.End result - the party killed 2 invisible stalkers and the drow and driders fled, leaving them in the mine area alone. It was funny seeing the dwarf trying to find the invisible dead body that he was sure should have been in front of him somewhere (with the MT eventually suggesting that maybe it was an air elemental and thus left no body behind).I ended up with the wave of energy from the world eater making the 3 bodies lurch towards the river of lava. The priestess tried to turn them (and destroy them) but I ruled that (after a successful knowledge religion roll) that they weren't undead. They weren't being animated by necromantic energy after the souls had fled. The souls were still there, but being summoned by the world eater.Oh - and I also made the webbing fire resistant. I figured that with a river of lava bubbling away nearby it wouldn't do to have a stray spark or flame run rampant through the means the driders use to scuttle over the walls and ceilings.Lessons learned:large open areas make for very different combats than in corridors and rooms.mobility is a LOT more important in large open areas.blind-fighting ROCKS against invisible creatures.having a sorcerer (lvl9), priestess (lvl9), mystic theurge(C3/W3/MT3), and an eldritch knight (F2/W6/EK1) in the party gives it a LOT of firepower.I now have a lot of work to do - now that the driders know about the party, their capabilities, and where they are - before the next session. I am going to try and seal the party off from retreating back through I, and have the rebels launch their offensive against the Spider Kings while the party provides the main distraction.Any suggestions any of you have would be really helpful.Plus - with a party of this level, how difficult is it really for them to just escape the WLD at the top of Black Mountain? They have access to invisibility, fly, levitate, and could pretty much sneak past the rocs and bypass all the tricky climb checks.</blockquote>

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