Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Panchaso 07-09-04, 02:40 PM	I'm running a high-powered PC version of City of the Spider Queen and they just hit level 11 in the lake of shadows... and the cleric just realized he has Wind Walk... it just seems like such a cheezy way to avoid all the hazards of the way. And i'd prepared a lot of really interesting encounters... what have you other DM's done about this tactic? should i just suck it up and let them get to Maerimidra unhindered? :confused: Thanks
BobROE 07-09-04, 02:56 PM	Try to disuade this plan of action, even if you have to do it out of game. Cause if they just windwalk all the way there, well they'll get there and die fast, since the adventure assumes you've gotten the XP when you get there. And some of the premade encounters can't really be avoided (like the cliff for instance, unless that's before the lake, don't have my books with me).
Masakado 07-09-04, 04:43 PM	On the Spoilerish side: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Remember that Irae T'Serran is corrupting the Weave so that her Grand Revenance will pack a punch. You could always rule that the local corruption of the Weave would prohibit use of Wind Walk. Sadly, the obvious answer (ie. utilizing the faerzress) only involves the inhibition of teleportation or divination magic. I don't think a cleric using Wind Walk would be prevented from traveling where he wished. Personally, I wouldn't rule against his use of Wind Walk as he saw fit. It's not like the spell doesn't have a duration (meaning he can only cover so much ground in so much time), or not like he can use it as many times as he wants to, so I don't see use of the spell as unbalancing. Also remember that the adventure doesn't give the party a lot of opportunity to rest and recover spells. I personally can think of one or two spells I'd rather have than Wind Walk taking up a slot during the last few encounters. Make sure the cleric realizes this as well. CotSQ is a heavily cleric-driven adventure. The spells he choses to pray for could mean life or death to the party.
chris7476 07-09-04, 05:23 PM	I started to run this adventure and read up on this a bit. Unfortunately we never got to the area where it could be used. If I remember the spell correctly, you still have to know where you are going. You can't go through walls and stuff. There was an adventure in Dungeon mag that added on to SotCQ. It basically created a "detour" in the tunnel. Part of the tunnel had collapsed and a new tunnel led to a mind flayer run underdark prison. I forgot what issue it was in but I can find out. The point is that if you put something "in the way", it might slow down your players if they use this method.
Panchaso 07-09-04, 09:18 PM	I don't think you see the problem. Wind Walk lasts 1 hour/level, so that's 11 hours... it also lets you travel at 60mph... so they could pretty easily get there in one go. Bear in mind that it can be cast on yourself plus 1 creature per 3 levels. that's the whole party of 4 at lvl 11. Maybe the cliff would stop them and make them go up the old fashioned way, but after that its plain sailing :( I'll probably just warn them OOC that its not a good idea to skip all the XP they'd earn in the random encounters ::shrug:: it's not the best DM'ing but, it will avoid all those TPK's in Maerimidra.
Gauze Fireforge 11-08-04, 01:50 AM	INitially when I was Dming the module in 3.0, my guys had access to windwalk and utilised it thoroughly. The problem was that they needed light to see where they were going (not all of them had darkvision) so it required one of them to stay out of windwalk to light the way. The second problem was that my PC's DIED because they used windwalk too much (albeit that it was their choice). In one day. they took on the stone giants at the lake of shadows, the kua-toan fortress (which the paladin in my group had a vision that a relic of his diety laid within so they were always going to go in). They then travelled over the lake, into the tunnels and into the shadow chasm with glorougth and his kirlanean buddies. By the time the shadow dragon appeared, they were badly hurt, not prepared and died very quickly. This, in essence sums up the pain of wind walk. Also they would have missed alot of helpful information and items had they continued through te chasm with windwalk. The choice is their and wither punish or reward them for the choices they make based on the details of the module. My given circumstance for my group was that they are all good and have a mission from the gods of good to take out Irae. With a paladin in the group, he will generally stop to off either demons or undead. Each group is unique and a DM may require different means to challenge his party.
Torkwaret 11-08-04, 07:04 AM	Well, IMO you should't get worried so much. First thing is that it is YOU who rules the game ! Second thing, remember, it is the UNDERDARK ! There are dozens if not hundreds of possibilities for you to exploit ! Prepare some new encounters, that will suit them (although not too many) - eg. a scouting party of Kir-Lanan; a pack of Ineffeble Horrors looking for prey; a Weave disturbance created by a powerful Fearzress Concentration or an Earth Node which makes all magical aerial movement impossible in some large area; an angry cleric of Grumbar trying to seal the passages to Maerimydra with Walls of Stone; a pair of Osyluths (Bone Devils) looking for a free meal (60 mph vs. Wall of Ice); a trio of dark robed humanoids going the same direction and using the same methods as the party (Wind Walk) (!?); a series of rifts and geysers which spew scalding vapours (try flying through, he he). Need more ?
Gauze Fireforge 11-08-04, 07:38 AM	Well, IMO you should't get worried so much. First thing is that it is YOU who rules the game ! Second thing, remember, it is the UNDERDARK ! There are dozens if not hundreds of possibilities for you to exploit ! Prepare some new encounters, that will suit them (although not too many) - eg. a scouting party of Kir-Lanan; a pack of Ineffeble Horrors looking for prey; a Weave disturbance created by a powerful Fearzress Concentration or an Earth Node which makes all magical aerial movement impossible in some large area; an angry cleric of Grumbar trying to seal the passages to Maerimydra with Walls of Stone; a pair of Osyluths (Bone Devils) looking for a free meal (60 mph vs. Wall of Ice); a trio of dark robed humanoids going the same direction and using the same methods as the party (Wind Walk) (!?); a series of rifts and geysers which spew scalding vapours (try flying through, he he). Need more ? Did I hear someone say gaze attacks?! ;) Can we all say Bodaks? (Of all the creatures, bodaks rate in my group as one of the top monsters to scare the living hell outta them.) Or medusa? Flying gas one second, a shattered statue the next. :schemes:
ClobberinTime 11-08-04, 07:05 PM	Just read the spell description- Quite a powerful tidbit there, I would say, and there is nothing in there that says they have to drop out of it to decide which way to go. Seems like the light just might be gaseous as well but wouldn't last as long, they can't cast spells while in gaseous form. So they would have to drop out to cast them. You might want to do something nasty to them and claim that there is wind in the underdark, and it can work against them and push them ways they don't want to go, or if it is really that useful like the previous posters said wouldn't other creatures of the underdark use it also, and if so mightn't something be waiting there to prey upon those windwalkers. Maybe with wind walls or some such and gust of wind to control where they go and suck them into some kind of trap kind of like putting the genie back in the bottle.