Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Merloth 01-30-07, 11:21 AM	An important factor neccessary for a memorable fight is the location. As a DM, it's hard to come up with new cool locations for every fight, so I created this thread for inspiration to all fellow DM's. 1. On a moving ship, with swinging ropes and a slippery deck. Balance checks are required every round, and it's a good tactic to bull rush your enemies over the railing.
Rillek_Denar 01-30-07, 12:06 PM	2. I once did an arena match in a high magic world in an arena that had no gravity, but did have some floating silver spheres that exerted enough gravity that you felt normal standing on one. So to fight, the combatants had to launch themselves from sphere to sphere. Then, just for fun, I had the spheres reverse their gravity at random intervals, causing the fighters to fly out into "space" again.
skio 01-30-07, 12:58 PM	3. A fight between the party and a gang of smugglers lead by an assassin, in a partially submersible ship sinking due to overload. The cargo was crates full of a dust used as a narcotic. Some crates had broken and the dust was filling the room, making everyone dizzy. 4. Duel against a fighter3/barbarian3 gnoll general armed with a dire flail and two flintlock pistols, in a canyon closed with rocks, and concealed pit traps everywhere.
Merloth 01-30-07, 03:10 PM	5. I once had the PC's fight three Rangers in tree-huts 200 feet above the ground. There were thick branches and bridges with traps. The PC's fought on different levels, and they were always in danger of falling down. 6. In a maze, with traps and hidden monsters everywhere. The maze was located so that the PC's had to escape from the evil guy pursuing them.
etraikov 01-30-07, 03:34 PM	7. In a huge circular underground arena lit by torches. The stands filled to the brim with zombies watching as their dread wraith leader con drained the party.
Gottwick 01-30-07, 03:38 PM	Use Map-A-Week. It has all kinds of crazy locations.
Jezmund 01-30-07, 03:42 PM	8. In a relatively secluded cavern in Pandemonium, where you can hear the wind howling viciously just outside, and in the dim light of your everburning torches you see a Destrachan and a Howling Dragon vivisecting the assassin you were chasing before he made his way through that portal in Bedlam.
Necrosis 01-30-07, 03:49 PM	9. On a ramp spirealling up a rock spire 8000 meters high shrouded in continous thunder stroms with a blue dragon (ally), vs various theives and assasins, prospective dragon hunters 10. A vast maze set in a volcanoic saline swamp, it featured sulphirc acid instead of water, pathways made out of condensed salt, centipde swarms that came out of the burrows by the waters edge, cravase like pit traps full off water and carrion crawler brains juice (no you can't swim very well if you are paralysed). It finally finished with a fight with a druid who had a huge centipede hiding in the sand under the PCS's as his animal companion. 11. Invite to a dinner on a 3 storey tower with an ally, ally has been flayed alive, tied to his own bed, got watch his children and family been torurted to death before he and his entire bedroom been doused in 2 inchs of oil and a flame trap been setup rigged to the door handle. PC's find to their horror that all the main exit to the tower has just been blocked by an over turned cart with archers taking pot shots at anybody who trys to climb down the side of the tower...
OmNefarious 01-30-07, 04:02 PM	I havent implemented this one yet, but I will in the next couple of weeks 12. PCs make an ally with the head/top detective of the Sharn City guard. They help him find clues and help take out some suspect gangs/mobs and get closer to revealing who the crime lord in Sharn is. They grow to acept him and his past regrets (those leading him into what he does now) and let him join their party. He is a kind and trusted ally and the trust they have developed could stop the Tarasque fi it was a physical wall. Later it turns out that the half elf they have been working with is actually a changeling rogue/shadowdancer/assassin. Top it off that he is actually a vampire as well who happens to be the top hired hitman in all of Khorvaire and was assigned to "clean up the streets" so it would be easier for his boss to gain even more power. The PCs, the vamp and the boss' best goons square off and something turns the vamp (not like a Cleric would) and he actually helps the PCs because even though he has done evil things in his past he and the PCs have actually gotten rid of a lot of crime. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13. (Decades after the big war in Eberron) A new type of Warforged has been made. But what is different is that it can mimic creatures of immense power and thus takes the form of a dragon. The Dragon-forged has now built a citadel out of the last creation forge and is developing newer types of forged to take over the world.
Merloth 01-31-07, 09:32 AM	I'm not sure whether 12 and 13 are locations, but they were good plot ideas. So, as the last two weren't locations, I'll pick it up from there. 12. A desert with enemies popping up from the sand-dunes. You can add some vicious snakes crawling around too, just to keep your PC's alert. 13. An encounter while climbing a cliff. For some reason two parties compete to get to the top first, and they'll want to risk their lives on it. Add flying creatures to attack both parties for flavour.
jdarksong 01-31-07, 11:40 AM	14. The interior of a great tree in the elven forests. It has been hollowed out by a vile mind flayer druid and his imp sorcerer companion.
tharivol266 01-31-07, 11:47 AM	addition to 13: have an enemy at the top dropping rocks and such. and maybe a few arrow traps in the cliff itself.
Radagast 01-31-07, 12:49 PM	Oh, there have been so many over the years: thanks to all the GM's who made these possible. One of the ones that comes to mind immediately: - Epic Endgame: A battle surrounding a massive floating fortress in the elemental plane of air between huge armies of the Regulation Council vs. armies of demons, Undead, Beholders, Mindflayers, and every other thing imaginable. Our epic party was assigned to the vanguard on one flank and was commanding a trio of Spelljammer-style vessels, when out of the storm clouds loomed a vast foe we had hoped had forgotten us - a now-Collosal Great Wyrm Blue Dragon that we had escaped/temporarily defeated ages ago (literally ages - the party was ageless at this point thanks to magic the Regulation had used). Worse, the Blue Dragon was the steed of the Demi-Lich who betrayed the Regulation and who was now there to destroy them once and for all. Nothing quite beats playing an Epic Cleric/Contemplative, standing at the bow of a Spelljammer ship in a Prismatic Sphere, while unleashing magical fury that can topple mountains on a horrifyingly powerful Dragon! Yeah!
jdarksong 01-31-07, 02:24 PM	15. On the side of a steep mountain, with some sort of small avalance in progress. We ran a battle years ago on a horribly muddy mountainside in a downpour, pcs had to make various checks to keep from slipping and sliding further down the mountain path, while contending with burrowing monsters.
OmNefarious 02-01-07, 05:31 PM	whoops didnt see the loaction thing. Sorry bout that
icuall 02-02-07, 02:45 PM	16. Perpetual foggy swamp with mud and water that is knee high. Fighting off creatures, enemies, and watching out for natural dangerous situations like sudden holes (heavy armor PCs) or quick sand.
dengarbountyhunter 02-02-07, 10:44 PM	16.b Add vampires on top of that (gaseous form+fog=fun). Vampires in knee-high water might not be the best idea though...
Thadias 02-03-07, 01:00 AM	17. Within a magically formed air-bubble deep underwater. Whenever someone is pushed out of this bubble, they take damage for pressure! Rewards bull rushing and other fun complex actions. 18. On a patch of pahoehoe lava near a fissure. Balance checks for any movement over 5' steps. Anyone falling receives xd4 points of damage. Some parts of it are terribly thin and require Reflex saves in order to avoid extreme heat exposure (scalable to your campaign level, but usually light - 1d6 to 2d6 fire damage). Other areas have poisonous gases and create deadly clouds of sulfurous gases (Con damage) that gradually float away. If you wanted to be particularly harsh, use fire mephits from the magma beneath! Don't forget about extreme heat damage - Hawaaian pahoehoe fields reguarly get above 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
dengarbountyhunter 02-04-07, 04:02 PM	19. A zero-gravity giant library (with giant books and bookshelves). 20. In a stone cottage on a small patch of land in a landslide. 21. On a battlefield in Hades, caught between oncoming armies of demons and devils with thorn bush fields as the only escape route. 22. In a normal house, with all combatants shrunken three size categories smaller (add a normal housecat for extra fun). 23. In a murky sewer with aquatic ghouls (lacedons?) grappling down characters to drown them. 24. A combat on an asleep Colossal creature's back. 25. A dragon cemetary (huge bones give cover and impede movement). 26. On platforms on a forest canopy (rope bridges, branches, low walls) 27. On uncontrollable flying carpets that pass near each other every 1d4 round. 28. In cramped kobold burrows.
Darth Sephiroth 02-04-07, 04:16 PM	Inside a massive steam and water powered clock tower with cogs, gears, latters, lifts, steamvents, water pits, and all sorts of other goodies.
Kanosint 02-04-07, 07:56 PM	30. (When in Steam or Magic-rich setting) in a Goblin mine, with the PCs fighting their way through the tunnels, having to dodge giant mining drills controlled from a cabin at the central tower in the mines... A climatic battle eventually being right above a huge pit on a 5 foot ledge, with a huge drill grinding away down below...
CaptainPicard 02-04-07, 09:51 PM	31. One of the best locations I've run was against a Monk//Cleric who was attempting to avenge his brother (who one of the PCs had killed in a duel earlier). He had followed in their footsteps and heard of their strengths/how they fight and what motivates them, and he set up an entire fake "adventure" to lure them into a room he had set up in the sewers. The room consisted of five elevated alcoves connected by step ladders he had stolen and set up. Below the alcoves was waist-deep water filled with his animated undead. He had set up a series of ropes and pulleys that allowed him to drop certain ladders or sections from specific other locations (he had predicted how they would go about attacking him and his underlings and planned to use readied actions to drop the sections and the PCs into the mire/zombies). Fighting on the ladder required Balance checks the enemy, being a Monk, was able to make easily while the PCs had problems with them. I set up the adventure to demonstrate to the PCs how a relatively weak enemy could pose a serious threat with the right setup and information. Unfortunately, the Duskblade//Incarnate rolled three 20s and killed him on the second round, despite all his defenses. Oh well.
shadowfox628 02-04-07, 10:02 PM	32. A brewery that's on fire. Honestly, this was highly on-the-spot. One of the PC's (Rogue/Assassin) managed to sneak up on the BBEG (level 30 Monk/Drunker Master) and pulled a Death Attack on him, killing him. After a 15 minute arguement on if the BBEG was dead or alive (the PC would not back down, and, at the time, I didn't want to pull the "I'm the mother *bleep*ing DM, so let it be" card), the BBEG died, and the party was left without an epic battle to end the campaign. So, half to make it slightly epic and half out of my anger, I decided to use the location to my advantage. Almost the entire party was on the bottom floor, where all of the ale was help up in huge wooden tanks. So, I decided that the guards of the brewery would step in. Several archers appeared by the railings on the higher floors, and shot alchemist arrows. They were originally confused at first, since I didn't mention what type of arrows, as well as saying that they shot the tanks. One round later, when the tanks started exploding, one of them caught on and the fight for survival began. Overall, it was fun. One PC died because he unwittingly stood in a pool of ale, but the rest escaped, most of them taken lost of damage. They enjoyed it, and I got my fun. Brewery of Fowlerville, I shall never forget you...
PwnageLlama 02-04-07, 11:24 PM	33. A volcano that is unstable. Players are forced to battle (Insert fire resistant creature here) while leaping from rock to rock. The rocks sink into the lava after being stood on.