Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Iroel_Qvasura 04-18-08, 07:18 AM	So, here comes yet another newbie DM. I'm DMing for a group of 4 players, none of which have played D&D before. We're all 13-14 (With me being the youngest...), and they aren't exactly good at english, so I'm translating it to our native language (Danish) as we go. They managed to empty a cave with 6 goblins and a hobgoblin leader quite nicely, and so I think they're ready for their first dungeon. They're going to find, one way or the other, an abandoned wizards laboratory, where various experiments have been made on various monsters. The monsters have rebelled, and the wizards are dead. Mostly. The leader of the revolt will be either a sorcerer, a cleric, or an adept. I'm not really sure which race. Most of the monsters wont be very intelligent, and so they will roam the halls, while the more intelligent monsters have constructed small fortifications in the bigger rooms. Now, here is the problem. I am not sure how many/which monsters to use, and so I'd like experienced players' opinions. I'd also like to know what I'm doing wrong, 'cause I'm probably making some mistakes, being new and all. I've got MM, PHB and DMG Oh, and by the way, they're 1 dwarf fighter, 1 elf sorcerer, 1 halfling rogue, and 1 human melee ranger. All level one. - Iroel Qvasura, Geek 1 DM/1 Mage EDIT: I've consider Lemurs, Vargouilles, Troglodytes, Thoqqua and Krenshar.
Dash Branaghan 04-18-08, 07:36 AM	Since you're dealing with experiments, I wouldn't sweat the "creatures" so much as find interesting templates to add. Half Fiend kobolds might be interesting for a challenge and that sort of thing. As for how many monsters...well, it depends on the size really. And there is nothing wrong with having many of the monsters still in cages and what not...not everything has to be free. But is this a group of evil mages? If so, then the "base" creatures, if you use templates, would probably be humanoid mostly - so orcs, elves, dwarves, goblinoids, humans etc. Toss in some more unique creatures (perhaps a Displacer Beast) for a change of pace. Cheers.
Iroel_Qvasura 04-18-08, 08:36 AM	Nah, the mages are, well.... In the moral grey zone. Their intentions are good, although their experiments may be questionable at times. Mostly, though, they just study the creatures and their relations to magic and such. Think modern scientists testing the intelligence of monkeys, crossed with medicine testing on lab rats. Most of the mages will be dead, but behind a very solid, locked door, one of them will be as a statue. Next to him, I'll place some diaries and research notes, and a scroll of stone to flesh. He'll be able to help them if they're in trouble.
Dash Branaghan 04-18-08, 08:41 AM	Well, then it sounds more like Resident Evil to me - so maybe use undead templates on random animals...rats may not be much of a challenge per se (unless you use swarms) but Dire Rats or even Zombie Rats might be...
Iroel_Qvasura 04-18-08, 08:45 AM	Yeah, I thought of undead, but wont it be trouble when they have no cleric or paladin? Besides, the wizards were interested in the behavior and such of live speciments.
Heros_Backpack 04-18-08, 09:27 AM	Have you considered using Stirges and Darkmantles?
iserith 04-18-08, 09:53 AM	If you have Complete Arcane or Lords of Madness, you can add the pseudonatural template to base creatures like animals or vermin. Then populate with multiple CR 1 creatures in groups like krenshar, grimlocks, or darkmantles. The laboratory should also feature some animated objects that attack the PCs - this is a good opportunity to be creative. Players will remember getting their butts kicked by a coatrack moreso than a goblin. Some of the wizards could now be ghouls - they had to turn cannibal to survive down there and this resulted in them rising as undead. Harder challenges might include an assassin vine which grows in a lab lit by continual flames, a cockatrice, or a rust monster. I would make the big bad evil guy a yuan'ti pureblood with a couple of class levels.
Iroel_Qvasura 04-18-08, 10:04 AM	HB: The flavor on darkmantle looks really cool, I think I'll use that too. Thanks! Iserith: I've only got the core rulebooks, so the pseudonatural template is not an option, I'm afraid. The group is level 1, with no healers, so I'll have to make sure they wont be completely overwhelmed, which means a pureblood yuan'ti with class levels is a tad too strong, I think. Also, no wizards are alive, unless you count the flesh-to-stoned statue. How big d'you reckon this place should be? How many encounters with how many monsters and so? This is the first game I'm playing, and starting as a DM isn't exactly easy :(
iserith 04-18-08, 10:12 AM	Iserith: I've only got the core rulebooks, so the pseudonatural template is not an option, I'm afraid. The group is level 1, with no healers, so I'll have to make sure they wont be completely overwhelmed, which means a pureblood yuan'ti with class levels is a tad too strong, I think. Also, no wizards are alive, unless you count the flesh-to-stoned statue. Make an NPC cleric that has been turned to stone. Hide a scroll of stone to flesh somewhere that the PCs are likely to find it. The sorcerer will need to make a caster level check to use the scroll, but if it works, they can make friends with the cleric, who agrees to help them. He shares information with the PCs about the general layout of the place. (In stories like this, there's always a survivor or someone knowledgeable that can be found. They are usually crazy in some way, too. Maybe he was conscious the whole time while he was "stoned," and after a century of being a statue, he's pretty much lost his marble... ba dum dum.) How big d'you reckon this place should be? How many encounters with how many monsters and so? This is the first game I'm playing, and starting as a DM isn't exactly easy :( I'd make it small, but clever, with rooms you can only go into after you've found keys or clues in other rooms. Maybe the rooms are like one of those puzzles where you have eight little tiles and nine areas to move them around, so periodically, the rooms shift location.
Iroel_Qvasura 04-18-08, 10:58 AM	Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that it's only been a couple of months since the rebellion. Actually, I'd better post the whole backstory (Which is kinda short). Perhaps you can even give me some advice on that too :D So, these four adventurers were travelling from the city of Algherio, a city where Heironeous is a major deity (Bad buisness for a rogue), to the trading port Erovel, where a major temple of Wee Jas lies (The sorcerer worships her). The fighter is travelling around to earn some money for his clan, and the ranger just wants to see the world. To get there, they had to go through a big forest, inhabited by goblins and their kin, so they travelled with a caravan. Now, this caravan was ambushed by goblins while camping for the night, and so they follow them to their lair, where they kill them and their hobgoblin leader. In a chest in the cave, they find a letter from a rival tradesman, listing the dates of the caravans planned take-off. Now, they're going to hand over this letter to the guards back in Algherio, and wait for a new caravan, since there is no use in trying to get through the forest while wounded. So, when they visit the guards, they will be offered this task of checking out this laboratory half a days journey to the south of the city, since there has been no contact with the wizards in the last few months, and the town council is getting worried that there might be something there, which later could threaten the town. Now, off they go to visit the old laboratory, which they find in a state of abandon. What will the brave adventurers face in there? Only time will tell! That's basically it. Any advice on improvement?
iserith 04-18-08, 11:15 AM	Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that it's only been a couple of months since the rebellion. Actually, I'd better post the whole backstory (Which is kinda short). Perhaps you can even give me some advice on that too :D So, these four adventurers were travelling from the city of Algherio, a city where Heironeous is a major deity (Bad buisness for a rogue), to the trading port Erovel, where a major temple of Wee Jas lies (The sorcerer worships her). The fighter is travelling around to earn some money for his clan, and the ranger just wants to see the world. To get there, they had to go through a big forest, inhabited by goblins and their kin, so they travelled with a caravan. Now, this caravan was ambushed by goblins while camping for the night, and so they follow them to their lair, where they kill them and their hobgoblin leader. In a chest in the cave, they find a letter from a rival tradesman, listing the dates of the caravans planned take-off. Now, they're going to hand over this letter to the guards back in Algherio, and wait for a new caravan, since there is no use in trying to get through the forest while wounded. So, when they visit the guards, they will be offered this task of checking out this laboratory half a days journey to the south of the city, since there has been no contact with the wizards in the last few months, and the town council is getting worried that there might be something there, which later could threaten the town. Now, off they go to visit the old laboratory, which they find in a state of abandon. What will the brave adventurers face in there? Only time will tell! That's basically it. Any advice on improvement? Okay, makes sense. You can still use the petrified cleric as I described above, just don't make him so crazy. Perhaps he was visiting the site on behalf of the town council when a cockatrice pecked him and turned him to stone. Have him be right at the entrance to the place. A few rooms into the dungeon, let them find the scroll. Then they can go back, fix the cleric (hopefully), and get some backstory on what happened here. I'd definitely put in some "traps" to account for miscellaneous things falling apart, exploding alchemical equipment, etc.
Gentlemanic 04-18-08, 12:26 PM	Be careful not to overwhelm the players. Don't make things too complicated. They are all on their first campaign. They have never faught against a kobold: so why make it a pseudo-creepy-dire-infernal kobold? A simple kobold will do. The guys will be just as surprised by that. No need to make stuff complicated. Anyway, on to the rest of my advice.. First off: Your guys are first level and new to the game. This means that they can't take a lot of encounters before the need to rest arises. If you want the lab to be big I think you should create a barrier between the first and second floor (and maybe even third floor!) of the lab. Make a few rooms on the first floor: an entry hall (hide something useful to find here; a map, a magical cloak), a lab (with a small explosion and their first encounter perhaps) and a medical bay (with the cleric and a cockatrice). The medical bad could have a barricaded door leading up to the second floor, where a second cockatrice roams. The cleric was just in time to bar the door, not in time to stop the first one to enter, and he got petrified. If you like my suggestion I don't mind helping with the second floor as well :) Good luck!
Iroel_Qvasura 04-18-08, 01:50 PM	:-/ I kinda made a map just before I saw your post, Gentlemanic. Your suggestions are really good though. Didn't even think of including a second floor. There won't be any cockatrices, and no cleric. There will be a wizard, though, and other methods of healing. Now, d'you think this will be too difficult: 1 Yuan-ti Pureblood, perhaps /w 1 sorcerer level. 2 Grimlocks 1 Varguille 3 Lemures 3 Krenshar 4 Imps 2 Darkmantles They've got nice equipment, and will have some potions of cure light wounds from the guards. There's also a lot of iron doors behind which they can rest, and the monsters will be spread out. By the way, when do they gain levels? I mean, if they get enough experience in middle of it, do they gain their levels before facing the BBEG?
iserith 04-18-08, 01:58 PM	:-/ I kinda made a map just before I saw your post, Gentlemanic. Your suggestions are really good though. Didn't even think of including a second floor. There won't be any cockatrices, and no cleric. There will be a wizard, though, and other methods of healing. Now, d'you think this will be too difficult: 1 Yuan-ti Pureblood, perhaps /w 1 sorcerer level. 2 Grimlocks 1 Varguille 3 Lemures 3 Krenshar 4 Imps 2 Darkmantles They've got nice equipment, and will have some potions of cure light wounds from the guards. There's also a lot of iron doors behind which they can rest, and the monsters will be spread out. By the way, when do they gain levels? I mean, if they get enough experience in middle of it, do they gain their levels before facing the BBEG? Don't be afraid to throw ELs of 4-5 against these characters. Page 48 of the DMG has a chart that will help you. If you create a nearly impossible challenge, hide a "trick" to beating it somehow - like finding a special item or activating a special PC ability. Anything with damage reduction and/or fast healing and/or regeneration is going to be tough for them. Four imps will destroy the party at this level. One imp is enough if used tactically. (Invisible - attack w/poison - flee, wait for poison to kick in and for fast healing - then repeat.)
Iroel_Qvasura 04-18-08, 02:00 PM	Ooops, missed the fact that imps had poison >_<. What will fit as minions of a very devious Yuan-ti Pureblood Sorcerer then? EDIT: And the fast healing. Can I still use lemures? EDIT2: Would it be a bad idea just to say that the wizards, while studying them, has found a way to prevent the imps from using their poison, by using some kind of pseudo-magical surgery?
iserith 04-18-08, 02:00 PM	Ooops, missed the fact that imps had poison >_<. What will fit as minions of a very devious Yuan-ti Pureblood Sorcerer then? Sure! If you want to see how I used an imp in a recent 1st-level adventure, read the adventure in my signature.
Moblin 04-19-08, 06:51 PM	Too late to throw in my 2 cp's? I'll throw them into the pot just in case. Some of this will echo some of the excellent advice given already so bare with me. Generally I'd like to say that with new players one should give them a bit of a break. While more experienced players can handle though fights quite well new once tend to make a lot of tactical mistakes (no flanking and provoking AoO's being two big ones) which leads them to take more damage in battle. They're also not sure of what they can do and some times forget about what options they have available (defensive fighting, grappling and so on) which makes it even worse. This should be kept in mind when considering EL. Its tempting to use something because it is cool, but consider carefully if your party will be able to beat it. That being said however; At low levels stats count for a lot and mundane equipment makes a big difference (and luck makes the biggest of them all). Depending on the characters and how generous you've been the party may be able to mop the floor with a normal CR1 critter and you need to pull out bigger guns. When doing that keep in mind that it's better to ad more of the same CR then it is to pull out something with a higher CR. If 2 Orks aren't a challenge, it's better to use 4 Orks (EL 3) then an Ogre (EL 3 as well) because the CR 3 monster is to hard to hit and hits to well. The expected amount of battles a party should be able to handle before needing to rest i normally 3 level appropriate encounters (in this case EL1). At this time they should have spend 75% of their recourses and another battle would run the risk of a PC dying. This of course is nowhere near what will happen (that darn luck factor again) but its a decent rule of thumb. You should never allow your players to rest after every battle, but if a fully rested party takes on a monster and does exceptionally bad (luck can do that to you) letting them rest is better then forcing them into another battle (of course story related issues may prevent this). Well that was a little about some of the things to keep in mind when designing a dungeon. Now on to your idea. I like your idea. Its a fine idea as to explain why so many different monsters are in the same dungeon (and how it came to be so close to town). That being said I kinda feel your are taking maximum advantage of it. From the monsters you've put up I get the feel you want to give the players a freak show to fight. While there's noting wrong with that (you got some nice monsters) it just leaves the whole experimentations part dead in the water. Well before I'll come up with a few suggestions how you'd might improve your basic idea I'll just comment a little on your monster list: 2 Grimlocks (EL 3) These guy's rely on brute force. Unfortunately your party is pretty easy to hit. Except for the fighter every one is in light or no armor and these guys pack quite the punch. I feel that two of these at the same time is going to be very hard on your party. A Grimlock has the ability to hide with a +13 modifier depending on the environment. This makes it great for an ambush and I think that a single Grimlock ambushing your party would make a good encounter. Alternatively you could use two but give your players an advantage like a surprise round or allowing them to engage the Grimlocks at a distance so they may get a few free shots. 1 Varguile (EL 2) Seeing as two of your players have a good Fort saves you'd have to be pretty unlucky for all of your players to get hit by its shriek. If you just make sure it doesn't kiss anyone unless all are helpless it should be a good encounter. Perhaps its poison is a little weaker due to the experiments seeing as the cure is kind of expensive. Make sure to have notes lying around explaining about the kiss so that they may do something about it. If one get kissed they can't really afford to rest so I suggest this as one of the last enemies. 3 Lemures (EL 3) Well these guys are all about hitting them hard enough. I'd maby cut it back to two but it sort of depends on the following. Does your fighter use a two-handed weapon and does he have power attack. If yes use two and just have them attack. If no a few potions of silver sheen (along with a note) in the room before these guys will make the fight easier and I'd use three. 3 Krenshar (EL 3) I'd just use one. Other then that use as written. 2 Darkmantles (EL 3) This one is all about surprise, so I'd just use one as an ambush. They're less fun second time around. Use its great hide modifier and place it over a door. First one going through gets a head covered in darkmantel. 4 Imps (EL 5) Ok now you're just mean ;) (No more then one at the party's current level). I wouldn't use an Imp in this adventure. They got fast healing, invisibility and poison. It would really be a pain for your players to take one down and the dungeon is already pretty lethal. 1 Yuan-ti Pureblood, perhaps /w 1 sorcerer level. (EL 4 or 5) Depending on weather it gets the elite array of stats or not this will be an CR 4 or CR 5. That's pretty tough. I'd go with an entire different approach. But I'll get to that in a moment. Personally I'd say this one is too strong if it gets the right spells. Entangle is in and of its self a nasty spell if the environment allows it and thats a spell like ability it gets regardless. Wow that took more time then expected. I think I'll type the rest later if you're interested. Oh and by the way. Just because I'm curios: What part of our fair country are you from?
Half_Dragon_Infernal 04-19-08, 10:25 PM	I'd recommend spreading out the various monsters into multiple rooms. 4 separate imp encounters should make a good challenge.
Etarnon 04-19-08, 10:57 PM	Hey, this sounds really cool. I'd sign on for this campaign. You're in more than capable hands with all the advice above. Welcome to the Life, let us know how it turns out.
Iroel_Qvasura 04-20-08, 12:12 PM	Moblin, your advice is very much appreciated, but you seem to forget two things. First of all, I myself haven't played D&D before, so the monsters won't be using better tactics than the players. Secondly, I wont be using the monsters I listed at the same time, for example, the two grimlocks wont be together, and neither will the krenshars. The imps are probably getting used at the same time, but I'm house-ruling to make them MUCH weaker. The flavor is too cool to leave out. Also, I'm from Kalundborg. Etarnon: I'll let you know what happens, dont' worry :)
Kerelis 04-20-08, 02:22 PM	It doesn't hurt to use the same base creature with only minor cosmetic changes. They meet a kobold that you describe as having no eyes in its head but two glowing red eyes in its chest and a set of tentacles surrounding the eyes. Maybe give it something like blindsense (it is using the tentacles to feel vibrations in the air, etc), for example.
Moblin 04-20-08, 05:53 PM	Well I did say I'd return, so on with my ranting: Response: Moblin, your advice is very much appreciated, but you seem to forget two things. First of all, I myself haven't played D&D before, so the monsters won't be using better tactics than the players. Secondly, I won’t be using the monsters I listed at the same time, for example, the two grimlocks won’t be together, and neither will the krenshars. Well I did consider the part about not using all the monsters at the same time but went with the "worst case" scenario. What I said still has some value as to how you’d best use them. About you being inexperienced; well that’s why you're here right. "Unfortunately" that also means you'll catch some go tips on running the monsters while your players are still in the dark. Oh well it's all a game and you're too young at this to have become the bitter DM who punish player stupidity/mistakes with death. Don't worry that'll come soon enough ;) Oh and about you being new made me remember that I'm throwing around a lot of abbreviations. Hope that you understand all of them, and don't be afraid to ask if you don't. The imps are probably getting used at the same time, but I'm house-ruling to make them MUCH weaker. The flavor is too cool to leave out. Well if it is any aid let me suggest something. Look at the glitter dust spell in the PHB. If they're under the constant effect of that spell they can't turn invisible. Perhaps the dust is a special silver version that also robs them of their damage reduction. Then they only have fast healing which would then be fair enough. Remove their poison and they should be an ok foe even with four of them (permanent neutralize poison spell could explain that). Remember to have them meet an unmodified Imp later in their career just to show them how much they have to fear from the real thing (iserith's adventure is a good source for tactics). Well with that out of the way let me just return to a question you asked earlier: By the way, when do they gain levels? I mean, if they get enough experience in middle of it, do they gain their levels before facing the BBEG? There's no right answer for this. It depends on a few factors. When do you hand out experience points? There are primarily three methods: After each battle, after each session, after each adventure. Number two and three are the most popular with number one rarely finding use. If you hand out xp after each session (the most popular) then you can run into the problem of players having enough xp in the middle of an adventure (this can also happen with method number one). With number three there's little problem. When to level up? While most computer games allows you to immediately level up your char (or does it automatically) in DnD the DM is usually best off with having his players leveling up between adventures. If your players suddenly level up during this adventure the challenges you've prepared will be somewhat less that and you'll have to change them. For this reason many DM's require the PC's to do some "training" for a length of time before they're able to level up. This forces them to wait leveling until the adventure is done. This method is not without problems though. Sometimes you'll want your players on a longer journey. During that they may amass the necessary xp but not have the time to train. This can lead to player frustration, knowing that additional power is within reach if it wasn't for a stupid training rule. You yourself might find it annoying at times, wanting the players to level so that you won't fell too bad throwing something bigger and nastier at them. So it is really up to you to choose how you want to do things. In the last campaign I participated in we got experience after each session and in my next campaign they'll get it after each adventure. Both methods work and none of them are perfect :) Ok so now let’s move on to the part where my ego gets too big and I try to tell you how to use your own ideas: You're have an "abandoned" laboratory but so far you've yet to use it (well at least you haven't told us how you'll use it once they're inside). The experiments will allow you to explain several weird (and potentially stat changeling) alterations to the monsters inside. Don't just rely on their innate freakishness. The suggestions I gave on the Imps could be explained as spells to "neuter" them so that people may safely use their commune ability (It's pretty useful). Who knows perhaps it was an elapsed protection from evil spell that allowed them to put a wizard under a suggestion to let them lose (after which hell broke loose). Another strange creature could be rainbow rats (I've just invented them :)). Ordinary lab rats that due to experimentations all turned different bright colors. This leaves them immune to prismatic effects like color spray but makes them easy to spot. Have 8-16 of these, attack your party describing how the colorful vermin darts around as they climb all over their legs and around their feet (read p. 148 PHB "very small creature and p. 149 if you use these). You could also use fewer dire rats but sometimes a "rat rush" is pretty fun :). And you shouldn't stop with the creatures you use as opponents. Have dead creature’s dissected on cold slaps of stone , incorporable giant spiders that can't do anything but be scary as they drop from the ceiling and pass through the wall, and more. Make a few traps for the rouge with defect alchemical equipment as iserith suggested (I do steal a lot from him hu!) with alchemist fire as the reward for disarming it. Have plenty of logs; some scary (the spell made the subject turn itself inside out, possible battle applications), some fun (Succeeded in making the shocker lizard covered in yellow fur for isolation purposes. Subject now have strange speaking distorter. Keeps saying "pika pika". PS don't touch the red spots) and some informative (the imps have been mostly incapacitated but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves. Yesterday they almost got Anadar to open their cage). And I've just tripled your workload haven't I? :embarrass Ok just one more thing: You should consider that despite being in the moral grey zone they'd never experiment on sentient creatures. Ok so evil extra planar entities are exempted, and the Krenshars and Grimlocks looks and acts too savage, but something that can speak common is out. Have the "BBEG" be a secret experiment conducted by one of the wizards in a secret part of the laboratory. This could be a member of the player races who got some sort of weird power he/she used to kill of the wizards after the imps released him/her for fun. This would explain why some pretty powerful wizards died at the hands of a few experiments. For examples of run amok experiments with weird power see: Akira, Elfen leid, Firefly/Serenity, and F.E.A.R (last one is a video game and not really that god an inspiration actually) The secret experiment has now escaped with the single unmodified Imp who keeps telling him/her to use his/her power for evil, while he/she just want to escape and perhaps see his/her family. This leaves an opening for further adventure. The person is so far (almost) innocent but will it stay that way? Drop the Yuan-ti and have the 4 Imps be the mini BBEG's for this dungeon/adventure. Oh well hope that you can use at least some of it. Let me know what you think. PS: Thank good you're not form Sjæland was afraid you where from Jyland and I had to use small words ;) :P
arjomanes 04-21-08, 01:43 AM	Since you're new I'd stick to running mostly standard stuff from the MM at the appropriate levels. If you want it to look cooler, there's no one stopping you from taking an orc's stats and changing the description. "A pale, gray creature stumbles out of the side room, slamming into the door frame and whirling out into the hallway. Thick boneless arms flail in the air around it, corded with muscles and glistening in the torchlight with a sheen of mucus. Its sunken eyes slowly shift as it sees you and it shrieks out with a bellowing cry, a mix of misery and rage." This is no longer an orc; now it's a mutated creature that flails out with unnaturally powerful thick boneless arms (treat the attack as an orc armed with a heavy mace). If you want to add something interesting, maybe the skin is covered in acid that damages on unarmed strikes or grapples. I still like to use the balanced simple stats in the MM and change the description to make new and interesting monsters. Over time you can pick up more books or add templates, but it gets more complicated when you do that. Right now it's useful to try to keep the monsters simpler so you can focus on all the other aspects of DMing.
Iroel_Qvasura 05-01-08, 03:04 PM	As promised, here's how they're progressing: They entered the place out of free will (Except for the rogue), but were soon attacked by a Grimlock, which they took down pretty quickly. Soon after, they met one of the Krenshar and the rogue got quite overconfident. He's now got notably fewer hit points, and a severe case of Ailurophobia. After that, they cleared out a room with another Grimlock, and then the lair of the remaining two Krenshar. One of them tried to scare them, and it was quite effective against the poor little halfling rogue, who was already very nervous after their previous encounter with the felines. It didn't work against the fighter (Who has got 18 in both strength and constitution.), though, and he quickly finished them off, helped by some arrows, an orb of acid, and a very clever use of mage hand + short spear. Now, they've entered the secondary laboratory, and the sorcerer nearly blew up after being careless around dangerous vials. Next session, they're gonna encounter a stoned wizard, who'll have a lot of useful knowledge to share, if/after they help him clear out the rest of the place. Summary: It's going pretty good, considering we're all newbies :D