Alone in the Underdark [Archive] - Wizards Community

Alone in the Underdark [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Dreamer3333
09-20-06, 09:25 AM Hi all,

One of the characters in my group has found himself alone in the Underdark. He has a map, and knows where he's going, but it's a fair distance.
He's an Aasimar, 4Clr 4Rgr, and has his buddy's Gondsman with him (medium sized construct, not terribly capable fighter).

My problem is, I want to give him a couple good encounters on the way out, but don't know what to throw at him that's appropriate/fair. I don't want it to be an easy walk out, but not too hard either.
The module it's part of has random encounter tables for the area, but again, i don't want to leave it to chance.
I don't know how to balance for 1PC...

Any thoughts/suggestions?

Thanks,
- Dreamer
Kradlo
09-20-06, 09:47 AM He's going into the Underdark essentially alone? My players learn not to split up the party very quickly - characters die that way.

He's fairly tough (ECL 9), but the Underdark is a really dangerous place. Have some encounters be ones that he can spot or hear - he's got levels in Ranger and Cleric, so his Wisdom should be high, and he should have good ranks in Spot and Listen. Let him see or hear some encounters to avoid rather than fight. If he charges in with the notion of "clearing out the Underdark single-handed," he becomes worm food. If he stealthily evades the Drow patrol on their spider mounts, he lives another day.

I think using Listen checks for sounds will be better than Spot checks, because sound carries well in cavern settings, and while he'll hear the sound approaching nasties, he won't necessarily know what they are. The unknown is always scarier than the known. So, even with darkvision, the Underdark is a scary place, so play that up a bit. Make his journey fraught with danger and fear. A patch of mushrooms might have shriekers and violet fungus. He could see a creature suddenly grabbed by a lashing strand from a stalactite, indicating the presence of a deadly roper (make sure he has a path to go around it, they're CR 12).

He could find an ally, perhaps a svirfneblin, willing to guide him for a price. There are lots of possibilities.
Dreamer3333
09-20-06, 10:00 AM He didn't really have a choice...
They were after a dragon in one particular cave, and things went real bad. This particular fellow wasn't anywhere near the rest of the party when the emergency teleport went down.
As such, he has to find his way out alone.

There is a 'guy' around who *could* help him out, but that doesn't really make it a challenge either.
The PC has a map, and knows the way, it's just a matter of what he comes across on the trip.

I figured that his spot/listen/tracking could help him avoid a couple big, bad encounters, but i do want to give him *something* that he's going to have to deal with.

- Dreamer
Mixster
09-20-06, 10:45 AM well you could let lesser Drow rogues attack him...

You even could make a few Encounters use invisibility and attack him when he is not weary (be careful with this)...

You could make him suddenly fall into (collapsing floor trap) the den of a manticore or even a 6 headed hydra... (around his CR)
Dreamer3333
09-20-06, 02:23 PM So, is there actually a "single combat" calculation for CRs then?
Or something to go by?

- Dreamer
Necrosis
09-20-06, 05:12 PM try the encounter calculator, is real useful, but beware CR's are only a rough guide, always check

reavtive AC's/BAB's, can the monsters and the PC's hit each other
damage reduction
Any nasty special attacks the mosnsters will have prepped
Any nast special abilities or combat dynamics

eg 6 headed hydras, you kill them by cutting their heads of-BUT, every attempt provokes 6 attacks of opttunity every round, this means a 6 headed hydra has 12 attacks a round unless your guys have the sunder feat.

its CR is actually a touch higher than stated for most parties-unless they have improved sunder :).

encounter calculator can be found at

http://www.d20srd.org/encounterCalculator.htm
finbury
09-20-06, 05:24 PM Well, maybe the next adventure for the REST of the PCs is to rescue him from the Duergar before they work him to death...
Kensan_Oni
09-20-06, 05:39 PM Remember that the Underdark is not all ancient racial cities and humanoids, there are common encounters, as well, deep in the dark.

All sorts of animals crawl into the underdark. Encounters with bears, bats (Dire and otherwise), giant bugs of all sorts, and fungus and ooze all live, breed, and die of old age here.

Also, not all things in the underdark are hostile, from Dwarves and Gnomes expanding their deep expanses, to elven scouts keeping an eye on the evil that is deep in the world, to human prospectors looking for easy veins of crystal and gold to pry out of the earth.

As far as hostile things go, there is no end of them, from young dragons looking to make new lairs for themselves, to elementals that have manage to break loose, to lava flows breaking free from their volcanos to flood and destroy tunnels.

Just decide what kind of story you want this person to tell when he returns, or what kind of thing you want him to find, and go from there.
KmartKommando
09-24-06, 03:46 PM He could wander around for a day, and fear for his life, then the party could scry him and teleport in to get him. Maybe in the nick of time, if they scry on him starting a battle he might not win.
Fun for everyone.
Lanky Ogre Baggy Pants
09-24-06, 04:07 PM I think using Listen checks for sounds will be better than Spot checks, because sound carries well in cavern settings, and while he'll hear the sound approaching nasties, he won't necessarily know what they are.

While you can hear much further than you can see in most cavern settings, from personal experience I would hardly say that sound carries well. It echos wierdly and can fade extremely quick. Especially human voices. A whistle on the other hand..
Getting even 100 ft from another person behind a curve can be creepy whn you can't hear anyone, even when you know they are there.
Alac Luin
09-24-06, 10:17 PM He has to talk his way past a group of Myconids.

An encounter with a half-illithid kobold, here the gondsman is good backup being immune to the mind powers.

All the time being chased by a gelatinous cube.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Dreamer3333 09-20-06, 09:25 AM	Hi all, One of the characters in my group has found himself alone in the Underdark. He has a map, and knows where he's going, but it's a fair distance. He's an Aasimar, 4Clr 4Rgr, and has his buddy's Gondsman with him (medium sized construct, not terribly capable fighter). My problem is, I want to give him a couple good encounters on the way out, but don't know what to throw at him that's appropriate/fair. I don't want it to be an easy walk out, but not too hard either. The module it's part of has random encounter tables for the area, but again, i don't want to leave it to chance. I don't know how to balance for 1PC... Any thoughts/suggestions? Thanks, - Dreamer
Kradlo 09-20-06, 09:47 AM	He's going into the Underdark essentially alone? My players learn not to split up the party very quickly - characters die that way. He's fairly tough (ECL 9), but the Underdark is a really dangerous place. Have some encounters be ones that he can spot or hear - he's got levels in Ranger and Cleric, so his Wisdom should be high, and he should have good ranks in Spot and Listen. Let him see or hear some encounters to avoid rather than fight. If he charges in with the notion of "clearing out the Underdark single-handed," he becomes worm food. If he stealthily evades the Drow patrol on their spider mounts, he lives another day. I think using Listen checks for sounds will be better than Spot checks, because sound carries well in cavern settings, and while he'll hear the sound approaching nasties, he won't necessarily know what they are. The unknown is always scarier than the known. So, even with darkvision, the Underdark is a scary place, so play that up a bit. Make his journey fraught with danger and fear. A patch of mushrooms might have shriekers and violet fungus. He could see a creature suddenly grabbed by a lashing strand from a stalactite, indicating the presence of a deadly roper (make sure he has a path to go around it, they're CR 12). He could find an ally, perhaps a svirfneblin, willing to guide him for a price. There are lots of possibilities.
Dreamer3333 09-20-06, 10:00 AM	He didn't really have a choice... They were after a dragon in one particular cave, and things went real bad. This particular fellow wasn't anywhere near the rest of the party when the emergency teleport went down. As such, he has to find his way out alone. There is a 'guy' around who could help him out, but that doesn't really make it a challenge either. The PC has a map, and knows the way, it's just a matter of what he comes across on the trip. I figured that his spot/listen/tracking could help him avoid a couple big, bad encounters, but i do want to give him something that he's going to have to deal with. - Dreamer
Mixster 09-20-06, 10:45 AM	well you could let lesser Drow rogues attack him... You even could make a few Encounters use invisibility and attack him when he is not weary (be careful with this)... You could make him suddenly fall into (collapsing floor trap) the den of a manticore or even a 6 headed hydra... (around his CR)
Dreamer3333 09-20-06, 02:23 PM	So, is there actually a "single combat" calculation for CRs then? Or something to go by? - Dreamer
Necrosis 09-20-06, 05:12 PM	try the encounter calculator, is real useful, but beware CR's are only a rough guide, always check reavtive AC's/BAB's, can the monsters and the PC's hit each other damage reduction Any nasty special attacks the mosnsters will have prepped Any nast special abilities or combat dynamics eg 6 headed hydras, you kill them by cutting their heads of-BUT, every attempt provokes 6 attacks of opttunity every round, this means a 6 headed hydra has 12 attacks a round unless your guys have the sunder feat. its CR is actually a touch higher than stated for most parties-unless they have improved sunder :). encounter calculator can be found at http://www.d20srd.org/encounterCalculator.htm
finbury 09-20-06, 05:24 PM	Well, maybe the next adventure for the REST of the PCs is to rescue him from the Duergar before they work him to death...
Kensan_Oni 09-20-06, 05:39 PM	Remember that the Underdark is not all ancient racial cities and humanoids, there are common encounters, as well, deep in the dark. All sorts of animals crawl into the underdark. Encounters with bears, bats (Dire and otherwise), giant bugs of all sorts, and fungus and ooze all live, breed, and die of old age here. Also, not all things in the underdark are hostile, from Dwarves and Gnomes expanding their deep expanses, to elven scouts keeping an eye on the evil that is deep in the world, to human prospectors looking for easy veins of crystal and gold to pry out of the earth. As far as hostile things go, there is no end of them, from young dragons looking to make new lairs for themselves, to elementals that have manage to break loose, to lava flows breaking free from their volcanos to flood and destroy tunnels. Just decide what kind of story you want this person to tell when he returns, or what kind of thing you want him to find, and go from there.
KmartKommando 09-24-06, 03:46 PM	He could wander around for a day, and fear for his life, then the party could scry him and teleport in to get him. Maybe in the nick of time, if they scry on him starting a battle he might not win. Fun for everyone.
Lanky Ogre Baggy Pants 09-24-06, 04:07 PM	I think using Listen checks for sounds will be better than Spot checks, because sound carries well in cavern settings, and while he'll hear the sound approaching nasties, he won't necessarily know what they are. While you can hear much further than you can see in most cavern settings, from personal experience I would hardly say that sound carries well. It echos wierdly and can fade extremely quick. Especially human voices. A whistle on the other hand.. Getting even 100 ft from another person behind a curve can be creepy whn you can't hear anyone, even when you know they are there.
Alac Luin 09-24-06, 10:17 PM	He has to talk his way past a group of Myconids. An encounter with a half-illithid kobold, here the gondsman is good backup being immune to the mind powers. All the time being chased by a gelatinous cube.