Am I evil? [Archive] - Wizards Community - Pages Merged by Solauren

Am I evil? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
DMJustbumper
09-30-06, 01:38 PM Okay, I am planning to do something to my party that I think will be great, roleplaying wise as well as challenge wise. But I dont know if it will completely destroy the PC's.

Here is my party breakdown:

13th lvl human domain wizard/master of the unseen hand

11th lvl human bard/seeker of the song

12th lvl human cleric/radient servent of pelor

11th lvl elf barbarian/freinzied berzerker

My plan is to throw a team of assassins against them. Not the PrC, just people that kill for a living. They call themselves hero hunters, because they enjoy killing heroes, it is a thrill. But they are smart about it ( i hate stupid assassins). They dont just stalk then jump out for the fight, they observe their opponites and then choose how to most effectivly kill them.

Here is the breakdown for the hero hunters:

12th lvl half-elf beguiler

13th lvl human fighter/sorc/green star adept

11th lvl human ex-druid/blighter

For this adventure, the PC's are traveling to a wedding. They will have a few chances to catch the blighter or the deguiler watching them. After that the green star adept will ride into their camp disguised as someone else and befriend them. After realizing that the PC are not going to be doing any heroics (which is what they are watching for) they stage an attack on the city with the blighter as the main focus. This will gauge the PC's abilities (and probably kill the blighter which will enrage the other two hunters) Then after realizing that the party relies heavily on the barbarian for front support the beguiler will attempt to dominate him days before they accually encounter the hunters and instructs him to continue acting as he normally does.The beguiler then uses the barbarian to spy on the rest of the group. Then after realizing that the wizard is going to be a problem they steal his material components right before the battle. Then when the battle starts the barbarian (who up till this point dosent even know he is dominated) turns on the rest of the group in round one. And because he is an FB it wouldnt be going against his normal actions to attack his friends so no save.

They way I see it, this plan relies heavily on the PC's messing up a bunch of checks (against the dominate, to not realize the FB is dominated, to not see the material components being stolen, to not see through the Green star adept ect) so the PC's have a good chance of averting a bunch of the nastyness, but if all goes right it will become a TPK.

So i ask again, am I evil?
sunsilverdragon
09-30-06, 01:42 PM Frenzied Berserkers ALWAYS spell trouble, I'll give you that.

Though, your plot is impressive. It would be quite the challenge, if not an overwhelming encounter, for the PCs.

Though... this heavily relies on your PCs being completely unaware. At this high ECL, PCs are rarely unaware.

I don't think you're evil. I've seen encounters far more devastating than this one (though most were railroaded, hm).
necrom99
09-30-06, 05:21 PM TPK is always the worst.....have a way for one of the characters to escape if needs be, but don't save him if he doesn't take it....if your party can't see the odds stacked against them then they deserve a TPK.

but apart from that, you've really got a good plan going, i say use it.....and let us know what happens
PhaedrusXY
09-30-06, 05:29 PM What makes you think the PCs will trust the Green Star Adept? What happens if they don't? Does the wizard not have more than one set of spell components? (He sure as hell should have...)
albinomonkeyking
09-30-06, 05:39 PM All I have to say is something my PCs remind me of constantly, which, as they would put it, "Sometimes you think something is really, really easy, but you know what is going to happen and how everything is supposed to go. It is really hard when you are actually playing it through."

This plan could easily go through depending on how your party acts. If the FB spends all his free time sleeping then he will be an easy target, if the wizard is always obsessively planning and preparing spells it will be challenging to get his components. Are they usually randomly wary of all strangers? Thinking it may be a plot device or what have you.

This is my advice, it seems like they have a lot of checks to fail, but if the hide of the hunters gives them only a 50% chance to spot them, or higher, and if they only get one attempt, or very few, it may not be so easy. Likewise, barbarians, like fighters, have terrible will saves. The +2 for rage will help, but he won't be raging at the time, so unless he has iron will and a save item he is pretty much a goner. With that in mind, he could probably quite easily decimate the entire party.

The party may ruin the plan immediately, or they may shock you by following it like the little choo-choo who could. I will strongly advise against believing they will or will not fail, try to come up with a fail safe.
Cifer
09-30-06, 06:26 PM Then when the battle starts the barbarian (who up till this point dosent even know he is dominated) turns on the rest of the group in round one. And because he is an FB it wouldnt be going against his normal actions to attack his friends so no save.
I have massive problems with this one. FBs don't attack their friends until all enemies are dead - so it most definitely is against his normal actions to do otherwise. However, I'd advise not to change the plan. One chance of escape for the PCs is fine, since I see few possibilities for them to evade a tpk otherwise.
Roivas
09-30-06, 10:21 PM I think the players will guess that their elven siege weapon isn't acting normally when his attack coincides with a betrayal from this "friend" they just met. A quick dispel magic, a spell without material components, would fix. Also taking out the beuguiler would be a high priority, given his hold over the barb., once he's dead the party shouldn't have much trouble cleaning up the green menace.
Even if the party gets to this climax completely unaware [unlikely as a wizard will start to be wary once his spell pouch goes missing], they are about 12th level overall. They should be very able to handle these hunter without much issue. Also i thought you said the team wasn't stupid, why would they let one of their own die in a battle with nothing to gain from it? I'd figure an escape route for the druid [wildshape shrew helps, +12 to hide] so he can join in the final battle. Having the entire team will make the fight much harder, but it would make more sense.
Also the barbarian doesn't want to attack his allies [unless he really does], his rage just gets away from him sometimes. Therefore he would get another save when commanded to attack the party. He probably won't make it, but Nat 20s happen. That's why I'd advise keeping the little blighter around to help the team stay on even ground. With only 3 vs. four [the barbarian being somewhat a wild card], the party might be able to win the day.
So this isn't the most evil thing I've ever heard of, it sounds like fun to me. They'll probably win, given reasonable luck.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
DMJustbumper 09-30-06, 01:38 PM	Okay, I am planning to do something to my party that I think will be great, roleplaying wise as well as challenge wise. But I dont know if it will completely destroy the PC's. Here is my party breakdown: 13th lvl human domain wizard/master of the unseen hand 11th lvl human bard/seeker of the song 12th lvl human cleric/radient servent of pelor 11th lvl elf barbarian/freinzied berzerker My plan is to throw a team of assassins against them. Not the PrC, just people that kill for a living. They call themselves hero hunters, because they enjoy killing heroes, it is a thrill. But they are smart about it ( i hate stupid assassins). They dont just stalk then jump out for the fight, they observe their opponites and then choose how to most effectivly kill them. Here is the breakdown for the hero hunters: 12th lvl half-elf beguiler 13th lvl human fighter/sorc/green star adept 11th lvl human ex-druid/blighter For this adventure, the PC's are traveling to a wedding. They will have a few chances to catch the blighter or the deguiler watching them. After that the green star adept will ride into their camp disguised as someone else and befriend them. After realizing that the PC are not going to be doing any heroics (which is what they are watching for) they stage an attack on the city with the blighter as the main focus. This will gauge the PC's abilities (and probably kill the blighter which will enrage the other two hunters) Then after realizing that the party relies heavily on the barbarian for front support the beguiler will attempt to dominate him days before they accually encounter the hunters and instructs him to continue acting as he normally does.The beguiler then uses the barbarian to spy on the rest of the group. Then after realizing that the wizard is going to be a problem they steal his material components right before the battle. Then when the battle starts the barbarian (who up till this point dosent even know he is dominated) turns on the rest of the group in round one. And because he is an FB it wouldnt be going against his normal actions to attack his friends so no save. They way I see it, this plan relies heavily on the PC's messing up a bunch of checks (against the dominate, to not realize the FB is dominated, to not see the material components being stolen, to not see through the Green star adept ect) so the PC's have a good chance of averting a bunch of the nastyness, but if all goes right it will become a TPK. So i ask again, am I evil?
sunsilverdragon 09-30-06, 01:42 PM	Frenzied Berserkers ALWAYS spell trouble, I'll give you that. Though, your plot is impressive. It would be quite the challenge, if not an overwhelming encounter, for the PCs. Though... this heavily relies on your PCs being completely unaware. At this high ECL, PCs are rarely unaware. I don't think you're evil. I've seen encounters far more devastating than this one (though most were railroaded, hm).
necrom99 09-30-06, 05:21 PM	TPK is always the worst.....have a way for one of the characters to escape if needs be, but don't save him if he doesn't take it....if your party can't see the odds stacked against them then they deserve a TPK. but apart from that, you've really got a good plan going, i say use it.....and let us know what happens
PhaedrusXY 09-30-06, 05:29 PM	What makes you think the PCs will trust the Green Star Adept? What happens if they don't? Does the wizard not have more than one set of spell components? (He sure as hell should have...)
albinomonkeyking 09-30-06, 05:39 PM	All I have to say is something my PCs remind me of constantly, which, as they would put it, "Sometimes you think something is really, really easy, but you know what is going to happen and how everything is supposed to go. It is really hard when you are actually playing it through." This plan could easily go through depending on how your party acts. If the FB spends all his free time sleeping then he will be an easy target, if the wizard is always obsessively planning and preparing spells it will be challenging to get his components. Are they usually randomly wary of all strangers? Thinking it may be a plot device or what have you. This is my advice, it seems like they have a lot of checks to fail, but if the hide of the hunters gives them only a 50% chance to spot them, or higher, and if they only get one attempt, or very few, it may not be so easy. Likewise, barbarians, like fighters, have terrible will saves. The +2 for rage will help, but he won't be raging at the time, so unless he has iron will and a save item he is pretty much a goner. With that in mind, he could probably quite easily decimate the entire party. The party may ruin the plan immediately, or they may shock you by following it like the little choo-choo who could. I will strongly advise against believing they will or will not fail, try to come up with a fail safe.
Cifer 09-30-06, 06:26 PM	Then when the battle starts the barbarian (who up till this point dosent even know he is dominated) turns on the rest of the group in round one. And because he is an FB it wouldnt be going against his normal actions to attack his friends so no save. I have massive problems with this one. FBs don't attack their friends until all enemies are dead - so it most definitely is against his normal actions to do otherwise. However, I'd advise not to change the plan. One chance of escape for the PCs is fine, since I see few possibilities for them to evade a tpk otherwise.
Roivas 09-30-06, 10:21 PM	I think the players will guess that their elven siege weapon isn't acting normally when his attack coincides with a betrayal from this "friend" they just met. A quick dispel magic, a spell without material components, would fix. Also taking out the beuguiler would be a high priority, given his hold over the barb., once he's dead the party shouldn't have much trouble cleaning up the green menace. Even if the party gets to this climax completely unaware [unlikely as a wizard will start to be wary once his spell pouch goes missing], they are about 12th level overall. They should be very able to handle these hunter without much issue. Also i thought you said the team wasn't stupid, why would they let one of their own die in a battle with nothing to gain from it? I'd figure an escape route for the druid [wildshape shrew helps, +12 to hide] so he can join in the final battle. Having the entire team will make the fight much harder, but it would make more sense. Also the barbarian doesn't want to attack his allies [unless he really does], his rage just gets away from him sometimes. Therefore he would get another save when commanded to attack the party. He probably won't make it, but Nat 20s happen. That's why I'd advise keeping the little blighter around to help the team stay on even ground. With only 3 vs. four [the barbarian being somewhat a wild card], the party might be able to win the day. So this isn't the most evil thing I've ever heard of, it sounds like fun to me. They'll probably win, given reasonable luck.