Mini-Spoiler for E3 - Help me beef up an encounter - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Mini-Spoiler for E3 - Help me beef up an encounter

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
plki76
Nov 19, 2010 14:25:43 Heya Folks,

Background:
     I'll be running my players through E1-E3 in a little while and am going through the modules with an eye towards making some of the encounters more interesting. By and large the encounters are generally pretty cool, but there are some places where I think there were some missed opportunities.

    In the beginning of E3 there is a point at which the PCs arrive on a ship and do combat with baddies in order to wrest control and sail the astral seas. Sounds interesting, but the encounter is a little bland. You show up and kill people, with some semi-random respawns.

Encounter Alteration:
     What I'd like to do is set the battle in the middle of a raging storm. The PCs arrive at the scene and are immediately enguled by raging winds and lightning storms as the ship pitches violenty, tossing the PCs around the deck. The sailors are old salts and having been at sea nearly all their lives are unaffected by the ship's motion.

Mechanics:
    My initial thoughts here are to use an old scatter die from Warhammer.  It's a d6, with 4 sides being directional arrows and two sides being a bullseye to indicate a hit.  For the purposes of this encounter, a roll of "hit" will be re-rolled. The arrows are read to indicate the direction the PCs will slide. In order to make life easy, only the standard 8 compass directions (N, NW, W, SW, etc) will be considered.

      At the start of every PCs turn they make one of the following checks:

Athletics -
35+:   The storm is no match for your tree-like legs. You act normally.

30: You are able to grab ahold of a nearby object (railing, mast, rigging, whatever), steady yourself, and continue moving. You are slowed until the start of your next turn

25: You grab a nearby object and hold on for dear life. You slide 1d4 squares as indicated by the scatter die and are immobilized until the start of your next turn

24 or below: Your tiny muscles can't compete against the storm, you slide 1d6 squares as indicated by the scatter die and are dazed and immobilized until the start of your next turn

Acrobatics -
35+: Your amazing balance allows you to dance untouched through the storm. You act normally.

30: Instead of fighting the storm, you briefly allow the motion of the ship to carry you before redirecting.  You slide 1d4 squares as indicated by the scatter die but can otherwise act normally.

25: You duck into a roll as a sudden jerk from the ship knocks you off your feet. You slide 1d4 squares as indicated by the scatter die and are knocked prone.

24 or below: You are hit by a piece of flying debris and momentairly knocked senseless. You slide 1d6 squares as indicated by the scatter die, are knocked prone, and are dazed until the start of your next turn.

Perception
35+: The world moves in slow motion as your mind quickly discerns tiny patterns in the apparent randomness of the storm. Your amazing clarity allows you to walk untouched through the chaos. You act normally.

30:  You predict the rolling motion of the ship and see a path of safety through the frenetic action around you.  Roll the scatter die twice and then slide 2d4 in the direction indicated by one of the scatter die rolls (your choice).

25: You look about you to gauge the storm and are briefly amazed by the beauty of the lightning dancing around the crow's nest. You slide 1d6 squares as indicated by the scatter die and are dazed until the start of your next turn

24 or below:  You peer intently into the storm, trying to predict when the next swell will occur.  Suddenly, confronted by the vastness of the astral sea and the power of the storm around you, you realize your tiny insignificance in the cosmos and are gripped by self-doubt. You slide 1d8 squares as indicated by the scatter die and are stunned until the start of your next turn.


Feedback Wanted:

    What do you think of the ideas above?
   Are the skills balanced?
   Are the DCs reasonable for level 24-26ish PCs?
   Does this seem like it would be "interesting" and/or "fun"?
    Should there be more available skills to use?






#2
astriag
Dec 25, 2010 15:18:08
Heya Folks,

Background:
     I'll be running my players through E1-E3 in a little while and am going through the modules with an eye towards making some of the encounters more interesting. By and large the encounters are generally pretty cool, but there are some places where I think there were some missed opportunities.

    In the beginning of E3 there is a point at which the PCs arrive on a ship and do combat with baddies in order to wrest control and sail the astral seas. Sounds interesting, but the encounter is a little bland. You show up and kill people, with some semi-random respawns.

Encounter Alteration:
     What I'd like to do is set the battle in the middle of a raging storm. The PCs arrive at the scene and are immediately enguled by raging winds and lightning storms as the ship pitches violenty, tossing the PCs around the deck. The sailors are old salts and having been at sea nearly all their lives are unaffected by the ship's motion.

Mechanics:
    My initial thoughts here are to use an old scatter die from Warhammer.  It's a d6, with 4 sides being directional arrows and two sides being a bullseye to indicate a hit.  For the purposes of this encounter, a roll of "hit" will be re-rolled. The arrows are read to indicate the direction the PCs will slide. In order to make life easy, only the standard 8 compass directions (N, NW, W, SW, etc) will be considered.

      At the start of every PCs turn they make one of the following checks:

Athletics -
35+:   The storm is no match for your tree-like legs. You act normally.

30: You are able to grab ahold of a nearby object (railing, mast, rigging, whatever), steady yourself, and continue moving. You are slowed until the start of your next turn

25: You grab a nearby object and hold on for dear life. You slide 1d4 squares as indicated by the scatter die and are immobilized until the start of your next turn

24 or below: Your tiny muscles can't compete against the storm, you slide 1d6 squares as indicated by the scatter die and are dazed and immobilized until the start of your next turn

Acrobatics -
35+: Your amazing balance allows you to dance untouched through the storm. You act normally.

30: Instead of fighting the storm, you briefly allow the motion of the ship to carry you before redirecting.  You slide 1d4 squares as indicated by the scatter die but can otherwise act normally.

25: You duck into a roll as a sudden jerk from the ship knocks you off your feet. You slide 1d4 squares as indicated by the scatter die and are knocked prone.

24 or below: You are hit by a piece of flying debris and momentairly knocked senseless. You slide 1d6 squares as indicated by the scatter die, are knocked prone, and are dazed until the start of your next turn.

Perception
35+: The world moves in slow motion as your mind quickly discerns tiny patterns in the apparent randomness of the storm. Your amazing clarity allows you to walk untouched through the chaos. You act normally.

30:  You predict the rolling motion of the ship and see a path of safety through the frenetic action around you.  Roll the scatter die twice and then slide 2d4 in the direction indicated by one of the scatter die rolls (your choice).

25: You look about you to gauge the storm and are briefly amazed by the beauty of the lightning dancing around the crow's nest. You slide 1d6 squares as indicated by the scatter die and are dazed until the start of your next turn

24 or below:  You peer intently into the storm, trying to predict when the next swell will occur.  Suddenly, confronted by the vastness of the astral sea and the power of the storm around you, you realize your tiny insignificance in the cosmos and are gripped by self-doubt. You slide 1d8 squares as indicated by the scatter die and are stunned until the start of your next turn.


Feedback Wanted:

    What do you think of the ideas above?
   Are the skills balanced?
   Are the DCs reasonable for level 24-26ish PCs?
   Does this seem like it would be "interesting" and/or "fun"?
    Should there be more available skills to use?







Whoah. That's super cool. My party is heading towards the same encounter and I'll spice it up too!

I'm also looking at the final encounter and thinking that my guys are way too powerful for it as it stands. They should all be at level 30 with pretty much maxed out gear, which I figure will make it a walk in the park. Any thoughts how to rev that up?
#3
astriag
Dec 25, 2010 15:23:41 Uh.. sorry for the long quote. That was a tad accidential.

I realized that you also asked how to spice this up. What I've done is build dreams and nightmares as a background story into E2 & E3. So all the way through the storyline the adventurers see moments from future. The final encounter is such a major event that it sends reflections through time and space of the multiverse which the characters experience first hand given that they'll be there.

One of the players is a Captain by background so I've let him see glimpses of Shevaithan in his dreams. He's obviously been really excited about finally being able to command a ship (a first during our campaign). However in the nightmares he's turned against the other party members and commanding nycademons etc.

Anyway, it's been a long build-up and getting to the ship is something the players really anticipate. But the encounter itself is pretty mild and with your pointers it should be more fun (and to be aligned with the narrative I'll give the Captain +4 to the checks given his background).

#4
shimshamblue
Feb 27, 2011 21:58:54 I love this idea, absolutely going to use these mechanics. How did they work out for you?
#5
Lineov
Mar 02, 2011 9:43:46 Mechanically speaking it should work out well.

1/2 level = 12~13
trained +5
ability score +7 Modifier(ish)
(let's assume a starting 18, +4 (4, 8, 14, 18) and an additional +2 for 11 and 21) 24/2= 12-5=(+7)

then to get the lowest 24 you should be fine. and 35 is a mere 10 or 11 on the die depending on your level.
#6
shimshamblue
Mar 06, 2011 11:01:37 Used this on Friday, players and I had a blast with it. 3 of the 5 had no issues, 2 of them couldn't roll over a 6 so spent the entire fight laying on the deck of the ship (prone). Mechanically, worked out very well but did take a bit of extra time on each players turn. Otherwise would highly recommend.

Thank you very much for sharing the idea.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 plki76 Nov 19, 2010 14:25:43	Heya Folks, Background: I'll be running my players through E1-E3 in a little while and am going through the modules with an eye towards making some of the encounters more interesting. By and large the encounters are generally pretty cool, but there are some places where I think there were some missed opportunities. In the beginning of E3 there is a point at which the PCs arrive on a ship and do combat with baddies in order to wrest control and sail the astral seas. Sounds interesting, but the encounter is a little bland. You show up and kill people, with some semi-random respawns. Encounter Alteration: What I'd like to do is set the battle in the middle of a raging storm. The PCs arrive at the scene and are immediately enguled by raging winds and lightning storms as the ship pitches violenty, tossing the PCs around the deck. The sailors are old salts and having been at sea nearly all their lives are unaffected by the ship's motion. Mechanics: My initial thoughts here are to use an old scatter die from Warhammer. It's a d6, with 4 sides being directional arrows and two sides being a bullseye to indicate a hit. For the purposes of this encounter, a roll of "hit" will be re-rolled. The arrows are read to indicate the direction the PCs will slide. In order to make life easy, only the standard 8 compass directions (N, NW, W, SW, etc) will be considered. At the start of every PCs turn they make one of the following checks: Athletics - 35+: The storm is no match for your tree-like legs. You act normally. 30: You are able to grab ahold of a nearby object (railing, mast, rigging, whatever), steady yourself, and continue moving. You are slowed until the start of your next turn 25: You grab a nearby object and hold on for dear life. You slide 1d4 squares as indicated by the scatter die and are immobilized until the start of your next turn 24 or below: Your tiny muscles can't compete against the storm, you slide 1d6 squares as indicated by the scatter die and are dazed and immobilized until the start of your next turn Acrobatics - 35+: Your amazing balance allows you to dance untouched through the storm. You act normally. 30: Instead of fighting the storm, you briefly allow the motion of the ship to carry you before redirecting. You slide 1d4 squares as indicated by the scatter die but can otherwise act normally. 25: You duck into a roll as a sudden jerk from the ship knocks you off your feet. You slide 1d4 squares as indicated by the scatter die and are knocked prone. 24 or below: You are hit by a piece of flying debris and momentairly knocked senseless. You slide 1d6 squares as indicated by the scatter die, are knocked prone, and are dazed until the start of your next turn. Perception 35+: The world moves in slow motion as your mind quickly discerns tiny patterns in the apparent randomness of the storm. Your amazing clarity allows you to walk untouched through the chaos. You act normally. 30: You predict the rolling motion of the ship and see a path of safety through the frenetic action around you. Roll the scatter die twice and then slide 2d4 in the direction indicated by one of the scatter die rolls (your choice). 25: You look about you to gauge the storm and are briefly amazed by the beauty of the lightning dancing around the crow's nest. You slide 1d6 squares as indicated by the scatter die and are dazed until the start of your next turn 24 or below: You peer intently into the storm, trying to predict when the next swell will occur. Suddenly, confronted by the vastness of the astral sea and the power of the storm around you, you realize your tiny insignificance in the cosmos and are gripped by self-doubt. You slide 1d8 squares as indicated by the scatter die and are stunned until the start of your next turn. Feedback Wanted: What do you think of the ideas above? Are the skills balanced? Are the DCs reasonable for level 24-26ish PCs? Does this seem like it would be "interesting" and/or "fun"? Should there be more available skills to use?
#2 astriag Dec 25, 2010 15:18:08	Heya Folks, Background: I'll be running my players through E1-E3 in a little while and am going through the modules with an eye towards making some of the encounters more interesting. By and large the encounters are generally pretty cool, but there are some places where I think there were some missed opportunities. In the beginning of E3 there is a point at which the PCs arrive on a ship and do combat with baddies in order to wrest control and sail the astral seas. Sounds interesting, but the encounter is a little bland. You show up and kill people, with some semi-random respawns. Encounter Alteration: What I'd like to do is set the battle in the middle of a raging storm. The PCs arrive at the scene and are immediately enguled by raging winds and lightning storms as the ship pitches violenty, tossing the PCs around the deck. The sailors are old salts and having been at sea nearly all their lives are unaffected by the ship's motion. Mechanics: My initial thoughts here are to use an old scatter die from Warhammer. It's a d6, with 4 sides being directional arrows and two sides being a bullseye to indicate a hit. For the purposes of this encounter, a roll of "hit" will be re-rolled. The arrows are read to indicate the direction the PCs will slide. In order to make life easy, only the standard 8 compass directions (N, NW, W, SW, etc) will be considered. At the start of every PCs turn they make one of the following checks: Athletics - 35+: The storm is no match for your tree-like legs. You act normally. 30: You are able to grab ahold of a nearby object (railing, mast, rigging, whatever), steady yourself, and continue moving. You are slowed until the start of your next turn 25: You grab a nearby object and hold on for dear life. You slide 1d4 squares as indicated by the scatter die and are immobilized until the start of your next turn 24 or below: Your tiny muscles can't compete against the storm, you slide 1d6 squares as indicated by the scatter die and are dazed and immobilized until the start of your next turn Acrobatics - 35+: Your amazing balance allows you to dance untouched through the storm. You act normally. 30: Instead of fighting the storm, you briefly allow the motion of the ship to carry you before redirecting. You slide 1d4 squares as indicated by the scatter die but can otherwise act normally. 25: You duck into a roll as a sudden jerk from the ship knocks you off your feet. You slide 1d4 squares as indicated by the scatter die and are knocked prone. 24 or below: You are hit by a piece of flying debris and momentairly knocked senseless. You slide 1d6 squares as indicated by the scatter die, are knocked prone, and are dazed until the start of your next turn. Perception 35+: The world moves in slow motion as your mind quickly discerns tiny patterns in the apparent randomness of the storm. Your amazing clarity allows you to walk untouched through the chaos. You act normally. 30: You predict the rolling motion of the ship and see a path of safety through the frenetic action around you. Roll the scatter die twice and then slide 2d4 in the direction indicated by one of the scatter die rolls (your choice). 25: You look about you to gauge the storm and are briefly amazed by the beauty of the lightning dancing around the crow's nest. You slide 1d6 squares as indicated by the scatter die and are dazed until the start of your next turn 24 or below: You peer intently into the storm, trying to predict when the next swell will occur. Suddenly, confronted by the vastness of the astral sea and the power of the storm around you, you realize your tiny insignificance in the cosmos and are gripped by self-doubt. You slide 1d8 squares as indicated by the scatter die and are stunned until the start of your next turn. Feedback Wanted: What do you think of the ideas above? Are the skills balanced? Are the DCs reasonable for level 24-26ish PCs? Does this seem like it would be "interesting" and/or "fun"? Should there be more available skills to use? Whoah. That's super cool. My party is heading towards the same encounter and I'll spice it up too! I'm also looking at the final encounter and thinking that my guys are way too powerful for it as it stands. They should all be at level 30 with pretty much maxed out gear, which I figure will make it a walk in the park. Any thoughts how to rev that up?
#3 astriag Dec 25, 2010 15:23:41	Uh.. sorry for the long quote. That was a tad accidential. I realized that you also asked how to spice this up. What I've done is build dreams and nightmares as a background story into E2 & E3. So all the way through the storyline the adventurers see moments from future. The final encounter is such a major event that it sends reflections through time and space of the multiverse which the characters experience first hand given that they'll be there. One of the players is a Captain by background so I've let him see glimpses of Shevaithan in his dreams. He's obviously been really excited about finally being able to command a ship (a first during our campaign). However in the nightmares he's turned against the other party members and commanding nycademons etc. Anyway, it's been a long build-up and getting to the ship is something the players really anticipate. But the encounter itself is pretty mild and with your pointers it should be more fun (and to be aligned with the narrative I'll give the Captain +4 to the checks given his background).
#4 shimshamblue Feb 27, 2011 21:58:54	I love this idea, absolutely going to use these mechanics. How did they work out for you?
#5 Lineov Mar 02, 2011 9:43:46	Mechanically speaking it should work out well. 1/2 level = 12~13 trained +5 ability score +7 Modifier(ish) (let's assume a starting 18, +4 (4, 8, 14, 18) and an additional +2 for 11 and 21) 24/2= 12-5=(+7) then to get the lowest 24 you should be fine. and 35 is a mere 10 or 11 on the die depending on your level.
#6 shimshamblue Mar 06, 2011 11:01:37	Used this on Friday, players and I had a blast with it. 3 of the 5 had no issues, 2 of them couldn't roll over a 6 so spent the entire fight laying on the deck of the ship (prone). Mechanically, worked out very well but did take a bit of extra time on each players turn. Otherwise would highly recommend. Thank you very much for sharing the idea.