Add two more minions then for an even 750. I did not catch that we were being so exact about the math.
As for the statue I mean what is written, roll a D20 add 4 and compare to the Reflex value. The stats for the statues are simply the pit trap redressed a little. I considered two falling statues to be the equivalent of one pit that could catch multiple people. I was uncertain how to price the toppling statues actually so I'm open to suggestions. Only the Dragonshields and Slingers are needed. We can add minions until we hit a magic number.
As for the door, I actually stated that it needed to be prayed over in my original description. Were I creating this dungeon all on my own, I would make the door a full Skill Challenge with failure meaning guardians on the far side of the door were activated. But since this is a group endeavor, I just made it an oddly locked door and the next person can play with it as they wish.
Add two more minions then for an even 750. I did not catch that we were being so exact about the math.
Well, the more we play with the numbers, the harder it will be to reach the even "10 encounters per level" spoken of in the OP. Granted, its not going to be perfect anyway (as some rooms in the same dungeon have different EL's), but it should still add up to 300 encounters in the end. If we don't stick to solid EL's, that will be much harder.
As for the statue I mean what is written, roll a D20 add 4 and compare to the Reflex value. The stats for the statues are simply the pit trap redressed a little. I considered two falling statues to be the equivalent of one pit that could catch multiple people. I was uncertain how to price the toppling statues actually so I'm open to suggestions.
First of all, rephrase their attack description as "+4 vs. Reflex; 1d10 damage." Second, considering that these are two, rather weak one-shot traps, maybe they should be considered "minion traps?" As in, each one adds 25 xp to the encounter? Maybe downgrade their damage to 1d8 to ensure that they aren't too powerful for their xp cost. So then:
As for the door, I actually stated that it needed to be prayed over in my original description. Were I creating this dungeon all on my own, I would make the door a full Skill Challenge.
Make the door a level one, complexity one skill challenge, adding 100 XP to the encounter. BAM! TOTAL OF 750! A perfect third level encounter incorporating both combat and skill elements.
This room is behind the unguarded side door in Area 2.
Room 05; level 1 encounter (500 XP)
Young Cave Bear x1 Portcullis x1
Setup
A bear was living in part of the ruins when the kobolds moved in. They captured the beast, and the kobold leader is in the process of researching a spell to bewitch it to be his obedient mount. For now, it is kept behind a sturdy barrier, and serves as a living trap for intruders.
As the adventurers enter this chamber, read:This is clearly a hallway, but most of it has been blocked off by a wooden portcullis. Lying on the floor is a crude winch, attaches to a rope that raises it. There are strange, wooden contraptions on the ceiling.
Features of the Area:
Size - the hall is two squares across and eight squares long.
Doors - the only door is the one the PC's come in through; the other end of the hall has long ago caved in.
Portcullis - Blocks off the hall 3 squares in.
Trap - Raising the portcullis triggers the trap (see below).
Tactics:
The bear is chained to one of the walls, and cannot leave the room. The kobolds give it drugged food before entering the hallway to make it temporarily docile when the leader wants to experiment with training it; otherwise, it will attack anyone who it sees once the portcullis is out of its way.
This cave bear is young and slightly malnourished, and is thus a bit weaker than normal. Apply one negative level to the statblock from the Monster Manual, making it a level 5 elite. I'll post the modified stats myself when I have time.
Because the bear is chained to the wall, it cannot go further than the entrance to the room.
A DC 15 Perception check allows PC's to notice the slot under the portcullis, where the kobolds have been slipping food to the bear. A DC 20 Perception reveals that, if the portcullis is raised, a wooden bar will be lowered behind them, preventing the door to the hall from being opened while the portcullis is up.
Raising or lowering the portcullis (it locks when up, and thus requires some effort to lower as well) using the winch is a DC 15 strength check, and takes two standard actions in two consecutive rounds. If the door to the room is closed, it cannot be opened until the portcullis is lowered again. If it is left open, however, it remains passable. Unless the PC's SPECIFICALLY state that they leave the door open behind them, it can be assumed that they have closed it (this is typical dungeoneering procedure, as it makes you harder to track), and will thus be trapped inside with the bear until they can lower it again.
The portcullis and the barrier it lowers over the door each have 25 hp, are automatically hit by all attacks, and are vulnerable 5 to fire. If the PC's defeat this trap (either by leaving the door open and averting it, or by breaking through it) they earn 100 XP as if it were a skill challenge.
Note: this room does not contain any treasure. I think there should be several treasure parcels gathered together in either the kobold command center or the locked dwarven vault (possibly both) instead of spread throughout the dungeon. Makes more sense.
I'm both orderly and selfish. I act mostly for my own benefit, but I respect and help my community - Specially when it helps me. At best, I'm loyal and dedicated; at worst, I'm elitist and shrewd.
Huh, I was assuming that the north door of room one was the dungeon's entrance. We still have two other directions to expand in; the prayer-door (which probably leads to a vault that the kobolds haven't opened) and the junk-door (which obviously leads to the main kobold base). That's plenty to go on.
Anyway, since Johnny claimed the west door from room one and Rich claimed south, that means my rooms are connected to the east door (and yes, the bear room is behind the "unimportant" door in the junk room). Hope that helps.
Huh, I was assuming that the north door of room one was the dungeon's entrance. We still have two other directions to expand in; the prayer-door (which probably leads to a vault that the kobolds haven't opened) and the junk-door (which obviously leads to the main kobold base). That's plenty to go on.
Anyway, since Johnny claimed the west door from room one and Rich claimed south, that means my rooms are connected to the east door (and yes, the bear room is behind the "unimportant" door in the junk room). Hope that helps.
That's fine if it's that way. I don't think it's a big deal whether the PCs are going North or if they're going South. I was just trying to get my sense of direction as it relates to the complex.
I'm both orderly and selfish. I act mostly for my own benefit, but I respect and help my community - Specially when it helps me. At best, I'm loyal and dedicated; at worst, I'm elitist and shrewd.
Room 6, Tomb of Lord Horian Thunderhammer the Tyrantfeller, Encounter Level 1 XP 500
Aspect of Horian, Level 3 Elite Soldier XP 300 2 Decrepit Dwarf Skeletons, Level 1 Minions, XP 25 each (50 Total) Holy Hammer Trap, Level 3 Lurker, XP 150
Treasure Parcel 7: One healing potion and 70 GP and 20 SP Treasure Parcel 5: Two healing potions and 100 GP
Room Description
Once you figure out the puzzle of the dwarven door, it slides open to reveal a magnificent site. Immediately inside; flanking the door which is the only entrance to the room are two clay statues of dwarven warriors. In the center of the room, you can see a huge and majestic statue of a dwarf warrior holding a warhammer. The worksmanship is so extravagent that you can't tell if it's stone or if it was carved out of a solid hunk of stainless steel somehow. The perimeter of the room is built at the same level as the room you came from, but the rest of the room is 1 square lower which puts you in mind of a shallow square bowl. There is water in the lower part of the room; not a lot of water, perhaps only three or four inches...just enough to cover the smooth stones of the floor; the shallow water is almost like a mirror. Upon further inspection of the statue you notice that the front of the statue is built in such a way that it connects to a sarcophagus at the base of the statue. Three containers of red liquid (healing potions) and four small leather bags (each containing 42 GP and 5 SP) are placed neatly on top of the sarcophagus almost as though it were a regal shelf of sorts.
This encounter is divided into a few "phases." Horian Thunderhammer's spirit defends this sacred place, but his power here is not what it was at one time; still, he is a mighty foe. Unlike most Elites, the Aspect of Horian actually is essentially 2 creatures. After destroying the first phase of Horian's form, the PCs must then face the second phase of Horian's form. The first phase is based on the Skeleton, and the second phase is based on the Phantom Warrior. Each phase has slightly different statistics; however, both phases share the same pool of encounter, utility, and daily powers; as such, if Horian's first phase uses his daily power, that daily power will not be available for Horian's second phase to use. Likewise, both phases share the same Action Point, so if Horian's first phase uses the Action Point then it will not be available for Horian's second phase to use.
Also, the Holy Hammer Trap is an extension of Horian's spirit; as such, it has phases as well. The initial phase is closer to what a trap in 4E normally looks like and is possibly triggered by the actions of the PCs. The phase of the trap which is active during Horian's first phase functions similar to a power that may be used by Horian. The final phase of the trap which is active during Horian's second phase again returns to being more similar to how a trap functions; in particular it somewhat resembles a pendulum scythe trap in this final phase.
Regardless of which phase Horian is in, his spirit cannot go beyond the border of the water; his life force is connected to this place. This is meant as a safety valve for the PCs; not as a way to easily kill the aspect by standing outside of the room and attacking him while he can't attack you. As such, if all members of the party go beyond the perimeter of the room after entering the room (this includes standing in the doorway,) they are shunted back into the other room and the door closes.
Remember, both phases of Horian share the same pool of encounter powers, daily powers, and action points. Aspect of Horian Thunderhammer Phase IShow
Skeleton Paladin Level 3 Elite Soldier Medium natural animate (undead)(dwarf)(augmented) Initiative +6 Senses perception +3. ;low-light vision; darkvision HP 37, Bloodied 18; see also Next Phase AC 18, Fort 16, Reflex 17, Will 16 Action Point 1 Saves +5 Immune disease, poison Resist 5 necrotic; Resist 5 radiant Speed 5 __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Next Phase (free action; When Aspect of Horian Thunderhammer Phase I is destroyed) Aspect of Horian Thunderhammer Phase II appears and rolls into initiative; the encounter continues. Also, Holy Hammer Phase I stops functioning; Holy Hammer Phase II activates.
[Basic Melee] Warhammer (standard; at-will) * weapon +10 vs AC; 1d10+2 damage and the target is marked until the end of Horian's next turn; see also Speed of The Dead
Holy Strike (standard; at-will) * Divine; radiant; Weapon +10 vs AC; 1d10+2 damage; if the target is marked by Horian, Horian deals 2 extra damage
Holy Hammer (minor; at-will, but only once per round) Horian activates Holy Hammer Phase I and it attacks.
Righteous Smite (standard; encounter) * Divine; Healing; Weapon +8 vs AC; 2d10 damage and you and each ally within 5 squares of you gain 7 temporary hit points.
Martyr’s Blessing (standard; daily) * Divine Immediate Interrupt Close burst 1 Trigger: An adjacent ally is hit by a melee or a ranged attack Effect: You are hit by the attack instead.
Radiant Delirium (standard; daily) * Divine; Implement; Radiant You engulf your enemy in searing ribbons of radiance. Ranged 5 Target: One creature Attack: +8 vs Reflex Hit: 3d8 radiant damage, and the target is dazed until the end of Horian's next turn. In addition, the target takes a –2 penalty to AC (save ends). Miss: Half damage, and the target is dazed until the end of your next turn.
Divine Strength (minor, encounter) * Divine Effect: +2 extra damage on your next attack this turn.
Lay on Hands (minor; at-will - special) * Divine; Healing At-Will (Special) ✦ Divine, Healing Special: You can use this power a number of times per day equal to your Wisdom modifier (2), but only once per round. Target: One creature Effect: You spend a healing surge but regain no hit points. Instead, the target regains hit points as if it had spent a healing surge. You must have at least one healing surge remaining to use this power.
Divine Challenge (minor; at-will; can't be used more than once per round) * Divine; Radiant You boldly confront a nearby enemy, searing it with divine light if Close burst 5 Target: One creature in burst Effect: You mark the target. The target remains marked until you use this power against another target, or if you fail to engage the target (see below). While a target is marked, it takes a –2 penalty to attack rolls for any attack that doesn’t include you as a target. Also, it takes 4 radiant damage the first time it makes an attack that doesn’t include Horian as a target before the start of Horian's next turn. On Horian's turn he must engage the target he challeneged or challenge a new target. To engage the target, Horian must either attack it or end his turn adjacent to it. If none of these events occur by the end of your turn, the marked condition ends and Horian can’t use divine challenge on his next turn.
Speed of The Dead When making an opportunity attack, the Horian gains a +2 bonus to the attack roll and deals an extra 1d6 damage.
Stand Your Ground When an effect forces a dwarf to move—through a pull, a push, or a slide—the dwarf moves 1 square less than the effect specifies. When an attack would knock the dwarf prone, the dwarf can roll a saving throw to avoid falling prone.
Alignment Unaligned Languages — Str 15 (+3) Dex 17 (+4) Wis 14 (+3) Con 13 (+2) Int 3 (–3) Cha 10 (+1) Equipment chainmail, heavy shield, warhammer
Phantom Warrior Paladin Level 3 Elite Soldier Medium shadow humanoid (undead)(dwarf)(augmented) Initiative +8 Senses perception +13;low-light vision; darkvision HP 37, Bloodied 18 AC 17, Fort 16, Reflex 15, Will 16 Action Point 1 Saves +5 Immune disease, poison Resist insubstantial Speed 5; fly 5 (hover) __________________________________________________________________________________________________ [Basic Melee] Phantom Warhammer (standard; at-will) * weapon +10 vs AC; 1d10+2 radiant damage and the target is marked until the end of Horian's next turn.
Holy Strike (standard; at-will) * Divine; radiant; Weapon +10 vs AC; 1d10+2 damage; if the target is marked by Horian, Horian deals 2 extra damage
Righteous Smite (standard; encounter) * Divine; Healing; Weapon +10 vs AC; 2d10 damage and you and each ally within 5 squares of you gain 5 temporary hit points.
Martyr’s Blessing (standard; daily) * Divine Immediate Interrupt Close burst 1 Trigger: An adjacent ally is hit by a melee or a ranged attack Effect: You are hit by the attack instead.
Radiant Delirium (standard; daily) * Divine; Implement; Radiant You engulf your enemy in searing ribbons of radiance. Ranged 5 Target: One creature Attack: +10 vs Reflex Hit: 3d8 radiant damage, and the target is dazed until the end of Horian's next turn. In addition, the target takes a –2 penalty to AC (save ends). Miss: Half damage, and the target is dazed until the end of your next turn.
Divine Strength (minor, encounter) * Divine Effect: +2 extra damage on your next attack this turn.
Divine Challenge (minor; at-will; can't be used more than once per round) * Divine; Radiant You boldly confront a nearby enemy, searing it with divine light if Close burst 5 Target: One creature in burst Effect: You mark the target. The target remains marked until you use this power against another target, or if you fail to engage the target (see below). While a target is marked, it takes a –2 penalty to attack rolls for any attack that doesn’t include you as a target. Also, it takes 5 radiant damage the first time it makes an attack that doesn’t include Horian as a target before the start of Horian's next turn. On Horian's turn he must engage the target he challeneged or challenge a new target. To engage the target, Horian must either attack it or end his turn adjacent to it. If none of these events occur by the end of your turn, the marked condition ends and Horian can’t use divine challenge on his next turn.
Stand Your Ground When an effect forces a dwarf to move—through a pull, a push, or a slide—the dwarf moves 1 square less than the effect specifies. When an attack would knock the dwarf prone, the dwarf can roll a saving throw to avoid falling prone.
Alignment Good Languages Dwarven Str 14 (+3) Dex 12 (+2) Wis 11 (+1) Con 12 (+1) Int 10 (+1) Cha 14 (+3)
Stand Your Ground When an eff ect forces a dwarf to move—through a pull, a push, or a slide—the dwarf moves 1 square less than the eff ect specifi es. When an attack would knock the dwarf prone, the dwarf can roll a saving throw to avoid falling prone. Alignment Unaligned Languages — Str 15 (+2) Dex 17 (+3) Wis 14 (+2) Con 13 (+1) Int 3 (–4) Cha 3 (–4) Equipment heavy shield, warhammer, shortbow, quiver of 10 arrows
Regardless of which phase the trap is in, there are certain aspects of the trap which never change.
1) The trap can't target dwarves. 2) The trap gets a +2 bonus on attack rolls against Giants. 3) The trap gets a +2 bonus on damage rolls against evil creatures. This rule also supercedes the first rule; the trap can target evil dwarves.
I apologize if this seems a bit complicated. It was a little hard to explain what I meant by certain things while using such a low-tech map of the room.
A DC 16 Insight check gives a character the gut feeling that this room is some sort of important religious and/or historical site. In particular, your gut instinct tells you that stealing from this room or vandalizing the statue in the center of the room may lead to danger.
Holy Hammer Trap, Level 3 Lurker
A loud crack like thunder fills the air, and a huge ghostly hammer shimmering with an almost divine light appears seemingly out of thing air. The hammer drives downward, attempting to squash you like a bug.
Any of the following actions will trigger the trap: Attempting to take any of the items near the statue, an evil creature touching the water which lines the center floor, attacking the stature, and/or opening or attempting to open the sarcophagus.
Once the trap has been activated, a DC 14 Insight gives you the feeling that something bad is about to happen. If you do not beat the Insight DC the Holy Hammer has combat advantage against you for this attack.
Target: The four squares directly in front of the statue/sarcophagus area. (marked with Ys on my schematic) +4 vs Reflex; 1d4 radiant and thunder damage and the target(s) is(are) dazed (save ends.) Once this trap is activated; regardless of whether it hits or misses, the two dwarven statues near the entrance door shatter to reveal two Decrepit Dwarf Skeletons and the trap shifts into Phase I. Aspect of Horian Phase I is in the sarcophagus, so depending upon how the encounter was initiated the DM may have the Aspect enter the encounter in different ways (i.e. attacking whomever opened the sarcophagus, opening and crawling out of the sarcophagus.)
In this phase the trap is activated by the will of Horian's spirit. The Aspect of Horian Phase I can take a minor action on his turn to activate the trap. During this phase the floor underneath the water starts to glow with a strange ghostly light.
Target: The trap randomly targets one of the eight 2 by 2 square sections of the water covered area of the floor (marked by the Ys and Ts on my schematic.)
Targets: All creatures within the four square target area. +4 vs Reflex; 1d10 Radiant and Thunder damage and slide 1 square.
This phase of the trap deactivates when Aspect of Horian Phase I is destroyed. At this point, the second phase of the trap activates.
In this phase the trap functions more like a typical 4E D&D trap. The trap's initiative is whatever the initiative roll for Aspect of Horian Phase I was. In this phase the trap targets the perimeter of the room. If you look at the floor plan you will notice that the perimeter of the room is 8 squares by 8 squares. Now imagine that you cut the room into fourths; you can see that there are eight 4 square by 1 square sections of the perimeter (there will be a little bit of overlap.) During this phase the trap randomly targets on of those eight section. During this phase of the trap the floor of the room's perimeter starts to glow with a strange ghostly light.
Target: All creatures within the 4 square target area. +4 vs Reflex; 1d10 Radiant and Thunder damage and slide 3 squares along the perimeter.
(added from my later post) Yeah, it is a little complicated, and I apologize for that, but I had a concept in my head that seemed interesting, so I wanted to go with it. I'll try to give a brief summary of the 'phases' of the encounter here.
1) Initial Phase The Initial Phase of the Holy Hammer trap is set off; initiative starts. The trap targets the 2 square by 2 square section (4 squares total) which is directly in front of the stature (between the statue and the door.) FYI: The reason I used Insight as opposed to Perception for the trap is because as a spiritual trap it seemed as though it would make sense to have it interact with Insight and intuition rather than Perception and more traditional outward senses such as sight.
2) Phase I During this Phase the skeletal remains (Aspect of Horian Phase I) of Horian rise from the sarcophagus. The two clay statues near the entrance crumble away to reveal two Decrepit Dwarven Skeletons. The first phase of the Holy Hammer Trap is also active during this phase. The trap can be activated each round on Horian's turn if he uses a minor action to activate it; it randomly attacks one of the eight 2 by 2 (4 square) sections of the water covered floor. There is a section to the front of the statue, to the back of the statue, to each of the the sides, and to each of the corners. The watery area glows with a strange ghostly light during this phase which is meant as a subtle hint to tell the players where the trap is able to target.
3) Phase II During this phase Horian's spirit takes on a more spiritual form (Aspect of Horian Phase II.) Horian's second phase rolls into initiative; the Holy Hammer trap continues to function on the same initiative that Horian's first phase had. The two Decrepit Skeletons may possibly still be active if they've survived this long (which is possible since Horian has a few abilities which grant temp HP.) Holy Hammer Phase II is active during this phase; during this phase it can target one of the eight 4 by 1 (4 square) sections of the perimeter floor - there is some overlap between the side sections and the top/bottom sections. There are two top sections, two bottom sections, two left sections, and two right sections. The perimeter of the room glows with a strange ghostly light during this phase to serve as a subtle hint to show the players where the trap is able to target.
I'm both orderly and selfish. I act mostly for my own benefit, but I respect and help my community - Specially when it helps me. At best, I'm loyal and dedicated; at worst, I'm elitist and shrewd.
Add two more minions then for an even 750. I did not catch that we were being so exact about the math.
well, the math in the original post was a general rule so that all of us would use the same amount of XP, and everyone would feel like they contributed the same.
btw, I believe there's nothing wrong in using a bit more (or less) XP to create your encounter, also to give the Dungeon a bit of variety.
If everyone agrees, next level we can work with a TOTAL LEVEL XP BUDGET.
For example, if a level 2 group of 5 PCs needs 10000 xp to pass a the level (don't have my books with me, correct me if I'm wrong), each of us uses a part of it (10%, 15%, 20%) to create his encounter, and notes it on top of his encounter.
True, most probably we won't have 10 encounters per level, but the core of this initiative is to create a campaign that spans from lvl 1 to 30... if we got 260 encounter instead of 300, i think we shouldn't be too unhappy ^^.
That said, maybe we can already start to think about a bit of a plot, just to give us some direction.
It doesn't need to be already an over-arching plot for all the 30 levels, but when you design your encounter, think a bit about what the guy before you did, and try to inspire the guy after you.
