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8 months ago ::
Oct 28, 2012 - 11:18PM
#1
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So the players are soon to be hunting down the lair of a red dragon and I'd like to use kobolds (and their traps) as one of the major dangers in the dragon's mountain. Naturally, I read up on Tucker's Kobolds and thought that would be a splendid twist. I've scanned two older threads and picked out some useful tidbits: Tuckers Kobolds in 4e - can it work? and Tucker's Kobolds (4e) . Any suggestions? Brilliant trap ideas? Pitfalls to watch out for? (pun intended  ) I'm thinking the kobolds will be minion-ized versions of their lower level selves (i.e. take a standard kobold, increase its level by 8 and make it a minion, so that the XP value remains the same) that travel in large packs of 10-20 (overall there are hundreds in the mountain). Thus, the kobold chieftain (a level 5 standard in Dragon #364) would merely be a level 13 minion! Their traps will be "low-tech, high design", taking advantage of pre-existing traps in the old dwarven tunnels or else being easily engineered from the underground environment. However, the traps will be nasty, pervasive, and utilized well by the kobolds who defend the dragon's mountain. 
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8 months ago ::
Oct 29, 2012 - 12:12AM
#2
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Date Joined:
Jul 21, 2004
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Just my usual advice.
[N]o difference is less easily overcome than the difference of opinion about semi-abstract questions. - L. Tolstoy
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8 months ago ::
Oct 29, 2012 - 1:21AM
#3
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Evil DM play  I think I'll put my Epic tier players through this some time :D I like most of your ideas, but I'd rather keep the monsters as-is instead of adjusting their levels and what not. Instead... 1. Average out the damage of the non-minions There'll be too many creatures at this point, so reducing the number of rolls will help keep your turns simplified. Plus, it'll make it a bit more difficult to differentiate between minion and non-minion  2. Take full advantage of the Aid Attack and Aid Defense action Kobolds take nasty advantage of these due to the Shifty ability: four minion kobolds move in, Aid Attack/Defense their most powerful ally, then shift out to keep them from being wiped out by an area 1 attack (and to frustrate the melee guy). Due to the fact that Aid Attack * automatically grants +2 to attack/defenses (no roll) * grants the bonus to any ally, not just the guy adjacent to the target enemy You are able to lessen the rolls needed on the table, while instantly adding 8 levels to a single kobold (making the PC-monster gap much smaller). For example: Big guy fighter in front, casters and ranged folk at back, being cautious as usual, except corridors are *really* tight here. Suddenly, 16 kobold tunnelers (lvl 1) appear out of tunnels, and the guy with the highest perception notices arrow slits along the corridor. All the 16 kobold tunnelers will be doing would be granting +2 to hit to four kobold slingers (lvl 1, ranged attacks average at 8[.5] damage per hit) and once they've done their job they'd shift back into the tunnels (tunnel design will help here). Even though they're level 1, each tunneler would turn the slinger's to-hit from +8 vs. AC to +16 vs. AC... which assuming they have +3 equipment would still put them at hitting on a 12 or less if we're talking level 11 PCs. Adding 9 kobold dragonshields per PC, and taking full advantage of Shifty + Dragonshield Tactics, that's easily boosting the kobolds as if they were 8 levels higher, without actually adding anything to their stats (retaining the feel of Tucker's Kobolds, who didn't have any stat adjustments to help them). 3. Destroy without dealing damage Traps that isolate PCs from each other, items and hazards that bypass defenses and/or drain valuable healing surges -- losing 1 healing surge might not be much, but adventuring with no healing surges left can be a nightmare -- and changing terrain that continuously pushes PCs and players well out of their comfort zone should make even epic tier PCs have difficulty dealing with these kobolds If you want to pour rust monster pheromone juice on the PCs for good measure, I just have to warn you that the players might not take the gesture so kindly. EDIT: Again, these are just my opinions on the matter. Turning the low-level standard kobolds into higher-level minions with the same EXP does help in keeping the kobolds both relevant and deadly, especially if, at higher levels, PCs can easily kill their standard version kobold in one hit anyway.
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8 months ago ::
Oct 29, 2012 - 12:29PM
#4
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Evil DM play I think I'll put my Epic tier players through this some time :D I like most of your ideas, but I'd rather keep the monsters as-is instead of adjusting their levels and what not. Instead...
Yeah, I like the Aid/shift combo you outlined, very kobold-y!
You make a valid suggestion to just use low-level kobold stats. Personally, that creates a dependence on using Aid (or kobold dragonshield mobs) that I'd prefer to avoid. If I wanted an effective kobold slinger, I would need to include 4 "support staff" to get a +14 to hit...in a 5' wide corridthat that becomes challenging because I think the Aid Ranged Attack rules require you to be adjacent to your ally.
Also, with such a large number of kobolds I like not having to track HP with all minions. And, as you say, static damage is already a feature of the minion stat block.
Some traps that I'm planning on using...
Falling iron portcullis (DMG2) with bars just wide enough for kobolds to squeeze thru
Dropped/smoked out hornets nest
Caltrops!
Natural wind tunnel...kobold murder holes on far side kobolds can skewer wind-tossed PCs thru
Flame Jet (improved from DMG)
Scything blades (improved from DMG, designed to pass over heads of small characters)
Spiked pit trap
Bridge to Nowhere (from R.M.Walker's awesome "It's a Trap" community project)
Skull-Skull gauntlet (improved from DMG)
Cave-in (DMG)
Giant rolling boulder (DMG2)
If you want to pour rust monster pheromone juice on the PCs for good measure, I just have to warn you that the players might not take the gesture so kindly.
I would never stoop so low! *scribbling notes in DM notebook*
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8 months ago ::
Oct 29, 2012 - 12:42PM
#5
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Date Joined:
Mar 16, 2001
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Fire and oil, falling rocks, electricity, poison gas, and just about every other environmental hazard the Kobolds can "channel" from the underground would be very handy.
Other things that aren't usually thought of are diseases (microbes are wonderful things), water hazards, kobolds with glue stuck to them (weapons stick), etc.
Best of luck,
jh
Gamer Chiropractor - Hafner Chiropractic 305 S. Kipling st,Suite C-2, Lakewood, Co 80226 www.hafnerchiropractic.com
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8 months ago ::
Oct 30, 2012 - 10:54PM
#6
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I think the Aid Ranged Attack rules require you to be adjacent to your ally.
No such rule exists, pre or post-Errata. I triple-checked, and it also makes some sense: remember those movies and TV shows where the guy on camera goes around with the long speeches at the enemy, then at the end he suddenly shouts "Now!" then ducks out of the way as a projectile (arrow/bullet/bolt) flies straight towards the heart of the enemy? That easily explains how Aid Another can work with ranged attacks.
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8 months ago ::
Oct 30, 2012 - 11:08PM
#7
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I think the Aid Ranged Attack rules require you to be adjacent to your ally.
No such rule exists, pre or post-Errata. I triple-checked, and it also makes some sense: remember those movies and TV shows where the guy on camera goes around with the long speeches at the enemy, then at the end he suddenly shouts "Now!" then ducks out of the way as a projectile (arrow/bullet/bolt) flies straight towards the heart of the enemy? That easily explains how Aid Another can work with ranged attacks.
Actually, we're both wrong According to Rules Compendium page 238 under Aid an Ally's Attack: "When a creature takes this action, it chooses an enemy adjacent to it...The creature chooses an ally. That ally gains a +2 bonus to it's next attack roll against the chosen enemy..."
Which is why you see some monsters (eg. Dwarf Thug from DMG2) with a Combined Fire trait...because RAW doesn't let you aid attacks from range (though you can aid ranged attacks against an adjacent enemy by, say, knocking them off balance and yelling "Now!").
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8 months ago ::
Nov 01, 2012 - 8:33AM
#8
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Date Joined:
Apr 14, 2010
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I ran an encounter like this recently at AL16, and it was awesome. This is what I did:
- Find 10-15 interesting traps in the Compendium of around the party's level.
- Combine them into a couple of lethal gauntlets. The traps should generally slow the players down while dealing damage to them.
- Give the players an impetus to keep moving. In my case there were infinite kobolds with handcrossbows behind the walls. The walls had small arrowslits.
I ended up with three rooms:
1. A hallway 30 squares long and 2 squares wide, with a Giant Rolling Boulder trap, flamejets coming from the ceiling and energydraining floortiles that slowed the players down if they stepped on them. The hallway ended in a Warded Door.
2. A 10x20 room containing Tectuktitlay's Narrows, a very nasty trap. At the far end of the room the walls narrowed into a hallway. The sides were ghoul gates, and the hallway was closed off by an Elemental Transformation Field in the shape of a giant curtain of fire.
3. A darkened 15x20 room that had Death Strangler Statues and Crawler Nests on one side, and a Crypt Thing on the other side. Behind the Crypt thing was another Warded Door.
At the end of every round each player was shot twice by a level 16 Kobold minion.
The whole thing took something like 5-6 rounds, with everyone being instrumental in reaching the end of the gauntlet.
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8 months ago ::
Nov 01, 2012 - 4:27PM
#9
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I think the Aid Ranged Attack rules require you to be adjacent to your ally.
No such rule exists, pre or post-Errata. I triple-checked, and it also makes some sense: remember those movies and TV shows where the guy on camera goes around with the long speeches at the enemy, then at the end he suddenly shouts "Now!" then ducks out of the way as a projectile (arrow/bullet/bolt) flies straight towards the heart of the enemy? That easily explains how Aid Another can work with ranged attacks.
Actually, we're both wrong According to Rules Compendium page 238 under Aid an Ally's Attack: "When a creature takes this action, it chooses an enemy adjacent to it...The creature chooses an ally. That ally gains a +2 bonus to it's next attack roll against the chosen enemy..." Which is why you see some monsters (eg. Dwarf Thug from DMG2) with a Combined Fire trait...because RAW doesn't let you aid attacks from range (though you can aid ranged attacks against an adjacent enemy by, say, knocking them off balance and yelling "Now!").
Check it again: you only need to be adjacent to the enemy to grant the Aid Attack.
Where does it say that the ally you choose has to be adjacent to you or the enemy you're aiding against?
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8 months ago ::
Nov 01, 2012 - 4:54PM
#10
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Date Joined:
Mar 28, 2010
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I ran an encounter like this recently at AL16, and it was awesome. This is what I did:
- Find 10-15 interesting traps in the Compendium of around the party's level.
- Combine them into a couple of lethal gauntlets. The traps should generally slow the players down while dealing damage to them.
- Give the players an impetus to keep moving. In my case there were infinite kobolds with handcrossbows behind the walls. The walls had small arrowslits.
I ended up with three rooms:
1. A hallway 30 squares long and 2 squares wide, with a Giant Rolling Boulder trap, flamejets coming from the ceiling and energydraining floortiles that slowed the players down if they stepped on them. The hallway ended in a Warded Door.
2. A 10x20 room containing Tectuktitlay's Narrows, a very nasty trap. At the far end of the room the walls narrowed into a hallway. The sides were ghoul gates, and the hallway was closed off by an Elemental Transformation Field in the shape of a giant curtain of fire.
3. A darkened 15x20 room that had Death Strangler Statues and Crawler Nests on one side, and a Crypt Thing on the other side. Behind the Crypt thing was another Warded Door.
At the end of every round each player was shot twice by a level 16 Kobold minion.
The whole thing took something like 5-6 rounds, with everyone being instrumental in reaching the end of the gauntlet.
That sounds awesome ! Any way you could send me more detailed info by PM or something ?
"Non nobis Domine Sed nomini tuo da gloriam" "I wish for death not because I want to die, but because I seek the war eternal"
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