One I'm about to use, so I'm still toying with, for a challenge that requires a lot of checks:
Minor Action Initial: Easy After 1 Success: Moderate After 2 Successes: Hard After 3+ Successes: Either impossible, or keep increasing DC by 10 each time
That way you end up spreading the love, and it's not one person making 8 of 12 checks. Or worse.
While mechanically this makes sense, intuitively it seems opposite of what I would expect. Why would it get more difficult with each success? Shouldn't you be learning with each attempt, therefore it would get easier the more you try?
co-author, CALI4-2 Dragon Above, Desert Below author, CORE4-4 Shadow Siege co-author, SPEC5-2 Closer To The Heart
You've grabbed all the low hanging fruit? Diminshing returns are rather common in the real world...
"Nice assumptions. Completely wrong assumptions, but by jove if being incorrect stopped people from making idiotic statements, we wouldn't have modern internet subculture." Kerrus
Practical gameplay runs by neither RAW or RAI, but rather "A Compromise Between The Gist Of The Rule As I Recall Getting The Impression Of It That One Time I Read It And What Jerry Says He Remembers, Whatever, We'll Look It Up Later If Any Of Us Still Give A Damn." Erachima
In my continuing quest to tinker with LFR encounters far past the limits of DME, I heavily modified the final combat encounter of CALI4-2 -- I changed the dragon Sapphiraktar into a 3-stage boss monster.
My usual disclaimers: Only try this crazy stuff if you know your players and their PCs' capabilities. Warn the players (out of character) that you are doing something different that breaks the rules. Be prepared to adjust on the fly to make the encounter an appropriate amount of challenge.
What's a 3-stage boss monster? It's a solo creature that has different powers and capabilities during each stage of a combat. It's intended to be a true solo and to be fun to fight. At the end of Stage 1 and Stage 2, the monster makes an unavoidable signature attack and then transitions into its next form.
Sapphiraktar the Blue (Stage 1) Level 18 Solo Artillery
Gargantuan natural magical beast (dragon, undead) XP 10,000
HP 230 Initiative +11
AC 32, Fortitude 31, Reflex 28, Will 28 Perception +17
Speed 10, fly 12 Darkvision
Immune poison; Resist special (see Draconic Toughness)
Saving Throws +5; Action Points 1
Traits
Draconic Alacrity
Sapphiraktar acts on initiative counts 31 and 21. He takes a full turn on each initiative result. He may take one immediate action between the end of each of his turns and the start of his next.
Draconic Resilience
At the end of each of his turns, Sapphiraktar ends one effect or condition. He may also take 20 damage to end another effect.
Draconic Toughness
Sapphiraktar either takes half damage from an attack or resists 20 all, whichever prevents less damage. If Sapphiraktar takes radiant damage, he loses this trait until the start of his next turn.
C Strafing Black Lightning Breath Weapon (lightning, necrotic) • Encounter
Trigger: Sapphiraktar is reduced to 0 hit points or fewer.
Special: Sapphiraktar can use this power even if a condition exists that would normally prevent him from doing so.
Effect: Sapphiraktar flies up to 6 squares while making the attack. This movement does not provoke OAs.
Attack (No Action): Every creature over which Sapphiraktar flies (treat as a Close Blast attack); +21 vs. Reflex
Hit: 4d6 + 15 lightning and necrotic damage, and the target is immobilized and grants CA (save ends both). [30, crit 40]
Miss: Half damage, and the target is slowed and grants combat advantage (save ends both).
Effect: Sapphiraktar flies up to 6 squares. This movement does not provoke OAs.
Effect: After this action is fully resolved, Sapphiraktar is removed from the battlefield and replaced with the Furious version, who retains the same initiatives.
Skills Arcana +16, Athletics +21, Insight +17
Str 24 (+16) Dex 15 (+11)Wis 16 (+12)
Con 20 (+14)Int14 (+11)Cha15 (+11)
Alignment chaotic evil Languages Common, Draconic, Deep Speech
During Stage 1, Sapphiraktar…
·uses Mesmerizing Glance to wreak havoc among the party
·uses Spitbreath Reaction to punish PCs who dare to attack him from range
·prefers to use Claws (to slide PCs into the stream) rather than Gore
Difficulty levers: spread/focus Claws attacks; reduce/increase Toughness; use/don't use Resilience.
Furious Sapphiraktar the Blue (Stage 2) Level 18 Solo Artillery
Gargantuan natural magical beast (dragon, undead) XP 10,000
HP 230 Initiative +11
AC 32, Fortitude 31, Reflex 28, Will 28 Perception +17
Speed 10, fly 12 Darkvision
Immune poison; Resist special (see Draconic Toughness)
Saving Throws +5; Action Points 1
Traits
Strafe
Furious Sapphiraktar gains a +10 bonus to all damage rolls on a turn if he begins that turn with no enemies adjacent.
Draconic Alacrity
Furious Sapphiraktar acts on initiative counts 31 and 21. He takes a full turn on each initiative result. He may take one immediate action between the end of each of his turns and the start of his next.
Draconic Resilience
At the end of each of his turns, Sapphiraktar ends one effect or condition. He may also take 20 damage to end another effect.
Draconic Toughness
Sapphiraktar either takes half damage from an attack or resists 20 all, whichever prevents less damage. If Sapphiraktar takes radiant damage, he loses this trait until the start of his next turn.
Effect: If Furious Sapphiraktar targets only one creature, he can make this attack twice against that creature.
Attack: Melee 2 (one or two creatures); +23 vs. AC
Hit: 3d8 + 13 damage, and Furious Sapphiraktar can slide the target up to 2 squares. [25, crit 35]
Move Actions
A Black Lightning Strafe (lightning, necrotic) • At-Will (1/round)
Requirement: Furious Sapphiraktar must be able to fly and move to use this power.
Effect: Furious Sapphiraktar flies up to half its speed (normally 6) while making the attack. He gains a +4 bonus to all defenses during this movement.
Attack: One, two, or three creatures over which Sapphiraktar flies (treat as a Close Blast attack); +21 vs. Reflex
Trigger: An enemy hits Furious Sapphiraktar with a melee attack.
Attack (Immediate Reaction): Close burst 3 (creatures in burst); +21 vs. Reflex
Hit: The target is pushed up to 2 squares.
Effect: Furious Sapphiraktar flies up to half its speed (normally 6). He gains a +4 bonus to all defenses during this movement.
C Thunderous Dive (thunder) • Encounter
Trigger: Furious Sapphiraktar is reduced to 0 hit points or fewer.
Special: Furious Sapphiraktar can use this power even if a condition exists that would normally prevent him from doing so.
Effect: Furious Sapphiraktar flies up to 12 squares before making this attack and must end this movement on the ground. This movement does not provoke OAs.
Attack (No Action): Close burst 10 (creatures in burst); +21 vs. Fortitude
Hit: 4d6 + 15 thunder damage, and the target is knocked prone. [30, crit 40]
Miss: Half damage.
Effect: The target gains vulnerable 10 lightning until the end of its next turn, and the “Stream and Water” terrain effect no longer exists.
Effect: After this action is fully resolved, Furious Sapphiraktar is removed from the battlefield and replaced with the Bloodied version, who retains the same initiatives.
Skills Arcana +16, Athletics +21, Insight +17
Str 24 (+16) Dex 15 (+11)Wis 16 (+12)
Con 20 (+14)Int14 (+11)Cha15 (+11)
Alignment chaotic evil Languages Common, Draconic, Deep Speech
During Stage 2, Sapphiraktar…
becomes a flying bringer of pain in the form of Black Lightning Strafe,
which he should get to use at +10 damage thanks to his trait
punishes those who dare to attack him in melee with Wing Backblast
Additional difficulty levers: "forget" to Black Lightning Strafe / Wing Backblast; don't apply extra Strafe damage.
Bloodied Sapphiraktar the Blue (Stage 3) Level 18 Solo Artillery
Gargantuan natural magical beast (dragon, undead) XP 10,000
HP 230 Initiative +11
AC 32, Fortitude 31, Reflex 28, Will 28 Perception +17
Speed 10, fly 12 Darkvision
Immune poison; Resist special (see Draconic Toughness)
Saving Throws +5; Action Points 1
Traits
O Uncontained Lightning (lightning) • Aura 5
Any enemy that ends it turn in the aura takes 10 lightning damage.
Draconic Alacrity
Bloodied Sapphiraktar acts on initiative counts 31 and 21. He takes a full turn on each initiative result. He may take one immediate action between the end of each of his turns and the start of his next.
Draconic Resilience
At the end of each of his turns, Sapphiraktar ends one effect or condition. He may also take 20 damage to end another effect.
Draconic Toughness
Sapphiraktar either takes half damage from an attack or resists 20 all, whichever prevents less damage. If Sapphiraktar takes radiant damage, he loses this trait until the start of his next turn.
Bloodied
The dragon is considered bloodied, regardless of its hit point total.
Effect: If Bloodied Sapphiraktar targets only one creature, he can make this attack twice against that creature.
Attack: Melee 2 (one or two creatures); +23 vs. AC
Hit: 3d8 + 18 damage, and Bloodied Sapphiraktar can slide the target up to 2 squares. [30, crit 40]
C Black Lightning Breath Weapon (lightning, necrotic) • Encounter
Attack: Close blast 20 (one, two, or three creatures in blast); +21 vs. Reflex
Hit: 4d6 + 20 lightning and necrotic damage, and the target is immobilized and grants CA (save ends both). [35, crit 45]
Miss: Half damage, and the target is slowed and grants combat advantage (save ends both).
Minor Actions
M Tail Slap• At-Will (1/round)
Attack: Melee 4 (one creature); +21 vs. Reflex
Hit: 3d6 + 10 damage and Bloodied Sapphiraktar slides the target up to 3 squares to a square adjacent to him. [20, crit 30]
Triggered Actions
M Wing Snap• At-Will
Trigger: An enemy attacks Bloodied Sapphiraktar while flanking him.
Attack (Immediate Interrupt): Melee 1 (the triggering enemy and an enemy flanking with the triggering enemy); +21 vs. Fortitude
Hit: 3d6 + 10 damage, and the target is pushed 1 square. [20, crit 30]
Skills Arcana +16, Athletics +21, Insight +17
Str 24 (+16) Dex 15 (+11)Wis 16 (+12)
Con 20 (+14)Int14 (+11)Cha15 (+11)
Alignment chaotic evil Languages Common, Draconic, Deep Speech
During Stage 3, Sapphiraktar…
·can literally not contain his anger as it leaks out in an Uncontained Lightning aura
·uses Breath Weapon as soon as possible, then
·can no longer think straight enough to use any of his previous signature abilities
·instead uses feral attacks like Tail Slap and Wing Snap
·prefers to Gore (to taste his enemy's blood) rather than Claw
Note that during this stage, Sapphiraktar's damage is better than normal.
Additional difficulty levers: increase/reduce damage by 5 or 10; "forget" to Tail Slap or Wing Snap.
If you'd like to berate me for breaking LFR, go ahead and do that here.
If you're curious about the evolution of 3-stage Sapphiraktar, or would like to read my actual play feedback (which resulted in the version you see here), head on over to the "What's A DM To Do?" forum: community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/758...
I think it's perfectly fine for DMs to tinker with LFR adventures in their homegames if they feel comfortable doing so. I've done so myself with the third EPIC adventure and will do so this Friday as well with ABER4-2. The writer's opinion of what's cool or fun won't always be the same as yours, so why not change stuff around a bit until you're satisfied with it?
It certainly beats having your players complain about the adventure on this forum afterward
I wonder if I played in the only group to decide the obelisks weren't worth our time. We still managed to kill the dragon in about three rounds.
To be fair, part of what helped was that our DM did a fantastic job communicating how the obelisks worked. So for example... Spoiler:Show
...we knew that we could get immediate actions triggered by the other monsters, that the cleric's "No, you won't be attacking today" power would work fine on one of the other monsters, and that we could time things to get almost a full round of Punishing Eye before the obelisks nuked it at the start of the dragons turn.
In the first encounter, I feel if the riddles are handed out in a certain order, it allows play to continue more smoothly. I'd hand out the easy puzzles first, which gets you an idea for the answer themes. Also after a wrong answer I'd be inclined to have the Sphinx respond with a hint (after all, he does want the dragon killed). Time is an issue in this mod, and I feel this would help keep things moving. Couple of the riddles are pretty hard without a hint.
First time I played it, the DM ran the second encounter as a skill challenge. This time around, we played it as combat. With a Root Gate to get across the board and pick up the macguffin in round 1, there was little threat of total failure. It was just a matter of passing it around and filling it up while taking some damage. After two rounds, DM gave us all the charges, had us knock off a surge each, and called the fight. Again, trying to play this encounter to its conclusion would be time consuming. But it's fun to pull out all the mobility/control toys and give the DM a plan to do what we needed to. Still, a more abstract skill challenge/combat is probably the faster way to run this encounter. Any other ideas to speed this up?
Last encounter, we novad the pillars, shutting 4 down, and turning 2 of those against the dragon in the first round. By the end, we had shut down all the pillars I think, and turned 5 against him, so he had vulnerable 25. Dismissal also bought us some time to shut down the pillars close to the dragon. With my hunter, I didn't make a single attack the whole encounter, using my mobility to deal with the pillars, Superior Will to ditch daze and stun, and Howling Winds to open myself a path to move around the elementals, and minor actions to use charges off the phylactery for healing when needed. We took him down in I think early 4th round. DM called the fight, with the elementals just burrowing into the ground once their master was killed (it would have been anticlimactic to have to finish off all the elementals too).
I have to agree with kilpatds that the dragon's damage felt a little low, at least at AL20 (though it certainly didn't feel low at AL 12). Without pillars, he's pretty much a wuss. At level 20 we have a lot more teleports/mobility tools/control, so shutting down the pillars was easy, at AL12, this was much harder, and we were more challenged with all the pillar protections, particularly the one that was dealing damage back to us. Maybe there need to be a few more difficulty bumps for AL 18 and 20. Maybe have its standard action be claw/claw/bite, and add one more target to its breath weapon for 6 players (but those could I suppose just be DME adjustments for a well coordinated party). At level 20, it seemed every one had a "no I'm not dominated" tool, so the dominate power never came into play.
I think if we were to try and play every encounter to its conclusion, the mod would easily have taken 6 hours, which is the amount of time we usually allocate for my other group, but in limited time, one really has to be careful with this one. Second encounter can go its full length if things are going bad for the party.
I'm preparing to run this module online (using MapTools) and wonder if it's possible to get hold of the map images in jpg format. Especially if they were built (as it appears) using PyMapper.
I'll admit I only own about half of the tile sets in question, but imagine I could fudge it in a f2f game - just don't have the means to put the images together myself for an online one.
Thanks! -VIC
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This adventure was pretty good. I agree that the final fight ended up being just running around doing the skill challenge while avoiding the dragon, who functioned more like a hazard.
I did manage 160 points of damage with 4 magic missiles in one round, so that was sort of amusing to me personally. Looks like it would have been more playing up to AL 18-20.
