After some encouragement and a massive amount of reading, I'm trying to set the stage for the first campaign I've ever run by piecing together my first one-shot.
I've recently come to the realization that the one-shot that I made has way too many combat encounters. So, I'm going back and trying to pick and choose what stays and goes.
Here's the skinny: The characters (level 4) will be accompanying an archlich to an abandoned dwarven fortress that's now a suspected outpost for an undead cult. There's a portal that only undead can pass through that the archlich is trying to get to, but he's not so powerful that he can get to this on his own.
That raises a bunch of questions:
* Do the PCs know he's an archlich? I'm tempted to make them figure it out for themselves, but that might be difficult with a Cleric or Paladin that has Turn Undead.
* I know that level 4 isn't a high enough level for the PCs to "hang" in combat that accounts for the archlich's actual CR/level. Is there a good narrative reason why the archlich would not want to reveal himself/show his powers to the group before the final boss?
* At the beginning of the adventure, the party has to find an entrance into the fortress. It looks like a completely stone dome from the outside, but it's possible to see through panels of them from the inside. Apparently, animals/wandering travelers will occasionally stumble into the place without figuring a way out. I've never really designed puzzles or riddles, and I'd like to add one for this. What might be some good resources for that?
After some encouragement and a massive amount of reading, I'm trying to set the stage for the first campaign I've ever run by piecing together my first one-shot.
I've recently come to the realization that the one-shot that I made has way too many combat encounters. So, I'm going back and trying to pick and choose what stays and goes.
Here's the skinny: The characters (level 4) will be accompanying an archlich to an abandoned dwarven fortress that's now a suspected outpost for an undead cult. There's a portal that only undead can pass through that the archlich is trying to get to, but he's not so powerful that he can get to this on his own.
That raises a bunch of questions:
* Do the PCs know he's an archlich? I'm tempted to make them figure it out for themselves, but that might be difficult with a Cleric or Paladin that has Turn Undead.
* Is level 4 a high enough level for these PCs to be at to make a difference in combat? If so, how can I go about balancing the combat encounters so that the archlich isn't making things easy and boring for the PCs?
* At the beginning of the adventure, the party has to find an entrance into the fortress. It looks like a completely stone dome from the outside, but it's possible to see through panels of them from the inside. Apparently, animals/wandering travelers will occasionally stumble into the place without figuring a way out. I've never really designed puzzles or riddles, and I'd like to add one for this. What might be some good resources for that?
First, Liches have advantage on Turn Undead, so there is a very high chance that a level 4 Cleric would not turn a CR 21 Lich. Considering a Lich has +9 on Wisdom saves... and assuming the Cleric has DC 13 on the save associated, the Lich would have to roll 3 or lower twice to fail the save.
Secondly, if you are worried about a Paladin using Divine Sense, you can always have the Lich use Nystul’s Magic Aura to mask his undead nature. In fact, the Lich has more than likely cast the spell 30 times in a row to make the effects permanent on himself. Though Divine Sense is (unfortunately) a very underused feature, it might be fun to whisper that to the Paladin to see how he reacts and role plays knowing that a Lich is within his presence and could completely destroy him without a single thought. :-)
Finally, Liches are often times "bored" with their long life, so you could make the Archlich a bored lich that likes to "play with their food", and only cast low level spells and hide his true power from the party of 4. That will allow you to build your encounter for a APL 4 instead of taking into account the CR 21 Lich in their midst.
Ok, and I am sorry, but did this lich just hire a bunch of goodly folk to serve as fodder when he raids an undead outpost? That sounds like the bones of this beast (pun intended) and, again, I am sorry, but is there anything that would be put off by a group of level 4's while still being capable of stopping a lich dead in its tracks.... Ok, the puns stop now.
Perhaps the archlich is a baelnorn of good alignment and he doesn't plan to eat the little children but I am having a difficult time understanding what the purpose for the PCs (from the lich's perspective) could be. I mean, they could be useful if the place is warded against "other" undead (cf: the lich cannot use any abilities or spells until the PC's destroy a certain Mcguffin that is dangerous to non-exempt undead) but that is a bit unwieldly. This would however be a tie-in for the baelnorn if the creature could not use his full power and needed a discreet strike force to attack the outpost. It could also be why he doesn't use any spells and acts much like a (insert other class here)...
If the lich is actually evil, he could be manipulating the PC's because someone in one of their backgrounds is a person of import in the living hierarchy of the outpost or there may be some prophecy or biological exemption ("only you, Ragnor, as the last blood decendant of the great Wizard Nilrem D'lo can touch the Macguffin of the Undead....") Or maybe.... The lich needs the specific traits of this specific group to be in the right place at the right time in order to sap their souls and allow him to become a Demi-lich - perhaps the right place is in front of this arcane portal you mentioned which he cannot reach while the "Disruption Crystal" remains intact. Breaking said crystal brings out Boss of Outpost to kill interlopers and fix crystal...
Anyway, I hope something in there sparks a bulb for you with the narrative bit. Now for the fighting parts. If the lich is a baelnorn (or even if he isn't) he is likely to have accumulated some magic which might include some loaner weapons (for example: a Mace of Disruption - that cannot be used against him) or would potentially provide a caster with some long lost spell (there are literally thousands that were lost between 2e and 5e) that could be unimaginably useful against undead below a certain HD. Or perhaps the PC's are a smoke screen and they are convinced the lich is a cleric (he could have used necromancy to store loads of Hit Points in an item that he says is the Holy Symbol of his (Made-up-not-even-real-in-DND) God). He cold then use his ability to command undead to "Flee" when he pretends to turn them and it would keep the big boss from knowing what is actually creeping down the halls to get him... Having this strangely powerful Cleric along may well make the difference for your lowly level 4's in combat.
To whom it may concern: I have edited that post three times trying to fix the word "cold" in the last paragraph and each time it returns the way it was before.... My OCD is not amused.
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I do not like the word... prisoner. It implies a helpless state, and I assure you, I am never helpless.
1. Grizzlebub has some great ideas on how to mask the lich's identity. Having the paladin know it's a lich is also a neat idea, but you need a backup plan if he tells the party and everyone turns on the lich. If you want your PCs to figure it out, you can try to drop subtle clues. Undead don't eat, drink, sleep, or (in my game) bleed. Have you PCs notice slightly "odd" things about him that start to add up as time goes on.
2. Maybe the lich is bored. Maybe he needs living people to bypass certain traps and puzzles. Maybe to open the final door to the portal he needs living sacrifices...This NPC is powerful, so his reasons for needing the party (outside of entertainment) would likely be due to specific skills/abilities, race, known languages the PCs have or their just simply their un-undeadness
3. There is an older forum post I found here where people shared puzzles they've enjoyed in the past. It's a bit of reading, but you may find something you like! Don't worry about making it too complex. In a campaign I played in, for example, my party members had to prove their intelligence to a follower of Ioun and the DM handed them a literal sheet of math and logic puzzles irl to solve within a time limit.
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After some encouragement and a massive amount of reading, I'm trying to set the stage for the first campaign I've ever run by piecing together my first one-shot.
I've recently come to the realization that the one-shot that I made has way too many combat encounters. So, I'm going back and trying to pick and choose what stays and goes.
Here's the skinny: The characters (level 4) will be accompanying an archlich to an abandoned dwarven fortress that's now a suspected outpost for an undead cult. There's a portal that only undead can pass through that the archlich is trying to get to, but he's not so powerful that he can get to this on his own.
That raises a bunch of questions:
* Do the PCs know he's an archlich? I'm tempted to make them figure it out for themselves, but that might be difficult with a Cleric or Paladin that has Turn Undead.
* I know that level 4 isn't a high enough level for the PCs to "hang" in combat that accounts for the archlich's actual CR/level. Is there a good narrative reason why the archlich would not want to reveal himself/show his powers to the group before the final boss?
* At the beginning of the adventure, the party has to find an entrance into the fortress. It looks like a completely stone dome from the outside, but it's possible to see through panels of them from the inside. Apparently, animals/wandering travelers will occasionally stumble into the place without figuring a way out. I've never really designed puzzles or riddles, and I'd like to add one for this. What might be some good resources for that?
First, Liches have advantage on Turn Undead, so there is a very high chance that a level 4 Cleric would not turn a CR 21 Lich. Considering a Lich has +9 on Wisdom saves... and assuming the Cleric has DC 13 on the save associated, the Lich would have to roll 3 or lower twice to fail the save.
Secondly, if you are worried about a Paladin using Divine Sense, you can always have the Lich use Nystul’s Magic Aura to mask his undead nature. In fact, the Lich has more than likely cast the spell 30 times in a row to make the effects permanent on himself. Though Divine Sense is (unfortunately) a very underused feature, it might be fun to whisper that to the Paladin to see how he reacts and role plays knowing that a Lich is within his presence and could completely destroy him without a single thought. :-)
Finally, Liches are often times "bored" with their long life, so you could make the Archlich a bored lich that likes to "play with their food", and only cast low level spells and hide his true power from the party of 4. That will allow you to build your encounter for a APL 4 instead of taking into account the CR 21 Lich in their midst.
Ok, and I am sorry, but did this lich just hire a bunch of goodly folk to serve as fodder when he raids an undead outpost? That sounds like the bones of this beast (pun intended) and, again, I am sorry, but is there anything that would be put off by a group of level 4's while still being capable of stopping a lich dead in its tracks.... Ok, the puns stop now.
Perhaps the archlich is a baelnorn of good alignment and he doesn't plan to eat the little children but I am having a difficult time understanding what the purpose for the PCs (from the lich's perspective) could be. I mean, they could be useful if the place is warded against "other" undead (cf: the lich cannot use any abilities or spells until the PC's destroy a certain Mcguffin that is dangerous to non-exempt undead) but that is a bit unwieldly. This would however be a tie-in for the baelnorn if the creature could not use his full power and needed a discreet strike force to attack the outpost. It could also be why he doesn't use any spells and acts much like a (insert other class here)...
If the lich is actually evil, he could be manipulating the PC's because someone in one of their backgrounds is a person of import in the living hierarchy of the outpost or there may be some prophecy or biological exemption ("only you, Ragnor, as the last blood decendant of the great Wizard Nilrem D'lo can touch the Macguffin of the Undead....") Or maybe.... The lich needs the specific traits of this specific group to be in the right place at the right time in order to sap their souls and allow him to become a Demi-lich - perhaps the right place is in front of this arcane portal you mentioned which he cannot reach while the "Disruption Crystal" remains intact. Breaking said crystal brings out Boss of Outpost to kill interlopers and fix crystal...
Anyway, I hope something in there sparks a bulb for you with the narrative bit. Now for the fighting parts. If the lich is a baelnorn (or even if he isn't) he is likely to have accumulated some magic which might include some loaner weapons (for example: a Mace of Disruption - that cannot be used against him) or would potentially provide a caster with some long lost spell (there are literally thousands that were lost between 2e and 5e) that could be unimaginably useful against undead below a certain HD. Or perhaps the PC's are a smoke screen and they are convinced the lich is a cleric (he could have used necromancy to store loads of Hit Points in an item that he says is the Holy Symbol of his (Made-up-not-even-real-in-DND) God). He cold then use his ability to command undead to "Flee" when he pretends to turn them and it would keep the big boss from knowing what is actually creeping down the halls to get him... Having this strangely powerful Cleric along may well make the difference for your lowly level 4's in combat.
I hope something here helps and Have Fun!
I do not like the word... prisoner. It implies a helpless state, and I assure you, I am never helpless.
--Artemis Entreri
To whom it may concern: I have edited that post three times trying to fix the word "cold" in the last paragraph and each time it returns the way it was before.... My OCD is not amused.
I do not like the word... prisoner. It implies a helpless state, and I assure you, I am never helpless.
--Artemis Entreri
1. Grizzlebub has some great ideas on how to mask the lich's identity. Having the paladin know it's a lich is also a neat idea, but you need a backup plan if he tells the party and everyone turns on the lich. If you want your PCs to figure it out, you can try to drop subtle clues. Undead don't eat, drink, sleep, or (in my game) bleed. Have you PCs notice slightly "odd" things about him that start to add up as time goes on.
2. Maybe the lich is bored. Maybe he needs living people to bypass certain traps and puzzles. Maybe to open the final door to the portal he needs living sacrifices...This NPC is powerful, so his reasons for needing the party (outside of entertainment) would likely be due to specific skills/abilities, race, known languages the PCs have or their just simply their un-undeadness
3. There is an older forum post I found here where people shared puzzles they've enjoyed in the past. It's a bit of reading, but you may find something you like! Don't worry about making it too complex. In a campaign I played in, for example, my party members had to prove their intelligence to a follower of Ioun and the DM handed them a literal sheet of math and logic puzzles irl to solve within a time limit.