What is Random Encounter Monday? Well, it is where I take a randomly generated combination of monsters and write a suitable encounter as a design challenge!
What challenge are we throwing at a 15th level party this week?
My submission is a little shorter this week as I was pressed for time, but as we get higher in the levels it is harder to be prescriptive with encounter designs! The heroes are going to be so powerful, so predicting how things might go is challenging. Instead, I like to use it as a possible adventure hook or non-combat encounter to enhance the world! So, the group can be ambushed by a group or ghosts or follow the seeds to go face an ageless lich. Both fun!
Demetrius Khora, son of a noble and captain of a company of soldiers who fought in the war that ravaged this area many years prior, died without ever achieving the glory he sought. Instead, the young up-and-coming soldier was sadly claimed by a wave of pestilence that swept through their camp, along with many of his soldiers, without ever having actually seen the battle he sought. To add insult to injury, while his lust for glory was powerful enough to raise him from the grave, the war ended before he finished reanimating, and he was left without any purpose. Unsatisfied, he bullied the soldiers once under his command back to unlife, and embarked on a quest to seek out glory.
The encounter takes place in a sparsely wooded plains, a far cry from the harsh battlefield it once was. Time and nature claims all, after all. Closer investigation of the area reveals the occasional discarded weaponry or armor, and sometimes even a shallowly buried or half exposed corpse shrouded in moss. Demetrius and his company appear in a large cloud of dust that approaches from the distance, as the company rides in on ghostly mounts that fade away once their riders dismount. Once within earshot, Demetrius issues his challenge to the players(or really anyone that happens to pass by, not specifically the players) once he's within earshot, and seeks out the party member who seem to have the most combat experience to engage in one-on-one combat.
The phantom warriors Demetrius commands are less obsessed with glory as he is, and mostly stay by his side out of fear. It's possible that they could be persuaded to not assist him, though Demetrius will contest the players' efforts to do so with insults and promises of glory. Depending on the result of the combat, a number of things can happen. If Demetrius is ganged up on and defeated, or easily beaten by the one he seeks out, he is unsatisfied with the result of the battle and will reanimate 24 hours later, continuing his search for glory. He may become a rival of that party, be that rivalry friendly or not, and return later after honing his skills to challenge them again. If he is deafeated by the party in a close match, he is satisfied with the result of the battle, and may either pass on or promise to challenge the players again at a later date, promising to defeat them that time. If he beats the players in a close match, he is also satisfied with that result, and will tend to their injuries before passing on, commending them for their skills. If he easily beats the players, he considers them an unworthy challenge, leaving them to die or recover and riding away with his company. Finally, if his company is convinced to turn against him, he becomes distraught, considering himself an unworthy leader, and depending on the players' actions this may lead him down a path of darkness, lead him towards a brighter future, or result in him passing on.
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"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
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What is Random Encounter Monday?
Well, it is where I take a randomly generated combination of monsters and write a suitable encounter as a design challenge!
What challenge are we throwing at a 15th level party this week?
We have ghosts galore with a Sword Wraith Commander and 6 phantom warrior!
My submission is a little shorter this week as I was pressed for time, but as we get higher in the levels it is harder to be prescriptive with encounter designs! The heroes are going to be so powerful, so predicting how things might go is challenging. Instead, I like to use it as a possible adventure hook or non-combat encounter to enhance the world! So, the group can be ambushed by a group or ghosts or follow the seeds to go face an ageless lich. Both fun!
Here is my submission: Phantom Pain
Post your thoughts, ideas, and encounters below!
Charge of the Fright Brigade
Demetrius Khora, son of a noble and captain of a company of soldiers who fought in the war that ravaged this area many years prior, died without ever achieving the glory he sought. Instead, the young up-and-coming soldier was sadly claimed by a wave of pestilence that swept through their camp, along with many of his soldiers, without ever having actually seen the battle he sought. To add insult to injury, while his lust for glory was powerful enough to raise him from the grave, the war ended before he finished reanimating, and he was left without any purpose. Unsatisfied, he bullied the soldiers once under his command back to unlife, and embarked on a quest to seek out glory.
The encounter takes place in a sparsely wooded plains, a far cry from the harsh battlefield it once was. Time and nature claims all, after all. Closer investigation of the area reveals the occasional discarded weaponry or armor, and sometimes even a shallowly buried or half exposed corpse shrouded in moss. Demetrius and his company appear in a large cloud of dust that approaches from the distance, as the company rides in on ghostly mounts that fade away once their riders dismount. Once within earshot, Demetrius issues his challenge to the players(or really anyone that happens to pass by, not specifically the players) once he's within earshot, and seeks out the party member who seem to have the most combat experience to engage in one-on-one combat.
The phantom warriors Demetrius commands are less obsessed with glory as he is, and mostly stay by his side out of fear. It's possible that they could be persuaded to not assist him, though Demetrius will contest the players' efforts to do so with insults and promises of glory. Depending on the result of the combat, a number of things can happen. If Demetrius is ganged up on and defeated, or easily beaten by the one he seeks out, he is unsatisfied with the result of the battle and will reanimate 24 hours later, continuing his search for glory. He may become a rival of that party, be that rivalry friendly or not, and return later after honing his skills to challenge them again. If he is deafeated by the party in a close match, he is satisfied with the result of the battle, and may either pass on or promise to challenge the players again at a later date, promising to defeat them that time. If he beats the players in a close match, he is also satisfied with that result, and will tend to their injuries before passing on, commending them for their skills. If he easily beats the players, he considers them an unworthy challenge, leaving them to die or recover and riding away with his company. Finally, if his company is convinced to turn against him, he becomes distraught, considering himself an unworthy leader, and depending on the players' actions this may lead him down a path of darkness, lead him towards a brighter future, or result in him passing on.
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."