Hello I'm a new DM playing Dragon of icespire peak. The party consists of 5 4th level characters and they are currently beating up ghouls in axeholm. When they were in level 3, they decided to check out the shrine of savras after returning from Big al's place and they were absolutely wrecked. The dragonborn paladin was knocked cold in the first round. They had no trouble killing the wererats in the gold mine and destroyed the orcs in big al's place. They even charmed moesko. They are also new players but we played 1e few weeks back. How could I balance the shrine of savras?
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When you thought you knew about spellcasting - you played a warlock
Why are most bard colleges a pain to type? I mean bard college of valor, compare to champion or evoker. Same goes for sacred oaths: paladin oath of devotion. That's even worse.
I don't think WoCE were very creative with the rogue and ranger subclass titles. I mean ranger archeotype? Roguish archeotype? Bro! Fighters are better but still is somewhat unsatisfying compare to a monastatic tradition or sacred oath.
Shrine of Savras is supposed to be scaled based on your party's level. I'm assuming you used the table that was provided for the encounter. At level 3 it says 3 orcs per character plus 2 ogres and another orc on top the tower. If that was too much for your party then just use a lower suggested enemy roster from the table. Since your party is level 4 now they should be more powerful, wait till they hit level 5 to send them back and just use the same number of enemies that the table suggests for the previous level 3 encounter.
Did the party face the ogres all at once? I had them scattered about the courtyard, and it took several rounds for some of the ogres to reach the players- enough time to let the PCs finish off at least 1.
Also, did you put the ogres and the orcs in the same place? I put the orcs inside the shrine and the ogres in the courtyard and found that worked way better then all of them together. I think that may have been what was intended by the module, but it wasn't clear enough.
Did the party face the ogres all at once? I had them scattered about the courtyard, and it took several rounds for some of the ogres to reach the players- enough time to let the PCs finish off at least 1.
Also, did you put the ogres and the orcs in the same place? I put the orcs inside the shrine and the ogres in the courtyard and found that worked way better then all of them together. I think that may have been what was intended by the module, but it wasn't clear enough.
I had all orcs go at once and then make the ogres join in later. Good point though, I might just scatter them about the place, but realistically if you kicked out some wererats from a nice shrine and you and your bros chilled in all different corners and some strangers show up on your doorstep, you would probaly face them all together than go "oh yeah they should kill them and if they don't I'll wait till they come to our corner". Thanks for both the responses though.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
When you thought you knew about spellcasting - you played a warlock
Why are most bard colleges a pain to type? I mean bard college of valor, compare to champion or evoker. Same goes for sacred oaths: paladin oath of devotion. That's even worse.
I don't think WoCE were very creative with the rogue and ranger subclass titles. I mean ranger archeotype? Roguish archeotype? Bro! Fighters are better but still is somewhat unsatisfying compare to a monastatic tradition or sacred oath.
Do you think change the level scaling or split up the orcs & ogres? Or both? Level 5 is a good level to send em back because the wizard will have fireball and the fighter and two paladins will get extra attacks and the bardic inspiration will change alot more than before.(the party seems to really want Dragon slayer though:). I do think they should change the level scaling (4-5 they are like so different).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
When you thought you knew about spellcasting - you played a warlock
Why are most bard colleges a pain to type? I mean bard college of valor, compare to champion or evoker. Same goes for sacred oaths: paladin oath of devotion. That's even worse.
I don't think WoCE were very creative with the rogue and ranger subclass titles. I mean ranger archeotype? Roguish archeotype? Bro! Fighters are better but still is somewhat unsatisfying compare to a monastatic tradition or sacred oath.
Thanks for all the responses. I think I will split up the orcs and ogres, so they're chilling in different corners. Thanks! I think we'll have our session later today, so you were all right on time.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
When you thought you knew about spellcasting - you played a warlock
Why are most bard colleges a pain to type? I mean bard college of valor, compare to champion or evoker. Same goes for sacred oaths: paladin oath of devotion. That's even worse.
I don't think WoCE were very creative with the rogue and ranger subclass titles. I mean ranger archeotype? Roguish archeotype? Bro! Fighters are better but still is somewhat unsatisfying compare to a monastatic tradition or sacred oath.
The adventure says they all attack, and the orcs act on the same initiative count.
Arrival: If the orc spots the characters, it cries out, rousing the shrine’s other occupants. Once roused, all those occupants attack. When rolling initiative for these foes, roll once for all the orcs and once for all the ogres.
The adventure says they are all split in four quadrants, at L4 it's 20 orcs and 3 ogres, which is a deadly encounters for your party. You should delay them by having the party face enemies in the quadrant they arrive while the others in their respective camp take a round to stand up and arm themselves and another one or two to approach the party. Encourage them to take advantage positions in a tower if possible, so they can face a single enemy at a time in melee. This should give the party a chance to dispatch enemies in smaller group rather than face them all at once and be swarmed. They could also retreat in the shrine and barricade themselves in a room to take a short rest if needed.
S2 Couryard: The courtyard has four quadrants. The ogres claim the southeast quadrant, while the orcs claim the remaining quadrants.
Hello I'm a new DM playing Dragon of icespire peak. The party consists of 5 4th level characters and they are currently beating up ghouls in axeholm. When they were in level 3, they decided to check out the shrine of savras after returning from Big al's place and they were absolutely wrecked. The dragonborn paladin was knocked cold in the first round. They had no trouble killing the wererats in the gold mine and destroyed the orcs in big al's place. They even charmed moesko. They are also new players but we played 1e few weeks back. How could I balance the shrine of savras?
When you thought you knew about spellcasting - you played a warlock
Why are most bard colleges a pain to type? I mean bard college of valor, compare to champion or evoker. Same goes for sacred oaths: paladin oath of devotion. That's even worse.
I don't think WoCE were very creative with the rogue and ranger subclass titles. I mean ranger archeotype? Roguish archeotype? Bro! Fighters are better but still is somewhat unsatisfying compare to a monastatic tradition or sacred oath.
Shrine of Savras is supposed to be scaled based on your party's level. I'm assuming you used the table that was provided for the encounter. At level 3 it says 3 orcs per character plus 2 ogres and another orc on top the tower. If that was too much for your party then just use a lower suggested enemy roster from the table. Since your party is level 4 now they should be more powerful, wait till they hit level 5 to send them back and just use the same number of enemies that the table suggests for the previous level 3 encounter.
Did the party face the ogres all at once? I had them scattered about the courtyard, and it took several rounds for some of the ogres to reach the players- enough time to let the PCs finish off at least 1.
Also, did you put the ogres and the orcs in the same place? I put the orcs inside the shrine and the ogres in the courtyard and found that worked way better then all of them together. I think that may have been what was intended by the module, but it wasn't clear enough.
Only spilt the party if you see something shiny.
Ariendela Sneakerson, Half-elf Rogue (8); Harmony Wolfsbane, Tiefling Bard (10); Agnomally, Gnomish Sorcerer (3); Breeze, Tabaxi Monk (8); Grace, Dragonborn Barbarian (7); DM, Homebrew- The Sequestered Lands/Underwater Explorers; Candlekeep
I had all orcs go at once and then make the ogres join in later. Good point though, I might just scatter them about the place, but realistically if you kicked out some wererats from a nice shrine and you and your bros chilled in all different corners and some strangers show up on your doorstep, you would probaly face them all together than go "oh yeah they should kill them and if they don't I'll wait till they come to our corner". Thanks for both the responses though.
When you thought you knew about spellcasting - you played a warlock
Why are most bard colleges a pain to type? I mean bard college of valor, compare to champion or evoker. Same goes for sacred oaths: paladin oath of devotion. That's even worse.
I don't think WoCE were very creative with the rogue and ranger subclass titles. I mean ranger archeotype? Roguish archeotype? Bro! Fighters are better but still is somewhat unsatisfying compare to a monastatic tradition or sacred oath.
Do you think change the level scaling or split up the orcs & ogres? Or both? Level 5 is a good level to send em back because the wizard will have fireball and the fighter and two paladins will get extra attacks and the bardic inspiration will change alot more than before.(the party seems to really want Dragon slayer though:). I do think they should change the level scaling (4-5 they are like so different).
When you thought you knew about spellcasting - you played a warlock
Why are most bard colleges a pain to type? I mean bard college of valor, compare to champion or evoker. Same goes for sacred oaths: paladin oath of devotion. That's even worse.
I don't think WoCE were very creative with the rogue and ranger subclass titles. I mean ranger archeotype? Roguish archeotype? Bro! Fighters are better but still is somewhat unsatisfying compare to a monastatic tradition or sacred oath.
I had the groups set around camp fires in the different corners of the shrine.
The Ogres are independent from the others, so they wouldn't necessarily join in (immediately) to protect the others.
Thanks for all the responses. I think I will split up the orcs and ogres, so they're chilling in different corners. Thanks! I think we'll have our session later today, so you were all right on time.
When you thought you knew about spellcasting - you played a warlock
Why are most bard colleges a pain to type? I mean bard college of valor, compare to champion or evoker. Same goes for sacred oaths: paladin oath of devotion. That's even worse.
I don't think WoCE were very creative with the rogue and ranger subclass titles. I mean ranger archeotype? Roguish archeotype? Bro! Fighters are better but still is somewhat unsatisfying compare to a monastatic tradition or sacred oath.
The adventure says they all attack, and the orcs act on the same initiative count.
The adventure says they are all split in four quadrants, at L4 it's 20 orcs and 3 ogres, which is a deadly encounters for your party. You should delay them by having the party face enemies in the quadrant they arrive while the others in their respective camp take a round to stand up and arm themselves and another one or two to approach the party. Encourage them to take advantage positions in a tower if possible, so they can face a single enemy at a time in melee. This should give the party a chance to dispatch enemies in smaller group rather than face them all at once and be swarmed. They could also retreat in the shrine and barricade themselves in a room to take a short rest if needed.