Here is the default setup if you don't have the content to read the link:
The main villian is a Mage with a robe of scintillating colors and already has mage armor.
He does not enter combat until round 3 as he is busy turning the sacrifices into monsters.
He is accompanied by 3 Cult Fanatic, 2 Cultist which are garbage at 9hp and hit like stormtroopers, and a Grell
At the end of round 2 the bodies on the alter (including the unconscious player druid) are consumed as the mage summons a second Grell
Like all pre-written adventures it seems decent for a party of 4. The book claims this is an adventure for level 7 players. I have 5 level 6's who have breezed right through due to my bad rolls or their good ones. However this encounter needs to be pretty impactful combat wise as it' the culmination of one of the players revenge backstory. Also we picked up a 6th player who they rescued in the dungeon.
Here are the need to knows:
The party will consist of a battlemaster, assassin, circle of stars druid, knowledge domain cleric, archfey warlock, and phantom reborn rogue
The druid wandered off in the last session and got captured / unconscious / 0 hp and will be on the alter when they come in. According to the adventure there are 2 other sacrifices already so his will be the 3rd body in line to be sacrificed, maybe round 3?
After rescuing the 6th player from the dungeons the players raced back to find the druid but in their hurry they chose to not get the 6ths players gear just yet, there is a good chance one of the rogues wont have any or maybe some borrowed daggers etc...
Magic item wise they are ok, they have some decent toys but not broken op, they're not weak either.
The The fighter and rogue are their heavy min maxed hitters as the fighter has 3 swings and hits like a truck and can have 18-22 AC on occasion averaging 15-22ish dmg. The Rogue with gear and the vengeance kick is averaging 25ish dmg.
They have cause such a ruckus the enemies know they are coming.
Here are the unbalanced problems:
The heavy hitters are sure to make a beeline for the mage to save their friend. The fighter alone can take him out with 40hp before he even fights but this guy should have time to be scary and dangerous. So the boss needs to be beefed up.
The action economy sucks and will only get worse because cultists are 9hp trash and wont be around long enough to roll even if they manage to hit.
I want it to be a more epic fight but they are already down one player for a round or 2 assuming they save him and the phantom rog doesn't have his gear or armor, just a borrowed dagger.
I'm trying to find a way to make the combat more engaging and story arc ending but not TPK on accident. Don't get me wrong, if they do dumb things or suck then death is on them, I just don't want to say "oops your campaign is over because I got a few lucky rolls".
Some ideas?:
maybe replace the cultists with tanky-er melee?
give the mage a single lair action or legendary resistance?
summon a single Grell from each sacrifice at the start of each round until all 3 are done? This adds 2 grell but takes the mage out for an extra round meh...
Maybe instead of summoning a Grell there is a better single monster choice like a Mindwitness
Maybe tether the health of the mage to the other monsters so dmg to him is split over the remining ones??
Double the Cultists HP, set Cult Fanatics HP at around 45.
Give the mage 2 legendary actions to call for reinforcements (4 cultists) and cause his minions to hit something using their reaction
Double the Mage HP
Starting @ 50% chance, roll percentile at top of round, if under 50% Grell summoned and chance reduces by 10%. Top of second round, roll Percentile, if below 40% Grell summoned....rinse lather repeat.
Tactically swarm the fighter and rouge with targets, put one on everyone else. Idea is to buy time for the mage to complete the ritual.
Cult Fanatics will ~probably~ target casters/supporting cast with Spiritual Weapon and then sacred flame round 1. Round 2 we're hoping for some failed saves with command or hold person, the BA spirit weapon. Round 3 - if there is one, if we have someone held, they get an inflict wounds (crit warning) and spirit weapon.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
Yeah , there are allot of options but generally you want to put more bodies on the field and since the mage is the key target make him tankier. Kaavel said most of it but I can suggest similar but other options
Instead of simply buffing hp you might swap mage for a great old one warlock. You could use that to make melee allot hard with armor of agathys and or the whispering aura. You could also give him spirit guardians which slows people around them and deals damage.
Instead of more cultists, you might have the dead bodies raise as some form of undead. A homebrew thing I like doing for demons and similar monstrosities is giving them basically a zombie shield. They posses a corpse with the statistics of a zombie that takes the damage until its killed while using the grells attacks ( tentacles come out of the mouth or something). When the zombie dies or is turned the possessing monster crawls out
Environmental effects are a good option too. Something like entering the circle targets you with dissonant whispers, viscous mockery or mind sliver. I also like monsters to have dropped things like caltrops and ball bearings on the ground if they know the players are coming. They aren't a big deal but it may cost the players move speed.
This is the big bad's super strong lair. Give him some non-combatant additional defenses like "anti magic fields" or "one way magic bubbles" or other interesting things for the PC's to have to work around. The trick of any combat is to avoid the classic "hit it until it dies" that plagued earlier editions.
Another option is don’t let the mage die until you want him to die. Who cares how much damage the PCs do to him? He has HP left until it’s fun for the players to kill him. Make it dramatic!
I would keep the mage the same, as mages are pretty hard hitters damage wise. I would make the mage ruthless, so not caring about his own guys if they are in the line of fire. But the main thing would be is buffing your cultist and fanatics. Maybe switch their stat blocks for something more tanky. They don't have to hit hard, they just need to stop the fighter and rogue from getting to the mage. also use the greater inviability and more importantly cone of cold.
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So I'm in a wierd position. The final encounter in candlekeep mysteries: Sarah of yellowcrest is a littler worrisome for me. Here is a link for those of you who are un-familiar with it: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/cm/sarah-of-yellowcrest-manor#B7DarkChapel
Here is the default setup if you don't have the content to read the link:
Like all pre-written adventures it seems decent for a party of 4. The book claims this is an adventure for level 7 players. I have 5 level 6's who have breezed right through due to my bad rolls or their good ones. However this encounter needs to be pretty impactful combat wise as it' the culmination of one of the players revenge backstory. Also we picked up a 6th player who they rescued in the dungeon.
Here are the need to knows:
Here are the unbalanced problems:
I'm trying to find a way to make the combat more engaging and story arc ending but not TPK on accident. Don't get me wrong, if they do dumb things or suck then death is on them, I just don't want to say "oops your campaign is over because I got a few lucky rolls".
Some ideas?:
heeelp... game is in 5 hrs.
Gonna be too late, but...
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
Yeah , there are allot of options but generally you want to put more bodies on the field and since the mage is the key target make him tankier. Kaavel said most of it but I can suggest similar but other options
Echoing Solar:
This is the big bad's super strong lair. Give him some non-combatant additional defenses like "anti magic fields" or "one way magic bubbles" or other interesting things for the PC's to have to work around. The trick of any combat is to avoid the classic "hit it until it dies" that plagued earlier editions.
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Another option is don’t let the mage die until you want him to die. Who cares how much damage the PCs do to him? He has HP left until it’s fun for the players to kill him. Make it dramatic!
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All great ideas! As in all campaigns something came up and we had to delay until this Sunday so I have time to implement some of these thanks all !
I would keep the mage the same, as mages are pretty hard hitters damage wise. I would make the mage ruthless, so not caring about his own guys if they are in the line of fire. But the main thing would be is buffing your cultist and fanatics. Maybe switch their stat blocks for something more tanky. They don't have to hit hard, they just need to stop the fighter and rogue from getting to the mage. also use the greater inviability and more importantly cone of cold.