My group of 3 players is challenging The Sunless Citadel as a lead in for Red Hand of Doom. They cleared the First Level and a good bit of the Second, but now they are pretty much out of all resources. If they would try to face the final boss they will most likely perish and I don’t want to nerf him to the lvl where they could handle it.
My solution is make the boss give up on the tree and order all his left over minions ( 15 blights 10 goblins and the tree thralls) to make a run for it and break out of the citadel in a big rush.
What I am looking for is inspiration and ideas how to do that.
I would let the party take a long rest somewhere undisturbed or interrupted in the first hour(s) by a an easy encounter with blights or goblins sent to look out for intruders so that in 8-10 hours after they can keep going and resolve it.
I'd agree with Plaguescarred. The upper level doesn't communicate much with the lower level, especially the kobolds. Depending on how the situation was resolved on the upper level (in my case, the PCs allied with the kobolds and cleared the goblins out), there are likely several good defensible rooms to take a long rest and the creatures below are unlikely to come exploring. If the characters get a long rest (and the level up since they are expected to be level 2 by the time they engage with the lower level) then they will likely be able to complete the adventure.
They convinced the Kobolds to be neutral, faced of against most of the goblins and their leader at wich point they were so low that they needed a long rest. I allowed them to lvl up at that point. They fought the Hobgoblins and a few more goblins in the upper level . Short restednear the hole, after which the kicked the bodies down the whole and taunted whoever was down there before climbing down and fighting the guy on the lower lvl. After killing him, they decided to smash in the laboratory door which alarmed all the nearby goblins. They killed most of them but two of the commoners got away. In the prices the fighter got knocked unconscious and barely made it thanks to a successful med check by Erky the Gnome.
This is where it ended for the moment.
There is a Barbarian who is out of rages, a Druid out of spells and transformed into wounded Dire wolf(last wild shape for the moment) and an unconscious Fighter. All are out of hitdice.
Your party is in danger and run the risk of experiencing a TPK if they keep going without a long rest. If they still want to, as DM i'd remind them of how precarious the situation is right now and suggest they take a long rest.
Your party is in danger and run the risk of experiencing a TPK if they keep going without a long rest. If they still want to, as DM i'd remind them of how precarious the situation is right now and suggest they take a long rest.
fed up with leadership that refuses to capitalize on the power vacuum, a dissident group of kobolds have rushed in to take advantage of the goblins in the wake of the party's slaughter. but, wow, the kobolds are impressed! from their perspective the goblins are reeling. so impressed that they'll be happy to guard the party's rest in exchange for any wild promises of advice, trinkets, and outright lies about secrets that will lead them to power over not just the goblins but also their fellow kobolds.
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My group of 3 players is challenging The Sunless Citadel as a lead in for Red Hand of Doom. They cleared the First Level and a good bit of the Second, but now they are pretty much out of all resources.
If they would try to face the final boss they will most likely perish and I don’t want to nerf him to the lvl where they could handle it.
My solution is make the boss give up on the tree and order all his left over minions ( 15 blights 10 goblins and the tree thralls) to make a run for it and break out of the citadel in a big rush.
What I am looking for is inspiration and ideas how to do that.
I would let the party take a long rest somewhere undisturbed or interrupted in the first hour(s) by a an easy encounter with blights or goblins sent to look out for intruders so that in 8-10 hours after they can keep going and resolve it.
I'd agree with Plaguescarred. The upper level doesn't communicate much with the lower level, especially the kobolds. Depending on how the situation was resolved on the upper level (in my case, the PCs allied with the kobolds and cleared the goblins out), there are likely several good defensible rooms to take a long rest and the creatures below are unlikely to come exploring. If the characters get a long rest (and the level up since they are expected to be level 2 by the time they engage with the lower level) then they will likely be able to complete the adventure.
They convinced the Kobolds to be neutral, faced of against most of the goblins and their leader at wich point they were so low that they needed a long rest. I allowed them to lvl up at that point. They fought the Hobgoblins and a few more goblins in the upper level . Short restednear the hole, after which the kicked the bodies down the whole and taunted whoever was down there before climbing down and fighting the guy on the lower lvl. After killing him, they decided to smash in the laboratory door which alarmed all the nearby goblins. They killed most of them but two of the commoners got away. In the prices the fighter got knocked unconscious and barely made it thanks to a successful med check by Erky the Gnome.
This is where it ended for the moment.
There is a Barbarian who is out of rages, a Druid out of spells and transformed into wounded Dire wolf(last wild shape for the moment) and an unconscious Fighter. All are out of hitdice.
Your party is in danger and run the risk of experiencing a TPK if they keep going without a long rest. If they still want to, as DM i'd remind them of how precarious the situation is right now and suggest they take a long rest.
fed up with leadership that refuses to capitalize on the power vacuum, a dissident group of kobolds have rushed in to take advantage of the goblins in the wake of the party's slaughter. but, wow, the kobolds are impressed! from their perspective the goblins are reeling. so impressed that they'll be happy to guard the party's rest in exchange for any wild promises of advice, trinkets, and outright lies about secrets that will lead them to power over not just the goblins but also their fellow kobolds.
unhappy at the way in which we lost individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
tell them you don't like features disappeared quietly in the night: provide feedback!