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zoobob9
2010-02-20, 10:24 PM
hey! im a DM and my party, lvl 3-4 (gonna lvl up soon) are going through a dungeon in the middle of a desert. at the end they will fight a young black dragon, and maybe a mercury dragon wyrmling at the same time. but definatly the black dragon. anyway, i need help designing the dungeon. the party is:

dragonborn fighter
razorclaw shifter paladin
halfling ranger(named belkar bitterleaf!)
minotaur barbarian
dwarf cleric/shaman hybrid

i think in one room there will be a bunch of gelatenous cubes just waiting or someone to walk into them, and in another there will be like, 15 minions waiting behind illusionary walls.

any ideas?

AtopTheMountain
2010-02-20, 10:29 PM
Desert, eh? You might want to play around with an ancient-egyptian-themed tomb-like dungeon, with lots and lots of magical traps, hidden enemies, and such. Be sure to use lots of interesting terrain -- perhaps quicksand patches, or pits, or cramped tunnels, or water, as that's one of 4E's biggest strengths. Skill challenges can also be fun... maybe stopping a slowly closing-in wall or ceiling, that's always been a classic.

EDIT: Although traps may get problematic with no Rogue...

Knaight
2010-02-20, 10:40 PM
On another note, use height liberally. Contour lines are amazing, and make that very easy. Just set 1 line equal to 5 feet up or something, maybe 10. Then abuse this heavily with traps and such, variable height platforms, etc, etc.

Shardan
2010-02-20, 11:03 PM
scarab swarms that attack suddenly from cracks in the walls

undead buried under just enough sand to make then hidden

animated guardian statues and carydids

Heiroglyphics that read 'I prepared explosive runes this morning'

Mando Knight
2010-02-21, 02:14 AM
...I'd rethink the encounter setup. Why in the nine hells would a black dragon be in a desert? Blues, Grays, and especially Browns fit a lot better. Why would Gelatinous Cubes be in a desert also?


If you want to kill them, use characters with ranged immobilization mixed with Artillery, cover, and difficult terrain.

bosssmiley
2010-02-21, 07:56 AM
Why would Gelatinous Cubes be in a desert also?

Tinge it pink: Turkish Delight cube. Thematic dissonance solved. :smallwink:

There were a bunch of great Egyptian/desert-themed modules released for earlier editions of D&D. There were some for FR involving the Purple Desert of Raurin, there was a Ravenloft Nilotic horror sub-setting, and Gary Gygax did a massive Egypt-themed dungeon for 3E. Just steal ideas from those (and "The Mummy" of course).

Hal
2010-02-21, 08:24 AM
Also, whatever your choices end up being for traps and encounters, just remember that your black dragon, unless he's undead, will need a way to enter/exit his lair easily and find sustenance. Since he's a dragon, this could easily just mean a vertical shaft he can fly in and out of, but you have to allow the possibility that your players could find his entrance. Whether or not they can actually use it is another matter entirely.

KillianHawkeye
2010-02-21, 08:33 AM
Tinge it pink: Turkish Delight cube. Thematic dissonance solved. :smallwink:

WTF? :smallconfused:

Contrary to popular belief, Turkey doesn't have a lot to do with deserts. Unless you meant dessert-themed? Turkish delight is certainly a dessert item.