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ka_bna
2010-03-12, 06:15 AM
[My dear Dutch players stay out. Please?:smalltongue:]

Hi there! I'm a relative new DM (have dm'ed about 8 sessions) and I would like some Dm'ing advice on some points. An introduction of the group:
Elf drd 3
Halfling rog 3
Half-orc wiz 3
Half-elf clr 3
Hum (as far as I know) Monk 3
All are new players, but the monk has played Nwn and the druid has so far mastered the game well.
Rules: PHB+DMG+MM, although I might use other books for specific items/enemies.
On optimizing: You might guess this group does not optimize to the max, with a monk and the half-orc wizard (I even let the wizard learn Grease, but he hasn't used it yet, ever)

Now, as for the questions:
1. The druid-player asked for a dragon pet (first response: at this level? It'll be you who are the pet, of the dragon). I told him he could pick up leadership at level 6. I have now the idea to merge his Animal Companion with some feat, so he can have a dragon as an animal companion (to reduce the number of creatures in the party because of bookkeeping). Is there such a feat, or how would such a feat look homebrewed?

2. I intend to play RHoD with them (but they don't know it yet:smalltongue:). I drew a map of the world they are now in (might add continents later): http://dndbarf.pbworks.com/f/kaart.jpg. Do you see good places to place RHoD in the world? They are now in the country of Tycho (middle of the map). If there's not such a place, how might I incorporate RHoD in this world?

3. On difficulty. My group wants to play with more mooks and less boss-type, because they are too afraid to die (in 8 sessions, we have had 1 death and 6 times a character went below 0hp). As we're playing a casual type of game, I have agreed. How do I make boss-fights more interesting, without an overload of bookkeeping?

4. On a specific difficulty. We're now playing The Forge of Fury, which ends with a young black dragon, CR5I do intend to play this foe intelligently, with breath attack, dive underwater, and resurface some rounds later... and fly-by attacking or full attacking lone PC's
Now, is this too difficult for this party, or will it too easily dropped and should I up it an age category? The party will be level 4 or 5 when they encounter this.

5. Monk question. I do not wish to alter the monk class, or do I want to "upgrade" it, but last session I forgot a rule. (As a new DM I sometimes forget some rules, but it's getting better) So I allowed to let the monk flurry as a standard action (with Mobility, he moved towards an enemy, flurried, and moved back... looking back in the SRD, that was never possible... hmm). Should I correct the monk and say that flurrying is a full-round action, or will it be fine to "forget" this correction power-wise?

Those are my questions so far, and thanks for at least reading this!

Gaiyamato
2010-03-12, 06:35 AM
The windrider prestige class in Masters of the Wild turns any chosen mount into a bonded creater. Which is the same as an Animal Companion for feats and prestige classess according to the book.
A few levels of Wizard/Sorcerer and he could then become an Arcane Heirophant and turn the Dragon into a Mount/Animal Companion/Bonded Creature stacking all of the bonuses onto the Dragon.

Far less an than optimal though (as if it matters here mind you).

There is a dragon rider class in the Draconomicon. But it is mostly made for rangers in mind with no spellcasting bonuses.
If he was evil he could use the wearer of purple from FR-Faiths and Pantheons. That at least continues his spellcasting and gives him some more abilities. But I'm not so sure about an Evil Necromantic Druid riding either an Evil True Dragon or a Dracolich. lol.

If he was a non-caster or a Wizard this would be a lot easier.

-----

Amusingly you could be:
Elf (Drow maybe even?) - Chaotic Evil - Wizard - Necromancer
Who then takes Wind-rider 1 (grants some limited divine spells) - Wearer of Purple 2 - Wildrunner 1 - and then Arcane Heirophant for the rest of the game. The only trick would be getting an evil Dragon or Dracolich to let you ride it by level 3. lol.
Would be highly amusing, not massively optimal, but highly amusing.

some guy
2010-03-12, 10:40 AM
3. On difficulty. My group wants to play with more mooks and less boss-type, because they are too afraid to die (in 8 sessions, we have had 1 death and 6 times a character went below 0hp). As we're playing a casual type of game, I have agreed. How do I make boss-fights more interesting, without an overload of bookkeeping?

4. On a specific difficulty. We're now playing The Forge of Fury, which ends with a young black dragon, CR5I do intend to play this foe intelligently, with breath attack, dive underwater, and resurface some rounds later... and fly-by attacking or full attacking lone PC's

Now, is this too difficult for this party, or will it too easily dropped and should I up it an age category? The party will be level 4 or 5 when they encounter this.

5. Monk question. I do not wish to alter the monk class, or do I want to "upgrade" it, but last session I forgot a rule. (As a new DM I sometimes forget some rules, but it's getting better) So I allowed to let the monk flurry as a standard action (with Mobility, he moved towards an enemy, flurried, and moved back... looking back in the SRD, that was never possible... hmm). Should I correct the monk and say that flurrying is a full-round action, or will it be fine to "forget" this correction power-wise?

Those are my questions so far, and thanks for at least reading this!

3. Penny Arcade has covered your question.http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/3/4/ Casual is fine, but after a while your players might get bored or feel invulnerable.
I usually make normal encounters so that one player is on the border of 0 hp, or two player have lost more than half of their hp. Keeps them on their feet. Allow some easy victories, but throw in some challenges.
Boss-fights always get more interesting with unusual terrain.

4. This sounds like a fight wich should be challenging and interesting. Level 4 or 5 is fine. You can expect some surprising solutions made by your players after some sessions. So they might be frightened, but when they win, the victory is all the sweeter.

5. Monks never get love. Correct him. So long as he is happy with his power, it's all good. If not, you can give him gear that is worth a bit more. (amulet of mighty fists?) Tailor encounters in such a way he can get his chance to shine (reflex saves for his evasion, pitfalls for slow fall, chases for increased speed, let the group be captured and let him still be useful due the monks independence on items).

Closing words: don't nurture your players too much. Give them a challenge, but one they think they can handle. Have some variety in difficulty. Listening to your players is a very good skill, but don't go soft.
Veel geluk en veel plezier!

some guy
2010-03-12, 10:47 AM
[I even let the wizard learn Grease, but he hasn't used it yet, ever

Grease can be very useful, with the right conditions, especially in the hands of an enemy spellcaster in a dungeon. [a hallway with a spiked pit, a slope and a hidden caster who has prepared grease poses some serious threat.]

Traveler
2010-03-12, 12:00 PM
1. If the druid is set on a dragon companion, look to the draconmicon under dragon chort feat. It acts like leadership for dragons.

2. While yes it is easy to stick the map in somewhere, since you have your own world set up it would be that much cooler of the RHoD took place in areas that you PCs are familiar with. Now that would take extra effort on your part to translate the mod to your world and make adjustments for things that don't neccesarily fit neatly.

3. I agree with Some Guy. That and since they would be fighting basic grunts for the most part when bosses come the party may feel out of their depth. I don't know your players so that is my best guess. Try adding low CR monsters that have unique quilities like manticores and ettercaps to help the party get used to the odd and dangerous.

4 Again, I agree with Some Guy word for word.

5. Darn you Some Guy for giving all the good advice! Anyway, before the session starts make the correction and just modifiy the encounters that every now and again so the monk can feel special.
In my own campaign the monk needs no help at all because she does crazy stuff like 20ft leaps from archery tower to archery tower and that was at 5th level.

some guy
2010-03-13, 05:58 AM
5. Darn you Some Guy for giving all the good advice! Anyway, before the session starts make the correction and just modifiy the encounters that every now and again so the monk can feel special.
In my own campaign the monk needs no help at all because she does crazy stuff like 20ft leaps from archery tower to archery tower and that was at 5th level.

Haha, once again I ruined someone's day by giving advice!

Anyway, what with the +4 jump bonus for every 10 feet beyond a speed of 30 feet a jumping monk really gets crazy. Combined with the boots of striding and springing? Mayhem! Fun, fun mayhem!

HunterOfJello
2010-03-13, 06:09 AM
1. Replace Animal Companion with a Familiar then grab the Dragon Familiar feat at a higher level. (As mentioned before, there's more info in the Draconomicon.)

There's also the Monstrous Animal Companion feat. That would give the character access to a Pseudodragon companion at lvl 4, and a Wyvern at level 12.

taltamir
2010-03-13, 07:02 AM
Elf drd 3
Halfling rog 3
Half-orc wiz 3
Half-elf clr 3
Hum (as far as I know) Monk 3
All are new players, but the monk has played Nwn and the druid has so far mastered the game well.
Rules: PHB+DMG+MM, although I might use other books for specific items/enemies.
On optimizing: You might guess this group does not optimize to the max, with a monk and the half-orc wizard (I even let the wizard learn Grease, but he hasn't used it yet, ever)

I suggest you use one of the more common monk fixes, such as giving him full BAB and the ability to enchant his fists as if it was a weapon. beyond that, just watch for the level of competence of the players. A badly played first tier class is worse the masterfully optimized 5th tier one.


Now, as for the questions:
1. The druid-player asked for a dragon pet (first response: at this level? It'll be you who are the pet, of the dragon). I told him he could pick up leadership at level 6. I have now the idea to merge his Animal Companion with some feat, so he can have a dragon as an animal companion (to reduce the number of creatures in the party because of bookkeeping). Is there such a feat, or how would such a feat look homebrewed?
I really don't see a problem with that mechanically as long as its a hatching or otherwise very young dragon. Dragons are way weaker than some people think. if he meets an older dragon though, he will be the pet as you said :P.

The thing is, don't just say "poof here is a dragon". He wants a dragon companion? well, he better go find one. Remind him that dragons are sentient beings, smarter then humans actually. He can't keep one as a pet, just as he would be able to keep a human child, elf, dwarf, or halfling as a pet. And in fact, in DnD-land dragons and humans can and do crossbreed (they take human shape) to produce half dragons, just like there are half elves. So this dragon pet idea can be all sorts of creepy.

So stress that if he DOES find a dragon companion, he should be careful about how their relationship progresses; he can't have one as an ANIMAL companion because it isn't an ANIMAL. He can be an NPC friend that travels with the party... and doesn't "belong" to them (but he can be best friends / adopted as a child / etc with the druid specifically). Basically, the dragon is your DMPC, don't make it too powerful now...


2. I intend to play RHoD with them (but they don't know it yet:smalltongue:). I drew a map of the world they are now in (might add continents later): http://dndbarf.pbworks.com/f/kaart.jpg. Do you see good places to place RHoD in the world? They are now in the country of Tycho (middle of the map). If there's not such a place, how might I incorporate RHoD in this world?
what is RHoD?


4. On a specific difficulty. We're now playing The Forge of Fury, which ends with a young black dragon, CR5I do intend to play this foe intelligently, with breath attack, dive underwater, and resurface some rounds later... and fly-by attacking or full attacking lone PC's
Now, is this too difficult for this party, or will it too easily dropped and should I up it an age category? The party will be level 4 or 5 when they encounter this.
I think this is a very good opportunity for the druid wish to come true. for example, maybe a black dragon (with the aid of some mercenaries whose life he sacrificed) killed a family of gold dragons and the only survivors when you arrive are this black dragon and a newborn (or an about to hatch egg) of the gold dragons. The black dragon wants to kill the newborn as well; he attacked because he was doing evil badstuff and the gold dragon mother was foiling his wicked plots.
If they save the him/her, they can end up adopting him/her. The dragon then spends most of its time in humanoid form (it can assume it at will) and appears as a human-ish child. Loves playing with the druid animal companion, sometimes assumes the same shape as it as well (can also take animal shape at will).
Just have the conversation with the druid first explaining what dragons actually are and roleplay it right so it is viewed as a child and not a pet/treasure.
It shouldn't be too powerful at all, but if it does get to be an issue then they finally find a long lost relative who will take him/her in.


5. Monk question. I do not wish to alter the monk class, or do I want to "upgrade" it, but last session I forgot a rule. (As a new DM I sometimes forget some rules, but it's getting better) So I allowed to let the monk flurry as a standard action (with Mobility, he moved towards an enemy, flurried, and moved back... looking back in the SRD, that was never possible... hmm). Should I correct the monk and say that flurrying is a full-round action, or will it be fine to "forget" this correction power-wise?

if you do not wish to make any other alterations to the monk class, then this change will help him... Just don't leave it as "forgotten"... tell your player you made a mistake, but decide to keep it that way as a houserule.

ka_bna
2010-03-13, 04:04 PM
Thanks for your replies!
1. I'll point out to the druidplayer the dragonrider PrC, so he'll get a choice. If he refuses, I'll turn the dragon in an NPC-like creature. I really like Taltamirs idea of finding a dragon egg or captured hatchling near the end.

2. As for boss fights, including exceptional terrain is a good idea, i'll try it. Somewhere my players know they'll have to face strong enemies, because of (lack of) XP.:smalltongue:

5. I'll tell the monkplayer about the forgotten rule, though I'm going to think of upgrading the monk with full BAB. And I'll include monk-friendly traps!

Tinydwarfman
2010-03-13, 04:34 PM
A few things:


On optimizing: You might guess this group does not optimize to the max, with a monk and the half-orc wizard (I even let the wizard learn Grease, but he hasn't used it yet, ever)
You let him learn grease? Why would you not let him? By the sounds of it, he isn't a big optimizer, don't nerf him without reason. Wizards aren't super powerful at low levels, especially if used by an inexperienced player. The one you should watch out for is the druid. Leadership is broken as it is, without him getting dragon of all things from it. Give him a wyrmling and make sure it's Hit Dice is always at least 1 below the party's. If CR and HD are not allways an exact science. If you think it can beat the weakest member of the party, it's too strong.


5. Monk question. I do not wish to alter the monk class, or do I want to "upgrade" it, but last session I forgot a rule. (As a new DM I sometimes forget some rules, but it's getting better) So I allowed to let the monk flurry as a standard action (with Mobility, he moved towards an enemy, flurried, and moved back... looking back in the SRD, that was never possible... hmm). Should I correct the monk and say that flurrying is a full-round action, or will it be fine to "forget" this correction power-wise?
Either 'forget' it or tell him you're changing the rules. Maybe even full BAB and standard flurry if you think he's falling behind. Monk's need some love.

Stubbed Tongue
2010-03-13, 06:51 PM
BTW if your druid doesn't want a black dragon(I'm assuming you will place the egg at the end of forge of fury). You could use any type/color of dragon egg the player wants and just say the black dragon eats them as a delicacy. Not really much of a help, but an idea none the less.

Itous
2010-03-13, 07:04 PM
i can help with the dragon familiar thing, take "dragon familiar" from the Dracomonion if it hasn't already been sujested. grab the book and check it out i think you need to be 12th level for it.

taltamir
2010-03-19, 07:39 AM
i can help with the dragon familiar thing, take "dragon familiar" from the Dracomonion if it hasn't already been sujested. grab the book and check it out i think you need to be 12th level for it.

1. you still need to actually find a dragon
2. there is no real benefit to binding it as a familiar while a wyrmling (under 5 years old) compared to just having it as a cohort. there are better familiars to have while still having a dragon cohort.

Devils_Advocate
2010-03-19, 06:10 PM
Allowing characters with the Flurry of Blows class feature or the Two-Weapon Fighting feat to make two attacks as a standard action does not overpower them. A lower chance of hitting and lower damage per attack, and the opportunity cost of obtaining said class feature or feat rather than something else, is sufficient to "pay for" the extra attack; also having it be only situationally available by requiring a full attack is overkill with the drawbacks. And it's not fun for your character's special combat style to be annoyingly difficult to actually use.

It would also be fine to eliminate the Monk's alignment and multiclassing restrictions. (Just let their unarmed strikes overcome all alignment DR at level 4. Like allowing an extra attack on a standard action, this just keeps them from getting screwed out of using their combat style effectively.) You could eliminate the half-orc's ability score penalties, too. Not just this particular half-orc, all half-orcs. +2 Str and Darkvision and nothing else is on par with what the other PHB races get. Srsly.

I agree that, however you handle it mechanically, a dragon companion should have to be acquired in-character. And unless it's raised by the character from the moment it hatches or soon after, a dragon is rather unlikely to become a cohort, much less a pet, to a low-level PC, though it might be a friend or possibly employee. On the other hand, raising a dragon from hatching is a viable option, since a wyrmling is fully capable a mere hour after hatching. It even instinctively knows how to speak Draconic.

But arranging to be present when a dragon hatches is easier said than done. The PCs might find some eggs in the lair of a dragon they encounter -- although a dragon younger than Young Adult won't have eggs of its own -- but will they know how to hatch them? This might call for a DC 15 Knowledge (arcana) and/or maybe Knowledge (nature) check. The eggs might not be nearly ready to hatch yet; a dragon egg has an incubation period of well over a year. This might be useful if you want to delay the PCs obtaining the wyrmling.

The Draconomicon has rules for hatching dragon eggs, for rearing dragons, for purchasing a dragon's service, and for including a dragon in the party, be it as a cohort, special mount, familiar, or separate character. The issues involved are discussed in a fair amount of detail. The book also gives plenty of information about dragons in general, of course.

I can't find anything on dragons as Animal Companions, but I tentatively suggest that a dragon's ECL should be the Druid level at which it can become a Companion, with the Druid taking a penalty of (the dragon's ECL - 1) to her Druid level to determine her companion's special abilities. This makes the dragon available one level later than through the Dragon Cohort feat. And e.g. a black dragon wyrmling has the same CR as a dire wolf, so making them both available at a -6 penalty to effective Druid level seems sort of reasonable. You could even have the dragon's bonus hit dice from being a Companion be Animal hit dice instead of the superior Dragon HD in order to keep its advancement on par with a normal Animal Companion's.

Edit: Charge a feat for it, too, since that's what they do for dragon Paladin mounts.

Jastermereel
2010-05-31, 11:20 AM
For Red Hand of Doom placement, work on the most important parts first. The campaign progresses towards Brindol, so you'll need to have a big city that's not right next to the mountains where the Fane will sit. After that, find a swamp (Rhest), a desert (Ghostlord), and a small town that's near the mountains for Drellin's Ferry. The shape of the layout doesn't matter too much as long as there's a semi-reasonable progression for the Red Hand to follow.

The scale of your map is pretty large, so you could reasonably tuck RHoD's Elsir Vale (the whole map) into a fairly small corner if you wanted. I think it's roughly 80 miles (128km) between Drellin's Ferry and Brindol. So perhaps Gaskin (A large city? The capitol?) Is Brindol and Fenton or Plimp are Drellin's Ferry. They've got a nearby forest that would work well. The Red Hand could have the Fane in eastern Plimsol (uniting tribes from as far as Snif and Beshin. As for the other pieces, it's hard to say without knowing the terrain there, but there looks to be plenty of space for either the swamp of Rhest or the desert of the Ghostlord in the space above Betorks.

I recently did the same thing. My group is going to start to go through RHoD in a few weeks and I'm running my campaign using bits of the Kalamar atlas as a map. Finding a reason for them to get to a Drellin's Ferry-like position in a reasonable time frame, and still have a good angle for the Red Hand's approach can be quite tricky.

ShadowsGrnEyes
2010-05-31, 01:54 PM
Okay, as i am a lover of the dragon friend concept myself , I will share my Opinion.

Look at the rough CR's of creatures available as animal companions at the various levels. Make an average approximation of power level with special abilities as modifiers.

Take a creature that is an animal but LOOKS like a dragon and tell your druid to be happy with it cause druids dont get magical beasts without really complicated prestigeclasses. . .

I recomend looking in Dragon magic:

PG 114 has a Drakkensteed it looks like a dragon it acts like a horse but it can fly. . . I'd advise making it available no sooner than 7th level as an alternate companion

Pg 115 has the Huitzil which could be available as early as 1st level but is kind of an ugly pot bellied thing so they might not get the magestic dragon look they're hopping for.

pg 116 Phynxkin is a dragonlike cat creature that would be quite viable as an animal companion as it actually has the modifications somehwere in the book to be used as an animal companion.