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Gnaritas
2010-06-13, 05:13 AM
I am a DM.
My party is currently in some kind of mine, last session they went down into a huge gap (kilometers wide) some 200 ft down, and coming session they are likely to go up that same route.
This time there will be soldiers in the tunnel they are climbing up to.

The party consists of level 7 characters:
Goliath Warblade
Dwarf Barbarian
Human Sacred Fist (homebrew)
Human Rogue

I think only the Rogue has a ranged weapon.

The party will be able to climb the wall and some will be able to climb accelerated.
The soldiers are only level 3 fighters.
The soldiers will probably start attacking when the party is 60 ft down.
4 archers will be in front, with the ability to shoot 2 arrows as a full attack.
Other soldiers with Halberds or Sword/Shield will be ready to step up as the party nears the tunnel.

Now i wonder what happens when they try to go up. Can they draw a weapon and attack the soldiers while still climbing the wall? Do they try to grab a soldier and pull them down? The soldiers get +1 attack from being on higher ground. Should the soldiers get cover (+4 AC) since they are mobile on the ground while those still hanging on the wall are less? Does the party even have a chance to make it up? What are tactics the party and/or the soldiers could use?

At the very least i want to make it hard for them to get up, maybe even discourage them to go up.

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Another question:

I am planning an Assassin Vine as a encounter, but i want it to be tougher and not multiple.
I upgraded the basic one to 8 HD, made it huge and added a second attack when full attacking.
How much would that increase it's CR?

It now looks like this:


Assassin Vine
Size/Type:
Huge Plant

Hit Dice:
8d8+40 (76 hp)

Initiative:
+0

Speed:
5 ft. (1 square)
Armor Class:
17 (-2 size, -1 dex, +10 natural), touch 7, flat-footed 17

Base Attack/Grapple:
+6/+23

Attack:
Slam +13 melee (1d8+13)

Full Attack:
2 Slams +13 melee (1d8+13)

Space/Reach:
15 ft./15 ft. (30 ft. with vine)
Special Attacks:
Constrict 1d8+13, entangle, improved grab

Special Qualities:
Blindsight 40 ft., camouflage, immunity to electricity,
plant traits, resistance to cold 10 and fire 10

Saves:
Fort +11, Ref +1, Will +3

Abilities:
Str 28, Dex 8, Con 20, Int Ø, Wis 13, Cha 9

Challenge Rating:
?

KillianHawkeye
2010-06-13, 05:35 AM
Now i wonder what happens when they try to go up. Can they draw a weapon and attack the soldiers while still climbing the wall? Do they try to grab a soldier and pull them down? The soldiers get +1 attack from being on higher ground. Should the soldiers get cover (+4 AC) since they are mobile on the ground while those still hanging on the wall are less? Does the party even have a chance to make it up? What are tactics the party and/or the soldiers could use?

Well you need both hands free to climb. You can, however, hold on to the wall with one hand and use the other hand to take some action (such as cast a spell). They could theoretically draw a weapon and throw it with one hand, but I don't think there are many projectile weapons that would be viable in this situation. Even though a crossbow can be fired with one hand, they generally require two hands to load.

I'm not sure if the soldiers would get cover, unless you allow them to use the ledge itself as such. Also keep in mind that a climbing character cannot move freely and loses their Dex bonus to AC (unless they've got a climb speed), nor can they use a shield.



The party's best chance of making it up the wall will be to go as fast as they can, but realize the penalty for doing so may increase the chance of failing by 5 or more (and thus falling off the wall). This may be a good or a bad idea depending on how difficult the climb actually is. Ideally, the party should try to take out the defending soldiers before they climb the wall, but that may not work since most of them lack ranged attacks.

As for the soldiers, their best strategy is to focus fire on whoever is climbing the fastest unless there is somebody capable of spellcasting or trying to attack them. Alternatively, they can try shooting all the party members in hopes of making some of them fall, since any time you take damage while climbing you have to repeat the check to hang on (failure by any amount means falling to your doom).



Putting that all together with enough defenders and climbing the wall will seem like a fairly daunting task.

Gnaritas
2010-06-13, 06:03 AM
Alternatively, they can try shooting all the party members in hopes of making some of them fall, since any time you take damage while climbing you have to repeat the check to hang on (failure by any amount means falling to your doom).

Where can i find this rule? it does not seem to be in the SRD.

Aeromyre
2010-06-13, 06:23 AM
I agree with everything killian said, also if they do decide to attack, take the DC to climb the roll add 5 and make them make that adjusted check for every standard action they take

KillianHawkeye
2010-06-13, 06:38 AM
Alternatively, they can try shooting all the party members in hopes of making some of them fall, since any time you take damage while climbing you have to repeat the check to hang on (failure by any amount means falling to your doom).
Where can i find this rule? it does not seem to be in the SRD.

Yes it is. Look in the description of the Climb (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/climb.htm) skill.


Any time you take damage while climbing, make a Climb check against the DC of the slope or wall. Failure means you fall from your current height and sustain the appropriate falling damage.

The best part is that multiple hits against a single PC will neccesitate multiple Climb checks to hang on.