I can't beleive it's not play testing! (Help a DM out.)

[Metahuman1]

So, I have recently found myself, an optimizer, in the position of DMing for a mid-to-low-op game IRL. The Party is a swifthunter elf who's favoring duel pistols but also has claw bracers and weapons finesse for melee, a half minotaur half sun elf with a house ruled +2 Cha instead of +2 Int for the elf half, who has bought off the +1 La and is running Paladin of Freedom, a Lesser Aassimar Bard, and a Human Samurai using the fix/build out with slight tweaks that I linked below. The last one done with the understanding that if ability's become a problem they will be dealt with.



worth mentioning most of the players lack experience so the somewhat stronger then average power level for low op is more "I'm trying to make sure you don't die!" then anything. And that we are Lvl 3, except the paladin, who's level two.

We've had our first session, and we ended setting a zanyer tone then originally intended, which I will relay at a later point when I start posting a campaign journal.


So, towards that end, I have some concepts that I want to use this topic to throw out here and get feed back on.



The first one was and idea for what I Intend to be a combat encounter followed by a none combat encounter.


The combat encounter is going to feature four Darkmantels attempting to ambush the party as they get part way into a cave that we stopped the first session with them just starting to explore the entrance of. Once the attacks are made, I intend for a CE Kobolt Bard to start singing in the back ground something ridiculous to give the Darkmantels a +3 to hit and damage, but he doesn't participate directly in combat. He does, if engaged or after the darkmantles die, make a get away, with a trap or two behind him in case they give chase. I'm thinking something in the Great Crossbow and a Wire Family for the traps. Thoughts?

Now, after the effective random encounter, I plan for them to go deeper, into the cave to finish there mission of investigating strange noises. Once they get in far enough, I intend to have a Aranea make an entenrence that should leave them all putting there faces in there palms, I intend for them to do some talking and leave it be since it's not evil and not going to attack them under ANY circumstances save BEING ATTACKED FIRST. He will explain that the Kobolt was just sort of around and he was letting him hang with him cause he found the music enjoyable, and thank him for dealing with his pest problem, possibly offering them some money for it.



So, Playground, have I made any major mistakes or errors, are any of these bad ideas? If so, what, and why, and could you please suggest alternatives? Thank you!

[limejuicepowder]

Everything there looks fine, but I also recommend enemies that use some of the basic but important tactics - flanking and cover for sure, and possibly tripping. Darkness and other sight inhibitors are good too. These can be pretty deadly tactics to use against low level, inexperienced PC's but they are very important to learn.

[Metahuman1]

Ok, work on something to throw concealment and tripping in at them. I've already gotten to flanking in the first session, but will probably recap it in a random encounter (Even animals get that tactic so it's not a stretch. ).

I think Concealment can come into play with the Kobolt as part of his general nature of "I am going to troll you but try to not actually kill you all the way to dead cause it's FUN to troll you!"

[Namfuak]

If you want your Kobold Bard to both run at the first sign of danger to himself and be playing a role in the fight, you'll need to give him cover of some sort, or someone in the group is going to tell the ranger to target him. If they are at the mouth of the cave and it is light out, giving him partial concealment from the light/dark contrast could work (since the PCs all have their eyes adjusted for daylight).

[Canarr]

There's nothing in the rules about eyes adjusting from light to darkness. However, if they come into the tunnel directly from daylight, they'll be nicely illuminated for both the darkmantles and the kobold. So, the latter can leisurely pepper them with bolts even outside his own darkvision range, then fall back if they advance on him.

[Metahuman1]

I was thinking a ledge with a Tower Shield tacked to one side of the tunnel. Kobolt can still see out and sing is bard songs to buff the Darkmantles, and then hall butt down the tunnel soon as he's got trouble of his own. If they don't make a search check and a disable device check and just try to force open the shield (Which I'm thinking I'll rule takes a low DC on a strength check, maybe even something an Unseen servant could do in a couple of rolls.) they set off the trip wire hidden there and end up with a crossbow bolt flying at there face.


Figure that should stall them and put them on edge enough to give the Bard time to feesably escape, particularly if I rule that he pings on a detect magic in exchange for saying "BTW, he's buffed himself up.".

Anything in there seem problematic?

[nedz]

I like the idea of the bard as a recurring villian. All he has to do is buff the monsters for 1 round and then run away. This will give the monsters 5 rounds at +1/+1
Potential issues

You are buffing the monsters, this will make the combat harder.
Why don't the monsters attack the kobald ?
You need a nice little song also :smallsmile:

[Metahuman1]

I'm buffing the monsters but not too much I hope, this will make the combat a bit more difficult and hopefully teach them how to prioritize targets.

Um, not sure. Maybe he made handle animal checks?

Oh, I already have a song for this. :smallamused: Let's just say I'll be trolling the bronie's in the group with the music selection for this encounter. The whole group + me being the bronies.




Edit: So, next item on the agenda.

I was looking at giving them an NPC who follows them around, not so much cause said NPC wants too, but becuase said NPC HAS too. Kinda a lawful/under orders thing. Anyway.

Anyway. The NPC's primarily gonna use Healer class form Miniatures handbook and maybe the aura feat from dragon magic to get the vigor aura. Maybe also a homebrew feat to let her use that out of combat to heal the party to full instead of half.

I think I might make her of a physically petit race, something in the small to tiny range, and give her a level of monk, and a Tsundere personality along with a couple of other items to make sure she hit's the entire party's Moe Weakness flaw.



Is making the party's healer also something that is gonna set off there party themed flaws taking it a bit to far, or no?

[Metahuman1]

Update from last session.


Well, my players surprised me by bringing in two more players to the party. A shifty CN rouge who's uses lots of daggers and a Human Buffer cleric. The rouge has some system mastery, the cleric doesn't have a clue what she's doing.


Anyway, beyond that, we played the encounter with the Darkmantles and the Kobolt Bard buffing them. I added a couple of Adhawk items after they went for the bard and set of the trap, such as a scarecrow and a used scroll that a successful spell craft check showed was a scroll of ventriloquism, thus making his escape more convincing and making the paladin less upset about taking a great cross bow bolt that wiped out half his HP.

From there, they managed to preform in the social encounter with Aranea reasonably well, and reported in.



So, after some role playing in which the rouge gave me a taste of his personality and more goofy antics ensued, They have now moved on toward the local lords hold which I have told them is some days travel away. I intend to try to side track them a bit with a small town needing help dealing with Kobolt raiders that have been hitting there farms and outskirts and while not threatening to overwhelm them have been doing enough that there a concern.




Yes, this is gonna feature the Psyco bard from before. I intend for him to show up toward the end after a few mook warm up fights, which will probably feature a lesson on fighting a trip build, a lesson or two on fighting casters (Thinking low level Warmage for one fight then Low level beguiler for the other.), and a lesson on dealing with snipers. (Crossbows, hide checks, cover/concealment, high ground, but no bonus damage. I do want them to live after all.)


Now, here's the thing. They've been preforming better then anticipated against CR appropriate encounters. So, for the boss fight, I think I need to up the antie a bit, but I don't want to over do it. So, here's my idea.

Have the leader kobolt come out with just enough low level buffs on himself to make him a concern, and give him on top of some sorcerer levels for the buffs Shocking grasp already cast, a level of Monk, a level of Barbarian for pounce, and maybe a level of frenzied berserk for a surprise. I let the party get the first hit, and then boom.

Here's where shenanigans begin. I start the entrance with the bard in the background and the leader coming out to fight, and have him doing something in the way of goofy chop-saki thing were he's listing the over the top names of all these techniques he claims mastery of. Then he takes a hit. The, he rage/frenzies with his spells already cast before combat, and charges, and I fluff it as he screams inchoearently, kicking up dust as he does, his scales on his head change to gold, and he jumps at them. I.E., he went super saiyan. :smallamused:


And in the background, I'll have the Kobolt singing a slightly more D&D estc version of the 90's Toonaumi opening to DBZ encase the above wasn't obvious enough to get the face palms.






So, thoughts, Input, anything I'm missing? And is the general build too powerful or would this make for a good "Wow, that was actually a hard fight!" moment?

[Canarr]

Barbarian must be chaotic. Monk must be lawful. Does. Not. Compute.

I'd suggest dropping the Barbarian; doesn't fit with kobolds IMO, and Pounce isn't going to do much at these levels, anyway. If you want to get the kobold monk in for a flurry of blows, I'd suggest letting him cast Invisibility first (from a scroll, if need be), then cast his buff spells and the shocking grasp (doesn't break Invis until he attacks). Let a few mooks attack the PCs with missile fire from another direction, the monk sneaks up to his target of choice, then lets 'em rip.Invisible shocking-grasped flurry of blows, coming up.

[Solaris]

Chaos Monk from Dragon. Barring that, a PHB monk who becomes nonlawful simply can't continue advancing, he doesn't lose any abilities. A barbarian who becomes nonchaotic only loses his ability to rage. Technically, that means he'd keep the pounce ability.

[Metahuman1]

Chaos Monk from Dragon. Barring that, a PHB monk who becomes nonlawful simply can't continue advancing, he doesn't lose any abilities. A barbarian who becomes nonchaotic only loses his ability to rage. Technically, that means he'd keep the pounce ability.

In this case, it was a PHB Monk who became none lawful after a couple of levels. And the whole point of the build was to make them fight a kobolt who during the fight when super sayian and started kicking serious tail all of a sudden, which he did. ;)