Behold_the_Void
2008-06-25, 01:58 AM
As usual, disclaimer: if you don't like 4e, please don't bother posting.
So, this idea was spawned from looking at the Skill Challenges and having had an idea knocking around to do a Shadow of the Colossus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_of_the_Colossus) low-magic low-power 3.5 homebrew at some point.
I'll be running a game that should start around mid or late September, and it will be the first 4e game I've run, so I want to start working on this project now so I have plenty of time to tweak it once I have the core stuff down.
So the plot centers around ancient empires, magitechnology, blah blah blah encroaching darkness, empires fall, chosen heroes must drive back the darkness.
The core of this idea though is that one of the major weapons of the lost civilization is the colossi, massive weapons with destructive power.
What I want to do is have these creatures only vulnerable in certain areas. With the limited flight capabilities of PCs (and with special abilities I can give later on that will make them less effective), I want to turn these into a massive solo encounter and something of a dungeon as well. The PCs would be expected to climb around the colossi and target specific weak points, dealing the appropriate amount of damage.
The main question here is how this should be formatted. I'm not expecting a confrontation with a Colossi until at LEAST level 5, and if the format works out I may use it for other really large encounters as well (like Dragons, for example).
Since I don't have experience with how combat runs outside of theory, I'm looking for some advice on how to run these. Skill challenges seem pretty simple, primarily acrobatics-based, possibly with some of the other characters running interference. I figure I can map out both sides and use the grid for them climbing vertically while I have another map devoted to the positions of those on the ground and the creature itself.
What I'm mainly looking at is how I should do the damage. I figure there will be certain weak spots that all have a set amount of HP and must all be disabled (the creature reaching bloodied after about half of them have been disabled), and I want a minimum of two weak-points on each colossus, with more for stronger, more complex colossi. I also need some decent attacks, they'll be generally fairly straightforward and smashy early on and by the end of it be terrifying engines of destruction with plenty of means to attack the little insects crawling all over them.
So as you can see, I have a basic framework in mind. I'm looking for specifics, suggested skill DCs for various things, HP and attack suggestions, things like that. I'll likely start putting it together when I've got some of my other maps and such done, but I'm trying to get some other ideas on the table that I can pick and choose from to help me complete the project.
So, this idea was spawned from looking at the Skill Challenges and having had an idea knocking around to do a Shadow of the Colossus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_of_the_Colossus) low-magic low-power 3.5 homebrew at some point.
I'll be running a game that should start around mid or late September, and it will be the first 4e game I've run, so I want to start working on this project now so I have plenty of time to tweak it once I have the core stuff down.
So the plot centers around ancient empires, magitechnology, blah blah blah encroaching darkness, empires fall, chosen heroes must drive back the darkness.
The core of this idea though is that one of the major weapons of the lost civilization is the colossi, massive weapons with destructive power.
What I want to do is have these creatures only vulnerable in certain areas. With the limited flight capabilities of PCs (and with special abilities I can give later on that will make them less effective), I want to turn these into a massive solo encounter and something of a dungeon as well. The PCs would be expected to climb around the colossi and target specific weak points, dealing the appropriate amount of damage.
The main question here is how this should be formatted. I'm not expecting a confrontation with a Colossi until at LEAST level 5, and if the format works out I may use it for other really large encounters as well (like Dragons, for example).
Since I don't have experience with how combat runs outside of theory, I'm looking for some advice on how to run these. Skill challenges seem pretty simple, primarily acrobatics-based, possibly with some of the other characters running interference. I figure I can map out both sides and use the grid for them climbing vertically while I have another map devoted to the positions of those on the ground and the creature itself.
What I'm mainly looking at is how I should do the damage. I figure there will be certain weak spots that all have a set amount of HP and must all be disabled (the creature reaching bloodied after about half of them have been disabled), and I want a minimum of two weak-points on each colossus, with more for stronger, more complex colossi. I also need some decent attacks, they'll be generally fairly straightforward and smashy early on and by the end of it be terrifying engines of destruction with plenty of means to attack the little insects crawling all over them.
So as you can see, I have a basic framework in mind. I'm looking for specifics, suggested skill DCs for various things, HP and attack suggestions, things like that. I'll likely start putting it together when I've got some of my other maps and such done, but I'm trying to get some other ideas on the table that I can pick and choose from to help me complete the project.