dm in need of help

[Fitz]

due to an impending essay deadline, i'm now begging for help stating up an encounter for my next session as a dm.
what i need is a cult of the dragon (FR setting) capture team, mostly of humans to challenge a group of 7 level 7 characters (mostly fighter types not much arcane power)
i want the COTD to be the main fight for the session , but not too good, and should have at least 1 cleric or mage. books usable would be Core, Comp, ARC/War/div/adven, FR campaign book, PG, Races of Farun, tome of Magic and TOB.

even an outline would be nice
thanks in advance
Fitz

[Keld Denar]

wow, that a pretty big request. Lets see....

2 big beefy melees, 7th level fighter/crusaders with Thicket of Blades and spiked chains with the Standstill feat. These guys will form a 40' wide wall of "YOU SHALL NOT PASS" (TM). They should be fairly easy to build. Focus on Str>Con>Dex>Else. Don't go for Imp Trip though, its probably not worth it vs primarily melee PCs as getting disarmed sucks. For extra kicks, give them +1 Merciful weapons for extra damage and the conversion to subdual to take prisoners.

1 Wiz7. 4th level spells include 1 Evards and 1-2 Solid Fogs depending on bonus spells. 3rd should be 1 haste and a pair of Empowered Ray of Enfeeblements. These will be targeted at the meanest high Str targets, especially any that may be caught in the Evards. 2nd level should include Glitterdust and See Invis and some other spells.

1 Cleric7 of the Cult of the Dragon. Opening spell should be Recitation (all members in cap gang should worship CotD for the full bonus). 3rd level spells should include a pair of Dispel Magics for counterspelling. 2nd should include a pair of Hold Persons for capturing targets alive.

1 Bard8 - The leader. 4th level spell is Solid Fog. One 1st level spell is Inspirational Boost. Rest don't matter much. 1st level feat is Dragonfire Inspiration, 3rd level feat is Melodic Casting, and 6th level feat is Song of the Heart. Items include Badge of Valor. Opening round of combat cast Insp Boost and begin Dragonfire Insp, then immediate action to pop the Badge of Valor. This gives everyone in the group +5d6 fire damage on top of all attacks. With haste, this is great. Subsequent rounds can control with Solid Fog, cast Haste, cast Hold Person or Glitterdust, etc.

Press gang - 4-5 level 3-4 warriors with long spears. These warriors stay close to the protective cover of the crusaders until fully buffed with Recitation, Haste, and Dragonfire Inspiration. Then they move out and attempt to pincer in on the casters. They attack for 2-3 BAB + 4 str + 3 Recitation +1 haste for ~ +10-11 for 1d8 +6 +5d6 fire and get 2 attacks on a full attack. That should put some heat on the PCs as well. Their reach means they get an AoO or 2 each for reletively easy chance to hit the PCs and very nice damage. They don't really affect the EL that much since their CR is so low.

So, any thoughts on my CotD hit squad/press gang? Should be a pretty tough challenge, and I'm not gonna lie, will have a good chance of winning, especially if they can get a suprise round. Defeatable? Certainly. Challenging? Very.

[Mr. Friendly]

lussmanj isn't that like an EL 13 encounter?

[Keld Denar]

Nah, I'd calc it at about 8 for the bard +2 for the crusaders +2 for the casters +0 for the warriors =12 depending on favorable environmental circumstances (+1 for suprise). The party has 7 ECL 7 characters, which puts them at an APL of 9-10 (because CRs are "balanced" for 4 players). That means that the encounter is APL+2-3, which should be perfectly in line with what the party is capable of handling. Remember, actions are the most valuable resource in combat, and adding more players increases party power a lot.

Good Gaming!

[Fitz]

that looks like some great ideas, i would probably tone it down a little (my party are not all great optimisers, some are good , but not all)

love the idea of a bard as leader, could you tell me where dragonfire inspiration is from?

finally thank you this looks really good.
Fitz

[Keld Denar]

Dragonfire Inspiration is from Dragon Magic (I'm 98.3% sure). All it really does is convert your +x/+x bonus from Inspire Courage into a +xd6 fire damage. It doesn't keep the +hit, so you lose accuracy, but you gain a good deal of damage, especially for the mooks in the press gang who wouldn't normally do much damage.