Key Our Cars

I was going to post an encounter I made last night for testing some house rules but I forgot to export the files and send them to myself here at work so I’ll have to do it later.  Which really begs the question where the MB keeps it’s files?  I couldn’t figure it out at first glance where it’s storing custom data.

The encounter would be the party comes upon a destroyed hamlet (tiny bit of civilization) where the inhabitents were put to the sword and flame.  Heading toward the place they’d see signs of a large mounted force, probably barbaric from the trash strewn in their wake.  As they got closer to habitation they’d find one or two people hung from tree branches.  Then pyres of faintly smoking coals (maybe 12-24 hours earlier) and blackened bodies and bones.

The stench of roasting meat would be a sickening odor hanging like a pall over the area (fortitude check to avoid vomitus eruptus).   Once in the village they’d see the entire place had been slaughtered, the people hung from makeshift gallows or burned on pyres.

As they searched (or just passed through) some of the bodies would shift and rise, driven by their living pain, fear and anger to destroy any intruders.

This was a level 6′ish hard encounter (1600xp) and includes one screamer, 2 steel thewed zombies, 1 hanged man and 10 pyre undead (custom undead).   The pyre undead are minions with an encounter power “Memory of flame” where they do a close burst 1 psychic fire blast.   The steel thewed zombies are soldiers with the ability to grab their opponents or smack them around and while grabbed their target grants CA to everything and -2 defenses.  The screamer is an elite controller who’s screams and moans befuddle, weaken and outright blast the crap out of the party.  The hanged man is a skirmisher with reach, using the rope that he was killed with (by the neck till dead) he can trip, lash and grant bonuses to the other undead as he interferes with the players powers with Immediate Interupts.

The encounter is just a playtest I’m going to do so I can see the effect of a collection of house rules (remove +1/2 level to everyone’s attack rolls, defenses and skill levels, add +1/2 level to one damage roll per attack and healing powers, use average damage, add +2 back to all attack rolls) and see how the encounter plays out.

The removal of +1/2 level is a wash and has no effect for equal level and flattens the power curve the farther up or down the level difference. Technically at this point you’d want to adjust XP because creatures lower level just got a bit tougher and creatures higher level just got a bit easier, that’s lower and higher level than the party level that is.  But honestly unless you normally do add in monsters 4+ levels higher or lower than the party level it’s probably not enough to matter.   The average damage is primarily to help reduce the vagaries of randomization from the test.   The +1/2 level to damage and healing will reduce the number of rounds required by some amount.  The +2 to all attack rolls will also reduce the number of rounds by a marginal amount and in general make combat more dynamic, exciting, whatever.  (missing a lot sucks for both player and DM)

Interestingly with the update to the MB this month, I can easily write a little app that would let me run a bunch of exported files through it, adjust the various settings that I want to adjust and then I can import them all back in for saving.   So a list of check boxes or spinners [] Reduce Attack Rolls by 1/2 Level [] Add +X to Attack Rolls [] Reduce Defenses by 1/2 Level or X.

Actually with a bit more work it would be almost trivial to write an app that you could use to level/de-level an exported creature or to shift perhaps the MM1 creatures to MM2 build strategies.  Although trivial doesn’t mean quick mind you.

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Here’s a random encounter you could toss at your players when they’re on the road.  I’d use it as the party is traveling into the dusky evening.  They’ll come across the remains of a caravan that was obviously attacked some time previously.  They should be encouraged to spend the evening in the area.  They need daylight to look for trail of the attackers or survivors.  Or it’ll be a few hours if they want to go through the scattered cargo looking for valuables.

Whatever the reason they’re going to be near the caravan at midnight.  At which time a phosphorescent glowing form of Ballik Tor will appear in the wreckage.  His form shows multiple cuts and covered in blood, one arm is missing from forearm down and and one eye has been ripped from its socket and is still dripping spectral blood.  He appears with a scream of anger and pain and glares in fury at any visible party members as part of a surprise round.  With flashing purple flash of light he cracks his bullwhip and screams,”Arise and get your revenge boys!” using the Summon the Lost. Ghastly looking spectres will rise up around him and enter initiative on the next round.

The Lost Minions are minions (duh) and while I put the Summon the Lost in as a single use power, feel free to have it recharge on bloodied if during the fight you think he’ll need it.

Ballik will use his bullwhip to position the PC’s as best he can to give the Lost Minions combat advantage and use Command Shout to have the party beat the crap out of each other.

With the light of day the entire caravan and any corpses, loot etc should fade away with sparkles of golden light.

You can use the images below or you can find [Download not found] and [Download not found] in pdf form at the obvious links.

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I needed something to terrorize a small town or large village and this seemed appropriate.  Unexplained deaths have been occurring over the last several months, with several inhabitants being found dead in their sleep without any marks on them.

People are scared, and now few people dare to sleep alone.  Even so people are still dying.  Tales spread of a large cat being seen prowling around or even leaping from the windows of those found dead, a great beast of a cat with green glittering eyes that glow from the shadows.   As the days go on, cats are hunted down and killed of all sizes and still the deaths continue.

A call has gone out for any brave adventurer’s that can help the imperiled village and their rewards will be great (well as great as a village of sheep farmers can offer).

I forsee a party passing through and hearing of the troubles or actively seeking it out.  They’ll investigaet the area and if they have good nature/perceptions they might find odd prints outside the house of the most recent dead.  An arcana, religion or history checks might give them clues as to the creature they’re looking for and this might lead them to search abandoned houses in the village since the Breathstealer is nocturnal.   The searching of the houses could have some non-related encounters.  Perhaps that run across a small chapter of thieves or thugs.   A house with a small crypt below it that has something dank and gross in it.

I think I’d lean toward them finding out a potential target of the creature, perhaps they’re smart enough to spread some gold among the beggars and orphans to keep an eye out, or maybe they get a report that a giant cat has been seen stalking around a particular house.  The breathstealer would stealth attack one of them leaving him dazed and bloodied on the ground perhaps and then retreat only to attack again from another direction much later on another solo target.

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Anyway here’s the [Download not found] in PDF or you can use the image below. -

Nothing to see here, just storing this for later perusal for the purposes of garnering ideas from it -

Original Post

Phase Two: Searching the Moor
In order to locate the Tower Aardant the characters have to search approximately 10 square miles of swampland. Every time the characters narrow the search they eliminate 1 square mile of swamp they currently reside in from the search. The search is completed when they search all 10 square miles (or sooner if they roll the tower found boon). Whenever a character succeeds on a check by more than 5 he may roll on the Swamp Boon table. Whenever a character fails a check by more than 5 they must roll on the Swamp Bane table.

Navigating the Swamp: Every day that the characters search the swamp they must successfully navigate its hazards by succeeding on an Athletics (Moderate), Endurance (Moderate), or Nature (Moderate) check. The group must achieve more successes than failures (ties count as a failure) or accrue a failure.

Narrowing the Search: Instead of searching the swamp manually the group can attempt to narrow the search by combing through old legends and natural features by succeeding on an Arcana (Hard), History (Easy), or Nature (Moderate) check. Every success eliminates one square from the search or erases a failure while every failed check accrues two failures.

Searching the Swamp: The characters can comb the swamp carefully to try and find the tower this day by making a Nature (Moderate) or Perception (Moderate) check. If the group achieves more successes than failures (ties count as failure) they eliminate one square mile from the search. A failed check accrues a failure.

Making Camp: At the end of each day of searching the characters must find a suitable campsite and make up a safe encampment for the evening by succeeding on a Nature (Easy) or Perception (Moderate) check. If the group achieves more successes than failures (ties count as failure) they sleep well and gain a +2 bonus on all checks made the following day. If the group accrues more failures than successes they sleep poorly and all checks made the following day are made at a -2 penalty.

Effects of Failures
# of Failures Ongoing Effect
1-2 No Effect
3 The characters become damp and weary. All Athletics and Endurance DCs are increased by +2.
4 The characters begin to question their sense of direction. All Nature and Perception DCs are increased by +2.
5 The characters begin contracting horrible diseases that sap their strength. All Athletics and Endurance DCs are increased by +4.
6 The characters have become somewhat lost in the swamp. All Nature and Perception DCs are increased by +4.
7 The swamp has really taken its toll on the characters. Each PC contracts filth fever and all DCs are increased by +5.
8 The characters become hopelessly lost and wander the swamp for 1d4 days before stumbling across their first encampment. They will be unable to locate the tower without outside help.

Swamp Boons
Roll Effect
1-2 The characters find a great campsite! No roll is needed for Making Camp this day.
3-4 The characters find an old raft lodged in some weeds. All rolls made to navigate the swamp this day are made at +2.
5-6 The characters find the remnants of an old tower in the moor. All rolls made to narrow the search are made at +2 thanks to the discovery.
7-8 The characters find an old hunter’s pack lodged in some weeds. Any one character can recover a burned equipment card.
9-10 The characters stumble across a hunting party that has had a run in with some Kruthik! Go to the Kruthik caverns encounter.
11-12 The characters find some rare herbs that ease their suffering. Negate one failure if they have 3 or fewer failures.
13-14 The characters find the shack of a crazy hermit who takes them in for the night. There is no need to make camp this evening and the characters negate two failures.
15-16 The characters find a wounded member of the Fallen God Tribe. If they heal him up they gain 2 free successes in the next challenge and receive a warmer reception than normal.
17-18 The characters stumble across a beautiful dryad who gives them directions. The characters eliminate one square mile from their search.
19-20 The characters find the Tower Aardant through sheer luck!

Swamp Banes
Roll Effect
1-2 The characters get a bit lost. Nature and Perception checks are made at +2 for this day.
3-4 Someone is bit by a snake! One character looses 1d4 healing surges.
5-6 Some equipment breaks. One random equipment card is destroyed.
7-8 An animal steals some food. All Endurance checks are made at +2 difficulty for this day.
9-10 The insects are wicked this day. All checks are made at +2 difficulty for this day.
11-12 Animal Attack! A large animal attacks the group!
13-14 Horrible sickness. The characters contract filth fever.
15-16 Quicksand! One character falls into quicksand. Everyone else must succeed on a Moderate Athletics or Nature check to pull him out.
17-18 Horrible Storm. A horrible storm comes up, destroying 1d4 equipment cards and making the task of finding camp for the night very hard (+5 DC).
19-20 Horribly Lost. The characters immediately accrue 2 failures.

I was thinking about a one off encounter, the lair of a mad gnome tinker by the name of Calliope who’s skills with arcane energies are only matched by his metal crafting and both are topped by his insanity.

Driven deep into the mountains by those who cast him out he started crafting his animates.  The first one was of course rough and crude given he was driven out without any tools but that one helped him build a better one and that one and so on.  As time went on he started researching the necromatic arts and came up with a way to use brain tissue from animals to expand the ‘intelligence’ of his creations.  None were truely alive or thought but could react to stimuli and execute commands of greater complexity than standard homonoculous and golems and the like. Calliope called his creations Ticktocks after his first love of clocks.

Calliope’s knowledge grew and so did the sophistication of his creations but as with all living things, he could not out run Time.  Before his death he crafted his last and greatest creation and set in motion events that resulted in his own brain being used as part of it.  Again this ultimate result of the tinker’s skills and research was not truly alive and thinking but nor was it truly dead and merely programmed responses.  It sits still in the lair of Calliope and oversees the creation and direction of the animates.  Lacking the intelligence and spark of creativity it none the less can still continue with the status quo.

And thus Ticktock Minions continue to keep the lair in pristine shape, Ticktock Borers continue to drive into the earth mining the metals and gems that go into the creation of their kin while Ticktock Crafters replace those that wear out and Ticktock Destroyers keep them all safe from those that would harm them.

My thoughts on this were an encounter of level’s in the 6-9 range.  Some encounters with mining and resource gatherer ticktocks as they worked their way into the lair, the landscape empty and barren and very post-industrial war torn as the machines have stripped it bare.  Inside encounters with more powerful units, borers with grinding claws and flame spouting furnaces, crafters that can damage armour from their ability to sense the weak points to the Destroyers that come to repel the invaders, culminating in a solo boss encounter with multiple environmental hazards and waves of minions coming in over time to the summons of the big boss.

In terms of unique loot I believe a small animate would be in order, something on the order of the tiny bot from Spy Kids, something that’s on the order of Cool but not gamebreaking or anything.  People love Cool.

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This is the skill challenge I’m going to try next, no harm if the player’s see it here really.  I believe that barring just crazy stupid dice rolls the skills and DC’s allow for the party to succeed at least partially if not fully. There are enough skills that everyone should have a shot to shine.

Non-success increases the difficulty in the upcoming fight by adding in more troops  while any successes adds to the power of the group by boosting the NPC’s abilities and reduces the number of initial orcs they face so the skill challenge isn’t a black and white affair.   Anything other than total success has the result of helping them in another way by shifting the number of forces they have to face at any one time and makes it more ‘wavey’.

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S1: Setting up Defenses
Skill Challenge level 2 (Variable xp)
Setup
“Reaching the farmstead you’re met by several farmers, brawny men and women of various ages and several children. As you tell them of the large band of orcs coming up behind you the farmers produceswords and crossbows tucked away in easy to reach locations and some run inside one of the barns with others shouting to grab armour for everyone.”
The farmers are prepared for such encounters having survived for several years out here unsupported and they keep the means necessary to repel invaders.
Someone will lead the group’s children to join their own children in the hiding hole which in this farmstead is concealed through a large boulder pile which has a hollow under it large enough for all the children.
DMs Note: This skill challenge varies the total difficulty of the actual combat encounter E1 by removing or adding forces to the orcs.  Adjust these values accordingly to the overall condition of your players.  If the players fail on the skill challenge then this, as written, will increase the forces they face.  For an understrengthed group or one that’s not doing well tactically this can lead to very rough times so plan accordingly and be prepared with an exit strategy if you need one.
Setup: Once the players have arrived at the farmstead and brought the farmers up to speed the skill challenge can begin.
Level: 2
Complexity: 3 (requires 8 successes before 3 failures)
Primary Skills: Athletics, Diplomacy, History, Insight, Nature, Perception, Thievery
Diplomacy (DC 18): With soothing words of encouragement and persuasion you boost morale and calm fears allowing the farmers to enter the fight calm and level-headed. (Can only be succeeded once)
Perception (DC 20): You determine the the way the orcs are moving to engage the farmstead and arrange the farmers into the best positions to help repel them.
History DC (15): You are familiar with the battle tactics of orcs and their likely ways of attack and can help allocate resources, ammo, manpower, for the defense.
Thievery DC (15): You can construct a nasty surprise for the orcs in a likely place of approach. (The group can make a maximum of one attempt per round and only two successes total)
Insight (DC 18): You swiftly gauge the abilities of the farmers and pair them off so that the weaker ones are supported by a stronger one.
Bluff (DC 18): With some strong words playing down the strength of the oncoming force you fortify the idea in the farmers that they’ll be able to easily prevail. 
Intimidate (DC 18): Swearing vengeance on the farmers if they manage to get you killed you threaten them into fighting harder.  (Failure here adds a -2 penalty to Insight and Bluff checks.  Can only attempt once)
Athletics (DC 15): Working swiftly you shore up the defenses, reinforcing weak points with lumber and rope.
Success: For each success remove 200 xp points of orc from the E1 encounter as having been defeated due to the player’s abilities to lead and award that much exp to the group.
Partial Success: For each success made add +1 power bonus to both To-Hit and Damage to the farmer’s attacks.
Total Failure (0 successes): On a latter round (6-9) through the orc encounter have another 600 exp point band of orcs join the fight. Note: This can make the fight extremely difficult for a group of level 2’s so use this with caution and tone it down if they are not doing well. (Ex: Orc Raider x2 (300xp), Orc Drudge x7 (298xp))
Major Failure (1 successes): On a latter round (6-9) in the initial encounter have a 400 exp band of orcs enter the combat.  (Ex: Orc Berserker x2 (350xp), Orc Drudge x1 (44xp))
Partial Failure (2 success): On an earlier round 3-6) in the initial encounter have a 200 exp band of orcs enter the combat (Ex: Orc Drudge x4 (184xp)

I’ve put the pdf of the encounter on the resources page that I did last session up for download if anyone’s interested.

You can also get it here: [Download not found]

It makes a nice fight IMO for a level 2 party of 5.  Nothing fancy and I don’t have maps for it.  I may do some if someone requests them but maps tend to not survive the encounter with the mapping surface. I’d actually drawn a sketch of the farmstead for instance but then realized there was no way it would fit on my playing field with the player’s notes and such all ou there.   Yet again I want to rebuild my gaming table now that I’ve had a few years playing experience on it.   It was built as a combination gaming table, poker table but I think I’d like to build one specifically for gaming on and I have a few ideas in that regard.

Anyway, before I diverged maps are easily hacked up by most DM’s on the fly and I think the descriptions are enough to give you a roughly general idea of where things are.  In some cases, just wing it.  On the mud holes on the trail encounter for instance just give any moving creature a 1 in 6 chance to hit a mud hole at some point in their move.  So roll 2 d6’s of differing colors.  Have one be the find a pit die and the other be the ‘at what point on the move’.   A 6 and a 3 for instance would be yep, found one in square three of the movement.   After you find say four pits quit rolling.

I thought this had some potential.  A more environmentally aware encounter and I don’t mean in a hug the tree, pick up litter, car pool kind of way.   Essentially a more interactive area with lots of things to use and abuse.

A snippet:

This module consists of a chase scene through a highly interactive environment. The force is initially insurmountable, but as the party is pursued through the keep they barricade rooms behind them to give them time to break into the next area and lay traps for their pursuers. A massive winged demon pursues them, filling a similar role to the t-rex in Jurassic park. It smashes down walls, chases the party, and rips through its own men to corner them.
This module can be inserted into any adventure where the players are travelling. This rendition assumes the Thunderspire Labyrinth setting, and places the bridge over a magma river.

A wilderness encounter that I’ve come up with goes as such, it’s pretty combat only but should give a good party a feel good moment and a bad party some extra income.

The party is traveling for whatever reason and comes across an empty village that appears to have been overrun by [insert a plausible humaniod tribe]. A few bodies of civilians and perhaps one [insert humanoid] dead.

Skill Checks will uncover the following:

Healing:

Passage of Time:

DC 10: The bodies have been dead perhaps two days.

Autopsy / Examination of the Bodies:

DC 10:  The wounds were primarily made by [insert some weapon not typical to humanoids chosen].  Example if you use orcs and they normally use axes then these wounds appear to be mostly stab wounds from swords or spears perhaps.  This works best if your players have already encountered such axe wielding orcs and can notice this on their own rather than being spoonfed the information.

DC 20: Some of the bodies wounds look to have been inflicted while the bodies were laying down in the spot they fell.

Perception:

Tracks:

DC 10: There appear to have been maybe 8-12 members of the attacking party judging by the tracks.

DC 15: A series of wagons came through the village after the battle perhaps only hours after the battle which occured no more than two days prior to the party showing u.

DC 20: Someone has gone to trouble to hide the path the attackers came in from and it’s impossible to see where they entered or left and only the fact that it was hidden in some fashion is apparent.

The party could collect some resources here if they wish to rob the dead.  Barrels of flour and onions and garlic hanging by the weave from rafters,  apples stored in baskets in the root cellars, plenty of common clay or perhaps tin dishes and the like, some slabs of bacon and that kind of thing.  Also mention some farming tools, specifically shovels and toss your players a karma point or two if they take the time to bury the dead.

If the party continues on and pursues the wagon which should be going in the same direction they were going in anyway, they’ll come across a wagon train that appears to be a small circus with some bears and semi-fantastic beasts in caged wagons.   The personell will consist primarily of what will be introduced as roustabouts, the heavy lifters with perhaps one acting as a lion tamer or whatever and a female that dances and a couple of others.

The ringleader is actually the woman ‘dancer’ who is in charge of this slaver’s party.  THe caged wagons hold the women and children of the village, the ones they deemed suitable to take.   Through the use of ritual magic the bodies of the villagers are hidden by an illusion of wild animals and are drugged to prevent any noise.   The body of the orc (or whatever you chose) was also a villager and another ritual has set a long term illusion on it of an orc that will survive typical perceptions without revealing what it actually is.

The party will have a few clues as to what the actual ‘circus’ is made of.   Perhaps a faint whimper barely heard on the air?   A bloodstained sword (or whatever) that matches the wounds of the villagers.  Maybe a dress that’s tossed on a pile that matches the cut and coloring of the villagers.  A child’s toy found along the path to the circus.

THe party might just suspect the circus of having stolen goods from the village as they passed through it.  Or perhaps they might think something darker is going on.

The slavers are never unarmed and always suspcious of things that are going on.  One doesn’t become a successful slaver without a little brains, guile and paranoia.  Because really most people are out to get them.

I could provide some stats for slavers here but it’s very level based and anythign I provided wouldn’t work well.   My recommendation is find the closest humanoid in the MM and just fluff it to be a slaver.

D