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Author
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Comment
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WarrenWright
Tolling Bell Cultist
(12/15/03 10:03 am)
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Another near party kill (2 weeks in a row)
To follow up on last week's Near total party kill in the water temple, court was in session last night for another one.
With the surviving party members (paladin, cohort, and illusionist) returning on foot, they encountered something new outside Rastor....an encampment of elves, led by a holy warrior named Mara (for short). She's a new PC, along with her cohort, a young human healer believed to be the reincarnation of a dead saint.
Enter also 2 dwarves (PCs) brought to Rastor by divinations and dreams to cleanse a lost dwareven stronghold (the crater) as a possible new home for their clan, which has been on the losing end of a dual war with goblins and drow for a couple of centuries.
Some introductions, and a nice conversation over dinner where the Paladin filled in the new combatants on progress and plans within the crater (3 temples down, a fourth to go), they were ambushed!
Finally garnering attention from the outer fane (having dropped a 3rd temple that day), Hedrack snapped off orders to Bethe and Victor to hunt down the remaining party members and finish them.
Victor and Bethe take the 2 flesh golems in the outer fane so they have some hardy allies to flank with, and get Hedrack's permission to utilize the invisible stalkers as well.
In the darkness of late evening, they make their way to Rastor (the assassins invisible thanks to some scrolls), find a clear way to the Gray Lodge thanks to some quick scouting by the stalkers, and then....
The PCs are wrapping up their strategic planning for going back into the crater when the door to the inn opens, and two 8 foot tall men enter, wearing encompassing black cloaks that hide their features. The men enter, turn immediately towards the adventurers' table, and head straight for it.
The party, with a warning in their hearts, grab weapons and stand to greet, when hell breaks loose.
On initiatives, the party is attacked by the 2 golems (who follow orders to go for the 2 surviving party members, the paladin and her cohort). Also, Victor and Bethe appear next to 2 PCs with attempted death attacks (saving throws made, but sneak attacks still hurt).
One stalker flys above the table, and attacks the paladin. The other flys past the party, and attacks the cohort from the other side.
A number of rounds later, the paladin is dead. The cohort is dead. Bethe and Victor are dead (after many successful sneak attacks thanks to their flanking golems), and thanks to an invisibility purge that kept their remaining invisibility scrolls from working for them. One of the new dwarves is dead (the one with an adamantium axe that was doing serious damage to a golem).
At this point, we were headed for a total party kill. It was appropriate, in such a small town, that Rerrid would arrive with Jardeth with a massive fight going on in the inn, and several patrons having fled when it started to get help.
At this, and with one golem down, and the other wounded, the stalkers scoop up Bethe and Victor's bodies, and smash through windows in the inn on their way out.
Yes, I underestimated the power of my strike force, but it was a fun game with a lot of roleplaying, capped off with a challenging battle.
Later,
Warren
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lightnng
Tolling Bell Cultist
(12/15/03 3:37 pm)
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Re: Another near party kill (2 weeks in a row)
Holy Moly! Victor, Bethe, the stalkers AND the golems?! *shudder* What would Hedrack do now for effect? Clone Chymon a summon a couple of Balors as riders? 
Congrats to your party for suviving that one... 
Edited by: lightnng at: 12/15/03 3:38 pm
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 Infiniti2000
Brother of Venom
(12/16/03 6:31 am)
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ezSupporter
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Re: Another near party kill (2 weeks in a row)
I'm not sure I would call that 'surviving'. Warren is one mean bastage. And I thought my ambush with Victor and Ukemil and the dire lions on 6 10th level PCs was bad.
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msherman
Crimson Coil Cultist
(12/16/03 7:14 am)
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Re: Another near party kill (2 weeks in a row)
Yeah, that's an EL13 encounter, probably EL14 when you consider that they had the advantage of attacking at night, while your tanks were unarmored and your casters couldn't fire on all cylinders due to the 8 hour rule. What levels were your recovered party at?
I'd recommend having Hedrack rest on his laurels for a while, now; you've probably really demoralized your players at this point.
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Cordo Crowfoot
Deathmantle Cultist
(12/16/03 5:08 pm)
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Re: Another near party kill (2 weeks in a row)
Hey, whatever works for you, as long as your players are having a good time.
But for other DMs, perhaps an object lesson that "just because you CAN do it doesn't mean you SHOULD do it".
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arcane12
Tolling Bell Cultist
(12/16/03 6:58 pm)
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And I thought Ukemil and the lions were bad
I was hesitant to send the lion group against a warned (thanks Varachan!) party of 6x 8ths. (U & co. = EL12 )
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Infiniti2000
Brother of Venom
(12/16/03 8:22 pm)
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ezSupporter
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Re: And I thought Ukemil and the lions were bad
Ukemil is not so tough because he loses a lot due to the multiclassing. I'd personally reduce his CR by 2. He troglodyte-ness is also ineffective against such a high level party. I didn't even bother with the stench rolls. The dire lions are easy IF the cleric in the party has dismissal ready, and he should, given all the fiendish creatures they've faced by the time Ukemil makes an appearance.
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WarrenWright
Tolling Bell Cultist
(12/17/03 7:48 am)
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Re: And I thought Ukemil and the lions were bad
Not demoralizing at all. Actually, they are excited to know they've caught the attention of the outer fane, and it seems to have added a level of excitement to know they aren't just hunters now, but also hunted.
Hedrack will certainly sit back now for a while, as his assassins accomplished their primary goal, to finish off the party that destroyed so many crater temples....the paladin and her cohort were the last remaining members of that original band (the gnome illusionist also survived, but the player chose to have him retire, so he was in Waterdeep before the assassination attempt).
Honestly, there's no worry about me throwing things at them "just because I can"...I aimed for a challenging fight to deeply alert the players to the give and take nature of combating a powerful temple, and through a bad estimation ended up throwing too powerful a group at them.
If I did it again, I think I'd throw one stalker, the 2 assassins, and 1 golem at them. They most likely wouldn't have lost anyone with that configuration.
My group is very resourceful. There are 5 PCs and 2 cohorts, usually. The PCs, prior to last night were all either level 8 or 9.
Warren
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