Warlock of Firetop Mountain - Encounter Analysis 3
Friday whomst? Sorry for the late update, I kinda forgot about the schedule a little bit and let my college work swamp me. But to make up for it, here's a large update!
Encounters
The Ogre
Summary: The player enters a medium-sized cavern, which an ogre also enters shortly after the player. The player is given the option to distract the creature by throwing something to the far side of the cavern (in the book the player has to throw an equipment item or a gold piece), allowing for an easy escape, to simply sneak out of the cavern or to fight the ogre. If the ogre is defeated, the player finds a small pouch around its neck containing a key with the number 9 on it.
Another key to be found, but unfortunately this key doesn't matter in the book, as several of them are dummy keys which activate traps. This encounter is fairly nice, as you can tempt the players with an unknown prize as soon as they see the Ogre. However, the standard 5th Edition Ogre (MM page 237) is a CR 2 creature, which may not be appropriate for an opening session with a smaller party. To scale the encounter down, maybe the ogre is chained to a wall in the cavern, restricting its movement, or it could be a crippled and weakened ogre with a missing arm. Of course, there's always the option to just replace the monster with a weaker one, like a Half-Ogre (MM page 238) , but when the CR is so close I'd much rather provide a more flavourful adjustment.
Another key to be found, but unfortunately this key doesn't matter in the book, as several of them are dummy keys which activate traps. This encounter is fairly nice, as you can tempt the players with an unknown prize as soon as they see the Ogre. However, the standard 5th Edition Ogre (MM page 237) is a CR 2 creature, which may not be appropriate for an opening session with a smaller party. To scale the encounter down, maybe the ogre is chained to a wall in the cavern, restricting its movement, or it could be a crippled and weakened ogre with a missing arm. Of course, there's always the option to just replace the monster with a weaker one, like a Half-Ogre (MM page 238) , but when the CR is so close I'd much rather provide a more flavourful adjustment.
The Narrow Passage
Summary: The player enters a narrow corridor with a low ceiling. As the player progresses down this corridor, it steadily becomes narrower and shorter, until they can progress no further, at which point the player is forced to turn back.
This encounter is disappointing, as it is essentially a waste of the players' time without really adding anything to the dungeon. In an attempt to fix this, I think I'll replace this encounter with a partially dug out room with tools still present. This could give the players an area to take a short rest and recover some health in a safe area, which may be welcome to the players at this point.
This encounter is disappointing, as it is essentially a waste of the players' time without really adding anything to the dungeon. In an attempt to fix this, I think I'll replace this encounter with a partially dug out room with tools still present. This could give the players an area to take a short rest and recover some health in a safe area, which may be welcome to the players at this point.
The Pit Trap
Summary: As the player is walking down a corridor, the floor suddenly begins to give way, and the player must try and jump back to avoid falling. If they fall, they are deposited to The Troll.
A pit trap makes for a good small encounter, but I'd rather have a proper trigger rather than it just happening to the players, and also where does the corridor go after the trap? Is it just a dead end? Both of these issues can be tackled at once by having the corridor end with a fake door, which opens the pit trap when the handle is turned. Sneaky triggers like this are really great for catching players off guard; as they prepare to face whatever is on the other side of the door, they get blindsided by the trap!
A pit trap makes for a good small encounter, but I'd rather have a proper trigger rather than it just happening to the players, and also where does the corridor go after the trap? Is it just a dead end? Both of these issues can be tackled at once by having the corridor end with a fake door, which opens the pit trap when the handle is turned. Sneaky triggers like this are really great for catching players off guard; as they prepare to face whatever is on the other side of the door, they get blindsided by the trap!
The Troll
Summary: Leading straight on from The Pit Trap, the player is deposited into a dark cavern, with entryways, one to the north and the other to the south. After the player lands, a cave troll begins emerging from the south entryway. The player is given the option to fight the creature, or if they have an invisibility potion, they can use it to hide until the troll leaves the chamber again.
Okay, a nice idea, but a Troll (MM page 291, CR 5) is way too much to throw at low level players. I'd probably replace the troll in this encounter with a Half-Ogre (MM page 238, CR 1), or Ghoul (MM page 148, CR 1), or any large CR 1 (2 for a large party) monster you want. Additionally, the invisibility potion trick doesn't really work here for a party of adventurers, so if you want to pit them against a foe they would struggle to defeat you might want to replace the potion with a scroll or something that gives invisibility to a lot of creatures at once for a short time.
Okay, a nice idea, but a Troll (MM page 291, CR 5) is way too much to throw at low level players. I'd probably replace the troll in this encounter with a Half-Ogre (MM page 238, CR 1), or Ghoul (MM page 148, CR 1), or any large CR 1 (2 for a large party) monster you want. Additionally, the invisibility potion trick doesn't really work here for a party of adventurers, so if you want to pit them against a foe they would struggle to defeat you might want to replace the potion with a scroll or something that gives invisibility to a lot of creatures at once for a short time.
The Giant Rats
Summary: The player comes upon a creaky wooden door with rusty hinges. Opening this door, they are confronted with a bare room with bones scattered about the floor, containing three giant rats. These rats can successfully be distracted and avoided only if the player has any cheese with them, otherwise they must be fought.
A small combat encounter that can be easily adjusted by just adding more rats, and the cheese distraction is a nice idea that I think you could reasonably expect a lot of players to come up with. The Giant Rats (MM page 327, CR 1/8) shouldn't provide much of a challenge to even 1st level players, so consider increasing the amount of them if you want a harder encounter.
A small combat encounter that can be easily adjusted by just adding more rats, and the cheese distraction is a nice idea that I think you could reasonably expect a lot of players to come up with. The Giant Rats (MM page 327, CR 1/8) shouldn't provide much of a challenge to even 1st level players, so consider increasing the amount of them if you want a harder encounter.
The Giant
Summary: The player enters a huge cavern, at least 300 feet across, with a huge table and straw mattress at the far end. At the table, a giant is eating a large pig, with a large stone hammer by the creature. Due to the size of the cavern, the giant does not notice the player upon their entry, so the player can escape the situation easily. The player may also choose to fight the giant. In this case, the giant throws what remains of the pig carcass at the player, causing significant damage on a hit, subsequently picking up their hammer to fight. On defeating the giant, the player finds 8 gold pieces in their belt purse, and then leaves the cavern.
Okay, 2 main points: this encounter is kinda superfluous, and a Hill Giant (MM page 155, CR 5) is way too big for players to face in early levels. A part of me just wants to scratch this encounter altogether, but if you really want to keep it you'd probably need to replace the giant with an ogre or something. However, a big creature like this coming right at the end of the section really isn't ideal, especially considering that it isn't even what you could consider the boss monster for this section. Alternatively, if you really want to keep this encounter, you could just emphasise the need to escape to the players, and really make it clear that they're not expected to fight the giant.
Okay, 2 main points: this encounter is kinda superfluous, and a Hill Giant (MM page 155, CR 5) is way too big for players to face in early levels. A part of me just wants to scratch this encounter altogether, but if you really want to keep it you'd probably need to replace the giant with an ogre or something. However, a big creature like this coming right at the end of the section really isn't ideal, especially considering that it isn't even what you could consider the boss monster for this section. Alternatively, if you really want to keep this encounter, you could just emphasise the need to escape to the players, and really make it clear that they're not expected to fight the giant.
The Gambler
Summary: The player enters a small, comfortably furnished room containing a table, several chairs and a bookcase at the far end. An old man is sat at the table, with a winged gremlin on his shoulder. He gives the player an offer to play a game of dice, in which he player can bet and earn gold pieces. If the player attacks them, the winged gremlin will take to the air and attack the player, while the old man escapes through a secret passage opened with a trick book on the bookshelf. Upon defeating the creature, the player can collect 5 gold pieces from a drawer on the desk, but is unable to open the secret passage.
Social encounters like this can really go both ways during play. If its something engaging that the players want to get into, it can go spectacularly. However, as written the gambler really doesn't offer anything apart from a simple luck based mini game that I expect players would grow tired of quickly. To make the encounter more engaging, you'd really want to give the Gambler more of a character, or give your players more of an incentive to engage with him, like the potential to win some useful non-gold item from him, or perhaps he has some information that could be useful to the players. The winged gremlin can use a Homonculus (MM page 188, CR 0) stat-block. It probably wouldn't occupy the players for long, but just long enough for the Gambler to make their escape. I'd also give more detail to what the secret passage does, as well as a way for the players to find it with the right rolls. I think the secret passage should either let the Gambler escape out into the rest of the dungeon, alerting creatures to the player's presence, or take the gambler to a small back room the gambler is trying to hide in.
Social encounters like this can really go both ways during play. If its something engaging that the players want to get into, it can go spectacularly. However, as written the gambler really doesn't offer anything apart from a simple luck based mini game that I expect players would grow tired of quickly. To make the encounter more engaging, you'd really want to give the Gambler more of a character, or give your players more of an incentive to engage with him, like the potential to win some useful non-gold item from him, or perhaps he has some information that could be useful to the players. The winged gremlin can use a Homonculus (MM page 188, CR 0) stat-block. It probably wouldn't occupy the players for long, but just long enough for the Gambler to make their escape. I'd also give more detail to what the secret passage does, as well as a way for the players to find it with the right rolls. I think the secret passage should either let the Gambler escape out into the rest of the dungeon, alerting creatures to the player's presence, or take the gambler to a small back room the gambler is trying to hide in.
The Mosaic Room
Summary: The player enters a large, empty square room, with a mosaic pattern of stars and hands on the floor. If for any reason the player steps on a hand tile in the room, a white hand apparition appears from each hand tile on the floor, attacking the player. If a hand is defeated, the rest of them fade back into the tiles.
A nice little trap, especially in that players will definitely suspect something is happening upon seeing the tiled floor, even if they don't necessarily know what. The apparitionised hands can use a crawling claw statblock, probably shifted to a construct or monstrosity type. Also, considering how weak these enemies would be in D&D, I would alter the conditions that cause them to retreat back into the floor so that at least half of them must be killed before this happens.
A nice little trap, especially in that players will definitely suspect something is happening upon seeing the tiled floor, even if they don't necessarily know what. The apparitionised hands can use a crawling claw statblock, probably shifted to a construct or monstrosity type. Also, considering how weak these enemies would be in D&D, I would alter the conditions that cause them to retreat back into the floor so that at least half of them must be killed before this happens.
The Gas Trap
Summary: The player enters a small room with bare, rocky walls, and a golden key hanging on a hook at the far end of the room. If the player enters to grab the key, the door swings shut with a click, and then the player hears the hiss of gas entering the chamber. If the player leaves at this point, they are largely unharmed, however if they continue to go for the key they can grab it. It has the number 125 inscribed onto it, however they must now roll to see if they inhale any of the gas. If they do, they suffer damage and stat reductions before managing to escape.
I'm not a particularly big fan of this trap the way it is written in the book, as it really makes the player choose between getting what seems to be a very important item and not, which the vast majority of players would not view as much of a choice. Not to mention the fact that the key in this room isn't even a useful key, it's another dud. Perhaps it could be fixed by adding additional incentive to the bait, or making the trap disarmable and lootable.
The Giant Sandworm
Summary: The player comes upon a large beach area next to an underground river heading eastwards. The player has the option here to stop and rest, or continue immediately, jumping into the river and letting themself be carried by the current to another beach. If the player decides to stop and rest, as they do so they begin to notice a growing turbulence in the sand, culminating in the eruption of a large, tubular maw, which twists around in the air, detecting the player's scent. The creature, a giant sandworm, attacks the player. The player has the option to escape into the river, but they will lose anything they have put down, or stay and fight the creature.
Ah, yes. The crowning piece of this section. The miniboss. I love the way that the book lulls you into a false sense of security with those magical words - "sit, rest and eat Provisions" - only to have the ground be torn out beneath your feet (literally). As for the sandworm itself, the closest analogy in the monster manual is the purple worm, which is obviously way above the level I intend for this dungeon. As such, the sandworm is going to be a totally new statblock, drawing features and inspiration from the purple worm, giant constrictor snake, and giant frog statblocks. Ideally, it will have a constrict ability to grapple opponents, a bite attack, and a swallow ability to be used on grappled opponents. Special features like this can really make battles so much more intense and memorable, but it can be easy to overpower them if they are used incautiously. However, after this fight I would certainly allow the party a short or maybe even long rest (with an interruption, of course), so I would certainly want them feeling drained after the fight. The statblock will come in a later post after I've fleshed out the dungeon conversion a little more.
Okay, that's all for this week. There a bit more than 10 encounters left before we're done with the whole pre-river area, and after that its onto The Maze of Zagor. I can't wait!
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