Warlock of Firetop Mountain - Encounter Analysis Round 2
Here's the next round of those encounters from "The Warlock of Firetop Mountain" I promised! The plan is to make a full-scale conversion to D&D 5E once all of these are over. Enjoy!
Encounters
The Chieftain
Summary: A goblin chief is beating their servant with a whip. Upon entering, you can run, or try and fight either or both of them, but whatever you do both of them try to fight you unless you leave. There's a trapped chest in the room, which when opened shoots a poisoned dart at the player. The chest contains a significant number of gold coins, one dose of invisibility potion and a single black silk glove.
This encounter nicely highlights the arseholishness of the creatures of the mountain, while also letting the players sympathise with one of them. But then they're a dick too. The trapped chest is a nice touch, but I'd probably add a way to detect the trap and disarm it, as is standard with a lot of D&D traps. I'd probably also add a small number of poisoned darts to the chest, for flavour and to give the players a little combat boost for some of the later encounters. Altogether, this encounter shouldn't give the players that much trouble, with a single, slightly adjusted Goblin Boss (MM page 166, CR 1) and one Goblin (MM page 166, CR 1/4)
This encounter nicely highlights the arseholishness of the creatures of the mountain, while also letting the players sympathise with one of them. But then they're a dick too. The trapped chest is a nice touch, but I'd probably add a way to detect the trap and disarm it, as is standard with a lot of D&D traps. I'd probably also add a small number of poisoned darts to the chest, for flavour and to give the players a little combat boost for some of the later encounters. Altogether, this encounter shouldn't give the players that much trouble, with a single, slightly adjusted Goblin Boss (MM page 166, CR 1) and one Goblin (MM page 166, CR 1/4)
The Armoury
Summary: A small armoury room, full of poor-quality equipment. One item is good enough for use, a circular iron shield with a gold crescent moon crest.
A fairly basic encounter that could easily be merged into another room, but honestly I'm kind of a sucker for armoury rooms - I mean the monsters have to have somewhere to store their shit, right? The shield is supposed to be of higher quality than a regular shield, and the only direct comparison in 5E that occurs to me is an enchanted shield, which I would be hesitant to hand out to players so easily, but may be necessary considering the creatures involved later in the dungeon.
A fairly basic encounter that could easily be merged into another room, but honestly I'm kind of a sucker for armoury rooms - I mean the monsters have to have somewhere to store their shit, right? The shield is supposed to be of higher quality than a regular shield, and the only direct comparison in 5E that occurs to me is an enchanted shield, which I would be hesitant to hand out to players so easily, but may be necessary considering the creatures involved later in the dungeon.
The Prisoner
Summary: A small room, with an old man imprisoned inside, who jumps at the player when the door is opened. The player is given the options of attack or shout at the old man. If they attack him, he dies instantly thanks to his weakness and malnutrition, but if they shout him down he turns out to be harmless, and gives the player a bunch of advice, like the correct lever to pull at the portcullis and other info regarding later encounters.
Well done in the book, but I'd probably struggle to satisfyingly explain to the players why he dies as soon as they draw a weapon. Not a big deal though, as I reckon most players would take a nonviolent route here, and letting the players get the advice will give them a sense of preparedness and achievement. I'll probably do away with the whole prisoner dies scenario, instead replacing it with just the old man cowering away in fear and explaining the situation.
Well done in the book, but I'd probably struggle to satisfyingly explain to the players why he dies as soon as they draw a weapon. Not a big deal though, as I reckon most players would take a nonviolent route here, and letting the players get the advice will give them a sense of preparedness and achievement. I'll probably do away with the whole prisoner dies scenario, instead replacing it with just the old man cowering away in fear and explaining the situation.
The Dining Room
Summary: A large dining room, containing several orcs. The player has the option to attempt to sneak out upon entering, or fight the orcs. Upon winning the fight, the player searches the room, finding nothing of note save a leather case, containing a quality bow and a single silver arrow, alongside a note reading "The Giver of Sleep to those who never can", which can later be used to slay a creature immune to normal damage.
A nice big brawl for the players to dig into fairly early into the dungeon, with decent scalability. I would probably not plan for this scene to be much apart from a big combat scene. And of course, its set in a dining room, so plenty of opportunity for environmental hazards and manipulation. For 1st level players, I'd also replace the Orcs (MM page 246, CR 1/2) with Goblins (MM page 166, CR 1/4), just to allow a larger amount of creatures to fight the players without endangering them more.
A nice big brawl for the players to dig into fairly early into the dungeon, with decent scalability. I would probably not plan for this scene to be much apart from a big combat scene. And of course, its set in a dining room, so plenty of opportunity for environmental hazards and manipulation. For 1st level players, I'd also replace the Orcs (MM page 246, CR 1/2) with Goblins (MM page 166, CR 1/4), just to allow a larger amount of creatures to fight the players without endangering them more.
The Torture Room
Summary: A small torture chamber, with two goblins torturing a chained up dwarf, who dies shortly after the player enters. The player has the option to either bluff joining in with the torture, in which case the creatures leave to get another prisoner, or fight them. If they are defeated, the player can find a small piece of cheese on one of the goblins, but there is nothing else noteworthy in the room.
A nice encounter to really highlight the evil-ness of the creatures in the mountain. My main issue with this as a D&D encounter is that I seriously doubt that stabbing the dwarf's corpse would occur to a player at the table, and would almost certainly end up as just a basic combat encounter without any encouragement for the players to take a non-combat route. If the players fight, two Goblins (MM page 166, CR 1/4) shouldn't damage them too much.
A nice encounter to really highlight the evil-ness of the creatures in the mountain. My main issue with this as a D&D encounter is that I seriously doubt that stabbing the dwarf's corpse would occur to a player at the table, and would almost certainly end up as just a basic combat encounter without any encouragement for the players to take a non-combat route. If the players fight, two Goblins (MM page 166, CR 1/4) shouldn't damage them too much.
The Portcullis
Summary: The corridor ends in a portcullis, with two levers by it. One opens the door, but the other is a sword in disguise, cutting the player's hand if the try to pull it. I'm not kidding.
This is the dumbest trap I have seen, no contest, which may be appropriate for some settings, but not most. I like the trigger though, two levers, one lets you progress, one causes minor damage. I'd probably replace the sword-lever with just a regular lever that lets off a minor trap, like a small pit or dart trap.
This is the dumbest trap I have seen, no contest, which may be appropriate for some settings, but not most. I like the trigger though, two levers, one lets you progress, one causes minor damage. I'd probably replace the sword-lever with just a regular lever that lets off a minor trap, like a small pit or dart trap.
Okay, that's all for this week, next post should be in about a week with the next batch of encounters for you.
Comments
Post a Comment