Uller
Adventurer
I'm running a party through H1...they are new players (to D&D) and playing mostly Essentials characters. They are 1 level higher than should be because we did the redbox adventure first, so I've been scaling the encounters up to their level...that's worked out okay, but since the adventure was written before the MM3 math, some of the fights tend to be easy (long...but easy). Well no more...I've started introducing monsters with MM3 math and tweaking encounters. The Excavation Room encounter I changed from drakes to Monster Vault Ogres. The party hid in the secret passage and lured them out then ambushed them...went well until the first ogre let loose his Grand Slam on the party tank, pushing him back two, which left room for the second ogre to run up and do the same thing, knocking the poor fighter down to -10 hp...But the party recovered its composure nicely and killed both Ogres in two rounds...the fight was much more fun when the players felt like they cold actually be hurt.
So now they are heading into the maze of caves. I'm modifying this by taking out the rats and such and expanding the Kruthik Lair...The maze of caves is now the Kruthik hunting ground. There will be a few hatchlings and young and maybe one adult hanging out in there (a EL 2 encounter for a lvl 3 party)...they will pay no mind to the party at first (they're giant bug/lizard things after all). If the party observes for a round or two they will witness two or three kruthiks kill and eat a giant rat using the following power:
Kruthik Hunting Song (move; encounter) - Charm
All Kruthik have this ability. When one member of the pack begins to sing, others within range that have not expended the power can join in (and thereby expend it). Enemies that hear it will be dazed and pulled toward the nearest kruthik.
Close burst 5; Enemies in the bust;
Attack: Cha vs Will
Hit: Target is dazed and pulled 3.
Effect: Allies in burst may also sing as an opportunity action (thereby expending the power). For each singing Kruthik that is within 5 of the target, add a +1 to the attack roll. The attack roll is made by the kruthik with the highest attack bonus that is within 5 of the target and the target is pulled toward that kruthick. If the target ends its move adjacent to a singing Kruthik, it is subject to that Kruthik’s Gnashing Horde aura immediately.
The attack roll for this power is very low (-1 vs Will for hatchlings and young, +1 vs Will for adults). The power of it is in the pack...add three or four additional kruthik and suddenly its at +4 or +5). It is limited in that those that join in also expend the power. But it may still be too much...I see this getting used 3 or 4 times in the course of the fight (as they appear in waves)
If the party instigates a fight, the hive will be stirred up and 3-4 more kruthik of varying sizes will show up each round for three rounds, culminating in the queen (an elite version of the adults) showing up. They will try to swarm around the party to cut off escape and attempt to call them into the horde.
oops...lunch time is over...I'll post the stats for the modified Kruthiks later...(including the queen...)
Is this going to be too much? Should I nerf it at all?
So now they are heading into the maze of caves. I'm modifying this by taking out the rats and such and expanding the Kruthik Lair...The maze of caves is now the Kruthik hunting ground. There will be a few hatchlings and young and maybe one adult hanging out in there (a EL 2 encounter for a lvl 3 party)...they will pay no mind to the party at first (they're giant bug/lizard things after all). If the party observes for a round or two they will witness two or three kruthiks kill and eat a giant rat using the following power:
Kruthik Hunting Song (move; encounter) - Charm
All Kruthik have this ability. When one member of the pack begins to sing, others within range that have not expended the power can join in (and thereby expend it). Enemies that hear it will be dazed and pulled toward the nearest kruthik.
Close burst 5; Enemies in the bust;
Attack: Cha vs Will
Hit: Target is dazed and pulled 3.
Effect: Allies in burst may also sing as an opportunity action (thereby expending the power). For each singing Kruthik that is within 5 of the target, add a +1 to the attack roll. The attack roll is made by the kruthik with the highest attack bonus that is within 5 of the target and the target is pulled toward that kruthick. If the target ends its move adjacent to a singing Kruthik, it is subject to that Kruthik’s Gnashing Horde aura immediately.
The attack roll for this power is very low (-1 vs Will for hatchlings and young, +1 vs Will for adults). The power of it is in the pack...add three or four additional kruthik and suddenly its at +4 or +5). It is limited in that those that join in also expend the power. But it may still be too much...I see this getting used 3 or 4 times in the course of the fight (as they appear in waves)
If the party instigates a fight, the hive will be stirred up and 3-4 more kruthik of varying sizes will show up each round for three rounds, culminating in the queen (an elite version of the adults) showing up. They will try to swarm around the party to cut off escape and attempt to call them into the horde.
oops...lunch time is over...I'll post the stats for the modified Kruthiks later...(including the queen...)
Is this going to be too much? Should I nerf it at all?
