The Back Room: Live Tabletop Games

That's fine: Haemir probably just cantripping to stay on top of growths; the moment Ho gets in range of Shambler he'll action surge, GWM 4 attacks, hopefully convert one miss with a luck die; I'd say easily expect two hits, at 2d6(reroll 1+2=8.33 expectation)+14, so that'd be something like 45 damage on two hits. Commensurately more or less if it's other than two hits. (Good chance of 3 hits.)

daze413

Cade

Shalvenay

@nitsua60 you think you can stay for 1 more round?

Miniman

moves back into 30 feet of Ho and attacks

d20

Dice Service

1:07 PM

16

nitsua60

@Shalvenay Not really. Palm Sunday. The C&E's are starting to come out of their burrows.

daze413

guy has 31 HP left, and is currently actively trying to get away from the intimidator

Shalvenay

@nitsua60 oh...

Miniman

26 hits?

nitsua60

(@daze413 I've got some notes, will jot when I'm back in the evening.)

Miniman

1:08 PM

4d6

Dice Service

•

daze413

@nitsua60 You'll have to go really early, right? Do they bless the palms before or after the mass over there?)

@Miniman yes, sorry

Miniman

@daze413 19 damage

and he'll give Ho adv again

then done

daze413

ok, after Cade, the Shambler issues a terrible shriek

holkurg and kheldor, make wis ST

Miniman

d20

Dice Service

1:10 PM

8

Miniman

15?

daze413

@nitsua60 what's holkurg's wis ST?

3d6

Dice Service

•

daze413

@Miniman DC is 17, sorry. you take 11 damage and roll a d24... kidding d8

d8

Dice Service

5

daze413

1:11 PM

move south? below or above shambler as a reaction.

the growth makes an OA though

Miniman

@daze413 Does the shambler have a 10 ft reach?

daze413

no, he can make an OA too

growth, shambler:

2d20

Dice Service

13

Miniman

AC 20

daze413

18 and 20

so Shambler hits with a bite

2d6

Dice Service

1:12 PM

•

daze413

10 damage

Miniman

ouch

daze413

(Finally, the shambler is free to move)

@Zachiel if you wanna watch the map, here: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/…

@Zachiel better, even, if you can reverse-jaeger pilot nitsua's chars

ill make a save for holkurg

d20

Dice Service

18

daze413

and he makes iy

but takes 5 damage. Kheldor took 11 damage from the Dissonant Whispers, @Miniman?

Miniman

1:16 PM

@daze413 kk

daze413

forgot to mention

should be haemir now

Miniman

@daze413 no, wait, you did mention it, and i took it, i think?

5 mins ago, by daze413

@Miniman DC is 17, sorry. you take 11 damage and roll a d24... kidding d8

daze413

ah, yeah, sorry a little flustered with keeping track of each growths reactions and the player reactions haha

Miniman

@daze413 all g

daze413

hm. I guess we'll call it here, as nitsua has gone.

so far, not as deadly as I'd hoped.

CR10

Miniman

1:20 PM

@daze413 Yeah, I have a ton of healing left in my back pocket

daze413

makes for a Deadly encounter at 5600 deadly threshold

Shalvenay

yeah -- I'd say it definitely would go down on round 3

daze413

idk, the DPR started getting slower after the first dissonant whispers

but still, it'd have gone down eventually,

it's not doing enough damage

Miniman

Yeah, for the kind of legit deadly encounter you have in mind it definitely needs to hit harder

daze413

related, and really relevant for this case

Shalvenay

1:22 PM

yeah, and the placement of the growths wasn't very effective -- if you want to do those sorts of OA shenanigans, I'd give the growths Sentinel, and have the shambler target the squishies more effectively with them

daze413

maybe try Icyfire's suggestion- 3x the deadly threshold

@Shalvenay problem was, I dont see Cade getting OA'd by them unless the shambler can get away from the fighter. Same with Haemir

Shalvenay

@daze413 why is that?

daze413

I was trying to use the growths to block out Holkurg, which was effective somewhat

Miniman

Thinking about it, I'd make the growths grapplers

it's thematically appropriate, and allows them to be effective at lockdown

Shalvenay

yeah -- that'd work well I think come to think of it

daze413

1:25 PM

@Shalvenay they dont move much as their both ranged. and the shambler can only use its echoing disassembly on creatures w/in 15 ft

@Miniman Sounds great! how do you reckon to implement it? as an attack rider? or auto-grapple a la vampire?

Right now, it's only Action is the "Clacking" it did at init 20

Actually, both your suggestions can be solved if the growths had sentinel

if it hits with an OA, the speed becomes 0, like a grapple

Miniman

@daze413 The way it works for most monsters is an attack which, if it hits, automatically grapples (and restrains, for a lot of them)

Some of them do damage with the attack as well, some don't

daze413

hm. I think I'll let it be something like: "Tentacle. +5 to hit, 1d4+3 bludgeoning and 1d6 psychic. It can forgo doing damage to automatically grapple the target, while grappled this way, the target is also restrained

Miniman

Nice

that makes them enough of a threat that players will have to think twice about whether to attack the main body or the growths

daze413

ok, rechecked the vampire unarmed strike. yeah, it has similar wording

Miniman

Auto-hit on grappled targets?

daze413

1:34 PM

it still needs to hit, but auto-grapple

Miniman

Yeah, I mean, once it's got someone grappled, I'm assuming it can't attack anyone else - will it automatically hit its grappled target, or still have to make an attack?

daze413

something like the grell?

it's already restrained so auto-advantage on subsequent hits

i'll say still need to attack, but it cant attack anyone else

Miniman

@daze413 I meant more like the chain devil...but that's a much rarer ability than i thought.

daze413

krakens can do it as well

Miniman

Ah, found it. The salamander is the example of exactly what I was talking about.

daze413

1:42 PM

I think, just because I need some load off with this encounter, I'll make it additional damage

Miniman

But yeah, it's a pretty rare ability.

daze413

yeah, but for the sake of my sanity during this encounter, I'll make it just auto hits

like the salamander

i think a rug of smothering also does this

ah, no. nvm

ok, now, what about the number of growths per use of the shambler's Undulations?

currently is 2, hard to tell if it needs more

Miniman

I think for a party of 4, 2 is pretty appropriate

daze413

nah. I'll keep it at two.

yeah, looking at the board, 2 alive is pretty much what I was going for

Miniman

Anyway, I gotta go sleep

Sorry I was late

daze413

1:50 PM

no problem

night!

thanks for coming and playing, you guys!

Shalvenay

not a problem

nitsua60

8:19 PM

@daze413 the notes I have jotted down:
I like the growths, because it felt like we (as a party) now had to make the decision of whether to focus on BB or keep the growths from getting too numerous. (Though there's the table-argument to be made that letting 4 or 6 get out there would have made AoEs tempting. I think I mentioned before: I like when combat tactics have to take into account managing multiple races, kinda like a euro-style board game.
The forced movement on a failed save was nice, too. It doesn't feel terribly punitive--it's not like getting *banish*ed. Something about it eating…

Shalvenay

yeah -- I liked the targeting decision-making aspects of it as well

Shalvenay

8:57 PM

(p.s. I was planning to toss a Dissonant Whispers of my own in round 3)

nitsua60

9:16 PM

@daze413 the other thing I thought of: you'd asked/mentioned some time early about the appealing vs. not nature of the altar. I'd say that it screamed "don't touch, don't get too near." I certainly wouldn't have funneled any magic into it if it weren't for the explicit purpose of playtesting your monster.

So if you need the PCs to go there, It's got to be on a hair-trigger. Like closing the door we came through or opening the other door trips it. (Along with touching, reading, &c.)

Shalvenay

yeah

nitsua60

Or, if it's the case that they know about BB, make it obvious this is the way to it.

Or make the altar shaped like a sarcophagus, strongly radiating magic.

No party's going to resist that =)

Miniman

11:14 PM

@nitsua60 In general I'd agree no-one's going to go near it, but one caveat - there's a particular type of player who will go for "I must cleanse this unholy altar!"

But yeah, most parties are just going to move on.

daze413

11:52 PM

@nitsua60 thanks for the input. I was going for a "what the hell is that?" Reaction and then maybe hint to them that treasures await beyond the portal. @Miniman I agree that most parties will just move on, and they should! Which is why I have to make this fight deadly but winnable. I plan to put quantum altars all over the place. Maybe even have them pop up in a place where there were none before.

Perhaps if you knew one of the bodies or you were sent to discover what happened to them because he had a magic item the employer wants back?

Miniman

That could definitely work! I was about to suggest a chest or a door magically sealed in a way that makes it obvious it's linked to the altar - either way, that kind of tangible hint that there's rewards to be had is the way to go, I think.

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