Hi,

I just started running a Legacy of Fire campaign last night and had some problems with the pugwampis. They just didn't seem to be very annoying (their most "endearing" feature). Unluck didn't seem to really kick into play, as the group managed to not roll very well the first time.

Also, all it took was a single hit to take it out. What are some good tactics to use with these things? I tried to shatter the paladin's sword, but the DC roll failed.

Please, please, please, help me torment my players!

Thanks!

/Paul

Hi,

I just started running a Legacy of Fire campaign last night and had some problems with the pugwampis. They just didn't seem to be very annoying (their most "endearing" feature). Unluck didn't seem to really kick into play, as the group managed to not roll very well the first time.

Also, all it took was a single hit to take it out. What are some good tactics to use with these things? I tried to shatter the paladin's sword, but the DC roll failed.

Please, please, please, help me torment my players!

Thanks!

/Paul

Hi Paul. Everyone hates pugwampis. They aren't really supposed to be much of a threat. Look at their CR level. However, they are hard to hit, they have DR, they have SR, they can destroy the party's weapons, and they have unluck aura.

P.S. if you want shatter to work try targeting the fighter/barbarian rogue

Hi,

I just started running a Legacy of Fire campaign last night and had some problems with the pugwampis. They just didn't seem to be very annoying (their most "endearing" feature). Unluck didn't seem to really kick into play, as the group managed to not roll very well the first time.

Also, all it took was a single hit to take it out. What are some good tactics to use with these things? I tried to shatter the paladin's sword, but the DC roll failed.

Please, please, please, help me torment my players!

Thanks!
/Paul

When I ran any pugwampi encounters every time a character failed a roll (particularly on the re-roll) then I grinned and said "Unlucky!" - and I mean every time. When we had the combat in the cathedral this continued. I really knew I'd got to them when in the battle with the pugwampi leader my dice luck went bad and when a 1 came up every player round the table cried out "Unlucky!"

I did a similar thing. Everytime a player rolled a fail from the unluck aura, I said "That is bad luck, bummer." The players caught on. We have six players so I increased the unluck aura to 50' and maxed out their HP. For shatter, try wooden shields or something easier to shatter. Don't forget the DR2. They are fragile, so they will die easy, but the point is to make them annoying.

One problem is that one of the players (the sorcerer) is VERY experienced. He doesn't leave home without his cold iron morning star. He's not the one that splurtched the poor pugwampi, though. That was the paladin.

If they have not cleared out the Monastary, then proceed as planned. Most of the Pugwampi's will be running around on the rafters and unless the sorcerer wants to climb up there to fight them, it won't matter. Rather than have the risk of breaking a rafter, I gave the rafters DC's for agility checks. Either DC 8, 10, or 12. Nothing two hard, but when you are rolling 2 20's, you run the risk of an unlucky fall!

I found that the key to the pugwampis was their environment - at the beginning its the cactus patch, in the monastery its the difficult terrain kitchen, and the chapel its treacherous rafters.

All these things give the pugwampis unluck lots of room to flower - because the PCs have to work to engage them, and have ample chances to test just how difficult that unluck can be.

With a little space to breathe, and the creatures content to sit and jeer and fire their arrows at the PCs ( and run away if necessary ) it can be quite frustrating for the group to tackle them, especially if they are short on ranged firepower. Jeering definitely helps. Rude displays. Spiteful laughter. All from a safe high point. The chapel is especially good for this. My group struggled with the chapel, and were actually beginning to hurt from the numerous tiny arrows being fired ( I upped the number of pugwampis ). They realised they were outgunned, and couldnt get to grips melee wise because of the rafters.

To increase the pugwampis impact with annoyance, why not turn some areas into difficult terrain - rubble, broken windows and the like, give the pugwampis more areas to 'play' in, the PC's less chance to charge into battle, and more chance to land on their butts.

Or perhaps make more areas of the monastery have rafters - or an upper network of pugwampi rat runs - ledges, boards, tattered hangings, holes all of them allowing the pugwampis to engage from afar and bathe the PCs in their unluck, but not get into devastating melee. At its worst you could connect every single room with a mouse hole and a pugwampi walkway that runs around the edge of rooms near the ceiling...

If outside could make the terrain difficult again, or have ample hiding places for them to pop in and out of - like whackamole.

If you make them roll both at the same time, note which dice they use as their primary, and then at random times during the adventure tell them they are feeling unlucky and have to roll both.... but disreguard the second one... I had the person I ran through the chapel pulling up floorboards and ransacking rooms, leaving items on the ground, looking for "the little menace that keeps making me roll again"

If you make them roll both at the same time, note which dice they use as their primary, and then at random times during the adventure tell them they are feeling unlucky and have to roll both.... but disreguard the second one... I had the person I ran through the chapel pulling up floorboards and ransacking rooms, leaving items on the ground, looking for "the little menace that keeps making me roll again"

I wish I would have though of that.

If you make them roll both at the same time, note which dice they use as their primary, and then at random times during the adventure tell them they are feeling unlucky and have to roll both.... but disreguard the second one... I had the person I ran through the chapel pulling up floorboards and ransacking rooms, leaving items on the ground, looking for "the little menace that keeps making me roll again"

Now that's just mean!

I LIKE IT!