I am tryin to come up with a cool scene/location for the party to fight their rivals. Takes place in Eberron- but generic fantasy is fine.
The party is itching to fight another party of adventurers that have beaten them to the treasure a few times.
The location could be the rivals hide-out or a public building or whatever.
The only rule is the "rule of cool".
On a bridge with a torrential downpour.
Near a geyser.
On docks during a storm with high waves.
Have you played Mass Effect 2?
Or that circular stone plateau thing from the Mortal Kombat games, where every few moments, the rim is breaking off so that the stable zone in the middle gets smaller and smaller.
Borrowing from the Pathfinder Society adventure Silent Tide, it has a fight that occurs in a cathedral on top of a giant church organ (the players are attenpting to keep playing a song by moving key to key.
Amid the burning buildings of a fallen city. Plenty of looting and heroism to bring our adventurers together, and an endless sandbox of urban combat environments. Maybe a few random interjections of citizens still trying to escape, city guards or invaders attacking to add suspense and break the combat as well as open opportunities for the group's face to be useful while lengthening combat and introducing storyline.
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How about a giant clock tower? Gears rotate under the players' feet every round, various places to gain cover or high ground, gaps between gears testing the players' Acrobatics, perhaps the rogue can come up with a creative use of Disable Device? Better yet is the clock is counting down to something... perhaps it's an elaborate deathtrap and hostages are in danger?
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How about a giant clock tower? Gears rotate under the players' feet every round, various places to gain cover or high ground, gaps between gears testing the players' Acrobatics, perhaps the rogue can come up with a creative use of Disable Device? Better yet is the clock is counting down to something... perhaps it's an elaborate deathtrap and hostages are in danger?
Win, I might just borrow that whole idea for a campaign I am running now. Each gear is like a 20x20 set, and depending on which gear they are on at the end of each round it moves and suddenly they may be facing a different foe or move away without meaning to and provoke AoO or something...nice idea.
Could try out a large balcony near various rooftops. My players barely move, and I have a hard time make them move, so if your party is like mine, keep reading on. The enemy rogue could use a grappling hook to scale the building upwards and rain potshots down on the party, the enemy fighter/barb could bull rush a pc off the balcony to crash down onto a slanted roof and need a reflex save to prevent sliding down off the edge. Enemy wizard could take to the sky and have a flying duel by the full moon. If things really turn bad the enemies can run away and you have a cool roof top chase scene ala Assassin's Creed 2.
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How about a giant clock tower? Gears rotate under the players' feet every round, various places to gain cover or high ground, gaps between gears testing the players' Acrobatics, perhaps the rogue can come up with a creative use of Disable Device? Better yet is the clock is counting down to something... perhaps it's an elaborate deathtrap and hostages are in danger?Win, I might just borrow that whole idea for a campaign I am running now. Each gear is like a 20x20 set, and depending on which gear they are on at the end of each round it moves and suddenly they may be facing a different foe or move away without meaning to and provoke AoO or something...nice idea.
Glad you liked the idea!
If I were DM'ing this fight, I would say having the gear under your feet move you out of an enemy's threat range doesn't provoke an AoO, since you didn't step away and thus never gave your enemy an opening. Think of any movie where people fight on clock towers or moving ground. I'd also factor in the effect of all the ticking-- a penalty to Perception checks, maybe the bard's performance requires a concentration check?
Another decent idea would be a small boat-- the various decks, the hold, the rigging, and the mast could create unusual angles. Maybe an archer in the crows' nest? Maybe a rogue is hiding on the boom behind the sail, and is using the PC's shadow to stab them through the canvas?
Better yet, a SERIES of small boats. Ranged attacks being traded from one boat to the next, fighters bull rushing enemies into the sea, aquatic druids lurking below, grappling hooks allowing daring ship-to-ship leaps? In this case, I specify SMALL boats because I don't imagine this as a siege battle-- these boats have no cannons, just plenty of pirates and their cutlasses!
I am tryin to come up with a cool scene/location for the party to fight their rivals. Takes place in Eberron- but generic fantasy is fine.
The party is itching to fight another party of adventurers that have beaten them to the treasure a few times.The location could be the rivals hide-out or a public building or whatever.
The only rule is the "rule of cool".
What are their rivals like? Smart villains will try to pick terrain that favors their strengths, if possible. And a cool encounter will contribute significantly to how the combat plays out.
A couple of examples I've used recently. The group fought a trio of rock-chucking hill giants on a mountain top. The hill giants were hiding atop a somewhat folded over ledge that gave them cover as they threw down the boulders. The ledge was several dozen feat of steep terrain above the PCs, so the group had to scramble to get their buff and flight spells up while the giants continued to reign down boulders upon them. To make matters worse, the ledge led into a long lost temple to the giant gods the hill giants had rediscovered. So some of the boulders they were tossing were enchanted to animate after being thrown.
Another recent example we had fun with was on a fog-filled swampy river way. The group was traveling on a raft carrying their horses and wagons. A guide was controlling the raft while they kept look out. The group came upon a raft that had smashed against the side of the river. Trade goods were strewn all over the place but there were no bodies to be found. At least, not until further down the river, where they came upon one of the caravan guards face down and completely white as if drained of blood. But there were no fang marks or anything. Going further on down into the river, they saw another pale, blood-drained man with only a look of absolute horror on his face. They kept moving on.
Eventually, though, the raft accidentally got wedged on a low point in the river where two bodies had gotten stuck on some of the rocks. The alchemist had to go under with a fluid form extract to get them unstuck. While he was down there, a few foul gaseous forms (vampiric mists) arose out of the misty fogs and snuck up on the group, going first for the weakest link in the group, their hired guide. Almost drained to death and not knowing what was killing him, the guide dove behind the wagons but the vampiric mists easily followed him. Then it erupted into a brawl as the PCs dove after them. In the ensuing fight, some of the group's supplies got knocked into the water. The first wave of the mists were cut down, but after that, the barbarian PC was occupied retrieving the lost goods when a second wave of vampiric mists ambushed the wizard and got some good licks off of her before being destroyed by the group surrounding them.
So clouds and darkness made for good places for these guys to hide. Definitely gave the encounter some atmosphere to make it seem more harrowing.
An alchemist lab with all sorts of chemical concoctions being brewed, including some healing potions!
Tables to jump on or duck under or flip over for cover, broken glass instruments acting as difficult terrain or caltrops, cauldrons of boiling acid to tip over, a bizarre alchemical reaction countdown before exploding, animated corpses or homonculi as fodder, smokesticks acting as concealment, pits filled with foul ichors, chandeliers for lighting, bookshelves concealing secret doors, etc. etc.
The tables can be set up kind of like a maze.
EDIT:
I like the idea of lots of small boats. Maybe a boat chase, with lots of leaping from one boat to another. And under the boats lurk something horrid and tentacly...that is an equal opportunity snatch-and-grabber. Maybe force the PCs and NPCs to team up against a common threat?
And don't forget the waterfall!!!!!
EDIT:
And don't forget the run up to the dock the boats are at: running over the backs of crocodiles in a shallow pool!!!
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I've done the giant gears moving before. Have them move at the end of the round (wherever that is) or perhaps at Initiative Count 15 and Initiative Count 0, if you can manage the chaos.
Other places I've battled:
On the top (and sides and bottom) of an out-of-control horse-drawn carriage
On a sentient undead coral reef
As competing boarding parties between two ships
In an acrobat-designed arena of turning poles and whirling blades
In a chariot race a la Ben-Hur
At the top of a belltower--with a giant, swinging bell
In the staircase of a belltower--with a giant, falling bell