OK, the Erythnul caves are considered difficult terrain (1/2 movement). The setup for the caves states that the grimlocks move with ease as they are accustomed to the caves. Did anyone take this to mean they moved normally?
OK, the Erythnul caves are considered difficult terrain (1/2 movement). The setup for the caves states that the grimlocks move with ease as they are accustomed to the caves. Did anyone take this to mean they moved normally?
I am yet to play that adventure but i would assume they move at normal rate instead of 1/2 movement.
Hmm... I didn't catch that. I am running that portion of the adventure this Saturday... that could give the Grimlocks a small advantage over the slower moving characters...
I just ran it and yes, the characters move at half speed, the grimlocks at full. It rarely comes into play, as you're in close quarters quickly in nearly every encounter.
The most important thing to be aware of is the vertical aspect of a lot of the encounters. You might want to brush up on the Climb rules and calculate the PCs abilities in this respect ahead of time.
Just so i am clear on this, There are vertical battles ahead?? :/ lol My PC's cant climb for anything. But it will be fun to see there faces when they realise they will have to hold on to the wall with one hand and fight with the other!! :)
Actually I am in the process of running this section right now...
Missed the 1/2 move in difficult terrain, the real problem came in with no 5 foot steps allowed.
Really drove home for my players just how much they use it.
This has also been the most deadly section of the AP so far for me also. The sorcerer was killed by a crit from the archers on the ledge, and then the paladin and fighter were both killed by the Chieftain.
Once the archers were dealt with my players had no problems with climbing, the rogue simply took 10 and shuttled the ring of feather falling around.
We just did the vertical battle in the "U" cavern last night and yes, the 5 foot step came into play a lot more than the movement did. The grimlock archers also made some crazy rolls against the party but they suspected something might be up and the Protection From Missiles potions really saved their collective butts.
They circumvented the climbing issue for the most part. The Ranger/Rogue climbed down and I had the archers wait, hoping to get more of the party onto the wall. Once he got attacked at the bottom (I scaled it up, so it was 2 otyughs instead of the chokers) the party's "tanks" just jumped and attempted (and failed) tumbles at the bottom. They're choc full o' Cure Light potions, so it just wound up being kinda humorous.
Did any else notice that the spikes that the grimlocks drove into the wall give a Climb DC of 10 - as opposed to the normal Climb DC in the caves, which is also listed as 10.
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The lack of a 5-foot step is a killer. It comes into play again in the Mistmarsh if you run any encounters in the marsh itself before you get to the Lizardfolk lair. I thought I was going to TPK my party the other night with two Harpies and a Crocodile, mostly because they were having a hard time making smart tactical decisions once their 5-foot steps were taken away.