RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
|
A thread I just looked at about loot tables and whatnot got me thinking about a game that I have coming up soon for a group of my friends from out of town.
I'm planning on running a one-shot campaign of rather epic proportions (but not quite epic levels). I have 8 players and each player will be playing a different alignment (true neutral is being excluded) and the objective is simple: Escape from the Prison Plane of Carceri! The PCs have all been trapped there for various reasons and all their gear has been taken away. However, somewhere in the tower, there will be the armory where the guards store all the captured goods. This armory is undoubtedly going to be the first place the characters try to find (and I have planned accordingly). However, the PCs are certainly not the ONLY ones in this massive prison and it doesn't make much sense that only their confiscated gear would be contained within the armory. Even if there were multiple armories (which I'm sure there will be), Carceri collects prisoners from EVERYWHERE in the multiverse and the PCs gear will certainly be mixed in with all manner of other items and equipment.
I'm already planning on making the campaign exceptionally high-powered. It's a one-shot, after all, and has some very lofty goals to be completed in relatively short time. The characters will all be created at ECL 16 and will use 1d10+8 for stats. As I said, its an 8-player party but, due to differing alignments, I expect arguements and in-fighting to occur in some capacity or another. I also expect the game to have a reasonably high mortality rate (possibly even a TPK). The reason for my post here, though, is to ask: What SHOULDN'T I allow a group of ECL 16 characters to get their hands on? So far, the nastiest items in the armory so far are a +1 lawful-outsider-bane vorpal greatsword and a +3 brilliant energy longsword. Am I overboard with these items? Should I be okay? At least one planned encounter is CR 19, so they should have some tough stuff. Any aid is appreciated. Thanks!
Fate,
What you should do is kind of put a limit on how much time they have to "select" their gear. If time constraints are shortened, they will not be able to sort through everything there is. Also, this will cause the classes to migrate toward things they would use. For instance, lets say you have a fighter that us a weapon and shield guy. He would be pushed to grab up a good shield and weapon fast versus searching for a devistating Great Sword. I rogue won't go an pocket a suit of plate for sale later if his time is spent getting what he needs to fight with. Also, I would imagine (at least it is like this IRL) that the gear would be sorted by the person imprisoned. Especially somewhere like what you describe. They would have some sort of catalogue system to track what they have on hand, in case someone was later released for whatever reason.
That place is HELL!
I had a character go in there with a group looking for someone else and man it took 7 months real time OMG and long long hours do you know what that does to good characters?
My character that went in at 7th level and chaotic Good came out at 13 was Chaotic Neutral with a Dragon and Mordenkanen's Pinky Ring! (Doubles 1-3 level spell points) And even then it was hell he also came out with half a soul, demon blood, and a -2 to charisma so it was all balanced out but I would say I HATE THAT PLACE ITS HELL OMG IT TOOK FOREVER YES GIVE THEM GOOD STUFFF THEY NEED IT!! I WOULD NEVER DO THIS TO ANY OF MY PLAYERS!!
*Ahem* Whew I needed that!
|
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
|
What you should do is kind of put a limit on how much time they have to "select" their gear. If time constraints are shortened, they will not be able to sort through everything there is.
Yeah, I'm not terribly worried about people being overly concerned with grabbing items to be sold later. The players will know that its a one-shot and that as soon as they escape (or die), the game is over. There isn't any place in Carceri that would buy any such items, so that issue is moot. Time will certainly be of the essence, however, since as soon as they manage to get free of the cages, the roving guardian constructs will be all over them at every turn. Once they manage to escape the tower itself, the constructs will be less of an issue, but the numerous demons, devils, xorn, elementals, and the inhospitable environment itself will be their worst enemies... not to mention the fact that over one third of the party is EVIL. >:)
Avoid anything that transports objects or people away or in, as well as anything that can enslave or control those who could do the same.
Avoid anything that transports objects or people away or in, as well as anything that can enslave or control those who could do the same.
Throw a dimensional anchor on the prison (but let the players know ahead of time not to expect an easy exit). Wouldn't be much of a planar prison if the incarcerated could just warp out, now would it?
What SHOULDN'T I allow a group of ECL 16 characters to get their hands on?
The DMG (p 199) suggests a limit of no single item worth more than a quarter of a character's wealth, or limiting by type (minor, medium, major, epic). In my games, I use both. The level points for types in my game are based off of DMG table 3-5: Treasure. That is, minor items can be purchased at any level, medium starting 6th level, major starting 10th, and epic at 21st.
At 16th level, your players have 260,000 gp each to throw around. Using the DMG suggestions, they could purchase any major magical item worth no more than 65,000 gp. So for instance, +5 ghost touch armor, a staff of evocation, and any wondrous item up to and including a pearl of power, 8th-level spell would be fair game.
The weapons you described are both +7 equivilant weapons (costing 98,300 gp and change) - which is more than the suggested maximum, but not really by a whole lot at that level.
It also suggests that characters may make use of item creation feats, but must expend the same amount of experience they normally would (which would start them out somewhere in 15th level). Personally, I wouldn't have them expend the experience; however, I would have created items cost an extra 5 gp per experience point they *would* have paid would they have made the item in the normal course of game.
Finally, it suggests that one-use items should cost 5 times their normal price and charged items have 1/5 as many charges. Unless you think your players would abuse the one-shot and charged items, I wouldn't bother making this adjustment.
What I remember is the ONLY WAY to get OUT was you had to be stronger then the entity that sent you there
but that’s how we played it just an idea
|
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
|
Avoid anything that transports objects or people away or in, as well as anything that can enslave or control those who could do the same.Throw a dimensional anchor on the prison (but let the players know ahead of time not to expect an easy exit). Wouldn't be much of a planar prison if the incarcerated could just warp out, now would it?
Yes, I'm planning on having each individual cell be host to an antimagic field as well as a null psionics field. Then, the entirety of the prison itself is encased in a dimensional anchor. Finally, the entire PLANE forbids the use of spells like plane shift and gate. They will have to find an established portal in order to leave the plane.
As for the character wealth, as I said, it's expected to be a brutal session. It's a one-shot campaign and I want to give them a realistically wide assortment of gear to choose from in the armory but I also want to avoid handing them anything that will be a game-breaker.
There is an encounter with a pit fiend scheduled near the end of the game. I expect it will be rather messy.
Good call, Fatespinner. I was going to say, "Shouldn't the prison plane of Carceri all be under the effects of a dimensional anchor?"