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Alright, so I can't tell you how happy I was that just when I was considering kicking off a campaign in Eberron with a 5th level adventure, Riding the Rail arrived in my mailbox. I think it's great for getting a party together, and will give my players an idea of the flavor of the setting (most of the players in this campaign are new to DnD and all are new to Eberron). I'm running into a snag, however....
(SPOILERS BELOW)
There are going to be at least two warforged in the party, and it seems to me like that will really nix most of the difficulty of the first encounter. Reafrin and the thugs aren't going to make it very far into the cart when there are PCs who never sleep...and it doesn't seem like the sickening sleeps are going to be very effective against warforged. Any ideas on how to deal with this?
I've thought about possibly having a member of the Pilfered Wand (disguised as an attendant for the passenger cart) require the passengers to deposit their weapons into a lockbox as they board to help even the playing field (especially since there will be 6 PCs in the party). It's also occurred to me that the Pilfered Wand would be sure to scope out the passengers to determine who is the most likely to cause trouble...so they could prepare something ahead of time to help deal with the 'forged. As a first-time DM, however, the answer isn't obvious to me...
In the case of the living spells, I think you should just allow the warforged to enjoy their immunities, especially if this is the first session. The only alteration you should make is to focus the thugs' attacks on the warforged themselves as they hope the living spells put down their living comrades. Perhaps an unconscious PC or NPC can become a hostage to be used against these characters.
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You would think the Pilfered Wand would have considered the possibility of at least a few Warforged amongst the passengers though, and had some contingency for such an occurance.
I would consider making a couple of the tieflings slightly higher level (Warrior 2 or 3), "enforcers" to deal with warforged or other hardy passengers who might not succumb to the sickening sleeps - or else perhaps a couple of them are 1st level adepts with wands of magic missile or scorching ray or some such.
I agree that you shouldnt make the warforged abilities not count for anything, but if you have two or more warforged in the party this encounter may not be much of a challenge as written.
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I'm going to be running Riding the Rail soon, hopefully, for one reason; the beautiful illustration of Vikari! That and I love the adventure, of course :)
My group of PCs is actually four level 7's and two level 6's, but I want them to have the "we just got iterative attacks" feeling, so I'm keeping the difficulty level at about where the published adventure is. (I've swapped the tieflings thugs and some of the named NPCs for races/classes more suitable for my campaign, but most things are as in Dungeon)
I just have one problem. Everytime I look at Vikari's stat block, I think to myself "This guy's CR 8?" He's got good SR, damage reduction of good AND piercing, and a pretty awesome AC. Has anyone actually ran a zakya rakshasa? Is the CR accurate? I can see my players having a tough time taking him on, and dread to think what would happen to 4 level 5 PCs...
Ukos
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Ukos, you could always ensure the PCs find a scroll or oil of Align Weapon somewhere (maybe in the preceeding adventure); just ensure a good caster wallops it on a rapier or whatever, and you're good to go.
This sort of thing is a really handy tip that I've used a number of times in the past. It really makes your players wonder just how long you've been planning that tanglefoot bag assault when they realise they've been carrying universal solvent for the last four levels :)
Unfortunately, we're seguing directly from two weeks downtime into a short trip downriver, with me springing a modified Riding the Rails on them as they go. I can't think of a way to dump the right scrolls on them without it being blatantly obvious after the event. Its also a case of knowing my players; there's VERY little chance that anyone will think to ask to make a Knowledge check to ID the peculiar bi-pedal tiger that's beating them into next week!
My current thinking is to drop Vikari's AC by 4 points, his SR by 4-6, and change his DR to 15/good or piercing. This way, Vikari should still make them think about different tactics and weapons, but not before he's slaughtered half the group.
My main concern is really that the encounter might turn out to be unfair, as well as deadly. Firstly, the melee fighters probably won't be able to hit Vikari very frequently. Secondly, when they do, they probably won't do ANY damage. Thirdly, the spellcasters will have a tough time taking him out due to the SR. Fourthly, the group probably won't be able to run for it if things turn bad!
I'm hoping that they will quickly discover that piercing weapons are the way to go and call in the rapier welding rogue to flank and sneak attack Vikari to death. If not, they probably deserve what they get. This will also give the rogue a nice oppurtunity to discover how deadly his sneak attack is, as most of the time he's shooting his shortbow at non-flat-footed opponents.
Thanks for reading, let me know if you have any other ideas
Ukos
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I ran this adventure as a one shot with all Halfling rouge and one Halfling wizard and was concerned about Vikari also; I solved this problem by providing 3 feather token whips to the players. They got the idea and all ganged up on him and grappled him while the Wizard used his spells as he was pinned to the top of the rail coach. It was a great battle that caused the players to think more than just hack and slash fight.
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I ran this adventure as a one shot with all Halfling rouge and one Halfling wizard and was concerned about Vikari also; I solved this problem by providing 3 feather token whips to the players. They got the idea and all ganged up on him and grappled him while the Wizard used his spells as he was pinned to the top of the rail coach. It was a great battle that caused the players to think more than just hack and slash fight.
Nice to know I'm not the only one with concerns :)
This is the kind of thing I'm hoping for; an encounter with a really different feel. I'm planning on having fun with Vikari's feats by having him bull-rush the PCs around a bit. Mostly into the electricity, but if anyone gets close to the edge of the pillar, they better watch out!
The replacements I've made throughout the adventure are to let me try out monsters with unusual tactics/abilities too. I'm using a witchknife to herd the oozes, Tril's a doppelganger soulknife, and Mish is a half-giant psychic warrior. The feat/power/tactics selections should make each encounter rather different. So I don't want Vikari to just be an unstoppable melee tank, or end the adventure with a straight-up toe-to-toe melee grudge match that the PCs inevitably lose.
Cheers,
Ukos