Chasm of Screams (Spoiler Alert!) questions

[Todd Lower]

I am getting ready to run the Chasm of Screems as my first 7-11 mod. Can anyone give me some guidance on running the Frosty Lurker (White Pudding). I am concerned with its ability to destroy gear. This seems a little painful for high level characters that are attached to their stuff.

Also just noticed that the Barbarian Warpriests have the wrong init. Should be +2 instead of +1.

[Eric Brittain]

Todd Lower wrote:

I am getting ready to run the Chasm of Screems as my first 7-11 mod. Can anyone give me some guidance on running the Frosty Lurker (White Pudding). I am concerned with its ability to destroy gear. This seems a little painful for high level characters that are attached to their stuff.

Also just noticed that the Barbarian Warpriests have the wrong init. Should be +2 instead of +1.

I've run this mod twice now my feedback on running this mod is included in the spoiler below

Spoiler:

The initial trap that collapses the building can be a TPK if all PCs are in the effect, fail their reflex saves and are buried. I would suggest reading up on the rules for being buried as they may come into play.

I put out the map and proceed to let the PCs take a single round action until someone triggers the trap. This has the advantage of the PCs having placed their miniatures themselves so there is no argument about where someone is (or is not).

The fight at the mouth of the chasm is usually a walk over. Nothing special here.

Getting a good understanding of the 3 dimensional structure involved in this game is key. I would suggest printing out the map included in the mod and revealing it piece by piece to the players so everyone can have a clear understanding of the space they are in.

A problem for some parties will be how do they move between the different spaces. If the party does not have fly or a climber they may be stuck and unable to proceed).

The morlock fight with the confusion poison proved to be the most challenging combat. The ability of the morlocks to hide very well and swarm to get sneak attacks proved very difficult for the PCs to deal with. I usually have the morlocks start hiding on the roof of the chamber and drop in on either side of the PCs while trying to hit as many PCs as they can with the poison gas. Remember the wind rules in this combat as it can be very impactful by clearing the poison.

The ooze never lasted long enough to be an issue. The PCs caused it to split repeatedly and then hit it with area of effect spells and killed it in 2 rounds.

The final fight with the hag can be a delaying game. Especially if you have her plane shift and just watch the action form the ethereal plane (where you can see 60' of the prime material). The shadows can also be problems to some parties.

[Todd Lower]

Eric Brittain wrote:

I've run this mod twice now my feedback on running this mod is included in the spoiler below

** spoiler omitted **...

Thank you for the help with this but I did have a couple of questions from your comments.

Question from Spoiler:

Why do they get a reflex save from the roof trap? It is called out as being an attack effect. Did you use a DC 25 Strength check for the character to free herself? Since this isn't a cave-in I think that those that are not affected should be able to dig their party members out within a minute or two.

[Eric Brittain]

Todd Lower wrote:

Thank you for the help with this but I did have a couple of questions from your comments.

** spoiler omitted **

Response spoilered

Spoiler:

I was working from memory. There is no reflex save for this trap. It is a melee attack roll with the side effect of damage and buried.

If some PCs are out of the attack zone then I would just handwave that they dig out their fellow PCs and probably give every buried PCs a couple of dice of damage.

The concern is if all the PCs are in the cabin and are hit by the attack roll then they are all buried.

If they are all buried then there is no one to dig them out and it would all be up to having one character make the DC 25 strength check before they die (if that is even possible for the party). [rules referenced are from Cave ins and Collapses on page 415)

[Todd Lower]

OK, Eric didn't have any concern over the Frosty Lurker (white pudding) but I still don't know that I have a good feeling on how to run this. In the character block it says that any slashing or piercing damage causes it to divide in 1/2 with 1/2 the hp but it doesn't comment on the size of the resulting puddings. Are they still huge? That doesn't feel right but there is no rule to draw from. If I do the standard math 15'X15' and divide it in two I get 125 sq ft, a size that is larger than a standard large creature. If I use volume instead it gets worser. :0 The creature would have to be divided into quarters before it was of a standard large size. Any thoughts?

[Eric Brittain]

Todd Lower wrote:

OK, Eric didn't have any concern over the Frosty Lurker (white pudding) but I still don't know that I have a good feeling on how to run this. In the character block it says that any slashing or piercing damage causes it to divide in 1/2 with 1/2 the hp but it doesn't comment on the size of the resulting puddings. Are they still huge? That doesn't feel right but there is no rule to draw from. If I do the standard math 15'X15' and divide it in two I get 125 sq ft, a size that is larger than a standard large creature. If I use volume instead it gets worser. :0 The creature would have to be divided into quarters before it was of a standard large size. Any thoughts?

The divided oozed are still huge (15 x 15). That can make a room very crowded very quick.

[Todd Lower]

Eric Brittain wrote:

The divided oozed are still huge (15 x 15). That can make a room very crowded very quick.

Thank you, A very crowded room it will be. If that thing/those things hit they do a considerable amount of damage per round. Very fun!