Impending TPK: New Party needed

[DSRMT]

So in the Serpents Skull Game that I am currently in, we are facing a very real TPK. I don't want to give any spoilers, but we ended last session in the middle of a fight, and I don't think we have any way of hurting the monster we are fighting properly. Now, I am a firm believer that if you plan another character, you will probably survive the current TPK. Even better if you plan a character you really want to play.

Currently, the rest of the group has planned what classes they want to play next, and they are

an Alchemist
a rogue
a Cavalier
a Hellknight or a Druid, hasn't decided

and then there is me. I can't decide what gap I should fill. If the last player plays a Hellknight, I know we'll need some kind of healing, but if he plays a Druid, where is our party most likely to be deficient?

[spalding]

You have an alchemist so you'll have *some* healing.

Honestly it looks like the type of group that could use a bard or a witch to me.

[Nullpunkt]

I'm not too familiar with the Alchemist but aren't you lacking some arcane support? And one more thing: If you are still fighting in this potential TPK, why not run away? Or are you fed up with the current PC anyway?

[sieylianna]

The first question is why is the group approaching a TPK? The second question is what will the new characters have that would have prevented the TPK?

Is the group lacking knowledge skills and didn't understand what special material was needed? Is the party lacking a "face" character and was unable to research the foe before the fight? Was the party lacking in healing (if so, it looks like you are heading down the same road)?

[DSRMT]

@Abraham: Actually the witch is a really good Idea. I am currently a wizard, so I didn't want to play a blaster again, but now I have a great concept for a Halfling Witch that focuses on Jinx's

@Nullpunkt: It's hard to say without giving the encounter away, but basically my character won't leave because one of the party members has been charmed to stay there, and essentially leaving would be killing her. Playing a good guy is hard

[DSRMT]

@sieylianna: what we are lacking is a good way to hurt the creature we are fighting. We have a current face who is also our knowledge house (Bard) but we don't have to equipment on us to actually get through it's DR, and it's SR is a little too high

[sieylianna]

DSRMT wrote:

@sieylianna: what we are lacking is a good way to hurt the creature we are fighting. We have a current face who is also our knowledge house (Bard) but we don't have to equipment on us to actually get through it's DR, and it's SR is a little too high

I haven't read that AP, but is the creature a surprise and the party doesn't have the standard DRs covered or did the party not do sufficient research ahead of time? If it's something off the wall like cold iron and good, that's understandable.

[Glutton]

if you dont want to give anything away, use the [spoiler ] tag to hide it

[Ice Titan]

Spoiler:

Shadow demon, right?

We had a paladin smite it to death and an alchemist bomb it down. It's a very tough encounter but it's very do-able. If you tell me your party composition, it could help.

And to be honest, we had the same reaction at the table from a player. "OH IT'S A TPK I RUN" and stuff. Honestly, being defeatist isn't going to kill the monster.

[DSRMT]

Ice Titan wrote:

** spoiler omitted **

We had a paladin smite it to death and an alchemist bomb it down. It's a very tough encounter but it's very do-able. If you tell me your party composition, it could help.

And to be honest, we had the same reaction at the table from a player. "OH IT'S A TPK I RUN" and stuff. Honestly, being defeatist isn't going to kill the monster.

Actually, funny story about that spoiler, we didn't kill it, and it has come back with another creature to torment us, lol

But no, that is not the one I am talking about, the creature we are fighting is the

Spoiler:

Rakshasa in Saventh Yey

And I totally understand what you mean by being defeated before you start if your attitude is wrong, but I am actually testing a theory that if you make a character you really want to play, your current character will always survive

[ayronc]

Ice Titan wrote:

** spoiler omitted **

And to be honest, we had the same reaction at the table from a player. "OH IT'S A TPK I RUN" and stuff. Honestly, being defeatist isn't going to kill the monster.

LOL

Had a similar reaction from one of our characters in the same fight, but we managed to get there eventually. And actually suffered relatively little damage overall.

Spoiler:

Fortunately my character had bought the right type of arrows when equipping at the start of the second book

[Ice Titan]

I see. Well, again... paladin. I think we turned him into a pretzel inside of three rounds because the DM made a mistake and let him get cornered.

Well, good luck then.

[Serene]

That encounter went weird. The party face went in alone, waving the rest back to camp...

Spoiler:

but new something was wrong with Mr I'm-Just-An-Elf. She had tea, resisted his Domination and landed a Charm Monster through his SR and saves. After a few days of stringing him along she told him the city was growing too dangerous for him and he should leave for safer hunting grounds. He packed up anything portable and fled, and now the serpent folk degenerates are quite uncertain about the Rakshasa's appointed successor.

[Daelyn]

Kiaburra wrote:

That encounter went weird. The party face went in alone, waving the rest back to camp...

** spoiler omitted **

My group did something pretty crazy, too...

Spoiler:

The group sneaked up to the ziggurat where a bunch of deg. serpent folk were worshiping an empty throne, but the bard spoke the language they were chanting in and figured out they were worshiping "the great crocodile". He then decided to create an illusion of their crocodile god to get them to let the group pass. I asked him to describe the illusion and he freaking made a crocodile-headed rakshasa. Seriously. Of course the rakshasa caught wind of this and tried to infiltrate the group, but they owned his face without the serpent folk finding out, so they still do anything the group asks. I did not see that coming. Who thinks of a rakshasa?