The fools!!

[7heprofessor]

tl;dr Need epic dragon battle feat, spell, and tactic suggestions.

I am currently running a Pathfinder game (with some 3.X content allowed) and the PCs have just reached 10th level by defeating my Fire Giant Jarl and his gnoll minions. The battle took place in one of the previously-floating castles that crashed to the ground on Faerun many years ago to create the Stonelands. It was unbearably hot in the keep without protective magics and once the giant was dead, the party sought the source of said heat. Through divinations and some lucky knowledge history rolls they were able ascertain that taking residence in the lowest level of the keep is an adult red dragon trying to unearth the Heartstone that made the castle float.

Now, I don't know if they're high or what, but they seem convinced that they have to go fight it. So we spent last session with them selling and buying loot and preparing for the battle. This next session will be them delving into the scorching hot dungeon level to confront the beast.

The party's composition is as follows:

Gnome Archivist Bard 10 (weilds a Dragon Staff and makes judicious use of Illusions and Pilfering Hand)
Half-Elf Archer Ranger 10 (with a Boon companion tiger and a frost bow)
Human Invulnerable Rager Barbarian 10 (supersition and other magic-hating rage powers)
Dhampir Summoner 10 (uses a defense-optimized biped eidolon with AC32)
Gnome Teleportation School Conjurer 6/Paragnostic Scholar 4 (makes average use of summons, very teleporty)
Aasimar (afflicted Werewolf) Cleric 6/Moon Guardian 4

With 6 PCs that puts their average party level to 11. An "Epic" encounter is equal to APL+3, or CR 14. An adult Red Dragon happens to be CR14!

So, my goal? Make this fight EPIC!

To do so, I have adjusted Seryndalar's feats (that's the dragon's name, FYI) and I would like your opinions and suggestions.

Original Feats:
Cleave, Greater Vital Strike, Improved Initiative, Improved Iron Will, Improved Vital Strike, Iron Will, Multiattack, Power Attack, Vital Strike

New Feats:
1. Iron Will
3. Power Attack
5. Hover
7. Improved Iron Will
9. Snatch
11. Multiattack
13. Flyby Attack
15. Quicken Spell-like ability: Pyrotechnics
17. Dazing Assault

I also have a few ideas about his lair. First of all, his goal is to excavate the lowest dungeon level in an attempt to find an artifact and the easiest way he knows how is to melt the floor away. This has caused pools of magma to form all over the place. He has been digging for some time now and the floor-to-ceiling height is about 200 ft. which should allow him to maneuver effectively aerially. He has dug ledges out of the walls for him to lounge upon and has treasure on each one.

The PCs will be entering through a tunnel at ground-level and have the vast lair before them with pocks in the ground spewing magma about and choking smoke impairing vision in multiple locations.
My idea is to use Quickened Pyrotechnics to blind the party and then Flyby Attack with Snatch to bite and grab one PC per round and drop them into lava. With Dazing Assault they will be Dazed and unable to get out of the lava for one round dealing 20D6 and then 10D6 for 1d3 rounds. This should remove their Protection from Energy spells and allow the Breath Weapon to actually do some damage. Then, Seryndalar will hide in the pools of lava and pop out and breath on them. Finally, he will Haste himself and fly 10 ft. above the party and full-attack them to death with Dazing Assault.

One final point: this battle has nothing to do with the story so I feel no remorse killing them. I am not a vindictive DM and never purposefully kill PCs, but they are walking into a dragon lair and hope to kill a dragon for its loot. IT'S GONNA BE HARD!

Suggestions/comments/questions?

[MiniGM]

MAke sure there is an alarm spell set at various places, just so they know that he knows they are coming :) Then he can buff the crap out of himself

[Peasant]

I don't believe you are reaping the full potential of the environment here. The prolonged presence of exposed magma in an enclosed space is going to result in an excrutiatingly hot environment. 3.5's Sandstorm discussed the dangers of high temperature environments at some length and would almost certainly have considered this cavern a part of the Burning Heat temperature band.

Under conditions of burning heat all the players preparations will start to come undone. Scrolls and oils spontaneously combust and liquids boil away pretty much at the GM's discretion. All metal is considered to be under the continual effect of Heat Metal. Simply breathing merits 3d10 Fire Damage per round. Now, since a party wipe isn't actually your goal, I dont' recommend you do much with this except hamper and neutralize their preparations. Deprive them of the use of most scrolls and potions and simply state that the benefits of Protection From Fire have lapsed by the time they even enter the cavern.

At this point your dragon's tactics can be simplified. Nothing wrong with what you've already suggested, but now he has more options. Melt the ground beneath the party's feet while hiding in a magma pool. Use a wing to sweep 5000 red hot gold pieces down on the party like burning rain. Pyrotechnics is wonderful, but if the air is stagnant smoke may well already blanket the ground like fog, enough to bring suffocation into play (air will be nearer the ceiling if present at all). Lastly... there's this wonderful thing about Magma. It crusts over and people can fall through it. Imagine falling through the floor and in the fashion of many a classic scene involving frozen rivers, having to swim blindly toward the nearest bubbling pool to get out. With that kind of a hazard laying around those seven Grease spells per day will be unusually vicious too.

If you go with any of this, you may want to remind your players that running away /is/ acceptable since this isn't part of the main plot. Perhaps even be prepared to reward xp to the first person to recognize that they're in over their heads.

[Divinitus]

I agree with Peasant, make full use of the environment. Also, if a PC manages to get out of the lava, have the dragon cast cone of cold on the PC to dry the lava on him or her, which you'll have to determine the extent of the effect yourself, but should at least make them unable to move until they break free of it. If they prevent the dragon from flying somehow, have the dragon's crash to the ground cause cave-ins, because dragons are freaking heavy after all. Have the fight take place on floating 'islands' of rock in the lava so that the dragon can tip them over or shatter them with a single hit. And, perhaps most sadistic of all, when the dragon dies, have it slam into a wall, causing a massive cave-in, which causes the lava to flow over the dragon's hoard! Even in victory, they know defeat!

[tonyz]

Also note that a CR14 monster with the environment slanted this heavily towards him isn't a CR14 encounter, it's more like CR15 or maybe CR16.

[Divinitus]

Well, the whole premise of this was to teach the PCs not to make bad decisions, so the CR system should not even be considered when making the decision. The point is, after all, to make a lasting impression on the PCs.

[Damon Griffin]

Give the dragon an amulet of mighty fists +2, and instead of having the amulet grant +2 to hit and damage, apply a +2 weapon quality not related to fire -- if they know they're taking on a red dragon they'll be prepared to resist fire as much as possible.

Now all of the dragon's natural attacks do their listed damage plus corrosive burst, or icy burst, or shocking burst, or +2d6 unholy damage...whatever.

Or for total GM evil, use a amulet of mighty fists +4 and apply the brilliant energy weapon quality.

[sowhereaminow]

If you really want to make an impression, trade out the Adult red dragon for a Great Wyrm red dragon! Have them catch it in a good mood - instead of destroying them outright, it puts them to work digging.

When it's back is turned (or out hunting), the PC's escape (give them ample opportunity). Getting revenge on the dragon will make a great long term campaign goal, especially since the dragon will probably take their magic gear.

Hmm, may use this one in one of my campaigns...

[Peasant]

tonyz wrote:

Also note that a CR14 monster with the environment slanted this heavily towards him isn't a CR14 encounter, it's more like CR15 or maybe CR16.

Tonyz has a valid point here. You /could/ call this a CR 14... technically the cavern falls within the realm of favorable terrain for an intelligent monster and some of the menace of the environment might be mitigated by pre-battle planning and preparation. But dragons are already notoriously potent and hazards don't get much deadlier than lava. There's enough of a chance of a wipe here that to preserve the integrity of your campaign I might actually absent the dragon when the party comes a calling. The cavern itself can kill them in the time it takes to search, which should serve as a valuable lesson and if they choose to steal his treasures, they'll have earned a potent enemy that will inevitably find them when they're at their most vulnerable. Tellingly, they could be half dead and out of spells and still stand a better chance against this thing in field of tulips.