| andreww |
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
The Kineticist has been out for a little while now and has had a generally positive reception. I think it is an excellent class and can be built in many different ways. As such I decided to give it a spin to see how an all Kineticist party might work out at high level. I set the level to 20 and set up an adventure for them, trying to make it similar to what you might find in the last Chapter of Part 6 of an AP. As such it will involve a mix of Combat, Exploration and Investigation challenges. This means you cannot build solely for combat and hopefully makes each character a bit more realistic. I wanted to test a range of Gate combinations so three of the PCs are dual Gate and one has taken all six. I wanted to see how the Kineticist class works so I have generally avoided using archetypes.
Our adventure is set in the Tian Xia nation of Wanshou. Our heroes have come together to liberate the people from the monstrous rule of Zhannagar, the Lord of Storms and Bogs. Our heroes have begun an assault on his Winter Palace to finally bring down the tyrant. The palace is a massive, sprawling edifice set amongst the swamps and marshes of a large island off the coast. Obviously it is warded against attempts to simply teleport inside and much of it is underground so our heroes must force a way in through the front gate.
Our four heroes are:
Genzin, Lord of Fire - a Jinin Half Elf who has mastered the powers of Earth and Fire. He often engages foes in close combat, bringing powerful explosions and emitting a dangerous aura. Out of combat he is quite literally terrifying as well as being the groups lead on all matters dealing with Nature and lifting heavy objects.
Kyoku, Lady of Storms - a former slave of the many Boggard tribes which now rules over Wanshou, Kyoku came into her power during one of the many magical storms unleashed across the area by Zhannagar. She embodies air and water and provides a variety of movement and control options for the group as well as being their primary scout, trap finder and disabler. .
General Massamoto - the oldest member of the group, Massamoto was a human general in the armies of Zhannagar. Forced to serve under threat of the death of everyone he loved, the rest of the group freed his family and allowed him to turn on the Tyrant. Embodying wood and metal, he provides a mix of control, healing, and battlefield manipulation. Outside of combat he is the group's primary medic as well as being immensely knowledgeable about the local terrain.
Shu Zhen of the Many Gates - Shu Zhen is the youngest member of the group, and grew up in a hidden monastery where she was trained in all of the ancient mystical arts. Legend has it that she is destined to defeat Zhannagar but in this Age of Lost Omens prophecy is an unreliable thing. She has a range of support, control and attacking powers and is the groups primary knowledge character.
The groups standard exploration activities are:
Genzin: Search
Kyoku: Search and Avoid Notice (Legendary Stealth)
Massamoto: Defend
Shu-Zhen: Search
All of them have Incredible Initiative so no-one needs to Scout.
ENCOUNTER 1: THE PALACE GATES
Our heroes have snuck onto the island and are approaching the Palace. They can all fly (Kyoku and Shu-Zhen both have Cyclonic Ascent), Genzin has Burning Jet if he needs to and Massamoto has Soaring Wings. I could have skipped the last two but I generally like my high level PCs to have their own independent means of flight.
For this encounter however Genzin, Kyoku and Shu-Zhen are following the Expert to Avoid Notice behind Kyoku to avoid alerting the enemy. The guards are fairly lax, who would come to this depressing place? As such the group can get fairly close before making their assault.
The gate is set into a thick, high wall. The wall is 30’ high, two 40’ tall towers flank the gate. It has a significant force guarding it. Four grippli border guards keep watch from the top of the two watch towers and a corrupted star archon commander hovers over the central gate. Behind the wall, screened from the PCs view at the start, waits an enormous clockwork dragon. This is a 120xp severe encounter.
Opposition:
4 Border Guards [Level 18 - reskinned Elite Scarlet Triad Bosses]
1 Corrupted Star Archon [Level 19 - as regular Star Archon just swopping evil for good and removing Retributive Strike]
1 Clockwork Dragon [Level 16]
Our group attack from stealth, bursting out of the trees close to the wall!
Initiative Round 1
Kyoku
Archon
Orange
Blue
Red
Genzin
Dragon
Green
Shu-Zhen
Massamoto
Kyoku strikes first. She creates a massive hurricane on the top of one of the watchtowers hitting red and green. Red is torn into the air and then dropped over the edge of the battlements (crit fail for 36B plus 50 falling damage and prone]. Green manages to hold himself together (pass for 9B). She then channels the elements, activating her Sea Glass Guardians. All of our heroes have Kinetic Pinnacle as the group has no reliable means of getting level 7 Haste.
◆◆◆ Rising Hurricane
◆ Channel Elements - Sea Glass Guardians
Archon Seeing the palace under attack (and recognising the group - they are obviously very famous at this point), he wastes no time in unleashing his most potent abilities. Flying forward he hits the entire group with a massive Sunburst! Its rare to get to use such abilities given the massive radius but the area in front of the Gate is wide open. Shu-Zhen instantly recognises the spell (she has Recognise and Quick Recognition) and warns her allies. Genzin fails but is immune to fire and so ignores it. Kyoku critically fails. While she is immune to fire she isnt immune to becoming permanently blind and so uses her hero point. She passes and avoids that fate. Massamato fails taking 53 damage and Shu Zhen saves taking nothing due to Evasion.
Orange can feint targets within 30’ but the group are well beyond that. He simply unleashes three attacks at Kyku but all of them miss. I should probably have switched their short bows for long bows.
Blue is in much the same position as Orange. He moves closer on top of the Watchtower and shoots twice. His aim is better and both connect for 40 damage.
Red is on the ground. He hops to his feet, darts forward, tries to feint Kyoku and shoot her! His feint fails and his arrow goes wide.
Genzin unleashes a hellish firestorm onto the two towers which catches all three Guards still up there. It deals 67 fire damage. Orange fails (67), blue passes (33) and green critically fails (134). He then channels elements and earth blasts red, critting him for 44 B.
◆◆◆ All Shall End in Flames
◆ Channel Elements and Blast
Dragon With a roar the dragon takes to wing, flying over the wall and landing in front of the group. It opens its massive jaws and engulfs them all in flaming oil. Again, Genzin and Kyoku are immune. The others both pass, taking nothing due to evasion.
Green launches three attacks at Kyoku. Only one connects for 23 damage.
Shu-Zhen drops a mass of rocks on the dragon, archon and red for 58B damage. The archon evades the entire effect but red critically fails (116) as does the dragon (101). She then throws a rock at red, missing with a 1.
◆◆◆ Shattered Mountain Weeps
◆ Channel Elements and Blast
Massamoto decides to layer on the pain. He fills a large section of the battlefield with razor sharp metal, hitting red and the archon. It deals 61 P damage. The archon saves (30) but red fails (61P and Immobilised). He then throws a bolt of electricity at the dragon, figuring that if its made of metal it might be vulnerable. He crits it for 40 damage.
Genzin, 328/328
Kyoku, 265/328, Guardians
Massamoto, 275/328
Shu-Zhen, 328/328
Archon, 370/400. Resist 15 fire, weakness 15 good
Red, 72/335, immobilised
Blue, 332/335
Green, 192/335
Orange, 268/335
Dragon, 124/265, resist physical 15, weak electricity 15
Initiative Round 2
Kyoku unleashes another hurricane at the two distant guards still on the Watchtower. It deals 18B, Orange critically fails (36B +50 falling), Blue fails (18B +50 falling). She then re-establishes her fishy companions.
◆◆◆ Rising Hurricane
◆ Channel Elements and Sea Glass Guardians
Archon flies out of the hail of rocks and metal (he takes no damage, he is just at the edge). He unleashes a prismatic spray, hitting all four.
Genzin is hit by Green [Poison] and critically fails. He hero points into a critical success.
Kyoku is hit by Red [Fire] and ignores it as she is immune.
Massmaoto is hit by Yellow [Electricity] and also ignores it as he is Immune.
Shu-Zen is hit by Blue [Petrify] and Violet [Slow]. She critically passes the Petrification and passes the Slow.
Overall not a great turn for him.
Orange stands up, moves, and takes a shot at Kyoku, hitting for 26.
Blue does the same, hitting for 20
Red escapes from the needles, moves, tries to feint Kyoku (crit pass) and shoots but misses.
Genzin is faced with fairly spread out enemies. However, All Shall End in Flames is a massive burst and he catches the Dragon, Orange and Blue in it for 64 damage. The dragon fails (74 as he is in Genzins aura), Orange and Blue pass (32). He then launches a rock at Red, missing with a 1.
◆◆◆ All Shall End in Flames
◆ Channel Elements and Blast
Dragon As the group has yet to move the dragon has them in a perfect formation for its tail spike. It flies around the group and tries to spear Massmaoto, Shu Zen and Genzin. It crits with a natural 20 for 82 damage! Genzin reacts, leaping away and doing the dragon fire damage (27)
Green Seeing that Massmaoto is injured, takes three shots at him but his aim is terrible.
Shu-Zhen Drops another mountain, this time on orange and blue for 69 damage. Orange critically fails (138) but blue saves (34) and then electrocutes the dragon, hitting for 32 damage and destroying it. It begins to tick ominously.
◆◆◆ Shattered Mountain Weeps
◆ Channel Elements and Blast
Massamoto drops another Hell onto orange and blue for 58P. Orange passes but is overcome, blue fails and is immobilised (58). He then channels and blasts the archon as the only thing in range, critting for 52 electricity.
◆◆◆ Hell of 1M Needles
◆ Channel Elements and Blast
Genzin, 246/328
Kyoku, 219/328, Guardians
Massamoto, 193/328
Shu-Zhen, 246/328
Archon, 318/400. Resist 15 fire, weakness 15 good
Red, 72/335
Blue, 140/335
Green, 192/335
Orange, Dead
Dragon, 0/265, resist physical 15, weak electricity 15, Exploding
Initiative Round 3
Kyoku moves up to red, transforms herself into a bolt of lightning which crackles through him and the archon for 43 damage. Red passes (21) but the archon fails (43). She then sends a blast of cold at red, hitting for 19.
◆ Move
◆◆ Lightning Dash
◆ Channel Elements and Blast
Archon Decides to stop messing about with spells and unleashes their multi starknife attack. The first strike hits Kyoku for 27 (she is immune to the fire) but then he misses. He then closes on Kyoku.
Blue Staggers out of the metal spikes (taking 14 damage) and then slowly out of the falling rocks. He manages to feint Massamoto and shoots, critting for 65!
Red Seeing an opportunity moves and feints Massamoto, shoots him for 33 and then misses.
Genzin is out of his Gate having used an overpower reaction. At the start of his turn he aligns himself automatically with Final Gate and blasts red, killing him. He launches another conflagration of flame at green and blue for 68 damage. Blue fails (68), Green crit fails (136). Ouch He channels again with his quickened action and blasts blue for another 20!
◇ Final Gate Channel Elements and Blast
◆◆◆ All Shall End in Flames
◆ Channel Elements and Blast
Dragon At this point the ominously ticking dragon explodes! It hits everyone except green. All of the group save, taking no damage! The archon and blue save but take 33.
Green is badly injured but sees a chance to take down Massamoto and so unleashes on him. He hits once for 17.
Shu-Zhen Conjures a timber sentinel next to herself and Massamoto and then blasts twice. First she forms her blast into a bow which crits for 48, killing him. Her second blast flies over the head of the archon.
◆◆ Timber Sentinel
◇ Weapon Infusion
◆ Blast
◆ Channel Elements and Blast
Massamoto is badly injured but most of the enemy are down. Green remains stubbornly alive so he conjures a mighty ballista to shoot him, hitting for 59 damage which kills him and gaining some temp HP in the process. He only has 30’ range blasts and no stance so he simply realigns his gate.
◆◆◆ Elemental Artillery
◆ Channel Elements
Genzin, 246/328
Kyoku, 192/328
Massamoto, 78/328, 20 temp HP
Shu-Zhen, 246/328
Archon, 235/400. Resist 15 fire, weakness 15 good
Red, Dead
Blue, Dead
Green, Dead
Orange, Dead
Dragon, Dead
Initiative Round 4
Kyoku with only the archon left to contend with Kyoku hits him with a melee blast for 17 acid, transforms herself into a bolt of lightning and shoots through him for another 47 electricity (he fails) and then channels and sends a ranged air blast for 18 cold.
◆ Melee Blast
◆◆ Lightning Dash
◆ Channel Elements and Blast
Archon Seeing the writing on the wall the Archon flees (it escapes given its 75’ flight speed and at will dimension door)
I give the group one 10 minute rest to recover. If they take longer it is clear that the palace will become aware of the attack and that will make it much harder to get in.
Massamoto is a Legendary Medic with ward medic and assurance. He auto passes the DC30 and heals everyone for 36 damage. He dashes some herbs on a quick restorative meal of fresh produce, giving everyone 119 back. This gets everyone back to full except for him so Kyoku hits him with an Oceans Balm for another 51. They live with Massamoto having a little damage on him and press on to try and break into the Winter Palace.
Genzin, 328/328
Kyoku, 328/328
Massamoto, 289/328
Shu-Zhen, 328/328
Next up, a skill challenge to get into the magically sealed palace with a variable encounter to follow depending on how well they do.
| Gaulin |
Oh man I got so excited when I saw this thread, recognize your forum name immediately. I love your write ups so much. Looking forward to more!
| Applied_People |
Oh man I got so excited when I saw this thread, recognize your forum name immediately. I love your write ups so much. Looking forward to more!
I had no such foreknowledge and am just devouring any and all posts about Kineticists here and on Reddit.
So I got lucky! This was great @andreww.
I look forward to more...but in the meantime, it sounds like you may have more similar posts somewhere.
Any chance you could share a link or two? Or tell me what to search for?
| andreww |
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Gaulin wrote:Oh man I got so excited when I saw this thread, recognize your forum name immediately. I love your write ups so much. Looking forward to more!I had no such foreknowledge and am just devouring any and all posts about Kineticists here and on Reddit.
So I got lucky! This was great @andreww.
I look forward to more...but in the meantime, it sounds like you may have more similar posts somewhere.
Any chance you could share a link or two? Or tell me what to search for?
If you click on my name you can search for previous posts and threads. Threads is easiest.
However, I have previously done the following for 2E:
Level 20 Test abandoned early due to failing horribly against the Xoltanis.
I did some similar stuff for 1E if you are interested.
| andreww |
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
SKILL CHALLENGE 1
Our Heroes must now find their way into the Winter Palace through the massive sealed Gate and the magical barrier. The is a skill challenge, the group needs to get in quickly or they will face overwhelming opposition as the Palace Guard musters for battle.
Each PC gets to make a single check to see how well they remove the various obstacles to entry. The number of successes determine how difficult the opposition is they face in the Palace Courtyard. The following skills are available:
Hard (DC45): Athletics (to force the Gates), [Arcana, Religion, Occultism] (to undermine the magical defences), Crafting (to understand the mechanisms involved)
Moderate (DC42): Thievery (to disable the wards), Nature (to undermine the magical defences, a lower DC as Zhannagar is a Primal entity)
Effects:
Critical Success: 2 Bypass Points
Success: 1 Bypass Point
Failure: No effect
Critical Failure: -1 Bypass Point
Results:
4+ Points: Trivial Encounter
3 Points: Low Encounter
2 Points: Moderate Encounter
1 Point: Severe Encounter
0 Points: Extreme Encounter
To avoid any risk of metagaming the choices each PC will use their highest skill, regardless of the difficulty.
Genzin starts us off by trying to force the gates open with his mighty thews! The gates begin to creak against the force he can bring to bear (Nat 20 on Athletics, crit success, 2 points. He would have been better off using his Legendary Nature but his Athletics is 1 point higher)
Kyoku As Genzin works with force, Kyoku brings her infiltration skills to bear, weakening the hinges and disrupting the magic protecting the Gate (46 on Thievery, Success).
Massamoto is well versed in the magical arts and calls on his Legendary Religion to weaken the magical barriers protecting the Gate (45, a Success)
Shu-Zen is the most mystical member of the group and further weakens the Gate with her knowledge of magic (She is using Arcana but with the Nature DC due to Unified Theory, she gets 35, a nat 1! She spends her Hero Point, and gets a second Nat 1!)
The group ends with 3 successes, respectable, but it means the Palace Guard have had enough time to assemble a reasonable force to oppose the intruders!
| andreww |
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
ENCOUNTER 2: THE PALACE COURTYARD
Our heroes burst into the Palace Courtyard to be confronted by the Guard who have managed to assemble in the short time available. They are lead by Roach, an ancient Boggard spellcaster and Lich who has served Zhannagar for centuries. It is he who built the terracotta armies which protect the Palace!
Opposition:
1 Elite Runecarved Lich [Level 20]
2 Elite Planar Terracotta Squadrons [Level 16]
Unfortunately for them the party beats the lot of them in initiative.
Initiative
Shu-Zen
Massmamoto
Kyoku
Genzin
Roach
Red Troop
Blue Troop
Round 1
Shu-Zhen, as is her wont, Shu Zen leads off by dropping a mountain on the enemy! It deals 49B damage, Roach saves (24) but Blue critically fails (118) and Red fails (69). She then sends a bast of fire at Blue, critting for 24 fire and reducing its troop size!
◆◆◆ Shattered Mountain Weeps
◆ Channel Elements and Blast
Massamoto lathers on the pain, filling the area with metal spikes hitting all of the enemies! It deals 49P damage. Roach passes (24) but both troops critically fail (118 each, immobilised and off guard). Red is past its first threshold, blue is past its second! He isn't in range for any of his blasts so his Kinetic Pinnacle action is wasted, except for reconnecting his Gate.
◆◆◆ Hell of 1M Needles
◆ Channel Elements
Kyoku adds to the chaos with a terrifying thunderclap! It deals 41 damage, hitting all enemies. This time Roach fails (41 and deafened for a round), as do both of the troops (61 to both). She then tries to electrocute the red troop but misses with a 1.
◆◆◆ Storm Spiral
◆ Channel Elements and Blast
Genzin continues the punishment by filling the area with flames! It deals 70 damage. Roach critically fails (140) as does Red Troop (160), Blue just fails (70). Both troops scatter in confusion and disarray! Technically All Shall End in Flames has the death trait and as such undead and constructs should be immune to the whole thing but that makes no sense whatsoever. I treat them as only being immune to the actual destruction ability, not that it matters here. He cannot reach Roach with a blast so instead enters his Stance.
◆◆◆ Shattered Mountain Weeps
◆ Channel Elements and Thermal Nimbus Stance
Roach is concerned, he is badly injured and his troops have been destroyed. He staggers out of the area of falling rocks, bringing Massamoto into the range of his aura but he holds himself together (Pass, Frightened 1). He then draws on his spell tome and unleashes nightmarish terrors at the group with a Weird spell dealing 64 mental damage. Genzin fails, Kyoku critically fails, Massmamoto and Shu-Zen save. Fortunately Kyoku critically passes her fortitude save with the help of Greater Juggernaut. She still takes double damage as the damage is coming from the will save. She is also frightened 2 but not fleeing at least.
Genzin, 264/328, 0 Hero Points
Kyoku, 200/328, 0 Hero Points, frightened 2
Massamoto, 257/328, frightened 1
Shu-Zhen, 296/328, 0 Hero Points
Roach, 162/350
Red, dead
Blue, dead
Round 2
Shu-Zhen Deciding that the lich is dangerous she flies forward (she saves against the aura, becoming frightened 1 which doesn't affect anything and then goes to 0 at the end of her turn), turns herself into a cloud of burning ash and rushes through him before reforming and striking him from behind. She deals 47 fire damage and Roach fails the save. She then stabs him with a wooden stake for 28 vitality damage.
◆ Move
◆◆ Ash Strider
◆ Channel Elements and melee Wood Blast
Massamoto conjures up a ballista and shoots it at the Lich! It hits for another 38 damage and gives him some temp HP just in case. He still isnt in range for a free blast, he may want to retrain into a stance, maybe Orchards Endurance. He still channels to re-establish his aura connection.
◆◆◆ Elemental Artillery
◆ Channel Elements
Kyoku conjures up the force of the winds and propels her allies towards the Lich. She fails against the aura but is already frightened 2. She launches a bolt of lightning at him which misses and conjures her fish guardians!
◆◆ Four Winds
◇ Weapon Infusion (Thrown)
◆ Ranged air blast
◆ Channel Elements and Sea Guardians Stance
Genzin moves to flank the Lich and strikes him twice for 34 damage each time which finishes him off!
◆ Move
◆◆ Melee Earth Blast
◆ Channel Elements and Melee Earth Blast
Genzin, 264/328, 0 Hero Points
Kyoku, 200/328, 0 Hero Points
Massamoto, 257/328,
Shu-Zhen, 296/328, 0 Hero Points
Well, that was short and sweet. Again I give the group one 10 minute break to heal up. Massamaoto uses Treat Wounds on everyone for 38HP along with Fresh Produce and Dash of Herbs for another 129 getting everyone up to full. Shu Zen takes the time to identify Roach's magic items, the Wand of Wall of Force would have been nice if it wasn't a 3 action spell and therefore un Trickable.
Next up, navigating the Palace!
| andreww |
For those interested in the mechanics I have put up the stat blocks for our four heroes.
Genzin, Lord of Fire
Kyoku, Lady of Storms
General Massamoto
Shu Zhen
When doing this I realised that I had completely missed Genzin's Spike Skin which might have saved him some pain. No doubt there will be other errors as running four high level PCs at once is a complicated business.
Invictus Fatum
|
Wow, I rarely play lvl 20 so might not have this in full perspective...BUT this full group of Kineticists is just wrecking it. Amazing, I love this class!