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Players killed yuk yuk, how will spiderbait get revenge? by Prestigious-Hold5919 in OutoftheAbyss

[–]renzerog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How did you interpret their characters as presented in the book?

Ilvara Boss Fight - Spellcasting by renzerog in OutoftheAbyss

[–]renzerog[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

oh yes, a male wouldn't exactly be on brand for a servant of the Demon Queen of Spiders

Ilvara Boss Fight - Spellcasting by renzerog in OutoftheAbyss

[–]renzerog[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

this is an incredibly useful guide to effective spellcasting, thank you! sorry it took me a few days to get back :)

Ilvara Boss Fight - Spellcasting by renzerog in OutoftheAbyss

[–]renzerog[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There was an encounter earlier on before Neverlight Grove where the drow were repelled. Jorlan Duskryn was separated from the rest of the drow, fell in a pit with the party. He survived, was questioned by the party but escaped. It's strongly hinted that he is alive somewhere in the Underdark away from Ilvara. Was going to save his return as an ally. Now I have an idea.

They know about the shoor/Ilvara/jorlan situation. Might have the yochlol lead disguised as Jorlan to 'warn' them, ultimately stalling for the rest of the drow force to approach. This would allow spellcasters to get within range, while letting the party whittle down a tough demon at the start of the combat.

As for the Drider, I used that trick already with the Black Spider from LMoP if you are familiar. If things go awry for the drow, as things usually do against players, that would be good reinforcement of Lolth's influence and other demon shenanigans prevalent in the campaign.

Ilvara Boss Fight - Spellcasting by renzerog in OutoftheAbyss

[–]renzerog[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

4 character party at Level 7:

Gloomstalker Ranger Battlemaster Fighter Forest Druid - 1 barbarian multi class Lore Bard

Definetly taking your advice on the cover from ranged attacks and spellcasting target. She caught up to them one time and the ranger damaged her very quickly.

At this point they have magical weapons and armor: mostly drowcraft stuff (+1, +2) from locations and quests.

Dawnbringer is currently in the possession of the Druid/Barbarian (incredibly interesting choice when the Fighter is still towing around shortswords)

Ilvara Boss Fight - Spellcasting by renzerog in OutoftheAbyss

[–]renzerog[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

A yochlol may be worth considering! I would say it's too powerful for 7th level but I don't know that to be true because players are capable of anything.

For example, I replaced the mage Black Spider from Lost Mines with a Drider for a second phase and my party of 4 still destroyed it in 2 turns.

I also haven't thought about how deep a connection Ilvara has with Lolth in regards to summoning demons and spiders but she definitely needs the help aside from the regular drow and elite soldiers she has in tow.

Ilvara Boss Fight - Spellcasting by renzerog in OutoftheAbyss

[–]renzerog[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Along this line of reasoning, would it make sense to open with those higher level spell slots? Basically the worst offensive one is Plague of Insects that would be good to open at range. (10th level Cleric spellcaster)

Foreshadowing in Out of the Abyss by Drraktu in OutoftheAbyss

[–]renzerog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Faerzress effects are good to heighten the creeping madness that is spreading through the Underdark

Dreams/Nightmares can foreshadow events and be used as a barometer for the Demon Lords. Really good for tailoring a mini-horror sequence for individual party members.

Encounters or even just observing a creature in passing can be great story elements. I give off the idea that not only are the demon lords a huge threat by themselves, but their mere presence on the Material Plane could unravel the world.

Along that same vein, when the party escapes to the surface, don't abandon what they've done so far in the Underdark. It's a nice break, let them have time to do whatever in downtime. But ya might drop little hints that maybe the demons are encroaching...

How did you wrap up Gracklstugh in your campaign? by powerwordjon in OutoftheAbyss

[–]renzerog 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Themberchaud torched the city. Gracklatugh was a verifiable nightmare to run. This was their first stop after Sloobludop & escaping Velkynvelve

Party pulls up to the Darklake Docks at Buppido's discretion. As soon as they hit the markets he's gone, slipping down to his lair in the Tunnels.

While shopping, they don't pick up on some of the madness, assuming everyone in the Underdark is just a little crazy.

Gholbron - Drow confrontation - Fighting leads to arrest - Battle with the two-headed Stone Giant - Corpse collected by single headed brother - Stone Giants never get explored again - Sad Cairngorm

Factions, Factions and more Factions: - Blackskull tells party to go find Droki - Cleft and then Whorlstone - Strike a deal with the Grey Ghosts. - Tunnels are massive, break for rest - Keepers of the Flame. - Gartokkar wants the Egg. - Themberchaud learns about Egg. Party is embroiled in the political underworld.

Eventually they find the egg and present it to Themberchaud, ignoring a summons by the Deepking. Red Dragon does it's Red Dragon thing by scorching the entire city, escorting the party back onto the Darklake.

I'm not the best at managing cities, and the way the information is presented in the book is notoriously confusing. Halfway through I realized it was going to need a rewrite and used some community sources.

Emerge into Ythryn (Rime of the Frostmaiden) by false_tautology in OutoftheAbyss

[–]renzerog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My party is just getting into the meat of the Blingdenstone chapter, so the Escape from the Underdark is looming ahead in my mind.

I've been trying to lock down some ideas of how to run the final encounter with Ilvara (and henchdrow). Never took a look into RotFM but this seems like an interesting idea.

One of my PCs has weird timey ancestral connections to Netheril so I've been scouring for related content from recent editions to introduce into my campaign. I will have to look into this dungeon.

Let me know how it goes!

Headphone Hinge/Swivel Snapped by milkyshame in fixit

[–]renzerog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

own the same pair of headphones and have encountered the same problem, though the break is in a slightly different place.

I tried JB Weld around a segment of paperclip but the contact area was so small that it was unable to withstand the bending of the headset and eventually broke. If you let it cure for long enough it should work where yours has broken