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===== Nibelung Skirmish ===== === Level 1.5 Combat Scenario === The PCs battle a patrol of Nibelung within a dungeon, such as caves, ruins, or a castle interior. It features a Chanter whose spells heal allies and give them extra Actions. Being a level 1.5 scenario, it is higher difficulty than a typical level 1 battle. As such, the scenario is appropriate to use if the PCs make a poor decision or fail another scenario, such as trying to sneak through with stealth. ==== Setup ==== The battlefield is shadowy and takes place at a T-junction within a dungeon. A balcony above the junction provides a vantage point for the Chanter whose spells dominate the scenario. For simplicity's sake the balcony could be stand-alone or have a locked door that can't be accessed during the swift combat timeframe. If you wish, you could extend the battlefield map by having additional sections in a second level. The balcony is Height 1 above its adjacent section (and doesn't connect diagonally to nearby hallway sections). Adversaries can all climb freely, but PCs will need Acrobatics vs. 1d8 to climb using setting-appropriate fixtures such as long curtains, slick cave stones, or piled rubble. Entities on the balcony can +1 to Miss dice levels against ranged attacks from enemies not on the balcony. Feel free to extend the hallways farther if you wish. You could add some open room sections along them, or (if appropriate) have locked doors that the PCs will have to wait to explore after the battle. The hallways can bend and wind however you wish. Stone walls that meet at the junction prevent any diagonal movement between the central passage and the north-south one; entities must pass through the central choke point section instead. <file> 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0</file> ^ Adversary ^ Rank ^ Role ^ HP ^ Init ^ ^ [[analects_book_4_part_1_chapter_1#nibelung_chanter|Nibelung Chanter]] | Mini-boss | Support | 26 | 1d12 ^ ^ [[analects_book_4_part_1_chapter_1#nibelung_armling|Nibelung Armling]] | Regular | Defender | 15 | 1d8 ^ ^ [[analects_book_4_part_1_chapter_2#mindfang_spider|Mindfang Spider]] | Level 2 Mook | Support | 9 | 1d6 ^ ^ [[analects_book_4_part_1_chapter_1#nibelung_scrapper|Nibelung Scrapper]] | Mook | Brawler | 7 | 1d8 ^ ^ [[analects_book_4_part_1_chapter_1#nibelung_tosser|Nibelung Tosser]] | Mook | Artillery | 5 | 1d8 ^ === Three Players === * Nibelung Chanter * Mindfang Spider * Nibelung Scrapper * Nibelung Tosser === Four Players === * Nibelung Chanter * Nibelung Armling * Nibelung Scrapper x2 * Nibelung Tosser x2 === Five Players === * Nibelung Chanter * Mindfang Spider * Nibelung Scrapper x5 * Nibelung Tosser x2 === Starting Positions === * The PCs begin in the middle section. * The Nibelung Chanter begins on the balcony (the elevated section on the west). * The Armling, Scrappers, and Spider begin 1 section away from the PCs. * The Tossers begin 2 sections away from the PCs. ==== Tactics ==== The Chanter focuses on area damage with Bone Dance over trying to heal allies, treating any healing as a nice bonus. It likes to focus that damage on highly-armored PCs, such as a Warrior. Note that its healing can restore its defeated allies; in a desperate situation (such as all allies defeated), the Chanter will use it for that purpose in lieu of doing damage. It will generally stay on the balcony, daring PCs to try to climb up to it, but it will get away the moment a PC makes it up. The Chanter will not go out of its way to use Nibelung Recovery. Other enemies will basically just charge into battle. Tossers prioritize any PC that's incanting and otherwise will go after low-Defense characters. Scrappers also try to avoid well-armored PCs, leaving them for the Mindfang Spider and the Chanter. ==== Victory ==== The PCs may continue through the dungeon without issue, likely finding loot in nearby rooms. ==== Defeat ==== The PCs are forced to flee, suffering an Injury in the process. Choose the direction based on the flow of battle and where the PCs ended up at its conclusion. ==== Tweaks ==== The standard five player setup can lead to a whole lot of attacks if the PCs can't interrupt the Chanter (or if the Chanter gets a lucky hand of cards). If this is concerning, you can replace Scrappers with Armlings two for one as desired. This makes the scenario slightly harder to run because you have a fifth type of Adversary to deal with, but it's no problem if you're familiar with the Nibelung foes. A heavily armored party can prove resistant to the Scrappers and Tossers, so consider swapping in some more Mindfang Spiders. Note that they are 2nd level, so they're worth 0.75 PC each instead of 0.5 like the Nibelung mooks. So, if you don't make other changes, you'll need to swap them with a 3-for-2 exchange rate. Since this is already a level 1.5 scenario, you don't want to go any higher with the difficulty; it's preferable to go 0.25 below the provided writeup than above. If you want to go down to a standard level 1 scenario, just make a few adjustments to the enemy setup. For three players, eliminate the Spider. For four players, lose a Scrapper and a Tosser. For five players, lose the Spider and a Scrapper. Choose something in between these for a slight increase in challenge for a standard level 1 scenario. [[dm_s_toolbox_book_1_chapter_1|More level 1 combat scenarios]]
