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Old 04-27-2003, 03:51 PM   #1
Santrilla
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Ok, here's my problem; I've got a particular monster in one of my campaigns and I don't know if it's too mean to put in. It's a mummy. It'll be placed in front of a level 1-2 party, and it's got a CR of 3. Only 42 hp, so the party will probably kill it quite quickly. BUT it is infected with Mummy Rot, a nasty disease. Fortitude save DC on mummy rot is something like 18, and the disease does about 1d6 points of constitution damage per day. If constitution reaches 0, the infected person dies.

What I want to know, is am I being too harsh giving this to the party? Bearing in mind they probably won't have a cleric around (not that it makes a lot of difference; remove disease is a high level spell) and the monster is a good week away from the nearest city. So, gimme your thoughts on this please.
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Old 04-27-2003, 11:45 PM   #2
The Vorpal Tribble
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Oooh, AD&D... is this an online game? I've been looking for an AD&D game for a good long while but the couple I've joined fell apart pretty quickly.

I'd not have a problem with the mummy. Maybe have a subtle way of counteracting it. Maybe in a description of a room they pass through it has some type of herb that could possibly counteract it, or maybe have some trap or something like that to give them a chance of killing the zombie without having to attack it... stuff like that would be cool. That way, if they complain you can say there were options.
Also, it is said that if zombies have salt put in their mouth they will run back for their graves. If I was playing I would reccomend any archer in the group to get a little bag or folded leaf, sprinkle salt in it, stick it to the arrow, and shoot the zombie in the head. Maybe splash it with a canteen of salt water? Lots of options.

-VT
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Old 04-28-2003, 12:36 AM   #3
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I don't think it would be HORRID for you to do that, but it is rather tough if they fail the check. Also, don't mummies get 3 attacks per round (claw, claw, bite)? That could potentially be 3 checks per round.

If you don't give them a way to possibly make it out if they get the rot, then the battle might be too difficult. If you do, however, give them a way to slow down the con loss or to cure themselves eventually, then it's no problem!
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Old 04-28-2003, 02:53 PM   #4
enigma@zebedee
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Generally I am a high-risk high-reward type of person - as all the people who keep dieing in my areas (but go in there anyhow) will testify.

On the other hand if you are throwing a mummy in at them at level 1/2 then what will you give them at level 5?

I would be reluctant to put a mummy in at this point simply because it then reduces the impact of all your other undead. 'Bah, its only a ghoul - we killed a MUMMY the other day'.

Why not use something like a plague zombie (with a weaker disease)? Or a Skeletal giant?
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Old 04-28-2003, 03:38 PM   #5
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Any of you with AD&D games have an opening?
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Old 04-28-2003, 07:31 PM   #6
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As far as a mummy at level 1 or 2 goes. I would not recommend it at all. As was stated in a previous reply undead in the future will lose their impact unless you play the mummy to it's full effectiveness which would mean killing off a fair number of their company. As far as your problem with the mummy rot goes there are several simple ways to weaken the impact of it such as an ancient spring with healing properties, potions or herbs that slow down the effects(long enough for the party to find a priest capable of curing it which could be an adventure in and of itself). If you want to make things difficult for them with undead I would suggest throw a few opponents at them. Keep in mind that mummies have 2 things other than the rot which is going to mangle a low level party. Fear affect by seeing it and the fact that physical attacks only do half damage so effectively it has 84 hp.
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Old 04-29-2003, 12:44 PM   #7
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hmm... as the other guys said, a mummy is such a great monster to throw at people, I mean, it will lose some effectiveness after that, and the fact that now they will think of other particulary good undead as weaklings, try heucuvas, shadows, ghasts and then a mummy would be fine, if you are still interested in a mummy create a mummy-like creature with some ofit's powers and throw it at them.
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Old 04-29-2003, 12:45 PM   #8
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Old 04-29-2003, 12:53 PM   #9
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Old 04-29-2003, 11:09 PM   #10
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Ugh, please no. I've seen those forum AD&Ds and they take forever... how about we start a campaign on an IRC room? Undernet or Austnet is my prefered server.
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Old 04-30-2003, 10:31 AM   #11
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When it comes to questions like these, I like to first ask myself a few questions:

1) Does it make sense in game for this monster to be here? Go back and carefully read the description of a mummy. Since this is a very high CR monster for the level (and beleive me, unless your characters are min-maxed, a mummy can very easily kill most of them), there should be a dang good reason for it to be there.

2) Have I worked its existance into the adventure well enough? Again, this should probably be the BIG bad guy of the adventure... and as such should appear somewhere after hints to its existance are given. Did you give the characters a chance to find a journal detailing the curse put upon this individual? Did they have a chance to do research of the area they went to explore beforehand? While it is not necessary for them to know 100% that they are going to face a mummy, I would think it likely for them to expect some form of bad bad undead. Giving them a warning will allow them to prepare in more detail. I find this essential when dealing with monsters that permanently effect characters (especially in such a low level campaign).

3) Is the terrain designed so that the characters can deal with the encounter creatively? I always like to give the characters a chance to use the terrain and other creative choices to their advantage in boss battles. If you simply put the mummy in a 40 by 40 room with no furniture and lock the doors behind the characters... well all you are going to get is boring rolling. Think about adding a lamp, the only remaining posession of the mummy's living counterpart, that will entrance him hidden somewhere in the room. Think about making the room slope downward and putting old wine casks the characters can roll toward the mummy. Think about a lot of stuff... boss battles shouldn't be merely about statistical might (and again, unless your characters are twinked to high ####, the mummy will have a distinct advantage statistically), but instead they should be about advancing the story and a solid use of tactics. ####, usually, I just put random objects in a room with no idea how the characters will use them... if they are smart, they will probably surprise you (that is a good thing, remember you are not trying to win, you are trying to make it fun for everyone).

If you can answer all of those questions, then I wouldn't say a mummy is too much. However, tough battles like these can very easily kill your entire party if you don't think them through. Be wary with them.
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