Encounter
The Sealed Prison Block
High fight for 4 level-5 characters in a dungeon
- XP
- 4,200 of a 4,400 XP high budget
- Party
- 4 characters of level 5
Rows of statues line the hall, and each has its face chiseled away. Claws click across stone in the room ahead.
Setup. Six swarms of crawling claws are rising from beneath the ground the moment the party crosses an old boundary stone.
Terrain
- Pit trap: a 10-foot pit (DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) to spot) drops a creature 20 feet onto spikes for 4d6 Piercing damage.
- Rubble: piles of fallen masonry are Difficult Terrain and give half cover.
Tactics. Destroying their leader makes the rest collapse at the end of the next round.
Twist. The creatures are under a curse, and breaking it is worth more than killing them.
Adjust on the fly
- Easier: Remove one swarm of crawling claws (−700 XP).
- Harder: Add one more swarm of crawling claws (4,900 XP total, beyond the High budget: dangerous for a tired party).
Treasure. 1,500 gp in mixed coins and two gemstones worth 150 gp each; Potion of Gaseous Form; An iron nail that hums near running water.