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<dchinn@nwlink.com> wrote in message
news:1113817986.562738.54460@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> hello all:
>
> A black dragon has acid breath, whose area of effect is a
> ray, 60 ft long. It does 6d4 damage.
>
> a) is that 6d4 total damage? or 6d4 to each creature that doesn't
> save? That is, if there are 6, characters in the AOE, and 6d4 comes
> up 12, is the damage a) 2 points each, or b) 12 points each?
>
> We've been playing (b); but the pcs in the introductory, boxed set
> adventure
> were creamed by the black dragon. The pcs had gotten to second
> level,
> and we replayed the scenario a couple of times; each time the dragon
> munched the pcs pretty severely.
>
> b) When determining what squares lie in the aoe, I'm thinking you
> draw a line emanating from the dragon's square for 60 feet. And
> then,
> every square the line touches is affected by the attack... is that
> true?
>
> thanks in advance
> david
AOE is a line but I think that was already said, by many including
you.
The answer is all players in the AOE take the full amount of 6d4, most
people roll the damage value once because to do otherwise would be
both time consuming and perhaps a little silly. Although there might
be some talk for rolling damage value for each player. It produces
more of a random damage spread but still the best way to handle this,
timewise is to roll once. Apply any modifiers for everybody, evasion,
cover, etc.
Now the question is why are level 2 character fighting a dragon? Why
not try to talk with the dragon. Dragons are not mindless killing
machines and even the Chromatics will stop to talk if they think they
have the upperhand or can control the encounter. A black dragon might
open with a breath weapon, notice that he slaughtered quite a few of
the people and offer peace in exchange for something. The something
could easily be the corpses of those it killed, or shiny gems, gold,
equipment. It might even be a promise of service to him, or a promise
of never returning to his place. Remember, at least in most games,
players do get rewards for overcoming a foe. Now if the Mod, Starting
adventure, etc provided no options for parley, or barter or anything
else, it becomes up to the DM to modify the adventure to make it at
least competitive for the players.
Overcoming, does not always equal killing. I know my players were
freaked out when their first level characters came face to face with a
Mind Flayer. The creature was just seeking the brain of a fallen
slave, and wasn't concerned with the players because their minds were
too "weak." For the Flayer it would have been like eating popcorn when
you really wanted a steak. I never throw punches though, and if the
players had decided to attack the Flayer, it would have been on them.
I never straight out said "You, guys, might be better off trying to
talk to the Flayer." I just had the creature kill off an NPC, and
feast on his brain. After that he stood there surveying the Party and
deciding if any of them were worthy. If the players had attempted an
attack, I might have had them Mindblasted, and taken as slaves.
The slavery could have become a hook for further adventures. The
Flayer was a plant that was supposed to foreshadow their later
encounters with the Flayers but the campaign never got that far.
I really have to brush up on my AOE plotting, because I couldn't even
answer that question. I normally just have it come from the front of
his square and go out 60 feet in a straight line, or in which ever
angle it is going. That is for lines of course, and if my method is
not correct, I do plan on altering it when I get my new campaign
started. Aside from Campaign specific differences, I do hope to get to
a point where I don't have to reference the book for odd effects.
) that the kids summoned. After three tries ("okay you guys,
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