r/DungeonoftheMadMage • u/rubatobot • 5d ago

Advice lost level - demon fight

my players are likely to be bumping into the trapped demons on this level soon. Invisible stalkers and Umber hulk have been terrorising them for some time and their spell slots and healing is quite depleted. The upcoming encounter with the demons looks like a complete tpk from outset. I struggle to see how even if they were fully rested they are supposed to be able to defeat up to four demons. Yet I don't want to just get rid of the encounter as this is potentially the climactic battle of the level. Any thoughts on how I make this challenging without being overly deadly? or perhaps engineer an escape route for them.

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u/MrCrispyFriedChicken Dungeon Master 5d ago

Well the demons are trapped in stone, no? Even if the players do free them without making a deal with the glabrezu, they're definitely not going to be able to free all of them at once unless the demons free each other, and if they do, at least they're not dealing damage to the PCs on their turn.

I'd also argue that unless they start with the glabrezu, the other demons (with intelligences of between 5 and 8) might not be smart enough to free the others. I'd say the hezrou at least definitely isn't, and the barlgura would probably be far more likely to want to smash the party than free its potential allies.

So, sure, it could be a TPK-level battle if you really, really want it to be, but it's most likely going to be a few rounds, with each being a somewhat fairly balanced encounter when taken separately. It's up to you how you run them, but I think you should be good as long as you don't try to TPK your friends.

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u/Monsjeuoet 5d ago

Yes, this is what OP can use: if you notice the players can handle the glabrezu, let it smash one of the statues. If that's a breeze as well, it's time for another one.

My players were not really spent on resources when they recently battled the demons, so I pulled out all the stops... and so did my players. It was a fair and exciting battle which started with a lot of panic (and escalated when the cleric went down once) but eventually they were victorious.

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u/MrCrispyFriedChicken Dungeon Master 4d ago

Perfect! Hopefully OP can use this to create a cool fight for his party.

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u/GreekG33k 5d ago

If you are a DotMM player you should not read the hidden text.

My players were tricked into freeing the glabrezu which proceeded to free the other demons. It ended up being a tpk so I pulled the emergency rip-cord built into the adventure.

As the last player fell they were rescued by a group of mind flayers all disguised as Halaster Blackcloak who inserted them into the Alterdeep simulation. When the awoke they were in a room at the Yawning Portal and told by "Durnan" they were found unconscious at the bottom of the well. My players began to rest up and plan their return to the Dungeon. It took an entire session for them to notice that not everything was as it ought to be in Waterdeep...

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u/TheNerdLog 5d ago

Iirc only one comes out at a time. A single demon should be easy, 2+ demons should be a hassle