Zymer's Candle and replaying rooms

5e-hardcore

#1

Hey Weirdos,

I’m playing 5e with some of Hankerin’s Hardcore rules and recently introduced Zymer’s Candle because there was a big, tough encounter in the party’s future and I wanted to pull out all the stops. Suffice to say they got owned and used the candle.

Now they plan to rest up, get tactical and try again. My worry is that it won’t be fun a second (or third) time around. The encounter took about 2 hours to play through online and that was with a reset, so I’m wondering what folks do to make replays interesting and enjoyable. Or is the fun being able to try over and over, like Dark Souls?

I’m also fairly certain they cannot beat the encounter. They are a party of glass cannons who had a pair of NPCs who handled the front-line fighting, but they have not been kind to the NPCs and it boiled over after the reset, resulting in the PCs killing one NPC and the other fleeing. (Things have taken a very dark turn in the game.) Without their front-liners, I don’t think they will be successful, but due to the nature of the encounter there is extreme time pressure and they cannot get help without failing the mission, which is a rescue situation.

Long ramble but TL;DR: is replaying the same room fun? And tips or pitfalls to avoid?

Yours in brau,

MT


#2

Hey @Metalbrau!.. Heres what I would do…

Change the encounter… same big boss, different locations, minions, guards, maybe add a wildcard or 2.

I would make it new everytime… keeps them on their toes and forces them to adapt to a changing world… cause unlike a video game, RPG’s are living things.

Game On!


#3

Without knowing more, it might be fun to have the Big Bad aware of the use of the candle. Maybe she taunts the party, or invites them to parley, or otherwise changes the setup.

But even absent that, taking new learnings about the event into a do-over should get the party to think about how to maximize their chances. “Did you see how she reacted to that Cone of Cold? Don’t waste your time with that again!”


#4

Don’t change a thing! Something’s already changed with your PCs having antagonized their frontline fighters! Besides, it’s quite alright, even encouraged, to let players strategise and learn from their mistake, that’s when they feel the most control over their character and the world they evolve in! Don’t take that away from them!

But if you’ve warned the players that the monster could call in reinforcements before, then feel free to add some more monsters, if it’s logical to do so.


#5

Thanks for the perspective, everyone. I think I’m going to run the encounter as a do-over, with some minor changes to account for the entropy of the universe (monsters positioned in slightly different places, etc.). However, the players were chatting in our group chat earlier today and it sounds like they are planning to have a long rest before going back in, which because of the time pressure (it’s a rescue mission before s magical ritual is completed) will mean mission failed, no encounter! So all this may be moot.


#6

Are you keeping them aware of the time limit? Feel free to help and remind your players about things to be fair! :smiley:
By the way, what are the motivations of the monsters in that encounter? Perhaps… the players can negotiate for allies? :grin: