Re: [DL] Maze Dragons [SPOILERS] (long)

[Patrick Downs <knick_nevin@yahoo.com>]

--- Duncan Squair <dunk1076@yahoo.com> wrote:
> aside from the pride I feel in having my group of
> neophytes whack a dragon, I am also worried about my
> ability to run critters.  So can anyone help me out
> with some tips on eeking the most mayhem out of
> monsters.  Or did I just overestimate the power of a
> maze dragon.  I feel kinda like I tried t!
> o knock down a house with a nuke, and I couldn't do
> it.......grrrrrr.

it depends
the maze dragon has a lot going for it, a party of
starting characters will probably get killed by such a
creature but the dice could favor the players
First off, did you remember that the maze dragon is
size 24? any damage it takes must inflict 24 points
for it take 1 wound, a shot to the head or guts would
need to inflict 120 points of damage to kill the
sucker.
Secondly, did you remember it has an armor value of 1?
Any damage inflicted is going to lose one die type. If
your PCs have normal pistols they're only doing 3d4 a
shot, and 24 is awfully hard to get on 3d4.
Thirdly, did you remember both the dragon's Terror
ability and the fear level of the DREAM? If it was a
dream, then the PCs could've been dreaming they were
in a deadland. Theoretically the dragon could've had a
Terror level of 17, or higher if you're not going to
limit yourself to a "real world" fear level. Most
starting characters don't start with d12s in Spirit,
and most inexperienced players never put 5 in Guts. I
know, I have three inexperienced players in my current
game who have only just learned that they can't have a
starting character with a Guts aptitude level of 0.
Fourth, and probably most importantly, what kinds of
characters are your players playing? If you've got a
party of Blessed or Shaman with healthy mixes of
healing and combative magic, then... Yes, I could see
them taking down a maze dragon in their first fight.
It is much more probable than a party of gunslingers.
Also, do they have any gadgets or use out of the
ordinary equipment? I could see a party with dynamite
launchers, flamethrowers, and gatling pistols/cannons
taking out a maze dragon pretty easily.
Fifth, and this one isn't a question, the maze dragon
has a swimming pace of 20 and a strength of 5d12+4. If
the characters were on a boat then it might've
benefitted the dragon more to attack the boat from an
unguarded angle then swim underwater.
Last weekend I ran a session where the characters had
to save an NPC from being attacked by sharks. I have a
Shootist in the party who decided to shoot at the
sharks. If you look up the stats for sharks (hard to
find, but they're in the Great Maze book) they have
Armor 1, I added to this by saying that the water gave
them an extra level of Armor, and if they were
swimming (i.e. not attacking) they were deeper and had
an extra two levels of Armor. It's not impossible to
believe that a maze dragon could employ the same
tactic by using the water as a makeshift armor. 
Held action (used at 3 of spades) = maze dragon rises
to surface
3 of hearts = maze dragon attacks
1st action next round = maze dragon descends

It's hard to run abominations, usually you're not
TRYING to kill the characters. Well, usually I'm not,
but I want to make it challenging and dangerous
without allowing the PCs to walk all over the
creature, and without the creature walking all over
the PCs. However, in my estimation and without knowing
any details of your fight, I think you might need to
plan your fights with monsters a little better. A
zombie is just a zombie, unless it's a zombie that can
sneak behind the party and fire a shotgun into their
backs (see stats for Veteran Walkin' Dead)
It's also one thing for the characters to fail their
guts checks, but if the players are afraid of what
you're unleashing upon them then you know you're doing
something right.

-doc

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