Lair Assault

I got a Lair Assault kit yesterday, and after looking through the 16-page, digest sized booklet have this to say: good luck.

Size matters not. Judge it by its size, do you?

The entire scenario is comprised of one mega-encounter that you have to wrap up in 20 rounds. In addition to a hard time limit, you also roll initiative once, can not take a short rest, and the DM can mix up the monsters and terrain to fuck with repeat groups. The levels of the monsters also range from level 4-10, with the BBEG statted as a level 8 elite. As if that was not enough there are also factors in effect to fuck with what would normally be some pretty damned useful abilities, as well as a few timed events that can turn up the heat (hint: the map has two sides).

The tips I will give are that fire resistance will be helpful, and to keep an eye out for an easter egg--its on the cover, actually--and some situational benefits scattered here and there. Also, be aware of the time; I would be impressed by a group that manages to take out every monster in the dungeon, especially on Nightmare difficulty. In fact, I think that glory hounds are going to have to make quite a few playthroughs to get all the awards (especially since two require you to die). Speaking of glory awards, here is the entire list sans secret ones:

GENERAL AWARDS

• Epic Win (20): Defeat the challenge on Nightmare mode.
• I'll Be Back (10): Get a 20 or higher on a death save.
• It's Critmas (5): Score a crit.
• Monster Slayer (20): Kill every enemy in the dungeon.
• Commando (20): Do not use magic items or consumables.
• One Shot (10): Drop a non-minion enemy from full hit points to zero in one hit.
• Racy Group (10): Win with every character as the same race.
• Tough As Nails (20): Win without spending a healing surge.
• TPK (5): Everyone dies.
• It's a Trap! (5): Disable a trap/hazard.

CHALLENGE AWARDS

• Dungeon Mapper (10): Open every door in the dungeon.
• Give My Regards (5): Knock an enemy of a ledge/into lava.
• I Regret Nothing (5): Fall off a ledge/into lava.
• Lava Nice Day (10): Die from lava.
• Speed Demon (10): Win in five rounds or less.
• Treasure Hunter (5): ???
• Vell's Foil (10): Win the challenge.

SECRET AWARDS
There are three of these, one with 10 points and the other two worth 5.

I'll be running this at Knightfall Games as time and attendance warrants; it can be ran any day of the week, so fire off an email if you want to give it a shot.