5e is disgusting.

Originally posted by 1320001095:

5e is disgusting.

I know but my players refuse to do something else. If you have a pathdinder version pf this you could tell me about?

So the main concepts I have together so far

- Temple of Mystra: the entrance to the dungeon has a walled temple complex on it, lots of low level wizards, acolytes, and craftsmen fabricating supplies to send to the beholders below. I'm not bothering too hard with this place because the wizard will probably just meteor storm it. The main temples basement has a fake treasure vault, illusionary ground shows a plinth with the object of the would be thief's desire on it. the plinth illussion is covering a 30ft diameter hole carved smoothly into the ground that drops 5,500 ft below. this is the dungeon's entrance.

- The Acid Resevoir: The beholder possesses a colony of royal purple worms (some homebrew purple worm that's stronger than normal) and harvests their stomach acid, at this point the underground resevoir of the stuff has grown to the size of a small lake. A robust plumbing system pumps it throughout the dungeon coating the smooth vertical hallway walls with acid and using it as the payload for a few traps.

-Fake Antechamber with a mirage arcane over it to look like something out of a MC escher painting. the few real staircases their are are all trapped, the only real passageways are 30 ft smooth holes lined with acid set a hundred feet above the floor, will be trying to keep most of these passageways vertical as well.

-Kobold quarter: Party is much too strong for them so they don't count towards the roster of monsters I'm stocking the dungeon with, but I liked the idea of all the traps being worked, maintained, activated, and reloaded by fanatical kobolds who believe they can become a gold dragon if they kill a intruder. The Kobold contempt will be subverted by their leader who is on the roster. A archemage who leads these kobolds, who upon death turns out to be a gold dragon who used change shape, upon killing this gold dragon they will learn it was a shapechanged kobold with 20 levels in moon druid who will then use his wildshape to become a Tyranosaurus if he survives to his next turn.

- Someone I was talking to came up with the idea to do the classic indiana jones prank with the giant boulder coming at them from the mostly vertical halls, then once they destroy/ethereal through the boulder they'll see it was being pushed by one of the purple worms.

-Alot of the thresholds that lead deeper into the dungeon are protected by magic traps that geas you, forbiding you from going further into the dungeon, stealing from it or fighting it's inhabitants.

Those are some of the biggest obstacles I have right now but at this point level 20 players are nigh unstopable and I still feel it's not enough.

When monsters, traps, etc. all fail --> get the players to fight each other. OP players are not immune to influence/gold/power/etc. All it takes is one tempt-able player.

Forget the dungeon.

Pick an action movie and turn that into your campaign.

Example: Predator

Have your group tasked to save a village located in a jungle.

As they are walking through, have them do a high difficulty perception check to see if they noticed hanging bodies in the trees.

etc

I have not run anything since 3.5 but...

Frankly if it's an Evil campaign, there almost has to be some sort of betrayal element. I'd make it impossible to progress without at least one PC dying, if not most of the party. Dead players, particularly ones that were betrayed, will enjoy the consolation prize of getting to play the next miniboss.

As to Beholders, give them battle spaces where they can use their various abilities (like the central eye's anti-magic) to change the battle. I did one where there was a smallish maze all visible from the Beholder's position, with force field floor sections. The party had to keep the Beholder focused while the rogue and barbarian snuck through the maze to the "safe" final room , draw its attention from the maze, and tried to hold long enough for the rest of the party to get there.

Create a bunch of cute Elf girls for the players to kill.

Sounds like it's time to throw the heavens at your bad guy crew, maybe even fight a lawful good god or two while you're at it. And if the heavens are too easy, send them down to hell to take it over as hell's newest rightful owners.

I guess you can throw a beholder battle on the way there, but now that everyone is op now's the time to unleash the biggest, baddest bosses you can conjure up.

Make the party slowly realise they might not be the good guys in this campaign and also everything is a mimic

Make it a saloon and have me outside and you have to pass an explosives skill check 19 or higher to get access to whatever book you are looking for

running a level 20 game sounds so boring, like the concept of dungeons is way beneath these godlike beings anyway

Originally posted by the vampire of time and memory:

running a level 20 game sounds so boring, like the concept of dungeons is way beneath these godlike beings anyway

Only lvl 20 rangers the dullest lvl 20 for you now shoot 3 arrows or so

Make puzzles that each have a clever solution and a dumb solution. The dumb solution must always require one party member to be sacrificed and they have to vote which one. It's a final dungeon so there's no reason not to kill them all.

Also, they deserve a TPK, since they like to play 5e. No mercy.

Originally posted by Magic A. I.:

Also, they deserve a TPK, since they like to play 5e. No mercy.

Or just drop hunter mark con for ranger every encounter since most of the class functions are dependant on that one spell . But honest they should play 2,5e or pathfinders