Battlegrounds: Alchemist’s Lab

Interesting locations are important in fourth edition D&D.  The rules are such that movement in combat is emphasized — and movement in a large empty room or a flat open field can get repetitive pretty quickly.  It beats standing still and swinging away, but it’s the terrain that shapes a fight and helps make it memorable.

My goal with the battlegrounds series is to present set pieces that can be adapted to serve as battle settings in any campaign whose gamemaster feels it’s appropriate to include such a location.

As I’m envisioning it currently, a given location does not present a full-blown encounter.  The GM will need to map the area to his satisfaction and stock it with monsters or NPCs.  My purpose here is to consider things that could be done with the setting itself in order to make a fight in the location more interesting.

My question to readers who’d care to comment:  Is this more useful, or less useful, than a designated pregenerated encounter?  I could easily do it the other way…

Up first:  the alchemist’s lab.  This could be a mad wizard’s experimentation chamber, a hedge-wizard’s hut stuffed with odd jars and bundles of herbs, the cave of a hag witch, or the inner ceremonial chamber of a bizarre cult.  Whatever the case, there are things around:  bubbling beakers, large tables with built-in restraints, collections of possibly-bloodstained medical equipment, large cauldrons, strangely-scented candles, shelves of dusty books and the occasional humanoid skull.  Mystic things.

Let’s take a look at what a fight in the alchemist’s lab might entail, then:

First, the layout.  The lab is a workspace, and even the messiest of alchemists (or what have you) will have a clear area in which to perform that work.  If he commonly accesses a certain area, such as a supply closet or a fireplace, he’ll have a clear route to that area as well.  There will almost certainly be at least one large piece of furniture within or adjacent to this area — the table, the altar, the desk.  Many archetypal alchemist’s labs are cluttered, to whatever extent, and so some amount of difficult terrain is likely.

Second, consider the contents.  Difficult terrain is all well and good, but let’s reach beyond that, and give the setting greater potential impact on the fight.  Some of the things that might fit in a given alchemist’s lab include:

The Main Worktable. Or desk, or altar.  This might take up one or two full squares.  It’s likely to be quite sturdy, but worn, perhaps scarred or stained with residue of the alchemist’s craft.  It can support one or two Medium creatures’ weight.  Climbing up onto the table from an adjacent square requires two additional squares of movement (for a total of three); however, a character who can make a vertical jump of three feet (Athletics DC 30 for a standing jump, or 15 for a running jump) can jump onto or over the table without spending this extra movement.  There is no extra movement cost for jumping down from the table.  The surface of the worktable may have other features such as beakers or restraints, as listed below.

If the worktable can be overturned, it’s large enough and sturdy enough to offer cover to those behind it.  Some worktables (such as solid altars) might provide cover in their normal state, too.

Beakers. Collections of mysterious bubbling liquid contained in glassware count as difficult terrain.  A character who doesn’t care about smashing or overturning the beakers can ignore the movement penalty, however.  Once a combatant has done this, the square is no longer considered difficult terrain.  A creature who is pushed or slid into such a square, or who falls prone within such a square, overturns the beakers.  (Creatures get a saving throw to fall prone in the square they occupied before they would have entered the beaker-filled square, if they are trying to avoid overturning beakers.)  Area-effect damage that would include those squares may also overturn the beakers in those squares, if the GM so rules; fire, lightning, or thunder damage are particularly likely to smash beakers.

When beakers are damaged, there is a chance (anywhere from 1 in 10 to 1 in 4 is a good probability — set it according to how well-stocked the lab is and how dangerous you feel it should be) that the fluids within produce some effect beyond just making a mess.  Work up a small table of possible results, such as the following (geared to a level 1-3 party):

1. A cloud of foul-smelling (but harmless) smoke billows from the mixture.  Until the end of the encounter, a creature in this square has concealment.
2. The fluids were corrosive.  Until the end of the encounter, any creature who enters the square or begins their turn in the square takes 1d4 acid damage.
3. The mixture creates poisonous vapors that rapidly dissipate.  Each creature within a burst 1 centered on the square takes ongoing 2 poison damage (save ends).
4. The mixture produces fumes that cause creatures who breathe them to feel energized.  If the beakers were smashed by a player character, that character recovers the use of one expended encounter power of his choice.  If the beakers were smashed by a monster, one of that monster’s expended rechargeable powers automatically recharges.
5. The chemicals and powders burst into bright, quick-burning flame.  The flame makes an attack roll of +3 vs. Fortitude, targeting all creatures within a burst 2 originating in its square who can see it; on a hit, that creature is blinded until the end of its next turn.  After making this attack, the flame dies out.
6. The liquids splash the creature who shattered the beakers.  They are harmless, but their bright color and distinct scent causes the creature to take a -2 penalty to its Stealth checks until it can wash (which requires a short rest or immersion in a body of water).

In this case, the table is skewed:  there are two positive effects and four negative effects.  It’s equally possible to create a table skewed toward positive results, or an evenly-balanced table.  This will have no effect on experience awards so long as the PCs and their enemies both face the same results.  If they do not — for instance, in a cult’s temple, where worshippers gain mostly positive effects but heathens gain mostly negative effects — then add or subtract some xp from the encounter award, because the beakers are essentially a “trap” or an “ally” in such situations.

A character might throw a beaker as an improvised weapon; you can roll on the same chart for its effect.

A character who knows his way around mystic substances might find something of use among the beakers.  The character must be adjacent to or within a square containing beakers that have not been overturned, and must spend a minor action to search.  A successful Arcana check against a moderate or hard DC (set according to how well-stocked the lab is) should turn up an explosive mixture to use against the enemies, a curative potion, or the like.  Each time a character makes this check, whether previous checks were successful or not, the DC should increase, to represent the diminishing potential of the remaining beakers.

Restraints. The alchemist experimented on humanoids, and they weren’t willing ones.  There may be manacles hanging from a wall, a large cage tucked away in a corner of the room, or restraining straps built into the main worktable.  A character who grabs an enemy and moves it to a square adjacent to a set of restraints can restrain that creature by sustaining the grab and successfully “moving” the grabbed target a second time on the next round.  Depending on the nature of the restraint, the target may be immobilized, restrained, slowed, or even stunned or helpless.

Restraints are designed for a certain size of creature, and can be pressed into service to restrain a creature one size larger or smaller than intended.  The restraints can be escaped using Acrobatics or Athletics, as normal; a creature of the “wrong” size for the restraints gains a +5 bonus to its check.  An allied creature who is adjacent can also release the restraints as a standard action that provokes opportunity attacks.

Some types of restraint might provide cover (eg., a cage).

Fire. The lab may feature braziers, tall candles, or torches for light and heat.  If the lab is or was recently in use, these will be placed away from any volatile chemicals.  Candles and braziers do not burn hot enough to cause serious harm, but a torch may be used as an improvised weapon, and any of the three may be used to set fire to a square of beakers within 6 squares as a standard action.

Some settings might include a larger fire, such as a sacrificial fire in a cult’s temple.  Such a fire is immobile and most likely takes up one square (though a larger one might take up more).  This fire counts as difficult terrain and causes fire damage to anyone who enters, passes through, or starts their turn in its square.  If the fire is included in the area of effect of a Cold power that has the Zone keyword, it is extinguished, but its square may remain difficult terrain, depending on its fuel source.

Water. There may be a large font or basin of water in the lab, or even a natural stream or pond in some settings.  The keepers of the lab may use this in the creation of potions or holy water, keep it handy to wash off caustic chemicals in case of an accident, or use its surface as part of a scrying ritual.  If it is sufficiently deep, it counts as difficult terrain.  The surface beneath may be particularly slippery — attacking or running while on it could require an Acrobatics check to balance (DC 20) to avoid falling prone.

Wards. There may be a magic circle (ritual effect) on part of the floor.  A prudent alchemist who also possesses arcane powers might have warded his work area in order to avoid common dangers of his profession — represented by creatures within gaining resist 5 to poison and acid.  A cult’s altar may spark a fanatic zeal in believers within three squares of it, granting them a +1 power bonus to their Will Defense.  A magic mouth in the area might be triggered by the combatants’ action, momentarily distracting an enemy (causing it to grant combat advantage for one round).

Equipment. The lab is stocked with a selection of tools of the trade.  A character trained in a particular skill (Arcana, Heal, Nature, and/or Religion, depending on the nature of the lab) gains a +2 bonus to checks using that skill if he can consult these tools.  The tools themselves may be a part of the treasure of the encounter.

Some equipment may be useful as improvised weapons.

Finally, try to envision how a battle within the lab might play out.

In this case, the beakers of strange arcane concoctions are probably the primary feature of the lab — scatter beaker squares around so that the characters (and the monsters) will need to move carefully or risk breaking them.  Characters might choose to make ranged attacks against the beakers, hoping to create some effect that will hinder the enemy; the ones who are trained in Arcana might decide to spend a turn looking for something they could put to use.

The table or workbench is a minor obstacle, and offers more of an impact if it is not pushed against one wall but rather toward the center of the room.  That placement might be nonsensical in some cases; if it’s not, though, run with it.

The fire or water elements create obstacle hexes that are typically avoided by the combatants.  They offer a tempting target for characters with powers that push, pull, or slide an enemy.  A flying enemy can ignore the water, and perhaps use it to ensure that a character attempting to melee the enemy must first enter it.

Restraints provide an extra option for clever players or monsters.  Although somewhat difficult to press into service, they offer a way to incapacitate a creature without whittling down its hit points first.  If the creature can’t escape, it can be dealt with at leisure after the combat.

All of these elements mean that a fight in the alchemist’s lab will be a mix of careful actions and bold steps.  A character who acts recklessly will have great freedom of movement, but might pay the price if he overturns the wrong beakers.  One who acts carefully will find his movement restricted, but he’ll remain relatively safe from the contents of the room.  Forced movement can have a great impact on the fight here.

Related posts:

1. Battlegrounds: Clock Tower
2. Battlegrounds: On Deck
3. Special Effects in Action
4. Adapting the 4e Shadowdancer
5. I’m a Monster! Rawr!