Goodman Games

Hi All!
Firstly, I'm new to DCC as far as using them for adventure material (I know, I'm really slow on the pickup :p). Anyway, the mod I picked up was #2, The Lost Vault of Tsathzar Rho. Reviewing it, I seemed to get the 3.0 version rather than 3.5 This really isn't too big of a deal, as going through the NPCs is no issue for me. The only thing that really makes me cringe is the first combat encounter is an ogre(!). My concern, of course, is if he swings that huge greatclub (2d6+7) and hits someone, it will kill most 1st level characters in one hit. Normally, something like this might just make me giggle uncontrollably, but perhaps not this time (have some new players starting). Has anyone had considerable problems with this first encounter, and am I just being too paranoid? TIA!
--Joe G.

I'd make sure the ogre didn't do enough damage to kill a PC outright, especally since the players are new.

Give them a real since of danger, but pull the punches - for now.

If you are really paranoid about it, you could embellish the encounter a little. Have a few dead warriors scattered around the cave when the players encounter the ogre and the ogre has a few fresh wounds. Apparently when the players encounter him, the ogre has just gotten done beating the snot out of another group of adventurers (that explains his fresh wounds). In the course of his conversation, Logbrag the ogre could refer to the dead around him, saying that these ones tried (and failed) to escort him into the afterlife.
The ogre's reduced hitpoints should make him a lot easier for the PCs to kill.

Thanks for the replies folks; some good ideas to consider. Not sure if we'll be able to start tonight or next week. Will see how it goes.

Also, encourage your players to play smart. You're right in that it is a super deadly encounter, but there are steps the PCs can take to even the odds.

The encounter is set up so that the PCs know that the ogre is inside. The PCs could ...

...lure him out and sneak by (still worth the exp, since they got past the encounter!);

...lure him out and drop a rock on him;

... lure him out, toss a lasso around his neck (yay, rope use!) and ride off on a team of war horses, dragging him through a pool of oil and setting him on fire.

You get the idea.

The trick, for my game, is getting the players to treat the encounter as if it were real. If I ran into an ogre outside my house, I sure as heck wouldn't expect to slug it out. PCs should treat encounters the same way ... or so we'd like to think.