Encounter Scaling — 4 or 5 Level-2 PCs
GM Reference
Lower Works Encounter Scaling
E18 is tuned for a 2nd-level party of four or five characters. It mixes investigation, hazards, optional combat, and two major blight encounters rather than placing a fight in every room.
| Area | 4 PCs | 5 PCs | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| E18-2 | Runaway Ore Cart | Same | Industrial hazard |
| E18-3 | 2 Infernal Thornlings | + 1 Rootling | Low encounter |
| E18-4 | Ventilation Collapse | Same | Closes map edge |
| E18-6 | 1 Barrow Clay Sentinel, optional | Same | Optional lore fight |
| E18-7 | 2 Blue-Ringed Octopuses + Flood Surge | 3 Octopuses + Flood Surge | Terrain encounter |
| E18-9 | 1 Blightling + 2 Rootlings | + 1 Thornling | Moderate approach fight |
| E18-10 | Blightroot + 2 Rootlings | + 1 Thornling | Major set piece |
| E18-11 | No combat | No combat | Discovery / evidence |
Pacing
Do not automatically activate the optional sentinel if the party is badly depleted. E18-5 and E18-8 are safe rooms suitable for Treat Wounds and investigation. The Blightroot does not pursue characters outside its chamber.