L
lowkey13
Guest
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Highest level spell combos
Blue
Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal
Have you considered nerfing Psychic Scream? Because it's also likely an instant win for when the PCs get that level again whatever non-INT focused encounter they pull it out. (If the campaign would get that high.)
Just make the stun last for one turn, and when it goes away an INT save to take the damage again. Now it's mostly an extra round for the lich (but some PCs can save), and he might not even have enough PCs taking action to use all of his legendary actions. The bonus damage (~49) is basically negating the 50 tHP/rd so that whatever he does with the stun round is directly against their HPs, but still worth of a 9th level slot. (That bonus damage requires failing the first save to be stunned, otherwise it's not there.)
Just make the stun last for one turn, and when it goes away an INT save to take the damage again. Now it's mostly an extra round for the lich (but some PCs can save), and he might not even have enough PCs taking action to use all of his legendary actions. The bonus damage (~49) is basically negating the 50 tHP/rd so that whatever he does with the stun round is directly against their HPs, but still worth of a 9th level slot. (That bonus damage requires failing the first save to be stunned, otherwise it's not there.)
Blue
Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal
I love the idea of an illusionary magical defense. And that is something that can be set up during a Time Stop.
Tales and Chronicles
Jewel of the North, formerly know as vincegetorix
This is how I would do: maybe Acecerak would not have minions or such, but he's sure to have collectected magic items from across the planes. I would add to the fight, lets say, 4 flying swords refluffed as Animated Wands: 1 fireball, 1 lightning bolt, 1 polymorph and 1 web. These ''animated wands'' have their own turn and must expend charge just like normal wands and have DCs of 15 or 16. I'd give them: Partial Magic Immunity (as per Rakshasa), Damage resistance to B/P/S and maybe a little more HP.
I'd add to Acecerak this features stolen from Klauth in SKT: Dual Wand Wielder -> As a BA, the lich can expand 1 charge from two ''animated wands'' at the same time.
Maybe make generous application of Magic Jar: have a bunch of fake phylacteries around, feign death and then swap bodies with one of the player.
I'd add to Acecerak this features stolen from Klauth in SKT: Dual Wand Wielder -> As a BA, the lich can expand 1 charge from two ''animated wands'' at the same time.
Maybe make generous application of Magic Jar: have a bunch of fake phylacteries around, feign death and then swap bodies with one of the player.
CapnZapp
Legend
Feel free to soapbox but tell it to the writers of Tomb of Annihilation, not me.
Besides, the important thing is to make it fun for the players. All other considerations are subordinate to this. If you don't agree, you are wrong
CapnZapp
Legend
The answer is no, simply because we haven't yet started a campaign since the release of that book
I am vaguely aware I have my work cut out for me, once it's time to allow players to choose stuff freely from that book.
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lowkey13
Guest
*Deleted by user*
Quickleaf
Legend
[MENTION=12731]CapnZapp[/MENTION] Love the reverse gravity and lava idea!
Before sharing my mad plans, I wonder if your party is already so potent that giving them +50 temporary HP bonus might be too much. My understanding is that bonus is meant to bridge the gap between a non-fresh 4-to-5 person 9th-11th level party and Acererak...particularly to act as a buffer against power word kill IIRC you have a 6-person party and that they're pretty potent for 14th level characters. Maybe you can cut out the temporary hit points?
Anyhow...
I'm also running ToA, though my party's 6th level and hasn't yet reached Omu, so what I have to offer are just my own thoughts. I read the same blogs and Reddit posts, but I wanted to see what I could come up with using his spells as written in ToA before going the route of selecting a different spell load-out. It involves stretching the rules a very little bit (using the lich phylacteries as narrative justification) & may be insufficient for your needs. But maybe there will be useful bits. Here's what I came up with...
In Advance:
Acererak casts mind blank on himself, which lasts 24 hours, making him immune to being charmed (he’s already immune), psychic damage (including the +3d6 psychic damage the trickster gods grant PC attacks), divination magic, or other effects reading his thoughts/emotions. On its own, this is a bit niche, but it blocks that extra damage, could come in handy if someone tries detect thoughts, and would be even better if paired with greater invisibility, since mind blank causes ALL divinations (like see invisibility) to fail in regards to Acererak.
I imagine that he enters the Tomb via a portal or artifact or something else that doesn't require expending a spell slot. I also imagine that he hasn't used any spell slots prior to the confrontation, with the exception of mind blank.
Acererak can cast animate dead as a legendary action, an exception to the usual casting time rules (wherein it takes 1 minute). Additionally, I'd rule that he can use an upcast animate dead as a legendary action, since it's still the same spell. The northern wall in the Death God's Nursery has alcoves full of bones, like an ossuary. I think you could have any sort of reasonably-sized skeletons climbing out of there... minotaur skeletons might be better suited to your experienced party, are on theme, and their ability to force movement pairs viciously with the lava. Skeletons should pour from the northern wall. Too many skeletons and they might push the PCs into the lava! Who focuses on skeleton population control & who goes right for Acererak? I believe that's part of the intended tension built into the final showdown and is foreshadowed with the Tomb's grisly construction.
Round #1: Open/Close the Door
ACTION: time stop, 1d4+1 turns: (1) move Sphere of Annihilation among a cluster of PCs, (2) cast wall of force around those clustered PCs, (3) cast mage hand to close the Skeleton Gate*, (4) cast arcane lock on the Skeleton Gate* (if he doesn’t get to cast mage hand and arcane lock, have him do so on Round #3 or #4), (5) Invoke Curse (upon whoever killed the atropal)
LEGENDARY (x1): animate dead @7th level = 9 skeletons*
LEGENDARY (x2): use Talisman of the Sphere (4d10 force damage) to move Sphere of Annihilation among clustered PCs
REACTION: shield or counterspell (he keeps a 4th level and 5th level spell slot available for upcasting counterspell)
An asterisk (*) indicates a spell which I'm using in a way that breaks RAW, mostly in regards to range. For example, animate dead has range 10 feet, but Acererak's balcony is more like 60 feet from the northern wall with the bone alcoves. Down below I describe how I'm planning on making the lich phylacteries act like "bennies" allowing Acererak to tweak his spells slightly...kinda like Metamagic. PCs can devote actions to destroying lich phylacteries (a whole other story) to reduce Acererak's access to these "bennies."
Round #2: Curses and Spheres
ACTION: Invoke Curse (used upon whomever delivered the killing blow to the atropal)
BONUS ACTION: command undead
LEGENDARY (x1): animate dead @6th level = 7 skeletons
LEGENDARY (x2): use Talisman of the Sphere (4d10 force damage)
REACTION: shield or counterspell
Round #3: Electrified, Mortified
ACTION: chain lightning
BONUS ACTION: command undead
LEGENDARY (x1): animate dead @6th level = 7 skeletons
LEGENDARY (x2): Frightening Gaze
REACTION: shield or counterspell
Round #4: Get on the Floor
ACTION: maze... OR... if his previous wall of force has dropped and you see a golden opportunity... he might cast wall of force upon the floor, creating a sort of disco pattern of translucent lights upon it (and summoned skeletons will use the wall of force "floor" to attack the PCs)...but the minute a PC is on the "floor" over the lava at the end of Acererak's turn, he ends concentration on the wall as a legendary action.
BONUS ACTION: command undead
LEGENDARY (x1): animate dead @5th level = 5 skeletons
LEGENDARY (x1): Paralyzing Touch
LEGENDARY (x1): ray of sickness (cast at whomever he’ll cast maze upon to impose disadvantage on their save)
REACTION: shield or counterspell
Round #5:
ACTION: power word kill
BONUS ACTION: command undead
LEGENDARY (x1): animate dead @4th level = 3 skeletons
REACTION: shield or counterspell
Round #6:
ACTION: finger of death (cast on cursed target)
BONUS ACTION: command undead
LEGENDARY (x3): Disrupt Life
REACTION: shield or counterspell
Optional: Lich Phylacteries
The lich phylacteries in the Death God's Nursery are left as background flavor in ToA, but the present a golden opportunity to introduce a narrative justification for Acererak to tweak his spells to make for a more engaging & challenging confrontation. Whenever Acererak casts a spell, as part of the spellcasting he may drain the power from one lich phylactery to twist his spell in a small way. Each lich phylactery he drains (thus destroying it) allows him to augment one spell. Some examples include:
Before sharing my mad plans, I wonder if your party is already so potent that giving them +50 temporary HP bonus might be too much. My understanding is that bonus is meant to bridge the gap between a non-fresh 4-to-5 person 9th-11th level party and Acererak...particularly to act as a buffer against power word kill IIRC you have a 6-person party and that they're pretty potent for 14th level characters. Maybe you can cut out the temporary hit points?
Anyhow...
I'm also running ToA, though my party's 6th level and hasn't yet reached Omu, so what I have to offer are just my own thoughts. I read the same blogs and Reddit posts, but I wanted to see what I could come up with using his spells as written in ToA before going the route of selecting a different spell load-out. It involves stretching the rules a very little bit (using the lich phylacteries as narrative justification) & may be insufficient for your needs. But maybe there will be useful bits. Here's what I came up with...
In Advance:
Acererak casts mind blank on himself, which lasts 24 hours, making him immune to being charmed (he’s already immune), psychic damage (including the +3d6 psychic damage the trickster gods grant PC attacks), divination magic, or other effects reading his thoughts/emotions. On its own, this is a bit niche, but it blocks that extra damage, could come in handy if someone tries detect thoughts, and would be even better if paired with greater invisibility, since mind blank causes ALL divinations (like see invisibility) to fail in regards to Acererak.
I imagine that he enters the Tomb via a portal or artifact or something else that doesn't require expending a spell slot. I also imagine that he hasn't used any spell slots prior to the confrontation, with the exception of mind blank.
Acererak can cast animate dead as a legendary action, an exception to the usual casting time rules (wherein it takes 1 minute). Additionally, I'd rule that he can use an upcast animate dead as a legendary action, since it's still the same spell. The northern wall in the Death God's Nursery has alcoves full of bones, like an ossuary. I think you could have any sort of reasonably-sized skeletons climbing out of there... minotaur skeletons might be better suited to your experienced party, are on theme, and their ability to force movement pairs viciously with the lava. Skeletons should pour from the northern wall. Too many skeletons and they might push the PCs into the lava! Who focuses on skeleton population control & who goes right for Acererak? I believe that's part of the intended tension built into the final showdown and is foreshadowed with the Tomb's grisly construction.
Round #1: Open/Close the Door
ACTION: time stop, 1d4+1 turns: (1) move Sphere of Annihilation among a cluster of PCs, (2) cast wall of force around those clustered PCs, (3) cast mage hand to close the Skeleton Gate*, (4) cast arcane lock on the Skeleton Gate* (if he doesn’t get to cast mage hand and arcane lock, have him do so on Round #3 or #4), (5) Invoke Curse (upon whoever killed the atropal)
LEGENDARY (x1): animate dead @7th level = 9 skeletons*
LEGENDARY (x2): use Talisman of the Sphere (4d10 force damage) to move Sphere of Annihilation among clustered PCs
REACTION: shield or counterspell (he keeps a 4th level and 5th level spell slot available for upcasting counterspell)
An asterisk (*) indicates a spell which I'm using in a way that breaks RAW, mostly in regards to range. For example, animate dead has range 10 feet, but Acererak's balcony is more like 60 feet from the northern wall with the bone alcoves. Down below I describe how I'm planning on making the lich phylacteries act like "bennies" allowing Acererak to tweak his spells slightly...kinda like Metamagic. PCs can devote actions to destroying lich phylacteries (a whole other story) to reduce Acererak's access to these "bennies."
Round #2: Curses and Spheres
ACTION: Invoke Curse (used upon whomever delivered the killing blow to the atropal)
BONUS ACTION: command undead
LEGENDARY (x1): animate dead @6th level = 7 skeletons
LEGENDARY (x2): use Talisman of the Sphere (4d10 force damage)
REACTION: shield or counterspell
Round #3: Electrified, Mortified
ACTION: chain lightning
BONUS ACTION: command undead
LEGENDARY (x1): animate dead @6th level = 7 skeletons
LEGENDARY (x2): Frightening Gaze
REACTION: shield or counterspell
Round #4: Get on the Floor
ACTION: maze... OR... if his previous wall of force has dropped and you see a golden opportunity... he might cast wall of force upon the floor, creating a sort of disco pattern of translucent lights upon it (and summoned skeletons will use the wall of force "floor" to attack the PCs)...but the minute a PC is on the "floor" over the lava at the end of Acererak's turn, he ends concentration on the wall as a legendary action.
BONUS ACTION: command undead
LEGENDARY (x1): animate dead @5th level = 5 skeletons
LEGENDARY (x1): Paralyzing Touch
LEGENDARY (x1): ray of sickness (cast at whomever he’ll cast maze upon to impose disadvantage on their save)
REACTION: shield or counterspell
Round #5:
ACTION: power word kill
BONUS ACTION: command undead
LEGENDARY (x1): animate dead @4th level = 3 skeletons
REACTION: shield or counterspell
Round #6:
ACTION: finger of death (cast on cursed target)
BONUS ACTION: command undead
LEGENDARY (x3): Disrupt Life
REACTION: shield or counterspell
Optional: Lich Phylacteries
The lich phylacteries in the Death God's Nursery are left as background flavor in ToA, but the present a golden opportunity to introduce a narrative justification for Acererak to tweak his spells to make for a more engaging & challenging confrontation. Whenever Acererak casts a spell, as part of the spellcasting he may drain the power from one lich phylactery to twist his spell in a small way. Each lich phylactery he drains (thus destroying it) allows him to augment one spell. Some examples include:
- Cast animate dead at 100 ft range, instead of 10 ft, allowing him to cast it upon the bone-filled alcoves in the northern wall.
- Cast animate deadwith a 7th level spell slot to animate a minotaur skeleton (450 XP) instead of 9 skeletons (50 XP each). Though, for your purposes, you might let Acererak drain a phylactery to cause ALL skeletons he animates to be minotaur skeletons.
- Cast planeshift or teleport, circumventing the magical conditions teleporting the creature(s) to Area 57. Just a bit of narrative justification for how Acererak circumvents the Area 57 trap.
- Cause a spooky effect, such as a skull in the northern wall whispering tauntingly to a PC or cracking a morbid joke. Because Acererak is a dick.
- Extend the range of mage hand to reach the Skeleton Gate. I might narrate this as the goblin skeletons worked into the gate animated to close it behind the PCs.
Quickleaf
Legend
CapnZapp
Legend
Now we're getting somewhere!
Just a quick nitpick before sleep:
Temporary hp doesn't count for purposes of Sleep, Power word kill, etc.
As written, the encounter will insta-kill one (or two!) PCs. Only question is: does the party have Revivify? (Here's hoping they destroyed the Soulmonger before killing the Atropal!)
My reason for keeping the 50 thp buffer? To show the players how the RAW module intends to have level ~10 heroes fight a CR 23 legendary.
(That his book spell loadout is downright anemic is something they don't need to know)
Plus, hopefully it will be more awesome when Acecerak's battle plan cuts right through their defenses like butter even with the extra hit points!
The fact the fight won't be that difficult if they just survive the initial onslaught is another thing I don't need to tell my players. Hopefully they will be suitably shell shocked that when they put him down, they are merely grateful and relieved.
More later...
Just a quick nitpick before sleep:
Temporary hp doesn't count for purposes of Sleep, Power word kill, etc.
As written, the encounter will insta-kill one (or two!) PCs. Only question is: does the party have Revivify? (Here's hoping they destroyed the Soulmonger before killing the Atropal!
)My reason for keeping the 50 thp buffer? To show the players how the RAW module intends to have level ~10 heroes fight a CR 23 legendary.
EDIT: Actually, I'm considering making the Trickster bonus stronger!
Not only do you get 50 temp hp each round, you can also let the trickster god handle one saving throw each round. Trickster gods have a +10 bonus.
Why? Because I want to avoid cases where heroes must make a save or die roll where they have +3 or -1 and must roll 23!
If the heroes can allow their trickster to make the roll for them, this means that even if Acecerak does cast Psychic Scream (for instance), their shot at success is 35%.
Point is: they will escape the stun effect eventually. (If they don't die first). Maybe not great, but beats having to spend the whole afternoon doing nothing except making an impossible save once an hour...
Not only do you get 50 temp hp each round, you can also let the trickster god handle one saving throw each round. Trickster gods have a +10 bonus.
Why? Because I want to avoid cases where heroes must make a save or die roll where they have +3 or -1 and must roll 23!
If the heroes can allow their trickster to make the roll for them, this means that even if Acecerak does cast Psychic Scream (for instance), their shot at success is 35%.
Point is: they will escape the stun effect eventually. (If they don't die first). Maybe not great, but beats having to spend the whole afternoon doing nothing except making an impossible save once an hour...
(That his book spell loadout is downright anemic is something they don't need to know)
Plus, hopefully it will be more awesome when Acecerak's battle plan cuts right through their defenses like butter even with the extra hit points!
The fact the fight won't be that difficult if they just survive the initial onslaught is another thing I don't need to tell my players. Hopefully they will be suitably shell shocked that when they put him down, they are merely grateful and relieved.
More later...
Last edited:
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