Challenging my high-lvl group (NPCs and monsters; my players shouldn't read this!)

[Piratecat]

Is this related to what we were investigating in the Gencon game?

Yes. Yes, it was.

I haven't read the last few posts yet, but I just wanted to throw this out there before I went to bed. Let's say that you're a powerful wizard with very powerful epic magic items, and that your name might happen to rhyme with Bemperor Mongenio Pioun. Ahem. Now, let's say that you were beaten by the giant-plot-hook-the-players-were-ignoring and defeated. Would said plot hook kill you and steal your magic items, or infect you with worms that eat your brainstem and turn you into their evil puppet?

For bonus points, how would you prepare knowing that powerful adventurers would want to do something about it?

 

[Baron Opal]

Puppets are useful, particularly this one. Take his items, of course, and have fashioned for him suitable replacements. They won't be nearly as effective but will have similar auras to disguise that they are knock-offs rather than the real deal. Then, use his influence to divert resources to your cause.

Of course heroes are going to interfere. The puppet will have to die then. Messily. In front of witnesses. All of whom will proclaim the terrible, horrific assassination of the beloved, or at least efficient, puppet by the heroes. With the unfortunate political consequences, hopefully occupying the temple hierarchy as well as the political one as well, your plans will be unimpeded by the heroes. Preferably a new cult as well where the faith and energy of the masses can be directed to your needs.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Puppets are useful, particularly this one. Take his items, of course, and have fashioned for him suitable replacements. They won't be nearly as effective but will have similar auras to disguise that they are knock-offs rather than the real deal. Then, use his influence to divert resources to your cause.

Of course heroes are going to interfere. The puppet will have to die then. Messily. In front of witnesses. All of whom will proclaim the terrible, horrific assassination of the beloved, or at least efficient, puppet by the heroes. With the unfortunate political consequences, hopefully occupying the temple hierarchy as well as the political one as well, your plans will be unimpeded by the heroes. Preferably a new cult as well where the faith and energy of the masses can be directed to your needs.

All of this, but additionally...

The puppet version would also prepare lots and lots of defences that are time-consuming to overcome. Multiple bolt-holes, resurrections, everything he has access to to slow the PC's down in terms of dealing with other, bigger, threats.

And if they slacken of hunting him down, have him meteor swarm something important.

 

[WizarDru]

I haven't read the last few posts yet, but I just wanted to throw this out there before I went to bed. Let's say that you're a powerful wizard with very powerful epic magic items, and that your name might happen to rhyme with Bemperor Mongenio Pioun. Ahem. Now, let's say that you were beaten by the giant-plot-hook-the-players-were-ignoring and defeated. Would said plot hook kill you and steal your magic items, or infect you with worms that eat your brainstem and turn you into their evil puppet?

For bonus points, how would you prepare knowing that powerful adventurers would want to do something about it?

Well now, that really depends on the nature of the Plot Hook, now doesn't it?

Let's pretend that Io...I mean, Pioun were taken unawares. Last time I heard (and I admit it's been a while) he wasn't the real Enchilada, but a jumped-up backup copy pretending to the throne, yes? What if your the Evil Plot Hook (we'll call him EPH for short) was ignorant of the truth as well, right up until the moment he ate the poor...Bemperor? What if he'd been counting on stealing that power? Sure, he's got these nifty magical gimgaws...but he wanted the Real Deal for some reason, and now he's got a puppet that can't do what he needed.

Worse, the EPH KNOWS that the Defenders are going to peg his puppet within moments of seeing him, no matter how sophisticated a disguise he has. So what do you do? When given lemons, make worm-infested highly-acidic lemonade. The EPH has a couple of options, here.

1) Old Reliable: Lay a trap for the heroes. And by trap, I mean blitzkreig ambush, since any such trap would really not last for more than a round. Knowing that the Defenders won't be fooled, set it up so that you lure them to a location where they won't actually have much time to figure it out until it actually happens.

2) Don't even pretend: Grab some old enemies with a grudge, tell them what you're up to (or kill them and violate their corpses) and 'call' the Defenders and double-dog dare them to come and stop you or merely proceed with the assumption that they'll figure it out soon and just expect to be attacked an any time.

3) Take your ball and go home: Have the Bemperor grab something of important value, perform some 'scorched earth' tactics and then leave to join up with other underlings of the EPH. Perhaps set a magical battery under the city to build up to critical levels of power (and thus threaten to explode, requiring the heroes to 'defuse' it or evacuate the city) or have the Beph bypass security somewhere and open a gate allowing the EPHs underlings to enter and wreak havoc.

4) Spend him like wine: Instead of having to fight him, the Defenders need to save him, as the EPH uses him as a powerful pawn to do something that will almost certainly end in his self-destruction. Perhaps even to the extent of stopping his action that will have DIRE consquences. Alternately, the Defenders face the moral choice of saving him or stopping his action, which will do BAD THINGS, like kill or jeapordize innocents or threaten the peace or the like. Perhaps the EPH uses Pioun to destablize an alliance or break apart the potential opponents to his plan.

 

[The_Warlock]

4) Spend him like wine: Instead of having to fight him, the Defenders need to save him, as the EPH uses him as a powerful pawn to do something that will almost certainly end in his self-destruction. Perhaps even to the extent of stopping his action that will have DIRE consquences. Alternately, the Defenders face the moral choice of saving him or stopping his action, which will do BAD THINGS, like kill or jeapordize innocents or threaten the peace or the like. Perhaps the EPH uses Pioun to destablize an alliance or break apart the potential opponents to his plan.

If you do this...or you have the Bemperor go ballistic in the general vicinity of the heroes make sure you've done one thing first...since in both of those concepts, the Bemperor will likely die.

You infested his brain with worms...

Make sure you infest his panoply of magic items with hidden curses (and worms), working a little corrupted nondetection into them so caster level checks are necessary to ID/Analyze Dweomer the hidden villainy, while easily revealing the happy normal benefits.

That way the EPH can always know what the heroes are doing to counter them, and when they interfere too much, use their own items as a focus for brutal displays of automatically targetted violent magical assault.

Not that I've EVER done that to a PC in a campaign.

 

[Kaodi]

Would becoming an evil puppet because your brain was munched on by worms count for having your soul leave your body? Because if so...

Step 1: Munch the real Bemperor.
Step 2: Evil Bemperor clones a new real Bemperor.
Step 3: Soul of real Bemperor enters clone.
Step 4: Repeat steps 1-3 until the Bemperor is too low level to be of use.
Step 5: Use an epic spell to forcefully reincarnate the real Bemperor as a worm.
Step 6: Squish!
Step 7: Defenders of Daybreak, meet Army of Evil Bemperors.

 

[Tangent Loki]

Puppet most definitely puppet.

But as far as prep goes. Can they prove that you are not the emporer?

Can they stop you if you are?

Could you order an injuction against them let they deal with the newly appointed sniveling magistrates.

Would you refuse to be cared for by your previous medical advisors and instead appoint new ones, mystics and shamans from a far away land who will do as you say and not an iota more.

Would you order town criers to spread progaganda and disinformation about your soon to be enemies.

Would you form an alliance with the now broken white kingdom?

As a future moving forward, which necessitates that the defenders apologize and stay back?

Or would you plan a trip somewhere, maybe down to the vault?

Of course you have a contingent message to go out to the entire message.

that "the emporer is dead and has been killed by... major image effect"

now they are hunted and hated. how while EPH clutched the emperor so tenderly and fed the worms into his ears. he was preparing for the fall of the kingdom, after all, they can't suffer the pawn to live. but to cause him to die will lose the respect and win the bitter enmity of a nation.

That may have its own other heroes who seek to kill the kingslayers.

(who EPH has custody of the clone of if standard procedure to clone royalty and will reworm the clones)

you could do all of these and more.

remember that he has the power of rulership. he has armies at his beck and call which do not of necessity know of his new allegiances.

Look to LOTR

Theoden was not frightening in his weakness as a man, but as a king he could command the riders. And only those close even suspected anything, but they dared not act.

 

[Piratecat]

An important point is that Ioun isn't their emperor. He's the emperor of a neighboring country, and has a big-ass military. He's also a key ally. The PCs are very likely to detect that he isn't what he was.

My EPH is mostly insect, and doesn't necessarily think like a human. I think I may have Ioun act as a puppet, and maneuver his army to invade at a bad time in order to try and distract the PCs. If he can first take out a few members of the consortium trying to save the world, all the better. This gives a classic "betrayal" feel, and if my players are smart they'll do an end-run around it and not even try to solve the problem.

Or maybe they'll just kill him.

 

[Tangent Loki]

Neither was Theoden Aragorn's king.

It is a direct mind control of ioun? or is it more of a 'ioun but bad'

Where ioun thinks like ioun but on the side of the bug?

because if it is a direct buggy relation as opposed to the host just feeling beholden to his new queenie-thing then his tactics may be completely different.

he may not even agree to see the defenders, but send out the 'royal guard' to warn them off with their musk.


and if that doesn't work demand that he be protected and the hive defended from these 'intruders' that are 'not hive'.

not only that but either drawing the BFA (big fantastic army) to guard the capital <i>against</i> the army.

or move with them like army ants to evade the defenders. Just one bug among thousands spreading over the land ordered to slash and burn the countryside.

But if he thinks like ioun but is dominated or more reflectively charmed then he might also give many political reasons why the defenders may not, cannot, will not meet with him, or in the case that they do he would rpvide logical reasons.

The other instance could rpovide a funny moment where he freudian slips the word 'hive'

in to conversation.

Defenders " We dont think you should declare war with <insert country here> They are good folk and have done nothing to harm you"

Ioun " We compete for the same resources it is enough they must join with us, or we go to seize what we must have."

Defenders " Ioun, this is madness"

Ioun "Madness?... I must protect the (sotto voice) hive. erk people. "


Defenders "hive?"

Ioun " Out of the throne room now! Guards remove these eversinkinas they are enemy. Their musk is strong. erp"

Defenders " musk? " I cast detect (back ick thingys/ any other spell)

Ioun " its on now."

fight begins.

Ioun moves jerkily and spazmodically occasionally spilling out bug one liners.

"your pheromoes are weak velendo"

"You uselessness will be known throughout the hive"

"why build walls when you can dig UNDER them"

"Do i detect the fear-scent on you mara?"

"Many will feed on your death-songs Nolin"
etc....

is he a caster? Or is he a fighter?

 

[WizarDru]

"Many will feed on your death-songs Nolin"
etc....

is he a caster? Or is he a fighter?

Oh, my. I'm guessing you haven't read later installments of the story hour, eh?


The original Emperor Ioun was an epic-level wizard. The current back-up is...somewhat less than that. But he's a decent actor with some powerful magic items. And when PC says that he's not their emperor, he's pointing out that the Defenders have a King they already serve. Ioun (who was in magical stasis until a certain point when the Defenders broke him out, inadvertantly, iirc) holds sway over an entire empire (faded though it may be from his heyday) and are important allies of the 'good guy' alliance of nations and powers that the Defenders took great pains to forge.