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

Fried Mice

make the vendor have a heavy accent, or mumble and slur his words. "Fried Rice! Fried Rice!"

Nolin: "I'll have some"

Vendor: "okey gokey" *ploop* *plip* *sizzle*

PCs: "what were those?"

OOH! and make sure you have chinese that night, and order fried rice. I know nobody eats it, but heck, it'll add to the illusion. Give 'em chicken wings as the mice..

... I think I'm done now ...

Piratecat said:

Hoo boy. This will be an interesting battle.

Click to expand...

No real problem, although there were some tense moments. Three of Gidien's Soul Stitched undead constructs destroyed; 2 advanced undead beholders and one Kellharin-inhabited Soul Stitched survived! The PCs very cleverly divided their enemies and split them up, using walls to hedge out half the attackers. Clever little goobers.

So, next game at Akin's Seep, with luck! And details on this in a week or so.

Hey. That gives me another week to dump ideas on you.

(You sure we couldn't call this place "Akin Groin?")

It occurs to me that the stuff that makes bleu cheese blue is basically mold. Maybe there ought to be a stall for that stuff. No cheese, mind you, just the bleu stuff.

And volcanic hot springs. There ought to be massages and sulphurous mineral goop for sale. Or is that sulphuric?

And an endless rain of stalactites dripping in one section--not over the whole market--but perhaps just in one area that specializes in selling "weather" to the weather deprived.

And, la piece de resistance: the volcanic steam stalagmite calliope. (see the Postmodern D20 "Wall of PVC" post)

I got a million of 'em . . .

Not that I'm questioning your players... okay, I am... but there's something I have to know. When they're in the vault, they KNOW a ghoul is somewhere ahead of them, and that it was someone who knew the layout of the vault better than they did. They're only sending a few people at a time... didn't ANYONE say "Hey, why don't we send the Sunblade-wielding Hunter of the Dead as one of the first wave?" Especially considering Nolin's problem with unconsciousness. The way you wrote it, it seemed more like "we sent these three last time, let's do it again".

Anyway, can't wait to see the trading post. Akin's post reminded me of something; there are a lot of subterranean creatures that can burrow. There'd have to be items that give you a sort of Tremorsense to know when one is approaching you. Or a variant on the Prying Eyes spell that doesn't die when it hits a wall and can see in darkness.

Yea! Another week! Now *I* might get a chance to add some ideas.... As soon as my achin' mouth gets better - just had all four wisdom teeth yoinked... OOOOUUCH!

Akin's Seep sounds good to me, but you'd need something seeping in - maybe some sort of hallucenigenic mold spores or something - maybe that is why everyone is so friendly to one another!

Kuo-Toa of Legend

I was just building some stats for a level 18 Cleric Kuo-Toa of Legend... and really, it could be quite nasty, hehehe...

PirateCat, am I jumping the gun here? Do you already have this Kuo-Toa worked out? And is there anything specific you wanted it to have if you didn't?

What an excellent suggestion, Spatzimaus.

Much as I like the volcanic steam calliope, it occurs to me that what would be even more fun would be a series of competing noise generating things.

You know, when you walk through a county fair, there's always the barkers, and the music from a dozen different sources, all trying to get your attention.

For example, how about a group of goblin minstrels playing clarinets and accordians? I picture them doing the music from the Cantina scene in Star Wars, in a seriously minor key. Cheery and macabre at the same time. Busy, festive"shop now" music, with overtones of "while you still can."

I've always imagined that dwarves play bagpipes. Now consider the possibilities that so many dwarves have died, and there might be a lot of these left lying around near the field of battle, suitable for scavenging, and that some amateurs might have picked them up. Imagine Meepo's Bagpipe Instruction booth. All the damage you can do with a bagpipe for 5 cu.
Or to a bagpipe for 5 gp.

Bagpipes with air elementals trapped inside so you don't have to keep pumping them.

Hmmm .. . .

no, but picture this:

You are walking through the market.

There are all these gawdawful noises. The source of the worst of the noises seems to be the bagpipe stand, but there's heavy competition for the title from the calliope and the clarinet and concertina wielding buskers.

And then suddenly, there's this wail that cuts through the whole market for a moment--not just the sound of a bagpipe being abused, but of one crying out in pain--not just pain -- true agony, grief and soul-rending despair.

The noise is cut off abruptly, and the whole market falls eerily silent for a moment as everyone turns to look at a goblin urchin who hastily plunks a battered old bagpipe back on the counter and sheepishly exits stage right.

It is a bagpipe of legend, the Voice of the King--a noble instrument that has heralded the coronation of sovereigns, inspired troops marching into battle, and wrought terror in the ranks of its foes.

It's fallen on hard times, and it's not happy.