3.5 Tempest? (preparing an assassin's guild to defend itself)
- Thread starter BOZ
- Start date
BOZ
Creature Cataloguer
Well, here's the deal. 
First of all, there is this: http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=2688090&postcount=1924
I know I have mentioned this party elsewhere before.
prior to chief Nosnra mounting his assault on the city, the party was subject to a somewhat effective assassination attempt (somewhat effective, I say, because while they did not kill any party members, they incapacitated one and severely wounded another before the ultra-quick PCs fled).
The assault on the city was supposed to be my last session for awhile, before I passed the campaign back to the guy who was running it before.
The party's tempest (3.0 brokenness up the wazoo) has decided that he can, will, and must track down these assassins. This, to me, is an example of divergence from the campaign to a severity that must be punished. heheheh. He figured that the assassins will come back to haunt them eventually (probably not), and besides the killers stole a prized magic scythe from one of the targets and he wants that back more than he wants the assassins dead. The party has way more than enough magical already, why do I want to return a successfully stolen prize without a knockdown dragout?
So, if he is really hell-bent on finding these guys, it won't be easy. With enough inquiring and hunting, they will manage to find these guys' guild. The guild will not be wanting to talk to someone unannounced. They will be prepared for bozos wandering in to their hideout. I'm thinking there should be a nice trapped entry room for them to waltz straight into. They now have animal companions (2 druids recently joined the party, who are partly to blame for Nosnra's easy defeat), so I want something to make their Scent quality useless, and disturb them in the process. There should be several invisible assassins hiding in and on the outside of the hideout/fortress.
In the trap room, I want to put a couple of bruiser targets to take the party's attention away from hiding assassins. I think an antimagic field on the part of the room where the assassins are not hiding should be nice (take away all those neat buff spells the party likes to use, as well as their magic weapons and armor), and then stick a poison gas in the floor grate, and a few volleys of poisoned darts from the wall panels. With the party weakened and distracted by the bruisers, those with assassin levels will be able to study them for the death attack.
Meanwhile, if any party members wait outside while some go in, there will be greater invisible spellcasters waiting to mess them up. They need to be inside the building until the party goes in, since the party mage will likely be flying and using see invisibility like he did against Nosnra's poor slain minions.
I think the guild leader should be a real terror for the tempest to mess with. Since he loves crits, maybe an undead or other creature immune to crits. I was also thinking of giving him some levels in tempest, to give Thog a taste of his own medicine. The leader and bruisers should not be overly dependent on magic, since they are going to try to keep the party within the antimagic field.
Like I said, they want to do this, it ain't gonna be easy.
First of all, there is this: http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=2688090&postcount=1924
I know I have mentioned this party elsewhere before.
prior to chief Nosnra mounting his assault on the city, the party was subject to a somewhat effective assassination attempt (somewhat effective, I say, because while they did not kill any party members, they incapacitated one and severely wounded another before the ultra-quick PCs fled).The assault on the city was supposed to be my last session for awhile, before I passed the campaign back to the guy who was running it before.
The party's tempest (3.0 brokenness up the wazoo) has decided that he can, will, and must track down these assassins. This, to me, is an example of divergence from the campaign to a severity that must be punished.
heheheh. He figured that the assassins will come back to haunt them eventually (probably not), and besides the killers stole a prized magic scythe from one of the targets and he wants that back more than he wants the assassins dead. The party has way more than enough magical already, why do I want to return a successfully stolen prize without a knockdown dragout? So, if he is really hell-bent on finding these guys, it won't be easy. With enough inquiring and hunting, they will manage to find these guys' guild. The guild will not be wanting to talk to someone unannounced. They will be prepared for bozos wandering in to their hideout. I'm thinking there should be a nice trapped entry room for them to waltz straight into. They now have animal companions (2 druids recently joined the party, who are partly to blame for Nosnra's easy defeat), so I want something to make their Scent quality useless, and disturb them in the process. There should be several invisible assassins hiding in and on the outside of the hideout/fortress.
In the trap room, I want to put a couple of bruiser targets to take the party's attention away from hiding assassins. I think an antimagic field on the part of the room where the assassins are not hiding should be nice (take away all those neat buff spells the party likes to use, as well as their magic weapons and armor), and then stick a poison gas in the floor grate, and a few volleys of poisoned darts from the wall panels. With the party weakened and distracted by the bruisers, those with assassin levels will be able to study them for the death attack.
Meanwhile, if any party members wait outside while some go in, there will be greater invisible spellcasters waiting to mess them up. They need to be inside the building until the party goes in, since the party mage will likely be flying and using see invisibility like he did against Nosnra's poor slain minions.
I think the guild leader should be a real terror for the tempest to mess with. Since he loves crits, maybe an undead or other creature immune to crits. I was also thinking of giving him some levels in tempest, to give Thog a taste of his own medicine. The leader and bruisers should not be overly dependent on magic, since they are going to try to keep the party within the antimagic field.
Like I said, they want to do this, it ain't gonna be easy.
Rystil Arden
First Post
Hmm...I recently noticed that you can get a very scary bruiser by giving a Half-Dragon Orc Barbarian levels in the Eye of Gruumsh PrC. +12 racial bonus to Strength and then +8 more for going into rage.
If you want to give a Tempest a taste of his own medicine but still use a slightly different build, try a high-level Dervish instead of Tempest. They can get in a sickeningly-large number of scimitar attacks, especially using their 1/day ability![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
.
If you have psionics, you can throw in some Soulknives to target the spellcasters (particularly any that might have prepared Restoration magic) with their no-save mental stat damage attacks in order to make the casters lose their best spells.
If you want to give a Tempest a taste of his own medicine but still use a slightly different build, try a high-level Dervish instead of Tempest. They can get in a sickeningly-large number of scimitar attacks, especially using their 1/day ability
.If you have psionics, you can throw in some Soulknives to target the spellcasters (particularly any that might have prepared Restoration magic) with their no-save mental stat damage attacks in order to make the casters lose their best spells.
The Tempest 3.0 really is broken. The Complete Warrior Book listed some good feats and Complete Adventurer fixed it.
3.5 Tempest
level BAB Fort Ref Will Special
1 +1 +2 +0 +0 Tempest defense +1(to AC)
2 +2 +3 +0 +0 ambidexterity(-3/-1)
3 +3 +3 +1 +1 tempest defense +2(to AC), two-wpn versatility(improved
critical, wpn focus, and wpn specialization apply to second wpn)
4 +4 +4 +1 +1 ambidexterity(-2/0)
5 +5 +4 +1 +1 tempest defense +3(to AC),twp wpn spring attack when attacking with spring attack gain one attack with each wpn
I will assume that the players are of high level since 3.0 tempest requires +9 BAB
You anti-magic area should wreck havoc, I love the combination with poison and sneak attacks.
I don't see the assassins having overpowered individual to defeat their enemies. I like the idea of gassing them this should cut into their familiars a will save gas which causes confusion would be a great idea, turn the whirling blades against them. A simple alarm that triggers in the first few rooms to alert the first few rooms, even for returning assassins, we have them in our businesses. lol I would use an absorbing shield (DMG p.221) to disintegrate the tempest's primary weapon. Even if he has a backup and quick draw. The irony of a two-wpn (or even better a double weapon) fighter loosing his best weapon while trying to gain a weapon he is not as effective with is priceless. There is an alchemical compound called catstink in the Complete Adventurer (p. 118) that interferes with the ability to track by scent- you may include this to affect finding hidden enemies by scent. An idea I prefer is to have a dead body, of a member who thought he could walk away from the guild, rotting in the entry. A good way to intimidate young members and ruin scent. Another idea is to have a statue, left over by the former owners( or a few priests in the guild), of Nerull located in the foyer. The statue forces anyone in the room to kneel in submission once /day/person (will save). The assassins inside will have already shown their respects (noone messes with the Reaper) and therefore will be immune. Should your party still rip through the assassins. Give them a role-playing dilemna by having the tempest's brother who went of to the military at 18 enter and tell them to stop attacking his allies.
Woe to any of your characters should any high level members get away. If the assassins were not after them before they most assuredly will be now.
I would like to know how this works out for you, please post.
3.5 Tempest
level BAB Fort Ref Will Special
1 +1 +2 +0 +0 Tempest defense +1(to AC)
2 +2 +3 +0 +0 ambidexterity(-3/-1)
3 +3 +3 +1 +1 tempest defense +2(to AC), two-wpn versatility(improved
critical, wpn focus, and wpn specialization apply to second wpn)
4 +4 +4 +1 +1 ambidexterity(-2/0)
5 +5 +4 +1 +1 tempest defense +3(to AC),twp wpn spring attack when attacking with spring attack gain one attack with each wpn
I will assume that the players are of high level since 3.0 tempest requires +9 BAB
You anti-magic area should wreck havoc, I love the combination with poison and sneak attacks.
I don't see the assassins having overpowered individual to defeat their enemies. I like the idea of gassing them this should cut into their familiars a will save gas which causes confusion would be a great idea, turn the whirling blades against them. A simple alarm that triggers in the first few rooms to alert the first few rooms, even for returning assassins, we have them in our businesses. lol I would use an absorbing shield (DMG p.221) to disintegrate the tempest's primary weapon. Even if he has a backup and quick draw. The irony of a two-wpn (or even better a double weapon) fighter loosing his best weapon while trying to gain a weapon he is not as effective with is priceless. There is an alchemical compound called catstink in the Complete Adventurer (p. 118) that interferes with the ability to track by scent- you may include this to affect finding hidden enemies by scent. An idea I prefer is to have a dead body, of a member who thought he could walk away from the guild, rotting in the entry. A good way to intimidate young members and ruin scent.
Another idea is to have a statue, left over by the former owners( or a few priests in the guild), of Nerull located in the foyer. The statue forces anyone in the room to kneel in submission once /day/person (will save). The assassins inside will have already shown their respects (noone messes with the Reaper) and therefore will be immune. Should your party still rip through the assassins. Give them a role-playing dilemna by having the tempest's brother who went of to the military at 18 enter and tell them to stop attacking his allies. Woe to any of your characters should any high level members get away. If the assassins were not after them before they most assuredly will be now.
I would like to know how this works out for you, please post.
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BOZ
Creature Cataloguer
yes it is broken. i'll be glad when i finish this little stretch, and if Thog gets killed by his own impetuousness, it will be well deserved. yes, the PCs are of high level. Thog (the tempest) is 14th, and the others range from 12-14. the missing brother thing will not work, i can assure you of that. you other ideas definitely have some merit though.
i don't think i'll have time to put this together today, but tomorrow i should be able to do what i need to.
yes, the PCs are of high level. Thog (the tempest) is 14th, and the others range from 12-14. the missing brother thing will not work, i can assure you of that. you other ideas definitely have some merit though. i don't think i'll have time to put this together today, but tomorrow i should be able to do what i need to.
Brother MacLaren
Explorer
14th level is very powerful. You're talking legendary status here (see the description for Legend Lore). The party wizard can alter reality to his whim, the party cleric can cast resurrection, and the party fighter is considered a threat equal to a storm giant. Very, very few thieves' guilds should have the abilities on hand to match such a party head-on. High-level characters simply shouldn't be that common.
The assassins should rely on terrain, traps, and numbers to make it a fight, but I would have only the guildmaster be of the PCs' level.
A permanent antimagic field is an extraordinarily powerful feature for a stronghold, worth several hundred thousand gold at least. Be prepared for the PCs to keep this place as a stronghold once they clear it out, especially if it comes equipped with all of these super-expensive defenses.
The assassins should rely on terrain, traps, and numbers to make it a fight, but I would have only the guildmaster be of the PCs' level.
A permanent antimagic field is an extraordinarily powerful feature for a stronghold, worth several hundred thousand gold at least. Be prepared for the PCs to keep this place as a stronghold once they clear it out, especially if it comes equipped with all of these super-expensive defenses.
BOZ
Creature Cataloguer
i don't expect to let them have it, at least not very easily.
i'm going to make the guild leader a mohrg (thanks to a suggestion from Shade), and since that creature meets the prerequsites for a 3.5 tempest (with a bit of reshuffling the feats), i'm going to go and add all 5 levels of tempest on to him. that should be a nasty surprise. at CR 15, he should be more than appropriate of a challenge.
i'm going to say the guild has hired a couple of spellcasters (two former PCs from a different campaign): a 12th-level wizard, and a 7/8 fighter/wizard.
i had previously set a monk 5/assassin 7 and a rogue 5/assassin 7 against them. i would want at least four more assassins to take them on in the initial encounter (quite possibly a few more than that for later). the other assassins can be from 10-12th level. they don't need to be super high; once the PCs get hit with Con and Dex damage from the poison after having their magic go bye-bye, they will definitely be less of a challenge.
as i was thinking before, some fighter-types (maybe i'll dig through my other former PCs) to provide defense and interference should help.
i'm going to make the guild leader a mohrg (thanks to a suggestion from Shade), and since that creature meets the prerequsites for a 3.5 tempest (with a bit of reshuffling the feats), i'm going to go and add all 5 levels of tempest on to him. that should be a nasty surprise.
at CR 15, he should be more than appropriate of a challenge.i'm going to say the guild has hired a couple of spellcasters (two former PCs from a different campaign): a 12th-level wizard, and a 7/8 fighter/wizard.
i had previously set a monk 5/assassin 7 and a rogue 5/assassin 7 against them. i would want at least four more assassins to take them on in the initial encounter (quite possibly a few more than that for later). the other assassins can be from 10-12th level. they don't need to be super high; once the PCs get hit with Con and Dex damage from the poison after having their magic go bye-bye, they will definitely be less of a challenge.
as i was thinking before, some fighter-types (maybe i'll dig through my other former PCs) to provide defense and interference should help.
Twinswords
First Post
Hi Boz,
This NPC should scare the tempest a bit.
Chainsaw, Medium-Size female Human, Scout 7/dervish 7, HD: 7d8+7+7d10+7 (94), Ini: +8, Speed: 40 ft., AC 21 (leather +2 dex +5 classes +4), Base Attack/Grapple: +12/+12, Attack: shortsword+15 (1d6+2 19-20), Face/Reach: 5 ft / 5 ft, Saves: Fort +6, Ref +15, Will +7, Abilities: Str 14, Dex 20, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 10, Cha 10, Align: Chaotic evil, Languages: Common, skills: Perform dance +12 Disable device +6, Search +6, climb+12 tumble+22 jump +19 hide+22 move silent +22 swim +12 balance +15, survival +10 escape arist +15 Feats: Combat expertise, dodge, mobility, weapon focus short sword, two weapon fighting, improved two weapon fighting, greater two weapon fighting SA: skirmish (+2d6 +2ac), trapfinding, uncanny dodge (not flatfooted), evasion, trackless step, flawless step, battle fortitude+1, fast movement +10 ac bonus+2, dervish dance 4/day movement mastery, spring attack, dance of death, improved reaction, elaborate parry Possession: 2 shortswords, leather armor.
I left out any magic items or boost spells. (good boost spells would include haste, displacement, improved invisibility, any stat or combat boosters) The best possible for her is a room full of difficult terrain because she is not affected.
Her attack with dervish dance is +17/+12/+7 (3d6+6 19-20) AND +17/+12/+7 (3d6+5 19-20) for 6 rounds per encounter.
This NPC should scare the tempest a bit.
Chainsaw, Medium-Size female Human, Scout 7/dervish 7, HD: 7d8+7+7d10+7 (94), Ini: +8, Speed: 40 ft., AC 21 (leather +2 dex +5 classes +4), Base Attack/Grapple: +12/+12, Attack: shortsword+15 (1d6+2 19-20), Face/Reach: 5 ft / 5 ft, Saves: Fort +6, Ref +15, Will +7, Abilities: Str 14, Dex 20, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 10, Cha 10, Align: Chaotic evil, Languages: Common, skills: Perform dance +12 Disable device +6, Search +6, climb+12 tumble+22 jump +19 hide+22 move silent +22 swim +12 balance +15, survival +10 escape arist +15 Feats: Combat expertise, dodge, mobility, weapon focus short sword, two weapon fighting, improved two weapon fighting, greater two weapon fighting SA: skirmish (+2d6 +2ac), trapfinding, uncanny dodge (not flatfooted), evasion, trackless step, flawless step, battle fortitude+1, fast movement +10 ac bonus+2, dervish dance 4/day movement mastery, spring attack, dance of death, improved reaction, elaborate parry Possession: 2 shortswords, leather armor.
I left out any magic items or boost spells. (good boost spells would include haste, displacement, improved invisibility, any stat or combat boosters) The best possible for her is a room full of difficult terrain because she is not affected.
Her attack with dervish dance is +17/+12/+7 (3d6+6 19-20) AND +17/+12/+7 (3d6+5 19-20) for 6 rounds per encounter.
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