Build me some cultists! (My players stay out!!)

[Olgar Shiverstone]

So in the latest episode of our ongoing Banewarrens-City of the Spider Queen campaign, the party searches for a missing artifact sword that can be used to destroy the Evil MacGuffin (tm). The sword was last held by Brother Heth, a priest of Lathander (FR-based campaign) who disappeared near his chapel in the mountains. Arriving at the chapel, the party discovers that the halfling Lathanderite who claims to run the place is really a cultist of Moander (dead God of Rot & Decay), and that Brother Heth is still upstairs! As they wring this information from the halfling, the sounds of footsteps pounding down stairs reaches their ears (fade to black for next session ...).

I need some help with neat ideas for this set of cultists, and the encounters to follow that will excite and challenge the party -- most of the ideasI have at the moment are fairly typical. Some background:

- The party is eight 13th-level characters, including a range/rogue/dragonhunter, sorcerer, bard/arcane archer, fighter/rogue, fighter/monk, ranger/rogue, druid, and Morninglord of Lathander.
- The chapel has three chambers on the first floor: an entry hall, a primary worship area (about 40' by 80' with pews, altars, etc -- where the party is now), and a vestry. The vestry has stairs to a tower that has four floors above the main chapel. The chapel itself is backed against a deep river gorge -- there's a long drop from the balcony at the very top of the tower.
- The cult of Moander consists of a number of different cells. The party has encountered a mix of humans, demi-humans, humanoid monsters, and aberrations in the various splinter cells they've encountered in the past. The cult has some knowledge of the party's abilities, though the party's arrival at this location was unexpected.

I'm looking for about three CR15-17 encounters (hidden as spoiler text below):

Spoiler

(1) The mob of cultists immediately counterattacking. Who are they, what are they, and what are their tactics?
(2) Another enounter part-way up the tower -- could involve traps, etc.
(3) Brother Heth, the BBEG at the top of the tower. He's been posing as a cleric of Lathander, but he's actually a highly-placed member of the cult. Need an interesting class combo to make this encounter exciting besides a run-of-the-mill evil cleric. Brother Heth has an escape route -- a portal to an extraplanar location -- where the adventure will likely continue.

If you're familar with Monte Cook's Banewarrens, I'm adapting the Chapel of St. Thessina & Quaan sections to this encounter (as the party never followed up that lead when they were in the Banewarrens complex proper, and are now deep into CotSQ). I'm updating to a 13th-level appropriate set of challenges. In translating Banewarrens, Church of Lothian = Church of Lathander and Pactlords of the Quaan = Moanderite cultists.

 

[Kunimatyu]

Does this god have any prominent evil outsider servitors? If you have the Fiend Folio, take a look at the Fiend of Blasphemy prestige class. Essentially, it allows a fiend to "share" their spell-like abilities with cultists; having a bunch of lower level(or nonspellcasters) throwing the fiend's spell-like abilities(using the fiend's DCs and whatnot) around could be very cool.

 

[Steve Jung]

Since Moander is dead, who is granting the cultists their spells?

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Since Moander is dead, who is granting the cultists their spells?

That's a good question, isn't it? Without ruining the surprise, suffice to say the cultists still have spells.

Anyone? Bueller?

 

[Tinner]

I'm looking for about three CR15-17 encounters (hidden as spoiler text below):

Spoiler

(1) The mob of cultists immediately counterattacking. Who are they, what are they, and what are their tactics?
(2) Another enounter part-way up the tower -- could involve traps, etc.
(3) Brother Heth, the BBEG at the top of the tower. He's been posing as a cleric of Lathander, but he's actually a highly-placed member of the cult. Need an interesting class combo to make this encounter exciting besides a run-of-the-mill evil cleric. Brother Heth has an escape route -- a portal to an extraplanar location -- where the adventure will likely continue.

For number 1, try these on for size. (Hidden as spoiler text below.)

Spoiler

Ogre Wrasslin' Monks (CR 10, HD 4d8+4d8+32) EL @ 17
Ogre Giant4/Mnk4
LE Large Giant
Init +4 Spd 40
Senses Darkvision (Ex): 60 ft., Low-light Vision (Ex) Listen +2, Spot +2

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AC 18 (FF 18, Touch 11)
hp 72 (Disabled -4/Dying -18/Injury 18)
Saves: Fort +12, Ref +5, Will +7
Evasion;
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Atk +12/+7 base melee, +5/+0 base ranged; Grapple +17; Face 10'x10'; Reach 10'
+12/+7 Melee (Unarmed strike 1d8+7/crit 20/x2)
SQ:
Monk Features: Wisdom Bonus to AC, Monk Bonus Feat - 1st Level, Flurry of Blows, Unarmed Strike, Monk Bonus Feat - 2nd Level, Evasion, Still Mind, Ki Strike (Magic), Slow Fall (20 ft.), Improved Grapple, Deflect Arrows;
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Abilities: STR 25, DEX 10, CON 18, INT 6, WIS 14, CHA 4
Feats: Deflect Arrows, Earth`s Embrace, Eyes in the Back of your Head, Improved Grapple, Improved Initiative, Improved Unarmed Strike, Power Attack, Simple Weapon Proficiency.
Skills: Balance +2, Escape Artist +3, Hide -4, Jump +13, Tumble +11.
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Goods: Coin: gp (1550). Magic: Bracers of Armor +2; Potion of Cure Serious Wounds (5); Hook of Dissolution; Potion of Invisibility (3); Ring of Magic Fang.

For tactics, they use their Invisibility potions to close in, and attempt to grapple the bigest threats first, ganging up and using tumble to get flanking bonuses. Two on one tactics are their favored grapple actics against obviously powerful opponents. The go for pins, and use Earth's Embrace to do as much crushing damage as possible. Anyone they drop gets a Hook of Dissolution put into them, which will disintegrate them in three rounds. Once a foe has a hook in him, one monk stands over him until he's gone, defending the process.

For the stairs how about the following?

Spoiler

A concealed trap on the stairs sprays a fine mist of lamp oil over the PC's if not disarmed. While annoying, the mist may explode as a 10d6 fireball if it hits exposed flame ie. a torch or open lantern. Additionally the oil spray covers anyone missing a suitably high Ref save DC, which leaves them vunerable to flame atacks. To add insult to injury, have an Advanced 44 HD Huge Fire Elemental waiting for them at the mid point up the stairs. Whether or not you spray more oil on them during the fight is entirely your call. Call it an EL 16-17

And lastly, your final request.

Spoiler

Brother Heth (CR 16, HD 3d6+3d8+10d6+16)
Human Rog3/Clr3/Asn10
LE Medium Humanoid
Init +6 Spd 30
Listen +1, Spot +12

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AC 20 (FF 20, Touch 12)
hp 71 (Disabled -1/Dying -12/Injury 12)
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +13, Will +8
Evasion; Trap Sense +1;
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Atk +13/+8/+3 base melee, +13/+8/+3 base ranged; Grapple +13;
+14/+9/+4 Melee (Dagger of Venom 1d4+3/crit 19-20/x2)
Rogue Features: Sneak Attack +7d6, Traps, Evasion, Trap Sense +1; Cleric Features: Spontaneous casting, Turn or rebuke undead (3+Cha.Mod/day), Spells, Domain Access (2), Assassin Features: Poison Use, Death Attack (DC 20 + Int. Mod.), +5 save vs. poison, Uncanny Dodge, Improved Uncanny Dodge, Hide in Plain Site; Evil domain power (You cast evil spells at +1 caster level), Trickery domain power (Bluff, Disguise, Hide are class skills).
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Abilities: STR 15, DEX 14, CON 12, INT 12, WIS 13, CHA 8
Feats: Armor Proficiency: heavy, Armor Proficiency: light, Armor Proficiency: medium, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Improved Counterspell, Improved Feint, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Shield Proficiency, Simple Weapon Proficiency, Sudden Silent.
Skills: Balance +4, Bluff +18, Diplomacy +12, Disguise +3, Heal +10, Hide +36, Intimidate +1, Jump +4, Move Silently +36, Sense Motive +10, Sleight of Hand +15, Spellcraft +4, Spot +12, Tumble +21.
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Assassin Spells Known (--/4/3/3/3): 1-Detect Poison, Disguise Self, Feather Fall, True Strike; 2-Darkness, Invisibility, Spider Climb, Undetectable Alignment; 3-Deeper Darkness, False Life, Magic Circle against Good, Misdirection.
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Cleric Spells Prepared (4/3+1/1+1): 0- Cure Minor Wounds, Mending, Read Magic, Virtue ; 1-Cause Fear, Command, Cure Light Wounds, Protection from Good (d) ; 2-Doom (), Invisibility (d).
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Weapons: Dagger of Venom. Armor: +1 Mithral Breastplate: Shadow, Greater, Silent Moves, Greater. (Spell Failure 15%). Magic: Amulet of Natural Armor +2; Black Luminary; Boots of Speed; Goggles of Night.

Who else to infiltrate a church, but a devious assassin?
In combat, he's all about the disabling abilities. He can't go toe-to-toe with the fighters, so make sure he gets a chance to use his Black Luminary to put the fight in darkness. Go for the tumbling attacks, use Improved Feint and Trip to set opponents up for Sneak Attacks and/or Death Attacks. Stick and move. Don't act like a fighter, because he isn't! He's not even as robust as a full cleric.
If he needs it, give him a Wrasslin' Ogre or five to help in the battle.
If you're feeling very cruel, you might even allow him to make sneak attacks with e Hook of Dissolution ... covered in Sovreign Glue and poison ...

Enjoy!

 

[Psychotic Jim]

I ran an adventure that involves a Lathander vs. Moander conflict, in where Moander, before he died, seized a Lathander planar holy site, a heavenly garden, and sowed it with his foul seeds, helping to corrupt it into a overgrown jungle with giant, bloated fruit and festering with decay. Flies and other vermin (some the size of small dogs) buzz about feasting upon the overabundant life. One of the encounters in it were a trio bulugons (bloated devils, see The Book of Fiends) taking advantage of the unholy power within the garden by feasting on the flora and fauna. One of these gluttonous, disgusting monsters had advanced to huge size. The encounter was made for level 8-10 PCs, but you could replace them with nalfeshnees, hezrous, or paragon dretches (all demons), or any of the various sloth or gluttony daemons from the Book of Fiends

As another idea, you might have Fallen lantern archons or will-o-wisps accompany your clergy of Moander; corrupted creatures of light with decaying morality might make for good symbolism.