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

[Cassiopea]

Inferno, "a.k.a The Solar Savant" the spellslingest dragon of all time, and the reigning Radiant Energy master of faerun, this dragon can definetly make things hotter than hell on a saturday night.

Advanced Great Wyrm Red/Gold crossbreed dragon
Age category 20, with a Chaotic Nuetral alignment
Classes: Incancantrix 10, Elemantal Savant (Fire type) 10, Mage of the Arcane Order 5, Archmage 5, Contemplative 1.
Chosen of the Draconic Goddess of Magic - Kereska Wonderbringer "a.k.a. has chosen of Mystra type of abilities, but with a more Draconic and Radiant Energy style to them abilities"

Inferno is also one of the best Alchemist and has a sage like mastery in the following fields of study: Biology-Draconic, Chemistry, and Physics, with the realms foremost mastery in all types of Radiant Energies.

This dragon is considered a rogue among all dragons and a threat to both Tiamat and Bahamut, with his alternative views, even Kereska Wonderbringer knows this draconic juggernaut doesn't even serve her cause, and only gave this dragon chosen type abilities for it work on the advancement for all draconics.

 

[Piratecat]

Ahh, it will be a long time before another dragon rears its head in my game. Mind you, I may use a dragon's stats and make it look like something else - but I won't call it a dragon.

 

[the Jester]

Which set off big bells for me. I've always loved mind flayers, but their current status as second fiddle to drow has irked me a bit. But this introduces a cool spin to the critter: what if a mind flayer is created, not born? What if illithids capture slaves, and use them not just as slave labor, but take the best and the brightest, inject a tadpole from the main brain into them, and thus propigate the species? It would explain why they're always looking for fresh meat; not just eating brains for sustenance, but changing the brains of the best captives (and those willing & wanting to undergo the transformation) and perverting them to their side.

Illithids DO reproduce by injecting tadpoles in their slaves' ears. If you ever get the chance you should read the Illithiad, by the dastardly Bruce Cordell... in which it has, among other things, the urophion, which is what you get when you put an illithid tadpole in a roper's ear.

Nasty.

 

[Piratecat]

Anyone want to brainstorm?

Let me ask you folks for your help. I think the PCs might be transported directly in to an underdark trading market in an area that hasn't yet been overrun by ghouls. Drow, illithid, duergar, kuo toa, derro, myconids, surface adventurers, demons, cannibalistic halflings, powerful necromancers; like Erelhei Cirinlu (sp?), the drow city of D3, this place is open for people to buy any number of slaves, peversions, delights, and commodities.

I'd like to get some merchants, scenery or items that are different than what I myself might come up with. One of the dangers of DMing a campaign for a long time is that the players might know what to expect! If you guys want to share ideas, it'll give me a new perspective on what someplace like this may be like. Plus, it'll provide lots of ideas for you to yoink for your own game.

I'd love ideas on:

a) cool NPCs with which to delight, oppose, and confound the party, of any levels
b) ideas or architecture, politics, and what makes this place unique
c) creepy or interesting thing for sale.

Thanks!

 

[arwink]

Most of the stuff I came up with for wierd fairs ended up in the Market of Shadows for TFT, some of which can be cut and pasted to this kind of environemnt. Peaceful interaction between drow and surface elves under market truce, otherworldly guardians that keep the peace, Awakened bears that serve fey selling wierd potions and magic stones, fiendish lizard-folk that deal in artifact level weapons (who is probably going to take a keen interest in the intelligent sword, whose name escapes me at present).

Off the top of my head though:

a) NPC's
- Doppleganger Harlots - an oldie but still fun with the right party. The sales pitch is always fun to come up (come on in. Anyone you desire, literally anyone you can think of...)
- Give a myconid a level of paladin, and set him as guard/warden
- Ever read Neverwhere? Ratspeakers
- Ghardis, a chef who caters exclusively to the discerning underdark gormet (demons, cannabilistic halflings, et al) who is probably quite intrigued by the idea of cooking up the famed defenders.

b)
- Give it a wierd gravity structure. Space is usually scarce in underdark realms, so the entire market is magically altered to allow people to take advantage of both roof and walls as extra floor space.
- Taverns carved into the stone where stalegtights and stalegmights reach, with taprooms leading up and down. Usually divided into rooms catering to different types of creatures
- Keep the slaves pens near the stalls for whoever is selling minor undead. If something goes wrong with a live slave, they can be quickly traded (and there will probably be one or two people who deal exclusively in this) and raised in the second market, it keeps the bad smells clustered together and the undead slaves frighten the live ones enough to keep them in line. You could probably even include a few slavers from the ghoul kingdom.
- Arcane stones that draw transport magic, making it easier to teleport into designated spots within the market.
- Some kind of powerful force that causes people to co-opperate. Evil races may well see the need for this kind of gathering, but natural tendencies will often over-rule reason. Without someone keeping everyone in line, you're looking at a true untrustworthy den of theives instead of a market.

c)
- Ithilid tadpoles There's always bound to be someone who wants that little bit of extra intellect and power, even if it does cost them their sanity/brain etc
- Depending on how you handle resurection/reincarnate, bits of dead body that was once part of a PC.
- Underdark varients of surface world foods. Lots of fungal stews, lizard-kebabs and other delicacies
- The skin of flayed surface elves, magically enchanted so Drow can graft it to their own and infiltrate normal elf society for a time without being given away by their skin tone

Aarrg. I know I'm going to think of more the moment I hit reply, but it's late and my brains addled. This is all I'm coming up with at the moment...

 

[Piratecat]

Most of the stuff I came up with for wierd fairs ended up in the Market of Shadows for TFT.

Was that yours? That was one of my favorite parts of the book. Brilliant stuff.

 

[arwink]

Was that yours? That was one of my favorite parts of the book. Brilliant stuff.

Thanks.

And I'd say mostly mine. As much as a book that's a team effort and involved the entire enworld boards can be. Ryan, at least, threw a few things in to the descriptions but the original concepts and drafts for the locations were mine.

 

[Esiminar]

Some Ideas

-A "pet" shop selling puppeteers in the guise of other creatures
-An arena where disputes are handled so as to prevent the market from becoming a grand mêlée
-Humanoid "cattle" pens and abattoir
-Stall selling Hands of Glory and Hands of the Mage
-A piper performing with a set of Pipes of Pain
-Cursed items stand; "Would you like a special gift for that hated person? Look no further, here I have a Poisoned Cloak or if you wish a little more class how about this Necklace of Strangulation? No? It's your loss."

A place like this is ideal to feature some of the darker magic items like:
-Demon Armor
-Darkskulls
-Hands of Glory
-Hands of the Mage
-Mask of the Skull
-Pipes of Pain

 

[Eridanis]

Some knick-knacks that might be found for sale here:

- An intricately carved glass egg that's enchanted to fill the area with 30 feet with a selected scent ("Miss the sulpher of the Abyss? Then never leave home without this!")

- An abacus that magically touts up every kill you make (perfect for the vain, bloodthirsty fighter you love)

- copies of the Kama Sutra for Outsiders (when you just aren't sure what to do with that brand-new mortal slave)

- a "Keep Dry" stone that, when waved over a piece of normal clothing, will suck out the moisture picked up in weeks of underground travelling

I've always wanted to work up the stats for an engineering and design company in a fantasy world - you know, dwarves, wizards, and stone golems working together on big projects, kind of like the Army Corps of Engineers. There would certainly be a company representative that could be found in a bazaar like this, ready to accept contracts on that terrible cave-in that's just cut off the drow outpost that's so important to your defenses.

 

[Nail]

My biggest concern with these sorts of Megopolis' is their...well, there existence. In order to sell anything you need law and order. ...How does that happen? What greater force keeps all of the others in line?

And given that there must be a greater force...why did it set this city up to begin with?

Re: Memorable NPCs.
I'd try for something as ordinary as possible...perhaps a portly human shop-keeper, selling rations, supplies, and what-not. This city's bound to have everyone and his uncle be a half-drow/half-illithid/half fiend doppleganger that sells undead pupeteer slaves....<yawn>... Make the ordinary extraordinary!