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

[Malin Genie]

How about an umber hulk collossus? Same general body plan as an umber hulk, maybe similar general powers, but freakin' huge and made of bodies. Only thing is it's kind the necropede's second coming.

Hmmm...Heads. Lots of heads. All kinds of heads. Together. They eat their way through the rock (or disintegrate or whatever) and they come in a hollow sphere shape so they double as an undead army carrying case.

EDIT: Getting more into the head image...they could all be slavering and gibbering while they do it.

Maybe parts of heads to make up the giant head. The eyes are huge swarms of peering, lidless eyes swimming in glistening goo, all swiveling independently of each other...

Imagine - the hall of mirrors. Fragments of glistening crystal and silver festoon the floors and the ceiling, projecting at odd angles, glued to stalactites and stalagmites, like a Versailles gone mad.

In a great pit in the centre of the room, the construction of the Ueber Hulk (look, only one letter need be changed!) As the ghouls took over the mind flayer refuges, they found plenty of material for their 'weapon'. Two massive spheres form the centrepiece; in a nod to fractals, each 'eye' comprises thousands of actual umber hulk eyes, each itself comprising thousands of swirling, glittering pixels.

The overall effect is of a psychedelic disco atmosphere; the eyes alive through necromatic magic, the mirrors flashing fragmented images in all angles through the cavern, so wherever the PCs look, the only way they can avoid confusion and madness is to close their eyes completely. Of course the workmen and the foremen defending the construct have no such limitations, being immune to mind-affecting powers...

Beneath the eyes the carapace has options - either pebblecreted from the carapaces of the slain umber hulks, or carved skillfully from rock by undead dwarves; in either case a ghoulish paste (in a nod to the Epic Level Handbook's flesh colossus) of delisquesced Umber Hulk flesh is shaped onto the inside of the limbs to provide the fleshly conduit required for ghoulomancy (tm) to granat movement. But inside the main body are tiers of benches (or even just row after row of exoskeletal projections made from Umber Hulk mandibles that grip head/shoulders/legs and clip into place over the ghoulish occupant, able to quickly release when the 'stomach' opens...)

Even if incomplete, the eyes/mirrors will make preventing its completion a challenging battle; if complete, extrapolation of a Collosal Ghoulish Umber Hulk Construct-Thingy shouldn't be too hard...

 

[Bronz Dragon]

you could even go with crude'n simple, just have them stumble into the necromancer's workshop as they assemble any of the above monstrosities

 

[Knightfall]

My theory is that if I'm going to use a villain with darn high spell DCs, those spells should not be save-or-die spells. Transmutation seemed like the way to go.

P'Cat, really enjoyed your latest story hour updates.

Don't know if this undead creature is dangerous enough by itself but you could add some minions and give them a real surprise.

I've left a lot of the details for you to develop like an unique character name, its familiar and spells so you can customize it however you like.

Awakened* 1 HD Skeleton/5th-level Fighter/5th-level Rogue/5th-level Sorcerer

Medium-Size Undead
Hit Dice: 12 + 5d10 + 5d6 + 5d4 (79 hp)
Initiative: +7 (+3 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative)
Speed: 30ft.
AC: 26 (+3 Dex, +7 leather armor, +3 small wooden shield, +1 ioun, +2 natural)
Attacks: 2 claws +14 melee; +3 unholy longsword +16 melee
Damage: Claws 1d4+3; +3 unholy longsword 1d8+6
Face/Reach: 5ft. by 5ft./10ft.
Special Attacks: Sneak attack +3d6
Special Qualities: Evasion, familiar, uncanny dodge (dexterity bonus to AC), undead immunities
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +11
Abilities: Str 17 (+3), Dex 17 (+3), Con -- (+0), Int 10 (+0), Wis 12 (+1), Cha 16 (+3)
Skills: Balance +8, Bluff +7, Climb +8, Concentration +10, Diplomacy +8, Escape Artist +8, Gather Information +8, Jump +9, Listen +5, Read Lips +5, Sense Motive +6, Spot +5, Tumble +8
Feats: Alertness, Blind-Fight, [Craft Magic Arms and Armor], (Deflect Arrows), Dodge, Improved Initiative, Improved Turn Resistance **, (Improved Unarmed Strike), Mobility, Toughness, (Weapon Focus (claws))
Challenge Rating: (?)
Alignment: Neutral evil

Spells Known: 6/4/2
Spells per Day: 6/6/4
Bonus Spells: 0/1/1

Possessions: +5 leather armor, +2 small wooden shield, +3 unholy longsword, Belt of Giant Strength (+6), Gloves of Dexterity (+4), Ioun Stone (dusty gray), Ioun Stone (incandescent blue), Ioun Stone (pink), Ioun Stone (vibrant purple).

* Using Awaken Undead spell from Savage Species.
** Feat from Savage Species.

 

[Sollir Furryfoot]

Not sure how much you would like this idea or not, but how about a monster or two with the Fusion psionic power from the WotC site. Two or three different creatures with various powers (focusing on one or two stats), weak on their own, but all together they form a *very* fearsome creature.

 

[Bronz Dragon]

sorta like voltron or the power rangers...

I have this image of a bunch of rotting corpses doing one of those 'hero group' poses and shouting something with mushy voices. even just make them really weak and stupid and make them a repeating theme

 

[Sialia]

Ok, I posted this to P'cat privately, but it's too good--I gotta share it around.

Over the weekend, I flubbed and referred to something accidentally as a nice jar of "flesh green water."

Honest--I just tripped over my tongue and got the exact opposite of what I wanted. ("fresh clean water")

But now I'm having visions of a vendor wandering Akin's Throat selling the stuff . . .

 

[Spatzimaus]

"flesh green water."

Would that be Soylent Green Stew?

Anyway, they're in Akin's Groin/Seep/Throat, and it's beautiful. It's always fun to see what a true Rat-Bastard DM can come up with when he's helped by a certified team of SubBastards. So, one request:

When you're done posting the stories from there, can you tell us some of the encounters you planned that they DIDN'T run into? This seems like the sort of place that could be inserted into a lot of other campaigns too, and it'd be nice to have it as fleshed out as possible.

Mmmm... fried mice...

 

[Piratecat]

Flesh green water! I grinned ear to ear when I saw that. I think I'll use it game after next....

And thank you all again for Akin's Throat. It's SO much better than it would have been if I were trying to do this by myself. I'll post a map eventually, but here's a list of the various interesting people and shops who populate the city:

Akin’s Throat

• Size: roughly 400’ by 800’. Ceilings are 30’ to 80’ tall.

• Lighting: Faint green glow from phosphorescent fungus. Occasional torches at stands.. Individual light spells. Faerie fire effect in a lot of places. The prism nexus glows slightly.

• Scenery: Silent floating flumphs. Multiple huge mushrooms, easily 20’ tall with 10’ stems and 30’ caps. Walls carved in horrible shapes, such as mushrooms and beetles; pillars carved likewise. Very misty air, very warm (about 90 degrees) and extremely humid. Air smells like minerals and rot. Boiling steam pools and a geyser. Colorful banners and stands everywhere, as well as tents. In the south, an underground stream drains over a series of stalactites, and they drip like rain onto a pitted floor. Preparations for beetle fishermen: nets, nooses, harpoons, and the like.

• Who’s in charge? The myconids control the place, and use the fungus-coated body of Akin to keep order. Everyone agrees. Disagreements are satisfied in the Arena, usually by Luccia or Ellius, her less sadistic partner.

• Who is banned? Any ghoul or ghoul ally, excepting kuo-toa. Any jerran.

• What’s for sale?

• Fresh meat of many varieties, none of it intelligent, all at The Butcher’s (intelligent awakened spider, store in eastern web)
• Delicacies d’Chelb, a drow-run shop for the finest in delicacies from a dozen different races. Owned by Plindilin No-House.
• Dambril’s Festhall. All-out debauchery, with music and dancing. Dambril’s a kobold loyal to Klixxit.
• Mirjik’s Eccentricities. Mirjik is a mercane, and prefers to sell “good” items. The money’s just too good here, however. He lectures anyone who comes in about their questionable moral values. He has lots of “holy” items as well. He is an excellent source of information, and can introduce the PCs to almost anyone in The Throat. Mirjik has ten XP potions for sale, all based on Hagiok’s, and will sell them for a thousand gold a piece. His whole shop is extradimensional, and he can close the door. He can also offer them shelter.
• Ploor’s Safeguards: in a tent and run by a goblin, Ploor sells holy water, holy symbols, sunrods, a figurine of Velendo (brought in by Kithlin), and any number of anti-undead measures.
• Random booths – sell undead armor, tangle-foot bolas, drugs and exlixirs, alcohol, yucky components like mephit fat. Art, such as desmodu musical sculptures and kuo toa carvings.
• Troll-inna-Box: run by an ogre.
• Galastor, beholder architect.
• Fiel, erinyes and fronts-woman for a “cloning” service.
• Klunth’s Skins & Pelts, run by four skaven. Also sells clothes.
• Prust’s Forge, run by duergar.
• The Arena, run by vampires Luccia and Ellius, with lots of goblin slaves.
• Slave seller, owned by Du’eel, illithid. Uses ogre overseers.
• Zombie pen, run by Kithlin, orcish necromancer. Friends with Du’eel.
• Vermin nook, run by Ligreep, a degenerate skaven bard. Lots of vermin. Gearing up for the Beetle Flood.
• Tadpoles, a goblin named Blin selling illithid tadpoles as entertainment and tools.
• Blin’s Meat Pies. Mmmm.
• Mercenary Hall: featuring kobolds with porcupines, hobgoblin agents, goblin and troll teams, a stone golem for rent (by its ogrish owner), and a representative of the hivemind.
• Songs of Stones, run by a myconid. Goblins and bagpipes, including bagpipe of legend that can cause fear.
• Nilf’s Beetles, run by the goblin beetle-wrangler himself
• Moss And Mold, run by myconids who never speak.
• Slubble’s Fish. Very old Kuo-Toa Fishmonger.
• Laujin’s brain pies.
• Dimm’s Halfling Fingers (mice) and delicious fried treats
• Yurm’s Pest Control, who control the pests such as flumphs. Owned by a teenaged girl named Sath.
• Speaker’s Rock, home of the outspoken
• Temple Wall, where shrines are set up and people try to recruit others
• Tally the Seer, a complete fake
• Throat’s Flophouse, floor space in dirty tunnels.
• Throat’s Inn, a nicer place to stay, bed space in cleaner tunnels.

• Who makes a good guide? Mirjik thinks Hangle, goblin caver. Other people think Molduk, kobold explorer. The absolute best is a drow female named Ma’chel. But she’s a typical drow female, and thus hard to deal with.

 

[GreyShadow]

Vermin nook, run by Ligreep, a degenerate skaven bard. Lots of vermin. Gearing up for the Beetle Flood.

Beetle Flood... this is the one that sounds oh so interesting.
I'm sure someone will want to stay around and be there for that.

Great work Piratecat!

 

[Vargo]

Hey Piratecat, I have no idea how this could be handy, but you might come up with some idea to drive Agar totally out of his mind with this one:

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle....0CRBAEOCFEY?type=ourWorldNews&storyID=2267001