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

Hee hee!

That's what I was thinking since I remember this being brought up at the RBDM's club... Still, he's got a ton of magic I imagine. Have the players figured it out?
 

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Note, incidentally, that I totally stole this idea from (contact) and the RBDMC. As far as I can tell, the group has no suspicion whatsoever. Agar has a vision about it, but isn't interpreting it correctly.

Ioun's major magic items:

Ioun stone of superior strength: +6 str
Ioun stone of superior alacrity: +6 dex
Ioun stone of superior health: +6 con
Ioun stone of superior intellect: +6 int
Ioun stone of superior wisdom: +6 wisdom
Ioun stone of superior charisma: +6 charisma
Ioun stone of retributive possession: prevents anyone from stealing ioun stones
Ioun stone of peerless deflection: +8 deflection
Ioun stone of rapid healing: fast healing 3
Ioun stone of epic wizardry VI: doubles 6th lvl spells
Ioun stone of the adamantine bear: +8 natural armor
Ioun stone of unbreachable armor: +12 armor
Ioun stone of epic resistance: +8 resistance bonus to saves
Ioun stone of customized appearance: all spell effects appear showier, as per the owner’s wishes.
Ioun stone of superior spell storing: contains a meteor swarm spell, cast at 27th lvl.
Ioun stone of unnecessary air: removes need to breath
Ioun stone of repellant spells: grants SR 30
Ioun stone of mystic absorbtion: absorbs spells of 8th lvl and lower (50 spell levels max)
Ioun stone of epic leadership: +20 to all charisma skills
Ioun stone of peerless aim: +5 to hit
Ioun stone of hardened skin: DR 5/epic

Staff of rapid barrage: Either of the staff’s two powers can be activated as a free action (though the staff may only be activated once per round).
• Magic missile (intensified, quickened, 1 charge, 5 missiles dealing 10 points of damage each)
• Fireball (heightened to 6th, enhanced, quickened, 1 charge, 20d6 damage, DC 19)
 

Piratecat said:
Kaodi, thanks for keeping this thread alive. :D

This refers to my new story hour thread, right here.

Seule asked what level Congenio Ioun is, and the players gave you an idea. Here's his actual statistics. Warning: spoiler enclosed. Please do not share or allude to any of this information on the main story hour thread!

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-- MAJOR CAMPAIGN SECRET --

Ioun is 16th level! Loaded down with epic magic items, but 16th level none the less.

He USED to be 27th level. Then Imbindarla died, magic ceased for 30 seconds or so, and Secretary Annel was horrified to see her friend shrivel and die from old age in the space of a few heartbeats. Ioun had used magic to extend his life, and it didn't react well to loss of magic.

He was a methodical man who had planned for this, though. Annel went down to where she kept his most recently updated clone. . . and it was dead, too. As were the other six he had squirrelled away. All of them nothing but rotten meat.

Finally, on a long-abandoned demiplane containing a temporary lab that Ioun had used 4000 years ago, Annel found a clone that Ioun had created at 15th level. His first clone. She revived it, brought him back, and began an elaborate charade wherein she taught Ioun everything he needed to know in order to rule his empire. She keeps tight control over his interactions with strangers, and helps him protect the secret while keeping the empire running smoothly. She used to be his cohort. . . now he's hers.

When Fajitas said "back when I was 27th level" while he was playing Ioun, it was a beautiful piece of metagaming. Folks are thinking he's 28th or 29th, not 16th.

That's why they want Corsai. If there's an external threat, Ioun probably isn't strong enough to deal with it.

Note, incidentally, that I'm using a non-3.5 version of the clone spell. Ioun is old school!
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Thoughts?

My only thoughts are when they find out you better be standing and near an exit otherwise your players are going to kill you. I would also have a VERY nice gift handy for KidC otherwise you will be sleeping outside.

This is utterly brilliant!!!!
 



Piratecat said:
Thoughts?

One thought: you are an evil, evil man. It's a beautiful trick to play on the players. Just a few thoughts/questions:

You implied that the New Story Hour is more or less current, and if I were a player who didn't know, that whole conversation between Ioun and Annel would be suspicious, unless you'd previously established a bit of senility/forgetfulness on Ioun's part, since it'd be sort of hard for him to forget Velendo.

So here's the big question.
In a fight between Ioun and his forces on one side, and the forces of Corsai (with other Aeosians, the Defenders and any of THEIR allies they bring in) on the other, who'd win? The odds of this fight ever happening are irrelevant, it's all about the balance of power during the negotiations.

Back when he was 27, the answer would be Ioun's side, I'd assume. But now, I'm not so sure. If the Iounians are still much stronger than the Aeosians, then it doesn't really matter. Sure, it makes Ioun more of a figurehead if the truth comes out, but that's hardly a new situation. But let's assume for the moment that the Aeosians, with their various allies, are at least comparable in power to Ioun's forces.

If Ioun doesn't come clean during the negotiations with Corsai, things could get very interesting when the truth comes out. A Lawful philosophy cuts both ways. The letter of the law says that the terms of a treaty would hold, regardless of this, but the spirit of the law would say that negotiating in bad faith would invalidate any treaty. And, all of its military aspects would have been written under the assumption that Ioun and his forces could pull their own weight. Even if Ioun's forces are still fairly strong without his direct assistance, the principle would still hold, and the church of Aeos can get really stuck on "principle", especially now that they don't answer to a civilian authority on these matters. If they find out he was trying to manipulate them into doing the lion's share of any fighting, things could get ugly quickly.

The same goes for the Defenders and the worm fight. If they arrange political concessions to Ioun in exchange for his assistance, and then it turns out he's weaker than any of them, then what'll happen? Besides just annoying a group of really powerful warriors, Ioun would also be alienating several major religions, nations, and organizations, not to mention endangering the world during a fight with the two near-deity-level worms. And then, once it becomes general knowledge that Ioun's nothing but a recently-reanimated cohort, I'd expect his whole empire to unravel. The parts nearest Corsai would probably ask for their protection instead of Ioun's. It might not lead to a full civil war, since the Aeosians haven't seemed too expansionist, but if it came to open war, Ioun knows which side the Defenders would jump in on, which brings us back to the first question.

So, if Ioun doesn't come clean AND his weakening shifted the balance of power to where any negotiating is in bad faith, the backlash could be huge, and the gains could be undone/repudiated by the Aeosians. Of course, as you once said in the story hour during the Ghouleax incident, Ioun has a history of short-sighted actions for his own benefit. So, he might honestly believe that no one will figure it out, or that once they do any treaties will keep them from doing anything about it.

On the other hand, if the Defenders DO find out before the negotiations are finalized, they could easily end up with a better outcome. Ioun seemed to want an empire, with Corsai as a near-vassal state. But with the power shifting, you could see it working out more as a confederation, or even with Corsai as the primary city and Ioun acting as more of a Prime Minister than an emperor.
 




It's a brilliant twist. I love the fact that it once again shows a consequence of Imbindarla's death. The death of the goddess really has reverberated throughout Spira on multiple levels.

I can't help but wonder, though, why Annel didn't find herself a 16th-level cleric and have Ioun True Resurrected, rather than resuscitating an old clone. Since he died but recently, it should have still been possible, and he'd be 27th-level again, rather than 16th...
 

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