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

[Piratecat]

Now, remember... no mentioning any of this elsewhere on the boards! It's not for my players' eyes. Here's the stats for the psionic shadow they fought in the dwarven outpost of Mridsgate.

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Baendril, shadow psion (telepath) 17

Baendril is centuries old, a normal shadow that picked up a small degree of self-sentience and psionic ability while hunting in a mindflayer city. He's slowly grown in power, keeping herds of dominated mortals in isolated caverns and playing intelligent monsters off against one another. He's hard for the White Kingdom to control, but makes a wonderful infiltrator for those times that the ghouls don't want to get food or more recruits.

HD: 20d12 (130 hp)
Init: +2
Speed: 30', 40' flying (good), 90' flying with power
AC: 14 (+2 dex, +1 deflection, +1 insight)
Attacks: incorporeal touch +14/+9/+4
Damage: incorporeal touch 1d6 strength damage (19-20/x2)
SA: strength damage, psionics, create spawn
SQ: undead, incorporeal, +2 turn resistance
Saves: fort +6, Ref +8, Will +14
Abilities: S --, D 15, C --, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 22
Skills: Bluff +8, Concentration +20, Gather info +16, Hide +17 (+32), Intuit direction +5, Listen +7, Sense motive +11, Spot +7
Feats: Dodge, psionic focus (telepathy), greater psionic focus (telepathy), weapon focus (touch), improved critical (touch), heroic surge (extra move or attack 3/day), one more
AL: CE

PP: 170

Powers:

0 - burst, daze, five more
1 – 1 pp - conceal thoughts, sense link, combat precog, know location, Overlay Shadow Body (as misdirection)
2 – 3 pp - brain lock, detect thoughts, combat prescience, suggestion, see invisible
3 – 5 pp - schism, crisis of breath, charm monster, fly
4 – 7 pp - fatal attraction DC +10, forced mindlink, mindwipe, tailor memory
5 – 9 pp - mind probe DC +11, greater domination, baleful teleport DC +7, teleport
6 – 11 pp - mass suggestion DC +12, Killer Shadow (targets shadow animates and attacks), Shadow of Hatred
7 – 13 pp - insanity DC +13, mass domination, ultrablast
8 – 15 pp - mind blank, shadow blades

Shadow Blades (Su): In any area that contains decent shadows -- a room lit by multiple torches, a rocky shrine in late afternoon, or any area that you would let a shadowdancer hide in but not a normal rogue (not enough for full concealment) -- the shadow may animate shadows with 30' of itself as a standard action. The animated shadow blades last for one round. Any character within this area takes 3d6 points of temporary Strength damage. A Reflex Save (DC=1d20+15) halves this damage (evasion works as normal).

Shadow of Hatred (Su): As a standard action, the shadow may select up to three targets within 30' who have visible shadows. The shadows come to life and attack the target as a Phantasmal Killer (same DC).

Natural Invisibility (Su): The shadow is naturally invisible in any area with decent shadows, pooling his essence into the shadows of the area.

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Baendril has a fascinating history and personality, which I don't have time to write up right now.

 

[Caliber]

Very nasty PC! I love it!

Do you often let Psion's create their own powers? Or do you not get the request often?

 

[Piratecat]

Only one psionic PC in the party, and he's on hiatus - but I'd be fine with it. I like that sort of thing.

 

[JacktheRabbit]

How did the dwarven outpost last as long as it did with a creature like this shadow or the tentacle wraith in the neighborhood.

I almost get the impression that the Defenders walked into a big trap with the outpost as bait.

This wouldnt jive though with the comment made by the ghoul right before the Marilith was gated into the battle.

 

[Piratecat]

The tentacle wraith was quite far away, if you remember correctly. Kellharin summoned them to him just before he confronted the DoD.

The psionic shadow is (was!) a ghoulish "last resort." The ghouls can't control the shadows easily, and turning living things into shadows eliminates both a source of fresh food and a source of new corpses. Baendril is CE, and his performance is (was!) fairly tightly controlled by the ghoulish commanders.

When the DoD took out the demon fairly easily after wasting so many ghoulish troops, Baendril was given permission to take them out.

Meanwhile, the ghouls had diverted most of the army that destroyed Mrid to another location. About a third of it was sent to take Mridsgate. The ghouls tried to take it quickly, failed, and laid siege while they cast the unhallow spell. The slow moving skeletal siege engine (which you'll see soon) was to have finished the job.

These series of encounters have taught the ghouls some very interesting things about the Defenders. I doubt you'll see very many big-scale battles from here on out; it's simply too costly to the White Kingdom.

 

[DoctorB]

A few random thoughts:

With a party as powerful as the Defenders, the White Kingdom cannot win with pure force.

I think it might be time for guile and assassination.

Is there a way the White Kingdom can get someone close without being detected? Perhaps an assassin who looks like someone the DoD would want to defend. They have the advantage that their people probably don't care if they die in the attempt. I assume the Defenders always have True Seeing and other similar magic up, though, so the infiltrator would have to get past that somehow.

What if some living beings DID take the ghouls up on their offer of friendship?

 

[Piratecat]

Well, they keep trying! Kellharin recently tried pretty hard to assassinate them. When that didn't work, he showed up with a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of 360 year old drow wine as a peace offering. DrB, I like the way you think....

Kellharin is an interesting kind of fellow with some hidden facets. He's also damn hard to track down and kill out of hand.

 

[Ryan Koppenhaver]

When the DoD took out the demon fairly easily after wasting so many ghoulish troops, Baendril was given permission to take them out.

I can't help wondering if the ghouls have been reading the evil overlord list, particularly item #80.

If my weakest troops fail to eliminate a hero, I will send out my best troops instead of wasting time with progressively stronger ones as he gets closer and closer to my fortress.

 

[Piratecat]

You guys want to know a secret that the PCs won't find out until it's too late?

The ghouls have the undead equivalent of true resurrection. That means that all those powerful undead that they've killed (except for the ones Malachite has personally slain) are probably going to show up again. Next time, though, they're going to attack together in a coordinated fashion.

 

[Vymair]

The ghouls have the undead equivalent of true resurrection. That means that all those powerful undead that they've killed (except for the ones Malachite has personally slain) are probably going to show up again.

You are an evil man PCat. That it is a brilliant twist...