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

[Akin Ringpeace]

I'm changing the name of Akin's Seep to Akin's Throat, just because (a) I'll place in inside a tube of volcanic rock, like a long throat, and (b) I like the name better than Seep. Maybe we'll finally get there tomorrow night, three sessions after I thought we would!

Cool!

 

[blargney]

I'm changing the name of Akin's Seep to Akin's Throat, just because (a) I'll place in inside a tube of volcanic rock, like a long throat [...]

Volcanoes smoke.. did you have to install a trach ring?
-blarg

 

[Nasma]

The following is just a random idea I had to keep the defenders on their toes. My apologies if it has already been suggested, already been done, or has some obvious flaw that I have missed.

Have a relatively easy group attack the party just before they leave for the comfortable castle, or whatever its exact name is. When the attackers are all dead the regular looting reveals that the leader has a magical sword. This sword is high enough in magical power to be kept, but not powerful enough to arouse suspicion, maybe +3. All in all exactly what the leader of the attackers would be expected to be carrying.

What the defenders don't realise is that the sword is actually a high level wizard who has shapechanged into this and has had nystal's undetectable aura or similar cast silently and stillly (?) on him to complete the illusion. When, hopefully, he is taken into the castle, and into the wall that the party uses to stop attackers getting in, he drops himself off the dwarf, or whoever, that is carrying him and casts a silent, stilled improved invisibility so that he will not be found when the shapechange's duration wears out. He then waits for the group to go to sleep, secure in the knowledge that nothing can attack them in their safe haven.

The method that he uses to attack the party could be anything, from a few symbols of hopelessness carefully carved around the place to something as simple as a meteor storm along with a few fireballs, thus taking advantage of the fact that the entire group is stuck in such a small area. Or perhaps a symbol of sleep, just in case anyone wakes up and then a few delayed blast fireballs. The wizard could even planeshift out before the mayhem begins, leaving the party to nurse their wounds and fight off a few summoned creatures.

Their would be quite a few oppurtunities for the plan to fail of course, from the person identifing the sword succeeding in his, undoubtably hard, will save, to the dwarf searching everywhere for his lost weapon, though I suppose that could be fixed with an illusiory sword taking the wizard's place.

Again, please point out the flaws in this plan that I have missed, or suggest any ways in which it could be improved.

 

[Dawn]

Re: The Grim Parody

Since you are in the business of torturing Sagiro with his own demented ideas, and you are brining back old enemies, friends and casual playmates (*smirk*), why don't you go for a ghoulish party of the Defenders of Daybreak? The Grim Parody. I think you could make that into an extremely disturbing encounter, a look at what they might become should they fail, (*cackle*).

I just had the familiar feeling of dread that I have somehow infringed on the past idea of someonw else (and I don't mean Sagiro, I am crediting him). I think the feeling is just more of a shadow of self-doubt thing, but if I have just repeated someone else, I apologize.

I believe it was contact that did that in his Liberators story hour. Someone/something was raising the dead members of the party and using them against the living members. I, too, could have the name wrong.

Made for an interesting encounter though!

 

[Spatzimaus]

Originally posted by Nasma Again, please point out the flaws in this plan that I have missed, or suggest any ways in which it could be improved.

It's a neat idea.

But:

> True Seeing? Maybe it's just coincidence, but all the times I can think of where they ran into a polymorphed enemy (that last dragon, for example) they already had it up. So, while your guy is shapechanged into a loot item, they might already know, and stick him in a Bag of Holding... where he runs out of air when changing back.

> Identification. It's not very easy to figure out what an item does. Personally, no matter how desperate I am for a new item, I wouldn't use an item until after I checked it out.

Which leads to:
> Bags of Holding. They're far more likely to just stick it in a bag until they have time to identify it right. Can you get out of that bag? More importantly, if you're carrying your own Bag of Holding, putting one inside the other still has bad effects, right? Even if you don't, wouldn't you suffocate when it wore off?

> But, if you want to try it, use a Psion. They have a level 5 power, Metamorphosis that acts like Polymorph Self plus allows inanimate objects. Much easier than waiting for level 9 spells.

> Or, instead of assuming the Defenders WILL pick up an item and not get suspicious, just polymorph into an insect, hide in the shadows and hitch a ride on one of them at the end of a long day. They probably won't have all their spells up if you do it when they're NOT fighting.

> The fundamental logical flaw here, though, is that some high-level wizard wants to go on a suicide mission, on the off chance that they won't check before going in the door AND that they won't defeat him anyway.

Now, what you COULD do is, cover an area with some spell blocking Divinations. Get a bunch of Psions and Psychic Warriors. Polymorph Self into inconspicuous animals. Rats, bugs, whatever. The Psions with Metamorphosis could turn into rocks. Awfully good ambush setup... hmm, this is starting to sound less like a Ghoul tactic and more like an evil albino cannibal psionic halfling tactic.

 

[JacktheRabbit]

I see a couple small problems.

1. Make sure the Paladins cannot detect any evil.

2. Odds are the sword/wizard will find himself being stored in a closed portable hole or bag of holding. How will the wizard get out?

Also it would be unfair to plan the attack using the meta-knowledge of how the Defenders have their portable home arranged.

The following is just a random idea I had to keep the defenders on their toes. My apologies if it has already been suggested, already been done, or has some obvious flaw that I have missed.

Have a relatively easy group attack the party just before they leave for the comfortable castle, or whatever its exact name is. When the attackers are all dead the regular looting reveals that the leader has a magical sword. This sword is high enough in magical power to be kept, but not powerful enough to arouse suspicion, maybe +3. All in all exactly what the leader of the attackers would be expected to be carrying.

What the defenders don't realise is that the sword is actually a high level wizard who has shapechanged into this and has had nystal's undetectable aura or similar cast silently and stillly (?) on him to complete the illusion. When, hopefully, he is taken into the castle, and into the wall that the party uses to stop attackers getting in, he drops himself off the dwarf, or whoever, that is carrying him and casts a silent, stilled improved invisibility so that he will not be found when the shapechange's duration wears out. He then waits for the group to go to sleep, secure in the knowledge that nothing can attack them in their safe haven.

The method that he uses to attack the party could be anything, from a few symbols of hopelessness carefully carved around the place to something as simple as a meteor storm along with a few fireballs, thus taking advantage of the fact that the entire group is stuck in such a small area. Or perhaps a symbol of sleep, just in case anyone wakes up and then a few delayed blast fireballs. The wizard could even planeshift out before the mayhem begins, leaving the party to nurse their wounds and fight off a few summoned creatures.

Their would be quite a few oppurtunities for the plan to fail of course, from the person identifing the sword succeeding in his, undoubtably hard, will save, to the dwarf searching everywhere for his lost weapon, though I suppose that could be fixed with an illusiory sword taking the wizard's place.

Again, please point out the flaws in this plan that I have missed, or suggest any ways in which it could be improved.

 

[Capellan]

Also it would be unfair to plan the attack using the meta-knowledge of how the Defenders have their portable home arranged.

I don't think this is an issue, actually - the ghouls have attacked them inside the castle already, so they obviously have some idea of the layout.

Of course, I think that's the biggest weakness of this strategy, from a gaming POV - the ghouls have already struck at the Defenders in their own stronghold, so the impact would be weakened.

Now, if the Ghouls were to start attacking the Defenders' friends and loved ones - that would be a new and interesting way to annoy them. Even the threat should be enough to put the Defenders' off-balance ... "It would be such a shame to have to hurt the charming boy who keeps scrying our battles ..."

 

[JacktheRabbit]

Since then the Defenders have switched things around and block everything within a Sovereign Wall. This pretty well kills any sort of divination.

Of course the Ghouls can always use Commune. There is no real way to block Deity sources for info.

I don't think this is an issue, actually - the ghouls have attacked them inside the castle already, so they obviously have some idea of the layout.

Of course, I think that's the biggest weakness of this strategy, from a gaming POV - the ghouls have already struck at the Defenders in their own stronghold, so the impact would be weakened.

Now, if the Ghouls were to start attacking the Defenders' friends and loved ones - that would be a new and interesting way to annoy them. Even the threat should be enough to put the Defenders' off-balance ... "It would be such a shame to have to hurt the charming boy who keeps scrying our battles ..."

 

[the Jester]

Since then the Defenders have switched things around and block everything within a Sovereign Wall. This pretty well kills any sort of divination.

Of course the Ghouls can always use Commune. There is no real way to block Deity sources for info.

Don't forget the pesky divination sink....

 

[Akin Ringpeace]

Fauna of the Underdark

Visual image jammed in head. Must dump it someplace.

How about here?

'Scuse if these creatures have been statted up somewhere already. Far as I know, I'm spinnning this off the top of my noggin.

Party walking thorugh pitch black underdark. Or, well, it would be, if the party weren't here with their C-lights and glowing swords and torches etc etc.

Entering a vast space--too big for a typical party's torches to completely illuminate. Perhaps a narrow causeway across a vast chasm.

And there, in the darkness above and below, and all around: floating lights, blue and green and purple--shimmering outlines of transparent shapes rising and falling, pulsing and swaying.

Ranging from golf ball to beach umbrella in size: Cave Jellies.

Mindlessly floating in an endless, bioluminescent dance, the cave jellies use thier long filments to sweep mold spores from the air. Their filments are ever so slightly electrical, drawing the particles in magnetically.

Metals exposed to the jellies for a while will also become magnetized, and the weak antigravity or levitatation magic they use to drift is not well contained--other light objects in the area may be picked up and tossed around like so many motes of dust, or glitter swirling slowly in a snowglobe. The brush of a filament across skin is tingling, and vaguely unpleasant, but not especially painful. Static electricity might cause party members’ hair to float or stand on end.

The Jellies recoil from lights--perhaps their luminescense helps them to avoid bumping in to each other or grazing each other's airspace. Exposure to bright sunlight shrivels them up to nothingness in seconds.

They have no heat signature. Perhaps a faint smell of ozone.

I can't think what good this is in an adventure as yet--perhaps a setting for some more exciting encounter with something else--perhaps a predator that eats Cave Jellies. Maybe they're a drow delicacy. Maybe their bioluminescent bodies are useful for something that another race needs . . .

sadly, the Defenders would probably never see them as they went by all lit up like Chistmas trees . . . a glance of receeding glowing--"they're frightened of lights? good, let's make more. "

can't think of a use for it . . . ought to be a use for it . . .

OH! WAIT! THEY EAT MOLD SPORES!!!

If you chase them away, how long does it take the "mold" in the area to become toxic to travellers? Jellies wouldn’t congregate in this cavern unless there was a good source of food nearby.

How long is that causeway . . . . .?