(Cydra Rogues' Gallery-My Players STAY OUT)

[the Jester]

Sollir- that's a beautiful idea, but I don't actually have the minis handbook. The 'aspects' seem to be a really cool, ahem, aspect of the book, but when I skimmed it it just didn't seem overall to be worth the price for the amount of stuff I would use from it. I waffle on it though, and prolly will eventually end up with it.

I was thinking about having some kind of 'shade' or 'shadow' of Asmodeus in his section, and having it be eerily full of only shadowy type stuff. Still thinking over what to do in his part- I want it to be different from the rest in a dramatic way. The killers of Asmodeus will be the only ones that can enter the place at all.

Hmm, Greybar's teleporting rotating strike time is going in using devils and 12th-level Galadorian clerics in different rooms... I really like that one.

I wish there was a broader selection of epic level monsters. Yeah, I can just advance other critters, but I have a lot of prep to do and not a ton of time to do it in; I'm estimating about 2-4 more low-level games before we return to epic play (yay!). Then I'm going to run a warmup game or two before we hit the Bastion of Law- but that might conceivably change the starting conditions of the Bastion of Law if enough time passes and the candidate accepts the offer and is invested as Asmodeus' replacement.

*evil grin*

We'll see what happens quite soon.

 

[Sandain]

I would find it extremely amusing if Asmodeus' replacement was the Lich of Forinthia. it would make his millenia of scheming all make sense, and put the PC's into a very interesting predicament. Laws victory on Cydra would be almost complete with him and Prayzose in partnership.

 

[the Jester]

I just gotta say, I love finally getting to use a really tough advanced chronal repeater!

(For those of you who don't know, this freaky temporal construct was first encountered in the party's original run in Bile Mountain, but it was a standard- i.e. CR 17- specimen.)

ADVANCED CHRONAL REPEATERS (2)--- CR 20
LN huge constructs (time)
Init always 33; Senses Listen +33, Spot +33
Aura strong lawful and temporal
Languages understands Forinthian

AC 31, touch 26, flat-footed 31; temporal displacement, uncanny dodge
Hit Dice 27d10+40 (191, 196); temporal displacement
Fort +9, Ref +14, Will +10; improved evasion, temporal displacement

Speed Fly 60 ft. (12 squares) (perfect); sand
Melee 3 slams +29 (3d6+11 plus slow plus stun)
Base Atk +20; Grp +39
Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Atk Options repetitive strike
Special Actions sand

Str 32, Dex 20, Con -, Int 15, Wis 12, Cha 12
SQ construct qualities, disappear, fast healing 5, haste, perfect initiative, temporal displacement
Feats Ability Focus (stun), Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative (B), Improved Natural Attack (slam), Mobility (B), Spring Attack
Epic Feats Superior Initiative
Skills Knowledge (time) +32, Listen +33, Sense Motive +33, Spot +33

Repetitive Strike (Su): Because it can wander over the timeline in ways normal creatures cannot, a chronal repeater can attack three different opponents at once as an attack or full attack option. If it does this, it must attack the same three creatures each round for three rounds and seems to split in three as it does so. If it cannot attack a creature in the second and third rounds of using this ability, the chronal repeater suffers 2d6 points of damage per opponent that it cannot attack per round. The chronal repeater can also split itself seemingly in two to flank an opponent with its other self and attack or full attack him twice, but if it does this it must attack the same opponent for two rounds.

Sand (Su): For three rounds after a chronal repeater has passed, it leaves a trail of glittering sand through the air in its wake. Any creature that travels through this trail must make a Fort save, DC 24, or suffer 1d4 points each temporary dex and con damage. An area dispel magic will destroy all the sand in the area of effect if the caster’s dispel check against a 15th-level caster is successful. A break enchantment spell will also dispel the sand in its area of effect. The save DC is charisma-based.

Slow (Su): Any creature struck by the chronal repeater’s slam attack must make a Will save, DC 24, or be slowed (as the spell, 15th level caster). The save DC is charisma-based.

Stun (Su): Any creature struck by the chronal repeater’s slam attack must also make a Fort save, DC 26, or be stunned for 1d4 rounds. The save DC is charisma-based.

Disappear (Su): As a standard action the chronal repeater can disappear. It still leaves a trail of silver sand, however.

Haste (Su): The chronal repeater is always hasted (as the spell, 15th level caster); this ability can be resumed as an immediate action if it is dispelled or suppressed. The effects of this ability are factored into the stat block above.

Perfect Initiative (Su): Because it can jump back in time to react more quickly, the chronal repeater is always treated as if it rolled a 20 for initiative.

Temporal Displacement (Su): Because it can sometimes move out of the way after the fact, all attacks, even ones that normally never miss such as magic missiles, suffer a 50% miss chance against the chronal repeater.

...well, okay, more than one. Guardian a mean inevitable. But still.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Just discovered this thread! Lots of great stuff, thanks for sharing!

 

[the Jester]

Just discovered this thread! Lots of great stuff, thanks for sharing!

Thanks for comin' by...

 

[Angel Tarragon]

I'll be poppin' by as often as you post in this thread.

 

[the Jester]

All right, because it's been so long since we've played this party I'm going to run a 'warmup' game or two for the pcs... we were discussing what the party wants to do pre-Bastion of Order and the general consensus the group reached was that they were going to go "deal with" the Valonian orcs.

So in addition to the BoO stuff, I'm also statting up the orcs who I figure will count for more than a round's distraction if combat breaks out, and the more important ones for diplomacy attempts as well. So far I've almost finished statting out the warlord in 3.5 terms (he's an 18th-level fighter). He and his band shouldn't be much of a challenge for the pcs in a fight, but if combat breaks out the pcs are potentially performing a regime change on a fairly major power. I'm not quite sure what other major powers would think of that- especially Prayzose.

These orcs should be interesting, though not too powerful. I know that I need to stat out at least the following:

The Warlord's cohort (16th level; prolly cleric; high Diplomacy and Intimidate- helped the warlord get where he is now)
The Bishop of Valonia (cleric 13-15? -orc or dwarf?)
The Warlord's bodyguard (prolly a group of 20 orcish fighters or paladins; lvl about 12)
The Warlord's advisor (wizard, sorc, cleric, psion, etc? Level about 12-15? dwarf or halfling?)

Valonia is a medium-sized continent, slightly smaller than Dorhaus. It is girded roughly along its east-west axis by a chain of mountains, the Snowy Peaks (which are extremely high in elevation). The north half of Valonia is nestled in the Great Redwood Forest, which- as the name implies- is a huge forest of ancient sequoia redwoods (the tallest trees on earth). In this forest are tribes of elves and tribes of hadozee, which eat each other. The north part of Valonia is pretty 'wild' politically; the elves are more civilized, but reproduce slower, and are gradually being driven to extinction.

The majority of the mountain range, plus some area around it, is claimed by Brespicacious, the amethyst dragon that was the subject of Rex's worship. Brespicacious destroyed an orcish fort-town to make the point that the orcs were in what she considered to be her 'lair'.

South of the dragon, along the east coast, are the Glen Lands- a land of halflings in the Tolkien style. They are hapless in the face of orcish aggression. This is where Gerontius originated, and he has pressed the party to take on the orcs on a couple of occasions (such as when they did and they fought the advanced powerful billyman a while back).

Then, along the west coast, from the mountains south a significant chunk of Valonia, are the orcs... The orcs of Valonia are a subrace that are just like orcs, except they are racially Lawful and their favored class is fighter. (In 2ed, orcs were LE and this played heavily into certain elements of the campaign. When 3e changed orcs to CE but simultaneously endorsed subraces, I simply retrofied them for the Valonian subrace.)

Orokeuse, the orcish nation, is of great interest to me as a piece of the campaign world because my whole concept of Valonia began as Galadorian orcs. Later, this evolved into Galadorian orcs with guns. Anyway, the hook is that the orcish nation (there used to be a second orcish nation, Zer, but it was conquered by Orokeuse) grew strong enough and was clever enough that they began trying to get rich through trade with the (economically powerful) neighboring island nations.

The nearby island nations- Pesh, Khelm's city-states and Bordis' two nations of Bordis and Casra- were in a Free Trade Alliance, which resulted in said nations gaining a lot of wealth and influence. The orcs, once they caught sight of the alliance's benefits, decided that they wanted in and have lobbied it ever since, even going so far as to adopt Galadorianism as their national faith.

The orcs, naturally, turned their faith into a weapon.

Galadorian clerics had long known a spell called distill sunlight. This spell turns sunlight into a sort of uber-holy water that is highly flammible. The orcs took this a step further, and the orcish clerics of Orokeuse learned to turn this distilled sunlight into a powder that was highly explosive- sunpowder. Sunpowder is a lot like gunpowder, except I poured some Galador on it. The orcs held the secrets of sunpowder as their final card in all the negotiating they did with Pesh et. al., never sharing them with anyone, but their cannon-rigged navy and pistoleers and musketeers were known for their fearsome weaponry that other nations could not replicate.

So the cleric npcs I mention above are Galadorians, so would any paladins be, etc. I can conceive of Prayzose as having been willing to name an orcish Bishop; I can also conceive of him setting paladins to watch over the warlord (after all, he's the main thing holding the orcs in strength right now, and they are currently a major ally of his in the Great War of Ethics).

Anyone got any especially cool ideas for these npcs?

 

[the Jester]

*spills paint on lots of the thread*

Whoops!

 

[Knightfall]

*spills paint on lots of the thread*

Whoops!

The question becomes "Do you have the important stuff backed up?" - KF72

 

[the Jester]

Oh, yes- nothing in this thread isn't already in my notes on my computer.