Encounter help

[Anthelios]

Hey, I'm running an encounter tonight for my group and thought "Hey, maybe the EN guys have some evil advice for the situation" so here I am.

This encounter will be the culmination of an adventure against an evil group of clerics and undead minions. It's taking place in the central church below an abandoned keep.

The lead cleric is a 9th level hobgoblin with death and evil domains. He's already cast Desecrate on the altar in the room. He's going to have lots of warning on the PCs entering, as well as a big heavy door to his room that will take time for the PCs to open.

Any suggestions on undead minions/spell combos to give this guy? He's the BBEG. The PC group is big so more weaker minions is preferred to one big guy. I've considered adding that cold fire alchemy item to any zombies (From Libris mortis) as a surprise for the characters mid battle.

 

[WarShrike]

You could position a few undead to allow only a few characters through the door initially, then use Stone Shape on the wall so the doorway seals itself, cutting off those on the otherside and preventing any retreat for the tanks. The others will be able to smash/blast through, but it will take time. Meanwhile the tanks are all alone against the Priest's full might.
Wall of Stone would also serve the same role, although it wouldnt weaken the surrounding wall as the Stone Shape would (thinning the wall to make it close the openned space).

Symbol of Sleep would be good, set in the middle of the room, allowing PCs to move in then fall asleep.

Unhallow would work well, with a Resist Energy (Fire) as the year-long effect. As a Lvl 9 cleric, it would grant every creature in his stronghold a permanent buff to ignore the first 20 points of fire damage from every attack. That would make the job of Fireball dependant groups that much harder.

Glyph of Warding cast in the doorframe could have many nasty effects. Shatter would destroy potions. Dispel Magic in a 20' radius burst would hurt if the party buffed up before entering.

Hope this helps

WarShrike

 

[Anthelios]

Very nice. I'm using the stone shape idea for sure. They are a little low on potions so the shatter wouldn't be very optimal. I'm also going to use dispel magic. They are very reliant on their buff spells.

I like the unhallow as well. Thanks.

 

[Anthelios]

Okay, heres what I ended up with:

Unhallow on the structure, with resist fire built into it. Desecrate on two altars in the room to have the Area of Effect take up most of the room.

8 bugbear zombies as his defensive minions.

The cleric himself has the following spells prepared: 1st- Bane, Doom, Cure Light Wounds oo, Divine Favor (+3) 2nd – Cure Moderate Wounds, Hold Person, Summon Undead II oo, Quick March 3rd – Blindness/Deafness, Stone Shape, Glyph of Warding, Corona of Cold, 4th- G. magic Weapon, Summon Undead IV, Negative Energy Aura (3hp/rd 10ft), 5th-Wall of Dispel Magic

He'll already have cast the glyph of warding and the G. magic weapon.

After allowing a few people through the door he'll close it with stone shape, then use Quick March to give his zombies +30 speed to close the gap between those that made it in and throw a wall of dispel magic up, leaving a five foot section for him to walk through the side if he needs to. He'll begin summoning undead and sending them forward, unless someone gets near him. He'll hit them with blindness or hold person. Once the battle starts to wear down his minions he'll cast negative energy aura to weaken the players and heal his minions, closing to fight with his keen scythe. He'll save his 9d6 death tough for the end of the battle.

 

[WarShrike]

It's looking good.

WarShrike

 

[Anthelios]

Didn't go as planned. But hey, they say no plan survives contact with the PCs.

1st round he used swift Quick March to have his zombies move forward, but all the PCs beat him on initiative and only one stayed behind, so closing the door wasn't worthwhile. Instead he threw up the wall of dispel magic after going into a corner.

The party scout nailed him hard with an arrow, which he responded to with a blindness. The mage acted smartly though, stepping into the wall of dispel magic and using one of those "ally swap" spells to trade places with the blind scout, dispelling the blindness. The scout proceeded to close and beat on the cleric, while everyone else dealth with the enhanced zombies. Most everyone had to use their second breath (I've been testing out this saga rule) and they were bone dry of scrolls and potions at the end. No spells left.

Poor cleric got taken out by the rogue 1/scout 1/dwarven paragon 2 after a charge to assist the other scout and a crit with his dwarven waraxe. Goodbve cleric. Both druids had improved trip animal companions which really help out in keeping zombie actions to a minimum.