Help me with the end of my campaign

[Talmun]

So, the party has started on it final adventure (party level 19), knowing that the campaign will end when this plot does. They’ve just arrived at a little town that sits at the foothills of the Lortmils (a mountain range in GH), ready to defeat evil.

What the party knows:
· Two of the PC’s are descendents of the ancient Suel mages who brought down the Invoked Devastation, and their blood is needed to perform the ritual again.
· The fathers of those two PC’s are in the monastery north of town; one or both of them is evil and helping the Scarlet Brotherhood in it’s endeavor to recreate the cataclysm.
· In the monastery is a Vampire-Blood Magus who is helping Brotherhood, although the party has reason to believe he’s being coerced, and may be a potential ally.
· The hills around the monastery are alive with wild-magic, side-effects of the experiments of the Blood Magus and the Brotherhood.

Ok, here’s where I’d like to pick the collective brain of Enworld:

I’d like to have some interesting and fun Wild-magic tables. I don’t want to cripple the parties’ casters, but I’d like to make it interesting, really interesting.

I also need some weird, fun denizens to inhabit the hills, warped and twisted by the magic. They’ve already seen signs of large insects (cockroaches) but I want more.

Since I’m coming to the end of a 2+ year campaign, my creative gas-tank is running low, so I’d appreciate any suggestions you have.

Thanks!

 

[Talmun]

* Shamless Self-Bump *

So, no ideas?

 

[EricNoah]

There's some kind of spell-warped template in one of the WotC monster books.

Spellweavers are cool.

Are you familiar with "living spells"? A living blasphemy or a living cloudkill (or combine a couple of high-level spells) might be a fun challenge.

You could have random waves of magical energy wash through the area. One round maybe the casters can quicken one spell for free; another round perhaps they lose an extra spell-slot (maybe a few levels lower than the one they cast) each time they cast a spell. Maybe wands fire off two spells at a time some rounds. Maybe dispel magic hits random targets. Perhaps there's a round where every PC switches location with some NPC. A round where caster level or DC or spell penetration goes up by +4; a similar round where it drops by a couple. Maybe there's a moment of null-magic. Or a round where the spellcasters can cast one spell out of sequence (as an immediate action). You could go through the PHB spell list and make a nice list of "obsticle spells" (wall of fire, stone, iron, force; solid fog; acid fog; prismatic walls; evard's black tentacles, etc.) and have some of them pop in now and then. Or "dispel magic" walls.

 

[Elemental]

Seconding Spellwarped and Living Spell. They're in the MM3--Living Spell is also in the Eberron campaign setting. If you've got Savage Species, that has possibilities such as Gelatinous, Symbiotic, Multiheaded, or Monstrous Creature. Complete Arcane has the Pseudonatural template, when basically turns a normal creature into a Lovecraftian horror.

Perhaps the area takes on the traits of different planes as the excess of magic weakens the barriers between planes. In one area, the PC's might be taking negative energy damage each round and all the vegetation is blighted and dead. A few yards down the road, everything becomes greenish and hazy and every living creature is affected by a Blink spell. Perhaps at the climax, the fabric of reality completely collapses, causing the final battle to be on Limbo or the Elemental Plane of Air.

 

[Talmun]

There's some kind of spell-warped template in one of the WotC monster books.

Spellweavers are cool.

I had already thought about the Spell-warped template (Savage Species?), but Spell-weavers are an interesting idea. Maybe they're attracted to all the magical energy...

Are you familiar with "living spells"? A living blasphemy or a living cloudkill (or combine a couple of high-level spells) might be a fun challenge.

I love the Living Spell template...alas, I've already used it quite a bit for the minions of a previous BBEG, so that's out, I'm afraid.

You could have random waves of magical energy wash through the area. One round maybe the casters can quicken one spell for free; another round perhaps they lose an extra spell-slot (maybe a few levels lower than the one they cast) each time they cast a spell. Maybe wands fire off two spells at a time some rounds. Maybe dispel magic hits random targets. Perhaps there's a round where every PC switches location with some NPC. A round where caster level or DC or spell penetration goes up by +4; a similar round where it drops by a couple. Maybe there's a moment of null-magic. Or a round where the spellcasters can cast one spell out of sequence (as an immediate action). You could go through the PHB spell list and make a nice list of "obstacle spells" (wall of fire, stone, iron, force; solid fog; acid fog; prismatic walls; evard's black tentacles, etc.) and have some of them pop in now and then. Or "dispel magic" walls.

Interesting.

I had just started writing up some random 'wild-magic' effects tables, most of your ideas are better than what I had, thanks

 

[MonkeyDragon]

Monsters that appear to be strange mixes of different normal beasties for the area. Or critters that are extra large and freaky looking.

 

[Nightcloak]

I would use the wild magic zone to start breaking some game rules and conventions. At that level, any balance issues should be minimal
(I know from experience, I did a campaign a while back from 1st to 20th level)

By turning the impossible into the possible you will generate the wild nature feel of the area and over all danger of what the the brotherhood is doing. Plus you will keep the players guessing and hopefully scared - A real trick at that level.

Some high level ideas "outside of the box":

1. Fiendish templates on constructs.

2. Undead template on a ooze or a plant

3. Work the living spell template onto a magic item - a little difficult but great fun
* @#$%! The Staff of the Magi is still chasing us. Run!!! *

4. Awaken a Dire Animal and give it class levels
* The giant wolverine goes into a rage, tumbles between the fighters, and does a flurry of blows to the wizard *

5. Exotic Outsiders I: A fallen Celestial Assassin or a Fiendish Unicorn Warlock

6. Exotic Outsiders II: Maybe a helpful Pit Fiend Bard (not all encounters need to be dangerous)
*Hey! I've heard of you guys. I sing about your tales back in the hells all the time. Great stuff man, love the carnage. Can I have your autograph!*

**I Did something like this once. The looks you get are worth the price of admission**

Have fun. This is the Big Event^TM. Open up both barrels on their expectations.

And for the love of EGG make sure you let us know what happens!