Help Me With The Final Battle In Madness In Freeport

[talien]

I did a couple of things to tweak the adventure:
1) Boost the gibbering mouther. As an interim beast it can severely mess up the PCs before they get to the top. 1d4 Constitution damage a round really messes PCs up, especially if they're on the clock.
2) I changed the serpent people race (which is weak and boring) to the ssanu race from Arcanis; they're 8 HD beasts with the ability to hypnotize people. Much more powerful.
3) You probably don't have access to that book (the Ssethregore one) if you're not playing in Arcanis; consider changing the serpent people to yuan-ti. That will definitely make them more deadly.
4) Played correctly, the serpent person spellcaster on the floor just below the main bad guys is deadly. He has flight cast and basically rains death on the PCs. I my campaign the caster nearly took the whole party out, as none of the PCs had the ability to fly and thus couldn't close with him fast enough (while the other serpent people peppered them with arrows). It took a crazy psychic warrior/rogue with a jump potion to take the caster out.

I've learned that sometimes environment is as much a factor as hit points; PCs who can't fly with no place to hide are in serious trouble against a flying opponent.

All this will be recounted in my story hour: http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?p=3120892#post3120892

When we finally get around to that part of the series, that is.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I did a couple of things to tweak the adventure:
1) Boost the gibbering mouther. As an interim beast it can severely mess up the PCs before they get to the top. 1d4 Constitution damage a round really messes PCs up, especially if they're on the clock.
2) I changed the serpent people race (which is weak and boring) to the ssanu race from Arcanis; they're 8 HD beasts with the ability to hypnotize people. Much more powerful.
3) You probably don't have access to that book (the Ssethregore one) if you're not playing in Arcanis; consider changing the serpent people to yuan-ti. That will definitely make them more deadly.
4) Played correctly, the serpent person spellcaster on the floor just below the main bad guys is deadly. He has flight cast and basically rains death on the PCs. I my campaign the caster nearly took the whole party out, as none of the PCs had the ability to fly and thus couldn't close with him fast enough (while the other serpent people peppered them with arrows). It took a crazy psychic warrior/rogue with a jump potion to take the caster out.

I've learned that sometimes environment is as much a factor as hit points; PCs who can't fly with no place to hide are in serious trouble against a flying opponent.

All this will be recounted in my story hour: http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?p=3120892#post3120892

When we finally get around to that part of the series, that is.

Boosting the Gibbering Mouther seems like a good idea. I'll either advance it a couple of HD or give it the Half-Fashawn template.

In my group 2 of the PC's have reach, 1 is a deadly shot with a bow (20 Dex + Fighter BAB) and there is also plenty of spells that the PC's can cast with range on them. I don't think the serpent person on the stairs will cause them too much trouble. Of course I have been a bad estimator of what will challenge the party so far!

I look forward to reading your story hour to see how things went.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Milton Drac should have access to everything the PCs have. And that means Action Points, those cards, the works.

Ditto on the stair approach. IMC, the stairs became enough of a challenge for 2 PCs to bail out through the windows (with fly spells) and fly up to the top of the lighthouse. So have somebody to soften them up - preferably somebody who's tough enough to merit using some of the party's high-powered resources.

In this combat you may also want to use your PCs' weaknesses against them. Not enough to make your players feel they're getting screwed - just enough to make them sweat a little. That means throwing Will save spells at the barbarian and Reflex saves at the cleric/ranger. Oh, and definitely have somebody (or something) with reach guard the crystal. While the PCs should eventually get to replace the crystal, they should work for it.

Some good ideas ther Siobharek. I'll definitely keep them in mind.

Does anyone have any specific tactics that the 3 characters should do based on their statblocks?

i.e. Round 1: Milton Drac: Cast Lesser Planar Ally
Gorn: Sneak attack any PC's that are flat-footed otherwise move into a flanking position
Melkior: Defend the gem on the pedastal, attacking any PC's that come within range
Round 2: etc.,

Olaf the Stout

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Anyone have any ideas on tactics, best spells to cast, etc.?

Am I posting this in the wrong forum for this sort of thing? Would another forum be more suitable?

Olaf the Stout

 

[talien]

Maybe this is helpful...an excerpt from a story hour I haven't posted yet. This is how the characters survived Madness in Freeport, specifically N'Tal. See my story hour for more details about the characters involved: http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=103252

Opening the trapdoor released a shaft of sickly yellow light that washed over Kham’s face. A five-foot-wide, railed staircase hugged the walls, rising clockwise all the way to the summit of the tower, a hundred feet above their heads. The light emanated from the walls of the tower and the hundreds of ritual candles that lined the railing.

“Well,” said Beldin, “I guess Tarmon was right.” The Yellow Sign within each of the bricks was throbbing with magical energy, illuminating the whole tower with an eerie light.

Near the top of the staircase, almost at the summit of the tower, were six people looking over the railing and down at them. One of them was clearly Milton Drac. The other five were ssanu were dressed in robes.

Drac spoke in a booming voice that echoed off the walls of the chamber, “Well, well, well. I see that you have dispatched my pet. No matter. The ritual is almost complete. Soon the Yellow Sign will return to Freeport and drive all the unfaithful masses to madness!”

Kham struggled to reach for his pistols, but his hands gripped the hilt of Fleshripper instead. “Damn it, Fleshripper, not now!”

“Your ridiculous attempt to stop us ends now,” said Drac. “Farewell, friends. What a pity that you have come so far only to fail in the end.” With that, he turned to the ssanu next to him on the stairs and said, “I leave them to you, N’tal. They should provide some amusement. Don’t take too long though. I wouldn’t want you to miss the glorious arrival of our master, the Unspeakable One.”

Drac tossed something down on the ground before him and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

“Dramatic,” said Kham.

N’tal threw off his robe and flew into the air. The other ssanu drew their bows.

“Uh, I don’t remember you saying anything about the snakes being able to fly,” Vlad said Ilmarė.

“I didn’t,” said Ilmarė. “He’s a sorcerer!”

“I am indeed, ssslave,” hissed N’tal. “Now feel the might of a true sssanu: Incendiariesss globusss!” He pointed and a pea-sized ball of flames flew towards them.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Vlad knew the spell. He’d seen it once before, when the insane elorii Neyadis had nearly slaughtered his companions with a fireball. He had to get in front of it…

He drew Grungronazharr in one motion and skidded into the spot where the fireball would land. Vlad raised the weapon up before him: Elabac said that Grungronazharr meant “forged in fire” and that if he bonded with the weapon, they would both emerge from the flames stronger than ever.

Vlad had no idea if it would work.

Fire exploded around him, but the blast arced away from Grungronazharr in a hemisphere that protected him and his companions. When the fires died out, a circle of soot outlined the edges of the blast.

“What?!” shouted N’tal.

Kham swigged two potions in quick succession. “Keep him busy,” he said to Vlad. “I’m going to have to do this the old fashioned way.”

“Scatter!” Ilmarė dove to the side. “I’ve seen what a sorcerer can do, don’t let him line you up…”

“Fulgur sssagitta!”

A bolt of electricity arced from N’tal’s finger into Vlad and then Beldin. They fell to the ground, twitching.

Ilmarė rolled to her feet and fired an arrow at one of the other ssanu on the steps. It plunged to its death.

Beldin struggled to his feet. “That’s it,” he snarled. “Now I’m really angry.”

Arrows whistled past Vlad’s shield, but they were slapped out of the air by an invisible force. He stood in front of Beldin. “Follow my lead!” They charged up the steps to attack the ssanu in hand-to-hand.

Ilmarė looked around. The lightning bolt had missed Kham. Where was he?

She looked up overhead. Hopping from wall to wall like some sort of tree frog, Kham covered the distance between the ground and the flying ssanu. N’tal was too focused on Vlad and Beldin to notice.

“Glaciesss imber!”

Hailstones rained down on Beldin, Vlad, and the three remaining ssanu. The two warriors were stalemated, forced to hide beneath their shields as the hailstones pounded down upon them. One of the ssanu lost his balance and fell to his doom.

There was a blur and something rammed into N’tal hard from the side. The ssanu sorcerer hissed in surprise, only to find Fleshripper jutting out of his torso.

They spun crazily, bouncing off wall and then another. With a horrible crunch, Kham, N’tal, and Fleshripper smashed into the floor near Ilmarė.

Ilmarė looked up. Beldin and Vlad stirred, covered by snow and ice. The ssanu around them were frozen, bloody pulps, pounded to death by their own leader’s spell.

She inspected the crumpled heap of val and ssanu. For a moment she thought they were both dead. Then Kham slowly rose to his feet, wiping blood from his nose. He yanked Fleshripper out of N’tal’s corpse.

Kham slowly, painfully, began to climb the steps. “Let’s finish this,” he said.

 

[talien]

And then finally, how the last battle went down. In retrospect I think it wasn't more than five rounds at most:

Vlad burst open the door. They had last reached the summit of Milton’s Folly.

The ceiling was angled toward the center of the room and ended in a six-sided glass enclosure that sticks stuck four feet above the stone roof. A raised platform supported a slender stone column upon which rested a crystal that shone yellow light through the glass and out into the night.

Milton Drac, Melkior Maeorgan, and a ssanu stood in front of the platform. The tower shook ominously, and the platform and column began to glow with a bright, yellow light. The stone throbbed with magical power as a beam of light shot through the crystal and out into the night sky. It blinded them for a moment

“As I said,” said Drac, “you are too late. The Yellow Sign is now corrupting the minds of all those fools in the harbor below. Soon they will leave here and spread the glorious madness of the Unspeakable One throughout all of Onara! Ha, ha, ha, ha!”

“I don’t believe it,” said Ilmarė. “He’s monologing.”

They caught a glimpse of what the lighthouse was projecting on the clouds: the Yellow Sign hung in the air over Freeport.

“Now, we can turn our attentions to you,” continued Drac. “Since I have been trying to kill you for many months now, an agonizing death seems more than appropriate. Which do you prefer? Being flayed alive or slowly bleeding to death as carrion pick at your bodies?”

“Is this some sort of quiz?” asked Kham. “How about D, none of the above.”

“I guess we shall just have to kill you now!” shouted Drac. “Get them!”

Melkior crossed his arms and drew two wicked-looking knives from their sheaths. “I’m going to enjoy this.”

The ssanu lifted a crossbow. “You ssshould have lissstened to me when I offered you that deal, Vlad,” it said. “I would have granted you a merciful death.”

“Brock?” asked Vlad in disbelief. A crossbow bolt warped away from Vlad’s magical shield. “I knew it was a trick!”

“The name isss Gorn,” said ssanu formerly disguised as Captain Brock Wallace. “Remember it well. It isss the lassst name you will ever hear.”

Beldin charged forward, only to have Melkior block his path. “Not so fast, stumpy,” he snarled.

“Let’s see how hardy you really are, dwarf,” said Drac, “When your blood is turned to poison!” He pointed at Beldin.

The Amulet of the Serpent around Beldin’s throat glowed green. Nothing happened.

“What?” said Drac in disbelief.

“Looks like not all ssanu agree with you,” said Beldin. He blocked one of Melkior’s knife strikes with his shield.

With one bound, Kham cleared the distance to the crystal.

“I know what you’re trying to do,” snarled Drac. He pointed a finger. “But it will be difficult if you’re bli—AAGH!”

One of Ilmarė’s arrows shivered from Drac’s shoulder. She had interrupted the spell. “Stop that wench!” he shouted.

Beldin faced off against Gorn. The ssanu swung high with its falchion, but Beldin blocked the blow with his shield and retaliated by slicing Gorn’s arm with his axe.

Vlad shoved Melkior backwards with his shield so he could have room to maneuver. In close combat, Melkior had the advantage with his daggers. But with enough distance…

Kham kicked the yellow crystal off of the pedestal.

“No!” shrieked Drac. He dove through the air and caught it just before it hit the ground.

The energy that had been focused through the crystal, without anything to channel it, warped and snaked through the air towards the top of the lighthouse. A shockwave blasted outward.

Everyone was knocked flat as the glass enclosure exploded.

Kham struggled to his knees. The energy pulsed outwards in an invisible wave, making each crawling step an effort.

He reached the pedestal a second before Drac did. Then with a slow smile, Kham placed the Jade Serpent of Yig on the pedestal.

“Nooooo!” shouted Drac.

The energy from the lighthouse surged through the idol of Yig. Suddenly, the yellow light transformed into a calming, green glow.

Another blast of energy exploded outwards from the pedestal, but this time only Drac was affected. The blast hurled him out of the lighthouse. Drac withered even as his body flew backwards, disintegrating in the ocean air.

 

[Kaodi]

Mooks

What about a trio of level 3 wizards, specializing in fire, electricity and acid respectively? Spread them out a bit, and then the sorcerer has some competition, and they could also use summoning spells to put some low level bodies any holes in their lines.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

And then finally, how the last battle went down. In retrospect I think it wasn't more than five rounds at most:

Sounded like it was an exciting battle tailen. I'll have to check your story hour out and read how your group handled the rest of the adventure(s).

Olaf the Stout

 

[Jeff Wilder]

This is probably the most player-enjoyed single encounter of my career as a 3E DM.

Basically, I just made sure to emphasize the ticking clock while my PCs fought their way up the interior of the tower. I made the enemies' goal simply to delay the group, first. Destroying them became a distant second.

In one memorable sequence, the sorcerer laid a wall of fire length-wise along one side of the lighthouse interior stairs. This stymied my players for a while, until the swashbuckler-type broke out the grappling hook and went up the hard way. Stuff like that.

One of my players in that game might have more to say on the combat and why it was so fun for them. From my perspective, it was a very fun session, but not anything leaps and bounds above other fun sessions we've had. But in this instance, clearly the players' perspective takes precedence.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

This is probably the most player-enjoyed single encounter of my career as a 3E DM.

Basically, I just made sure to emphasize the ticking clock while my PCs fought their way up the interior of the tower. I made the enemies' goal simply to delay the group, first. Destroying them became a distant second.

In one memorable sequence, the sorcerer laid a wall of fire length-wise along one side of the lighthouse interior stairs. This stymied my players for a while, until the swashbuckler-type broke out the grappling hook and went up the hard way. Stuff like that.

One of my players in that game might have more to say on the combat and why it was so fun for them. From my perspective, it was a very fun session, but not anything leaps and bounds above other fun sessions we've had. But in this instance, clearly the players' perspective takes precedence.

Thanks Jeff, I'll make sure to emphasise the sense of urgency. Anything else to at from a tactical perspective?

Olaf the Stout