Iron DM "Home Game"
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Angelsboi
First Post
Ok i will battle Mmadsen
Bones
Earth Elemental
Ghouls
Magic Key
Kuo-toa
Holy Ground
??
Set Up
The PCs stop to rest in a little shore town of Luohg. Its always very dark there and rainy. The villages inhabitants are very wary and suspicious of the PCs until the local priests' daughter goes missing.
Scene I
The PCs start exploring the town and asking about the priest and his daughter. They are pretty much told the same thing. The priests family have been taking care of the church (to some sea god) and his daughter was supposed to be the next in line to inherit the family duty. They all say the priest and his daughter were very nice and popular and lived in the church. They also say they have been having service in the local meeting hall since the church is under renovations due to a storm.
Upon entering the church, the PCs find it wrecked, not being renovated. Odd scrawlings are written on the wall and it is quite dark, only being illuminated every so often by lightning. Then they see a mysterious figure at the alter and it leaps at them, attacking!
Scene II
After defeating the Kua-Toan priest and examining his body, the PCs discover the creature has been dead for a while and is a ghoul. Upon exploring the temple further, they discover a secret passage in the Priests room that leads them down underground.
Underground are tons of scones aglow with various torches and chanting can be heard in the background.
Scene III
The PCs are cornered by a groub of animated Kuo-Toan bones and must fight them off. Upon getting closer to the chanting, they see the priest standing above his daughter who is lying on an alter.
The PCs must stop the priest from killing her. If he does kill her, a large Kuo-Toa rises from the ground (it has the Undead template, Earth Elemental template, and the infernal template) and kills the priest who is cackling with glee. The PCs must then stop this creature from bein unleashed on the villiage.
If the PCs stop the priest, he will babble about now being too late and will try to flee. The daughter will inform them her father was murdered and replaced by that doppleganger who wanted to summon an ancient Kuo-Toan creature from the depths of the planes to wreck havok. She explains her blood is a magic key to unlock portals on the Kuo-Toan holy ground. If she had been killed (as her family is a strong bloodline and she is the last of them), a portal would have opened up summoning a hell creature forth. She also explains that her family was placed in this town to keep the unruly Kuo-Toans from taking it over and that the local sea god didnt want that happening here.
Aftermath
If the daughter dies: they will have to stop the Hell creature from wreaking havok and find a way to keep the Kuo-Toans from taking over.
If the daughter is saved: they can help rebuild the church and find a way to keep the Kuo-Toans from getting back into their holy ground.
Bones
Earth Elemental
Ghouls
Magic Key
Kuo-toa
Holy Ground
??
Set Up
The PCs stop to rest in a little shore town of Luohg. Its always very dark there and rainy. The villages inhabitants are very wary and suspicious of the PCs until the local priests' daughter goes missing.
Scene I
The PCs start exploring the town and asking about the priest and his daughter. They are pretty much told the same thing. The priests family have been taking care of the church (to some sea god) and his daughter was supposed to be the next in line to inherit the family duty. They all say the priest and his daughter were very nice and popular and lived in the church. They also say they have been having service in the local meeting hall since the church is under renovations due to a storm.
Upon entering the church, the PCs find it wrecked, not being renovated. Odd scrawlings are written on the wall and it is quite dark, only being illuminated every so often by lightning. Then they see a mysterious figure at the alter and it leaps at them, attacking!
Scene II
After defeating the Kua-Toan priest and examining his body, the PCs discover the creature has been dead for a while and is a ghoul. Upon exploring the temple further, they discover a secret passage in the Priests room that leads them down underground.
Underground are tons of scones aglow with various torches and chanting can be heard in the background.
Scene III
The PCs are cornered by a groub of animated Kuo-Toan bones and must fight them off. Upon getting closer to the chanting, they see the priest standing above his daughter who is lying on an alter.
The PCs must stop the priest from killing her. If he does kill her, a large Kuo-Toa rises from the ground (it has the Undead template, Earth Elemental template, and the infernal template) and kills the priest who is cackling with glee. The PCs must then stop this creature from bein unleashed on the villiage.
If the PCs stop the priest, he will babble about now being too late and will try to flee. The daughter will inform them her father was murdered and replaced by that doppleganger who wanted to summon an ancient Kuo-Toan creature from the depths of the planes to wreck havok. She explains her blood is a magic key to unlock portals on the Kuo-Toan holy ground. If she had been killed (as her family is a strong bloodline and she is the last of them), a portal would have opened up summoning a hell creature forth. She also explains that her family was placed in this town to keep the unruly Kuo-Toans from taking it over and that the local sea god didnt want that happening here.
Aftermath
If the daughter dies: they will have to stop the Hell creature from wreaking havok and find a way to keep the Kuo-Toans from taking over.
If the daughter is saved: they can help rebuild the church and find a way to keep the Kuo-Toans from getting back into their holy ground.
Thank you, Rune!
When I read up on Kuo-Toa -- seriously, when's the last time you used Kuo-Toa? -- I realized they were immune to Ghoul paralysis. Naturally then, I either wanted to ally the Kuo-Toa with the Ghouls or set them up as an unlikely ally against the Ghouls.
When I thought about Ghouls and their "ecology", I realized some intelligent Ghoul "husbandry" could generate an exponentially increasing army of undead -- and those Kuo-Toa pincer staves fit right into that, perfect for pulling Ghouls off victims.
And, frankly, I'm pretty proud of the human "chum" idea.
Thanks, Angelsboi. For everyone lurking though, remember, the "home game" isn't so strict. Anyone can give their adventure -- or their critique!
The first list of ingredients: Bones, Earth Elemental, Ghouls, Magic Key, Kuo-toa, Holy Ground. I think anyone deserves bonus points for fitting the Earth Elemental in gracefully.
Thank you, Angelsboi. What did you feel was strongest about it? And what was weakest?
It certainly turned out that way, but it only seems natural -- what with both Kuo-Toa and Ghouls in the same scenario. I enjoyed calling them the "Deep Ones of Kuo-Toa, foul fish-men from the stygian depths".
You liked how I handled that? Really, it was the only semi-decent thing I could think up. Since the aquatic Kuo-Toa are the enemies, and earth and water are opposed, I assumed the Earth Elemental would make a good party ally, rather than an obstacle to overcome. I am oddly proud of the ancient stone tablets as the Scroll of Planar Ally though.
I feel a bit odd criticizing my honorable opposition, but let me put on my nemmerle cap and fire up a few torches...
Let me point out any plot holes (or questions I may have) first:
They're suspicious until the local priest's daughter goes missing? Wouldn't the strangers in town be the prime suspects?
So no one in the small town has noticed that no workmen are in fact renovating the church?
OK, so the church has been desecrated. Always good.
So a single Kuo-Toan Priest Ghoul attacks them? Why is he a Ghoul? Did he become a Ghoul after desecrating the church?
Were those tunnels always there?
Scones aglow? Oh, sconces aglow with torches.
Why undead Kuo-Toa? And why not Ghouls if we've already established one above ground?
Always good.
OK, that elemental template feels really tacked on! I was right about the Earth Elemental being really hard to fit in though, wasn't I?
So a doppleganger happens to have an underground lair attached to the local church, and he wants to destroy the small fishing town just because? And he knows how to summon a Fiendish Kuo-Toan Earth Elemental? Using the magic-key blood of the priest's daughter to unlock the Kuo-Toan holy ground?
OK, that actually helps explain things.
So was the church built on top of the Kuo-Toan holy ground on purpose? And had they previously exterminated the fish-man threat? Were the Kuo-Toan undead then casualties of the last Man-Kuo-Toa war? Could we replace the doppleganger with a magically disguised Kuo-Toa priest? (Too bad Trickery isn't one of the Kuo-Toan Cleric Domains!)
Angelsboi
First Post
To explain things ...
Yes, the PCs are prime suspects but in times of need, people generally tend to bit their pride and ask for help.
The Kuo-Toan Ghoul is undead thanks to all the desecration going on.
There can be Kuo-toan bones and ghouls.
The preist could be a kuo-Toan with robes of disguise.
The elemenatl template MAY feel tacked on but i needed a powerful monster. An infernal earth lemental Kuo-Toan seemed perfect.
The Kuo-Toans resided in the caves under the town and created the tunnels to the surface. The local sea god didnt want their god worshipped and placed a family in this town with the duty of watching the towns people.
Yes, the PCs are prime suspects but in times of need, people generally tend to bit their pride and ask for help.
The Kuo-Toan Ghoul is undead thanks to all the desecration going on.
There can be Kuo-toan bones and ghouls.
The preist could be a kuo-Toan with robes of disguise.
The elemenatl template MAY feel tacked on but i needed a powerful monster. An infernal earth lemental Kuo-Toan seemed perfect.
The Kuo-Toans resided in the caves under the town and created the tunnels to the surface. The local sea god didnt want their god worshipped and placed a family in this town with the duty of watching the towns people.
Ingredients:
Paladin's holy mount
Gargantuan fire beetle
Crippled rogue
Flooded mine
Diary
Intelligent Greatsword
Act I
A Lonely Warhorse
Trekking through the countryside, the PCs notice a resplendent white horse draped with an ornate caparison. Closer inspection -- the horse is friendly enough toward Lawful and Good characters -- reveals the cross and concentric rings of Cuthbert on the caparison, on the saddle, etc. In the saddlebags can be found rations, a few dozen coins, and a written journal.
(Optionally, the warhorse can be fending off a skirmish of Kuo-Toa, up from the depths of the nearby mineshaft. They should be no match for the PCs.)
The diary tersely recounts the past few weeks in the life of Laragon Lawbringer, Paladin of St. Cuthbert. A few key points:
Act II
An Odd Standoff
The PCs can easily find the nearby mine entrance. The upper levels are empty, just an abondoned mine, but deeper they'll find a deep vertical shaft filled with water. On a ledge over that shaft, they'll find a cowering wretch with one leg hacked off and bandaged in strips of his once-elegant cloak. This is Calahan the Clever (Chaotic Good Rogue/Wizard).
What is he cowering from? A Gargantuan Fire Beetle filling the horizontal shaft leading away from his ledge. But the Fire Beetle's stuck. Just out of reach.
Given the chance, Calahan explains that Laragon, in a fit of madness, hacked off his [Calahan's] leg instead of attacking the giant beetle that assaulted them. (Calahan does not realize Laragon's new-found Greatsword is an intelligent Lawful blade that despises his Chaotic ways. It attacked him.) Calahan, in a panic tossed the Sphere of Athoth-Mon into the gaping maw of the giant beetle -- and it began to grow even more, until it burst through some weak supports keeping a dam in place and eventually found itself stuck. (The Sphere of Athoth-Mon simply allows its owner to cast Enlarge and Reduce as a 10th-level Wizard.) The bursting water washed Laragon into the vertical shaft, where he surely drowned (in his plate armor). Calahan managed to catch a grip on a wooden support before getting washed over.
Act III
Into the Cold Still Water
If the party can explore underwater, they may dive down the deep shaft until they find the bottom of the digging done by Man -- and they find a (new) opening between the bottom of the mine shaft and a series of natural caverns -- caverns inhabited by Kuo-Toa. There's no sign of Laragon or his Greatsword, Lawbringer.
If the party can't explore underwater, they can magically reduce the beetle -- at which point it can attack -- or they can kill it in place and try to find a way past the chitinous corpse.
Eventually, after working down a few levels toward the water line, they should face Kuo-Toa ambushes -- and they'll still need some way to explore underwater to delve into the Kuo-Toa kingdom and retrieve Laragon's sword.
Paladin's holy mount
Gargantuan fire beetle
Crippled rogue
Flooded mine
Diary
Intelligent Greatsword
Act I
A Lonely Warhorse
Trekking through the countryside, the PCs notice a resplendent white horse draped with an ornate caparison. Closer inspection -- the horse is friendly enough toward Lawful and Good characters -- reveals the cross and concentric rings of Cuthbert on the caparison, on the saddle, etc. In the saddlebags can be found rations, a few dozen coins, and a written journal.
(Optionally, the warhorse can be fending off a skirmish of Kuo-Toa, up from the depths of the nearby mineshaft. They should be no match for the PCs.)
The diary tersely recounts the past few weeks in the life of Laragon Lawbringer, Paladin of St. Cuthbert. A few key points:
- Battled to bottom of Goblin kingdom of Rathuk Appon to regain the Lawbringer
- Accompanied by Calahan the Clever, who recovered the Sphere of Athoth-Mon, is still determining its powers
- Learned that the Lawbringer's sister artifact, the Helm of Justice, may be in ruins beneath the abandoned mine at [party's current location].
Act II
An Odd Standoff
The PCs can easily find the nearby mine entrance. The upper levels are empty, just an abondoned mine, but deeper they'll find a deep vertical shaft filled with water. On a ledge over that shaft, they'll find a cowering wretch with one leg hacked off and bandaged in strips of his once-elegant cloak. This is Calahan the Clever (Chaotic Good Rogue/Wizard).
What is he cowering from? A Gargantuan Fire Beetle filling the horizontal shaft leading away from his ledge. But the Fire Beetle's stuck. Just out of reach.
Given the chance, Calahan explains that Laragon, in a fit of madness, hacked off his [Calahan's] leg instead of attacking the giant beetle that assaulted them. (Calahan does not realize Laragon's new-found Greatsword is an intelligent Lawful blade that despises his Chaotic ways. It attacked him.) Calahan, in a panic tossed the Sphere of Athoth-Mon into the gaping maw of the giant beetle -- and it began to grow even more, until it burst through some weak supports keeping a dam in place and eventually found itself stuck. (The Sphere of Athoth-Mon simply allows its owner to cast Enlarge and Reduce as a 10th-level Wizard.) The bursting water washed Laragon into the vertical shaft, where he surely drowned (in his plate armor). Calahan managed to catch a grip on a wooden support before getting washed over.
Act III
Into the Cold Still Water
If the party can explore underwater, they may dive down the deep shaft until they find the bottom of the digging done by Man -- and they find a (new) opening between the bottom of the mine shaft and a series of natural caverns -- caverns inhabited by Kuo-Toa. There's no sign of Laragon or his Greatsword, Lawbringer.
If the party can't explore underwater, they can magically reduce the beetle -- at which point it can attack -- or they can kill it in place and try to find a way past the chitinous corpse.
Eventually, after working down a few levels toward the water line, they should face Kuo-Toa ambushes -- and they'll still need some way to explore underwater to delve into the Kuo-Toa kingdom and retrieve Laragon's sword.
el-remmen
Moderator Emeritus
Sorry, I really can't. . .
it takes a lot of time and energy to do those and the one IRON DM thread is taxing enough. . .
I wish I had the time - but between Iron DM, my own campaign, my own writing for a product that is behind schedule, preparing my campaign setting entry for WotC, work and my fantastic love-life I hardly have time to sleep. . .
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