Massive vampire turning artifact... need help!

[Redevil621]

I am currently designing a quest in FR where the heros are assaulting the Night Mask group. they have no idea that the theives guild they are about to take on is ruled by some of the strongest vampires ever spawned. the nightking (orbakh) seeks ultamately to make westgate into some sort of vampire nation.

I am really out of ideas, Orbakh is a 17th level wizard, so that makes it so that just about anything is possible, i was thinkin along some of the lines like a huge piller that converts people into a vampire within 1 weeks time of touch, or some other mass converting tool that he is in the works of creating or at least pursewing, plz list some ideas as to what i can do, thanx

 

[Mr Fidgit]

so you're saying Orbakh is building something to create vampires? well..

you shouldn't make it an item that needs to be touched, not everyone in a city would or could touch it (most people stick to their wards). it could be more portable, so you could take the item to the people. if it was a fixed item, it could have a radius effect (say, once per day, each person in Westgate must make a Will save or lose Con. Con goes to zero - welcome to the family!)

alternatively, you could have Orbakh and minions cast some mega-ritual magic to convert the entire city at once. in the game, the PCs could be picking up clues from incoming shipments on the docks (material components) and/or artisans creating unusual items (arcane foci). some investigation and spellcraft checks (along with the occasional vampire attack) could lead the PCs to the Nightmasks lair!

 

[Redevil621]

humm, i like the con drain idea, where everyone in town will eventually become one through some time, its effective and also can put a sereous strain on the PCs if they dont acheive success at a fast pace. maybe some sort of Huge tower that could be converted into like a negative energy node?

 

[Mr Fidgit]

can put a sereous strain on the PCs if they dont acheive success at a fast pace

true, but a time table is up to you. you could always do a little DM fudging to let your player catch on

tower/negative energy node would well, especially if it was omnipresent for the PCs (as in - all directions in town are based on 'the tower'. "the blacksmith's just south of the tower." "there's a fine inn called the Sweating Yeti just east of the tower." and so on) OR it could be just the opposite, some unassuming little place in town, even the inn where they're staying, could be the focal point, or a temple or shrine to a good diety (even evil clerics can pray for cure spells...)

the PCs would have a big clue of the ominous doings in town when they have to make Con checks every night (and sometimes fail them)

 

[Redevil621]

Yeah, i defantely plan on letting them in on the occurance, i will make it that they actually have a chance of stopping the entire tower from being converted into an 'undead matchine', but i will make it extreemely hard. if they fail to stop it, then Orbakh will most likely be in the hight of his power.

they way i think ill make the process work is everyone within a huge perimiter must make a fort save every 24 houres. the entire population being exposed will be extreemely sick even being exposed to that kind of negative energy i gues, so everyone will know something is up. As far as the clergy is concerned, there will be massess of people feeling ill, and no signs are visable that they are turning into a vampire untill maybe the 3rd save is faled. I was thinking of making the save fort dc 17, maybe higher, maybe less depending on the players actions to thwart the plan, but once a total of 9 saves have been failed, the transformation is complete.

As for the actual relic, or artifact, im still undecided... a mage tower being converted sounds kind of strange, maybe somethin else?

 

[Mr Fidgit]

you may want to put a number on the Con loss as the result of a failed save. this way, when the PCs get affected (they will be in town) they'll know how dangerous the situation is (when they start losing hit points)

if you play it this way (fail a save - lose Con) the oldest and the youngest in the city will start dying first. the clerics and mages in the city may think it's a plague, but they won't be able to find the cause...

 

[Redevil621]

Yeah, even a matropolis's clerics will be overwhelmed by a massive population effecting thing such as this... I may have some clues as to the clerical powers being thwarted by the nightmasks as well, maybe help them get involved with the nightmasks actual task at hand.

As for the weapon, maybe a ritual that requires the souls of like 10 vampires, who are slayen in the ritual, and one who survives, they key surviver who also puts his soul into the activation (meening he can never return if he is killed) becomes the only way of deactivating the artifact. He must be destroyed. that will ensure that they must finish Orbakh. I dont know about u, but my players have a strong tendancy to get sidetracked. but this quest they have been pritty good so far, so we'll see how it plays out.

The actual thing that will make all this happen> what should it be? maybe just orbakh himself? he is enough to turn people? some staff, or like a structure?

 

[Mr Fidgit]

I dont know about u, but my players have a strong tendancy to get sidetracked.

um, YEAH! i know exactly what that's like.


i think i would favor a structure or other -permanent- item. this way, when it comes down to the final battle, the main bad guy can't just run away (so you'd have a new final battle the next night). if the bad guy does run away, the PCs can destroy *the item* to end the threat to Westgate. (of course that bad guy could always come after the party after this happens... )

are your PCs high enough level to take a 17th level vampire wizard?

 

[Redevil621]

No my players are no where near being able to take on a 17th level vampire wiz yet, i plan to have them reach maybe 10th level by the time they get to westgate, maybe a little bit higher. as for the encounter with Orbakh, i plan on having some of his court there as well, but his court goes like this:

Darklady Dahlia Vhammos (clr 15/div 2)
Phultan Hammerwand (wiz 15) who is the guy with all the connections
Tebryn "shadowstalker" (Wiz3/ Rog8/Gld5) who is the man in charge of more open actions
ANd the twilight knight (pally9/blk5) assassin organizer

all vampires, i think i will make it that they take out Tebryn before they encounter the rest of the court, mainly because he seems to be the most volnerable simply by his possition, followed by Phultan. Then they will also need to take out a couple of other vamp cronies before this as well. not to mension some attacks on their life.

If i were to make the final battle between the the PC's and Orbakh, Vhammos, and maybe Twilight knight, what would be a good level for a party of 5 pc's to take this on, my pc's have told me that i make some encounters far to difficult for them some times, so plz help me out on this too good old Mr Fidgit

 

[Mr Fidgit]

why don't you post your PCs? that would really help!

just classes and levels would be fine, any specific magic items they have that would pertain to these kind of battles would help. also the big feat chains for the fighters - if you want to post it -