Post an encounter

[EricNoah]

I wrote up an encounter with a death cultist, and thought I'd share. It's probably EL 3-5 depending on which options you use. It does make use of some house rules (a type of light armor called a scholar's robe -- +1 armor bonus, no arcane spell failure, can't be made magical or masterwork; a cultist NPC class I roughed out in the House Rules forum; and a bandit NPC class that's basically like a "lite" rogue). I hope someone finds it useful.

Edit: some of the feats come from Libris Mortis.

If you have an interesting encounter, maybe you'd be interested in posting it here. My ultimate goal is to have a big spreadsheet with various adventures (PDFs of Goodman's Dungeon Crawl Classics; Dungeon Mag adventures; encounter locations from various WotC books such as Lords of Madness, and so forth) and encounters like this one, arranged by intended EL so I can have a bunch of things to pull from when the PCs stray or need a diversion.

 

[Wik]

Hey, cool idea. Here's mine, just a simple little group using one of my favourite under-used monsters, the Shadow.

The Darklighters (ECL 10)

Hezzram Darklighteris a crazed cleric of the god of death who, after five years of being in constant contact with undead, has begun to take on aspects of undeath himself. The cleric has acquired a "family" of shadows who slowly leach the strength of their clerical host, leaving the priest frail and decrepit (despite being only 27 years old).

Hezzram is encountered around a dinner table in a room lit only by a few dim candles. A hzae of smoke clings to the room, and there is a strong scent of decay. Sitting around the table are four shadows; all of which obediently listen as Hezzram instructs them to "eat their vegetables" and "finish what's left on your plate". While the whole room is dark and dirty, Hezzram himself wears bright, garish garments that quickly catch the eye: checkerboard patterns of pink and bright green, a foppish mauve cap, and a blue scarf of feathers.

Hezzram, NE Human Male Cleric 6. Init +1, Spd. 20', HD 6d8+6 (34 hp), AC: 15, Atk: (MW Scythe) +4, 2d4-1, 20/x4; Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +8; S 12 (Currently 8), D 13, C 11, I 11, W 16, Ch 15. Knowledge (Religion) +9, Concentration +9, Spellcraft +9, Toughness, Extra Turning, Improved Counterspell, Toughness. Possessions: Cloak of Resistance +2, Masterwork Scythe, Masterwork Breastplate, 2 Opals worth 300 GP each, Necklace worth 350 GP. Special: Once per day, can make a Death touch. Roll 6d6 - if this exceeds the target's hit points, it dies (no save). Domains: Death and Evil. Spells Known: 0: Detect Magic, Resistance, Virtue, Detect Magic, Detect Poison. 1: Bane, Cause Feat, Cure Light Wounds, Magic Weapon, (Protection from Good). 2: Bull's Strength, Cure Moderate Wounds, Darkness, Silence (Death Knell). 3: Dispel Magic, Contagion, Dispel Magic, (Animate Dead). CR: 6

3 Shadows ("Cindy, Mindy, and Lindy"): See Monster Manual, Hp 17, 19, 20.

Greater Shadow ("Tiny"). See Monster Manual, HP 61.

Tactics: Hezzram will instantly cast Silence on any cleric he sees, all the while shouting at the top of his lungs "Intruders! Kill them, my pets!". The low-level shadows will engage in any melee types, doing their best to prevent characters from reaching Hezzram. Meanwhile, "Tiny" will try to sneak up and engage unarmoured and weak-looking individuals, hoping to knock them out quickly with strength drain damage. After his first round of casting, Hezzram will try to counter any spells cast byhis enemies. If a fairly weak individual gets within range of Hezzram, he will use his death touch ability in the hopes of scoring a quick kill. Each time a shadow dies, Hezzram cries out in rage and agony. He will flee if three shadows are killed, shrieking "You will pay for this! YOU WILL PAY!". If Hezzram is killed, the Shadows start spreading their attacks out, and fighting in an uncoordinated manner.