Return to the monster's lair: what would YOU do?

[Storminator]

So you're a beholder. You aren't going anywhere. Why should you? You don't really have anything to fear from the wandering livestock. In fact, the problem is that they got away - twice. Obviously, the tunnel is the problem.

So what do you know about those tasty snacks? They pull people off the hooks and run away with them. Hey! You have one of their friends right here! Hmmmmm. Let's set this new body on a hook and when they pull it off, it collapses the tunnel behind them. I wonder if Blood Call can make it shake like it's alive? Might have to leave a little blood in it... oh one little taste won't make a difference! But leave the rest.

And when they come back, and they're trapped here... kill the light sources. Just a round or two in the dark, trapped underground, with the tide rolling in...

PS

 

[Piratecat]

Oh, I like this whole "tides" thing a lot.

I'm hesitant to make Toiva undead; that's what they're expecting! I actually hadn't even thought of it until Aravis mentioned it the other day in a classic Rule One violation. And the exit blocking is...

Holy crap. I just had an idea that inspired.

One of my challenges is that they're bringing a bunch of other Grey Guard members. How was I going to handle that? But the PCs will probably want to enter first. The beholder (or an ally) drops the ceiling after the first 7-8 people, blocking the entrance when the PCs are inside but the beholder is outside. The PCs then listen to the beholder savaging the Grey Guard out there.

Then silence.

The PCs are trapped in the cave with the tide surging in and out of the blowholes - water swirling around them one round and draining out the next. They fight the ally and get down Toiva's body (surely setting off a trap), while the beholder dodges down into the tide channels and reemerges into the room.

 

[The_Warlock]

Poor, poor Red Shirted Grey Guard in the hall...

Regarding not making the former PC undead. What about making it the necrotic cyst egg sac for the undead beholder? So, when they take the body down, it bursts open with dozens of tumorous little mini-beholderkin eyeballs?

So that even if the beholder's cave collapsing "ally" is killed, he still has a screening force.

Also, specifically, it would probably be somewhat unnerving if all the bodies except Toiva's had been removed from the room by the Beholder's allies, with her's hanging farthest from the entrance.

Nothing screams trap louder, but the PCs will likely take the bait because of the taunt.

EDIT: Oooh oooh, or rather than have her hanging from a chain, have several now empty chains hooked together with the body lain inside the hammock/bier of chains. Even if he is lazy, if he has allies, he can command them to makes things aesthetically unnerving.

 

[Turtlejay]

Yeah. . .if the PC's are expecting an animated Tovia, then you shouldn't deliver. You should deliver in a different way. Maybe several Tovias, or a shade that isn't immediately identifiable as her. Maybe her final moments, hurling insults at the Beholder, colors her raising and she returns as a Banshee? Maybe her corpse is infected with a disease by the beholder, so even though she is not raised, any ally that touches her contracts it.

Jay

 

[GandalfMithrandir]

Maybe Tovia was animated and is walking around inside, which would unnerve the PCs (they thought she was dead!) also maybe some of the chains and meat-hooks have been made into a swinging death chain type trap, so whenever someone goes through a doorway (or takes down a body) the chains start swinging in circles quickly enough to slaughter whoever tries to cross them. This could effectively block off the exit and force the PCs to continue and try to find another exit, maybe a grey guard they took along would try to step through the chains only to be bloodily killed as n example for the rest of the PCs and company, again the red shirt idea

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

One of my challenges is that they're bringing a bunch of other Grey Guard members. How was I going to handle that? But the PCs will probably want to enter first. The beholder (or an ally) drops the ceiling after the first 7-8 people, blocking the entrance when the PCs are inside but the beholder is outside. The PCs then listen to the beholder savaging the Grey Guard out there.

Then silence.

This sounds awesome, but I would give some thought to how it plays out if it ends up splitting the party. Especially if Toiva's replacement is a ranged striker, I could see him/her going in at the back of the group, with the NPCs between him/her and the rest of the PCs. That could make for a complicated situation to GM (a fight involving a bunch of NPCs and one or two PCs at the same time as a separate fight involving the rest of the PCs and one or two NPCs). I still think the core idea is awesome, but I would be ready for this possibility.

I also love the idea of it using more hanging victims as traps-- either living victims that have been booby-trapped, or corpses that are animated. (The Batman: Dark Knight trick could be really effective there-- horrifying and dangerous.)

 

[Quartz]

Is the intent to Raise Toiva? Then don't mess with her body. Actually, don't mess with her body too much anyway - the mission is going to be a success if they recover her body, so don't deny them the opportunity for success.

I like the idea of the multiple shafts.

Your idea of killing the mooks by collapsing the tunnel won't be usable is the party is spread out, so if you cannot use it, how about adding a Chain Devil or two?

Definitely animate the bodies, but rather than have them explode, give them all weapons. Some of these weapons should be the monster's treasure, so the PCs get to have the loot used against them. The bodies should be somewhat resistant to standard minion-killing powers. Perhaps they're soaking wet right through, so they always get a save vs any Fire powers.

 

[Piratecat]

This sounds awesome, but I would give some thought to how it plays out if it ends up splitting the party. Especially if Toiva's replacement is a ranged striker, I could see him/her going in at the back of the group, with the NPCs between him/her and the rest of the PCs.

Yeah, I'd need to make sure that none of the PCs are split. I think I can manage that. I might want two plans, though - so if one would suck, I have a fallback.

What's the Dark Knight trick?

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

In the recent Batman Dark Knight movie, the Joker embeds a bomb inside of a person. The person later explodes, killing him and the people around him (specifically when a cell phone embedded with the bomb is called). So my thought is that if there are dangling captives (either actual captives or dead bodies animated to appear as captives) that are magically booby-trapped in some way, then the PCs have a motivation to run over and grab the captives, but doing so is horrifying, dangerous, and counter-productive. (If it were actual captives, I would want to include some way to disable the booby trap to save the captive-- it remains horrifying, but it reduces the frustration level. If they're undead... not so much.)

 

[KidSnide]

Yeah, I'd need to make sure that none of the PCs are split. I think I can manage that. I might want two plans, though - so if one would suck, I have a fallback.

To be honest, I'm not sure how much that would suck. Well, sure - it would suck for the character - but not for the players.

But so long as there is a way for one or two characters to escape, I'm not sure it's a problem if one or two PCs are stuck facing the beholder with a bunch of red (err... gray) shirts. It shouldn't take too long for them to figure out that escape is the productive activity, and you can have the other players run the guards. Even if it's a disaster, at least it will be the engaging kind...

-KS