Vraille Darkfang
First Post
Ok, here’s another encounter I can’t use (again do to the 2 twelve year olds in my game).
Requirements to use this:
A male PC with d10 or higher HD, preferably with a Con bonus of +2 or greater. A d8 with a Con modifier of +4 will also work. This will work best with a low to mid level party. At about 10th level or so, the PC’s will have sufficient resources to counter this threat as well as track down the source of it.
Preferably the PC will have a love of drink & is know to spend a good deal at the local tavern.
Half-orc Barbarians or Dwarven Fighters are the stereotypical choice, but others may be used (see below)
The set up:
When returning from a successful adventure, have the party stop at a local tavern. Tell them the bar is having a special 2 for 1 sale on some of their best dwarven ales at 1 gp per tankard or 1cp per flagon of something called ‘Dragon Piss’ that gets the job done. Now if any PC’s take the bait and start drinking heavily, just have them write down how much they spend & maybe a Fort save now & again vs intoxication, but don’t make it the focus of the action. Treat it as a side, roleplaying theme, focus on the potential quests that abound in the tavern. You can have any quests you want (including the main quest you next want your party to go on). Also, there is a small, wizened gnome wrapped in a pure white robe. He will approach the PC’s and ask them for aid.
He’s a non-descript gnome, no real distinguishing features about him. If magic is detected for, he will radiate faintly of moderate Transmutation, as well as various objects on his person will radiate with various dweomers. He will not Detect as evil (or Good). He will converse with the party about their past adventures to see if “they’re up to task”. If attacked he will Teleport away (Concentration +15; Scroll of Teleport w/out Error; has Teleport memorized at least twice). He wants the PC’s to recover an item of power that has been lost for generations & could bring about great misery if it fell into the wrong hands. Any observant PC will notice it is more like he is telling the beginning to a Bard’s tale than any ‘real’ quest. Secretly roll a Will save for the ‘target’ until he fails. To be fair if he rolls a Nat 20, he senses ‘something’ trying to get inside his head. Eventually tell the PC whose been drinking the most he has to step out real quick to ‘take care of business’. As he leaves to go to the jakes, continue the discussion with the gnome for a bit. Then…..
“You hear a sizzling, buzzing sound coming from the rear of the tavern, accompanied by a loud yell of pain, sort of like “szzzszzzzszz-Aieeee-szsssszzzz-AIEEEEE”
Gnome: “Electricity is so fascinating. Did you know that electrical impulses can prevent a humanoids muscular structure from ending it’s current action?”
“szzzszzzzszz-Aieeee-szsssszzzz-AIEEEEE”
Gnome: “It is a truly fascinating area of study. Oh, I must be going!” He then Teleports away as his Contingency is activated.
Back to the poor PC trying to relieve himself. He takes 1d6 points of electrical damage per HD he has. This is spread out to 1d6 per round for however many rounds it takes. He may attempt a Fort DC 25 save at the beginning of the effect for half damage.
Tell him that as he went to urinate, a massive electrical shock sprang forth from his ‘target’ area & zapped him while his pants were down. Close examination of the scene will reveal a small, unique glyph (some sort of wizard’s sigil) as the source of the electrical effect.
Now roll 1d10; this is how many days he has before the ‘experiment’ repeated.
On the designated day, say something like this: “So that morning as you get up & prepare to break camp the ‘targeted PC’ goes off into the bushes. This is quickly followed by:
“szzzszzzzszz-Aieeee-szsssszzzz-AIEEEEE”
Repeat the damage as outlined above. Again, they will find a small, identical sigil the PC used for target practice. Roll 1d10.
Repeat above; roll 1d10.
Continue this for 6 until 6 months of game time have elapsed or the PC rolls a Nat 1 or 2 on his save.
In case of a Nat 1, read this: “As you stand there, quivering in pain, unable to prevent yourself from ‘doing what your doing’ a small stone appears in the air next to you and the following speech emerges from it in a voice that sounds vaguely familiar: “Thank you for participating in my research study on the effects of electrical stimuli on the male genitals of common humanoid races. Unfortunate, in a small percent of cases, 5 percent, the blood and urine becomes super-heated due to the build-up of extreme pressure that results in the explosive destruction of the soft tissues. I suggest you seek clerical attention immediately”. You may then tell the PC his penis exploded (1d10 damage) & he’ll need a Regenerate spell to return to full ‘working order’.
In case of a Nat 2. Just remember it. At a later date should he decide to spend any of his cash on ‘ale & whores’, tell him he gets a complete refund from the whore who assures him it happens to everyone sometimes. You may then tell him he needs a Heal or Regeneration spell to return to full ‘working order’
Should he survive the 6 months without having his penis explode, he will wake one morning and a newly printed (yes, printed) book will appear beside him. It will have the title ‘A long term sturdy of the effects of progressive electrical discharges of an arcane source upon the urethra, bladder and other soft tissues of the male reproductive organs of common humanoids; a comparative study’. The name Glipynyx will appear as the author, the PC’s name will appear in the back under Appendix C: Volunteers.
Give the PC some XP.
Background stuff:
Glipynyx is a member of an androgynous group of extra-planar beings who have an insatiable curiosity of the workings of sentient creatures of the Prime Material Plane. Glipynyx is one of their most famous scientists & his research is famous. (I used the Spellweaver (Monsters of Faerun?) as the base creature, he likes going around polymorphed as a gnome).
He has decided to conduct studies on the, well, what happens when you pee on an electric fence. He’s just having problems finding people who’ll willing pee on a glyph that’ll zapp their lil’ wee-wees. Thus he’s started secret tests.
He programs a Geas in the target’s mind to subconsciously urinate on a specific glyph he has created specifically for this research (thus the initial Will save above). He then scryes how the subject reacts to the electricity journeying through along its urethra & into its bladder.
He has the following contingencies planned if his subjects get uncooperative:
Electrical Resistance: His (well its) Scrying Mirror allows spells to be cast through it; including Dispel Magic. Should a ‘volunteer’ get electrical resistance he will cast a dispel magic on the item/spell (1d20+18) so that his research is ‘pure’.
Trying to track his a** down & show him the business end of a Dwarven War Axe where the sun don’t shine: His laboratory is somewhere on a distant plane & is heavily warded against casual intrusion. In fact, the only way to effectively track him down would be to journey to a planar library that has many of his works & find a scholar who knows where he’s rumored to be.
Again, I’m laving a lot of blanks for the DM to fill in, because that’s how I like my encounters to be presented to me. Lots of gaps I can quickly fill in to tie it to my own campaign world and gaming style so that it doesn’t ‘stick out’ to my PC’s.
If people want more detail, I can do that.
Later,
Requirements to use this:
A male PC with d10 or higher HD, preferably with a Con bonus of +2 or greater. A d8 with a Con modifier of +4 will also work. This will work best with a low to mid level party. At about 10th level or so, the PC’s will have sufficient resources to counter this threat as well as track down the source of it.
Preferably the PC will have a love of drink & is know to spend a good deal at the local tavern.
Half-orc Barbarians or Dwarven Fighters are the stereotypical choice, but others may be used (see below)
The set up:
When returning from a successful adventure, have the party stop at a local tavern. Tell them the bar is having a special 2 for 1 sale on some of their best dwarven ales at 1 gp per tankard or 1cp per flagon of something called ‘Dragon Piss’ that gets the job done. Now if any PC’s take the bait and start drinking heavily, just have them write down how much they spend & maybe a Fort save now & again vs intoxication, but don’t make it the focus of the action. Treat it as a side, roleplaying theme, focus on the potential quests that abound in the tavern. You can have any quests you want (including the main quest you next want your party to go on). Also, there is a small, wizened gnome wrapped in a pure white robe. He will approach the PC’s and ask them for aid.
He’s a non-descript gnome, no real distinguishing features about him. If magic is detected for, he will radiate faintly of moderate Transmutation, as well as various objects on his person will radiate with various dweomers. He will not Detect as evil (or Good). He will converse with the party about their past adventures to see if “they’re up to task”. If attacked he will Teleport away (Concentration +15; Scroll of Teleport w/out Error; has Teleport memorized at least twice). He wants the PC’s to recover an item of power that has been lost for generations & could bring about great misery if it fell into the wrong hands. Any observant PC will notice it is more like he is telling the beginning to a Bard’s tale than any ‘real’ quest. Secretly roll a Will save for the ‘target’ until he fails. To be fair if he rolls a Nat 20, he senses ‘something’ trying to get inside his head. Eventually tell the PC whose been drinking the most he has to step out real quick to ‘take care of business’. As he leaves to go to the jakes, continue the discussion with the gnome for a bit. Then…..
“You hear a sizzling, buzzing sound coming from the rear of the tavern, accompanied by a loud yell of pain, sort of like “szzzszzzzszz-Aieeee-szsssszzzz-AIEEEEE”
Gnome: “Electricity is so fascinating. Did you know that electrical impulses can prevent a humanoids muscular structure from ending it’s current action?”
“szzzszzzzszz-Aieeee-szsssszzzz-AIEEEEE”
Gnome: “It is a truly fascinating area of study. Oh, I must be going!” He then Teleports away as his Contingency is activated.
Back to the poor PC trying to relieve himself. He takes 1d6 points of electrical damage per HD he has. This is spread out to 1d6 per round for however many rounds it takes. He may attempt a Fort DC 25 save at the beginning of the effect for half damage.
Tell him that as he went to urinate, a massive electrical shock sprang forth from his ‘target’ area & zapped him while his pants were down. Close examination of the scene will reveal a small, unique glyph (some sort of wizard’s sigil) as the source of the electrical effect.
Now roll 1d10; this is how many days he has before the ‘experiment’ repeated.
On the designated day, say something like this: “So that morning as you get up & prepare to break camp the ‘targeted PC’ goes off into the bushes. This is quickly followed by:
“szzzszzzzszz-Aieeee-szsssszzzz-AIEEEEE”
Repeat the damage as outlined above. Again, they will find a small, identical sigil the PC used for target practice. Roll 1d10.
Repeat above; roll 1d10.
Continue this for 6 until 6 months of game time have elapsed or the PC rolls a Nat 1 or 2 on his save.
In case of a Nat 1, read this: “As you stand there, quivering in pain, unable to prevent yourself from ‘doing what your doing’ a small stone appears in the air next to you and the following speech emerges from it in a voice that sounds vaguely familiar: “Thank you for participating in my research study on the effects of electrical stimuli on the male genitals of common humanoid races. Unfortunate, in a small percent of cases, 5 percent, the blood and urine becomes super-heated due to the build-up of extreme pressure that results in the explosive destruction of the soft tissues. I suggest you seek clerical attention immediately”. You may then tell the PC his penis exploded (1d10 damage) & he’ll need a Regenerate spell to return to full ‘working order’.
In case of a Nat 2. Just remember it. At a later date should he decide to spend any of his cash on ‘ale & whores’, tell him he gets a complete refund from the whore who assures him it happens to everyone sometimes. You may then tell him he needs a Heal or Regeneration spell to return to full ‘working order’
Should he survive the 6 months without having his penis explode, he will wake one morning and a newly printed (yes, printed) book will appear beside him. It will have the title ‘A long term sturdy of the effects of progressive electrical discharges of an arcane source upon the urethra, bladder and other soft tissues of the male reproductive organs of common humanoids; a comparative study’. The name Glipynyx will appear as the author, the PC’s name will appear in the back under Appendix C: Volunteers.
Give the PC some XP.
Background stuff:
Glipynyx is a member of an androgynous group of extra-planar beings who have an insatiable curiosity of the workings of sentient creatures of the Prime Material Plane. Glipynyx is one of their most famous scientists & his research is famous. (I used the Spellweaver (Monsters of Faerun?) as the base creature, he likes going around polymorphed as a gnome).
He has decided to conduct studies on the, well, what happens when you pee on an electric fence. He’s just having problems finding people who’ll willing pee on a glyph that’ll zapp their lil’ wee-wees. Thus he’s started secret tests.
He programs a Geas in the target’s mind to subconsciously urinate on a specific glyph he has created specifically for this research (thus the initial Will save above). He then scryes how the subject reacts to the electricity journeying through along its urethra & into its bladder.
He has the following contingencies planned if his subjects get uncooperative:
Electrical Resistance: His (well its) Scrying Mirror allows spells to be cast through it; including Dispel Magic. Should a ‘volunteer’ get electrical resistance he will cast a dispel magic on the item/spell (1d20+18) so that his research is ‘pure’.
Trying to track his a** down & show him the business end of a Dwarven War Axe where the sun don’t shine: His laboratory is somewhere on a distant plane & is heavily warded against casual intrusion. In fact, the only way to effectively track him down would be to journey to a planar library that has many of his works & find a scholar who knows where he’s rumored to be.
Again, I’m laving a lot of blanks for the DM to fill in, because that’s how I like my encounters to be presented to me. Lots of gaps I can quickly fill in to tie it to my own campaign world and gaming style so that it doesn’t ‘stick out’ to my PC’s.
If people want more detail, I can do that.
Later,
