Wizard in Hiding (my players stay out)

[Nifft]

My PCs met a Wizard who's in cahoots with the current plague of were-rats. They've uncovered two of his hideouts, clearing one's basement of ghouls and the other of were-rat goblin rogues. However, since they've come in through the sewers and haven't seen the upstairs parts of the hideouts, they don't know enough to crack his identity.

The PCs haven't seen his face -- the 2nd time, they actually did battle with him, but he used Disguise Self to look like a Lich.

Now, the city he's in is being Hallowed (yeah, the whole city -- it's a rich kingdom), and the effect being added to the Hallow is Zone of Respite. No teleportation, no gates, no Dimension Door, and his undead minions are going to be really weak. The city is also under a quarrantine until all the were-rats are found & killed, and for two months after that to ensure that no-one else turns into a were-rat.

So, he's relying on illusion and guile to survive the quarrantine.

Here's his stats:
- 9th level Necromancer (prohibited Enchantment & Conjuration)
- Imp familiar (poses as Halfling rogue cohort)
- 30,000 gp worth of loot

Minions:
2 compacted Imps (services paid for in soul-larvae)
1 ghast
2 ghouls

Co-Conspiritors:
30 goblin were-rat rogue3, 3 goblin were-rat rogue5, 1 hobgoblin were-rat rogue5/fighter4

He doesn't really like the goblins that he's working with, and will sell them out if things are going poorly.

Now he's seen the PCs faces, and he wants to exact elaborate revenge on them. What can he do?

Thanks, -- N

 

[ThorneMD]

I don't know if this can help.

You can have to "Lich" Disguise some of the Were-Rats into skeletons. The party will attack with only blud. weapons. This usually means that these weapons are not there main weapons. The cleric in the party might also try to turn the "skeletons" and the "Lich".

Disguise the Imp Familiar as a injured member of the city. If the PC's are good, they will bring the member with them and then, Bam, right in the back.

This evil guy has a lot of gold. Use it. Ring of wizrady I, Wands of different kinds, Staff of Necromancy, Winged Boots (since you're going to be disguised, the party will think the "Lich" can fly), and as many scroll and potions as possible.

This one is a little mean. Capture the PCs. Lock them in a cage. Have the room flooded a little and have the ghast and ghouls eat dead peolpe from the city in front of them. The PCs will go nuts over watching the flesh ripped off the bone and will have to make Fort saves from the stench, and if you are really evil, Will saves to pervent passing out or going insane.

As an add-on to the above one. Seperate the part into different rooms. Then disguise the dead to look like the other part members. Any barbarians go snap and waste a rage on a cage and a couple of undead.

 

[Nifft]

The Necromancer does *not* have the PCs in his custody. He wants to strike at them anonymously, if possible.

Thanks, -- N

 

[arwink]

With 3 imps, the easiest mode of revenge would be to have them follow the PC's arround, using suggestion on nearby bystanders to provoke them to attack. Usually the targets here will be simple commoners, an easy battle for the PC's, but if you've got a city under quarrantine then the last thing the city guard needs is for a bunch of PC's wandering around causing more fights.

The first time it happens, they're not pleased (or willing to take the PC's into custody, if they killed the commoners with only minimal provocation).

The second time it happens, they're irritated.

The third time or fourth time it happens, the guard will take the PC's into custody "For their own protection" (Imp with another suggestion at the read).

WHen they're in a cell,that's when the necromancers forces attack. The two bound imps, and a bunch of were-rat guardsmen, preferably when the PC's are stripped of arms and magic.

 

[Dougal DeKree]

He doesn't really like the goblins that he's working with, and will sell them out if things are going poorly.

Now he's seen the PCs faces, and he wants to exact elaborate revenge on them. What can he do?

How lawful are the guards enforcing the quarantine? He has 30k gp - he might buy his way out, no? Maybe even leave with a wagon full with barrels who are full with wererats. Of course he could use the goblins he doesn't like as a distraction, having them fight the party in some public place, while he disguises himself as a herold and bluffs his way out of the city.
How big is his motivation to stay in that city?

Dougal

 

[der_kluge]

It might help to have his complete spell list, and skills, etc., but here's something to think about:

My guess is that the party as a whole is far more powerful than he is. So, he'll want to remove them one-by-one.

With so many imps at his disposal, access to invisibility and spies should be a no-brainer. It should be a non-issue for him to be able to track the location and the movements of the party at all hours of the day. Have him become fanatical about tracking them all down. It's natural for PCs to feel safe in a city, and they'll let their guard down. They'll likely wander off shopping, or doing whatever during the day. This is when he'll strike.

At any point, if the party separates, he strikes - using whatever means at his disposal. Rays of enfeeblement until the PC cannot walk, ghoul touch will paralyze, and blindness/deafness will make escaping a lot more difficult. Ray of exhaustion will also make running away much more difficult. Of course, you could just go crazy - as a 9th level necromancer, he has access to magic jar. The first PC he comes to - preferrably alone, he traps in a magic jar, and assumes their form to lure the other party members. "Hey Joe, come check out this neat shop down the street. I think you'll like it." Once lured, he begins picking party members off one by one. I would at least allow sense motive rolls to notice that something might not be right, but I'd definitely roll it in secret, otherwise all kinds of alarms and whistles will go off in the player's head.

Also, to do it right, pull the jar'd PC aside, away from the rest of the party. Have him bring a dice (for his will save roll against the magic jar), but that's it. Alternatively, have your own dice ready, so that the player (nor anyone at the table) will suspect anything is afoot. Once you've magic jar'd him (cast it multiple times until it succeeds), explain to that player that he is now the necromancer, and give him explicit instructions on where to find the next player, and what to tell him. The other player won't suspect anything if the jar'd player invites him to go somewhere, versus you saying, "You see your friend the barbarian, and he is inviting you to go somewhere." That will rouse too much suspicion.

Once all the PCs are captured, their fates are up to you, but I see no reason why he would not want to add them to his collection of undead. From the SRD: "An afflicted humanoid who dies of ghoul fever rises as a ghoul at the next midnight. A humanoid who becomes a ghoul in this way retains none of the abilities it possessed in life. It is not under the control of any other ghouls, but it hungers for the flesh of the living and behaves like a normal ghoul in all respects. A humanoid of 4 Hit Dice or more rises as a ghast, not a ghoul." So, if they're powerful enough, he could add more Ghasts to his collection! Quite nice.

Yea, it doesn't get much more rat bastard than that.

 

[Nifft]

How lawful are the guards enforcing the quarantine? He has 30k gp - he might buy his way out, no? Maybe even leave with a wagon full with barrels who are full with wererats. Of course he could use the goblins he doesn't like as a distraction, having them fight the party in some public place, while he disguises himself as a herold and bluffs his way out of the city.
How big is his motivation to stay in that city?

Ever since the quarrantine started, regular guards have been taken off duty and replaced with Paladins (unbribable) and Priests of the LN Moon Goddess (unbribable). Thus, the number of guards is very low within the city, but the guards who exist are hard to get by.

He has a mission to do in the city, and aiding the goblin were-rats is part of that mission. He'll sell them out if he's in personal danger, though. He's able to influence them, but they take their orders from the high-level hobgoblin.

-- N

 

[Nifft]

It might help to have his complete spell list, and skills, etc., but here's something to think about:

My guess is that the party as a whole is far more powerful than he is. So, he'll want to remove them one-by-one.

The party is 6th-7th level, and he's 9th level. They're poor for their level, but they have high stats. I plan on making this the "big fight" of the story arc.

I haven't stat'd him out fully, just made sure to not have him cast any spells of a "banned" school. I'd like advice on what to have him buy.

So far, I'm thinking:
1) Headband of Intellect +2 (4,000 gp)
2) Robe of Bones (2,400 gp)
3) some Elemental Gems and Feather Tokens (Whip) (2,250 gp per Gem, 500 gp per Token)
4) Cloak of Resistance +1 (1,000 gp)
5) Slippers of Spider Climbing (4,800 gp)
6) Lesser Rod of Silence (3,000 gp)
7) Ring of Counterspells (4,000 gp)
8) Ring of Chamelion Power (12,700 gp)
9) some Scrolls?

Thanks for the great ideas so far!

-- N

 

[der_kluge]

Go for a hat of disguise, and he can be anyone in town you want him to be.

Just remember that, whatever you give him, is things that the PCs are going to end up having when they kill him.

 

[Nifft]

Go for a hat of disguise, and he can be anyone in town you want him to be.

Just remember that, whatever you give him, is things that the PCs are going to end up having when they kill him.

The Ring of Chameleon does the same thing, and gives a +10 Circumstance bonus to Hide checks, AND allows him to have a Headband of Intellect.

As to the PCs getting his loot -- of course! And I want the items to be useful to more than just the party's Wizard & Sorcerer.

-- N