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Savage Tide Adventure Path
Have done a fair bit of tweaking of the bad guys in my campaign, since we're running with five 35 point-buy PCs who get feats every odd-numbered level and a home-brewed hero point system, and that makes some encounters as written a bit on the feeble side. I'll be posting piles and piles of my stat-blocks here, just in case anyone else finds them useful. Note that occasionally I've veered a little off rules-as-written, giving critters extra feats, ignoring inconvenient prestige class prerequisites, adding or removing special abilities on a whim, etc - sometimes for balance or concept reasons, other times to fit in with the plot. Your mileage may vary - if you're a stickler for strict rules obedience then a few of these won't be to your taste...
These guys were a bit of a walkover in lightless depths. Have boosted them up a bit here - they're still not devastating, but their ability to rapidly buff themselves up, plus the smite and their potentially high AC, means that their various disease and poison attacks might actually get a chance to take hold now. Ability Focus (stench) helps the poison/disease get through, too. They're not a speed bump any more. TROGLODYTE LEPERS
Init -1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Blindsight, Listen +6, Spot +1
Melee 2 claws +9 (1d6+2 + disease) and bite +6 (1d4+1)
Special Actions sneak attack +1d6, smite 1/day (+4 to hit, +7 damage), 1/day cancer companion can cast spell in addition to regular actions Spell-like Abilities poison DC17, contagion DC16 Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 7th)
Abilities Str 14, Dex 8, Con 20, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 8
Skills Hide +8 (+12 in rocky/underground)
Some more servitors for Ulioth in Golismorga. I couldn't help but feel the armies of flying kopru behemoths were a bit silly, so I replaced some of them with these guys. Use a Dreamblade Ogrol Ragelord mini for them - that's where I got the inspiration from... THRALL GIANT
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +5, Spot +8
Attack claw +19 melee (2d6+9) and masterwork large waraxe +20 (2d6+9) or large throwing axe + 19 ranged (1d8+9 + poison 1 Con/unconsciousness DC14)
Spell-like Abilities dimension door 3/day Abilities Str 29, Dex 6, Con 25, Int 6, Wis 8, Cha 5
Another Golismorga denizen. This bloke was designed to be a shadowy threat 'up there', so the PCs would stay on the ground a bit more and get the full, icky Golismorga experience rather than simply bung on some fly spells and get in and out of the place in 5 minutes. DEEP SCREAMER
Init +6; Senses Blindsight 120ft, Listen +16
Melee 2 bites + 17 (2d8+5) or 2 sonic lance +14 ranged touch (6d8)
Abilities Str 20, Dex 14, Con 19, Int 7, Wis 13, Cha 11
Last of the Golismorga mob. Standard devourer as written is a bit of a glass, cannon - 78hp at for level ~12 PCs is a joke. He migt live through 2 hits, if he's lucky. Spellstitching to the rescue! DR10/magic & silver, plus False Life, Veil of Shadow makes a bit of a difference, and gives him a few extra options (Blacklight and Translocation trick) for getting out of there if things go bad. Quickened spell-like abilites mean he can whittle down fighter-types a bit in the first combat round, too. There was a later version of him too, after he gained the Monster of Legend template. That one was much more scary... RAKIS-KA, DEVOURER
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +18, Spot +18
Melee 2 claws +15 (1d6+9 + negative level)
Special Actions Energy drain DC19, trap essence Spell-like Abilities caster level 18, 35 total uses: confusion (DC17), control undead (DC20), ghoul touch (DC15), lesser planar ally, ray of enfeeblement, spectral hand, true seeing, suggestion (DC16) Other Spell like Abilities (from spellstiched template):
Abilities Str 28, Dex 10, Con -, Int 16, Wis 16, Cha 17
Possessions: +1 dagger that casts inflict critical wounds 3/day (used for self-healing)
This one of the Imfamous Seven needed a bit of a boost. Shambling Mound advanced to 20HD, plus a modified version of the half-fiend template. Didn't want him throwing around CL20 Horrid Wiltings at a level 9 party, so I reduced the CR a bit, lost the higher-level spell-like abilities, and gave him a couple of extra movement abilities. In my campaign, he was used on ToD to foreshadow Father Noltus. A group of lizardfolk who Noltus had converted had later been subverted by Burbalarg, (Noltus worshipped the sun, Burbalarg presented himself as the favoured child of the sun - plants need the sun to grow, after all!) who now ruled them with an iron fist(/branch). Add a few lizard rangers and a load of venomous plants and fungi to this guy, and you've got an interesting encounter. BURBALARG
Base Attack/Grapple: +15/+34
Special Attacks: Improved grab, constrict 2d6+16 smite good 1/day (+20), spell-like abilities
Abilities: Str 33, Dex 12, Con 23, Int 11, Wis 10, Cha 11
Rowyn as she was on the Sea Wyvern. She was going to get butchered if she faced the PCs as witten, so I restatted her as a swashbuckler-type swordsage. I ran War of the Wielded before SWW, and Rowyn ended up being the wielder of the Czarina, so I ran with that. Her permanent Blink effect is due to a handwaved weird magical effect, and was absolutely necessary to give her more survivability. Her maneuvers and abilities and magic items are designed to give her a chance against large groups. Comet throw and repelling gauntlets can be used to push people overboard (I had a dire shark following the Wyvern through most of its voyage...), and Fortuitious Tumble helps her use the PCs numbers against them. ROWYN KELLANI CR 8
Init +7; Senses Listen +2, Spot +2
Melee Czarina Valora +14/+9 (1d6+2/18-20 + 2hp if Diamond Mind maneuver used)
Atk Options Fortuitous Tumble – if hit by opponent, may make Bluff check as a move action, if successful, opponent’s next attack hits adjacent creature other than you
Maneuvers
Abilities Str 10, Dex 18, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 14
CZARINA VALORA
Another one of the Infamous Seven. A bit tougher this time! Cerratakatha was a servitor of an Olman noble family back before the fall of the empire - the family had secretly fallen into the worship Obox-ob, in order to placate him and his children as the island domain granted to them by the emperor was beset with vermin and effectively uninhabitable. Cerratakatha was Obox-ob's messenger to the family. He survived the fall of the empire, and has been lurking on Scorpion Isle, growing older and huger and more terrible ever since. I'm going to surround him with a bunch of other giant vermin and a few chasmes, just to make things interesting. Note that his spell selection includes a bunch of nasty cleric buffs at a very high caster level, and if he's got time to prepare he's going to be a LOT tougher than presented. He might be under-CRed to be honest, though his feat selection isn't quite as horrendous as it could have been... CERRATAKATHA
Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Tremorsense 60ft, Spot +4
Melee 2 claws +42 (4d8+17) and sting +40 (4d6+8+poison DC38 1d10 Con/1d10 Con) or
Special Actions constrict 4d8+17, improved grab, poison, rebuke undead, rebuke spiders, clarity of madness 1/day Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 17th)
Abilities Str 45, Dex 14, Con 26, Int 15, Wis 18, Cha 14
Feats Practised spellcaster x2 (CD), Power Attack, Improved Natural Attack (claw), Multiattack, Eyes in the Back of your Head (CW), Extend Spell, Divine Metamagic (Extend spell) (CD), Improved Initiative Skills Climb +21, Hide -9, Spot +7, Knowledge (religion) +6, Concentration +12, Spellcraft +6
thanks for sharing your monsters humbleminion.
(except for rakis ka, i think, one or two rounds and he's dead, and the leapers, but i consider them "minions"
I suggest benign transposition 3/day and dimensional door 1/day, for the thrall giant. Gave them a little surprise to your players, also ;)
The Deep Screamer is a pure gem in the LD.
Burbalarg is not so good, maybe, and i suggest you my version, if you want to use him:
27d8+(8x27=135) = 351 hp (75% hp)
Mov: Spd 5+30=35 (with the wand), Swim 20 ft AC: 23 (-2 size, +2 Dex, +13 NA), T 10, FF 21 Grapple: +21 bab +16 racial bonus + 12 Huge check + 10 Str = 59 Atk: 12 slams +28 Melee, Weapon (counting the PA) +26/21/16 and 11
Full Attack:
F/R: BASE 10/15 ft (remember to see the reach for every weapon used) SA: Constrict 3d6+15, Improved Grab, SP SQ: Darkvision 60 ft, Enhanced Multiweapon Fighting, Tentacle Regeneration, Tremorsense, Weapon Use Sv: +19,+13,+21 31,14,26,14,14,14 (4 abilities upped, 1 strength and 3 cos)(+8,-2,+4 huge)[+9,-2,+7] Conc 11, Hide +30, Listen 25, Move Silently 27, Spot 26 Feats: Combat Reflexes, Multidexterity, Multiweapon Fighting, Greater Fortitude, Lightining Reflexes, Iron Will, Power Attack*(3 points), INA +4, Quicken Spell like Ability (Hold Monster) SP: 5 hold monster, 3 charm monster, 1 wall of force, DC 11+Spell Level.
Skills: +4 hide bonus racial. Possessions:
Thanks for the feedback! Good catch on the Hover thing, Dark Roland - I missed that the Deep Screamer's increased maneuverability would make it redundant. I wouldn't go with Improved Natural Armour as a replacement though - level 11ish PCs will hit his AC 20 just as easily as they'll his AC19 - ie, pretty much all the time. I'd maybe go with Improved Flyby Attack or Improved Natural Attack (bite) instead. For those how wanted more of the Infamous Seven - I'll be posting Xiureksior and his little friends some time in the next couple of days...
Humble Minion wrote:
yeah. you're right. But in my case my pcs have had a "Very Hard" fight with a modified neh thalguu.briefly.. i've made with haste one crit every round.. and the monster was completely buffed (improved inv, protection from energy, resist energy, mage armor, shield, nerveskitter and so on.....) at the end the rolls decided. i critical missed (omg!) and they killed it.. without the critical miss was a TPK. So now.. I decided to gave him a "normal fight" encounter.
i'm very interested to read your xiureksor.
CERATTAKATHA (CR 15)
AC 26 (–8 size, –1 Dex, +25 natural), touch 1, flat-footed 26
Spd 50 ft.
Abilities Str 35, Dex 8, Con 16, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 5
Charge AC 24; 2 claws +32 (4d6+29), sting +30 (2d8+17 plus poison); +6d6 damage on first claw hit
Although the "awaken" spell specifically states that only trees and animals can be affected, this could be treated either as a special case (an incredibly ancient specimen that attained sentience), or one could invoke the Child of Winter feat (allowing vermin to be targeted as animals).
I ran a whole side quest, using Burbalarg as the "god" of a bullywug cult: BURBALARG (CR 15)
AC 23 (–4 size, -1 Dex, +18 natural), touch 5, flat-footed 23
Spd 20 ft., swim 20 ft.
Abilities: Str 40, Dex 8, Con 26, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 10
GLORAGGA (CR 13)
AC 21 (-1 Dex, +4 armor, +3 natural, +5 barkskin), touch 9, flat-footed 21
Spd 20 ft., swim 30 ft.
Divine Spells (CL 13th, +10 ranged touch)
Abilities: Str 8 (12 with bull’s strength), Dex 9, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 14 (18 with periapt), Cha 10
Wild Shape (shambling mound):
Possessions periapt of wisdom +4, staff of summon nature’s ally VII (greater elemental, 1 chg) and planar ally (2 chgs); 10 chgs total left in staff (8 after Borunga) CARNIVOROUS DEFENDER
WULLA
PLANAR ALLY, BORUNGA (CR 9)
TREBGLOR (CR 12)
AC 23 (+1 Dex, +6 armor, +4 natural, +2 dodge), touch 13, flat-footed 20; uncanny dodge, improved uncanny dodge, trap sense +4
Spd 30 ft., swim 40 ft.
Abilities: Str 17 (21 with belt), Dex 12, Con 20, Int 7, Wis 9, Cha 5
Possessions: +1 greataxe, +3 studded leather armor, belt of giant strength +4, amulet of natural armor +1, 3 potions of cure moderate wounds, 1 oil of keen edge Greater Rage (11 rounds):
Here's Xiureksior. I could probably build a more RBDM-y dragon, but that's not what I really wanted. First, I wanted Xiureksior to be an old-fashioned dragon - claws and teeth and breath weapon, rather than a high-level sorcerer with loads of AC and hp like big dragons tend to be. Second, I wanted him to be a potential non-enemy. I went with the Xorvintaal template from MMV - it's a bit underpowered, but it did everything I wanted and all his weakness I can cover with his exarchs (who are coming soon) Xiureksior is very old, and has all three mental stats in the 20s. He acts accordingly. He plans long term, he calculates brilliantly and ruthlessly, and he never surrenders to impatience or allows anger to overwhelm his better judgement. IMC he's extorted his way onto the Farshore council with status equal to that of Manthalay or pre-Mayor Lavinia. He's concluded a military alliance of sorts with Farshore, which is obviously enormously in their favour right now, but he's taking the longer term view and believes that now the colony is growing, it will inevitably develop into a town, then a city, then a nation, and he's best off being seen as an established power and authority in that nation rather than as a ravening beast on the frontier. To this end, he put one of his sons, a half-dragon girallon, in the way of the PCs. PCs killed him, after which Xiureksior descended on them and in mock-rage demanded retribution, justice, etc. He then allowed them to convince him to let the offense slide, but they (and the council) were so cowed by his rage that they leapt on his proposal of alliance without thinking too long about it. Since then, he's been making himself consipicuously useful around the place - he's given Lavinia one of his pair of sending stones, so that Farshore can contact him in case of an emergency, he's had his exarch Dreg regenerate Tavey Nesks fingers, after Olangru ate them back in HTBM, and he's indulging the PCs in their desire to trade magic items or excess loot for certain items he's got in his hoard (incidentally convincing them to go and steal a ring of wishes - 1 wish remaining - from a minor Xorvintaal rival of his in the meantime) or having his exarchs (or himself) craft them. He may end up fathering a half-dragon or two along the way, just to establish more of a powerbase. My general goal with him is to reinforce that agreements can be reached with Evil if they're in everybody's interests, in the hope the PCs will learn the lesson by the time EomE comes around, and to provide Farshore with a big nasty defender so that the PCs won't feel the need to hang around protecting the place all the time and can go off and do plot stuff with a clearish conscience. Xorvintaal-wise he plays for keeps, and his taxidermy skill and Master Craftsman feat mean he likes to make minor magic items from bits of his defeated foes and keep them around as trophies.. The figurehead of the Sea Wyvern is in fact one of those items - a defeated Xorvintaal gold dragon trapped in figurehead form forever. The PCs haven't yet realised this (one of them is a gold-totem dragon shaman...) and it amuses him greatly. Combat-wise I've tried to give him some options to use as swift and immediate actions, cos acting 1/turn vs a whole PC group is boring. His ring's spell loadout I'm still not sure about - I probably need a dim-door of some description. His lair is a vast, well-lit series of caverns carved into a vein of pure frosty quartz in a mountain in the north-east corner of the Isle. His hoard is displayed more as trophies or exhibits in a museum rather than a big random pile of stuff he sleeps on. His main chamber is dominated by a large pool - 30ft by 30ft, 4ft deep and full of crystal clear acid. At the bottom in the centre is a platform of healing (Draconomicon), but anyone not immune to acid (Xiureksior is and his exarchs can be) is on to a big loser trying to use it. XIUREKSIOR
Init +0; Senses darkvision 120 ft.; blindsense 60ft, Spot +4
Melee Bite +44 (4d6+12+dragon toxin) and 2 claws +42 (2d8+6+dragon toxin) and claw +37 (2d8+6+dragon toxin) and 2 wings +42 (2d6+6) and tail +42 (2d8+18) or
Special Actions breath weapon 60ft cone of acid, 20d6 Ref DC 35 for half, frightful presence 300ft radius DC31, dragon toxin (25 damage on dragon’s turn to anyone affected, noncumulative from multiple hits, magical healing removes), rend 4d8+18 if two claws hit same target Twist of fate
Spell-like Abilities (CL 13th, DC 15+ spell level) suggestion 3/day, dominate person 3/day, scrying 3/day (exarchs only), charm monster 3/day (exarchs only), plant growth 1/day Abilities Str 35, Dex 10, Con 29, Int 20, Wis 21, Cha 20
Feats Awaken Spell Resistance, Multiattack, Power Attack, Hover, Wingover, Rapidstrike (claw), Rend, Quicken Breath, Flyby Attack, Entangling Exhalation, Master Craftsman (taxidermy), Craft Wondrous Item Skills Listen +40, Search +15, Spot +40, Bluff +40, Hide +21, Move Silently +20, Intimidate +40, Concentration +22, Diplomacy +40, Use Magic Device +35, Sense Motive +40, Knowledge (local) +28, Knowledge (arcana) +20, Knowledge (nobility and royalty) +25, Craft (taxidermy) +21 Possessions (carried stuff only – much more in the hoard…) major ring of spell storing (heal, blood wind, dispel magic), heart of flames (amulet, fire resist 10, +4 con, fire shield 1/day, +1 AoO/round, use additional swift/immediate action in a round 3/day), ring of protection +2 Hoard: crystal ball, healing platform, censer of air elementals, hand of the mage, greater stone of alarm, sending stone, stone golem manual, horn of good/evil, horseshoes of the zephyr, horn of plenty, much, much else.
The first of Xiureksiors' exarchs. Again, not really a power build. This guy mostly exists because a) his huge array of divination SLA's mean that I can justify Xiureksior knowing pretty much anything I want him to, and b) because I wanted a swordsmith the PCs could commission weapons from, rather than having to go to the Sasserine magic shop (a process I find a bit distasteful) His survivability is only ok (he relies a fair bit on his Scarab and various buffs from Dreg and Skaggerak) and he relies a lot on his maneuvers (and hopefully iaijutsu) to inflict significant damage. Still wondering whether I shouldn't swap out Rapid Counter for Ruby Nightmare Blade or another strike maneuver for more damage output... A few mechanical notes - IMC hengeyokai lose their -2 wis penalty but only have two forms - human and animal, no hybrid form. All the rest as written in Dragon 318. Samurai can take martial study/stance as bonus feats, martial schools depending on their clan. Weeping Heron is a Crane Clan samurai, so he can take Diamond Mind stuff as bonus feats. Also, there is no Iaijutsu Focus skill - that is wound into Concentration. Weeping Heron's background is a bit tragic. He was a respected warrior of the Chrysanthemum Empire, with a wife and two fine sons. But late one autumn his Daimyo provoked the emnity of a ninja clan, and the clan's witch laid the evil eye on him, bringing his beast nature to the fore. He became the crane, completely, and flew south for the winter. Once he recovered his senses, he had been away for a full season and all knew what had becoem of him. Hengeyokai are not permitted to be samurai, and rather than disgrace his family by attempting to return, he allowed his eldest son to continue as master of the household. Blinding himself so that he might not fall victim to the witch's evil eye once more, he infiltrated the ninja stronghold and, with the help of a traveller met along the way, cut the clan down in a single night. Once vengeance was satisfied, the traveller revealed himself to be Xiureksior, and Weeping Heron took service with the dragon, as his new exarch. (Heron, and the rest of the exarchs, each have 5 favour tokens. These tokens can be exchanged for a once-off +4 on any d20 roll, immunity to acid for 10 minutes, teleportation back to Xiureksior's lair, or various other benefits as defined in MMV) WEEPING HERON
Init +9; Senses Blindsight 150ft (blind otherwise), Listen +16
Melee katana +24/+19/+14 (1d10+6/19-20 +2d6 cold) or
Spell-like abilities at will: augury, sanctuary; 3/day speak with animals, speak with plants, divination; 1/day speak with dead, scrying, true seeing; 1/month commune, commune with nature, find the path Maneuvers
Abilities Str 14, Dex 22, Con 16, Int 15, Wis 18, Cha 13
Feats Improved Initiative, Quick Draw, Weapon Focus (katana), Weapon finesse, Improved Unarmed Strike, Stunning Fist, Combat Reflexes, Expertise, Master Craftsman (weaponsmithing), Martial Study (Emerald Razor), Martial Study(Rapid Counter), Craft Magic Arms and Armour, Power Attack, Martial Study (Greater Insightful Strike), Martial Stance (Pearl of Black Doubt), Close-Quarters Fighting Skills Listen +16, Concentration +21, Craft (weaponsmithing) +20, Sense Motive +22, Perform (poetry) +10, Craft (calligraphy) +20, Diplomacy +15 Possessions +5 bracers of armour, +3 doublefrost katana, ring of protection +2, gloves of dex +4, potion of cure critical x2, potion of bull’s strength, scabbard of keen edges, scarab of invulnerability, amulet of health +2
Second exarch (and last one I'm posting for the day) Dreg is a goblin, who worships the ancestral god of the dwarves IMC. Good reason for that - he was once a dwarf. A dwarf crown prince in fact. Vordreg Ironcrown was an war-priest, who somewhat against his better judgement ended up 'adventuring' with a group containing, among others, a frequently inebriated human druid. In defeating a nasty plot by a circle of devil cultists, Vordreg was slain, heroically, in battle against a conjured horned devil. His body was borne home in mourning by his clanmates, and his father the king wept long over him. However, the druid had other ideas, and snuck in and reincarnated Vordreg - as a goblin. Thats when it all started to go wrong. Vordreg was retrieving his ancestral armour from 'his' corpse when his father walked in. Thelam Ironcrown wasn't listening to any explanations from the filthy goblin robbing his son's corpse, and went for his axe. Vordreg fled into the stone, his father's vow to slay him no matter what the cost ringing in his ears. Dwarves don't break vows, even if they're made under false pretences or spoken rashly. Vordreg became an exile, and was stuck a goblin. He sought death against Xiureksior, but the dragon offered him purpose instead. Dreg's job is to do all the boring stuff. He casts wards, buffs, heals etc on Xiureksior and the other exarchs, he scribes scrolls, and he dispels stuff. He was also the one who cast most of the various permanent protective spells that ward Xiureksior's lair. He'll generally try and stay out of the way and fight either indirectly (by supporting his allies) or at a distance using touch spells via his Reach Spell Rod, or his rod of force - he'll use earth glide and meld into stone to avoid melee if necesary, since he left his axe back on 'his' body in his father's stronghold, and he will use no other weapaon. He casts extended magic vestments on his shield and armour on alternate days, so most of the time these will both be acting as +3 items (his armour isn't everyday wear though - he carries his shield everywhere, but his armour stays safely back in his rooms at Xiureksior's lair until he summons it if things look ugly). DREG (VORDREG IRONCROWN)
Init +5; Senses darkvision 60ft, Earth sight 30ft (std action, 7 round duration), tremorsense 10ft, Listen +12, Spot +7
Melee -
Spells (CL 15th, DC17+spell level)
Spell-like Abilities Earth Dream 1/day Special Abilities Earth Glide (std action, 7 round duration), Earth Friend, Turn Undead, Spontaneous Healing, Stonecunning Abilities Str 8, Dex 13, Con 20, Int 12, Wis 24, Cha 15 Feats Earth Sense, Scribe Scroll, Dwarven Armour Proficiency, Extend spell, Divine Spell Power, Craft Wondrous Item, Improved Initiative Skills Knowledge (nature) +6, Spellcraft +12, Knowledge (religion) +20, Concentration +22, Diplomacy +11, Listen +12 Possessions +1 called adamantine mountain plate armour, +1 large steel shield, Periapt of Wisdom +4, Metamagic Rod of Reach Spell, Ring of Spell-Battle, Rod of Force, Belt of Dwarvenkind, loads of scrolls
Xuireksior's third exarch. The mage that goes 'boom'. Sriraja was the beautiful daughter of a concubine of one of the mighty princes of the wealthy, rakshasa-ruled land of Vudra. But when her mother was poisoned, victim of one of the interminable intra-harem rivalries, she found that she had few resources and few real friends, despite all her magical power. Her prospects were bleak - staring down the barrel of a life spent exiled in a monastery as a contemplative holy woman, she was down to her last few gold coins when a smitten prince from a foreign land invited her to enrich his court. She graciously accepted, and even though the prince turned out to be a dragon and her magic valued more than her body, she remains content. Sriraja is spectacularly gorgeous, and has the arrogance to go with it. She insists on being treated as a princess at all times and will respond violently (though not necessarily immediately) if she feels slighted - Xuireksior outwardly treats her as an honoured guest and equal, but she knows the real score and has never bridled against one of his delicately phrased 'requests' or 'suggestions'. She loves wealth and comfort - she drips with jewellery and brilliants silks, while in her lavishly furnished chambers, permanent unseen servants wait on her every whim. She has the instincts of a harem catfighter - her capacity for deception, cattiness and vindictiveness is incredible. In combat she'll use Guards and Wards to protect Xiureksior's lair, then throw metamagicked fire spells around. She has a contingent Tenser's transformation (cast via her tiara) active at all times, set to go off 'when I cast Bite of the Weretiger'. If cornered in combat (or if facing adversaries who she has a grudge against), combining Bite of the Weretiger, Tenser's Transformation, and the Blood Rage ability of the instruments of the blood gift make her an incredibly dangerous melee opponent. The Rakshasa Heritage feats are modifications of the Dragon Heritage feats from Dragon Magic - Sriraja is descended from rakshasas on her father's side, and has inherited some of their cat-like characteristics and resistance to magic. All sorcerors get Eschew Materials as a bonus feat in my campaign. SRIRAJA
Init +4; Senses: Spot +2
Melee claw +7 (1d6-1)
Spells (CL 16th, DC17+spell level, fire spells at +1 CL, T = thematic spell +1 CL)
Special Abilities Metamagic Specialist Abilities Str 8, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 25 Feats Rakshasa Heritage, Rakshasa Claws, Eschew Materials, Spell Thematics (tigers and palaces), Empower Spell, Quicken Spell, Searing Spell, Extra Spell Skills Bluff +28, Spellcraft +15, Diplomacy +13, Sense Motive +11, Knowledge (nobility) +9 Possessions cloak of charisma +6, bracers of armour +5, ring of protection +3, vest of resistance +2, topaz tiara of wariness (+2 spot, +2 init, contingency 1/week), instruments of the blood gift (complete set), winged anklets, ring of mystic fire, amulet of wordtwisting
Something a bit less my-campaign-specific. This bloke is a bit of a sad, pathetic leftover. Once the herald of his god, but now Huitzilopochtli is a dead and almost-forgotten deity. Hummingbird has gone a bit mad from that - he lurks on top of a ruined pyramid temple, bloodily sacrificing anyone who comes near in the hopes of somehow bringing his master back. Mind you, his sanity hasn't been helped by the maddening whisperings of the monstrously huge caller in darkness that's coalesced from the spirits of his sacrificial victims. It shrieks and gibbers in the man-sized passages of the temple and the dank hole of the bone pit, where Hummingbird is too big to go. He appears as a gigantic, glowing, golden hummingbird, with blood dripping from his cruelly sharp beak, talons, and razored feathers. GLORIOUS HUMMINGBIRD
Solaric steelwing modified master of radiance 5
AC 28, touch 16, flat-footed 20, 20% miss chance, DR 15/adamantine, fast healing 15
Melee bite +25 (2d6+9) and 2 wings +23 (1d8+4/17-20) and 2 claws +23 (1d8+4) or
Special Abilities hail of razorfeathers (60ft cone, 20d6 slashing, Reflex 26, 1/1d4 rounds), sunbeam (1/rnd while radiant aura active, DC23)
Abilities Str 28, Dex 26, Con 25, Int 6, Wis 16, Cha 22 SQ sun savior (+10 to all speeds, +2 morale bonus to attacks, saves, checks when in daylight or equivalent), radiant aura (3/day, free action, lasts 1 minute, shed 30ft radius bright light, light effects used inside area are at +2 CL, undead at -2 to everything) Feats Flyby Attack, Wingover, Improved Maneuverability, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Multiattack, Quicken Spell-like Ability (searing light), Supernatural Transformation (sunbeam), Power Attack Skills Listen +9, Spot +20, Knowledge (religion) +12, Intimidate +17
And here's the Caller in Darkness to go with him. I'm going to shove a bunch of ghouls, vermin etc into the guts of the pyramid as well, to feed on the bodies of the sacrificed creatures just as this thing feeds on their souls. Not much of a challenge for my party, but atmospheric, ecologically plausible and adding nicely to the creepy vibe... THE SACRIFICED
Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +27, Spot +27
Melee 4 incorporeal touches +13 melee (2d8)
Special Abilities consume essence (+12 temp hp when kills with touch, can use to auto-coup de grace within 30ft as a std action) Spell-like Abilities CL14th, at will: clairvoyance, dancing lights, bladeweave (DC18), 3/day: quickened suggestion (DC19), telekinesis (DC21), confusion, 1/day: maddening scream, maddening whispers (DC24), wrack (DC21) Abilities Str -, Dex 16, Con -, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 22
Feats Blindfight, Combat Reflexes, Alertness, Improved Init, Improved Natural Attack (incorporeal touch), Ghostly Grasp, Snatch Trophy, Quicken Spell-like Ability (suggestion) Skills Hide +20, Intimidate +23, Listen +27, Search +23, Sense Motive +23, Spot +27
Scatter a few of these around the place in Hummingbird's temple. They're not all that imposing by themselves, but if the PCs have been messed with by the Caller, then they can be very nastily inconvenient. A bit of the glass cannon about them, but hey, at party level 13ish they're worth next to no XP anyway, so go wild without fear of giving your PCs cheap levels... DWELLERS IN THE BONEPIT
Feral corpsecrafted advanced elite ghoul barbarian 4
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; scent, Spot +9
Melee bite +13 (1d6+8 + paralysis + ghoul fever) and 2 claws +13 (2d6+4 + paralysis) or
Base Atk +5; Grp +13
Abilities Str 26, Dex 17, Con -, Int 9, Wis 18, Cha 14 Feats Multiattack, Improved Multiattack, Improved Natural Attack (claw), Ability Focus (paralysis) Skills Climb +12, Hide +10, Jump +12, Move silently +10, Spot +9, Survival +10
My party managed to lag behind a bit with XP since they missed a few encounters, so in order to bring them closer to the needed XP, I tossed in a rival adventuring party in Scuttlecove. In my game, they were payed by Wyther to dispose of PCs since they started stirring trouble in Scuttlecove and Wyther didn't have any decent pirates of his own to send, since the adventure assumes that his resources are stretched thin. Basically, they are a few character concepts/builds I wanted play for a while, but never got around to it, so I decided to toss them in as NPCs. Behold, the Savage Syndicate (forgive my cheesiness, that was the intention :D) : Leader of the party, Human Dread Necromancer, Soulcatcher. Duergar Monk/Cleric/Sacred Fist, Singe. When properly buffed (via DMM Quicken in combat) his attacks are +32/+32/+32 and each deals 2d10+29 dmg. Called Singe becuase his left half is badly burnt by a Red Dragon, thus destroying his left eye and beard so he embedded chains on his left side of the face to appear as beard. Half-Fiend Swift Hunter, Sabas. Also does crazy amounts of dmg against Favored Enemies (1d8+11+8+3d6 each arrow with Greater Manyshot, even more against Dwarves) And last, but not the least, Scorn, an Awakened Greater Stone Golem, just as he is in MM1. My players are moderately optimized, so they could take them, though it took us 2.5 hours to finish the fight and in the end Soulcatcher managed to escape via Magic Jar, but he killed a Legendary Ape animal companion and the party Rogue who both rose as Ghosts after that (due to Mastery of Death feat). One of the more memorable encounters in our campaign. :)
And here are 2 Babau Assassins that I made to be Wyther's henchmen. Since my party is 6 men strong they would have moped the floor with the poor captain. Size/Type: Medium Outsider (Chaotic, Extraplanar, Evil)
Spells: 1st lvl: Critical Strike, Lightfoot, True Strike
I also changed the 3 Yuan Ti Assassins that Seventh has as guards since the party killed like 10 so far and I hate throwing the same monsters at them, I decided to explore the possibilities of the Seventh's Attach Graft abilities so I made 3 Yuan-Ti Abominatinos, gave them 4 lvl of Fighter and gave each of them Grafts, and that fancy looking Serpent Armor (from Savage Species) just to make them more memorable. Horns, Scimitars-instead-of-arms and Psionic Sinew. Size/Type Large Monstrous Humanoid (Horned One)
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Here's my Kululblax, changed his levels from Barbarian 3/Ranger 2 to Barbarian 1/Frenzied Berserker 4 (Rage and Frenzy Included). I also reduced his Dexterity by 1 and raised Strength by 1, since he couldn't take TWF with Dex 13 anyways and gave him +4 Gloves of Dex and a +2 Adamantine Full Plate Size/Type Huge Outsider (Chaotic, Extraplanar, Evil)
Should be an intresting fight if they don't think of casting Disintegrate on him while he's in his Deathless Frenzy. :D
This one was a sidequest. Cleric player was missing, and I didn't want to head to Thanaclan without him, so set up this little one-session thing. Just a laugh, I thought. Yeah, right. Setup was based around a new PC, a Divine Crusader of the sea goddess. He's taking over the burnt-out, grounded hulk of the Stygian Shark as his new home on arriving in Sasserine (her followers always live in shipwrecks). And I figured that despite the yuan-ti dying in the battle, other inhabitants of the ship might still have been on board... Damn near a TPK on an 13th level party with 2 CR11 monsters (and a couple of negligible-CR lesser swarms brought in to up the numbers), who only wanted to be left alone to eat the yuan-ti's leftover ships rations. Lucky I forgot the SR, and didn't use the cranium rats' swarm regeneration rule cos it was getting too late at night. Use with care. Lots of Will saves and lasting effects (mind blast, sensory deprivation) makes this a dangerous encounter if the PCs dice are misbehaving. GREATER CRANIUM RAT SWARM
NE Large magical beast (swarm of tiny creatures)
AC 14, touch 13, flat-footed 11
Melee swarm 5d8
Special Abilities mind blast (60ft cone, Will DC23 or stunned 3d4 rounds), distraction (Will DC26 or nauseated while starting turn in swarm’s space, spellcasting requires Concentration DC20+spell level) Spells CL10th, +27 ranged touch, DC 14+spell level (DC16+spell level for illusion)
SQ replaced with average pack when destroyed Abilities Str 2, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 19, Wis 14, Cha 19 Feats Eschew Materials, Improved Init, Lightning Reflexes, Iron Will, Alertness, Imp Natural Attack (swarm), Ability Focus (distract), Spell Focus (illusion), Greater Spell Focus (illusion) Skills Hide +29, Move Silently +29, Concentration +29, Listen +31, Sense Motive +31, Spot +31 Alternate Spell Loadout (for swarm #2) 5th (3/day) telekinesis
Tactics/tricks are as follows: Try to set it up to make the PCs believe there's an undead presence on board. Disguise self disguises the cranium rats as normal rats (PCs assume they're vampire's minions or something)
Don't use Ghoul Glyph - the spell description is VERY unclear (as I realised mid-game), and makes it a game-killer if read literally. Maybe Ghoul Touch instead.
Recent threads in Savage Tide Adventure Path
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