The Varnhold Vanishing (GM Reference)


Kingmaker

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Gentleman wrote:
The problem is, they're missing out a lot of the dungeon,

The very fact that Greg put a second hidden (DC 31 from lake) entrance there and the possibility that PCs stumble across it and skip part of the fun inside the needle is enough to let me think, that it

works as intended either way.

In addition the only treasure they miss is the ring (which might play a big role in the fight against big V, 'tis true) - and if they do not explore the rest of the dungeon after they are finished with Old One-eye, they should not bear the name of grave ro... er, adventurers anymore.

Ruyan.

Sovereign Court

RuyanVe wrote:

and if they do not explore the rest of the dungeon after they are finished with Old One-eye, they should not bear the name of grave ro... er, adventurers anymore.

Ruyan.

I lolled :-)


My players faced Vordakai last week, and tonight is round 2!

They actually faced him ahead of schedule when they destroyed the eye sculpture in the Oculus Focus chamber, then they tried to sleep in the next room over (the cleric had 8-9 wisdom, victim of the stygian fires and soul eater attacks). Even after I asked them twice if they were sure that they wanted to sleep in a dungeon filled with hostile undead, they still went ahead, hehe.

Vordakai showed up ten minutes into their sleep, and paralyzed on of the sleeping PCs right off the bat. Fortunately, they had two PCs on watch, so they got alerted. During the fight, Vordakai nearly killed one PC with phantasmal killer (the dwarf fighter nearly bought it, but used 2 hero points to cheat death), and the pistol using marshal got dominated and started shooting the dwarf cleric.

Luckily for my player, the dwarf fighter had inflicted a critical hit on Vord before he "died", then once he got healed back up, inflicted another critical hit on the lich! Vordakai actually had 2 hp left, but didn't take anymore damage until his turn came where he successfully dimension doored out.

Unfortunately for my players, I hadn't finished re-statting Vordakai and his equipment (I needed to because my players had very good optimized characters, and they were a few levels ahead than what is normally expected). So the first fight was the equivalent of Vordakai fighting in his jammies. I think that covers the "arrogant" bit of his description. ;)

The players have some extra time to either prepare for a fight, or find a way to flee and recover. Vordakai is busy healing himself with his touch, then opening his closet to get his "real" gear...


Okay, I feel like I'm doing something wrong.

The characters are at the island where the tomb is at. How in the heck are they supposed to get there? The cliff is 100 ft. and there doesn't appear to be any beach or anything at the bottom. How are they supposed to get to the bottom into the tomb? They have the folding boat from Varnhold, but what can they see from above? I guess I'm just missing something...


Thundershot wrote:

Okay, I feel like I'm doing something wrong.

The characters are at the island where the tomb is at. How in the heck are they supposed to get there? The cliff is 100 ft. and there doesn't appear to be any beach or anything at the bottom. How are they supposed to get to the bottom into the tomb? They have the folding boat from Varnhold, but what can they see from above? I guess I'm just missing something...

The entrance into the bottom level is there at the bottom of the map with a tiny pseudo-beachy-looking spot before the doorway. I'd suppose that the entrance as mapped is at a higher water level than it would be later in the year when the water level is much lower. It is also pretty easy to see from shore.

The "upper entrance" is not normally all that visible, although it is certainly findable with clever reconnaissance.


Turin the Mad wrote:
Thundershot wrote:

Okay, I feel like I'm doing something wrong.

The characters are at the island where the tomb is at. How in the heck are they supposed to get there? The cliff is 100 ft. and there doesn't appear to be any beach or anything at the bottom. How are they supposed to get to the bottom into the tomb? They have the folding boat from Varnhold, but what can they see from above? I guess I'm just missing something...

The entrance into the bottom level is there at the bottom of the map with a tiny pseudo-beachy-looking spot before the doorway. I'd suppose that the entrance as mapped is at a higher water level than it would be later in the year when the water level is much lower. It is also pretty easy to see from shore.

The "upper entrance" is not normally all that visible, although it is certainly findable with clever reconnaissance.

So... how are they supposed to get there from the south part of the map? If they scale down the 100 ft. cliff, then they're in the drink and have to risk swimming a decently long distance to the shore. That's also assuming that there's beach at the bottom of the cliff.

Thanks
Chris


Thundershot wrote:
Turin the Mad wrote:
Thundershot wrote:

Okay, I feel like I'm doing something wrong.

The characters are at the island where the tomb is at. How in the heck are they supposed to get there? The cliff is 100 ft. and there doesn't appear to be any beach or anything at the bottom. How are they supposed to get to the bottom into the tomb? They have the folding boat from Varnhold, but what can they see from above? I guess I'm just missing something...

The entrance into the bottom level is there at the bottom of the map with a tiny pseudo-beachy-looking spot before the doorway. I'd suppose that the entrance as mapped is at a higher water level than it would be later in the year when the water level is much lower. It is also pretty easy to see from shore.

The "upper entrance" is not normally all that visible, although it is certainly findable with clever reconnaissance.

So... how are they supposed to get there from the south part of the map? If they scale down the 100 ft. cliff, then they're in the drink and have to risk swimming a decently long distance to the shore. That's also assuming that there's beach at the bottom of the cliff.

Thanks
Chris

The main entrance? They walk across to it. The critters that came out of there did, the numbskull that started the whole mess did and the "missing person" did too.

The hidden entrance ? If they locate it, they have LOTS of means to find it if they're "on level" for that part of the adventure. Make them get creative. The most mundane means are a boat - which they have probably already found - some take 10 climb checks and a few coils of rope tied together for the rest of them to climb up.


Turin the Mad wrote:
Thundershot wrote:
Turin the Mad wrote:
Thundershot wrote:

Okay, I feel like I'm doing something wrong.

The characters are at the island where the tomb is at. How in the heck are they supposed to get there? The cliff is 100 ft. and there doesn't appear to be any beach or anything at the bottom. How are they supposed to get to the bottom into the tomb? They have the folding boat from Varnhold, but what can they see from above? I guess I'm just missing something...

The entrance into the bottom level is there at the bottom of the map with a tiny pseudo-beachy-looking spot before the doorway. I'd suppose that the entrance as mapped is at a higher water level than it would be later in the year when the water level is much lower. It is also pretty easy to see from shore.

The "upper entrance" is not normally all that visible, although it is certainly findable with clever reconnaissance.

So... how are they supposed to get there from the south part of the map? If they scale down the 100 ft. cliff, then they're in the drink and have to risk swimming a decently long distance to the shore. That's also assuming that there's beach at the bottom of the cliff.

Thanks
Chris

The main entrance? They walk across to it. The critters that came out of there did, the numbskull that started the whole mess did and the "missing person" did too.

The hidden entrance ? If they locate it, they have LOTS of means to find it if they're "on level" for that part of the adventure. Make them get creative. The most mundane means are a boat - which they have probably already found - some take 10 climb checks and a few coils of rope tied together for the rest of them to climb up.

Getting down there isn't the problem. How do they walk across to the main entrance when the water is 40 - 120 ft. deep? I'm sorry for sounding stupid, but I just feel like I'm totally missing something.


Greetings, fellow travellers.

Erm, there is no getting down from the southern shore (W1) of the Little Sellen to river level.

The AP states:

Quote:

The trail from area X leads up to this point on the Little

Sellen River’s bank. [...]

For me bank is already river level. There is no mentioning of a cliff on the south side, but there is a cliff on the northern shore where the wyverns have made their home.

So the PCs just take a boat, cast fly etc. get over to W5 and that's it.

Ruyan.


RuyanVe wrote:

Greetings, fellow travellers.

Erm, there is no getting down from the southern shore (W1) of the Little Sellen to river level.

The AP states:

Quote:

The trail from area X leads up to this point on the Little

Sellen River’s bank. [...]

For me bank is already river level. There is no mentioning of a cliff on the south side, but there is a cliff on the northern shore where the wyverns have made their home.

So the PCs just take a boat, cast fly etc. get over to W5 and that's it.

Ruyan.

It looks like the cliff goes all the way around, so I assumed that was how it was. That makes things easier for them, at least, because they were trying to figure out how to get the animal companions down the 100 ft. cliff... I'll just say it's beach and be done with it.

Thanks
Chris


Yeah, you're right. The map looks like there is a cliff, but I cannot imagine the centaur lady or the undead that lurks at area X to get down/up a 100 feet tall cliff.

Ruyan.


RuyanVe wrote:

Yeah, you're right. The map looks like there is a cliff, but I cannot imagine the centaur lady or the undead that lurks at area X to get down/up a 100 feet tall cliff.

Ruyan.

That's part of the dilemma we had as well. Also I wonder if the water is supposed to be shallower between the path and the entrance.

Thanks
Chris

Frog God Games

Thundershot wrote:
RuyanVe wrote:

Yeah, you're right. The map looks like there is a cliff, but I cannot imagine the centaur lady or the undead that lurks at area X to get down/up a 100 feet tall cliff.

Ruyan.

That's part of the dilemma we had as well. Also I wonder if the water is supposed to be shallower between the path and the entrance.

Thanks
Chris

the map does make it look like there is a cliff at W1, but it's supposed to just be a slope down to the water's edge that is easily navigable. I hadn't even noticed that when I saw the final version. So it's easy to get to the water's edge there (and W5 has a beach as illustrated on the map on page 40), however, you'll probably need a boat or flight to get across or plan on a long swim.


Thanks for chiming in, Greg. There is always the possibility of GM fiat, but having the author echo your own thoughts makes it feel less "cheating the players".

Thundershot wrote:
Also I wonder if the water is supposed to be shallower between the path and the entrance.

I would describe the current on the south side of V's "tower" less churning than on the north, that it moves more shluggishly - seems semi-realistic/plausible when considering the more beach-like bank Greg affirmed in his post above and also works with the cliff on the north side.

Ruyan.


How are PCs supposed to make the DC 40 History check to recognize Vordkai's name? Even IF they put ranks into history at every level (which most of people won't do) and IF its their class skill and IF they have Skill Focus and IF they have a trait that gives a +1 and IF they have 20 int and IF they roll a 20 that still adds up to 39 (7 ranks +3 class skill +3 skill focus +1 trait +5 int).

Even under some really questionable assumptions (why would anyone take skill focus history, for example), it's impossible, why even give the DC?

The only thing I can think of is Lore Oracle who can get a large bonus on an int skill check, but Kingmaker was out before APG.

RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32

Black Wolf wrote:

How are PCs supposed to make the DC 40 History check to recognize Vordkai's name? Even IF they put ranks into history at every level (which most of people won't do) and IF its their class skill and IF they have Skill Focus and IF they have a trait that gives a +1 and IF they have 20 int and IF they roll a 20 that still adds up to 39 (7 ranks +3 class skill +3 skill focus +1 trait +5 int).

Even under some really questionable assumptions (why would anyone take skill focus history, for example), it's impossible, why even give the DC?

The only thing I can think of is Lore Oracle who can get a large bonus on an int skill check, but Kingmaker was out before APG.

Bard's add half their level to knowledge checks, so that could help.


Wouldn't help. The above calculation was under assumption that person rolling the check is a Wizard lvl 7 with 20 Int. Even though Bards add half lvl on those checks, that would be only +3 and Int isn't their primary stat, so at best it'd be the same (assuming Int 14).


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Greetings, fellow travellers.

To help beat the DC you could visit your local library. Like in SC where certain libraries added a bonus (from +2 to +7, IIRC) your PCs might have built such a library in one of their towns as well.
Alternatively, have a celebrity visit their kingdom, a famous historian or scholar specialized in (ancient) history.

INT 20 should be do-able, if you don't do 15 pt buy. INT 22 by lvl 8 seems to be quite normal these days.

Would aid another apply here? Two or three PCs trying to come up with the solution, locked in a library, coughing because of all the dusty, musty old tomes, crumbling into even more dust under their touch...

Ruyan.


Quote:
INT 20 should be do-able, if you don't do 15 pt buy. INT 22 by lvl 8 seems to be quite normal these days.

PCs are lvl 7 at this point, even if the said wizard had 21, wouldn't make a difference.

Libraries add from +2 to +4. But even then, do you seriously think that an adequate DC assumes that pc has skill focus in history, a trait, a library at disposal and requires a 17+ on a d20 roll? And I seriously doubt any PC would want to travel all the way back to their city and research a random name they read somewhere.

Quote:
Alternatively, have a celebrity visit their kingdom, a famous historian or scholar specialized in (ancient) history.

The whole point is that even someone VERY MUCH specialized in history wouldn't be able to make that DC.


Black Wolf wrote:
The whole point is that even someone VERY MUCH specialized in history wouldn't be able to make that DC.

That is actually the point of the high DC in the first place, I believe, considering Vordakai hasn't been around since Earthfall. It should be almost impossible to remember his name in a meaningful way.


Another possibility would be to visit Restov and see if any sages, wizards, historians, etc., might know anything. A 10th or 12th level character at least has a chance to make a DC 40 check.

+5 for stat (or +7 if they're an elderly sage)
+10-12 for ranks
+6 for Skill Focus with 10 ranks
+2 for their library

+23-27 allows them a semi-chance to make a DC 40 check.

But, yeah, DC 40 feels about right for something that's been buried for 10,000 years and hasn't once done anything since then...


Remember also that one doesn't need to be a tip-top specialist; Fox's Cunning doesn't require any 20k magic item at all, just a memorized spell.

Plus bonuses from weird places, like Good Hope (+2), Aid, or leveling up to level 8 / 9 and trying again. I wouldn't put it past the Inquisitor spell list to grant bonuses to Knowledge checks either.

Scarab Sages Reaper Miniatures

Can anybody link/provide stats for the antipaladin centaur that was mentioned earlier? We began VV last night and I think that in addition to vanishing varnhold, punitive measures against the nomen are in order...


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Too late?

Anyways, the antipaladin centaur was mentioned here but no stats were provided.

In short, he gave her the advanced template and 4 levels of antipaladin.

I made her a centaur ranger 2, although meant as supporting the PCs, this might be a starting point for you, as well.

Xamanthe Silverfire:
Xamanthe Silverfire CR 4
XP 1200
Female centaur ranger 2
N Large monstrous humanoid
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +7
________________________________________
DEFENSE
________________________________________
AC 12, touch 11, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex, +1 natural, -1 size)
hp 72 (4d10+2d10+12); currently at 5 hp
Fort +6, Ref +9, Will +6
________________________________________
OFFENSE
________________________________________
Speed 50 ft.
Melee +8 martial weapon, 2 hooves +3 (1d6+2)
Space 10 ft. Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks favored enemies (human; +2 to attack and damage rolls, checks of perception, knowledge, sense motive, bluff)
________________________________________
STATISTICS
________________________________________
Str 16, Dex 14, Con 15, Int 11, Wis 14, Cha 12
Base Atk +6; CMB +10; CMD 22 (26 vs. trip)
Feats RunB, TrackR, Imp. Initiative, Precise Shot
Skills Diplomacy +5, Intimidate +6, Knowledge (nature) +9, Perception +12, Survival +14
Languages Common, Elven, Sylvan
SQ undersized weapons, track +1, wild empathy +1
________________________________________
SPECIAL ABILITIES
________________________________________
Undersized Weapons (Ex) Although a centaur is Large, its upper torso is the same size as that of a Medium humanoid. As a result, they wield weapons as if they were one size category smaller than their actual size (Medium for most centaurs).

Hope that helps.

Ruyan.


Any chance we could get a stat block for aecora?


I played it dangerously and never statted her out. I suppose some groups may fight her after all, but ...


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I think, troubleshooters advice is the most sound you can get. It really depends on whether you want your PCs to fight her or not aka should they befriend the centaurs or should they go to war about the Nomen Heights with them.

Since my players are rather xenophobic, meaning they have this smash-in-the-face-and-loot-attitude, I statted her out (remember, that she has support of at least six dozen standard centaurs who will arive armed at the scene two rounds later):

Aecora Silverfire:

Aecora Silverfire CR 10
N Large monstrous humanoid druid 7
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +14
________________________________________
DEFENSE
________________________________________
AC 22, touch 12, flat-footed 18 (+4 armor, +2 Dex, +1 deflection, +3 natural, +2 shield, -1 size)
hp 129 (4d10+7d8+33)
Fort +9, Ref +8, Will +14
________________________________________
OFFENSE
________________________________________
Speed 50 ft.
Melee +2 longspear +12/+7 (1d8+5/19-20), 2 hooves +5 (1d6+1)
Space 10 ft. Reach 5 ft. (10 ft. with longspear)
Special Attacks spells (CL 7th, concentration +12)
4th (2/day) – cure serious wounds, freedom of movement
3rd (3/day) – cure moderate wounds, greater magic fang, neutralize poison
2nd (5/day) – animal messenger, barkskin, bear’s endurance, resist energy, delay poison
1st (6/day) – longstrider, cure light wounds (2x), speak with animals, fearie fire, entangle
0 – guidance, stabilize, resistance, create water
________________________________________
STATISTICS
________________________________________
Str 15, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 20, Cha 12
Base Atk +9; CMB +12; CMD 24 (28 vs. trip)
Feats Augment Summoning, Extend Spell, Imp. Initiative, Natural Spell, RunB, Spell Focus (conjuration)
Skills Diplomacy +5, Fly +9, Heal +15, Intimidate +6, Knowledge (geography) +8, Knowledge (history) +9, Knowledge (nature) +14, Perception +19, Profession (Alchemist) +19, Sense Motive +16, Spellcraft +14, Survival +19
Languages Common, Elven, Sylvan
SQ undersized weapons, woodland stride, trackless step, wild empathy +8, resist nature’s lure, wild shape 2/day (beast shape II or elemental body I)
Gear +2 longspear, +1 studded leather barding, ring of protection +1, ring of sustenance

Note, that her gear is not up to WBL of a lvl 10 NPC and I rolled her stats using 4d6 drop the lowest.

Ruyan.


evil DM plans:
Im tempted to put a monster in the pool for my party to have to deal with at the same time as the wyverns. The rorkoun seems like it could be fun for that. Also I have a question, whatever happened to the original jade bracelet that started it all. I couldnt find it in any treasures ect.


I will give the missing bracelet to Ervil Pendrod - after he is released from the soul jar he can relate the whole story to the PCs and present to them the treasure which started it all.


could use a little advice on an encounter build with a mob from this book

more evil dm plots:
So i want to use a "swarm" of claw bats particularly near the dread cyclops in the valley of the dead as I know that cyclops will not be a challenge for my party. I have a level 7 party of 4 damage dealers and no real healers, but Im wondering if even 16 of these will pose of much of a danger.

I figure if i do have them strike out on the stair perhaps they could be gaining cover from rocky out croppings ect, but other than that Im still uncertain.

Liberty's Edge

Derper, I plan on making the cyclops one of a team of three that ahve been stationed there, two buried to grab a PC's leg or two. Really, this cyclops seems pretty weak for his CR.


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My plan is to make one cyclops in Vordakai's a grappler, and use his Flash of Insight to get an auto-grab/pin on a PC, and another cyclops to bite the character and risk bringing them to -1.


Wow that's good stuff. Think you can post the stat block of the grappling dread zombie? My party will get there this weekend


Is there any fluff out there on charon besides basic info? My pcs are to the point of almost slaying big V and I could use some xtra info just in case, Ive done some searching but to no avail.


Derper wrote:
Is there any fluff out there on charon besides basic info? My pcs are to the point of almost slaying big V and I could use some xtra info just in case, Ive done some searching but to no avail.

Horsemen of Apocalypse is what you are looking for.


Question:

for gms:
So if the eye of abaddon gets cracked due to the portal wall getting smashed up, how could players go about mending it if they wanted to use the eye later?


It's an artifact. Probably a special quest of some sort, involving major sacrifices to the daemons.

Or, you know, just go to Abbadon and steal the Oinodaemon's other eye. ;)

Grand Lodge

tonyz wrote:

It's an artifact. Probably a special quest of some sort, involving major sacrifices to the daemons.

Or, you know, just go to Abbadon and steal the Oinodaemon's other eye. ;)

lol Is that it, bring it.

Sovereign Court

I'll be starting to run my players through Vordakai's Tomb tonight. The party is comprised of:

Half Elf Ranger Switch Hitter
Human Monk/Magus Defensive Staff User
Aasimar Cleric/Paladin Healing Machine (with an elephant animal comp)
Human Fighter/Paladin Mounted Combatant

The group is on a 15 point buy. The players are quite experienced (all over five years of gaming, two over ten years, and one over twenty) at both playing AND building. Thus, they've got very competitive builds that do their jobs well.

Mostly, I'm just looking for any generalized advice from GMs who have done this previously. Any snags I should be looking out for? Any encounters that might be too easy or too hard? Specifically I'm looking ahead to the Vordakai fight. The DR 15 could be a big issue for everyone but the Monk/Magus (and he's not a HUGE damage dealer). They just found the +2 Warhammer at the Ettercap trap and I'll be adding a bit of an NPC nudge to keep it (their first instinct with everything magic item is CASH IT OUT!) and have the scrolls of remove paralysis handy.

Even still, I worry that with a lot of defensive buffs, that DR and the ability to cause permanent paralysis (which the healer will spend a turn taking care of the first three times) this fight could get out of hand quickly.

Also, how did GM's handle the group trying to sleep/rest in the tomb? Granted, running through the whole dungeon in one swoop would be quite difficult. And I have nothing against the group resting because I'll buy the arrogance of Vordakai lets him wait. But, how do I avoid the whole dungeon turning into a bunch of one and done's like the rest of Kingmaker?

Thanks.


If PCs sleep in the tomb, Vordakai attacks them, pre-buffed. Maybe if they're lucky he assumes they're twits and just sends some soul hunters or a bunch of undead cyclops after them first.

This one shouldn't be a one-and-done, simple as that. Vordakai may be arrogant, but some things are just stupid.


Same here. Sleeping in the dungeon will result in a TPK in my game.

That's how the situation is in my game:

Vordakai knows the group. He has them followed by his familiar for a long time now and should know names, weaknesses and strengths of the whole party. While being arrogant, he is not stupid and has grand plans for world conquest, which he will not compromise by staying his hand for a honorable fight.

He is keen on giving his BBEG speech should the PCs arrive at his throne room, but that does not keep him from paralyzing everybody first (while asleep), doing his speech and storing them away in the soul jars of his or coup de grace - it's a tough world.

The fight against him is not a quick one, rather it's about who wears out whom first - the side with the greater staying power wins.

Ruyan.


Vordekai is ancient, incredibly intelligent, patient and yes, arrogant.

Siccing mini-onions on them when they bail out of the lair is one thing - camping out in HIS lair is another altogether. He'd buff to the nines, rustle up a posse of mini-onions - say, those charming critters he has in 'Dining Room B' and drop them out of their rope trick via dispel magic in the dead of night.

If he can paralyze a few, sweet. If they all die, sweet. If a few die, one gets paralyzed and one flees ... even better. He'll sicc a critter on the fleeing one as fast as he can. He has many more brains to munch upon after all.


Dropping them out of a rope trick seems pretty harsh, and a potential recipe for a TPK. Especially with a party that has little experience in dungeon crawls.

Is it written somewhere that Vordekai can scry anywhere in his hideout? Just wondering how he would automatically know where the rope trick would be placed.


cantrip called detect magic. If he has intruders that he has not discerned their having departed, he doesn't seem inclined to sit on his behind and wait for them to come at him again.

This assumes something has happened to make him aware of the intrusion. If not, they'd be off the hook.

Grand Lodge

Turin the Mad wrote:

Vordekai is ancient, incredibly intelligent, patient and yes, arrogant.

Siccing mini-onions on them when they bail out of the lair is one thing - camping out in HIS lair is another altogether. He'd buff to the nines, rustle up a posse of mini-onions - say, those charming critters he has in 'Dining Room B' and drop them out of their rope trick via dispel magic in the dead of night.

If he can paralyze a few, sweet. If they all die, sweet. If a few die, one gets paralyzed and one flees ... even better. He'll sicc a critter on the fleeing one as fast as he can. He has many more brains to munch upon after all.

Turin, you must go through a lot of pcs. I bet your pcs no how to run --- er tactically withdraw.


It's pretty funny, they're generally very tactically savvy and have gotten to know the game well. Retreat is rare - when they do, it is a surprise to me, since they usually win and often win handily.

Grand Lodge

Turin the Mad wrote:
It's pretty funny, they're generally very tactically savvy and have gotten to know the game well. Retreat is rare - when they do, it is a surprise to me, since they usually win and often win handily.

It's cool that you can take it to them. My group 1 are all very new to the game -- therefore I have to teach them slowly but my second group I take off the kid gloves and the random or not so random encounters have dropped at least half of em twice now. :)

Liberty's Edge

My group slept in the lower part of the dungeon while waiting to swap out spells to get past the elasmosaurus pool. They got scried and had the soul eater attack them while they were sleeping.

They then continued on and decided to sleep in the small dead-end Occulus focus room, whatever that's called. V scried them there and it was a scry and fry with no punches held but they got lucky with some dispel magics, managed to drive him off where he was waiting for the whole group in the room with the grisly table with his 4 cyclops zombie buddies, his zombie mage buddy and all the time in the world.

It was a really fun day with it being up being nearly two TPKs in back to back encounters, one character death and about half a dozen hero points spent.

Grand Lodge

Greycloak of Bowness wrote:

My group slept in the lower part of the dungeon while waiting to swap out spells to get past the elasmosaurus pool. They got scried and had the soul eater attack them while they were sleeping.

They then continued on and decided to sleep in the small dead-end Occulus focus room, whatever that's called. V scried them there and it was a scry and fry with no punches held but they got lucky with some dispel magics, managed to drive him off where he was waiting for the whole group in the room with the grisly table with his 4 cyclops zombie buddies, his zombie mage buddy and all the time in the world.

It was a really fun day with it being up being nearly two TPKs in back to back encounters, one character death and about half a dozen hero points spent.

Good times, good times!


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When I gmed through RotRL there was a Community Created Content thread, I saw the one for a 6 player conversion, but I figured this would be a good place to drop mine so its not lost in the infinite archives of doom.

Area Modification to Nomen Heights - Location R. Its a chase scene with a monster fight at the end.

Collossal Chase:

Area R – Linnorm’s Grave

CR9

Backstory
Long ago an immense Craig Linnorm Krukjalfvir was slain by Armtag the mythical Tiger Lord hero. Now with the awakening of Vordakai, he has found the bones of this ancient creature relatively intact. Focusing his siphoned souls through the Occulus of Abaddon even from afar he is able to infuse the monstrosity with unlife.

Summary
Vordakai raises the long dead Craig Linnorm as an undead, but the spell is fragile, the players must find a way to reach the several fonts of necromantic power severing them before the beast becomes a powerful tool of destruction. PC’s will race via the chase rules up the beast to several points disrupting the magical fonts before finally ascending to the head of the beast to battle Vordakai’s minion within its skull. If the characters choose not to deal with this threat it proceeds to cause havoc to nearby settlements, farms, and tribes leaving Burning Skeletons (Bestiary) in its wake, unheeded this threat may become powerful enough that it could require an army to stop. Suggested Mass combat abilities Regeneration, Breath Weapon, Mobility and possibly the ability to raise small mindless undead armies in places where it defeats others.

Description of Event
A low rumbling of thunder is heard echoing through the hills and as the clouds darken and roil in the overcast sky above, the wind gusts harshly knocking the sea of grass down and whipping it about. A bolt of black lightning strikes the nearby hilltop, where the massive bones of an ancient linnorm lie covered in moss, feathered tokens, pottery, and other tribal offerings, again and again the lighting strikes, a fierce thundering booms from the sky above and the dark clouds begin to swirl, small rocks and grass tumble by born aloft by the churning winds. A herd of mastadons seem unperturbed until a crumbling eruption of dirt and rocks bursts from the hillside and the long treelike bones ascend and swirl among three terrible and dark spheres suspended in the maelstrom that are repeatedly struck by lightning. The swirling conglomeration of massive bones and crackling dark light solidify in the near shape of a colossal skeletal linnorm, nearly a hundred feet long towering over the nearby hills. A pulse of black energy and flame sear forth from its bulk enveloping the entirety of the hillside for a hundred feet setting a massive brush fire. The colossal beast seems to be host to a pair of darkly glowing and swirling fonts of energy, one in its ribcage and another in its terrifying skull, its curved teeth as large as a horse. The ground shakes as it finishes ripping itself from the rocky earth leaving a gaping valley behind as the creature charges off into the hills at a quick pace. The ground trembles with every footstep and its three pronged skeletal tail lies low crushing the underbrush as it whips across the searing plains.

Perception DC20 – The swirling clouds above the linnorm have a slight red hue, there is a powerful necromantic spell effect hovering over the linnorm as it moves. Close observation is a pale red eye that shines like torchlight.

Linnorm Statistics: 80’ Long, 15’ Wide, 20’ Tall; Chase cards should be arrainged in a line from skull to Tail. Moves 40’ per round, double moving at 80’. Treat Krukjalfvir as an unintelligent colossal object, similar to a mountain for the purposes of this scene. Its movements are guided by the Elemental in its skull. Given enough time, the negative energy fueling Krukjalfvir will form sentience on its own.

Skull, Neck, Neck, Shoulders, tail, tail, tail, tail end (Start of Chase).

Tail End – Swiping Tail Acrobatics DC 10/Perception 25
Tail Section x2 – Steep Crumbling Tail Acrobatics DC20/Climb DC10
Tail Section x1 – Broken Vertebrae Escape Artists DC15/Acrobatics DC20
Ribcage*x1 - Necromatic Font, Lumbering Shoulders Acrobatics DC20/Climb DC25
Neck x2 - Steep Crumbling Tail Acrobatics DC20/Climb DC10
Skull* – Necromatic Font, Huge Negative Elemental**, Hole in Skull Escape Artist DC25\Perception 10
*Treat the Skull/Ribcage as a 20’x 10’ platform that gives Improved Cover to those inside.
**Huge Negative Elemental – use the statistics for a Huge fire elemental, but change his damage type to Negative Energy, and change his vulnerability to Positive Energy.

Chase Rules: Follow all the normal rules for a chase (Game Mastery Guide pg. 232) with faster characters getting bonuses of +2, per 10 feet above base 30, flight still grants a +10, but receives a -4 due to heavy winds. Failing any check by 5 or more sends the character rolling back a card and takes 1d6 falling damage. Shortcuts: A character can shortcut and try and get on another part of the linnorm from the ribcage back, but add a +10 to the difficulty.

Necromatic Font – Each Necromatic Font appears as a 3’ diameter mass of raw swirling bones and negative energy that inside can be seen a purplish unblinking eye. Each font grants the reainimated Krukjalfvir fast healing 10 and a cumulative DR5/Cold Iron. The font itself has AC21, HP: 45, fast healing 1, DR10/Cold Iron, Immune to Electricity, Mind Effects, Death Effects; Saves +6, Acid and Fire resist 10. Unarmed attacks on the Necromatic font inflict 1d4 negative levels DC18 Fortitude to negate. Each font spews forth 1d4 negative energy bursts every round which unerringly strike anyone within 30’ for 1d4 negative energy damage each. Spells and effects that emit light deal 2d6 damage every round to a font as well as positive energy deals double damage.

Gusting Winds: The area around Krukjalfvir is under the effects of a windstorm and makes ranged attacks impossible in the area. Flying (-4 due to heavy winds) becomes very hazardous as bones and debris are being flung everywhere failure on a fly check by 5 or more results in 2d6 damage from debris.

Along for the Ride: Any character may choose to stay in position by making a Ride Check DC 10. Characters using ranged weapons may choose to fire on up to 1 adjacent section away at a -4 penalty due to the wind. Spellcasters may additionally cast spells on adjacent sections if they can pass a defensive casting test.

Chaotic Magical Firestorm : The powerful necromantic energy reacts strangely with the bones of the linnorm, every 1d6 rounds a gout of flames envelopes the windstorm dealing 1d6 fire and 1d6 negative energy damage to everything between 1d6x10 and 1d10x10 feet of the linnorm. The firestorm is accompanied by an area of red hued overcast that blocks natural sunlight as per control weather.

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