Intro: This is an adventure module I'm putting together for a group of level 5 PCs that want to challenge their system mastery. My questions are:
1. How can I make it more deadly with the same/lower CR?
2. Do the CRs match up with a couple regular survivable adventuring days, especially considering the PCs can escape during the 1st part and rest during the second?
3. Is it too easy? Especially considering the PCs can escape during the 1st part and rest whenever they want during the second?
DM: A Shadow Demon disables the trap to a sewer and emerges with another summoned Shadow Demon; the summoned one uses Magic Jar on a random person and the first carries the second while the second uses the body to enter the sewer. The victim is taken via secret passage to a cleric who turns the victim into a skeleton for his god.
Descriptions are for the PCs, assuming they have their own light/darkvision. No light provided anywhere in the sewer.
XP format: total (if needed), then each for a group of 1-3, 4-5, 6+
PCs get XP for bypassing encounters, i.e. for leaving a room alive, whether they kill things or not.
Use fast levelling, eg. 10,000 XP from 5->6.
Background (for PCs): People are disappearing into the sewers at night. Bystanders near the entrance to the South Crook occasionally see someone walk in, but no one sees them after that.
Diplomacy (gather information) or Bardic Lore check (DC 20): Onyx has been getting stolen lately.
Entrance (to the South Crook, EL 5):
Description: A metal gate bars the way to darkness 10’ wide by 10’ tall. It is normally locked (with a good lock, DC 30), but a patrol officer removes it for you. He says he’’ll have to lock it behind you, but will wait here and unlock it when you return.
If the PCs wait for the next person to walk into the sewers, they are attacked by 2 Demon Shadows at night, initially invisible.
Trap: Pit (DC 25 Perception, DC 20 Disable Device), location activated, manual reset, 10’x10’ immediately inside the gate. The pit is 20’ deep and filled 10’ high with water (targets must make DC 10 Swim checks to stay afloat, DC 20 climb check to escape), and contains a Leech Swarm.
Treasure: 1,550 gp at the bottom of the pool.
Bypass XP: 1500, 535, 400, 265
The entrance leads to the sewer proper and a forked path.
Forked Path:
Description: After descending a flight of stairs, you reach the main sewer, and the smell is dank. The sewer is 20’ wide with 5’ platforms on either side of the water for walking on. There is no light in either direction. The water runs from left to right.
Perception check:
DC 16 (21 in dim light, - in darkness): 60’ to the left is a Water Strider Swarm.
DC 30 (35 in dim light, - in darkness): 60’ to the right is a Stirge Swarm.
DC 50 (55 in dim light, - in darkness): a secret door leading to Temple
To the left: Sewer L1
To the right: Sewer R1
Sewer L1 (EL 4):
Description: Your average absurdly spacious sewer.
Perception check: DC 10 to see the treasure under the water.
Treasure: 1,150 gp strewn through the water.
Bypass XP: 1200, 400, 300, 200
Continue 500’ to Sewer L2
Sewer L2 (EL 5):
Description: After walking awhile you reach a point where the sewer splits into many smaller sewers that become so small as to be unpassable. In the corner are some bottles of shiny liquid.
Treasure: 4 potions of Cure Moderate Wounds in a corner
Bypass XP: 1500, 535, 400, 265
After this the sewer splits into many smaller sewers that become so small as to be unpassable, unless the party shrinks (they don’t go anywhere).
Sewer R1 (EL 5):
Description: Your average absurdly spacious sewer.
Perception check: DC 10 to see the treasure under the water.
Treasure: 1,550 gp strewn through the water.
Bypass XP: 1500, 535, 400, 265
Continue 500’ to Sewer R2
Sewer R2 (EL 7):
Description: Your average absurdly spacious sewer.
Perception check: DC 10 to see the treasure under the water.
Treasure: 2,600 gp strewn through the water.
Bypass XP: 3200, 1070, 800, 535
Here the sewer makes a right-turn to the right, but there’s also a 5’x5’ hole in the left side of the wall with a tunnel going into the earth.
Right and 300’ to Sewer R3
Left and 30’ to Tunnel 1
Sewer R3 (EL 5):
Description: Your average absurdly spacious sewer.
Perception check: DC 10 to see the treasure under the water.
Treasure: 1,550 gp strewn through the water.
Bypass XP: 1500, 535, 400, 265
Continuing in this direction leads to more sewers with the same contents as Sewer R3, but with half the treasure and XP for each completion of the room.
Tunnel 1 (EL 5):
Description: After advancing 30’ the tunnel collapses behind you. You find yourselves in a small cylindrical cavern with a 10’ radius, 10’ high. A hewn-stone door in front of you is the only way out, but it is closed (and locked, DC 35). Tons and tons of keys litter the floor.
Note: After defeating the elemental the party can try keys at their leisure. If they return to this room and lock the door, they can rest without being disturbed.
Treasure: 1,550 gp strewn through the water.
Bypass XP: 1500, 535, 400, 265
Opening the door and continuing 30’ leads to Tunnel 2
Tunnel 2 (EL 5):
Description: The door opens to a 5’x5’ tunnel that descends at a shallow pace.
Treasure: 1,550 gp strewn along the ground.
Bypass XP: 1500, 535, 400, 265
Continuing forward 200’ leads to Tunnel 3
Tunnel 3 (EL 6):
Room dimensions 30’ wide x 30’ long x 30’ high, with the roof over the cliff being the same height. The cliff walls extend beyond sight in both directions. The PCs are about 100’ below ground at this point.
Description: The tunnel opens up into a platform. Rather than a room, you’ve reached the edge of an underground cliff. 30’ past the end of the tunnel, the ground drops away, except for a 10’-wide bridge of earth that continues on into the darkness. The room itself has walls 15’ away on each side.
When the PCs enter: You notice on either side of the door in the corner of the room is a medium reptile with glowing green eyes.
Treasure: 2,000 gp in 2 piles, 1000 in each corner behind a basilisk
Bypass XP: 2400, 800, 600, 400
Continuing forward 90’ leads to Bridge 1
Bridge 1 (EL 6):
Description: The bridge is twice as big up and down as it is side-to-side, and seems sturdy.
Treasure: masterwork short sword, wand of magic missile [CL 5th, (40 - used) charges]
Bypass XP: 2400, 800, 600, 400
Continuing forward 30’ leads to Bridge 2
Bridge 2 (EL 4/5):
Description: The bridge splits in 3 parts, but each path leads forward.
No matter which path the PCs follow, they reach a door in the wall, about 50’ away from the path to its right/left.
Path 1/3. Behind the door is a Death Butterfly Swarm, a 10’ wide x 30’ long hallway, and a ladder leading up (after rising 10’ the ladder and tunnel stops).
Path 2. Behind the door is an Ant Swarm, a 10’ wide x 30’ long hallway, and a ladder leading up to Temple Outer.
Treasure: none behind the Death Butterflies, 1,550 gp a few inches underground (the ant swarm’s nest)
Bypass XP (getting past the Ant Swarm): 1500, 535, 400, 265
Temple Outer (EL 7):
The Shadow Demon is invisible with Shadow Blend. If unnoticed, attempts a silent Summon. Then it opens with Magic Jar (it has another jar for its summoned friend if one appears). Then attacks.
Description: The ladder leads up to a 30’ x 30’ x 30’ room with an archway on the far wall, currently sealed by 2 wooden doors. Behind you is a door leading back the way you came.
The door leading back connects to Forked Path via the secret door.
Treasure: 2x 100 gp gems and 2,400 gp around the edges of the courtyard
Bypass XP: 3200, 1070, 800, 535
The archway leads to Temple Inner
Temple Inner (EL 8):
Cleric build:
AC 20, HP 42
F +5/R +4/W +8
DR 2/cold iron, SR 7
Str 3, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 8, Wis 18, Cha 10
Feats: Quick Channel, ToughnessB, Weapon FinesseB, Extra Channeling, Improved Channeling
Abilities: Variant Channeling (Rulership) 1d6+daze, DC12, 5/day, Trickery Domain (Copycat), Inevitable Domain (Command), Aura of Unluck
Equips: Mithral Fullplate, Heavy Steel Shield, Wand of Infernal Healing
Tactics by round:
Pre-combat (in this order): Invisibility, Eagle’s Splendor, Bull’s Str on each Bear, Bless, Vision of Hell
Spells left (4 0th/3+1 1st/0 2nd/1+1 3rd)
1. Channel+(Prayer/Vision of Hell as appropriate).
2. Channel+Prayer/Murderous Command
3. Channel/Command (halt)
Treasure: 200gp + the Pugwumpi’s equips
Bypass XP: 4800, 1600, 1200, 800
Success!
Extra: After the PCs defeat the cleric and his demon, he tells the group the location of his god, called Yaletur. He’s in the hills closeby...
Doorway (EL 6):
Description: A steampunk toy-soldier stands in front of an old stone door in the side of the hill. It isn’t moving, but has its halberd in its hand.
Treasure: 2,000 gp in the soldier’s stomach
Bypass XP: 2400, 800, 600, 400
The door isn’t locked, and opens into a tunnel that goes deep underground, eventually giving way to…
Dark Space (EL 7):
Description: As you reach the end of the tunnel, you find yourself standing on a precipice, 10’ x 10’. Beyond the precipice, and in fact all around you except for the tunnel, is empty space. You can see stars, galaxies, and nebulas. It’s completely silent, until a voice speaks. “Who are you that enter my domain?”
The room is actually a wide cavern, about 100’ radius, with a 10’ high ceiling. The precipice is real, but beyond that is a deep lake that immediately drops to 90’ in depth before going deeper. The Aboleth uses Mirage Arcana several tens of times a day to create the illusion in the description, including putting a dust cloud in the water for him to hide in, so at any time there are 20-30 arcanas active. He casts several tens of Veils to make himself look like a god, and communicates with Projected Images. He creates illusory creatures and moving objects with Persistent Images.
When the PCs enter he’ll communicate with them to try and make them leave by lying and telling them that he’s a neutral-aligned lesser-deity of ancient knowledge, which he backs up with his old age and knowledge skills. He says the cleric was his follower but was corrupted by demons and stopped listening to him, interpreting his old commands in the most extreme and wrong way possible. If pressed, he offers to show the PCs exactly what happened, and creates a mirage arcana + persistent image show that supports his claims.
If the PCs attack, the water feels like empty space (but causes slowness, suffocation, dampened sound, etc) and they have to make 20 will saves (DC 18) to realize they’re underwater.
Tactics:
1. Cast Persistent Images to create 2 versions of each PC.
2. Cast Veil on everyone (including the images) so they all look like the same PC.
3. Use Dominate Person on each PC.
Treasure: 2,600 gp contained in a few chests underwater.
Bypass XP: 3200, 1070, 800, 535
I didn't think to mention this until now: I'm not telling the party what to expect, except for danger. They're going to create new characters with access to all non-3rd party source-books at level 5. In case that affects your critique. Thanks!