HP 145/145, Temp HP: 15, Stoneskin: 90/90, DR 15/Bludgeon and Magic, AC 24, CMD 13, SR 23, Fort +10, Dex +7, Will +12, Per +26, Stealth +38, Active Effects: Prestidigitation, Read Magic, Dimensional Anchor, Deathwatch, Unseen Servant, Nondetection, Fleshy Facade, Comprehend Languages, Invisibility Alarm, Aura Sight, Arcane Sight, Tongues, Greater Magic Fang, Symbol of Revelation
"Yes, after a fashion. Divination is unreliable and difficult without a known location, object or person. However, I can learn what is needed through other means. It will take significant time. Come back in aproximately six weeks."
The next day, memorizing Legend Lore. Posessing a Gug and casting Legend Lore. Letting my familiar take over my body to keep crafting and working on my lair.
Legend Lore casting time in Weeks:2d6 ⇒ (1, 4) = 5
After the first casting, I do it again with a much better knowledge base to narrow the scope.
Legend Lore casting time in days:1d10 ⇒ 7
Six weeks to the day later Anaxian was an expert on the Harpys of the Mwangi. He created a map for Illia marking the locations of suitable Harpy flocks. It was there waiting for her in a skrimshaw scrollcase when she arrived to check on his results. With it were two small marbles of swirling, smoky glass and a sizable bag of gold.
The spheres are scrying foci. Wherever you put them, I will be able to see. The scroll case contains maps of the Mwangi, as well as detailed notes on the Harpy flocks I discovered. In return for my aid in this matter, I require the corpses of any Harpys who fall in your endeavors. Also, I have a number of rare reagents I require. The list of what I need and where they can be fond is also in the scroll case. The money in the bag should cover the cost."
Meridian spends some time finding a suitable location for her future compound. Someplace defensible and yet expansive to qualify as a future site for her noble house.
A proper, full-sized noble house would want a noble villa, but you can upgrade to that eventually.
Illia-, I guess we'll come back to the harpies at the end of month 2.
As the Crimson Stranger is still recovering, it is Jiator and Sir John whom Inubrix encounters. The two liches, puzzled, scan the composite android with a variety of divination magics, and deciding that he represents no immediate threat or treachery, answer his questions.
Looks like no party members wanted to hassle the microbot swarm. I'll move the game along, but if there's something Inubrix wishes to discuss, we can follow up on it retroactively.
The month proceeds along uneventfully. Anaxian researches the harpies of Mwangi, Illia- works on researching new martial styles, and Drisquar farms soul gems. Meredian, meanwhile, begins teleporting around the Darklands, promoting her new city and noble house among the smaller and less violent Drow settlements.
Meredian, I'll need a Diplomacy check for each day you spend trying to recruit followers; or you can roll one per week and I'll multiply the results by 7.
In the third week of working, one of the zombards reports to Drisquar that there is a problem with the new quarry being constructed; while the music continues, apparently none of the skeleton or zombie miners sent in have returned. The bard himself journeyed in briefly, and reports seeing something large and gleaming thrashing around in the depths before fleeing. It seems unlikely that the quarry can become operational unless something is done about this creature.
Jiator and Sir John scan the newcomer from hiding considering how to deal with the situation. While doing so the apparent automaton queries a drow woman carting a load of laundry. Though the drow peasant cowers before Inubrix and says nothing. However, after a moment of cowering she picks up the gist of the question and points down the street. Following the direction of her outstretched hand Inubrix sees what she is pointing out. A few blocks down an otherwise deserted street floats an immaculately dressed Drow noble. Apparently looking around and making some sketches over a dilapidated and deserted part of the city.
As Inubrix leaves the drow washer woman she scurries out of sight.
Meredian teleports around the dark lands promising initiates a chance at power and prestige. She cares not for where they come from, but only for their ability. Anyone who wishes has opportunity to achieve high status if their will is strong and sword/mind (depending on audience) is sharp.
active: see post HP 151/151; AC 28 (26 currently); DR 15/-; FH 14 Psion 5 / Metamorph 7 / Worm that Walks CR+2
Retcon Timeline:
Inubrix walks over to the immaculately dressed drow noble, greeting it with a mechanical bow of the head.
"Greeting: Hello. Query: I was invited here by the Red Lady, are you one of her designated representatives? You match one of the descriptions I was given."
Inubrix walks over to the immaculately dressed drow noble, greeting it with a mechanical bow of the head.
"Greeting: Hello. Query: I was invited here by the Red Lady, are you one of her designated representatives? You match one of the descriptions I was given."
Without actually moving her body the drow pivots in the air to see who has addressed her, quill and parchment in hand. Without breaking eye contact she places the quill and parchment in the air where it stays. Then she flies down closer to the creature to inspect. The pen and quill stay in the same relative position. She circles the creature and inspects it closely.
"Well. Well Well. Aren't you interesting?" she asks rhetorically.
"I am one of the ruling council, Lady Adriatanic. However, I get the feeling we'll be on a first name basis soon." she smiles wickedly.
"But I digress. Who are you and why should I show you to the council? "
active: see post HP 151/151; AC 28 (26 currently); DR 15/-; FH 14 Psion 5 / Metamorph 7 / Worm that Walks CR+2
"Formal Reply: Lady Adriatanic, I am called Inubrix. I am here at the behest of the Red Lady. To direct me accordingly to my destination is to facilitate her affairs. I was informed that it would be possible to have constructed, in this settlement, facilities necessitated by my research in exchange for my aid in certain matters requiring force."
"Formal Reply: Lady Adriatanic, I am called Inubrix. I am here at the behest of the Red Lady. To direct me accordingly to my destination is to facilitate her affairs. I was informed that it would be possible to have constructed, in this settlement, facilities necessitated by my research in exchange for my aid in certain matters requiring force."
"Uh hu. Right then. This way. "
Pointing to the first mundane she sees, "You. I need a runner and if you can carry some messages I'll give you a gold coin"
If they agree she sends them with a few notes to the council and notates a meeting place.
active: see post HP 151/151; AC 28 (26 currently); DR 15/-; FH 14 Psion 5 / Metamorph 7 / Worm that Walks CR+2
dang, just realized i could have used Sir John to ingratiate myself into the council. I guess that wouldn't have been sporting. and i love the derogatory term "mundane" haha
M Human Lich Cleric 3+2 / Warder (ZS) 4+2 / Battle Templar 3 / Lich +2
When Meridian and Inubrix enter the town hall, Sir John is standing over a table with a map of what the town used to be, and a hastily-drawn map of what it currently is. Wooden blocks sit where current projects are to be erected, and shapes carved of bone sit where medium-term projects are planned. A single metal object sits on the map - the town hall.
When Meridian and Inubrix enter the town hall, Sir John is standing over a table with a map of what the town used to be, and a hastily-drawn map of what it currently is. Wooden blocks sit where current projects are to be erected, and shapes carved of bone sit where medium-term projects are planned. A single metal object sits on the map - the town hall.
M Human Lich Cleric 3+2 / Warder (ZS) 4+2 / Battle Templar 3 / Lich +2
Regarding the construct, Sir John's face flashes briefly with realization.
"Oh, That must be the 'perfect instrument of death' that our Red Queen referenced in her latest address to us, of former Technic League fame. I had not expected your arrival so quickly, Numerian."
active: see post HP 151/151; AC 28 (26 currently); DR 15/-; FH 14 Psion 5 / Metamorph 7 / Worm that Walks CR+2
"Clarification: I am not Numerian. I am Androffan, by way of Numeria. Of former Technic League fame, would be true. Change of Topic: I was invited by the Red Lady to dwell in this settlement. Information: I was told I could petition to have a lab built wherein I may perform my research, free of the prying eyes and saboteur's hands of the Technic League."
"Clarification: I am not Numerian. I am Androffan, by way of Numeria. Of former Technic League fame, would be true. Change of Topic: I was invited by the Red Lady to dwell in this settlement. Information: I was told I could petition to have a lab built wherein I may perform my research, free of the prying eyes and saboteur's hands of the Technic League."
"Quereey: Define 'Research'l Meredian mimics the creature
M Human Lich Cleric 3+2 / Warder (ZS) 4+2 / Battle Templar 3 / Lich +2
"Androffan? I haven't heard of Androff... Androffa? Wherever you're from. Something to do with the Rain of Stars the Lady mentioned? If you want a lab, you'll have to wait until we have a meeting to determine precedence of structures. As you can see, we have only just begun rebuilding this place. I know not how the others will prioritize a lab for constructs, but we can see about it. Master Jiator is the one primarily overseeing new construction." he says, looking once more to his maps.
"Well, if the Red Lady invited you here under the auspice of you being a 'perfect instrument of death', I am sure something will come up that requires your skills. Check back later regarding your lab. I don't have a place for you to stay, necessarily, though my experiences with your kind tell me that you don't require a place simply to survive."
active: see post HP 151/151; AC 28 (26 currently); DR 15/-; FH 14 Psion 5 / Metamorph 7 / Worm that Walks CR+2
"Definition: the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions." Inubrix says, unfazed, in response to Meridian's prodding.
Turning back to Sir John, Inubrix replies, "Query: You have met others of my kind?"
M Human Lich Cleric 3+2 / Warder (ZS) 4+2 / Battle Templar 3 / Lich +2
"Well, no Androffans, but metal creatures. Such are usually mage's pets, in my experience. If there is nothing else, well, make yourself available for the next time something comes up, I suppose. Things are rather quiet now."
Warlord 9 HP 251/251 | AC 46 | T 29 | FF 38 | F +33 | R +34 | W +32 | Init +11 | Per +32 | SR 28
Illia- pops into existence to one corner of the room, before finding a cushion to kneel on. Chairs, when one had wings, were kinda problematic.
"We're totally to open to you doing what you want. But building's kinda at a premium right now. We've got lots of things we want to build, what with the city just being rebuilt and all. So, what kinda things ya offering to bump your ticket up the queue-ueueue.. that word is fun. Queueueue. Gazeeebo." Illia- completely distracts herself by the end of her question.
active: see post HP 151/151; AC 28 (26 currently); DR 15/-; FH 14 Psion 5 / Metamorph 7 / Worm that Walks CR+2
"Informative Response: Given the scale of my requirements and this settlement's very recent inception, I anticipated a longer timetable for completion of my needs. Bargaining: Once my requirements are met, I can manufacture items to be of use, particularly ones that you likely do not already have, given the Technic League's stifling stance on sharing knowledge. The items I can manufacture can operate independently of, or in concert with, items of magical nature. Reluctant Admission: The items I use use materials that are, at times, prohibitively expensive, and the facilities their production requires are likewise difficult to facilitate. Optimistic Summary: The first thing needed is a generator, to produce power. The simplest of which, especially given this settlement's location, would be a geothermal reactor. Rising heat can produce motion, which can generate power, stored in batteries that are used to power devices. The next lab in priority would largely be decided by what area your council would first like me to focus on. Production labs for utility goods, military labs for weapons systems or defense systems, or cybernetics labs for augmenting one's personal capabilities. There are other, more narrowly focused labs, that are not of such broad utility and could be constructed at a later date."
The cat's black, inky eyes cleared. A few moments later they became a glowing, vibrant purple.
Twisted Core releases Possession of Catsuit. Automatically returns to lair, informs Fractured Wyrm, who activates Possession and goes straight upward from his lair to the council chamber, possessing the Catsuit.
Tell us more. a telepathic voice issues from the strange cat.
active: see post HP 151/151; AC 28 (26 currently); DR 15/-; FH 14 Psion 5 / Metamorph 7 / Worm that Walks CR+2
"Elaboration: Yes, that is the summary of it."
Inubrix pulls out a a roll of parchment, unrolls it and turns it around for the cat to see.
"Continued Elaboration: It generates electrical energy to store in devices, much like staves, but smaller. Then those devices are used in other things which convert that energy into other energy. For instance, kinetic energy in a mechanical arm for a creature, electrical pulses stimulating certain parts of the brain, graviton energy to repel enemy fire, sonic energy to tear flesh, heat energy to sear flesh, the list goes on. Many things duplicate functions of magic, while they work in fields that disrupt magic, likewise there are fields that disrupt technology. Nothing is without weakness, but there are means by which to mitigate vulnerabilities."
Warlord 9 HP 251/251 | AC 46 | T 29 | FF 38 | F +33 | R +34 | W +32 | Init +11 | Per +32 | SR 28
"Huh. If you all consider yourself equal parts of one person, how do you know that Anaxian refers to the original? Is it just habit?" Illia- derails herself onto a different derailment.
active: see post HP 151/151; AC 28 (26 currently); DR 15/-; FH 14 Psion 5 / Metamorph 7 / Worm that Walks CR+2
"Analogy: I am a created being, having created my current form from parts of my old form and perpetually incorporating new devices to keep this form functional as an expression of growth in skill. In similar vein to the mage who transplants their consciousness into a more permanent form, I ensure my existence in perpetuity. Likewise, I behave much as the very same mage, were they to create magical items to assist them in their ventures. The only difference is that my power stems not from the blood of ancient beings or the writings on a page, but from the power of the mind and mastery over rare metals."
"You and I are going to talk further..." the cat intoned mentally.
"Anaxian, helping this construct built the preparations for it's generator is your priority."
The cat returned it's attention to the construct. "We can shape a thermal vent to the specifications of your generator designs. Pick a location. Anywhere you like. We will bring a lava flow to you."
167/167 HP, Temp HP:, DR 10/Magic, Immune to Cold, Electricity and Fire, SR 21, Fort +20, Ref +14, Will +20, Smite 2/2, Blast 3/3, Recon 10/10, 1st level spells 4/4, Active Effects: Smoking Bottle, Evil Aura, Cowardice Aura, Desecrate Aura, Greater Magic Fang, Longstrider, Linebreaker, Ant Haul
The larger dragon looked at the parchment. It remembered a time when such a thing would have made perfect sense to him, but the process of fragmenting a spirit was not perfect. When they were not joined he did not have access to those parts of his mind. Right now it was merely lines on paper.
active: see post HP 151/151; AC 28 (26 currently); DR 15/-; FH 14 Psion 5 / Metamorph 7 / Worm that Walks CR+2
"Enthusiastic Response: That is wonderful to hear, Great Wyrm. I mean to be no bother, anywhere is fine as long as it is not in the path of the common man. Innovation is best pursued without interruption, unless that interruption can be turned into profit. Jovial Interjection: Normally, I would say underground, but we are already underground. Conclusion: Any location that is not on the edges of the settlement, and will be free both above and below to allow for proper thermal venting. Additionally, future labs will need to be in close proximity, necessitating either vertical planning that would result in undue overheating concerns, or horizontal planning, requiring zoning considerations to allow for proper, yet minimal expansion. Lava flow notwithstanding, a source of cold water will also need to be seen to in order to maximize steam production."
"Draw up a full architectural plan of what we will begin construction on now. Draw up a second set which details your long term goals for satellite labs and other infrastructure. We will designate those areas off limits for civic planning. Now is an ideal time for this project as few buildings are under construction yet."
active: see post HP 151/151; AC 28 (26 currently); DR 15/-; FH 14 Psion 5 / Metamorph 7 / Worm that Walks CR+2
"In Agreement: That appears to be most logical. I will be available at all times to assist and direct as necessary to ensure efficiency. Though I am unfamiliar with the location of lava flows and water sources in this area, I am capable of burrowing, swimming, and flying as necessary to locate them."
not sure on the timeline (got kinda mixed up with the months passing and such) but word of monster assault could come now
active: see post HP 151/151; AC 28 (26 currently); DR 15/-; FH 14 Psion 5 / Metamorph 7 / Worm that Walks CR+2
Turning from cat to dragon and back to cat during their conversation, Inubrix replies.
"Idle Commentary: Adjacency to a lab of magical creation is most ideal. An excellent suggestion. If you have sufficient parchment and writing materials on hand, I can duplicate this schematic and the most ideal arrangement of future laboratories given the circumstances. Some will require more skymetals than I have access to, but the Red Lady mentioned that this settlement may one day establish trade routes to the surface, which would be useful in obtaining the more obscure of the needed materials."
"I will put another of us on researching the tectonic stability of the area and the thermal flows. For now, begin construction. We will move the thermal vent to it's proper place once we know how to avoid flooding Escarra with lava."
Putting Shard of Many on Legend Lore (local geothermal activity).
Legend Lore, Time in Days:1d10 ⇒ 4
"We will have a geothermal map of the region completed in approximately four days."
The purple in the cat's eyes vanished. The inky black replaced it a few moments later.
Okay, so—it's far later than I had originally planned, and it appears another GM took over in the meantime (in a game that is also no longer active), but there seem to be enough people still around who like their characters for me to bring back this campaign.
(GM update: I wound up spending the past year on academic probation, to the point of not wanting to commit to GMing when I might have to completely shut down and work nonstop for two months at a moment's notice, but I'm out of the woods, no longer getting kicked out of school, and back to the amount of free time I had when I started this campaign, forseeably for at least the next year or two).
Here's a short summary of where we are in the plot:
The party journeyed into the lowest level of the treasury of a small Drow city, which was built on top of a very small Vault of Orv full of Gugs and Bebiliths. After charming the Bebiliths, and killing + reanimating the Gugs, the party proceeded into an ancient forgotten tomb.
From the tomb, they rescued a mithral-engraved skull, which Illia- immediately teleported back to the Crimson Stranger, who restored it from a demilich into a tall and ancient warlord (who offered the pseudonym "Sir John the Black")
Out of petty vengeance, the party decided to murder the Drow queen, put the entire city to the torch, and loot it for everything it's worth.
Which leaves the following options:
1. We proceed straight to a battle with the queen and her guards. Could be entertaining. Should the party succeed in this, you'll get a around 1 million gp of miscellaneous city loot (which you won't be able to spend all at once, but could form a party wealth reservoir for future crafting or kingdom-building)
2. Everyone just teleports out instead.
My sister's visiting tomorrow through Friday, so I won't be starting any sort of combat or posting plot until afterwards either way, which gives people time to get things settled and see who shows up.
If we fight, current group resources:
-Our mindflayer, as a last act before departing, released the two Bebiliths and a large number of Drow thralls into the lower treasury. These should murder everyone on the path between you and the throne room itself, allowing the party to run straight towards a confrontation with the queen if they want.
-Delyliath has successfully dominated two of the city's four guard captains (a succubus, and a shadowdancer). If she gives the word, these captains should be able to turn most of the city guard against each other—instead of a standing army of 400 drow, only around 100 will reach the palace, and that's only if the battle lasts for long enough for them all to show up (gradually, in waves).
-Anaxian has some number of skeletal Gugs. He also has a pre-set trigger that, on command, will set several crucial points in the city on fire. Effectively, I'm ruling this means that once the queen and her higher-level guards are dead, the city descends into fiery mayhem (Drow are not known for their fire brigades).
-A mysterious and powerful black-clad warlord who may have been the same one who tried to invade this city thousands of years ago (before becoming a demi-lich) and has offered to join in the mayhem once more if called.
Regardless, here's where characters are:
-Currently level 9 (I believe Illia- is over-leveled, and Anaxian under-leveled, though we can fudge this a bit). Regardless of whether or not the queen is killed or you just flee, the extra XP from destroying the city puts everyone at level 10 (we could level now if everyone preferred that).
-Rebuilding is totally fine, either now or a bit later. There have been a few new books since this campaign started, and some people may be interested in changing choices. I've also revised my 3pp position for the campaign to be "Path of War is allowed, but PoW prestige classes only with permission."
-I've heard from Drisquar, Shimsil, Anaxian and Illia-. I'll see if I hear from anyone else, but we can definitely make a party work with four. Shimsil is interested in creating a new character, in which case "Shimsil" will persist in-game as an intelligent +X Speed Scimitar with the same item abilities, but no class levels or ability to auto-attack.
-Shim, if you want to introduce a new character now, there is a mysterious stranger who's offered to join the party or send help (If you want to play, say, a millennia-old former lich who may have forgotten some knowledge and power to bring him back down to party level. It could work well with the idea you've mentioned, since the NPC was intended to be a high-leveln cleric, or you could just be a new evil adventurer hired to join the cause)
Also, don't forget that Mal and Anaxian spent the majority of the pre-dungeon time (while everyone else was scouting and charming the locals) digging out Drow graveyards and animating uncontrolled Burning Bloody Skeletons. They vary in hit dice, but at conservative guess there's a few hundred of them poised for release on the city. (4-6 castings a day, at about 40ish hit dice per casting for about 5 days).
All that needs to be done is to have Ananxian's diggers punch through the ground in a few places and let them out into the sewers and catacombs. Their hunger for flesh will do the rest.
Yeah. That's enough skeletons to level the town once its army is routed, which is why I'm going with "if you kill the queen, Anaxian gives the signal for skeletons to open the sewer hatches and an uncontrolled army kills everything left."
Warlord 9 HP 251/251 | AC 46 | T 29 | FF 38 | F +33 | R +34 | W +32 | Init +11 | Per +32 | SR 28
Ehwo. I is here. Fortunately for me, I saved both sets of my stats, at level 2 and 4 Warlord, so being a level 3 warlord shouldn't be too hard. Unless.. Should I be level two? In that case, even easier. I think the level four set was because I mistook the city exp for two levels, and the level two set was just after I switched classes.
NVM, found this.
-Drisquar should have 5 character levels
-Delyliath should have 4 character levels
-Illia- should have 3 character levels
-Everyone else should have 9 character levels
Warlord 9 HP 251/251 | AC 46 | T 29 | FF 38 | F +33 | R +34 | W +32 | Init +11 | Per +32 | SR 28
And this.
Also, anyone with reduced DR (as I stated at the beginning) can now raise it to whatever DR their natural creature/template should provide, since CR 11 was apparently when I said that temporary nerf would go away (to scale with fiendish templates).
Warlord 9 HP 251/251 | AC 46 | T 29 | FF 38 | F +33 | R +34 | W +32 | Init +11 | Per +32 | SR 28
We still rolling the PoW nerf where monster levels only count 1/4th towards initiator level?
If so, I might request the nerf being changed to you instead get half your monster CR towards initiator level? That allows templates to keep scaling, and still helps against the whole "this CR 8 monster has 12 hit dice" problem.
I'll admit, however, my main motivation is I want to be able to shoot razor sharp feathers infused with infernal energy at people.
Illia, that's not a bad idea. Half monster CR towards initiator level should be fine (it'll help Dris as well, and possibly Tenro's new character—seems like everyone doing melee in the party is rolling PoW now, which means as long as the balance is consistent across characters it should work out alright).
Warlord 9 HP 251/251 | AC 46 | T 29 | FF 38 | F +33 | R +34 | W +32 | Init +11 | Per +32 | SR 28
If Delyliath doesn't rejoin us, installing her character as the new direct ruler might actually work. We roll plan direct attack, but don't unleash the skeleton army (keep that as a last resort) once we win. Just install Delyliath as new ruler, seeing she already has two of the generals in her pocket.
If Delyliath doesn't rejoin us, installing her character as the new direct ruler might actually work. We roll plan direct attack, but don't unleash the skeleton army (keep that as a last resort) once we win. Just install Delyliath as new ruler, seeing she already has two of the generals in her pocket.
Now, I really like the idea of using the ol' lich.
the problem is, i really don't have the spare levels to give over to HD for a template, unless there is a template buyoff of some sort.
A lich's CR modifier is 2, which at half-again value would only give me half a level, which i can do nothing with. That would be equivalent to a full caster losing two caster levels irreparably. On top of that the required levels in Cleric already have me fallen back another 2 initiator levels.
At level 10, I would have 3 cleric levels (required), and would like 3 Battle Templar levels, putting me at 4 levels of Warder. I'll probably have to scale back Battle Templar levels so i can be at at least level 5 Warder for the Aegis ability. Though Warder 6 would be nice for the Zweihander Sentinel ability, which would put me at Battle Templar 1. So, as you can see, I have no space for lich. I'll probably have to fake the funk with some sort of lower-class undead that has no level adjustment.
@Monkeygod: We used to have two other invincible telekinetic characters in this party as well...
And ah, Tenro, you've forgotten the first rule of this campaign: non-monster characters get two free levels of template! (roughly equivalent to the +2 CR most monsters gain when acquiring appropriate wealth-by-level and feat customization, in my original ruling). So you'd be able to start as a lich for free, provided you follow the limitations Anaxian has (I believe at this level he gains the loch's DR and all of its abilities except for a requirement that he still needs to keep his phylactery near at all times, which will go away in two more levels)
That could work as a new phylactery. As a demolish, the character's original phylactery would've been destroyed anyway. (If you were curious, the original lich's phylactery would have been a ceremonial weapon of some sort, and he's one of those liches who uses unguent of timelessness and an improved hat of disguise to look effectively alive at all time; I had him roughly sketched out as a battle oracle, which fits with the battle templar theme).
Ah, I had him pegged as an original noble that has shifted since his fall towards a bit of feral madness. but I can adjust to the opposite, a bit of madness to start but working at regaining the mental faculties he has lost.
Since I am effectively creating a new character from scratch, could you post the specifics of the level of imperfect lich i will be, and also post the current creation standards?
@Tenro (and recap for Anaxian): Lesser Lich, at this point, means you get all the lich powers (+2 mental stats, darkvision, undead traits, +5 natural armor, channel resistance +4, DR 15/bludgeoning and magic, immunity to cold + electricity, paralyzing touch and a touch attack, fear aura that can be switched on or off at will, and some nice skill bonuses). Phylactery must be kept within 100 feet of you at all times (bags of holding okay), or else you lose the ability to move in any direction except straight towards it (if you get teleported away from it or it's stolen). At caster level 11, you can craft your own proper full-power phylactery if you have Craft Wondrous Item.
Tenro's new character should have 9 character levels right now, in addition to the lich template. (or 10 levels if he decides to save the character's appearance until after the city fight)
Stat your character as a typical 25-point buy; any of the core races or any non-core race at 10 RP or less is totally kosher (or any Dreamscarred race), any other race probably adds a level adjustment. Replace "Common" in any race's racial languages with "Undercommon."
2 traits +1 per flaw, maximum 3 flaws. I believe we should be at ~80k gp in wealth per character; after the party leaves the city, loot selling/reforging and crafting should bring everyone up to 100k gp in effective wealth (if people are below that point).
All characters must have a way to appear as a humanoid or mundane animal. (A hat of disguise or cap of human guise is sufficient to meet this criterion)
* * *
As for your character background—feel free to make it up as you want, vs. nobility and temperament, etc. Go with whatever classes you want (I think you wanted a divine caster for Battle Templar), but if you decide on Cleric or Warpriest, your spell-granting entity should be listed as "Adrexa the Red," with the domains of any alignment-appropriate deity of your choice.
Basically, the only plot "hardpoints" in the character's backstory (because I've already mentioned them in-game) are:
-Was the Crimson Stranger's oldest and most loyal student, many years ago. There may be large holes in his memory due to the mental erosion of being a demilich, or not. Recovering from this mental erosion has allowed him to somewhat rebuild his memories and personality, to the point where he can pretty much be whatever you want now.
-Was once a powerful necromancer. Singlehandedly led an army of the undead against Lavosha before being tricked and imprisoned by its ancient demonic patron. May or may not still be interested in necromancy.
-Associated with the color black, with his original coat of arms depicting a sword and a black rabbit.
If you're re-calculating gear, include the cost of Shimsil as a base weapon (+2 Speed Adamantine Scimitar), but we'll throw in all the intelligent item powers he's got right now as background/plot bonus.
35/35 HP, Temp HP 0, 20 AC, Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +7, Reservoir 8/10, Channel 8/8, Active Effects: Mage Armor
Drisquar wrote:
Illia- wrote:
If Delyliath doesn't rejoin us, installing her character as the new direct ruler might actually work. We roll plan direct attack, but don't unleash the skeleton army (keep that as a last resort) once we win. Just install Delyliath as new ruler, seeing she already has two of the generals in her pocket.
Anaxian—if you've got stats for skeleton gugs, they'll be showing up in the first battle of the rebooted campaign (and possibly later, if you keep them). And there was some sort of dragon in the menagerie that you were going to possess afterwards, but I'll have to look up what it was again.
Hmm. Looks like I declared it a Young Underworld Dragon. There's not any exact rules for dracoliches hopping bodies, but considering that Anaxian has learned how to pilot a zombie cat from the inside, he could probably ride around inside a preserved zombie dragon to similar effect.
(The way I'd assume it works for mechanical reasons, unless there's a better way to do this, is that the thing counts against as a standard zombie, except Anaxian can sit inside of it and protect himself via its defenses. Bastardizing the fast zombie rules, you can take away the staggered condition by casting haste during creation; the dragon zombie keeps its flight, smoke vision, and adamantine burrowing claws as they're extraordinary, loses its spell-like abilities, and keeps the standard zombie's BAB, HP, Fort and Reflex saves).
35/35 HP, Temp HP 0, 20 AC, Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +7, Reservoir 8/10, Channel 8/8, Active Effects: Mage Armor
I think we talked about this over Private Message, but its been a long time, so I'll just go over what my intent for all this was.
According to Dracolich lore, they can't just reform their bodies like regular liches. They need a dragon corpse ready to move into.
When they do, they take on the physical characteristics of the body they are riding around in.
Inaction's whole deal is that he wants to be a big, powerful dragon and learned necromancy as a way to accomplish that goal. (its a little more complex than that, but that's the basics).
There aren't any Pathfinder rules about the differences between regular liches and dracoliches, so its up to you exactly how it all works. In the original lore, Dracoliches could come back really quickly (a couple rounds) as long as there was a suitable corpse near by, but couldn't come back at all without one. No corpse near their phylactory and they are just stuck inside it.
I realize this creates an issue as having Anaxian suddenly jump from a tiny 1HD dragon body to a medium sized 10HD dragon body creates a power disparity. I have an idea of how to address it though.
(looking at the other characters in this game though, it might not be that big of a disparity if I remember things right. Meridian, Del and Illia are all terrifying, as I'm sure the new Dris/Shim combo will be too)
Bloody Burning Mudra Gug Skeletons, each controlled by a Command Undead spell that will get renewed every 9 days.
They have low AC, but they have DR and Fast Heal which is a great combination. They also have quite a few attacks (because Gug get two claw attacks off each arm). Definitely nasty critters.
There's also the demon corpse I went to such lengths to get in the material plane. Should I make that minion too?
Warlord 9 HP 251/251 | AC 46 | T 29 | FF 38 | F +33 | R +34 | W +32 | Init +11 | Per +32 | SR 28
Also, giving him a big 10 HD dragon body makes him about as good a warrior for free as the rest of us taking initiator levels made us casters for free. We seem absolutely not content to stay at normal power levels. :P
Anyway, I'm in the middle of redoing my initiator stuff, but I think my build is almost ready other than that.
Also, darn, why couldn't it be a mantis axe? I'm about to take discipline focus. :/
35/35 HP, Temp HP 0, 20 AC, Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +7, Reservoir 8/10, Channel 8/8, Active Effects: Mage Armor
Illia- wrote:
Also, giving him a big 10 HD dragon body makes him about as good a warrior for free as the rest of us taking initiator levels made us casters for free.
I hadn't even considered that. Good point.
I had considered that as Humanoids, the rest of you can make use of just about any gear we come across, whereas I pretty much have to custom make everything I want for myself.
Warlord 9 HP 251/251 | AC 46 | T 29 | FF 38 | F +33 | R +34 | W +32 | Init +11 | Per +32 | SR 28
If we were going on a real argument about power my main point would be that "Your undead already make you as strong a warrior as my initiator levels make me a caster." But, you haven't actually gotten to use thy undead very frequently.
If it were my game, I'd ad hoc some gold cost for the transformation to incorporate the new EX features you'd be getting, then give you half your Class/Template levels in appropriate HD that gives HP/BaB/Saves but no skills/feats/attribute.
I'm on vacation this weekend and will have limited time. However, I don't think Mer needs a rebuild. For the most part she's the most "normal" one in the party.
@Illia? Is a Mantis Axe a thing? If so, someone can craft you one later.
@Anaxian—hmm. What's your idea? (Also, the dragon in this city, if liched, wouldn't be a 10 HD dragon; it would be an 8 HD undead. Possibly the other option, instead of "riding inside a zombie," could be "dracoliches get an at-will magic jar effect, but only works on magic corpses, and the phylactery can't just re-create a body" which would let it be roughly on par with, say, Meredian's special power ring. Magic Jar also keeps your own BAB, base saves and feats, but lets you temporarily take on the body's str, dex, con, HP, and physical abilities (and if it counted against your undead limit, would probably balance okay).
@Tenro: You can obscure your decay with spells, but it's a little trickier when you're trapped in a prison that prevents magic use for thousands of years, at which point you eventually start to decay again. He's just been "restored" by the Crimson Stranger's magic to a semblance of his former appearance, which means whatever you want it to (so he could be a skeletal lich with a gem in his skull if you wanted)
Male Changeling Fighter 1, Monk 1, Rogue 1, Ranger 1, Actor 5
Anaxian's Big Idea:
So what Anaxian's whole concept revolves around is turning his soul/phylactery into a kind of Russian nesting doll.
If Anaxian takes over a new body, the old one gets left behind, but it is still his corpse.
That means he can animate it as an intelligent undead, adding a fragment of his soul to it and creating a spiritual/mental duplicate of himself.
Here's where it gets into funky rules territory-
Now that Anaxian's body is an entirely seperate creature in its own right, Anaxian could destroy it, then Ressurect it, and then finally perform another Lich ritual to really, actually duplicate himself.
It's a complicated, expensive way to turn Anaxian into the dragon version of Agent Smith.
All that being said, I don't actually want to run a whole bunch of different versions of myself. My plan was to turn them lose and have them find bigger and better dragon bodies to take over.
Anaxian has Vile Leadership. My thought to address things as they currently stand is to do his duplication trick, and Animate the Underworld Drake as a Bloody Skeletal Champion of himself, which would serve as his Cohort until he came up with the resources to Ressurect and Lich the new version of himself.
So there you go. What do you think?
As for the Magic Jar idea, that's an awful lot like how Dracoliches are supposed to work. The key differences are that they can only take over Dragon corpses, the duration is permanent, and once they have taken over body they don't have to worry about all the "must stay this close to your body" stuff because the phylactery fills that roll.
Hmm. The Matryoshka thing seems a little complicated. I'd prefer if you only had one "special" possessed dragon body at a time for bookkeeping reasons, keeping any other dragon bodies as cohort or regular undead counted the normal way.
If the Magic Jar thing is okay for you, here's the way I think it would make sense balance-wise:
Arcane GM math:
An item that can cast magic jar at will, for 24 hours per day, can instead be seen as an item that casts magic jar 2/day at caster level 12. Add slotlessness, and we're looking at a base price of 86.4k gp. Adding the restriction "only works against creatures with draconic morphology" reduces the price by 30%, while "target must be dead or undead" is a second 30% price reduction.
Overall, that's a total item price of 42k gp—which you can craft for 21k, well within your fungible wealth. Mechanically, it would be an additional functionality Anaxian is enchanting into his phylactery—and now the whole thing fits well within existing PF rules and balance.
35/35 HP, Temp HP 0, 20 AC, Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +7, Reservoir 8/10, Channel 8/8, Active Effects: Mage Armor
Sounds good to me. I'm fine with doing things one at a time.
If the whole magic jar thing is a costly addition to my phylactery, would that mean that Anaxian's original body would still be able to reform itself like a regular Lich?
35/35 HP, Temp HP 0, 20 AC, Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +7, Reservoir 8/10, Channel 8/8, Active Effects: Mage Armor
Alright, sounds good. I have a lot of spare cash I haven't spent yet because I downsized a lot when we had to reduce our power level for the other game. I'll shuffle some numbers and add it in.
I might even try to get rid of the "dragons only" caveat so I can posses any undead creature. Now that Shimsil doesn't have the possession niche covered, that seems like a fun thing to try out.
Did you see my question about the demon corpse? I don't think I saw an answer to that yet.
