Garnfellow's page

It took us a LOT of time and a global pandemic, but we were finally able to complete this beast. I posted some thoughts on my blog: The Age of Worms has Passed.

Belated kudos to the Paizo team for this epic adventure path. We had a great time, and it's just a crying shame we never saw the hardcover compilation that Age of Worms deserved.

Wall of Fire does double damage against undead.

An evoker's elemental wall "deals acid, cold, electricity, or fire damage, determined when you create it. The elemental wall otherwise functions like wall of fire."

Does the elemental wall do double damage to undead, regardless of energy type?

The Palace in the Ashen Wastes

In the wastelands of southern Qadira, a palace lowers under everlasting night -- a place once known as the Palace of Abundance, where visitors found debauched and otherworldly pleasures, where nearly a thousand slaves toiled in the palace's kitchens, spice gardens, and pleasure halls.

But that was all long ago. And, now, like its master, the palace has fallen to ruin; the entire area is shunned as thrice-cursed and demon-haunted.

These are the halls of Vashkar, the False Maharajah.

The palace is actually a walled compound located in a particularly desolate area, with no inhabited villages for several miles. The entire complex, which sprawls over several acres, seems always cast in shadow, even in the brightest noon sun. Anyone passing over or through the cracked, sagging walls immediately discovers that the palace grounds are always bathed in full darkness. A powerful idol (area 6) suffuses and shrouds the palace grounds with energies from the Plane of Shadow.

Although the grounds are vast, much is abandoned or ruined. The fabulous gardens are all dead, the magnificent buildings slumping and broken. Only the main residence still stands tall, albeit worn and battered. This massive building of crumbling green stone is supported by enormous columns, its every surface decorated with rows of arched windows and elaborate Vudrani sculpture, the features elided by the passing years. A pyramidal roof rises to a steep peak nearly eighty feet high.

Only areas of specific interest to the PCs are detailed on the map of the residence. Unnumbered entries should be considered empty, though the rooms might contain the rotted remains of a once bustling palace. You might choose to either expand some areas by adding additional encounters, or you might consider making some areas completely inaccessible due to collapsed roofs, floors, or so on.

1. The Courtyard in Darkness (Average CR 4)

This grim courtyard is dark and still. Small stone walls lie tumbled down beside well-worn paths, while dead weeds push through ancient cobblestones. A row of blighted trees leads straight toward steps rising up into the looming hall.

Creatures: About the exterior loiter 3d6 human slaves (LE human commoner 1) and 1d6 ash jackals.

The slaves are half-naked starvelings with painted faces and vacant, dreamy expressions: the last descendants of the palace servants. The slaves spend their waking hours in drug-induced reveries, barely conscious of the world around them and utterly devoted to their rakshasa masters, whom they consider divine. These wretches can't actually perform any real work: they are now kept solely for fodder or amusement. For any slave to enter the actual residence building, both their hands must be first broken backwards in imitation of their master, a cruelty considered a great honor.

A slave is AC 10, has only 1 hp, and fails all saves. Slaves cannot attack or, for that matter, take any independent action. They do not resist any attack and cheerfully lay down their lives or subject themselves to any other debasement.

ASH JACKALS CR 1
hp 13 (MM 283; wolf)

2. Reception Area (CR 16)

This chamber, once brightly painted and crowded with statuary, is now drab and dirty, the floor littered with rubble. An obscene slick of fresh gore pools near the entrance.

Creatures: Two nalfeshnees are snacking upon a couple of slaves while 4 other slaves idle only footsteps away, oblivious to the slaughter.

NALFESHNEE AMBASSADORS (2) CR 14
hp 175 (MM 45)
===== TACTICS =====
During Combat The boar-demons, strangers themselves, may not immediately recognize the PCs as intruders. Once they do, they bellow a warning. One opens with greater dispel magic, while the other uses its smite ability. The next round one wades into melee while the other hangs back and uses call lightning or feeblemind.
Morale The nalfeshnees have little interest in a costly fight, and teleport away when reduced to 60 hp.

PALACE SLAVES (4) CR 1/4
hp 1 (area 1)

3. Hall of Pleasures (CR 14)

This formerly opulent hall is still decorated with statues of animal-headed, multiarmed creatures. Numerous rotting pillows and blankets lie scattered across the floor. A wooden table stands at the back of the room, its surface littered with piles of broken or overturned tableware. An enormous dark bowl, over four feet wide and decorated with a severe, alien visage, dominates the table.

The bowl, the Bane of Ascension, radiates both strong evil and necromancy magic to detection spells. A DC 30 Knowledge (religion) check identifies the bowl as made from the hollowed-out skull of a nightwalker. Any creature reduced to -1 hp or less while in this room must make a DC 17 Will save or be affected by a death knell spell. In addition, any creature slain in the room must make a DC 23 Will save or be affected by a soul bind spell, with the soul being absorbed into the bowl. After 24 hours the soul is devoured and cannot be recovered. Destroying the bowl (AC 3, hardness 5, hp 50) frees any trapped, undevoured souls.

Creatures: The room is occupied by 4 vampire rakshasas and 6 palace slaves.

SERVITORS OF THE FALSE MAHARAJA (4) CR 10
Vampire rakshasas
LE Medium undead (augmented native outsider)
Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., detect thoughts (DC 15); Perception +22
===== DEFENSE =====
AC 22, touch 13, flat-footed 19; (+4 Dex, +1 dodge, +15 natural)
hp 81 (7d12+35 HD); fast healing 5
Fort +5, Ref +11, Will +7
Defensive Abilities undead traits, turn resistance +4; DR 15/good and piercing and 10/silver and magic; Resist cold 10, electricity 10; SR 27
Weaknesses vampire weaknesses
===== OFFENSE =====
Spd 70 ft., climb 30 ft. (as spider climb)
Melee slam +14 (1d6+6 plus energy drain) or
2 claws +14 (1d4+6) and
bite +9 (1d6+3)
Special Attacks blood drain, children of the night, create spawn, dominate (DC 18)
Spells Known (CL 7th, +11 ranged touch)
3rd (5/day) -- haste, suggestion (DC 18)
2nd (7/day) -- acid arrow, bull's strength, invisibility
1st (8/day) -- charm person (DC 16), mage armor, magic missile, shield, silent image (DC 16)
0 (At will) -- detect magic, light, mage hand, message, read magic, resistance, touch of fatigue (DC 16)
===== TACTICS =====
Before Combat The servitors cast bull's strength and haste upon hearing commotion.
During Combat The servitors spring at intruders with an animalistic glee. They use the slaves as shields, and if wounded, will drain their blood to regain lost hit points. The servitors grapple opponents immune to level drain, and drain their blood.
Morale The servitors fight until destroyed.
Base Statistics AC 21, touch 12; Ref +11; Spd 40 ft., climb 15 ft.; Melee slam +11 (1d6+4 plus energy drain); Str 18; CMB +11.
===== STATISTICS =====
Str 22, Dex 18, Con -, Int 15, Wis 15, Cha 21
Base Atk +7; CMB +13
Feats Alertness, Combat Casting, Combat Reflexes B, Dodge, Improved Initiative B, Lightning Reflexes B
Skills Bluff +23 (+27 reading an opponent's mind), Diplomacy +15, Disguise +19, (+23 reading an opponent's mind, +29 using change shape), Intimidate +15, Perception +22, Perform (oratory) +15, Sense Motive +22, Spellcraft +12 (+16 casting defensively), Stealth +22
Languages Common, Infernal, Undercommon
SQ alternate form, change shape, gaseous form

PALACE SLAVES CR 1/4
hp 1 (area 1)

4. Forsaken Throne Room (CR 16)

Rows of cyclopean columns support the vaulted ceiling almost 40 feet above the marble floor. Brightly painted murals once decorated the grand walls. A raised dais held a throne, now overturned. The room is blanketed in dust, several columns lie broken on the floor, and the murals are stained or scratched out.

An enormous statue of polished gray stone stands in the center of the hall. It depicts an obese man with the head of a tusked elephant and rubies for eyes.

Two grotesque heads are nailed upon the walls. Each head is actually composed of several smaller heads. One sports jackal, human, crocodile, and lion heads, while the other combines an ape, hawk, cobra, and tiger. As you enter the room, the dead eyes in these heads seem to move, and dry tongues seem to loll in the lifeless mouths.

The heads once belonged to two maharajah rakshasas. Whenever intruders enter the room, the heads yammer in a strange, bestial tongue, creating a song of discord effect (CL 18th, DC 17 Will negates).

A DC 30 Knowledge (the planes) check reveals that the murals depict a rakshasa ascending through a series of reincarnated forms.

Creature: The statue is a golem, ordered to attack anyone unaccompanied by a rakshasa.

TUSKED GUARDIAN CR 16
HP 271 (MM 137; greater stone golem)

5. The Stygian Well (CR 15)

This floor of this great hall contains a circular well almost 15 feet across and filled with inky blackness; only a small raised lip runs around its gaping circumference.

The well drops straight down 40 feet, ending in a stone floor littered with bones. The shaft is veiled in magical darkness, impenetrable to normal vision and darkvision, though undead can see normally within the effect. Creatures outside the well, even undead, cannot see into it. The effect cannot be dispelled, though a light spell of fifth level or lower will negate the darkness for 2d6 rounds. Living creatures in the darkness take 10d6 negative energy damage each round, with a DC 20 Will save for half, while undead heal the same amount. Destroying the idol in area 6 permanently dispels the effect.

The secret entrance to Vashkar's tomb (area 8) can found at the bottom of the well on a DC 30 Perception check.

Creatures: Six vampire rakshasas pounce on any intruders.

SERVITORS (6) CR 10
hp 81 (area 3)
===== TACTICS =====
During Combat Wounded servitors jump into the well to heal damage and try to bull rush living creatures into it.
Morale The servitors fight to the death.

6. The Consort (CR 18)

This room contains an imposing metallic idol, almost eight feet tall and stained green with verdigris, depicting a crocodile-headed man devouring the sun.

The idol is the focus of the magical effect that plunged the palace into eternal night. It radiates overwhelming illusion (shadow) magic.

IDOL OF LINGERING NIGHT
AC 3 (-5 Dexterity, -2 object)
hp 180; hardness 5; Break DC 30
===== EFFECTS =====
Each round the idol can cast a greater shadow evocation effect (CL 20th, DC 20) on any intruders.

Creatures: The idol is guarded by Vashkar's newest consort, a marilith demon.

CHARUNDRA CR 17
hp 266 (MM 44)
===== TACTICS =====
During Combat Charundra opens with blade barrier before closing to melee.
Morale If the idol is destroyed Charundra abandons her lover and teleports away. Otherwise she fights to the death.

Development: Destroying the idol dispels the night effect shrouding the palace. If this occurs during daytime, all vampires immediately flee for the stygian well (area 5).

7. The False Maharajah (CR 20)

What once might have been the chamber of some decadent king is now a squalid riot of broken furniture and equipment. Amidst the debris lingers the reek of decay and musty cinnamon.

Sprawled across the floor is the butchered corpse of what was once a lovely female with bat-like wings.

The entire room is so strewn with rubbish that every square counts as dense rubble.

Creature: The master of the palace, overcome with melancholy, has sought out this chamber for solitude. In this bleak humor he is oblivious to anything else in the palace save the destruction of the idol. The sight of intruders in this place fills him with seething rage.

VASHKAR CR 20
hp 310 (RPG Superstar)
===== TACTICS =====
Morale Vashkar understands that retreating now only delays the inevitable. Unless pressed by daylight to leave, he makes his stand, battling savagely until reduced to 0 hp and forced back to his crypt (area 8).

8. The Crypts

This dank, fetid chamber contains a series of stone sarcophagi.

Vashkar and his servitors hide their coffins here.

So, while I was developing my submission this round, I built a spreadsheet that takes all magic items from the Pathfinder Beta and assigns them an Item Level -- a great time-saving concept from a certain closed compilation of magic items.

I then retooled Pathfinder Table 14-9, NPC Gear, to express gear by item levels, rather than gp.

So, for example, a 10th-level heroic NPC would be expected to have 1 9th-level weapon, 1 8th-level protection item, 1 8th-level magic item, 1 5th-level limited used item, and 1 3rd-level gear item.

You want to outfit this cat? Just go to the item list spreadsheet and pick the right number of items from the right item level. It seems to make item selection (always the hardest thing for me) a lot easier.

Would anyone have any objections to me sharing this tool? And if not, would anyone be interested?

Hecataeus, Master of Constructs

Male human wizard 16

Description: In his own mind, at least, the imperious Hecataeus has no peer: he cannot listen without interrupting, speak without insulting, or smile without sneering.

To his credit, Hecataeus is possessed with formidable intellect, talent, and determination, all of which allowed him to rise swiftly in the ranks of wizardry. Unfortunately, these gifts are subverted by his callous nature and a blindness to his own failings. Unable to empathize with anyone, Hecataeus abuses his servants, cheats his allies, and taunts his enemies. He disdains a fair fight, and is prepared to flee the moment any conflict begins to turn against him.

Hecataeus is so insufferable to all around him that he has been forced to create his own companions and followers. His construct creatures are obedient, silent, and ever-reliable servants that cannot contradict or abandon him, unlike those frail, incompetent fools he was forced to employ in the past.

One cannot mock the dead. And while Hecataeus might slay an enemy inadvertently or, more rarely, by design, far better to torment and humiliate these imbeciles. Why merely blast a rival to ash, when one could polymorph them into a titmouse, or transmute them into granite? Render their minds to custard, or disintegrate their most beloved possession? Thus does a master deal with inferiors.

Tall and thin, with a jet-black goatee, Hecataeus dresses in purple and gold robes festooned with pseudo-mystical symbols, and fashions most of his creations in this image.

Motivations/Goals: What Hecataeus wants is very, very simple: he wants respect. After all this time, his superior intelligence and his mastery of wizardry must finally be acknowledged!

Schemes/Plots/Adventure Hooks: Hecataeus dreams of reanimating the wreckage of a Thassilonian colossus and transferring his consciousness into its mammoth frame, effecting an unstoppable fusion of constructed might and arcane power. In the interim, Hecataeus seeks all secrets of construct creation that he can place his grasping hands upon, which may lead to any of these hooks:

• A clay golem that has long stood guard over a local temple has gone missing, and the priests suspect a garishly dressed figure seen skulking around the temple grounds.

• Hecataeus has found the perfect subjects for his experiments to substitute construct limbs and organs for living flesh: a tribe of deranged orcs obsessed with body modification. The mortality rates of his procedures, it seems, are not all that much higher than the orcs', and when successful, the shiny metal or massive stone limbs are so much more intimidating than rusty hook-hands or piercings. Unfortunately, these upgraded orcs are running amok trying out their new "gifts."

• Hecataeus crafted an intelligent magic item but unfortunately, fashioned the item's personality after his own. This disaster forced Hecataeus to imprison the item in a hidden oubliette. The treacherous item, though, has gotten word out that an important prisoner is being held by the villain Hecataeus. The item, of course, once "rescued," might prove every bit as troublesome as its maker.

HECATAEUS CR 16 [+16 PC class levels]
CN Medium humanoid
Init +7 [+3 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative]; Senses arcane sight, see invisibility; Perception +0
===== Defense =====
AC 25, touch 16, flat-footed 22 (+5 armor, +3 deflection, +3 Dex, +4 shield)
hp 119 (16d6+61 [58 + 32 Con + 19 Toughness + 10 false life])
Fort +11 [Wizard +5, Con +2, +4 cloak], Ref +12 [Wizard +5, Dex +3, +4 cloak], Will +16 [Wizard +10, Wis +0, +2 Iron Will, +4 cloak]
Immune detect thoughts, discern lies, attempts to determine alignment, fire; DR 10/adamantine
===== Offense =====
Spd 60 ft. [30 base + 30 expeditious retreat]
Melee mwk cold iron longsword +10/+5 (1d8+1/19-20) [+8 BAB, +1 Str, +1 mwk]
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 16th)
At will--arcane mark, detect magic, light, read magic
Spells Prepared (CL 16th; +11 ranged touch [+8 BAB, +3 Dex])
8th--quickened enervation, maze, polymorph any object (DC 25)
7th--prismatic spray (DC 24), forcecage, project image, quickened slow (DC 20)
6th--chain lightning (DC 23), disintegrate (DC 23), flesh to stone (DC 23), quickened ray of enfeeblement
5th--baleful polymorph (DC 22), cone of cold (DC 22), feeblemind (DC 22), quickened magic missile, teleport
4th--black tentacles, confusion (DC 21), crushing despair (DC 21), shout (DC 21), wall of ice (DC 21), stoneskin (already cast)
3rd--cat's grace (already cast), dispel magic, fly, lightning bolt (DC 20), nondetection (already cast), protection from energy (already cast)
2nd--darkness, false life (already cast), invisibility, mirror image, protection from arrows, web (DC 19)
1st--expeditious retreat (already cast), magic missile (2), obscuring mist, ray of enfeeblement, shield (already cast)
[Spells cast = 4/4/4/4/4/4/3/3/2, wizard levels plus -/2/2/2/2/1/1/1/1, Int; spell DCs = 10 + spell level +7 Int]
===== Tactics =====
Before Combat Hecataeus starts every day by casting false life and nondetection. When alerted to intruders, he casts cat's grace, expeditious retreat, shield, stoneskin, and protection from energy (fire) before investigating. These effects are included in his stats above.
During Combat Hecataeus does not engage foes without the advantages of surprise, numbers, or sheer firepower, and ideally using project image. Hecataeus normally sends his constructs or his figurine of wondrous power into melee while he hangs far back to goad and cast spells, being terrified of being grappled or otherwise brought to ground. Hecataeus typically opens any battle by activating his robe of scintillating colors and casting a quickened enervation. On subsequent rounds he follows with a combination of his best offensive spells and quickened lower level ones. Hecataeus keeps his metamagic mastery ability in reserve should he need an emergency silent, stilled, or quickened spell.
Morale His arrogance being surpassed only by his cowardice, Hecataeus immediately flees if caught off guard, when no minions stand between himself and his foes, or if he is reduced below 70 hp. He has established many prearranged spider-holes for just such situations, and is perfectly content to return later to confront the PCs on more advantageous terms.
Base Statistics Init +5 [+1 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative]; AC 19, touch 14, flat-footed 18 [+5 armor, +3 deflection, +1 Dex]; Ref +10 [Wizard +5, Dex +1, +4 cloak]; hp 109; Spd 30 ft.; Dex 13; Fly +20
===== Statistics =====
Str 12, Dex 17 [13, +4 cat's grace], Con 14, Int 25 [15, +2 Human, +1 4th, +1 8th, +1 12th, +1 16th, +4 headband], Wis 10, Cha 8
Base Atk +8 [+8 Wizard]; CMB +9 [+8 BAB, +1 Str]
Feats Combat Casting [5th level], Command Construct* [15th level], Craft Construct [11th level], Craft Magic Arms and Armor [Wizard 5], Craft Wondrous Items [7th level], Forge Rings [Wizard 15], Improved Counterspell [13th level], Improved Initiative [1st level], Iron Will [3rd level], Quicken Spell [Wizard 10], Scribe Scroll [Wizard 1], Still Spell [9th level], Toughness [Human]
Skills Appraise +26 [+16 ranks, +7 Int, +3 class], Craft (alchemy) +17 [+7 ranks, +7 Int, +3 class], Craft (sculpting) +17 [+7 ranks, +7 Int, +3 class], Craft (armormaking) +26 [+16 headband ranks, +7 Int, +3 class], Craft (stonemasonry) +17 [+7 ranks, +7 Int, +3 class], Craft (weaponmaking) +17 [+16 headband ranks, +7 Int, +3 class], Fly +22 [+16 ranks, +3 Dex, +3 class], Heal +9 [+9 ranks, +0 Wis], Knowledge (arcana) +26 [+16 ranks, +7 Int, +3 class], Knowledge (engineering) +24 [+14 ranks, +7 Int, +3 class], Knowledge (history) +26 [+16 ranks, +7 Int, +3 class], Knowledge (the planes) +26 [+16 ranks, +7 Int, +3 class], Linguistics +14 [+4 ranks, +7 Int, +3 class], Spellcraft +26 (+30 casting defensively) [+16 ranks, +7 Int, +3 class]
[Total skill points: +2 class, +1 human, +1 favored class, +5 Int = 9 x 16 = 144 points, plus 32 points from headband = 176 points]
Languages Auran, Aquan, Chelaxian, Common, Draconic, Ignan, Terran, Thassilonian [1 + 3 bonus + 4 Linguistics]
SQ arcane bond (gold amulet), cantrips, contingency, favored class (wizard), hand of the apprentice, metamagic mastery, permanent spells, weapon training (longsword)
Combat Gear figurine of wondrous power, marble elephant [17k gp/2 (Item Creation feat) = 8k gp]; Other Gear masterwork cold iron longsword [330 gp], bracers of armor +5 [25k gp/2 (Item Creation feat) = 12.5k gp], cloak of resistance +4 [16k gp/2 (Item Creation feat) = 8k gp], headband of vast intelligence +4 [16k gp/2 (Item Creation feat) = 8k gp], ring of mind shielding [8k gp/2 (Item Creation feat) = 4k gp], ring of protection +3 [18k gp/2 (Item Creation feat) = 9k gp], robe of scintillating colors [27k gp/2 (Item Creation feat) = 13.5k gp], arcane bonded gold amulet, ivory statuette of Hecataeus (worth 1,500 gp), spell component pouch, red spellbook (contains all cantrips and all 1st- through 4th-level spells prepared, plus 3 additional 1st-level spells), black spellbook (contains all 5th- through 8th-level spells prepared, plus 1 additional 6th- and 7th-level spells)
[Red Spellbook: 20 0-level spells (20 free), 20 pgs, 0 gp cost, 1000 gp value; 8 1-level spells (8 free), 8 pgs, 0 gp cost, 400 gp value; 7 2-level spells (4 free), 14 pgs, 600 gp cost, 700 gp value; 7 3-level spells (4 free), 21 pgs, 900 gp cost, 1050 gp value; 7 4-level spells (4 free), 28 pgs, 1200 gp cost, 1400 gp value = 2,700 gp cost, 4,550 gp market value]
[Black Spellbook: 4 5-level spells (4 free), 20 pgs, 0 gp cost, 1000 gp value; 4 6-level spells (4 free), 24 pgs, 0 gp cost, 1200 gp value; 4 7-level spells (4 free), 28 pgs, 0 gp cost, 1400 gp value; 2 8-level spells (2 free), 16 pgs, 0 gp cost, 800 gp value = 0 cost, 4,400 gp market value]
[total gear = 63,830 gp plus 1,500 spell focus item plus 2,700 gp spellbook cost = 68,030 gp; 68,000 gp budget]
===== Special Abilities =====
Arcane Bond (Su) Hecataeus has forged a powerful bond with a gold amulet stamped in his likeness. If he attempts to cast a spell without wearing this amulet, Hecataeus must make a Spellcraft check or lose the spell. The DC for this check is equal to 20 + the spell’s level. The amulet can be used once per day to cast any one spell that Hecataeus knows and can cast, just as if he had cast it. This spell cannot be modified by metamagic feats or other abilities. The amulet has the following statistics: AC 21 [10 + 8 size + 3 Hec's Dex], hardness 5, hp 10.
Cantrips (Sp) Hecataeus can prepare four cantrips, or 0-level spells, each day. He can cast these spells at will as a spell-like ability.
Contingency When Hecataeus cries "Succor!" (a free action), teleport activates, transporting him to a secret spider-hole several miles distant.
Hand of the Apprentice (Su) As a standard action, Hecataeus can summon a ghostly hand to do his bidding. This functions like mage hand, with the following changes. When summoned, the hand can draw his longsword as a free action. The hand can be directed to make a single attack against a foe within 30 feet (+16 melee [+8 BAB, +7 Int, +1 mwk], 1d8+7/19-20). The hand does not threaten foes and does not make attacks of opportunity. Hecataeus must concentrate on the hand each round or it winks out, returning any item held to him before it disappears.
Metamagic Mastery (Su) Eight times per day Hecataeus can apply any one metamagic feat that he knows to a spell he is about to cast. This does not alter the level of the spell or the casting time. Any time he uses this ability to apply a metamagic feat that increases the spell level by more than 1, he must use an additional daily usage for each level above 1 that the feat adds to the spell.
Permanent Spells Hecataeus has made the following spells permanent on himself: arcane sight and see invisibility.

=====

Command Construct

And so, the rabbi rubbed away the first letter of the word "EMET" from the golem's forehead, leaving "MET," the Hebrew word for death.

Prerequisites: Craft Construct, Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Wondrous Item.

Benefit: You can attempt to issue a single new command to a construct creature, even one you did not create or one that has gone berserk. As a standard action that draws an attack of opportunity, you touch the construct and make a Knowledge (arcana) check. The base DC is equal to 15 + the construct's HD. If you created the construct, you have a +8 bonus to this check. Typical commands, and any additional modifiers to the check, are detailed below:

• Attack: The construct attacks enemies you identify within line of sight (-5 modifier).

• Defend: The construct defends you (or is ready to defend you if no threat is present), even without any command being given (-5 modifier).

• Guard: The construct stays in place and prevents others from approaching (-5 modifier).

• Move: The construct moves at its best speed wherever you direct.

• Stop: The construct immediately ceases activity and takes no further actions, though any damage done to the construct immediately reactivates it. This is the only command that can be issued to a berserk construct.

• Work: The construct pulls or pushes a medium or heavy load.

A successful check indicates that the construct obeys your command for 1d6 rounds. If you beat the check by 5 or more, the construct obeys your command for 1d6 minutes. If you beat the check by 10 or more, the construct obeys for 1d6 hours. Once the duration ends the construct resumes any previous instructions, though berserk constructs are no longer berserk.

Hecataeus, Master of Constructs

Male human wizard 16

Description: In his own mind, at least, the wizard Hecataeus has no peer: he cannot listen without interrupting, speak without insulting, much less smile without sneering.

Hecataeus is so insufferable to all around him that he has been forced to create his own companions and followers. He is a master of building construct creatures -- obedient, silent, and ever-reliable servants that cannot contradict or abandon him, unlike all those frail, incompetent fools he has been forced to employ in the past.

Even in a world where wizards are real, Hecataeus' very appearance seems cliché. Tall and thin, with a jet-black goatee, he dresses in purple and gold robes festooned with pseudo-mystical symbols. Though the response he hopes to evoke is awe, in practice this tends to more reliably elicit ridicule, or perhaps puzzlement, from all but the greatest of rubes. And most of his creations are fashioned in his image.

Despite his buffoonish appearance, Hecataeus is possessed with a formidable intellect, innate arcane talent, and unquenchable determination; he quickly rose to become a formidable wizard. Unfortunately, all his gifts are undermined by impoverished judgment, a craven nature, and his imperious manner.

Hecataeus does not generally kill his enemies; he prefers to merely humiliate them.

Motivations/Goals: Hecataeus does not seek godhood or lichdom. He has no wish to release an archfiend, acquire an artifact, or usher in some new cosmic age of horror. What he wants is very, very simple: he wants respect. He wants his superior intellect and his inestimable command over arcane forces to be acknowledged, and he stews in perpetual exasperation that, despite all of his accomplishments, he remains generally unacknowledged and unappreciated by the mundane world.

Schemes/Plots/Adventure Hooks: Hecataeus seeks to amass all the secrets of construct creation that he can put his grasping hands upon, and use that knowledge to work magical wonders so mighty as to make even the most jaded adventurer look upon his works and tremble with awe. The following adventure hooks might be used to set up an encounter with Hecataeus:

• Hecataeus has hired the local thieves guild to liberate books of arcane lore from certain rival wizards. After several successful "recovery" operations Hecataeus has stiffed the guild. Accordingly, the guild would like someone to either repossess the disputed items or else negotiate a repayment plan.
  
• A clay golem that has long stood guard over a local temple has gone missing, and the priests suspect a garishly dressed figure who was seen skulking around the temple grounds.
  
• Hecataeus has crafted a magic item imbued with intelligence. Unfortunately, he fashioned the item's personality after his own, and the result proved so disaterius that Hecataeus was forced to "imprison" the item in a hidden oubliette. Somehow, though, the item has gotten word out that an important prisoner is being held in durance vile by the villain Hecataeus. The item, of course, once "rescued," might prove every bit as troublesome as its maker.
  

HELM OF THE GOLEM MASTER
Aura strong abjuration; CL 13th
Slot head; Price 76,500 gp; Weight 3 lb.
DESCRIPTION
This item, forged of dull gray iron etched with magical inscriptions, appears to be almost as much an impassive mask as a helmet. It covers the entire head and sports an articulated lower jaw as well as two small, round eyeholes shielded with crystalline lenses. When worn, the wearer seems a little larger and somewhat slower. The helm of the golem master can be used up to 3 times per day. The wearer can activate this item as an immediate action. Each use produces any one of the following effects, which lasts until the beginning of the wearer's next action:

• The wearer gains damage reduction 10/adamantine.
  
• The wearer ignores critical hit or sneak attack damage, as if wearing armor of heavy fortification.
  
• The wearer gains spell resistance 24.

I figured that the active community of old school fans and 3.5e players over here on the Paizo boards might appreciate this news.

In case you didn't know, White Dwarf magazine wasn't always just a propaganda/marketing tool for the Warhammer line. In fact, for about its first 100 issues or so (that is, most of the AD&D 1st edition era), WD was the premiere UK magazine for all RPGs, especially D&D. I'd even argue that, at some points, White Dwarf was at least as good and sometimes even better than its sister publication, The Dragon. WD was extremely influential with gamers on both sides of the Atlantic, and the 1e Fiend Folio was largely drawn from new monsters submitted to the magazine.

All that was a long time ago, and WD's contributions to D&D are largely forgotten. But I've been working hard to convert some of the more worthwhile pieces to 3.5e and posting the resulting to my website. In addition to a slew of monsters, I've done the classic adventure "The Halls of Tizun Thane" and I've just posted "The Lair of Maldred the Mighty," a nice classic dungeon that compares favorably with both White Plume Mountain and Tomb of Horrors.

A thousand years ago, Maldred, an evil cleric/wizard . . . [built] an empire of evil. The Arch-Devils that Maldred worshiped were pleased with this expansion of evil and so Maldred was elevated to the level of High Priest, but, as with all such evil creatures, this was not enough for Maldred. So, even as his armies expanded his empire, Maldred would secretly depart from his palace (leaving behind a simulacrum of himself) and search the world for some means of making himself immortal and as powerful as his devilish masters.

Journey to Maldred's Lair, brave the deadly traps, illusions, and guardians placed there, and stop him before his transformation is complete!

So I've got a fun little group, and we've been playing for 2 or 3 years now. This all started out very casual, with no real long-term plan on my part and has evolved into a weekly, ongoing campaign.

I ran them through some 3.5 conversions of classic D&D adventures, including "In Search of the Unknown," "Keep on the Borderlands," "Isle of Dread," "White Plume Mountain," the giant/drow series, parts of "Night Below," and they just finished up "Kingdom of the Ghouls." Now they are in the City of Brass while I figure out just what the heck to do next.

The party is currently 15th level. I never thought the game would last this long, nor did I think the players would want to play at such high levels, but there you go.

So I want to finish this campaign with a bang, and I've been thinking about using the end pieces of one of the three Dungeon adventure paths. Obviously, this means jumping into a story mid-stream, but the reality is I will probably never run all three paths in this lifetime. (It took me 20 years to finally run D1-2-3!)

My questions are, is this idea even feasible? And if so, which of the adventure paths would be the easiest to jump into at 15th level? Which path would best fit my ad-hoc retro-campaign?

Or maybe it was a mob of allips?

I'm desperately seeking an example of an incorporeal mob for er, research purposes.

I am thinking about using an older monster from Dragon 298 in an upcoming game: the brood mother, a very cool, very nasty drider-like thing.

But there's something really wonky with its stats -- it's a Large 18 HD monster with 26 Str and a primary attack bonus of only +14. By my math, that ought to be +13 BAB, +8 Str, and -1 size = +20. The AC is 21, but it's +3 Dex, -1 size, +12 natural. Also, the advancement line goes right to Gargantuan with no stops at Huge.

It looks like the monster was heavily edited from the original manuscript. Perhaps someone made a size change but failed to catch all the other changes. Was errata ever published, or was this monster ever updated to 3.5?

So far I'm loving issue 343 -- lots of good, nay, great stuff in here. There do seem to be few more problems with editing this issue than normal. I notice that two swarm monsters -- the ettercap brood swarm and the wormswarm -- lack the swarm subtype. I don't have MMIII, so I was wondering if this just an omission or has the swarm subtype been removed from the game?

Hi, all!

I'm looking for recommendations for a nice, short city-based adventure, preferably something that could fit into one session. Any Dungeon adventures fit this bill?