RJ Dalton 89's page

So, my players are finally at high enough level to face the Big Bad lich that's been the main bad guy of the campaign since very early on. But I've hit a bit of a snag.
The lich is hiding out in a tomb from ancient Nethyr (an Ancient Egypt expy). The Nethyrese are known for filling their tombs with deadly traps and puzzles.
But I'm kinda bad at coming up with puzzles. Part of advancing past the first level of the tomb requires them to find four keys and I want each key to be protected by a puzzle that they have to solve.
Anybody got any ideas?

So, my players will soon be going to Leng. They've got one more quest they're finishing up tonight and then after that, it's moving into endgame. They're going Leng because one of the players has become obsessed with it (at this point, I'm ruling behind the scenes that he's thought about it so much that he's attracted the attention of Nyarlathotep and it's planted a suggestion in his brain that he's coming there). He's justifying it by using a prophecy that they will find the phylactery of the Lich who's been the running villain of this campaign "in a place none living remember." So, he's thinking they need to ask someone who's not living and has decided that means that they should talk to the ghouls of Leng. The other players' characters aren't so sure this is the correct approach, but they know that the sorcerer is going to go to Leng either way because of his obsession and they're basically going along to try and keep him out of trouble.
Rambling a bit, sorry.

One of the encounters that I've had set up is that they're going to run into a village near the entrance to Leng where the people there worship Chaugnar Faugn. From what I understand of my research, Chaugnar Faugn is a lesser great old one (he was actually defeated in the book where he was created - true, by some bullshit sci-fi tech that reversed entropy, but he was still defeated). But it was also made clear that Chaugnar Faugn had dozens of copies of himself all around the world and each was linked together, so I'm treating Chaugnar Faugn's physical representations of himself as avatars - a bit like Nyaralthotep, except that each avatar is the same instead of a different form. This means that each avatar is significantly less powerful than the rest of the great old ones, but his spirit, which holds the greater amount of his power, is basically unreachable by normal means. There character's are going to be either level 15 or 16 by the time they get there.

There's no entry for this old one that I can find (I find it a bit funny that the entries contain a really obscure one like Ran Tegoth, but don't have some of the more well-known ones, but whatever). So, I made my own. I want a few suggestions on where I should put his CR. Once I've got that set, I can adjust his stats to account for whatever level the players are at when they reach him.

Some notes, his HP and AC might be a little low for what I've currently listed his CR at, but I figure this is counter-balanced by his primary attack strategy to be grapple/pin (using the greater grapple feat) and then drain his victims, which gives him temporary HP, so his actual hit points can go up on top of having his other defensive abilities. Plus, there's that unspeakable presence that leaves people shaken if they make their save, panicked if they don't. Anyway, here are the stats

Avatar of Chaugnar Faugn CR 16
XP: 76,800

CE Large Outsider (Chaotic, Evil, Great-Old-One)

Init: +12;
Senses: darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, tremorsense 120 ft, true seeing; Perception +26

Aura: unspeakable presence (300 ft., DC 24)

DEFENSE
AC: 29, touch 14, flat-footed 27 (+2 Dex, +10 insight, +8 natural, –1 size)

hp: 202 (15d10+105); fast healing 10

Fort +19, Ref +10, Will +18

Defensive Abilities: immortality; DR 5/epic and lawful; Immune ability damage, ability drain, aging, cold, death effects, disease, energy drain, mind-affecting effects, paralysis, petrification, poison; Resist fire 15, electricity 15; SR 26

OFFENSE
Speed: 30 ft.

Melee: 2 Slams +25 (1d8+10)

Space: 10 ft.; Reach: 10 ft.

Special Attacks: drain, blessing of Chaugnar Faugn


Spell-Like Abilities (CL 20th; concentration +29)
Constant—freedom of movement, true seeing

At will—dream, greater dispel magic, nightmare (DC 20), scry

3/day—feeblemind (DC 20), suggestion (DC 17),

1/day— curse of Chaugnar Faugn (DC 21), Geas

STATISTICS
Str 30, Dex 15, Con 25, Int 24, Wis 26, Cha 20

Base Atk +15; CMB +26 (+28 bull rush, +30 grapple); CMD 38 (40 vs bull rush 42 vs. grapple)

Feats: Improved Grapple, Greater Grapple, Improved Natural Attack (slam), Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, Awesome Blow, Toughness, Great Fortitude

Skills: Bluff +23, Diplomacy +23, Intimidate +23, K(arcana, History planes) +25, Perception +26, Sense Motive +26

Languages: Aklo; telepathy 300 ft.

SQ: otherworldly insight

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Drain (Su)
If Chaugnar Faugn pins a foe, he latches onto the foe with the lamprey-mouth on the end of his trunk. This attack deals 1d4 points of Con drain each round. Every point of constitution that Chaugnar Faugn drain grants him 1d10+8 temporary hit points.
This drain can be negated with a DC 25 Fortitude save.

Blessing of Chaugnar Faugn (Su)
At will, Chaugnar Faugn can designate any of his clerics to be blessed by his spirit. This blessing grants one half his charisma and wisdom bonus to his chosen cleric’s ability scores. This blessing causes a hideous transformation to take place. The nose extends into a small trunk, while the ears flare out, causing them to resemble the great old one. Chaugnar Faugn’s clerics usually cover these deformities if they have need to hide their true nature.
Chaugnar Faugn’s blessing is permanent and irreversible. If someone who has ever received Chaugnar Faugn’s blessing should betray the great old one, they instantly die of a heart attack. There is no save against this death effect.

Immortality (Ex)
Chaugnar Faugn is immortal and his essence exists in the far reaches of space. The statue forms he inhabits on any given planet are merely extensions of himself. If any avatar is reduced to 0 HP, that form immediately begins to deliquesce into a viscous, silvery, foul-smelling slime that remains behind for 1 hour. If a sacrifice to Chaugnar Faugn is made in the presence of this slime, that avatar immediately reforms, but remains in a dormant state for 1d100 years. Further sacrifices made in the presence of this avatar reduce this duration by 1 year per 10 Con worth of creatures sacrificed.
If a sacrifice is not made within an hour after the avatar’s destruction, then this slime evaporates, leaving behind no trace.

Unspeakable Presence (Su)
When Chaugnar Faugn opens his eyes, all within 300 feet of him are subject to his unspeakable presence. Failing a DC 24 Will save against Chaugnar Faugn’s unspeakable presence fills the victim with overpowering awe and dread. Creatures inclined to worship such a being immediately fall prostrate and await his instructions. Such creatures are usually drained unless Chaugnar Faugn has some particular use for them. Beings who have been affected by his unspeakable presence in this manner offer no resistance as he drains them.
Those not inclined to worship panic and flee for a minimum of 2d6 rounds. Thereafter, they continue to be shaken for 24 hours. Those who succeed, or who are normally immune to fear, instead are simply shaken for as long as they remain in Chaugnar Faugn’s unspeakable presence.

Curse of Chaugnar Faugn
When this spell is cast, it forms a psychic link between Chaugnar Faugn and the target. Succeeding a will save breaks this link; otherwise, Chaugnar Faugn becomes able to use his nightmare ability on the target regardless of distance. While under the effects of this curse, the target does not get saves to resist these intrusions. After one night per point of wisdom that the target has, these dreams begin having terrible suggestions implanted in them, ordering the victim to travel to Chaugnar Faugn’s nearest avatar and offer himself up as a sacrifice. This is treated as if it were his suggestion spell, although it allows the great old one to bypass the usual restriction against ordering targets to do harmful things, and only suggests they offer themselves to him. If traveling to Chaugnar Faugn’s avatar takes more than one week, they get to make another will save to shake it off.
This spell continues in this manner until the victim has successfully resisted three consecutive suggestions. Chaugnar Faugn can teach this spell to his worshipers; however, it is a secret spell which they are forbidden to write down. Attempts to create scrolls of this spell automatically fail. If Chaugnar Faugn’s worshiper is a caster who prepares spells, then they can prepare this spell without a spellbook, as if they had the Spell Mastery feat.

So, earlier in the campaign, the players had an interaction with a noble who dabbled in magic and accidentally summoned a chaos beast. Now, a couple months later, I'm making a callback. The noble's mistakes left the door open for more chaos creatures to come through, and now there's an imentesh wandering the city causing mischief.

If the players talk to it, it will at one point ask them if they want to know a secret. If they do, I roll a die and determine what it does randomly.
Here's what I've put down on the list so far:

1. It will paint a picture while singing a song in its own language. It will transform nearby objects into the canvas and paint to do this. After it is done, it will vanish, leaving the painting behind. Attempting to study the painting requires a person to make a DC 21 will save, or fall into a rambling fit for 1d4 hours. Those who make this save gain a +1 insight bonus to initiative (1-25%), a +5 insight bonus to linguistics (26-50%), will learn the location of an Amulet of the Planes (held by a Frost Giant Jarl in the mountains of Frjoslheimr, 51-75%), or gain 5 bonus hit points (76-100%). The effect is determined randomly for each player. The painting will turn back into the objects it was made from 12 hours.

2. It will reach into their body and remove their soul, then fly with it back to Limbo, where it will take the soul on a journey that lasts half a life-time, but to the rest of the party, only takes about a minute before the protean returns the soul. The player in question must make a DC 21 will save, or have their alignment shift one step closer to chaotic neutral. The journey costs the player 2 points of wisdom that cannot be restored by any means short of wish or miracle, but they gain two points of charisma in exchange.

3. The protean will say, “Azuran, The Cruel likes things to be organized in even numbers, or in multiples of five.” If asked for more information, it apparently doesn’t even know who Azuran, The Cruel is and is confused as to why they are asking it such questions.

4. The protean shouts “Well, I’m not telling!” and then flies away laughing like a maniac.

5. The protean says something in its own language, which the players cannot understand, but which makes them feel queasy and nervous (treat as sickened for as long as they remain in the protean’s presence). It will refuse to repeat itself and be annoyed if they ask it to.

6. The protean will offer them a hand mirror and ask them to look into it. If they succeed a DC 21 will save, they can make the mirror show them any one thing they want to see. If they fail, they will see a vision of the Maelstrom, causing them to act as if confused for 1d4+1 rounds.

7. The protean casts polymorph any object on the player who answered yes, turning him into a random animal to give them a new perspective. The effect lasts until dispelled, or until it wears off. If they make their fortitude save, it will respond with, “Well, if you didn’t want to learn a secret, then why did you say yes?”

8. The protean will reach forward and put a hand on their head. In a flash, they will suddenly know the exact route they need to take to find the dreaded Plataeu of Leng, and where the entrance to the catacombs beneath it are: legend says the secret of eternal life can be found there.

9. The protean will chortle evilly and disappear. That night, it will appear in the dreams of the player who said yes and will sing a song. When they wake up, they will not be able to remember the words of the song, but will feel as if it contained some deep, powerful secret that could solve a major problem in their life.

10. The protean will go into a lengthy spiel of mathematical formula. It speaks rapidly, but coherently and players listening must make a will save of 21 or be fascinated by this. It goes on for long enough that anyone listening gets lost. The only thing they can be sure of is that it all ends with “= 0.”

I plan on rolling a d10, but they can potentially have multiple encounters with this creature and as not all of its actions are hostile, it may ask them this question more than once, so I'd like to have some other options to replace items already rolled so nothing occurs more than once. Do you folks have any interesting ideas? I'm sure you do.

I haven't read through everything you've put out so far and I don't have time to do it now. And I don't expect an answer right now, either, but this is just something that's been a problem I've had with D&D/Pathfinder since I started playing it and I'd like to know if any thought's been put into it. Maybe you guys can do a blog post about it if you haven't already thought of doing it.

The big problem that I have is that magic items are too necessary for the game at high levels. You NEED to have magic equipment at higher levels just to be able to deal with the higher level challenges and the end result is that so many items get boiled down to +(Insert number) to (insert stat) and they're all so common that it becomes mundane. In classic fantasy stories like The Hobbit or Connan the Barbarian, a single magic item was an awesome thing and you maybe only saw one or two in a single story. Hell, in The Hobbit, the turning point of the entire novel was a character finding a ring that, as far as he knew, did nothing but make him invisible. That one item changed the story's whole direction. That gives magic items a kind of thrill that's been lost in pretty much every edition of D&D/Pathfinder I've ever played.

Do you guys plan on doing anything about that?