I shot the b*&@+ five times but she wont go down!
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Fighter. So much ass kickery and generally looking like an awesome badass.
This is the exact same system as 4E uses now. You roll over "Failed Death Saving Throws" until an extended rest. So, again... how is this more complex?My PH says they go away after a rest (p 295). Was this changed to extended rest someplace else? You are correct. Death saving throws reset at any rest, not just an extended rest.
Mechanically, make sure he saves an action point for that all important extra move/teleport/wibbly far realm doodad to help him get away. Also, make sure you have prepared what to do if he DOESNT get away, cos players will come up with some f+%#ing crazy hairbrained ideas sometimes and usually either have the balls or the luck to pull them off.
You could tie Scott's idea with a quest based on stopping him gaining more power so he can maintain his new form (which, lets face it, is going to be a dragon :D ) for much longer. Part of the final encounter with this dude could be trying to stop him acsending permenantly to this new form. The example encounter in the DMG2 with the cultist's performing the ritual is a good example of this.
Masterplan pumps it monsters out in the new format. Even the ones it imports from the monster builder.
just checked it out. looks pretty awesome. just a few concerns about it: there is one feat that is not explained, (called better than 20/20), and the operator has the worst leader healing power ever. unless of couse there is a typo and its supposed to be +10 hp with healing surge. Any possible way to get to see more Ameythst goodness before its released? My group and I are chomping at the bit for more. Especially after we played through biohazard. Originally we had decided to run a Mass Effect style game using the ruleset, but recently we have decided that instead we are going into the grim darkness of the far future, where there is only war.
Ive got some of the Goodman Games DCC lines, and am eagerly awaiting Ameythyst. What is Wrarith Recon like, as ive been considering picking it up?
awesome f@%!ing sauce
I think all those races sound awesome. I mean why wouldnt I want some of that crazy sh*t in my game? plus I like bewbs.
Why not dude? that sounds bloody awesome to me! If he can do it with hand crossbow, why not a flintlock pistol? I always (personally) found making your players look badass is much more fun than fiddling around with the nitty gritty of whether or not its "realistic".
I think he is saying the original was just a Cleric only, and now is a hybrid Paladin|Cleric. It sounds like a success of the system - even though Cleric already has room for divine melee and ranged attacks, this provides for a different approach to the same concept, and clearly one that can work.Im currently playing a lvl8 paladin|cleric. He start out life as a balanced cleric, but i felt he was lacking something. So i rebuilt him as a paladin|cleric. My cleric powers are all of my ranged powers, and my paladin powers are all my melee attacks. Enjoying it loads more than the original at the mo.Sorry but do you mean he was a Paladin\Cleric Hybrid origionally but you changed him to a Paladin multiclassing to cleric now? Originally he was a Cleric, at lvl 4 he picked up a paladin multiclass. I wasnt reallt really happy at the way he was working but struggled through with him until lvl 8 when i said to my DM i was either going to rebuild him or retire him from the campiagn. I went through many different builds, but one think I wanted to do was keep him "thematically" the same, even if the rules behind him changed. I then came up with the Cleric|Paladin hybrid. I also took a Invoker multiclass to give me a "turn undead" type power, as it was somehting he had used to great effect earleir in the campiagn. This is his current build (excuse the lack of magic items, but our DM is super tight when its come to magic items.)
====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
FINAL ABILITY SCORES
STARTING ABILITY SCORES
AC: 22 Fort: 14 Reflex: 15 Will: 21
TRAINED SKILLS
UNTRAINED SKILLS
FEATS
POWERS
ITEMS
Im currently playing a lvl8 paladin|cleric. He start out life as a balanced cleric, but i felt he was lacking something. So i rebuilt him as a paladin|cleric. My cleric powers are all of my ranged powers, and my paladin powers are all my melee attacks. Enjoying it loads more than the original at the mo.
I ran (and am about to run again) a sci-fi based 4e game. I changed absolutely nothign at all in terms of rules, just reskinned everything to be a bit more hitech. worked perfectly. I even used the base rules and classes to represent ship to ship combat. reskinning really is the best option ive found. No need to fiddle around with stuff then, and just concentrate on the game.
We have fully embraced the inclusion of laptops at the table. Our current set up is the DM running maptool on one, one plugged into a projector that projects the map onto the wall (the DM laptop and the map laptop are networked so we all see the "player version" of the map and the DM see's the "DM version" which has his notes, hidden monsters etc) Two of the other players use their laptop for their character sheets and one uses an iPhone. Only me and another player actually use paper character sheets :D. We do have a rule that we put in a few months ago meaning that all dice have to be rolled rather than using online/computer based dice rollers. having instant access to the compendium at the game table is awesome. no more hunting through books for rules.
Its alledgedly the new Psionic defender. Not realy got a lot fo detials on how it works though.
I think i must be one of the few people who can freely admit to looking at the list of upcoming WotC releases and thinking "all that shit looks f#@@ing awesome".
Not to sure, probably for completionism.
Elven accuracy is a requirement of the feat so you cant take the feat unless you have it.
I beleive its just 360gp.
You can weild an implement in your "offhand". Some classes however (namely clerics and Paladins) Dont have to wield there implements to get benefits from them, they just have to have them (around there neck or something)
Roughly 1/3rd of the tresuare I give out is what the players asked for, 1/3 is stuff they havent asked for but stuff I think would be cool for them, and the final 1/3 is just random magic items.
Hi there, ive created a few custom monsters for my game, and wouldnt mind if you had a look over them just to make sure they all stand up. Razorclaw Lynx Level 2 Skirmisher
Razorclaw Archer Level 2 Artillery
Im also looking to create a basic spear armed Minion based on these, but havent got round to ir yet. Any advice/comments/critismism would be welcomed!
This dudes monster builder http://www.asmor.com/scripts.php looks like a pretty basic version of what the monster builder will hopefully contain. Ive been playing with it this morning and converted a spiretop drake into a Giant Wasp with about 2 clicks.
Ahh I love the smell of hyperbole in the morning. There is nothing like A F*CKING GAME to get people so wound up.
Hi im currently on my 3rd session of DMing this game http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=444004 and so far its going pretty well. The PC's have rescued each other from slavery, met the main NPC and are on their way complete the quest that he handed out. They now have about a months travel through "the wilds" and I wanted some ideas to spice up the travel. Ive impressed on the charcters the danger of the wilds in my world, but so far ive havent really showed them the danger (except for a ..err.. second session character death). I've got the "dungeon" that is going to be at the end of the trek sorted, as well as a pretty good plan of what happens afterwards, so its really this "wilderness" section that I after ideas for. In an effort to get some inspiration i spent yesterday poking around my garden with a stick, and watch a titanic battle between a wasp and a spider. Now im no fan of spiders, but I HATE wasps, so im glad little spidey came away from the encounter with a tasty treat. Im trying to find a way to put that into the game, but there are no Giant Wasps or decent low level spiders in the MM. So apart from an endless stream of bastard hard combat encounters is their any advice about themes, encounters, skill challenges or just plain old good roleplaying oppurtunities I could spice the travel up with? They are on the clock with the travel so it might be hard to tempt them off the track as it were, but maybe that's a good thing to tempt them with. I have to run this session tomorrow, and while I am no starnger to winging entire sessions, but i'd like to at least have an idea of ehat im going to be running! :D
I cross posted the same thing over at wizards and got some interesting replies http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1150382 It changed wuite a bit from the original idea to the actual game I ran but it worked out pretty well :D Tha main change is that each chapter origin got one of the racial encounter powers, rather than some of the racia bonuses. We used Space hulk board sections and everyone brought a Deathwatch marine. Tons of fun!
Dont limit what they can and cant take. The grind can be avoided by only using monsters of at most one level above the players. There is an awesome guide on EnWorld about monster levels and the grind and can be found here. http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/254630-stalker0s-guide- anti-grind.html What I have always found the best thing to do is to ask the players to come up with a concept or a character from a book/film, and then find the best way to transpose that onto the character sheet. While I do agree its part of the experience of DnD its also probably one of the most complicated and duanting to new players. I would suggest you take their concept and create the character out of it yourself. You then have the advantage of knowing what the character can do, and being able to help much more effectively, and has the added advantage of you being able to get right in the game as quick as possible.
Is Inspiring Word supernatural in nature? no.
We have a houserule (and its pretty much the only one you have) is that if forced movement moves you off your mount, you have to succeed on a save to allow your mount to come along with you. Has made for many cool moments, especially seeing as our main opponents are always riding horses (nomadic mongol orcs).
I suppose the fact we are in the largest financial crisis in recent history would have had an effect on sales.
Have they produced 4E rules for Empire Building and Campaign Setting development yet? Apart from the guidelines in the DMG, then no they havent. But at the end of the day, do they really need to? Most of that kind of imformation is generalistic and system independant and doesnt really require a "4e" version. I still use the info out of Gary Gygaxs World Builder series, but mostly (and im sure like many DMs) I just make sh*t up that I think is cool.
According to various character optimisation boards, the best group layout is supposed to be built in this order Striker
personally, I dont agree with it. My layout would be BattleRager Fighter
I believe Scott Betss and his Tales of the Rusty Dragon Blog converted the Channel Divinity feats for Galorian.
In the main I agree with you. I tend to run most encounters based on the ideas presented in the links, but every now and again I just chuck all the "rules" (as much as they are) out the window and throw something crazy at them. Im also a big BIG fan of "reskinning" things to keep things fresh and interesting. The next encounter I have planned is the party against a bunch of Kobold's riding peradactyl type things, and all im really doing is sending them up against a bunch of Spiretop Drakes. I think thats really the key to keep fights interesting rather than the encounter level you sending them up against. In fact thats a good idea for a thread.
http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/254630-stalker0s-guide- anti-grind.html This is an awesome article on reducing thr "monster grind". Both my DM, and I both use it when designing encounters for our respective parties.
Having been a lurker on these forums for many years and sometimes a poster, I can agree with the statement that these forums went from being some of the best RPG orientated forums on the internet to being an utter sack of shit. Few people on these boards are truly interested in discussing 4e and those that are generally end up drowned under the tidal morass of anti-4e-ism. I suggest that those of you who actually are interested in discuss and talking about 4e move to some of the other forums mentioned, as this one really has become a shadow of its former self. Congratulations!
LG, NG or CG ? :) Surely now its just G or LG?
To be fair, The GM didnt kill my character. The d*mned greatbow weilding elves did (I hate elves, damn then) it was fight we had ample chance to get awat from, we just kept pushing it as we thought just abit more and we would get the upper hand. The campiagn has really been based around an invaded teifling empire, and the various political back and fro-ing that is going on, as well as the resurgance of the Teifling resistance (something my character used to be a big part of). The original party was 50% teifling, until one guy left and another decided a few sessions ago that he didnt want to play a warlock anymore and arranged a new character. His character also died in the same fight I did, but as he had already aranged a new character he swapped to playing this one (which I must admit annoyed me a bit). The leader role is me really not wanted to play another healer BUT not wanting any of the other characters in the party to die. Our sole defender has already lost a character he really liked, and I dont want him to lose another, becuase his new character is very cool and he really enjoys him. With the layout of the party being as it is the sole defender really is going to be the first one to die in any difficult fight. 2 days til have to make a decision...
I've played a Paladin before in 4e and had a ton of fun with them, so its a possibility. Especially if I dump STR for CHA. I'd rather try something new, but its a good choice if i dont find anything else i like.
Well, who is going to heal, though? It is generally a necessary party role. That said, you don't have a controller either. Honestly, I dont know. Six years is long time playing the only healer though, and as I said, im TOTALLY fed up with it (although its nowehere near as bad in 4e as it was in 3.5).
Last night, my lvl5 Teifling inspiring Warlord died. Which apart from sucking massively, has left me with a conundrum of what to play next. At the moment our party is Human Tempest Fighter
plus my new character. My DM is heavily pushing me to play another teifling as its kind of required for the story line, but at the end of the day its up to me, and while I dont really like teiflings, im going to go with this request for the sake of the story. Now I know this party is crying out for a leader, but ive played the f*****g healer for SIX SOLID YEARS and im fed up with it. I just want to roll a bucket of dice and eat some faces. Does anyone have any advice about what works well with a Teifling that isnt a leader (or a warlock - we used to have one in the party and I wasnt at all impressed with them).
Right, Its been a while since I updated this thread, and seeing as this campaign us kicking off soon, I thought it might be a good idea. The players are in the process of coming up with their characters based on a restricted list of races and classes I gave them. Martial and Primal classes arent limited, but they can only take one divine and one arcane character as both magic and the divine spark are rare in this world. Now, the game is going to start in the cheesiest way possible. They have been asked to meet an old friend in Millers Knot, a small village in the middle of nowhere important. They are going to idle there for a few weeks before a message will be sent to them asking them to come to a nearby entrance to what is essentially the underdark (although it just called the Dank, in this world). Im going to make them idle in town for a while, as i want to use the oppurtunity to introduce them to the world and the harsh condition they have to live under. On the way they are going to have the following encounter Encounter Level Difficulty: Standard (850)
The kobolds in this world are reffered to as Leaf Toes, and the Rats are their pets/mounts. This combat is going to only last a few rounds, as after being spooked the Kobolds are going to flee. The party are then going to be stalked by a Hunting pack of Gaurd Drakes. Im hoping the suspense of being stalked will works well, but am a bit unsure of how to play it. If they do fight the Drakes the encounter is going to be 6 Guard Drakes. Any advice on the Stalking?
Reviving minions, perhaps? Certainly a special ability could be devised to allow a minion to stand back up again a few rounds later to represent someone recovering from being knocked flat on his butt. Just use you XP budget to buy more minions, and use these extra minions as extra "lives". Easier than trying to go through all the pain of building a new rule for it. I chucked 40 skeleton minions at a party once, but in hindsight, I think I should have used 10 skeletons with 4 "lives" each, and they just got back up when killed.
stuffmore stuff ok, well im not really interested in turning this into an argument about the 4e rules set (as the last thing this place needs is another one) but thanks for your input. I would also urge other posters in this thread NOT to turn it into another largely useless ding-dong about which version of DnD is superior or really anything else that will invariably leads to a 400 post long thread that can basically be described as "an incredibly boring conversation". EDIT : I've editted this to note it is not a personal dig, just an attempt to manage this thread as they do have a tendancy to disappear up thier own ar5e when left to run wild. Now back to the original question.
I'd rather think Boromir really was that bad ass. Uruk were supposed to be elite, after all... He was that bad ass. Hence the elite fighting Uruk-Hai getting bumped down to minion. Against anyone less badass, they would have been "normals".
I've read a few posts about 4e and one of the things that keeps cropping up as an "issue" is that of minions. Then I watched Fellowship of the Ring with my daughter for the first time (hers not mine - she loved it). I realised that the end fight (after Boromir tries to take the ring) is an awesome minion fight, and totally the way I envision it happening in game. I heartily recommend watching it if you are having difficulty with the concept of minions. Are there any other scenes from films that represent awesome fights vs hordes of minions that people would recommend?
As far as I understand there arent any PDF versions of the rulebooks FOR SALE......
yes
I personally think 4e is worth it even without the FAQ or errata.
If you want to play all you really need is the PHB. If you wish to DM then the DMG (which is AWESOME) is required, as is the MM in nearly all cases. Any other book, as well as a DDI subscription is just gravy but in my opinion well worth it. Probably not worth it unless you have a game to play/prepare however...or you just like reading the books.
Has anyone had much experience playing a barbarian? They seem to do a ruck of damage but I'm wondering what the balancing factors are. It has also been noted that while they seem to rock all kinds of insanity at heroic tier, they start to suck a bit in epic tier. I dont think this is a design feature however, and my evidence is based solely on hearsay.
I played a Gnome Knight in a short dungeon crawl we ran under 3.5. He did rock verily. AC of around 36 at lvl 5 and did a massive 1d6 damage. I think he was called Sir Fonk of Fonking. Not the most serious character ive ever played. EDIT: Actually it was Sir Merk of Merkin..which I beleive is type of pubic wig. I knew it was something rude and fonking sounded wrong. In our longest running game we had a humanmonk. He got from lvl 1 to 14, and my god did he suck BUT I must admit the guy playing him was a bit...."special" when it came to his choices. For example, he took weapon prof longsword, then weapon focus longsword AND NEVER ONCE PICKED UP A LONGSWORD!! He also took some other craziness that my mind has tried to block out (he was thinking about multiclassing into wizard and took spell mastery, but then never multi-classed into wizard). He was always adamant that he had made the right choices and they were totally in character despite him being possible the biggest metagamer I have ever met. He doesnt play with us anymore.
The group I play in Tiefling Warlord (me)
The group I DM Human Fighter
Hmm.... Considering swapping the Goblins for Kobolds. While I like the image of the monkey like goblins swinging out of the trees, I ALSO like the image of Gecko like Kobolds swarming out of the trees. And when I say swarming, I mean swarming. I could quite feasibly throw 20 Kobold minions at a lvl 1 party. I might end this encounter half way through when the kobolds are "spooked" by something else and flee. I want to make this world dangerous, and I want to highlight its danger quite early on in the game. I might then role them into a solo encounter when so big rampaging predator rocks up. They are reasonably used to the system so I don’t think this will be too extreme a beginning. Even though, I actually want it to be quite extreme.
hmm, im having a hard time thinking of how to being this campaign (admittedly I should be thinking about work, but im in my redundancy notice period and they expect me to pass all my knowledge over to some dude that works India. Well screw them, DnD is much more exciting that trying to decipher the sentence "When can you have reverted the FTE document?" Is this some kind of skill challenge?) I always like to have the PC's in the middle of something, I find it make it easier to get them going. I've been thinking that they are currently stalking the vinepaths for a bunch of Goblins that have been raiding the "mulch nets" (where they grow food). I think this puts the in the mood of a group who are dedicated to defending their little knothole village (a small village burrowed into the side of a world tree), as well as getting them an early skill challenge, and a bit of a fight. If they fail the skill challenge they end up getting ambushed by the Goblins (NOTE__ need to find a different name for the goblins, that emphasises their more Simian nature). There are two things that I want for the game now. I want their village to be destroyed as I want them to go on a bit of hunt for those responsible, and I want to them to go on a task that they know will eventually kill them (LOTR ringbearer style). Not hugely sure how im going to weave them into the story at the moment though.
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I finally broke out Skull and Shackles to play and noticed that the base characters are missing along with the fleet card. I need the following cards: Alahazra character card
I do have the tokens for each character.
Should the necklace of fireballs have the Arcane keyword? It's arcane to acquire, arcane to recharge, but not Arcane on the traits list. Seoni's pretty short on items worth using her power feat on, it's pretty much just the wand of enervate loot card so far since the wand of scorching ray dropped too low in damage to be worth holding. This one's surely worth it too.
Washington and Oregon have an agreement allowing merchants to skip charging Oregonians sales tax by checking a driver's license and retaining a record of the sale with the ID # recorded. With tax up to 9.5% with the change in venue and the option to pick up subscriptions at the show, I'd like to encourage Paizo to take advantage of this agreement between the states and save their Oregon customers some of their hard-earned cash. If nothing else, it makes shopping at the show much more attractive. This applies to a few other areas, but I bet Oregon customers makes up the largest share of such persons at the show, given the closeness. http://dor.wa.gov/Content/FindTaxesAndRates/RetailSalesTax/Nonresidents/def ault.aspx Thanks for your consideration, and if not in 2012, perhaps in 2013.
Downloaded a bunch of PDFs today, and noticed all the dates were bad when I extracted them on Windows. So I copied a zip file over to my Linux box, and it looks like the problem's coming from the source, not my machine. From a GameMastery guide PDF:
My schedule opened enough to go to Gen Con again, but I am devoid of any sort of room. If anyone's got a room near the con (i.e. walking distance) and wants a 2nd or 3rd roommate, let me know. I'll happily use an air mattress instead of one of the beds, and cut your convention expenses. Hopeing someone else can help a fellow gamer out, so I can be at hand to see Paizo sell some of the books I helped out on :)
Let me be the first here to call out YAAAAAAY ROY! It's been a long 222 strips.
Observed during Crimson Thorne playtesting: The Heal check takes a lot of fear out of disease in either edition. A fairly simple check takes the risk of a failed save out of a disease, several such checks and you are cured. Suggestions to address this:
* Heal should be at a subsantial penalty for disease treament if you aren't under long-term care. At 10 minutes per check, a single healer could treat dozens in a day, which makes most diseases less than scary with even untrainedh Heal checks. I'd say -5 to the Heal check for 10 minute treatment, full value for the 8 hour long term care (which still allows treating 6 patients at a time, a pretty heavy workload).
After 21 levels, 65 sessions, and 26 months of real-world time, the final session for Age of Worms was today. Alas, Kyuss was no match for a party armed with enough wishes to undo all their misfortune. Alhaster is free again, and Oerth is spared. It was a fun ride, but I don't think I'll ever run a 20 level path again...
So during Jason's playtest (thanks for running!), I got to run an early draft of the bard. Some highlights: * More spells per day!
I must stress that all of this is subject to change or my misinterpretation. The orc wardrummer I played was a blast, especially when my drumming caused the group to bleed from their ears. Go team bard!
What sort of action is it to put up a clerical or wizard aura? Related, can it only be done during the character's turn? Can the same character put up multiple auras at the same time? Related feedback:
A Prayer for the Fallen (EL 10)
Encounter Context
The Temple of Nanna-Suen
The central room of the temple is decorated with mosaics, the right side depicting Nanna-Suen's role as bringer of dreams and wisdom, the left his aspect of darkness and nightmares. Towards the end of the room stand a pair of angelic statues, arms outstretched above basins of holy water. Between them, stairs lead up to the altar room. The altar room contains a golden statue of Nanna-Suen and three low stone altars. The statue depicts a bearded man in a sheepskin robe, seated upon a marble thrown and wearing a crown of bull horns. In his right hand is a bronze rod of office. The altars hold myriad objects of faith. The main rites of the temple take place in the central chamber, while offerings of food, incense and scented oil are presented in the altar room beyond. Living quarters for the priests and acolytes are in the town below. The high-priestess of the temple is Enatuma (CG female human cleric 4), a gray-haired woman of advancing years. Her strong right arm is Akurida (CG male human fighter 1/cleric 1). Clean-shaven and bald-headed, he has the look of rough-hewn stone. The priests are served by a trio of acolytes, a man and two women. All three have shaved heads and wear simple robes. A relative newcomer is Hadina (CE female human cleric 4), a traveling priestess who arrived in Orunash three months ago. Like Akurida, she favors wearing plate and shield during her temple duties. Unbeknownst to the others, Hadina is in fact a priestess of Ereshkigal, goddess of the underworld. Treachery Within
The warmth provided by bronze braziers is a welcome change from the chill autumn air. Ahead is the casket that must hold Lewenar's remains, heaped with offerings to ease his passage into the afterlife. A small group of townspeople are gathered around the casket, paying last respects. Seeing you enter, high priestess Enatuma motions at you from the back of the temple. With her are her fellow priests Akurida and Hadina. As you approach, Hadina turns towards you, casting a pinch of gray ash into the air with a strange smile on her face. As the ash scatters in the air, the ground lurches and shakes, and as one the braziers and lamps wink out. A pale red glow infuses the air, illuminating the forms of the priests writhing on the floor, all save Hadina, their forms shifting and changing. Enatuma collapses into ooze, a monstrosity with countless eyes and a score of mouths arising from her remains. The flesh melts away from Akurida, leaving a gaunt form dripping with ichor. In place of Enatuma's acolytes stand a misshapen trio of hunchbacked wretches. Beyond the temple doors, where once was bustling town and light of day, is now only silence and darkness.[i] Divine Aid
The holy water fonts in the main temple can be used against the demonic assault. Each font holds the equivalent of 6 vials of holy water. A PC standing adjacent to a font can splash the water as an improvised weapon (10 foot range increment), using one vial per attack. An available container can be filled with holy water as a full-round action that provokes an attack of opportunity. In addition, a foe can be bull-rushed into a font and a grappled foe dunked (if adjacent) with a successful grapple check. Either maneuver causes 1d6 damage per vial of holy water remaining in the font (Reflex DC 14 half), emptying it in the process. Note that holy water causes no damage to the gibbering mouther. Sliding into Perdition
With each death, Ereshkigal's grasp on the temple grows stronger, bringing it closer to the underworld. Even the deaths of Hadina or the transformed priests serve this end. After three deaths, corrosive vapors fill the air, acting as an inhaled poison (DC 13, initial damage 1 Con, secondary damage 1d4 Con, check once per hour). The demons and gibbering mouther are immune to this vapor, but Hadina is not. The area becomes mildly evil- and chaos-aligned (DMG p. 149). After six deaths, the energy of the underworld infuses the temple, impeding conjuration (healing) spells and spell-like abilities. To cast an impeded spell (DMG p. 150), the caster must make a Spellcraft check (DC 20 + the level of the spell). After nine deaths, the temple is brought fully into the underworld. The area becomes strongly evil- and chaos-aligned. Beyond the temple entrance can be seen a bleak and desolate waste, lit by a dim red light with no apparent source. If the demons and gibbering mouther are dispatched before nine deaths have occurred, the ground shakes anew as the temple of Nanna-Suen snaps back into the realm of the living. The pillars in front of the temple crack, the angelic statues topple, and all within the temple must succeed at a DC 15 balance check to remain standing. Any surviving townspeople spill out into the light, grateful to be alive. Designer Notes - Spreading Terror
Creatures
The dretches are in the main temple chamber with five of the townspeople. The other three townspeople are in the entry chamber. Hadina, the gibbering mouther and the babau are in the altar room. When slain or knocked unconscious, the monsters decay rapidly, leaving the crumpled form of their host behind. If the monster was dying or dead, the host is in same state, otherwise the host is unconscious with 1 hp remaining. Even with magical healing, the hosts require many days to recover from their ordeal, and are treated as helpless for the remainder of the encounter. Certain magical effects can restore the host. A successful banishment or dismissal tears the transformed husk away, as does a successful dispel magic or break enchantment against caster level 15. Sending a creature away leaves the host alive with 1 hp and unconscious, as described above. Once the temple has been brought fully into the underworld, banishment and dismissal no longer have any effect. Gibbering mouther CR 5
Babau CR 6
Dretch (3) CR 2
Hadina CR 6
DEFENSE
OFFENSE
TACTICS
STATISTICS
Languages Common
Enatuma, high priestess of Nanna-Suen
Akurida, shield of the faith
Acolytes
Townspeople
Treasure
Ad Hoc Experience Award
The Adventure Continues
PCs that succeeded in returning the temple are welcomed as heroes for preserving the spiritual heart of Orunash. Even so, each life lost is mourned, particularly those of any priests that were slain. In a few days, dire news reaches Orunash: the attack against the temple of Nanna-Suen was not isolated. Reports trickle in of other temples and holy sites vanishing, leaving only barren ground. It seems Ereshkigal's attack on Orunash was only the beginning.
Thematic Link
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Blightspawned Fey CR 5
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Dark Mind (Su): Blightspawned fey can communicate telepathically with other darkblight creatures within 100 feet. Darkblight creatures include blightspawned fey, arbor mortis and moldering shamblers. Infect (Su): Once per week, blightspawned fey can spread the darkblight by entering an uninfected tree using her tree stride spell-like ability. After staying within the tree for a period of one hour, the tree is transformed into arbor mortis. The tree must be at least equivalent to a size Large creature to sustain the infection, and no larger than a Gargantuan creature. A remove curse, remove disease or heal spell cast upon the tree before the transformation is complete cures the tree and ejects the blightspawned fey. Siphon Healing (Su): As an immediate action, a blightspawned fey can absorb a conjuration (healing) spell cast within 60 feet, applying the affect to herself instead of the intended target or targets. This ability works even if the fey is out of the spell's range or area of effect. Spawn Weapons (Su): Once per round as a free action, a blightspawned fey can create a thorned vine or javelin from the vines surrounding her body. As a standard action, she can create 50 feet of vine rope (treat as hemp rope, 2 hp, burst DC 23). Thorns (Ex): Any creature striking a blightspawned fey with handheld weapons or natural weapons takes 2d4 points of piercing damage from the fey's thorns. Note that weapons with exceptional reach, such as longspears, do not endanger their users in this way. Ecology
Born of a dryad that turned her back on nature, blightspawned fey are filled with hatred for all living creatures. For the past decade, they have been spreading throughout the forests of the world, leaving behind blackened stumps where once great trees stood. They care only for their own survival, at any cost. Cowards by nature, blightspawned fey strike prefer to strike from ambush and with overwhelming strength. Ecology
Blightspawned fey grow from the seed of the arbor mortis tree, implanted in the corpse of a humanoid or fey by a moldering shambler. The remains of the moldering shambler form a cocoon around this corpse. After three days, a newly born blightspawned fey tears its way out of the husk fully formed and aware. She infects a tree as soon as possible, forming the bond that sustains her life. New blightspawned fey are created only rarely, usually when an arbor mortis tree has lost it fey or a moldering shambler is left uncontrolled. Increasingly, however, blightspawned fey are banding together in infestations and deliberately increasing their number. Curing Darkblight
Habitat and Society
Most blightspawned fey live apart from each other. Each is guarded by their current tree and a handful of moldering shamblers. Any new blightspawned fey created by the shamblers are driven off by the elder fey, sent away to find distant trees to infect. As the darkblight has come to the attention of treants, druids, and other guardians of the forest, the blightspawned fey have found their lives imperiled. Increasingly, the blightspawned fey are banding together in small enclaves, pockets of death within the woods. These infestations of darkblight creatures are better able to defend themselves against the allies of nature. Individual blightspawned fey from the infestation are sent out to spread the darkblight to new locations. Treasure
Sample Encounter
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The mold-covered, disease-ridden elm before you uproots itself and takes a ponderous step forward, branches waving menacingly. Although you can see no eyes, the terrible creature somehow senses your presence. The already misty air grows cold with the chill of the grave as the tree strides closer. Arbor Mortis CR 7
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Canny Foe (Ex): Arbor mortis can use its Intelligence modifier in place of its Dexterity modifier for Initiative checks. Consumption (Ex): The balance of energies within an arbor mortis tree is precarious, and cannot be long sustained. In time, the negative energies overwhelm the remaining life within the tree, killing it. An arbor mortis tree can survive for 1 day per HD before being consumed. Dark Mind (Su): Arbor mortis can communicate telepathically with other darkblight creatures within 100 feet. Although lacking eyes, an arbor mortis tree can see and hear anything that the other creatures in the dark mind link can see. Darkblight creatures include blightspawned fey, arbor mortis and moldering shamblers. Lifebane Touch (Su): The blows of an arbor mortis tree causes 2d6 points of negative energy damage to living creatures. Lifebane touch has no effect on creatures healed by negative energy. Lifesense (Su): An arbor mortis tree notices and locates living or formerly living creatures within 60 feet, just as if it possessed the blindsense ability. Unlike conventional blindsense, the tree can use lifesense for targeting spell-like abilities. This ability can detect undead creatures, but not constructs. Negative Affinity (Su): Arbor mortis feeds off of negative energy (such as inflict spells), and is treated as an undead creature for effects that use negative energy. Unlike undead, arbor mortis is not harmed by positive energy. Sacrifice Minion(Su): As an immediate action, an arbor mortis tree can redirect a single attack or effect to a moldering shambler with 100 feet, after the consequences of that attack or effect are known. It can do this even if the effect would have proved fatal or incapacitating. The moldering shambler retains its usual resistances and immunities against the effect, but does not get an additional saving throw. Ecology
Arbor mortis are driven by two desires: to defend blightspawned fey, particularly those bonded them, and an unrelenting hatred of all other living creatures. They gladly sacrifice themselves and their undead minions in defense of the blightspawned fey, knowing that they are doomed to death regardless. Ecology
The negative and positive energies contained within the arbor mortis tree are used in the creation of its minions, the moldering shamblers. These vine-covered zombies serve as both the guardians and seed bearers of the arbor mortis. Curing Darkblight
Habitat and Society
An arbor mortis tree is in constant telepathic communication with any nearby moldering shamblers and darkblight fey, seeing what they see and hearing what they hear. Although subservient to the blightspawned fey, the arbor mortis act as commanders during battle, directing fey and shambler alike. In these battles, the arbor mortis and moldering shamblers are expendable, the blightspawned fey are not. An arbor mortis tree that finds itself without any blightspawned fey to protect hunts the living, transforming them into moldering shamblers. It then directs a shambler to implant its seed in a suitable corpse. Even if the arbor mortis tree itself dies before the corpse grows into a new blightspawned fey, it will have ensured the further spread of darkblight. Treasure
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The first adventurers who battled moldering shamblers thought they were battling the unholy union of a zombie and a shambling mound, and gave them a name that reflected their nature. Moldering shamblers are the servants of the arbor mortis trees, corpses given a semblance of life with necromantic power. Animate vines wrap around and through their rotted flesh, strengthening them and shielding them from blows. In battle, the vines ensnare foes struck by the shamblers, strangling the life from them. Sample Moldering shambler
This creature was created by first applying the zombie template to an ettercap, then the moldering shambler template to the resulting ettercap zombie. Ettercap Moldering Shambler CR 4 NE Medium undead
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Implant (Ex): A moldering shambler that is rooted and grappling a recently slain or helpless foe can attempt to implant a seed as a standard action. The foe must be a Small- or Medium-sized humanoid or fey, and must be alive or dead no longer than five rounds. A foe that is still alive receives a Fortitude save against this, the save DC is Strength-based. On a success, the foe still takes constrict damage, on failure, the foe is slain. Note that pinned foes are not helpless. A moldering shambler that successfully implants a seed is destroyed. It leaves behind a cocoon of vines and branches around the remains of its victim. In three days, the cocoon hatches into a blightspawned fey, destroying the body in the process. The cocoon and seed can be destroyed while leaving the body intact with a remove curse, remove disease or heal spell. Attempts to open the cocoon or remove the seed by non-magical means result in the destruction of the body. Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, an ettercap moldering shambler must hit a Medium or smaller opponent with its slam, claw or bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can constrict. Root (Ex): A moldering shambler that begins the round in a grapple on the ground in natural surroundings can attempt to root as a standard action, sending runners into the ground while wrapping its foe in strangling vines. To successfully root, the moldering shambler must win an opposed grapple check. If it wins the grapple check, the moldering shambler causes constrict damage and roots. While rooted, it gains fast healing 5, a +5 bonus to grapple checks, and a +4 circumstance bonus to resist bull rushes and trips. While rooted, a moldering shambler cannot move from the square it currently occupies. It can uproot as a standard action. A successful bull rush or trip uproots the shambler, but it receives a +4 circumstance bonus against such attempts. Any other effect that moves the moldering shambler also uproots it. Single Actions Only (Ex) Moldering shamblers have poor reflexes and can perform only a single move action or attack action each round. A moldering shambler can move up to its speed and attack in the same round, but only if it attempts a charge. Creating a moldering shambler
A moldering shambler uses all the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here. Challenge Rating: As base creature +1. Armor Class: The tangled growths covering the moldering shambler improve its natural armor bonus by 3 above that of the base creature. Defensive Abilities: Moldering shamblers gain fire and cold resistance 10. Special Attacks: A moldering shambler gains the constrict, implant, improved grab and root special attacks. Constrict (Ex): A moldering shambler deals its slam damage with a successful grapple check. Implant (Ex): A moldering shambler that is rooted and grappling a recently slain or helpless foe can attempt to implant a seed as a standard action. The foe must be a Small- or Medium-sized humanoid or fey, and must be alive or dead no longer than five rounds. A foe that is still alive receives a Fortitude save against this, the save DC is Strength-based. On a success, the foe still takes constrict damage, on failure, the foe is slain. Note that pinned foes are not helpless. A moldering shambler that successfully implants a seed is destroyed. It leaves behind a cocoon of vines and branches around the remains of its victim. In 3 days, the cocoon hatches into a blightspawned fey, destroying the body in the process. The cocoon and seed can be destroyed while leaving the body intact with a remove curse, remove disease or heal spell. Attempts to open the cocoon or remove the seed by non-magical means result in the destruction of the body. Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a moldering shambler must hit a creature of its size or smaller with a natural weapon. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can constrict. Root (Ex): A moldering shambler that begins the round in a grapple on the ground in natural surroundings can attempt to root as a standard action, sending runners into the ground while wrapping its foe in strangling vines. To successfully root, the moldering shambler must win an opposed grapple check. If it wins the grapple check, the moldering shambler causes constrict damage and roots. While rooted, it gains fast healing 5, a +5 bonus to grapple checks, and a +4 circumstance bonus to resist bull rushes and trips. While rooted, a moldering shambler cannot move from the square it currently occupies. It can uproot as a standard action. A successful bull rush or trip uproots the shambler, but it receives a +4 circumstance bonus against such attempts. Any other effect that moves the moldering shambler also uproots it. During Combat Moldering shamblers attack their nearest foes, attempting to capture them with their improved grab ability. Once it is grappling, a shambler attempts to root, then constricts until the foe is dead. A moldering shambler generally only uses its implant ability when no other foes are nearby. Morale Moldering shamblers fight to the death. Special Qualities: A moldering shambler loses the normal damage reduction of the base creature, instead gaining damage reduction 5/cold iron. It gains fast healing 5 when rooted. Abilities: A moldering shambler's Strength increases by +2. Feats: Moldering shamblers gain Improved Grapple as a feat. Environment: Moldering shamblers are found in any forest. Languages: Moldering shamblers understand simple commands in Fey. They cannot speak. Ecology
Moldering shamblers spawn blightspawned fey by implanting their seeds within freshly slain humanoids or fey, infecting the corpse with darkblight in the process. The shambler implanting the seed is destroyed, its flesh rotting away and its vines winding around the victim to form a protective cocoon. After 3 days, the cocoon hatches into a fully grown blightspawned fey. Most arbor mortis trees restrain their moldering shamblers from implanting, preferring to keep their minions intact. Curing Darkblight
Uncontrolled moldering shamblers
Seskadrin, Satrap of the Ahestian Sea CR 13 [2 base, +2 6 HD advancement, +1 size large, +8 associated class levels] "Too long have we been our own worst enemy. Too long have we thought only of blood and slaughter. Too long have we sought to swim the seas alone. Our birthright, our destiny, is conquest, to make our enemies our slaves and meat." – Seskadrin, addressing the Convocation of Suzerains. Male Advanced Four-Armed Sahuagin Paladin of Tyranny 8
DEFENSE AC 22, touch 12 [+2 deflection, +1 Dex, -1 size], flat-footed 21 [+3 armor, +2 deflection, +7 natural, -1 size]
OFFENSE Spd 30 ft., swim 60 ft.
TACTICS Before Combat Seaskadrin prepares for battle by casting eagle’s splendor on himself and corrupt weapon on his trident.
STATISTICS Str 23 [10 base, +4 racial, +8 size], Dex 13 [12 base, +2 racial, -2 size, +1 level bump 4th], Con 18 [12 base, +2 racial, +4 size], Int 17 [13 base, +4 racial], Wis 14 [12 base, +2 racial], Cha 21 [16 base, –2 racial, +2 level bumps 8th, 12th, 16th, +4 enhancement]
SPECIAL ABILITIES Aura of Evil (Su) The power of Seskadrin’s aura of evil (see the detect evil spell) is equal to his paladin level of 8.
DESCRIPTION Like the shark, sahuagin never stop growing. Seskadrin is 142 years old and a towering nine feet tall. He was a rare four-armed birth, an early advantage on the path to power. Seskadrin is a natural leader with a keen intellect and an unshakeable faith in his own destiny. He believes he was born to establish the rule of the sahuagin over all within the sea. He rejects the dogma of the shark-priests, that sahuagin must destroy their enemies, instead preaching control and subjugation. Seskadrin has battled his way up the ranks of the Convocation of Suzerains by challenge, and rules a full two score sahuagin towns and villages. He embeds the talons of his defeated foes in his chest as grim trophies of his victories. The shark-priests have branded Seskadrin a heretic, but he is gaining favor among the cult of Asmodeus. One of the Asmodeans, Kandrakar, is Seskadrin’s most trusted advisor and confidant. Following Kandrakar’s advice, Seskadrin has set his sights upon the island-nation Eluraelon, once home to a sizeable sahuagin city. He has infiltrated the ranks of the sea elves and humans of the atoll using the three-fold dictum of Asmodeus: coerce, corrupt, and control. Those he cannot recruit through blackmail or promises of wealth and power find themselves eliminated or enslaved. His agents are at work scouring the ruins beneath the waters, searching for the lost Trident of the Leviathan. With this in hand, he will enlist the legions of Hell itself in the forging of his empire. PLOT HOOKS Seskadrin keeps a number of hostages as a means of controlling his agents. One is the wife of the sea elf knight Nariand. After many months of unwilling service, Nariand has learned where his wife is held, and seeks a band of heroes to aid in her rescue. Unbeknownst to Nariand, the information was planted as a test of his loyalty. The sahuagin guarding the outpost have orders to feed the prisoner to their sharks at the first sign of intruders. Seskadrin has been raiding ships to fund his ambitions. A scout attaches an anchor feather token to the ship, stopping it dead in its tracks. A crack team of sahuagin raiders, often led by Seskadrin himself, boards the ship, killing or capturing all aboard. The survivors are taken to an air-filled prison in Seskadrin’s palace. There, they meet their end in gladiatorial battle with their captors, culminating in a gruesome feast. The attacks have been attributed to a rise in piracy, and adventurers have been hired to safeguard valuable cargoes by the desperate merchants.
Eluraelon
Description: Located just north of the equator within the remote reaches of the Western Sea, Eluraelon is comprised of the 57 coral islands making up Eluraelon Atoll. The islands range in size from 4 miles by 2 miles for Eluraelon Island to sandy outcroppings barely exposed at high tide.
DM Secrets: The lagoon inside the island ring of Eluraelon is scattered with underwater ruins, once the cities and temples of a great sahuagin kingdom. The sahuagin were driven out centuries ago by an alliance forged between sea elves, merfolk and locathah. The sahuagin still lurk in the ocean depths outside of Eluraelon, their strength waxing over long years. Promises of dark power and unlimited treasure have gained the sahuagin allies amongst their racial enemies, and these traitorous elves are scouring the ancient ruins, searching for the lost Trident of the Leviathan, an ancient relic of the sahuagin lost in the fall of their cities. The sahuagin have established a number of small outposts inside the lagoon in preparation for their war of retribution. Tilanta, a member of the Assemblage of Seers, has spent years studying the trajectory of falling stars. She has charted the course of a meteor that she believes will impact in the ocean only a few hundred miles from Ronjir, and seeks escorts to aid her in its recovery. Tilanta is unaware that the meteor is being called to this location by the rituals an undersea cult of diabolists led by a powerful kraken. The cult plans to use the unearthly metals of the meteor to brew and spread an alchemical blight through the ocean, sacrificing thousands in a blasphemous ritual. Piracy has been a thorn in the side of Eluraelon for some time. While the atoll itself has been quite safe for shipping, the past year has seen a steady increase in pirate attacks in the open ocean outside the atoll. Zemthir, owner of a cash-strapped shipping line, has suffered more than most from the attacks. In truth, Zemthir is in league with the pirates, and targeted his own ships in order to avoid suspicion. As a result of his outspoken calls to put an end to the pirate menace, Zemthir has been put in charge of coordinating Eluraelon’s efforts against the pirates by the Triumvirate. He has been feeding the pirate captains regular information on shipping schedules and naval operations, all the while squirreling away his ill-gotten gains and plotting his flight from the island. Conditions on Antata are appalling. The island has far more population than it can easily sustain, but the prospect of earning hard coin on Eluraelon Island brings in more of the outlying native population every year. A charismatic young man named Rongelan has been fanning the flames of unrest on Antata. He preaches the need to return to the old ways, and rid the islands of the corrupting foreigners.
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