TheGreatWot's page

Hello there, I have returned (for those of you that actually know me). I'm rewriting my Adventure Path, Black Plains. The first draft can be accessed here, and the rewrite can be found here.

It's quite the long read overall, but any thoughts, comments, or suggestions are welcome. In the past, I've included several suggested magic items and monster encounters in the AP, so if you make any suggestions that I like, you may see it turning up later on.

Advice regarding balancing treasure and encounter difficulty is also welcome- that's one of the most difficult parts of writing an adventure, in my experience.

I'm writing a campaign and at one point will be giving my players a minor artifact. It's a spear, currently split into five shards, that the players will be able to reforge and use to combat the later enemies in the campaign. I'm struggling, however, to find flavorful and effective powers to give it- many artifacts have some sort of complex, unique power that isn't always as simple as a bonus to a saving throw or stat.

The item itself is Ainhara, a +2 aberration-bane spear. The players will be 8th level by the time they can make use of the thing. The campaign is largely Lovecraftian, hence the aberration-bane power. The item's lore is that it was crafted by an ancient civilization that once inhabited the badlands that the PCs explore later in the campaign. During a cataclysm that introduced a massive influx of horrible creatures to the badlands, the civilization fell and the spear was shattered and lost.

I'm currently thinking some sort of restorative power, as the spear was meant to combat the many ability-draining and maddening powers that powerful aberrations have. Any suggestions as to other powers would be appreciated.

I'm back! And I'm still working (albeit slowly) on my module. While the plot itself is fairly well laid out so far, I'm having trouble finding the right type and amount of encounters to include. How much is too much? The module runs from levels 4 to 10 (PCs will only reach 10th level after the final boss) and I'm currently working on the 5th level section. The setting is a keep that's been overrun by gnolls that worship several Outer Gods and Great Old Ones, and their minions.

I'm not sure how to determine the right amount of encounters. The main boss of each section of the module- the PCs face one before each level increase- is a PC level +3 fight. The final encounter of the module itself is CR 13. Each section has a few minibosses, encounters that are 2 CR higher than the PCs' levels, and the rest is PC level -1, +0, or +1. I haven't playtested any of the encounters yet, as I don't really have a group that I'm willing to spoil the module for, and I can't trust myself not to build absolutely broken characters.

My secondary issue is adding gear. Should I just take the WBL of 4 10th-level PCs and add a total of that amount into the module, spreading it evenly so each section holds a level-appropriate amount? Is there anything I should compensate for in the addition of treasure into the module?

Any help you guys can give is appreciated. This is going to be a very challenging adventure but I don't want it to be impossible. I can provide links to the module itself if anyone is interested in specifics.

Edit: To clarify, I'm using milestone XP for lessened bookkeeping. Maybe I should just do the math and add encounters that would gain PCs roughly one level in each section.

Hi y'all. I wasn't exactly sure where to put this, so it goes here until a mod moves it. :p

I drew some art. Some of it is from a module that I'm writing, some of it is from Reddit where I drew it for others, and some is just stuff I've drawn. It's all fantasy, and almost all of it is Pathfinder-related. I hope you like it.

Donmir the bard and his tiefling daughter Lin

Nukariax, a fallen brass dragon who uses a giant adamanatine sword because natural attacks are for chumps

Osurec the Lotus King, a legendary figure from a worldbuilding thing that I never finished

Mozerah the Lightdrinker, the BBEG of my module

Draghull, a dragonborn cleric

Oskenja, the pawn of Mozerah and srongest among the Twisted Claw gnolls

Meeks, a kobold fisherman

An elf wizard portrait

A gambling satyr who's also a trickery cleric

SOMEWHAT NSFW - Yuan-ti fighter

Hasaan the gnoll bard and his intelligent ukelele Janos

The Maidens Three, a trio of tragic baddies from my module

Mother's Fang, the power behind the throne in the gnoll city of Ita

Trio of adventurers (this one was a commission!)

That's all that I could find on my laptop.

I'm passing the time by coming up with concepts for baddies. Nothing really concrete, just ideas floating around in my head. One idea that I thought was simultaneously funny and scary in the context of the game is a villain that realizes that things in his universe aren't as they should be. Perhaps he got a glimpse of our world, or another game system, whatever. He just knows that there are rules to his universe that bind everything, and he's tired of living by those rules.

Is it even possible to run a character that's aware of the rules underlying the RPG that's being played? How would such a villain fight? I imagine a lot of metagaming going on in his mind, which could be fun if used correctly or very annoying if abused.

I'm designing a module and one of the enemies is a medium. He's a gnoll, 4th level, and will be encountered along with a 5th level gnoll cleric and a 3rd level gnoll inquisitor. That's a CR 7 encounter- right in the range that I need. He has the Voice of the Void archetype for thematic reasons.

The only problem is that I have no idea how to build a medium!

I wanted to use this module as a way to push myself and build with some things that I've never used before. After a look at the medium class, I decided on having him channel a champion and focus on melee combat. The cleric is also a melee combatant, while the inquisitor is ranged. They've got time to buff up, and they've already shared his seance.

I need general build advice... feats, spells (though his champion spirit will limit those pretty significantly), ability scores to focus on, etc.

Hi y'all. I'm writing my own module and I've got some ideas for encounters that I'm very excited about. The only downside is that they're too high CR in the end! The section I'm currently working on is a keep called Grasswall. The PCs have infiltrated the keep by this point, and are facing a gnoll with 7 levels of cleric who has been built up throughout the module. That's a CR 7 encounter. The PCs are 5th level here, so it's boss-level. I was planning on adding some support for the cleric, as solo casters tend to melt like ice in Death Valley against a party of PCs, and was thinking of adding a weakened unique chimera (CR 6) for his mount. He'd be initially fought in a ritual chamber in the keep itself, then he'll meld into stone (if possible) once he's damaged enough and move up the tower to mount his chimera and fight the PCs there.

The downside is that the CR of these encounters will be all over the place. A CR 7 cleric with a couple of acolytes (probably inquisitors or fighters) will be at least party level plus 3. I dislike the CR system overall (it seems arbitrary and not the greatest of guidelines at times), and since I'm not using xp in this module, it won't affect the PCs' level. I'm just worried that I'll inadvertently cause a TPK. Does anyone have some experience with this kind of thing? Maybe some encounters that should have been hard but were easy, or vice versa? Any advice you can give me will be appreciated.

The cleric isn't the final boss of the module, or even the keep- that's a CR 10/MR 1 mothman and a CR 7 dragon, respectively. He's just been built up a lot, and I want to make this memorable.

Hey y'all, I'm writing my own module and I've been spending some of my now-copious amounts of free time drawing some baddies from it. I thought I'd share it here, because why not?

Artwork here!

I hope you enjoy. If anyone wants to suggest more stuff to draw, I'll probably do it. I'm underage, so I work for free.

Hey y'all. I'm writing my own module (check it out here) and the penultimate boss encounter of the part I'm working on is a tarnished brass dragon. I posted a bit in the homebrew section, but this one gets far more traffic. Does that link work? Nobody has told me if it's faulty yet.

Background: The PCs are 4th level here, will by 5th level when they face the dragon, and 6th level after his defeat. The players fight their way through a town that's been raided by gnolls, freeing people and fighting the lovecraftian monsters that were brought along by the attackers. The dragon itself is a young brass dragon named Nukariax, who traded his ability to speak with animals for an alter self ability (part of his backstory). When he raided the town, he was in his human guise, a warrior covered from head to toe in spiked plate. The rescued townsfolk are able to give a description of him, and there's some hints as to something more (one woman saw a building burst into flames in a matter of seconds, but didn't see what did it).

How can I build this up so that my players will be appropriately nervous and surprised by this thing? Nukariax is CR 7, but it's only medium-sized... I don't see him looking like much of a threat, even if he is a dragon.

Hey y'all. I'm currently writing my very own Pathfinder module, titled Black Plains. I already posted a thread exploring the plot in this same section (go over there if you wanna read it), so I won't go into too much detail here.

I need ideas for monsters! The setting is a destroyed town, recently ransacked by gnolls. The PCs are a little bit into level 4 when they arrive, will reach level 5 after clearing out the town, and will reach level 6 after liberating the town's fortress called Grasswall. The backstory, to sum it up, is that a horde of gnolls recently overran the town and pushed the hobgoblin defenders of the fortress deeper into the catacombs, where they're now under siege. The gnolls have a connection to Shub-Niggurath, and Lovecraftian elements are a large part of this module. Here are the main areas:

The town of Andalee. The initial area, overrun by gnolls and their monstrous minions.

Grasswall. A century-old fortress run by LN hobgoblins, but recently captured by gnolls. Its true purpose is to keep the Maidens Three (below) contained.

Tomb of the Crippling Gaze. Ancient crypt home to an artifact that tethers the souls of those near it to Nyarlathotep's power and raises those powerful enough as unique undead when they die.

So far, the monsters I've got are:

Gnoll cleric of Shub-Niggurath 7, the co-leader of attack, and currently in the keep - CR 6
Mutant leucrotta named Stagtearer, the gnolls' siege beast, encountered just outside of the town gates - CR 6
The Fangs, a group of 2nd level gnoll barbarians serving as elite troops, encountered both in Grasswall and in the ruined town - CR 3
Nukariax, a tarnished (variant) young brass dragon and leader of the raid - CR 7
The Maidens Three, founders of the town who became undead and now haunt the tombs below the keep, and serve as the secret "final boss" of this part of the module. Advanced unique allip (CR 6), advanced unique poltergeist (CR 5), and an advanced unique shadow (CR 5).
Human zombies!, lots of these in the town square, raised by the gnoll priest.

The themes I'm exploring in this module are cosmic horror and subversion of monstrous tropes. Hobgoblins are good, dragon is bad, etc. Any suggestions will be appreciated as long as they're in the reasonable CR range for the levels they're encountered at. I need help keeping things interesting and throwing some memorable encounters at the PCs. Not all of this section will be combat, but that's a large portion of it.

Thanks for any help.
Here's the link to the module itself so far (I'm not sure if it works, so tell me if it doesn't) if you want to leave suggestions.

Black Plains

Hey y'all, I'm designing my very own (and very first) module for my group to play. It's currently in the homebrew section if you'd like to check it out. I'm designing the encounters and maps, but I'm stuck on the amount of treasure that the players will need. The PCs begin at 4th level and make it to 7th just before the final boss fight.

Some background: The players will have access to one large town and several small towns and villages, as well as a (formerly) well-stocked fortress that they will liberate. I'm not sure whether to add four times the player wealth by level and be done with it, or add some more to make up for players not finding everything, as Paizo developers have mentioned doing before, or to go off of something else entirely. Wealth by level seems a bit excessive at times, especially with access to crafting feats and a reliable place to buy and sell gear.

Do any of you have experience with this sort of thing, and if so, what do you recommend? The final encounter of this adventure has the PCs facing off against a CR 10 creature with one mythic rank. I don't want to steamroll anyone, but it should be a challenge. I want to make sure that my players are adequately geared up.

Hey y'all, I recently came up with an idea for a one-shot campaign that I may flesh out and DM for my group. I wasn't quite sure where to post this, so the general playtest section seemed like a good idea. The setting for this story is not a particular area of Golarion- just some place with plains and rocky land. The PCs begin the adventure at 4th level and end it at 7th level. Here is the plot of the adventure thus far:

TL;DR
Insane mothman corrupts tribe of gnolls, promotes greater aggression. Hobgoblins fighting gnolls are mostly corrupted as well, and fall into chaos. PCs must save hobs first, then destroy mothman and return region to peace before gnolls cause enough slaughter and cannibalism to summon an avatar of Shub-Niggurath.

A few years ago, a mothman named Mozerah sought the help of dark powers in his quest to steer fate in its proper course. He delved too deep, however, and became corrupted by Shub-Niggurath, the Outer Goddess of fertility and monsters. He received visions of a great monster descending from the stars and gained the ability to perform three rituals in Shub-Niggurath's name. This granted Mozerah a mythic tier, making him an agent of Shub-Niggurath and a conduit for her vast power. Following his visions, Mozerah sought a group of creatures that he could easily manipulate into fulfilling his vision. He found his pawns in a tribe of gnolls known as the Twisted Claws, who were, like most gnolls, vicious but unorganized.

The Twisted Claws are led by Bone Gnawer Oskenja, formerly a flesheater barbarian. Mozerah targeted Oskenja first, luring Oskenja into a cave where Mozerah had made his lair. Oskenja fell victim to Mozerah's mythic dominate person spell and was granted spellcasting power in a ritual that made use of Shub-Niggurath's powers of transformation. Formerly a barbarian, Oskenja left the cave as an oracle of the dark tapestry. Upon arriving back in the gnoll village, he began to preach the virtues of darkness and conquest, seeking to turn his former tribesmen to the worship of Shub-Niggurath and his new "crawling god". The gnolls, uneasy around him but cowed by his magic and promises of power, began to escalate their raids on nearby villages.

Mozerah's manipulations didn't end there. One night, he telepathically called out to the gnoll shamaness, Mother's Fang, and led her to his cave with promises of power and descriptions of horrific fertility that she would soon be blessed with. In the dark and dripping caverns, Mozerah mated with the shamaness. Ew. In a second ritual, the pregnancy was accelerated and Mother's Fang gave birth to an undead creature touched by Shub-Niggurath. Mozerah had seen the creature in his visions. The creature would become the final sacrifice needed to bring down an avatar of Shub-Niggurath from the stars. This beast required the blood of gnoll young to remain strong, so Mozerah began to capture the weakest cubs of the lowliest gnolls, feeding them to his offspring and animating the remains as warped undead minions.

Enter the hobs. A legion of unusually cooperative hobgoblin deserters known as the Pariahs had long resided in the region, trading with human towns and keeping gnoll raids to a minimum through use of guerrilla warfare. The Pariahs reside in a fortress known as the Grasswall, several days away from the nearest village. With gnoll raids increasing, the hobgoblins are forced to retaliate more strongly, and send out patrols to seek the reason behind the gnoll aggression. After the first two patrols disappeared, the hobgoblins sent an envoy to the human town of Kes, hoping to recruit local adventurers to do part of their job for them and reduce hobgoblin casualties. Of course, this is where the PCs come in.

Upon arrival at the hobgoblin's fortress, the PCs and their escorts find it in disarray. The fortress has been overrun! A combination of infiltrations from otherworldly creatures and a cult of hobgoblin heretics worshiping Shub-Niggurath have corrupted the fortress from within (the long trip to the human village from Grasswall means that the envoys had no knowledge of this). The PCs must liberate the fort and the small group of sane hobgoblins within it, then seek the source of the gnoll raids themselves.

Upon finding the gnoll village, the PCs can either scout it out or do a full-on raid. Either way, they find the gnolls in the midst of a schism. On one side are the traditionalist gnolls, mostly worshipers of Lamashtu. They stand in opposition to the larger group of converts, including Oskenja and Mother's Fang, who worship Shub-Niggurath and send sacrifices to the crawling god. If they so desire, the PCs can side (temporarily) with the traditionalist gnolls to first defeat the corrupted leaders, then use clues found in Oskenja's longhouse (or simply the guidance of an allied gnoll) to seek Mozerah's cave.

Mozerah's cave has long been avoided by the gnolls, seen as a cursed place. The gnoll allies of the PCs, if they sided with the traditionalists, refuse to enter. The cave itself is vast and expansive, going deep into the earth and connecting several large caverns. The PCs fight aberrations, oozes, and the undead remnants of the gnoll tribe's young. Eventually, they reach Mozerah's demense and must penetrate a deeper darkness spell warded by a darkvault spell. If they can dispach the mythic mothman, they'll put an end to his plans and save the region from a much larger campaign of slaughter and sacrifice, as well as stopping the arrival of one of Shub-Niggurath's avatars.

Below are the simplified stats of some of the important NPCs in this adventure! Mozerah's full statblock is further below.

Mozerah: CE advanced arcane unique male mothman (CR 10/MR 1)
Mozerah was not always the servant of darkness that he is today. He was once a normal mothman, steering fate in its proper course. In his quest for a more efficient means of changing the fate of living creatures, he encountered lore praising Shub-Niggurath. His already fragile mind was overcome with the magically enhanced power of the book he'd found, and he was gifted with knowledge of three rituals, one for each aspect of Shub-Niggurath: One to transform, one to corrupt, and one to summon. He used the ritual of transformation on Oskenja, turning him into an oracle. The ritual of corruption was used to twist and quicken the birth of Makani. The final ritual has yet to be used- when the Twisted Claws have captured enough humans and converted fully to the worship of Shub-Niggurath, they will destroy the captives in a sacrificial orgy of consumption and slaughter. Then, they will turn on each other, their newfound hunger impossible to control. When Makani himself is the only gnoll remaining, having consumed enough of his tribemates, Mozerah himself will arrive and kill the undead flind to release the concentrated energies of all the corrupted gnolls and slaughtered humans. This, he believes, will call down an aspect of Shub-Niggurath, and he will be granted unholy power by his dark mistress.

Bone Gnawer Oskenja: CE Male flind oracle 6 (CR 7)
A hulking flind who always carries a blackened staff, Oskenja is not the flind he once was. His mind was broken by Mozerah, but he was given powerful magic in return.

Mother's Fang: NE Female gnoll witch (bouda) 3/cleric of Shub-Niggurath 3/mystic theurge 2 (CR 7)
This hairless, tattooed gnoll crone is the former shamaness of the Twisted Claws. Now she serves her dark patron and coordinates the dull-witted Oskenja to organize the gnolls and raid human villages for sacrifices. Though she used to serve Lamashtu, Mother's Fang has turned to an even more alien goddess of fertility.

Makani, Eater of Cubs: CE male giant dread zombie ahool-blooded flind (CR 6)
Makani is the mutated offspring of Mozerah and Mother's Fang, and serves as a conduit for Shub-Niggurath's power. He controls the Stillborn that infest the cave, but is ignorant of his ultimate purpose as the final sacrifice needed to draw Shub-Niggurath's avatar to the earth.

Godah: CN male gnoll barbarian (flesheater) 4/fighter (unbreakable) 1 (CR 6)
Leader of the traditionalist gnolls, Godah is trapped in the midst of a deadly conflict. He seeks to preserve his tribe and his way of life, but secretly tires of the constant gnoll deaths that devotion to Lamashtu has brought. He hides this (by gnoll standards) cowardice by flinging himself into battle with bloody zeal. He is the most receptive to help from outsiders, and gladly assists the PCs in the battle against the gnoll converts.

Stillborn of Shub-Niggurath: CE fiendish young gnoll juju zombie (CR 2)
Makani's hunger leaves little behind after his feeding is done, but Mozerah is nothing if not patient. He stitches together the torn remains of gnoll cubs and animates them as Stillborn of Shub-Niggurath. These creatures now infest his lair, skittering through tunnels and pursuing intruders in hordes.

Slaying Bolt: LN female hobgoblin ranger (skirmisher) 6 (CR 5)
Slaying Bolt is the leader of the remaining sane hobgoblins of Grasswall. She keeps her survivors together with rigid discipline and keen tactics- both of which come easily to hobgoblins. She long ago gave up her birth name to serve Grasswall and devote herself to fighting against the gnoll tribes of the region. She is wary of human intervention, but the hobgoblins of Grasswall are mostly lawful neutral rather than evil. They accept help from the PCs and fight alongside them in their reclamation of the fortress.

Here's the full stats of our friend Mozerah. Normally, he'd be CR 9, but his greater number of attacks and special abilities prompted me to push him to 10. That puts him at 3 CR higher than the party level- he should make for a memorable and difficult boss fight.

Mozerah the Lightdrinker - CR 10/MR 1
Unique advanced arcane mothman
CE medium monstrous humanoid (mythic)
Init +10
Senses see in darkness, perception +18

DEFENSE
AC 24 (+6 dex, +6 natural, +2 deflection), touch 18, flat-footed 18
hp 122 (9d10+64)
Fort +8 Ref +12 Will +12
SR 20

OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft. (perfect)
Reach 10 ft. with proboscis
Melee 4 claws +15 (1d6+5 and grab), proboscis +10 touch (psychic rend)
Special Attacks mythic spells (3/day), mind-warping gaze, mind rend, mythic power (3/day, surge +1d6), horrid embrace, grab (claw)
Spell-like Abilities (CL 9th, concentration +15)
1/day: shout (DC 20), obscuring mist, project image (DC 23), dominate person (DC 21), deeper darkness, darkvault, mind fog (DC 21), false vision, mislead (DC 22)
3/day: greater invisibility, major image (DC 19), modify memory (DC 20), nightmare (DC 21), phantasmal killer (DC 20), shadow walk (DC 22), charm monster (DC 20)

STATISTICS
STR 20 (+5) DEX 23 (+6) CON 20 (+5) INT 21 (+5) WIS 23 (+6) CHA 22 (+6)
Base Atk +9 CMB +14 (+20 grapple) CMD 30 (32 vs. grapple)
Feats Improved Initiative, Toughness, Weapon Finesse, Combat Casting, Flyby Attack, Extra Mythic PowerM
Skills perception +18, fly +26, stealth +18, intimidate +18, knowledge (dungeoneering, planes, arcana) +14, bluff +15, survival +18
Languages Aklo, Common, Gnoll, Undercommon (can’t speak), telepathy 100 ft. (see bonded thrall)
SQ see in darkness

TACTICS
Before Combat
Mozerah casts darkvault on his cave every day. If he knows that creatures are approaching his inner sanctum (he likely sees the PCs through the senses of his thrall Oskenja), he casts deeper darkness on his altar. He hides in the back of his cave behind a tapestry, and casts project image and greater invisibility.
During Combat
Mozerah moves his projected image into the air and casts mind fog through it. He then targets a spellcaster with mythic dominate person. After those two spells are cast, he dismisses his projected image and moves from behind the tapestry. In later rounds, he casts more spells such as mythic shout and mythic phantasmal killer. If a creature comes close to him, he makes flyby attacks with his proboscis. If an enemy is able to see through the deeper darkness and his invisibility, he lands and attempts to grapple them so that he can subject them to his horrid embrace.
Morale
Fanatically devoted to Shub-Niggurath, Mozerah fights to the death to protect his ritual.

Note: Remember that any creature that can see through the darkness and invisibility is subjected to Mozerah’s mind-warping gaze.

SPECIAL ABILITIES
Psychic Rend (Ex)
When Mozerah hits a creature with his proboscis, he carves away a portion of the target’s intellect. The target must make a DC 20 fortitude save or take 1d4 points of intelligence damage and become confused for 1 round. A successful save negates the confusion and reduces the intelligence damage to 1 point. This is a mind-affecting effect.

Bonded Thrall (Su)
A creature dominated or charmed by Mozerah can communicate telepathically with him over any distance, and Mozerah can use the senses of the bonded creature. This allows him to control dominated creatures and direct charmed creatures over any distance. When using his thrall’s senses, Mozerah is helpless.

Horrid Embrace (Su)
If Mozerah succeeds on a check to maintain a grapple, he can fold his wings around the grappled creature and subject it to horrific mental visions. The creature must make a DC 20 will save or become sickened for 1d6 rounds. This is a mind-affecting effect.

Mind-Bending Gaze
Fear, 30 feet, will DC 20 negates. A creature that fails its save against this attack becomes shaken for 1d6 rounds. A creature currently suffering from a fear effect that fails this save instead takes 1d4 points of wisdom damage. This is a mind affecting fear effect.

Overall, what do y'all think? The idea itself came to me when I was drawing gnolls- I wanted to include a traditional group of enemies (gnolls and hobgoblins) and add a twist in the form of Mozerah's influence and the helpfulness of the hobgoblins living in Grasswall. I had a ton of fun writing this up and statting Mozerah, and I plan to continue developing the storyline, making some maps, and fleshing out the enemies. If you made it to the end of this, please tell me what you think of this fledgling adventure. I would love to hear your feedback and change the adventure accordingly to make it as balanced, fun, and challenging as possible. This is my first homemade module. :p

While I haven't played through this AP, I have read it, and the whole plotline with Sorshen just annoys the 9 hells out of me. Here we have a woman whose acts include:

1. Indirectly killing a crowd of people in the process of finding her champion.

2. Slaughtering thousands of innocents to create the Everdawn Pool and achieve eternal youth, the benefits of which she still reaps to this day.

3. Conspiring with the other runelords to depose a rightful and generally pretty nice ruler (Xin) so that she could consolidate her own power.

4. Hiring the PCs to kill her rivals and make way for her kingdom of New Thassilon, while doing nearly nothing to help them directly- including helping them take down Alaznist, whose CR is significantly lower than hers. For real, Sorshen could have hit Alaznist with a mythic augmented meteor swarm or two and she would have melted immediately.

5. Coming forward after the PCs save the entire friggin' land of Varisia (and much of the Inner Sea) to forge her own nation for... outcasts, I guess? Her own nation, which she now gets to rule in perpetuity due to her eternal youth, gained by bathing in the blood of thousands.

I get that she's "redeemed". But she's still Chaotic Neutral (which, by the way, is used as a "pretty much evil" alignment by Paizo), she's still selfish and cowardly, and she's still a criminal and overall terrible person the likes of which Golarion has scarcely seen. Even her actual motives are spotty. She doesn't seem to care much about being a nice person, rather, she has changed her mindset because she saw her fellow runelords getting ganked and decided that being a tyrannical maniac was a good way to get killed.

Other than the fact that she has eight 9th level spell slots, why should the (at least) two groups of powerful heroes in Varisia conspire to remove Sorshen from power and make her answer for her crimes? The whole idea of New Thassilon leaves a bad taste in my mouth, especially since the AP assumes that Sorshen will be allowed to live and continue ruling.

I'm (hopefully) going to be starting the Thrushmoor Terror tomorrow, and after reading through, some of the fights strike me as... lackluster. Risi Nairgon and Melisenn Kororo in particular seem incredibly weak. Risi can make one good(ish) attack, throw a low-DC save or die at a PC, then poke at them for 1d6+2 per round, assuming she even survives long enough to make another attack. Since I'm not a fan of save or die attacks- or rogues in general- I've rebuilt her as a slayer. Melisenn, however, is just... completely irredeemable. No good attack spells, no real minions to buff, and one puny meat shield in her chamber. I dropped the trap and the byakhee, slapped 2 more levels of cleric on her, changed her gear and stats somewhat, and gave her the Dark Tapestry subdomain.
Note: I've used fractional bab and saves for all my NPCs, and I use a 15 point buy rather than straight elite array in my rebuilds to allow for some more flexibility.

Risi Nairgon - CR 6
Female human slayer (sniper) 7
CE medium humanoid (human)
Init +6
Senses perception +10, darkvision 60 ft.

DEFENSE
AC 21 (+5 armor, +6 dex), touch 16, flat-footed 15
hp 67
Fort +6 Ref +10 Will +2

OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft.
Reach 10 ft. with ranseur
Melee longsword +9 (1d8+3) or ranseur +9 (2d4+3)
Ranged +1 composite longbow +14/+9 (1d8+3)
Special Attacks sneak attack +3d6, studied target (+2), deadly aim (-2/+4), deadly range (+7 damage)
SQ slayer talents (combat trick x2), sniper’s eye

STATISTICS
STR 14 (+2) DEX 22 (+6) CON 14 (+2) INT 10 (+0) WIS 10 (+0) CHA 8 (-1)
Base Atk +7 CMB +9 CMD 25
Feats Expert Sniper(bonus, see above), Point-Blank Shot(bonus, see above), Rapid Shot(bonus, see above), Skill Focus (stealth), Deadly Aim, Stealthy, Acrobatic, Roof Runner
Skills perception +10, acrobatics +20 (+29 to jump), stealth +21 (+11 sniping), sleight of hand +16, climb +14, escape artist +18, bluff +9
Languages Common, Kelish
Gear +1 composite longbow (+2 str), longsword, ranseur, boots of striding and springing, +1 mithral chain shirt, 30 arrows, potion of cat’s grace, potion of darkvision

I've changed her tactics accordingly. She'll scale a house near the PCs' inn and attempt to snipe through a window. Her sniper's eye ability and potion of darkvision will allow her to sneak attack someone at night, even if they have concealment. She'll take a standard action to snipe a target (for 1d8+10 damage and 3d6 sneak attack!), starting the surprise round. In the surprise round, she'll take a move action to hide with a -10 sniping penalty. After that, she'll take full-round actions to attack with Master Sniper (if any PC is visible), or if nobody is visible, move near the entrance to the inn and hide again so she can snipe anyone leaving the inn. If she's noticed, she'll scale a house and run off across the rooftops to lose enemies. Overall, I'm playing her as very cautious and acrobatic, with all the roof-jumping and sniping.

Next is our friend Melisenn! Well, my friend. Not the PCs'.

Melisenn Kororo - CR 8
Female human cleric of Hastur 9
CE large humanoid (human)
Init +1
Senses perception +18
Aura evil

DEFENSE
AC 21 (+4 natural, +2 deflection, +5 armor, +1 dex, +1 dodge, -1 size), touch 14, flat-footed 19
hp 100
Fort +10 Ref +6 Will +12
DR 5/evil

OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft.
Melee +1 longspear +14/+9 melee (2d6+10) or melee touch +10
Space/reach 10 ft./10 ft. (20 ft. with longspear)
Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 9th, concentration +15)
5th: summon monster V, righteous might*, plane shift (DC 21)
4th: summon monster IV, terrible remorse (DC 20), divine power*, black tentacles
3rd: fly*, blindness/deafness (DC 19), dispel magic, lightning bolt (DC 19), bestow curse (DC 19)
2nd: cure moderate wounds (2), death knell (DC 18), undetectable alignment*, summon monster II, bull’s strength*
1st: shield of faith*, protection from good*, entropic shield*, feather fall, bane (2, DC 17), murderous command (DC 17)
0 (at-will): detect magic, light, read magic, message
Domains Void (dark tapestry subdomain), Rune

STATISTICS
STR 18 (+4) DEX 12 (+1) CON 17 (+3) INT 10 (+0) WIS 22 (+6) CHA 10 (+0)
Base Atk +6 CMB +11 CMD 24
Feats Toughness, Scribe Scroll, Dodge, Spell Focus (conjuration), Augment Summons, Great Fortitude, Lightning Reflexes, Dreamed Secrets
Skills spellcraft +11, linguistics +6, bluff +6, diplomacy +4, knowledge (arcana) +6, knowledge (planes) +4, knowledge (religion) +10
Gear headband of inspired wisdom +2, +1 chain shirt, +1 longspear, caller's feather

Melisenn comes pre-buffed with divine power, shield of faith, righteous might, fly, protection from good, entropic shield, and bull's strength (all included in her stat block). I know that's a big before-combat list, but honestly, spellcasters who waste their first few rounds buffing are pushovers. Action economy already favors the PCs- I may as well give her a fighting chance. Her caller's feather is something I gave her to allow her to summon a large void elemental, which she'll send after the PCs after they defeat Daridela (This is a throwback to an old kingmaker campaign where my wizard was assaulted by a soul eater).
Her strategy is to zap with a lightning bolt as PCs enter the hallway leading to her court, then fly up and stab at them with her crazy reach when they enter. She'll throw out an advanced babau for some more flanking longspear action. If someone comes close, she'll try to Plane Shift them (I have another side adventure prepared for exactly this circumstance).

So overall, how do these two look? Definitely more challenging, but are they too much? Tell me what you think, and if possible, share how your parties dealt with these encounters. Sorry for the giant post. :p

Hey all, this is my first forum post. Do I get a medal?
I'm currently DMing a game, and while my group is just about to begin the Thrushmoor Terror, I have read the rest of the books in preparation to play them eventually. I designed a creature to replace the 2 flying polyps in area D8 of Neruzavin in What Grows Within, the 5th book of the AP. The area remains much the same, but I'll be removing the columns to allow for more movement. The floor will be covered in seeded corpses- both dead and undead- of past adventurers and creatures that have died in Neruzavin and were taken here to rot.
Anyways, the creature itself. I designed this partially to drive home the horror of Xhamen-Dor's infection (I'm not a fan of the Great Old One myself, so I figured a little horrific imagery couldn't hurt to make it scarier) and partially because I enjoy making custom monsters. The players will enter the chamber, and the see the naked, infected corpses within it writhing, copulating, and consuming each other in a big, gross mess.

The Great Ecstasy - CR 16
Seeded advanced unique corpse orgy
NE colossal undead (augmented)
Init +5; Senses perception +31, darkvision 60 ft., all-around vision, telepathy 100 ft. (other seeded creatures)

DEFENSE
AC 30 (-8 size, +1 dex, +27 natural, +1 dodge), touch 3, flat-footed 27
hp 247 (19d8+152), fast healing 5
Fort +15; Ref +9; Will +19
Defensive abilities: channel resistance +4; Immune: undead traits; Resist: cold 10, electricity 10; Weaknesses: transformed

OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft., swim 40 ft.
Melee 4 slams +27 (2d8+20 plus grab and seedborne consumption, 19-20), 2 tentacles +22 (2d8+10 plus grab and seedborne consumption)
Ranged corpse throw +24 (2d6+30 plus carnage and seedborne consumption)
Space/reach 30 ft./30 ft.
Special Attacks: rapture, carnage, corpse hurl, absorb body, engulf (DC 39, 2d8+20), pleasured moan, death burst, entrapping tendrils, insidious mind
STATISTICS
STR 50 (+20) DEX 12 (+1) INT 18 (+4) WIS 20 (+5) CHA 24 (+7)
Base Atk +14 CMB +32 (+34 bull rush, +36 grapple) CMD 43 (45 vs bull rush, can’t be tripped)
Feats: Power Attack, Improved Initiative, Toughness, Dodge, Improved Bull Rush, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Great Fortitude, Weapon Focus (slam), Improved Natural Armor
Skills: perception +31, climb +50, stealth +15, intimidate +29, knowledge (nature, dungeoneering) +23, sense motive +27, swim +50
Languages Aklo, Common, Undercommon, Necril

SPECIAL ABILITIES
Hurl Corpse (EX)
The Great Ecstasy can pick up and throw the undead bodies that carpet the ground of its domain. This is a ranged attack (range increment 60 ft.) that adds 1 ½ its STR bonus to damage. Creatures hit by this attack are exposed to the Ecstasy’s carnage ability (see below) due to the explosion of flesh and guts from the impact.

Rapture (SU)
A creature starting its turn within 60 feet of the Great Ecstasy must make a DC 26 will save or be affected by an effect that compels them to approach the Ecstasy, strip off their armor and clothes when adjacent, and then embrace the creature, doing nothing else on their turn. Creatures receive a saving throw at the start of their turn to end the effect. If a creature succeeds on a saving throw against this ability, it is immune to it for 24 hours. The save DC is charisma-based. This is a mind-affecting compulsion effect.

Carnage (EX)
A creature that begins its turn engulfed by the Great Ecstasy or takes a hit from a hurled corpse must make a DC 26 fortitude save or be sickened by the horrific experience. On a critical hit from a hurled corpse, the creature is nauseated rather than sickened. The save DC is charisma-based.

Pleasured Moan (SU)
Twice per day, as a standard action, the Great Ecstasy can emit a sonorous moan from the many naked and writhing bodies that make up its form. This moan deals 10d6 points of sonic damage to all creatures within a 40 ft. radius around the Great Ecstasy. Any creature that fails its saving throw is also shaken for 1d4 rounds by the disturbing noise. A creature can make a DC 26 will save to halve the damage and negate the shaken effect. This is a sonic, mind-affecting, fear effect. Creatures that cannot hear are immune to this ability.

Disease (SU)
Seedborne consumption: DC 26, onset 1 month, frequency 1/month, damage 1d2 charisma (can’t be cured while infected), cure: 3 consecutive saves

Absorb Body (SU)
Works as the normal corpse orgy ability (DC 26)

So, how does this look? Please point out any errors in the stat block if you notice them. Is this too weak or strong for a CR 16 monster? Are there any story-related or thematic problems that you can see? I had a lot of fun making this, and all constructive feedback will be appreciated.