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Gonna have a session 0 for this adventure this Sunday if all goes to plan! Wish me luck!.

So I just had an interesting idea and wanted to float it here to see if anyone had any insights or perspective, having run either Ironfang Invasion or Gallows of Madness.

For background, GoM is set in present-day Isger some 30 years after the Goblinblood Wars. The party uncovers an Infernal plot by a nasty demon to take over the town using a vile substance called Demon's Bile, which corrupts and maddens anyone who ingests it (fiendish template). There are 3 adventures in the module and the second is of particular interest to me. A tribe of goblins is led by a filthy bugbear named Mezodarath.

Filthy, goo-covered goblins are menacing the good farmers outside of Saringallow's walls, and the authorities worry that the wicked creatures may pose a dire threat. The heroes must track these corrupted goblins to their fortress and contend with their mad Lamashtan leader if they hope to stop Saringallow's day of reckoning.

So here's where I tie it into Ironfang Invasion. I want to tweak the module and have it set 20 years in the past, so ~10 years post-Goblinblood Wars, and have the bugbear leader Mezodarath be connected in some way to Scabvistin and his son Scarvinious (major antagonists in Ironfang Invasion). Have players roll up new characters for this side adventure and run it as a series of flashbacks that contextualize the background of the Bugbears' involvement. It seems like there could be a really interesting angle to explore: the filthy corruption of Mezodarath in Gallows of Madness via the Demon's Bile contrasted by the fastidiousness and obsession with cleanliness that Scabvistin possesses and passes on to his son, and their general rejection of goblin/bugbear culture and customs.

What do you think? I was thinking have Sabvistin be a member of Mezodarath's family/clan/tribe/whatever. Witnessing the fate of Mezodarath pushes Scabvistin to see the appeal of the orderly and regimented hobgoblin forces of Azaersi and decides to throw his lot in with the Ironfang Legion. As a bonus, the PCs for the side-adventure will make great backup characters should a main PC fall during Ironfang; ones with a built in connection to the main adventure.

Another question came up. I have a ranger in the party and am wondering about favored enemies. If the ranger took Outsider (evil) as her favored enemy would that bonus be applied to all the fiendish creatures in the campaign? How does the favored enemy bonus work when a creature could be one type or another (vermin vs. outsider, etc.)?

EDIT: Okay, I think I found an answer: when animals or vermin gain the 'fiendish' template, it changes their type to 'magical beast'.

PS. Thanks for taking the time to give such good, detailed answers to this noob. Reading your pbp has given me a lot of insight and ideas for my campaign. I liked how you had the quasit ambush them at the graveyard instead of on the street.

Thanks a lot, that clears things up.

Okay. thanks for the clarification. It's my first game as GM, trying to get my ducks in a row. The Fiendish template was a little confusing too.

So, if I'm understanding right, if the creature has 5-10 hp, then they will have -10 to fire/cold damage and -5 to good damage?

I'm wondering if there is a save DC for the touch effect in case my PCs touch it.

Just looked this up. For reference, creatures exposed to (but that have not ingested, so this applies to the goblins in Pt. 2) the Demon's Bile often grow in size or gain the 'fiendish' template. Fiendish means they go up by 1 CR, gain Darkvision, higher Spell Resistance, and the Smite Good ability.