Acererak

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My group has been making their way through the Test of the Smoking Eye. In a couple instances, I have changed the monster encounters, and thought I would share. I know some people may view that changing the encounters is making things too easy for the group. I'm not in this to kill characters, I'm in this to have a good time and challenge them. I have maintained the 3.5 challenge rating, and placed monsters I felt were more relevant.

During the walk through the Plain of Cysts, I realized that the Abyssal Basilisk would be really bad (with its DC 21 Gaze and little to no way for my group to turn party members back from being petrified). It is especially bad for teh player if the group continues on and gets teleported to the next test area miles away. If the Bard in the group had Song of Freedom, I would have considered it, but right now it would be a bad encounter. So I substituted in a fiendish 11-headed hydra. It was a very dramatic fight and was well received by the group.

Now I am planning for inside the Skull, and I know that having a Clay Golem would be another bad one, given that few to none have blunt weapons. Healing is also extremely necessary for my group due to their low ACs. So going back to the MM, I found that putting 2 bodaks in the room would be quite fitting, given they come from being touched by absolute evil (see fountain in next room). We'll see how things go when next we play.


Has anyone already done a picture of Jil without her makeup? I am looking at introducing her to the party, though I don't want them to know her affiliation (for obvious reasons). Rather than re-inventing the wheel, I thought I would check and see if anyone had already done the photoshopping necessary.

Thanks


Searching the archives, I found this article

Frank Steven Gimenez wrote:


I’m still in balance on how to deal with the Vanishing contamination and effects ==> The details of the disease are on pg. 46, under the heading "THE VANISING (EL 2)". It is seperate from the description of its history on the previous page.
Does a SR apply as soon as a PC touch an infected item? ==> Athough it's a magical disease, I don't believe that SR applies. There is a caster level of 10 listed for the purpose of removing the disease with break enchantment, but I don't see that SR applies against the disease. The disease is transmitted with the magic item is used.
Is it a roll against Fortitude or against Will ==> A DC 15 Fortitude save.
Does a new SR apply every period of time the PC keeps the contact with the object - each 12 hours or each day? ==> No SR check. But a new Fortitude save is needed every 24 hours the character is infected.
When a PC is infected and cured is he stabilized at his current state or is he recovering it’s standard shape? ==> Even when he is diseased, his natural healing heals his Charisma damage one point per day. And he of course also heals Charisma after the disease is removed.
How works the cure, is it instantaneous or painfully long? ==> Only magical treatment can save a victim of the Vanishing. A successful break enchantment, remove disease, or remove curse cures the disease. After that, natural healing or restoration spells can recover the damage Charisma score. The disease is not painful; you just fade from reality.

While very informative, between it and the adventure, there are some problems.

First off, there is a skulk infected with the disease. According to the disease description, only the use of Dispel Magic, Remove Disease or Remove Curse allows someone to recover. Yet none of these spells are available to the infected skulk. Why hasn't he faded away yet?

Secondly, is the disease causing "permanent" Charisma loss or temporary? Based on the article above, it seems to be temporary. Yet again, if the skulk can recover if he isn't fading away, why hasn't he recovered the Charisma and been able to return to the others?

Thirdly, if the Charisma loss is temporary, the +4 hide benefit is very short term, as you will either die, or lose it in a few days from recovering.

My attempt to clean this up is this. The disease can be fought off like regular diseases (2 successful saves in a row after contracting the disease), but the Charisma loss is permanent if this is done. This explains the skulk.

The casting of Dispel Magic, Remove Disease or Remove Curse will allow the recovery of the Charisma lost in the last 24 hours (as temporary), but previous Charisma losses are permanent.

A Restoration spell can give back any Charisma lost. Of course, until the group gets a high enough level cleric, they would have to go to the temple of Wee Jas for assistance, as they are the only ones with a cleric of high enough level to cast it.

Comments?

Section8