Has anyone update the halfling wizard Skaven Umbermead In Flood Season?
My players have already past Flood Season, but the party's wizard is now studying the discovered Spellbook.
Has anyone update the halfling wizard Skaven Umbermead In Flood Season?
0-acid splash, arcane mark, dancing lights, detect magic, detect poison, disrupt undead, flare, ghost sound, light, mage hand, mending, message, open/close, prestidigitation, ray of frost, read magic, resistance, touch of fatigue
1st-alarm, burning hands, cause fear, chill touch, comprehend languages, detect secret doors, detect undead, hold portal, identify, mage armor, magic missile, shield, silent image, true strike, unseen servant
2nd-arcane lock, blindness/deafness, blur, detect thoughts, ghoul touch, invisibility, locate object, scare, scorching ray, see invisibility, spider climb, summon monster II, whispering wind
3rd-clairaudience/clairvoyance, dispel magic, displacement, gentle repose, lightning bolt, sepia snake sigil, toungues, vampiric touch, water breathing
4th-arcane eye, enervation, fear, locate creature, phantasmal killer, shout
I was just how people ran Skaven. It says that he will avoid combat as much as possible. If faced with overwhelming numbers, it seems to me that he would probably try to negotiate his way out . For those that ran Skaven, how did the encounter go?
I was just how people ran Skaven. It says that he will avoid combat as much as possible. If faced with overwhelming numbers, it seems to me that he would probably try to negotiate his way out . For those that ran Skaven, how did the encounter go?
It was a difficult encounter for me because,the party was pretty beat up having faced down Triel and her thugs first. They withdrew to the top of the lift to recuperate, then returned the following day. Unable to escape, Skaven monitored the parties movement using Arcane Eye, Clairvoyance, and his familiar. Honestly, I never thought of negotiations, and the party didn't seem interested in it anyway. Skaven met the party in the Harpoon Spider's room, lured them in, and tried to escape while the party was engaged with the spider, and and ettercap. The party succeeded in cutting him off, and laying him low.
I was just how people ran Skaven. It says that he will avoid combat as much as possible. If faced with overwhelming numbers, it seems to me that he would probably try to negotiate his way out . For those that ran Skaven, how did the encounter go?
Here's one problem I have with that tactic: If he'll try to avoid combat, why did he take spell focus (evocation)? I believe he should load up with about 50% evasive/defensive spells and 50% evocation spells.
I worked out some tactics for skaven. The setting is a bit different, though. I dropped the Kopru ruins in my campaign in favor for a second dwarven stronghold overlooking an underground lake. Skaven's room has a window. The harpoon spider has a lair (a small side cavern) that is a short walk from the window, using slippers of spider climb-that is.
Tactics: door is locked with arcane lock
1st round: invisibility (on self) – move to window
2nd round: cast hold portal on door, climb outside
3rd round: move to roof (with slippers) use wand of mage armor
4rd round: cast Clairvoyance on room
Find harpoon spider, return to room
Before returning to enter combat:
1st round: cast true strike
in combat:
2nd round: cast lightning bolt on the closest foe not wearing armor
3rd round: cast phantasmal killer on the closest foe wielding a sword
4th round: cast magic missile on same target as lightning bolt (twice)
when at 15 hp, drink potion of cure moderate wounds.
Use potion of hiding and slippers to escape if necessary
I never thought of negotiations, and the party didn't seem interested in it anyway. Skaven met the party in the Harpoon Spider's room, lured them in, and tried to escape while the party was engaged with the spider, and and ettercap. The party succeeded in cutting him off, and laying him low.
My group definitely doesn't negotiate first but they will if the enemies initiate it (they captured the dark stalker in this way). It does make sense that Skaven would at least try to fight since he has his spider allies but he probably would try to escape when things start to go bad as well.
I never thought of negotiations, and the party didn't seem interested in it anyway. Skaven met the party in the Harpoon Spider's room, lured them in, and tried to escape while the party was engaged with the spider, and and ettercap. The party succeeded in cutting him off, and laying him low.My group definitely doesn't negotiate first but they will if the enemies initiate it (they captured the dark stalker in this way). It does make sense that Skaven would at least try to fight since he has his spider allies but he probably would try to escape when things start to go bad as well.
His best route of escape is to run out to the beach and use the slippers of spiderclimb to go up the rope and out the tunnel.
His best route of escape is to run out to the beach and use the slippers of spiderclimb to go up the rope and out the tunnel.
I am expecting my group to encounter Skaven tonight. They have killed Triel and retreated for a while to recover. Skaven doesn't want to leave due to his research of the ruins and his guess that getting the wands from Triel will satisfy them, and that Triel was killed because of her need to get revenge upon Cauldron. He is very confident in his abilities and those of his spider allies.
After reviewing his spells, I have decided to replace Phantasmal Killer with Dimension Door. This will allow for the "cool" effect of having him escape from the room that has been blocked by adventurers right in front of their eyes. He will escape to the harpoon spider room. He will then use Arcane Eye (which he either cast when he heard the group outside his door or send it through the spider caves looking for the group), watching their approach. I will save the invisibility/slippers/chain escape for during the Harpoon spider fight. Possibly, with enough time, he might be able to grab his spellbook and the wand on his way to the beach.
I was just how people ran Skaven. It says that he will avoid combat as much as possible. If faced with overwhelming numbers, it seems to me that he would probably try to negotiate his way out . For those that ran Skaven, how did the encounter go?Here's one problem I have with that tactic: If he'll try to avoid combat, why did he take spell focus (evocation)?
To quote Mephisto from the Highlander TV series, "Just because I prefer not to fight doesn't mean I don't know how." [stab][hack][quicken]
Any NPC higher than about 5th level is just jam-packed full of combative goodness; to say that nobody above that level is interested in anything but combat is making a pretty bold statement about the campaign.
In my game, Skaven was the last surviving 'cleric'. After learning of the party's presence, he quickly evacuated the dungeon. Then he set up an ambush in the lava tunnel.
The ambush party consisted of Skaven, the harpoon spider, the ettercaps, and five alleybashers. They figured they could easily defeat the weakened party, just when they thought they had won. Skaven laughed triumphantly and said he would spare their lives if they handed over the wands.
However, all the members of the ambush were all burned to death by a single fireball from the party's wizard. *sigh*
After reviewing his spells, I have decided to replace Phantasmal Killer with Dimension Door. This will allow for the "cool" effect of having him escape from the room that has been blocked by adventurers right in front of their eyes. He will escape to the harpoon spider room. He will then use Arcane Eye (which he either cast when he heard the group outside his door or send it through the spider caves looking for the group), watching their approach. I will save the invisibility/slippers/chain escape for during the Harpoon spider fight. Possibly, with enough time, he might be able to grab his spellbook and the wand on his way to the beach.
Well, things did not go quite as planned (though they went cool enough). The group had trouble with Skaven's door (due to the Arcane Lock) and didn't want to blow their knock spell. So they ended up fighting spiders and ettercaps. After killing the 2 ettercaps, they did a Locate Object on the wands. This led them back to Skaven's room. So they tried the door again. Skaven heard them in the hall outside his door and wasn't surprised when they opened the door by using their one Knock spell. The bard then took over and started bluffing. He said he was an emissary from the beholder, and that he was there to verify that things were OK. Skaven started by saying that he thought they had completed everything. When the group asked for the wands, Skaven said that the wands were a private venture and not part of the agreement. Skaven noticed the armor being worn by one of fighters was marked by St Cuthbert and became suspicious. He dimension doored away. The group searched his room and found the diary (the great one from RPGenius). Meanwhile, Skaven cast invisibility and snuck back. After avoiding the Sepia Snake Sigil on the door to the bedroom, the group found they couldn't open the 2nd Arcane locked door. By this time, the 10 minutes on the original Knock spell had run out. So Skaven snuck up and closed the door (with Arcane Lock) to his room, effectively trapping the group inside. This is where we ended the session.
I'm now trying to figure out what he will do next. He obviously wants to get his stuff, and now knows that the group has killed many spiders and ettercaps. He still has the Harpoon Spider though. I don't think the creature can get through the doors so he can't really leave his cave easily. The last ettercap could help though. At the same time, I don't want a TPK. Comments and ideas?
After witnessing the party wipe the floor with Tarkilar, his zombie and t-rex minions, and then taking out Triel, Skaven came to the party when they were weakened and negotiated a truce. He wanted to stay and continue his studies and was happy to hand over the wands in exchange. Since he loved secrets and the PCs also wanted information they also brokered an agreement to exchange information. Of course Skaven wasn't always completely honest with them but it gave me another interesting source of intel for the party.
Later on in the campaign it was great to see the party's reaction when they turned up to exchange info with Skaven only to find that he was a dry husk lying on the floor. The Cagewrights had decided to clean house and Skaven was a loose end that needed tying up.
However they did find Skaven's magical ring which was a repository for his knowledge and supposition about a great many things - searceable by voice commands. So Skaven continues to provide info to the party albeit in a different manner.