My group is about to enter the Kopru Ruins and as I usually do, I gave some of the major NPC's a couple of tweaks:
Skaven: For Skaven, I wanted to make him a bit scarier so I changed his Spell Focus to Necromancy and changed his spells around a bit. I figure he would start out with a Fear spell to scatter the party and then retreat (by casting invisibility). Once he got to the spider lair, he would use Spectral Hand to deliver touch attacks with Vampiric Touch and Ghoul Touch. I also gave him the Cloak of Arachnida (from the mud slaad house) instead of the Slippers of Spider Climb because I though it was more useful to him.
Skaven, Male Halfling Diviner7: CR 7; Small humanoid (halfling); HD 7d4+7; hp 30; Init +2; Spd 20 ft.; AC 14 (+1 bracers of armor +1, +2 Dex, +1 size), touch 13, flat-footed 12; BAB +3; Grp -3; Atk/Full Atk +3 melee (1d4-2, masterwork dagger) or +6 ranged (touch attack); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; SA Spells; SQ Familiar, halfling traits, cloak of arachnida (spider climb at will, immune to webs, cast web 1/day, +2 luck bonus on Fort saves against spider poison); AL NE; SV Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +8; Str 6, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 18, Wis 14, Cha 10.
Languages: Common, Draconic, Elven, Gnoll, Halfling.
Skills and Feats: Concentration +11, Craft (metalwork) +14, Hide +8, Knowledge (arcana) +17, Knowledge (religion) +14, Listen +4*, Move Silently +7, Spellcraft +16, Spot +4*. Alertness (familiar), Craft Wand, Craft Wonderous Item, Scribe Scroll, Skill Focus (Knowledge – arcana), Spell Focus (Necromancy).
*Includes +2 bonus from Alertness (granted by familiar).
Spells Prepared (5/6/5/4/3, base save DC = 14 + spell level): 0 – detect magic*, detect poison*, ghost sound, mage hand, read magic*; 1st – burning hands, comprehend languages*, hold portal, magic missile x2, ray of enfeeblement**; 2nd – ghoul touch**, invisibility, scorching ray, see invisibility*, spectral hand**; 3rd – clairaudience/clairvoyance*, displacement, ray of exhaustion**, vampiric touch**; 4th – arcane eye*, fear**, phantasmal killer.
Spellbook: 0 – all cantrips (except daze); 1st – alarm, burning hands, chill touch**, comprehend languages*, detect secret doors*, detect undead*, hold portal, identify*, mage armor, magic missile, ray of enfeeblement**, true strike*, unseen servant; 2nd – arcane lock, blindness/deafness**, blur, detect thoughts*, ghoul touch**, invisibility, locate object*, scare**, scorching ray, see invisibility*, spectral hand**, spider climb, whispering wind; 3rd – clairaudience/clairvoyance*, dispel magic, displacement, gentle repose**, ray of exhaustion**, sepia snake sigil, tongues*, vampiric touch**, water breathing; 4th – arcane eye*, enervation**, fear**, locate creature*, phantasmal killer, shout.
*Diviniation spell. Skaven’s prohibited school is Enchantment.
**Necromancy spell, base save DC = 15 + spell level.
Possessions: Bracers of armor +1,cloak of arachnida, goggles of minute seeing, pearl of power (1st level), wand of mage armor (40 charges), wand of control water, wand of true strike (22 charges), potion of cure moderate wounds, potions of gaseous form, six elixirs of hiding, masterwork dagger, leather pouch containing 58gp and 4pp, key ring.
Triel: I didn't change Triel that much except for her spell selection and skills. I had no idea how her skills were calculation originally (not that it matters too much) but I basically started her out as a Ftr4 and then added the Cleric levels.
I debated dropping Craft Wonderous Item and giving her Improved Sunder just for fun but I don't think that made sense since she has a silver weapon (-1 to damage). I thought about making it cold iron but it needs to be silver because of Tarkilar.
Triel Eldurast, Female Human Ftr4/Clr3: CR 7; Medium humanoid (human); HD 4d10+4 plus 3d8+3; hp 50; Init +1; Spd 20 ft.; AC 20 (+1 Dex, +9 spiked +1 full plate), touch 11, flat-footed 19; BAB +6; Grp +10; Atk +12 melee (1d10+7, +1 silver heavy flail); Full Atk +12/+7 melee (1d10+7, +1 silver heavy flail); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; SA rebuke/command undead, spells; AL LE; SV Fort +8, Ref +3, Will +6; Str 18, Dex 12, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 17.
Languages: Common, Gnoll.
Skills and Feats: Concentration +11*, Craft (metalwork) +6, Diplomacy +6, Intimidate +10, Ride +7, Spellcraft +3. Cleave, Combat Casting, Craft Wonderous Item, Leadership, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (heavy flail), Weapon Specialization (heavy flail).
*Includes +4 bonus from Combat Casting.
Spells Prepared (4/3+1/2+1, base save DC = 12 + spell level): 0 – cure minor wounds, detect magic, guidance, mending; 1st – cause fear, divine favor, inflict light wounds*, shield of faith; 2nd – bull’s strength, silence, spiritual weapon*.
*Domain spell.
Domains: Destruction (smite 1/day, +4 to attack, +3 to damage), War (free Weapon Focus feat).
Possessions: Spiked +1 full plate, +1 silver heavy flail, 3 wands of control water, wand of cure serious wounds (7 charges, CL 5), 2 potions of cure light wounds, divine scroll (cure moderate wounds, hold person), everburning torch, silver holy symbol of Hextor, leather pouch containing 30gp and 4pp, key ring.
Tarkilar: I changed him the most. His original levels give him an XP penalty which I usually never do for NPC's (gnoll favored class is Rng). I dropped the Ftr level and made him a Rng2/Clr4. Because of that, I gave him Two-Weapon Fighting from Rng2 as a bonus feat.
Even though the spiked chain is a two-handed weapon, I don't think that really made sense for Tarkilar since it was wired directly to his arm (I wish the module provided details as to how or why his spiked chain and armor were wired to him in such a way). So what I did was make the spiked chain a one-handed weapon but removed the reach. Now he uses TWF with his chain and slam attack. I figured this was a good tradeoff since he'll be able to use his Huecuva Blight. ;>)
Thoughts/comments?
Good thinking! In general, I like it... Skaven is a tricky little bastard, and a fight with him should remind the party why halflings make such great wizards. Don't forget to compensate for his limited movement with a Fly spell. With Fly and Displacement in effect, he can zip down that corridor from his chambers (once he scatters the party with either Fear or a Lightning Bolt) without provoking too many Attacks of Opp., if he stays close to the ceiling. When my party fought with him, they were badly hurt by the Lightning, and then stricken with Enervate and other ranged attacks. The air elemental in his chambers kept the fighter-types busy, while the rogues and spellcasters tried to spar with Skaven, once he flew over and beyond them. In the end, as I was preparing to have him get away clean, he was hit by a flying tackle by the party's wizard, and then grappled into submission. They wound up bargaining with him... his life and freedom in exchange for dungeon information, any wands in his care, and a few of his personal magic items. Then he had to leave the dungeon and not return. So, Skaven is still out there, nursing a grudge....
Triel is fine the way she is, but you're right, her spell selection needs to be fine tuned. With her relatively low Wisdom, she should focus on spells that either improve her own abilities (Bull's Strength, Divine Favor, etc.) or that don't allow saving throws (Spiritual Weapon). If you give her any all-or-nothing spells, like Cause Fear or Hold Person, then you're wasting an action that could be better spent slamming the party with her flail. By the way, where did you get the information that alchemical Silvered weapons do -1 damage?? I wasn't aware of that rule.
Your explanation of Tarkilar's multiclassing seems fine, and I'm glad it works for you. Personally, I kept his Fighter level for the extra feat it gave him. And the spiked chain is necessary so he can club the party as they rush him en masse! With the spiked chain, and the Combat Reflexes feat (which I used), Tarkilar becomes a walking blade barrier! And then, when folks DO close with him, he uses his blight attack at close range. To answer your question, I believe the idea behind his description is that the ritual he used to gain lichdom which went awry and blew up half the complex mangled his body somewhat when he transformed from living to undead. Then, when his flesh healed, it sort of melded over the links of his chain weapon and his chain armor, knitting the flesh back together over the metal. It's quite a gruesome effect, and if you describe it well, it makes the party definitely think twice! Mine were so disturbed by the description that they wasted an action or two trying to define what he was, giving him more time to cast spells before they closed in for melee. Besides, since his weapon is partially embedded in his arm, he doesn't need to drop it with one hand to cast his spells or use his blight ability... it just dangles loosely from that arm while he uses it as a free hand. Then he can still smack people at 1o ft. with the chain, or with his slam attack up close so he can use his blight! (I infected three people, hehehe!)
My party DID destroy Tarkilar, but between the zombies outside his chamber (which he used a Turn Undead use to bolster and a Desecrate spell to enhance), and the Glyph of Blinding from the entrance just before that, not to mention Tark's own combat skills and spells, it was the hardest won fight that they ever faced at that point! They were scared to death fighting the tyrannosaur skeleton, but that fight was over in about 5 rounds... Tark lasted a good 12 rounds before they finally whittled him down to negative hit points, and ever single person in the party was injured or hindered in the battle. It was bloody as hell, they nearly lost three out of eight characters, and they loved it!! Give 'em a good challenge, and they'll come back again and again.
Never mind the Silver weapon question... I found the answer in the DMG.
Thanks for the comments.
Don't forget to compensate for his limited movement with a Fly spell.
I debated going for the ultra-cheese and giving him a Dimension Door that he can use to go right to the harpoon spider's cave but he only has 3 4th-level slots. I could drop Phantasmal Killer but I really want to use that. ;>) I could also make him a Necromancer so he wouldn't have to use his slots on those Divination spells. A simple Expeditious Retreat could work too.
When my party fought with him, they were badly hurt by the Lightning
Well I dropped his Lightning Bolt. My plan was to get rid of his offensive damage spells and add a lot of annoyance spells (ray of enfeeblement, ghoul touch, ray of exhaustion, etc) that would make the battle with the spiders more difficult.
Personally, I kept his Fighter level for the extra feat it gave him.
The funny thing is that even with the Fighter level, he is missing a feat! As written, he should have 4: 3 for 8 HD and 1 for Ftr1. He actually only has 3 because Track and Toughness are bonus feats.
With the spiked chain, and the Combat Reflexes feat (which I used), Tarkilar becomes a walking blade barrier! And then, when folks DO close with him, he uses his blight attack at close range.
Hmm, you make a strong case for the reach. It’s weird because other than having it as a favored class, he doesn’t seem to be much of a ranger. Heck, as written, he doesn’t even have any ranks in Survival.
Actually, Combat Reflexes won't help Tark since his Dex is only 10.
it sucks because my partys fight with skaven was to quick i was dumb enough to give them a straght line to him with one of my party members and he charged got a crt and killed him in one hit i was so made i should ahve had him behind the spider... the only good thing i can say is that they will see him again just after the beholder in the end of the campainge. i can't wait to bring back almost every leader that they faught just more powerful and more bad ass
Thanks, everyone, for expanding on the bad boys of the mods! My players are currently working their way through Jzadirune and, with your tweaks, I will be making their encounters in Flood Season much more memorable. I also plan to use the enhanced version of Tongue-Eater that was described in a different post.
This helps quite a bit since some of the encounters would otherwise have been much less distinctive and challenging for my players.
Hurm.
with your tweaks, I will be making their encounters in Flood Season much more memorable. I also plan to use the enhanced version of Tongue-Eater that was described in a different post.
Sweet! Let us know how it goes.
I'm especially interested in how the encounter with my feralized Tongue-Eater goes. ;>) Be careful with him though, he's nasty!
Stayed tuned for Zenith Trajectory too. I have some cool stuff planned for the Kuo-Toa using the FR Underdark book.
The sooner you can get that on the board the better i would love to use somt interesting changes to the kuo-toa however sunday my part will be walking threw the mouth of bhal-hamatugn.
Also i have an interesting situation with that fight one of my players just took his first level of elemntal sivant and gained elet resistance 5 and all of his spells have the electicty subtype so they all of elect resistance/10 however as a house rule i have alowed him to change his energy typ back to it's normal spell power (ie fire ball will be a fire ball again isted of electicity) with a full round action just like before he could have chainged it ot electcity beofore as a full round action... should be an intersting encounter
Shouldn't Triel's damage with her +1 silver heavy flail be 1d10+8 ? It's a two-handed weapon, she has Str 18, it's a +1 weapon and she has the Weapon Specialization feat (Heavy flail)=> +4 (Str)+2 (2handed)+1 (alteration bonus)+2 (weapon Specialization) -1 (silver weapon) = +8
Bran.
Shouldn't Triel's damage with her +1 silver heavy flail be 1d10+8 ?
Indeed it should. Good catch. I forgot to add the magic bonus in.
GlassJaw, you sound like you have done enough legwork for your pary, but just in case anyone wants another twist on Tarkilar or just doesn't like Huecuvas:
Tarkilar
Male Gnoll Mohrg; CR 10; Medium Undead; HD 18d12; HP 130; Initiative +10; Spd 20’; AC 26 (+5 armor, +2 Dex, +9 natural); BAB/ Grapple +9/+16; Attack- +16 melee (1d6+10, slam) or +16 melee touch (paralysis, tongue) or +17 melee (2d4+11, spiked chain); Full Attack- +16 melee (1d6+10, slam) and +16 melee touch (paralysis, tongue) or +17/+12 melee (2d4+11, spiked chain); SA- Create spawn, improved grab, paralyzing touch (Fort DC 21, 1d4 minutes); SQ- Darkvision 60’, undead traits; AL CE; Sv- Fort +6, Ref +11, Will +13; Abilities- Str 25, Dex 21, Con --, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 10; Space/Reach 5’/5’
Skills- Climb +12, Escape Artist +12, Hide +23, Listen +14, Move Silently +14, Spot +23, Search +10, Swim +8 (includes armor check penalty for chainmail)
Feats- Ability Focus/ Paralyzing Touch, Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Mobility
Equipment- +1 spiked chain, gauntlets of ogre power +2, wand of inflict light wounds (35 charges; Tarkilar could use it when he was a cleric, but no longer), masterwork chain mail (embedded in Tarkilar’s hide, removing it takes 1 hour)
Description
Tarkilar was a gnoll in life. His transition to undeath was recent, and he is not yet finished rotting. His furry hide hangs in loose, torn folds from bare muscle and sinew blackened with decay. One side of his head is still covered in fur, with a glassy, lifeless eye; on the other side, it has rotted off, leaving a sunken eyeball burning with eldritch light in an otherwise empty socket. His abdomen is gashed open, and purplish loops of wet, pulsing intestine hang from the wound, but they do not drop. His thick tongue is the same color, and it ends in a three-pronged claw.
It's kind of a twist on a conventional mohrg. I'm springing him on my players this weekend, and I'm hoping for a similar experience where they don't know what to make of him for the first minute or two. This conversion sacrifices all his spells in favor of making him a straightforward tank, but it should still be a memorable encounter, and besides, the Kopru ruins already have a cleric. If anyone catches any math or rounding errors here, please point them out, so that my PC's aren't unfairly put upon. Tark uses the elite ability score array here.
That's quite a twist Chairborne!! Be careful though, a group of 5-6th level characters might have a lot of difficult with that version, especially if some of them get paralyzed.
Thanks, Glassjaw. They probably appreciate your concern! I've got a party that's a little higher-level than normal (6th level going into the ruins, thanks to a side quest) and with 5 players. But if you want to nerf the CR a little, just don't use the elite ability scores or take his HD back down a notch. The original CR for Tark was 9 anyway.
Well my group tangled with Triel on Tues night and took her down. Overall, the battle wasn't that difficult, at least compared to the battles with Kazmojen and my buddy Tongue-Eater (RIP).
The swinging door trap really gave them trouble. They lost their rogue to TE so the ranger picked up a level of rogue. His Disable Device check was only +10 so he couldn't take 10 to disable the trap. Actually, taking 10 meant he failed by more than 5 so he set off the trap the first time he tried. They eventually got the door opened but of course Triel and her thugs were waiting (guards at the cavern entrance set off the alarm).
The 4 archers fired their arrows but couldn't really do much. I've come to the conclusion that the "mooks" are now pretty much useless against the party's firepower. They waded through the group of 6 fighters in the mess hall area.
Triel used her spells early in the fight. She cast cause fear on arthe dwarf Bbn/Ftr and he failed his save. So right off the bat, the party's main melee character was out of the battle.
The mooks essentially provided cover for Triel but that's all they were good for. The got a couple of hits in but nothing major. Triel also cast spiritual weapon which ended up being somewhat of a waste. All the while, the wizard and one of the clerics were wittling her down with ranged spells (magic missile, scorching ray, etc).
She used her wand of cure serious wounds and then entered melee. She promptly used her smite ability to nail the Rng. She then cast silence so she wouldn't have to worry about the casters. She was about to use her wand again but the Rng/Rog was able to get into a flanking position and hit her with a sneak attack that took her down.
In hindsight, I think I would have cast less spells early on and have tried to get into melee earlier. Or I might have moved her against the back wall and used silence earlier in the battle to get the party casters. She could then cast a couple of spells out of the silence area and then enter melee. Triel's strength is her melee damage and the fact that she has 2 attacks.
Oh well, the party still has a long way to go. I have a feeling Skaven and his spider allies will be a lot more difficult for the group (especially since he has been warned).
looks good... i use terel as a fighter that happend to beable to cast spell... she knew they were coming so she had all her prep spells ready and i usd the mooks as a wall as well (they are usless aginst my party too) so she could buff herslef again then she walked into melee to kick some @$$ and she did
I posted this in the "Too Many Mooks" thread but I figured I'd post it here for consistency. I'll do the same when my party encounters Tark (which should be next week).
My PC's finally made it to Skaven. He had retreated to the spider caverns after the alarm was set off and then used his divination spells to keep track of the PC's. In the final cavern, the PC's were up against 2 ettercaps (one wounded), the harpoon spider, and Skaven. They were lured into the center of the cavern and then Skaven appeared (he was hiding with a potion of hiding) and cast a fear spell (I tweaked Skaven and posted the stats in a previous post).
3 of the 5 PC's failed the save; the dwarven bbn/ftr and cleric made their saves. I thought things were going to go very badly from here on out. The dwarf actually got a hit on Skaven because he was out in front to cast the fear spell. The cleric cast deafness on Skaven and he failed. The cleric then dealt with the ettercaps and the dwarf attacked the spider. The spider was able to hit once with its fangs and trip the dwarf once but overall was surprisingly inneffective (it was only 4 HD after all).
After a few spells (magic missile, ray of enfeeblement), the dwarf cut down the spider and closed in on Skaven. Skaven pulled out his last resort: Phantasmal Killer. He overcame his deafness and the dwarf made his Will save...a natural 20!! Weakened and hurt, the dwarf reared back, Power Attacked, and dropped Skaven.
It was a great battle and even though most of the group was running in fear, everyone was cheering at the end. Skaven would have been much more deadly with a more powerful meat shield minion.
After my party found out that I posted my version of Tark here for vetting and approval, they insisted that I recount the tale of their glorious defeat of the monster.
The fight started out badly for them, since the rogue was way ahead of the party proper. Their first glimpse of Tark in the lantern light got me the jaw-dropping "Cool!" I had hoped for (although, when I added the part about the tongue, my two veteran players were like, "Mohrg?" "Mohrg." So much for making them wonder). Tark uncoiled and jumped at the rogue, who apparently thought he was a zombie with a much slower movement, and paralyzed him right off the bat. That took out the party's light source, as well, creating a headache for me, but a really cool horror encounter where the party could hear Tark's chains jingling but couldn't see him. Tark tried to paralyze the fighter/paladin, but he made his save because of his Divine Grace class feature. Tark laughed off the cleric's futile attempts to turn him, and continued to trade blows with the paladin until he got zorched by a scorching ray from the party sorceror. I broke him off and went after her; he successfully paralyzed her, but by this time, the cleric had retrieved the bull's-eye lantern and the paladin had a clear target. He burned a turn attempt for a Divine Might, used his smite evil for the day, maxed out his power attack, and connected with both his bastard sword and his shield, inflicting enough damage to drop the monster. All in all, a tough, evocative, and visually entertaining encounter, and one that my PC's have been talking about ever since. Of all the encounters in the Kopru ruins, I feel that this one was the most appropriate challenge level for the players; not too much, not too little.
Great recap Chairborne. If I were to run Flood Season again, I definitely would change around Tark a bit more. I really like the morgh idea. That tongue is sure to throw the PC's for a loop. My group's encounter with Tark was far less memorable.
As I mentioned in my Zenith thread, being outnumbered is a HUGE disadvantage, even for someone with a higher CR. It's usually MORE than an equalizer.
Actually, Combat Reflexes won't help Tark since his Dex is only 10.
But it still allows him to make AoO's when he is flat-footed. There is no Dex requirement for Combat Reflexes... also, I gave Tark a 12 Dex I think, so he could get just one more AoO/round. It made him better able to challenge a party that outnumbered him 8 to 1.