Root of Evil Conundrum (issue #122)

[Blessed_Plague]

Hi,

I am about to have my PC's run through the high level adventure Root of Evil found in issue 122. I have a problem.

One of the abilities of the demonic tree Malgarius is that it can create a vacuum at will, indefinately. For my group (18th lvl cleric, 18th lvl paladin, 17th lvl druid, 17th lvl bard and 17th lvl sorceror) I can see no way of them surviving this. If they cant cast spells in vacuum and are in an area indefinately in vacuum, how in the 9 hells of baator will this not result in a TPK?

Thankfully, my party has a cape of the mounteback so that will save 4 of the 5 but 1 will definately die, no way around it from what I can see.

Or is it? I have read and reread the adventure a couple of times and can not see a way around it. Can anyone shed some light on this?

[Absinth]

Sure, this is a tough one, but the DC for the suffocation isn't that high for characters of 18th level or higher. They'll at least survive a few rounds to activate an item that teleports them to safety or the could use 'Breath Water' and hide in one of the several pools of muddy water that can be found everywhere in Malgarius' body (as described) untill the demon tree decides to end the vacuum.
You should be aware, that the tree doesn't want to kill the PC's if he isn't forced to do so by Gathra. The tree just wants to test them 'cause it hopes that the characters could be a tool to regain his freedom.
If i'd DM this adventure, i wouldn't last the vacuum that long and would change the style of its defenses more often. On the other hand Malgarius wouldn't use the vacuum-defense when there are guards present, because they'd be affected as well and Gathra wouldn't allow this.
Well, these are the thoughts that are coming to my mind...

I hope you have a lot of fun running this module. I think this is one of the very best that appeared in Dungeon lately and i'll definitly run it with my group when they are high enough in level. It would be cool if you'd post how your PC's managed the vacuum-problem and if there are any other difficult encounters.

[Blessed_Plague]

Absinth wrote:

I hope you have a lot of fun running this module. I think this is one of the very best that appeared in Dungeon lately and i'll definitly run it with my group when they are high enough in level. It would be cool if you'd post how your PC's managed the vacuum-problem and if there are any other difficult encounters.

I will definately keep you informed. Reading through the adventure, it will test my PC's in ways they have not been tested in before. The final encounter does seem a rather hideous encounter, particularily with 2 night walkers, gathra, 2 treants and the T-Rex but we will see.

[Blessed_Plague]

HI

I ran through the adventure on the weekend and all I can say was...BLOODY AWESOME.

It seems I keep underestimating my PC's. I was very worried about the 4 purple worms but the group finished the first two off before the second round when the second two came. They mopped them up in about 2 rounds as well.

The two nightwalkers also sent dread into me and I did manage to disarm the Paladin's uber sword of goodness however it has the power of calling so it was back in his hand in a flash. The group finished these two quite easily.

The final fight was very interesting. With Gathra having shapechange on her, I decided to start her off as a Planatar. That had the the party wondering what was going on. However after she starts casting spell in the name of Malar (I use forgotten realms and that was her deity) they figured out what was going on. The Bard copped a finger of death and died on a failed save (he should have got a superior resistance spell from the druid or cleric but they forgot).

I used the defenses of Malgarius as suggested in various entries ie. the acid sap with the purple worms, the vacuum with the two nightwalkers. I also made sure that they used plenty of fly spells (by having malgarius shape the tunnels with large drops and vertical ascents) I also used the hurricane like winds when the party was flying up or down and made those flying by non-magical means make reflex saves DC 20. Not really an issue with them. I also made it stretch out the time between the 2 nightwalkers and the Greater Stone golem/Truely horrid Umber Hulks so that spells with minute/level would expire.

I also made the vacuum for the 2 nightwalkers but only existing within the chamber itself, not the tunnels connecting it. My party was pretty cluey and immediately began to try and get out of the vacuum which they did and from there, it was a cake walk for them to pound the nightwalkers. In hindsight, I should have made the tunnel twist beyond line of effect from the vacuumed cavern so that the party casters souldn't stand within the tunnel and pepper the undead with spells. (My sorceror/exalted arcanist/initiate of the seven veil/ hit a nightwalker with a words of creation/spell enhanced/purified/empowered hammer of righteousness for 206 points of damage on a failed save by the nightwalker)

However, there were some problems. When the defeated the golem and umber hulks, the cavern was sealed off and they had a round to do things. when the acid sap started pouring in, they all bunched together and the sorceror cast force cage (which is immobile) on themselves, there by trapping them selves in an dimensionally locked forcecage surrounded with acid. Essentially the whole session stalled as they planned on waiting it out (32 hours) and get new spells and the like. The problem is without some definate abilities and stats of malgarius, its hard to know what he can and cant do. For instance, he can dimensionall lock a chamber but can he do it everywhere? Presumably yes but you never know. In the end i ruled that malgarius disintegrated the cage and then trapped them in its moveable, spherical forecages and then went to the chamber of Malgarius sentience.

For malgarius consciouness, the party swayed two of the three consciounesses but the paladin (following his code) would not make any agreement with a demon and as such, I decided that malgarius would not help or hinder wither gathra or the PC's.

As such, the final battle was going swimmingly until the druid summoned an elemental (not a generic one) which starteed whooping the T-Rex and set it on fire. After the treatnts were dealt with ease and the nightwalkers were offed, she was in big trouble with the t-rex badly burned and the Pc's ganging up on her. I decided that since she realised she could no longer call on the seed and that she was in a bad situation, she word of recalled out so that I can use her again in another session.

This brings to mind the last gripe. If the group knows that the only way to defeat malgarius is to take the seed to another plane and they make means to do this, why doesn't malgarius dimensionally lock the final encounter chamber so that they cant do this? I ruled that this would cause the seed to lose its connection to the tree but as per the module, nothing is said about this.

Just to note, the adventure is set for 4 level 18 characters and I had two 18th chars and three 17th chars. However, one player was late but the party of four found the purple worms easy.

All in all, a great adventure but some better description/stats for the seed and the tree would have enabled me to know the exact capabilities and desires of the tree and thus would have been easier to run.

[Absinth]

Thank you very much for the feedback.
You gave some good advices that i'll remember when i'll finally run the game with my group. You could read a module several times, but most problems only surface when actually running it. I already included some teasers (the cleric had a disturbing nightmare about him beeing attacked by a bunch of harpies in the branches of a giant tree) and i think we'll be able to play it in about two months.
I realized the lack of stats for the tree itself and its seed too and thought about creating one myself, but i don't really know where to begin. Do you know about some sentient giant tree in any other scource that could be used as a base to modify it?
I think you made the right decisions regarding the protection of the seed and i'll handle this in the same way. Storing it in a dimensional pocket is nearly the same as transporting it to another plane and should have the same consequences.
Maybe i'll replace the nightwalkers with another creature 'cause i think that they don't really fit into the theme of the story. I'm thinking about using the fiendish dryad from 'The Amarantha Agenda' (Dungeon #123), but i'll modify her so that she'll have the same CR.