I'm very close to beginning this adventure and am really struggling with some ideas. In my previous campaign with these players (using other characters), they:
Came to Daggerford (Diamond Lake)
Fought and killed Redeye and his clan of lizardmen
Fought and killed a black dragon that had wasted about half the town.
Needless to say, I'm trying not to be repetitious while keeping the flavor of the adventure. I'm thinking about going with troglodytes for the lizardmen, even though it's not their ecology, and making Ilthane a green dragon (ditto on the ecology). My players aren't too up on ecologies, anyway.
Redeye - I may just make him some undead version of his former self, some kind of underpowered lich. That would freak them out.
Anybody got any other ideas?
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I'm having deja vu, Wumpascat43! Are you going with the neogi replacement of the illithid?
As for the lizard folk/black dragon dynamic, the dragon connection is needed for the later parts of the AP to "click", so a green dragon certainly works well. Replace the lizard folk with bullywugs so you can keep the swamp location. Better yet, have the keep attacked by kenku and the trail leads to a rugged aerie of the kenku. The kenku connection between the Ebon Triad and the keep would need to be explained but things may seem more connected this way as well.
Well, I don´t think using Kenku as attackers fits that well. Kenku would not lay siege to a keep, they are more of the sneaky type. Use them as scouts for the attacking force, and let the PCs wonder why they would work together with the bullywugs or whatever the attackers are.
Never heard of the neogi, although I just downloaded a pdf about them. Interesting...
Bullywugs sound like a good idea, if I ignore the alignment implications. The players have had enough of kenkus.
Think a vampire lizardman would be too much for a 5th-level party?
Never heard of the neogi, although I just downloaded a pdf about them. Interesting...
Bullywugs sound like a good idea, if I ignore the alignment implications. The players have had enough of kenkus.
Think a vampire lizardman would be too much for a 5th-level party?
You could make him a vampire spawn lizardman, transformed by Lashonna. Vampire spawn are easier for low-level characters, so that might be more appropriate.
It's pretty easy to reverse engineer a vampire spawn template from the MM. In fact, I did it for Blood of Malar, but it didn't make the editorial cut. Here ya go:
VAMPIRE SPAWN (TEMPLATE)
Vampire spawn are undead creatures that come into being when vampire slay mortals. Like their creators, vampire spawn remain bound to their coffins and to the soil of their graves.
Vampire spawn appear just as they did in life, although their features are often hardened and feral, with a predatory look.
SAMPLE VAMPIRE SPAWN
The vampire spawn given in the Monster Manual v3.5e can be considered an example using a 4th-level humanoid (but not human) warrior as the base creature. (To be a perfect example, its saves should be Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +2, and its skills should be Bluff +6, Climb +8, Craft or Profession (any one) +4, Diplomacy +4, Hide +6, Jump +8, Listen +9, Move Silently +6, Search +6, Sense Motive +5, Spot +9.)
This example uses a 1st-level human commoner as its base creature.
Vampire Spawn
Vampire Spawn, Male Human 1st-Level Commoner
Medium Undead (Augmented Humanoid)
Hit Dice: 1d12 (9 hp)
Initiative: +6 (+2 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative)
Speed: 30 ft.
AC: 15 (+2 Dex, +3 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 13
Attack: Slam +3 melee (1d6+4 and energy drain)
Full Attack: Slam +3 melee (1d6+4 and energy drain)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Blood drain, domination, energy drain
Special Qualities: +2 turn resistance, damage reduction 5/silver, darkvision 60 ft., fast healing 2, gaseous form, resistance to cold 10 and electricity 10, spider climb, undead traits
Saves: Fort +0, Ref +4, Will +1
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 14, Con —, Int 13, Wis 13, Cha 14
Skills: Bluff +6, Climb +5, Craft or Profession (any one) +8, Hide +6, Jump +5, Listen +9, Move Silently +6, Search +5, Sense Motive +5, Spot +9
Feats: AlertnessB, Improved InitiativeB, Lightning ReflexesB, Skill Focus (any Craft or Profession), Toughness.
Challenge Rating: 1
Combat
Blood Drain (Ex): A vampire spawn can suck blood from a living victim with its fangs by making a successful grapple check. If it pins the foe, it drains blood, dealing 1d4 points of permanent Constitution drain each round the pin is maintained. On each such successful drain attack, the vampire spawn gains 5 temporary hit pints.
Domination (Su): A vampire spawn can crush an opponent’s will just by looking onto his or her eyes. This is similar to a gaze attack, except that the vampire spawn must take a standard action, and those merely looking at it are not affected. Anyone the vampire targets must succeed on a DC 14 Will save or fall instantly under the vampire’s influence as though by a dominate person spell (caster level 5th). The ability has a range of 30 feet. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Energy Drain (Su): Living creatures hit by a vampire spawn’s slam attack receive one negative level. The DC is 14 for the Fortitude save to remove a negative level. The save DC is Charisma-based. For each such negative level bestowed, the vampire spawn gains 5 temporary hit points.
Fast Healing (Ex): A vampire spawn heals 2 points of damage each round so long as it has at least 1 hit point. If reduced to 0 hit points in combat, it automatically assumes gaseous form and attempts to escape. It must reach its coffin home within 2 hours or be utterly destroyed. (It can travel up to 9 miles in 2 hours.) Any additional damage dealt to a vampire spawn forced into gaseous form has no effect. Once at rest in its coffin, a vampire spawn is helpless. It regains 1 hit point after 1 hour, then resumes healing at the rate of 2 hit points per round.
Gaseous Form (Su): As a standard action, a vampire spawn can assume gaseous form at will, as the spell (caster level 6th), but it can remain gaseous indefinitely and has a fly speed of 20 feet with perfect maneuverability.
Spider Climb (Ex): A vampire spawn can climb sheer surfaces as though with a spider climb spell.
Skills: Vampire spawn receive a +4 racial bonus to Bluff, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot checks.
Undead Traits (Ex): A vampire spawn is immune to mind-affecting effects, poison, magic sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, and any effect that requires a Fortitude save unless it also works on objects or is harmless. It is not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability damage to its physical ability scores, ability drain, energy drain, fatigue, exhaustion, or death from massive damage. It cannot be raised, and resurrection works only if it is willing. Darkvision 60 ft.
Repelling and Slaying a Vampire Spawn
Vampire spawn are vulnerable to attacks and effects that repel or slay vampires. For details, see the Vampire entry in the Monster Manual v3.5e.
CREATING A VAMPIRE SPAWN
“Vampire Spawn” is a template that can be added to any humanoid or monstrous humanoid creature (referred to hereafter as the “base creature”). A vampire spawn uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Size and Type: The creature’s type changes to undead (augmented humanoid or augmented monstrous humanoid).
Hit Dice: Increase all current and future hit dice to d12s.
Speed: Same as the base creature. If the base creature has a swim speed, the vampire spawn retains the ability to swim and is not vulnerable to immersion in running water (see below).
AC: The base creature’s natural armor improves by +3.
Attack: A vampire spawn retains all the attacks of the base creature and also gains a slam attack if it didn’t already have one. If the base creature can use weapons, the vampire spawn retains this ability. A creature with natural weapons retains those natural weapons. A vampire spawn fighting without weapons uses either its slam attack or its primary natural weapon (if it has any). A vampire spawn armed with a weapon uses its slam or a weapon, as it desires.
Damage: Vampire spawn have slam attacks. If the base creature does not have this attack form, use the appropriate damage value from the table below according to the vampire spawn’s size. Creatures that have other kinds of natural weapons retain their old damage ratings or use the appropriate value from the table below, whichever is better.
Size Damage
Fine 1
Diminutive 1d2
Tiny 1d3
Small 1d4
Medium 1d6
Large 1d8
Huge 2d6
Gargantuan 2d8
Colossal 4d6
Special Attacks: A vampire spawn retains all of the special attacks of the base creature and also gains those listed below. Saves have a DC of 10 +1/2 vampire spawn’s HD + vampire spawn’s Charisma modifier unless noted otherwise.
Blood Drain (Ex): A vampire spawn can suck blood from a living victim with its fangs by making a successful grapple check. If it pins the foe, it drains blood, dealing 1d4 points of permanent Constitution drain each round the pin is maintained. On each such successful drain attack, the vampire spawn gains 5 temporary hit pints.
Domination (Su): A vampire spawn can crush an opponent’s will just by looking onto his or her eyes. This is similar to a gaze attack, except that the vampire spawn must take a standard action, and those merely looking at it are not affected. Anyone the vampire targets must succeed at a Will save or fall instantly under the vampire’s influence as though by a dominate person spell (caster level 5th). The ability has a range of 30 feet.
Energy Drain (Su): Living creatures hit by a vampire spawn’s slam attack (or any other natural weapon the vampire spawn might possess) receive one negative level. For each such negative level bestowed, the vampire spawn gains 5 temporary hit points. A vampire spawn can use its energy drain ability once per round.
Special Qualities: A vampire spawn retains all the special qualities of the base creature and gains those described below.
Damage Reduction: A vampire spawn has damage reduction 5/silver. A vampire’s natural weapons are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Fast Healing (Ex): A vampire spawn heals 2 points of damage each round so long as it has at least 1 hit point. If reduced to 0 hit points in combat, it automatically assumes gaseous form and attempts to escape. It must reach its coffin home within 2 hours or be utterly destroyed. (It can travel up to 9 miles in 2 hours.) Any additional damage dealt to a vampire spawn forced into gaseous form has no effect. Once at rest in its coffin, a vampire spawn is helpless. It regains 1 hit point after 1 hour, then resumes healing at the rate of 2 hit points per round.
Gaseous Form (Su): As a standard action, a vampire spawn can assume gaseous form at will, as the spell (caster level 6th), but it can remain gaseous indefinitely and has a fly speed of 20 feet with perfect maneuverability.
Spider Climb (Ex): A vampire spawn can climb sheer surfaces as though with a spider climb spell.
Turn Resistance (Ex): A vampire spawn has +2 turn resistance.
Resistance (Ex): A vampire spawn has cold and electricity resistance 10.
Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +6, Dex +4, Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +4. As an undead creature, a vampire spawn has no Constitution score.
Skills: Vampire spawn receive a +4 racial bonus to Bluff, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot checks.
Feats: Vampire spawn gain Alertness, Improved Initiative, and Lightning Reflexes, assuming the base creature meets the prerequisites and doesn’t already have these feats.
Environment: Any, usually the same as the base creature
Organization: Solitary or pack (2-5)
Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +1
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always evil (any)
Advancement: —
Level Adjustment: —
REPELLING AND SLAYING VAMPIRE SPAWN
Vampire spawn are vulnerable to attacks and effects that repel or slay vampires. For details, see the Vampire entry in the Monster Manual v3.5e.
IN THE REALMS
Vampire spawn are found in the service of vampires across the Realms. Centuries ago, vampire spawn and their vampiric masters were once quite common in Merrydale, renamed Daggerdale after their influence waned. In the present day, vampire spawn have been seen in increasing numbers in the city and catacombs of Westgate, as minions of the latest Faceless Lord to lead the Night Masks, and in the deepest dungeons Castle Daggerford, built atop the ruins of Morlin Castle, former seat of the Barony of Steeping Falls.
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Never heard of the neogi, although I just downloaded a pdf about them. Interesting...
My bad, I'm confusing you with another individual that had just ran a campaign that had black dragons, lizard folk and illithid in it and was trying to revamp AoW#3 & 4 with different critters. I had thrown out the suggestion of a neogi with umberhulk slaves to replace the antagonists of Hall of Harsh Reflections. If that wasn't you, my apologies for assuming so.
I agree that kenku aren't ideal for siege laying, but I'm sure the lords of medieval times thought the same of their peasant mob. What I mean here is use the kenku for the main body of the sieging forces but have them led by more militaristic forces, like flinds/gnolls that have been manipulated by Ilthane. Be imaginative and use your players preconceived notions of a critter to their disadvantage (kenku with two levels of Fighter would sure do that!) to make a challanging and memorable encounter.
As for vampiric spawn, that's as hackneyed a premise as the doppelganger theme in the next installment so judge your players' responses and adjust accordingly. Sometimes it helps to have some "familiar" adversaries that players can subconciously metagame their way to a solution, especially when there are a lot of "new" adversaries in later scenarios. But if you're going to make the effort to adjust a scenario to eliminate familiar situations from previous games, try to use something truly unfamiliar to you and you'll likely have something unfamiliar to your players as well.
Bottom line: have fun with it!
Redeye - I may just make him some undead version of his former self, some kind of underpowered lich. That would freak them out.
Anybody got any other ideas?
Revenants are a great way to bring a BBEG back to haunt the players. IMC a recently slain goblin shaman came knocking at the door one dark and stormy night and will be long remembered!
The Revenant template was in "City of the Spider Queen". I'm not sure where else it has shown up and that may be 3.0, but easily updated.
I LOVE the revenant idea, except these aren't the same characters that killed him. Revs always go after their killer, and waste away if they can't get at him, IIRC. It would be really cool (if cheesy) to have it say "Have you seen Dex?" to the player's new character. :)
Eric, that vampire spawn may be the way to go, thanks for the info. My players still mutter about that 'damned houseful of vampires' from our previous campaign, though.
Right now I'm working towards replacing the liz's with bullywugs, led by a couple dragonkin. The bullywug lair will have been taken over by another handful of 'kin, allowing me to play up the shaman coup angle. This should make both encounters a little tougher.
I'm thinking about having the revenant of Redeye wander through the last big battle, calling out one of my players' old character's name, etc. 'Course, he was a lizardman, so there's a little continuity problem there.
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I'm thinking of doing Goliaths or Gnolls myself as my Diamontsee (Diamond Lake) is set in a more Black Forest type region and thus Lizardfolk would be a tad far from their home. I'm just worried it might have an impact on something I haven't read yet. (Luckily we're still on Demonskar Legacy of SCAP so I have time to prepare for my players)