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Three Faces of Evil: Grellak Kur…Lives!!
My players spent their third session in the Three Faces of Evil on Saturday. Combats are taking a massive amount of time – especially where I am using the guards to alert the other occupants of nearby zones to the PCs' presence.
Last night, after failing to stop two Grimlocks from fleeing the bridge area, the party advanced into the Caves.
Suffice to say than an epic battle unfolded over the next four hours, with ultimately all the Grimlocks from each of the various cave areas converging upon the initial junction to fight the party.
It was a nasty struggle and one PC threatened to die, but only just.
At the end, Grellak Kur was left standing and relatively unhurt. Instead of just permitting him to kill himself, he used his invisibility spell and vanished from sight. After some fruitless searching, the PCs gave up the search and retreated to Grellak’s cave to lick their wounds and rest.
It was not planned to go this way, but I don’t see Grellak fighting suicidal to the very end when there were options left to him. So instead, I switched tack on the fly.
I have decided that Grellak is going to flee to the Faceless Once and the final showdown with the Kenku, the Faceless Once and Grellak Kur will take place in the Dark Cathedral, not in the maze. There, TFO and Grellak Kur will force Theldrick (whose lifeless body has been animated) - will be commanded to jump into Dark Pool as part of the Ritual.
As the fight unfolds and the PCs wear down the defenders – Grellak will - at the end as his hit points fade, grab the Dead Body of TFO and leap screaming into the Pool.
Blub Blub gurgle gurgle. *plop bubble bubble*
And after a few minutes respite to heal, the Ebon Aspect will emerge.
Does anyone have any idea to how hard such a fight will be? My worry is that The Faceless One + A fully rested and healed Grellak Kur along with the Kenkus may be quite a challenge to the party – so much so that the Ebon Aspect will finish them off.
The party is: A Fighter (tank AC23) , Cleric of St. Cuthbert (semi-tank AC 20),
Psychic Warrior (DR3/-!) , Warmage (AC 16) who likes to enlarge with Fists of Stone and a hang-back Rogue (AC 17) with UMD and a wand of enlarge person.
Opinions?
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I have the feeling that the battle will be a VERY challenging marathon. It's essentially three high-CR creatures faced down in a very short period of time, with rest-or-retreat unlikely.
Still, they way you've got it set up, it's tremendously dramatic, and I wouldn't suggest you sacrifice it for the sake of making a "balanced encounter". Instead, you can try a couple of other tricks to minimize the overwhelming impact of the baddies.
For one, have Kur and/or the Faceless One leap into the well at a point that the PCs seem to be getting dangeroulsy worn down. The players don't need to know how many HP their foes have to start or remaining, nor do they need to know the mechanics of the black well. They'll likely realize that the priests sacrificed themselves as part of some ritual, and leave it at that.
You could also have the Faceless One break off combat once in awhile to perform ritualistic acts around the well--nasty stuff like bloodletting, setting strange items afire before tossing them into the dark depths, and so on. This could be better justified if he's already cast web and summoned creatures to fight for him. Have the kenkus or Kur or summoned monsters defend him during these times rather than pressing the offensive.
Finally, if the PCs are severely injured and have exhausted most of their resources fighting the Faceless One and Kur, you can always reduce the HP of the Ebon Aspect on the fly. You could have the departed spirits of the priests drift out at it like misty tendrils, hissing "we are decieved...!" and drawing off some of its (un)life-force. This'll also foreshadow the eventual revelation that the Ebon Triad is a hoax.
So long as you can set things up in a way that it seems the enemies are acting methodically and not suddenly pulling their punches, it should be a dramatic combat.
Have fun!
I had something similar happen, and detailed it in this thread:
http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards/dungeon/ageOfWorms/10MinutesToGatherIt SStrength#46949
If you put the two living BBEG's up on the high ledge, where the party has to go through all the kenkus and zombie Theldrick to reach them, FO's lightning bolts and the like will be very effective, unless something like a Silence spell comes into play. If the Aspect arrives while they're all on the top platform, it would really get ugly.
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I had something similar happen, and detailed it in this thread:
http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards/dungeon/ageOfWorms/10MinutesToGatherIt SStrength#46949If you put the two living BBEG's up on the high ledge, where the party has to go through all the kenkus and zombie Theldrick to reach them, FO's lightning bolts and the like will be very effective, unless something like a Silence spell comes into play. If the Aspect arrives while they're all on the top platform, it would really get ugly.
I planned to put them on the ledge - but TFO and Grellak will have to end up in the pool and dead before the Aspect shows up.
To have all three in play agasint a pary of 4th level will mean multiple deaths - potentially a TPK, I think.
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TPK is inevitable. I ran the Hextor Temple as it should have been with the plan of luring the PCs into the room working like a charm. Throw in all Hextorites and it becomes an EL 9+ situation. Three out of five PCs were in negatives with the two that got separated by the door barely coming to the rescue after 30 rounds of combat. Yeah, 30 rounds.
If your party is still 4th level, sapped of resources after the Hextor and Erythnul wings, having the regrouped Ebon Triad waiting in the Cathedral will assure the Triad will be victorious. That isn't the "goal" of the scenario as I understand it. As per my previous suggestions for the Ebon Triad's motiviations, I'd keep the resources separate to assure the PCs can at least cause the Triad's overall goal of the genesis of the Aspect to succeed. If they fail against the Aspect then the Ebon Triad has truly "won".
30 rounds? I think that's the record so far. If you're inclined, would you write up a summary of events of the battle? Either here, or on the TPK in 3FoE thread.
It's kinda fun to see how the other groups do against the Hextor Battle Machine.
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30 rounds? I think that's the record so far. If you're inclined, would you write up a summary of events of the battle? Either here, or on the TPK in 3FoE thread.
It's kinda fun to see how the other groups do against the Hextor Battle Machine.
Sure, I can relate it succinctly...I think. I actually had to do a count on ammo for the archers! Now, this was a continuous fight from the opening of the door to the Hextor area and the cultists/tieflings luring the party to the Battle Hall...about six rounds in the room and entry hall and the rest in Battle Hall.
The point of all this is that the Faceless One, kenku, Grellak Kur, animated Theldrik and wizards should waste any 4th level party. Be careful Steel_Wind!
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If your party is still 4th level, sapped of resources after the Hextor and Erythnul wings, having the regrouped Ebon Triad waiting in the Cathedral will assure the Triad will be victorious.
But they aren't sapped of resources. I am letting them rest in the Caves of Erythnul now and - by using their own wand of cure lights along with the other wand found in the Hextorites, they'll be at full hits hitting the Cathedral with about 30 cure lights in one wand left.
There is no one left to "regroup". It's Vecna's followers and Grellak Kur. Everyone else is dead.
That many Kenkus looks bad on paper - but my experience in practice, however, especially with the party tactic of an enlarged Warmage (with fists of Stone), enlarged Psychic Warrior and enlarged Fighter with the Rogue and Cleric acting as backup provides a rather formidable group. The kenkus will fall like so much wheat. The lightning bolts and hold person are really the only major concerns of mine.
Assuming the party lives and uses the minutes for the Aspect to appear to use up the remaining cure lights as needed, it will probably go ok. (I hope...:))
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Grellak Kur's....SUICIDE!
I ran the final session of Three Faces of Evil tonight. I went with the great fight in the Dark Cathedral, as described above in the first post.
It was very touch and go. TPK was a few choices and a few rolls away at several moments. The Necklace of Missiles combined with The Faceless Once and his Acolytes and Grellak Kur proved very difficult indeed.
When the Faceless One finally fell, Grellak Kur grabbed his body and jumped screaming off of the platform into the pool - Theldrick had already been thrown in in zombified Spawn of Kyuss form when the PCs entered the Cathedral coming up from the Caves of Erythnul.
When the pool began to bubble and froth - the PCS who were extremely beaten up and out of spells did something quite uncharacteristic - they turned tail and ran, fleeing up the elevator shaft. Even though they could have (and ultimately did) heal up with the wand of cure light wounds - the image of a screaming Grellak Kur leaping with the Faceless One's body into suicidal death in the pool (provoking the one remaining acolyte dropping to his knees and cry out in divine ecstasy) was all the players needed.
They saw the writing on the wall and got the hell out. Well - all but one.
A web spell lingered over the stairs up to the ramp and platforms in the Dark Cathedral where the mighty had fallen All their magical loot had gone unrecovered and the rogue wanted it all. There was no way to get up and loot the bodies - so the party rogue stayed behind waiting for the web to expire. He eyed the pool nervously.
When the Ebon Aspect finally emerged - the rogue ran for the elevator and yelled for the rest of the party above to winch him up. But the platform was heavy and moved slowly.
The Ebon Aspect had the scent and screamed for blood.
Seeing his peril, the rogue started to climb up the chain as the elevator platform started to lift off the floor...too late. The Ebon Aspect grabbed the bottom of the elevator platform and howled.
The four PCs above strove mightily with the winch as the Ebon Aspect screamed for vengeance below, its wrath echoing up from the darkness.
The rogue climbed at double rate, but not fast enough. The second strike from the Aspect's Spiritual Weapon took him below 0 and he slipped unconscious from the chain to fall to his death on to the elvator platform, 45 feet down.
With a tilt and a lurch - the Aspect was into the shaft and climbing up the chain at a startlingly fast rate. The four remaining PCs above threw down spells and arrows to impede its progress, doing about 40 points of damage just before it got to the top.
Surrounding the top of the shaft on four sides, (including the party's Tank- now enlarged with Bull strength) the party attacked and were each given an AOO as the Aspect moved off of the chain and on to the surrounding platform.
Even with a final burst of Fastheal 10 and 10/Epic DR, the AOOs were enough and they all hit. The Ebon Aspect was taken down just as it was about to rend the party's cleric. With a lurch and a moan, it toppled over on to the mine floor, dead.
**Epilog**
A few minutes later, Ragnolin Dourstone appeared at the head of a party of dwarven guards. As the party screamed that he was in league with demonic cultists, one sight of the dead Ebon Aspect on the floor of his mine was enough to send Ragnolin bolting as his guards drew steel and uneasily ordered the PCs to explain themselves - and the dead demon at their feet.
In the inquiry that followed, Ragnolin evaded capture for questioning by Captain Trask. Mayor Neff was appalled to discover cultists in the midst of Diamond Lake. Rumor has it that a trial - to be held with Ragnolin in absentia, appears likely.
One of the PCs was approached later on the night that they emerged from the Dourstone mines by Balabar Smenk (who had persuaded the party to go below in the first place). In exchange for offering an old mortgage on Ragnolin's residence for a generous price (2,000 GP), Smenk persuaded the party member to go back down to the still unexplored Labyrinth of Vecna and erase any sign of his involvement in selling provisions to Dourstone.
The PC did so when the party returned to loot the now empty Labyrinth.
The mortgage sold by Smenk to the PC - a minor debt long overlooked by Dourstone and many years in default, can be called upon by the PC. With Dourstone fled and unable to pay the relative pittance the mortgage secured, the PC will be able to forclose and take over the ownership of Dourtsone's mansion.
With Ragnolin to be tried as a criminal in absentia, his mines will escheat to the Lords of Greyhawk. Smenk will then use his contacts and buy them all at a firesale price.
In the end, it turns out the Balabar Smenk has once again outwitted his adversaries and consolidated his power in Diamond Lake. The crafty bastard won the day. Smenk has also gained a powerful ally in one of the PCs and purchased the PC's loyalty by selling an old mortgage once thought worthless.
As for Ragnolin Dourstone - he has fled to Greyhawk and nurses his plans for vengeance. He knows a man named Telakin that might be able to help settle the score...