Our group is still on the first level. Arley the weaver has been hassling the PCs, but staying clear of any direct confrontations; he waited until they were locked into a death struggle with the fresco fighters, to attack the first time. Now I'm thinking of doing something really nasty, in fact its probably too nasty....but it seems likely that Arley would do something like this. He's drawn them into the throne room, in front of the golem. You think I should assume he's figured out something of the golem's activation? and flies up tapping it into life, before retreating? Or is that just too cruel? He has absolutely no other resources here, and has already lost any chance to parlay with the PCs, so it's either this, or full retreat.
The Gnolls are cannonfodder for this group As for normally frightening Bodaks...most of these characters could make a DC 15 fort save using a d4 to roll it. So the Bodaks are completely useless....I've left them in their lair, to see if they get discovered and slaughtered or not, but otherwise I'm having them rest in torpor as it were....
So, do I show some restraint? Or let them suffer the consequences of entering the dungeon in the first place? Would Arley be clever enough to figure out the golem after all this time?
As for our group, they're all 12th level (or at least ecl of 12), with a 32 point buy for attributes. Its a well balanced aprty, all WotC material, no outside sources (sorry Paizo!), so I'd say they are about average as far as what they can handle.
Ikor, are you using the natural rolls of 1 and 20 rules (i.e. auto fail and auto success)? If so, those Bodaks are a viable threat when your PCs are forced to make six Fort saves each round. Don't dis the Bodaks!
IMC, I swapped out Arley's displacement spell for dispel magic, which I felt was much more practical for him. It sounds like you're on to the same tactics I used. Arley lured the PCs right up to the throne of the Terrible Iron Golem and then proceeded to dispel his 3 pursuer's fly spells. Down they gently dropped onto the throne platform and... well, you get the picture.
Assuming you've kept Arley's spell selection as written you could definitely go with the tactic you mentioned. However, you don't have to have Arley actually go up and touch the golem. Simply setting foot on the platform activates it. Keep him invisible and lure the PCs close. When they are close enough, have him land on the platform to activate the golem and then fly away. The golem activates and sees the PCs nearby... game on!
As far as "should you do it?" Most certainly! Arley is a cunning and EVIL creature and should be role-played that way. Don't wuss out!
Ikor, are you using the natural rolls of 1 and 20 rules (i.e. auto fail and auto success)? If so, those Bodaks are a viable threat when your PCs are forced to make six Fort saves each round. Don't dis the Bodaks!
Its a core rule, so we're using it. I suppose you're right...that's a lot of chances for a 1 to come up. Okay Bodaks, you've got your jobs back!
IMC, I swapped out Arley's displacement spell for dispel magic, which I felt was much more practical for him. It sounds like you're on to the same tactics I used. Arley lured the PCs right up to the throne of the Terrible Iron Golem and then proceeded to dispel his 3 pursuer's fly spells. Down they gently dropped onto the throne platform and... well, you get the picture.
Great idea...I love the way it played out for you! That's definitely a nice touch, and you're right...dicplacent? He's not going to bother going toe-to-toe with anyone. His main worries will be spell casters. Period. Nice spell swap.
Assuming you've kept Arley's spell selection as written you could definitely go with the tactic you mentioned. However, you don't have to have Arley actually go up and touch the golem. Simply setting foot on the platform activates it. Keep him invisible and lure the PCs close. When they are close enough, have him land on the platform to activate the golem and then fly away. The golem activates and sees the PCs nearby... game on!
I haven't changed anything on him...too lazy, since I'm running SCAP as well, and pouring a great deal of effort into it, I started Maure Castle as fun diversion, with the sole goal of having a game that I didn't have to put much creative energy into. (not saying there isn't room for it, its a great backdrop for an imaginative DM ).
As far as "should you do it?" Most certainly! Arley is a cunning and EVIL creature and should be role-played that way. Don't wuss out!
Great advice! I'll send them your way after the TPK! hehe, thanks Steve.
Ahh... Infomatic got me. Good catch! I forgot he wasn't evil. Exactly why my group's paladin couldn't pinpoint him either.
Ikor, as it turned out for my group, only one PC was actually taken out of comission, the elven scout got petrified by the whip. But that encounter scared the living crap out of them. They HAVE NOT BEEN BACK TO VISIT THE GOLEM since getting their asses kicked in back-to-front ;)
Best case scenario, the group's burliest fighter type gets hit by the golem and fears for his life after seeing the amount of damage it could deal, pulling a prompt GTFO maneuver. In the case of my group's paladin, he took somewhere around 80 or so points of damage in a single round with just the crystal sword (the whip was used on the elven scout). The rest of your players should take the hint and follow suit.
Worst case scenario, a weaker PC gets the initial golem ass whooping and dies; the rest of the party are too foolish to realize they are in over their heads, stick around to fight the thing, and die horrible, nasty, squishy deaths.
Not a fan of TPKs, to be honest. And I don't think the golem will got EVERY one of your players' characters, but if you're lucky at least you'll get one or maybe two :p
What you (or they, actually) should be more concerned with are those horrible sybmols of death waiting for them below.
I brought in two extra's, to help the PCs out - these were two fighters whose background was written so that they were on a mission to confront the golem. They would serve 'hopefully' to pad the party a bit as HP buffers maybe?
We had close to a TPK in three rounds. It went something like this - keep in mind there are 7 PCs, and Arley there as well (although his spells are exhausted)
-this is not completely in order, I'm just hashing through from memory here and leaving out unimportant actions;
Arley charms the Drow Sorceror, and convicnes him they are on the same side - then flies up to activate the golem.
The samurai charges the golem, completing his double move 10' from where it now stands.
The dromite warlock blasts Arley with acid.
Arley retreats.
The golem catches the samurai with his sword (only once, during the full attack) and his whip - one samurai statue, made to order.
The dervish leaps in, attempting to deactivate the golem by repeating what she saw arley do to activate him.
The werebear charges.
The halfling fighter tries to get someone to listen to him; waving his scroll of 'stone to flesh' around, and asking if anyone can cast it.
The drow elf, is now dancing, as his cursed boots he found in Arley's stash begin to kick in; I throw him a huge favor, allowing concentration checks during the dancing, to allow him to perform hopefully, something useful in the fight. He makes a 27 on a concentration check to cast lightning bolt from a scroll - I hate making players feel impotent, so decide it's good enough (I know the DMG isn't so kind with these boots, but hey..I'm a softy) Lightning strikes th egolem to no effect causing a hum among the players who assumed it would slow him.
The halfling arcane trickster moves in for a scroching ray, no effect.
Everyone starts crushing into the stairway to get up to help the others.
The golem directs a sword attack at the werebear fighter, and a whip at the dervish. He does 80 points of damage on the werebear, and turns the dervish into a statue.
The werebear tries a sunder attempt (he's built around this particular type of attack) which would have been successful, if the golems weapons werent part of its body. He then backs away five feet, going for a healing potion.
The spellcasters continue to crowd into the stairs, blasting various spells, etc.
The dromite splats the golem with more acid.
The golem rises up, heedless of giving the werebear AoO, and catches everyone in a 15' cone of flame, for 70 or so points of damage. Nobody makes their save except the arcane trickster.
The dromite, trickster, and halfling fighter flee the scene.
The drow sorceror, and were-bear lie dead on the steps, whle the two staues remain adjacent ot the throne.
That's quite an interesting group of PCs. I actually recruited more players going into Maure Castle to pad out my group as well. So, do they plan on going back to face the Terrible Iron Golem and/or get their petrified buddies back? Or do they have a healty aversion to even going near it now?
BTW, nice touch with the cursed boots. That's too damn funny!
I think they will likely avoid it at all costs; I'm beginning to doubt if the thing is beatable ;)
While a. is the most likely, I'm avoiding it. I'm toying with c., actually — per the story, Arley's acting as a spy for Octavus, a Seeker Rival of Eli's who feels threatened by Eli's setup in Maure. Octavus probably wouldn't mind Eli's forces getting roughed up a bit by some do-gooders (after which he'd come in and finish them off). So I may simply have Arley sneak off to tell the Seeker faction in Seltaren what's up.
I agree with that approach. His alignment is CN and he's not a big fan of Eli right now, and is not likely to help him out too much. His concern is over the Maure artifacts and his research, and he would be sure to take any of those goodies with him when he left. I imagine he would spy on the party as much as he could before he left to gauge their tactics and relationships, memorizing their descriptions for later use, then reporting back to Octavus. His reaction to this new development is then up to you. It certainly sets up a nice side plot for later use.