|
Hi all,
Just finished reading the Bullywug Gambit in Issue 140 this morning, and had some questions regarding savagery .... I hope this doesnt seem picky, or that its been covered before in other threads...
Anyway, when the party reaches Kraken Cove they discover the malformed corpses of a number of slain Savage creatures around the place, but in the description of savage creatures in the appendix it implies that their flesh quickly melts off their bones once they are slain (Death Throes). So I guess the corpses around the place would all be skeletons, or does Death Throes only come into effect under certain cicumstances? Im trying to figure out which would be creepier / better impact, seeing all the malformed corpses, or finding all these piles of bones surrounded by green powder.
The other thing is, when you contract Savage Fever, the description says you break out in a horrible rash and bone spurs, but the description of Harliss Javell (who is suffering from the disease) does not mention these visual effects. Do you all think its better if the PCs can see at a glance that she (or any other sufferers later in the AP) are inflicted, or should they not get this visual clue?
It could be more atmospheric and scary if there is no visual effect until the creature actually succumbs to savagery (and then they rapidly mutate), but will there be any repercussions further down the track if it is played this way?
Hi all,
Just finished reading the Bullywug Gambit in Issue 140 this morning, and had some questions regarding savagery .... I hope this doesnt seem picky, or that its been covered before in other threads...
Anyway, when the party reaches Kraken Cove they discover the malformed corpses of a number of slain Savage creatures around the place, but in the description of savage creatures in the appendix it implies that their flesh quickly melts off their bones once they are slain (Death Throes). So I guess the corpses around the place would all be skeletons, or does Death Throes only come into effect under certain cicumstances? Im trying to figure out which would be creepier / better impact, seeing all the malformed corpses, or finding all these piles of bones surrounded by green powder.
The other thing is, when you contract Savage Fever, the description says you break out in a horrible rash and bone spurs, but the description of Harliss Javell (who is suffering from the disease) does not mention these visual effects. Do you all think its better if the PCs can see at a glance that she (or any other sufferers later in the AP) are inflicted, or should they not get this visual clue?
It could be more atmospheric and scary if there is no visual effect until the creature actually succumbs to savagery (and then they rapidly mutate), but will there be any repercussions further down the track if it is played this way?
Hey Moth,
I personally like the no visible effect (except maybe a fever) until transformation. As to the death throes, I guess you could go with blackened half-melted skeletons mixed among the pirates who didn't turn and were just slaughtered.
In my home campaign I am also changing the way the fever works so that as soon as you take 6 Int damage you mutate. This makes sleeper PCs who catch the disease a lot more scary as a threat. This doesn't vibe too well with existing D&D rules, but I think its uber creepy.
|
|
In my home campaign I am also changing the way the fever works so that as soon as you take 6 Int damage you mutate. This makes sleeper PCs who catch the disease a lot more scary as a threat. This doesn't vibe too well with existing D&D rules, but I think its uber creepy.That's scary. Especially because Fake Healer does at least that much Int damage to everyone who reads his posts.
Dang you fakey and your jellotinous cube.
Death Throes says "When a savage creature dies". Does this mean 0? -1? or -10?
Also, it says that a creatures posessions remain behind. But they are laying in a pool of acid. Would an evil DM have the posessions quickly rot away in the acid?
Also, it says that a creatures posessions remain behind. But they are laying in a pool of acid. Would an evil DM have the posessions quickly rot away in the acid?
Give them item saving throws, as per the rules of getting a natural 1 on a save.
~ Bryon ~
Death Throes says "When a savage creature dies". Does this mean 0? -1? or -10?
They have a special ability that allows them to act normally even when in negative hit points, so Death Throes happens at -10 hit points.
My players enjoyed hearing me say "The way you hacked this thing up- it should be dead. It's guts are hanging out and that left arm is hanging by tissue, but it's still coming at you with unnatural speed. Slavering as if nothing were wrong at all." And then they went splat at -10 for the finale.
Well, crud. The number of mistakes I make while DMing is getting really frustrating. Most frustrating is my tendacy to not read all the way to the end. Had I done that, I would have found that:
* The acid splash affects living tissue only, so no worries about the equipment
* Ferocity means that they keep fighting while disabled and dieing.
Thanks for pointing me to those.
Most frustrating was last night: The wizard put a sleep spell on Ripclaw and it failed the save. They they coup de grace'd it. About 5 minutes later I remember that savage creatures are immune to mind-affecting. Crap, crap, crap.
|
DMFTodd, sounds like you're skimping on your prep time. Just because you're running a module doesn't mean you don't need a few hours before each game, to read things over and make some notes.
As it is, what's done is done. I'd start your next gaming session by mentioning to your intrepid adventurers that they got off SUPER easy last week because you weren't reading the template correctly, and that they won't get off so lucky again.
If they've not made it all the way though the cove, I'd throw them another Savage Deionychus, and this time do it right. Pounce and all. Make them take him to -10 then acid splash. They'll know fear then. :)
Then just smile and say "that's how EVERY encounter should have been last week".
We've been playing weekly since January, and so far the only PC death I've caused has been at Kraken's Cove. We have a Dragon Shaman with a healing aura that has saved so many lives it's not funny. Otherwise there'd be a lot more.
In the cove, though, we lost a water genasi to a savage creature with the acid splash. He caught him in that maze near the end, and 2 savage pirates surprised him and critted with their scimitars, dropping him to -9 and immediately unconscious. The next round, he stabilized to -8 due to the healing aura, but then the barbarian charged one of the pirates to protect his comrade, and immediately dealt about 25 hp to him, killing him immediately. Unfortunately, the resulting acid splash hit the helpless genasi, who took 4 more points of acid damage and promptly died. It was a sad case where trying to save a friend had the exact opposite result. But then, what should he have done, not attacked?
I have a quick question about savage fever. A cure is mentioned for anyone who succumbs fully to savage fever, however I find no mention of what will cure a character before they fully succumb. My group of PC's is about halfway through Kraken's cove and 2 of the PC's have contracted Savage Fever at this point. The warblade went into negative HP with Ripclaw but was saved by the druid. That and the gnome wizard managed to anger Ripclaw enough to get him to change targets. I am leaning towards having to visit a cleric and get "cure disease" cast on them. The rest of the party is worried that they will have to kill the two afflicted members if they "change".
It's a normal disease, rules-wise. Cure Disease works instantly. They can also recover naturally by making two daily Fort saves in a row.
If that seems too easy to you, the save DC for the disease is based on the constitution score of the savage creature that inflicted the disease. If you buff up the savage creatures with extra constitution, they'll be tougher and the daily Fort save for the disease will be higher, too. Ripclaw's savage fever is the most virulent, requiring a DC 18 save every day.