So, the villain of Here There Be Monsters has made his appearance, a bit early, but still to full effect.
After the standard feelings of menace and sounds of movement behind them, Olangru started his campaign of terror in earnest when the party first camped on the ocean-side roadway. First, the darkness pebble. While the PCs dealt with it quickly, it set them to considering what was doing it. A prankster olman perhaps? Then the Ice Troll of the party climbed up the cliff to investigate. At the top he found a small throne of rocks with a misassembled human skeleton sitting on it. His examination proved the skeleton to be only a few months old, and the throne recently built by clawed hands. He went into the jungle breifly to see if he could find tracks, but found nothing. Upon returning, the throne was gone, in its place an ancient monkey jawbone. He returned to the party, who all discussed what was going on. Just before leaving that morning, the troll and party sorc returned to the top of the cliff to investigate. While they were looking at the area where the throne had been, they noticed that an olman had appeared behind them on the cliff's edge. Before they could do anything, the olman stabbed himself and flung himself off the cliff, passing by the rest of the camp, to dissapear into the water below. The druid of the party noticed that he did not splash or leave a body, and the creep out level was rising.
After the gargoyle ambush the next day, they camped and suffered more harrassment. The druid's watch was interrupted by movement, and upon investigating, she found one of their food packs sixty feet away fromt he camp. Inside, she found bloody meat instead of the carefully organized rations they had placed there. Returning to the camp, she saw movment a moment later in the other direction. Investigating, she found that a large rock had been moved about five feet. Finding nothing interesting on or under the rock, she returned to the camp and rested. When the morning arrived, the party was distressed to find several seagulls, one for each of the survivors, arranged in the same formation as their sleeping arrangements the night before, carefully laid out a several yards away. The seagulls had apparently been killed by having their heads pulled off. The troll, now awake, identified the meat in the pack as being human, which sent fearful whispers through the group. The party was coming closer to deciding the nature of their harrasser, feeling that an evil outsider or skilled mage were the only things capable of what had happened. The sorceror, not one to ignore a threat to his person, left a note on the clifftop for their pursuer, warning him away.
Later that day, they encountered the lift, which was revealed to be sabotaged, but soon repaired by the party cleric. When they camped that night, the cleric used a tounges spell to shout a challenge to the coward she perceived their tormenter to be, hoping to draw him out. Unfortunately, he knew better than to play his hand to early, but he also would not let such an insult slide. With a burst of telekinetic force, he hurled one of the surviving crewmen from the Sea Wyvern out across the ocean, where he then fell towards the choppy water. The cleric screamed her outrage and reiterated his cowardice, waking the party, to which he answered with another survivor being tossed to sea. The druid, barely awake, saw one of her few freinds being thrown to his death, and she quickly wild shaped into a great owl and swooped down at great risk to herself, barely saving him. The troll jumped down into the water, heedless of injury, and attempted to save the first victim, but it was too late; the fall alone had killed him.
The druid, as a owl, noticed a figure standing on the top of the cliff, shillouted against the full moon. With a shreik of rage, she flew towards the figure. A hail of skulls battered her as she asceneded, but she ignored them and continued on to confront their tormentor. Just as she approached, he vanished from sight. She attempted to claw at the spot where she had last seen him, but unbeknownst to her, the sorceror had noticed the figure as well, but was unaware of the druid's presence in the area. So when he evoked a ball of icy cold in the area where he had seen the figure, she was caught in the blast as well.
However, the ball had affected Olangru as well, who dismissed his invisibility just long enough to point at the sorceror down below, say "You will be first to die!" and then vanish with out a trace. The party discussed their options, and dealt with the attempted insurrection of authority by Meravanchi, and then decided to continue on. They would confront the demon when less innocents could be caught in the mix.
As they proceeded, a few hours down the road, they found two severed gargoyle claws lying on the road, with a message written in blood. "They come for you today. Do not die yet, meat." A warning, from the demon? Perhaps an hour later, as they passed a cave, which spurred yet another of Meravanchi's half-baked plans, the druid noticed shapes flying across the bay: a flock of gargoyles, headed directly for them.
And thats where the session ended. So, anyone else torture their playes with Olangru's nasty minded scemes? Anyone do anything else? And of course, feel free to yoink any of mine that suit your fancy!
We haven't gotten there yet but it sounds like your game was awesome. It is always nice when everything comes together to create the right level of suspense. I definitely will be stealing some of your ideas when my party gets to there.
Good job, Black Bard! Keep milking the suspense. Players hate it when the villain won't "fight fair". Keep up the psychological warfare until you absolutely have to run the encounter with Olangru and his mates.
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Actually, Olangru starts making trouble back in Dark Mountain Pass, but it doesn't have its own box, so it's easily missed.
During the fight with the gargoyle king, make use of major image. You could have a bunch of illusary sharks or sea dinosaurs in the ocean below. A pteradactyl diving out of the clouds (or the sun, to explain why they didn't see it) during the battle could draw off some resources, especially if the gargoyles engage the PCs and the major image goes for the NPCs.
On the day after the gargoyles, maybe have an illusory avalanche, then part of the road could be knocked out by his ring of the ram so there's a terrain obstacle (cue illusion of jungle drums, roars of beasts, gargoyles off in the distance, etc.). Cause Fear might also make an NPC (I'd go with Tavey or Amella) refuse to move halfway across the obstacle, forcing someone to go out there and save/talk them across. Finish off the day with a real rockslide from the ring of the ram.
If Urol is still with your group, his pet raven could meet a grisly end. So could Avner's horse. I'd probably try and knock/kill the horse with the rockslide; if I were the demon, since it has lots of supplies. This could further motivate the PCs to make haste.
One of the mates could disguise self as Amella, either in the lair, or as part of a kidnapping, but this has a low DC. I'd use it to let the duplicate get close to the real (NPC) kidnapping target, if at all.
Black Bard, I really like the decapitated seagulls put where the PC's where sleeping. That is a really nice touch that I don't remember reading about in HTBM. Consider it yoinked!
Psychological warfare at its finest. When I (someday, hopefully) run this adventure, Avner's horse will likely meet a grisly end as Avner unwittingly reenacts a scene from a famous mafia film.
I am only up to the 2nd adventure, but Here There be Monsters is one I am preparing for! Our music selection in game has been 'Pirates of the Caribbean', but I have purposely sought the soundtrack from 'Predator' for this part of the Adventure Path.
I have a sneaking suspicion that my players may be reading DUNGEON and will know what is coming. I wanted to change Olangru slightly, just to keep my players on edge. The suggestions here have been quite helpful in planning this, but I was curious if anyone has a different build for Olangru?
Nice!
My PCs have a halfling druid with an ape companion. Both of them made their Spot checks earlier in the session and began to feel "watched" first. The ape began posturing, which just urged Olangru on. After the rock slide, the druid started yelling up to the cliffs about how him and Queen Quong the dire ape (har har) aren't scared of whoever he is. Olangru then began to laugh his demonic monkey laughter and chucked a human skull at the tiny druid. He rolled a natural 20. It was priceless. We got to the first melee encounter last night and Olangru took out Quong in two rounds. The druid was quite distraught, but thanks to house rules, Quong was healed enough to keep her from going to the big jungle in the sky.
One thing I've changed about Olangru is that he looks more like a chimp instead of an orangatan. And this is why. That article is not an isolated incident. In the past 20 years, 18 children have been reported as stolen by chimps and then eaten. They supplement 5% of their diet with meat--mostly smaller monkeys but occasionally rivals and anything else they can get their hands on. I have a healthy fear of chimps, while oraguntangs are just funny looking.
Anyway, during the first melee between the Pcs and Olangru, I made sure to play up the sheer savagry of the ape. He went for eyes and hands and...um... other delicate areas. They are so scared of him, it's sadisticly hilarious.
When the morning arrived, the party was distressed to find several seagulls, one for each of the survivors, arranged in the same formation as their sleeping arrangements the night before, carefully laid out a several yards away. The seagulls had apparently been killed by having their heads pulled off.
Yoink!
As they proceeded, a few hours down the road, they found two severed gargoyle claws lying on the road, with a message written in blood. "They come for you today. Do not die yet, meat."
Double yoink!
Rowyn's terrorizing is wearing them down already, so I might not get to inflict this level of wicked fun on them, but I can't wait to at least say "Do no die yet, meat." to them. Ooh yeah- I'm all tingly.