I really like the free-form style of the last module “Dawn of a New Age”, specifically the town sequences where the heroes have to restore hope to weaken Kyuss’s divinity. The stock encounters are okay, but they’re just that: stock encounters. I developed a couple of my own, which my PCs seemed to highly enjoy. Here’s how “Alhaster in Flames” has gone down for my group:
1) Prelude- I decided I wanted to give my PCs the chance to claim a second piece of the rod, the one that Tenser/Manzorian couldn’t win away from the Pit Fiend. I changed him into Beltorius (Heart of Hellfire Mountain, Pit Fiend Fighter 1) and gave him some allies from that module (Canian hounds, The Burning Soul). The “rules” were that there was only time to retrieve the rod in one quick strike. Thus they expended some resources fighting Beltorius and crew before they immediately ‘Word of Recalled’ back to the church of St. Cuthbert in Alhaster, a church they had rebuilt.
2) Overworms- I decided I wanted to force the PCs to interact with the frightened townspeople, so they found themselves teleported into the midst of ruins, for their church had been destroyed, and the source of the destruction was the two Advanced Overworms from the stock encounter. With six PCs plus two cohorts, the first authority check test proved way too easy, though the Worms themselves were quite nasty and helped focus the party back toward the reality of the horror unleashed on Alhaster, and the fact that Kyuss’s minions could simply destroy any “safe place” they might think of.
3) Boneyard and Kyuss Knights- I wanted to at some point during the city’s scouring to have a scene resembling the end of “Library of Last Resort”, so I ran the church/ three priest dispute encounter immediately after the Overworm’s destruction which featured a triple evolved Boneyard of Kyuss (Libris Mortis/Dungeon 132, +6 Str, +6 Cha, Fast Healing +9, Haste/Greater Dispel/Cone of Cold 1/day). Backing it were 9 Kyuss Knights, who were taken from the module. This battle proved much more tense, with the Boneyard providing a terrific melee threat with the ability to kill many people with it’s abilities. I believe only 16 people were slain…
4) Dream Vestiges- Lanthis, the priest of Kord, needed additional development in my game since the party had utilized his church before rebuilding the church of St. Cuthbert. I simply had the church of Kord not be consecrated due to the assaults of Kyuss’s minions, giving the party, who all wanted rest, a place to hold up and a reason to stay there. While Lanthis performed the prayer (I shortened the casting time to 12 hours for role-play purposes) the heroes took watches. The four Dream Vestiges I attacked them with(Libris Mortis) proved to be almost too much. Having already used up most of their restorative magic and spells, the party was hard pressed against the incorporeal menaces. My scenario for fighting despair involved simply keeping alive 75% of the people in the church (15/20). I wanted to press the heroes while they rested, as well as reiterate the fact that the monsters were out to play and they were everywhere…
5) Advanced Hullathoin and Mezerith the Stitcher- Having survived the first night in Alhaster, they regained spells and prepared to set out. Enter Mezerith and his Fleshwarper Mastodon: (Stats under effects of Unhallow)
*Flesh Warper Mastodon: Advanced Evolved Hullathoin (Fiend Folio, Libris Mortis)
CE Huge Undead. Init +3 Blindsight 60 Spot +38 Listen +38
AC 28 Touch 7, Flat 28,
HP 272 (32 HD), Fast Healing 11, DR 15/ Magic and Silver
Immune Cold, Electric, Resist Fire 15, Resist Sonic 15, Resist Positive Energy 10
Fort +16 Ref +11 Will +26 SR 33
Speed 60, Base/Grapple: +16/+36 Face/Reach: 15/15
Melee: Bite +29 (4d8+12, 19/20 x2), 2 Stamps +28 (1d8+6) and 2 Tentacles +28 (1d6+6+poison+improved grab).
SA: Poison: (DC 28 1d10 str/1d10 Str), Rebuke Undead: (As 20th level Cleric), Improved Grapple: (-20 not required to keep Dex while grappling), Deform: (If pinned by tentacles, Fort DC 26 or 1d6 Cha dmg) 1/day: Greater Dispel Magic, CL 20th. Ring of Pus: (Standard, Action, 1/day, 30’ radius from Hullathoin, 5d6 acid, 1d6 Str dmg, 10 rds nausea, Reflex DC 26 half damage, negate other effects.), Summon Wormswarm: (Standard Action, appears adjacent, Wormswarm rejoins in 10 rounds,)
Cleave, Great Cleave, Power Attack, G. Fortitude, Wpn F: Bite, Imp. Crit: Bite, Imp. Natural Attack x2 (Bite), Imp. Init., Positive Energy Resistance, Imp. Multiattack, Multiattack. Balance +36, Climb +31, Swim +39.tr 34 Dex 8 Con_ Int 12 Wis 16 Cha 14
Riding the back of this thing:
*Mezerith the Flesh Stitcher, 18th level human sorcerer Lich, CE Medium Undead
Init +5, Senses Spot +2, Listen +2 Darkvision 60, See Invisibility
AC 39 (Touch 20/ Flat 30) 50% Miss Chance
HP 170 (18HD) DR 15/ Magic and Bludgeoning
Immune Cold/Elec, Resist Fire 30/Sonic 30, Undead Traits, Spell Turning (9Levels)
Fort+ 15 Fort +14 Will+20 SR 25
Speed: 50 Base/Grapple +9/+9, Melee: Touch +13/+8 (1d8+5(negative energy, DC 29 Will ½) and paralysis (DC 31 Fort or permanently paralyzed))
Contagious Touch: (Anyone touching paralyzed creature makes save or paralyzed)
Spells: CL 18, Save DC 20+Spell Level (DC+1 Necromancy/+2Transmutation), Ranged Touch +14, (Spells per day: 6/9/9/8/8/8/8/7/6/4) Spells Known: (9th) Wall of Worms***, 8th)Breath of the Apostle***,Maze, 7th) Extrude Wormswarm**,Finger of Death,Antimagic Ray*, 6th-Greater Dispel Magic,Stone to Flesh,Disintegrate, 5th)Servant of Green Corruption**,Baleful Polymorph,Cloudkill,Reciprocal Gyre*, 4th) Mindworms*, Ray Deflection*,Orb of Acid*,Sensory Deprivation*, 3rd) Protection from Energy, Consume the Parasite**, The Worm Within**, Lightning Bolt, 2nd)Path of Worms**, Resist Energy, Ray of Stupidity*, False Life, See Invisibility, 1st) Ray of Enfeeblement, Shield, Magic Missle, Protection from Good, Chill Touch, 0) Detect Magic, Disrupt Undead, Mending, Arcane Mark. *=Spell Compendium, **=Dragon 343, ***=Self Made spell on other thread.
Sp F: Necro, Sp F: Transm, G. Fort, Imp. Init, Com. Casting, Craft Wondrous Item, Contagious Paralysis (Libris Mortis), Grt Sp Focus: Transm. Spellcraft +17, Know: Arcana +19, Bluff +31, Concentration +20, Craft: Taxidermy +7 Str 10 Dex 12 Con-Int 14 Wis 15 Cha 31. Spells Up: Servant of Green Corruption, Ray Deflection, Resist Energy (Sonic), Resist Energy (Fire), False Life, Shield, Protection from Evil. Possessions: Greater MetaMagic Rod of Maximize, Scroll of Polymorph any Object, Wand of D. Door (10th, 47cc)Bracers of AC +6, Robe of Stitched Flesh (+5 Deflect, SR 25, +6 Cha), Cloak of Major Displacement, Ring of Spell Turning, Ring of Resistance +5, Amulet of Natural Armor +4. 10 preserved Kyuss worms for spells.
I needed a serious leader of the Kyuss Lichs to oppose the party and wanted to make their decision to guard the church a good one. I came up with those two, who were surrounded by Wormswarms and scores of Vampire Spawn. I gave Mezerith a Wondrous Item called the Skull of Speaking which allowed him to project his voice up to a thousand feet and allow anyone to understand him, as well as reducing oral interactions such as Bluff and Diplomacy to a free action (Tongues/Clauraudience). I had him and his band move in under the disguise of a Screen spell at dawn. The screen revealed them to be a host of angels lead by Prince Zeech who gloriously rode the back of a golden dragon. At a –10 penalty each round, the Lich rolled his Bluff to lure people out of the sanctuary of the Hallowed Chruches and into the waiting arms of the “Angels who would take them to safety”. This was opposed by Authority Checks once the heroes got within range, and since the highest was a +16 versus the Lich’s +21, it was tense to say the least. After four rounds of hot rolling by the Bard, the pair were finally dispatched. From there, they learned that the rest of the people were holed up in the Deluxury and were being herded into the arena. Since neither structure was hallowed, they had to move quick. They moved straight across to the Deluxury.
6)Nightwalker and Swords of Kyuss: I used the stock encounter in the module, swapping out the Lichs, Vampires and Kyuss Knight for Seven Swords of Kyuss, advanced to 26 HD, and an advanced Nightwalker (29HD). I liked the scenario of the PCs having to verbally direct people how to fight the spawn, so I had the undead menaces infesting every part of the Deluxury, making it so the PCs couldn’t just kill the Spawn first-hand without dealing with the Swords. A lethal encounter on paper, not so tough against a buffed party who only really lost a few spells against Mezerith. Again, they rolled hot on the authority checks, a DC 30 is not so easy with the highest being +16. Onward to the arena!
6) Raknian and the Apostle- With the arena, I didn’t want them “nuking the sight from orbit”, since I had a special treat in store for them: Loris Raknian, Death Knight of Kyuss. I advanced the traitorous fiend from his role in “The Champion’s Belt” (He got away in mine) and gave him the Death Knight template. Accompanying him was an Apostle of Kyuss from the same module, given the Evolved template and 6 levels of Barbarian (Easy to stat out..) The two commanded dozens of wights who surrounded a huddled crowd of people that one by one were being given the choice to face Raknian or be eaten by the Apostle. I covered above the arena’s roof in green mist and barred the gate with a Wall of Worms spell (From a Magic Item…Why Not?) to force them to interact with the situation up close. The goal was to save 75% of the people from being touched by the wights (killing them), who started thrity feet away. Tough encounter, but never underestimate the power of the Ominous Fabler’s notorious helmet. Here’s Raknian’s Stats:
Loris Raknian, Lieutenant of Kyuss CR 22, Human Male Death Knight Fighter 17, Medium LE Undead, Init + 5 Spot +0 Listen +0 Darkvision 60
AC 34 Touch 13 Flat 33 Dodge Mobility
HP 285 (17HD) DR 10/ Silver and Good
Immune Elec/Cold Resist Fire 30, Turn Immunity, Immune Positive Energy
Fort +21 Ref +13 Will +14 SR 27, Freedom of Movement
Speed 20, Fly 30 (good) Base+17/Grapple+26
Melee: +1 Adamantium Vorpal Bastard Sword +35/+30/+25/+20- 1d10+24 (17-20x2)
Wormblast: 1/.day, Range 1080’, 20’ Radiuis, 17d6 dmg from worms, Fort DC 25 or infested: 6d6 dmg for 1d4 rd then 2d6 Int Drain, stopped by Heal/Remove Curse/Remove Disease, 0 Int=death=favored spawn of kyuss immediately.
Spell like Abilities: 1/day Power Word Stun, Blind, Kill, 3/day Create Undead, Create Greater Undead, Wall of Ice, CL 17
Martial Calling (gains bonus to attack = ½ HD), Unholy Toughness (HD x Cha Bonus= Bonus HP), Power Attack, Cleave, Imp. Bull Rush, Weapon focus: B. Sword, Weapon spec.: B. Sword, G. weapon focus: B. Sword, G. weapon spec.: B. Sword, Ex. Weapon Prof: B. Sword, Imp. Crit.: B. Sword, Toughness, Leadership, Iron Will, Athletic. Climb +20, Handle Animal +22, Intimidate +22, Jump +7, Ride +12, Swim –2. Str 28 Dex 12 Con- Int 11 Wis 11 Cha 26. Possessions: +1 Adamantium Vorpal Bastard Sword, Full plate of Greater Fire Resistance +5, Mantle of Life Ward, Ring of Freedom of Movement, Ring Of Deflection +2 (Signet Ring), Cloak of Resistance +5, Amulet of Natural Armor +3, Crown of Charism +6
Again, few things scare the players at this level of play, but the word ‘Vorpal’ sure does. An out of sight, burrowing Apostle further heightened everyone’s nerves, but ultimately I should have added more minions as the two went down in about four rounds. Solid, but not as climatic as I had hoped, with only two citizens getting turned into Wights. (I made it a DC 25 Authority check for them to direct people away from the encircling wights.).
7)Broodfiend: This is where everything went bad. They had just gone through the previous three fights and decided to search out the entrance to whatever was beneath the boneyard. I covered the graveyard completely in green mist that blocked all sight, so they moved down in Windwalk Form. The druid shapechanged into a Spectre and attempted to pass through the ground to find the entrance. We both knew that incorporeal creatures could only pass through so much matter before they were stopped, so I had him roll percentage to see if he was actually over the entrance. He rolled pretty high, found the graveyard entrance, and proceeded to yell for his comrades. It took a couple of rounds to triangulate their positions, which gave the Broodfiend lurking in the mist an easy way of finding them as well. The whole setup with the Broodfiends is nasty: They have Blindsight, reach, and lurk in a perpetual fog cloud that blocks line of sight, thereby denying opponents their dex against their attacks. Our Wizard PC was terrified of the creature, teleporting no less than 5 times during the fight to keep away from the thing. I never even crit’d with the thing and rolled low on the Int drain, and still ended up killing one PC (SpiritShaman) and two cohorts. The low point for them was an attempt to Harm the thing that healed it of all of its missing HP, at which point it subsequently slew the PC and a cohort with its breath. I remember their faces when I told them that judging by the amount of mist, there was more than one in town. Awesome monster! Well, that’s it so far. Soon, they’re gonna enter the dungeon of character-slaying, where Death Ward doesn’t work…I’m hoping they play smart!
I like many of you suggestions and plan on working a couple of them in when we make it to the grand finale (my players are currently working on SoLS and a bit of PoR). Interestingly enough, my player who is running a Paladin of Hextor, travelled to Alhaster and made a big splash, parading his 80 warriors down the streets and trying to gain an audience with Prince Zeech. Failing that, he bought the old Temple of St. Cuthbert and is making it into a Palace/Mansion.
Fun times lie ahead!