My PCs are about to descend into the depths of Wormcrawl Fissure, and approach the Tabernacle of Worms. I got a good look at its defenses, and wonder if anyone has come up with a reasonably efficient way of making their way through the tabernacle.
The Wormdoors: By all accounts, the knock spell seems to be the only real way of getting through them, without risk of bashing the heck out of them. But the front doors in particular are likely impossible to beat down, without serious tenacity, not even considering the looming overworm.
Manifesting Kyuss worms: I noticed that many--if not all--examples of interaction with the Kyuss worms are treated as if the PC had attempted to pass through a wall. Since the examples discuss the worms "materializing" in the victims body, can one infer that the other instances are examples of the worms materializing in the same way, as well? (For example, room 4 indicates that the walls, floor, etc, are seething with worms, and that without a successful save, the victims are treated as having become infested as though they passed through one of the walls.)
Openings: are there any exterior openings other than the doors into/out of the Tabernacle? I haven't seen one, but was momentarily led to believe so after the description of room 3.
Summoning/Conjuring and teleport: Obviously, the unhallowed halls keep good summoned/conjured creatures from entering the halls. Does this keep them from teleporting in? I'm sure it does, but I'm fuzzy on Zulshyn. Since she is not summoned/conjured, I'm sure she's fine, but as a (good, extraplanar) outsider, I was just double-checking. Furthermore, although our party diviner has no problem relaying a message to Zulshyn at the time she is likely to join them, is there any penalty for her to teleport there, having not actually seen the locale? (Surely not, if Balakarde could do it.)
I hope these aren't taken as criticisms. I think that the Tabernacle of Worms is--simply put--the best fortress I have ever seen, and is a tribute to Dragotha and Kyuss' legacy. I am wondering how my players will consider breaching it, if they're having a less-than-clever night tonight.
In our campaign, the resident LVL 20 wizard managed to bypass the first few doors with knock, until he ran out of those spells. They decided that they couldn't stop and rest, so they decided to have the fighter-types push their way through the remaining barriers trailing a "help me" cord that they would yank through the door if they encountered resistance. Basicly they wanted to not roll a "1" per door passed through.
Having impressed the Lillend somewhat, my group of heroes had an apocalypse golem on loan, which was invaluable (and invulnerable)in breaching the interior wormdoors. As for the main entrance-I stretched things a little bit in allowing the party's Warlock to 'deceive item' and with a very high Use Magic Device roll, he got the doors open. I considered that fair enough, since this type of 'bypass' had featured in several other AP adventures such as the gate to the 'Library of Last Resort'. Displaying further ingenuity, the heroes gave their Ring of Feather Falling to the golem and, with its nearly null weight and their own powers of flight, used it as a giant windshield when flying up the wormvent...
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Displaying further ingenuity, the heroes gave their Ring of Feather Falling to the golem and, with its nearly null weight and their own powers of flight, used it as a giant windshield when flying up the wormvent...
Two reasons I can think of to not let this work, though of course it is up to you.
1) Feather fall only slows your fall. It does not actually alter your mass2) It's SR Yes, so doesn't work on golems.
Russ
Two ways to get through doors:
DC 30 Use Magic Device check, or antimagic field.
In our party, I just shapechanged into a beholder and looked at the doors while the party walked through.
Thank you, Russ, for pointing that out. I was acting for dramatic effect in the case of the ring, and since the Golem itself had donned the ring I ruled it had bypassed the magical immunity. I cite in this some instances of golems interacting with worn magical gear, although you are technically correct. As for the weight issue, the party had several strong flyers underneath as well as Walkyrie XVII the Zelekhut, (a Large creature), who was flying above the horizontal Golem hauling it up by a chain rig. As a construct the zelekhut was immune to the green rain effect. The weight of this golem I couldn't find at the time (I know they are in MM2, though), but surely it is among the lightest of them since it's almost two-dimensional...
The main point was to transit the wormvent quickly and protect the party, only three of whom were shielded by 'Death Ward' at that point.
to get through doors:
DC 30 Use Magic Device check, or antimagic field.
I didn't want to make it that easy for any character but the party Warlock, and I liked the idea of 'deceiving' the doors not merely analyzing the magical flow and breaking in. I asked the player to roll a Knowledge:Arcana check also which he succeeded at handily. He failed on the first of the inner wormdoors and was briefly infested though, and then the Golem went to work...
Heh... yeah shapechange made that dungeon a LOT easier. Worm door? Beholder. Infested? Iron golem. Wall in your way? Dread wraith.
Thanks for the tips, everyone! I'll keep shapechange in mind if the party is totally stymied. I'm always really fuzzy on astral projection, so I have no idea how that spell might play out in this dungeon. The apocalypse golem--provided it survives the fights through the lower level--should prove useful.
About that "green rain", though...will death ward protect against it? It says that anything immune to disease will be fine, but I am unclear as to whether it is a necromantic effect that is protected against by death ward. I mean, it seems reasonable enough to assume, but on the other hand, death ward already gets a big boost in this adventure, so...
I interpreted the green rain as being caused by negative energy and as such would be protected against by Death Ward or its superior cousin, Life's Grace. PLayers are likely to have these up anyways, though they may have been stripped by the Wormdrake at this point, since his encounter area is right before it.
Interestingly enough, on of my PC's cohorts got a Nat 20 on disable device when opening the front door. This was the only way I really foresaw them getting past it, short of Shapechange, which really just sets up the few that can cast in an isolated position (in front of 6+ angry priests with dispels and such). Our druid PC is far more careful when using Shapechange as a scouting spell now... Be wary of PCs who shapechange into Spectres! (that's almost worth me starting a thread in of itself...)
Life's Grace...right on. I got a look at that, and noted that it protects against magical disease. (Didn't realize it turns your armor ghost touch, too. Woot!)
I already hypothesized how I think my party will infiltrate the Writhing Sanctum. Our diviner likes to use arcane eye (invisible, indestructable, etc) to scout out Dragotha's presence. The sanctum, effectively guarded by three nightcrawlers, have access to see invisibility and greater dispel at will. Does it seem fair to assume that they would be vigilant in attempting to spot the invisible eye? Or that they could spot it, as it is silent, and likely no bigger than an inch in diameter? I'd hate to spoil Dragotha's big entrance because of a--albeit very useful--4th level spell.
Still, I feel like I've hosed our diviner, as the last two people he's tried to discern location on (Lashonna and Brazzemal--long story short here) have had mind blank up. (I had to fudge it just a bit with Lashonna, including a staff of mind blank, but for such a major player, she's pretty out in the open.) So, should I throw him a bone, or let the tough times just come?
i gave lashonna a rink of mindblank. Seemed appropriate, and well within her means (financially).
They used dispell magic to open the main doors.
They killed the overworm which appeared inside.
There wasn't anywhere else to put it.
Should they have been able to crawl up the shaft around the green rain?
They all had death ward up anyway.