I'm doing advance prep for the adventure on the plateau and I'm wondering about any tips or thoughts on prep for this. I have a few questions:
1. It seems like there are an awful lot of Skinwalkers. They seem like very tough opponents as well. So it further seems that if the pcs don't take care they might get swarmed.
2. Khala's link to the demon at the water gate strikes me as being a serious problem. I'm wondering how the pcs might manage to survive these encounters--luck with dismissal or something barred...
3. New pcs--I'm trying to plan in advance how to allow players to keep going just in case--for instance Feeblemind is hard to get rid of, and there is just plain decent possibility of death here.
4. Getting there. The route is made easier if the pcs have the inland encounters with the tar pits and jaguar temple et al, but it simply seems to assume that either I fill in details on getting up there or that I assume they do, as with the pcs' encounter with Tanaroa in HBM. Should I just make the assumption or is there a fun and interesting way to heighten the drama of the climb?
5. Rest and Refit: there seems to be little means to rest and refit once the pcs are on the plateau, or am I missing something?
1. It seems like there are an awful lot of Skinwalkers. They seem like very tough opponents as well. So it further seems that if the pcs don't take care they might get swarmed.
These weren't much of a problem for my group, who used a high degree of sensory abilities and buffs throught, though, giving advance warning and usually the initiative for any fights. These are anice way to hand some XP to the group (if that is lacking) and provide some "easy pickings" giving motivation.
IMHO, it is also assumed, that the players do not wipe out the entire tribes of Skinwalkers on the plateau, but rather circumvent them, at least partially
2. Khala's link to the demon at the water gate strikes me as being a serious problem. I'm wondering how the pcs might manage to survive these encounters--luck with dismissal or something barred...
well, two things, for one a stealthy/careful group is going to do some reconnaissance of the central isle, and likely to find the "unguarded back door", which will, if then approached, most likely end in a fight with the Wastrilith.
It is not unbeatable, and pretty likely to end up dead, once the players attack it with the proper precautions (like a dimensional anchor spell ). Which robs Khala of that contingency escape (and analogous to Demorgorgon in the final installment, I gave him two negative levels for a time afterwards, in representation of his pact-given essence loss with the Wastriliths demise3. New pcs--I'm trying to plan in advance how to allow players to keep going just in case--for instance Feeblemind is hard to get rid of, and there is just plain decent possibility of death here.
hmm, where is the big difference to say to Golismorga ? Teleport/ Overland Flight/Wind walk back to base... character deaths and replacement in mid-dungeon are always a big problem. One of the reasons why my players love cohorts, either as temporary replacement characters (on loan from their co-players ), or as actual replacements
4. Getting there. The route is made easier if the pcs have the inland encounters with the tar pits and jaguar temple et al, but it simply seems to assume that either I fill in details on getting up there or that I assume they do, as with the pcs' encounter with Tanaroa in HBM. Should I just make the assumption or is there a fun and interesting way to heighten the drama of the climb?
Actually depicting and narrating the trek through the jungle (assuming there is one ) should be fun, and depending on your groups travelling style - a friend's group rigged a Howdah onto an Ankylosaurus and travelled in true colonial style (air alking the poor thing as well ) - might be very conductive to the mood itself. Mine had traded for a flying carpet, so there wasn't much of a problem
5. Rest and Refit: there seems to be little means to rest and refit once the pcs are on the plateau, or am I missing something?
Same problem as always in mid-adventure - leomunds (habitats) spells might be an option, or retreating to some hard to reach base some distance from the plateau are the usual options. The Pelorian camp might be an option too, depending upon just how they fared there
At there level they are likely using wind walk and teleport to move around the central plateau. Well my party did. So unless your party is missing a cleric of 13th for windwalk they will probably use this tactic.
The skinwalkers can't get off the ground easily, so if the PCs are flying and hit them with area of effect spells they will go down quick enough. Futhermore a spell like holy word can incapaciatate a huge ammount of skinwalkers with no saving throw allowed.
The skinwalker sorcerers are tough, but with heal spells feeblemind can be cured and you can always switch their spell lists. I gave each skinwalker sorcerer a separate spell list.
The watrilith is pretty nasty and so is Khala, but since this is the climax to the whole Isle of Dread part of the campaign I think it should be one of the toughest adventures in the path.
Anyhow I have extensive details of how my party has been doing in the campaign journal section- "canuk runs savage tide". It's been a tough go so far, but fun.
When you add class levels to a creature with racial HD, if you add a class that is well suited to the creature you add the full class level to the CR. Since they haved decided that ranger is a good class to go with skinwalkers they have added 9 to the standard skinwalker CR. However if the base class isn't a favoured class then you only add half the level to the CR. So the sorcerers haven't had as much added. However I think the sorcerers are pretty tough for their CR.
This is a little off topic from the main post, but since people are talking about skinwalkers I have a question that has been bugging me. Anybody notice that the skinwalker acolytes have a lower CR then the chieftan even though they have more HD? Is this just a miss print or can I give the chief 3 more levels to make him a CR 15 according to how the acolyte's are made?
The skinwalker acolytes are basically 10th-level sorcerors that have an extra 75 hit points grafted on, along with somewhat better saves and a few other advantages like increased bab that will never come into play. Extra hit points are nice for making them less fragile, but they don't improve their ability to kill or incapacitate NPCs at all. In contrast, the skinwalker ranger takes advantage of all the properties of the base monster; the outsider hit dice are arguably every bit as valuable as the ranger hit dice in exactly the same way.
If Chief Achcauhtli seems weak relative to his CR compared to the acolytes, it is probably more to do with the fact that NPC warrior-types are weak relative to their CR compared to NPC caster-types. I'll probably re-work him as a Warblade when my campaign gets to that point.
The skinwalkers are basically mooks as previously stated. The main thing they have going for them is the fact that they can pounce. Their BAB and damage isn't all that great but if they mob a PC that doesn't have a decent AC they can cause some problems. My group was surprised when I kept making attack rolls as they were only expecting one attack from each skinwalker. Once they close in for melee though they go down fairly quickly.
As far as traveling to the plateau my group used air walk. Most groups at this level will have a way to travel other than just walking. If you wanted to have some flying encounters ready that could be handy.
Khala on the other hand is a serious issue. As the "final" encounter on the Isle of Dread though I think he is appropriate. His gaze attacks will confound the party's fighters and the fact that he can pretty much dispel any magic the party has up at the time is a HUGE advantage. The group forced him off the first time they faced him (and then defeated the wastrilith) and fled with the black pearl from the room. I figured Khala would want that back so once he regenerated I sent him after the party.
They were holed up at the camp outside of the complex (with the tiefling) so he attacked them there. I had him use a project image to use dispel magic through while he stood atop the pyramid. Once they saw through the illusion they charged to the top of the pyramid to fight Khala there. He had managed to dispel a good portion of the group's magic before they reached him but they were still able to put him down (party of six). All the while I had Khala communicating with the PC that had the pearl via telepathy. I think that PC was afraid for his life.
It was a fitting ending for this portion of the campaign. Good luck with it in your campaign.
Cool, thanks for posting the story on that. I bet that double whammy of Khala and Pearl would have that guy quaking...
I appreciate all the advice. I have to admit that part of it is that I've never really run a high level adventure like this or Golgismorga for that matter before and so it will be kind of new to me.