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Here's the situation. The cleric in our group is a fantastic turner. She has wiped the floor with the Ghouls at the Hambley Farm and now, she will, most likely, do the same with the ghouls underneath Foxglove Manor. I have a couple of questions for you and would appreciate any advice as I am a newbie DM.
1. Does the command Ghoul power of the Dread Ghouls work to counter already turned ghouls? I don't own the advanced beastiary and have yet to find that answer in the stat blocks.
2. Is there another undead creature that would make a good fit to add to these encounters? I would like to avoid merely adding a class level or three to the ghouls and I don't want to resort to adding numbers. They just moved to sixth level and are fairly adept players so the range is open as far as CRs go.
Thanks for your help in advance. I am sure that I will use any assistance given in our next session. We are playtesting the new turning rules in the PRPG and I am sure my cleric is itching to try it out.
Magnus
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You could add the dread ghoul template to some other monster, like wolves, for that old-fashioned Resident Evil feel.
There's A great big sea-hole in the center of the cavern-some sort of aquatic monster might be in order. Let me look something up...lets see...it's very, very obscure...a bit of overlap with Age of Worms...
Found it. Fiend Folio, page 180. Ulgurstasta. Giant Undead Catepillar. Gargantuan. CR 11. Very, Very Cool monster Tough, but just might be doable.
It has a breath weapon, and can re-gurgitate skeletons to fight for it. I would advise not having it try to SWallow people. it's attack bonus is actualy fairly low for a CR 11 with 17 HD, only +13. Might want to lower it's HP, as well. and take away it's tendrils ability. that would bring it's CR down a bit. i mean, it's not nearly as tough as Xanesha. with 17 HD, it's practicaly unturnable.
It actualy fits, seeing as the cavern was once populated by a death cult. it's a leftover from the old days. have it pop up when the last ghouls drop.
If you cant obtain the fiend folio, I can tell you how to get it...under-the-table-like.
If you want to limit the clerics ability to turn these creatures (remember it is a long time before she gets to turn again, so you might want to let her have her moment in the spot light). I would suggest that you give the area turning resistance, an unhallow effect tied to the remains of "you know who" could be useful. Desecrate is also a useful option. Both give a bigger clue as to how to end the haunting of the house.
In complete contrast to your cleric, the priest in our group failed to effect any of the ghouls at the hambley farm with all 5 of her turn attempts. The rest of the group have not stopped taking the michael ever since.
I agree with robin and All DMs - your player has built a character that's good at turning, so just let them be good at it. If your player uses turn attempts on the haunts, all the better.
Unless the other players are rather immature, they'll not mind the cleric kicking some butt this adventure. Everyone deserves some time in the spotlight.
Good advice:)
I agree with robin and All DMs - your player has built a character that's good at turning, so just let them be good at it. If your player uses turn attempts on the haunts, all the better.
Unless the other players are rather immature, they'll not mind the cleric kicking some butt this adventure. Everyone deserves some time in the spotlight.
Seconded (or thirded or forthed, or whatever). Let him blast 'em.
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If you cant obtain the fiend folio, I can tell you how to get it...under-the-table-like.
I hope you're not trying to advertise your own stuff for sale on this site; that would be terrible. As terrible as me advising everyone to go to E-Bay and look for items from 'skinkydink', including tons of Dreamblade minis...cheapest in the UK, last day of the sale...hint, hint...
Though I agree that you don't necessarily need to make the cleric's turns less effective somehow, I would still recommend...
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If you cant obtain the fiend folio, I can tell you how to get it...under-the-table-like.I hope you're not trying to advertise your own stuff for sale on this site; that would be terrible. As terrible as me advising everyone to go to E-Bay and look for items from 'skinkydink', including tons of Dreamblade minis...cheapest in the UK, last day of the sale...hint, hint...
Are you kidding me? I would just have pointed him to a good filesharing or torrent site.
I agree that the cleric should have a moment to truly shine. Paladins also do quite well in the upper mansion versus the haunts. Plus it makes players happier with their character choices when they get to do something rad or make a situation easier.
If you are worried about the fight with Aldern being trivialized then you can make some changes to things other than his stats to make the fight more challenging. Here are some of my out-of-the-hat suggestions for being mean to a party that underestimates the power of a minor lordling dread ghast.
--Maybe add severe cold to the caverns below the mansion as an additional effect of Vorel's evil pressence and fungus growing down below.
--And/Or have the area under the mansion be treated with a persistent unhallow spell with one of the more mundane spells attached (invisibility purge or detect good)
--And/Or you could treat portions of Aldern's room to be affected with something similar to the Grease spell due to the blood and guts.
Also remember that you could move the fight to a place where he has the advantage.
--Like have him return home behind the PC's while they are rifling through his blood and guts buffet. He could then stage a nasty ambush for The Vent(B36). He could take advantage of the narrowed steep ledge to get higher ground and limit the number of foes that could face him in melee. He might even get a lucky trip or bullrush attack and send the whole party tumbling down into the water below which is typically a bad situation for them to be in. And if he ends up in the water? he doesn't need to breath and he's not heavily encumbered so he can swim.