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We had the finale this weekend, an epic battle til 2:30am!
I had a rather unique opportunity for this grand finale. A friend from Colorado Springs was running his own STAP campaign but it disintegrated into chaos, crashed and burned aboyut half way through. He was so bummed out.
I had a brainstorm and I invited him down for the last fight. He would play Aamuel and I played Hethridiah (we are both total hams.) I was so awesome. We basically alternated control of the body each turn (the DM other would handle Nulonga and the Balor in the alternating rounds.)
Everytime we took our turn we would boast that the other head was a fool and this was the proper way to handle the group. As it got late we would bicker with ourselves and assure ourselves that the group did not stand a chance, it was totally awesome.
Bonus: We recorded our voices together, mixed and dubbed them with his final speech, feel free to steal it: The RPG Genius
I also made a custom Demongorgon that came out perfect (I will post pics in a DIY thread later when I have time to upload it to flickr with notes) Here is a blurry camera phone pic to tease you: The DEMOGORGON
Sounds like a great game! How'd you make that Demogorgon? He's pretty cool.
Sounds like a great game! How'd you make that Demogorgon? He's pretty cool.
All will be revealed in time... (When I have time to upload all the pics that is... :)
I *have* that Todd McFarlane dragon! What a great way to modify it...
Yup, it is based that dragon...
Woo Hoo! One of the few I have heard making it to the end! Congratulations! Great call on the dual DM too.
If I may ask who is the new prince of Demons?
(could not get into rpgenius)
Woo Hoo! One of the few I have heard making it to the end! Congratulations! Great call on the dual DM too.
If I may ask who is the new prince of Demons?
(could not get into rpgenius)
Orcus rolled a natural twenty on his check...
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Here is how we ended the Savage Tide.
Bodies lay around the feet of the Prince of Demons. Blood pouring
into the cracks in the floor as has not been seen since the high age
of this temple to Dagon. The temple remembers and gives the
suffering to Dagon himself who waits outside ensuring that the Demon
Prince deals with the mortals. The mighty Eladrin Paragon Gwynharwyf
fallen twice by the creature lays to one side, while the corpses of
the four others lay nearby. Demogorgon lunges forward, blinded by
his hubris and rage, intent on dealing a killing blow to the
remaining two who had dared encroach on his realm and interfere with
his Savage Tide. Crippled knowing that the next few seconds would be
vital, Aameul teleports himself where he last saw the mortal wizard
and his companion. Upon appearance Hethradiah circles his body
attempting to level anything standing near him while Aameul readies
another spell for defense. Another strike comes in from the side
from the quick half elf that has been causing him so much trouble.
His thick hide absorbs most of the attack but another spurt of
demonic blood sprays the attacker as the prince feels a bit more of
his strength sapped from loss of blood. He roars in anger and swings
his massive body towards the attacker to no avail. The half elf is
gone.
From across the room in the pile of bodies the prince has
left behind. The mighty Kensai Kurn rises from the floor. He hangs
onto life by a thread, a small thin grasp of magic enabling him to go
on though death should have taken him long ago. The final investment
of Zilchus on the Kensai's life granted by Grensha Wavehammer, high
priestess of the profiteer god who also lay dead at the fury of
Demogorgon. Kurn pulls himself together, grasping his blade he wills
himself forward by the magic gifted him by Iggwilv the Witch Queen
who watches the entire scene from across the room waiting patiently
for her moment weather to swear fealty to the prince of bath in the
glory of being at the site of the destruction of the lord of all the
abyss.
Bones broken in hundreds of places, lungs punctured and
organs that have failed or been utterly crushed by the life draining
and flesh crushing blows of the Prince Kurn rises. His only grasp of
what is going on is that there is an enemy in the room and his
diehard will forces him to engage. He charges, flying, mangled bone
and flesh hanging from where his legs once allowed him to stand he
drives a blade of hardened Adamantine enforced with his very own
essence directly into the back of the blind and wounded Demogorgon,
the base of Aameul and Hethradiah's spine where the two join in
chaotic anti-harmony. Both minds gape in shock, unable to even look
back at their killer. The heads twitch as they attempt to drive
signals to their limbs to retaliate against the attacker, but the
disconnected spine denies them movement. They will their body to
heal the wounds but Kurn twists the blade reflexively from months and
years of practice and deadly combat. Their spine breaks immediately
stopping their dual heart from beating, gasping for air they cry out
using telepathy and their mastery of demons to bring aid. But the
impenetrable walls of Wat Dagon block any attempt communicate with
the outside world. Only Dagon who waits patiently outside hears the
Princes cries of agony and pleas for help. The pleas, unbefitting of
a demon and certainly a plea of that nature would be ignored by any
other demon, Demogorgon knows this. His body dying, lack of oxygen
to the brain and blood to the body cause him to begin hallucinating.
He remembers his mother, the Queen of Chaos, casting him out as a
child and he cries to her as a child to a mother, she hears him not
on her own realm, more focused on her lost lover than any
illegitimate thought aborted child.
He cries to gods unseen, those who have helped him in the past and given him mortal souls on which to feed, all of them go silent. Thrumming, slow beating is the only
sound in his ears as Aameul's skull hits the hard floor of Wat Dagon
whilst Hethradiah continues to gasp of air as his mind's eye closes
into utter oblivion. As he dies he reaches out his very essence
towards his aspects, commanding them to flee. His last remaining
hope is to one day awaken again in the body of a child, he dies with
dreams of grandeur as great as those he held in life.
Watching in anticipation as to what may happen next, Alonzo and Tomaz
stand several yards from the body, unknowing of what may happen when
one as mighty as the Prince of all Demons dies. A black mist begins
seeping from the corpse as it quickly decomposes. Like ice thrown in
fire the corpse melts down to acidic liquid in seconds. Iggwilv ever
anticipating rushes in with the Flask of Tuerny pulling the stopper
as she moves. She mutters an incantation activating the artifact
which begins drawing in the demon's very escaping essences. She
smiles at Kent and Shade, "Well done and thank you" Kurn looks up
sheepishly, his mind destroyed by the princes feeblemind spell, mind
destroyed nearly and body crushed, looking like a sheepish dog who
has just fetched a bone for his master and awaits a treat he steps
towards Alonzo for help which the wizard cannot give. Then there is
a moment of silence as the last wisp of the prince's essence enters
the flask and Iggwilv places the crystal stopper in its mouth a force
unlike any felt for eons begins to pull together above the ooze that
was once a demon prince. A crown forms out of the aether, golden and
beautiful in its vile nature. All who witness it feel its pull
demanding that the seat be filled. There must be a prince of
demons. Obox-ob was the first self declared, killed by the Queen of
Chaos and replaced by Miska the Wolf Spider who was killed by the
Vaati who were in turn weakened to a state of extinction. Demogorgon
quickly rose to take the place and held the title for several
centuries and with his demise another must take its place. The abyss
demands a worthy ruler. The sign crossed the heavens in the twinkle
of the mind's eye, like a call to battle every demon lord, heard its
glorious sound and made their bid at the grand infinite kingdom that
is the abyss. The gods watched in anticipation some in fear at the
events unfolding. In the midst Malconthet commands the mind of Kurn
to take the crown for himself, but his stupefied state barely enables
him to reply intelligently and his fumbling attempt to take the crown
fails in marvelous fashion as the Queen of the Succubi tears her
unholy mark from his flesh scarring his body and soul even further.
The wills of Orcus and Grazzt quickly reach a crescendo but Orcus
recently crushed and defeated by Demogorgon himself cannot hold
against the powerful controlling aura of the Prince of Darkness. The
crown disappears and there is a universal sigh across the planes as
Grazzt takes his place as the new Prince of Demons.
Orcus, angry but never one to quite a fight, orders legions of his
undead to quickly enter the once capital city of Demogorgon Lemoriax
and hold the place against all hosts. He may have lost the throne
but he will have this place for his self and no power of Grazzt will
ever take it from him. Grazzt knowing this disregards Orcus' attempt
to strike a blow at him. He wills himself to the temple of Wat
Dagon, sending a message to Dagon that he should be long gone from
this layer before he arrives.
Using his newfound power over thephysical realm of the abyss he brings Wat Dagon fully into existence in the Gaping Maw and with a single thought causes it to entropy to dust leaving the three survivors from the material plane and the Witch Queen standing there gathering up the corpses of fallen allies. "Be gone and I will spare you mortals, you have been of great assistance and someday I may grant you a boon in reward but leave this place now." He motions a hand to Iggwilv "but you will stay my dear". Iggwilv smiles knowingly "But my prince, you know I just cannot bring myself to obey you" she disappears fast as a though crossing planes into an unknown place of her own making, holding the very soul of the former Prince of Demons. Clearly angry Grazzt looks to the mortals who remain; they keep from looking him in the eye as Kent casts a planar travel spell bringing them to the River Styx where the Sea Wyvern waits for them. Kurn looks Alonzo in the eye
with a moment of knowing clarity in his befuddled state as Zilchus
pulls out her delay death investment in the warrior and his body nearly explodes into a mass of flesh and bone. Several of the weathered crewmen vomit overboard at the sight. Kent motions for Harliss to take the beaten ship back to the Abyssal Sea where it can be transported back to Sassarine with the Wake Portal.
excellent wrap up, and well played, sir stabbity.
i am happy you slaughtered your party, happy in a way that should probably be illegal.
-t
Quite a gruesome finale Sir Stabbity, kudos for butchering more than half of your player characters before permitting Demogorgon to be brought low.
I can but hope to achieve similar glory in the sessions lurking ahead of us. ^^
The Prince of Demons is Finished! Long live the Prince of Demons!! :)
On a side note, there's some interesting symmetry for me in Savage Tide. When I first started playing D&D, and got my hands on the Monster Manual, I fell in love with Demogorgon. He/she/it figured prominently in some of our early games.
The demise of Demogorgon parallels the demise of the D&D game(s) I've enjoyed for thirty years -- time for young whipper-snappers with a fancier Monster Manual to take the reins, I suppose :)
No slam on 4e -- just noting big changes in Savage Tide are coinciding with big changes in the game.
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We finished our campaign last night with Demogorgon meeting his fate. Added a bit of lower plane intrigue by having Mephistopheles involved. He was only positioning himself to make a run at the crown for prince to use demons to further fuel his Hellfire magic. But it was all for naught as Graz'zt claimed the title as the new Prince of Demons.
We started in September 06 and only two of the starting characters made it to the end. They happened to be the only two who never had to be raised or resurrected.
I would like to thank everyone involved in creating it. You did an amazing job and helped me tell a tale for our group that they will never forget.
Here is the recount of my party's final battle with Demogorgon. This is taken out of my campaign journal "a canuk runs Savage Tide", so if you want more details on the campaign feel free to check it out.
Here's the party composition
Breca (dwarf, cleric/demonwrecker 20)
Argent (Air Gensai, fighter/swashbuckler/wizard/abjurant champion/eldritch knight 20)
Yvy (human, sorcerer/malconvoker/fate spinner 19)
Tommen (human, wizard/loremaster/fate spinner 19)
Allanah (human, wizard/cleric/mystic theurge/abjurant champion 19)
Sir Roland (human, paladin/knight of the chalice 18)
The heroes head back down to the main level of Wat Dagon, and they explore the surrounding rooms. They find no trace of the shadowpearl. However, there is one final doorway that they have not investigated, and this doorway leads into a strange tunnel. A tunnel that looks very organic, almost like the insides of a giant worm or an intestine. They are a little leery of entering the strange hall and they suspect some sort of nastiness awaits them inside. Thus, they again use powerful dispelling magic to try to deactivate or suppress any traps that might be waiting. Once this has been done, they quickly move through the winding worm tunnel. Every now and then it quivers a little, but the dispelling magic seems to be preventing it from doing anything more. When they come out, they find themselves in a room where the floor has collapsed, and hot, steamy water has flooded in. A rickety wooden walkway bridges the water and disappears off into the mist, a thick cloying mist the obscure most of the room. They follow the walkway, flying for the most part, and this proves to be quite a challenge for Tommen due to his new fear of water. Yet, with some prodding and pushing his companions help him along, and soon they find that the walkway leads to a single, large door made of some sort of strange metal that is glowing red with heat. There is a lock mechanism built into the door, and it looks incredibly complicated. The necessary spells are cast and the door cools to a regular temperature and then swings open. Beyond is another chamber where again the floor has been hidden by dark, fetid water. A fishy stink pervades the room, and in its center, rising from the murky waters is a massive oyster shell. The shell is dark in colour and covered with sharp, spiky protrusions. It is wide open, and inside it sits a large black pearl. However, the heroes catch only a brief glimpse of the pearl before the oyster protectively closes over its treasure. At the same time, three figures rise out of the water to defend the oyster. Two of them are particularly hulking, armoured hezrou demons, and they seem to be the source of much of the stench that infects the chamber. The third demon is even larger. It has a heavy looking boar like head, and bat-like wings. One of its most distinguishing features is the gaping, fanged mouth that occupies the place where its stomach should be. A nasty pincer protrudes from each side of the mouth. Tommen recognizes the thing as a Kuluchir demon, a type of demon that is reputed to be nearly as dangerous as a balor or molydues demon. This particular one has a strange look about it; its skin looks wet, bloated and rotting. It is almost as if it were some type of waterlogged undead. In its clawed hands it wields a deadly looking great axe.
The heroes quickly form their plan. Yvy decides that she will again try to get the pearl into the portable hole using telekinesis. However, the pearl being in the shell poses a problem, but Breca suggests that she just try to move the entire oyster, and put the whole thing inside the portable hole. Sir Roland and Argent will again push forward into melee, to keep the demons occupied, and Tommen and Allanah will do what they can to provide support with their spells.
They set their plan into action. Argent and Roland fly forward into the room, and engage the demons. A vicious melee breaks out as Roland begins slashing away with his blazing holy avenger, while Argent darts about contributing deadly stabs and thrusts with his demonbane rapier. Tommen and Allanah hurl various offensive spells into the fray- orbs of acid, cacaphonic bursts and the like. Yyv again casts telekinesis and attempts to move the oyster, while Breca readies the portable hole. Unfortunately, the oyster does not budge. Yvy is not sure why, but suspects it might be somehow fastening itself to the ground. She curses in frustration, and prepares to take her anger out on the demons. Breca puts away the portable hole and starts tossing bolts of glory at the demons. Demons howl and bellow as spells blast them and swords slice them. Yet, they are hardy, and they press hard against the mortals. Sir Roland is forced back towards the doorway. He is already suffering several terrible wounds from the biting maws of the hezrou, and his strength is low as he holds his position in front of the entrance. He is a bulwark of defense, keeping the demons from tearing into the spellcasters. Only Argent is up front; he has preoccupied himself with battling the deadly Kuluchir demon, and already he has suffered some nasty wounds from its axe. In return he has driven multiple puncture wounds through its chest with his rapier, though unlike the hezrous, this demon shows no sign of feeling pain. Sir Roland keeps slashing away despite the pain from his wounds, and he finally manages to fell one of the hezrous. He immediately starts hacking at the next one, which hops in to take his kindred’s place. Roland is suddenly distracted when at the far side of the room a large, glowing gate forms.
The hearts’ of the heroes sink, and terror wells in their souls as the fiend they were fearing the most strides through the portal. It is Demogorgon, and he looks mad! He is the prince of demons, and possibly the most feared demon in the Abyss. Luckily, he has just been through a battle with Orcus and his toughest minions; he is weak and tired. Still, he is the prince of demons, and even a weakened prince of demons constitutes as the most dangerous foe the party has ever faced. His duel baboon heads howl and shriek, and his tentacles writhe. His deadly gaze sets on the heroes and he prepares to flay them to shreds. He strides forward, and as he comes the fiendish oyster opens, comforted by the presence of its master, and one of his tentacles snaps up the pearl and tosses it into one of his huge baboon mouths. In an instant the master pearl is gone, swallowed by the prince of demons.
Most of the party has clustered near the entrance to the pearl chamber, allowing them to hurl spells into the room. Argent, and Sir Roland where the only two gutsy enough to hurl themselves directly into the fray, but the with the arrival of Demogorgon they both realize that they are in trouble. The wounded Sir Roland flies back to the door and positions himself in front of it to defend his companions, and Breca provides him with much needed healing. Argent finds himself alone in battle with the Kuluchir demon without his usual array of abjurations to protect him. He is no coward, and he stands his ground, knowing that the fate of the Flaness may depend on this fight. Blood pours down his chest from his wounds, but he finds the strength to jam his demonbane rapier into the fiend a couple of more times. The fiend is terribly wounded, but it refuses to fall. A hideous grin spreads across its rotted, porcine face, and with its massive axe it cuts Argent down. The swordmage falls into the dark waters of the chamber. Argent’s companions boil with rage, and an instant later a barrage of devastating spells blast the body of the hulking Kuluchir demon into chunks of wreaking ichor. At the same time Sir Roland cuts down the final hezrou demon. Tommen lets loose a Mordenkeinan’s disjunction spell, that encompasses Demogorgon, he hopes to dispel any protective wards that the Demonprince might have active and possibly destroy the shadowpearl in the process. He is uncertain of the success of his spell, but it does close the open gate behind the Demon Prince, and it seems to further arouse his ire.
A howling Demogorgon strides forward, and Sir Roland bravely stands to oppose him. The knight feels no fear, and the beguiling gazes of the Demon prince seem to have no effect on his mind, which is imbued with the strength of his god. He knows that he is going to die, but for him there can be no greater enemy, and with luck his sacrifice will contribute to the Demogorgon’s demise. He raises his holy avenger, and begins feels its power coursing through him. He then hurls himself at the Demon Prince and begins slashing away. The blade bites deep, and causes Demogorgon to feel pain. However it doesn’t change the fact that Sir Roland, though blessed by Heironeous, is still but a mortal. The Demon Prince strikes back, smashing the paladin with his mighty tentacles. Bones shatter, and the paladin collapses. The tentacles keep on hammering, and the paladin’s spine is sundered. His corpse sinks into the waist deep water, and Demogorgon cackles with hateful glee.
Yvy desperately puts a wall of force up between Demogorgon and her companions. It is too late to save Argent or Sir Roland, but she knows that if he gets among the heroes he will tear them apart. She hopes to at least buy the heroes some time to formulate a plan. Breca reaches into his Haversack and pulls forth the Iron Flask of Tuerney the Mad. The flask jostles in his hand as it still struggles to hold the essence of Obox-Ob.
“Drop the force wall Yvy!” commands Breca.
She does as asked, and Breca pulls the runscribed crystal stopper from the flask. Stinking yellow smoke gushes out of the flask, billowing into the chamber of the master pearl. The smoke quickly assumes a more material form, and in seconds the huge, droning horror that is Obox-Ob stands before the Prince of Demons!
A look of genuine fear spreads across the duel visages of the Prince of Demons. For an instant the fury and rage drain from him, and his tentacles fall limp. Obox-Ob is only disoriented for a brief instant, and he soon sees his most hated enemy before him and starts stabbing at him with his scorpion-like stingers. In desperation, Demogorgon turns towards one of the walls of the chamber, and moving his tentacles with arcane purpose he shapes a great hole in the “stone”. Beyond is the central shrine where the party fought the death knight, and the Prince of Demons hurries through the gap into the great shrine. Obox-Ob follows after him. The shrine is a much larger room, and sufficient in size for the two demon lords to battle it out. The two massive foes face off against one another. The insane droning of the millions of insects that crawl across Obox-Ob’s body echo through the chamber drowning out the savage howls of Demogorgon’s baboon heads. The Prince of Demons shakes off his initial fear, and focuses his wrath on the demon lord of vermin. The two lock in battle, tentacles clashing with stingers. Obox-Ob brings allies to the fight by magically enlarging two scorpions that were crawling across his body. They surround Demogrogon, and are even larger than the Demon Prince. With their massive pincers they attempt to seize him.
The heroes take advantage of the conflict to haul the bodies of Sir Roland and Argent out of the dark water, and resurrect them with the powerful staff of life. With this done they hurry to aid Obox-Ob in his fight against the Demon Prince.
The sight of the two demon princes locked battle is not a sight meant for mortal eyes, and the keening drone of Obox-Ob burns their ears and tests the limits of their sanity. They would happily stand back and watch Obox-Ob destroy Demogorgon, but the Prince of Demon’s is too powerful. It is quickly becomes clear that he can beat his hated enemy, for the rotting disease that courses through his tentacles is causing Obox-Ob’s exoskeleton to crumble and fall away in great chunks. Furthermore, the deadly poison of Ob’s sting is having no effect on the Prince of Demons. To make matters worse, Demogorgon’s paniced minds start to realize that they are winning, and his confidence and rage pour back into him. The ferocity of his assault grows, and Obox-Ob’s piercing drone becomes one of pain.
The next few seconds of pitched battle seems to last for hours. Breca doesn’t let morale convictions stand in the way of his objectives, and he uses his healing magic on Obox-Ob, allowing the demon to keep on fighting long after Demogorgon should have destroyed him. The rest of the heroes do what they can to reestablish some of their arcane defenses, and pummel Demogorgon with offensive magic. At one point one of the magically enlarged scorpions gets a lucky grip on the Demon Prince, and he finds himself unable to get free of its grasp. With Demogorgon pinned, it looks for a moment as though, the heroes might be able to take advantage of the situation and hammer him down with magic. Their hopes are quickly shattered, as he uses a dispel magic effect to return the scorpion to its normal size. He then lashes out in retaliation. Obox-Ob does not relent, but he is over matched and eventually the demon lord of vermin is defeated. His corpse melts away into a seething mass of crawling vermin, and with him destroyed it is just the heroes and Demogorgon that remain. The Prince of Demons is starting to feel the wounds of his battles at this point, but the power of the Abyss runs strong in his body, and it seems to heal with uncanny speed.
He focuses his wrath on Breca. He towers over the dwarf and begins thrashing him with his tentacles and biting with his fangs. Unlike Sir Roland, Breca is not immune to disease, and even his dwarven fortitude is not enough to save him from the rotting touch of the tentacles. Its effects show instantly, and Breca’s flesh begins to fester and peel away from him. Desperately, he tries to blast the demon prince with a bolt of glory and Demogorgon’s own reptilian flesh bubbles and boils as a holy bolt hits him in the chest. Argent and Sir Roland both rush to Breca’s aid, hoping at the very least to distract the demon from their captain. Argent’s true desire is to get in close and channel a spell into the Demon Prince through his sword, but as he closes on the demon his eyes meet his duel gaze. For an instant, Argent can’t look away from the hypnotic eyes, and a savage madness consumes his mind. The gensai runs off, slathering and savagely swinging at anything that gets in his way. In retaliation the demon reaches down, sinks his teeth into the dwarf and picks him off the ground. Blood and entrails gush out of Breca and more of his rotting flesh falls away. With a final, bone crushing chomp he ends the dwarf’s life. Then the Prince of Demons unceremoniously drops the corpse to the floor, and seeks out a new opponent. He feels a sudden shot of pain shoot through one of his reptilian legs, and he looks down to see Sir Roland hacking at him with his holy blade.
“It seems I must kill you again knight of the chalice. I will savor every death I give you, and soon one of them will be permanent.”
Again the Prince of Demons lays into the knight, while Yvy, Tommen and Alannah hurl their most devastating spells at him. Some he shrugs off with no sign of injury at all; others penetrate his spell resistance and cause him shriek in agony. Sir Roland tries to fend them off, but the tentacles come in once again, wrapping themselves around him. He is lifted off the ground and bones snap, crackle and pop in dozens of places.
Barely alive, Sir Roland is raised up to one of the baboon mouths, and its teeth bite into his head turning it to mushy pulp. The corpse is hurled to the ground, and the mad demon prince searches for his next victim. However, Roland’s sacrifice gives Allanah a chance to dart to where Breca has fallen and use her divine magic to bring him back from death. Meanwhile Yvy continues to hurl magic at him, while Tommen casts a powerful spell that transforms him into a mighty red dragon.
The dragon unleashes its flaming breath at demogorgon, and the smell of burning fur fills the chamber. Yet just like Argent, Tommen’s dragonform meets Demogorgon’s gaze and is driven to insanity. The mighty creature thunders off towards the pearl chamber, slathering and shaking its head in confusion.
A healed Breca, rises to his feet, and Allanah rushes for safety. He conjures a final bolt of glory that he hurls at the Demonprince, and the wounded demon staggers back. Enraged that the dwarf is alive again, he promptly tears into him once more, and in seconds Breca is dead for the second time since his arrival in Wat Dagon.
Demogorgon is quite wounded now. The mortals have caused him more pain than he had ever believed possible from such insignificant beings. However, they are in trouble. Argent and Tommen have gone mad; Sir Roland and Breca are dead. Yvy and Allanah are the only two who can still fight, and they have expended their most powerful spells. For a final time, Allanah manages to get to Breca and use the staff of life to bring him back from the dead. This time Demogorgon takes his rage out on her and makes sure she will never do it again. With a horrific blow from one of his tentacles he sunders the staff, destroying the party’s most potent magical item. He then rips Allanah’s arms off and bites off her head, leaving her mangled corpse on a stone floor that is growing ever more drenched in blood.
In the chaos of the attack on Allanah, Breca manages to stagger away. He gets to Argent and casts a heal spell that brings the gensai back to his senses. Argent looks around, his mind taking in the carnage that the demon prince has wrought. He knows that he has one chance, one chance to land a killing blow. His magical defenses are gone, and if he doesn’t land the blow Demogorgon will slay him in an instant. Breca and Yvy’s magic are nearly spent; if he falls they will fall soon after. He focuses his mind, readies his rapier, gives a quick farewell bow to Breca and hurls himself forward. As he approaches, Demogorgon tries to swat him away with a tentacle. It is a grazing blow, and the agile gensai tumbles under it, putting him in close- close enough to thrust with his rapier. Tapping into his arcane powers, he channels the most powerful spell he has left through the blade, using a wraith strike spell to ensure pierces the demon’s hide. He leaps into the air, and the holy blade plunges into Demogorgon’s stomach. The eldritch energy detonates inside him, and the demon’s entire body convulses and shakes. His twin heads howl and bellow, his mighty tentacles crash to the ground, and his saurian legs buckle. The Prince of Demon’s body falls to the gore stained floor, and twitches for a few seconds before going still. Demogorgon is dead! The massive corpse quickly begins to dissolve, and as it does an immaterial crown rises from it ruin. It is the crown of the Prince of Demons. In that instant Argent realizes that having landed the killing blow entitles him to make a bid for the crown, and potentially take the throne. It is a possibility he won’t even entertain, and he realizes that this was what Malcanthet had wanted him for. With no one else in the room trying to claim the crown, it floats out of Wat Dagon seeking out the next Prince of Demons.
Breca moves towards Demogorgon’s corpse, and in the vile sludge that it has become, he sees the master pearl. The sound of single pair of hands clapping breaks the silence. Argent, Breca, and Yvy turn. Standing at the back of the room they see Iggwilv and her wolf headed apprentice Landerbold.
“It seems I have underestimated you. I did not think you had what it would take to fell one as mighty as Demogorgon, though it looks like he gave you a fight that be haunting your dreams for many years to come. I am here to collect on one of the favours that you owe to me. The flask of Tuerny the Mad, served you well, but it is my wish to have this artifact. Bring it to me.”
The heroes look at eachother.
Yvy whispers, “We are in no shape to be arguing with the likes of her right now. “
The trio nods in agreement, and Breca searches out the flask. He then hands it to Iggwilv. She smiles.
“That absolves you of the favour you owe me Breca. The rest of you are still in my debt. I will seek you out to collect one day. Expect to hear from again.”
With that she and Landerbold make their exit, leaving the heroes to deal with corpses of their fallen comrades. Breca locates Tommen and cures his insanity. The bodies of Allanah and Sir Roland are brought back to the material plane to be resurrected, and the Shadow pearl is put into the portable hole. The heroes then depart Wat Dagon, and swiftly transport themselves to their home plane, just before the horde of demons waiting outside for them can sink their teeth into the heroes.
The team was:
Strife: Warforged Crusader, Church of the Silver Flame(21)
Sparky: Warforged Scout Artificer (19)(cohort)
Forly: Wizard (21)
Allendra: Favored Soul (21)
Dresden: Druid (21)
We gated in a Concordant Killer and an Advanced Couatl (essentially a level 20 Sorcerer).
We killed the CR 33 Demogorgon (with additional spells and such, our DM thought he was too weak) in 3 rounds. What really put him in his grave? Split-Ray Avasculate followed by a Mountain Tombstone Stike. (-75% health, and then 81 damage + 7 constitution damage).
Actually, the only reason he survived after the first round was that our DM ruled that he could continue to survive with one head (he just Shapechanged into an Aspect of himself - I thought the rule was tenuous at best). How did we accomplish this? Sparky used Craft Contigency for the following:
1) The first time he throws an Annulat - True Strike
2) The first time he attacks Demogorgon - Surge of Fortune
He buffed the Annulat with Greater Weapon Augmentation to put a Vorpal enhancement on it. Surge of Fortune you can expend instantly to treat any roll as a natural 20. With his Flesh Ring of Scorn, he auto-confirmed criticals. Boom - Demogorgon had no head.
Hearing stories like this makes me want to stop playing dnd. There's no way a group of PCs should be able to take Big D down in 3 rounds. It's a disgrace to demons, and demonstrates how broken the 3E system has become due to splat books. If this had happened in my campaign I would have retired from dming.
Of course as long as you guys all had fun that's great.
The team was:
Strife: Warforged Crusader, Church of the Silver Flame(21)
Sparky: Warforged Scout Artificer (19)(cohort)
Forly: Wizard (21)
Allendra: Favored Soul (21)
Dresden: Druid (21)We gated in a Concordant Killer and an Advanced Couatl (essentially a level 20 Sorcerer).
We killed the CR 33 Demogorgon (with additional spells and such, our DM thought he was too weak) in 3 rounds. What really put him in his grave? Split-Ray Avasculate followed by a Mountain Tombstone Stike. (-75% health, and then 81 damage + 7 constitution damage).
Actually, the only reason he survived after the first round was that our DM ruled that he could continue to survive with one head (he just Shapechanged into an Aspect of himself - I thought the rule was tenuous at best). How did we accomplish this? Sparky used Craft Contigency for the following:
1) The first time he throws an Annulat - True Strike
2) The first time he attacks Demogorgon - Surge of FortuneHe buffed the Annulat with Greater Weapon Augmentation to put a Vorpal enhancement on it. Surge of Fortune you can expend instantly to treat any roll as a natural 20. With his Flesh Ring of Scorn, he auto-confirmed criticals. Boom - Demogorgon had no head.
The team was:
Strife: Warforged Crusader, Church of the Silver Flame(21)
Sparky: Warforged Scout Artificer (19)(cohort)
Forly: Wizard (21)
Allendra: Favored Soul (21)
Dresden: Druid (21)We gated in a Concordant Killer and an Advanced Couatl (essentially a level 20 Sorcerer).
We killed the CR 33 Demogorgon (with additional spells and such, our DM thought he was too weak) in 3 rounds....yadda yadda
Well, first off I have to agree with Mr. PHD in as much that while from a players perspective at least,while killing DG in 3 rounds has some kind of macho satisfaction, there's no way it can compare to the all out adrenaline ride, emotional surges and crashes and ultimate bloodied face satisfaction of a balls to the wall do or die epic battle. (for a good example of this actually I would highly recommend PHD's own excellent Savage Tide finale logbook thread)
Secondly, while I certainly am not Munchkinny expert I ain't exactly nmo slouch either and I have never heard of most of the items you mention. Was it a regulation game or was it much modified? Where in the Faerun (and all the realms)did you find an 'Annulut' 'Split-Ray Avasculate', Mountain Tombstone' and a 'Flesh Ring of Scorn' if you don't mind me asking??
The team was:
Strife: Warforged Crusader, Church of the Silver Flame(21)
Sparky: Warforged Scout Artificer (19)(cohort)
Forly: Wizard (21)
Allendra: Favored Soul (21)
Dresden: Druid (21)We gated in a Concordant Killer and an Advanced Couatl (essentially a level 20 Sorcerer).
We killed the CR 33 Demogorgon (with additional spells and such, our DM thought he was too weak) in 3 rounds. What really put him in his grave? Split-Ray Avasculate followed by a Mountain Tombstone Stike. (-75% health, and then 81 damage + 7 constitution damage).
Actually, the only reason he survived after the first round was that our DM ruled that he could continue to survive with one head (he just Shapechanged into an Aspect of himself - I thought the rule was tenuous at best). How did we accomplish this? Sparky used Craft Contigency for the following:
1) The first time he throws an Annulat - True Strike
2) The first time he attacks Demogorgon - Surge of FortuneHe buffed the Annulat with Greater Weapon Augmentation to put a Vorpal enhancement on it. Surge of Fortune you can expend instantly to treat any roll as a natural 20. With his Flesh Ring of Scorn, he auto-confirmed criticals. Boom - Demogorgon had no head.
In general, I'm agreeing with P.H.D. and Khaladon on how this not-so-epic final battle turned out. Talk about an anticlimax!
Presumably the Concordant Killer and advanced Couatl were gated in outside Wat Dagon. No one but the Big D. can use Gate inside Wat Dagon.
As for the splat-book sources ... (rummages in personal library) ...
There was some Eberron-related stuff there - the artificer class and the two warforged. I don't have any Eberron material myself, so I can't comment on how they function.
I assume that the annulat is a weapon, but can't remember where (or if) I saw it. It sounds like a ring-shaped weapon ... a relative of the chakram, maybe?
The Greater Weapon Augmentation and Vorpal enhancement put on the annulat are probably features of the artificer class. As stated above, I don't have access to that material, so I can't comment on it.
The Flesh Ring of Scorn appears in the Magic Item Compendium, but was originally seen in the Book of Vile Darkness. The newer version works for anyone (3/day), but inflicts damage on the wearer when used. The original version only worked for evil outsiders against non-outsiders. By the way, how does a warforged wear a Flesh Ring of Scorn? It's supposed to be "worn as a piercing through the flesh of the upper chest" - a bit difficult if one is a construct, I would imagine!
Mountain Tombstone Strike is a manoevre from Tome of Battle/Book of Nine Swords. In addition to normal damage on a standard attack, it inflicts 2d6 Con damage. I guess that that crusader was lucky to have it available (considering how they get a randomised access to their manoevres).
Surge of Fortune is in Complete Champion (Cleric 5, range personal only).
Split Ray and Craft Contingent Spell are both feats from Complete Arcane (Craft Contingent Spell also appeared in the FR book Unapproachable East). Split Ray requires a second ranged touch attack roll for the extra ray. Contingent Spells are subject to Dispel Magic. (I wonder if the Big D. and/or his minions got the chance to debuff the party?)
Avasculate is in Spell Compendium (Wizard 7, and as a Deathbound domain spell). It is an Evil spell. It originally appeared in Libris Mortis. It is subject to SR. If the ray hits, the spell reduces the target to half its current HP. The target is also stunned for 1 round if it fails a Fortitude save.
As a side-note: I just realised that the Big D.'s touch AC is incorrect on p. 91 of Dungeon 150. The deflection bonus was not included. Instead of AC 19, it should read AC 23. Has this been mentioned anywhere else?
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...And this is why I ban most of the supplements after the Completes. Defeating Big D at CR 33 in 3 rounds isn't awesome. It's disappointing.
Split Ray Avasculate and Mountain blah blah. Ridiculous.
Oh, please don't take my remarks as to discourage your own style of play! It's just my own personal preference of game-play is simply anathema to all those crazy over-powering spells and magic items.
I'm running Savage Tide now and the thought of this year-long campaign coming to an end like that fills me with abject horror.
...Still. So disappointing. :(
Actually, I find your criticisms to be quite valid. I am usually on the other side of the screen. As a player, I have the tendency to optimize not only myself, but also the other players. I am quite a DM nightmare. Nothing went against the Rules-As-Written. Our DM let it slip that he let us get away with most things because he wanted us to make him a list of things he will ban for his later 3.5 games.
But in general, the problem is more with the post-level 13 game. After this, the scalability of the game drops perceptibly. The 'Epic' 3.5 game is complete hogwash. Nothing scales. By the end of the campaign, my character (the Crusader) didn't really roll saves. He passed every Will or Fort save on a 2, and failed every Reflex save except on a 20.
4.0 largely corrects this problem of scalability. If the Pathfinder RPG is to be relevant, it will also have to correct the problem.
As for guarding against debuffing (through Dispel Magic), I devised a nasty little trick. Both the Wizard and the Crusader had received a Girallon's Blessing, giving them an extra set of arms. They can't be used for attack, but they can hold shields or other items. In the extra set, they held a +4 Defending dagger to get the AC bonuses. In the other hand they held a Rod of Absorption. Now, this might be a source of contention, but technically it does work against all single target spells/spell-like abilities. Area-effect Dispels work just fine, but they only get rid of one buff each, and we had so many. Hence, in order to debuff us he had to get rid of our Rods, which he promptly tried.
He sundered the Wizard's rod almost immediately, but lost in opposed attack roll against the Crusader (who was now Gargantuan size and possessed modifiers higher than the Prince of Demons). So, against the Crusader he just to knock out the Rod. Unfortunately for him, luck was not on his side, and failed to dispel the rod. Had he been successful, the battle would have been slightly different.
However, it is worth mentioning that Sparky, who had the main contingencies, was kept in a extra dimensional space in the Crusader's chest (from a Dragon Magazine), until Demogorgon showed himself. He was never a target of a dispel that could have possibly debuffed his contigenices.
As for the Crusader being lucky that he received those maneuver – not really. The Crusader at level 20 prepares 7 maneuvers, 4 of which gets randomly on the first round. He gets 5 if he takes the feat Extra Granted Maneuver, which he did. His maneuvers are reshuffled and re-granted on the 3rd round. So he always has more maneuvers that he can really use, and has to wait at most 2 rounds to get the maneuver that he needs.
Nothing by itself was overpowered, but rather combination that resulted in power more than the sum of its parts.
The Tome of Battle book actually just succeeds in making the melee characters somewhat relevant in the later game, whereas otherwise they are utterly overshadowed. They are overpowered in the early game, and just about right the rest of the time. It was a band-aid for a problem, before 4.0 actually solved the problem, but it is miles and miles better than nothing.
As for the Eberron-related material, I can go into more detail.
The Artificer is truly a powerful, interesting class. I loved it.
Artificers have infusions, which are just like spells, except they have to be targeted on an item or construct. Most of their infusions are buffs, and they have access to their entire spell list which they cast from spontaneously (like a War Mage). The Greater Weapon Augmentation was a 6th level infusion.
Warforged are different from every other race in the game. I don't really want to devolve this thread into talking about the balance of Warforged, but they have a number of immunities against things that DMs love (like Energy Drain, poison and disease), so I would say that they have a number of advantages.
...And this is why I ban most of the supplements after the Completes. Defeating Big D at CR 33 in 3 rounds isn't awesome. It's disappointing.
Split Ray Avasculate and Mountain blah blah. Ridiculous.
Oh, please don't take my remarks as to discourage your own style of play! It's just my own personal preference of game-play is simply anathema to all those crazy over-powering spells and magic items.
I'm running Savage Tide now and the thought of this year-long campaign coming to an end like that fills me with abject horror.
...Still. So disappointing. :(
There's really no need to worry. Our DM started to talk to me after City of Broken Idols. The signs will start to show around there. If your players are still having trouble then, then the campaign should go pretty smoothly.
If you're still worried, I can give you a list of higher-level abuses that can happen if you play strictly rules-as-written. Though if you make changes to the balance, you should inform your players as soon as possible.
Mordenkeinan's disjunction will still debuff an entire party no problem. I put a trap in at the beginning of Wat Dagon that basically combined the effects of Disjunction with Reciprocal Gyre. It was pretty nasty and sucked up a nice chunk of party resources.
True enough. I shy away from using such a powerful, imprecise spells since it has the tendency to make the players/DMs really quite angry.
We were not really vulnerable to traps since our perception-based checks and abilities were so well developed. Nonetheless, had we been hit with one, we could have rebuffed ourselves in about 5 or 6 rounds.
Demogorgon couldn't really use a staff of Disjunction on us without hitting himself with it as well. He had more buffs on him than we did, as well as an Epic Level Ward that made him immune to anything "Dispel" magic.
As for the Eberron-related material, I can go into more detail.
The Artificer is truly a powerful, interesting class. I loved it.
Artificers have infusions, which are just like spells, except they have to be targeted on an item or construct. Most of their infusions are buffs, and they have access to their entire spell list which they cast from spontaneously (like a War Mage). The Greater Weapon Augmentation was a 6th level infusion.
Warforged are different from every other race in the game. I don't really want to devolve this thread into talking about the balance of Warforged, but they have a number of immunities against things that DMs love (like Energy Drain, poison and disease), so I would say that they have a number of advantages.
Thank you, Mithrandir, for the Eberron-related info. I had to stop somewhere in my book-buying, as the shelves were starting to bulge alarmingly! :)
As I understand, the artificer crafted the two Contingent Spells himself (itself?). What kind of spell list does he access - divine, arcane, or mixture of the two? The reason why I'm asking is that I noticed that the two Contingent Spells seemed to be from diffent spell lists (Wizard 1's True Strike and Cleric 5's Surge of Fortune). Or did one of the other characters lend a hand with the crafting?
And that's an interesting way to avoid being de-buffed ... one which I hope that my players never catch on to! :)
As for the Eberron-related material, I can go into more detail.
The Artificer is truly a powerful, interesting class. I loved it.
Artificers have infusions, which are just like spells, except they have to be targeted on an item or construct. Most of their infusions are buffs, and they have access to their entire spell list which they cast from spontaneously (like a War Mage). The Greater Weapon Augmentation was a 6th level infusion.
Warforged are different from every other race in the game. I don't really want to devolve this thread into talking about the balance of Warforged, but they have a number of immunities against things that DMs love (like Energy Drain, poison and disease), so I would say that they have a number of advantages.
Thank you, Mithrandir, for the Eberron-related info. I had to stop somewhere in my book-buying, as the shelves were starting to bulge alarmingly! :)
As I understand, the artificer crafted the two Contingent Spells himself (itself?). What kind of spell list does he access - divine, arcane, or mixture of the two? The reason why I'm asking is that I noticed that the two Contingent Spells seemed to be from diffent spell lists (Wizard 1's True Strike and Cleric 5's Surge of Fortune). Or did one of the other characters lend a hand with the crafting?
And that's an interesting way to avoid being de-buffed ... one which I hope that my players never catch on to! :)
Artificers have access to every spell list when crafting, and they treat their level as two higher when determining what items they can make, though their CL is not changed, and they can't cheaper items than normal. They use Use Magic Device to craft things.
They also have an infusion list that is unrelated.
Artificers make amazing cohorts.
If they do it to you, just sunder the rods. Or disarm them. Or dispel them out.
...And this is why I ban most of the supplements after the Completes. Defeating Big D at CR 33 in 3 rounds isn't awesome. It's disappointing.
Split Ray Avasculate and Mountain blah blah. Ridiculous.
Oh, please don't take my remarks as to discourage your own style of play! It's just my own personal preference of game-play is simply anathema to all those crazy over-powering spells and magic items.
I'm running Savage Tide now and the thought of this year-long campaign coming to an end like that fills me with abject horror.
...Still. So disappointing. :(
If I've learned anything by running Savage Tide, it's that giving my players access to all books was a huge mistake. From here on out I am only playing Core.
If I was running that CR 33 one simple solution to slaughter the party, Blasphemy. Even if they had silence a quickened greater dispel then followed by blasphemy at caster level 25 your party wouldn't stand a chance of resisting (unless they were all evil).
We were immune to it via Spell Immunity/Silence/plugging our ears/having evil party members.
If you're still worried, I can give you a list of higher-level abuses that can happen if you play strictly rules-as-written. Though if you make changes to the balance, you should inform your players as soon as possible.
I'm all ears for good advice. :)
<stuff>
(There were some imbalances, yeah, but they were relatively minor. Once I and Mithrandir have finished compiling the list, we'll totally share it.)
I'm looking forward to reading that. Hearing of other people's various experiences/advice is always better than running into big issues oneself during play.
(I happen to like most of the splat-books, but I also realise that things can get out of hand without some common sense and house rules.)
A question to those who made it to Demogorgon - did you manage to rest and reset spells before the fight, or did you go right into it?
Also, I'd love to hear about the fight against Lord Koth.
And here's an unfinished version of the list. It only covers some of the stuff that came up during the campaign; more will be added eventually.
<lots of interesting stuff>
Thank you, Igfig, for that list of potentially scary stuff! Some of those things are already on my "As a DM, I really don't want to deal with _that_" list, but I always appreciate a heads up on things with which I'm unfamiliar.
Just one suggestion for future listings: add the source for each item (i.e., is it a spell, feat, item, or what, and from which book is it?). Some things are obvious (like the Leadership feat from the DMG), but others are less well-known.
Another completed campaign here. After cruising through many of the battles in the last couple adventures, the PCs were totally overmatched by Demogorgon. As the battle went on, I had to "forget" Nulonga, the gaze attacks, big D's heal, and the saves on the rot to avoid a total party wipeout. Still it was an epic, 12 round battle before big D fell.
When Illiwig (I can't spell any of these names because I don't use them in my campaign) showed up to claim the the soul, the party could only groan in frustration. They were far too damaged to do a thing about it.
When the crown formed, Gromsfeld, Noltus and a minion of Orcus suddenly joined the party to claim Demogorgon's crown. The party's rogue (worships a god of suffering) and the wizard (Malchatant's kiss) tried to claim it as well. The the dice settled, it was Gromsfeld with a natural 20 that claimed the crown.
While an NPC claiming the crown might have been an unsatisfying end, it was a nice twist for our campaign world:
Gromsfeld ended up being Oleg, a PC in a previous campaign. Oleg started life as a pirate captain who eventually betrayed his party to take control of a pirate city (which became Scuttlecove).
As an NPC, he eventually lost control of the pirate town and had to flee. Looking to get his power back, he aligned himself with Demogorgon, thus playing the role of Cold Captain Wethers for this campaign. The players rejoiced when they finally got to kill their old nemesis at The Wreck but heartily cursed the DM when Demogorgon brought him back to lead his Navy (turning him to Gromsfeld as punishment).
The PCs grit their teeth when striking a deal with Oleg to stay out of the coming war but knew it would come back to haunt them. It did. Oleg lives on and will undoubtedly play a part in a future campaign.