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A week or so short of a year ago, I was busily prepping for a planned year-long descent into the darkness of Castle Ravenloft. I had drawn scale maps of Barovia and its surrounding regions from "Expedition to Castle Ravenloft", spent days scouring my miniatures collection and that of my friend to select the perfect figures for each and every encounter, used factions rules from various sources to really flesh out the Lightbringers guild, created campaign binders for all six players... "the DM Works." Sadly, all was derailed just a handful of sessions in by non-game-related happenings among some of the players.
I was SO looking forward to revisiting my AD&D Ravenloft roots with a good ol' haunted house adventure.
Having spent the last hour or so digging into "Skeletons of Scarwall", the dream is alive again in a new form. And it's got a critter called a Corpse Orgy. Man, the primo miniature for THAT is going to be a tough find!
Yeah, Ravenloft was a huge inspiration for this! Vampires and undead, and gargoyles and demons, all that seemed to mesh great with the Adventure Path's running vibes of moody darkness. I'm a huge fan of Ravenloft and gothic horror in general, and James is a connoisseur of most things dark in morbid--especially Lovecraft, hence the gugs--so this felt kind of self indulgent for both of us. We really wanted to draw on the feel of old super dungeons throughout this--you might have noticed a few four-armed gargoyles... wonder where those came from.
Oh yeah, and Greg Vaughan had something to do with all this as well, having a totally twisted mind, a great sense of the history of the game, and for handing over some of the best maps we've ever had for Pathfinder. I totally loved his choice of monsters for this one, giggling over the gug and the chain spirit, but completely felling in love with the danse macabre (had to throw that sidebar in, though. I love that song). Great, great stuff! So yeah, glad you're liking what you see and if you're into dark, creepy, gothic horror, rest assured that you'll see plenty of that in adventures to come!
Heh... Reading the Zon-Kuthon entry made me think one Master Logue wrote it. Especially that part about "The Joymaking". I had to check the TOC just to affirm that it was SKR's creation!
I could almost hear "Vampire Killer" playing as I started reading.
Dude, I've got the soundtracks to a half dozen Castlevania games on my iTunes and they'd be perfect fit for this. Someday (soon hopefully) we'll get the time to put together some soundtrack suggestions for the APs, and when we do, you'll totally see some "Bloody Tears" and "Gothic Vampire Slayer" action on that list! ^_~
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An advanced, gargantuan corpse orgy would make a perfect Granfaloon.
So something like... this?
Advanced (64-HD) Corpse Orgy, Usually CE, CR 28, Tome of Horrors III
Gargantuan Aberration
Hit Dice: 64d8+832 (1120 hp)
Initaitive: +8
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares) (Note: to truly get the Castlevania boss's feel, should be fly 40' (perfect)
Armor Class: 46 (–4 size, +40 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 46
Base Attack/Grapple: +48/+76
Attack: Slam +61 melee (4d8+16, 19-20/x2)
Full Attack: 6 slams +61 melee (4d8+16, 19-20/x2)
Space/Reach: 20 ft./20 ft.
Special Attacks: Absorb body, improved grab, pain shriek
Special Qualities: All-around vision, damage reduction 15/piercing or slashing, darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 60 ft.
Saves: Fort +34, Ref +27, Will +36
Abilities: Str 43, Dex 10, Con 36, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 16
Skills: Diplomacy +5, Hide +41, Intimidate +50, Listen +42, Sense Motive +37, Search +48, Spot +48, Survival +2 (+6 following tracks)
Feats: Blind-Fight, Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (slam), Improved Initiative, Improved Natural Attack (slam), Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (slam)
Epic Feats: Armor Skin (x10 - +2 nat AC per), Epic Reflexes (+4, stacks), Superior Initiative (+4 init, stacks)
Absorb Body (Su): A corpse orgy can absorb the physical body of any creature it has reduced to 0 or less hit points by moving over it and remaining in contact with it for at least one full round. An unconscious or dying opponent can make a DC 55* Fortitude save to prevent the absorption. A dead opponent gets no saving throw. The save DC is Constitution-based.
When it absorbs a body, the corpse orgy gains 50 temporary hit points. A creature whose body is absorbed can only be raised or resurrected if the corpse orgy that absorbed its body is slain and the corpse in question is recovered.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a corpse orgy must hit with a slam attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold.
Pain Shriek (Su): Twice per day, as a standard action, a corpse orgy can unleash a piercing shriek from the various heads captured in its
form. This shriek deals 20d12 points of sonic damage to all creatures within a 80-foot radius around the corpse orgy. Affected creatures can make a DC 55* Fortitude save for half damage. Creatures that cannot hear do not take this damage.
All-Around Vision (Ex): Because of its multiple faces, a corpse orgy can see in several directions at one time. It gains a +4 racial bonus on Search and Spot checks and it cannot be flanked.
Tremorsense (Ex): A corpse orgy can automatically pinpoint the location of anything within 60 feet that is in contact with the ground.
* * * * *
Design Notes: The save DCs are about 10-15 points too high for a monster of its CR. 40 or 45 is more in the ballpark. The skill math isn't absolute, I just figured the relative ratios on the base Corpse Orgy's skills and multiplied by the advanced one's total, then adjusted for stats and racial bonuses.
This has been my favorite Pathfinder adventure so far, and that includes the Rise of the Runelords path. Why? Because of Castlevania.
I was interested in what others had been saying about this adventure and was tempted. You, Sir, have just earned Paizo another sale. :D I'll be adding this to my next order, after I've moved.
Peace,
tfad
Heh... Reading the Zon-Kuthon entry made me think one Master Logue wrote it. Especially that part about "The Joymaking". I had to check the TOC just to affirm that it was SKR's creation!
Yea, if it looks like something out of Hellraiser, you know SKR has his vile fingerprints all over it.
I just read my PDF copy of Pathfinder #11. WOW! Talk about total party kill. I won't spoil it, but its a deadly scenario. Paizo prints a good adventure.
Thanks. I'm sticking around for the next story arc.
My players were seriously considering playing an all-undead party for CotCT. Reading vol 11 makes me really wonder what that campaign would have been like. I would have let them know about the curse ahead of time, and then left them to their own devices. :D
Well dang, hopefully we have similar taste then. I'd hate to dissapoint by proxy.
It's a fine adventure though, so I doubt that'll happen. The castle's also huge, and only about 1/3 of its rooms have keyed, descriptive encounters, so it leaves a ton of possibility for custom stuff. Y'know, like a coliseum in the basement, a nice marble gallery, some alchemy labs, etc. etc. If I have the time I plan on doing just that before I run this.
Seriously doubt that's going to happen chief! :D The only reason I didn't pick up the entire path was because I'm in the middle of moving around right now and don't want to order things and have them turn up at my old house. 6 months in flux seems like a forever in gaming! Still, I'm off to South Korea in a couple of weeks and once I'm settled in, I'm planning to place a HUGE order.
I'm sure I'll like 'Skellingtons', Paizo are just teh awesome! :D
tfad
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(Caution: post includes dorky video game references)
This has been my favorite Pathfinder adventure so far, and that includes the Rise of the Runelords path. Why? Because of Castlevania.
I absolutely love that video game series, and have always toyed with making a D&D adventure with Castlevania themes, but never got around to it. Greg Vaughn beat me to it, and I'm so okay with that. I could almost hear "Vampire Killer" playing as I started reading.
Could also be in no small part to the Foreward being entitled "What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse"! Think I might have to play me some "Simon's Quest" on my Wii this weekend.
Could also be in no small part to the Foreward being entitled "What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse"! Think I might have to play me some "Simon's Quest" on my Wii this weekend.
Haha! Awesome!!! I was so bloody pleased with myself for that one! SO glad someone else got it. ^_^
Dude, I've got the soundtracks to a half dozen Castlevania games on my iTunes and they'd be perfect fit for this. Someday (soon hopefully) we'll get the time to put together some soundtrack suggestions for the APs, and when we do, you'll totally see some "Bloody Tears" and "Gothic Vampire Slayer" action on that list!
This post is full of win. The "Konami Battle" CDs include a significant number of Castlevania classics put to heavy electric guitars. I see the music selection I'll be using.
If this sort of stuff is being brought to mind thanks to this adventure, then this chapter of the AP is also full of win (as I wait for my order to eventually arrive)!
Everyone here, rocks. End of. :D
tfad
The beauty is that you can keep adding to it over time with more PC kills. MY personal corpse orgy mini is about the size of a basketball now (thank you Slumbering Tsar playtest).
B$!$&%+$! I call shenanigans on this one. You must be joking! If not, that is TOO awesome!
The beauty is that you can keep adding to it over time with more PC kills. MY personal corpse orgy mini is about the size of a basketball now (thank you Slumbering Tsar playtest).b~&~&%&~! I call shenanigans on this one. You must be joking! If not, that is TOO awesome!
I'm not sure about the veracity of his basketball-sized mini, but I can affirm that the Slumbering Tsar resulted in approximately 44 acres of trees being needed for the creation of replacement character sheets.
Slumbering Tsar huh? I don't know... sounds made up to me. :P
