The party managed to capture some bandits to get the most recent passphrase and infiltrated the camp under the ruse of bringing booze for the Stag Lord. We drove into the castle with a covered wagon with a monk inside a large barrel. We managed to get in.
The Stag Lord (who was half lit) managed to pick up the barrel with the monk in it and walk inside with the warrior/rogue pc following. With the Stag Lord's inside the main room of the keep with his back turned the warrior/rogue made a bluff check so no one saw him draw his weapon. He then went to make a sneak attack.
I then played a Plot twist card that made the roll an automatic natural 20 which the player confirmed. The GM also had the critical hit and fumble decks. The critical hit card he pulled did double damage and broke one of his arms (the sneak attack was with a flail) which neutralized his ranged capability. The monk popped out of the other barrel and the Stag Lord was dead by the second round.
One of the bandits tried to release the owl bear but it failed because of another plot twist card that caused the gate to stick. The rest of the fight was pretty much mop up.
Poor guy, went from champ to chump in one hit. Incidentally, our GM no longer uses the Plot Twist cards.
I believe we were all level 4 at the time. Party makeup was:
Cavalier 4 + horse
Druid 4 + wolverine
Ranger 3/Wizard 1 (archer build)
Cleric 2/Sorcerer 2
We talked our way into the fort then the cavalier got jumpy and attacked. It was pretty much an all out fight, the GM did pull a couple punches that could have brought enemies in earlier and we were rolling pretty well which I think is the only reason we lived. I think the cavalier's horse ended up being the biggest threat to the enemy and after it the GM vowed to get that horse.
Nicely done, Fenris!
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For what it's worth this is how my group handle it.
All female group, Elf Rngr3/Rog1, Half Elf Brd1/Wiz3, Dwarf Clr4(Desna), and Human Bar3/Rog1.
Then they went back to Oleg's borrowed his wagon and loaded it with purchased booze, hiding the cleric in an empty barrel. Once this was done they disguised themselves as brigands and drove on down to the fort, using the password they had gained to bluff their way in.
Once inside they delivered the booze to the Stag Lord, who proceeded to get good and drunk while three of the girls split up, the elf walked off and chatted Akiros up while the spellcaster and the Bar slavegirl talked and flirted with the rest of the men.
After SL had passed out Akrios came and got the the two flirts and took them to him. They killed the bastard before he even knew what was going on. With that done they then, with Akiros help killed ever last bandit there.
Auchs was killed in one round by the Bar/Rog when she got him FF, and Dovan put a small fight, but other than him with proper planning the encounter provided no threat of a TPK.
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Let's see... our group consisted of;
Caradoc - Human Fighter3 (uses Bastard sword 1 handed and a shield as an off handed weapon)
Bennett - Elven Ranger3 (2-handed specialist)
Vitali - Human Alchemist3 (nothin' too special)
Issara - Human Cleric3 (mainly healer/buffer)
The party I DM for (3rd level Cavalier, Summoner [with Eidolon], Warmage [converted from 3.5], Ranger, and Fighter) basically just charged up the main road, set fire to the walls with Alchemist's fire, and then crashed through the main gate thanks to the Cavalier's charge.
The fight was pretty brutal (eidolon went down, cavalier and ranger were knocked unconscious and the ranger almost *died*) but once Akiros turned on the bandits he evened the odds out well. The Stag Lord then stumbled out drunk and gave them a hell of a fight, but they killed him in the end.
I'm not sure how the Stag Lord's helm was all that devastating, considering he can only use the ability once... and I hope your PCs aren't dumb enough to allow themselves to be caught flat footed once combat starts.
A level 3 witch, fighter, barbarian, and druid beat the stag lord encounter. The witch saved the day because eventually everybody fails a save on a hex.
Well my party we have 5 PCs gnome pyromaniac 3 alch/1 wizard, assimar 4 cleric of Serenrea (fire domain/healing domain), dward 4 fighter, Half-elf 3 Dragonic White Sorecerer, and Elf 4 Inqusitor. I basicly made potions of shield and we used basic milatry tactics of calling them out in waves took 20 rounds we won.
Well my party we have 5 PCs gnome pyromaniac 3 alch/1 wizard, assimar 4 cleric of Serenrea (fire domain/healing domain), dward 4 fighter, Half-elf 3 Dragonic White Sorecerer, and Elf 4 Inqusitor. I basicly made potions of shield and we used basic milatry tactics of calling them out in waves took 20 rounds we won.
Why would they actually come out of the fort when called out? Or why would they only attack in waves if you were inside the fort?
The Stag Lord encounter is an incredibly sore subject for me at the moment as we just suffered an almost TPK from, as far as I can tell, not following the DM's script.
Before I go into details I would like to know if there is any ruling that says when you make a Fort save vs. Poison & the poison in question has no effect on a successful save you still know you were poisoned? This will become relevant later as I feel it was the prime causative agent in the near TPK.
Our Group
1 Human lvl 3 Magus (Bladebound/Kensai), me (the Blade hadn't shown up yet)
1 1/2 Elf lvl 3 Cleric of Pharasma (played by my friend's 16 yr old son)
1 Halfling lvl 3 Druid (played by my 10 yr old son)
1 1/2 Elf lvl 3Ranger/lvl 1 Sorcerer (Ranged/Fae) (played by my friend)
Having heard about the Stag Lord's drinking problem & the pass phrase from Kressle's surviving bandits we decided to drug some of the booze with a sleeping potion to make sure the Stag Lord was out of it.
We successfully infiltrated his fort, gave him the booze & were trying to shmooze up the bandits while waiting for the potion to take effect.
Unfortunately I was what passed for the party 'face' man & I didn't have Diplomacy as a class skill or any ranks in Bluff. (I was planning to take those later when I dipped in Cavalier.) I was able to get names for faces of the bandits & was in the process of talking up Akiros when all hell broke loose.
Overall placement of all of us PC's & NPC's as follows.
Stag Lord in his sleeping chambers, boozing it up.
Akiros, myself & the Halfling were in Akiros's room just outside the Stag Lord's room, the Halfling was hidden in a barrel we had brought which was part of the reason I was in the room (I was trying to find an opportunity to get him out & better hidden in the encampment.)
The Ranger was observing most of the bandits dicing in the main chamber & trying to chat up Dovan.
The Cleric was attempting to chat up Auchs.
Matters seemed to be proceeding as hoped when after about half an hour the Stag Lord started bellowing drunkenly about 'those Bastards drugged/poisoned (my friend & I aren't sure which he said) my wine!'
given that I still hadn't extricated the Halfling from the barrel by that point & I didn't want to set suspicions any higher I played this off by asking Akiros if this was a common thing for 'the Boss', he indicated it wasn't unusual & I attempted to keep the conversation going.
The Stag Lord then bursts through the doorway already armed & with an arrow nocked & I have one chance to try & convince him that it was an attempt by Kressle (I rolled a 16 + my Cha mod of 2, after the fact I realised I should have added another 5 since he WAS drunk), but appearantly the Stag Lord rolled a nat 20 or something & wasn't having it. His first shot at me he rolls really low for damage (8 points) so I try to continue bluffing my/our way out. His second shot was at least 30 which took me all the way past neg Con & that was all she wrote for my character. I will add that this was the first time I had ever played a Magus & I forgot I had Vanish memorized, if I had remembered it might have saved my butt; though I doubt it.
The Ranger is at this point attempting to nonchalantly ease himself & the Cleric out of the danger zone as the Stag Lord continues his violent rant calling for the Bandits to 'kill them', whereupon they both just straight out run for the gates. I think the Cleric takes one hit which doesn't kill him & they both make it over the gates & start running down the path away from the fortress.
Around this time is when the Halfling attempts to sneak out while everyone is 'apparently' busy chasing after the other two. I say apparently because the Stag Lord took him down with one shot & then proceeded on to try & take out the 1/2 elves.
The Ranger manages to make it to the tree line but the Cleric was a couple rounds behind him & still close enough for the Stag Lord to hit HIM with a 30+ shot (although that only took him down into negative hit points, actually the only outright KILL was my character).
So, upshot is the only 'survivor' of the encounter was the Ranger & we have put the Campaign on hold for a while until tempers cool. We may or may not resume it.
According to the GM the Stag Lord failed his save against the first drugged bottle but made it against the second, which was what sparked the incident. My BIG issue with the scene was exactly what reason was there for the Stag Lord to 'know' we had drugged the booze, because from where I sit it really looks like GM fiat. This GM claims not to be a 'killer GM' & this is the only occasion I have had that really comes close to contradicting that claim. I do have a couple of other issues with his style (actually my issue basically boils down to him running the Campaign like a series of Pathfinder Society Scenarios), but this is really the only time it has been something that I felt was more serious than just 'he plays differently than I do'.
The Stag Lord encounter is an incredibly sore subject for me at the moment as we just suffered an almost TPK from, as far as I can tell, not following the DM's script.
Before I go into details I would like to know if there is any ruling that says when you make a Fort save vs. Poison & the poison in question has no effect on a successful save you still know you were poisoned? This will become relevant later as I feel it was the prime causative agent in the near TPK.
** spoiler omitted **...
You ALWAYS know when something makes you save. You may not know what made you save, but you know you made it.
Plus, it sounds like he failed his first save, 1 min unconsciousness, but made his second save, avoiding 1 hour of unconsciousness.Think if the tables were turned. If you were continually doing something that was poisoning you, but the DM made all your saves behind the screen, waiting to tell you about all that Bad Stuff you're exposing yourself too, what would be your reaction?
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The Stag Lord encounter is an incredibly sore subject for me at the moment as we just suffered an almost TPK from, as far as I can tell, not following the DM's script.
Before I go into details I would like to know if there is any ruling that says when you make a Fort save vs. Poison & the poison in question has no effect on a successful save you still know you were poisoned? This will become relevant later as I feel it was the prime causative agent in the near TPK.
** spoiler omitted **...
You ALWAYS know when something makes you save. You may not know what made you save, but you know you made it.
Plus, it sounds like he failed his first save, 1 min unconsciousness, but made his second save, avoiding 1 hour of unconsciousness.Think if the tables were turned. If you were continually doing something that was poisoning you, but the DM made all your saves behind the screen, waiting to tell you about all that Bad Stuff you're exposing yourself too, what would be your reaction?
** spoiler omitted **
Seconded. Be careful what you ask for. You really want the guy casting charm/dominate person on you to be unnoticed?
It feel reasonable for him to start yelling about poison.
The misdirection attempt on Irnk part, blaming Kressle, was nice and it should have worked even against a nat 20 (that is not an automatic success as skills go), but that is another matter and a easy to do error during an encounter.
@DR
As for medicine taste, I hadn't thought about that. If he had to drink a whole 750mL bottle to get a full 30mL dose of poison, I don't how much taste there would be. Something to think about, I guess.
Heh. Spoiler debates.
What's the opposite of a TPK? :)
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All 3rd level.
Aalen (Priestess)
Elenor (Rogue)
Garrow (Gunslinger)
Marcus (Sorceror)
Solomon (Inquisitor)
Other cast members:
Oleg and Svetlana.
A few ex-bandits, inc Happs.
Duffy (Aalen's mule)
We basically used siege tactics and waited for the Stag Lord to come to us at Oleg's.
A combination of deadly marksmanship from Garrow, (helped in no little way by Aalen's Touch Of Luck domain power) and Solomon's excellent artillery skills (we managed to get a catapult working).
Oh, and a little something slipped into the SL's liquor.
We took a grand total of 12 damage. I think Elenor may have broken a nail. Sadly, all of his men died but we did manage to capture the Stag Lord alive.
Aalen, a waif of a girl from Tian Xia, now proudly wears his crown.
After his capture, we didn't head straight to the fort. By the time we did eventually get there, it was empty; the owlbear dead.
The group I GM'd for snuck in and took out the Stag Lord in his sleep...I'm avoiding details here because of the 'no spoiler' request.
However, any party that enters a straight-up fight with the entire Fort pretty much deserves whatever happens to them. It's not impossible to win, but it's *much* more difficult.
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@DR
** spoiler omitted **
Heh. Spoiler debates.
@QS
There is a note in K. camp about the Stag Lord pushing up activity if he don't get the liquor shipment.
The simple fact that he will start to drink the new liquor as soon as it arrive is a sign that his alcohol reserve is low and he can't have already drunk countless bottles.
That is how I read it, at least.
Yes, spoiler debate.:D
My group just finished off the Stag Lord last week and they stomped him hard, embarrassingly so.
My group (three level 4 characters) consisted of a bard a monk and a rogue. I allowed them to use 25 pt buy based on the lack of a third member
Anyway, they assaulted the fort under cover of night.... with about 9 kobolds.
My players' group consisted of a Tiefling Magus, Human Rogue and Ranger, Half Elven Cleric, and a Halfling Synthesist.
I decided to play the Stag Lord as an overconfident and vengeful man, wrapped up in killing the players and not thinking soundly. Did it make the encounter easier? Yeah, but it played out in an exciting fashion. Akiros fight by the side of the players and is now a reformed Paladin. The players also spared Auchs and now keep him on a very tight leash.
For my players, it wasn't broken. In fact, with the damage output of the Magus and number of attacks by the Synthesist, it was pretty much a breeze.
We did this as a 4th level erastil paladin, 4th level druid, 4th level fighter, with 15 point buy. It was hard, but doable.
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My crew did things...a little differently. We had a full 4th level human crew. One rogue, a "kitchen-sink" fighter ("I feel like using a glaive this fight...or should I use the sword? A flail?), an NPC healer (from the D&D Miniatures book), a two-weapon fighter, an NPC expert/monk and really angry horse.
The rogue sprinted to the last guard- the one over the Stag Lord's quarters- but that's when the rogue rolled a 1. Now, I do fumbles a little different; if you roll a one, you 'confirm' it by not rolling over 10. Well, he got a 2, and plunged through the floor boards, and into the owlbear pen.
The rogue was not happy.
Initiative came, the rogue won, and rolled a 20 (I allow critical successes in skills, too) and left the pen the same way he got in. The noise woke the Stag Lord, and all the bandits rushed the cage. The poor sap who was over the Stag Lord's pen went to investigate, and was promptly grabbed, clawed, and shredded by the owl bear. The rogue added insult to injury by tossing alchemist fire onto the owlbear's head.
The Stag Lord ordered the bandits to put the fire out, and the bandits rushed to the buckets by the walls (by this time, the rest of the heroes have heard the noise and were rushing to gate). The rogue also grabbed a bucket and came to "help".
A quick bluff check allowed the rogue to open the owlbear cage up, and a heavy warhorse kicked the gate down. In the mass melee that followed, the Stag Lord dropped the healer (which happens a lot) and the monk, but was bull-rushed off his perch by the rogue. The fighters doubled teamed him, preventing him from getting any more sneak attack, and he went down grasping for a healing potion.
In the end, the owlbear killed more bandits then any member of the party.
Three months later, they came back for the Stag Lord body, and drug it to the river.