Hello all, just dropping by to ask for some help on balancing an encounter I am building.
Without going in to detail on the story (I’ll relate if you ask) the party is about to take on
a Spawn of Yog-Sothoth that is being summoned by a high priest and his Cult of Cuthulu.
The encounter is pulled from the Pathfinder module Carrion Hill I ran for them, but heavily modified to accommodate our storyline and power level.
Encounter details.
1 “Weakened” Spawn of Yog-Sothoth. Currently CR10 (Needs to be adjusted. Stats below)
1 Cleric level 7-9? High priest finishing up an incantation (3.5 rule) that will bring the Spawn to full power.
10 Commoner level 1 cultists assisting in the ritual. Each has a small vial, akin to a mini-phylactery, that guards their soul against being consumed by the Spawn while they complete the incantation.
5 Player characters all level 6, Cleric, Paladin, Bard, Ranger, Wizard, all carrying magic weapons of at least +1 and various other lower level magic items, like armor, potions, a scroll or two. All within the wealth by level 6 category for medium progression. They have a few extra feats among them, but nothing too over the top and we use a home brewed hero point system that almost mirrors the hero point system in the Pathfinder APG.
The Encounter
When the PCs show up in the town square they find the incantation is ending. The spawn has begun to flail out with it’s tentacles and drain the cultists of their souls by grappling them and crushing their mini-phylacteries. Once a round, with a successful grapple and application of strength damage the phylactery breaks and the soul is consumed giving the Spawn 10 additional HP. The cultists are insane and suicidal and will not run. If the cultists are killed by a PC, their phylacteries will hold their soul, but if the phylactery is broken, this once again will feed the Spawn. When all ten cultists are consumed, the Spawn breaks free under the command of the priest.
The Goal
The PCs need to kill the Spawn to have a chance to survive and return home from this nightmare dimension.
To do that they need to deal with the cultists and high priest, who will try and stop them, and kill the Spawn.
They can’t ignore cultists because the spawn can feed off them if they are alive and within reach, the cultists, though low in power, can still attack the PCs Cultists can also shatter their own phylactery in a fit of madness and feed the Spawn.
So with that in mind, how would you adjust the Spawn CR while maintaining his epic Cthulu feel, and what level should I make the high priest?
Over all, I’d really like this to be doable for the PCs but only barely.
Thanks in advance for your advice.
Spawn of Yog-Sothoth CR 10
XP 9,600
CE Large aberration (extraplanar)
Init +6; Senses blindsight 30 ft., darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +20
Aura stench (DC 22, 10 rounds)
Defense
AC 24, touch 11, flat-footed 22 (+2 Dex, +13 natural, –1 size)
hp 133 (14d8+70)
Fort +9, Ref +8, Will +12
Defensive Abilities natural invisibility, DR 10/magic; Immune
cold, fire; Resist sonic 10; SR 20
Weakness 6 negative levels (or fewer), not included in these totals
Offense
Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
Melee 1 bite +17 (1d8+8/19–20), 4 tentacles +16 (1d6+4 plus grab)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks blood drain, devastation
Statistics
Str 26, Dex 15, Con 21, Int 17, Wis 17, Cha 20
Base Atk +10; CMB +19; CMD 31
Feats Combat Reflexes, Improved Critical (bite), Improved
Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Multiattack, Vital Strike,
Weapon Focus (tentacles)
Skills Climb +33, Escape Artist +19, Intimidate +22, Knowledge
(arcana) +17, Perception +20, Spellcraft +20, Stealth +15
Languages Aklo
Ecology
Environment temperate hills
Organization solitary
Treasure standard
Special Abilities
Blood Drain (Ex) If a spawn of Yog-Sothoth establishes or
maintains a pin with a tentacle, it drains blood via tiny
slavering mouths that open along the tentacle’s length,
dealing 1d4 points of Constitution damage.
Devastation (Ex) As a full-round action, the spawn can
assault a structure, dealing 4d6+16 points of damage to
the structure in that round.
encounter stuff.
If the monster breaks loose it could wipe the party.
I dont know how much info the players have, but I would knock the commoners out or enchant them/remove them from the fight so their souls can not be drain. If the monster has to have all 10 to reach full power the players should be able to avoid it becoming a CR 10 assuming they know what is going on.Is the priest just a priest by title, or is he an actual cleric(PC class)?
This is a good time to use some battlefield control spells to keep the monster away from the "victims".
In short:If the monster reaches full power your group is in a lot of trouble, but they should be able to avoid that taking place.
Is this an all or nothing scenario with the CR 10 issue or is the monster like a base CR 7, and for every 3 cultist or so it gains another CR?
The current CR is 10, but I need to tone it down quite a bit if the PCs are to survive the fight.
The current CR is 10, but I need to tone it down quite a bit if the PCs are to survive the fight.
1.This combat has a variable CR depending on what the party does. Do they have the spells to keep the commoners away from the monster?
2. I misread the combat the first time. I somehow dismissed the phylactery info. Putting the commoners to sleep and or color spray might work. Goading the commoners into leaving the reach of the monster should be done first so he can't grapple them. Then I would knock them out or kill them. The combat is survivable, but it depends on how good the PC's are at tactics.
3. If the monster gets to full power, and players run away. Is the adventure flexible enough to allow them to make a second run at the monster, most likely after leveling up of course?
Three things come to mind -
If you need to assist the PCs at any point, perhaps the floor or roof of the chamber is flamable/weak, so can be used to hinder the priest and spawn.
How loyal is this spawn to this priest? If it sees a chance for more power or the cultists are being lead away by PCs, perhaps the spawn will attack the priest for a quick top up before moving on to the PCs?
For a curve ball, perhaps the creature recoils as the touch/sight of one of the PCs? or perhaps the priest is related to the PC and stops to ask 'hey what are you doing here? which gives the PCs chance for distraction or for the spawn to attack the priest.
Three things come to mind -
If you need to assist the PCs at any point, perhaps the floor or roof of the chamber is flamable/weak, so can be used to hinder the priest and spawn.
How loyal is this spawn to this priest? If it sees a chance for more power or the cultists are being lead away by PCs, perhaps the spawn will attack the priest for a quick top up before moving on to the PCs?
For a curve ball, perhaps the creature recoils as the touch/sight of one of the PCs? or perhaps the priest is related to the PC and stops to ask 'hey what are you doing here? which gives the PCs chance for distraction or for the spawn to attack the priest.
From what I understand the priest controls the monster, so the idea of it attacking the priest might require some rewriting. I am still waiting for the OP to respond though.