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Do any of you plan to alter the last fight? A CR 17 fight against a bunch of CR 15 players seems to easy for a boss fight.
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Do any of you plan to alter the last fight? A CR 17 fight against a bunch of CR 15 players seems to easy for a boss fight.
Permanent 10 points spell turning to turn 8th and 9th level spells that don't break his SR-- any PC that rolls a 5~ or so will have it bounce back to them, effectively increasing his economy of actions even further.
Undispellable 20% miss chance (immune to rogues without Shadow Strike). DR 15/bludgeoning and magic and DR 10/adamantine. Fast healing 20.
The fighting zone is 18x18 and his force punch can knock someone 8 squares. If he sticks to one side and expect a flank, he can, on a failed save, force punch someone off of the platform.
Assuming your PCs haven't bought much other than upgrading their own Big Six, and your group isn't the kind of group that pre-casts vital buffs like Freedom of Movement, the first round could go something like this:
1. Big bad swift action lines the heroes, hitting three, paralyzing 3 for rounds.
2. He moves within 6 squares of the edge, and readies an action to force punch the first person to try to flank him.
3. Someone tries to flank him, and he force punches them off of the edge.
4. There is now one person versus the "CR 17 wuss."
Round 2:
5. Dim door to the paralyzed heroes. Swift action line the person who wasn't hit earlier. They are paralyzed for rounds.
6. Coup de grace, coup de grace, coup de grace, coup de grace.
7. Lololololololololol
With the above statements, I am actually making him easier because this is exactly what will happen. My PCs don't really get lucky with saves.
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Quick reply fron GenCon:
In addition to some of Ice Titans suggestions, don't forget that Adivion starts working on the PCs while they are still on the level below.
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Quick reply fron GenCon:
** spoiler omitted **
I know I won't have him fight alone. I have one really evil(smart) player who likes to crap on my bad guys. The characters are never broken, he just likes to catch me off guard. He will be supporting a new guy though if I get to run this. I guess I will wait and see. I expect for them to laugh at the DC if it is only a 22.
Thanks for the replies everyone.
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Also, some questions.
(1) While I may have overlooked it, I didn't see any mention of the soul of Warden Hawkren. Was he destroyed? Should there be a remnant left in Nelthazzer's lab? Is he released upon Adivion's destruction?
(2) The party should have one of the components of the Carrion Crown - Raven's Head. Was the mace not really needed? Was Adivion gambling on success with an incomplete elixir? Obviously it doesn't work out for Adivion himself, but wouldn't the flawed elixir simply kill Count Galdana? Or was the Grey Friar's prep work a way of getting around the FUBARed elixir? What do you all think?
** spoiler omitted **
Also, some questions.
** spoiler omitted **
I was wondering the same thing, actually.
And following this line,
Though I don't know how viable could that be to me(my prep time is rather low and I'm already making too many changes in the AP to begin with - Damn you, Medical School!
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Now that I'm back from GenCon I can give you guys some real answers without trying to type out messages on a tiny little iPhone keypad! =-)
See "Development" in area H7 on page 58, which suggests adding the 2 leftover nightwings that are otherwise out hunting when PCs enter area H6, some animate dreams that swirl around Gallowspire, dread wraiths from the undead storm that rages above (and don't forget to penalize flying PCs!), or even some of the gallowdead from page 56. You've got a lot of replenishable options if you feel your PCs might overtake Adivion too easily in a one-on-one conflict, but I suspect after reading Ice Titan's post on the matter, as well as Zhangar's ideas on how to use the Tyrant's Whispers to bolster Adivion, I wouldn't push it. He's a bad dude, and the stuff they have to face to reach him is equally terrible. =-)
When I first wrote the encounter, I actually worried about TPKs due to the terrain being in the forsaken lich's favor, and between Adivion's tactics and other effects in the area, I added a sort of "anti-whispers" haunt to help the PCs out (also, see below for how Adivion originally surged and peaked in power). In the earlier version, this haunt appeared as the ghosts of the good-guy crusaders who originally defeated the Tyrant, who appeared to help the PCs in this desperate hour. It didn't make it into print, but I thought the encounter was tough enough that they might need help. Maybe not. But you've got a lot of options either way! =-)
As for raven's head, assume that Nelthezzer found a suitable substitute or replacement for "chronicles of raven's tongue" after the Whispering Way fails to steal the mace from the PCs. This very well could be the reason behind the Gray Friar's excessive preparations of Galdana, or the ultimate reason the formula fails in the hands of Adivion (though this is actually due to the consumption of a formula not made for him). Either way works, but when dealing with such a powerful group as the Whispering Way, assume that the found a solution or substitute to the ingredient's absence.
There was an important element in the final battle that would have given you a chance to really display the importance of the mace's recovery to PCs. In the original draft, Adivion's power peaks almost immediately for several rounds after the potion's consumption -his spells became empowered first, then maximized, a round or so later, and it was obvious that he was BRIMMING with power as he became infused with the Tyrant's soul. But after 4 rounds or so, the forsaken lich qualities take over, and you saw his disembodied soul trying to wrench free from his corpse, and his body rapidly decaying as it became obvious to PCs that things weren't going right, giving the GM a chance to hint that their recovery of raven's head might have affected the outcome of the potion's effectiveness and doomed Adivion.
With high-level encounters like this, though, it is understandable why those burdensome elements were left off in the final edit, but you may want to add some of that flavor back in to give PCs a sort or morale reward for their earlier accomplishment in retrieving, then retaining, raven's head, giving them credit for their earlier success and tying things together a little more closely.
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I really like that idea for the final battle there. That could be very cool.
To make Raven's Head more of a boon in the final battle, and because none of my PCs would use yet another fantastically cool artifact, I went ahead and revamped him-- now he's a +1 undead bane light club (a raven-headed cane) that has several spell-like abilities related to inquisition, including detect thoughts, nondetection and death ward.
And, to fill in the blanks between Part 5 and Part 6, I'm sending the PCs into the Tomb of the Iron Medusa-- thanks for the info about what the poem suggests so that I can replace it, likely with something else that's different yet similar.
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I thought about having Adivion be a descendant of the whispering tyrant. In order to avoid sacrificing himself he has a clone spell in place. The Whispering Tyrant knows that if he is defeated he gets to go back to the phylactery which is behind the seal. Not, trusting Adivion to handle the PC's since they made it so far he shunts Adivion's soul into the clone. The problem is that the clone is different enough that it would have supported the Tyrant, while Adivion's orignal body can't.
The Tyrant will be weakened due to the process, but he will get stronger every the the PC's try to face him, assuming they fail the first time(s).
Extending the Campaign: As for Adivion he won't enter the fight because he will be in a comatose state, and it will take a DC 45 heal check or various other checks to determine that he is alive if anyone decides to check. After a few weeks he wakes up assuming the body is whole. He blames the PC's and not the tyrant, and gets to cause more trouble. I have yet to decide on what type of trouble.
If you don't want to extend the campaign have him wake up when the fight is well in hand for the players with no spells prepared, and with very little gear, maybe some armor and a +1 weapon as an example. His death and the defeat of the tyrant end the campaign.
PS:I don't know how much of a role the intended victim was supposed to play in the campaign, as far as making an appearance so I might have to rewrite some things.
Now that I'm back from GenCon I can give you guys some real answers without trying to type out messages on a tiny little iPhone keypad! =-)
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **...
For some reason, the original post I had written was deleted, so here is the short version:
I think maybe Adivion was interested in the Raven's Head not as a component for the Carrion Crown elixir, but because maybe it is an very powerful artifact that is capaple of oposing the Whispering Tyrant when he returns. That's because the Ravens Head could've been a weapon used to struck the final blow on the Whispering Ttyrant by some powerful Paladin of the Shining Crusade, thus weakening the Tyrant sufficiently for him to be imprisioned (I may be a little off here, as I'm not too familiar with the whole Shining Crusade cannon).
Also,
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I think maybe Adivion was interested in the Raven's Head not as a component for the Carrion Crown elixir, but because maybe it is an very powerful artifact that is capaple of oposing the Whispering Tyrant when he returns.
This very well may be the simplest solution to implement. The references regarding raven's head in the final few books as a component of the Carrion Crown formula are actually pretty scant, so a minor change here isn't going to cause any major plot points to shift.
Perhaps the poem's mention of "chronicles of raven's tongue" simply means the Whispering Way needed to retrieve the mace and cast legend lore or some similar divination to find some vital piece of information about its history battling Tar-Baphon. They don't need the mace itself, per se, but they need information they could only retrieve from the item by handling it and subjecting it to divinations, thus collecting the "chronicles" referenced in the poem. That works, too, without disrupting the formula's creation on the PCs' acquisition of the item.
Why do they need the ghost form the first book, and not just any ghost? I am drawing blanks, and I am sure it will come up.
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Why do they need the ghost form the first book, and not just any ghost? I am drawing blanks, and I am sure it will come up.
Something about his lifestory had a spiritual resonance with the history and lifepath of Tar-Baphon. Same with the Raven's Head.
Maybe the fact that he is a ghost that contains evil, and Tar-Baphon is an evil undead that is contained, so by destroying Hawkran you are also destroying the seals?
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Why do they need the ghost form the first book, and not just any ghost? I am drawing blanks, and I am sure it will come up.Something about his lifestory had a spiritual resonance with the history and lifepath of Tar-Baphon. Same with the Raven's Head.
Maybe the fact that he is a ghost that contains evil, and Tar-Baphon is an evil undead that is contained, so by destroying Hawkran you are also destroying the seals?
So it is more of a spiritual connection issue than a "magical component" issue.
Why does the map of Gallowspire look nothing like the picture?
What happened? Very unfortunate.
Why does the map of Gallowspire look nothing like the picture?
What happened? Very unfortunate.
Um... which picture? Because the images on the bottom right of the map on page 52 of SoG match pretty well with the image on page 59, and with the image on page 16 of Dungeons of Golarion. And as the map is of certain sections of the way to go up, it matches pretty well too. Gallowspire is massive after all. Mapping every stair landing would take pages and pages, especially for the Upper Sheath.
Um... which picture? Because the images on the bottom right of the map on page 52 of SoG match pretty well with the image on page 59, and with the image on page 16 of Dungeons of Golarion. And as the map is of certain sections of the way to go up, it matches pretty well too. Gallowspire is massive after all. Mapping every stair landing would take pages and pages, especially for the Upper Sheath.Why does the map of Gallowspire look nothing like the picture?
What happened? Very unfortunate.
Mainly the picture right below the very map I'm talking about on p. 52 of SoG. Huh. I don't think it "matches pretty well" at all, and I haven't the foggiest why you think so. *shrug*
The picture on page 52 of SoG (bottom right below the very map that it is depicting) has side towers, for example - where are those? How does one get to them? There is mention of "numerous walkways, balconies, and crumbling stairways that decorate the tower’s sides" (that "present the safest method of ascent"), but there's none of that, either - well, other than that circular stair around the interior - I guess that might be it, other than the description vastly overstating the case (let's be honest - the map is nothing more than a square and a circle). Further, the adventure notes that "A stairway of entwined skeletons spirals around the perimeter of the tower", but that isn't there - unless the read-aloud text is talking about the interior staircase around the tower itself, but then that wouldn't make sense because the read-aloud text is for outside the sheath, so PCs wouldn't see the inside yet). Further reading (p. 53) makes it sound like it is on the interior, so I guess the read-aloud text is in error.
It's all that stuff on the sheath just decoration? (It might be - that's an honest question, and one I'll need to know for my players.)
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Why does the map of Gallowspire look nothing like the picture?
What happened? Very unfortunate.
I wondered if I'd hear any confusion over this. Tobias is right in that it is an accurate depiction, but you have to match it up with the vertical depiction and dig into the flavor text of the adventure to read the key element that explains everything, which I'll explain thoroughly here in case anyone else has any questions:
Gallowspire is a tower within a tower, and PCs only have access to the inside of the "outer sheath" in this adventure. The inner levels are still sealed (and represented by the center black space on the map), and until they break those seals binding Tar-Baphon (getting into Dungeons of Golarion territory), they can only access the space between the outermost tower and the sealed, innermost tower. That's what the map represents, and it does it accurately.
To match up with the illustrations of the tower's interior, notice that levels H2 and H3 make up the square, blocky sections at the bottom of Gallowspire. This is the sealed inner tower surrounded by a square outer tower, and the maps represent the space between the structures that contain critters and traps. The stairway winds up the side of the inner tower.
H4 is the open-air balcony level on top of this, and above that there is only the inner tower with the Bone Stair winding around it (this goes up for a long way, represented by H5), with no more "outer tower."
At level H6, the inner tower again flares out and there is another outer tower (the vertical illustration on the left displays this). On top of it all is the flat roof of the whole thing (H7), and that's where the final encounter takes place.
So, to recap:
H2-H3: The outer-tower-around-the-inner-tower. The "rooms" are the space between the outer tower and the sealed inner tower.
H4: The open-air balcony "rooftop level" of the outer tower. Looming above this is H5, which is the inner tower only without an outer sheath.
H5: The exposed-to-the-elements inner tower with the Bone Stair winding around it.
H6: The uppermost stories of the inner tower are again sheathed by an outer tower, which flares out at the top. The "room" is again the space between the outer tower and the sealed inner tower, just like areas H2-H3.
H7: The open air "rooftop" of the inner tower, where the Bone Stair ends. No, you can't go inside yet. =-)
Does that help, or did I just make your brain explode? =-)
EDIT: And yes, those little outer towers are for decoration, empty and crumbled beyond hope of exploration, or simply beyond the scope of this adventure, if that helps. The stairs and walkways you see on the left-hand vertical drawing (and mentioned in your quote) represent the Bone Stair and the dangers it presents. So, the map IS accurate, but you're right in thinking that the grid maps aren't as "embellished" as the accompanying drawings. A sheathed tower is a tough concept.
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The picture on page 52 of SoG (bottom right below the very map that it is depicting) has side towers, for example - where are those? How does one get to them?
I see what you're saying here. You weren't referring to the "mini towers" near H5 depicted in the left-hand drawing as I first assumed in my above post, but rather the shaded areas (topped with braziers) shown in the right-hand drawing. Look at it differently. The right-hand drawing is only a cutaway depiction that that represents the inner tower surrounded by the outer tower. Those aren't two towers rising up on each side like you're seeing it--it is simply an outer tower cutaway to show the inner tower inside.
And, I'll add -I drew the right-hand drawing. It was my labeled reference drawing for the artist to "get" the tower-in-a-tower concept, but apparent;y they thought it was a good enough depiction to use. I didn't expect it to show up in the final. This confusion is what happens when a doodler's work shows up in final print! =-)
Does that help, or did I just make your brain explode? =-)
Both! My brain did explode, but it also helped very much.
Copy and saved!
I see what you're saying here. You weren't referring to the "mini towers" near H5 depicted in the left-hand drawing as I first assumed in my above post, but rather the shaded areas (topped with braziers) shown in the right-hand drawing.
Oh no, sorry - your first assumption was correct - I was referring to the mini-towers near H5 on the left sketch (the right sketch makes more sense to me, especially now - I actually like it, and I've already penciled in notations and heights).
And yes, those little outer towers are for decoration, empty and crumbled beyond hope of exploration, or simply beyond the scope of this adventure, if that helps. The stairs and walkways you see on the left-hand vertical drawing (and mentioned in your quote) represent the Bone Stair and the dangers it presents. So, the map IS accurate, but you're right in thinking that the grid maps aren't as "embellished" as the accompanying drawings. A sheathed tower is a tough concept.
Well, I still don't entirely agree that it is accurate (as I don't even see where the entrances to the mini-towers would be, or even where the towers would reside on level H4; or that the left sketch makes the interior tower [H5 above the lower sheath] look pretty darn square compared to the map's circular interior tower), but your description helps a lot, so I get it now. I can now sort of envision where they sit, and explain them as fancy pillars. (But AFAIC, given the above, my original post/complaint was accurate - sorry!)
My group took a real odd turn. 3 of the 5 of them were trapped into the mirror of Soul trapping in the Renchurch catacombs. Instead of breaking it they decided to walk it out to Ravengro and teleport from Ravengro to Caliphas and get an Analyze Dweoemer cast on it, to get people released without breaking it and then sell it for 100,000 GP. The problem with this is it now gives the Grey Friar 6 days to finish the ritual and the party knows they are on a time limit to save the noble. They wanted the value of the magic item over saving the noble. So, I think its fair as the DM to say the WW finished the ritual, the Grey Friar surveys the destruction the party accomplished to almost everything in his lair and decides to abandon the Renchurch and take the noble (I’m at work and don’t recall his name right now) and everything still walking to Gallowspire. So the party retunes to Renchurch and finds it mostly empty and gets a clue that the Whispering Way has gone to Gallowspire. The Whipering Way has gives the Elixir to the Noble thus completing their mission. The Party is going to show up and try to defeat them anyway. Here’s my issue the party will show up and its easy enough to take the Forsaken Lich stuff off of Advion, But if you add the Forsaken Lich to the noble, he’s really weak compared to Advion in human form. Am I missing something?
The party made a poor choice and the final monster should be much tougher as a result but as written the noble with the Forsaken Lich trait is really weak and the part will wipe him out.
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Man! I'm on my iPhone so can't give the lengthy reply I'd like to, but you are on the right track.
Remember that if they are successful, the Whispering Tyrant's spirit totally overtakes Galdana's body, so your party should be facing a reborn Tar-Baphon, which is MUCH more serious than Galdana with the forsaken lich template.
I believe Dungeons of Golarion has more details on Tar Baphon (CR 21, right?), and I'd suggest finding the most powerful lich statblock you can find and wiping the floor with your greedy PCs' butts! :-)
Man! I'm on my iPhone so can't give the lengthy reply I'd like to, but you are on the right track.
Remember that if they are successful, the Whispering Tyrant's spirit totally overtakes Galdana's body, so your party should be facing a reborn Tar-Baphon, which is MUCH more serious than Galdana with the forsaken lich template.
I believe Dungeons of Golarion has more details on Tar Baphon (CR 21, right?), and I'd suggest finding the most powerful lich statblock you can find and wiping the floor with your greedy PCs' butts! :-)
Agreed. They thought it was worth it, bringing back TB, but they should know for sure that it was a bad idea.
The PCs can still win, but make sure a couple of them are KIA at least.
Non-spoilery, the end of AoW killed only one of the PCs when I ran it, but that's because they did so well for the endgame scenario. If they did something similar to your party, they would have faced the wrath of a full-power, fully-gestalted BBEG. CR 35, I think (I had powerful PCs, so it was probably still winnable. I had powered up nearly everything for that game).
I would also suggest populating the ruins around Gallowspire with any Renchurch survivors and as many undead minions as their spells and abilities will allow. Maybe the Variaian prisoners are all dead and animated by the cult. The cult should be ready for the PCs and probably in good with the ravener Marrowgarth by now. I wouldn't show much mercy, honestly. Ha!
I would also suggest populating the ruins around Gallowspire with any Renchurch survivors and as many undead minions as their spells and abilities will allow. Maybe the Variaian prisoners are all dead and animated by the cult. The cult should be ready for the PCs and probably in good with the ravener Marrowgarth by now. I wouldn't show much mercy, honestly. Ha!
Yep, I'm going to place some of the surviors who fit into the tower to buff up the rooms. And have some outside with orders waiting for the tower door to open once the Party enters they will wait a couple minutes and then follow them in hopefully hitting them from behind while they are taking care of something in front of them.
The final room will be really tough, the Grey Friar, Advion as a human, Bar Tarphon, and the 16 Juju zombies with the Grey Friar.
We are going to run Kingmaker next, so if this party fails. I'll mess with the dates a bit and the next party will deal with a powerful undead army on their doorstep after we play the 6 kingmaker APs.
Do any of you plan to alter the last fight? A CR 17 fight against a bunch of CR 15 players seems to easy for a boss fight.
Personally, I'm concerned with how easy the fight might be just because I'll be going from 0 experience playing a magus to running a 16th level magus variant with variant lich on top of that. Fortunately, it's comfortably well off from now, but the prospect is somewhat anxiety provoking.
Do any of you plan to alter the last fight? A CR 17 fight against a bunch of CR 15 players seems to easy for a boss fight.Personally, I'm concerned with how easy the fight might be just because I'll be going from 0 experience playing a magus to running a 16th level magus variant with variant lich on top of that. Fortunately, it's comfortably well off from now, but the prospect is somewhat anxiety provoking.
I have never ran a magus either, and its melee numbers don't impress me. I may have to switch it out for a cleric lich.
For me, it's less about the combat numbers and more that I don't understand what most of his Arcana and other special abilities mean. I'm sure that when I'm closer to that module, I'll be doing a lot more research, but for now it's a touch daunting. Grant you, the other half of my concern is I have seven players. I might give him a pet Nightwing just to even up the hit point, potential target, and action economy.
Actually, as I recall, the module itself recommends that if you think the party will have it too easy.
I would also suggest populating the ruins around Gallowspire with any Renchurch survivors and as many undead minions as their spells and abilities will allow. Maybe the Variaian prisoners are all dead and animated by the cult. The cult should be ready for the PCs and probably in good with the ravener Marrowgarth by now. I wouldn't show much mercy, honestly. Ha!
So for the Whispering Tyrant I took the 20th level Cleric from the Rival guide changed his god and added the Forsaken Lich template. He’s mighty powerful. He converted all the Varisian prisoners to Devoures; he can’t control them so they are wondering around the ruins. I figure that gives the party about a 5% per round of encountering one of them. And then another 5% per round a new one will join any combat. I also had him summon 2 18-HD planar allies who can cast “locate creature” and can fly fast. Their job is to hunt down the PC’s if they try hit and run tactics by getting out using Dimension Door. I think that will take care of things.
Once this Party gets wiped out I’m going to tack the growing threat of the Whispering Tyrant and his call to arms for undead, necromancers, and aOrc army that threatens the entire region. The Kingmaker PC’s will have to clean up this parties mess or their kingdom will be swamped by a new wave of conquest by the Whispering Way.
FWIW Dungeons of Golarion recommend Tar-Barphon has the powers of a 20thL Necromancer at least.
Sounds like a fun end to the campaign and a great spin off for Kingmaker
I'm remaking Adivion as an Eldritch Knight. My group is not a big fan of non-core classes and Wizards have more Necromancy spells (Magus in total has five), which I feel is kinda important.
Since my group is an experienced one, I'll have to get him some better gear also, and here's where I'm having troubles. How much gold should he have? I calculated all of his gear and it comes down to ~105 000.
Looking at NPC gear table, 16th lvl character should have 58 500 gp. PC wealth by lvl lists that 16th lvl characters should have 315 000 gp.
So, is he an overpowered NPC or underpowered PC? Seeing as he's the main villain, I'm more inclined to using the PC table (and that's what Paizo did in 3.5 APs, gave main villains PC point buy and gear), but never hurts asking for other opinions. :D
Also, what do you think, which weapon is he holding on the cover of Shadows of Gallowspire? I know that devs gave him Staff of Shrieking in his statblock, but that clearly isn't a staff. Halberd? Glaive?
FWIW Dungeons of Golarion recommend Tar-Barphon has the powers of a 20thL Necromancer at least.
Sounds like a fun end to the campaign and a great spin off for Kingmaker
He did toy around with the herald of Aroden, who was a lesser deity(CR 25ish) before killing her so I would expect him to be at least 3 CR's higher. If he is ever fought in my games it will be an epic level campaign.
I remade him into an inquisitor, mostly because I wanted a class that had skills, and could fight, and I have never ran a magus before or tried to make one.
I have a beautiful image in my head for Adivion. I'm going to rewrite him as a rapier-magus then redo his evil villain speech again. I really need a scanner so I can show you what I see...
As for the elixir and its components I actually split the poem into multiple, well, not verses given I didn't reword the thing but...
The way I saw it the heart and the ghost are the active ingredients of the lich potion, the actual elixir. I made the fractured skull into the base of the phylactery and the Raven's Head a sacrifice to empower the whole thing as it would be destroyed and it is poetic to use an artifact of Pharasma for this purpose. Without the Raven's Head they would then just need to find another artifact to sacrifice.
Also, what do you think, which weapon is he holding on the cover of Shadows of Gallowspire? I know that devs gave him Staff of Shrieking in his statblock, but that clearly isn't a staff. Halberd? Glaive?
I somehow missed this when it was posted. If you see this post, you'll get of a bit of explanation of the artist's liberties with Adivion's appearance.
Ahh, I read it, but somehow overlooked 'staff/glaive' part. :D Thanks, Brandon.
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I just posted the following items dealing with the final battle in the Adivion Adrissant thread, but I thought it would be appropriate to include them here in the GM reference thread. Enjoy!
I've got a few minutes this morning, and a hot pot of coffee on the stove, so I'm going to dig through and give you guys a little material to work with to spice up an already spicy encounter! Some pointers, some clarifications, some early attempts, some thoughts behind what I was going for, etc. If you'll pardon the expression, it'll be a bit of a 'hodgepodge' of info. Ha! See what I did...oh, nevermind! =-)
Some GMs have speculated that ol' Adivion just isn't enough of a matchup for their party, either because he's flying solo against a crack team of adventurers, they've got 6 party members instead of the scripted 4, etc. Other than some of the tactical choices below, keep in mind that area H6 has TWO spare nightwings off hunting at your disposal!!! Or give him a gallowdead guard or help from some of the other minions from the undead storm swarming around Gallowspire. If he needs some help, he's got plenty right there! Just don't overdo it, because he's still a handful.
Love that you guys want to insert some classic villainous dialogue! My suggestion would not be to just have Adivion perched atop Gallowspire waiting for PCs to come over the edge of the stair so he can gloat in silence, so give it some flair (37 pieces, at least).
Rather, give clues to what's going on as PCs approach up the stairs, and even during their battle with the nightwing. Remember that Adivion doesn't know he's failed until he sees the PCs coming, and it isn't until then that he's forced to drink the Carrion Crown formula itself.
So, while the PCs battle the nightwing(s) on the level below, have Adivion -still HUMAN and handsome at this point, pontificating from above. Maybe he lets out a haughty warning of "Blasphemers! Begone trespassers from the unholy ground of the great lord, the Whispering TYRANT!" You might let your PCs get a good glimpse of him peering over the edge, in normal good-looking human form. BUT, if they are flying or can get to him too quickly (they'd be ignoring the nightwing), then DON'T do that! You've got to give time for his transformation and to cast the prep spells, which can come first.
Personally, I'd let them see him peer over the edge, yell and snarl then disappear. If they try to give chase while the nightwing is still alive, then send another nightwing or some wraiths or animate dreams out of the undead storm to fight them on their ascent to keep them busy before they spoil the time he needs to transform. Be careful about that!
The other option is to just have PCs overhear his supplications from below as they ascend, echoing through Gallowspire or rumbling like thunder through the undead storm. "Oh mighty and terrible Tar-Baphon, your servants have failed, but one servant LIVES so that you may RISE!" Or try "I extract your unliving soul from this prison of iron and stone, so that it might live again in a new prison of dead walking flesh! <evil laugh>"
I mean, I could go on all morning with these. Just have some prepared evil snippets like those! Every round of the nightwing fight, PCs should be hearing stuff like this. When the nightwing gets to about half hit points, the dialogue should shift. There should be a round of "Oh mighty Tar-Baphon, take this body as YOUR body, and walk again in unholy, unliving terror across the breadth of the world which will suffer for your imprisonment!" Follow that with some gurgles and gasps.
If you have the luxury, follow that with a round or two of gasping and inhuman shrieks. Have the rain fall. Have a cloud of swirling incorporeal undead sweeping around in a little vortex or something. Maybe his human face appears in the clouds of the storm and starts shriveling, if you want to really be explicit. If your kids have one of those toy voice-changing microphones left over from Halloween, EVEN BETTER! Because at this point, Adivion is a forsaken lich, and he's going to look a LOT different than the handsome guy the PCs just caught peering over the ledge a few round before. If you have the time, new ugly-Adivion should harrass PCs coming up the stairs with spells like telekinesis or cloudkill. This leads me to:
We were all pretty taken aback for the art of Adivion. Of course the weapon was all wrong and all that. But for me, it was worse than that, though let me say strongly that THAT ART IS AWESOME!!! It just doesn't properly convey the MAIN quality of a forsaken lich, which is the disembodied soul. The bestiary art in the back of the book doesn't really get it, either. So, here's some descriptive pointers and explanations for the visions going through my head that you are free to use. Enjoy!
The main thing with forsaken liches is that their soul refuses to enter the phylactery, and GETS STUCK between it and the now-undead body it is trying to leave. It can't leave, and it can't go back! This disembodied soul is the MAIN FEATURE of the forsaken lich, and despite my efforts the artists just didn't get it, and when they don't, the words (which are much cheaper!) had to change to suit it. This thing is so active, so independent, to almost be another creature entirely. Here's a description of how it works:
So, a forsaken lich should appear as the shriveled form of the failed mortal who just tried to achieve lichdom (pretty much like a normal lich, right?), But totally enveloped by an aggressive, roiling black, wraith-like form that is the trapped soul, trying desperately to tear itself from this dead body and enter the phylactery, but can't because something went wrong (like a formula not made for the person who drank it, for instance). It sort of floats over and behind the lich, ripping at the corporeal form, snarling, and trying in vain to tear itself away, like a trapped animal.
In early drafts, this soul was a very aggressive, hostile force, even to Adivion, because it is sort of his soul mixed with the extracted (and now trapped) soul of Tar-Baphon, right? It even had its own independent actions beyond what Adivion was doing each round (part of the finale's challenge was that the BBEG, though one creature, had more actions than normal -the very capable magus Adivion, and the attached soul which could lash out with lich-touch attacks or even cast a spells while Adivion fought). You might encourage that perception, and the rules for forsaken liches still somewhat reflect that.
At this point, I'm entering territory that 1) is wildly divergent from the adventure and 2) seriously effects the CR of the encounter. Maybe I shouldn't do this, but here's a suggestion for your game based on my initial intentions. But you've been warned.
The soul of Tar-Baphon can't be contained in mortal flesh, right? It is just too much! So, an early idea was that Adivion was going to suffer a steeply-rising bell-curve of power, followed by an even steeper decline. This was going to shift every couple of rounds over the course of, say, 10 rounds, and was going to more properly demonstrate the true terror of the transformation into a lich. In other words, I originally wanted PCs to see the steps of the transformation, and the rejection of the soul and its autonomous behavior, for example, but also witness the sheer, raw POWER of having a shard of Tar-Baphon's soul in your body. For the first two rounds, for example, Adivion would have all his spells empowered, then maximized for a couple of rounds after that, and then a freebie haste for a couple of rounds. This is really more of something that would work in my home game as I gauge the push and pull of combat. In other words, there is this TREMENDOUS SURGE of power, and you get to display the finer points of the transformative process and really wipe the floor with the PCs butt for a few rounds, making them feel really hopeless that this guy is going to win, and win big.
But then, things go wrong. Since the formula wasn't made for him, Adivion suffers a huge backlash/burnout. He starts freaking out (he doesn't stop fighting, but he is obviously distressed as the soul realizes it is trapped and tries to tear away from him). Those boons from the previous rounds start going away a couple of rounds at a time (just work backward), and his body starts breaking down somewhat as the disembodied soul grows more into a spectral likeness of Tar-Baphon. Cool, right? Feel free to play with this idea, but know that it really messes with the CR of the encounter if you start maximizing all Adivion's spells and hasting him for free. To offset this, I had written a "friendly-haunt" mechanic of the souls of Tar-Baphon's original prison wardens who show up to grant the PCs little boons of their own (a regular haunt, but one that heals PCs, aids, boosts, etc), but in the end you just can't have that many elements in a climatic battle and expect any sane GM to be able to follow everything at once and run it smoothly, so you've got to reduce it down to its core components, which is what we did.
But you can use some of those ideas if you want, and I hope my clarifications on the forsaken lich makes the encounter more cinematic and memorable for your players.
Feel free to ask any questions! Happy gaming!
If anyone does remake Adivion as a level appropriate Necromancer (or any kind of Wizard) please post it here. I'll be doing it myself when my group gets closer to the end but if I can save myself the work that would be great.
Mine Adivion will be an Eldritch Knight (with an extra lvl of wizard so that he gets 8th lvl spells). I felt that Magus doesn't really suits him for numerous reasons, but the chief being that Adivion is described as a 'brillian practicioner of necromancy', but Magus has only 4 necromancy spells IN TOTAL (Chill Touch, Ray of Enfeeblement, Ray of Exhaustion, Vampiric Touch).
Intrested?
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Here you are:
This is still a draft version, since we're currently on chapter 4, but most of the work has been done. However, couple of notes:
Reason for the added level of wizard is access to lvl 8th spells. I really, really wanted him to have Greater Shout, since I wanted to emulate the Shout powers in Skyrim. :D Of course, having access to Horrid Wilthing isn't a bad thing either.
I gave him 315 000 gp worth of items, since that's how much a PC of 16th lvl should have.
+4 Burst Burst Bardiche means I haven't yet decided which burst will I make it. Or perhaps it will be Brilliant Energy. But, feel free to make it any +5 weapon and then have him cast Greater Magic Weapon on it. Same applies for armor, I have a kukri-wielding two-weapon fighting ranger who can dish out insane amounts of damage. By then he'll probably have favored enemy +6 vs undead and Quarry, which is a lot, so fortification is a neccessity.
Because Bardiche is a reach weapon, it's not usable against the adjecent opponents, which I'm sure PCs will be. So I had to bend the rules here a bit in his favor, so I gave him the ability of 2nd lvl Polearm Fighter which allows him to use reach weapons against adjecent opponents and counted it as a bonus fighter feat.
+8 Magic modifier on will saves is from Mind Blank scroll that he originally has. Don't think he really needs it, but better safe than sorry.
His SR will be 30. With SR 25 is too easy to pass it, even without increase in CL and Spell Penetration (which party's sorcerer will have both).
His DR will be 10/-. Both adamantine and bludgeoning and magic damage reduction is far too easy to bypass on lvl 15 with access to Versatile Weapon spell or plain old +3 Undead Bane weapons. Combined with his Fast Healing, it will give toughness he needs to live out at least 10 rounds. Otherwise, he'd be bone powder by round 3.
I agree, his tacked on Magus stuff was an odd choice by the developer.
I just want to be clear on something, not because it should effect any changes you want to make for the BBEG (by all means, do it and share it!), but just for the record of design and development:
Adivion was a magus from the very start. I mean, he's got maxed out Knowledge (arcana) and (religion), so that makes him an expert on necromancy, though admittedly not much of a wielder of necromancy, but that's OK. I don't recall anywhere in the text where I implied otherwise, but maybe another writer did? From the start, he was meant to be a classic, well-educated fighter-mage who was inspired by his obsession to seek new routes into the resurrection of his idol, Tar-Baphon, and that's what we went with. The only modification we had to make in development was to his weapon of choice, but that doesn't change a whole lot.
My point is, his class choice as a magus wasn't "tacked on" by us at the end.