My group of pc's just killed a CR 17 black dragon away from her lair, and are planning to make their way to the lair to loot it. I need some cool minions to have in and around the lair. My players are all veterans, and they will be expecting kobolds, lizard men, and crocodiles, so I don't want to go that route. I do want a couple of big snakes,because their is a Druid in thhe party who could shine either befriending them or dealing with the poison. Also, I am thinking of a modified swamp dragonne, keeping the creature and sonic attacks, but swapping out wings and fly for gills and a swim speed. Some interesting plant opponents might be fun.
Any ideas would be appreciated. APL is 13.
Well, there's always the big brother dragon who was visiting for the week.
I've always thought trolls made great minions for black and red dragons. A couple dozen trolls ought to be fun to root out. Throw in some wyverns to give some aerial distractions.
Maybe it's time to spring the dracolich on the party..
Be sure to have lots of steaming acid pools to navigate through.
And don't neglect the possibility of traps. Dragons are intelligent, after all.
I like the idea of trolls. We haven't fought any for a couple of campaigns, now. I suppose trolls would be easily intimidated by a creature who breathes acid. I'll have to make them fire resistant in some way, because the party includes a warmage who will plow through them pretty fast. Maybe some scrags who can hide in water to protect themselves.
I'm thinking of an amphibious poisonous dragonne using templates from Advanced Bestiary, maybe two. I don't want to use any more straight dragons because the campaign has already seen a few of the big dragon's children.
I might add in a water elemental.
Shambling mounds used in conjunction with natural hazards and will o wisps showing up to investigate.
A Froghemoth, maybe with a 1/2 dragon template thrown on for lols.
A powerful Demon bound to the dragon's lair that looks over its treasure.
A party of evil adventurers that have heard of the beasts demise and have already beat the PCs to the lair and are in the process of gathering the loot as the party arrives. Be sure to include an Assassin of equal level to the PCs just for fun. Perhaps an evil Druid, a Conjurer to toss out Black Tentacles and hordes of summoned monsters, a Ranger with bane and slaying arrows and a large sized fighter type with a reach weapon and all the feats needed to make all the AoOs he can.
A band of Serpent-folk that were partners with the dragon. Would have to include a powerful Cleric and/or Sorcerer as well as a lot of nasty minions. (insert snakes and elementals here)
Will post more ideas as they come.
You could have a landscaping crew for the dragon's lair with a few earth and water elementals. they pop outta the walls or muck and take pot shots at the pcs, maybe try to bury them alive.
You could also have human thralls of the dragon like Forgotten Realm's cult of the dragon.
Black Dragon's live in swamps, so will'o'wisps might make for fun minions. Might make for the dragon's chief torturers, or they might be tending to a garden of shambling mounds (their electrical touch makes the shambling mounds grow).
Well, treasure is a whole other issue. I mean, this is a big acid spewing/dripping creature who lives in a warm, moist area. So most soft goods are out, a lot of stone is out. I'm not thinking of a big pile of goods, probably more of a cache buried underwater, or kept in barrels or something.
|
Thinking about trolls, I came up with a moderately "below the belt" idea.
So, the whole swamp is infested with trolls. Just overrun with the regenerating bastards. I might use Scrags, basically filling the crocodile niche in the swamp. Of course, they're all terrified of the dragon and avoid its lair like the plague.
As the party is going through the swamp, mention gasses bubbling up from the surface and, possibly with a Knowledge (nature) or Survival check, hint that it's extremely explosive. If you can do something else before the troll encounter that's perfect, but let the war mage risk it if they want, igniting party and trolls alike.
Meanwhile, the dragon's nest is guarded by a human (or elven or halfling or whatever) village. They don't worship the dragon, exactly, but depend on it for protection from the trolls and the dragon keeps them around for security and offerings they provide.
They're lead by a circle of druids who coax life out of the swamp. I'd be tempted to find a spot for a half-dragon ranger or paladin as well. They, of course, train a lot of poisonous snakes which, if I recall correctly, could actually kill trolls with Con damage.
They might even harvest acid from giant pitcher plants, giving their normal defenders jars of acid or acid pots for their slings. If the party could befriend and protect them somehow, they could be a valuable source for herbs, poisons, medicines, and spell components.
After them, it's probably one last line of defense in the lair itself. The coin golem or dragonne sound solid. One last giant half-dragon snake might round out that side of the theme too. Or, if you're shooting for something a bit creepier, the acid-scarred remains of the village's sacrificial victims, crawling with swarms of smaller serpents.
Cheers!
Landon
Have them come to a head with a another group of adventurers that just hit the scene and have already cleared the layer claiming the treasure.
Landon Winkler, I'm loving the idea of having the dragon's lair be in a human village. The village is on stilts and the people are the swamp people, very reclusive, with a deal the the dragon protects them.
I'll lead in with a few encounters with Trolls/Scrags who wade and swim through the water. The trolls have heard of the dragon's demise and are testing the defenses of the swamp people.
Opportunities for Diplomacy solutions with the swamp people.
Giant snakes will scare the crap out of the warmage, who has 42 hp and CON 8 at 12th level.
The circle of druids are probably Chaotic Neutral, given their association with a Chaotic Evil dragon, so making a bargain with them will be tricky.
Maybe some nuisance giant insects to be eaten by the giant pitcher plants to establish that idea.
Great ideas.
Savanttheory, the PC's are so weird (in attitude, and somewhat in build), and unmotivated by treasure that if another group beat them to the treasure, they'd probably just say, "Yeah, good for you guys." But I might have something like the scene from Jaws where all of the idiots are zipping about in boats trying to catch the shark, just to give them some sense of urgency.
Dracolisks (half-dragon basilisks, possibly giant, advanced and so on) are an option. If I remember correctly first dracolisks described were of black dragon descent.
When I did something like this a decade back, I took an appropriate CR Water Elemental, converted it to Acid and set the lair in a toxic swamp with heavy magical background. Had so much fun with the first one I converted a few more Water creatures for supplimental encounters and got the Druid-less party twitchy as heck! The players HATED that set of adventures!
Love the village threatened by Trolls idea. The quandry of the now defenseless people upon realizing that their protector is dead and there is an awesome setting for RP. Imagine the normally small team of players trying to escort the always hapless innocents to safety! Shades of Battlestar Galactica.
