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Alright,
So if you've seen my Orik and Lyrie thread, you'd see that I'm highly considering creating yet another plot within the campaign for those two characters, based around Choppers Isle.
However, Nualia (being my favourite BBEG so far) ignored one of my Players characters after knocking him unconscious (I didn't want to kill him) and went straight for the Half-Elf.
Through this entire time, right up until Nualia hit him, he tried to sympathise with her. He didn't want to kill her (neither did the downed Barbarian), explaining how he understood her and that he too was hated for his race (he's a 15 year old Half-Elf, not even an adult yet), constantly trying to redeem her, but she wouldn't have any of it.
Anyway, she hit him and in his defense, attacked in retaliation for 22 damage (Spellstrike, Shocking Grasp), sending her into a rage against him.
She hit him and it was hard.
With a BAB of 5, she placed her free clawed hand onto her Bastard Sword and hit with her two attacks, each at +10, 1d10+17.
Both attacks were devastatingly powerful, but the kid managed to live through it, just in time for the Sorcerer's summoned wolf to spawn behind Nualia and finish her off. Or so they thought...
After the encounter and not seeing any movement, they decided to take all of her belongings.
Tristan (the Half-Elf kid) has her +1 Bastard Sword and +1 Breastplate (wearing it over his chainshirt, so it looks cooler than showing a bare chest) now, leaving Nualia defenseless and supposedly dead.
Now I want Nualia to be incredibly memorable, so this is where things get interesting...
The party went off to fight Malfeshnekor and proved victorious, but didn't actually finish Nualia off. The wolf dropped her, but only to -2hp, so currently she's in the corridor just outside of the Observation Deck completely topless!
In my build I made her Cleric 4/Anti-Paladin 2 of Lamashtu, so she has pretty decent saves and with a +10 on her Fortitude Saves to stabilise and only needing to make a Save of 12, it'd be easy for her to accomplish this.
Anyway, with her loss of all dignity and pride for failing Lamashtu and losing her clothes (top half only), when the group go to leave, they'll find a blood trail from the spot she was at, leading back out the way they originally entered from.
When the group eventually catch up to her, she'll be talking to herself, devastated by everything and hysterically angered that Lamashtu has now deemed her worthless and has left her to die.
Now, this is where I'd like some input from you guys!
Do I have her using the walls as supports, as she marches fourth, clutching her belly (the Half-Elf re-opened her birthing wound scars), trailing blood across the floor and up the sides of the walls, spreading onto everything she makes contact with, through her sheer adrenaline fuelled rage.
Or
Do I have her normal personality start to shine through, almost as if she's coming out of a trance, disorientated and confused by her surroundings, with Desna finally giving her the chance she deserved for so long, regretting not helping before and trying to make a mense, realising that had she helped the poor girl, the devastation and loss of so many lives could have been prevented.
Or
Do I have Lamashtu give her one last chance, so she can go out with one final, big bang?
To go out in fashion, I could have Nualia reach the top floor (while the party fight the Giant Hermit Crab and Shadows) and torch the place with the party still inside. Then, if the party manage to escape, as they get themselves to safety and look up, they would see a topless, beautiful Half-Angel woman emerge from the fires with a huge grin on her face.
I can see either of the above options working, but would like to put it to a vote to keep in character and keep with her theme (giving a true response to the situation of being beaten), but would very much like to keep in mind how much time and effort the party put into trying to redeem her, refusing to fight and preferring to talk, knowing that she was still going to attack them.
It was a nice change seeing my party trying to resolve things without violence, so that's why I feel I'd like to reward them, and if they did manage to redeem her, I could have Nualia go through rehab, regaining the personality of her past self and as she was always opposed to becoming a nun, have her instead become an adventurer, maybe even going so far as to having her aid the party in future encounters, having her cleansed of all Evil, switching her Class and Deity from Cleric of Lamashtu to maybe Desna (or Irori/Iomedae) and her Anti-Paladin levels to Paladin levels, shifting her alignment to Lawful Good.
Anyway, sorry for the colossal post, but I'm giving you guys a chance to have influence over my campaign and would really love to hear your ideas/feedback and choice from the above list of options!
Note: All of the options have been bolded for you.
My next game is this Friday. :)
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She is pretty far gone...she killed and sacrificed her father to her god...pretty much the same with her monster baby. Her mission is clear, burn EVERYTHING. She hates everything about her former life including her appearance. She was tormented her entire life for what she was and she wants more than anything to become a demon and serve her goddess. I don't think you can bring her back from that. In my opinion she flees. She is whipped and knows it. If you think she burns the stockade down on the way out then maybe she does but she doesn't face the party to die in my opinion. I say she runs to Magnimar with a heart full of hate for Sandpoint and the party members. I think her plan is the same as it always has been.
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I'm pretty biased towards the redemption route on account of never getting to have it happen as a player, but it would have to be painful as hell for all involved, especially Nualia.
Have some thoughts on this, but work is crahazy. Longshort: Either Nualia completely cracks after her minions' apparent betrayal and the PC's sympathy(if any was actually on display and if they actually tried to reason with her) and she winds up chopping off her demon arm in a panicked attempt to cleanse herself when the guilt all rushes back, followed by a fallback into regret that she just spurned Lamashtu's blessings and now she feels completely lost and pulled in different directions. This could first manifest by her old personality shining through for a moment before everything in her cracks: For a moment she sees with the eyes she used to see through, and when she sees the woman she's become, her mind snaps.
OR
Lamashtu punishes her for her failure and takes away all of her gifts, anti-paladin powers and demon arm alike, without even giving her old arm back. Then Nualia goes good and crazy(moreso than before) after being forsaken by her goddess and left without direction.
Either way, both routes involve tearing her down even further, right down to the foundation, because it's that cracked core of her soul that's going to have to be mended if she's ever going to get any better. She could be turned into a sympathetic enemy skulking in the shadows or at the edge of the main plot, constantly trying to find her way and making a royal mess of it.
It mostly comes down to what the group would go for though. If you want her redemption to be possible, plant that seed of hope for the players that want to see it happen and then let her possibly get away. Then the painful(and hopefully rewarding) struggle for her soul can start. She might become a death seeker of her own accord. Or she might become an atoner after the influence of the PCs. Or she might fall right back into Lamashtu's good graces if the PCs push her away. Whatever happens, they should probably have a hand it where she goes.
As one of the most sympathetic and tragic villains in the entire history of the AP line, she's got more than enough fuel for those sorts of plots, whether the end is heartbreaking or bittersweet.
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I agree with Mikaze. However I would like to suggest something though.
While the redemption of Nualia is an admirable goal (and I'm hinting for my characters to try it themselves without railroading them) you may want to use this as a opportunity to test your characters.
I would have her escape, but not torch Thistletop. I would play it that she escapes, but is seriously conflicted about what happened. Have Lamashtu still want her and fuel her powers, but also have Desna sense that there is a chance of redemption and also start trying to sway her to good.
Give it some time and have her show back up to try and thwart the characters, but this time she seems confused and almost insane (as a result of the powers warring for her affection). Her actions seem to swing from being concerned to almost rage like. Give the PCs a chance to notice this and possibly talk her back from the edge. I would probably do this after the characters have had a stressful time in the adventure (from what I hear the skinsaw man encounter can sometimes do this).
This could work out one of three ways.
1.) The PCs don't notice or just don't care and kill her outright. If this happens, you can use this as a catalyst for corruption from the Runewells.
2.) The PC notice and talk her back to the side of goodness. I would award them full XP as if they defeated her and also improve their reputations in the area. I would suggest that Nualia is given a chance to redeem herself to the people and would probably demand that she stands trial. This would pave the way for the PCs to gain a powerful ally in the area and would give some mad RP options in the future.
and finally
3.) The PCs cannot talk her back to goodness and either slay her or capture her. This would also help their reputation in the area and will probably give the players a sense of loss or remorse. Ad while I'm not a big fan (usually) of rubbing PCs failures in their faces, I would give them subtle reminders of what happened so when they reach the end of the AP they're righteously pissed and make sure they kill Karzoug to prevent this from happening to anyone else.
That's my 2 coppers on it. Feel free to take what you want or shoot other ideas at me if you want.
I really like option 2, but if she stood trial, surely the population of Sandpoint would ensure she lost her life instead of living to help the PC's?
I guess she would be in too much shock to set the place alight, so I'll have her escape I think, but what kind of armour and weapon would I give her later?
I mean she has no money, no armour, no Sihedron Medallion, no Sword and she's topless....a prime target for rape and murder and is likely to starve with no way of gaining funds to support herself. Granted she still has her claw, but she's going to be low on health for a couple of months (only gains 1hp per night, because of her 10 Con and it's Con times your level, not your level times your con from what I'm aware of, so yea).
I'm also not really sure what she'd do in the background during this time, like where she would be based, what she would do in her base and how she'd come back into the story.
I guess she could try and kill some wild animals, maybe using boar hides as clothes for her torso and selling a few to get enough coin to make the trip over to Magnimar to meet up with the skinsaw men and let them know what happened, where she would then be under their commands and be conflicted as to whether or not this is really the life she wants, then she can go slightly mental, having conflicting issues and eventually break down into tears, giving into the stress and not being able to handle anything for a while.
I also won't be removing her scars or Devil arm. They'll be with her as constant reminders of her sins, while her mind is the only thing that can be truly purified over time.
Then I guess she'll either do good deeds and aid the party. She'll also either become a more feral version of herself, taking on more of a Barbaric figure where she wears furs and looks more like a tribal woman, or she'll save up loads of money and train to become a fighter, Paladin or Cleric of Desna.
Hmm.
(only gains 1hp per night, because of her 10 Con and it's Con times your level, not your level times your con from what I'm aware of, so yea).
Huh?
Natural Healing: With a full night's rest (8 hours of sleep or more), you recover 1 hit point per character level.
Ah, fair enough. I thought it was the other way around. Still, 10 nights is a long way to go before a full recovery!
Well, I've just paved out the route Nualia will be taking during her escape, as well as adding in a few little extras onto the map. :)
In my opinion I don't see Nualia, a cleric/anti-paladin of the Demon Queen hiding out in the woods and selling furs to pay for her trip. I think she would be more likely to limp to a nearby farm and either steal a horse and flee, or more likely murder whoever is there as an offering to Lamashtu and then take their stuff and then move on to Magnimar. Remember when she fled to Magnimar the first time she did not have any of the things you listed. She was able to acquire them and she can do so again. If you are looking for areas in the campaign where she can return there are plenty of them:
Naulia's Story
The Skinsaw Murders
Once she hooks up with Ironbriar maybe she sets up shop at the saw mill where the PC's encounter her again when they investigate the place.
Maybe she doesn't make it to Magnimar at all and is instead found on the road, unconscious and nearly dead from her wounds someone generously takes her to Habe's Sanatorium because she is clearly quite crazy. ;) This would most likely be your best shot at reaching out to her if she is redeemable.
I'm sure if she does hook up with the Skinsaw Men, Xanesha will take an interest in her, and either keep her close as a body guard/associate or send her out to scout on Foxglove's progress. She could be encountered scared out of her mind, and perhaps wounded in the Foxglove Manor, yet again maybe another chance for saving her.
The Hook Mountain Massacre
Let's say Nualia does hook up with the Skinsaw Men and by default Xanesha, then that would also explain why she would be with Lucrecia. She could be working for Lucrecia and waiting for the PCs in Turtleback Ferry to either ambush them or as a lookout to sneak off and meet up with Lucrecia at Fort Rannick once the party gets there. She could also be caged up in the dungeon at The Fort too if say Lucrecia was angry with her for allowing her sister to be slaughtered by a group of rag-tags...another spot where they could work together.
Fortress of the Stone Giants
So if Nualia is involved in anyway with either of the Lamia Matriarchs she could have been sent up the ladder to speak with Mokmurian as an adviser on Sandpoint. As I said before in my previous post, I think she would very much like to return to Sandpoint with an army of Stone Giants and a Red Dragon to finish what she started in Burnt Offerings. This could be a nice showdown as everybody now has a few levels under their belt. It is also suggested in the campaign that she might have completed the ritual and actually have become a full fledged demon. This part of the story could be a good spot for that.
Sins of the Saviors
Something else to think about is by now, Xaliasa, the Scribbler is awake and the same urges Naulia had to bust down the brick wall in the smuggler tunnel should be ramped up to 11 by now. Perhaps instead of a sinkhole she is the one who leads the party underground to the entrance of Lamashtu's Shrine. If she makes it this far, her madness has probably consumed her and she is in full on hate, I am a demon mode.
I am sure there are plenty of other places that she could show up but those are all that I can think of at the moment.
Also I forgot to point out that even though Nualia is without armor, she most likely still is clothed, and even if she wasn't I doubt she would be tagged as a victim once she gutted the first SOB on the road who tried anything. This could be another clue as to what route she took though as say one of her attackers barely makes it back to town after watching all of his buddies die. Another reason they might take off to Magnimar.
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Agreed with Lord Worcestershire. It's highly likely that at the very least she has a gambeson on under the breastplate. Even if that was also taken and she had no shirt (uncomfortable as all get out), she could scavenge stuff from Thistletop itself before she escapes. Either by doubling back to her room or from a dead goblin or from someone else's room.
I would see her as either playing the damsel in distress and hitching a ride with someone who's unaware of her backstory or murdering someone for provisions. Once she's got enough food to live of and is healed it would be a relatively easy thing to hook up with others in Karzoug's network and get resupplied.
Heck you can even write up a side adventure for the PC's to track down the side cults that she got the loot from.
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As for your question on the where she was based, well that could be anywhere in the area. There's nothing stopping her from heading to Magnimar or finding more goblins. My suggestion is to focus more on what you're going to do with her. Then figure out how she gets to where you need her to be, then worry about the where and when. It's easier to fill in the blanks once you have a decent road map, as it were.
Alright guys, well tomorrow is when this will happen.
Not sure I have her escape or discover them. I'm thinking roll for the movement rounds and see how far she gets before they catch up to her.
Hey guys, so the PC's are just discovering Nualia has escaped, or at least, her body is no longer where it was and a trail of blood can be found, leading off.
This has confused everyone because the party all thought they had killed Nualia, with my usual GM assuming she was dead because of how he runs his campaigns, but I play with negative Con on certain bosses/characters and she was only at -1 due to the final blow only just being enough to drop her.
Anyway, my Nualia is 4 levels Cleric/2 Levels Anti-Paladin at the minute, but taking into account the above ideas of having her mind being torn apart by the constant tugging of both Lamashtu and now Desna, when the parties face her next (possibly at the skinsaw man encounter, maybe a little after) I wanted to ramp her up a couple of levels, but now have a problem.
She's escaped and is barely alive (on 12hp thanks to my GMPC not selectively channeling to heal the party after the encounter, thinking she was dead) and has all but one of her spells available to her (she only used Bull's Strength in the encounter) so even topless and unarmoured, I'm pretty sure all she needs to do is shatter someone's weapon then claw them to death before stealing their belongings, so she's okay there.
The questions I have though are:
1. Now that she's gone completely off the plot, I want that to reflect her personality and so I was thinking whether or not I should give her two levels of Barbarian so that she can Rage and get at least a single rage power (maybe she can become a bull rushing menace?) on top of her awesomely powerful Cleric and Anti-Paladin abilities, or should I give her Fighter levels to show that she's focused and more determined to succeed by any means necessary now that she's fairly psychotic and should be dealing with a split personality?
2. Her equipment has been stolen. She has no Amulet of False Life. She has no Breastplate with a design inspired by Lamashtu and she has no Bastard Sword. So, what do I kit her out with and would she somehow get hold of another Amulet of False Life?
I'm making her redeemable, but only because of the conflict in her mind between Desna and Lamashtu weakening her will. Plus, the players will most likely experience loss if they choose to pursue this route again, as she's likely to attack them all out, but will jump between attacking with rage and defensively backing away with sorrow, revealing her older self under the darkened, hardened and beaten exterior.
She's being used by Lamashtu and the forces of evil, being taken advantage of because of her past and this wouldn't end well for her anyway, so once she realises this, she'll break down even more and feel that everyone is using her, either attempting to take her own life or feeling overcome by shock and simply failing to fight or even react to anything around her.
Then, if the party are successful in redeeming her, her anti-paladin levels can become paladin levels, her cleric levels can stay as they are but she'd most likely be following Desna or a new (but good) deity from that point onward, but would keep the Strength Domain for her Ferocious Strike, as well as keeping her Demon Cleric Domain as a reminder of what she's done (along with her Demonic arm) to use her Fury of the Abyss power to instead, exact vengeance on all evil.
She'll still have her horrid memories, but no matter how much pain they cause and how harsh they'll be to her (knowing the people she loved were the ones who helped make her this way), they will in fact make her strong once again and make her go out of her way to help her new friends (the party), even if it means sacrificing herself.
Who knows, there might even be party romance if she's turned fully good. Maybe even with my GMPC Cleric who lost his wife two years ago and became an alcoholic (recently kind of cured). :)
AC: 18, touch 11, flat-footed 17
HP: 60 (4d8+2d10+6 for favoured Classes)
Alignment: CE
Speed: 20 feet (30 base)
Str 14
Dex 12
Con 10
Int 13
Wis 16
Cha 16
BAB: 5
Fortitude: 10
Reflex: 5
Will: 12
Note: +3 to all saves due to Unholy Resilience.
Unholy Resilience (Su): At 2nd level, an antipaladin gains a bonus equal to his
Charisma bonus (if any) on all saving throws.
Celestial Resistance: Aasimars have acid resistance 5, cold resistance 5, and
electricity resistance 5.
Masterwork Composite Longbow
+1 Bastard Sword
+1 Breastplate (+6 Armour, +1)
Melee Attack: 2 from Str, 5 from BAB, +1 from +1 weapon = 8 (6 when Power Attacking)
Melee Damage: 2 from Str, 1 from +1 weapon = 1d10+3 (7 when Power Attacking)
Two handing: 3 from Str, 1 from +1 weapon, 6 from Power Attack, 2 from Fury of the Abyss, 2 from Ferocious Strike = 1d10+14 (16 with Smite Good)
Smite good adds: 3 atk bonus, 2 damage
Fury of the Abyss adds: 2 atk, 2 damage
Ferocious Strike adds: 2 damage (if it hits)
Note: She will sometimes attack two-handed.
Ranged Attack: 8
Ranged Damage: 1d8/x3
Tactics:
Before Combat: If Nualia suspects combat is imminent, she casts Bull’s
Strength and shield of faith on herself.
During Combat: Nualia activates her Sihedron medallion as a free
action at the start of combat to gain false life and casts divine favor.
She prefers to fight her fights with her bastard sword, her face an
impassive mask save for her eyes, which blaze with anger. She saves
shatter to use on any weapon that seems to be particularly dangerous
in an enemy’s hands.
When casting spells: Nualia takes one hand off of her Bastard Sword, takes a step back (5 foot step), holds her fiendish hand up and casts through it. Upon losing a third of her life: Nualia casts Smite Good against the character which poses the biggest threat.
Upon losing half of her life: Nualia performs a Fury of the Abyss, Ferocious Striking Power Attack and will perfom this action until her Domain Powers have depleted for the day (you may do this 6 times with this build).
Morale: Nualia fights to the death.
Domains:
Evil - Demon Subdomain
Fury of the Abyss (Su): As a swift action, you can give yourself an enhancement bonus equal to 1/2 your cleric level (minimum +1) on melee attacks, melee damage rolls, and combat maneuver checks. This bonus lasts for 1 round. During this round, you take a –2 penalty to AC. You can use this ability for a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.
Replacement Domain Spells: 1st—doom, 3rd—rage, 6th—planar binding (demons only).
Strength - Ferocity Subdomain
Ferocious Strike (Su): Whenever you make a melee attack, you can designate that attack as a ferocious strike. If the attack hits, it deals additional damage equal to 1/2 your cleric level (minimum +1). You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.
Replacement Domain Spells: 3rd—rage, 6th—bull's strength (mass).
Spells:
From Cleric:
Spells Prepared (CL 4th)
0—Detect magic, mending, read magic, bleed
1st—Inflict light wounds, divine favor, protection from good, Doom (Domain)
2nd—bull’s strength, death knell (DC???), shatter (DC???), Align Weapon-Evil (Domain)
From Anti-Paladin:
Evil Aura: Strong
Detect Good (Sp): At will, an antipaladin can use detect good, as the spell. An antipaladin can, as a move action, concentrate on a single item or individual within 60 feet and determine if it is good, learning the strength of its aura as if having studied it for 3 rounds. While focusing on one individual or object, the antipaladin does not detect good in any other object or individual within range.
Smite Good (Su): Once per day, an antipaladin can call out to the dark powers to crush the forces of good. As a swift action, the antipaladin chooses one target within sight to smite. If this target is good, the antipaladin adds his Charisma bonus (if any) on his attack rolls and adds his antipaladin level on all damage rolls made against the target of his smite. If the target of smite good is an outsider with the good subtype, a good-aligned dragon, or a good creature with levels of cleric or paladin, the bonus to damage on the first successful attack increases to 2 points of damage per level the antipaladin possesses. Regardless of the target, smite good attacks automatically bypass any DR the creature might possess.
In addition, while smite good is in effect, the antipaladin gains a deflection bonus equal to his Charisma modifier (if any) to his AC against attacks made by the target of the smite. If the antipaladin targets a creature that is not good, the smite is wasted with no effect.
The smite good effect remains until the target of the smite is dead or the next time the antipaladin rests and regains his uses of this ability. At 4th level, and at every three levels thereafter, the antipaladin may smite good one additional time per day, as indicated on Table 2–13, to a maximum of seven times per day at 19th level.
Touch of Corruption (Su): Beginning at 2nd level, an antipaladin surrounds his hand with a fiendish flame, causing terrible wounds to open on those he touches. Each day he can use this ability a number of times equal to 1/2 his antipaladin level + his Charisma modifier. As a touch attack, an antipaladin can cause 1d6 points of damage for every two antipaladin levels he possesses. Using this ability is a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
Alternatively, an antipaladin can use this power to heal undead creatures, restoring 1d6 hit points for every two levels the antipaladin possesses. This ability is modified by any feat, spell, or effect that specifically works with the lay on hands paladin class feature. For example, the Extra Lay On Hands feat grants an antipaladin 2 additional uses of the touch of corruption class feature.
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th)
1/day—daylight
Lamashtu's Mark - Benefit: Your abdomen bears several ugly scars, as if your belly had been torn open by a clawed hand. Lamashtu’s Mark identifies you as favored of the Mother of Monsters, and if it is visible, you gain a +2 bonus on Intimidate checks but a –2 penalty on Diplomacy checks.
Once per day as a free action, you may invoke Lamashtu’s name as you strike a non-evil foe with any melee attack. As you do, you cause the creature struck to become deformed in some hideous manner (cloven hoof, horns, forked tongues, and vestigial limbs like wings and tails are common deformities). The deformity imparts a penalty of 1d4 points to the target’s Charisma score for 1 hour; the target can resist this effect by making a Fortitude save (DC 10 + your character level + your Charisma modifier). The physical deformity vanishes as soon as the Charisma penalty fades.
Channel Negative Energy: You can use this 6 times a day at 2d6 damage. Creatures that take damage from channeled energy receive a Will save to halve the damage. The DC of this save is equal to 10 + 1/2 the cleric's level + the cleric's Charisma modifier (DC 15).
Special: When channelling negative energy, Nualia raises up her Demonic Arm and channels through her hand (which has Lamashtu's Mark seared into it).
Statistics:
Feats: Exotic Weapon Proficiency (bastard sword), Lamashtu’s Mark
(p 56), Power Attack, Selective Channeling
Skills (2 per level): Intimidate +11, Knowledge (religion) +9, Ride +4, Perception +8
Languages: Common, Celestial, Goblin
SQ: spontaneous casting (inflict spells)
Gear: +1 breastplate, +1 bastard sword, Sihedron medallion
(p 55), masterwork composite longbow with 20 arrows, gold
holy symbol (100 gp), 7 pp, 5 gp