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I am setting up a playtest and feedback on the scenario would be appreciated before I begin.
The Players:
Shazzara - Magus
Byron McBain - Fighter
Markus Freeman - Wizard
Ulflafa Numbgelge - Oracle
The Plot:
Several months ago a long dormant volcano started to awaken. Shortly afterwards, Tintiarnas, a kobold shaman of substantial power, began gathering followers, preaching the return of his peoples god, The Lord of Fire. Several thousand kobolds of the Burning Rock clan and a growing number of other creatures now camp around the caldera of the volcano.
Local leaders are growing worried about the growing army and have requested the party’s intervention. A direct assault would be futile; however, there is another way. A gnome elder has provided information concerning a mineshaft he helped dig in his youth. This tunnel breached an abandoned complex within the volcano before the mining expedition was attacked by a giant ooze. He was one of the few survivors that escaped after collapsing the mineshaft.
Tintiarnas is believed to reside within this underground complex, appearing to his followers only to deliver his sermons from a spire of rock jutting from the magma pool inside the caldera. At all other times, he conducts business from within his private quarters.
The Truth:
Tintiarnas has no interest in the nearby human city. He is the Fire Lord, a magma wyrm recently returned to his old lair. Long has Tintiarnas been obsessed with immortality and acquiring the divine spark. His gathering of worshippers, his true descendents, is in preparation of his ascension. The final piece of the necessary is being delivered even as the heroes make their way into the volcano. Tintiarnas has arranged to trade an artifact of some power to a minor deity of earth in exchange for a fragment of a fallen god’s soul.
While Tintiarnas is not looking for a fight, he won’t turn one down. He is arrogant, obsessive, and highly protective of that which is his. He also does not believe in letting his guard down. Aside from the demonands he has arranged to patrol his complex, he maintains two greater prying eye spells at all times. The eyes are instructed to return if any alarm is raised, combat is perceived, or unauthorized beings observed. Some eyes are assigned stationary positions, others patrol the complex.
The Scenario:
Four encounters + possible extra.
• Unsealing the tunnel (CR 15)
oInvulnerable carnivorous blob
•The Patrol (CR 16)
o 3 Tarry demonands (CR 16)
• Guardians at the Gate (CR 17)
o 2 arcane iron golems
• The Emissary (50% chance)(CR 17)
o cleric 12/MR 3
o 4 elder earth elementals
• The Lord of Fire (CR 18)
o Magma Dragon, Wyrm
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Initial preparations
Spells
level 0: detect magic, mage hand, open/close, read magic, touch of fatigue
level 1(6/day): mage armor, intensified shocking grasp(3), shield, vanish
level 2(5/day): animal aspect, alter self, invisibility, blur, mirror image
level 3(3/day): displacement, haste(2)
level 4(1/day): elemental body I
Casting
Mythic Mage Armor
Mythic Power = 11/12
Spells
Level 0: detect magic, prestigitation, mending, ray of frost
Level 1(7+1/day): burning hands, enlarge person, infernal healing, grease, mage armor, ray of enfeeblement, shield, summon monster I
Level 2(6+1/day): creat pit, glitterdust, hideous laughter, invisibility, mirror image, resist energy, summon swarm
Level 3(5+1/day): call the void, hydraulic torrent, mad monkeys, rage, spiked pit, stinking cloud
Level 4(5+1/day): acid pit, arcane eye, dimension door, black tentacles, greater invisibility, scrying
Level 5(4+1/day): elemental body III, hold monster, polymorph, wall of stone
Casting
Mythic Mage Armor
Mythic Power = 13/14
Spells
level 0: create water, detect magic, guidance, light, mending, purify food and drink, read magic, spark, stabilize,
Level 1(7/day): bless, cure light wounds, divine favor, enlarge, moment of greatness, obscuring mist, shield of faith
Level 2(7/day): align weapon, fog cloud, resist energy, restoration; lesser, silence, weapon of awe(15)
Level 3(7/day): cure serious wounds, daylight, deadly juggernaut, invisibility purge, magic vestment
Level 4(6/day): air walk, divine power, wall of fire(17)
Level 5(3/day): breath of life, righteous might
Casting
Freedom of Movement(enduring)
Mythic Power = 13/14
Sharpens weapons
Makes fun of Markus for being less masculine than Ulflafa
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Unsealing the tunnel
Init +0; Perception -5; blindsight 60'; tremorsense 120';
AC 6; Touch 6; Flat 6 (-8 size, +4 nat)
HP 200
Fort +12; Ref +5; Will +0
Defense reactive strike, split (sonic/slashing), DR 10/-, DR 10/epic, immune acid, resist elect. 45, fire 45, recurring saves
Weakness cold
speed 20 ft Climb 20 ft Swim20 ft
Melee slam +18 (8d6+21 plus 1d4 con drain & grab), Defensive block
Special absorb flesh; constrict (8d6+21 plus 1d4 con)
CMB +34 (+38 grapple); CMD 44 (cannot be tripped)
The party finds the abandoned mineshaft and travels several hundred feet down it without incident before reaching a caved in section. This matches up with the information the party was provided.
Several perception checks reveal the collapsed section of the tunnel may be unstable. Lacking an engineer, the party is unable to determine the shaft could be stabalized and cleared by hand with only moderate effort.
Markus expends two rounds of earth glide to look through the fallen rock, spotting the gelatinous mass adhered to the ceiling and recognizing it as a carniverous blob. Moderate information is gained and the group buffs before engaging.
The group knows slashing weapons are bad and that it is weak vs cold. They know it is resistant to most elemental damage other than cold.
Shazzara: shield
Markus: shield, 1 mythic power point expended to cast reinforce armaments
Uflafa: shield of faith, righteous might. 2 mythic points expended to cast stone shape (club) and greater magic weapon
Ulflafa has a +2 stone club.
Byron readies his bow and arrow.
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Initiate
The blob knows the party is on the other side of the collapsed tunnel but not what they are doing. (Tremorsense 120')
Markus uses dimension door to transport the entire party past the collapsed section of tunnel into the 40' x 80' room. The blob will occupy most of the center once it drops from the ceiling.
Initiative Order
Byron (42), Shazzara (41), Markus (32), Ulflafa (29), Blob(18)
Round 1
(42) Byron moves to the corner of the room and fires at the blob with his bow. All arrows hit, none penetrate the blobs DR 20.
(41) Shazzara assumes a defensive stance, readying to attack the blob if it approaches. The dagger burns with arcane power, becoming a +2 weapon.
(32) Markus, realizing there just are not very many ice spells available that won't hit the enite room calls upon his mythic power to cast calcific touch.
(29) Ulflafa laughes and attacks, easily jumpting the 5' need to reach the blob. Both attacks hit, The blob takes a total of 1 point of damage. The blob lashes out with its AoO, barely missing with a roll of 2.
(18) The blob drops down, charging Ulflafa and hitting her for 54 points of damage + 4 con. The blob gains 40 temp hp. Shazzara takes her readied action and stabs the blob, but is unable to break DR. Grapple is attempted vs. Ulflafa: she is immune.
Round 2
Party begins to understand their opponent after it nealry drops Ulflafa with a single shot.
(42) Byron uses fleet charge to fire an arrow before moving to contact. Bypassing all DR to inflict 14 points of damage. He then kicks the blob, failing to break DR. Blob is caged and cannot move. (blob has 26 temp hp)
(41) Shazzara's dagger burns even brighter as arcane power infuses it and it gains the ooze bane property. Maintaining her defensive stance, Shazzara uses spell combat to cast elemental aura (cold), expending a point of mythic power to do so. Rolling all 1's, the ooze takes only 4 points of cold damage. Both melee attacks hit, inflicting 1 point of damage. Shazzara will be taking a second action. (blob has 21 temp hp)
(32) Marks touches the blob, dealing 3 dexterity damage. He will be acting again this round. The blob is slowed.
(28) Ulflafa 5' steps back and casts mythic cure serious wounds, regaining 46 hp and 3 con.
(21) Shazzara continues using arcane strike. Spell combat is used in conjunction with wild arcana to cast frigid touch. 15 damage from the elemental aura. 31 damage from frostbite. Dagger deals 8, 4 and 5 with bonuses from power attack, arcane strike & bane combining to break DR. Blob is staggered. (blob at 158/200)
(18) Staggered won't affect the blobs single attack per round. It lashes out at the source of its pain, failing to hit Shazzara.
(12) Markus touches the ooze again, dealing 2 more dex damage. The blob is down to a dex of 6.
Round 3
(42) Byron will repeatedly kick the blob to no effect. Not going to waste mythic power to do minimal damage. (unarmed with power attack is only 1d6+14)
(41) Shazzara continues her assualt, arcane strike is used. Spell combat is used to cast touch of fatigue. Elemental aura deals 18, dagger deals 5, 7, 5. (blob at 123).
(32)Markus touches the blob, dealing 4 dexterity. Feels odd to be melee with a wizard. He will be acting again this round.
(28) Ulflafa joins in but, relizing damage won't be what kills the monstrosity, does not expent mythic power.
(18) Blob lashes out at Markus as its form begins to solidify. Rolling badly, it misses.
(12) Markus touches the blob one last time, dealing 4 dexterity damage. The ooze solidifies, forever frozen into contorted stone.
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Analysis.
Invincible mobs that had substantial resistances and immunities before the template was applied really suck. It was only through luck and a substantial expenditure of mythic power that the fight was won.
Points:
- the party made extensive usage of wild arcana to tap spells that were exactly right for the fight. It is the ONLY reason they were able to hurt the blob.
- if cold damage were not continuously applied, the blobs AoO's would have destroyed the party. The single hit the blob manages dropped Ulflafa 96 points after counting in the Con damage.
- A huge number of 3's and 4's were rolled to hit on both sides. With an AC starting at 6 and dropping, the blob was going to be hit regardless. Breaking the DR after hitting was something else.