My players went a little too gung ho on their trek into Jorgenfist and used many of their better resources early on. They let more than a few enemies run away as well and they came back to haunt them. They ended up dimension dooring the hell outta there and now I'm not sure how to run their 2nd attempt.
Should I replace downed enemies with stone giants? Should the enemies use some special tactics? They know that they came in through the small tunnels and that that is likely where the party is hiding out now.
Thoughts?
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That's where I am right now, Hippie. I've been giving some thoughts on what needs to be done should (read: when) the party retreats from Jorgenfist to level up and regain spells and abilities. I think it depends on a few factors.
1. According to the setup, Mokmurian is very careful with who he lets into the pit. He's (rightfully) afraid that if they see some of his non-giant associates (the lamias, for instance), or if they discover that his magical powers are self-taught, rather than inherited, they will desert his banner. As a result, he has a very small retinue of trusted stone giants. Plus, the area is taboo to the giants, so many of them would be reluctant to enter in the first place.
2. Who's still available to recruit? Mokmurian rarely leaves the fortress, so that leaves either Galenmir or Lokansir. If both of these have been dealt with, then they will have difficulty in recruiting more stone giants to fill the halls. The giants probably won't respect Enga (despite the fact that she's a freaking 12th level barbarian), Conna has no interest in helping Mokmurian, and the lamia have the same issues as mentioned in point 1. The unnamed giants may have a chance, but I'd think they'd probably defer to the lamias at that point, since they don't have enough clout to order people into the dungeons, nor do they want to risk Mokmurian's fury.
3. Conna. If the PCs were able to secure her aid early, then they have an ally within Jorgenfist itself, and she may be able to hide them somewhere. She may not be able to hinder Mokmurian directly, but that doesn't mean she won't help arrange his downfall.
Of course, it sounds like too many of the baddies went on alert, and that's bad for the party. What's left in your game?
What happened to the downed giants? I would seriously consider bringing some or all of the giants as runeslaves. I'd also think about having Mokmurian cast Greater Magic Weapon to replace their lost weapons if the PCs were able to get them out.
They've killed Enga, all of the unnamed stone giants, the 3 ogre fighters, one of the lamias, Galenmir, the two trolls.
That leaves Lokansir (who they have fought twice, once until he melded with earth and once until they had to dimension door to safety), the lamia who survived, and the two red dragons.
They were fighting the trolls when the lamias heard and came to help, then just as they managed to slay the trolls their old friend Lokansir came back for more.
What about different enemies from outside? Longtooth? The harpy monks? I'll do a quick re-read and see where their loyalties ultimately lie.
Wait, Longtooth's still alive in your game? Then yeah, Mokmurian should definitely pull in Longtooth (probably offering Longtooth the PCs' gear as payment, along with other treasures) if Longtooth survived Sandpoint.
The harpies are loyal to the Black Monk, and I believe won't descend into the Fortress.
You are correct about the harpies, Zhangar.
Yeah, one of my PC's is actually a red draconic bloodline sorcerer/dragon disciple who received training in unlocking his powers from Longtooth. During the raid on Sandpoint he managed to escape despite taking a beating from the cleric's cold spells. Once they arrived at Jorgenfist they scouted all the possible entrances by flying while invisible and the first they tried was the cliff entrance to the small tunnels - completely skipping meeting him a second time.
The fact that Longtooth trained the PC will likely amp up the drama a bit. He'll likely try to sway the PC to change sides. Doubt it will have much effect but we shall see!
I'll be GMing this tonight so I'll make sure to check back in tomorrow and let everyone know how it went. Any more bits of advice till then are certainly welcome!
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Yeah, Lokansir seems like a beast. Cinderma might be a good reinforcement if your PCs skipped over her (as mine did), along with one of the hill giant runeslaves, who have been deeper in the dungeons that even Conna.
Longtooth definitely qualifies too, though as written, he's not too happy with Mokmurian either. The sorcerer might have a chance to sway him on their side, for a big enough cut of the treasure!
I had mokmurien use the Cauldron to bring back most of the Stone giants they had killed and used them as bodyguards in his chambers
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By RAW he can't revive the fallen stone giants because they have to have been dead a very short time. The cauldron's description reads that they have to be killed then very quickly immersed in the cauldron.
Either way, I just had the remaining enemies (dragons, lamia, Lokansir) all take part in the same combat and it made for a tough encounter in which a character would have died if not for Hero Points. In Round 1 they beat up Lokansir terribly to the point where he used his earthquake ability, pinning most of the party. The next turn the dragons breathed on the entire hallway. Ouch.
Now they are on the library level making their way toward Mok. I'm satisfied with how it's turned out. Thanks all for your advice!
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When Conna told my party that the dragons were charmed by the lamias, the abjurer in my party said, "Magically dominated, you say?"
Two rounds after the fight with the dragons started, he had busted the charm on both of them and they both went after the lamias in the next room. The lamias are a crazy difficult duo, by the way. High AC, high HP, high saves, high attack bonuses, high damage due to 15-20 crit range...I really don't see their weak point.
The best part: during the fight, the wizard decides to drop an empowered fireball on the grand melee. The dragons are alright with this. The lamias, less so.
As for the cauldron, all I'm seeing is that the giant needs to be dead. It doesn't really say how long. I suppose it's up to the GM in the end.
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Yea, I'm not sure exactly how to interpret RAW - from the AE version (p. 424):
"A runeslave cauldron has the ability to infuse the body of a freshly slain giant, reviving it and transforming it into a runeslave (see page 412)."
And later in the same entry:
"Once the cauldron is filled with broth, one need only sacrifice a giant (the method of killing the giant is incidental) and then place the giant’s corpse wholly or partially within the cauldron’s bubbling contents."
It's open to interpretation what "freshly slain" and "sacrifice" mean in terms of time delay. While the AP indicates Mokmurian uses the cauldron as a punishment and likely executes his target very close to going into the cauldron, I'm not sure that's how it has to work. I think dead within one day seems reasonable. It is a minor artifact after all. It is limited to 5 giants a day so it's not really an army regeneration machine.
I certainly let him use it. It seemed reasonable and it made the final battle against him much more challenging.
Mok, 5 Runeslave giants, Infernal Tyranosaur and Infernal Dire Tiger actually did some damage before being killed.
What was suprisingly effective was ambush by the Forge Guardian, perhaps only because the pc's rolled badly but it did far more than any other creature of its CR
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Exactly, Latrecis. I think it's definitely in GM fiat territory, and it makes a cool story, so I'd allow it. Stock four runeslave stone giants in the upper levels, probably two guarding the passage to the Library level, and another two roaming tirelessly. Conveniently, the fifth is finished cooking a round or two after the PCs are finished fighting the stone golem in the cauldron room proper, just so they can see how Mokmurian is doing this to his own people.
If you're feeling really evil, have him bring back either Galenmir or Lokansir with it. I see nothing that suggests the jotenblood and runeslave templates don't stack, and they get to keep all their feats and whatnot. Brutal!