Hello once again everyone. I'm currently designing my next little adventure for my 2 players, a rogue and a wizard at lv. 6.
The campaign setting is a take off of Kingmaker, and basically they are being sent into different areas of a now demon controlled, blighted greenbelt, the kingdoms created long since abandoned, destroyed or taken over by demons.
Anyways, I wish to send them to meet a messed up Tiressia, in sorrow over the loss of her love Falchos, who had been lured away and taken by a fungus queen. Tiressia has been doing all she can to stave off the blight, but has only been able to get so far (likely only about 100 yards of greenery in her glade surrounded by encroaching blight and darkness).
Now, the players, in theory, will need to defeat this Fungus Queen in some way shape or form. I'll leave it open for her dealing with them, requiring something big to leave. Perhaps a living succubus that the party has already met (and it got away before killed), or something morally reprehensible.
I need help with two things in particular. I know the fight with the fungus queen will be extremely difficult if not near impossible for them to begin with. This is the type of game my players asked for. Brutal, and requiring some cleverness. The fungus queen will have a now fungoid Falchos under her control, and maybe a couple less strong warriors who thought to highly of themselves that got caught. So, I need some suggestions on how to weaken the fungus queen before the fight that could be made available to them. Maybe a way to sicken her?
The second bit, is I need something in between this fight and the meeting with Tiressia. Dangerous, skill focused not battle focused, but could reward them if they do well enough. I thought about them coming across a hut on their way, the area surrounded covered in basic traps (bear traps, and the like) and the hut minorly warded with some sort of magic, but inside is a cache left by some particularly clever ranger. But traps can easily be bypassed for the most part. Any suggestions on something more interesting that won't take up the entire adventure's time?