Black Magga homebuilt


Rise of the Runelords


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Pathfinder Maps Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

I've been playing Rise of the Runelords for a year and a half now, and we've just gotten up to the epic battle with Black Magga

But how to represent it at my gaming table?

I've been agonizing over this dilemma for months. Finally broke down and ordered a plastic elasmosaurus and octopus off Amazon. I was worried about how to get them in the right shape, but some guys on the Pulp board (on Lead Adventurers) gave me good advice.

Step 1) After 2 minutes in boiling water, the figures were quite pliable, and after being plunged in cold water, held their new shape quite well.

Step 2) A few slices with the Dremel, and everything was suitably dismembered.

Step 3) The elasmosaurus head was superglued to an old CD, and the 8 tentacles to standard 1" washers - so that they can be moved, or even used separately.

Step 4) I decided to throw caution to the winds and do my standard black spraypaint as undercoat.

After a quick paintjob, it looks OK. Thought of going for a more involved scale effect, but chickened out. Maybe later.

Here is Black Magga with a sample victim...


Looks pretty good. I'd have gone with an irregular base though because it kind of looks like it's stuck to a CD.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Our group is about 4-5 sessions from Black Magga now and I think i might do this too! seems like an awesome prospect for such an epic encounter!

Scarab Sages

Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, PF Special Edition, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

That's awesome. I really wanted to have some kind of miniature for Black Magga but didn't have the time. I have built awesome (IMO) figures for the Sihedron Circle, which my party should be getting to pretty soon.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Maps Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

This chapter is unfolding in a rather unexpected way. I lured them to the Graul farmstead first, using Kibby, and that part went pretty much as expected. But on their return to Turtleback Ferry, the PCs decided the most pressing danger was the dam, especially since I'd been playing up the heavy rains for a while now.

Normally, the first face-off with Black Magga is in the flood of Turtleback Ferry. But here they are at the dam... what to do...

In our last session, they were poised to descend to the lower level with Wet Papa Grazuul. I started playing up ominous thumping noises that set the entire dam thrumming, that they managed to localize to the Storval Deep side.

I should mention that one of my players has a Mythic tier, and the others are set to get their first tier in this encounter - if they survive. Wet Papa Grazuul is getting Mythic - in particular with the dual initiative power, so he gets more actions. I'll use the pool to try to keep him alive for more rounds than a typical solo adversary... and he won't exactly be alone.

Wet Papa Grazuul:

Wet Papa Grazuul: Mythic Scrag Troll Fighter 5
CR12 XP 9,600
CE Large Humanoid (Giant, Aquatic)
Init +27; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +19
DEFENSE
AC 22, touch 17, flat-footed 14 (+4 Dex, +4 dodge, +5 natural, -1 size)
hp 177; Regeneration 5+ (fire or acid) (primal vigor)
Fort +17, Ref +6, Will +5; +1 vs. fear
Defensive Abilities Bravery +1
OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft., swim 70 ft.
Melee +1 vicious adamantine trident +18/+13 (2d6+14+2d6) and bite +10 (1d8+3) or
bite +15 (1d8+7) and 2 claws +15 (1d6+7)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks rend (2 claws, 1d6+8), wpn trning +1
STATISTICS
Str 25, Dex 18, Con 26, Int 6, Wis 11, Cha 6
Base Atk +9; CMB +17; CMD 32
Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Improved Bull Rush, Mobility, Power Attack, Vital Strike, Wpn Focus (trident), Wpn Specialization (trident)
Skills Climb +10, Discretion +10, Perception +6, Spellcraft +8, Swim +23
Languages Giant
SQ Amphibious, Armor Training 1, Mark of Lamashtu
Gear +1 Vicious adamantine trident (+2d6 vs foe, 1d6 vs self).
Mythic powers: Init +20 bonus; AC +2 dodge bonus; hp mythic bonus hit points;
Defensive Abilities: evasion (no damage on save); Speed +30 feet for all movement types (up to double the creature's base movement speed); Primal Vigor.
Special Attacks: dual initiative.
Primal Vigor (Su): If a mythic troll takes damage during a round, its regeneration increases by 5 at the start of its next turn, to a maximum of 25. If the troll is at full hit points at the start of its turn, its regeneration decreases by 5, to a minimum of 5. Damaging the troll with acid or fire only partially suppresses its regeneration. On its turn following this damage, the troll regenerates only half the normal number of hit points (for example, a troll with regeneration 15 would heal 7 hit points) and can die normally on that round.
Dual Initiative (Ex): The monster gets two turns each round, one on its initiative count and another on its count – 20.
Mark of Lamashtu: Once per day as a free action, you may invoke Lamashtu's name as you strike a nonevil foe with any melee attack. As you do, you cause the creature struck to become temporarily deformed in some hideous manner. Common deformities caused by this attack include cloven hooves, horns, forked tongues, vestigial limbs like wings and tails, organs inexplicably forming on the outside of the skin, additional (and useless) eyes, and skin that hardens into pus-weeping plates. The deformity reduces the target's Charisma score by 1d4 points 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.

You remember how Black Magga has this funky transdimensional power on her tentacles? Yep. Although she can't fit inside, some of her tentacles will be in there, fighting alongside the Mythic Scrag. Oh, and did I mention that Grazuul will have the Mark of Lamashtu on him, for additional fun? I can't wait to see their faces when one of them gets hit with a deformity.

The plan is that after they finish down below, Black Magga confronts them on the dam, they fight briefly, then she goes over, into the swirling outflow below. The players have released the waters of Storval, but in a controlled way. Turtleback Ferry will be partially flooded when they reach it, and the final battle with Magga will go off as planned in the flooded town, but players will realize that it would have been so much worse if the dam had broken.


Nice job. Very well done.


Adventure Path Charter Subscriber

Wheldrake - looks great, especially love seeing the project progress.

My party went Graul -> Fort -> Dam without returning to town.

I had them run briefly into Black Magga at the Dam (they ran). Their solving the dam pressure valve problem felt like a good victory for the PCs, I'd been playing up the rain myself, fighting the ogres at the Fort during heavy rain had a big impact on their abilities (Jakardros, another NPC and one of the PCs being primarily bow users). The players were very concerned about Black Magga getting washed down river to Turtleback Ferry.

I used a Reaper mini, the Goroloth, which was painted a black/purple with pink/purple underside - not my most amazing paint job, but certainly decent - and it made me put together and paint another of the giant stack of Bones minis that I still have.

I did not run the town gets flooded encounter as they did not need additional prompting to go check on the Damn, though I think I have another place to put in another sighting of Black Magga. Having water flood the town and Black Magga be there just wouldnt make any sense after the PCs had already DID the dam portion.

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