Using the Evil Iconics in Hell's Rebels

[Gratz]

Hi guys,

I was planning to use the Evil Iconics in Hell's Rebels,
as I can't find much use so far for them in Hell's Vengeance, but not using them at all feels like a waste of great NPCs.

So far my ideas have looked like this:

- At first I wanted to put them into "Dance of the Damned", as they PCs and the evil Iconics would be around the same level range.
I wanted to put them at Ruby Masquerade, but I can't figure out where and why they would pop up, so I'm mostly done with that idea, unless someone comes up with something to work with.

- My second idea was to incorporate the Evil Iconics in the city Riots in "A Song of Silver".
They could have been hired to infiltrate the Silver Ravens, assassin the leaders or defend tactically important spots in the city (maybe like the bridge).
But so far I'm not exactly sure whom I would put where.

So any ideas to help me out would be greatly appreciated or even ideas to put the Iconics into completely different books of the AP, which I haven't thought about yet.

So where would your Iconics pop up, if at all.

[Razcar]

I will use them as reoccurring villains. I have requested extensive backstories for this campaign from my players, and imposed the "no orphan"-rule. They all have to have families, employers, friends, boy/girlfriends, colleagues and poor vulnerable pets. Maybe not one of each, but orphaned avengers without a social life aren't allowed. One PC even has a wife and two kids.

Spoiler:

I will use the iconics as Barzillai's crack hit squad (calling themselves the Sons of Nessus), and will use them to wreak pre-campaign havoc among the PC's loved ones. The iconic Hellknight will kill the rebellious girlfriend of the PC Shelyn cleric right before his eyes, the iconic cleric will negotiate a hellish contract with the junkie wife of the PC urban ranger (a dottari) which costs them their two children, the iconic evil rogue will assassinate the gang leader brother of our slayer, etc. They will be three levels above the PC's until they match the PC's at the end of Dance of the Damned. They will be under the command of Nox at start, and directly under the command of Big B after In Hell's Bright Shadow.

I intend them to harass the PC's during the first 3 adventures, have the PCs see their dirty handiwork all over the place, and finally have them be either impersonating the PCs (have to think about how to do that) or replace the devils impersonating azatas at the Ruby Masquerade.

I haven't worked all out the details yet though, since there's this cranky old git called Karzoug who needs a good seeing-to first, so I will follow this thread with interest.

[Axial]

Basically, we have two levels of finished statblocks to use: the level 1 pregens from the Hell's Vengeance player's guide, and the level 7 NPC statblocks from each of the volumes. Or at least, we will have them once all of the volumes are out.

Level 1 is pretty boring, so I'm tempted to unleash them at level 7. This would probably be around the beginning of Dance of the Damned. I've thought of having the six of them oversee a particularly cruel doghousing in one of the parks, involving Hellhounds instead of normal dogs and performed for the sole purpose of luring the Silver Ravens into open combat with them. I'm sure that Barzillai could spare a summoned imp to place at their disposal; it would fly above the park and maintain overwatch. When it spots the PCs approaching, it will inform the Thrune agents of the Raven's arrival so they can begin casting buffs and preparing for battle. I envision a Civil War-style setpiece in which the two sides dash at each other across the field. In any case, I think it would be a very intense battle and that killing Emil, Lazzero, Linxia, Nyctessa, Urgraz, and Zelhara would be quite satisfying.

[Gratz]

So I wanted to share my experiences so far:

I've used Emil Kovkorin (Tiefling Assassin), Linxia Benzekri (Human Hellknight) and Lazzero Dalvera (Human Cleric) in the Ruby Masquerade. I used Linxia to foreshadow the increased presence of the Order of the Rack, Lazzero as a personal rival of a PC, who used to serve in an Asmodean order and Emil mostly to round out the lineup and get some damage in (no story reason, just a hired "gun", to take care of the PCs).

The evil iconics fared very badly, as they lasted only 2 rounds, even though they fought only 3 of my 5 PCs. Just as a quick info: My PCs were at that time level 8, so they should have presented them more of a challenge.

So my suggestion: Bulk the iconics up, with an advanced template, if you don't want to rework them, because using them as printed was quite underwhelming.

I'll use Nyctessa (Dhampir Necromancer) and Zelhara (Human Inquisitor) as a Nidalese duo (that changes Nyctessa's background) to bolster the defences of a strategical important spot, during the "Song of Silver", but I haven't decided where they will make their stand. As Nyctessa hasn't been released yet and Zelhara is underleveled, I'll rework them and optimise them, as I want them to be a real threat.

Quick side note: My Ruby Masquerade played out differently as in the AP, but you can find the gist off it in the "Dance of the Damned" thread.