RotRL and the Occluding Field

[Jormungand1342]

So I am GM for a group and we are about to get underway for the final parts of Rise. They have defeated a few creatures and have 5 Sihedron rings to get them past the occluding field.

However the group has an Eidilon (Unchained Summoner) and a familiar (Shaman). Both of these creatures cannot wear rings. They do have access to a few Sihedron medallions so that is a possibility.

Has anyone run this section with a similar issue? Usually I would just hand wave parts but I don't want them to have a cake walk with this. On the flip slide the summoner just spent all of his wealth to give his eidilon an amulet of mighty fists so it can actually cause damage. So I don't want to take this away from him (Just seems like a bad move).

Is there any other way into the occluding field?

[Yossarian]

There's no other ways into the occluding field, although the book talks about summoned creatures not being effected. I'd just hand wave it - saying that the ring on the Shaman also works on his familiar, and ditto with the Summoner and eidolon.

If you want the Pinnacle to be 'not a cake walk' then there's dozens of ways to do that. Greg Vaughn has provided all sorts of nasty ideas :)

[Bellona]

@ Yossarian: Did GV provide them in the text itself, or does one have to hunt them down here on the boards?

[Yossarian]

Bellona wrote:

@ Yossarian: Did GV provide them in the text itself, or does one have to hunt them down here on the boards?

It's in the tiny details of the writing in the AP. Greg's signature encounters have a 'twist' somewhere, sometimes more than one. Not something in the monster's stat block, but somewhere in a room description (sometimes a different room!), how the enemy or player abilities interact with an environmental effect, and so on.

The big overall challenge with the Pinnacle is the alarm response that goes off when the PCs get in a fight, and how other creatures in the place respond. I made a document to track this... as you'll see fights quickly escalate to a degree where PCs have either kill very fast or retreat and regroup. Here's the doc:

Pinnacle of Avarice - Alarm Response Map

All I can say is read the fine print of the book very carefully several times.

One I remember is that The Most High Ceoptra (X17) has 3 scrolls of resurrection listed in her bed chamber (X9). In my playthrough, my PCs managed to kill Viorian but then had to retreat. Which meant Ceoptra got to resurrect Viorian and the PCs had to kill her all over again.

Some others: Khalib's ability to planar bind, so he could potentially have a very powerful bound outsider in tow to fight the PCs, but you have set that up. I used a Marilith. You are also free to adapt Karzoug's spell list to anything he chooses, he'll know the PCs weaknesses via scrying already, and there's those spots where he can materialise (X2) and cast them at the PCs. At very inconvenient times if you choose!

[Bellona]

@ Yossarian: Thank you for the reminder about that map! Both my groups are in Book 5 right now (one has just about finished the Scribbler's lair, the other has basically completed two wings of Runeforge), so I am collecting as many aids as possible for Book 6 and the final battle.