My table has decided that they've had enough of worrying what Zella's divinations will reveal. Due to various complicated shenanigans, she's now got a troop of dottari and a 7th level wizard guarding her.
But, as a diviner and high level wizard, what tricks should she have up her sleeve?
She won't want to entirely avoid combat--she's personally pissed off against the Silver Ravens and wants to at least damage them before dimension dooring to safety.
Surely full information on exactly the group's abilities and access to the scrolls she would need. So the most specific counters
And lots of magical protections and alarms
She would surely be played exactly like you would play a PC wizard in this scenario...
Who is in your group?
The current plan is to attack her during her commute between her middle class home in the student quarter and her new workplace: The Opera House. (If they can't do that, they're just going to attack her during her sleep period at her house.) They know Zella will be accompanied by a troop of dottari and an Egorian Wizard (who will be 7th level). They know that Zella can dimension door, cast black tentacles, and cast up to 6th level spells.
The PCs: Arcanist 7, URogue 3/Inquisitor 4, UMonk 7, Magical Child Vigilante 7 (faerie dragon improved familiar).
The cohorts: Juliana (Cohort w/young template, cleric 6--buff and heal only), Giuseppe (warpriest 5). Both will be serving as healing batteries, through sacred bond or shield other spells.
The NPCs they'll be bringing: Octavio Sabinus (Fighter 5/Hellknight 4), Rexxus Victocora (aristocrat 1/oracle 5--basically to cast a bunch of silences), Morgar (fighter 5). They may even bring Lady Docur (venerable, Rogue 3/Evoker 3/Arcane Trickster 5).
They currently plan to purchase scrolls of stoneskin, cast dimensional anchor on her, use melee attackers with silence on them, and try to take her down as quickly as possible. The PCs basically slap as many conditions as possible on their targets. The monk stuns and trips. The magical girl blinds and uses pit and mad monkey spells. The arcanist is played by a tactical genius who DMs a lot. I'm not really worried about the rogue, although I designed his cohort's spell selection have been designed to buff him so that he could keep up.
Basically, if they kill her or fail to kill her, this will motivate all the major players buttoning down in the Asmodean Temple.
Does she need to commute in the open with access to teleportation magic?
That is a lot of NPCs to bring. Surely that will make a fight really easy against two wizards and a troop?
What is the extent of her scrying? I don’t know what scrying can show but it she expecting an attack?
If there is a egorian wizard should there be some devil allies summoned / bound to help?
She got into a duel with the Magical Girl, who's a student at her school. Zella believes the MG is a Silver Raven, but she keeps getting out-classed by the MG's maxxed bluff/diplomacy/disguise and her social standing as a Jhaltero. The MG got under her skin just enough to goad Zella into using spells that did physical damage to a student, so now the dottari have some evidence that she hurts children.
So, yes, Zella is absolutely spoiling for revenge.
She doesn't need to commute in the open, perhaps hoping to kill some Ravens. But she's not been scared for her life, as the MG never did any HP damage to her. So she's still going around in the open. So, she reserves her dimension door for genuine emergencies. Once the party shows her how dangerous the Silver Ravens have become, the Thrune leadership will be much, much more careful.
I've been having her divinations set up the Gift Party at the end of Book Two and the Big Party Surprise at the end of Book 3. Scrying's been used a bit on the common folk, but I've been having divination be used against the party. I've been hoping that's scarier than something they get a save against.
Egorian wizard could have some devil support, but I think it would work best as a surprise. I can alter his design, but right now he's set up as a flying greater invisible artillery piece lobbing a fireball, acid arrows, scorching rays, magic missiles, and then dimension dooring away when done. How should I change spell selection?
What kind of devil support were you thinking of?
I'm currently thinking she and the wizard switch appearances with each using disguise self to appear as the other, with both of them walking in the midst of the troop.
Contingent spell, unfortunately caps out at a 3rd level spell for an 11th level caster. Is there a good one to use?
What feedback do you have for my current plan for this encounter?
She's spoiling for a fight, but she's a diviner, and thus cautious and smart. Her scrying has been thwarted, so her divinations have been focused on preparing for this over the past 2 weeks. She's prepared for the likelihood that she'll be ambushed by Silver Ravens leadership. She's hoping to get revenge and to get her reputation back by capturing some of them. So she's going to "let" them ambush her by preparing for it.
She's used planar binding to gain the services of a Nessian Warhound, CR 9. It leads the pack using its scent to try to detect enemies. Zella's used up two spell slots to cast extended invisibility on it for its morning and evening escorts to and from her workplace.
There will be a troop of dottari, CR 7. Their role is to be blocker and do a bit of damage to melee PCs. She does not know that dottari morale has been weakened by PC rebellion action. They will disperse at half hit points.
She's been loaned an erinyes by the Church of Asmodeus. This devil is hidden in plain sight using disguise other to make her look like a dottari.
Zella will purchase a hat of disguise, or requisition one, to look like a regular dottari as well.
Zella will have cast contingency on a previous day to have displacement cast on her when she first takes physical damage (not energy damage or ability drains, etc.) No matter the time of day, Zella will have up extended false life and extended mage armor.
If Zella feels it to be necessary, she will use an immediate action to cast Emergency Force Sphere to give her 11 rounds to buff and heal, or simply dimension door safely towards her home in the following round. She will be able to drink potions and cast: fox cunning, shield, protection vs. good. Net effect of buff spells: +2 DCs, +6 AC, +2 saves.
Until it is necessary to cast her emergency force shield, Zella will engage in battlefield control, casting black tentacles, icy prison, and spiked pit. If she has the leisure to do direct damage, she'll use fireball, acid arrow, and magic missile. If it sets up well, she'll use her arcane bond to cast chain lightning.
Environment: Medium fog reduces visibility ranges by half, resulting in a –4 penalty on Perception checks and a –4 penalty on ranged attacks.
For the record, her spell list is:
Arcane Bond: chain lightning
6: permanent image (already cast as part of the Thrune propaganda project)
5: mage’s faithful hound (for tonight to guard her while sleeping in her home), icy prison (to try to capture a leader)
4: emergency force sphere (immediate action to cast), black tentacles, dimension door, scrying (used ineffectively already)
3: extended invisibility x2 (already cast on the dog), fireball, extended false life (already cast on herself), suggestion
2: Fox cunning, magic mouth (already cast for propaganda purposes), acid arrow, extended mage armor (already cast on herself), disguise other (already cast on the erinyes)
1: shield, magic missile, protection vs. good, charm person, vanish
High level spell casters and encounters are well outside my realm of expertise
What is the party’s plan? As written all that appears in view is a troop of dottari. Do they have any reason to believe that she will be in the troop? Has she been every day?
If she is disguised have they ever penetrated the disguise?
Levels suggest book 3. Surely an open and brazen attack against a troop of dottari is going to go down very poorly at this stage? Wouldn’t it attract more enemies to assist if it goes on too long? It seems like the aftermath would have to be some kind of crack down as per the events in the rebellion. You don’t openly get into a pitched battle with a troop of guards without severe repercussions
As written it seems like a tough encounter but they have lots of allies .
As an aside how do they know about her and the divination? I gather you introduced her early and as a figure from the school. But how do they know she is scrying? I ask because as written she doesn’t even come up until later - which is of course arguably a problem. I have not even considered trying to introduce her yet or how I would do it (and I am nearing the end of book 2)
What is the party’s plan? As written all that appears in view is a troop of dottari. Do they have any reason to believe that she will be in the troop? Has she been every day?
If she is disguised have they ever penetrated the disguise?
Good point! I'll have someone cast Disguise Other on the Erinyes to look like Zella.
They know exactly what Zella looks like. They're very good at scouting and gather information. They know her routine--which varies, but she has to go over the bridge twice a day.
Levels suggest book 3. Surely an open and brazen attack against a troop of dottari is going to go down very poorly at this stage? Wouldn’t it attract more enemies to assist if it goes on too long? It seems like the aftermath would have to be some kind of crack down as per the events in the rebellion. You don’t openly get into a pitched battle with a troop of guards without severe repercussions
It's going to be a pre-dawn attack on her commute from her home to the Opera House or an after-curfew attack on her commute from the Opera House to her home. Mist/fog comes in during those time periods in Kintargo.
We’re in the midst of a retaliation loop.
The Ravens subdued a dottari troop that had done a pre-dawn raid on their subversive ferry service to thwart the bridge tax of 1 gp per trip. (They captured a Hell Knight and killed two Asmodean priests.)
Zella's been the voice of the Thrune hierarchy, making city-wide announcements of new oppressions through Mage's Decree, a 6th level spell. Her latest was "Surveillance breeds conformity. Conformity is unity. Unity is strength and contentment. Expect periodic use of scrying sensors. Thrune divination is your friend." That was the escalation response to their attack on the ferry raid.
The PCs decided it was safer and cheaper to kill her rather than figure out how to divination-proof the Lucky Bones.
As written it seems like a tough encounter but they have lots of allies .
Crap. I forgot the Egorian Wizard 7. He's got a lot of damage spells. Another disguised as a soldier. He'll cast greater invisibility and then lay waste with direct damage. Someone has to damage the fighters.
I've been having a bit of trouble challenging the party recently.
As an aside how do they know about her and the divination? I gather you introduced her early and as a figure from the school. But how do they know she is scrying? I ask because as written she doesn’t even come up until later - which is of course arguably a problem. I have not even considered trying to introduce her yet or how I would do it (and I am nearing the end of book 2)
I was setting up Zella as a nemesis, remade as a Dolores Umbridge. I had to ramp up the school storylines, beef up Lady Docur and the Lacunafex. I wanted the party to be excited to take her out in Book 4.
But that went out the window so I'm adjusting on the fly. The Magical Girl PC escalated their antagonism using Weaseley Twins tactics, culminating in a bit of a duel that set Zella's office on fire. The dottari came to investigate, the noble's daughter PC had bruises from black tentacles, and the PC claimed (accurately) that Zella had been hurting kids (basically like the Dolores Umbridge does in the HP series, but through the spell mindscape). The PC never did or attempted to do damage to Zella. The PC made it into a scandal. The PC compounded it by getting amazing results in bluff and diplomacy. Guess what Zella doesn't have ranks in? The PC is indefinitely suspended (her family has money and a great lawyer). Zella's been disgraced as provost of the two schools (Lady Docur's and Alabaster Academy).
Hence why she's really ready to do a physical commute. She wants payback. And she needs to redeem herself in the eyes of Barzillai Thrune.
All this seems to be equivalent to a CR 13 encounter, which seems on the edge of overwhelming and very difficult for a party with this number of characters and levels. I think it will be fine, given the fog and surprise factor, the action economy tilt, the depletion of Zella's spells, and the fact that the organization level gives feats and spells to boost their abilities.
Well it worked out fine. They were not prepared for the true seeing of an erinyes or the scent ability of the Nessian Warhound. They also had a scout that betrayed their ambush, as a faerie dragon failed to beat the Erinyes' excellent perception. So, it was as above, plus an Asmodean cleric 7 and an extra troop, albeit one with lower morale. (They sent for reinforcements from the bridge.)
So, Rexus died in the opening round--Nessian Hellhound fire breath did him in. Morgar (NPC fighter 5) was down several times, as was their warpriest 5 cohort. Pressed the arcanist PC with damage and the very mobile Erinyes. And, of course, the Erinyes freaked out two PCs by locking eyes with the arcanist and the rogue PCs and saying, "I see you." (They now know that Erinyes devils come with true seeing.) So, they're freaked, which is good.
And they won, which is better. The ol' Monk with silence cast on them tactic won the day, taking out Zella, who doesn't have silent spell feat and prepares her spells anyway. She didn't do anything until the battle was almost over. Once she got out, there was a bit of fun. Basically, it ended up being a good way to split the battle into two pieces, rather than being overwhelming.