| NPC Dave |
I am only just starting this adventure so I may post more at a later date.
But this adventure carried no Affiliation Award side bar, and my PCs still need some assistance with building up their scores, so I went ahead and created the following.
Each of the following criterions grants an affiliation score modifier of +1.
Church of the Whirling Fury, The Dawn Council, Emerald Crest, and The Scarlet Brotherhood:
Destroy the Crimson Fleet pirate base and terminate Cold Captain Wyther with extreme prejudice
Emerald Crest:
Rescue the pirate captain Harliss Javell and recruit her into the Emerald Crest.
The Seekers:
Recover the Athrinoord Stone found in location H4 and donate it to a Seeker Chapterhouse.
Witchwardens:
Recover a serpent symbol and donate it to the Witchwardens in Sasserine for study.
Zelkarune’s Horns:
Capture the fiendish eye of the deep and return it to Sasserine alive for the arena, or slay the yuan-ti anathema and bring its corpse back to Sasserine as a trophy. Accomplishing both tasks nets PCs with this affiliation a +2 to their score.
| NPC Dave |
Page 52-53: Some updates of the Leech's stat block. The attack numbers are slightly off, I think that is due to the error in the Monster Manual for the Yuan-ti Abomination attack rolls there, which failed to take into account the masterwork weapon. Building from the Monster Manual entry without noticing that will throw things off.
For melee, the Leech is
main melee weapon: +18(BAB) +8(Strength) +1(masterwork) = +27.
So melee with masterwork scimitar is +27/+22/+17/+12
bite attack: +18(BAB) +8(Strength) -5(secondary weapon) = +21.
For ranged,
+3 composite longbow: +18(BAB) +2(Dexterity) +3(magic longbow) +2(greater bracers of archery) = +25
So +25/+20/+15/+10, and all these are a further +1 if within 30 feet thanks to Point Blank Shot.
And damage for the longbow is
2d6 +8(Strength) +3(magic longbow) +1(greater bracers of archery)
So 2d6+12 damage and another +1 for damage if within 30 feet thanks to Point Blank Shot.
Next, both Touch of Fear(Su) and Hypnosis(Sp) are Thrall of Demogorgon abilities which have a DC save based on both thrall class level AND Charisma bonus.
So the DC will save for these two abilities are 10 + 6(thrall level) +5(Charisma bonus) = +21
So these two abilities are DC 21 Will saves not the DC 16 Will save listed.
Lastly, two months after this Dungeon magazine issue came out, Dragon Magazine #357 published an updated 3.5 version of Thrall of Demogorgon. The only difference between the new version and the original from Book of Vile Darkness is that the Will save has a Good progression rather than the Poor progression. So if you wish you can update the Leech who gets an upgrade to his Will save from +19 to +22.
| NPC Dave |
My PCs are rescuing some of the Jade Ravens, so I updated a couple of their NPC stat blocks from 7th level as detailed in Dungeon Magazine #143 to 9th level.
Tolin Kientai CR 9
Male human ranger 3/fighter 6
LN Medium humanoid
Init +6; Senses Listen +7, Spot +7
AC 19, touch 13, ff 17; Dodge, Mobility
hp 58 (9HD)
Fort +9, Ref +8, Will +8
Spd 30ft
Melee +1 short sword +14/+9(d6+6/19-20) or +1 short sword +12/+7(d6+6/19-20) and +1 short sword +12(d6+4/19-20)
Ranged mwk composite longbow +13/+8(1d8+5/x3)
BAB +9; Grp +12
Str 16, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 8, Wis 14, Cha 12
Wild empathy +6
Feats: Dodge, Endurance, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Mobility, Track, Two-Weapon Defense, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus(short sword), Weapon Focus(composite longbow), Weapon Specialization(composite longbow), Weapon Specialization(short sword)
Skills: Handle Animal +8, Intimidate +5, Knowledge(nature) +5, Knowledge(dungeoneering) +5, Listen +8, Ride +9, Spot +8, Survival +8 (+10 nature or underground)
Possessions: potion of cure moderate wounds, potion of haste, +1 chain shirt, 2 +1 shortswords, masterwork composite longbow(+3 Str), cloak of resistance +1, 56 gp, ioun stone (+1 insight bonus to AC)
| NPC Dave |
This version of Liamae starts with her having no possessions as an enslaved thrall working at the Birdcage. Her skill points were incorrect in both incarnations listed in Dragon Magazine, so I have fixed and updated them to meet the prereqs for mystic theurge.
Like Tolin above, she is built to be a supporting character if the PCs bring her along in the adventure after rescuing her. I swapped out her feat Iron Will for Lightning Reflexes as a nod to her experience on the Blue Nixie in being struck by lightning, and because her Will save is plenty high even without it.
Liamae Teslikaria CR 9
Female human sorcerer 4/favored soul 4/mystic theurge 1
CG Medium humanoid
Init +2; Senses Listen +1, Spot +1
AC 12, touch 12, ff 10;
hp 50 (9HD)
Fort +9, Ref +9, Will +11
Spd 30ft
Melee mwk dagger +5 (1d4-1/19-20)
Ranged mwk shortbow +9 (1d6/x3)
BAB +5; Grp +4
Str 8, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 18
Feats: Alertness, Brew Potion, Great Fortitude, Greater Spell Focus(enchantment), Lightning Reflexes, Martial Weapon Proficiency(shortbow), Spell Focus(enchantment), Weapon Focus(shortbow),
Skills: Bluff +7, Concentration +8, Knowledge(arcana) +6, Knowledge(religion) +6, Spellcraft +3
Sorcerer Spells Known (CL 5th, +7 ranged touch)
2nd (5/day) – Tasha’s hideous laughter (DC 18), touch of idiocy (DC 18)
1st (7/day) – charm person (DC 17), hypnotism (DC 17), magic missile, shield
0 (6/day) – acid splash, daze (DC 16), detect magic, light, prestidigitation, read magic
Favored Soul Spells Known (CL 5th, +7 ranged touch)
2nd (5/day) – eagle’s splendor, hold person (DC 15), spiritual weapon
1st (7/day) – bless, command (DC 14), cure light wounds, divine favor, shield of faith
0 (6/day) – cure minor wounds, detect poison, guidance, mending, resistance, virtue
Possessions: None
| NPC Dave |
Page 65: Vzorthys, the fiendish eye of the deep, has an Initiative of +4, not the +5 listed.
Some more important fixes! Vzorthys' supernatural ability Baleful Flash is listed as a DC 34 save. His eye rays are listed as a DC 27 save. According to the monster entry for Eye of the Deep in Lords of Madness, the baseline save for Baleful Flash is DC 22 and is Constitution based, while the baseline save for eye rays is DC 18 and is Charisma based.
Vzorthys has a 12 point increase in Constitution over the baseline, from 18 to 30, and a 2 point increase in Charisma over the baseline, from 15 to 17. He also has the feat Ability focus for both Baleful Flash and eye rays.
So Baleful Flash should be 22 (baseline) + 6 (Con increase) + 2 (Ability focus) = DC 30 Fortitude save.
While eye rays should be 18 (baseline)+ 1 (Cha increase) + 2 (Ability focus) = DC 21 Reflex/Will save.
Also, with a BAB of +18, Vzorthys attacks with his claws at +18 - 2 size + 11 (Str bonus) = +27 to hit.
His constriction damage when grappling is still incorrectly listed for the baseline Eye of the Deep, Vzorthys should do 3d6+11 damage when constricting.
| NPC Dave |
p 64 Captain Longshanks Le'Shiv and the other lemorian pirate captains...two minor fixes...
First, caster level for the spell-like abilities should be 10th level, not 8th. Second, the Fortitude save for the poison attack is
10 + 1/2 HD (5) + Constitution bonus (3) = DC 18, not the DC 17 listed.
Personally, I am beefing these guys up by adding a level of rogue, fighter and scarlet corsair.
| NPC Dave |
p73-74 The Glad encounter has a few minor errors.
The Yuan-ti anathema was copied from the original fiend folio entry that had a mistake in it. With a BAB of +16 and a Strength of 27, the anathema attacks with the +1 unholy wounding falchion as follows:
+16 (BAB) + 8 (Strength bonus) +1 (magic bonus) = +25
Also, a falchion sized for a Huge creature is 3d6, not 2d8 in 3.5 D&D. It may have been 2d8 in the 3.0 Player's Handbook, I am not sure. In any case, it is a two-handed weapon and does a damage bonus of 1.5 the Strength bonus of the wielder.
Bite attacks are +16 (BAB) + 8 (Strength bonus) - 2 (secondary attack with multiattack feat) = +22
So in melee its full attack is +1 unholy wounding falchion +25/+20/+15 (3d6+13 +2d6 against good creatures) and 6 bites +22 (1d8+4 plus poison)
The anathema in the adventure is listed as Caster Level 16 for its spell-like abilities. However, the fiend folio gives the anathema Caster Level 20 for SLAs. Which you choose is most important for its 1/day blasphemy since 16th level PCs will be weakened in addition to being dazed if you choose the higher CL.
Lastly, the text states that "A group of six Seventh Coil assassins stay here with their leader" but the stat line only lists 3 Seventh Coil Assassins. Unfortunately the EL 19 listed for the encounter doesn't help determine which is correct since one CR 18 creature with either 3 CR 11 or 6 CR 11 creatures is still EL 19. I will probably go with four assassins residing with the leader.
| NPC Dave |
p73-74 The Glad encounter has a few minor errors.
The Yuan-ti anathema was copied from the original fiend folio entry that had a mistake in it. With a BAB of +16 and a Strength of 27, the anathema attacks with the +1 unholy wounding falchion as follows:
+16 (BAB) + 8 (Strength bonus) +1 (magic bonus) = +25
Also, a falchion sized for a Huge creature is 3d6, not 2d8 in 3.5 D&D. It may have been 2d8 in the 3.0 Player's Handbook, I am not sure. In any case, it is a two-handed weapon and does a damage bonus of 1.5 the Strength bonus of the wielder.
Bite attacks are +16 (BAB) + 8 (Strength bonus) - 2 (secondary attack with multiattack feat) = +22
So in melee its full attack is +1 unholy wounding falchion +25/+20/+15 (3d6+13 +2d6 against good creatures) and 6 bites +22 (1d8+4 plus poison)
Uh-oh, I totally forgot the size modifier penalty for the attack rolls (-2 for a Huge creature). So the Fiend Folio and Dungeon Magazine #146 are correct on the attack rolls.
+23/+18/+13 on the falchion, and +20 on the bite attacks.
| NPC Dave |
Page 52-53: Some updates of the Leech's stat block. The attack numbers are slightly off, I think that is due to the error in the Monster Manual for the Yuan-ti Abomination attack rolls there, which failed to take into account the masterwork weapon. Building from the Monster Manual entry without noticing that will throw things off.
For melee, the Leech is
main melee weapon: +18(BAB) +8(Strength) +1(masterwork) = +27.
So melee with masterwork scimitar is +27/+22/+17/+12
bite attack: +18(BAB) +8(Strength) -5(secondary weapon) = +21.
For ranged,
+3 composite longbow: +18(BAB) +2(Dexterity) +3(magic longbow) +2(greater bracers of archery) = +25
So +25/+20/+15/+10, and all these are a further +1 if within 30 feet thanks to Point Blank Shot.
And damage for the longbow is
2d6 +8(Strength) +3(magic longbow) +1(greater bracers of archery)So 2d6+12 damage and another +1 for damage if within 30 feet thanks to Point Blank Shot.
That also means a -1 Size modifier on attack rolls for the Leech, who is a Large creature. The Monster Manual entry was correct.
So masterwork scimitar is +26/+21/+16/+11 and bite attack is +20. For the composite long bow is +24/+19/+14/+9 and a +1 bonus if within 30 feet due to Point Blank Shot.
| NPC Dave |
Taking into account my previous mistakes, I think I have the Orlath attacks fixed below, as I do think here is a mistake in the Dungeon stat block.
The orlath is listed as hitting at +22 with its +1 scimitar attacks. But taking into account Weapon Finesse(which for Orlath includes scimitars thanks to Slashing Blades(Ex)), Multiweapon Fighting and Weapon Focus(scimitar), the numbers should be
+1 scimitar attacks = +16 (BAB) + 7 (Dex bonus) + 1 (Weapon Focus) + 1 (magic bonus) - 4 (multi-weapon attack penalty) - 1 (size penalty) = +20 to hit
Bite attacks are listed correctly, but if you want the math...
bite attacks = +16 (BAB) +7 (Dex bonus) -5 (multi-attack penalty) -1 (size penalty) = +17 to hit
I might bump up the orlath a couple of HD to 18 which would get his scimitar attacks back up to +22. That does give him a +1 bonus to all saves and an extra feat. Which should probably be Weapon Specialization for the scimitars. This bumps his CR up to 16.
| NPC Dave |
Moving on to Cold Captain Wyther himself...
His attack entry lists the numbers with 3 points of power attack, but that is a mistake. Below are the numbers without any power attack.
Attacking with the icy burst cold iron bastard sword =
+15(BAB) + 8(Strength bonus) + 2(Melee Weapon Mastery feat) + 3(magic bonus) + 1(Weapon Focus) – 4(Two-Weapon Fighting) = +25 to hit
Attacking with the +1 frost cold iron dagger =
+15(BAB) + 8(Strength bonus) + 2(Melee Weapon Mastery feat) + 1(magic bonus) -4(Two-weapon fighting) = +22 to hit
The damage number for the dagger look a bit off as well, so lets keep the +24 and +21 to hit from the stat block and do a 1 point power attack and go through the math for both weapons.
Damage with icy burst cold iron bastard =
1d10 + 8(Strength bonus) + 2(Melee Weapon Mastery feat) + 2(Weapon Specialization) + 3(magic bonus) + 1(Power attack bonus) = 1d10+16 damage (plus all the extra stuff correctly listed in the stat block)
Damage with the frost cold iron dagger when slashing =
1d4 + 4(half Strength bonus) + 2(Melee Weapon Mastery feat) + 1(magic bonus) + 1(Power attack bonus) = 1d4+8 damage (plus all the extra stuff correctly listed in the stat block)
If, for any reason, Captain Wyther has to do piercing damage with the dagger, he does 1d4+6 damage with the dagger on a 1 point power attack due to his Melee Weapon Mastery feat not being in play. Oh, and his attack roll would drop by -2 as well.
Two other errata...
It lists a cloak of protection +4 in his possessions, but that should be a cloak of resistance +4. His saving throws reflect that +4 bonus already.
Lastly, the Fortitude save for his Poison ability should be DC 10 + 8(half his HD) + 6(Constitution bonus) = DC 24, not the DC 21 listed. It would be DC 21 if he wasn't wearing bracers of health +6 but as far as I know the enhancement bonus to ability scores from magic items are always counted in the DC saves for all special abilities. Someone correct me if I am wrong on that.
| NPC Dave |
Taking into account my previous mistakes, I think I have the Orlath attacks fixed below, as I do think here is a mistake in the Dungeon stat block.
The orlath is listed as hitting at +22 with its +1 scimitar attacks. But taking into account Weapon Finesse(which for Orlath includes scimitars thanks to Slashing Blades(Ex)), Multiweapon Fighting and Weapon Focus(scimitar), the numbers should be
+1 scimitar attacks = +16 (BAB) + 7 (Dex bonus) + 1 (Weapon Focus) + 1 (magic bonus) - 4 (multi-weapon attack penalty) - 1 (size penalty) = +20 to hit
One more fix for the Orlath, his secondary eleven +1 scimitar attacks are (1d8+3 damage plus 1 vile) each, not the (1d8+2 damage plus 1 vile) listed. He gets half his strength bonus (+2) and magic bonus (+1).
| NPC Dave |
Taking into account my previous mistakes, I think I have the Orlath attacks fixed below, as I do think here is a mistake in the Dungeon stat block.
The orlath is listed as hitting at +22 with its +1 scimitar attacks. But taking into account Weapon Finesse(which for Orlath includes scimitars thanks to Slashing Blades(Ex)), Multiweapon Fighting and Weapon Focus(scimitar), the numbers should be
+1 scimitar attacks = +16 (BAB) + 7 (Dex bonus) + 1 (Weapon Focus) + 1 (magic bonus) - 4 (multi-weapon attack penalty) - 1 (size penalty) = +20 to hit
Another big oops, the stat block for Orlath is correct after all with regard to attack numbers. I forgot that having a light weapon in the off-hand further reduces the attack penalty from -4/-4 to -2/-2. With the slashing blades extraordinary ability treating scimitars as light weapons, the Orlath math works out as follows...
+1 scimitar attacks = +16 (BAB) + 7 (Dex bonus) + 1 (Weapon Focus) + 1 (magic bonus) - 2 (multi-weapon attack penalty taking into account Multiweapon Fighting and Slashing Blades) - 1 (size penalty) = +22 to hit
| NPC Dave |
Moving on to Cold Captain Wyther himself...
His attack entry lists the numbers with 3 points of power attack, but that is a mistake. Below are the numbers without any power attack.
Attacking with the icy burst cold iron bastard sword =
+15(BAB) + 8(Strength bonus) + 2(Melee Weapon Mastery feat) + 3(magic bonus) + 1(Weapon Focus) – 4(Two-Weapon Fighting) = +25 to hitAttacking with the +1 frost cold iron dagger =
+15(BAB) + 8(Strength bonus) + 2(Melee Weapon Mastery feat) + 1(magic bonus) -4(Two-weapon fighting) = +22 to hitThe damage number for the dagger look a bit off as well, so lets keep the +24 and +21 to hit from the stat block and do a 1 point power attack and go through the math for both weapons.
Damage with icy burst cold iron bastard =
1d10 + 8(Strength bonus) + 2(Melee Weapon Mastery feat) + 2(Weapon Specialization) + 3(magic bonus) + 1(Power attack bonus) = 1d10+16 damage (plus all the extra stuff correctly listed in the stat block)Damage with the frost cold iron dagger when slashing =
1d4 + 4(half Strength bonus) + 2(Melee Weapon Mastery feat) + 1(magic bonus) + 1(Power attack bonus) = 1d4+8 damage (plus all the extra stuff correctly listed in the stat block)If, for any reason, Captain Wyther has to do piercing damage with the dagger, he does 1d4+6 damage with the dagger on a 1 point power attack due to his Melee Weapon Mastery feat not being in play. Oh, and his attack roll would drop by -2 as well.
I forgot his poison sting attack. The attack number is correct for a 3 point power attack (+15 to hit) but the damage roll is incorrect. It should be 1d6 + 4 (half his strength) + 3 (Power attack) so he would hit at +15 for 1d6+7 damage with 3 points of power attack.
Without any power attack, Captain Wyther attacks with his stinger =
+15(BAB) + 8(Strength bonus) – 5(secondary attack) = +18 to hit
| NPC Dave |
Location G5 on the ship The Anger, page 69, where it explains what happens should the Demogorgon statue explode:
"All creatures in the room must make a DC 15 Reflex save or fall through the hole, plummeting 60 feet to the deck of the Fortitude below (area E1)."
The Anger is only 40 feet up the tree, while the Two-Faced Wretch is the ship that is 60 feet up. So this isn't a 60 foot drop, it is at most a 40 foot drop, and even less than that considering the PCs are below deck on the Anger and if they fall the deck of the Fortitude is above ground level. At most this is a 20-30 foot drop, so you can adjust falling damage accordingly.
I didn't catch this until after one of my PCs fell through the hole...oh well 17hp of damage is still less than the maximum on 3d6!
| NPC Dave |
Some more important fixes! Vzorthys' supernatural ability Baleful Flash is listed as a DC 34 save. His eye rays are listed as a DC 27 save. According to the monster entry for Eye of the Deep in Lords of Madness, the baseline save for Baleful Flash is DC 22 and is Constitution based, while the baseline save for eye rays is DC 18 and is Charisma based.
Vzorthys has a 12 point increase in Constitution over the baseline, from 18 to 30, and a 2 point increase in Charisma over the baseline, from 15 to 17. He also has the feat Ability focus for both Baleful Flash and eye rays.
So Baleful Flash should be 22 (baseline) + 6 (Con increase) + 2 (Ability focus) = DC 30 Fortitude save.
While eye rays should be 18 (baseline)+ 1 (Cha increase) + 2 (Ability focus) = DC 21 Reflex/Will save.
So I just reviewed this again, and realized that the baseline eye of the deep from Lords of Madness already has the feat Ability Focus for the Baleful Flash only.
That means the Baleful Flash DC should be 20 (baseline) + 6 (Con increase) + 2 (Ability focus) = DC 28 Fortitude save for Vzorthys.
The eye rays are still DC 21, the baseline eye of the deep does not have Ability Focus for the eye rays.