I've been DM'ing a group of college students through SCAP for about two years now, and this year they're all seniors who will graduate by the summer. They move slowly in game, and they made it clear they wanted lots of sideplots tied to their individual characters, so we haven't gotten as far as I had hoped; at this moment in the campaign they're in Bhal-Hamatugn, running away from Aushanna as fast as they can go. So we have about 7 months left to play before the players start disappearing, and in that time we'll be able to do maybe one more chapter's worth. I'm polling them right now about how they want things to go, and they seem to be leaning toward reaching some sort of real closure before they ride off into the sunset IRL.
So, my problem: How to bring SCAP to a close when normally we'd be just at the beginning of Ch. 5? Obviously I can lop off Chs. 11 and 12, which have seemed superfluous to lots of people anyways. My instinct is to set in motion the final confrontation with the Cagewrights as soon as they return to Cauldron with Splintershield, since he's the last Shackleborn they needed anyway. So I'm thinking I would cut out Chs. 5, 6, and 7, and instead do a mix of Chs. 8, 9, and 10, knocking down the difficulty of the obstacles they'd face so that they'd be appropriate for Level 8 characters at the start, maybe ending around Level 11 or 12.
I think I'd trim back the Cagewrights substantially and change the membership a bit. At the moment, the bad guys they have met/know about are:
-- Orbius (whom they haven't gotten canny to yet)
-- The Last Laugh, though they have no idea who's in charge
-- Jil, who has a relationship with one of the party members
-- Shebeleth Regidin, who is presently head of Pelor's church in Cauldron; they don't suspect him yet
-- The Blue Duke, who they are suspicious of already, but they don't know his true nature
-- Kyan Winterstrike (took part in the Flood Festival archery contest, got disqualified for using magic)
-- Adrick Garthun (faced a PC in the Drinking Contest during the festival)
-- Ike Iverson and Embril Aloustinai (they're suspicious of them already)
-- They've at least read about Grehlia Cairnis and Fetor Abradius in Umbermead's journal in Ch. 3, though they've had no contact with them
-- Gottrod, who killed two party members at Crazy Jared's hut, and flew off with their treasure. They're already plotting revenge against him, so I'm thinking maybe he (and a mate?) could stand in as a lower EL replacement for Hookface
-- There's also a personal nemesis for one of the PC's who is an officer of the Blue Duke's army, and it'd be great to work him in. He's also buddies with Xoden and Chorlyndyr, who survived their encounter with the party in Ch. 2 and bear a grudge against them
-- They've seen Rhiavadi, but she doesn't mean anything to them
And here's a few things I'm thinking of doing:
-- Replace Dyr'ryd with Orbius as the final boss; they should be just about ready for Orbius by the time the campaign is ending.
-- I'm thinking of getting things moving by using the Brass Trumpet confrontation with the Last Laugh. The kidnapped Strider might have found something crucial about the Cagewrights' plans (maybe a map he could tell Meerthan about telepathically but in a language he can't read?), so rescuing him could get them pointed toward the Fiery Sanctum. They could also get proof that the Mayor is dead, which could cue the town meeting that starts Ch. 9.
-- I'd then skip Oblivion, and go straight to the town meeting. Regidin and Rhiavadi could upset things instead of the derro, thus revealing their membership in the Cagewrights.
-- Then the volcano could start waking up, and I could do a subset of the events from Ch. 9, maybe mixing in a couple confrontations with bad guys on the streets - maybe the Blue Duke, maybe Ike Iverson, definitely Gottrod
-- Finally, they could head into the Fiery Sanctum, which would be inhabited by whatever bad guys had gotten away, plus Winterstrike, Aloustinai, maybe Grehlia and Fetor, and anybody else from the original list I think I can use. Plus a toned down Moltenwing. And the final confrontation at the tree would be with Vhalantru, who would finally reveal himself as Orbius.
If you've read this far, bless you! And I hope you will also be willing to offer any advice, ideas, or criticism you think could help me pull this off! It's a bummer to leave out so much great material, but a part of me thinks this will make the whole thing a more streamlined, tidy package anyway.
All of your suggestions sound reasonable; I also had ideas around the same lines (collapsing the # of Cagewrights, finishing on Thirteen Cages, etc.). The #1 thing I'd suggest is to dramatically shrink any dungeons as much as possible. In my experience, crawling through big dungeons is a major factor in slowing down the Shackled City adventures (although you've already passed Jzadirune and Bhal-Hamatugn, so there's two down...).
A small number of large encounters is usually much faster than a large number of small encounters, and it's not necessarily any more dangerous (depending on terrain).
Cleanthes, This sounds really good. I'd like to do something similar, I think.
Whatever I come up with, I'll post it here, in case someone else can use it sometime. But I'd still like to pick people's brains for advice!
I'm thinking I'll have the party return from Bhal-Hamatugn to find out that the Mayor had reportedly gone to Sasserine as part of a trade delegation (though no one actually saw him go), and now he's overdue to return. I'll let a few weeks of downtime pass during which they can do whatever crafting, shopping, and interactions with townpeople they like. I was really looking forward to running the tax riot encounter, but I think I'll let that, the Chisel, and Redgorge all go by the wayside. When the Mayor's been missing for some time, I'll have Jenya use her magic mace to ask Cuthbert what's become of him, and his response will make it clear that Navalant has gone to the great Town Hall in the sky. She will arrange a meeting of the town's notables to discuss this news and deliberate about the town's reaction. Maybe the day before this meeting, I'll have Meerthan summon the party to rescue one of the Striders from the Last Laugh.
Ok so far, but here's the question: Who should the captured Strider have been spying on, at which location? In the campaign as written, it was Rhiavadi in her house, and this info leads the party to Rhiavadi for the council of big bads. But given the shortcuts I'm taking, it seems to me I have options. The Strider could instead have been following Iverson and gotten caught around the Temple of Wee Jas. Or I could steer them toward Vhalantru's mansion (though leave Oblivion out of it, I think.) At this point all I need is a way to get them to the Fiery Sanctum, and any place I can stow a map and some notes will do (including a note confirming the Mayor's death). My instinct is to still steer them to the meeting at Rhiavadi's, though with a much reduced group of villains in attendance, but not tip the party yet to the complicity of Regidin and the Wee Jas clerics. Then I could have Iverson and Regidin disrupt the meeting called by Jenya the following day if they couldn't swing the deliberations in a direction they liked. Then an abbreviated Foundations of Flame would follow, and then a trip down into the Fiery Sanctum (which I would also shrink a bit.) Also, I think it's possible I could keep Vhalantru's name out of things until the very end; he could have accompanied Navalant on his trip and likewise gone missing, all Cagewright references to him could refer to him as Orbius, and his appearance beside the Tree of Shackled Souls could be the big reveal. What do you think?
My players also seem to want me to leave open the possibility of carrying on the campaign after we reach this culmination, so I'm thinking I could still resurrect the Adimarchus thread after the Cagewrights were dealt with, and then use elements from Ch.'s 6, 7, 11, and 12 as they seemed appropriate. (Though I think they're kidding themselves about being able to keep playing together after they've graduated and scattered.)
Cleanthes, I was thinking the way to do this (though I'm not facing an immediate deadline like you) is to copy and paste the synopsis from theRPGenius, then edit it. Here's my attempt.
Chapter 1: Life's Bazaar (my version)
Flow: PC's gate in from "Forge of Fury" to the Malachite Fortress, run by duergar slavers. The Stormblades have finished off what little in Jzadirune the last TPK'd party (when I was a player, not a DM, with different folks) left in tact, having been hired by Jenya of the Temple of St. Cuthbert. PC's rescue slaves, meet Vhalantru.
Idea: Switch Vhalantru to a rakhasa, not a beholder?
Background: "Orbius" is incahoots with an evil group called the Cagewrights. He's not too interested in the duergar, but gets a cut of their profits. He gets interested -- and mad -- when they kidnap a Shackleborn.
Chapter 2: Drakthar's Way -- Skip
Chapter 3: Flood Season
Flow: See the new city. Meet NPC's. Use DelvesDeep's Flood Festival outline. Near the end of events, but before the Demonskar Ball, the PCs find out that Sarcem has been attacked. They go to the Lucky Monkey in great haste. They win, rescue Shensen. Back in Cauldron, the PCs are asked to find out where the wands of water control are (which Sarcem should have had) before the whole of Cauldron is under water. Investigations lead to yet ANOTHER dungeon area below Cauldron - the Kopru Ruins. The PCs go in, retrieve as many wands as possible, and save the day! The PCs go back to Cauldron, participate in the Demonskar Ball, and relax.
Background: A disgruntled ex-guard, Triel, was kicked out of the Cagewright's plans and stole the wands to get money from the town. Triel and here cronies are part of the Ebon Triad and were hired by the Cagewrights to make the Soul Cages. Some more information about the main plot line can be sparingly released during this chapter. The PCs should start to think that bad things are afoot and tied together. There is potential to mix in a tragic love story between Triel and Skylar Krewis as discussed on the paizo message boards after a suggestion by DD.
Chapter 4: Zenith Trajectory
Flow: The PCs are out minding their business, as a group, likely armed, and with no reason to be so, when an Umber Hulk comes out of the ground and starts to tear apart the area. After an interesting battle, the party is invited to the Cusp of Sunrise by a beauty named Celeste. There, they are told about Zenith Splintershield's disappearance and asked to find him. The foolish party accepts the mission to go into the Underdark. They are given Crazy Jared's hut as a marker to help find the entrance to the Underdark (no other reason for his hut than a waysign and a deadly encounter). There, they face a red dragon... good luck. Soon after, they discover a pit in the ground and an entrance to the Underdark, which happens to be guarded by a 7-headed Cryohydra. Into the Underdark and several random encounters later, they are on the doorstep of Bhal-Hamatugn, a Kuo-Toa city. They find out that Zenith is not a prisoner, but a psychotic leader! Good luck convincing him to come home! Oh... there's another dragon down here too.
Background: This is "Orbius'" way of removing the PCs from the town. Send them to their doom. Even if they succeed in rescuing Zenith, they are just doing the cagewrights a favor (Zenith is also a Shackleborn). Problem: If I drop the Adimarchus plot entirely, why is Zenith in the Kuo-Toa city? Maybe he really is a prisoner, or is crazy for a different reason -- maybe the same reason Crazy Jared is crazy?
Chapter 5: The Demonskar Legacy
Flow: So, your party gets back to find the city swarming with corrupt half-orc mercenaries and tax collectors. Maavu Arlintal decides that enough is enough, and manages to accidentally provoke a riot right outside of town hall (with a little help from the Last Laugh) when he announces that the town's resident knight in shining armor, Sir Alek Tercival, has challenged the Captain of the Guard for his position. This is followed by Fire Elementals attacking the Half Orc mercenaries. Needless to say, Maavu becomes persona non grata in Cauldron, but as the city musters to march against him and his allies in Redgorge, the party must race to find the missing knight to prevent an unnecessary and costly war between Cauldron and Redgorge. Along the way, they meet an angel, smack around a lot of giants, have a drink with three sisters, and wander through the looking glass. In all likelihood, they will be confused by the puzzle that follows for quite some time. Eventually, they find Alek, just in time for local demonic boogeyman Nabtoothsomethingorother to arbitrarily kill him off so he can utter a prophecy with his dying breath.
Background: Magnificent Bastard that he is, "Orbius" is manipulating events to remove several possible threats to his power from the region. Nabbadabbadoo, on the other hand, just likes killing Paladins for s&*#s and giggles - he's a dick like that. Oh yeah, and if Redgorge gets burned down, he gets to go home to the Abyss, so I suppose he DOES have a reason after all. The Cagewrights, however, are too busy either playing with their new toy Zenith if your group was successful in Chapter 4, or locating a replacement if they were not, to do much this chapter.
Chapter Six: Test of the Smoking Eye - skip, except for one development discovered when the PC's come back to Cauldron.
Oh, and back home, "Orbius" offs the Lord Mayor and takes over Cauldron.
Chapter Seven: Secret of the Soul Pillars
Flow: The PCs come back to Cauldron. A bunch of assassins launch a surprisingly well planned attack against the PCs. Unfortunately, the PCs are able to discover that the Cathedral of Wee Jas is responsible, and they rush off to kill everyone there. Unfortunately (or fortunately for the PCs), the High Priestess is unavailable to take their invasion and delegates it to her toadie Ike Iverson. After offing Ike, the party discovers that some guy with the wonderfully evil name of Fetor is studying "Soul Pillars" and trying to unlock "Secrets" from them. So they explore some spooky ice caves, fight Fetor, and take down a nasty Dracolich. Fun is had by all, with the possible exception of Fetor and said Dracolich.
Background: Fetor has apparently been gaining ancient Spellweaver knowledge from the Soul Pillars, and this has been instrumental in the design of the Cagewrights' wacky World Domination Tree. Which is almost ready now! Embril is unavailable for whacking by PCs because she is busy assembling a large army of Demodands to invade Cauldron once the World Domination Tree activates the volcano. By now, the party should be looking for leads to pinpoint the location of the Cagewrights' Secret Volcano Base and the exact details of how their World Domination plan.
Question: Should I drop Spellweavers? Don't see any need for a new ancient race.
Chapter Eight: Lords of Oblivion
Flow: Getting back to town after the creepy creepy spellweaver tomb, the gang gets hit up by Red 1 about Red 2's (as we called them in our game) capture and torture. Or whoever the party likes most, probably el hot half-drow. After dismantling some thieves hideout from the ground up, our friendly NPCs point the group to the next slaughterhouse. Walking into House Rhiavadi, they might get the whole Cagewright plan spilled all over them, or they might get themselves right into the pot with a roomful of baddies. Finishing that up, they might decide to head over to House Vhalantru and kick the door in. A group of dead half-orcs and some dungeon delving, and they finally get to find out who 'Orbius' really is. Hope they manage to free Celeste, cause they're in for a world of hurtin'.
Background: The Cagewrights are resting up for the big day.
Chapter Nine: Foundation of Flame
Flow: The city is leaderless now, and the important people gather up to figure out who gets stuck cleaning the mess up. Great role-playing opportunity for the gang, right up until some crazy dwarf butts in and tries to kill everyone. With maybe a few less candidates to choose from, the meeting is adjourned, just in time for the volcano to wake up. Much panic and mayhem ensues with falling fiends, quakes, volcanic activity, and plenty of nasty monster attacks. The party gets run ragged trying to save as many people as they can with only so much resources available. To wrap things up, mighty ol' Hookface pays Cauldron a visit.
Background: Whoops, someone let the crazy sorcerer out, guess plans have to step up! Activating the ritual, the timer is set, now they just have to wait and guard against any pesky hero types coming to save the world. Oh yeah, there are some around, but they're too busy saving what they can to worry about coming a stopping things. Once they get done doing what FEMA should have been doing, they can put together a meeting of the mindless and figure out where to go next.
Changes: Don't think I need the "crazy dwarf sorcerer". Cagewrights can be doing all this, with Orbius' help. To me, this is their goal all along - blow up Cauldron.
Chapter Ten: Thirteen Cages -- The End
Flow: Alright, time to storm the gates! Or, well, go spelunking into an active volcano. It's a race to find the Doomsday Christmas Tree, and plenty of cannon fodder to stand in the way.
Background: This is a good time to bring any main NPC baddies back to get killed off for good. The party could learn some interesting background points and motivations about their enemies, but they most likely mow them down heroically. Then they get to try and rebuild their lovely little city.
From where you are it might be easiest to drop Vhalantru as a baddie, jump from Bhal-Hamatugh to the party at House Rhihivadi. From there jump to the Firey Sanctum and maybe trim a bit to make it more concise. You loose out on the eruption and a few other really cool bits but it will allow you to come to a conclusion that will be satisfactory for the players. There are problems with scaling and what-have-you but I think it would be worth it to reach a satisfactory conclusion.
When I ran SCAP I had the opportunity to run it through completion including the epic finale battle with Adimartchus. It was pretty time consuming but well worth it in the end. It's a hell of an AP and the (dramatic) cuts I suggested should wrap everything up in the time you have left given the pace your group has been moving.
My suggestions would require a little bridging material to make it flow plus some of your own bits to wrap up side-quests like Gottrod obviously. Perhaps he could replace Moltenwing in the Firey Sanctum...
We've been moving along in the shortened campaign, and here's how things are developing: When the party got back from Bhal-Hamatugn, I ran the Brass Trumpet as the next set piece. This time, though, it was the Cathedral of Wee Jas that the Striders had been keeping an eye on rather than House Rhiavadi, so it was the Cathedral that the PC's rushed off to assault. But I put scaled down versions of the House Rhiavadi encounters in the Cathedral instead of the ones originally described in Ch.7; for instance, I put only a low-level priest and a couple of the Blue Duke's low-level mercenaries at the front door of the Cathedral, so that the party would have a reasonable chance of getting in without alerting the bad guys above. I also seriously altered the cast of characters who were present for the meeting. (I'm including scaled down stat blocks for all these encounters below.) The party's diviner was able to observe Thifirane's big speech, so the party finally understands the outline of the Cagewright's plot, and we're presently wrapping up the fight that followed when the party assaulted the assembled baddies.
From here, I'm going to have Meerthan instruct them to arrange a meeting with city luminaries to inform them of the plot and the fact that the Mayor is dead and their leadership is compromised, so the next event will be an altered version of the meeting that opens Ch. 9. Instead of the derro sorcerer bursting in, though (which always seemed totally random to me anyway), I'm going to have Shebeleth (who has inserted himself into the leadership of the Church of Pelor) sow dissent at the meeting, and if it looks like the PCs are going to be able to sway the leaders of Cauldron in a direction he doesn't like, he'll reveal himself as an enemy and try to take out as many of them as he can before fleeing to the Fiery Sanctum. Then I intend to run a subset of the events from Foundation of Flame, culminating with Gottrod (who killed a couple of party members and got away in Ch. 4) making an appearance in place of Hookface, and perhaps being joined by a new mate. And finally, with the evacuation of the city underway, the party will head down to the Fiery Sanctum to wrap up the shortened campaign. If it turns out we can keep playing after most of my players graduate, perhaps I can loop back around and run some of the adventures we skipped. (I was really looking forward to Occipitus, for instance!)
Anyway, here's the stat blocks I worked up for the Brass Trumpet and the bad guys' meeting in the Cathedral. I've got the encounters scaled back down so that they're appropriate for a party of 8th level characters.
B1: Entry (EL 5)
Last Laugh Thugs (2)
Male human rogue 2/warrior 2: CR 3
Medium humanoid
AL NE
Init +2
Language: Common
Senses: Listen +7 Spot +7
HP 25 (4HD)HD 2d6+2d8+4; hp 25 each
AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 12
SQ evasion
SV Fort +4, Ref+5, Will +1
Spd 30 ft.
Base Atk +3; Grp +5
Full Atk +6 melee (2d4+3/18-20, falchion) or
Ranged +5 (ld6+2/x3, composite shortbow)
Attack options: sneak attack +1d6
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 8
Skills: Climb +5, Disable Device +4, Disguise +2, Hide +6, Gather Information +3, Intimidate +2, Jump +5, Knowledge (local) +4, Listen +7, Move Silently +6, Open Lock +5, Search +4, Spot +7, Tumble +6
Feats: Alertness, Point Blank Shot, Weapon Focus (falchion)
Possessions: Leather armor, falchion, composite shortbow (+2 Str), quiver of 20 arrows, pouch of 2d6 gp and
2d6 sp (all minted with the jester emblem of the Last Laugh guild)
B2: Crossbow Battery (EL 4)
Trap: Mechanical; location trigger; manual reset; Atk +11 ranged (1d10 plus poison/19-20, 3 heavy crossbows); poison (blue whinnis, Fort DC 14 negates, initial 1 Con, secondary unconsciousness for 1d3 hours); Search DC 22; Disable Device DC 21
B4: Common Room (EL 5)
2 Last Laugh Thugs
B5: Last Laugh Harlequin (EL 8)
2 Last Laugh Thugs (CR 5)
Mokaius, Last Laugh Harlequin
Male human monk 6/assassin 1: CR 7
Medium humanoid
AL LE
Init +3
Language: Common
Senses: Listen +4 Spot +4
HP 6d8+1d6+14 (44)
AC 17, touch 16, flat-footed 14
SQ evasion, purity of body, slow fall 30’, still mind
SV Fort +5, Ref +10, Will +7
Spd 50 ft.
Base Atk +4; Grp +5
Atk +6 melee (1d8+1, unarmed strike)
Full Atk +4/+4 melee (1d8+1 unarmed strike)
Ranged +8 (1d4+2, sling w/ +1 bullet) or +8 (1d2+1 plus poison, mwk shuriken)
Attack options: Death attack (DC 11), flurry of blows, ki strike (magic), poison use, sneak attack +1d6, stunning fist 4/day (DC 15)
Abilities: Str 12, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 8
Skills: Balance +8, Climb +4, Disable Device +2, Disguise +3, Escape Artist +8, Hide +10, Jump +16, Listen +4, Move Silently +10, Open Lock +5, Search +2, Spot +4, Tumble +11, Use Rope +5 (for bindings)
Feats: Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Trip, Improved Unarmed Strike, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Stunning Fist, Weapon Focus (unarmed stirke)
Possessions: Sling w/ 20 +1 bullets, 5 mwk shuriken (coated w/ large scorpion venom, Fort DC 18 negates, init and sec damage 1d6 Str), amulet of natural armor +1, potion of mage armor, potion of shield of faith (+2), monk’s outfit, 1 sp minted w/ jester emblem to bypass ward at B8)
B6: Empty Bedroom (EL 5)
As written in the book.
B8: Curtains (EL 8)
Last Laugh Thug
Finch
Male halfling rogue 2/sorcerer 5: CR 7
Small humanoid
AL LE
Languages: Common, Draconic, Halfling
Init +7
Senses: spot +5 listen+6
AC 16, touch 14, flat-footed 13
Hp 2d6+5d4+7 (26)
SQ Evasion
SV Fort +3, Ref +8, Will +5 (+7 against fear)
Spd 20 ft.;
Base Atk +3; Grp -3
Atk +7 melee (1d4-2/19-20, short sword)
Full Atk +7 melee (1d4-2/19-20, short sword)
Attack options: Sneak attack +1d6, Tumble
Spells Known (6/7/5; caster level 5th; +7 ranged touch):
0 (6/day)— acid splash, dancing lights, detect magic, mage hand, ray of frost, read magic,
1st (7/day) — alarm, magic missile, ray of enfeeblement, shield,
2nd (5/day)— invisibility, scorching ray
Abilities Str 6, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 16.
Skills: Balance +3, Bluff+6, Climb +4, Concentration +6, Diplomacy +3, Disguise +3 (+5 acting in character), Hide +12, Gather Information +9, Intimidate +5, Jump +4, Knowledge (local) +4, Listen +6, Move Silently +9, Search +5, Sleight of Hand +6, Spellcraft +5, Spot +5, Tumble +13.
Feats: Acrobatic, Improved Initiative, Weapon Finesse
Possessions: Small short sword, leather armor, potion of displacement, wand of hold person (20 charges), slippers of spider climbing, pouch containing 32 gp (all minted with the jester emblem of the Last Laugh guild), keys to all locked doors in the safe house, key to the chest in area B8.
Treasure stays as in the book.
B9: Interrogation Chamber (EL 11)
Jil, female human rogue 5/assassin 3, CR 8
Medium humanoid;
AL NE
Init +6
Languages: Common, Draconic, Elven, Gnome.
Senses: Spot +9 Listen -1
AC 19, touch 15, flat-footed 14;
HP 36 (8 HD +8)
SQ evasion, improved uncanny dodge,
SV Fort +4 (+5 against poison), Ref+9, Will +1
Spd 30 ft.
Base Atk +5; Grp +5;
Atk +16 melee (ld6/19-20 plus poison, masterwork short sword)
Whip +16 (1d3+1 nonlethal plus trip attack, +1 whip)
Full Atk +16/+11 melee (1d6/19-20 plus poison, masterwork short sword)
Ranged+16 (1d6/x3, masterwork shortbow);
SA death attack (DC 16), poison use, sneak attack +5d6, spells;
Assassin Spells Known (4/4/4/1; caster level 8th);
1st—disguise self (DC 14), obscuring mist, true strike
2nd—pass without trace, spider climb
Abilities Str 11, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 9, Cha 12.
Skills: Balance +8, Bluff+12, Diplomacy +13, Disable Device +10, Disguise +12 (+14 acting), Escape Artist +15,
Forgery +4, Hide +15, Intimidate +4, Jump +2, Move Silently +15, Open Lock +12, Sense Motive +9, Spell-
craft +4, Spot +9, Tumble +14, Use Magic Device +10.
Feats: Combat Expertise, Improved Initiative, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (whip), Weapon Finesse.
SQ: trap sense +1, trapfinding
Possessions: +1 studded leather armor, +1 whip, masterwork shortbow with 20 arrows, gloves of Dexterity +2, masterwork short sword, sword sheath with poison reservoir (coats blade with
deathblade poison when the weapon is drawn; Fortitude DC 20 negates, initial 1d6 Con, secondary 2d6 Con;
holds 1 application), black cloak and clothing, pouch containing 20 sp and 45 gp (all minted with the jester
emblem of the Last Laugh guild)
W1: The Grand Hall (EL 6)
2 Half-Orc Guards, fighter 3
Medium humanoid
AL LE
Init +1
Language: Common
Senses: Listen +2 Spot +2
HP 27; HD 3d10+6;
AC 16, touch 11, flat-footed 15
SQ darkvision 60’
SV Fort +5, Ref+2, Will +1
Spd 20 ft.
Base Atk +3; Grp +6
Full Atk +8 melee (1d10+4/x3, mwk halberd)
Ranged +5 ranged (1d6/x3, shortbow)
Attack options:
Abilities: Str 17, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 10
Skills: Intimidate +4, Sense Motive +1
Feats: Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Weapon Focus (halberd)
Possessions: Breastplate, buckler, mwk halberd, mwk shortbow w/ 20 arrows, cmw potion, 2d10 gp.
Calmus Vel, male human cleric 3 (Wee Jas)
LE Medium humanoid
Init -1; Senses Spot +3, Listen +3
Languages Common
AC 20, touch 9, flat-footed 20
hp 23 (3 HD 3d8+6)
Fort +6, Ref +0, Will +6
Spd 20 ft.
Melee mwk Heavy Mace +5 (1d8+1)
Base Atk +2, Grp +3
Atk Options Combat Casting
Special Atks Death Touch 1/day (3d6 damage)
Combat Gear scroll of mirror image
Spells Known (CL 3rd)
2nd--- cure moderate wounds, death knell (DC 15), hold person (DC 15)
1st --- cause fear (DC 14), cure light wounds, divine favor, shield of faith
0 --- cure minor wounds, detect magic, read magic, guidance
Underline: Domain Spell; Domains: Death (death touch 1/day; 3d6 damge), Magic
Abilities Str 12, Dex 8, Con 17, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 12
Feats Combat Casting, Lightning Reflexes, Weapon Focus (Heavy Mace)
Skills Concentration +9, Heal +9, Knowledge (Religion) +6
Possesions full plate, heavy steel shield, mwk heavy mace, scroll of mirror image
W9: The Hall of Night’s Rising (EL 16)
Thifirane Rhiavadi (CR 11)
Female Human Transmuter 11
NE Medium humanoid
Init +5; Senses Spot +2, Listen +2
Languages Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Infernal, Undercommon
AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 12
hp 44 (11d4+11 HD)
Resists
SQ contingency (activates a lesser globe of invulnerability during round 1 of combat)
Immune
Fort +4, Ref +4 (+6 with familiar), Will +9
Spd 30 ft.
Melee Dagger +5 (1d4/19-20)
Ranged Eye Ray +6 (2d8+10) Will DC 12 for half. Range 150 ft. Free Action
Base Atk +5, Grp +5
Atk Options Spell Penetration
Combat Gear scroll of greater dispel magic, scroll of stone to flesh,
Spells Known (CL 11th; +6 ranged touch)
6th disintegrate (DC 21), greater dispel magic
5th baleful polymorph (DC 20), Mordenkainen’s private sanctum (already cast), teleport
4th Evard’s black tentacles, Otiluke’s resilient sphere (DC 19), Rary’s mnemonic enhancer, shout (DC 19), stoneskin
3rd fly, haste, lightning bolt (DC 18), nondetection (2, both already cast), slow (DC 18)
2nd alter self, bear’s endurance, cat’s grace, fox’s cunning, scorching ray, see invisibility
1st enlarge person, expeditious retreat, mage armor, magic missile, shield, unseen servant (already cast)
0 detect magic, flare (DC 15), light, mending, read magic
Abilities Str 10, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 18, Wis 14, Cha 10
Feats Brew Potion, Combat Casting, Craft Wondrous Item, Improved Initiative, Scribe Scroll, Spell Focus (evocation, transmutation), Spell Penetration
Skills Concentration +15, Decipher Script +17, Knowledge (arcane) +17, Knowledge (history) +17, Knowledge (nobility and royalty) +14, Knowledge (the planes) +18, Spellcraft +17
Possesions dagger, ring of protection +2, hat of Charisma +2, scroll of greater dispel magic (cast at 12th level), scroll of stone to flesh, silver cage pendant (doubles as shield guardian amulet), pouch of spell components (including 350gp of diamond dust for nondetection and stoneskin spells), small ivory plaque (50gp; material component for Rary’s mnemonic enhancer), small ivory statue of herself set with precious gems (1,500gp; focus for contingency spell).
Shield Guardian Large Construct
(Space 10/Reach 10) CR 8
Initiative +0 Senses Listen +0 Spot +0
AC 24 Touch 9 Flat Footed 24
HP 15d10+30 (112)
Immunities All mind-affecting effects; poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, and necromancy effects; critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, or energy drain; any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects, or is harmless); massive damage.
Resistances None
Weaknesses None
Fort +5 Ref +5 Will +5
Speed 30
Melee 2 Slams +16 (1d8+6)
Ranged None
Attack Options Trample, Expert Grappler
BAB +11 Grapple +21
Str 22 Dex 10 Con - Int - Wis 10 Cha 1
SQ Construct traits, darkvision 60 ft., fast healing 5, find master, guard, low-light vision, shield other, spell storing
This Shield Guardian has a Fire Shield spell stored.
Adrick Garthun (CR 10)
Male dwarf fighter 5/ rogue 5
LE Medium humanoid CR 10
Initiative +2 Senses Listen +5 Spot +5 Darkvision 60 ft.
AC 18 Touch 12 Flat Footed 16 (Dodge feat)
HP 5d10+5d6+20 (68)
Immunities None
Resistances None
Weaknesses None
Fort +7 (+11 vs. poison) Ref +4 Will +4 +2 vs. spells
Speed 20
Melee +14/+9 (1d10+7/x3, +1 dwarven waraxe)
Ranged +10 (1d8/19-20, light crossbow)
Attack Options Cleave, Great Cleave, Power Attack, Sneak attack +2d6
BAB +8 Grapple +12
Str 18 Dex 15 Con 14 Int 11 Wis 11 Cha 14
SQ Darkvision 60 ft., dwarf traits, evasion, trap sense +1, trapfinding, uncanny dodge
Feats Cleave, Dodge, Great Cleave, Iron Will, Power Attack, Weapon Focus(dwarven waraxe), Weapon Specialization(dwarven waraxe)
Skills Appraise +5, Balance +4, Climb +8, Diplomacy +4, Hide +7, Intimidate +11, Jump +10, Listen +5, Move Silently +7, Sense Motive +5, Spot +5, Swim +8, Tumble +7.
Possessions +1 dwarven waraxe, +1 light steel shield, +1 studded leather armor, belt of giant strength +2, light crossbow with 10 bolts, leather half mask set with a black diamond (1,000gp)
Daxavalt and Kerg (each CR 6)
Male dwarf fighter 6
LE Medium humanoid CR 6
Initiative +1 Senses Listen +1 Spot +1 Darkvision 60 ft.
AC 19 Touch 11 Flat Footed 18 Dodge feat
HP 6d10+18 (62)
Immunities None
Resistances None
Weaknesses None
Fort +8 (+12 vs. poison) Ref +3 Will +3 +2 vs. spells
Speed 20
Melee +10/+5 (1d8+7/x3, +2 dwarven urgosh) and +10 (1d6+5/x3, +2 dwarven urgosh)
Ranged +10 (1d8/19-20, light crossbow)
Attack Options Cleave, Great Cleave, Power Attack
BAB +6 Grapple +9
Str 16 Dex 13 Con 16 Int 8 Wis 12 Cha 8
SQ Darkvision 60 ft., dwarf traits
Feats Cleave, Dodge, Great Cleave, Power Attack, Two-weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (dwarven urgosh), Weapon Specialization (dwarven urgosh)
Skills Intimidate +4, Jump -4.
Possessions +2 dwarven urgosh, masterwork full plate armor, heavy crossbow with 10 bolts, pouch containing 2d6 gems (worth 100gp each).
Zarn Kyass (CR 11)
Male Ogre mage ftr 3
LE large giant(space 10/reach 10) CR 11
Initiative +4 Senses Listen +10 Spot +10 Darkvision 90, low light
AC 20 Touch 9 Flat Footed 21
HP 5d8+3d10+24 (62) Regen 5
Immunities None
Resistances SR 19
Weaknesses None
Fort +10 Ref +2 Will +4
Speed 40, fly 40 (good)
Melee +11/+4 (3d6+9/19-20, +1 greatsword)
Ranged +5/+0 (2d6+5/x3, composite longbow)
Attack Options Cleave, Combat Expertise, Point Blank Shot
BAB +6 Grapple +15
Str 21 Dex 10 Con 17 Int 14 Wis 14 Cha 17
SQ Lang: Common, Dwarven, Giant, Orc
Spell-like abilities (CL9): At will—darkness, invisibility; 1/day—charm person (DC14), cone of cold (DC18), gaseous form, polymorph, sleep (DC14)
Feats Cleave, Combat Expertise, Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot, Weapon Focus (greatsword)
Skills Concentration +12, Listen +10, Spellcraft +11, Spot +10
Possessions +1 chain shirt, +1 greatsword, amulet of natural armor +1, composite longbow (+5 strength), 20 arrows
Ike Iverson (CR 11)
Male Human Cleric 11 (Wee Jas)
LE Medium humanoid
Init -1; Senses Spot +4, Listen +4
Languages Common, Infernal
AC 24, touch 9, flat-footed 24
hp 63 (11 HD)
Defense Gear +3 light fortification full plate (25% chance of normal damage), ring of counterspells (dispel magic)
Fort +9, Ref +3, Will +12
Spd 20 ft.
Melee +3 bastard sword +13 (1d10+5/19-20)
or +3 bastard sword +13/+8 (1d10+5/19-20)
Base Atk +8, Grp +10
Atk Options Combat Casting, Power Attack
Special Atks Death Touch 1/day (11d6 damage)
Combat Gear +3 bastard sword
Spells Known (CL 11th)
6th --- antimagic field, heroes’ feast
5th --- quickened divine favor, flame strike (DC 19), slay living (DC 19), quickened shield of faith
4th --- air walk, death ward, dismissal (DC 18), divine power, greater magic weapon
3rd --- dispel magic, magic vestment (4), protection from energy
2nd--- bear’s endurance, bull’s strength, death knell (DC 16), hold person (DC 16), resist energy, silence (DC 16), spirtual weapon
1st --- bane (DC 15), cause fear (DC 16), comprehend languages, divine favor, obscuring mist (2), sanctuary (DC 15), shield of faith
0 --- cure minor wounds (2), detect magic (2), guidance, read magic
Underline: Domain Spell; Domains: Death (death touch 1/day; 11d6 damage), Magic
Abilities Str 14, Dex 8, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 19, Cha 10
Feats Combat Casting, Exotic Weapon Prof. (bastard sword), Power Attack, Quicken Spell, Tomb-Tainted Soul
Skills Concentration +15, Diplomacy +8, Heal +10, Knowledge (Religion) +15, Spellcraft +15
Possesions +1 light fortification full plate (+3 with magic vestment), masterwork light shield (+3 with magic vestment), +1 bastard sword (+3 with greater magic weapon), periapt of Wisdom +2, cloak of resistance +1, scroll of invisibility, scroll of mirror image, scroll of teleport, ring of counterspells (dispel magic), silver holy symbol worth 500gp, key to all locks in Wee Jas temple.
Velior Thazo (CR 11)
Male Half-fiend human cleric 6/rogue 3
CE Medium outsider (augmented humanoid, native)
Init +7; Senses Spot +10, Listen +10 Darkvision 60 ft.
Languages Abyssal, Common, Infernal
AC 23, touch 13, flat-footed 20
hp 59 (6d8+3d6+20 HD)
Resists DR 5/magic, acid 10, cold 10, fire 10, electricity 10, SR 17
SQ evasion, trap sense +1, trapfinding
Immune poison
Fort +8, Ref +10 Will +10
Spd 20 ft., Fly 20 ft. (average)
Melee +12 +1 morning star (1d8+5) and +5 bite (1d6+1)
Ranged +10 masterwork light crossbow (1d8/19-20)
Base Atk +6, Grp +11
Atk Options smite good 1/day for +9 damage, rebuke undead 10/day, spell-like abilities, sneak attack +2d6
Combat Gear potion of alter self
Spells Known (CL 6h)
3rd cure serious wounds, dispel magic, magic vestment, searing light
2nd bear’s endurance, bull’s strength, hold person (DC 16), sound burst (DC 16), spiritual weapon
1st cure light wounds, divine favor, doom (DC 15), protection from good, shield of faith
0 cure minor wounds, detect magic, light, read magic, resistance
Domains: Evil (evil spells +1 CL); War (Weapon Focus bonus feat)
Spell-like abilities (CL10th) 3/day darkness, poison (DC 15) 1/day—contagion (DC15), desecrate, unholy blight (DC15).
Abilities Str 18, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 18, Cha 12
Feats Combat Casting, Extra Turning, Flyby Attack, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Weapon Focus (morning star).
Skills Bluff +7, Concentration +11, Diplomacy +7, Escape Artist +6, Heal +8, Hide +9, Intimidate +7, Knowledge (arcana) +5, Knowledge (local) +7, Knowledge (religion) +6, Listen +10, Move Silently +6, Spellcraft +4, Spot +10, Tumble +6.
Possesions +1 glamered breastplate, +1 large steel shield, +1 morning star (“Bloodfever”), periapt of wisdom +2, potion of alter self, holy symbol of Erythnul.
I also had a CR 8 NPC present who was a specially made nemesis for one of the PC's present as an aide-de-camp to the Blue Duke, but I've left him out. And I'll keep putting up stat blocks as I scale down the encounters for the rest of the campaign!
Your truncated version sounds pretty good! I like the idea of combining the Rhiavadi/cathedral bits, replacing the derro (I didn't like that bit much, either) and replacing Hookface with Gottrod.
I scrapped the derro too. I don't recall what I used in his place, however...
Your truncated version sounds pretty good! I like the idea of combining the Rhiavadi/cathedral bits, replacing the derro (I didn't like that bit much, either) and replacing Hookface with Gottrod.
I agree. And thanks Cleanthes, for postings the stats. It's always cool to see how other people stat up the villains. :)
Thanks all for the encouragement, and if I could contribute something to other people's campaigns, that would be great. I've certainly taken my fair share of ideas from people on this forum!
I also have stripped 4 levels from Shebeleth Regidin, so he's now ready to mess up the town meeting when the time is right. I thought about pushing him down even lower, but I think it might be a good idea to have him cast blasphemy to reveal himself, which should paralyze almost all the NPC's in the room right off the bat (and maybe kill a couple), drop a couple high-level spells, and then cast mislead to make his escape. It's probably not fair to hit a 9th level party with a 13th level foe, but I don't intend to keep him around to do his worst. I mostly just want the party to know they're up against serious bad guys!
Here's the stats I've drawn up for him:
Shebeleth Regidin CR 13
Male human cleric 8 (Adimarchus)/loremaster 5
NE Medium humanoid (human)
Init +1; Senses listen +5, spot +5.
Languages Common, Abyssal, Demodand, Infernal
AC 25, touch 16, flat-footed 24
hp 93 (13 HD)
Damage
Resist nondetection, prot. from good; SR 25
Fort +12, Ref +10, Will +19.
Speed 20 ft. (6 squares)
Melee +1 morningstar +8/+3 (1d8) or
Ranged mwk light crossbow +10 (1d8/19-20)
Base Atk +8; Grp +7
Special Actions rebuke undead 4/day (+1, 2d6+18), spontaneous casting (inflict spells)
Combat Gear oil of magic vestment (+4), potion of fly, scroll of mass cure moderate wounds, scroll of dimensional anchor, scroll of flame strike, scroll of invisibility purge, scroll of plane shift
Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 13th):
7th—(1+1) blasphemyD (CL 14th), destruction (DC 22)
6th—(2+1) blade barrier (DC 21), heal, misleadD
5th—(4+1) break enchantment, dispel goodD, flame strike (DC 20), empowered searing light, spell resistance†
4th—(5+1) confusionD (DC 19), cure critical wounds (2), death ward, greater magic weapon, sending
3rd—(5+1) bestow curse, cure serious wounds, dispel magic, magic circle against good, nondetectionD, searing light
2nd—(6+1) align weapon, cure moderate wounds (2), death knell (DC 18), invisibilityD, resist energy, undetectable alignment
1st—(6+1) bane (DC 16), cure light wounds (3), detect good, doom (DC 16), protection from goodD, shield of faith†
0—(6) cure minor wounds (2), detect magic (2), light, read magic, resistance
D: Domain spell. Deity: Adimarchus. Domains: Evil, Trickery
† Already used.
Abilities Str 8, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 21, Cha 12
SQ aura of evil, dodge trick (+1 bonus to AC), lore +7, secrets of inner strength (+2 Will saves), secret knowledge of avoidance (+2 Reflex saves)
Feats Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Wondrous Item, Empower Spell, Lightning Reflexes, Scribe Scroll, Skill Focus (Knowledge—the planes)
Skills Bluff +12, Concentration +19, Diplomacy +3, Disguise +10, Gather Information +7, Knowledge (arcane) +13, Knowledge (history) +13, Knowledge (planes) +14, Perform (string instruments) +7, Spellcraft +13
Possessions combat gear plus +2 breastplate, +1 small wooden shield, +1 morningstar, masterwork light crossbow, 20 bolts, belt of health +2, cloak of resistance +2, dusty rose prism ioun stone (+1 insight bonus to AC), Ring of Thirteen, holy symbol, three gems (100 pp each)
Ring of Thirteen ring of protection +2, protection from good, nondetection (DC 26), endure elements