Alchemist's House / Lair

[Gar0351]

Howdy,

I'm trying to develop a side-bar quest from the main AP. The heroes are 8th level and one has 2 negative levels. He has found an alchemist of high enough level to remove the levels but it will go sideways and the other heroes (paladin, warpriest, summoner) will need to rescue him.
I have a good map to use: a two level manor house with three basement levels.
The main villain would be a 12th level alchemist (minimum to cast Restoration).
What other challenges could I plug in to make this a fun side-bar encounter? Traps? Out of control experiments? Something else? Any advise/help is welcome.

[Name Violation]

Swarms, experimented on animals

[Azothath]

his animated/preserved true love...

another goal of most alchemists is the production of a Philosopher's Stone or some other oddball Grand Discovery. Most of them are horrible in the experimental stages before the process is worked out.

There is the old "Life Extractor" which would cure the negative levels by siphoning them from another creature producing an elixir then the curative (levels) is drank...

[Java Man]

Random containers/ spills of assorted poison or acid, experimental constructs or "altered" animals, hunchbacked assistant (optionally names Igor), a "supply procurement team" consisting of foraging, theft and kidnapping specialists, and innocent indentured servants who are working off the price of granny's medicine.

[Gar0351]

Java Man wrote:

Random containers/ spills of assorted poison or acid, experimental constructs or "altered" animals, hunchbacked assistant (optionally names Igor), a "supply procurement team" consisting of foraging, theft and kidnapping specialists, and innocent indentured servants who are working off the price of granny's medicine.

Now that is a grand idea. I do enjoy throwing in gray concepts like the innocent indentured servants you suggest. The paladin rampaging through the house just might kill a decent person.

[Mark Hoover 330]

Don't know if you're still looking for ideas but oozes are fun. Alchemical Ooze Swarms are low-level swarms of amoeba-like oozes that form from the run-off from alchemical waste. You could also use Fleshwarping to great effect. Another way to think of this... consider the Umbrella Corporation from the Resident Evil series.

They were developing a virus that you could swap for an alchemical substance that would prolong and improve the host's life. They lured groups of elite soldiers and corporate dissidents into an old manor house with multiple underground levels. there were "fast zombies" as well as standard ones, that ginormous mutant hulk thing they call a Nemesis, mutated dogs; you could beef up the stats of an Akata (CR 1 Aberration), and so on.

If you throw in a ghostly illusion of a girl with a Magic Mouth effect and some kind of Fire damage "laser" trap, I wouldn't stop you! Just have fun with it.