Help make the "Monster Mash" [Archive] - Wizards Community

Help make the "Monster Mash" [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
cancerousmango
06-19-06, 11:06 PM Alright, here's an opportunity for you guys to be terribly creative and helpful, like I know you are. I Kinda got myself into a big obligation when I came up with an adventure off the top of my head. I have a party of 3 7th level players, an elf rogue, a human artificer, and a warforged monk.

King Boronel of Breland, with whom the players are chummy (it's a cool story) wants the players to go on a covert mission (the kind they're good at) into Droamm, where the monsters are having some sort of huge banquet in a month or two. He wants them to 1) get invited to the party 2) go there, disguised as monsters 3) discern what plans are being discussed relative to Breland, and get back alive.

Now that sounds awesome, but it's a HUGE amount of work. It's like a really dirty room. I don't even know where to start. The thief has told me that he WILL loot anything he can. He has boots of spider climbing, so he can walk up buildings and cliffs. The artificer wants to hollow out a dead warforged titan, cast animate object on it with permanancy, then hide in the actual titan, and somehow hook up a magic mouth to it. He will claim to be a sentient warforged from the Mournland, wanting to broker a deal with the Droammites. The 'forged monk and the 'forged samurai cohort (the artificer has leadership) will back this claim up, acting as retainers.

Now, who all is there?

I need a map of the Great Crag. Perhaps a detailed section or two for the rogue to loot. If someone could just point me to a useful map, that'd be awesome, or if someone felt up to making a map, I'd send them a check for like 5 bucks.

Any suggestions for how to run the actual banquet? For a great dinner-party-based adventure, see "The Prince of Redhand" in Dungeon Magazine Issue 131.

Any cool treasure for the rogue to loot?

Any cool combat encounters? Non-combat encounters?

I want your creative juices flowing full-freakin' force! Thanks again. You guys rock.
Warforged Goblin
06-20-06, 07:59 AM Great idea cancerousmango. It sounds like you’re running a fairly high level campaign at this point, what with the permanency and all, so I’ll try to keep that in mind.

Now, who all is there?

Well, if it’s in the Great Crag, one if not all three of the Daughter’s of Sora Kell should be there. While her name escapes me right now, it may be Sora Katra, bear in mind that one of them has amazing divination powers. So your PCs could, in all actuality, waltz head first into a perfectly laid trap or worse, play directly into the hags’ plans without even realizing it.

Let’s say the PCs do get “hired out” to do some dirty work against Aundair. Nothing major, maybe just raid a supply train or something small like that so the hags “see how they fare” before sending them on bigger plans. Since this doesn’t directly involve Breland, the PCs would more than likely go for it. Down the line, word somehow reaches Queen Aru-what’s-her-name of Aundair that it wasn’t Droaamite monsters who ganked her supply train, but Brelish patriots. Maybe have an Aundairian guard squad corner the PCs while they still have some incriminating evidence. You get the idea.

Aside from that, illithids chatting with house Deneith representatives about new bodyguards, beholders conversing with house Tharashk reps about Khyber shard locations and the rights to mine them, minotaurs in tuxes, and gnolls in ball gowns. Go nuts and have fun with your guest list.

I need a map of the Great Crag. Perhaps a detailed section or two for the rogue to loot. If someone could just point me to a useful map, that'd be awesome, or if someone felt up to making a map, I'd send them a check for like 5 bucks.

Sorry, can’t help you on this one sadly. All I know is that it’s got a BIG arena somewhere. Check the ECS entry for some ideas.

Any suggestions for how to run the actual banquet? For a great dinner-party-based adventure, see "The Prince of Redhand" in Dungeon Magazine Issue 131.

I’d say that’d be a good place to start. Just remember, there are other things going on at the party also. Maybe a spy from Aundair or Karrnath is there on a similar mission as the PCs. Maybe the war troll accidentally spills a skullcrusher ogre’s drink. Maybe someone realizes the “sentient” warforged titan isn’t all he appears to be. Yeah, it’s tough running a scenario with so many other factors to keep in mind, but if you focus on the PCs and just let the other things happen, it should all be fine.

Any cool treasure for the rogue to loot?

I suggest leafing through Savage Species, Lords of Madness, Libris Mortis, or even the Draconomicon for some good monster magic items.

Any cool combat encounters? Non-combat encounters?

For the combat encounters, I suggest templates. Sure, any mind flayer worth his tentacles can hire out an ogre fighter as a bodyguard, but a truly skilled spawn of the daelkyr can offer anything from squad of feral ogres to a tauric ogre-bulette (trust me, my PCs almost cried when I brought out the bulette mini with an ogre stuck to its head). Maybe an enterprising lich has found a way to quickly and cheaply attach undead grafts to a certain type of undead, perhaps using the bone- or corpse-creature template from the Book of Vile Darkness. Again, go nuts with it. This is, after all, a nation of monsters.

As for the non-combat encounters, I suggest just letting the PCs find their way around and go from there. Maybe when the meal comes, the goblin bard who was performing could find himself tied up and on the mind flayer’s plate. It’s up to you.

Have fun and save me a cup of punch.

- WG
DragonWatcher
06-20-06, 11:07 AM While I kind of like the idea of trolls in tuxedos, it seems very comical and tongue-in-cheek. I would imagine that a banquet in a kingdom of monsters would be a much more savage affair. Imagine a huge area filled with sentient creatures who are tenuously allied with one another out of a mutual fear of the three hags. Firstly, I would expect that they hags would need to be there, otherwise a gathering of this magnitude would quickly devolve into bloodshed.

I could see the "food" as being alive and struggling to free itself from the fate that awaits it. This would include other members of sentient races who had either been captured specifically for the banquet (raids on nearby villages in the weeks leading up to the event), or were just wandering through the wrong place at the wrong time. This would present an interesting challenge for any Good party members... can they find a way to save any of the "entrees" without being uncovered for what they truly are? This could provide a basis for both combat, and non-combat encounters.

I have to say also that I LOVE the idea that Sora Tereza sees through the deception of the PCs. However, as a cunning hag, she doesn't announce it, but instead decides to use the PCs for a while before dispatching them. This could lead into them going on missions to "prove" themselves, by either recovering items of power for Droaam, or dispatching people who are proving to be obstacles. She can also disseminate mis-information to King Borenal using the PCs as dupes. When things get old, she sends them on a big mission, perhaps against Aundair, leaking the fact that Breland is attempting a strike against Queen Auralia in the guise of monsters. When the players are discovered, this could start an "international incident" between the two kingdoms, providing an opportunity for the monsters to sweep into both kingdoms in the chaos.

There are a lot of opportunities with this hook, please let us know how it goes. :)
cancerousmango
06-20-06, 11:10 PM Alright, I made a tentative and incomplete guest list for the party: Each guest should have a trait and personality, which I'm working on.

At least 1-2 of the Daughters of Sora Kel

Elcheezra - Female Ogre Mage (Suggestions for personality/habits/things to do during dinner party are welcome)

Delak - Orc Governer (Fighter 8) Has a stump knife for a left hand, demands more money and beast-power for his burgeoning city to the east, near Breland.

Bozuel - Minotaur Lieutenant - Has a prisoner for dinner...being a minotaur, he chases him through the winding streets of the Great Crag, craftily leading his meal to the banquet hall and ripping off his limbs so he can't escape, throwing him down on the table for later consumption...if the victim's cries get to be irritating instead of pleasant (to monstrous ears at least) he rips out his throat.

Shi'shel'ke - Harpy Advisor (Beguiler 3) - Roosts above table in rafters, pooping periodically like a bird. Goblins scurry about and clean it up. She is imperious and shrill. She eats live rats out of a cage. Dire rats.

Qa'taqa - Blackscale Lizardfolk (Bard 4) Ambassador from Q'barra with Poison Dusk slave - Represents Q'barran lizardfolk, wants to negotiate trade and aid against the burgeoning new empire in Q'Barra. Is an absolute virtuoso on the war drums, entertaining the guests with a powerful war epic 20 minutes long. He screams himself hoarse, and gets incredible applause...unless he fails his perform check, in which case he messes up and if the players make a quip at his expense, they get some respect and praise.

Mordain the Fleshweaver - Elf Transmuter 18 - In a rare semi-appearance, Mordain has sent a flesh golem through which he can perceive things back at his tower in western Droamm. He is mainly there to sell flesh golems to The Daughters of Sora Kel, and does not speak. He instead has a goblin hooked up to the flesh golem through a leash of meat and nerves that can answer yes or no questions. Very grim. Doesn't eat.

Shir'vez - Sahaguin Ambassador (Ranger 4) from the Straights of Shargon - Devout worshipper of the Devouerer, eats live fish, drinks fish blood, and generally is angry about being out of water. He discusses increased strategic raids on Brelish trading ships in exchange for enormous sums of gold should Droamm open hostilities against Breland. He doesn't hate the Brelish, they just happen to run a lot of boats over his homeland.

Xor'Chylic - Mind Flayer (Psion 6) Governer of Graywall - Simultaneously long-winded and cryptic, he speaks in semi-riddles and his skin constantly peels off. He eats a live human being at the table, or rather her brain. She is actually an artist of some renown in Breland, a 25 year old mother of two. She is dragged in, beaten and bloody, and Xor'Chylic states that he will "sing the Daelker equivalent of a 'lullaby'" to her for the amusement of the guests and to make her brain sweeter as he eats it. It is a suitably disturbing song. She looks straight at the players as he breaks through her skull.

Thanks for even the 2 posts you peeps have made here, just one or two suggestions have kickstarted my brain. Post what you think and maybe another guest or two in the same format. And remember, I have to play all of these creatures. Jesus. I'm gonna need to smoke consantly and ingest enormous amounts of caffeine to keep up this amount of energy. :ayyyy!:
Ellorin
06-21-06, 03:20 PM You could a medusa representative of the Queen of Stone too. I have a question as well;what is the purpose of the banquet? It sounds quite unlikely by itself, having some of the greatest bidders for power in Droaam means that something huge is going to take place such as Xor'chyllic's long-wanted campaign finally getting announced. That might explain Mordaine's appearance too.

Oh, and I agree with everything th0e Dragonwatcher suggested.
Ellorin
06-21-06, 03:20 PM You could a medusa representative of the Queen of Stone too. I have a question as well;what is the purpose of the banquet? It sounds quite unlikely by itself, having some of the greatest bidders for power in Droaam means that something huge is going to take place such as Xor'chyllic's long-wanted campaign finally getting announced. That might explain Mordaine's appearance too.

Oh, and I agree with everything the DragonWatcher suggested.
cancerousmango
06-28-06, 01:05 PM Alright, game time is in about 5-6 hours. I've got a rough map of the Great Crag (I might upload it) and I'll feverishly scribble some things before the game. I think I'll make it take as long as possible to get to the place itself, encounters and such. Thanks for the help!
DragonWatcher
06-28-06, 01:36 PM Just a last thought... it might be a good effect to emphasize the noise in the place, and then a great silence falls like a wave as heads turn when the "emmisary" of Moradin the Fleshweaver arrives, and even the bigger, scarrier creatures look nervously to the emmisary until they are spoken to, with some words essentially saying that the party should continue.

I think that this will really punctuate the fear caused by the presence of this terrible and ancient wizard.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
cancerousmango 06-19-06, 11:06 PM	Alright, here's an opportunity for you guys to be terribly creative and helpful, like I know you are. I Kinda got myself into a big obligation when I came up with an adventure off the top of my head. I have a party of 3 7th level players, an elf rogue, a human artificer, and a warforged monk. King Boronel of Breland, with whom the players are chummy (it's a cool story) wants the players to go on a covert mission (the kind they're good at) into Droamm, where the monsters are having some sort of huge banquet in a month or two. He wants them to 1) get invited to the party 2) go there, disguised as monsters 3) discern what plans are being discussed relative to Breland, and get back alive. Now that sounds awesome, but it's a HUGE amount of work. It's like a really dirty room. I don't even know where to start. The thief has told me that he WILL loot anything he can. He has boots of spider climbing, so he can walk up buildings and cliffs. The artificer wants to hollow out a dead warforged titan, cast animate object on it with permanancy, then hide in the actual titan, and somehow hook up a magic mouth to it. He will claim to be a sentient warforged from the Mournland, wanting to broker a deal with the Droammites. The 'forged monk and the 'forged samurai cohort (the artificer has leadership) will back this claim up, acting as retainers. Now, who all is there? I need a map of the Great Crag. Perhaps a detailed section or two for the rogue to loot. If someone could just point me to a useful map, that'd be awesome, or if someone felt up to making a map, I'd send them a check for like 5 bucks. Any suggestions for how to run the actual banquet? For a great dinner-party-based adventure, see "The Prince of Redhand" in Dungeon Magazine Issue 131. Any cool treasure for the rogue to loot? Any cool combat encounters? Non-combat encounters? I want your creative juices flowing full-freakin' force! Thanks again. You guys rock.
Warforged Goblin 06-20-06, 07:59 AM	Great idea cancerousmango. It sounds like you’re running a fairly high level campaign at this point, what with the permanency and all, so I’ll try to keep that in mind. Now, who all is there? Well, if it’s in the Great Crag, one if not all three of the Daughter’s of Sora Kell should be there. While her name escapes me right now, it may be Sora Katra, bear in mind that one of them has amazing divination powers. So your PCs could, in all actuality, waltz head first into a perfectly laid trap or worse, play directly into the hags’ plans without even realizing it. Let’s say the PCs do get “hired out” to do some dirty work against Aundair. Nothing major, maybe just raid a supply train or something small like that so the hags “see how they fare” before sending them on bigger plans. Since this doesn’t directly involve Breland, the PCs would more than likely go for it. Down the line, word somehow reaches Queen Aru-what’s-her-name of Aundair that it wasn’t Droaamite monsters who ganked her supply train, but Brelish patriots. Maybe have an Aundairian guard squad corner the PCs while they still have some incriminating evidence. You get the idea. Aside from that, illithids chatting with house Deneith representatives about new bodyguards, beholders conversing with house Tharashk reps about Khyber shard locations and the rights to mine them, minotaurs in tuxes, and gnolls in ball gowns. Go nuts and have fun with your guest list. I need a map of the Great Crag. Perhaps a detailed section or two for the rogue to loot. If someone could just point me to a useful map, that'd be awesome, or if someone felt up to making a map, I'd send them a check for like 5 bucks. Sorry, can’t help you on this one sadly. All I know is that it’s got a BIG arena somewhere. Check the ECS entry for some ideas. Any suggestions for how to run the actual banquet? For a great dinner-party-based adventure, see "The Prince of Redhand" in Dungeon Magazine Issue 131. I’d say that’d be a good place to start. Just remember, there are other things going on at the party also. Maybe a spy from Aundair or Karrnath is there on a similar mission as the PCs. Maybe the war troll accidentally spills a skullcrusher ogre’s drink. Maybe someone realizes the “sentient” warforged titan isn’t all he appears to be. Yeah, it’s tough running a scenario with so many other factors to keep in mind, but if you focus on the PCs and just let the other things happen, it should all be fine. Any cool treasure for the rogue to loot? I suggest leafing through Savage Species, Lords of Madness, Libris Mortis, or even the Draconomicon for some good monster magic items. Any cool combat encounters? Non-combat encounters? For the combat encounters, I suggest templates. Sure, any mind flayer worth his tentacles can hire out an ogre fighter as a bodyguard, but a truly skilled spawn of the daelkyr can offer anything from squad of feral ogres to a tauric ogre-bulette (trust me, my PCs almost cried when I brought out the bulette mini with an ogre stuck to its head). Maybe an enterprising lich has found a way to quickly and cheaply attach undead grafts to a certain type of undead, perhaps using the bone- or corpse-creature template from the Book of Vile Darkness. Again, go nuts with it. This is, after all, a nation of monsters. As for the non-combat encounters, I suggest just letting the PCs find their way around and go from there. Maybe when the meal comes, the goblin bard who was performing could find himself tied up and on the mind flayer’s plate. It’s up to you. Have fun and save me a cup of punch. - WG
DragonWatcher 06-20-06, 11:07 AM	While I kind of like the idea of trolls in tuxedos, it seems very comical and tongue-in-cheek. I would imagine that a banquet in a kingdom of monsters would be a much more savage affair. Imagine a huge area filled with sentient creatures who are tenuously allied with one another out of a mutual fear of the three hags. Firstly, I would expect that they hags would need to be there, otherwise a gathering of this magnitude would quickly devolve into bloodshed. I could see the "food" as being alive and struggling to free itself from the fate that awaits it. This would include other members of sentient races who had either been captured specifically for the banquet (raids on nearby villages in the weeks leading up to the event), or were just wandering through the wrong place at the wrong time. This would present an interesting challenge for any Good party members... can they find a way to save any of the "entrees" without being uncovered for what they truly are? This could provide a basis for both combat, and non-combat encounters. I have to say also that I LOVE the idea that Sora Tereza sees through the deception of the PCs. However, as a cunning hag, she doesn't announce it, but instead decides to use the PCs for a while before dispatching them. This could lead into them going on missions to "prove" themselves, by either recovering items of power for Droaam, or dispatching people who are proving to be obstacles. She can also disseminate mis-information to King Borenal using the PCs as dupes. When things get old, she sends them on a big mission, perhaps against Aundair, leaking the fact that Breland is attempting a strike against Queen Auralia in the guise of monsters. When the players are discovered, this could start an "international incident" between the two kingdoms, providing an opportunity for the monsters to sweep into both kingdoms in the chaos. There are a lot of opportunities with this hook, please let us know how it goes. :)
cancerousmango 06-20-06, 11:10 PM	Alright, I made a tentative and incomplete guest list for the party: Each guest should have a trait and personality, which I'm working on. At least 1-2 of the Daughters of Sora Kel Elcheezra - Female Ogre Mage (Suggestions for personality/habits/things to do during dinner party are welcome) Delak - Orc Governer (Fighter 8) Has a stump knife for a left hand, demands more money and beast-power for his burgeoning city to the east, near Breland. Bozuel - Minotaur Lieutenant - Has a prisoner for dinner...being a minotaur, he chases him through the winding streets of the Great Crag, craftily leading his meal to the banquet hall and ripping off his limbs so he can't escape, throwing him down on the table for later consumption...if the victim's cries get to be irritating instead of pleasant (to monstrous ears at least) he rips out his throat. Shi'shel'ke - Harpy Advisor (Beguiler 3) - Roosts above table in rafters, pooping periodically like a bird. Goblins scurry about and clean it up. She is imperious and shrill. She eats live rats out of a cage. Dire rats. Qa'taqa - Blackscale Lizardfolk (Bard 4) Ambassador from Q'barra with Poison Dusk slave - Represents Q'barran lizardfolk, wants to negotiate trade and aid against the burgeoning new empire in Q'Barra. Is an absolute virtuoso on the war drums, entertaining the guests with a powerful war epic 20 minutes long. He screams himself hoarse, and gets incredible applause...unless he fails his perform check, in which case he messes up and if the players make a quip at his expense, they get some respect and praise. Mordain the Fleshweaver - Elf Transmuter 18 - In a rare semi-appearance, Mordain has sent a flesh golem through which he can perceive things back at his tower in western Droamm. He is mainly there to sell flesh golems to The Daughters of Sora Kel, and does not speak. He instead has a goblin hooked up to the flesh golem through a leash of meat and nerves that can answer yes or no questions. Very grim. Doesn't eat. Shir'vez - Sahaguin Ambassador (Ranger 4) from the Straights of Shargon - Devout worshipper of the Devouerer, eats live fish, drinks fish blood, and generally is angry about being out of water. He discusses increased strategic raids on Brelish trading ships in exchange for enormous sums of gold should Droamm open hostilities against Breland. He doesn't hate the Brelish, they just happen to run a lot of boats over his homeland. Xor'Chylic - Mind Flayer (Psion 6) Governer of Graywall - Simultaneously long-winded and cryptic, he speaks in semi-riddles and his skin constantly peels off. He eats a live human being at the table, or rather her brain. She is actually an artist of some renown in Breland, a 25 year old mother of two. She is dragged in, beaten and bloody, and Xor'Chylic states that he will "sing the Daelker equivalent of a 'lullaby'" to her for the amusement of the guests and to make her brain sweeter as he eats it. It is a suitably disturbing song. She looks straight at the players as he breaks through her skull. Thanks for even the 2 posts you peeps have made here, just one or two suggestions have kickstarted my brain. Post what you think and maybe another guest or two in the same format. And remember, I have to play all of these creatures. Jesus. I'm gonna need to smoke consantly and ingest enormous amounts of caffeine to keep up this amount of energy. :ayyyy!:
Ellorin 06-21-06, 03:20 PM	You could a medusa representative of the Queen of Stone too. I have a question as well;what is the purpose of the banquet? It sounds quite unlikely by itself, having some of the greatest bidders for power in Droaam means that something huge is going to take place such as Xor'chyllic's long-wanted campaign finally getting announced. That might explain Mordaine's appearance too. Oh, and I agree with everything th0e Dragonwatcher suggested.
Ellorin 06-21-06, 03:20 PM	You could a medusa representative of the Queen of Stone too. I have a question as well;what is the purpose of the banquet? It sounds quite unlikely by itself, having some of the greatest bidders for power in Droaam means that something huge is going to take place such as Xor'chyllic's long-wanted campaign finally getting announced. That might explain Mordaine's appearance too. Oh, and I agree with everything the DragonWatcher suggested.
cancerousmango 06-28-06, 01:05 PM	Alright, game time is in about 5-6 hours. I've got a rough map of the Great Crag (I might upload it) and I'll feverishly scribble some things before the game. I think I'll make it take as long as possible to get to the place itself, encounters and such. Thanks for the help!
DragonWatcher 06-28-06, 01:36 PM	Just a last thought... it might be a good effect to emphasize the noise in the place, and then a great silence falls like a wave as heads turn when the "emmisary" of Moradin the Fleshweaver arrives, and even the bigger, scarrier creatures look nervously to the emmisary until they are spoken to, with some words essentially saying that the party should continue. I think that this will really punctuate the fear caused by the presence of this terrible and ancient wizard.