Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Ront Iron-Roar 03-27-07, 08:40 AM	I'm mapping out an adventure that takes place with the PCs being tricked into sneaking into a Kundarak bank by a House Lyrander employer. I'm looking to have them retrieve a special item of some sort from one of the vaults and I'm just wondering how I would go about the designs. I would assume that in Sharn it be in a Tower so I'm thinking of a hexagon shaped shaft of prodigious magnitude with lifts going down each side. Or flying platforms that can slide down in front of the doors to each vault situated in the walls. Other then that I would assume things would be somewhat similar in shape and design to Dreadhold behind the counter. Any suggestions on guards other then Dwarves? I have the Dwarves down. I I'm thinking of special creatures.
Yakman 03-27-07, 10:53 AM	Any suggestions on guards other then Dwarves? I have the Dwarves down. I'm thinking of special creatures. Gargoyles. Stone golems. Things that blend into the background and then beat the crap out of you. Maybe an invisible stalker or two.
Forgivance 03-27-07, 12:39 PM	House K wards and locks are the finest...for both magical and mundane. I would suggest any number of: **Superior locks (DC 40) with arcane lock guarding superior doors (steel or adamantine for really important vault doors. In addition, something to increase the hardness of any door to hardness 20 (to avoid adamantine axe slicing through)... **Alarm spells at about every door (they are guarding millions of gold, and more in relics and such) as well as password or, for some, bio-specific traps at many doors (so if you don't know password, aren't a specific person, or both - they don't open). **At certain bank vaults that are VERY important, a permanent scrying set there attuned to a specific ball in a command room (video survallance). **Guardians. Stone golems and gargoyles as someone states is great also, but would also use glass golems (those kind that are indistinguishable from stained glass windows), as well as other timeless guards. In addition, the finest of there vaults would have to be (only one of I assume) a LIVING VAULT (epic lvl handbook). **Traps should include a fair number of both magical and mundane. These guys are the dieties of wards and locks..they understand they want more than just a rogue, or just a wizard to break in. Forcing ppl to at least have to attack with a full group (which are easier to detect, arrest, and punish). I would use a number of small traps (burning hands...say, 5 of them on just one door) to absorb time/spells...than, toward the end, a forcecage...inside a diminsional lock area...than, poof, they are all stuck for the authorities. In all honesty, I would prep the House K bank (esp. in Sharn) to be unbeatable. No one likes the idea of an unbeatable something (though they exsist plenty) so of course you have to take pulp noir action packed adventure into mind....so, make it tough, and instead of a final force cage trap, make it a final iron golem that come smashing through the halls at them with amazing speed while they dash toward a narrow opening and into the night with the relic they seek...
Lazaro 03-27-07, 01:04 PM	Checkout the Slaughterstone Behemoth and Eviscerator in the MMIII. On page 160 gives a description of there use in Eberron, "The massive slaughterstone behemoth that stands guard inside the Kundarak Bank of Sharn is one of the city's most popular tpurist attractions".
Yakman 03-28-07, 12:42 PM	Moreover, some of the more ancient vaults--the ones closest to the ground (or beneath it) should contain things that either the depositor forgot--or that they didn't want found by anyone. You can stick some nasties inside the various vaults--abberations, outsiders, anything exotic and crazy, inside the 'dead ends' that the PCs will encounter.
Nived 03-28-07, 12:47 PM	Dimentional Anchor... so once you're in you can't just 'port back out. You gotta go through the security that's pouring in to catch you.
DwarfPcfan 03-29-07, 01:18 PM	You can't go wrong with Runic Gardians (MM2) and Iron golems Add wards with dimensional anchor, Antimagic field, etc and your bank should be a nightmare to invade
Yakman 03-29-07, 02:21 PM	oh, and mimics... lots of mimics.
Vharuck 03-29-07, 07:35 PM	Why not a manticore? You know, the House's signature magical beast.
androkguz 03-29-07, 09:04 PM	So far, we've got some kind of dungeon or zoo where dwarves are supposed to work opening and closing the gates. Well, not that it's a bad idea but how about a traditional assault at a bank? You know, taking hostages and forcing that Kundarak b*****d to open the vault. At the same time, your companion is getting into the REAL vault: the one that has the vaults that open no more than once every decade.
Ront Iron-Roar 03-30-07, 08:42 AM	So far, we've got some kind of dungeon or zoo where dwarves are supposed to work opening and closing the gates. Well, not that it's a bad idea but how about a traditional assault at a bank? You know, taking hostages and forcing that Kundarak b*****d to open the vault. At the same time, your companion is getting into the REAL vault: the one that has the vaults that open no more than once every decade. Actually an NPC has employed the chars to retrieve a special item from one vault. In doing so to get past the wards he's arranged a distraction and under a previous guise brings in a few valuable artifacts. All of them of medium size with the shrunken NPCs inside. He deposits them in one vault along with a bag of holding full of the gear they need to break out of thier vault and pass through the estimated wards. So while House Kundarak is busy with the distraction upstairs they'll have less of a chance of noticing a group of NPCs as they travel through the trap infested corridors.
Vharuck 03-30-07, 05:20 PM	So far, we've got some kind of dungeon or zoo where dwarves are supposed to work opening and closing the gates. Bank Manager: "You have the job, but I must warn you: we have a high turnover rate." New Employee: "Why? No good benefits? Stressful job?" Bank Manager: "No, the benefits are good and the job's easy. It's just that damn gargoyle, he won't stop eating new guys. I'm sure you'll be fine though. If not, whatever, you signed the waiver."
mrrodgers 03-31-07, 12:20 PM	Bank Manager: "You have the job, but I must warn you: we have a high turnover rate." New Employee: "Why? No good benefits? Stressful job?" Bank Manager: "No, the benefits are good and the job's easy. It's just that damn gargoyle, he won't stop eating new guys. I'm sure you'll be fine though. If not, whatever, you signed the waiver." :rofl: LOL thats hilarious! continuation New employee: "gosh, better keep my axe with me then." Bank manager: "Oh, and watch out for the manticore, too." New employee: wets his pants
Mayor_McFunkenstein 03-31-07, 05:31 PM	Ok, please don't kill me for this but my pcs once tried to break into the Kundarak bank in Sharn. It was completely out of the blue and I had had no prep time. In a pinch, I set up the bank vaults like those you see in the first Harry Potter movie/book. With the railcars and the doors that if you try to break them open and you fail the check you get imprisoned in the door and the bankers come by once every ten years or so to check and see if anyone is locked in the door. It actually worked out fairly well.
androkguz 04-01-07, 07:26 PM	Bank Manager: "You have the job, but I must warn you: we have a high turnover rate." New Employee: "Why? No good benefits? Stressful job?" Bank Manager: "No, the benefits are good and the job's easy. It's just that damn gargoyle, he won't stop eating new guys. I'm sure you'll be fine though. If not, whatever, you signed the waiver." :rofl: LOL thats hilarious! continuation New employee: "gosh, better keep my axe with me then." Bank manager: "Oh, and watch out for the manticore, too." New employee: wets his pants Hahahaha Well, the jod woulnd't be that simple: feeding all those gargoyles and manticores and checking on those golems, and making mantinance of the traps... Mantinance of the traps?? hey, that can be used to break in!
CaptainDakar 04-01-07, 07:47 PM	All of the mundane and magical traps that can fit into individual 5-foot squares (Don't forget walls and ceilings, too). Plus, it need not be extensive, as its Sharn, room is limited and the dwarves are known for efficiency. So make it small, spartan but deadly still. As an interesting encounter perhaps add a few members of the Keyguard (Silverkeys and such) doing a periodic test of the wards, so a few of them could be disabled, lulling the PCs into a sense of confidence, or perhaps dread. A fight and/or capturing of the dwarves in the service of the House halfway to the primary vault-room could add a bit of spice, they could help with wards or hamper the actions of the PCs in any way possible. :cool:
Ront Iron-Roar 04-03-07, 08:33 AM	Alright, so far the NPCs have done well enough. Albiet slimly even with the help of some magical equipment given to them by thier employer. They've been given a list of the following. Each of them have a Bottle of Air. Each of them have two Vials of cure light wounds. Their numbers have been bolstered by two Spider Thieves. They have some Token's of Teleportation. (All of which aimed to transport them back to outside of thier designated vault) And lastly they have a Antimagic Grenade. As I've had it laid out the Bank is actually bigger inside then it actually appears outside. They've had to search for a Vault titled 101 E. The problem is the Vaults only go from A1 to E100. So they've been doing thier best to find the 101. So far they've had to figure out to get out of thier Vault. Which required them to figure out how to go up a very long and tall vertical shaft that if they fell down into they'd end up in the burning pits of the Cogs. They've dodged Spell turrets, guards, and a few minor monsters. So far the traps they've triggered have involved a major illusion being placed over them to make the PCs appear to be a huge feed bucket. In doing so they were assaulted and pecked upon by a flock of hungry Cockatrice. The Binder in thier group was turned to stone. After that they've been chased by an Iron Golem through a series of fireball and flamestrike traps. ((I house-ruled a race by using initiative checks. They had to beat the Initiative check of the golem and a base of 10 to beat the traps before they activated.) Fortunately, the ranger was able to distract the golem by throwing a Cockatrice at it and have it chase it for a while. Unfortunately it was skewered when the ranger tried picking up the Cockatrice and throwing it past the golem. They've ended up causing the golem to fail a balance check on a catwalk and it fell down a shaft into the Cogs. And they've used the Antimagic Grenade via tieing it to an arrow and shooting a Futurama-styled Gauth with it. They actually managed to kill it. Now, I'm trying to decide if I want them to fight some Gargoyles in the Vault. Or some other statue-esque creature. Possibly a mimic pretending to be a door. The room is going to be large. Thier 2nd level with good stats and the effects of a Heroes feast still on them....I want them to survive...but barely. As an interesting encounter perhaps add a few members of the Keyguard (Silverkeys and such) doing a periodic test of the wards, so a few of them could be disabled, lulling the PCs into a sense of confidence, or perhaps dread. A fight and/or capturing of the dwarves in the service of the House halfway to the primary vault-room could add a bit of spice, they could help with wards or hamper the actions of the PCs in any way possible. :cool: Thank you! Now I don't feel so bad for keeping the traps a bit underpowered. Hmmmmm they could possibly even could make a deal with a less then loyal member looking for a profit.
CaptainDakar 04-03-07, 11:00 AM	Thank you! Now I don't feel so bad for keeping the traps a bit underpowered. Hmmmmm they could possibly even could make a deal with a less then loyal member looking for a profit. House loyalty is all well and good, but everyone has a thing for a bit of extra coin to toss around. I suggested the idea of the Keyguards because they themselves could pose an interesting combat (I.E. Setting off traps and using the familiar and dangerous terrain to their benefit), and because they know the whole of the area and how to get past it. Provided their family never discovers their treachery, any of the dwarves that has a less-than-satisfactory paycheck might look into helping the PCs for a small cut, being that "small" in the terms of a dragonmarked House is more than most ordinary nobles come across in their lifetime. Or your PCs could even stumble onto a grander conspiracy. The Keyguard could have themselves been breaking into the vault and were preparing to cut ties with the House and form their own small guild to sell their services. :$$: You never know in our little world of intrigue