Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Crust 10-02-03, 07:53 AM	I'm planning on finishing up Bazim-Gorag's Dungeon module this Sunday, and I was curious... Has anyone on these boards played that adventure or run it as a DM? I'm interested in hearing about encounters with the slaad lord. I honestly don't know how well it will go for my group. Here they are: male elf wizard 16 male human cleric of Mystra 12/spellfire channeler 4 female human rogue 12 male human paladin of Mystra 12 male human monk 12 male human fighter 1/cleric of Tempus 11 male human barbarian 13 male gnome rogue 4/sorcerer 6/arcane trickster 3 I was planning on dumbing down Bazim a bit. Perhaps knock his AC down a few points, if anything. The wizard and the barbarian are capable of massive amounts of damage, and the spellfire channeler is always clutch for "automatic damage," so I'm not totally worried. Please give me some feedback.
Masakado 10-02-03, 09:30 AM	Jeez, Crust! There are eight members of the party & they're at the optimum class level for the difficulty of the adventure, so you should be fine in a head-on encounter with the Slaad Lord.. Although the point of the module, IMO, is to figure out a way to beat Bazim-Gorag without forcing a fight. I ran through the module as a 12th level Aasimar Paladin of Horus-Re. There were six members of the party (10th - 12th level) & we made it through just fine with only a few scary moments. We opted for the non-direct approach to beat Bazim-Gorag. Later on we ran a Critical Threat Scenario & the bugger wiped out the entire party.
Crust 10-02-03, 09:49 AM	Critical threat scenario? What's that? Sounds like something I'd like to try. I'm running the Incursion with this module, and it's taking place in the Northern Dales, east of Daggerdale. The githyanki, who have surprised and completely overrun Daggerfalls, are searching for Bazim-Gorag in an attempt to free the Slaad Lord and release him on the Dales, targeting Shadowdale first. Once the PCs have reached Nehmel (sp?), the ghost will inform them that the must destroy Gorag, "For the githyanki will never stop trying to free him." Or something like that. Anyway, they sorta have to destroy him. AND they have to fight through 70+ githyanki soldiers, spies, and warlocks... and maybe even get their hands on that raider. Who knows? Thanks for the feedback, Masakado.
Masakado 10-02-03, 10:46 AM	Originally posted by Crust Critical threat scenario? What's that? It's not special. Once we run through an adventure, we tend to chat about it, & sometimes run "what if" confrontations with any leftover BBEG's. Kinda like the Fight Club material here on the website. Our party was quite intimidated by Bazim-Gorag's reputation, especially after we learned more about him through info gathering & plain old smacking around evil henchmen and forcing them to blab. After the adventure was over, we wondered what would happen if we forced a final confrontation, & our DM obliged us. Bazim-Gorag wiped us out in a few rounds. He's a tough customer. His Immoliating Strike is pretty lethal.
Crust 10-02-03, 11:07 AM	Well, the clerics and wizard will make liberal use of protection from energy before they enter. That should cover the 3/day thing, even if they're hit with a meteor swarm (+50% damage, no less). Yeah, he's huge. I might not have a campaign after this weekend.
freemyhead2001 10-02-03, 11:56 AM	you have many players as your puppets hahaha.... do what you will with them,... that is the fun of being the puppet master... :angel:
sanishiver 10-03-03, 04:53 PM	I won't have any information to share until after next Monday. I'm using Bazim in my heavily modified version of the Ruuh Khazai adventure published by Dungeon. I wonder if I should allow him a second free action because of the Astral Plane...? :cool:
primemover003 10-03-03, 05:43 PM	I've got a similarly large group who''l be going after B-G IMC. They got to the barracks in the vale before they left the dungeon to recoop, and ID magic items, then never reteurned. I'm letting the Acolytes free B-G from his prison because my PC's thought they destroyed the whole raiding group. My group is: Brautmer, shield dwarf Bbn 5/Ftr 4/Halberdier 3 (homebrew PrC) Cael, moon elven Ftr 7/deepwoods Sniper 5 Jag, 1/2 orc Rgr 6/Bbn 1/Orc Scout 5 Jolt, human Brd 10/Clr 1 of Lliira Lythas, human Clr 8/Ftr 2/Hospitaler 3 of Lathander Milo, halfling Rog 8/Wild Scout 4 Phineas, human Wiz 6/Harper Wizard 6 Taros, moon elven Ftr 6/Rog 6 Tyre, fire genasi Ftr 4/Psion 7/ Pyromancer 1 (+1 ECL) Actually they were brilliant in their Recon of the Vale. The two scouts spent nearly a tenday in the Frost Hills before the rest of the party was able to join them (in Silverymoon crafting magic items, learning spells, re-equipping from last dungeon foray). They observed the two raids on the caravans in the Background section of the Adventure, and so had an idea of the number of the raiders. However once they defeated Moskogg the 1/2 fiend Minotaur Cleric, they looted and left (granted Moskogg did beat on them).
Crust 10-07-03, 07:57 AM	Well, just to let those of you who care know, my group successfully defeated Bazim-Gorag on Sunday after about three hours of battle. How, you might ask? Well, Nemehl provided them with plenty of information, knowing the PCs must destroy Gorag lest the githyanki release him into Faerun. The group basically pooled all their gear and spells together, making use of dust of disappearance, potions of haste and flying, protection from energy (fire, of course), stoneskin, entropic shield, align weapon (I gave Gorag a DR of 30/law instead of 30/+4), entropic shield, and displacement. We lost the party cleric, but everyone else lived through the experience. To even things up a bit I took away Gorag's power word kill spell like ability and dropped his CR to 20. Being that the group was short handed due to a couple absences, I didn't feel right dooming them with power word kill.
Masakado 10-07-03, 09:46 AM	Originally posted by Crust Well, just to let those of you who care know, my group successfully defeated Bazim-Gorag on Sunday after about three hours of battle. How, you might ask? Well, Nemehl provided them with plenty of information, knowing the PCs must destroy Gorag lest the githyanki release him into Faerun. The group basically pooled all their gear and spells together, making use of dust of disappearance, potions of haste and flying, protection from energy (fire, of course), stoneskin, entropic shield, align weapon (I gave Gorag a DR of 30/law instead of 30/+4), entropic shield, and displacement. We lost the party cleric, but everyone else lived through the experience. To even things up a bit I took away Gorag's power word kill spell like ability and dropped his CR to 20. Being that the group was short handed due to a couple absences, I didn't feel right dooming them with power word kill. Personally, I wouldn't have hamprered B-G, but as you said earlier, the whole purpose of your adventure was to force a confrontation. I'm happy that your adventure came to a successful conclusion, & all that matters is that everyone had fun. From the looks of the player list, primemover003 is in a situation similar to mine. One of our teammates was a Fire Genasi 8 Sor / 4 Arcane Devotee of Kossuth & she mainly focused on fire evocations. Once we figured out B-G's nature, we knew that specialization was going to work against us this time, so we racked our brains figuring out a way to beat B-G & not be burned to cinders.
Crust 10-07-03, 09:51 AM	Honestly, Bazim-Gorag could have wiped the party out quite easily. He could have used power word kill, then used stuns and meteor swarms each round until they were spent, and made use of his incinerating strike each round (he only ended up using it twice). He could have grappled PCs and just jumped into the lava pits! I just can't run things that way. If I did that, then players would think that I just led them to their deaths. If I'm going to run an adventure, whether it be my own creation, or a published piece, I make sure there's hope for success. The only time I've ever destroyed a party was when they let greed take over the campaign, leading them deeper and deeper into a deurgar crypt. While looting, they uncovered the tomb of a drow lich, and they were eventually destroyed.
Masakado 10-07-03, 10:34 AM	Originally posted by Crust Honestly, Bazim-Gorag could have wiped the party out quite easily. . That was the beauty of the module. Bazim-Gorag only poses a threat if you free him & pick a fight. :D If your party properly assessed the threat, and how their strengths related to the threat, they'd come up with the logical conclusion that their energies would be better spent attempting to thwart Bazim-Gorag by some other means. ;) Given that one of our arcane spellcasters was a fire specialist, as well as the fact that we were merely seasoned, and not epic, adventurers, we knew that facing a legendary horror like the Firebringer would have been absolute suicide. But we were still faced with the task of putting down the cult, & rescuing the prisoners, so we had to do something. The classic Catch 22 of noble & honorable would-be heroes.
Shemeska the Marauder 10-07-03, 01:14 PM	I still say Bazim is a chump compared to the legit Slaad Lords such as Ssendaam and Ygorl, etc. It's like comparing Volo to El, if you try to compare Bazim to any of the older, more established unique Slaadi, just without the alcoholism. ;)
sanishiver 10-08-03, 11:00 PM	Well, I had to leave my group hanging in their battle with Bazim, as we ended last Monday’s session mid-battle. (Makes me long for the days when I could stay up all night and not miss a beat the next day at work…) In my game Bazim is a servant of the Lich Queen of the Githyanki. Anyway, the battle took place inside a floating chunk of astral detritus (actually the hand of a god), from the Ruun-Khazai adventure by Dungeon Magazine. Thus Bazim was able to take advantage of the extra free action the Plane grants to spellcasters (for casting one extra spell or spell-like ability per round). Like Crust, I changed his DR from +4 to Law. In addition, Bazim was backed up by a retinue of 3 advanced Death Slaads, who harassed the PC’s as they made their way to where Bazim was located. One survived long enough to actually join Bazim against the PC’s. My main tactic was for Bazim to Teleport into the middle of the party (using his bonus standard action), make a full attack (via his regular turn), and then Teleport to safety (using his Free action granted by the Astral Plane). The players countered by spreading out and then casting two Zones of Respite in defensible areas, then placing blade barriers in each hallway leading to their positions. This gave them time to regroup. Bazim (and his remaining Death Slaad) are using the time to heal naturally via Fast Healing. The interesting part is that in one chamber where half the party is located, there are over 400 humans from Faerůn that were accidentally freed by the PC’s. These humans were originally placed in Stasis by the Githyanki wizard Karluth, for use as sacrifices in his Psychic Storm spell. So things are at a stalemate. We’ll see how it goes next week. Here is the party that faced off against Bazim and his minions: Ahmed Ibin al Fa-halen, Aasimar Paladin (of Elah) 15, Purple Dragon Knight 3. Cohort: Ahlena Ibin al Fa-halen, Aasimar Cleric (of Elah) 15 Maowind Manaweaver, Human Wizard 10, Loremaster 8 Cohort: Serena, Seer 15 Muldek Durr, Elven Monk Of Ilmaater 17 Cohort: Thut-Hakh, Hobgoblin Monk of Ilmaater 9, Fighter 2, Red Avenger 1 Tassion Redthorne, Elven Fighter 1, Archmage 3, Wizard 13 Cohort: Ale Stein, Dwarven Fighter 4, Barbarian 4, Battlerager 3, Great Rift Sky Guard 2 :whatsthis
chris7476 10-08-03, 11:59 PM	I'm planning on finishing up Bazim-Gorag's Dungeon module this Sunday, and I was curious... Has anyone on these boards played that adventure or run it as a DM? I hate to intrude on this thread but what module is this? It sounds interesting.
Ryltar Swordsong 10-09-03, 12:03 AM	It's in Dungeon #101
Crust 10-09-03, 07:56 AM	Well, Sanshiver, sounds like you have a really cool campaign going, especially with the interesting collection of PCs you have to work with. A hobgoblin monk/fighter/red avenger? Now that's neato. Question concerning your monks: What feats do those monks have? Also, did you use Races of Faerun or Savage Species to work with that hobgoblin PC? I also used the githyanki in conjunction with the module. Vaalkith thought it important to attempt to free the Firebringer and release him on the Dales. The PCs were there to stop them. I can't wait to run them through the Lich Queen's stronghold in Dungeon 100. That's gonna be a lot of fun. Hopefully by then the party wizard will have a epic level or two.
knightserpent 10-09-03, 01:03 PM	When My PCs beat the pyrohydra and went to the right hand passage of stones above the lava... They were all paranoid about more monsters coming out of the lava (mainly because I let the pyrohydra just slip slowly into the lava as it died), that two of them ran abreast and jump the stones together in pairs to go faster.... Those of you who have the adventure know what awaited them just before the "locked door" and that last jump. Two of the PCs died. Both were the Cleric and Paladin. :nonono: :looloo: They didn't do very well after that.
sanishiver 10-10-03, 02:46 AM	Originally posted by Crust What feats do those monks have? Also, did you use Races of Faerun or Savage Species to work with that hobgoblin PC? Crust, Unfortunately I don’t have a current copy of Thut-Hakh’s cohort record sheet, so I can’t give a list of his feats. Note that I allow my players to run and advance their cohorts themselves (I just don’t have the time to do it myself). I allow both RoF and SS in my campaign, but so far the player who runs Muldek and Thut-Hakh hasn’t opted to use anything from those books. (Some of you may have recognized Thut-Hakh’s name: he comes from the adventure ”Spiral of Manzessine” printed in Dungeon #92. I made the mistake in game of describing him as a hobgoblin when he’s actually a bugbear. So much for attention to detail! I also axed his class abilities after he was slain by a mind-flayer and then raised by the PC's, the better to make him potential "cohort material".) The sheet I have for Muldek is for 15th level (and 3.0), but overall is pretty straight forward: Blind-Fighting, Blind-Sight, Combat Reflexes, Deflect Arrows (nowadays he enjoys deflecting ballista bolts), Imp. Critical (Unarmed), Imp. Trip, Weap. Finesse (Unarmed), Weap. Focus (Unarmed). Crust, does the list of adventurers in your game consists of all PC’s? Are any on the list Cohorts? Also, a question about Bazim: I noticed his full attack routine consists of using his weapon and his secondary attacks all at once (2 bites). Has this always been the case for monsters? Or is this a 3.0 to 3.5 change that got buried in the fine print? Also, the map I am using for the structures within the heart of Rhun-Khazai is the map of mystery found on page 73 of Dungeon #101. It’s nice having everything in one spot. ;) Lastly, I too am very stoked to have my PC’s square off against Vlakith once they go Epic. We ought to compare notes again when the time comes! Anyone else out there using Bazim? knightserpent: Too bad about your players. FWIW I’m trying my hardest to take out the Paladin and Cleric IMC too! :D :whatsthis
Crust 10-10-03, 07:44 AM	Originally posted by sanishiver Crust, Crust, does the list of adventurers in your game consists of all PC’s? Are any on the list Cohorts? Also, a question about Bazim: I noticed his full attack routine consists of using his weapon and his secondary attacks all at once (2 bites). Has this always been the case for monsters? Or is this a 3.0 to 3.5 change that got buried in the fine print? They're all PCs. I don't really mess with cohorts. As for the attacks, I had Bazim attack with the glaive and one bite, using the other head for spell-like abilities. I'm not sure what the exact 3.5 rules are concerning that.
sanishiver 10-13-03, 01:57 PM	Maybe I'll ask Rich about it on his thread. I hope to have one more post up by tomorrow on how the battle goes tonight. PC's square off against Bazim and Co. at 6 PM sharp! :whatsthis
Crust 10-13-03, 08:19 PM	I look forward to hearing about the encounter, Sanshiver. Let us know how it went down.
sanishiver 10-14-03, 04:42 PM	Abbreviated events of The Battle With Bazim, part 2: When we last left off, the party was split between two rooms (each protected by Zone of Respite), low on spells, one PC was Blinded (via PW Blind), everyone was hurt and they accidentally released over 400 humans (with a smattering of other races) from stasis; all while Bazim Gorag and his Advanced Death Slaad cohort were healing up and readying to attack. It took Bazim four tries over two rounds to dispel one of the Blade Barriers between him and the party. Then, he and his cohort (both invisible and flying over 130 feet to reach the party –remember the Astral Plane allows one to move at 10 feet per point of intelligence) swept in on several cohorts and two PC’s. Over the rest of that round and the next, things got ugly. Despite the Paladin smiting Bazim for over 100 points of damage, Bazim managed to stun, deafen and confuse most of the cohorts with a well placed Word of Chaos, deal 137 point of damage (via his incinerating strike) to Tassion the Wizard and another (approx.) 250 points of damage with the rest of his attacks spread out amongst the party, who attempted to swarm Bazim on their next turn. He almost managed to destroy the Paladin’s lance via Smite, too! ;) After Bazim made his full attack, he teleported out (Zone out Respite keeps things from teleporting in, but won’t stop things from teleporting [I]out), at which point the Death Slaad came out from hiding and Fireballed the party twice (via the Atral Plane allowing him an extra Quickened Spell Like Ability) before moving back down the hall to cover. He caught virtually everyone with these attacks, which finished off Thut Hak (who didn’t have Elemental Immunity: Fire cast on him) and Tassion (who, although Polymorphed into a Frost Giant for the high Con score, didn’t have enough HP after Bazim’s attack. He also had lost his fire immunity to a Greater Dispelling cast by Bazim). After that, Mayowind cast a Wall of Force over the door Bazim came through, while the paladin moved into a newly discovered hall to find the Holy Relic the party was seeking. Bazim, after healing, came back and was stopped by the Wall of Force, but could see the doorway that Ahmed had passed through. He wasted no time Teleporting himself and the Death Slaad there. At this point, Mayowind cast his very last Wall of Force via a readied action, locking the Paladin in with Bazim and the Death Slaad. Lots of damage was dealt the following round, with Bazim falling to –7 and Ahmed the Paladin dropping to 15 HP. Mayowind dismissed his Wall when Bazim fell and the party moved in to finish off the Death Slaad, while Ahlena the Cleric cohort healed Ahmed. Good thing for Ahmed that she healed him, as Bazim fast healed up to +3 HP and once again delivered serious damage before teleporting away. The PC’s killed of the Death Slaad and were able to recover the Scepter of Aumanator within a few rounds. As the party hastily returned back to the first chamber where they had cast Zone of Respite, Bazim observed them from hiding just beyond the first Wall of Force at the other end of the chamber. At this point, it occurred to Bazim that the party wanted the scepter only, and not to take over Rhuun Khazai. After coming out from hiding some very delicate negotiations too place. Bazim has a very high Diplomacy skill, which helped to end the battle with a stalemate of sorts. The PC’s agreed to remove the refugees off of Rhuun Khazai by “nightfall”, and to take only the plunder they already had on hand before the battle ended; while Bazim promised to not attack the PC’s so long as they stuck to their agreement and were off Rhuun Khazai by the agreed upon time. We ended with the surviving PC’s making plans for how to remove the refugees in the next 8 game hours, while Bazim –fully healed in three short minutes- stood guard over the entrance to the remaining rooms the PC’s have not yet explored. That’s it, I think. Definitely a fun battle. And the best part is that the PC’s haven’t seen the last of Bazim and also have earned the ire of the Lich Queen he serves! :whatsthis [edited for spelling]