Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Thysl 09-12-05, 09:50 PM	edit: check bottom post Olare! Long time all, I've been without a comp for many months but I'm back and am needing some advice on my newest project: Here's what I got: Synopsis Game starts at Waterdhavian port in which all elven ships dock out of Evermeet. A Sun elven duchess, Braeal Entrayen, hires the PCs to to guide/guard/entertain/inform her on her way to her ancestral home on the northern border of the High Forest. She has four non-noble female cousins that act as her Honor Guard and a small contingent (20) of elven artisans out of Evermeet to repair her old castle. Duchess Entrayen is one of the first noble elves to return to the mainland to reclaim lost land and ready those lands for the People’s Return. She jumped at the chance because – little does she know – she has been magically coerced into returning to her ancestral home by a nefarious Fey’ri named Bausq Floshin. He currently occupies the Entrayen castle, waiting for the Duchess to open an ancient door that only a noble of the family can. Inside is a weapon that will turn the tides for the Daemonfey in their war against their many enemies. Specifics While the path to the castle is not overtly hostile (figure the normal chance of an encounter everyday) a party of Fey’ri rogues will attempt to single out an Honor Guard, subdue her then supplant her, taking the opportunity to spy on the group and – when the time is right – strike from a position of subterfuge. This can happen twice, though the second time greatly increases the Daemonfey’s chances of being caught and found out. When the group finally makes it to the Entrayen castle they quickly find out that the castle has a new master. Duchess Entrayen will attempt a controlled retreat and, depending on the status of her Honor Guard and the actions of the PCs, will find refuge in the forest. There she will meet the local elf population. The local elves, having been closely watching the goings on in the castle for the last year, know the numbers and habits of the Daemonfey and the secret passage into the structure. They are willing to stage a diversion to get the PCs into the castle if they want, asking that – if they do – they rescue ten of the local elves that have been taken in the last year. If the PCs are taken in their initial fight with the Deamonfey they will be incarcerated and given healing by a downtrodden moon elven priestess by the name of Evheane Y’thaare. Her and her husband, Esperentaurii, have been held for six grueling months. They have been tortured, beaten to near death and raped multiple times. The PCs can carry on a conversation with them between the small crack connecting their cells. Given enough time and honest coercing, the PCs can talk the Y’thaare couple into breaking them and the rest of the captives out… what few remain. In the meantime the Duchess is falling under the sway of the charismatic Bausq Floshin, who plans on either turning Braeal to his way of thinking or magically commanding her to open the arcane locked door. He desperately wants the treasure on the other side of the door but is also intrigued with the notion of becoming the Duke of these lands and is talking his way into the Duchess’ heart. She, though good hearted, is easily swayed by the charismatic and powerful Bausq (low Wisdom). Ok, so beyond help with possible plot holes, missing 'what if' situations and the like I need some advice on what is beyond this door... I was thinking that it has to be powerful enough to turn the tide of any possible war the Deamonfey would be fighting at the moment :D , but vague enough for Bausq to put of long enough for him to 'turn' the Duchess to the dark side, if it goes down like that. One possible option would be something like 'Karsus' Folly', that there is a spell or an item or something, that could allow Sarya to become the only Fey'ri god. I also have a ken to use Mr. Baker's Wild Mage PrC from Complete Arcane, so perhaps the door hides some Wild Magic nexus, something that the Fey'ri believe that they can harness for the 'good fight'. If I go with the latter I think I would make Bausq a Wild Mage or a Follower of Malyk (PrC from Mr. Costa's and Mr. Boyd's 'Prestige of the Realms' download) Not as important as the above problem, I also need the method that Bausq uses to unconsciously coerce Duchess Entrayen to the High Forest. I was thinking of making a spell, I dunno, specific to elves, that inlfuences them in Reverie.... So there it is. If you have any criticism, observations or ideas on any of this please pipe up, I thank you all in advance!
ElGrecoETAC 09-12-05, 10:43 PM	Does the weapon have to be good or evil in nature?
Thysl 09-12-05, 10:52 PM	Does the weapon have to be good or evil in nature? Either, though it should be usable by the fey'ri, or else why would they want it?
ElGrecoETAC 09-12-05, 11:41 PM	One of my ideas dealt with the fact that the Demonfey have traditionally been underpowered in terms of numbers. Taking a page from Warhammer 40k, I came up with a concept where, prior to the fall of House Dlardrageth, a cabal of that family's High Magi created a small army of golems infused with fiendish entities. These demon-golems were magically controlled by a special Selukiira. Following the fall of Dlardrageth, the Selukiira was "kept safe" in a pocket dimension accessible by only certain individuals (in my campaign, a secret line of Corellon's priests). Unfortunately, while everyone assumed that the army of golems had been destroyed, a relatively large number of these foul war machines had, in fact, survived in pocket dimension cunningly hidden within the gem itself. The demon-golems combined the worst elements of both golems and fiends, while eschewing any of their weaknesses. They were very much like the unrelenting, unstoppable machines featured in Schwarzenneger's "Terminator", but with a vicious, sadistic personality. In effect, they were the line-soldiers for the daemonfey, allowing the half-fiend Sun Elves to concentrate on more pressing activities (arcane studies, satisfying their perverse desires, etc.). The demon-golems' stats weren't really varied. I developed a couple unique ones, but there weren't "officer" or "spy" models or what have you (I believed this would be too contrived and unrealistic, as these would be roles for Daemonfey or Fey'ri). They weren't based on a demonic template (Glabrezu models, or what have you), as the weakest of Tanar'ri were sufficient for the task of infusing the golems with intelligence and automation. They appeared as statues of bat-winged elves of tremendous stature (7ft+ tall), wickedly handsome, clad in demonic armor, and carved from an obsidian-like material. Aside from talons, fangs, and claws, they wielded magical melee weapons and had at their disposal several spell-like abilities (teleport and fireball for a limited number of uses per day, among others). You get the idea. :)
Marsius 09-13-05, 12:20 PM	Maybe you could change the fact that whats in there its an Item or weapon, but a Person. Some kind of Fey'ri lord or mistress destined to bring chaos and destruction but traped by her ancestors. Bausq Floshin could have known of Braeal Entrayen and send messege of her lost heir and therefor moving his plans foward. Since the Fey'ri can assume a different form (Elven perhaps) he could sell himself of being the one to escort her to the castle with his other Fey'ri couterparts keeping a look out. In that way you could use your "turning to the darkside" plan to convince her to open the door with a promess of power. In this way Bausq pass as the Pc's frind and making them help him bring the Lord or Mistrees in to the world and them having to deal with them afterwards.
Thysl 09-14-05, 01:48 AM	The demon-golems' stats weren't really varied. I developed a couple unique ones, but there weren't "officer" or "spy" models or what have you (I believed this would be too contrived and unrealistic, as these would be roles for Daemonfey or Fey'ri). They weren't based on a demonic template (Glabrezu models, or what have you), as the weakest of Tanar'ri were sufficient for the task of infusing the golems with intelligence and automation. They appeared as statues of bat-winged elves of tremendous stature (7ft+ tall), wickedly handsome, clad in demonic armor, and carved from an obsidian-like material. Aside from talons, fangs, and claws, they wielded magical melee weapons and had at their disposal several spell-like abilities (teleport and fireball for a limited number of uses per day, among others). You get the idea. :) I like the idea, the only problem i foresee is - if the Duchess' long lost Siluvenede was a good guy - why didn't he destroy the golems instead of tossing them in an extra-deminsional pocket? If he was a Fey'ri or a fey'ri sypmathizer why would he key the door to the golems for only his kin, instead of all fey'ri? I guess the last option (where the ancient Entrayen mage was a fey'ri himself) sounds workable. A possible reason for the old mage to key the small army of golems to his own kin would be to ensure his bloodline's eventual power... additionally this makes an interesting option for future adventures if the PCs don't manage to stop Bausq. That being said, can you send me the stats you made up for these constructs? I'm at Thysl_in_Silver@hotmail.com Bausq Floshin could have known of Braeal Entrayen and send messege of her lost heir and therefor moving his plans foward. Since the Fey'ri can assume a different form (Elven perhaps) he could sell himself of being the one to escort her to the castle with his other Fey'ri couterparts keeping a look out. In that way you could use your "turning to the darkside" plan to convince her to open the door with a promess of power. Another great idea! I wrote up bausq today and he will be a Male Fey'ri Rog1/Sor4/MindBender2 (from Complete Arcane). With this build he is specefically made to con the Duchess and the PCs, and I am thinking I might 86 my plot to supplant the Honor Guard. Instead I will have Bausq's long range coercion be more mundane; posing as a Noble Sun Elf from the mainland, sending missives to Evermeet this last year explaining to the Duchess his undying love for her, that he had seen her on Evermeet from afar and knew - at that moment - that she was the only one for him... blah blah, you know the rest...The only problem I foresee with that is the possibility of getting a Paladin PC... ahhh well. Tomorrow I plan on posting my write up of Bausq and some of his lieutenants, tell then, thanks again and keep on posting them ideas!!
Thysl 09-15-05, 08:27 PM	So this thread ain't doin' so hot - I guess my campaign is perfect as is :D - but I said I would post these guys so I am. Do me a favor and give these two a once over; its been about 6 months since I did any NPC creation. If anyone would like to use these two go right ahead. Bausk Floshin Male Fey’ri Rogue 1/Sorceror 4/Mindbender 2; CR 8; Medium Outsider; HD: 1d6+1, 6d4+6; HP 40; Init +4; Speed: 30ft, Fly 40ft (poor); AC 17 (Flat-footed 13, touch 15); BaB: +3; Grapple +2; Attack: +4 melee (1d4-1, MW dagger), +8 ranged (1d6, MW short bow); SA: Charm Person (Sp) 1/day (DC 17), Push the Weak Mind (Sp) 1/day (DC17), Sneak Attack (1d6); SQ: +2 saves versus Enchantment, +2 saves versus poison, Alter Self (Sp) at will, Darkvision (60ft), Dimension Door (1/day), Elven Blood, Evasion, Immunity to Sleep, Low Light Vision, Outsider traits, Telepathy (Su) at will, Trapfinding; AL: CE; SV: Fort +5, Refl +7, Will +7; Str 8, Dex 18, Con 10, Int 13, Wis 11, Cha 18 Skills: Bluff +17, Decipher Script +5, Diplomacy +13, Disguise +16 (+18 in character), Hide +10, Intimidate +11, Move Silently +8, Sense Motive +5, Spot +7, Spellcraft +9 Feats: Ability Focus (Charm Person), Spell Focus (Enchant), Leadership Languages: Common, Elven, Sylvan Sorcerer Spells Known (6/7/5 per day; caster level 5) 0 – Resistance, Acid Splash, Read Magic, Daze, Ghost Sound, Prestidigitation; 1 – Charm Person, Cloud Wings (SS), Hypnotism, Magic Missile; 2 – Nybor’s Gentle Reminder (PGtF), Touch of Idiocy Equipment: Bracers of Armor +2, MW dagger, Ring of Protection +1, Potion of Cure M. Wounds, 56 gp, 1 bloodstone (75 gp) Xauv’r the Loveless Male Fey’ri Ranger 3 /Barbarian 2; medium outsider; CR 6; 3d8+3, 2d12+2; HP 33; Initiative +3; Speed 40ft., fly 40 (poor); AC 17 (flat footed 14, touch 13); BaB: +5; Grp. +9; Attack: +8 melee (1d8+4, MW longsword), and +8 melee (1d4+2, MW dagger) or +10 melee (1d8+6, MW longsword) or +9 ranged (1d8+3, MW Composite long bow (+3); SQ: +2 saves versus Enchantment, +2 saves versus lightning, Alter Self (Sp) at will, Darkness (Sp) 1/day, Darkvision 60ft., Damage Resistance 10/magic, Elven Blood, Favored Enemy +2 (Humans), Fire Resistance 10, Immunity to Sleep, Low Light Vision, Outsider traits, Rage 1/day, Uncanny Dodge (never be caught flat footed), Wild Empathy; AL: CE; Saves: Fort +6, Refl +6, Will +2; Str 18, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 7 Skills: Hide* +13, Knowledge (nature) +8, Listen* +13, Move Silently* +12, Spot* +11, Survival +10 * These skills gain an additional +2 when in a forested area Feats: Forester, (Two Weapon Fighting), Track, Endurance, Flyby Attack Languages: Common Elven, Orc Possessions: MW dagger, MW longsword, MW composite longbow (+3), MW chain shirt, Potion of Cure M. Wounds, Potion of Invisibility, Potion of Magic Weapon, 43 gp This is it, no more bothering you about my adventure after this.
Ramar Aulinvox 09-15-05, 09:39 PM	For the secret item/person of power, I would suggest it be something from Aryvandaar. Siluvanede was the first elven kingdom in the High forest after the Crown Wars. The search for power that was the logic behind blending the blood lines with fiends is a carry-over from these seekers of power. I would say that it is not the blood-line of the Siluvanede house that is important, but the fact that this house is decended from a Olin Gisir (LEoF) that imprisoned it(whatever it is) toward the end of the crown wars. As for what "it" is, if it is a person that you want, then an Aryvandaar High Mage, with all the knowledge that s/he contains, would be a deadly weapon; or perhaps it could contain the "Four sons of Vyshaan." For items, perhaps the regula of the Vyshan Emperor. You could expand this by making it just one of the items (the crown, scepter, or orb) but it gives instructions on finding the other two. Another type of magic item would be a suppressed Vyshaan Battle Mythal Capstone. This Capstone could be carried with the Fey'ri when they march to war with dramatic effects from Prevalent, Arointed, and Vanguard powers to boost the abilities of the Fey'ri and hamper their enemies.
ElGrecoETAC 09-15-05, 11:08 PM	Thysl, The Golems are hidden in a pocket dimension secreted within the Selukiira itself. The Elves believed they were simply hiding a powerful Selukiira within the pocket dimension. They never realized that the Dlardrageth who wielded it was summoning his army of Demon-Golems from the stone itself. Should they have destroyed the Selukiira rather than secret it away? My group asked the same question. There was no one to asnwer it of course, as the original guardians of the Selukiira's prison were long dead--following the destruction of their temple, centuries before our campaign timeline. Yes, I got that idea after watching the end of Men In Black. ;) As far as the stats, I'm sorry, but I misplaced them during one of my moves over a year ago. Like I said, they combined the strengths of Golems and Fiends but had none of their weaknesses; had several spell-like abilities (like the ones I mentioned earlier); and several hit dice (tailored to the PCs' levels).
Thysl 09-16-05, 07:47 PM	Figure I'll smack some wings on the Dread Guard outta MM2, thanks for the notion ElGreco! I got to thinking about a small army of Deamonfey constructs, standing in perfect ranks, the blood red sun of the extra-dimensional space bathing their steel armor... While I'm on the subject: was there any changes to the Construct type from 3E to 3.5 that I have to update? Thanks again guys!! P.S. What's all you talking about there, Ramar? This Capstone could be carried with the Fey'ri when they march to war with dramatic effects from Prevalent, Arointed, and Vanguard powers to boost the abilities of the Fey'ri and hamper their enemies. What's a capstone? This stuff from the Minis game? The ultimate prize has to be - if worse comes to worse - something the PCs can fight their way out of... BUT, the Lore Gem that will control the small army of Fey'ri constructs can have information on some long lost Aryvaandaran power... leading to a new and more dangerous adventure... :D
Ramar Aulinvox 09-16-05, 08:44 PM	P.S. What's all you talking about there, Ramar? What's a capstone? This stuff from the Minis game? A capstone is a physical center of a mythal using the mythal seed. In this case, this would be an artifact that allows for the mythal to come about where ever the capstone is and then be able to "shut off." The battle mythal would include benefits toward the capstone holders allies and have penalties placed on ones enemies. There are other offensive powers that can go into the battle mythal as well. The idea comes from information from Farthest Reach so its existence is not cannon; however, I think the application is still applicable from the information from LEoF.
Thysl 09-18-05, 03:24 AM	Alright, I know I promised to stop bugging you about this but I would ask one more thing: Once over this encounter, tell me if it's any good? Thanks in advance... Into the Sorrowwood (CR 5) Even though the visit takes the group a day of its trail Duchess Entreyen has insisted to stop at the fabled Sorrowwood, located on the Unicorn Run. With a little coaxing from ‘Lord Vhorae’ (Bausk Floshin) the Duchess believes that she will have a vision of the glories of past Siluvenade. What Bausk knows and the Duchess doesn’t is that the Sorrowwood gives visions of only sadness, pain and violence, always concerning the elves of the region throughout the eras, and only to full blooded elves. Bausk knows that the experience can be emotionally taxing and plans to use the Duchess’ internal strife to his advantage. Give any elven PCs with a moderate Knowledge (history) skill level a chance to beat a DC of 25. If they succeed they have heard that the Sorrowwood is aptly named: they know that only visions of sadness come from praying in the wood. Unfortunately the PCs will have to contend with Bausk if they try to warn the Duchess about the Sorrowwood’s danger. Have the PCs roll a Diplomacy check against Bausk (he receives a +2 circumstance bonus due to his having already spoken to the Duchess on the safety of the wood). If the PCs win the contest then the Duchess calmly passes the Sorrowwood of as a ‘frivolous lark’ and ‘a tempting waste of time’, she sends the order to press on to her ancestral lands. As the group enters the Sorrowwoods read this description: The half-thumb thick acorns that litter the forest floor clear as you enter an uncanny copse of massive oaks. Where the forest you have been traveling through has only small green blossoms promising the blooming to come, these trees are thick with brown, seemingly dead leaves. Upon closer observation the veins crisscrossing these leaves are a deep emerald. A slow wind blows into the wood barely stirring the mist settled about the silver-trunked sentinels. There are no sounds in this haunting wood, no animals skittering underfoot, but any uneasiness you may feel is lost on the Duchess Entreyen. “It’s lovely, this place…” she absently states, while her honor guard prepare for her a place to pray. Any elven PCs are free to experience the vision offered by the Sorrowwood. The GM should customize a truly awful scenario to be played out for the PC, either echoing the PC’s history or telling a tale of some sad time in their family’s history. Though there is no in-game effect for this vision, make sure it cuts the player character to the bone. Braeal Entrayen takes little time to enter a deep meditative state. Almost immediately she begins crying, eerily matched in volume by an ever strengthening wind. A minute into the trance the Duchess awakens, the howling winds cease and – becoming visible in the distance – a dark specter advances on the PCs. An Allip, the soul of another elven maiden, haunts the Sorrowwood. Many years ago she tempted fate with the visions of the wood, but was driven to madness by what she saw. The Allip begins her attack by using her babble ability immediatly. She steadily moves toward the Duchess, screaming “You have seen, you have seen” and “Someone must be told” over and over in Elvish. Almost all the group will fall under the Allip’s hypnotic effect for 5 rounds, excluded are Bausk (who has used his group will fall under the Allip’s hypnotic effect for 5 rounds, excluded are Bausk (who has used his telepathy ability on the Allip and is barely holding his courage) and the Duchess who is still reeling from her horrible vision. The Allip attacks Duchess Entreyen mercilessly, draining all her wisdom even if the PCs begin to attack it. If it completely drains the Duchess it begins attacking elven PCs, Elven NPCs, then non-elven PCs (if it comes to this point Bausk will flee). Advanced Allip (advanced to 9 HD): 49 HP; incorporeal touch +6; Saves: Fort +3. Refl +6, Will +7; babble DC raised to 18