Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Shiftkitty 01-14-08, 04:03 PM	PCs have hatched a workable plot to go diving in Menzoberranzan's Lake Donigarten. Naturally, I intend to throw all kinds of slimy, oozy, watery nastiness at them. If they want the goodies attached to the bodies that should remain hidden, I'm going to make them work for it like never before. I intend to give them a chance to discover an underwater dungeon (with air present). It should have something to do with Ghaunadaur. What would you thrown at them? (Average party level is 18, consisting of one barbarian, one rogue, and two wizards. They maight be able to talk a cleric of Lloth into going with them, but that's really a thing of last resort. One of the wizards is a drow, the rest of the party is human (and therefore very expendable). The priestess might go along anyway to make sure that wayward wizard male doesn't forget who he owes his faith to. She'll be 12th level if she does.)
Lord Karsus 01-15-08, 01:18 AM	-Oozes and Aboleth immediatley come to mind.
Dzwood 01-15-08, 01:38 AM	Would the Aboleth be alowd that close to the city?!?!?!?! I dunno seems far fetched...fun but still. How are your PCs gonna get down there?
Lord Karsus 01-15-08, 02:58 AM	Would the Aboleth be alowd that close to the city?!?!?!?! -No one ever knew they were down there? They recently migrated?
Khaelieth 01-15-08, 08:31 AM	-No one ever knew they were down there? They recently migrated? I say they're on holiday! Or are plotting something. Giant octopi, undead, scrags and lacedons might be an idea as well.
Lord Karsus 01-15-08, 08:40 AM	I say they're on holiday! Or are plotting something. Giant octopi, undead, scrags and lacedons might be an idea as well. -Or, Giant Undead Octopi! -There is the octopus-like race desctibed in Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark.
Shiftkitty 01-16-08, 03:38 PM	Would the Aboleth be alowd that close to the city?!?!?!?! I dunno seems far fetched...fun but still. How are your PCs gonna get down there? Hee hee, that's the first of their challenges. The human wizard made some amulets that would let them treat water "as if it weren't there". These nifty items were tested in a lake on the surface and she was able to walk right into the lake as easily as if she were strolling through a park. Her concern, according to her player, was whether or not she could breathe. I emphasized that she could, since she could now treat water "as if it weren't there". She intends to be the first one to jump off the raft the middle of water to prove to the others that the amulets work. The drow wizard has already spotted the flaw in the amulet, but is keeping his mouth shut because he doesn't like the human wizard much. Can you spot it?:devil:
Lord Karsus 01-16-08, 03:44 PM	The drow wizard has already spotted the flaw in the amulet, but is keeping his mouth shut because he doesn't like the human wizard much. Can you spot it?:devil: -Well, depending on how deep the water is, the character who wants to jump off the raft is going to have a long way to fall, since there isn't going to be any water resistance or water buyancy.
Shiftkitty 01-16-08, 03:52 PM	As for things underwater, I was thinking of using the suggestion from a couple of sourcebooks about underwater ropers to start them out. Maybe some freshwater variations on sea scorpions, eels, eels, and more eels, maybe one the size of the eel in the old Super Nintendo Game "Mario's World", and maybe a Kuo Toa outpost. Hmmm, a giant undead octopus... or a kraken... And of course there's all those "missing persons" from Menzoberranzan. I'm thinking the dungeon they encounter is going to be a place so slimy that balance checks will have to be made fairly frequently to keep from slipping during anything other than a reasonably careful walk. Of course, the things they fight will be used to these surfaces. That's where I'll drop the main monsters, watery nasties and things loyal to That Which Lurks. I'll probably dig up and old 1e or 2e map and just repopulate it to save time. (You know, eerily enough, the map to the Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun will suit my needs just fine, and will make for a cool tie-in should my players recognize it...) Ooh! Yeah, throw me your sloppiest ingredients! Octopi, giant octopi, undead octopi, lacedons, scrags, hmmm, a pumped up aboleth as the BBEG operating this temple in Ghanadaur's name (I've never used aboleth before. My players tend to steer clear of them for some reason.). This is gonna be TPK soup if they aren't careful!
Shiftkitty 01-16-08, 03:54 PM	-Well, depending on how deep the water is, the character who wants to jump off the raft is going to have a long way to fall, since there isn't going to be any water resistance or water buyancy. :clap: :dancin: :w00t: :ayyyy!: You must be the drow wizard! Have a cookie.:cookie: I kept emphasizing to the player the "as if it weren't there" phrase. Never picked up on it...
Lord Karsus 01-16-08, 03:58 PM	-Ooze Mephits, Jellyfish, and Slime Paraelementals all qualify as 'sloppy'.
Lord Karsus 01-16-08, 03:59 PM	:clap: :dancin: :w00t: :ayyyy!: You must be the drow wizard! Have a cookie.:cookie: I kept emphasizing to the player the "as if it weren't there" phrase. Never picked up on it... -Hurray, I figured it out!
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin 01-16-08, 06:52 PM	-Ooze Mephits, Jellyfish, and Slime Paraelementals all qualify as 'sloppy'. And smelly.
Lord Karsus 01-16-08, 07:07 PM	And smelly. -Well, not everything that is slimy and/or sloppy is smelly. Gelatin, for instance.
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin 01-16-08, 07:08 PM	-Well, not everything that is slimy and/or sloppy is smelly. Gelatin, for instance. But the stuff in that lake is probably smelly.:)
Lord Karsus 01-16-08, 07:11 PM	But the stuff in that lake is probably smelly.:) -Of that, there is no doubt. And, there is that Rothe island in the middle of the lake, administered by the Hunetts. So, that doesn't make matters any better, as I am sure they indiscriminantly throw things in the water.
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin 01-16-08, 07:17 PM	-Of that, there is no doubt. And, there is that Rothe island in the middle of the lake, administered by the Hunetts. So, that doesn't make matters any better, as I am sure they indiscriminantly throw things in the water. I was thinking the same thing!
Alediran 01-17-08, 08:26 AM	-Well, depending on how deep the water is, the character who wants to jump off the raft is going to have a long way to fall, since there isn't going to be any water resistance or water buyancy. It was the first impression I got when I read that part. Great minds think alike.
The_Shaman 01-17-08, 01:00 PM	Heh, at first I thought that maybe she'd suffocate... If the water isn't there, it might be like jumping in a (near) vacuum ;) But yes, it might be better if they didn't jump in right in the middle of the lake, for various reasons.
silverlock001 01-18-08, 06:46 PM	Well my first question is how clean is the lake? If it is a dumping ground no only will visibility be limited, but a lot of nasty stuff is going to be in the water. Disease, parasites, and pollutants should give the party some rather interesting heath issues about the time the get to that dungeon. Oh, don't forget to throw in a few fresh water sharks. :D
Shiftkitty 01-18-08, 08:51 PM	Funny thing about Donigarten. It's said to be the town's water supply. It's also the place to dump generation after generation of dead bodies that don't need to be found, along with all of their valuables if you really want to make them disappear. This led one player to ask about the amount of lead and other nastiness in the city's drinking water (out of game and tongue-in-cheek). "Sheeyit, Matron Baenre! There's more lead in you than was at the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre! You guys ever hear of water filtration? No wonder you guys are cranky all the time. You've all got cancer!" They've started their excursion (after the amulet mishap) and I've been finding all kinds of nasties by looking through old MMs, monsters from other games (Sword & Sorcery's "Angler Ooze", though far beneath the party's level at CR3, did plenty of damage by being the last thing they expected!), and normal critters, like those freshwater sharks. Yeah, sure. YOU may get to act like the water's not there, but once that blood leaves your body, it will drift and attract anything that might be hungry. Nasty trap, too. As they approached a large underwater chamber, something set the drow wizard off. As the wizzes were bringing up the rear, the rogue entered first, noticing nothing unusual except for the size of the chamber (HUGE!!!) and a half-buried chest about a third of the way across the room (the center would have been too obvious). A spell counted the number of beings approaching (5) and waited for them to cross a certain point. When the drow wiz felt the "offness" get too high, he reversed his direction mid-stride. Down came the portcullis, missing drow wiz by a hair. The anti-magic field kicked in, cancelling the effects of those wonderful amulets. Drowning rule time! The rogue panicked and gulped in quite a bit of water. The choking sensation, it was determined, would cost him dearly. Rather than the 26 rounds he had to hold his breath, he got cut to 14. (Hard to tell yourself not to try to take in air when you've got a lungful of water. Accurate or not, it intensified the drama exponentially!) The drow wiz has a STR of 9, so he was useless to try to open the portcullis. Hey! Cast Bull's Strength and be worth something! If that doesn't work, any number of spells can make an opening, right? Nope. The antimagic shell extended beyond the border of the room. The only thing he could do was to summon a crude beathing apparatus that he had wanted to take along (just in case) but was forbidden by the priestess as too bulky. She felt it would slow them down. So he summoned it and passed it to the rogue who, though still gagging profoundly, was able to avoid drowning. The barbarian and the priestess managed to pry the portcullis open. Once they got out of the antimagic area, the amulets resumed working and the priestess gave the drow wiz a tongue lashing for being a "useless male", and nearly followed it up with a real lashing, except that the drow wiz is something of an old friend to the rest of the party from his juvenile delinquent days when he escaped to the surface for a series of adventures. The sounds of weapons being drawn enfuriated the priestess, but she stayed her whip, deciding that now was not the time to dish out discipline. The priestess is a DMPC, and sealing the party in a watery tomb after the adventure would be right up her alley. Her goal is to shut down the temple of Ghaunadaur if it exists as rumor says it does. If she loses a few pieces of surface-dwelling chattel, so be it. If the drow wiz becomes a problem, she'll write him off as having fallen under Ghaunadaur's sway, thereby becoming a traitor to Lolth. So far the party, and players, expect nothing...:schemes:
Lord Karsus 01-19-08, 01:07 AM	Heh, at first I thought that maybe she'd suffocate... If the water isn't there, it might be like jumping in a (near) vacuum ;) But yes, it might be better if they didn't jump in right in the middle of the lake, for various reasons. -I was thinking that too, at first. -Kitty, there is an 'Ooze Creature' template in Savage Species that should be useful.
Shiftkitty 01-19-08, 06:42 PM	Ooh! And I don't have the book!:( (On a book-buying moratorium right now while we get tax-raped.:eek: ) So far I've had them deal with underwater ropers, a couple of critters from the Swords & Sorcery Creature Collection (1 & 2), a Dire Shark with a nasty habit of kicking up silt to blind its prey before striking for a "swallow whole" attempt, a Ghaunadan sevring as a sentry that disguised itself as a bloated body (the party ignored it as it was naked and therefore devoid of loot, so it oozed away to warn others :devil:), and a few underwater zombies. Except for the portcullis/antimagic trap, the rogue has been rolling well for spotting, searching, and disabling things. I'm thinking of putting an epic monster at the temple. It would be that thing from the Epic Level Handbook that eats brains and keeps paragon mindflayers as pets, a Neh-Thalggu. It'll be a tough fight, but I think the group is creative enough to defeat it if they come up with a really good plan. I think it'll be tough enough alone, without any mindflayers around. I figure it's been feasting on the brains of any arcanists that find their days ending by being dumped in the lake. (Nothing in the description says it feeds on living brains, so I guess as long as they're reasonably fresh, they're good to go.)
Lord Karsus 01-20-08, 03:36 AM	Ooh! And I don't have the book!: -No problem. Here's what I'd do. Give whatever creature it is the ability to grow pseudopods that can deal blunt damage. And, then, give the creature any of the ooze traits: Mindless: No Intelligence score, and immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects). Blind (but have the blindsight special quality), with immunity to gaze attacks, visual effects, illusions, and other attack forms that rely on sight. Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, polymorph, and stunning. Some oozes have the ability to deal acid damage to objects. In such a case, the amount of damage is equal to 10 + ½ ooze’s HD + ooze’s Con modifier per full round of contact. Not subject to critical hits or flanking. Proficient with its natural weapons only. Proficient with no armor. Oozes eat and breathe, but do not sleep.