Adventure Idea I've been throwing around [Archive] - Wizards Community

Adventure Idea I've been throwing around [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
ercpkr
10-02-05, 09:00 PM So I want to make a unique adventure for some of my players since it feels everything has been done already. They are all low level (level 4) now on account of a TPK that occured recently (hur hur, I am going to collapse a mine with myself inside).

The setting is a small island named Dextramensus in the campaign world I created. Basically, it is a pretty nasty place, mostly made up of swamps, moores, salt marshes, etc. and the undead pretty much have the run of the place.

This is the story of the island (shortened a bit):

There was a powerful vampire who lived on that island named Glamorgan. How old was he? None can say, he is an ancient evil, whose beginnings shall always remain shrouded in mystery. When the first colonists arrived on that island, the port town of Lyator immediately fell under his attack. The settlers, upon realizing that this "plague" was in actuality a vampire infestation called upon the help of the mighty paladin guild, The Order of The Knights of the Silver Circle (often simply called "The Circle"). Realizing the corruption of this isle, the order sent one of its most expirienced paladins, Amagoth the Exalted to aid the town.

Once there, Amagoth used his powers to eliminate all inhabitants of the city (including the lord himself) who were either vampires, becoming, or under the vampires' spell. He then declared himself to be the local lord and assembled the peasants into a militia. He led the charge against Glamorgan's keep, but had gravely underestimated the ancient fiend's powers. The attackers were slain by zombies of the drowned dead that rose out of the moors. Amagoth was taken Glamorgan's prisoner, and was tortured and eventually transformed into a vampire himself. Because of his vocation as a paladin, he managed to resist Glamorgan's powers over him and retained his free-will. Amagoth slew Glamorgan and all of the undead under his former control regained their free will (minus the zombies). Amagoth realized that "undead" wasn't synonimous with "evil" and established a city for the undead, which he named Necropolis. The majority of Necropolis' citizens were vampires, though it also included several wights, zombies and ghouls. The vampires and wights (grudgingly) agreed to sate their hungers only animals such as rats and fish. The mindless, ravenous ghouls were a danger to everyone, both living and undead now that they had no master, and the ghouls were kept chained beneath the city. The zombies and skeletons were used as a tireless workforce, as builders, hunters, guards and janitors. Unfortunately, all attempts at diplomacy with Lyator failed, and his citizens weren't content with simply drinking rat blood.

After an unprovoked attack on Necropolis by the very militia he assembled, Amagoth lost control of his human side and declared war with the humans. He besieged Lyator, and nearly destroyed the town. Dissatisfied with the Silver Circle, the citizens sought help from a different source, the zealots of the Church of Hextor.

The Church of Hextor arrived, led by Blacklord Mallus and waged war on Amagoth, appreciating the irony that he had once fought against the Circle general before as the "bad guy" in the public's eye.

Well, at first they seemed to be winning, their priests were able to control the undead and use Amagoth's soldiers against him. More people moved to Dextramensus, and Lyator grew, and several smaller villages budded off. The war went on for several years, with Mallus slowly gaining ground. (It was difficult however, seeing as with each death in their numbers, the opposing numbers grew) Unfortunately, the Hextorites' tactics were eventually wearing out their usefulness. Amagoth learnt to control the ghouls that were being kept imprisoned. He tapped into Glamorgan's powers and unleashed the ghouls from captivity. The sudden increase in undead numbers took Mallus by surprise and one of Hextor's Temple/Military Bases was overrun by undead. Mallus called in for reinforcements, but the church of Hextor refused to provide any, they were using most of their resources on a crusade against a different foe. Angry, Mallus began recruiting from among the peasants. And by recruiting, I mean forcing them to join his army and taking them through training with a whip. He threatened destruction to the communities that did not meet his huge quota. There are even women and children among his numbers now, forced to fight the undead largely against their wills.

The party I am DMing is made up of 4 players, all level 4. They have just survived a rather nasty encounter with the cult of Hextor before, and are likely not too thrilled with them. They'll arrive via a raft they've been floating around on at Dextramensus and see that the Cult of Hextor has pretty much taken over the place.

There will be two "dungeons" that they will have to get through: Necropolis and the Hextorite Temple/Military Base which is serving as the headquarters for Blacklord Mallus.

Basically, if they ask around, the villagers will tell them what I just told you, and they will either head off to one of the dungeons and start hacking (if I know my PCs).

Enemies:
Postulants- fighter 1
Initiates- cleric 1
Converts- wizard 1
Guards- fighter 2
"Paladins"- fighter 1/cleric 1
Chaplains- Cleric 2
Interrogators- Rogue 2
Augurs- Cleric 4
Elites- Fighter 4
Blacklord Mallus- Fighter 6

Sites of interrest:

Lysator-
Population: 2000
The city is patrolled by Hextorite Postulants, that travel in groups of 4-8. Driven insane by what they've seen, they are not averse to publicly and instantly executing anyone they don't like the looks of, whether they are too pale, or have some physical defect (eg. is lame, blind) or even will kill someone who is non-human. They often claim that these people have been dominated by the vampires.

Hextor Temple:
This place is chock-full of soldiers, about 100 are inside the temple complex training at any time of day. Fortunately for my PCs, most of them hate Hexor and will not attack the players. Most of them have an initial reaction of unfriendly, but can be easily raised to friendly or even helpful, and aid the PCs.

Outer Sanctum:

Room 0, The Temple gardens and vestibule- 20 postulants, though about 5 of them are loyal to Hextor, they will all allow the PCs free entry to the temple without any questions (they are mainly on lookout for undead, rather than human invaders)

Room 1, Armory- 4 guards, all combatants. The guards will question the PCs why they are not in uniform, assuming them to be fellow soldiers. Depending on how the PCs respond, there could be a fight or not.

Room 2, Training Grounds- 20 postulants, only about 8 of which are actually devout hextorites and will attack the PCs. Once again, depending on the PCs' roleplaying, they can get past here without a battle.

Room 3, Library- 2 Initiates and 2 Converts are here in this very... very small library, all of them loyal to Hextor. They are a bit smarter than the average Postulant and will realize that the PCs shouldn't be there. If the PCs are cooperative (I don't know why they would be) they will have their weapons removed and be brought before Blacklord Mallus, and then be executed for this extreme act of stupidity that far surpasses that last act I mentioned at the top of the page.

Room 4, The chaplains' cloister- This is where the chaplains like to sleep (all loyal to Hextor). There will be 4 in the room when the PCs arrive. If they were being idiots and making a racket, they will have to fight with 4 armed priests. If they were stealthy, two will be asleep (those slothful bastards) and two will be unarmed and praying.

Room 5, The master corridor- about 6 paladins and 4 guards are here. The paladins are all loyal to Hextor, the guards are not. The paladins will allow the players to enter the above rooms freely, but will interrogate them fiercly before allowing them into the inner sanctums (below). They'll ask really strange questions like "How does Hextor embrace his enemies", that the PCs will never know without some good luck with Knowledge(Religion) or Bluff.

Inner Sanctum: Everyone here is kill on sight to the PCs unless otherwise mentioned.

Room 6, Inner Hallway- 2 Elites stand guard in this hallway. Will attack the PCs with no questions asked.

Room 7, Torture Chamber- 4 interrogators are torturing prisoners here. Some of them are human, some are undead. The humans, if free'd will be friendly to the PCs, but in too poor physical condition to fight alongside them. The undead... well if they unleash a ghoul, they'll get bit in the ass for their generosity. If they unleash an intelligent undead from the iron maidens or racks, then he'll thank them, and maybe, depending on what the PCs do, he'll give them the undead side of the story. If the PCs are smash-faces, like I know they will be, then they'll respond to the PCs' violence with violence.

Room 8, Sanctum Sanctorum- 3 Augurs study and pray here.

Room 9, Mallus' Command Room- Mallus sits here all day farting and drinking beer in full plate mail. He needs to die. Now. Alongside Mallus is his favorite elite, who also enjoys farting and drinking beer. When Mallus is killed, or the elite (whichever comes first) the other will call out for help, and a few paladins will come rushing in in a couple of rounds.

Room 10, Temple Treasury- LOOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is also a dragon here! Just kidding....

Now, if they skipped any of the Outer Sanctum encounters through diplomacy, that option is now not available and they have to hack their way out.

Necropolis:
Arguable much more hostile a place. If they come in with an army, then the undead responds with like numbers, if they sneak in, then they won't have to fight as many undead. Irregardless, they will arrive at the keep without reinforcements.

Room 0, the city- roll randomly for zombie, ghoul, wight or vampire spawn.

Amagoth Keep:

Room 1, the entrance- 8 ghouls
Room 2, the stables- 4 skeletal ponies (medium skeletons).... ooohhh... scary
Room 3, the dining room- 4 geists.... the geists are harmless, but they follow the PCs around ******* them off and alerting enemies to their presence.
Room 4, the kitchen- 1 really really really fat ghast who has been eating lots of bonus HD.
Room 5, the guard house- 2 vampire spawn
Room 6, the cattle farm!- 10 injured commoners level 1, 2 vampire spawn-- don't let the name fool you, this is really a place where they keep human prisoners within an inch of their life and feed on them. The humans here are all under the vampires' powers, but they are all at a permanent state of 1 HP.
Room 7, The nasty staircase that goes up and up forever- 6 vampire spawn in groups of 2, but they all will come at once if the PCs have the geists following them around.
Room 8, the big scary doorway before the boss room- 4 vampire spawn
Room 9, the boss room- the fallen Paladin Amagoth resides here. He has eight levels in paladin, but he has lost all of his powers (he is effectively a level 8 vampire warrior). When the PCs find him, he is busy chowing down on a human buffet.

Basically... It is really shortened but that is the gist of it. How is it so far?
ercpkr
10-02-05, 09:37 PM Bah, I realize it is insanely long for a single post, but can I please get some replies, even something like "Too long, didn't read"
Khaldune
10-03-05, 12:23 AM I personally think the party will be long dead before they reach the main vampire. If you look at vampire spawn they have certain abilities that cause permanent damage like Blood Drain and Energy Drain that causes CON loss and negative levels so they may enter at level 4 and get to level 5 but could end up at 1 after fighting all the vamp spawn. You can just cut the number down from 14 unless you feel confidant that they will survive based on previous encounters or if you just want to go though the hassle of rolling up new characters. I say replace some of the spawn with regular vampires or other undead so that can at least get to the main vampire and die. Other than that everything seems to be inplace. I hope the your players enjoy the story it seems that it would be fun to run.
Blu Death
10-03-05, 01:08 AM The PCs could live, if they are smart. Some how hint that they need to use stealth, so that they dont run in and kill themselves. Also, make sure they get some NPCs with them. Sounds about as hard as my campains. Can you say a party of 6 lvl 2 pc fighting a whole cult. Yeah. Im mean to my pcs. They learn that battles are tough. Yours will learn to adapt, just like mine. Just start semi nice.
ercpkr
10-03-05, 02:35 PM Another option is that they can restore Amagoth's honor. If they do so, then they can strike up a truce between Necropolis with Lyator, so fighting isn't the only option.

As for the difficulty of Necropolis, I think the party can handle the vampire spawns. If not, I'll just stick a few "Potions of Lesser Restoration" inside a few chests to help them out.
Khaldune
10-03-05, 07:01 PM that would be wise since you stated that the PC's are the hack and slash type. You never know the PC's may get lucky with diplomacy checks and strike up that truce. Sometimes its good for the PC just to say hi if they know that they are out manned. good luck with the campaigne
Bruunwald
10-03-05, 07:53 PM Doesn't Dextramensus mean something like "clockwise-turning menstruation?"

No, that's Dextromenses. Sorry.
ercpkr
10-03-05, 08:56 PM Doesn't Dextramensus mean something like "clockwise-turning menstruation?"

No, that's Dextromenses. Sorry.

Shh!
QNWL
10-03-05, 09:12 PM Wow. I'd like to play that campaign sometime. I didn't read alot of it since it was so long, but what kind of treasure will they get? I would definately give them clothing that covers up major arteries. The Hextorites wouldn't have any weapons/spells against undead, would they?

I think the main vampire would have had some weapons that were good against undead, but put them away to keep himself and his fellow undead safe. Depending on how you would run the game, magic weapons might hurt undead to even hold them, or maybe not.
ercpkr
10-03-05, 09:43 PM Wow. I'd like to play that campaign sometime. I didn't read alot of it since it was so long, but what kind of treasure will they get? I would definately give them clothing that covers up major arteries. The Hextorites wouldn't have any weapons/spells against undead, would they?

I think the main vampire would have had some weapons that were good against undead, but put them away to keep himself and his fellow undead safe. Depending on how you would run the game, magic weapons might hurt undead to even hold them, or maybe not.

This is a low level adventure, so I have to be careful what I give my PCs.

The Hextorian priests would probably have scale or chainmail armor. They aren't working with unlimited resources, and probably have just cheap, nonmagical stuff. Perhaps a few priests will have Elixers of Detect Undead.

Mallus will have Blacklord's Fist, a Heavy Mace of Lesser Disruption +1: 1d8 damage, +1 attack and damage rolls. When it strikes an undead creature, it must make a Fortitude Save DC 7 or de destroyed.

The undead will probably either be unarmed, or carry nonmagical weapons.

The main vampire will have the sword he used in life, Valorcall, a +1 Blessed Longsword: 1d8 damage, +1 attack and damage rolls. +1d4 damage against evil creatures.

I was thinking that potions of restoration and detect undead as well as holy water will be kept inside locked chests inside the tower. These were formerly posessions of Amagoth. He keeps them hidden so they won't be used against him, but he can't bring himself to throw away these mementos from his old life.
Talonz
10-03-05, 09:55 PM I think you need more pcs. You may also need an organization willing and able to support them, in terms of supplies, potions, info, temporary undead fighting items, etc.

You are plunking them inbetween 2 evil armies and asking them to do...what exactly? And on their own? Sounds like TPK to me. I'm not being harsh, I love the setting and idea, but give them the necesary support to do the job and it could be a great campaign.
ercpkr
10-03-05, 10:04 PM Well, the goal is that they have to save the town from Hextor, and from the undead. If they don't help them, the town will be destroyed eventually. As well, if they only destroy one evil organization, then the other will rip the town apart.

The townsmen could secretly provide them with potions, Ghost Touch weapons (stolen from the temples of Hextor), and *perhaps* some temporary recruits. Of course, all items the townsmen provide will be taken out of their rewards at the end of the adventure >:)

Also, if they roleplay well and get lucky with Diplomacy, then they won't have to fight a single battle in the undead dungeon, and the difficulty of the cultist dungeon will be significantly decreased (though certain death is guaranteed if they attack the Hextorites without a word spoken, as they will be attacked by even the non-loyal guards in this instance.).

Did I mention that there is also a level 2 henchman in the party, a female bard =)
Talonz
10-03-05, 10:23 PM Then I suggest really playing up the 'resistance' angle here. Have them meet up with the party once the party has learned the horrifying details of the setting and they think they're SOL, and provide them with items, manpower and guides to make the strike teams necesary to get things done.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ercpkr 10-02-05, 09:00 PM	So I want to make a unique adventure for some of my players since it feels everything has been done already. They are all low level (level 4) now on account of a TPK that occured recently (hur hur, I am going to collapse a mine with myself inside). The setting is a small island named Dextramensus in the campaign world I created. Basically, it is a pretty nasty place, mostly made up of swamps, moores, salt marshes, etc. and the undead pretty much have the run of the place. This is the story of the island (shortened a bit): There was a powerful vampire who lived on that island named Glamorgan. How old was he? None can say, he is an ancient evil, whose beginnings shall always remain shrouded in mystery. When the first colonists arrived on that island, the port town of Lyator immediately fell under his attack. The settlers, upon realizing that this "plague" was in actuality a vampire infestation called upon the help of the mighty paladin guild, The Order of The Knights of the Silver Circle (often simply called "The Circle"). Realizing the corruption of this isle, the order sent one of its most expirienced paladins, Amagoth the Exalted to aid the town. Once there, Amagoth used his powers to eliminate all inhabitants of the city (including the lord himself) who were either vampires, becoming, or under the vampires' spell. He then declared himself to be the local lord and assembled the peasants into a militia. He led the charge against Glamorgan's keep, but had gravely underestimated the ancient fiend's powers. The attackers were slain by zombies of the drowned dead that rose out of the moors. Amagoth was taken Glamorgan's prisoner, and was tortured and eventually transformed into a vampire himself. Because of his vocation as a paladin, he managed to resist Glamorgan's powers over him and retained his free-will. Amagoth slew Glamorgan and all of the undead under his former control regained their free will (minus the zombies). Amagoth realized that "undead" wasn't synonimous with "evil" and established a city for the undead, which he named Necropolis. The majority of Necropolis' citizens were vampires, though it also included several wights, zombies and ghouls. The vampires and wights (grudgingly) agreed to sate their hungers only animals such as rats and fish. The mindless, ravenous ghouls were a danger to everyone, both living and undead now that they had no master, and the ghouls were kept chained beneath the city. The zombies and skeletons were used as a tireless workforce, as builders, hunters, guards and janitors. Unfortunately, all attempts at diplomacy with Lyator failed, and his citizens weren't content with simply drinking rat blood. After an unprovoked attack on Necropolis by the very militia he assembled, Amagoth lost control of his human side and declared war with the humans. He besieged Lyator, and nearly destroyed the town. Dissatisfied with the Silver Circle, the citizens sought help from a different source, the zealots of the Church of Hextor. The Church of Hextor arrived, led by Blacklord Mallus and waged war on Amagoth, appreciating the irony that he had once fought against the Circle general before as the "bad guy" in the public's eye. Well, at first they seemed to be winning, their priests were able to control the undead and use Amagoth's soldiers against him. More people moved to Dextramensus, and Lyator grew, and several smaller villages budded off. The war went on for several years, with Mallus slowly gaining ground. (It was difficult however, seeing as with each death in their numbers, the opposing numbers grew) Unfortunately, the Hextorites' tactics were eventually wearing out their usefulness. Amagoth learnt to control the ghouls that were being kept imprisoned. He tapped into Glamorgan's powers and unleashed the ghouls from captivity. The sudden increase in undead numbers took Mallus by surprise and one of Hextor's Temple/Military Bases was overrun by undead. Mallus called in for reinforcements, but the church of Hextor refused to provide any, they were using most of their resources on a crusade against a different foe. Angry, Mallus began recruiting from among the peasants. And by recruiting, I mean forcing them to join his army and taking them through training with a whip. He threatened destruction to the communities that did not meet his huge quota. There are even women and children among his numbers now, forced to fight the undead largely against their wills. The party I am DMing is made up of 4 players, all level 4. They have just survived a rather nasty encounter with the cult of Hextor before, and are likely not too thrilled with them. They'll arrive via a raft they've been floating around on at Dextramensus and see that the Cult of Hextor has pretty much taken over the place. There will be two "dungeons" that they will have to get through: Necropolis and the Hextorite Temple/Military Base which is serving as the headquarters for Blacklord Mallus. Basically, if they ask around, the villagers will tell them what I just told you, and they will either head off to one of the dungeons and start hacking (if I know my PCs). Enemies: Postulants- fighter 1 Initiates- cleric 1 Converts- wizard 1 Guards- fighter 2 "Paladins"- fighter 1/cleric 1 Chaplains- Cleric 2 Interrogators- Rogue 2 Augurs- Cleric 4 Elites- Fighter 4 Blacklord Mallus- Fighter 6 Sites of interrest: Lysator- Population: 2000 The city is patrolled by Hextorite Postulants, that travel in groups of 4-8. Driven insane by what they've seen, they are not averse to publicly and instantly executing anyone they don't like the looks of, whether they are too pale, or have some physical defect (eg. is lame, blind) or even will kill someone who is non-human. They often claim that these people have been dominated by the vampires. Hextor Temple: This place is chock-full of soldiers, about 100 are inside the temple complex training at any time of day. Fortunately for my PCs, most of them hate Hexor and will not attack the players. Most of them have an initial reaction of unfriendly, but can be easily raised to friendly or even helpful, and aid the PCs. Outer Sanctum: Room 0, The Temple gardens and vestibule- 20 postulants, though about 5 of them are loyal to Hextor, they will all allow the PCs free entry to the temple without any questions (they are mainly on lookout for undead, rather than human invaders) Room 1, Armory- 4 guards, all combatants. The guards will question the PCs why they are not in uniform, assuming them to be fellow soldiers. Depending on how the PCs respond, there could be a fight or not. Room 2, Training Grounds- 20 postulants, only about 8 of which are actually devout hextorites and will attack the PCs. Once again, depending on the PCs' roleplaying, they can get past here without a battle. Room 3, Library- 2 Initiates and 2 Converts are here in this very... very small library, all of them loyal to Hextor. They are a bit smarter than the average Postulant and will realize that the PCs shouldn't be there. If the PCs are cooperative (I don't know why they would be) they will have their weapons removed and be brought before Blacklord Mallus, and then be executed for this extreme act of stupidity that far surpasses that last act I mentioned at the top of the page. Room 4, The chaplains' cloister- This is where the chaplains like to sleep (all loyal to Hextor). There will be 4 in the room when the PCs arrive. If they were being idiots and making a racket, they will have to fight with 4 armed priests. If they were stealthy, two will be asleep (those slothful bastards) and two will be unarmed and praying. Room 5, The master corridor- about 6 paladins and 4 guards are here. The paladins are all loyal to Hextor, the guards are not. The paladins will allow the players to enter the above rooms freely, but will interrogate them fiercly before allowing them into the inner sanctums (below). They'll ask really strange questions like "How does Hextor embrace his enemies", that the PCs will never know without some good luck with Knowledge(Religion) or Bluff. Inner Sanctum: Everyone here is kill on sight to the PCs unless otherwise mentioned. Room 6, Inner Hallway- 2 Elites stand guard in this hallway. Will attack the PCs with no questions asked. Room 7, Torture Chamber- 4 interrogators are torturing prisoners here. Some of them are human, some are undead. The humans, if free'd will be friendly to the PCs, but in too poor physical condition to fight alongside them. The undead... well if they unleash a ghoul, they'll get bit in the ass for their generosity. If they unleash an intelligent undead from the iron maidens or racks, then he'll thank them, and maybe, depending on what the PCs do, he'll give them the undead side of the story. If the PCs are smash-faces, like I know they will be, then they'll respond to the PCs' violence with violence. Room 8, Sanctum Sanctorum- 3 Augurs study and pray here. Room 9, Mallus' Command Room- Mallus sits here all day farting and drinking beer in full plate mail. He needs to die. Now. Alongside Mallus is his favorite elite, who also enjoys farting and drinking beer. When Mallus is killed, or the elite (whichever comes first) the other will call out for help, and a few paladins will come rushing in in a couple of rounds. Room 10, Temple Treasury- LOOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is also a dragon here! Just kidding.... Now, if they skipped any of the Outer Sanctum encounters through diplomacy, that option is now not available and they have to hack their way out. Necropolis: Arguable much more hostile a place. If they come in with an army, then the undead responds with like numbers, if they sneak in, then they won't have to fight as many undead. Irregardless, they will arrive at the keep without reinforcements. Room 0, the city- roll randomly for zombie, ghoul, wight or vampire spawn. Amagoth Keep: Room 1, the entrance- 8 ghouls Room 2, the stables- 4 skeletal ponies (medium skeletons).... ooohhh... scary Room 3, the dining room- 4 geists.... the geists are harmless, but they follow the PCs around ******* them off and alerting enemies to their presence. Room 4, the kitchen- 1 really really really fat ghast who has been eating lots of bonus HD. Room 5, the guard house- 2 vampire spawn Room 6, the cattle farm!- 10 injured commoners level 1, 2 vampire spawn-- don't let the name fool you, this is really a place where they keep human prisoners within an inch of their life and feed on them. The humans here are all under the vampires' powers, but they are all at a permanent state of 1 HP. Room 7, The nasty staircase that goes up and up forever- 6 vampire spawn in groups of 2, but they all will come at once if the PCs have the geists following them around. Room 8, the big scary doorway before the boss room- 4 vampire spawn Room 9, the boss room- the fallen Paladin Amagoth resides here. He has eight levels in paladin, but he has lost all of his powers (he is effectively a level 8 vampire warrior). When the PCs find him, he is busy chowing down on a human buffet. Basically... It is really shortened but that is the gist of it. How is it so far?
ercpkr 10-02-05, 09:37 PM	Bah, I realize it is insanely long for a single post, but can I please get some replies, even something like "Too long, didn't read"
Khaldune 10-03-05, 12:23 AM	I personally think the party will be long dead before they reach the main vampire. If you look at vampire spawn they have certain abilities that cause permanent damage like Blood Drain and Energy Drain that causes CON loss and negative levels so they may enter at level 4 and get to level 5 but could end up at 1 after fighting all the vamp spawn. You can just cut the number down from 14 unless you feel confidant that they will survive based on previous encounters or if you just want to go though the hassle of rolling up new characters. I say replace some of the spawn with regular vampires or other undead so that can at least get to the main vampire and die. Other than that everything seems to be inplace. I hope the your players enjoy the story it seems that it would be fun to run.
Blu Death 10-03-05, 01:08 AM	The PCs could live, if they are smart. Some how hint that they need to use stealth, so that they dont run in and kill themselves. Also, make sure they get some NPCs with them. Sounds about as hard as my campains. Can you say a party of 6 lvl 2 pc fighting a whole cult. Yeah. Im mean to my pcs. They learn that battles are tough. Yours will learn to adapt, just like mine. Just start semi nice.
ercpkr 10-03-05, 02:35 PM	Another option is that they can restore Amagoth's honor. If they do so, then they can strike up a truce between Necropolis with Lyator, so fighting isn't the only option. As for the difficulty of Necropolis, I think the party can handle the vampire spawns. If not, I'll just stick a few "Potions of Lesser Restoration" inside a few chests to help them out.
Khaldune 10-03-05, 07:01 PM	that would be wise since you stated that the PC's are the hack and slash type. You never know the PC's may get lucky with diplomacy checks and strike up that truce. Sometimes its good for the PC just to say hi if they know that they are out manned. good luck with the campaigne
Bruunwald 10-03-05, 07:53 PM	Doesn't Dextramensus mean something like "clockwise-turning menstruation?" No, that's Dextromenses. Sorry.
ercpkr 10-03-05, 08:56 PM	Doesn't Dextramensus mean something like "clockwise-turning menstruation?" No, that's Dextromenses. Sorry. Shh!
QNWL 10-03-05, 09:12 PM	Wow. I'd like to play that campaign sometime. I didn't read alot of it since it was so long, but what kind of treasure will they get? I would definately give them clothing that covers up major arteries. The Hextorites wouldn't have any weapons/spells against undead, would they? I think the main vampire would have had some weapons that were good against undead, but put them away to keep himself and his fellow undead safe. Depending on how you would run the game, magic weapons might hurt undead to even hold them, or maybe not.
ercpkr 10-03-05, 09:43 PM	Wow. I'd like to play that campaign sometime. I didn't read alot of it since it was so long, but what kind of treasure will they get? I would definately give them clothing that covers up major arteries. The Hextorites wouldn't have any weapons/spells against undead, would they? I think the main vampire would have had some weapons that were good against undead, but put them away to keep himself and his fellow undead safe. Depending on how you would run the game, magic weapons might hurt undead to even hold them, or maybe not. This is a low level adventure, so I have to be careful what I give my PCs. The Hextorian priests would probably have scale or chainmail armor. They aren't working with unlimited resources, and probably have just cheap, nonmagical stuff. Perhaps a few priests will have Elixers of Detect Undead. Mallus will have Blacklord's Fist, a Heavy Mace of Lesser Disruption +1: 1d8 damage, +1 attack and damage rolls. When it strikes an undead creature, it must make a Fortitude Save DC 7 or de destroyed. The undead will probably either be unarmed, or carry nonmagical weapons. The main vampire will have the sword he used in life, Valorcall, a +1 Blessed Longsword: 1d8 damage, +1 attack and damage rolls. +1d4 damage against evil creatures. I was thinking that potions of restoration and detect undead as well as holy water will be kept inside locked chests inside the tower. These were formerly posessions of Amagoth. He keeps them hidden so they won't be used against him, but he can't bring himself to throw away these mementos from his old life.
Talonz 10-03-05, 09:55 PM	I think you need more pcs. You may also need an organization willing and able to support them, in terms of supplies, potions, info, temporary undead fighting items, etc. You are plunking them inbetween 2 evil armies and asking them to do...what exactly? And on their own? Sounds like TPK to me. I'm not being harsh, I love the setting and idea, but give them the necesary support to do the job and it could be a great campaign.
ercpkr 10-03-05, 10:04 PM	Well, the goal is that they have to save the town from Hextor, and from the undead. If they don't help them, the town will be destroyed eventually. As well, if they only destroy one evil organization, then the other will rip the town apart. The townsmen could secretly provide them with potions, Ghost Touch weapons (stolen from the temples of Hextor), and perhaps some temporary recruits. Of course, all items the townsmen provide will be taken out of their rewards at the end of the adventure >:) Also, if they roleplay well and get lucky with Diplomacy, then they won't have to fight a single battle in the undead dungeon, and the difficulty of the cultist dungeon will be significantly decreased (though certain death is guaranteed if they attack the Hextorites without a word spoken, as they will be attacked by even the non-loyal guards in this instance.). Did I mention that there is also a level 2 henchman in the party, a female bard =)
Talonz 10-03-05, 10:23 PM	Then I suggest really playing up the 'resistance' angle here. Have them meet up with the party once the party has learned the horrifying details of the setting and they think they're SOL, and provide them with items, manpower and guides to make the strike teams necesary to get things done.