Any ideas for encounters in the Abyss? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Any ideas for encounters in the Abyss? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
T-REX
02-24-04, 04:10 PM I'm running a game (10. lvl) where the players are about to take a short de-tour to the Abyss :D .

I would like to introduce them to some weird and unusual encounters suitable for a dessert-like abyss enviroment.

I would also like to avoid "standard encounters" like: you meet a Hezrou and his demon boduguards... :rolleyes:

If you have an idea or two then please post...

T-rex
Kragg Bonemeal
02-24-04, 04:59 PM Remember, like any "food chain" there are many lesser creatures in the Abyss. What are those little grub like things that all the demons eat? They are like maggots or something. Then there are imps and quasits and such. Bigger demons will only be in their fortresses or larger cities.
krichaiushii
02-24-04, 05:47 PM Let them run into a recognizable CE NPC that the PCs killed off in an earlier adventure. He could be getting tortured or treated, depending on your whim. Regardless, he will likely be thrilled to see the ones who sent him to the Abyss in the first place.
SmoothB
02-24-04, 06:15 PM Do what I did.

Player: "I want to roll something"
DM(me): "Ok roll a d20..."
Player: "Oooh a 17!"
DM: "I love how they have a demon for almost every CR between 1 and 20."

Muahahaha, say hello to my little friend.
king_of_evil007
02-24-04, 06:20 PM They encounter a weak group of good-aligned people, who are crusading in the abyss and slaying fiends. They see you and attack, figuring that you're fiends if you're in the abyss.

Include devils. Demons live in the abyss, but throw in a weak devil. Bop any player on the head when he exclaims "He shouldn't be here, he's not a demon!" unless he has high ranks in Knowledge: Planes.

Definitely have them encounter a villain they killed in the past, who wishes to kill them again. I believe there's a template (Revenant, I think) that is an undead that gains bonuses when fighting the guy who killed him.
Autosponge
02-24-04, 06:57 PM The Abyss is much like any bleak, demon-infested, wasteland--it's dotted with little fuedal keeps and fortresses made of black iron, homes of the various warlords of that layer. They could have any number of things going on, but since they don't need food or drink and they're not about to go mining for precious metals or explore, they basically just team up and go hunt others.
They may do it on their plane, or (more likely) find/use portals into other planes, including the Prime.

Basically, unless there is some sort of event, I don't think much happens between these keeps. Remember, they are constantly at war with devils, so their activities are probably: patrol, raid, and rest--THAT'S IT!

Now, the edge of the plane is a different story all-together. These can be the homes of gatetowns where lots of stuff happens. There can also be the ruins of former gatetowns as the plane expands and contracts, these are probably home to lesser packs of demons who have either been outcast or are trying to form into anther clan to overthrow one that is established in a keep.

If you've ever driven through the desert, it's just like that only no cars, fewer people, and nothing moves unless it's a demon.
primemover003
02-24-04, 07:27 PM I would suggest using Varrangoin. They're in the FF. They were once a major race of demons on the Abyss but have since fallen into decline (like the Illithid, the Kuo-toa, the Yuan-ti, etc, etc.). Anywho they inhabit the same dusty layer that is home to the Armanites. They seem to defend areas of the plains and try to dig down to ruins of their once great civilization.
Pongolyn
02-24-04, 09:13 PM The 1st ed Manual of the Planes had a random Abyss layer table. The basic concept behind it was that in the Abyss, the terrain the characters might find themselves in could be truly random and very dangerous. One moment you could find yourself in the middle of a raging blizzard (cold and bludgeoning damage), the next in a scorching desert (dehydration). The DMG has all sorts of rules for varying field conditions to challenge players. (Even something as harmless as a moderate rain can wreak havoc on ranged weapons and Spot/Listen checks).

In some rare instances, you could say that the layer itself is a sentient being bent on destroying the characters. Perhaps the party starts off beating on a hezrou, and suddenly in Round 3, an avalanche comes crashing down the nearby hill. Some time later, an earthquake threatens to swallow them up, or carnivorous plants and animated rocks begin to attack them. Sooner or later the characters may put two and two together and realize that the land itself is trying to kill them, in addition to the demons...if you play your cards right, you'll have them afraid to bed down at night for fear a tsunami will blot them out in their sleep...
LordHell
02-24-04, 10:02 PM You could make the terrian like the 2nd Edition Living Wall monster.

None of this Prime Material Terrain, make it _really_ freaky!
Slivvy Gaidin
02-24-04, 10:21 PM Have some cute baby dretch playing in the sand pit at a playground. Momma demon is tired (but still big enough to utterly destroy the PCs), spots the PCs, and enlists/enslaves them as servants/odd-jobsmen.

The PCs are now servants (slaves) in a fortress in the Abyss. Their duties include (among pushing the baby dretch on the Abyssal swings, and making sand castles from acid soaked sand) surviving every day in a hostile workplace (full of discrimination), going on insanely dangerous quests for the demon queen (the one at the playground), and, among washing dishes and cleaning floors, formulate a plan for escape.
Orang-Utang
02-24-04, 10:24 PM Imagine a vast river of blood (warm blood-98.6 F to be exact). Its filled with Blood elementals (Water elementals with more hemoglobin).

Have the weather and terrain change very suddenly.

Roads made of human bodies piled together.

Herds of buffalo sized maggots traveling in vast herds

Vast(I must like the word vast) fields of golden lush grass that is razor sharp and poisonous.

A blizzard rolls in, upon inspection each snowflake is shaped like a little face twisted in agony-the blizzard is actually ash.

Glaciers with vast armies imbedded in them, just below the surface.

Howling winds that whisper murderous thoughts.

I don't think the party should actually run into that many creatures, but I would convince the party that running into anything that lives here is just to horrific to consider-it's all about the mood.
LordHell
02-24-04, 10:35 PM Originally posted by Orang-Utang
Imagine a vast river of blood (warm blood-98.6 F to be exact). Its filled with Blood elementals (Water elementals with more hemoglobin).

Have the weather and terrain change very suddenly.

Roads made of human bodies piled together.

Herds of buffalo sized maggots traveling in vast herds

Vast(I must like the word vast) fields of golden lush grass that is razor sharp and poisonous.

A blizzard rolls in, upon inspection each snowflake is shaped like a little face twisted in agony-the blizzard is actually ash.

Glaciers with vast armies imbedded in them, just below the surface.

Howling winds that whisper murderous thoughts.

I don't think the party should actually run into that many creatures, but I would convince the party that running into anything that lives here is just to horrific to consider-it's all about the mood.

This is what I'm talking about, combine all that with unnatural angles, seemingly optical-illusion like terrain, and a constant haunting wind, and we've got ourselves an abyss plane.
Deekin
02-24-04, 10:35 PM Try this thread out
Layers of the Abbyss (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=86851)
Sildatorak
02-25-04, 03:40 AM A field full of people buried up to their necks and rat-sized ants constantly fill the place and gnaw at their faces. The people are constantly regenerating the flesh as it is bitten off. If the PC's manage to chase off the ants (treat as a fiendish rat swarm?) from someone and dig them up to free them, that person will attack them immediately (it is a petitioner of a chaotic evil plane, after all :D). Remember the regeneration, too, this person is going to be tough to kill, even if he is taking AoO's and dealing subdual damage.
Ack'noth Necrom
02-25-04, 04:43 AM Dont foret all the Fiendish wildlife! Mmmm, advanced fiendish lions that actively hunt the PCs for food or better yet a pack of Advanced Feindish T-Rex's!

Oh and evil Plantlife is a must! Imagine Sticker bushes that do temporary Con damage :devil:

Other than that after their presence becomes known you could send squads of demons after the PCs (either to kill or perhaps even capture them).
Shemeska the Marauder
02-25-04, 05:05 AM Groves of Vipertrees littered with the bodies of mortals or petitioners or even Tanar'ri.

Fields of Razorvine, always a fun addition to the local flora.

Styx tributaries are always fun, dealing with the Marraenaloth boatmen even more so. ;)

An ocean of crystalized tears, each containing the spark of the tormented thoughts that drove a mortal to acts of murder

A layer completely devestated by the passage of the Blood War, still littered with wandering fiends, mostly least and lesser Tanar'ri and scattered pockets of Baatezu searching desperately for a portal off of the plane to gather and regroup.

Litter a layer with the domain of a CE deity, perhaps with the terrain within being at a striking contrast to the terrain of that particular layer of the Abyss itself. For example, the layer might be a wastland of frozen ashes with massive living body parts jutting up from the soil at odd intervals, providing pockets of warmth and milked like cactuses by the fiends. The domain of the deity might be a sudden lush jungle with bright warm sunshine (and murderous petitioners) that at first seems welcoming to the PCs.

In the infinite layers of the Abyss there's an infinite number of fun things to run with. :)
T-REX
02-25-04, 05:34 PM Thanks guys. This is just what I was looking for. Mabye it isn't going to be a short de-tour after all :smirk:

T-rex
Martin/Asmodeus
03-19-04, 10:47 PM Look on the new DM guide for the sandstorm rules. The hardest you should consider the main weather and, if i´m not wrong, it cause damage every round and can cover and drown you with sand. Also take some crazy things like the one shown before and mix them.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
T-REX 02-24-04, 04:10 PM	I'm running a game (10. lvl) where the players are about to take a short de-tour to the Abyss :D . I would like to introduce them to some weird and unusual encounters suitable for a dessert-like abyss enviroment. I would also like to avoid "standard encounters" like: you meet a Hezrou and his demon boduguards... :rolleyes: If you have an idea or two then please post... T-rex
Kragg Bonemeal 02-24-04, 04:59 PM	Remember, like any "food chain" there are many lesser creatures in the Abyss. What are those little grub like things that all the demons eat? They are like maggots or something. Then there are imps and quasits and such. Bigger demons will only be in their fortresses or larger cities.
krichaiushii 02-24-04, 05:47 PM	Let them run into a recognizable CE NPC that the PCs killed off in an earlier adventure. He could be getting tortured or treated, depending on your whim. Regardless, he will likely be thrilled to see the ones who sent him to the Abyss in the first place.
SmoothB 02-24-04, 06:15 PM	Do what I did. Player: "I want to roll something" DM(me): "Ok roll a d20..." Player: "Oooh a 17!" DM: "I love how they have a demon for almost every CR between 1 and 20." Muahahaha, say hello to my little friend.
king_of_evil007 02-24-04, 06:20 PM	They encounter a weak group of good-aligned people, who are crusading in the abyss and slaying fiends. They see you and attack, figuring that you're fiends if you're in the abyss. Include devils. Demons live in the abyss, but throw in a weak devil. Bop any player on the head when he exclaims "He shouldn't be here, he's not a demon!" unless he has high ranks in Knowledge: Planes. Definitely have them encounter a villain they killed in the past, who wishes to kill them again. I believe there's a template (Revenant, I think) that is an undead that gains bonuses when fighting the guy who killed him.
Autosponge 02-24-04, 06:57 PM	The Abyss is much like any bleak, demon-infested, wasteland--it's dotted with little fuedal keeps and fortresses made of black iron, homes of the various warlords of that layer. They could have any number of things going on, but since they don't need food or drink and they're not about to go mining for precious metals or explore, they basically just team up and go hunt others. They may do it on their plane, or (more likely) find/use portals into other planes, including the Prime. Basically, unless there is some sort of event, I don't think much happens between these keeps. Remember, they are constantly at war with devils, so their activities are probably: patrol, raid, and rest--THAT'S IT! Now, the edge of the plane is a different story all-together. These can be the homes of gatetowns where lots of stuff happens. There can also be the ruins of former gatetowns as the plane expands and contracts, these are probably home to lesser packs of demons who have either been outcast or are trying to form into anther clan to overthrow one that is established in a keep. If you've ever driven through the desert, it's just like that only no cars, fewer people, and nothing moves unless it's a demon.
primemover003 02-24-04, 07:27 PM	I would suggest using Varrangoin. They're in the FF. They were once a major race of demons on the Abyss but have since fallen into decline (like the Illithid, the Kuo-toa, the Yuan-ti, etc, etc.). Anywho they inhabit the same dusty layer that is home to the Armanites. They seem to defend areas of the plains and try to dig down to ruins of their once great civilization.
Pongolyn 02-24-04, 09:13 PM	The 1st ed Manual of the Planes had a random Abyss layer table. The basic concept behind it was that in the Abyss, the terrain the characters might find themselves in could be truly random and very dangerous. One moment you could find yourself in the middle of a raging blizzard (cold and bludgeoning damage), the next in a scorching desert (dehydration). The DMG has all sorts of rules for varying field conditions to challenge players. (Even something as harmless as a moderate rain can wreak havoc on ranged weapons and Spot/Listen checks). In some rare instances, you could say that the layer itself is a sentient being bent on destroying the characters. Perhaps the party starts off beating on a hezrou, and suddenly in Round 3, an avalanche comes crashing down the nearby hill. Some time later, an earthquake threatens to swallow them up, or carnivorous plants and animated rocks begin to attack them. Sooner or later the characters may put two and two together and realize that the land itself is trying to kill them, in addition to the demons...if you play your cards right, you'll have them afraid to bed down at night for fear a tsunami will blot them out in their sleep...
LordHell 02-24-04, 10:02 PM	You could make the terrian like the 2nd Edition Living Wall monster. None of this Prime Material Terrain, make it _really_ freaky!
Slivvy Gaidin 02-24-04, 10:21 PM	Have some cute baby dretch playing in the sand pit at a playground. Momma demon is tired (but still big enough to utterly destroy the PCs), spots the PCs, and enlists/enslaves them as servants/odd-jobsmen. The PCs are now servants (slaves) in a fortress in the Abyss. Their duties include (among pushing the baby dretch on the Abyssal swings, and making sand castles from acid soaked sand) surviving every day in a hostile workplace (full of discrimination), going on insanely dangerous quests for the demon queen (the one at the playground), and, among washing dishes and cleaning floors, formulate a plan for escape.
Orang-Utang 02-24-04, 10:24 PM	Imagine a vast river of blood (warm blood-98.6 F to be exact). Its filled with Blood elementals (Water elementals with more hemoglobin). Have the weather and terrain change very suddenly. Roads made of human bodies piled together. Herds of buffalo sized maggots traveling in vast herds Vast(I must like the word vast) fields of golden lush grass that is razor sharp and poisonous. A blizzard rolls in, upon inspection each snowflake is shaped like a little face twisted in agony-the blizzard is actually ash. Glaciers with vast armies imbedded in them, just below the surface. Howling winds that whisper murderous thoughts. I don't think the party should actually run into that many creatures, but I would convince the party that running into anything that lives here is just to horrific to consider-it's all about the mood.
LordHell 02-24-04, 10:35 PM	Originally posted by Orang-Utang Imagine a vast river of blood (warm blood-98.6 F to be exact). Its filled with Blood elementals (Water elementals with more hemoglobin). Have the weather and terrain change very suddenly. Roads made of human bodies piled together. Herds of buffalo sized maggots traveling in vast herds Vast(I must like the word vast) fields of golden lush grass that is razor sharp and poisonous. A blizzard rolls in, upon inspection each snowflake is shaped like a little face twisted in agony-the blizzard is actually ash. Glaciers with vast armies imbedded in them, just below the surface. Howling winds that whisper murderous thoughts. I don't think the party should actually run into that many creatures, but I would convince the party that running into anything that lives here is just to horrific to consider-it's all about the mood. This is what I'm talking about, combine all that with unnatural angles, seemingly optical-illusion like terrain, and a constant haunting wind, and we've got ourselves an abyss plane.
Deekin 02-24-04, 10:35 PM	Try this thread out Layers of the Abbyss (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=86851)
Sildatorak 02-25-04, 03:40 AM	A field full of people buried up to their necks and rat-sized ants constantly fill the place and gnaw at their faces. The people are constantly regenerating the flesh as it is bitten off. If the PC's manage to chase off the ants (treat as a fiendish rat swarm?) from someone and dig them up to free them, that person will attack them immediately (it is a petitioner of a chaotic evil plane, after all :D). Remember the regeneration, too, this person is going to be tough to kill, even if he is taking AoO's and dealing subdual damage.
Ack'noth Necrom 02-25-04, 04:43 AM	Dont foret all the Fiendish wildlife! Mmmm, advanced fiendish lions that actively hunt the PCs for food or better yet a pack of Advanced Feindish T-Rex's! Oh and evil Plantlife is a must! Imagine Sticker bushes that do temporary Con damage :devil: Other than that after their presence becomes known you could send squads of demons after the PCs (either to kill or perhaps even capture them).
Shemeska the Marauder 02-25-04, 05:05 AM	Groves of Vipertrees littered with the bodies of mortals or petitioners or even Tanar'ri. Fields of Razorvine, always a fun addition to the local flora. Styx tributaries are always fun, dealing with the Marraenaloth boatmen even more so. ;) An ocean of crystalized tears, each containing the spark of the tormented thoughts that drove a mortal to acts of murder A layer completely devestated by the passage of the Blood War, still littered with wandering fiends, mostly least and lesser Tanar'ri and scattered pockets of Baatezu searching desperately for a portal off of the plane to gather and regroup. Litter a layer with the domain of a CE deity, perhaps with the terrain within being at a striking contrast to the terrain of that particular layer of the Abyss itself. For example, the layer might be a wastland of frozen ashes with massive living body parts jutting up from the soil at odd intervals, providing pockets of warmth and milked like cactuses by the fiends. The domain of the deity might be a sudden lush jungle with bright warm sunshine (and murderous petitioners) that at first seems welcoming to the PCs. In the infinite layers of the Abyss there's an infinite number of fun things to run with. :)
T-REX 02-25-04, 05:34 PM	Thanks guys. This is just what I was looking for. Mabye it isn't going to be a short de-tour after all :smirk: T-rex
Martin/Asmodeus 03-19-04, 10:47 PM	Look on the new DM guide for the sandstorm rules. The hardest you should consider the main weather and, if i´m not wrong, it cause damage every round and can cover and drown you with sand. Also take some crazy things like the one shown before and mix them.