Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 machmoth Aug 15, 2008 15:11:00	Tonight, I'll be running the second half of my first 4e game with a new group. Four strong, they unanimously decided they wanted to be "slightly evil". The alignments range from unaligned to evil. They're mostly out for themselves, and the "help, our town is in trouble" line will never be their cup of tea. When they heard the circus was in town up north, they gleefully decided to visit. In the night, they woke to hear crowds of screaming people running through town in terror. They body checked their way through the crowd, tossing people aside and generally make themselves a quick hole to the disturbance through rampant violence to find the big-top tent mutated and warped into a massive tower of distorted, unnatural features. Some Arcana revealed that it was tainted with the Farplane, though how is unknown. After some debate, they decided to see what could be gained by the situation and entered. After facing a snake-charmer in one of those fun-park tumbling-tunnels, we called it a night. Tonight, still on the docket, they'll learn of the "Ring-Leader", who will taunted them with promises of "prizes" and just be a creepy announcer sort. They'll face a minion-launching human-canon, a 10x10 gelatinous fat-lady, a piranha-like flea circus, the fire eater, the strong-man, a clown car, and other deformed circus attractions. This culminates with a showdown with the Ring Leader atop his elite-brute elephant. A few traits, the elephant takes all damage for both until it is downed. It tramples and has an encounter trumpet that dazes. The Ring Leader places a curse down of three flaming hoops. Each player takes -4 to attack until he's jumped through all three hoops (acrobatics check or take fire damage). After they've won, the tent and its contents return to normal. Whatever power ruled over it seeps into the characters, and they choose from a list of minor Farplane Deformities I offer them. I'm still working on the list (and welcome ideas), but they'll range from slightly obvious to fairly mundane, with minor bonuses. It'll then be up to the players to decide, knowing the costs (or, benefits, depending on their point of view), if they want to continue hunting these anomalies.
#2 machmoth Aug 15, 2008 16:04:04	Since I'm still working on the deformities, and wouldn't mind some input, here's a small list I've started kicking about. Balance isn't a huge bother, though the initial stuff will be fairly minor. Split Personality: +1 Intimidate, +1 Diplomacy Disjointed Fingers: +1 Thievery Light Sensitivity: Low-light vision Paranoid: Passive Perception/Insight = 11 + Skill Fangs: As an encounter power, minor action, you can make a bite melee attack. (Attack: Strength vs. AC, Hit: 1d4 + strength modifier damage) Fetish Soul: Gain magical amulet bonuses by making amulets out of dead creature parts. Only you can benefit from your amulets. (DM discretion on properties. Creature's level effects item level, type of creature influences additional properties. For example, the rogue kept the fangs of the snake charmer and his snakes. They could be used to make an amulet of health +1.)
#3 Nyronus Aug 16, 2008 6:31:19	Extra eyes, tentacles, more fingers, vestigle limbs, vestigle anything, scaly patches, patches of vegetable matter, deformed jaws, extra teeth, extra toes, extra fingers. Look up H.P. Lovecraft Art/Fanart/Figures. Look up "Tree Man" as well.