Reverse Wizard's Tower

[shadow_archmagi]

So, here's a traditional story:

An evil wizard has taken control of the land and he lives in a giant black tower and the tower is guarded by monsters and dark warriors.

Has anyone ever run the reverse? Where throughout their conquest the PCs fight through a few dozen lesser wizards before being confronted by an elite mundane combatant?

[Johel]

...So, that's basically an skilled fighter with a lot of wizards-in-training ?

Never done. But that could be : an evil Duke who think that magic is the new way to go. He invests massively in magic items, enlist many low-level wizards as teachers, force his vassals to send their children at his tower to learn magic...

However, magic is costly and so the commoners suffer extra taxes. The milicia is more ruthless than ever because they HAVE to find some money for their boss. Harvest aren't stored. Instead, most of it is sold so that the Duke can use the gold to buy more magical stuff. Eventually, he even uses his new wizards to pillage his neighbours, posing as a band of thugs.

[Jack_Simth]

Sorta.

See, the BBEG had sufficient style that the party stood there and watched his ascension ceremony from beginning to end, not actually thinking to stop him until after he'd completed it - at which point, he had some pretty hefty spellcasting abilities.

[Book Wyrm]

Isn't the reverse of a tower a dungeon. And the reverse of a wizard would be a...<.< >.>...monk. So how about an ancient duergar monastery buried deep underground thats been training armies of denizens of the dark in the sublime arts. You could even make them Tashalatora Monk/PsiWarriors or Swordsages so they didn't suck so much.

[HamsterOfTheGod]

So, here's a traditional story:

An evil wizard has taken control of the land and he lives in a giant black tower and the tower is guarded by monsters and dark warriors.

Has anyone ever run the reverse? Where throughout their conquest the PCs fight through a few dozen lesser wizards before being confronted by an elite mundane combatant?

I've run a couple of modules like that. Shackled City had an adventure where the PCs basically fight through guards to get to a final encounter with a high level fighter.

It's not hard to justify IC. It's a a little tricky to plan the final fight since the fighter is often too deadly (if too high a level) or too easy for the party.

For the final battle, like in the Shackled City session, don't have the fighter completely alone. Give him some guards or cohorts or an animal companion/pet or summoned monster (by means of an elemental gem) for the final fight.

A blackguard is good opponent for this sort of encounter because he has good saves (helps prevents the party mage from stopping the encounter with 1 save or die spell). The blackguard can cast annoying spells like shatter or darkness and buff himself (freedom of movement to avoid those pesky controlling spells) and summon his own creatures. And the black guard has good attacks with smite, sneak attack and poison. So you don't have to pump the blackguard up with magic items and you don't have to make him too high a level to be effective.

[Flickerdart]

Isn't the reverse of a tower a dungeon. And the reverse of a wizard would be a...<.< >.>...monk. So how about an ancient duergar monastery buried deep underground thats been training armies of denizens of the dark in the sublime arts. You could even make them Tashalatora Monk/PsiWarriors or Swordsages so they didn't suck so much.
Actually, Monks are fairly decent monsters. Good saves and inherent AC mean that they last longer and the PCs get less loot out of them, and their inability to inflict any damage is a sort of safety net. Besides, Duergar get Enlarge Person as an SLA, which is handy for a Monk.

[Set]

The city of Mulmaster in the Forgotten Realms seems made for this sort of scheme, with an evil fighter / warlord running the city, and having an entire secret police made up of specialist Diviners. The nation of Cormyr, with a fighter king (or queen, after finished killing off all of the non-evil male leaders in the setting, to reinforce the 'women are good, and incredibly hot, men are evil, and old and ugly' theme), leading contingents of War Wizards also fits the bill.

It would probably be even more do-able if you were willing to take Clerics instead of Wizards, since several clergy-run cities / nations have fighters (or Paladins or Blackguards) as rulers. The Scarred Lands has one of each (Mithril, a city ostensibly under the command of a high level Paladin, with a powerful church backing him up, and Calastia, a nation in service to a god of tyranny with a powerful Fighter as king, the clergy in powerful positions everywhere *and* a guild of battle-mages in his service!).

I'm sure various other settings can also provide examples, such as Karrth, in Eberron (fighter ruler, tons of necromancers as battle-mages).

[Set]

Actually, Monks are fairly decent monsters. Good saves and inherent AC mean that they last longer and the PCs get less loot out of them, and their inability to inflict any damage is a sort of safety net. Besides, Duergar get Enlarge Person as an SLA, which is handy for a Monk.

Good point. Combined with some Duergar Rogues (with invisibility SLA), a party of Duergar with few or no active spellcasters could still wreak some havoc.

[Harperfan7]

Anybody ever read Elminster: making of a mage?

[ericgrau]

Good point. Combined with some Duergar Rogues (with invisibility SLA), a party of Duergar with few or no active spellcasters could still wreak some havoc.

Or just duergar monks grapple and duergar rogues sneak attack. Punk #1 does the grabbin', punk #2 does the smackin'. Punk #1 also twists the guys arm and does a lot of monk damage. Another runs and tumbles to the PCs back line, trips somebody, then AoO's plus readied actions to disrupt spells (if needed) to let him smack the guy around on the ground while saying "Oh, you want to do something, I don't think so!" Duergar don't fight fair, yo.

Hey, wait a second, shouldn't this be about a party of lesser wizards?