PDA

View Full Version : Swamp Antagonists [3.5]



Everyman
2010-03-05, 12:27 PM
Hello, everyone.

I'm working out the final details of a side quest for my group, and would you appreciate your collective input on the matter. Basically, I've making up an encounter where the group is heading to an abandoned manor in the middle of some swamp land (Note: wasn't always that way, which will be a plot point). The rumor is that the manor is haunted, and the current owner (read: the sap who inherited it) wants it cleaned out. The trick is that the mansion isn't haunted, but is instead being booby trapped by a couple of dwarf siblings, looking for some rumored treasure. I'm going to be relying on liberal amounts of guerilla tactics and the "phantom" animal spells to replicate a haunting. Right now they exist more as an abstract set of numbers and details...

Dwarf Brother
Dragon Shaman 8 (likely black dragon totem)
Str 14, Con 16, Dex 9, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 14

Dwarf Sister
Druid 9 (shapeshift variant - PHB II)
Str 12, Con 16, Dex 9, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 9

Here's where I'd like some help.
1) I'm going to be houseruling that dragon shamans can project two auras at 7th level (and three at 17th, but that doesn't matter). Which two auras would you choose for a battle in a rickety, rotting mansion, against three skillmonkeys (a ninja, a spellthief/warlock, and a cloistered cleric/rogue)?

2) Which totem would you choose for the brother? I'm leaning towards black, just 'cause it fits the swamp theme so well. Well, that and I find an acid breath weapon to be superior to the other damage types, since it can affect both the PCs AND the terrain (see "rickety, rotting mansion").

3) I'm going to do a little tweaking to the sister's forms, to make them more swamp-friendly. In essense, I'd like to replace one of the standard forms and convert it to a crocodile-like form. I'm thinking the Slayer form would be the best to adjust (dropping the land speed to 20 feet, giving it a swim speed, and adding in a tail attack). What do you think?

Thanks for your help, guys.

The Glyphstone
2010-03-05, 12:42 PM
1) Why not just give them the Dual Draconic Aura feat? Or, for that matter, just say they get it as a bonus feat at 7th level then.

2) Black dragon would definitely be most suitable for a swamp-dweller.

3) Not sure, but the Shapeshift variant is hardly overpowered to begin with, it'd be hard to bring it back up to Wildshape level, let alone better.

Everyman
2010-03-05, 04:04 PM
1) Why not just give them the Dual Draconic Aura feat? Or, for that matter, just say they get it as a bonus feat at 7th level then.

2) Black dragon would definitely be most suitable for a swamp-dweller.

3) Not sure, but the Shapeshift variant is hardly overpowered to begin with, it'd be hard to bring it back up to Wildshape level, let alone better.

Thanks for the input, Glyphstone. Its been a while since I've seen you (back when I was Tarkahn).

In regards to why I'm giving them the second and third aura...well, I'd rather just fix a poor progression myself rather than requiring players (and myself) to spend a feat to make something better. Besides, I don't own that supplement. I am happy that you agreed with my Black Dragon choice, though. I was thinking about making it Blue, for the totem ventriloquist effect, but opted for black (better suited for the environment)

To clarify, I'm not trying to fix the Shapeshift variant. I just wanted to give the forms a more swamp-like feel to them. Somehow, the crunch suggests wolves and bears more than crocs and....well...crocs. I just wanted to see if anyone else thought it was comparable.