Magic Items For Cultist Terror Tactics

[Gorfang113]

So in my campaign I plan to introduce a Beholder Cult in my next session. Their big intro is when the PC's are in a tavern one evening, when suddenly a cultist stands up, then launches a fireball from a wand into the bar. Attacks like these are happing all over the city while this is going on. I want to equip them fairly well, with lots of magic stuff (wands, scrolls, potions). THis is because one of my PC's, and artificer, has been selling them magic stuff for very cheap prices (he and about 4 other artificers are unknowingly supplying the cult, as they don't know what the items are used for). So I need ideas for items to give the strike teams to help them in their mission. Each squad consists of 3 rogues, a rogue/assasain, and a beguiler. Each is ECL 7. Their mission is to do hit and run terror attacks wherever they can. After they have finished they are to return to the desert, where after about a 3 day walk by foot they can return to a camp they are staying in (one per team). Obviously they need Wands of Fireball and Endure Elements, but im stuck beyond that. So I need magic items (or alchemical ones) to help them stay hidden and to do major damage. Beholder themed stuff would be nice as well.

[Weezer]

Well if they're a Beholder Cult equip them with items that emulate Beholders natural abilities, wands/scrolls with the same spells as the eye rays, levitation items, things like that.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Wands/scrolls or a continous item of resist/protection from [releveant energy type] should be useful to so they can blast recklessly without worrying about friendly-fire.

Wands of Invisibility to book it out of there undetected.

Scrolls of Teleport could be better than hoofing it+Endure Elements. Plus those would be better for your PC's then Endure Elements.

I do advise against decking them out with expendables and then have them blow them all in the fight and leave little to nothing for treasure. Either don't make them use all of the expendables or plan how much they will use and then equip them with level appropriate treasure.

[Funkyodor]

Well, I think that emergency escape items should be consumable for enemies that have to rely on UMD to use wands. Some of the following basic items from the SRD might be helpful for a stealthy covert team:
Dust of Dissappearance (to beat see invis and other detection means) and Dust of Tracelessness to obscure tracks back to base.
+1 for the Scroll of Teleport idea.
A feather token (bird) to send word of success / failure or identify the PC's to the organization, or maybe wand/scroll of message/animal messenger.
Potions or Wands of Invis to get into places. Wands/Scrolls of Knock to quickly get past obstacles.
Potions of Misdirection to get past basic divinations, or Amulets of Proof Against Detection and Location
Wands of Cure Light Wounds & Restorative Ointment to heal up and remove poison/disease.
One guy with Area of Effect wands, One guy with Ray type wands, one guy with disabling effect wands (like Hold Person, Web, and the like) would be neat.
Boots of Spider Climbing
One guy with an Eversmoking Bottle.
Cloaks of Resistance, maybe with their emblem or organization symbol on 'em.
Potions of Resist Energy
Beads of Force if you want a chance of neutralizing the target for a while, maybe some divide and conquer?

Just a few ideas.

[Randomguy]

There's a spell in the spell compedium called Death throes that does 1d8 damage per caster level to everyone within 30 feet of you when you die, while also destroying your body. It lasts one hour per caster level.

Give every cultist about 4 scrolls of death throes, and make it so that the fifth is already in use for when they attack: Since they prepared to attack, they are prepared for some of them to die in the attack and they have taken the appropriate measures. Also, it's fun to give the PC's enemies that they can't safely kill.:smallamused:

[PirateLizard]

The Obvious answer to me is multi-purpose explosive charges. (http://eberronunlimited.wikidot.com/blast-disk) Stick a few of those puppies in a cart, drive it into the market, pull all the pins at once with some string...Run. Also great for sapping water towers, setting things on fire, covering your escape route, sewing terror leaving them lying around armed for random commoners to step on...for the price they're hard to beat.

MiC 160 also has Explosive Spikes, those are even nastier, but proximity only.

With all this fire damage flying around you're going to want to invest in some other types of damage, or your PCs are going to get savvy.

[bassmasterginga]

nothing sews confusion like a liberally applied wand of mass dominate person with a few charges in it. blow stuf up, start riots, destroy property, and put a smoke screen over your trail. best if used on a large gathering (like in a tavern!)

[jaybird]

Hmm...Explosive Runes goes off when what it's written on is damaged, right? Tie parchment with Explosive Runes around bottles of Alchemist's Fire, throw, ???, PROFIT!!!

[Sydonai]

Hmm...Explosive Runes goes off when what it's written on is damaged, right? Tie parchment with Explosive Runes around bottles of Alchemist's Fire, throw, ???, PROFIT!!!

Even better, randomly cast Explosive Runes on signs.


If inside a building use a scroll of Grease, then a scroll of Gust of Wind. Watch the party slip and slide all over the place while lobing Alchemist's Fire at the flamable Grease.

[Sudain]

I do advise against decking them out with expendables and then have them blow them all in the fight and leave little to nothing for treasure. Either don't make them use all of the expendables or plan how much they will use and then equip them with level appropriate treasure.

I disagree - have them USE the consuamable items; just don't count it against the treasure the PCs are intented to get off the encounter. Any consumables they get are just icing on the cake.


Hmm...Explosive Runes goes off when what it's written on is damaged, right? Tie parchment with Explosive Runes around bottles of Alchemist's Fire, throw, ???, PROFIT!!! Has to be read. That said I'd read the note if nothing else to find out why that's all bundled up.


Even better, randomly cast Explosive Runes on signs.
Oh yes please! :D


If inside a building use a scroll of Grease, then a scroll of Gust of Wind. Watch the party slip and slide all over the place while lobing Alchemist's Fire at the flamable Grease. Greese isn't flamable, though a little DM handwaving could give a d4 of fun. :)

All solid ideas. Have fun with the beguiler's spell list as well. Charm person/Suggestion - Image line of spells. Having peasants randomly chucking **** into the streets or starting riots, or causing domestic disturbances. TONS of ways to cause havoc, and not be tied to it. Just go through your day looking at what you depend on and think what would happen if that were jacked up because some A** decided....

Hell, maybe have the PCs respond to an illusory hotigate negotioation only to have to be an ambush.

[MesiDoomstalker]

I disagree - have them USE the consuamable items; just don't count it against the treasure the PCs are intented to get off the encounter. Any consumables they get are just icing on the cake.


If you read my post to the end, you'd see I mentioned this.

[Sudain]

Yes, I see how your your post can be interpreted to mean the same thing. I guess I view 'looting the bad guy's body' separately than the expected treasure people are supposed to get. I've played in groups that would loot every body and then some looking for treasure. I've also played in groups that would leave a shiny +2 sword with their name-tag on it because they didn't like it. *shrug*

[Jolly]

Mass Charm or Dominate would be thematically correct and absolutely vicious. If it's a good party they'd also face the moral dilemma of slaughtering lots of charmed folks too, delicious role playing.

If you're going to torch a bar, secure the exits first. Arcane Lock, with a Web over it perhaps? Do all the back/secondary exits first, dump a few buckets of lamp oil into the one remaining entrance, spark everything up, then Arcane Lock and Web that entrance too. Best in seedy dive bars without windows.

For more fun, do it to a bank/merchant house/government building/temple. For even more more fun, have your Dominated townsmen do it for you, at the same time, all over the city. :smallamused:

Heck, have your Dominated townsfolk commit mass arson, while one strike team zips in to assassinate the local government folks (go ethereal and/or invisible to avoid the guards) and the others robs wealthy folks then burns their houses down before Teleporting back to camp.

[Sudain]

Mass Charm or Dominate would be thematically correct and absolutely vicious. If it's a good party they'd also face the moral dilemma of slaughtering lots of charmed folks too, delicious role playing.

If you're going to torch a bar, secure the exits first. Arcane Lock, with a Web over it perhaps? Do all the back/secondary exits first, dump a few buckets of lamp oil into the one remaining entrance, spark everything up, then Arcane Lock and Web that entrance too. Best in seedy dive bars without windows.

For more fun, do it to a bank/merchant house/government building/temple. For even more more fun, have your Dominated townsmen do it for you, at the same time, all over the city. :smallamused:

Heck, have your Dominated townsfolk commit mass arson, while one strike team zips in to assassinate the local government folks (go ethereal and/or invisible to avoid the guards) and the others robs wealthy folks then burns their houses down before Teleporting back to camp.

Yes, I do believe that would classify as an organized terror cell. Has an excellent flavor of, "I'm here, I know your weaknesses and I don't mind exploiting them."

[Jolly]

It would be good to have an end goal for the Beholder cult in mind. "I'm evil, and therefore I want to kill stuff rawr" is an acceptable motivation for a lone psychopath or monster, but a terrorist organization by definition has an end goal. In real life it's generally religious (establishment of a global caliphate) or political (English out of Ireland) but in a fantasy world there are somewhat more possibilities.

So these guys worship Beholders. Do they want to slaughter all human opposition so the Beholders can take over as dominate species? Are there some demands they are going to make of the locals after cowing them with their terrorism?

I think your PC's will find it far more satisfying to stop a dastardly plot to bring the human race into subjugation to a race of abominations than to just kill a bunch of people who were blowing stuff up for no reason except being eeeeeeevil.

[Hoboshank]

if they're just after random people, cloudkill would certainly be one of their favorite spells

[Anderlith]

Rod of Wonder for some real chaos. Plus anything that hampers visibility (Obscuring Mist) Throw in some invisibility for the cultist to make their getaways. Why not throw in some illusions? They don't have to be strong or anything just enough to convince about 1/3 of the populous that the flying bear drakes with crossbows are here to eat their children