Revising Expedition to Castle Ravenloft(spoilers, WIP, PEACH)

[Togath]

Newly added(within the last 12 hours);
{!}I've added encounter E6 now{!}I've changed the chupacabra to a dire wolf, in order to fit the theme of the adventure better, and also increased the vulture's HP and gave them flyby attack


After finally getting enough time I'm likely to run castle ravenloft for my dnd group in the next week or so, so I've decided to try to revise some of the wonky bits(such as some of the unbalanced encounters, and under or over powered creatures), and bits that seem a off(such as why the shopkeeper may have the sunsword or holy symbol of ravenkind, or why the werewolves are being lead by an insane nymph).

Progress;
encounter E1 revised.
encounter E2 is now up as well
Encounter E3 is up
{!}Paladin and warblade versions of Ashlyn are now up

I've decided to use pf creatures when I need too, and homebrew abilities that would simplify things, as looking through some of the encounters, the original writers did a similar thing when they needed to in some of the encounters.

{!}: I'm planning to use this to mark recent updates

[Togath]

Encounter revisions 1;


Encounter E1; Zombie street ambush

Notes; this encounter seems to be a fairly good introduction to the adventure, though I am planning to replace the carcass eaters and probably change what type of undead the deathlock is, as there aren’t many of them in the adventure, it seems an odd introduction to include one.

Infected Zombies(4)
replace slam with; bite +6(1d6+4 & disease), in order to make their diseased attacks make more sense fluff-wise

Carcass Eaters(2)[adapted from pathfinder vulture]
replace with pf vultures(same cr, but with better survivability)
Vulture {adapted from pathfinder vulture}
Small Animal
HD 2d8+4 (13HP)
Speed 10ft. (2 squares); Fly 50ft.(average)
Init: +1
AC 13; touch 12; flat-footed 12 (+1 dex, +1 natural, +1 size)
BAB +0; Grp -3
Attack Bite +1 (1d4+1, 20/x2)
Full-Attack Bite +1(1d4+1, 20/x2)
Space 5ft.; Reach 5ft.
Special Attacks none
Special Qualities lowlight vision, scent
Saves Fort +4 Ref +3 Will +0
Abilities Str 12, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 7
Skills Spot +3, Survival +3
Feats flyby attack
Organization solitary, pair, or flock (3-24)
Challenge Rating 1/2
Treasure none
Alignment neutral

Infected Deathlock(1)
replace with an awakened skeleton adept
(to help with both fluff and to make it a more interesting enemy)
Skeletal Adept(lvl 4 adept)
Medium Undead
HD 4d12+3 (26HP)
Speed 30ft. (6 squares)
Init: +6
AC 14; touch 12; flat-footed 12 (+2 dex, +2 natural)
BAB +2; Grp +3
Attack Claw +4 (1d4+1, 20/x2 & disease)
Full-Attack Claw +4(1d4+1, 20/x2 & disease), and Claw +4(1d4+1, 20/x2 & disease)
Space 5ft.; Reach 5ft.
Special Attacks disease(necromantic infection)
Special Qualities DR 5/bludgeoning, immunity to cold
Saves Fort +1 Ref +2 Will +6
Abilities Str 13, Dex 14, Con –(8 originally), Int 12, Wis 15, Cha 10
Skills Concentration +7(+11 vs. attacks), Knowledge(religion) +5,
Listen +7, Spot +7
Feats Improved Initiative(b), Combat Casting, Weapon Finesse
(if anyone has ideas for better feats please free to mention it, combat casting seems fairly good, but I’m not sure if weapon finesse is a good choice)
Organization any
Challenge Rating 3
Treasure 1/2 standard?(not sure what I should assign to it)
Alignment neutral evil

Spells;
lvl 0: touch of fatigue x2(dc 12), detect magic x1, ghost sound x1
1st lvl: burning hands x2(3d4 damage, dc 13), cause fear(dc 13) x1
2nd lvl: invisibility x1

Revised tactics; the skeleton adept is less worried about entering melee then the deathlock in the original encounter, due to having both dr and a decent melee attack, and the vultures may flee if badly injured

Revised loot; instead of being empty the cart contains 2d6+13(20 average) gp and 1d3+1(average 2) simple weapons with costs of 2gp or lower, these are mostly for decoration and it makes more sense for a cart to contain something then to be empty, but also give a sense of success to PCs, the search DC to find the gold pieces in DC 14, while the weapons are DC 10

bonus Description if PCs examine cart and find anything;
“after sifting through broken barrels and rotten cloth you find a few golden coins and a handful of simple weapons”
bonus Description if PCs examine cart and fail find anything, or if you just want to describe the cart;
“this cart contains shattered barrels and small heaps of rotten cloth”

Encounter E2; Zombie street encounter

Notes; this encounter seems decently balanced as well, except for the vargouilles, which will either do nothing or kill a pc, I would suggest changing them to beheaded from pathfinder(as it retains the same flavor, but is less likely to either die before it can act, or potentially kill a pc[if the pcs don’t have remove disease, if they do, then the varguoille is pretty much useless])

Infected Zombies(4)
same as the previous encounter, replace thier slam with; bite +6(1d6+4 & disease)

vargouilles(2)
replace with two beheadeds
(to make it a more interesting enemy, and to make it so it can contribute to the encounter better)
Advanced Belching Beheaded {adapted from pathfinder}
Tiny Undead
HD 5d12 (32HP)
Speed Fly 40ft.(perfect)
Init: +3
AC 15; touch 15; flat-footed 12 (+3 dex, +2 size)
BAB +0; Grp -3
Attack Slam +2 (1d2, 20/x2), or Belch +5 ranged touch(1d6 acid, cold electricity, or fire damage)
Full-Attack Slam +2 (1d2, 20/x2), or Belch +5 ranged touch(1d6 acid, cold electricity, or fire damage)
Space 2.5ft.; Reach 0ft.
Special Attacks belch
Special Qualities darkvision 60ft.
Saves Fort +1 Ref +4 Will +4
Abilities Str 11, Dex 16, Con -, Int -, Wis 11, Cha 10
Skills none
Feats none
Organization solitary, pair, or patrol (3-6)
Challenge Rating 2?
Treasure none
Alignment neutral

Special;
either choose, acid, cold, electricity, or fire for the damage dealt by the beheaded’s belch, or roll 1d4 on the following chart
{table=head]1d4 result|damage type
1|acid|
2|cold|
3|electricity|
4|fire|[/table]


Dire Maggots(2)
the dire maggots are a fairly balanced enemy, and can probably be kept, though changing them to a predator of some kind(such as wolves, or the vultures used in encounter E1) could be an interesting change for if you end up reusing this encounter as a random encounter while the PCs travel through Barovia)

Revised tactics; the beheaded should probably try to stay at range, in order to maximize the effect of their belches

Revised loot; in addition to the amulet, PCs can also find a small belt pouch containing 2d4 gp on the slain villager with a DC 10 search check.

Encounter E3; Zombies in the town square
Notes; only real problem here is that it’s hard to run 10 enemies and an allied npc at once, and it tends to bog down play, so I’ve halved the number of zombies in this revision and added an extra CR 5 enemy

Infected Zombies(4)
same as the previous encounters, replace their slam with; bite +6(1d6+4 & disease)

Infected Entomber(1 or 2)
Entombers are fairly well balanced enemies and are good as being a resilient striker, only change is either to add an extra entomber, to keep the EL the same despite removing 5 zombies, or to add another CR 5 monster if you want a different feel
For brook no rival, Strahd’s dynasty, or undead legions going with a second entomber could be a good choice to reinforce the goal’s flavor
For untamed allies, a fiendish dire wolf would fit the goal's theme of vicious magical beasts and lycanthropes
For descent into madness a fogwarden could fit well

{!}Advanced Fiendish Dire Wolf
Advanced Fiendish Dire Wolf
Large Magical Beast
HD 9d10+36 (85HP)
Speed 50ft.(10 squares)
Init: +6
AC 14; touch 11; flat-footed 12 (-1 size, +2 dex, +3 natural)
BAB +9, Grp +22
Attack Bite +18 (1d8+10, 20/x2 & trip[+11])
Full-Attack Bite +18 (1d8+10, 20/x2 & trip[+11])
Space 10ft.; Reach 5ft.
Special Attacks Trip, Smite Good(+9 damage to a good enemy for one attack 1/day), Powerful charge +2d6(+2d6 damage on charges)
Special Qualities darkvision 60ft., lowlight vision, scent, DR 5/magic,
resist fire 10, resist cold 10, SR 14
Saves Fort +9 Ref +8 Will +4
Abilities Str 25, Dex 15, Con 17, Int 3, Wis 12, Cha 10
Skills Hide +4, Move Silently +4, Survival +5(+9 when tracking by scent)
Feats Track(b), Improved Toughness, Stealthy,
Powerful charge(+2d6 damage on charges), Improved Initiative
Organization solitary, or pack (5-8)
Challenge Rating 5
Treasure none
Alignment neutral evil

Special;

Trip (Ex); A dire wolf that hits with a bite attack can attempt to trip its opponent (+11 check modifier) as a free action without making a touch attack or provoking an attack of opportunity. If the attempt fails, the opponent cannot react to trip the dire wolf.

Skills: A dire wolf has a +2 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, Move Silently, and Spot checks.
*It also has a +4 racial bonus on Survival checks when tracking by scent.
Fogwarden
Fogwarden {adapted from pathfinder}
Medium Aberration
HD 4d8 (22HP)
Speed Fly 40ft.(good)
Init: +7
AC 15; touch 15; flat-footed 12 (+2 deflection, +3 dex)
BAB +3; Grp +3
Attack none, the fogwarden uses it’s lightning surge instead
Full-Attack none, the fogwarden uses it’s lightning surge instead
Space 5ft.; Reach 5ft.
Special Attacks lightning surge(30 ft. line, DC 16 reflex, 3d6 electricity,
useable every other round)
Special Qualities darkvision 60ft., fear aura(30ft. diameter, Dc 14 will),
gaseous form, electrical discharge
Saves Fort +2 Ref +4 Will +4
Abilities Str 11, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 11, Cha 14
Skills Hide +10, Listen +7, Spot +7
Feats Ability Focus(lightning surge), Improved Initiative
Organization solitary
Challenge Rating 5?
Treasure none
Alignment neutral evil

Special;

Fear Aura(Su): The aura functions as the fear spell that triggers once per round against all creatures within it’s radius.

Gaseous Form(SU): a fogwarden always moves silently and possesses dr 10/magic, and immunity to critical hits and poison

Electrical Discharge(SU): any creature that hits a fogwarden with melee attack other made with a non reach weapon takes 3d6 electricity damage if it fails a DC 13 reflex save

Sunlight Vulnerability: a fog warden if staggered if in direct sunlight

Revised tactics; the entombers retain their normal tactics, however if using a dire wolf or fogwarden the tactics differ; the dire wolf charge charge into melee and use it's smite good on the nearest PC, after that switching to charging when possible to gain it's powerful charge bonus, while the fogwarden should stay back and use it’s lightning surge when possible.

Revised loot; should one of the PCs end up in the bottom of the well and search through the water, 4d4+6 silver coins can be found

{!}Encounter E6; Ghoul Foray
Notes; this encounter is a pretty well made one, though if you have a lot of elves in your PC’s party you may want to sue the variant ghasts described below.

Infected Zombies(4)
replace slam with; bite +6(1d6+4 & disease), in order to make their diseased attacks make more sense fluff-wise

Carcass Eaters(2)[adapted from pathfinder vulture]
replace with vultures, as with encounter E1
Vulture {adapted from pathfinder vulture}
Small Animal
HD 2d8+4 (13HP)
Speed 10ft. (2 squares); Fly 50ft.(average)
Init: +1
AC 13; touch 12; flat-footed 12 (+1 dex, +1 natural, +1 size)
BAB +0; Grp -3
Attack Bite +1 (1d4+1, 20/x2)
Full-Attack Bite +1(1d4+1, 20/x2)
Space 5ft.; Reach 5ft.
Special Attacks none
Special Qualities lowlight vision, scent
Saves Fort +4 Ref +3 Will +0
Abilities Str 12, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 7
Skills Spot +3, Survival +3
Feats flyby attack
Organization solitary, pair, or flock (3-24)
Challenge Rating 1/2
Treasure none
Alignment neutral

Ghasts(2)
ghasts are pretty decent enemies for CR 3, though if your party is made up mostly of elves or other races immune to paralysis(50% or more of the group being them) you can replace them with the following variant(a homebrewed ghoul that lacks paralysis, but is hopefully about the same power level)
Variant Ghast {homebrewed}
Medium Undead
HD 4d12+4 (30HP)
Speed 30ft. (6 squares); burrow 10ft., climb 10ft.
Init: +6
AC 16; touch 12; flat-footed 14 (+2 dex, +4 natural)
BAB +2 Grp +10*
Attack Bite +6 (1d6+3, 19/x3), or Claw +6(1d4+2, 19/x3)
Full-Attack Bite +6(1d6+3, 19/x3), and 2 Claws +4(1d4+1, 19/x3)
Space 5ft. Reach 5ft.
Special Attacks Augmented Critical,
Rake(+4 to hit/2d4+2 damage, 19/x3 crit), Disease(ghoul fever & necromantic infection)
Special Qualities lowlight vision, scent, unholy toughness(add cha mod to hp), DR 5/silver
Saves Fort +1 Ref +3 Will +5
Abilities Str 18, Dex 14, Con -, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 12
Skills Hide +3, Move silently +3, Survival +1(+5 when tracking by scent)
Feats Track(b), Multiattack, Improved Initiative
Organization solitary, pair, or pack (3-6)
Challenge Rating 3
Treasure standard
Alignment neutral evil
*ghasts receive a +4 racial bonus to grapple attempts

[Togath]

2nd reserved post for revisions

[Togath]

NPC stat revisions 1;

Revised NPC: Ashlynnotes;
Ashlyn is not particularly well built feat and stat wise, so I’m planning to revise those aspects, and also include stats for different versions, a warblade, and as a binder(for if you want her more neutral, or at least somewhat more sinister then a paladin or good aligned warblade)

Ashlyn(paladin, 25pt. build)
Female human paladin 5
LG, Medium humanoid(human)
Init: +0, Senses: Listen +1, Spot +3
Languages; Common
AC: 21(+9 armour, +2 shield), Touch 10, Flat-Footed 21
HP: 42(5d10+10)
Immune: fear, disease
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +1, Will +2
Speed: 20ft.[30ft. base](4 squares)
Attack: Longsword +8(1d8+2, 19/x2), or Light Crossbow +6(1d8 19/x2)
Full Attack; Longsword +8(1d8+2, 19/x2), or Light Crossbow +6(1d8 19/x2)
Base Attack/grapple: +5/+7
Attack options; Smite Evil(+2 atk, +5 damage, 2/day), Lay on hands(10 points),
Turn undead(5/day)
Spells;
1st lvl: Lesser Restoration x1
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 14
Special Qualities; aura of good, detect undead(at will, works as detect evil, except the paladin doesn’t need to concentrate to learn relevant information, when a paladin uses this ability they learn the exact number and location of all undead din a chosen 60-degree arc), divine grace, aura of courage(all allies within 10ft. gain +4 to saves vs. fear), divine health
Feats; Powerful Charge(b), Improved Toughness, Enduring Life(ignore effects of negative levels for a number of minutes equal to con modifier[2 minute for Ashlyn])
Skills: Concentration +5, Knowledge(nobility & royalty) +8, Knowledge(religion) +8,
Spot +3
Possessions: +1 full plate armour, +1 longsword, heavy steel shield,
MWK light crossbow, alchemical flare bolt x10, silvered crossbow bolt x10,
crossbow bolt x20, ghost touch oil x2, alchemical flare stake x10,
potion of cure moderate wounds x2, potion of cure light wounds x3


Ashlyn(warblade, 25pt. build)
Female human warblade 5
NG, Medium humanoid(human)
Init: +5, Senses: Listen -1, Spot +2
Languages; Common, Infernal, Celestial
AC: 17(+6 armour, +1 Dex), Touch 11, Flat-Footed 16
HP: 47(5d12+15)
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +2, Will +0
Speed: 30ft.(6 squares)
Attack: Greatsword +8(2d6+4, 19/x2)
Full Attack; Greatsword +9(2d6+4, 19/x2)
Base Attack/grapple: +5/+8
Attack options; Powerful Charge(+1d8 damage on charges)
Maneuvers;
Readied: Steel Wind, Steely Strike, Sudden Leap, Mountain Hammer
Known: Steel Wind, Stone Bones, Sudden leap, Steely Strike, Mountain hammer, Exorcism of Steel
Stances: Hunter’s Sense, Absolute Steel Stance
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 10
Special Qualities; none(scent, if in hunter’s sense stance)
Feats; Improved toughness(b), Powerful Charge, Enduring Life(ignore effects of negative levels for a number of minutes equal to con modifier[2 minute for Ashlyn]), Improved Initiative(b)
Skills: Balance +8, Climb +10, Diplomacy +8, Jump +10, Knowledge(history) +10, Spot +2, Tumble +8
Possessions: +1 mithril breastplate, +1 greatsword, silvered dagger
ghost touch oil x2, alchemical flare stake x10, potion of cure moderate wounds x2

Special:

Maneuvers;
Steel Wind: make two attacks as part of this strike, one each against a different foe you threaten. standard action to use
Steely Strike: Gain +4 to a single attack made as part of this strike, for one round all enemies other than the one you attacked gain a +4 bonus to attack rolls against you
standard action to use
Sudden leap: make a jump check as a swift action, and move the distance determined by your check result, you provoke attacks of opportunity from this movement and may only move in a straight line, swift action to use
Stone Bones: as part of this maneuver, make a melee attack, if it hits you gain Dr 5/adamantine for one round, standard action to use
Exorcism of Steel: when you initiate this maneuver you attack your opponent’s weapon(phb page 158), this attack does not provoke attacks of opportunity, if you succeed your foe takes a -4 penalty to melee damage rolls for one minute, the wielder of the weapon can attempt a will save(DC 13+ your str modifier) to halve this penalty, standard action to use
Mountain Hammer: as part of this maneuver, make a single melee attack, this attack deals an extra 2d6 damage and automatically overcomes damage reduction and hardness, standard action to use

Stances;
Hunter’s Sense: while in this stance you gain the scent ability
Absolute Steel Stance: while you are in this stance you gain a +10ft. enhancement bonus to your speed, if you move at least 10ft. during your turn you also gain a +2 dodge bonus to ac until the beginning of your next turn

[Nich_Critic]

This is a great idea. I'll try to contribute if I can :smallbiggrin:. I ran Ravenloft up until until the gypsy camp. A little beyond that, but after that it got off the rails a little, so my feedback won't be as good.

[Togath]

I've gotten the intro encounter and the zombie street encounter(the one which can be used as a random encounter while the zombies are still animated) up, does anyone have any feedback on them?
One thing I did realize after posting the revisions was that the pf varguoille can actually put up a fight without having to worry as much about being one shotted as the 3.5, should I change the beheaded to pf varguoilles that have been converted to 3.5?
I should also be able to get encounter E3 and E6 up as well today, along with possibly revisions to some of the npcs stats.

edit; encounter E3 now up, along with the first of three versions of Ashlyn I was planning to do, to make it so you can adapt her to different optimization levels and/or differ her alignment.

[Nich_Critic]

I agree with switching the carcass eaters with something. In my campaign they died immediately without having any effect.

[Togath]

Aye, I was worried the carcass eaters were to fragile, also, should I buff the vulture's hd?, They have the same hp as the carcass eaters, but can fly, would it be a good idea to instead or in addition to buffing their hp, replace their great fortitude feat with flyby attack so they can attack, then escape out of melee range?Also, what do you think of the revised stats for the paladin?, she seems better built to me, though I did notice an odd thing about her original stats, in that she had the wealth of a PC higher in level then her, rather than the wealth of a 5th lvl NPC or PC, and I wasn't quite sure whether or not to aim for the same amount in her revised stats.
I had also thought of changing the chupacabra option in encounter E3 to something else, as I realized the common image of a chupacabra is not a humanoid horse(which after looking into it I realized it was a tikbalang was thinking of), but either a scaly somewhat reptilian humanoid or a hairless coyote-dog.

edit; I haven't finished encounter E6, but I have put up the warblade version of Ashlyn

{!}edit 2: I've changed the chupacabra to a dire wolf, in order to fit the theme of the adventure better, and also increased the vulture's HP and gave them flyby attack

[Togath]

Thought I should post this as an update note; I've added encounter E6 now, and also fixed a few typos, I've also added a dire wolf option to replace the chupacabra one I came up with a few days ago(because dire wolves fit the theme better), and I've also homebrewed a variant of the standard ghast, for use against parties with a large number of characters immune to paralysis.