Red_Dog
2012-04-07, 08:34 AM
Hello all. As my players embark into the local Underdark, I just wanted to have some input on my current "political situation" down there and making mechanical sense out of it, so it does not feel "static" by DM, yet static due to "equally matched forces, where PCs will take sides and swing the conflict in there favor.
So... factions.
Undead faction lead by a Crazy powerful Lich Sorcerer that does not use his full potential for the fear of "surface Empire" tracking him down using contact other plane and tracking powerful magic.
Rank-n-File are shades[about 400+]. Special troops are scouting ghouls. Lieutenants are Ghosts that hate gods[from Libris Mortis] who's name eludes me.
Illithid "hive" lead by 5 Illithids that escape certain doom. All but one are telepaths with extra 4-5 levels of Psion on top of being an Illithid. One is 1-2 levels short of Psion short which are replaced by Illithid Savant. He ate a brain of a powerful warlock to gain levels. He can become insanely powerful, but he keeps this secret and currently lacks powerful brains to advance.
Rank-n-file are "genetically bread" underfolk w/ insectile template creatures. Weaker than most, but with greater numbers an ability to grow with in a month. They are brain washed AND engineered so they can't physically eat and are bound by sustenance stones that Illithids crank out[no XP, DM fiat, move along]. The only thing Illithids need is "biomass"[any organic matter, dead or alive] to create new soldiers and brains to live.
Also, I was thinking that hive would command 4 Balhannoth that they dominated? I forget, is Int3 gives blanket immunity to mindcontrol? I though one needs to go lower for that.
Drow warlocks lead by one of the two surviving hellfire warlocks of lvl14-16. Regular troops are warlock lvl9[ECL11 due to LA, but not that it matters]. They fled a conflict and "landed in this situation". They are "pressured" by illithids and in turn pressuring the Undead as they believe that Undead have some magical artifacts that warlocks can use to "win" in this underdark stand off. Drow's numbers are slim. around 50+ warlocks and that's it.
A wild card entry => A tribe of troglodytes led by a very young shadow dragon just arrived into the underdark and no one knows about them yet. I am not sure if Lich will catch a wind of this yet [he like shadow magic, but doesn't "travel" much]. But they are essentially swift hunters troglodytes with dark creature template. They are lead by the shadow dragon and his "half dragon favored soul leader" [tribe things the half dragon is an actual leader, but the dragon is the one pulling the strings]. There numbers are close to 150.
So... is this balanced?O_o in terms of, noone should be on top over the course of few years yet. The real conflict just recently began [few month back] as illithds finally run out of biomass[killed all wild life in the region the control] to collect and are attacking drows to push them out.
Keep in mind, that perhaps besides drow, most factions are not "all they can be" in terms of optimization.
P.S. I was thinking of adding crystal trolls to one of the factions. However I am not sure about that. The warlocks with baleful atterence could decimate the poor bastards in few hours...
P.S.2. The area of the underdark is smaller than surface it locates above of. But its split on the zones that factions control and "skirmish caverns" as they are known to factions. As in where its no-mans land and etc. Most of the zones are your closer to real-world caverns. There is an underground river and few "large cavities" a size of a football field. But by enlarge its a complex system of natural tunnels big enough for 1-2 medium creatures.
So... factions.
Undead faction lead by a Crazy powerful Lich Sorcerer that does not use his full potential for the fear of "surface Empire" tracking him down using contact other plane and tracking powerful magic.
Rank-n-File are shades[about 400+]. Special troops are scouting ghouls. Lieutenants are Ghosts that hate gods[from Libris Mortis] who's name eludes me.
Illithid "hive" lead by 5 Illithids that escape certain doom. All but one are telepaths with extra 4-5 levels of Psion on top of being an Illithid. One is 1-2 levels short of Psion short which are replaced by Illithid Savant. He ate a brain of a powerful warlock to gain levels. He can become insanely powerful, but he keeps this secret and currently lacks powerful brains to advance.
Rank-n-file are "genetically bread" underfolk w/ insectile template creatures. Weaker than most, but with greater numbers an ability to grow with in a month. They are brain washed AND engineered so they can't physically eat and are bound by sustenance stones that Illithids crank out[no XP, DM fiat, move along]. The only thing Illithids need is "biomass"[any organic matter, dead or alive] to create new soldiers and brains to live.
Also, I was thinking that hive would command 4 Balhannoth that they dominated? I forget, is Int3 gives blanket immunity to mindcontrol? I though one needs to go lower for that.
Drow warlocks lead by one of the two surviving hellfire warlocks of lvl14-16. Regular troops are warlock lvl9[ECL11 due to LA, but not that it matters]. They fled a conflict and "landed in this situation". They are "pressured" by illithids and in turn pressuring the Undead as they believe that Undead have some magical artifacts that warlocks can use to "win" in this underdark stand off. Drow's numbers are slim. around 50+ warlocks and that's it.
A wild card entry => A tribe of troglodytes led by a very young shadow dragon just arrived into the underdark and no one knows about them yet. I am not sure if Lich will catch a wind of this yet [he like shadow magic, but doesn't "travel" much]. But they are essentially swift hunters troglodytes with dark creature template. They are lead by the shadow dragon and his "half dragon favored soul leader" [tribe things the half dragon is an actual leader, but the dragon is the one pulling the strings]. There numbers are close to 150.
So... is this balanced?O_o in terms of, noone should be on top over the course of few years yet. The real conflict just recently began [few month back] as illithds finally run out of biomass[killed all wild life in the region the control] to collect and are attacking drows to push them out.
Keep in mind, that perhaps besides drow, most factions are not "all they can be" in terms of optimization.
P.S. I was thinking of adding crystal trolls to one of the factions. However I am not sure about that. The warlocks with baleful atterence could decimate the poor bastards in few hours...
P.S.2. The area of the underdark is smaller than surface it locates above of. But its split on the zones that factions control and "skirmish caverns" as they are known to factions. As in where its no-mans land and etc. Most of the zones are your closer to real-world caverns. There is an underground river and few "large cavities" a size of a football field. But by enlarge its a complex system of natural tunnels big enough for 1-2 medium creatures.