Notreallyhere77
2013-01-29, 02:10 PM
Hey all,
Over the years I've seen what a creative bunch we have here, and I like to think I've contributed my share, but I admit I've hit a case of writer's block with one particular point. I'm GMing for a 3.P game every other Friday for a party of 4-6 people (attendance varies). The party has just hit 9th level, and are at differing degrees of optimization. One in particular is a chronic powergamer, and outstrips the rest of the party in terms of killing power (you know the type). Only one other member comes close. Between the two of them, they can take care of combat encounters with EL four levels higher than their own, without getting more than a light scratch or two. This isn't the problem I need help with, but it is relevant, I promise.
I'm pretty sure my players don't read these forums (except for Nathan, who is away anyway), but if the setup detail sounds like what you just went through, stop reading unless you want spoilers.
Human fighter 8/monk 1 with a harpoon and mad grappling skills (powergamer, veteran player)
Vat-spawn (humanoid aberration, homebrew race inspired by a gaming blog) brawler fighter 8/monk 1. (slightly less powerful powergamer, not too veteran, just obsessed)
Human witch (gravewalker archetype, has an army of bloody skeletons, but still a fairly new player, so some things don't occur to him)
Vanarra monk 2/cleric 7 (story-oriented, but experienced player, Will save is through the roof)
Dwarf rogue (very new player, had help with built from optimizers)
Human sorcerer 8*/monk 1 (complete controller - no damage-dealing spells)
Gillfolk (riverfolk) paladin 9
*celestial bloodline, so she's wis-based. high wisdom score causes complications.
Yes, most of the party took monk in there to up their AC, CMD, and Saves.
So, the party has recently acquired a used airship, and, due to lack of maintenance, the ship has malfunctioned. It accidentally plane shifted to a demiplane in the middle of the night. Then the engine broke, and three critical parts fell to the landmass of the demiplane. In three days, the ship will fall to the ground and break, unless one of the parts is retrieved, and after that there is still a self-destruct mechanism for the plane in the case of invaders.
The plane is being invaded by devils, but was originally built and inhabited by dwarves, whose descendants are still there. I ended the session on a cliffhanger as some minor winged devils are approaching the now-immobile airship.
The party needs to Still with me? Here's what I need.
One of the devils is a kocrachon (from BoVD). If you can't look that up right now, they're torturer/interrogator devils. I've advanced him to nearly max HD, so he's large and buff, but only CR 9. He will want to capture one of the PCs and question him to find out why the party is there. Knowing that if he attacks the party openly, he will lose, even sending henchdevils first (big party, not too shy about ranged combat), even if they are all invisible (invisibility SLA on the part of the bigger and smaller devils is negated by the sorc's perception modifier of +27), even if they only use flyby tactics or whatever (harpoonist will make a ranged attack to grapple and bring monsters to melee range), I don't know precisely how to occupy the powergamers' attention long enough that I can snatch away one of the spellcasters with a well-placed flyby grapple. My salvation, I have decided, lies in the kocrachon's major image at-will SLA.
Considering that the powergamers almost never miss, and everyone else (except the rogue) has great will saves, what kind of illusion would work best to either:
a) divert attention while the the kocrachon sneaks up from behind
b) cut off the kocrachon's escape
c) keep the kochrachon from getting shot at, even if he's the only thing between a squishy mage and a 200 ft drop (my players never consider the idea that they could be taken alive and will be more interested in killing the devil than saving their "friend")
TL;DR: I need some creative uses of the Major Image spell that can be used either in the air or on the ground that will buy time for a kidnapping.
Or, if you know a better way of going about this plan, please share that instead.
Over the years I've seen what a creative bunch we have here, and I like to think I've contributed my share, but I admit I've hit a case of writer's block with one particular point. I'm GMing for a 3.P game every other Friday for a party of 4-6 people (attendance varies). The party has just hit 9th level, and are at differing degrees of optimization. One in particular is a chronic powergamer, and outstrips the rest of the party in terms of killing power (you know the type). Only one other member comes close. Between the two of them, they can take care of combat encounters with EL four levels higher than their own, without getting more than a light scratch or two. This isn't the problem I need help with, but it is relevant, I promise.
I'm pretty sure my players don't read these forums (except for Nathan, who is away anyway), but if the setup detail sounds like what you just went through, stop reading unless you want spoilers.
Human fighter 8/monk 1 with a harpoon and mad grappling skills (powergamer, veteran player)
Vat-spawn (humanoid aberration, homebrew race inspired by a gaming blog) brawler fighter 8/monk 1. (slightly less powerful powergamer, not too veteran, just obsessed)
Human witch (gravewalker archetype, has an army of bloody skeletons, but still a fairly new player, so some things don't occur to him)
Vanarra monk 2/cleric 7 (story-oriented, but experienced player, Will save is through the roof)
Dwarf rogue (very new player, had help with built from optimizers)
Human sorcerer 8*/monk 1 (complete controller - no damage-dealing spells)
Gillfolk (riverfolk) paladin 9
*celestial bloodline, so she's wis-based. high wisdom score causes complications.
Yes, most of the party took monk in there to up their AC, CMD, and Saves.
So, the party has recently acquired a used airship, and, due to lack of maintenance, the ship has malfunctioned. It accidentally plane shifted to a demiplane in the middle of the night. Then the engine broke, and three critical parts fell to the landmass of the demiplane. In three days, the ship will fall to the ground and break, unless one of the parts is retrieved, and after that there is still a self-destruct mechanism for the plane in the case of invaders.
The plane is being invaded by devils, but was originally built and inhabited by dwarves, whose descendants are still there. I ended the session on a cliffhanger as some minor winged devils are approaching the now-immobile airship.
The party needs to Still with me? Here's what I need.
One of the devils is a kocrachon (from BoVD). If you can't look that up right now, they're torturer/interrogator devils. I've advanced him to nearly max HD, so he's large and buff, but only CR 9. He will want to capture one of the PCs and question him to find out why the party is there. Knowing that if he attacks the party openly, he will lose, even sending henchdevils first (big party, not too shy about ranged combat), even if they are all invisible (invisibility SLA on the part of the bigger and smaller devils is negated by the sorc's perception modifier of +27), even if they only use flyby tactics or whatever (harpoonist will make a ranged attack to grapple and bring monsters to melee range), I don't know precisely how to occupy the powergamers' attention long enough that I can snatch away one of the spellcasters with a well-placed flyby grapple. My salvation, I have decided, lies in the kocrachon's major image at-will SLA.
Considering that the powergamers almost never miss, and everyone else (except the rogue) has great will saves, what kind of illusion would work best to either:
a) divert attention while the the kocrachon sneaks up from behind
b) cut off the kocrachon's escape
c) keep the kochrachon from getting shot at, even if he's the only thing between a squishy mage and a 200 ft drop (my players never consider the idea that they could be taken alive and will be more interested in killing the devil than saving their "friend")
TL;DR: I need some creative uses of the Major Image spell that can be used either in the air or on the ground that will buy time for a kidnapping.
Or, if you know a better way of going about this plan, please share that instead.