Making this abandoned city interesting!

[yougi]

So I'm trying to build an adventure in the style of Angry DM's Slaughterhouse (http://angrydm.com/2010/08/schrodinger-chekhov-samus/) (if you haven't read it, read it now). Party will be level 7 by the time we get to this adventure, and I'm guessing lv9 by the time they leave.

The location will be an abandoned city, one located on a mountain. It used to be a racially diverse (but gnome-led) city. Why was it abandoned? Still up for grabs. When was it abandonned? A century ago, although that can be changed.

More details about the city and its current inhabitants:

The important thing about the city is that a legendarily powerful wizard had a dwelling in this city, which contains the Macguffin the PCs are sent to find. However, they don't know what the dwelling is like, and it won't be the traditional tower: it's a summer vacation house, not his main place. I'd like for it to be his late parents' former house for some really weird reason.

I've decided that the following factions will inhabit the city:

- A Hag covey, with their enslaved ogres, and some Zombies, who are in there to find their eye, which has been stolen and taken here. However, since the eye has been lost under lots of rubble, the hags can't see more than the inside of a pile of rubble from it.

-A small army of Draconians, because I like creatures with death throes, who have established camp here after their last camp was leveled by an evil sorcerer (foreshadowing, as the PCs might have to deal with him in the future). The Draconians' main goal is to ensure a safe camp, and regroup until they are strong enough to get revenge on the Sorcerer. They also hope to find some lost magical items in the city.

-Quintessence-seeking Thoon Mindflayers, after they learned that the noble family from the region had a high quintessence rate, or level, or whatever, I'm not sure how that works.

-Protectors of Kord's Temple (PoKT), who never left and still, to this day, maintain the Temple. Despite being very old, they're still in shape, because of a strict athletic regimen (you know, Kord worship...). They might be able to help the PCs if they prove their worth (hopefully they will, because one of the PCs is a Favored Soul of Kord). They're not a military group, but with Clerical magic and an easily defensible area, they stand at the ready.

I have the following "zones" designed, each separated by walls:
- Temple District (PoKT's main spot)
- The Red-Light District (a maze-like shantytown that is the Hags' lair)
- The Keep (where the nobles used to live, it's now the Thooners')
- The Arena (Contested land, as the PoKT don't want to see it tainted by evildoers, but they're not strong enough to keep it)
- The Garrison (The Dracos' lair)
- The Town (previously the residential zone, but now it's been looted thoroughly by previous raiders, yet it still contains the Wizard's mom's place)
- Sewers (to travel safely between different zones, although only the PoKT and the Thooners' know of it. It's the Thooners' lair, as it is their link to the Underdark)
- The Market (a contested zone, as the Hags' troops are researching in there, while the Draconians are looking for lost magic, and the Thooners need to go through here to get from the Sewers to the Keep)

Here's what I need help with (and I guess TL;DR too):
- Finding what caused the city to be abandoned
- Thinking of some things the PCs could find (not necessarily loot, more like interesting locations or scenes)
- How to limit the impact of flight (in an open-air location, it would give away pretty much everything and take away lots of surprises, and one of the PCs is a Warlock who will get Fell Flight by then, while two others have Animal Devotion)
- Figure out what took the Hag Eye to this city, and why the Eye is in rumble yet has not been destroyed (because let's admit it, it's pretty hard not to destroy).

[Clistenes]

The gnomes created a load of constructs of all kinds to make all the work and protect the city. Then, somebody had the great idea of making a lot of brains in jars, connecting them all in line to create a sort of necromantic supercomputer, and gave it the control of all the constructs so they could spend all the time researching, having fun or whatever.

The necromantic supercomputer went mad, of course, and became a sort of magical AM / HAL 9000 / Skynet that slaughtered the gnomes. Afterwards it made the constructs dig an enormous subterranean city and retreated there, pretending that the city was deserted (by the way, the Mindflayers came searching for the necromantic supercomputer).

The supercomputer keeps digging deeper and deeper, in search of safety, and building more and more constructs. It keeps some gnomes that it tortures for fun in a good old "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" style.

Your players will find the tunnels and go down, being lured by false clues and hints of treasure. At some point they will find many constructs working seemingly without anybody controlling them; the constructs have been instructed to answer (those that can speak) that their masters are gone but they must carry on with the duties that were entrusted to them.

Afterwards, they will find the gnomes tortured in creepy, exotic ways, and only in the end will they face the Necro-Skynet, that will tell them that all the constructs that they have bypassed have just been ordered to capture them so they can be tortured like the gnomes. Also, the computer they are speaking to is an illusion created with Project Image and Major Image, the real one being safe behind a thick wall (they don't know that), so they can't even kill it. Also, the Necro-Skynet tells them that due to them finding it, it has decided to destroy Humanity.

[yougi]

The gnomes created a load of constructs of all kinds to make all the work and protect the city. Then, somebody had the great idea of making a lot of brains in jars, connecting them all in line to create a sort of necromantic supercomputer, and gave it the control of all the constructs so they could spend all the time researching, having fun or whatever.

The necromantic supercomputer went mad, of course, and became a sort of magical AM / HAL 9000 / Skynet that slaughtered the gnomes. Afterwards it made the constructs dig an enormous subterranean city and retreated there, pretending that the city was deserted (by the way, the Mindflayers came searching for the necromantic supercomputer).

The supercomputer keeps digging deeper and deeper, in search of safety, and building more and more constructs. It keeps some gnomes that it tortures for fun in a good old "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" style.

Your players will find the tunnels and go down, being lured by false clues and hints of treasure. At some point they will find many constructs working seemingly without anybody controlling them; the constructs have been instructed to answer (those that can speak) that their masters are gone but they must carry on with the duties that were entrusted to them.

Afterwards, they will find the gnomes tortured in creepy, exotic ways, and only in the end will they face the Necro-Skynet, that will tell them that all the constructs that they have bypassed have just been ordered to capture them so they can be tortured like the gnomes. Also, the computer they are speaking to is an illusion created with Project Image and Major Image, the real one being safe behind a thick wall (they don't know that), so they can't even kill it. Also, the Necro-Skynet tells them that due to them finding it, it has decided to destroy Humanity.

I like the Skynet idea. I also like the subtle message it sends regarding the fact that only the athletes (the followers of Kord) survived. It also makes sense for the Thooners to still be searching for brain-juice. However, I'm not looking for a villain that is still active, as I want the other 3 factions (the Covey, the Dracos and the Thooners) being the main enemy. Nor do I like the idea of an undercity.

So I guess the question now is: how could we explain why the Necro-Skynet is now unactive?

[Gildedragon]

- Finding what caused the city to be abandoned
The city died as its quintesence-ium mines ran out. They used the time warping properties of the substance to empower magical items and facilitate planar travel. As the mines dried out so did trade with the city, and with time it was forgotten.
or
There is no clue as to what cataclysm caused the city to be abandoned. Plates are still out; carbonized remnants of meals are found in hearths, toys are out of their chests, and tools of labor are found at building sites and groves. There are no remains of the inhabitants of the city, and if the PC's open the crypts and dig up the graveyards, there are no remains there either. Check out the last vestige here (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070119a)

- Thinking of some things the PCs could find (not necessarily loot, more like interesting locations or scenes)
A crystal circle in the town square. Glyphs cover each of the twenty pillars, telling a story of bravery and heroic deeds. There is a space where a twenty-first pillar would go, the conclusion to the saga. The pillar that once stood there has been destroyed and only glassy shards remain

A botanical garden. Strange flowers are suspended in quintesence jars.

A grand hall set up with ornaments and what seems would have been a grand ball. Masks lay littered on the floor.

- How to limit the impact of flight (in an open-air location, it would give away pretty much everything and take away lots of surprises, and one of the PCs is a Warlock who will get Fell Flight by then, while two others have Animal Devotion)

Great parts of the city, and most its large and small streets are roofed by a delicate crystal lattice. Smaller streets are merely roofed by buildings growing into each other over the first story.

Most buildings have few or very small windows past the second story.

They can fly but vile things come out at night

A killer mist rolls through the city mindlessly, looking for food. Flying beings are easier to see and track and it will beeline for them.

- Figure out what took the Hag Eye to this city, and why the Eye is in rumble yet has not been destroyed (because let's admit it, it's pretty hard not to destroy).

Hags' eye is preserved in quintesence or Hags' eye has become transformed into a gem.

It was brought here by a previous retinue of mindflayers to use it in a ritual to extract the mcguffin or to find the mcguffin (maybe the latter: divination and all). The ritual caused a small earthquake to break out, bringing down the building where the rite was being performed.

[angry_bear]

Might work alright if the Draconians have/had the eye, and don't realize what it is. Maybe they managed to steal some items from the Sorcerer, who had it in his possession. It's possible that he'd been extorting the Hags into working for him until they found out he lost it, and that's when they broke free of him.

As far as how the city fell, take your pick. Disease, siege, resources dried up, there are plenty of options. One that I'd recommend is that, the Mind Flayers viewed the Gnome city as a threat, and worked at bringing it down. However, it took a great deal of resources and they had to pull away afterward. Or, they've had a skeleton crew in the city for years, slowly taking everything they find of value.

For discouraging flying, maybe a bunch of Gargoyles set up shop after all the noble races left. Or maybe they work for the Hags, or the Mind Flayers. In any case, they now patrol the skies, and attack anyone they find in their territory. It also creates an incredibly fun opponent for the PC's to have to worry about.

[Gildedragon]

Might work alright if the Draconians have/had the eye, and don't realize what it is. Maybe they managed to steal some items from the Sorcerer, who had it in his possession. It's possible that he'd been extorting the Hags into working for him until they found out he lost it, and that's when they broke free of him.

... One that I'd recommend is that, the Mind Flayers viewed the Gnome city as a threat, and worked at bringing it down. However, it took a great deal of resources and they had to pull away afterward. Or, they've had a skeleton crew in the city for years, slowly taking everything they find of value.

For discouraging flying, maybe a bunch of Gargoyles set up shop after all the noble races left. Or maybe they work for the Hags, or the Mind Flayers. In any case, they now patrol the skies, and attack anyone they find in their territory. It also creates an incredibly fun opponent for the PC's to have to worry about.

Those ideas are great. Insidious psionic squid conspiracy. Finding remnants or allusions to said conspiracy would be delightful.

[yougi]

Those ideas are great too.

However Guigarci, I believe Quintessence is found in people's souls, not in mines. Then again, I don't think I've understood anything about it (which I'm pretty sure was the point).

But might I say, I really like the idea of the ball scene, it's a really powerful image.

Regarding the Hag Eye being in the Draconians' possession, I doubt the eye is enough to force the Hags to do anything against their will: it being broken only costs 1d10hp, and makes one of the 3 hags blinded for a day, and then a new one can be made again for 20gp.

Then again, that doesn't take away the possibility that the Draconians have it, and maybe even have recognized it. Maybe they're trying to frame the Sorcerer for having stolen it. Interesting ideas.

To all 3 of you, thank you. That's enough idea to spark my creativity.

[Gildedragon]

I figured it'd be something like amber mining or the like. Tianium tar pits in which creatures died aeons ago, soulstuff crystalizing out of the soul-retentive mineral.

[Clistenes]

I like the Skynet idea. I also like the subtle message it sends regarding the fact that only the athletes (the followers of Kord) survived. It also makes sense for the Thooners to still be searching for brain-juice. However, I'm not looking for a villain that is still active, as I want the other 3 factions (the Covey, the Dracos and the Thooners) being the main enemy. Nor do I like the idea of an undercity.

So I guess the question now is: how could we explain why the Necro-Skynet is now unactive?

Maybe another team of heroes destroyed if some time ago? The city could be full of still constructs plus a few still active, mindlessly and purposelessly repeating the same task again and again. The equipment of the previous team of heroes could make some juicy loot for your party.

The Necro-Skynet could be disabled, but not dead; it would be terrified of the Mindflayers who are seeking it to vivisect and reverse-engineer it, so it would do its best to not call for attention.

[yougi]

I figured it'd be something like amber mining or the like. Tianium tar pits in which creatures died aeons ago, soulstuff crystalizing out of the soul-retentive mineral.

Hmmmm, not a bad idea. Brain juice stained iron mine. Hehe.


Maybe another team of heroes destroyed if some time ago? The city could be full of still constructs plus a few still active, mindlessly and purposelessly repeating the same task again and again. The equipment of the previous team of heroes could make some juicy loot for your party.

The Necro-Skynet could be disabled, but not dead; it would be terrified of the Mindflayers who are seeking it to vivisect and reverse-engineer it, so it would do its best to not call for attention.

Love the second idea. You guys all rock!

[Clistenes]

Hmmmm, not a bad idea. Brain juice stained iron mine. Hehe.



Love the second idea. You guys all rock!

If you don't want to use Constructs, you don't need to. Brains in Jars (Libris Mortis) can use Suggestion, Dominate Person and can Rebuke/Command Undead. A Super-Brain in a Jar could probably make all the gnomes go bonkers and kill each other, make some dominated gnome wizards animate all the corpses as undead, and order the undead to carry on with the slaughter.

Afterwards the previous party came, was dominated, its members killed each other, but managed to seriously damage the Necro-Skynet, that is still a dangerous encounter, but not an Uber-Boss. The Mindflayers came to find that thing they perceived that was so similar to one of their Elders Brains.

[yougi]

If you don't want to use Constructs, you don't need to. Brains in Jars (Libris Mortis) can use Suggestion, Dominate Person and can Rebuke/Command Undead. A Super-Brain in a Jar could probably make all the gnomes go bonkers and kill each other, make some dominated gnome wizards animate all the corpses as undead, and order the undead to carry on with the slaughter.

Afterwards the previous party came, was dominated, its members killed each other, but managed to seriously damage the Necro-Skynet, that is still a dangerous encounter, but not an Uber-Boss. The Mindflayers came to find that thing they perceived that was so similar to one of their Elders Brains.

Hmmmm, didn't know about this creature. It is rather weak (19HP, 13AC for CR4), but if it looks like an object, the PCs will not attack it outright. However, the dominate person being a daily power with a low DC for a level 7 party, it would most probably never happen, which is a shame... I might give it a few Sorcerer levels, maybe with some DMM in there... food for thought!

And I'm glad I can take something aside from Constructs, as the Thooners are also a construct-heavy faction.

I'll keep the playground updated when I finish up this thing.

[Clistenes]

It is rather weak (19HP, 13AC for CR4),
However, the dominate person being a daily power with a low DC for a level 7 party, it would most probably never happen, which is a shame...


That's why I said the gnomes could have connected many of them in line, creating a thing with very high CL and very high DC and at-will spell-like attacks and many more hp than the standard one.

Or just like you said, adding sorcerer levels (I guess it could happen, if the "donor" was a sorcerer).

[Gildedragon]

A fun effect to have is maybe the downtown area is heavy with magical (psionic?) pollution. While you want to discourage flight, providing a challenge that can overcome it is nice: allowing players to play with their powers.
The effects are varied and pretty amusing and alude to a magical catastrophe.

[yougi]

That's why I said the gnomes could have connected many of them in line, creating a thing with very high CL and very high DC and at-will spell-like attacks and many more hp than the standard one.

Or just like you said, adding sorcerer levels (I guess it could happen, if the "donor" was a sorcerer).

Or I could say the the sorcerer casting is the result of multiple Brains being used...

I'm also toying with the idea of having the BiJ use a controlled undead as a mean of transportation.


A fun effect to have is maybe the downtown area is heavy with magical (psionic?) pollution. While you want to discourage flight, providing a challenge that can overcome it is nice: allowing players to play with their powers.
The effects are varied and pretty amusing and alude to a magical catastrophe.

You seem to imply that rules exist to cover this sort of things. Is that the case? If so, where can I find them?

[Gildedragon]

Cityscape: p 32-33
Among the perils: teleporting randomly between 1 and 10 miles, or being baleful polymorphed into a small animal or vermin

[yougi]

I don't normally do this as I'm afraid my players will fall on it, but because of how much you guys have helped, I kind of owe you this much. So Fyfe, James, Steven and Louis, don't read this.

It's a long read (a bit over a thousand words), but it sums up the now official story behind the City.

THE FORGOTTEN CITY

Talanador used to be a rather prosper city, despite its location in the middle of mountains. It was one of the first multiracial cities: while originally a Gnomish settlement, many dwarves, humans, elves and halflings eventually populated the city, almost in equal numbers. It became known for its adage, magga cammara denotsud, gnomish for “the purest minds are in the fittest bodies”. Indeed, Talanador was a city where the line between scholar and athletes became blurred, which is not usually the case, yet in Talanador, athletes were scholars of their sports, and scholars, athletes of the mind. The Coliseum hosted weekly shows, filled with various competitions, whether physical or intellectual, and only those who competed in both were seen as true athletes, while those who achieved greatness in both were given the rare title of Magga Cammara.

About a century ago, probably a tad more, Talanador was in its prime. A Gnomish family, the Goldweavers, were leading the city at the time. The Duke, a Sorcerer who had created various protective weapons for the city, had just passed away, of natural death apparently. However, Lady Goldweaver, the city’s new leader, could not bear the pain of losing her husband. She begged the clerics to allow her to speak to him, and while the conversation took place, the Duke seemed sad that he could not complete his quest for his people’s safety. Lady Goldweaver, also a spellcaster, did research as to how she could complete her late husband’s plans, but security was not her forte, which was alchemy. She needed her husband’s mind, she could not do it alone.

Spending long days and longer nights browsing through various books, her sanity shaken by a mixture of grief, of guilt and of lack of rest, she finally found a solution: at night, she went to the family crypt. She took her husband’s corpse, which she magically freshened. She cautiously slashed open the skull with an adamantine dagger, followed the rituals she found in her books, took out his brain, and put it in a jar. Back in her laboratory, she concocted a mixture of various preservative liquids and powerful magical potions, in which she put the brain. After days of non-stop incantations, eventually, she heard her husband’s voice. Her husband told her exactly what to do to make the city as safe as it could be. Unbeknownst to her, her husband had actually used the magical energy contained in the potions, and taken control of her every move. Furthermore, her husband’s brain had been corrupted to evil by the pure necromantic energies.

The next day, Lady Goldweaver came out, in public, and announced the changes her undead husband and master had demanded: while they did enforce security, they reduced personal freedoms to practically nothing, and made disagreeing with the leading family a crime punishable by death. When the first person, a Magga Cammara Dwarf, voiced his disagreement, not only to these rules, but to this sudden change in vision, he was killed by a few dozen crossbow bolts, from the constructs the Duke had built as guards. The rest of the crowd, many of which were highly-trained wrestlers and gladiators or even wizards and clerics, destroyed numerous constructs, slew numerous guards, and saw many citizens fall in combat.

Within days, ninety percent of the population had left Talanador, never to return. While the Lady’s constructs and guards attempted to stop them, only more bloodshed occurred, yet the surviving Talanadorites were only more decided to leave their home city. Eventually, the Lady (or rather the Duke) decided that the constructs and guards should focus on protecting the castle against revolutionary groups.

Within two weeks, the city was entirely empty, save for the religious congregation of Kord, who, or so they claim, were given by their deity the mission of restoring Talanador to its former glory. No one knows what happened to Lady Goldweaver either, as she was never seen again

100 years later...
Lately, Talanador has seen a lot more action than it used to. First, about three months ago, a group of adventurers came to the ruins of Talanador, looking for artefacts from the Forgotten city. The group was killed during their sleep by a group of constructs sent by the Duke who made an entire building fall on them. The group’s Rogue, however, managed to survive, and is still hiding in the City, not wanting to leave despite having long ago given up on bringing her team back to life.

A few weeks later, a Hag Covey got into the city. Apparently, the adventurers had taken their Hag Eye without realising its true nature. The Hags saw the Forgotten city through the eye, but now that it’s under a ton of rubble, it’s rather hard to pinpoint its location. Nevertheless, they and their enslaved Ogres (some living, some not) patrol the city restlessly, going through every pile of rubble they find.

About three weeks ago, a small army of Draconians led by Brurock, a Half-Red Dragon Hobgoblin (a Crusader 4/Paladin of Tyranny 2), and his Aurak councillor Leshak, came back to their fort after intercepting a merchant caravan. Their fort, however, had been levelled by Tevorian Highlander, a Chelish Sorcerer. After picking up the few survivors, they left and established a new camp in the Forgotten city. They since attempt to find some source of power to help in their quest for revenge.

Furthermore, in the last few days, voices have been heard in Talanador’s sewer system, which Kord’s followers often used as transportation. A group of Thoon Mindflayers have come to Talanador to find Quintessence, which they’ve detected in some amount in the Forgotten city. However, this Quintessence is only to be found in one inhabitant: Lady Goldweaver. Still, their constructs are going around the city looking for the Quintessence.

Finally, in the depths under the Keep, Duke Goldweaver is planning multiple mad schemes from within its Jar. During this time, its few construct guards and magical traps protect the path to it, while reanimated corpses of those most opposed to his second regime serve him. His wife is still alive, imprisoned in a cell to be brought to him when he needs her to cast animate dead on some corpses after losing a few of his servants. She long ago learned of his new nature after she realised what she had done to her country, but stopped resisting his power, as she prefers not being beaten by Zombies she produced.

[unseenmage]

Hmmmm, didn't know about this creature. It is rather weak (19HP, 13AC for CR4), but if it looks like an object, the PCs will not attack it outright. However, the dominate person being a daily power with a low DC for a level 7 party, it would most probably never happen, which is a shame... I might give it a few Sorcerer levels, maybe with some DMM in there... food for thought!

You could use the Hivemind variant from the Book of Vile Darkness page 34. Gives you a set number of BrainsinJars to use and it gives Sorcerer casting.
DM handwavium the 'vermin or animal' prerequisite and you're good. (Then again it could also be hilarious for the brains to be originally vermin or animal brains I suppose.)

[yougi]

You could use the Hivemind variant from the Book of Vile Darkness page 34. Gives you a set number of BrainsinJars to use and it gives Sorcerer casting.
DM handwavium the 'vermin or animal' prerequisite and you're good. (Then again it could also be hilarious for the brains to be originally vermin or animal brains I suppose.)

Ooooooh, that would be interesting, although I don't know how the CR thing works...Are you telling me that a hivemind of CR4 creatures has a Cr of 5, regardless of how many there are?

[unseenmage]

"If the creature has a CR of 1 or higher, the hivemind’s
CR is 1 greater than that of the creature."

So yeah, it would appear so.

[angry_bear]

The brain in a jar itself does't have to be powerful. Just it's minions. Imagine if it rides on the shoulders of a steel golem, or a powerful undead; essentially using it as a mount. Could work alright I think.

[mangosta71]

If the city is below the treeline, the forest could have reclaimed it. Flight isn't useless, but line of sight to the ground is cut by the forest canopy throughout most of the city, limiting the flyers' ability to scout/fight from the air.

[yougi]

"If the creature has a CR of 1 or higher, the hivemind’s
CR is 1 greater than that of the creature."

So yeah, it would appear so.

This makes no sense: it could create a CR2 hivemind with Sorcerer casting much higher than 2nd level...


The brain in a jar itself does't have to be powerful. Just it's minions. Imagine if it rides on the shoulders of a steel golem, or a powerful undead; essentially using it as a mount. Could work alright I think.

Well, you're right, but I mean, any area of effect spell would destroy it, even inadvertently.

And Steel Golem? Where is that from?


If the city is below the treeline, the forest could have reclaimed it. Flight isn't useless, but line of sight to the ground is cut by the forest canopy throughout most of the city, limiting the flyers' ability to scout/fight from the air.

I might have not put it in my description, but the city is on top of a mountain, so that's not really an option. I do like the idea of making it overgrown, but I'm worthless in plantology and stuff... What kind of vegetation could overgrow a mountain city?

Regarding the "limit flight" thing, I'm more leaning towards what Might and Magic 6 did, i.e. there's an Anti-Dragon tower (fits in with the security freak Duke) that fires to anything flying over the level of the highest houses (I first thought Disintegrate, but might focus on something a tad less deadly, maybe Orb of Force or something of the like). Of course, I'd make sure the PCs see it in action on a monster, and I'd give them an opportunity to turn it off, so it acts as a shorter term goal, and when they do, I'll drop a dragon on their sorry butts.

[MoistCrayon]

Well, We just finished with a part of our Campaign, and we went through a city that looked to be full of life, and happy citizens. But it turns out one of the Kings advisers was an Ancient Skeletal Dragon, and had the ENTIRE town enthralled. (Except for some slaves he sold, which is where I rescued my "Daughter" from)
Once we went back to the town after finishing a quest, We found it completley abandoned, and in the center of town there was a foutain, That before, was beautiful, very ornate, etc etc.. But after we came back, had been used as an alter, and it was filled with rancid, thick... aged blood.
The farther we walked into the town, the stranger things got.. Moans and groans here and there, someone breathing on your neck.. reflex save to not accidentally panic chop a party member. This entire session Creeped me out the entire time.. My Dm is very good at making me fall into his vivid imagination. Anywho, once we got to the courtyard of the castle, we saw piles upon piles of corpses, with no skin... So, we walk in to the castle, and we find all the skin.. The skin from the corpses had been used, well, basically as new carpeting.. I know this may be in a different direction you were thinking, but I just thought I would share my only run in with an abandoned town.. lol

[yougi]

snippity snip

Wow, that sounds... creepy... I LOVE IT. It's definitely not what I have in mind, but I'm keeping that in my idea binder!

[angry_bear]

Sorry, meant Iron Golem. However, that's probably a bit too powerful for what you want. You could always place the Brain in a Jar inside of the Golem instead of on top of it. Basically giving a weaker Golem (Maybe a flesh golem if you want to give the party an easier time, or a clay golem for a bit of a challenge) the powers of the brain in a jar. That could prove interesting...

Heh, a flesh golem the size of a gnome seems like it'd be adorably terrifying.

[unseenmage]

Basically giving a weaker Golem (Maybe a flesh golem if you want to give the party an easier time, or a clay golem for a bit of a challenge) the powers of the brain in a jar. That could prove interesting...

Heh, a flesh golem the size of a gnome seems like it'd be adorably terrifying.

Effigies from Complete Arcane(?) are nice cheap constructs. Not as iconic as Golems but very gnome tinkerer-ish.


This makes no sense: it could create a CR2 hivemind with Sorcerer casting much higher than 2nd level...

The book of Vile Darkness is very 3.0 and as such could use some help making the rules not suck. One possibility is that you could use the Swarm rules from the 3.5 Monster Manual to make your Hivemind have a more solid CR. That or use the CR for an NPC Sorcerer, that info should be under NPC building in the Dungeon Master's Guide.

[Talderas]

One gnome was attempting to find a way to permanently destroy all kobolds. He failed and was consumed by intense evil. Some gnomes discovered what he was doing and slew him which released the evil from his body as a giant black smoke cloud monster which went on a rampage and killed every gnome inhabitant.

[yougi]

Sorry, meant Iron Golem. However, that's probably a bit too powerful for what you want. You could always place the Brain in a Jar inside of the Golem instead of on top of it. Basically giving a weaker Golem (Maybe a flesh golem if you want to give the party an easier time, or a clay golem for a bit of a challenge) the powers of the brain in a jar. That could prove interesting...

Heh, a flesh golem the size of a gnome seems like it'd be adorably terrifying.

That's what I thought. But yeah, a tiny clay figure would be interesting. Then, they slay it, and the clay liquifies, and there's a small jar with a brain in it, going "hmmmmm... This is awkward.... Hello..."


Effigies from Complete Arcane(?) are nice cheap constructs. Not as iconic as Golems but very gnome tinkerer-ish.

The book of Vile Darkness is very 3.0 and as such could use some help making the rules not suck. One possibility is that you could use the Swarm rules from the 3.5 Monster Manual to make your Hivemind have a more solid CR. That or use the CR for an NPC Sorcerer, that info should be under NPC building in the Dungeon Master's Guide.

I'll have to look into that, thank you. And yes, I think I'll stick to making one BiJ with Sorcerer levels, maybe fluff it as a swarm.


One gnome was attempting to find a way to permanently destroy all kobolds. He failed and was consumed by intense evil. Some gnomes discovered what he was doing and slew him which released the evil from his body as a giant black smoke cloud monster which went on a rampage and killed every gnome inhabitant.

Interesting, but I've already got a story pretty much nailed down. Still, thanksfor your time!

[mangosta71]

Generally, on mountains you get a lot of evergreens, and evergreens don't really play nice with a lot of other vegetation - there should be far fewer shrubs and vines than a deciduous forest would contain even before considering that the climate conditions aren't ideal for them. Also, since the roots grow more down than out, they wouldn't break up roads or disrupt the foundations of buildings very much.

However, if the city is above the treeline of the mountain, the only plants would be those transported and cultivated by the inhabitants. Any that are still alive would be those capable of surviving in harsh conditions- a lot of the typical garden plants would die without someone caring for them in high elevations unless they're in a greenhouse. There might be some trees serving as windbreaks or providing shade still around, and if the people living there transported them they could be any type you want. Bear in mind that not just any tree merits being taken up the mountain - fruit and nut trees, maple, ash and yew, pine, etc. should be the most common because they serve multiple purposes. If the expedition to the abandoned city takes place in the autumn, the fall colors should be particularly vibrant.

[angry_bear]

One gnome was attempting to find a way to permanently destroy all kobolds. He failed and was consumed by intense evil. Some gnomes discovered what he was doing and slew him which released the evil from his body as a giant black smoke cloud monster which went on a rampage and killed every gnome inhabitant.

But then all of the PC's would get their own subplot, a lot of which don't directly tie into the campaign, some of which would go nowhere; causing additional, moderately pointless sessions to the campaign. Ultimately using a gnome villain like that will just disjoint the narrative and frustrate all of the players. :smallwink:

Although I totally want to play as Sawyer in a campaign now. lol

[Talderas]

But then all of the PC's would get their own subplot, a lot of which don't directly tie into the campaign, some of which would go nowhere; causing additional, moderately pointless sessions to the campaign. Ultimately using a gnome villain like that will just disjoint the narrative and frustrate all of the players. :smallwink:

Although I totally want to play as Sawyer in a campaign now. lol

You wouldn't want to play Cauthon instead?

[angry_bear]

You wouldn't want to play Cauthon instead?

Which character was that one again?

Or are you talking about the character from Wheel of Time (Google ftw)? Haven't read that yet, but I've heard good things.

[Gildedragon]

Evil smog...
yeah gonna be the WoT fella



That's what I thought. But yeah, a tiny clay figure would be interesting. Then, they slay it, and the clay liquifies, and there's a small jar with a brain in it, going "hmmmmm... This is awkward.... Hello..."

"Pay no attention to the brain in the jar!"

[yougi]

"Pay no attention to the brain in the jar!"

These are not the Brains in a Jar you're looking for. *hand movement*