Dungeon Preparations

[Satsujinki]

MY PLAYERS DO NOT READ:

Oriental setting, party of 4 lvl7 players. I'm preparing a big dungeon for them, it's the lair of a very powerful blood mage, any suggestion on what to put into the caves before reaching him? As in, what kind of monster, trap, etc.


Group is made of these Classes: A shogun (sort of paladin cha+str based), a newly added monk, a rogue arcane trikster and a warlock tome pact.

They have never met the bbeg but the warlock holds a grudge on this bbeg, he supposedly sent his family to ruin.

the setting has a bit of everything to be fair. Demon, aberration and the like are not common, but can pop up. This bbeg is a sly guy. Given the opportunity, he will try and get friends to then kick them into the burrowing pit that is their funeral, and take whatever he can.

[nickl_2000]

MY PLAYERS DO NOT READ:

Oriental setting, party of 4 lvl7 players. I'm preparing a big dungeon for them, it's the lair of a very powerful blood mage, any suggestion on what to put into the caves before reaching him? As in, what kind of monster, trap, etc.

This is really generic, having more information would really help us out.

-What classes are the party?
-Have the PCs encounter the BBEG before? What kinds of minions has he had?
-What's the setting like? High fantasy, low magic?
-Are you living in a more mundane world, or are demons thrown in?
-What is the background of the BBEG? Does he run a cult, is he attached to some Dragon, Devil, Demon, etc?

[Satsujinki]

This is really generic, having more information would really help us out.

-What classes are the party?
-Have the PCs encounter the BBEG before? What kinds of minions has he had?
-What's the setting like? High fantasy, low magic?
-Are you living in a more mundane world, or are demons thrown in?
-What is the background of the BBEG? Does he run a cult, is he attached to some Dragon, Devil, Demon, etc?

I'll answer here and then edit the main post.
Classes are: A shogun (sort of paladin cha+str based), a newly added monk, a rogue arcane trikster and a warlock tome pact.

They have never met him but the warlock holds a grudge on this bbeg, he supposedly sent his family to ruin.

it has a bit of everything to be fair. Demon, aberration and the like are not common, but can pop up.

He is a sly guy. Given the opportunity, he will try and get friends to then kick them into the burrowing pit that is their funeral, and take whatever he can.

[the_brazenburn]

Oni make excellent Big Bads for wuxia campaigns. His minions could be goblins reskinned as tengu, or kenku crow-men.

[Unoriginal]

-A room filled with mirrors, that the mage and his magic-using minions use for magic training. Each mirror is possessed by an imp who can cast Hideous Laughter rather than Invisibility. Anyone entering without performing the proper gesture is assaulted by the imps.

-A training area where several of the mage's minions are sparring or doing exercise, under the supervision of an instructor.

-A "butchery area", where the blood mage's victims (living or not) are "prepared" to serve as ingredient/sacrifices for the mage's dark powers.

-A forge where an imprisoned Azer is forced/controlled with magic to work

-A pit. The PCs enters by a door at the bottom, maybe to rescue someone imprisoned in it, and then a big rock fall in from of the door (in the corridor the PC just walked in) and the bad guys throw snakes, bee hives and ranged weapons at the PCs from the top

For the bad guys in this dungeon, you could use bandits, goblins, bugbears, different kinds of hags, trolls, oni, a few Veterans NPCs, Warlock of the Fiend or Evil Mage NPCs, maybe some Yuan-Ti, some captured animals like tigers or bears...

[bc56]

You say the BBEG is a blood mage?

If you have Tales from the Yawning Portal, you could use Vampiric Mists from the stat blocks in the back. Otherwise, try vampire spawn, stirges, or vargouilles for various blood-themed monsters.