PDA

View Full Version : DM Help Advice on monster design(HB) and plotting a high level pathfinder adventure.



Flicker Nicker
2018-09-17, 02:36 AM
Okay I'm going to open up with a little context I'm a somewhat experienced player and Dm. Having d'med for a small group of players, for a few years now. The start of this year I began running a slow track Pathfinder game my first. Set in a home brew setting of mine. Then two new players joined(friends both of them) who know pathfinder very well. So we started a new somewhat better planed game. This thread is A going to serve as a idea and sounding board for what the hell am I doing as this is new to me, and two be an archive for both the cool setting and its monster, feats, and items. For feedback on what needs tweaking or changing as I'm well realizing that this is not 3.5 by a long shot. Note they have just hit 5th/6th level.

first my party divided by new and old players.

Izihara Sojoiro
5th level Human Ranger with the Fey Touched Template as we started second level. NG
HP 40 AC 20
Raindeer Animal Companion
He Basically wants to be A****aka from Princess Monoke

Van...just Van
6th level Human Two Handed Fighter
(CN)
Wielding a Butcher Axe Re skinned as a sword and mail.
Big, Cunning, Not very wise.

Liz(Elizabeth)
6th level Elven Scroll Scholar Cleric of Zolgen(LE)
honestly plays the not mustache twirling intellectual but sorta stuck up pretty well

the two new players made a
Jack of Nine
A Catfolk Knifemaster Rogue 6th CG
honestly a lot of fun

Lord Joseph Blanc(actual french last name)
6th level Cabalist Viglante Dorian Gray CG/(CN)
played quite well Chaotic neutral playboy hiding cult Enforcer

Section Two Problems so far,
A) combat encounters with no proper combat spellcaster.
B) How to work in the horror elements in without coming off as ham fisted or reveling it to early,
C) plot derail Henderson .6 on the scale.

so honestly i did 3.5 no wizard or sorcerer means certain enemies aren't really suited for my players
if you know anything i can look out for or adapt to make that less an issue please chime in

B) is rougher and slightly complicated so Ill cover it in the second post with setting stuff.

C) so they completed my first module dealt with guild tensions, caught a some what famous outlaw side boss, and dealt with the local orcs behaving odd discovered problems dealt with the Mad Tribe. They then decided to well leave to head to a college with answers on their problems except they mid way decided to head deeper to investigate one of the lower islands which they think have answers despite my obvious warning signs and got their boat royally wrecked in a storm that I used to try to put them back on course. So their now on a lower island, with no boat. uhm **** late night dming bad. Lower islands are basically the worlds equivalent of the underdark. As its a world of Floating Continents and such so not nice places.

I'll get into the horror aspect feats and monsters tomorrow, thanks guys and gals for listening.

Flicker Nicker
2018-09-18, 11:50 AM
hmm okay protocol check should this have gone in homebrew and just posted the setting, feats, and monsters with the hope of getting help tweaking them? Protocol sometimes escapes me..

Kaptin Keen
2018-09-18, 01:17 PM
Looking through your first post, I don't seem to find a single questionmark. I find it useful, when looking for input, to ask a clear question followed by a questionmark.

A clear question could be: I'm leading my unsuspecting PC's into a trap in the halfsunken ruins of a temple deep in a tropical swamp. The PC's are level 5-ish, and fairly optimized. Preferably, I'd like a most of them to survive. Can anyone give me ideas for monsters to encounter, or tactics to use?

If you wanna go entirely overboard, you might include some pictures for inspiration, thusly:


https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f4/a4/64/f4a4643ddea39a32a1cdf4524accfde2.png


Dunno if this would help you. It would make it easier for me to help, at least.

Flicker Nicker
2018-09-18, 07:34 PM
Thank you very much okay let me explain a little better what I meant becuse well I wrote this post orginally at about midnight.
A) My characters have deviated drastically from where they should be into a dangerous area Basically heading into my worlds Version of the underdark.
onto a island that sees probably 4 hours of sunlight a day, as its a world of flying islands, a sparse Conifer esc forests, with the nasty stuff often being given a strong deep sea or cave theme down here. I need monsters and encounters as this wasn't really planed yet. Though primal drudic but creepy Uskwood style stuff fits too, Pictish are Gaelic tribes worshiping the Titans, corrupted elementals, the undead, mutated monsters? Like Pale deep cave/sea styled orcs were a major enemy Native to these area but this island isn't really one I have Maped at all.
Ive set down that theirs those forest a delpitated village on the other side of island, and probably a temple or standing stone shrine to the Titaness of Nature the woods predators and hunger, somewhere on the island. but encounters and ways to introduce these themes without them being over whelming and also mechanically intresting in pathfinder would be cool. So, thats really what I'm looking for does that help?

to give a little more detail heres an example monsters Ive already Made for this Titan, Caliech, associated with Sagittarius the bow and spear, primtive weapons, hunters, and the like. but not habing to make **** from scratch would really help. Thanks guys and gals.

First was my Wood Wraith(common Name) Zaskalgul proper name.
CR 5
LE M Aberrant
Init +6, Senses 60ft Darkvison, Scent
(6D8+30) 78
AC 16 (10 base 2 dex, 2 leather armor 2 Natural,) 14 flat footed 12 touch
Fort +7, Ref +4, Will +12
Weakness Fire.
Speed 40ft, 120ft Charge, 200ft Running
Melee
Talons +6 (1d6+2)
Special Wood Rot
DC 18 Fort versus 1 con damage for six rounds till save is made.
BA +4
Str 14 Dex 14 Con 20
Int 14 Wisdom 8 Charisma 20
Skills Stealth +11, Perception +8, Survival +8(can track), Acrobatics +11, Climb +11, Knowledge (Titans) +11.
Feats Run, Improved Initiative, Improved Natural Weapons(talons)
Spell Likes Hit dice as level
3/day Inflict and Cure Light Wounds, Whispering Lore.
1/day Natures Exile
finally speaks Aklo, Terran, and Drudic.