GillroyMortahn
2020-10-06, 01:09 PM
Hello Giants! First time posting here, but IÂ’ve been lurking around for advice here for a while now.
I am currently running a homebrew campaign using D&D 3.5. I have 5 players who are all relatively new to D&D including a fae-touched fighter, a Minotaur sorcerer, a kobold assassin, an elf rogue, and a Githzerai Druid... They are all very much into the role play aspect of the game over min-maxing or combat focus (if you couldnÂ’t tell by the oddball class/race combos on some of them)(And yes they have done amazing jobs with incredibly detailed backstory that manage to explain all these choices and how on earth they ended up where/who they are).
To the point, I have built them a world where your stereotypical army of Eeeevil necromancers is trying to conquer the world and now a ragtag militia of heroes is being assembled to take them down, the party specifically taking down the Biggest Bads of the army. There is a council of 12 “Talons” that are all on a sliding scale of power and these will all serve as the “mini bosses” before the main BBEG at the end. The campaign is going to be a long one, I plan on the party being well into epic levels by the time they finish, so few ideas are off the table. I need ideas for unique encounters for each of the 12 mini bosses, I’ve got several already, but could really use ideas on the last few as well as any tips on those already planned for.
In order of power:
12- weakest, magic resistant but almost all physical damage Encounter, a true “tank and spank” fight with little mechanics, a real beginner fight.
11- A bard turned serial killer, using the “dirgesinger” class from Libris Mortis; the DS will be pretty weak himself, thinking of having his undead minions pull a sort of “evil mirror” effect and copy the PCs; the 5 minions he controls will be the true strength in the fight.
10- An elf who betrayed her kingdom to the necromancers and then enslaved the souls of those she betrayed; using the “Master Of Shrouds” class from Libris Mortis; ethereal caster with ethereal minions
9- A fairly standard lich encounter, going for a classic D&D feel for this one; not high on the list, theyÂ’re going to be fairly basic and straightforward.
8- A barbarian/death knight hybrid, this one will be a giant Minotaur abomination, augmented by necromancy; I want the encounter to feel similar to the god of war Minotaur encounter, with a chase through a large maze-city that uses the environment heavily to trap/kill the giant creature. Basically going to have the monster obliterate a couple expendable NPCs right off the bat to give the immediate “don’t fight it head on” feel.
7- A changeling assassin, I’ve never done an encounter with shapeshifters before, so this is one of my least developed encounters; had thoughts of doing something along the lines of “bad guy switches places with their prisoners” trying to force the PCs to make the tough call of who they should really be attacking.
6- A personal favorite, and probably my MOST planned encounter, this one is essentially a giant, sentient tree; ancient necromancers corrupted a benevolent forest spirit and turned the whole forest around it into a cursed hellscape; plans for evil fae, dryads, ents, will o wisp, and more all slowing the party until they reach the tree itself and have to journey inside a living dungeon encounter to slay “the heartseed” that sustains it all.
5- An undead harpy queen devoted to vengeance against mankind for her ancient death; this one is another that needs bolstering, so far I have plans for a semi-aerial encounter with precarious footing that could easily result in a fall to your death; Not much beyond that.
4- a beholder hive mother, bolstered and homebrew modified slightly; using the monster race from Lords of Madness; have plans for a more standard beholder encounter; this group has very little previous D&D encounters under their belts, so I like the idea of throwing in some classic encounters.
3- a fallen cleric turned vampire lord, they command a massive army of vampire spawn, but the main core of this boss will consist of riddles, puzzles, and booby traps; this boss will be a possible “secret ally” if the party plays their cards right, and offer secrets on fighting the last two mini bosses and the BBEG; they resent the BBEG for having made them into a vampire and destroying their old temple, so if pressed, they can be swayed to change sides, mostly.
2- a former child prodigy in the way of magic, #2 was hidden by his family during the necromancerÂ’s rise to power, but once his family was dead, he found himself simply trapped in the sewers they hid him in; after spending decades in the sewers, he had snapped and eventually allowed himself to become a swarm lord (Book of Vile Darkness); he died in the sewers, but his body was found and he wasnÂ’t allowed to stay dead, the necromancers brought him back and made him their own; now an undead horror, this madman is an undead swarm lord with his prodigious sorcerer power. Looking at the ruins of the castle he was hidden beneath, swarms of muted vermin pushing the party down the correct paths until they reach the large central well room in the heart of the buildings sewer system for their final showdown.
1- An ancient copper dragon; copper dragon who lost himself to nihilism after seeing the horrors of the world for so many thousands of years (been a major plot point for a while); believes that helping the necromancers end all life on the planet it the only way to make the suffering stop; Going to be the partyÂ’s first dragon encounter.
I’ve got 2 college professors with PhDs, an RN, A robotics engineer, and a teenage son (who of course knows more than everyone in the house lol), and I’ve got a small town high school education, so make me look smart! Thanks in advance!
I am currently running a homebrew campaign using D&D 3.5. I have 5 players who are all relatively new to D&D including a fae-touched fighter, a Minotaur sorcerer, a kobold assassin, an elf rogue, and a Githzerai Druid... They are all very much into the role play aspect of the game over min-maxing or combat focus (if you couldnÂ’t tell by the oddball class/race combos on some of them)(And yes they have done amazing jobs with incredibly detailed backstory that manage to explain all these choices and how on earth they ended up where/who they are).
To the point, I have built them a world where your stereotypical army of Eeeevil necromancers is trying to conquer the world and now a ragtag militia of heroes is being assembled to take them down, the party specifically taking down the Biggest Bads of the army. There is a council of 12 “Talons” that are all on a sliding scale of power and these will all serve as the “mini bosses” before the main BBEG at the end. The campaign is going to be a long one, I plan on the party being well into epic levels by the time they finish, so few ideas are off the table. I need ideas for unique encounters for each of the 12 mini bosses, I’ve got several already, but could really use ideas on the last few as well as any tips on those already planned for.
In order of power:
12- weakest, magic resistant but almost all physical damage Encounter, a true “tank and spank” fight with little mechanics, a real beginner fight.
11- A bard turned serial killer, using the “dirgesinger” class from Libris Mortis; the DS will be pretty weak himself, thinking of having his undead minions pull a sort of “evil mirror” effect and copy the PCs; the 5 minions he controls will be the true strength in the fight.
10- An elf who betrayed her kingdom to the necromancers and then enslaved the souls of those she betrayed; using the “Master Of Shrouds” class from Libris Mortis; ethereal caster with ethereal minions
9- A fairly standard lich encounter, going for a classic D&D feel for this one; not high on the list, theyÂ’re going to be fairly basic and straightforward.
8- A barbarian/death knight hybrid, this one will be a giant Minotaur abomination, augmented by necromancy; I want the encounter to feel similar to the god of war Minotaur encounter, with a chase through a large maze-city that uses the environment heavily to trap/kill the giant creature. Basically going to have the monster obliterate a couple expendable NPCs right off the bat to give the immediate “don’t fight it head on” feel.
7- A changeling assassin, I’ve never done an encounter with shapeshifters before, so this is one of my least developed encounters; had thoughts of doing something along the lines of “bad guy switches places with their prisoners” trying to force the PCs to make the tough call of who they should really be attacking.
6- A personal favorite, and probably my MOST planned encounter, this one is essentially a giant, sentient tree; ancient necromancers corrupted a benevolent forest spirit and turned the whole forest around it into a cursed hellscape; plans for evil fae, dryads, ents, will o wisp, and more all slowing the party until they reach the tree itself and have to journey inside a living dungeon encounter to slay “the heartseed” that sustains it all.
5- An undead harpy queen devoted to vengeance against mankind for her ancient death; this one is another that needs bolstering, so far I have plans for a semi-aerial encounter with precarious footing that could easily result in a fall to your death; Not much beyond that.
4- a beholder hive mother, bolstered and homebrew modified slightly; using the monster race from Lords of Madness; have plans for a more standard beholder encounter; this group has very little previous D&D encounters under their belts, so I like the idea of throwing in some classic encounters.
3- a fallen cleric turned vampire lord, they command a massive army of vampire spawn, but the main core of this boss will consist of riddles, puzzles, and booby traps; this boss will be a possible “secret ally” if the party plays their cards right, and offer secrets on fighting the last two mini bosses and the BBEG; they resent the BBEG for having made them into a vampire and destroying their old temple, so if pressed, they can be swayed to change sides, mostly.
2- a former child prodigy in the way of magic, #2 was hidden by his family during the necromancerÂ’s rise to power, but once his family was dead, he found himself simply trapped in the sewers they hid him in; after spending decades in the sewers, he had snapped and eventually allowed himself to become a swarm lord (Book of Vile Darkness); he died in the sewers, but his body was found and he wasnÂ’t allowed to stay dead, the necromancers brought him back and made him their own; now an undead horror, this madman is an undead swarm lord with his prodigious sorcerer power. Looking at the ruins of the castle he was hidden beneath, swarms of muted vermin pushing the party down the correct paths until they reach the large central well room in the heart of the buildings sewer system for their final showdown.
1- An ancient copper dragon; copper dragon who lost himself to nihilism after seeing the horrors of the world for so many thousands of years (been a major plot point for a while); believes that helping the necromancers end all life on the planet it the only way to make the suffering stop; Going to be the partyÂ’s first dragon encounter.
I’ve got 2 college professors with PhDs, an RN, A robotics engineer, and a teenage son (who of course knows more than everyone in the house lol), and I’ve got a small town high school education, so make me look smart! Thanks in advance!