Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)
My PCs are about to visit a powerful NPC who is, simply put, a classic
"mad scientist".
He's got oppressed Minions, who love and fear him, and who he abuses
terribly. He's got various monsters and horrors locked up in and
around his lab -- not locked up very well, of course; they're going to
break loose once things start shaking. He's got an Ultimate Monster
he's working on (it's a variant of that spell-eating ooze thingy from
MMIII). And he tends to snarl, cackle, and say "FOOLS!" a lot.
I have a plot outline. PCs visit the Mad Scientist's stronghold;
they're coming to warn him that an assassin is after him. (True. What
they don't know is that the assassin is a ghost, but never mind that
now.) They meet and have a chance to interact with the oppressed
Minions (who are actually nice enough, in their monstrous way) and to
tour the lab a little. They meet the MS, who of course sneers at them:
"FOOLS! No pathetic sneak-thief can POSSIBLY interfere with my great
etc. etc."
Then the assassin starts letting the captive horrors loose. Wackiness
ensues, as PCs, minions, and MS scramble to react.
Climactic scene: the MS will capture the assassin. Alas, the ghost
will promptly possess one of the Minions, who will attempt to release
the Ultimate Monster. If the PCs can stop this, they win. They will
get little gratitude from the MS, but a whopping story bonus.
More likely, the UM is released. It will promptly devour the MS, whole
and howling, then ooze out into the night. (It will drop into the
nearest canal, where it will become a recurring menace.) The lab
somehow catches fire (oh, come on... the lab has to catch fire) and the
PCs are left to rescue the Minions and salvage what they can.
(Plot complication: the Ultimate Monster's development is being
financed by a radical splinter group within the local Wizard's Guild,
which wants a Final Solution to the Sorceror Problem. Unfortunately,
the beast is unfinished, and can't yet distinguish between the
different sorts of arcane spellcaster. The MS' answer to this was MORE
POWER, which is not going to work out so well; the final result is CR
14 or so, but more like CR 18 to arcane spellcaster types. The wizards
will not be happy... I digress.)
The MS supports himself by designing monsters for unscrupulous
customers, and has Underdark and even occasional extraplanar contacts.
He lives in a town that's slowly sinking into a swamp. The town was
once a major trading center but lost a war and was annexed by a much
larger city. Its trade was choked off, but it ekes out a living as the
place where you go to do stuff that's illegal in Big Town.
So, I have a scenario. While some parts of it are worked out in
detail, some are not, and I welcome suggestions.
1) The MS is a wizard with a few rogue levels (both for the skill
ranks, and because he used to work with the Assassin's Guild.) Assume
a wizard who can cast up to 6th level spells. What sorts of things
would he have lying around his lab?
2) I have a couple of Captive Horrors worked out already, but there's
always room for more. Note that the MS is around Rog 2/Wiz 11, while
the PCs are 7th-9th level. So things that are around EL 5-9 seem about
right. What sorts of things would be different and interesting?
Potential plot hooks are welcome, BTW.
3) Key to the scenario is that the MS, though powerful, is fragile...
he's old, has a low Con, and less than 20 hp. I have to keep him alive
long enough for the climactic scene. In particular, I have to keep the
PCs from losing their temper and attacking -- they're good, and he's
flagrantly and obnoxiously evil -- and I have to plausibly prevent the
assassin from killing him, even though he's going to be trying really
hard.
Suggestions welcome. Thanks!
Waldo
My PCs are about to visit a powerful NPC who is, simply put, a classic
"mad scientist".
He's got oppressed Minions, who love and fear him, and who he abuses
terribly. He's got various monsters and horrors locked up in and
around his lab -- not locked up very well, of course; they're going to
break loose once things start shaking. He's got an Ultimate Monster
he's working on (it's a variant of that spell-eating ooze thingy from
MMIII). And he tends to snarl, cackle, and say "FOOLS!" a lot.
I have a plot outline. PCs visit the Mad Scientist's stronghold;
they're coming to warn him that an assassin is after him. (True. What
they don't know is that the assassin is a ghost, but never mind that
now.) They meet and have a chance to interact with the oppressed
Minions (who are actually nice enough, in their monstrous way) and to
tour the lab a little. They meet the MS, who of course sneers at them:
"FOOLS! No pathetic sneak-thief can POSSIBLY interfere with my great
etc. etc."
Then the assassin starts letting the captive horrors loose. Wackiness
ensues, as PCs, minions, and MS scramble to react.
Climactic scene: the MS will capture the assassin. Alas, the ghost
will promptly possess one of the Minions, who will attempt to release
the Ultimate Monster. If the PCs can stop this, they win. They will
get little gratitude from the MS, but a whopping story bonus.
More likely, the UM is released. It will promptly devour the MS, whole
and howling, then ooze out into the night. (It will drop into the
nearest canal, where it will become a recurring menace.) The lab
somehow catches fire (oh, come on... the lab has to catch fire) and the
PCs are left to rescue the Minions and salvage what they can.
(Plot complication: the Ultimate Monster's development is being
financed by a radical splinter group within the local Wizard's Guild,
which wants a Final Solution to the Sorceror Problem. Unfortunately,
the beast is unfinished, and can't yet distinguish between the
different sorts of arcane spellcaster. The MS' answer to this was MORE
POWER, which is not going to work out so well; the final result is CR
14 or so, but more like CR 18 to arcane spellcaster types. The wizards
will not be happy... I digress.)
The MS supports himself by designing monsters for unscrupulous
customers, and has Underdark and even occasional extraplanar contacts.
He lives in a town that's slowly sinking into a swamp. The town was
once a major trading center but lost a war and was annexed by a much
larger city. Its trade was choked off, but it ekes out a living as the
place where you go to do stuff that's illegal in Big Town.
So, I have a scenario. While some parts of it are worked out in
detail, some are not, and I welcome suggestions.
1) The MS is a wizard with a few rogue levels (both for the skill
ranks, and because he used to work with the Assassin's Guild.) Assume
a wizard who can cast up to 6th level spells. What sorts of things
would he have lying around his lab?
2) I have a couple of Captive Horrors worked out already, but there's
always room for more. Note that the MS is around Rog 2/Wiz 11, while
the PCs are 7th-9th level. So things that are around EL 5-9 seem about
right. What sorts of things would be different and interesting?
Potential plot hooks are welcome, BTW.
3) Key to the scenario is that the MS, though powerful, is fragile...
he's old, has a low Con, and less than 20 hp. I have to keep him alive
long enough for the climactic scene. In particular, I have to keep the
PCs from losing their temper and attacking -- they're good, and he's
flagrantly and obnoxiously evil -- and I have to plausibly prevent the
assassin from killing him, even though he's going to be trying really
hard.
Suggestions welcome. Thanks!
Waldo
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