Well, their tactics for the most part have been, sneak around, lay low, don't make trouble and get the heck out. They are well aware that they are no match for Azalin, and have been playing it pretty safe. They did kill Skeever, and ran from the wraiths, and failed their fear checks and ran from Ebb, although they did say the fear check was not necessary because they would've wisely ran anyway. They talked their way out of trouble with Willow the Banshee.
The party at the moment is 4 PCs of level 7 and 8.
- Exp(Herbalist)/Brd
- War/Rgr/KoS (wolf companion, animal and undead favored enemies)
- Ftr/Rog/Exp(Gunsmith)/Eccentric Gunsmith (Homebrew PrC you can see here)
- Spiritualist/Stygian Attendant (Spiritualist is a homebrew core class you can see here)
So, in brief: A whipping Bard, a quarterstaff-wielding tank, a swashbuckler with rapier and guns, and a necromancer who doesn't make undead.
Favorite battle spells of the spiritualist are polymorph self (usually a bear), ice burst, magic missile, and moonblade. Favored battle spells of the bard are summon monster III, sound burst, and CLW. The Rgr/KoS doesn't usually cast in combat.
I would lean more toward Azalin scaring them a little. I personally don't want to kill off PCs if I can help it, and I know he's fully capable of doing so if he wanted to. But the danger has to be real. Azalin wouldn't want to appear weak, and I don't want them to think he's weaker than they thought. So it's a bit of a conundrum. How to prove he's powerful without killing them, and yet still "losing".
Also, since his plan is to "lose" and then reanimate once he's out of Ravenloft, he won't be using many (or any) magic items. Anything he doesn't use up during the battle would fall into PC hands, and when he reanimates a new body, he can't count on recovering them right away.
Azalin's spellbook (and spell tactics)
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Gonzoron of the FoS
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A very long post about how Gonzoron might want to portray Azalin
In that case, nonlethal is the way to go - plenty of spells Azalin has will immobilize or otherwise inconvenience them mightily, but expire after their duration is up. Several tactics I mention above has Azalin stunning them temporarily until he can get up to them and lich touch them (or if you allow it, cast Spectral Hand and use his lich touch through that). To make this less lethal, simply forego the paralysis touch. If it turns out that Azalin is really putting PCs out for the count with his spells, have him dismiss that as no fun and wade in with melee instead. Even so, his lich touch is pretty powerful - as it's a touch attack, armor is useless against it.
Fudge rolls. Use spells like Fireball and Incendiary Cloud, which have a random element of damage to them. Make sure you keep meticulous notes of how many hp your players have left, and when you make the rolls in secret behind your screen, let them off easily. That's much easier to do with damage-range spells than single-effect spells.
A "scary fight" scenario would require the PCs to act quickly and push him into the phylactery to "kill" him before he could wipe them out.
Less-lethal spell selection for Azalin:
9th level (2):
* Crushing Hand x2. Azalin doesn't have to crush somebody with this - he can just bull rush them instead. This would be useful to keep the party split up. If Azalin's scryings have shown that the cleric or wizard have instant-kill spells to use against him, he'd probably use this to keep them busy a while yet. At DM's discretion, the Hand can grapple but not do the damage (acting more as a pin). Each round the Hand makes an opposed Strength check, but Azalin can choose to let them go if he wants to have fun with them (or you can fudge a failed check to let them go).
* Optional: Swap out a Crushing Hand for Time Stop instead. Use the Time Stop either to set up walls to define the battlefield and prevent escape, or to put down illusory Azalins to make him harder to target.
8th level (3):
* Prismatic Wall. This sounds like it'll be essential. Your PCs have a fairly cautious approach and it looks like they might have an escape route planned for the confrontation with Azalin. If he lays down a Prismatic Wall right behind them, they have nowhere to go. At your discretion, this can be made concave so they'd either have to fly over it or get closer to Azalin in order to go round it and escape. Either way this forces them to fight. (On second thoughts, you probably don't need to make the wall concave. It's going to be 72' wide and 36' feet high - or possibly even wider if you allow modifications to dimensions based on conservation of surface area. The PCs aren't going to get around that in a hurry.)
* Telekinetic Sphere. This allows a Reflex save, so a PC making the save successfully will breathe a sigh of relief, imagining what evils he narrowly avoided. Once the PC is trapped inside the Sphere, however, Azalin can be as mean or as lenient as you wish. Perhaps he suspends the PC perilously close to the Prismatic Wall as a threat? (I had a funny vision of this - the Prismatic Wall is blindingly bright to low-level creatures, and the trapped PC may try to turn inside the sphere to avoid the light. Have Azalin then gently rotate it so the PC has to scrabble around like a crab inside a fishbowl hanging near a rotisserie cooking light!) Or maybe he pushes the PC downhill to bump and jar ignominiously away from the battle? He may simply suspend the PC way up above ground level and leave him there, as a not-too-veiled threat as to what will happen if the spell is cancelled or Azalin is otherwise incapacitated. This spell has great potential for bruising a PC's ego, if nothing else. (Note that Azalin could technically trap anybody within 18' of each other, so if you're feeling mean, he could target multiple victims. If he traps more than one person in the sphere, he could turn the sphere gently on various different axes of rotation to keep the occupants bumping and jarring against each other, adding insult to incarceration.)
Note: to be REALLY mean as Azalin, cast Flaming Sphere at an enemy. Wait until it's assaulting them, then cast Telekinetic Sphere around the PC and the Flaming Sphere. The PC is now stuck in an impenetrable sphere with a Flaming Sphere rolling around there with them! Guaranteed damage, and if you use the optional house rules on Reflex saves below, it's even more dangerous.
* Incendiary Cloud. With the PCs up against the wall, Azalin can cast this spell. The smoke effect helps you, the DM, because the PCs don't really see how big the cloud is or where they are exactly inside it - be vague about the exact dimensions of the spell, and the PCs can suffer as many or as few rounds of exposure to it as you please. Remember if you strictly interpret the mobility of this spell, it means Azalin can't change its direction - merely its speed, so it will always flow outwards away from him and won't "chase PCs around". Conversely, if your PCs are a bit cocky, let Azalin actively control this to chase them around, exposing them to 4d6 fire damage per round (Reflex save for half). This lasts for a long time too - 18 rounds! (Note that even in the more punishing interpretation of the spell, the cloud can't "split" to follow more than one group of PCs. If they split up, Azalin can only send it after one clump of PCs.)
* Optionally, consider getting rid of Incendiary Cloud for Power Word: Stun if your PCs are really low hp and the spell would kill them outright. I don't think any of your PCs will have more than 150 hp, so this spell will definitely affect them. If Azalin wins initiative first round, this spell will assuredly knock one of the PCs out of play for a few rounds at least. If you're feeling mean, knock out a weakling so they stay out for longer. If you're feeling kind, knock out somebody with a high hp total so they're only stunned briefly. Azalin might well be distracted enough by the battle later on for this to work as "convenient villain forgetfulness" that his stunned enemies eventually recover. (See below for scripting a dramatic ending for this.)
7th level (4):
* Spell Turning. This is optional. It doesn't sound like your characters use much in the way of offensive spells, so Azalin doesn't need to fear a cheapo Disintegrate. The only spell you've mentioned that this would be useful against is Magic Missile - and after a few of those your PCs' caster will become very reluctant to use that against him any more. But I would consider substituting this out for Limited Wish or Project Image.
* Project Image. This in itself isn't harmful - just distracting. Which Azalin do they fight against now? Combined with other illusions, this will really shake them up. Imagine Azalin casting a Silent Image first and attacking. Then they collapse the Silent Image by attacking it. Next, he casts a Minor Image. Same result. Then he casts a Projected Image... and then it casts spells at them! Wait a minute! There's two of them now! He can make this move and can get line of sight from this projected image as well. If you want to be really nasty, make Azalin himself fire off an area effect spell first and then follow up with the projected image (especially nice if the PCs take cover behind a wall and think they're safe).
* Limited Wish. One use of this power is to impose a -7 to an enemy's saves (no save against this). This doesn't harm them directly but it definitely makes that character very nervous when a spell-happy lich is the one doing the casting. (Note that this only imposes a -7 on the victim's very next save. So Azalin should probably follow up with something fairly devastating, like Mind Fog or a control type spell.)
* Optional spell: Power Word: Blind. This is a serious handicap for a PC in mid-battle, but if you, the DM, choose the target judiciously, it is only a temporary effect. (The subject must have 51+ hp, otherwise it's permanent.) Yet another potential candidate for "convenient villain forgetfulness", detailed later on (as with Power Word: Stun, above). Azalin doesn't normally have this spell in his spellbook.
* Optional spell: Avasculate (from Spell Compendium). This is a very messy ranged touch spell. It causes the target to Fort save or be stunned for 1 round. Additionally, the target is reduced immediately (no save) to half of its current hit points as massive blood loss violently purges through its orifices. A horrific spell to witness, this will never kill a PC outright but it will give them more reason to fear Azalin. This works best if you keep the halving hp game mechanic secret. Just ask the PC how many hp he has (or better yet keep note yourself) and then roll some phantom dice and then tell him he's lost X number of hp as his heart tries to crawl out through his nostrils. Azalin doesn't normally have this spell in his spellbook.
6th level (5):
* Acid Fog. This does 2d6 damage per round, which is modest, but it lasts 18 rounds and there is no save. It behaves as per Incendiary Cloud above, meaning you the DM can fudge its behavior to be more or less deadly as you choose.
* Eyebite may be too powerful. For your party level, it will have a save reduction (-2 as it sickens the character) but it will also make them run in panic for 1d4 rounds, and then if they even so much as see Azalin in the next 180 minutes (3 hours - rather likely, given the circumstances) they run in panic again. However, it does count as a fear effect, and if your party has safeguards against fear or magical means to remove it, then by all means let Azalin use this spell and burn through a few of those removal measures. Azalin's eyebite would remain active for a total of 3 rounds, potentially nerfing most of the party.
* Forceful Hand x2. This doesn't hurt the PCs but it makes combat darn tricky. Spellcasters find their concentration broken while Azalin laughs at them.
Note: Azalin can spend a few rounds as a lich caster (see VRGttLich - liches only need something like 1 turn/spell level concentration to regain a spell unlike living casters) to rememorize Steal Vitality in any 6th level slot, thanks to his Spell Mastery feat. Steal Vitality is a truly nasty spell from GazII that permanently drains years of a PC's life away from them. If Azalin has any L6 slots left at the end of a battle and it looks like he's triumphed over most of the PCs, have him stand before a survivor and start draining his vitality with an evil sneer. The PC may not have any immediate bad effects (especially if the years don't push him over the next age category) but there is no canonical way a victim can regain these years of their lives. This can create some excellent lingering hatred for Azalin even after this combat is long over! (This also feeds into the convenient villain forgetfulness, outlined below.)
5th level (5):
* Mind Fog x2. This is another good eerie spell. In addition to making things hard for the PCs, it also gives them chills as to what might happen when they're stumbling around with a massive -10 to Will saves. Azalin may show forbearance and not Charm Person all of them successively... but then again, he might not. Stay tuned.
* Telekinesis x2. To humiliate and toy with the PCs, this spell uses much the same techniques as Telekinetic Sphere above. If it's used on a PC who's already dealing with a Hand spell, it further amplifies their woes as Azalin laughs at them.
* Wall of Stone. Azalin might cast this in conjunction with Prismatic Wall, to further divide up the battlefield. (Note that a pedantic reading of this spell may actually render it uncastable here. A Wall of Stone must merge with and be supported by existing stone, and if the Tree of Life is in the middle of a forested area, this is going to be hard. Consider giving Azalin Wall of Force instead.)
* Optional spell: Wall of Force. In the original FtS adventure, Azalin cast this to encircle the battlefield. In v3.5 however, it's not clear whether you can cast it in a circle at all. Azalin gets 180 square feet of surface area to play with. If you set the wall at 5' high, PCs can clamber over it, probably with a Climb check. This would be a decent challenge, and not too unbalancing - so Azalin has controlled the battlefield, but they can still try to get over it. At 5' height, Azalin has 36' of wall to play with - and that's about enough to encircle an area of radius 3 to 4'. So he probably would cast it in other ways, perhaps perpendicular to the Prismatic Wall to further divide the PCs. Or give him this spell twice and have him box off the two ends of the Prismatic Wall so the PCs have no choice but to move towards him. Azalin does not normally have this spell in his spellbook.
* Azalin can use Spell Mastery to rememorize Sending quickly, using his lich spell preparation. This is a useless combat spell, but you might consider using this if a cowardly PC runs away. Azalin could send a message after him telling him in great detail what he's doing to his friends in his absence. Or he might mimic another PC's voice and tell the runaway to return because they've killed Azalin. Given the time it would take Azalin to rememorize this spell, it's completely feasible to the recipient PC that in his absence the others could have somehow turned the tide of battle.
* Avoid Feeblemind, Dominate Person, and Magic Jar. Although Azalin probably could get away with casting these while still faking his own death, they're very likely to end the combat right then and there. Magic Jar essentially makes this entire combat unwinnable while Azalin is not in his normal body (although a lenient DM might say the PCs can pick up his undead body and throw it against the phylactery to end the battle). If the PCs are affected by Mind Fog, it won't even be close.
4th level (5):
* Contagion. Maybe even x2. This will create lasting enmity between the PC, who's now got a terrible disease, and Azalin, who gave it to them. Also they will have bad saves, further upping the "what if?" ante. Best if tied with Spectral Hand below.
* Bestow Curse. Maybe even x2. As with Contagion, this is a touch spell that mucks up a PC's saves, best done through Spectral Hand.
* Black Tentacles ("Grasping Bone-Claws"). This does some modest damage and bogs down your PCs. Fudge the rolls if it seems like people are in danger of being killed. Combine with Ray of Enfeeblement for a truly humiliating experience.
* Optional spell: Azalin used to know the 4th level spell Emotion, but this spell no longer exists in 3.5. Instead, the spell became two separate spells, one a sorc/wiz and the other a bard spell. Consider giving him Crushing Despair (4th level) in his spellbook instead, as that derives directly from Emotion. Also, it's a good spell to spook your PCs with, as it affects a group of them and imposes a -2 penalty to all rolls, including saves. Now Azalin could reduce their saves by quite a large amount with the correct spell selection. Azalin's spellbook should have this spell because the 3.0 spell it derives from no longer exists.
* Optional spell: If Azalin has seen the PCs use ray spells against his minions, he can prepare Ray Deflection, a 4th level spell from the Spell Compendium which makes him immune to rays for 18 minutes after casting. For greatest drama, have him appear with this spell already active. Unfamiliar PCs may react with awe and wonder if they see him bounce a Disintegrate harmlessly away. Azalin does not normally have this spell in his spellbook.
* Optional spell: If a PC happens to have Spell Resistance, then consider giving Azalin one casting of Assay Spell Resistance, a 4th level SC spell. This adds +10 to his already-formidable SR check against that one person for 18 rounds. Azalin doesn't normally have this spell in his spellbook.
3rd level (10, of which 4 from ring):
* Fireball, maybe x2. Why not? DM can aim it leniently or otherwise. 10d6 may sound bad but a good Reflex save reduces that to 5d6 anyway. If the PCs are doing surprisingly well, cast this after casting Grasping Bone-Claws and use the optional Reflex save house rule below.
* Hold Person, if only to demonstrate how powerful a low level spell can be, against a badly-nerfed Will save. Cast this against one PC who's been hit with Mind Fog, Bestow Curse, and Contagion and be sure to let the player know the total penalty to the Will save. (Up to -17, depending on your roll for Contagion's Wis damage.) This spell gives another Will save per round so it's not as unforgiving as some other spells. It also allows the PC (should he so choose) to exploit the "convenient villain forgetfulness" loophole below.
* Magic Circle Against Good. A -2 penalty to their attacks is enough to be noticed.
* Wind Wall x2 to protect against incoming missile weapons.
* Dispel Magic x3 for counterspelling.
* Fly to rise above the Wall spells and rain down area effect spells.
2nd level (6):
* Spectral Hand x2, to cast Bestow Curse and Contagion. If you really feel like being mean, house rule it so Azalin can deliver his normal lich touch through this.
* Darkness to put a patch of the battlefield off-limits (useful if you map out the field with the Wall spells).
* Web, which is very bad news coming on the heels of Ray of Enfeeblement and coming just before Fireball. A burning Web automatically does 2d4 burning damage, no save.
* Flaming Sphere. This can follow the PCs around the battlefield, reducing their mobility. Or it can hit Webbed PCs. Or cast this on a PC then cast Telekinetic Sphere so they have a hot playmate for a few rounds.
* Mirror Image. Why not? Used in conjunction with Project Image this will make Azalin even more difficult to effectively target.
1st level (10, with ring):
* Ray of Enfeeblement up to x3. Excellent when used in conjunction with the Hand and Grasping Bone-Claws spells. It's a shame Skeever was killed. If he was still alive, he'd love to Grapple with PCs who were hit by a Ray of Enfeeblement. Nothing quite like the sight of a diminutive Imp wrestling a mighty paladin to the ground to entertain a grim lich lord.
* Magic Missile up to x3. Actually, depending on how easily your PCs scare, this could be a low-cost way to put the fear of near-death into their hearts. Azalin does 10-25 points of damage with each casting of this spell and it never misses. This may be good while they're fooling around with Walls, Hands, and other obstacle type spells.
* Obscuring Mist up to x3. Dangerous if combined with a Project Image and a Dimension Door. Who's the real Azalin? And is there anything still in the bank of mist?
* Silent Image up to x2. Useful if combined with other misleading illusions. Make this one an Azalin flying around, or standing further away but still striding closer with a Lich Touch-ready hand outstretched. If there's enough fire, smoke, battle, and cries of agony going on, the PCs may not realize this illusion is silent.
* Ironically, here Charm Person may be too strong! By this point, many PCs are likely suffering from very low Will saves, and a Charm Person would literally knock out 25% of the party.
* Optional spell: True Strike. Obviously very useful for all ray spells. Azalin doesn't normally have this spell in his book.
For this battle, keep a few general options in mind:
* Avernus has a few captives that the PCs can free. One of these is a paladin and another is a thief - class levels that mean they could conceivably have survived to the final conflict. If you need to demonstrate Azalin's power, have him kill them mercilessly or creatively.
* There is no game mechanic about whether being held/pinned/grappled will affect your Reflex save. I am tempted to house rule that it will eliminate your Dex bonus from the save. (I'm even tempted to house rule that being completely immobilized will actually cause you to fail a Reflex save automatically.) This could be important for Hold Person and Black Tentacles followed up by area effect spells.
* If your PCs are doing too much damage unexpectedly, Azalin could (with your discretion) spend a standard action to heal himself 1d8+5 hp using his lich touch. If the battle looks like it's going to be unexpectedly easy for the PCs, have Azalin animate a few minions and retreat briefly to heal.
* There is no way the PCs can use the Antimagic Field exploit to kill Azalin at this level. But they might conceivably use a Silence exploit. Both exploits use the fact that the spells are intensely crippling to enemy spellcasters, but they allow a save ONLY if they are targeted initially at the enemy spellcaster himself. If this party has a fast moving member, cast Silence on him and make sure he's close enough to Azalin so Azalin's in the area of effect. Now Azalin can't cast any spell that has a verbal component. (He would probably start by paralyzing the offending PC though.)
Antimagic Field is even more punishing for a human lich. It suppresses all Supernatural powers, including Damage Resistance, Fear, and Paralyzing Touch! Cast this on your party's monk and have the monk assault the lich hand to hand. The lich will die very quickly. Fortunately your party has no way to cast that because it's quite a high level spell.
If Azalin's enemies are thinking of using the Silence spell, consider giving him an updated Vocalize spell (from 2nd ed., the updating is my own):
* The Conveniently Forgetful Villain. Azalin is very powerful in this encounter and most parties are going to need all the help they can get. If he really starts grinding them into the dirt, consider this:
Azalin's spells are used to immobilize enemies, not kill them, in the above build. However, even spells like Power Word: Stun wear off, and some spells like Hold Person can be terminated early by a successful save. In spells with variable durations, a lenient DM can decide that Azalin is not aware of a PC regaining his movement. The DM can pass a note to the PC saying "You feel a slight tingling in your limbs, as though may be able to move again". The PC can then continue to feign paralysis, or can stealthily wait until Azalin's attention is elsewhere and then go after him with a vengeance.
Assuming that Azalin is focussed elsewhere, this could give that particular PC a free bull rush action to hit Azalin. Or, if there are several Wall spells or Darkness areas littering the battlefield, the PC could use those to shield him from Azalin's vision while the lich takes care of other PCs. (Think of a paintball skirmish where distraction is as important as accuracy.) Or even have a cliche scenario, Azalin casts the spell on a PC, stunning him, and then comes back to gloat between him and the phylactery. The PC suddenly breaks free and pushes Azalin in.
This can work with Power Word: Blind, Hold Person, or Power Word: Stun, all of which have variable effects times. You can contrive it to happen with Black Tentacles because PCs have some degree of control over breaking out. If you're really stuck, maneuver Azalin to a PC and have him concentrate entirely on Steal Vitality as he declaims them for fools. (This will really punish the PC's age, but it's typical behavior for a lich who has apparently bested the very adventurers that legend said would kill him.)
That might give one or more PCs the chance to break free of whatever enchantment holds him and bull rush Azalin into the phylactery.
Azalin might say some, all, or none of the following taunts:
"Perhaps the Seer overestimated your powers."
"...and Hyskosa thought you would uncrown me?!"
"Not bad at first, but it all went downhill after [insert pivotal spell name here]. A pity you won't live to see a rematch."
"You are dangerous, after all. Better get this over with quickly, then."
[After a combination successfully works, e.g. Ray of Enfeeblement - Web - Fireball]: "You surprise me. Even Quantarius' potscrubbers would have seen that one coming..."
"The Powers were wise to choose you. You're not even afraid, are you? We'll soon set that straight."
"Without pain and suffering, life has no meaning. Your next few minutes shall be very meaningful indeed..."
[When a PC has colossal Will save penalties] "[chuckles] Damn fool's still fighting. Even with a life essence flickering like a candle in a storm..."
[When a PC succumbs to a disabling spell, e.g. Hold Person] "Another one for Questioning. Don't go anywhere."
[If a PC flee] "Come back here! If you run, you're only going to die tired."
Final option: Azalin's phylactery as a positive-energy sink:
From here on in is strictly house rules, but I think they add some flavor to the whole phylactery question.
I didn't like the vagueness about Azalin's phylactery, or the fact that PCs tended to be reduced to below 0 hp so easily when facing Azalin in battle. So I made a little quirky house rule about his phylactery.
First off, we know it kills his mortal body. Secondly, we know it hurts Strahd (in Roots of Evil at the start). Thirdly, we know the PCs are likely largely dead or near dead when FtS ends.
How do you explain 1) and 2), and lessen the blow of 3)?
I decided to give the phylactery the following power: (This is quoted from page 2 of this same thread, but that was first posted about two years ago so I reproduce it here)
For the PCs, the battle should end with many of them between 0 and -10 hp. All it takes is for one PC to survive and bind the others' wounds, and Azalin's phylactery will help revive the rest with touch spells. This means they'll be in good enough shape when Roots of Evil starts up immediately after the phylactery leaves the Mists.
Depending on what you've revealed to your PCs, they should still believe that the phylactery will kill Azalin. If you decide to use the positive energy phylactery trick I mention above, then make sure you show the undead in the castle as being quite scared of it. Or better yet, let them push it against a mindless undead and watch the mindless undead fall apart.
Plotwise, Hyskosa may tell them that the phylactery will not only be key to killing Azalin, but also will protect them from his attacks, as he's less likely to want to endanger their lives with indiscriminate magicks if they carry the phylactery with them.
(One nifty thing about having my altered phylactery rules is that if Azalin straps the phylactery to Ebb's neck and rides her into battle, Ebb heals damage thanks touching to the lich's phylactery! How cool is that?)
I think that's all. If you have any questions to ask, please feel free to do so. As you can see, I enjoy this exercise quite a bit.
In that case, nonlethal is the way to go - plenty of spells Azalin has will immobilize or otherwise inconvenience them mightily, but expire after their duration is up. Several tactics I mention above has Azalin stunning them temporarily until he can get up to them and lich touch them (or if you allow it, cast Spectral Hand and use his lich touch through that). To make this less lethal, simply forego the paralysis touch. If it turns out that Azalin is really putting PCs out for the count with his spells, have him dismiss that as no fun and wade in with melee instead. Even so, his lich touch is pretty powerful - as it's a touch attack, armor is useless against it.
Fudge rolls. Use spells like Fireball and Incendiary Cloud, which have a random element of damage to them. Make sure you keep meticulous notes of how many hp your players have left, and when you make the rolls in secret behind your screen, let them off easily. That's much easier to do with damage-range spells than single-effect spells.
A "scary fight" scenario would require the PCs to act quickly and push him into the phylactery to "kill" him before he could wipe them out.
Less-lethal spell selection for Azalin:
9th level (2):
* Crushing Hand x2. Azalin doesn't have to crush somebody with this - he can just bull rush them instead. This would be useful to keep the party split up. If Azalin's scryings have shown that the cleric or wizard have instant-kill spells to use against him, he'd probably use this to keep them busy a while yet. At DM's discretion, the Hand can grapple but not do the damage (acting more as a pin). Each round the Hand makes an opposed Strength check, but Azalin can choose to let them go if he wants to have fun with them (or you can fudge a failed check to let them go).
* Optional: Swap out a Crushing Hand for Time Stop instead. Use the Time Stop either to set up walls to define the battlefield and prevent escape, or to put down illusory Azalins to make him harder to target.
8th level (3):
* Prismatic Wall. This sounds like it'll be essential. Your PCs have a fairly cautious approach and it looks like they might have an escape route planned for the confrontation with Azalin. If he lays down a Prismatic Wall right behind them, they have nowhere to go. At your discretion, this can be made concave so they'd either have to fly over it or get closer to Azalin in order to go round it and escape. Either way this forces them to fight. (On second thoughts, you probably don't need to make the wall concave. It's going to be 72' wide and 36' feet high - or possibly even wider if you allow modifications to dimensions based on conservation of surface area. The PCs aren't going to get around that in a hurry.)
* Telekinetic Sphere. This allows a Reflex save, so a PC making the save successfully will breathe a sigh of relief, imagining what evils he narrowly avoided. Once the PC is trapped inside the Sphere, however, Azalin can be as mean or as lenient as you wish. Perhaps he suspends the PC perilously close to the Prismatic Wall as a threat? (I had a funny vision of this - the Prismatic Wall is blindingly bright to low-level creatures, and the trapped PC may try to turn inside the sphere to avoid the light. Have Azalin then gently rotate it so the PC has to scrabble around like a crab inside a fishbowl hanging near a rotisserie cooking light!) Or maybe he pushes the PC downhill to bump and jar ignominiously away from the battle? He may simply suspend the PC way up above ground level and leave him there, as a not-too-veiled threat as to what will happen if the spell is cancelled or Azalin is otherwise incapacitated. This spell has great potential for bruising a PC's ego, if nothing else. (Note that Azalin could technically trap anybody within 18' of each other, so if you're feeling mean, he could target multiple victims. If he traps more than one person in the sphere, he could turn the sphere gently on various different axes of rotation to keep the occupants bumping and jarring against each other, adding insult to incarceration.)
Note: to be REALLY mean as Azalin, cast Flaming Sphere at an enemy. Wait until it's assaulting them, then cast Telekinetic Sphere around the PC and the Flaming Sphere. The PC is now stuck in an impenetrable sphere with a Flaming Sphere rolling around there with them! Guaranteed damage, and if you use the optional house rules on Reflex saves below, it's even more dangerous.
* Incendiary Cloud. With the PCs up against the wall, Azalin can cast this spell. The smoke effect helps you, the DM, because the PCs don't really see how big the cloud is or where they are exactly inside it - be vague about the exact dimensions of the spell, and the PCs can suffer as many or as few rounds of exposure to it as you please. Remember if you strictly interpret the mobility of this spell, it means Azalin can't change its direction - merely its speed, so it will always flow outwards away from him and won't "chase PCs around". Conversely, if your PCs are a bit cocky, let Azalin actively control this to chase them around, exposing them to 4d6 fire damage per round (Reflex save for half). This lasts for a long time too - 18 rounds! (Note that even in the more punishing interpretation of the spell, the cloud can't "split" to follow more than one group of PCs. If they split up, Azalin can only send it after one clump of PCs.)
* Optionally, consider getting rid of Incendiary Cloud for Power Word: Stun if your PCs are really low hp and the spell would kill them outright. I don't think any of your PCs will have more than 150 hp, so this spell will definitely affect them. If Azalin wins initiative first round, this spell will assuredly knock one of the PCs out of play for a few rounds at least. If you're feeling mean, knock out a weakling so they stay out for longer. If you're feeling kind, knock out somebody with a high hp total so they're only stunned briefly. Azalin might well be distracted enough by the battle later on for this to work as "convenient villain forgetfulness" that his stunned enemies eventually recover. (See below for scripting a dramatic ending for this.)
7th level (4):
* Spell Turning. This is optional. It doesn't sound like your characters use much in the way of offensive spells, so Azalin doesn't need to fear a cheapo Disintegrate. The only spell you've mentioned that this would be useful against is Magic Missile - and after a few of those your PCs' caster will become very reluctant to use that against him any more. But I would consider substituting this out for Limited Wish or Project Image.
* Project Image. This in itself isn't harmful - just distracting. Which Azalin do they fight against now? Combined with other illusions, this will really shake them up. Imagine Azalin casting a Silent Image first and attacking. Then they collapse the Silent Image by attacking it. Next, he casts a Minor Image. Same result. Then he casts a Projected Image... and then it casts spells at them! Wait a minute! There's two of them now! He can make this move and can get line of sight from this projected image as well. If you want to be really nasty, make Azalin himself fire off an area effect spell first and then follow up with the projected image (especially nice if the PCs take cover behind a wall and think they're safe).
* Limited Wish. One use of this power is to impose a -7 to an enemy's saves (no save against this). This doesn't harm them directly but it definitely makes that character very nervous when a spell-happy lich is the one doing the casting. (Note that this only imposes a -7 on the victim's very next save. So Azalin should probably follow up with something fairly devastating, like Mind Fog or a control type spell.)
* Optional spell: Power Word: Blind. This is a serious handicap for a PC in mid-battle, but if you, the DM, choose the target judiciously, it is only a temporary effect. (The subject must have 51+ hp, otherwise it's permanent.) Yet another potential candidate for "convenient villain forgetfulness", detailed later on (as with Power Word: Stun, above). Azalin doesn't normally have this spell in his spellbook.
* Optional spell: Avasculate (from Spell Compendium). This is a very messy ranged touch spell. It causes the target to Fort save or be stunned for 1 round. Additionally, the target is reduced immediately (no save) to half of its current hit points as massive blood loss violently purges through its orifices. A horrific spell to witness, this will never kill a PC outright but it will give them more reason to fear Azalin. This works best if you keep the halving hp game mechanic secret. Just ask the PC how many hp he has (or better yet keep note yourself) and then roll some phantom dice and then tell him he's lost X number of hp as his heart tries to crawl out through his nostrils. Azalin doesn't normally have this spell in his spellbook.
6th level (5):
* Acid Fog. This does 2d6 damage per round, which is modest, but it lasts 18 rounds and there is no save. It behaves as per Incendiary Cloud above, meaning you the DM can fudge its behavior to be more or less deadly as you choose.
* Eyebite may be too powerful. For your party level, it will have a save reduction (-2 as it sickens the character) but it will also make them run in panic for 1d4 rounds, and then if they even so much as see Azalin in the next 180 minutes (3 hours - rather likely, given the circumstances) they run in panic again. However, it does count as a fear effect, and if your party has safeguards against fear or magical means to remove it, then by all means let Azalin use this spell and burn through a few of those removal measures. Azalin's eyebite would remain active for a total of 3 rounds, potentially nerfing most of the party.
* Forceful Hand x2. This doesn't hurt the PCs but it makes combat darn tricky. Spellcasters find their concentration broken while Azalin laughs at them.
Note: Azalin can spend a few rounds as a lich caster (see VRGttLich - liches only need something like 1 turn/spell level concentration to regain a spell unlike living casters) to rememorize Steal Vitality in any 6th level slot, thanks to his Spell Mastery feat. Steal Vitality is a truly nasty spell from GazII that permanently drains years of a PC's life away from them. If Azalin has any L6 slots left at the end of a battle and it looks like he's triumphed over most of the PCs, have him stand before a survivor and start draining his vitality with an evil sneer. The PC may not have any immediate bad effects (especially if the years don't push him over the next age category) but there is no canonical way a victim can regain these years of their lives. This can create some excellent lingering hatred for Azalin even after this combat is long over! (This also feeds into the convenient villain forgetfulness, outlined below.)
5th level (5):
* Mind Fog x2. This is another good eerie spell. In addition to making things hard for the PCs, it also gives them chills as to what might happen when they're stumbling around with a massive -10 to Will saves. Azalin may show forbearance and not Charm Person all of them successively... but then again, he might not. Stay tuned.
* Telekinesis x2. To humiliate and toy with the PCs, this spell uses much the same techniques as Telekinetic Sphere above. If it's used on a PC who's already dealing with a Hand spell, it further amplifies their woes as Azalin laughs at them.
* Wall of Stone. Azalin might cast this in conjunction with Prismatic Wall, to further divide up the battlefield. (Note that a pedantic reading of this spell may actually render it uncastable here. A Wall of Stone must merge with and be supported by existing stone, and if the Tree of Life is in the middle of a forested area, this is going to be hard. Consider giving Azalin Wall of Force instead.)
* Optional spell: Wall of Force. In the original FtS adventure, Azalin cast this to encircle the battlefield. In v3.5 however, it's not clear whether you can cast it in a circle at all. Azalin gets 180 square feet of surface area to play with. If you set the wall at 5' high, PCs can clamber over it, probably with a Climb check. This would be a decent challenge, and not too unbalancing - so Azalin has controlled the battlefield, but they can still try to get over it. At 5' height, Azalin has 36' of wall to play with - and that's about enough to encircle an area of radius 3 to 4'. So he probably would cast it in other ways, perhaps perpendicular to the Prismatic Wall to further divide the PCs. Or give him this spell twice and have him box off the two ends of the Prismatic Wall so the PCs have no choice but to move towards him. Azalin does not normally have this spell in his spellbook.
* Azalin can use Spell Mastery to rememorize Sending quickly, using his lich spell preparation. This is a useless combat spell, but you might consider using this if a cowardly PC runs away. Azalin could send a message after him telling him in great detail what he's doing to his friends in his absence. Or he might mimic another PC's voice and tell the runaway to return because they've killed Azalin. Given the time it would take Azalin to rememorize this spell, it's completely feasible to the recipient PC that in his absence the others could have somehow turned the tide of battle.
* Avoid Feeblemind, Dominate Person, and Magic Jar. Although Azalin probably could get away with casting these while still faking his own death, they're very likely to end the combat right then and there. Magic Jar essentially makes this entire combat unwinnable while Azalin is not in his normal body (although a lenient DM might say the PCs can pick up his undead body and throw it against the phylactery to end the battle). If the PCs are affected by Mind Fog, it won't even be close.
4th level (5):
* Contagion. Maybe even x2. This will create lasting enmity between the PC, who's now got a terrible disease, and Azalin, who gave it to them. Also they will have bad saves, further upping the "what if?" ante. Best if tied with Spectral Hand below.
* Bestow Curse. Maybe even x2. As with Contagion, this is a touch spell that mucks up a PC's saves, best done through Spectral Hand.
* Black Tentacles ("Grasping Bone-Claws"). This does some modest damage and bogs down your PCs. Fudge the rolls if it seems like people are in danger of being killed. Combine with Ray of Enfeeblement for a truly humiliating experience.
* Optional spell: Azalin used to know the 4th level spell Emotion, but this spell no longer exists in 3.5. Instead, the spell became two separate spells, one a sorc/wiz and the other a bard spell. Consider giving him Crushing Despair (4th level) in his spellbook instead, as that derives directly from Emotion. Also, it's a good spell to spook your PCs with, as it affects a group of them and imposes a -2 penalty to all rolls, including saves. Now Azalin could reduce their saves by quite a large amount with the correct spell selection. Azalin's spellbook should have this spell because the 3.0 spell it derives from no longer exists.
* Optional spell: If Azalin has seen the PCs use ray spells against his minions, he can prepare Ray Deflection, a 4th level spell from the Spell Compendium which makes him immune to rays for 18 minutes after casting. For greatest drama, have him appear with this spell already active. Unfamiliar PCs may react with awe and wonder if they see him bounce a Disintegrate harmlessly away. Azalin does not normally have this spell in his spellbook.
* Optional spell: If a PC happens to have Spell Resistance, then consider giving Azalin one casting of Assay Spell Resistance, a 4th level SC spell. This adds +10 to his already-formidable SR check against that one person for 18 rounds. Azalin doesn't normally have this spell in his spellbook.
3rd level (10, of which 4 from ring):
* Fireball, maybe x2. Why not? DM can aim it leniently or otherwise. 10d6 may sound bad but a good Reflex save reduces that to 5d6 anyway. If the PCs are doing surprisingly well, cast this after casting Grasping Bone-Claws and use the optional Reflex save house rule below.
* Hold Person, if only to demonstrate how powerful a low level spell can be, against a badly-nerfed Will save. Cast this against one PC who's been hit with Mind Fog, Bestow Curse, and Contagion and be sure to let the player know the total penalty to the Will save. (Up to -17, depending on your roll for Contagion's Wis damage.) This spell gives another Will save per round so it's not as unforgiving as some other spells. It also allows the PC (should he so choose) to exploit the "convenient villain forgetfulness" loophole below.
* Magic Circle Against Good. A -2 penalty to their attacks is enough to be noticed.
* Wind Wall x2 to protect against incoming missile weapons.
* Dispel Magic x3 for counterspelling.
* Fly to rise above the Wall spells and rain down area effect spells.
2nd level (6):
* Spectral Hand x2, to cast Bestow Curse and Contagion. If you really feel like being mean, house rule it so Azalin can deliver his normal lich touch through this.
* Darkness to put a patch of the battlefield off-limits (useful if you map out the field with the Wall spells).
* Web, which is very bad news coming on the heels of Ray of Enfeeblement and coming just before Fireball. A burning Web automatically does 2d4 burning damage, no save.
* Flaming Sphere. This can follow the PCs around the battlefield, reducing their mobility. Or it can hit Webbed PCs. Or cast this on a PC then cast Telekinetic Sphere so they have a hot playmate for a few rounds.
* Mirror Image. Why not? Used in conjunction with Project Image this will make Azalin even more difficult to effectively target.
1st level (10, with ring):
* Ray of Enfeeblement up to x3. Excellent when used in conjunction with the Hand and Grasping Bone-Claws spells. It's a shame Skeever was killed. If he was still alive, he'd love to Grapple with PCs who were hit by a Ray of Enfeeblement. Nothing quite like the sight of a diminutive Imp wrestling a mighty paladin to the ground to entertain a grim lich lord.
* Magic Missile up to x3. Actually, depending on how easily your PCs scare, this could be a low-cost way to put the fear of near-death into their hearts. Azalin does 10-25 points of damage with each casting of this spell and it never misses. This may be good while they're fooling around with Walls, Hands, and other obstacle type spells.
* Obscuring Mist up to x3. Dangerous if combined with a Project Image and a Dimension Door. Who's the real Azalin? And is there anything still in the bank of mist?
* Silent Image up to x2. Useful if combined with other misleading illusions. Make this one an Azalin flying around, or standing further away but still striding closer with a Lich Touch-ready hand outstretched. If there's enough fire, smoke, battle, and cries of agony going on, the PCs may not realize this illusion is silent.
* Ironically, here Charm Person may be too strong! By this point, many PCs are likely suffering from very low Will saves, and a Charm Person would literally knock out 25% of the party.
* Optional spell: True Strike. Obviously very useful for all ray spells. Azalin doesn't normally have this spell in his book.
For this battle, keep a few general options in mind:
* Avernus has a few captives that the PCs can free. One of these is a paladin and another is a thief - class levels that mean they could conceivably have survived to the final conflict. If you need to demonstrate Azalin's power, have him kill them mercilessly or creatively.
* There is no game mechanic about whether being held/pinned/grappled will affect your Reflex save. I am tempted to house rule that it will eliminate your Dex bonus from the save. (I'm even tempted to house rule that being completely immobilized will actually cause you to fail a Reflex save automatically.) This could be important for Hold Person and Black Tentacles followed up by area effect spells.
* If your PCs are doing too much damage unexpectedly, Azalin could (with your discretion) spend a standard action to heal himself 1d8+5 hp using his lich touch. If the battle looks like it's going to be unexpectedly easy for the PCs, have Azalin animate a few minions and retreat briefly to heal.
* There is no way the PCs can use the Antimagic Field exploit to kill Azalin at this level. But they might conceivably use a Silence exploit. Both exploits use the fact that the spells are intensely crippling to enemy spellcasters, but they allow a save ONLY if they are targeted initially at the enemy spellcaster himself. If this party has a fast moving member, cast Silence on him and make sure he's close enough to Azalin so Azalin's in the area of effect. Now Azalin can't cast any spell that has a verbal component. (He would probably start by paralyzing the offending PC though.)
Antimagic Field is even more punishing for a human lich. It suppresses all Supernatural powers, including Damage Resistance, Fear, and Paralyzing Touch! Cast this on your party's monk and have the monk assault the lich hand to hand. The lich will die very quickly. Fortunately your party has no way to cast that because it's quite a high level spell.
If Azalin's enemies are thinking of using the Silence spell, consider giving him an updated Vocalize spell (from 2nd ed., the updating is my own):
* Azalin probably wants to make himself apparent at about 70' distance - this means the PCs have to spend two rounds to get to him even if they charge. If you replace one Crushing Hand with Time Stop, have Azalin use the Time Stop to put up a Prismatic Wall and two Wall spells to force the PCs to fight him. If there's any time left, have him cast Fly and/or Wind Wall.Vocalize
Evocation [Sonic]
Level: Clr 2, Sorc/Wiz 2
Components: S, F
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Duration: 1 turn/level
Saving Throw: None (harmless)
Spell Resistance: None (harmless)
The recipient of this spell can cast spells with a verbal component without having to make any noise. Effectively, this spell cancels the effect of silence and makes the recipient immune to it for the spell's duration. This spell has no effect on other noises or speech - it simply removes all the caster's spell's verbal components. In order to allow for normal speech and other sonic effects, further steps such as Dispel Magic must be taken.
The focus for this spell is a tuning fork, which is struck during the casting and sounds forth in the mind of the caster only.
* The Conveniently Forgetful Villain. Azalin is very powerful in this encounter and most parties are going to need all the help they can get. If he really starts grinding them into the dirt, consider this:
Azalin's spells are used to immobilize enemies, not kill them, in the above build. However, even spells like Power Word: Stun wear off, and some spells like Hold Person can be terminated early by a successful save. In spells with variable durations, a lenient DM can decide that Azalin is not aware of a PC regaining his movement. The DM can pass a note to the PC saying "You feel a slight tingling in your limbs, as though may be able to move again". The PC can then continue to feign paralysis, or can stealthily wait until Azalin's attention is elsewhere and then go after him with a vengeance.
Assuming that Azalin is focussed elsewhere, this could give that particular PC a free bull rush action to hit Azalin. Or, if there are several Wall spells or Darkness areas littering the battlefield, the PC could use those to shield him from Azalin's vision while the lich takes care of other PCs. (Think of a paintball skirmish where distraction is as important as accuracy.) Or even have a cliche scenario, Azalin casts the spell on a PC, stunning him, and then comes back to gloat between him and the phylactery. The PC suddenly breaks free and pushes Azalin in.
This can work with Power Word: Blind, Hold Person, or Power Word: Stun, all of which have variable effects times. You can contrive it to happen with Black Tentacles because PCs have some degree of control over breaking out. If you're really stuck, maneuver Azalin to a PC and have him concentrate entirely on Steal Vitality as he declaims them for fools. (This will really punish the PC's age, but it's typical behavior for a lich who has apparently bested the very adventurers that legend said would kill him.)
That might give one or more PCs the chance to break free of whatever enchantment holds him and bull rush Azalin into the phylactery.
Azalin might say some, all, or none of the following taunts:
"Perhaps the Seer overestimated your powers."
"...and Hyskosa thought you would uncrown me?!"
"Not bad at first, but it all went downhill after [insert pivotal spell name here]. A pity you won't live to see a rematch."
"You are dangerous, after all. Better get this over with quickly, then."
[After a combination successfully works, e.g. Ray of Enfeeblement - Web - Fireball]: "You surprise me. Even Quantarius' potscrubbers would have seen that one coming..."
"The Powers were wise to choose you. You're not even afraid, are you? We'll soon set that straight."
"Without pain and suffering, life has no meaning. Your next few minutes shall be very meaningful indeed..."
[When a PC has colossal Will save penalties] "[chuckles] Damn fool's still fighting. Even with a life essence flickering like a candle in a storm..."
[When a PC succumbs to a disabling spell, e.g. Hold Person] "Another one for Questioning. Don't go anywhere."
[If a PC flee] "Come back here! If you run, you're only going to die tired."
Final option: Azalin's phylactery as a positive-energy sink:
From here on in is strictly house rules, but I think they add some flavor to the whole phylactery question.
I didn't like the vagueness about Azalin's phylactery, or the fact that PCs tended to be reduced to below 0 hp so easily when facing Azalin in battle. So I made a little quirky house rule about his phylactery.
First off, we know it kills his mortal body. Secondly, we know it hurts Strahd (in Roots of Evil at the start). Thirdly, we know the PCs are likely largely dead or near dead when FtS ends.
How do you explain 1) and 2), and lessen the blow of 3)?
I decided to give the phylactery the following power: (This is quoted from page 2 of this same thread, but that was first posted about two years ago so I reproduce it here)
Note that the Heal spell (being positive energy) will cause 150 points of damage to Azalin when he touches it, and he voluntarily fails his save, thus "killing" his mortal shell.If touched, the skull discharges positive energy equivalent to a Cure Wounds spell. The strength can be Minor, Light, Moderate, Serious, or Critical. It automatically selects the most suitable spell based on the health and nature of the creature handling it. In extreme cases, it can even cast a Heal spell. All spell effects are touch only, so the phylactery can be moved through telekinesis or by the use of constructs such as golems, without triggering these effects. Because this positive energy is primarily powered by Azalin’s life force, its spell-like abilities function as though cast by a cleric of the same level as Azalin (18).
For living creatures, it gauges the relative health of the creature and releases a spell that would most likely bring its hit points to full, or just above full. If a living creature touches it at full hit points, the phylactery discharges a Cure Minor Wounds spell. The creature gains 1 hit point above its maximum, and immediately loses it again, which typically alerts intelligent creatures to the curative nature of the phylactery.
If undead creatures touch the skull, it unleashes the same spells, but according to a reverse criterion. The healthier the undead, the more powerful the healing spell. Of course, undead suffer damage from healing spells, so this frequently annihilates outright any corporeal undead that touch the phylactery. Note that vampires and other undead with shapechanging abilities may end up taking damage and then assuming mist form to escape.
The phylactery recharges itself at a rate of one dice of positive energy per turn. So if it cast a Heal spell, either to heal a living creature or grievously injure an undead creature, it would take 15 turns to be at full capacity again. However, once Azalin is inside the phylactery, he has control over whether the phylactery discharges the stored energy at all. Even more insidiously, he can choose to discharge Cause Wounds spells or Harm, using negative planar energy to do so. Frequently, he will do this to create a new corpse for him to inhabit.
For the PCs, the battle should end with many of them between 0 and -10 hp. All it takes is for one PC to survive and bind the others' wounds, and Azalin's phylactery will help revive the rest with touch spells. This means they'll be in good enough shape when Roots of Evil starts up immediately after the phylactery leaves the Mists.
Depending on what you've revealed to your PCs, they should still believe that the phylactery will kill Azalin. If you decide to use the positive energy phylactery trick I mention above, then make sure you show the undead in the castle as being quite scared of it. Or better yet, let them push it against a mindless undead and watch the mindless undead fall apart.
Plotwise, Hyskosa may tell them that the phylactery will not only be key to killing Azalin, but also will protect them from his attacks, as he's less likely to want to endanger their lives with indiscriminate magicks if they carry the phylactery with them.
(One nifty thing about having my altered phylactery rules is that if Azalin straps the phylactery to Ebb's neck and rides her into battle, Ebb heals damage thanks touching to the lich's phylactery! How cool is that?)
I think that's all. If you have any questions to ask, please feel free to do so. As you can see, I enjoy this exercise quite a bit.
Last edited by HuManBing on Sun Jul 08, 2007 9:01 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Nathan of the FoS
- Fiendish Enforcer
- Posts: 5247
- Joined: Fri Nov 28, 2003 3:39 pm
- Location: San Francisco CA
Notes on the notes! (Mostly inane quibbles; the substance of this analysis is very good.)
A couple of these spells are a different level in 3.5 (power word stun is 8th, project image is 7th).
What's with giving Azalin new spells all over the place?!?
Also, what do you mean by "swap out spells"? How can a wizard do this?
A couple of these spells are a different level in 3.5 (power word stun is 8th, project image is 7th).
What's with giving Azalin new spells all over the place?!?
Also, what do you mean by "swap out spells"? How can a wizard do this?
[b]FEAR JUSTICE.[/b] :elena:
Hey Nathan, good catch! I'm going to go back through the spell list and correct it to make sure it makes sense!
(I thought Project Image belonged in a different spell category.) Also, looks like Azalin COULD have the Crushing Despair spell! It replaces the "Emotion" spell, which he does have in his spellbooks. This could replace any given 4th level spell to further lower the saves of enemies! Result!
Hmm, with the "swap out spells" I appear to have mistaken the Spell Mastery feat. Ignore those - Spell Mastery functions in a different way than what I think it does. He cannot swap out spells the way a cleric can, he can only memorize them without a spellbook. (Although being a lich, Azalin memorizes spells much faster than live human casters do - refer to VRGttLich and you'll see it takes him something like 1 turn of concentration per level of spell - so he could in theory stand motionless for a little while and then cast any given Spell Mastery spell he wanted to... over and over again. This would be especially taunting with an immobilized foe and Steal Vitality.)
Thanks for the corrections, Nathan. I'll go back and plug those through. (Darn 3.0 character writeups!)
(I thought Project Image belonged in a different spell category.) Also, looks like Azalin COULD have the Crushing Despair spell! It replaces the "Emotion" spell, which he does have in his spellbooks. This could replace any given 4th level spell to further lower the saves of enemies! Result!
Hmm, with the "swap out spells" I appear to have mistaken the Spell Mastery feat. Ignore those - Spell Mastery functions in a different way than what I think it does. He cannot swap out spells the way a cleric can, he can only memorize them without a spellbook. (Although being a lich, Azalin memorizes spells much faster than live human casters do - refer to VRGttLich and you'll see it takes him something like 1 turn of concentration per level of spell - so he could in theory stand motionless for a little while and then cast any given Spell Mastery spell he wanted to... over and over again. This would be especially taunting with an immobilized foe and Steal Vitality.)
Thanks for the corrections, Nathan. I'll go back and plug those through. (Darn 3.0 character writeups!)
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Gonzoron of the FoS
- Evil Genius
- Posts: 7690
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Wow, thanks for the well-thought-out analysis. It will definitely come in handy. A few things:
That vocalize spell is pretty much superseded by the Silent Spell feat, no? I would expect Azalin to keep a Silent Dispel Magic handy to stop that silence trick, if he had that feat. According to Gaz II, however, he doesn't. In a real fight, he'd probably have a few scrolls of it, but not in this fight. (you can put metamagic into a scroll, right?)
He does however have Empower and Heighten. Any guesses as to which spells, if any, he would use those on?
I prefer not to use spells like hold person and power word stun because they effectively tell that player: "go get a snack, you're not playing for a while" Considering how rarely we get to play, I like to keep everyone as involved as possible. I'd be more likely to use stuff like Web or Black Tentacles, where at least you can fight your way free.
I like the idea of time stop to set up walls and hands on the battlefield. It definitely shows him flexing his magical muscles without actually doing much damage.
EDIT: I also really like the positive-energy infused phylactery. It makes way more sense than Azalin trapping the thing himself, I think. A little "gift" from the Dark Powers, I assume.
That vocalize spell is pretty much superseded by the Silent Spell feat, no? I would expect Azalin to keep a Silent Dispel Magic handy to stop that silence trick, if he had that feat. According to Gaz II, however, he doesn't. In a real fight, he'd probably have a few scrolls of it, but not in this fight. (you can put metamagic into a scroll, right?)
He does however have Empower and Heighten. Any guesses as to which spells, if any, he would use those on?
I prefer not to use spells like hold person and power word stun because they effectively tell that player: "go get a snack, you're not playing for a while" Considering how rarely we get to play, I like to keep everyone as involved as possible. I'd be more likely to use stuff like Web or Black Tentacles, where at least you can fight your way free.
I like the idea of time stop to set up walls and hands on the battlefield. It definitely shows him flexing his magical muscles without actually doing much damage.
EDIT: I also really like the positive-energy infused phylactery. It makes way more sense than Azalin trapping the thing himself, I think. A little "gift" from the Dark Powers, I assume.
"We're realistic heroes. We're not here to save the world, just nudge the world into a better place."
Yes, the Vocalize is not strictly necessary. (And if the PCs do manage to get that Silence combo off against Azalin, he's not completely helpless... they still have to have a PC near him, and he could happily paralyze the PC and then just walk away.)
For the Empower feat, I would suggest using it with a spell that affects a certain number of targets but does NOT have a dice roll associated. From what you tell me, it seems like Empowering a Fireball or Incendiary Cloud will merely make Azalin steamroller the PCs.
Azalin has loads of 1st to 3rd level spell slots to spare. You can even see I sort of ran out of ideas as to what he should prepare for those because they're so legion. Empower uses up a slot two spell levels higher, so give Azalin an empowered 1st level spell, and he'll be able to use the Rings of Wizardry to boost the number of those he can cast.
Possible candidates for Empowered spells:
Ray of Enfeeblement (L1 to L3). Now it does 1d6+5 Str damage times 1.5, for a possible maximum of 17 points of Strength damage (and it lasts 18 minutes unless dispelled, so the PCs' main fighter character is wriggling desperately to get out of his encumbering armor). This may be too heavy handed for some of your PCs.
Flaming Sphere (L2 to L4). Now it does 2d6 x 1.5 damage, for 3-18 points of damage per round. Still not deadly force, though impressive if combined with the Telekinetic Sphere trick (roll the PC around in a TK sphere with a Flaming Sphere for company).
Mirror Image (L2 to L4). Boosts 1d4 +8 images of Azalin to quite an impressively high number of images. (If my maths is correct, 13-18 images. Try hitting him now!) This is ideal because it doesn't directly hurt the PCs but it does make things very difficult for them, contributing to a sense of awe at Azalin's powers.
Ice Storm (L4 to L6). If he really needs to punish them, this spell will do the trick. No save, 5d6 x 1.5 damage means 7-45 guaranteed damage.
Enervation (L4 to L6). Instead of just doing 1d4 level drain, it now does 1-6, with an attendant drop in saves.
Contagion (L4 to L6). This spell deals a variable amount of damage to an ability score, usually 1d6. Empowering it means you essentially hit the ability score for about 2 more points, reducing the attendant save by an extra 1 point. Not too useful numerically but it could be a nifty psychological trick.
I refrain from analyzing spells of a higher level because now we're getting into territory that will drastically reduce Azalin's high-level strategy. One possible spell he may want to buff (depending on the PCs) is Spell Turning, which goes from L7 to L9 and now reflects 10-15 levels of spells instead of 7-10. It doesn't sound like your PCs will use that many spells against him anyway though.
Candidates for Heightened Spell:
Boost Charm Person to L2 or L3 and make Azalin wear the corresponding Ring of Wizardry. The actual effect in combat is slight, just a +1 or +2 to the DC save, but on top of all the Will save chaos he'll be inflicting on the PCs, this could tip the tide of battle very easily. Better yet, have him pummel an NPC into the ground with this to demonstrate his might.
The benefits of heightening a spell are slight and as you get higher than L3 you're burning spell slots that Azalin can't really spare. None of his L2 spells is particularly worthwhile to Heighten, and his L4 and higher spells are too valuable to swap out for a lower level spell with only a DC bonus.
But ideally, heighten a few Charm Persons to L2, empower a few Magic Missiles or Rays of Enfeeblement to L3, and then make Azalin carry the L2 and L3 Rings into battle to double his spell capacity. (Bearing in mind that they only give him 4 extra spells, not 6. He gets 6 because of Int bonuses and the Rings do NOT double those bonus slots.)
The positive energy phylactery:
And I'm really glad you like my positive-energy phylactery! As you probably know by now, I try to explain "It just happens this way!" effects into more rational rules-based effects. This phylactery effect does 150 damage to a powerful undead that touches it, which is enough to discorporate Azalin (he has 126 hp), but NOT ENOUGH to discorporate Strahd (he has 154 hp).
Bear in mind that this is perfectly in keeping with Roots of Evil! Strahd touches the phylactery and it injures him grievously, enraging him. This mechanic reduces him to 4 hp if he fails his save (or to 79 if he makes his save) which would definitely wipe the smile off his face!
Hope this helps and let me know if there's any other things I can help with.
For the Empower feat, I would suggest using it with a spell that affects a certain number of targets but does NOT have a dice roll associated. From what you tell me, it seems like Empowering a Fireball or Incendiary Cloud will merely make Azalin steamroller the PCs.
Azalin has loads of 1st to 3rd level spell slots to spare. You can even see I sort of ran out of ideas as to what he should prepare for those because they're so legion. Empower uses up a slot two spell levels higher, so give Azalin an empowered 1st level spell, and he'll be able to use the Rings of Wizardry to boost the number of those he can cast.
Possible candidates for Empowered spells:
Ray of Enfeeblement (L1 to L3). Now it does 1d6+5 Str damage times 1.5, for a possible maximum of 17 points of Strength damage (and it lasts 18 minutes unless dispelled, so the PCs' main fighter character is wriggling desperately to get out of his encumbering armor). This may be too heavy handed for some of your PCs.
Flaming Sphere (L2 to L4). Now it does 2d6 x 1.5 damage, for 3-18 points of damage per round. Still not deadly force, though impressive if combined with the Telekinetic Sphere trick (roll the PC around in a TK sphere with a Flaming Sphere for company).
Mirror Image (L2 to L4). Boosts 1d4 +8 images of Azalin to quite an impressively high number of images. (If my maths is correct, 13-18 images. Try hitting him now!) This is ideal because it doesn't directly hurt the PCs but it does make things very difficult for them, contributing to a sense of awe at Azalin's powers.
Ice Storm (L4 to L6). If he really needs to punish them, this spell will do the trick. No save, 5d6 x 1.5 damage means 7-45 guaranteed damage.
Enervation (L4 to L6). Instead of just doing 1d4 level drain, it now does 1-6, with an attendant drop in saves.
Contagion (L4 to L6). This spell deals a variable amount of damage to an ability score, usually 1d6. Empowering it means you essentially hit the ability score for about 2 more points, reducing the attendant save by an extra 1 point. Not too useful numerically but it could be a nifty psychological trick.
I refrain from analyzing spells of a higher level because now we're getting into territory that will drastically reduce Azalin's high-level strategy. One possible spell he may want to buff (depending on the PCs) is Spell Turning, which goes from L7 to L9 and now reflects 10-15 levels of spells instead of 7-10. It doesn't sound like your PCs will use that many spells against him anyway though.
Candidates for Heightened Spell:
Boost Charm Person to L2 or L3 and make Azalin wear the corresponding Ring of Wizardry. The actual effect in combat is slight, just a +1 or +2 to the DC save, but on top of all the Will save chaos he'll be inflicting on the PCs, this could tip the tide of battle very easily. Better yet, have him pummel an NPC into the ground with this to demonstrate his might.
The benefits of heightening a spell are slight and as you get higher than L3 you're burning spell slots that Azalin can't really spare. None of his L2 spells is particularly worthwhile to Heighten, and his L4 and higher spells are too valuable to swap out for a lower level spell with only a DC bonus.
But ideally, heighten a few Charm Persons to L2, empower a few Magic Missiles or Rays of Enfeeblement to L3, and then make Azalin carry the L2 and L3 Rings into battle to double his spell capacity. (Bearing in mind that they only give him 4 extra spells, not 6. He gets 6 because of Int bonuses and the Rings do NOT double those bonus slots.)
The positive energy phylactery:
And I'm really glad you like my positive-energy phylactery! As you probably know by now, I try to explain "It just happens this way!" effects into more rational rules-based effects. This phylactery effect does 150 damage to a powerful undead that touches it, which is enough to discorporate Azalin (he has 126 hp), but NOT ENOUGH to discorporate Strahd (he has 154 hp).
Bear in mind that this is perfectly in keeping with Roots of Evil! Strahd touches the phylactery and it injures him grievously, enraging him. This mechanic reduces him to 4 hp if he fails his save (or to 79 if he makes his save) which would definitely wipe the smile off his face!
Hope this helps and let me know if there's any other things I can help with.
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The Giamarga
- Evil Genius
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Been rereading this excellent thread. Any chance that you will compile it to a Complete Azalin article or pdf?
Did you already convert any of the Complete Necromancer Guides spells? (I love that book. Steven Kurtz at his best. It started my Al'Qadim collection. Did you know that two AQ boxed sets further flesh the backstory of Kazerabet and Sahu? Excellent stuff)
Did you already convert any of the Complete Necromancer Guides spells? (I love that book. Steven Kurtz at his best. It started my Al'Qadim collection. Did you know that two AQ boxed sets further flesh the backstory of Kazerabet and Sahu? Excellent stuff)
Hmm... I suppose it could easily be article-ized for an issue of a Fraternity netbook. I dunno if there's much demand for it but I'll check with the Fraternity staff and see.
I think if I can finish my thread and map of the Black Vault, I might be able to merge that with this, to have a nice article on Azalin and his spells, as well as the Black Vault and his treasures as well.
I think if I can finish my thread and map of the Black Vault, I might be able to merge that with this, to have a nice article on Azalin and his spells, as well as the Black Vault and his treasures as well.
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Joël of the FoS
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It'a as you wish. If you want to write an article in the next QtR, or just a more simple post in the adventure hooks page.
Same thing for the Black Vault
Joël
Same thing for the Black Vault
Joël
"A full set of (game) rules is so massively complicated that the only time they were all bound together in a single volume, they underwent gravitational collapse and became a black hole" (Adams)
Okay, in that case let me try to assemble an article for this. I also have some nice artwork for Azalin (featuring his human face) that I threw together in my sketchpad awhile back. I'll try to scan that and put it in too.
What's the deadline for the new netbook? I will also consult the style guide for netbooks, re: monster/NPC entries as well. In general, I think my writing is free of most grammatical and spelling errors, but typos can and will occur.
What's the deadline for the new netbook? I will also consult the style guide for netbooks, re: monster/NPC entries as well. In general, I think my writing is free of most grammatical and spelling errors, but typos can and will occur.
Hmm! Interesting! I do have Necromancer's Guide for 2nd ed., but I didn't know that Kazerabet had a backstory beyond that. In fact I thought she was just a one-off character until I saw her in Heroes of Horror for 3.5. (She's pretty cool too but they didn't stat her. Check out her elongated pinky fingernail.)The Giamarga wrote:Did you already convert any of the Complete Necromancer Guides spells? (I love that book. Steven Kurtz at his best. It started my Al'Qadim collection. Did you know that two AQ boxed sets further flesh the backstory of Kazerabet and Sahu? Excellent stuff)
I have one single AQ product, and I suspect that was a book that came out in the mid 90s to try to amalgamate the setting. I have a softcover book for Al Qadim. It was a good setting and I like any attempt to make DnD more culturally diverse.
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The Giamarga
- Evil Genius
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She's in HoH ?!? See that's something I wasn't aware of. I'll have to look it up.
Kazerabet features in the great Cities of Bone boxed set, where she rules over a city of zombies. Talib is implied to be an adventurer who completed that mini-campaign and married her. That's also where he got his scimitar. See also this thread on the candlekeep forums.
What do you mean by "amalgamate the setting"? Arabian Adventures is a cross between AQPHB and Player's Guide to AQ and imho captures the feel of the setting pretty well. But the other boxed sets that fleshed it out and the adventures were really amazing. The Complete Sha'ir's Handbook is also great. Check out the section on secret societies. Amazing. I would have liked an article on Ravenloft's secret societies in that format.
Al'Qadim is a great setting. The AQ line is quite small, encompassing only 15 or so publications but each was gorgeous. Boxed sets, maps, golden page-decorations, great art. And the fluff & athmosphere is excellent. While I do like a Sindbad's Voyage and 1000 and 1 Nights feel there is also a darker underlying theme worked into the campaign: Idol-worship, elder races, evil cults. Steve Kurtz captured the style and atmosphere of Clark Ashton Smith's stories very well. The Ruined Kingdoms and Cities of Bone boxed sets, together with the Complete Necromancer's Guide and the great article "Campaign Journal: Scimitars Against the Dark" by Wolfgang Baur from Dragon #198 make for a darker campaign with hidden evils. It is almost a Ravenloft crossover.
BTW Caravans and Corsairs of the Great Sea are available as a free download on wizards.com. Some more material is available on this site. (Monster Compedium and Complete Sha'ir)
Kazerabet features in the great Cities of Bone boxed set, where she rules over a city of zombies. Talib is implied to be an adventurer who completed that mini-campaign and married her. That's also where he got his scimitar. See also this thread on the candlekeep forums.
What do you mean by "amalgamate the setting"? Arabian Adventures is a cross between AQPHB and Player's Guide to AQ and imho captures the feel of the setting pretty well. But the other boxed sets that fleshed it out and the adventures were really amazing. The Complete Sha'ir's Handbook is also great. Check out the section on secret societies. Amazing. I would have liked an article on Ravenloft's secret societies in that format.
Al'Qadim is a great setting. The AQ line is quite small, encompassing only 15 or so publications but each was gorgeous. Boxed sets, maps, golden page-decorations, great art. And the fluff & athmosphere is excellent. While I do like a Sindbad's Voyage and 1000 and 1 Nights feel there is also a darker underlying theme worked into the campaign: Idol-worship, elder races, evil cults. Steve Kurtz captured the style and atmosphere of Clark Ashton Smith's stories very well. The Ruined Kingdoms and Cities of Bone boxed sets, together with the Complete Necromancer's Guide and the great article "Campaign Journal: Scimitars Against the Dark" by Wolfgang Baur from Dragon #198 make for a darker campaign with hidden evils. It is almost a Ravenloft crossover.
BTW Caravans and Corsairs of the Great Sea are available as a free download on wizards.com. Some more material is available on this site. (Monster Compedium and Complete Sha'ir)
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The Giamarga
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- Joined: Wed Jan 19, 2005 7:11 pm
- Location: wandering
I've posted this in the QtR thread but nobody seemed to notice. I'll ask it here, at risk of redundancy.
I've made a few changes to Azalin's feats, and I've basically reconstructed his skill points from the ground up (taking into account his Int bonuses with age and levels, no less!). I'd love to share my take on Azalin's stats with others in the QtR article, but I'm worried whether that would infringe copyrights.
Should I leave him out or put him in?
I'm going to try to include my various musings on Azalin in this article. If time allows, I'll try including a reworked Grand Conjunction sequence and as much of the Black Vault as I can squeeze in. There may be a mention of the time-travelling disruption I suggested in my "Time of Unparalleled (Universes) Darkness" a few months back.
I've made a few changes to Azalin's feats, and I've basically reconstructed his skill points from the ground up (taking into account his Int bonuses with age and levels, no less!). I'd love to share my take on Azalin's stats with others in the QtR article, but I'm worried whether that would infringe copyrights.
Should I leave him out or put him in?
I'm going to try to include my various musings on Azalin in this article. If time allows, I'll try including a reworked Grand Conjunction sequence and as much of the Black Vault as I can squeeze in. There may be a mention of the time-travelling disruption I suggested in my "Time of Unparalleled (Universes) Darkness" a few months back.