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| Azarr Kul |
Here's the full document.
Let's jump in!
Setting Up Chapter 5
There are two main criticisms I've seen of this chapter.
The first is, why didn't Azarr Kul summon the devils ahead of time to help bolster his forces? And why would he stay behind? The easy solution to this is to have the Battle of Brindol serve as part of the ritual - a massive blood sacrifice to Tiamat for power.
The second is that it kind of feels like it comes out of nowhere! The Battle of Brindol is built up as this huge, inevitable, world-shaking event throughout the entire campaign, and then chapter 5 is... also there. The best solution to this is to seed clues about what's going on there throughout the campaign! See this advice and, as always, the handbook (esp. the "remixing RHoD" post).
It's up to you how early and frequent you want this to be - just keep in mind that the earlier and more frequently you foreshadow things, the more likely the PCs will head here early! Maybe that's okay - maybe the Dragons are away, and most of the tougher foes are currently replaced by normal RH soldiers that haven't moved out yet. A lower level party will really struggle against Azarr Kul, however, and I think that should remain true - in that case, treat this as a raid where the PCs want to accomplish some lesser goals without waking the master!
Conversion Details
While there are a ton of awesome ideas for restructuring this dungeon in the Handbook, this post will be a straight conversion (with small tweaks/advice) for folks that want to run things as is. We'll be doing more of a remake next time!
The Dragon Fight is the one that I think warrants specifically talking about. In this version, I think this fight should be Severe to set the tone. If you want a single awesome dragon, make Tyrgarun an Adult! If other dragons survived and you want them here too, you can give him the Weak template and add them and/or some Abishai to fill out the encounter. Or if 1 dragon survived and you have a group of 5, just include both with no changes! I'd leave Abithriax out of this one unless you have a huge party, he probably hasn't had time to fly back yet.
Inside, most fights are straight conversions, not much to say outside of the specific monster conversions. My main suggestion is to run things as reactively as possible since the individual fights are fairly easy! Guards should run for help, patrols should retreat and set ambushes - the main challenge for the party will be to get through without waking the proverbial hornets nest.
New Monsters
Blue Abishai are tricksy! They have good options for subtelty (deception, illusory disguise) and outright aggression (fear spell, intimidation, tear wound), and can adapt to the situation! I kept them at level 6 because I wanted spindly little minion nerds, but I made a level 8 version as well if you want them to be slightly more lore-appropriate (just swap them out 2-for-1).
Blackspawn Raiders have a few little tricks, but are overall bruisers who hit hard and die fast. They have Bull Rush to close the distance (and show off their fancy horns), and the one-two punch of Intimidating Strike and Shatter Defenses once they close the distance. If they can line up 2 or more PCs, they might use their Breath Attack too!
Doom Hand Warpriests can both support others pretty well (with bless, victory cry, and heals) and be relatively scary in melee, especially compared to all the other lower level foes the PCs will face. Granted, PCs should have ACs ranging from 26 to 31, so the +18 to hit isn't huge, but smites will do lots of damage on a hit and a ton on a crit (especially with the greatpicks).
High Wyrmlord Azarr Kul is an absolute beast! Same basic formula as the Warpriests, but Even More. He gets Temp HP on every hit, does an extra 6d8 damage on 5 strikes with his smite, and will be critting fairly frequently with a +24 to hit (especially against squishies). Plus, he can self-buff a ton, call down some AoEs, keep 1 ally alive with Breath of Life (very potent with a Warcaster), and even turn into a Dragon! I thought about giving him reactive strike, but that too mean paired with Replenishment of War. Very much only limited by actions haha, but a ton of options given that.
The Aspect of Tiamat has two versions, but they're the same other than math: Level 13 and Level 14. The main reason is my upcoming Part 5B, where I remake Chapter 5 and have the PCs fight Azarr Kul & co and then 1-3 rounds later fight the Level 13 version, but it's also great for smaller parties! Or if you just think it's lame to have the PCs flee and come back later. This way, you can run this section however you want!
I think this will make a pretty fun boss to fight! I gave it a few thematic spells, stole some ideas from the Hydra (giving it several Reactive Strikes and the Focused Assault ability and adding Multi-Headed), and gave it an always-on breath weapon (unless the PCs cut off some heads).
Treasure Conversions
This section probably would've been easier if I just ignored what was written and picked items based on the PF2 treasure guidelines, but instead I tried to match things as closely as I could while still fitting within those guidelines.
The most important note is that, including Jarmaath's Gifts (see below), the PCs can easily walk away from this dungeon with 2 levels worth of treasure! This is largely intentional - this is the finale of the adventure, and should feel epic and rewarding.
Jarmaath's Gifts
It's totally up to you whether you want to give these before or after The Fane. If you do so before, your players get to immediately go play with all their cool toys! On the other hand, I think it narratively makes more sense after - Jarmaath would likely have to go find the perfect gift for each PC, and in theory stopping the ritual is rather time sensitive - but if you aren't continuing the campaign afterwards, it might be a bit underwhelming to get these cool items and then... never use them haha. I personally prefer after if the campaign is continuing, or if the Aspect of Tiamat is released but not defeated and the PCs flee, in which case Jarmaath can have the items teleported to them or something to arm them up for the final fight!
Regardless, these items should be both awesome and personalized! I'm therefore not going to decide them for you, though here are some ideas! All levels 10-12, because I assume these are going to be part of the level 10 or 11 treasure. You can always combine things as well (e.g. cool armor and a +2 rune, 2 cool weapon runes, etc.), especially if they are lower level and you give other folks higher level stuff (maybe use GP value to balance them against each other).
- Runes! Ideally, these should look sick as fuck - think
- +2 weapon rune is Level 10, Greater Striking is Level 12
- Armor +2 is 11!
- Impactful weapon rune (10) - force damage is great! Or Holy (11) if they're about to head to the Fane. Fearsome is 12 if you want a less damage-y route!
- Greater Invisibility armor rune (10), or Menacing (10)
- Staffs for your mages! The school staffs (e.g. evocation) are level 10, the elemental staffs (e.g. fire) are level 12, as are a bunch of instruments (like the bagpipes of war) and the Verdant Staff for druid types - pick whatever fits your mages best!
- Or a Ring of Wizardry Type III! (lv. 12) This item is crazy, geeze. If you really know your players you could do a specialist wand (like a Wand of Teeming Ghosts), but I feel like these are generally on the weak side bc of how damage scales.
- Special Material Weapons!
- Remember, low-grade weapons (likely silver in this adventure) can only hold runes of up to 8th level! So +2 runes/etc. will have to be on Standard grade weapons.
- Silver (2, low-grade, or 10, standard grade) is great if you give these out beforehand haha, especially
- Mithral (11, standard grade) from the Hammerfist Holds!
- Adamantine (11, standard grade) - possibly also Dwarf made?
- Mithral Armor (12) for the overburdened armor user! (makes it 1 bulk lighter)
- Cool shields! A Moderate Sturdy Shield is 10, or you could do a Floating Shield (11) for someone who doesn't shield block a lot or a Guardian Shield (11) for someone who wants to protect their friends! You can throw a fortifying rune to make shield blocking better as well.
- Breastplate of Command (10) for your goody two shoes paladins! Maybe with a +2 rune? Or Bastion of the Inheritor (12) for a spicier option.
- Spellhearts! Lots of these get cool at level 12 (e.g. the five-feathered wreath)
- Greater Boots of Elvenkind (11) for fancy feat rogues could even be a gift from the Tiri Kitor!
- Daredevil Boots (10) and Boots of Freerunning (11, moderate) are similar if the PCs didn't particularly ally with the elves
- Autumn's Embrace (12) is another potential elf gift! Probably only to someone druid-y.
- Greater Cloak of Elvenkind (12) for sneaky sneaks! (could be a gift as well)
- Greater Skeleton Key (11) for thievery experts
- Greater Goggles of the Night (11) for anyone without darkvision, especially if it's been really bothering them haha
- Oathbow (11) for your hunters
- A Demon Mask (10) for your spooky scaries!
- The Master Magus Ring (11) seems incredibly sick
- Doubling Rings (11 for Greater) for a 2-weapon fighter
- Greater Holy Prayer Beads (11) are solid for divine casters (esp. now that you can swap items as 1 action, instead of needing to stow then draw)
- Ring of Climbing (12) just, gives you a climb speed? Crazy!
That's... it! We did it! The whole adventure is converted! Not gonna lie, it feels pretty awesome to "finish" this conversion after more than 3 years. That being said, we ain't done yet! Tune in next time for my take on a remixed Chapter 5, and I'm sure I'll be posting more Sandbox/Side Quest elements as my group makes their way through the Vale. See y'all then!
Next: 5B - Avernus Rising
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