I'm wrapping up my first campaign in Pathfinder(using the Beginner Box rule book). The characters in question are fairly basic(Rogue, Wizard, Cleric) and a misconception early on has caused them to be a little more powerful than they might have otherwise been(my roommate swore he read that you got an ability point every level, instead of every 4th(?)). We haven't been worrying about encumbrance either(somehow, without the feat, our cleric is in heavy armor and we really haven't been caring too much because Dwarf). We've been Monty Hauling the rewards a little bit, so everyone as of this point is fairly well decked out in loot(mostly because we intend to have an event cause the party to die or retire at level 5 after we each wrap up our campaigns*). So basically, what I'm saying is that our 3 man party is more or less a 4 man party for calculating APL.
Anyway, as I said, I'm finishing up my campaign arc** and would love some feedback from someone more experienced on what I'm planning to do for the final encounter.
For a background, read below. Here's how the final encounter plays out:
She's summoning a Demon Lord into the shrine(Abraxus, iirc), normally protected from demonic intrusion, Gorum cannot step in to handle it himself now that the ritual is nigh complete, lest the veil be torn, allowing the demon in and destroying the shrine in the ensuing battle, so the adventurers have to handle it. So the demon lord turns his agent into a powerful demon and the final battle begins.
Now, first of all, the demon she becomes is one of these. Then Abraxus reaches forth with enough power to paralyze the party(15 will save to only be staggered) and the party plays out a hopeless battle showcasing the demon's abilities(and using up one or two of the higher spells it has). The fight draws to a point where the cleric is being crushed in the demon's fist. Even if they all will save, the APL is going to be 5 against a CR of 10. Something tells me there's no hope.
At this point, just as the cleric is losing consciousness, he hears a voice within his mind and recognizes it immediately. Gorum has not abandoned him. The god explains that while the help he can give is limited to avoid tearing the veil, he will do what he can. The cleric is imbued with a burst of strength, allowing him to break free from the hold of the demon. Gorum then commands him to channel energy, reviving fallen comrades and fully healing all wounds while also knocking back the demon.
Then dozens of ghostly forms appear, fallen heroes that died in the name of Gorum. Incorporeal as they are, they are unable to aid the heroes physically, but they do provide their aid. They begin to sing the Battle Hymn of Gorum, a song comprised of four interwoven battle songs that function as 4 overlapping bard songs. This is the part I'm curious about. How much will the following affect the challenge rating of the encounter? The first three are static(and based on specific bard songs), the fourth is one I'm cobbling together from a number of feats and thus has a lot of leeway to change around:
Quote:
-Gorum’s Song of Courage
+4 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects and a +4 competence bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls.
+4 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects and a +4 competence bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls.
Quote:
-Gorum’s Song of Greatness
A creature inspired with greatness gains 2 bonus Hit Dice (d10s), the commensurate number of temporary hit points (apply the target's Constitution modifier, if any, to these bonus Hit Dice), a +2 competence bonus on attack rolls, and a +1 competence bonus on Fortitude saves.
A creature inspired with greatness gains 2 bonus Hit Dice (d10s), the commensurate number of temporary hit points (apply the target's Constitution modifier, if any, to these bonus Hit Dice), a +2 competence bonus on attack rolls, and a +1 competence bonus on Fortitude saves.
Quote:
-Gorum’s Song of Heroism
Inspired creatures gain a +4 morale bonus on saving throws and a +4 dodge bonus to AC.
Inspired creatures gain a +4 morale bonus on saving throws and a +4 dodge bonus to AC.
Quote:
-Gorum’s Song of Wrath
All: Symbols of Gorum’s Might begin to glow with the fire of his fury. Any attacks made with a longsword deal an additional 1d4 damage and ignore DR. This damage is not modified by a critical. Any divine spells cast by a worshipper of Gorum do not consume a charge and you may make any rolls required for them twice then choose the better of the two rolls for the effects.
Choose one of the following effects, must have an ability score of 15 or greater.
Strength/Constitution Focused – You find yourself bolstered by Gorum’s glorious rage. Your attacks strike with his vengeance and you ignore blows that would wound weaker individuals. All successful attacks initiate critical threat. All incoming damage reduced by 3.
Dexterity Focused – Gorum’s righteous temper swiftens your movements and guides your strikes. You may make two move actions per round. All successful attacks find vital spots, allowing you to bypass any damage reduction your foe may possess. Movement actions do not provoke attacks of opportunity.
Intellect/Wisdom Focused – Gorum’s anger brings back the memories of a thousand battles, allowing you to cater your attacks to the foe before you. You are aware of all magical immunities and resistances of the creature you face. All successful spells ignore ½ of any resistance native to the foe. Any successful cast of a spell the enemy lacks resistance to deals a critical strike, dealing 1.5x normal damage. Beneficial spells and buffs increase in magnitude, doubling their effect or duration where appropriate.
All: Symbols of Gorum’s Might begin to glow with the fire of his fury. Any attacks made with a longsword deal an additional 1d4 damage and ignore DR. This damage is not modified by a critical. Any divine spells cast by a worshipper of Gorum do not consume a charge and you may make any rolls required for them twice then choose the better of the two rolls for the effects.
Choose one of the following effects, must have an ability score of 15 or greater.
Strength/Constitution Focused – You find yourself bolstered by Gorum’s glorious rage. Your attacks strike with his vengeance and you ignore blows that would wound weaker individuals. All successful attacks initiate critical threat. All incoming damage reduced by 3.
Dexterity Focused – Gorum’s righteous temper swiftens your movements and guides your strikes. You may make two move actions per round. All successful attacks find vital spots, allowing you to bypass any damage reduction your foe may possess. Movement actions do not provoke attacks of opportunity.
Intellect/Wisdom Focused – Gorum’s anger brings back the memories of a thousand battles, allowing you to cater your attacks to the foe before you. You are aware of all magical immunities and resistances of the creature you face. All successful spells ignore ½ of any resistance native to the foe. Any successful cast of a spell the enemy lacks resistance to deals a critical strike, dealing 1.5x normal damage. Beneficial spells and buffs increase in magnitude, doubling their effect or duration where appropriate.
I'm kinda thinking of making the first three available at the start of the fight proper and the fourth come into play if the party seems to be having trouble.
So, veteran GMs, what say you? Overcompensation for the CR disparity? Too little? Also, does the event sound more corny than epic? And would playing a certain song from Skyrim during the fight be a little much?
*We take turns GMing the characters because they're short term "learn the system a bit" kind of characters.
**Adventure 1: Explore haunted house for wealthy heiress, inadvertently release demon, heiress turns out to be former owner's apprentice and releasing the demon was the goal.
Adventure 2: Try to secure artifact before either a cult tied to heiress or an army of hobgoblins opposed to the cult manages to find it. End up delivering artifact right into the hands of the heiress.
Adventure 3: Heiress is using artifact in plot to despoil a shrine to Gorum, god of battle(and also the Cleric's patron deity). Adventurers have to uncover the plot after some taunting by her and arrive during the final stages of the ritual.
Edited, Dec 30th 2011 1:54am by Poldaran
