Tuesday, June 28, 2022

Morrigan for the Frost Spire adventure

 Last week I reviewed the very very good adventure The Frost Spire by Jacob Hurst.



As pointed out in the review, for some reason the module doesn't include statistics for the final encounter, so I thought, why not make them?

As I wrote in the review, the quickest way is to generate a high level elf with the official OSE online tools, so let's start with that.  Considering all there is to the scenario (which is for a level 3 group), I have no problem shooting for a level 10 elf. Of course a less powerful version might be viable as well, but I really would not go below level 6. 

Here's what I got:

Level 10 Elf (NPC)

Armour Class 2 [17] (plate mail + ring)

Hit Points 36

Attacks 1 × crossbow (1d6) or 1 × spell

THAC0 12 [+7]

Movement Rate 60' (20')

Saves D6 W7 P8 B8 S8

Alignment Lawful

STR 16 INT 9 WIS 10

DEX 10 CON 7 CHA 10

Spells

read magic, shield, floating disc, mirror image, esp, mirror image, fly, protection from evil 10’ radius (mu), invisibility 10’ radius, dimension door, growth of plants, wall of fire, wall of stone, transmute rock to mud (transmute mud to rock)

Items

Broom of Flying, Potion of Heroism, Ring of Protection +1, Spell scroll (protection from evil 10’ radius (c), cure disease (cause disease), find traps, growth of animal, create water) , Crossbow bolts +1 (9)

Is that ok? Well I guess it could work if in a hurry, but this is not the case here, so I'll try and make it more in tune with the scenario.

That STR 16 doesn't really seem to match with the art in the adventure; and Morrigan's job makes me want to change the Alignment to Neutral.

I don't like the magic items I got, so I'll try and put some more frost-themed stuff here and there. Ok I like the flying broom, as it is a very convenient means of traveling to and from the spire, and offers a great option for retreat in case of hostile adventurers, so I'll leave it there.

A quick search on the OSE SRD for "cold", "ice" and "frost" gives me two things worth adding: a wand of cold and the wall of ice spell.

Some other cold-themed items? I have a bunch in this post with Diablo-inspired magic items: the Ravenfrost ring seems the right fix, as well as the Skin of the Viper Magi armor.

So here's the edited girl:

Morrigan - Level 10 Elf 

Armour Class 5 [14] (leather armour +2)

Hit Points 34

Attacks 1 × short sword (1d6+2, +1 from STR) or 1 × spell

Base THAC0 12 [+7], 9 [+10] with short sword +2 and +1 from STR

Movement Rate 60' (20')

Saves D6 W7 P8 B8 S8 (+2 to all from armour; +1 vs spells from WIS)

Alignment Neutral

STR 13 INT 9 WIS 14

DEX 10 CON 7 CHA 16

Spells

read magic, shield, floating disc, mirror image, esp, mirror image, fly, protection from evil 10’ radius (mu), invisibility 10’ radius, dimension door, growth of plants, wall of ice, wall of stone, transmute rock to mud (transmute mud to rock)

Magic Items

    • Broom of Flying
    • Short sword +2, Charm Person 3 times a week
    • Wand of cold (7 charges left)
    • Skin of the Viper Magi (leather armour +2, +2 to saves vs spells)
    • Ravenfrost ring (Cold damage heals the wearer by the same amount, instead of harming them. Cold spells and effects never affect the wearer in any negative way)

Strategy

Well the first thing to do to run the encounter decently is to carefully read the page about Morrigan and prepare to defend her position and her job with discussion. If conversation fails to end the encounter, it's time smash the PCs.

With this set up, I can see Morrigan attempting various strategies if conversation with the PCs turns to violence. She can Charm with her sword; turn invisible; dimension door to safety; or fly out of the room and lock the party inside inside with a wall spell, then gather reinforcements such as the harpies or the bear. Or she could just mirror image and then hack at the group with her sword or freeze them to death with the wand.

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Into OSR? Check my other OSR posts and reviews!

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