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Suggestions for Hosadus

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
goobulon
Sep 21, 2006 19:01:55 Hey all. As you probably know, I'm working on a 3E War of the Desert Nomads campaign. I just read through the archives to see what other people have done with Hosadus and it's full of great suggestions.

I'm about to convert Hosadus and Alrethus for 3E. I checked out Ray Allen's conversions, but those seem a bit on the low side for me, maybe more along the lines of X4 and X5. I'm considering putting Hosadus and Alrethus at levels 17 and 14, respectively. Anyone have any opinions on that?
#2
maddog
Sep 21, 2006 20:43:18
Hey all. As you probably know, I'm working on a 3E War of the Desert Nomads campaign. I just read through the archives to see what other people have done with Hosadus and it's full of great suggestions.

I'm about to convert Hosadus and Alrethus for 3E. I checked out Ray Allen's conversions, but those seem a bit on the low side for me, maybe more along the lines of X4 and X5. I'm considering putting Hosadus and Alrethus at levels 17 and 14, respectively. Anyone have any opinions on that?

Goobulon,

You're right. When I converted the Master and Alrethus I was going to run x4/x5. Also, I didn't convert them into complete 35e rules. At the time we were running a d20 type system but not 35e. You may want to look at X10 for stats and ideas.

If you have an outline of events, you should post it. I would like to read it.

--Ray.
#3
agathokles
Sep 22, 2006 4:56:49
I'm considering putting Hosadus and Alrethus at levels 17 and 14, respectively. Anyone have any opinions on that?

Consider that these are the most powerful people in Hule -- a large and powerful nation -- with magics enough to power Juggernauts and flying barges. In X4, X5 and X10, they were described as enemies that could be faced by Expert adventurers, but it would be more realistic to consider them 30th+ level characters in OD&D terms, or whatever is the as-near-to-immortal-as-possible level in your version (i.e., on par with Thincol, Tylion, Eriadna, Barimoor and the various Immortal candidates).

Also, while Alrethus is clearly "just" a very powerful wizard, Hosadus always seems to have backups -- in X5 he was a sort of mummy who magic jarred into a powerful human body, in X10 he was almost immortal, and a special event was required to destroy him. James Mishler came up with a nice story of Hosadus, which makes him a frighteningly powerful creature, while the lesser versions of X5 and X10 become simply "avatars".
#4
Cthulhudrew
Sep 24, 2006 3:35:26 What levels are the PCs supposed to be when/if they actually confront the Master and Alrethus? That would be a good gauge for figuring out what levels to make them. If they are supposed to be a moderate challenge for them, make them at/around the same levels as the PCs. If a really tough encounter, a couple of levels higher, with some companions (such as the Master's tigers). If they are supposed to be nigh-unbeatable, an epic level confrontation, then make them several levels higher (a good example of this is Kyuss in the Age of Worms AP in Dungeon recently- he was beatable, but only if the PCs were very smart, had acquired several powerful items along the way, and used everything at their disposal to take him down).
#5
goobulon
Sep 25, 2006 16:01:21 These are all great ideas, and pretty much confirm what I was already thinking.

In X10, Hosadus is, for all intents and purposes, invincible. Statting him out isn't necessary as such, but is a good excercise for me, as it lets me know what he can throw at them. And it's fun. ;)

I'm running this campaign without Wrath of the Immortals, leaving that whole bru-ha-ha for another time when I have even more energy.

However, I'm going with the twist that the Master doesn't know exactly why or how the Crystal Dagger is a danger to him. Bozgodan/Loki has only heard through the Immortal grapevine that the Dagger can neutralize the Soul Gem of Thanatos. Thanatos isn't talking (perhaps miffed that Loki's using HIS artifact), and Asterius and Halav are too smart to leak the secret. So, in desparation Loki encourages Hosadus to get the Dagger himself and keep it out of the way.

The characters will all be around level 10, so I'm going to stary with Alrethus at level 14. I want him to be lethal but not unbeatable. I'm hoping that I can work it out that they have their showdown with Alrethus at the end of the epic battle vs. the Legion of Doom. (does anyone else think of the 1977 Philadelphia Flyers when they say that?)

I love the idea of Missionaries of the Master preceding the invasion. The missionaries are going to be present in every major continental city for at least a year before the invasion. The missionaries will rail against the capriciousness of Darokin's merchants, appealing to the common people to fight for a new world in which all are equal (radical leftists!). That rhetoric will make the Master very popular in the streets of Karameikos, Thyatis, Ylaruam, and Soderfjord; bringing those nations to the side of Darokin will be slightly more difficult unless the PCs can counteract the effect of the Missionaries.

In Akesoli, the Missionaries will have helped get a group of infiltrators into the city before the attack. The PCs will witness that but not understand it--I don't want them to be able to prevent the fall of Akesoli for dramatic reasons. What's that, you might ask? Well, the campaign starts with them deciding to take a year or two break from adventuring, and setting up house on a beautiful lakeside town in Darokin...

There's so much more motivation when you get to watch your own Lake House burn down...

#6
goobulon
Sep 29, 2006 14:04:16 Okay, I'm hijacking my own thread. The 3E PHB is driving me crazy. Which book should I get for a decent list of feats? Preferably non-combat feats, that is.
#7
havard
Sep 29, 2006 17:26:53
Okay, I'm hijacking my own thread. The 3E PHB is driving me crazy. Which book should I get for a decent list of feats? Preferably non-combat feats, that is.

Whats wrong with the 3E one? I just stick to Core Rules only myself.

Havard
#8
goobulon
Sep 29, 2006 17:43:00 I'm just spoiled by the Star Wars d20, I guess. I'm used to having boatloads of non-combat feats that give bonuses to skills or somesuch.

It was getting frustrating setting up 10th level NPCs and running out of non-combat feats to give them. Of course, I suppose I could just use feats from ANY d20 book I have. That is the point of the system, right?
#9
havard
Sep 29, 2006 17:47:06
I'm just spoiled by the Star Wars d20, I guess. I'm used to having boatloads of non-combat feats that give bonuses to skills or somesuch.

It was getting frustrating setting up 10th level NPCs and running out of non-combat feats to give them. Of course, I suppose I could just use feats from ANY d20 book I have. That is the point of the system, right?

When you said 3E, did you mean 3.0? The 3.5 PHB has more than the 3.0 one had IIRC. Nobody choses any of them anyway IMC... :P

Håvard
#10
maddog
Sep 30, 2006 8:45:30
The 3E PHB is driving me crazy.

When the real books start to bother me, I goto the SRD. Try either.....

http://www.d20srd.org/
http://geocities.com/sovelior/srd/

.....both are good sites.

--Ray.
#11
Cthulhudrew
Sep 30, 2006 9:01:35 For making PCs, I tend to use Heroforge 4.04 these days. It really helps with things like Feat selection in particular (as you get a general overview of what the feat is by mouseover, and it will automatically calculate what your character meets the prereqs for, so you don't waste time that way). It's got a lot of the sources in it already, too, so you've got a lot in one place.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 goobulon Sep 21, 2006 19:01:55	Hey all. As you probably know, I'm working on a 3E War of the Desert Nomads campaign. I just read through the archives to see what other people have done with Hosadus and it's full of great suggestions. I'm about to convert Hosadus and Alrethus for 3E. I checked out Ray Allen's conversions, but those seem a bit on the low side for me, maybe more along the lines of X4 and X5. I'm considering putting Hosadus and Alrethus at levels 17 and 14, respectively. Anyone have any opinions on that?
#2 maddog Sep 21, 2006 20:43:18	Hey all. As you probably know, I'm working on a 3E War of the Desert Nomads campaign. I just read through the archives to see what other people have done with Hosadus and it's full of great suggestions. I'm about to convert Hosadus and Alrethus for 3E. I checked out Ray Allen's conversions, but those seem a bit on the low side for me, maybe more along the lines of X4 and X5. I'm considering putting Hosadus and Alrethus at levels 17 and 14, respectively. Anyone have any opinions on that? Goobulon, You're right. When I converted the Master and Alrethus I was going to run x4/x5. Also, I didn't convert them into complete 35e rules. At the time we were running a d20 type system but not 35e. You may want to look at X10 for stats and ideas. If you have an outline of events, you should post it. I would like to read it. --Ray.
#3 agathokles Sep 22, 2006 4:56:49	I'm considering putting Hosadus and Alrethus at levels 17 and 14, respectively. Anyone have any opinions on that? Consider that these are the most powerful people in Hule -- a large and powerful nation -- with magics enough to power Juggernauts and flying barges. In X4, X5 and X10, they were described as enemies that could be faced by Expert adventurers, but it would be more realistic to consider them 30th+ level characters in OD&D terms, or whatever is the as-near-to-immortal-as-possible level in your version (i.e., on par with Thincol, Tylion, Eriadna, Barimoor and the various Immortal candidates). Also, while Alrethus is clearly "just" a very powerful wizard, Hosadus always seems to have backups -- in X5 he was a sort of mummy who magic jarred into a powerful human body, in X10 he was almost immortal, and a special event was required to destroy him. James Mishler came up with a nice story of Hosadus, which makes him a frighteningly powerful creature, while the lesser versions of X5 and X10 become simply "avatars".
#4 Cthulhudrew Sep 24, 2006 3:35:26	What levels are the PCs supposed to be when/if they actually confront the Master and Alrethus? That would be a good gauge for figuring out what levels to make them. If they are supposed to be a moderate challenge for them, make them at/around the same levels as the PCs. If a really tough encounter, a couple of levels higher, with some companions (such as the Master's tigers). If they are supposed to be nigh-unbeatable, an epic level confrontation, then make them several levels higher (a good example of this is Kyuss in the Age of Worms AP in Dungeon recently- he was beatable, but only if the PCs were very smart, had acquired several powerful items along the way, and used everything at their disposal to take him down).
#5 goobulon Sep 25, 2006 16:01:21	These are all great ideas, and pretty much confirm what I was already thinking. In X10, Hosadus is, for all intents and purposes, invincible. Statting him out isn't necessary as such, but is a good excercise for me, as it lets me know what he can throw at them. And it's fun. ;) I'm running this campaign without Wrath of the Immortals, leaving that whole bru-ha-ha for another time when I have even more energy. However, I'm going with the twist that the Master doesn't know exactly why or how the Crystal Dagger is a danger to him. Bozgodan/Loki has only heard through the Immortal grapevine that the Dagger can neutralize the Soul Gem of Thanatos. Thanatos isn't talking (perhaps miffed that Loki's using HIS artifact), and Asterius and Halav are too smart to leak the secret. So, in desparation Loki encourages Hosadus to get the Dagger himself and keep it out of the way. The characters will all be around level 10, so I'm going to stary with Alrethus at level 14. I want him to be lethal but not unbeatable. I'm hoping that I can work it out that they have their showdown with Alrethus at the end of the epic battle vs. the Legion of Doom. (does anyone else think of the 1977 Philadelphia Flyers when they say that?) I love the idea of Missionaries of the Master preceding the invasion. The missionaries are going to be present in every major continental city for at least a year before the invasion. The missionaries will rail against the capriciousness of Darokin's merchants, appealing to the common people to fight for a new world in which all are equal (radical leftists!). That rhetoric will make the Master very popular in the streets of Karameikos, Thyatis, Ylaruam, and Soderfjord; bringing those nations to the side of Darokin will be slightly more difficult unless the PCs can counteract the effect of the Missionaries. In Akesoli, the Missionaries will have helped get a group of infiltrators into the city before the attack. The PCs will witness that but not understand it--I don't want them to be able to prevent the fall of Akesoli for dramatic reasons. What's that, you might ask? Well, the campaign starts with them deciding to take a year or two break from adventuring, and setting up house on a beautiful lakeside town in Darokin... There's so much more motivation when you get to watch your own Lake House burn down...
#6 goobulon Sep 29, 2006 14:04:16	Okay, I'm hijacking my own thread. The 3E PHB is driving me crazy. Which book should I get for a decent list of feats? Preferably non-combat feats, that is.
#7 havard Sep 29, 2006 17:26:53	Okay, I'm hijacking my own thread. The 3E PHB is driving me crazy. Which book should I get for a decent list of feats? Preferably non-combat feats, that is. Whats wrong with the 3E one? I just stick to Core Rules only myself. Havard
#8 goobulon Sep 29, 2006 17:43:00	I'm just spoiled by the Star Wars d20, I guess. I'm used to having boatloads of non-combat feats that give bonuses to skills or somesuch. It was getting frustrating setting up 10th level NPCs and running out of non-combat feats to give them. Of course, I suppose I could just use feats from ANY d20 book I have. That is the point of the system, right?
#9 havard Sep 29, 2006 17:47:06	I'm just spoiled by the Star Wars d20, I guess. I'm used to having boatloads of non-combat feats that give bonuses to skills or somesuch. It was getting frustrating setting up 10th level NPCs and running out of non-combat feats to give them. Of course, I suppose I could just use feats from ANY d20 book I have. That is the point of the system, right? When you said 3E, did you mean 3.0? The 3.5 PHB has more than the 3.0 one had IIRC. Nobody choses any of them anyway IMC... :P Håvard
#10 maddog Sep 30, 2006 8:45:30	The 3E PHB is driving me crazy. When the real books start to bother me, I goto the SRD. Try either..... http://www.d20srd.org/ http://geocities.com/sovelior/srd/ .....both are good sites. --Ray.
#11 Cthulhudrew Sep 30, 2006 9:01:35	For making PCs, I tend to use Heroforge 4.04 these days. It really helps with things like Feat selection in particular (as you get a general overview of what the feat is by mouseover, and it will automatically calculate what your character meets the prereqs for, so you don't waste time that way). It's got a lot of the sources in it already, too, so you've got a lot in one place.