Fortresses

[tukkek]

Stygian fortress

A Haunt #33 with a particular Fight Mode. The fortress is manned by all sorts of wizard scholars, performing all sorts of military-oriented experiments and as such they are constantly under attack by:

• Experiments that have gone rogue (aberrations, elementals, magical beasts, ooze)
• Invaders trying to steal their findings or neutralize a very-dangerous potential threats (humanoids, monstrous humanoids, dragons, outsiders)

The wizards, used to constant strife due to the nature of their experiments, have numerous Construct allies at their immediate disposal. Every encounter is one category (invaders or experiments) attacking the Fortress while wizards and constructs defend. The player may choose a side: if he helps defend, that's a normal Haunt fight. If he helps attack, the Haunt is destroyed and all the treasure is a trove of epic-tier magical items. Invaders need to be alignment-compatible to be working together while experiments needn't.

Unlike most Haunts, this should always be an Epic-level encounter. One approach to balance would be to ensure an EL high enough above the party's that even though the EL is the same for both attacker and defender (before the party is added), the chance for death is still very much real - using EL20 as a static baseline for the party could be a good start.

As a Branch (Stygian), use only the defenders (wizards and constructs). As a Haunt, spawn only rogue experiments.

[tukkek]

Here are a couple of battle-maps for inspiration that have enough area for internal-only (experiment) and inside/outside (invader) fight setups:

• https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e1/da/74/e1da74405afeeaefee8376d88c34d4a2.png
• https://prints.mikeschley.com/img/s/v-3/p2665163576-4.jpg

The map may have a well-defined wall section that, during invasions would be degraged procedurally with something like 10% of one-tile openings and at least one larger opening (2d4 tiles?) per major segment, to allow invaders to enter the keep.

[tukkek]

Fortress of grace

Similar to the Stygian Fortress #316 but instead manned by psions, whose meditations attract Demons and the Undead to siege them periodically.

Replacing construct minions, the psions could have monk guards instead. As the game doesn't features psyonics at this point, might instead just use either certain types of Sorcerers and psyonics-friendly monsters:

• https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Psionic_creatures
• https://www.d20srd.org/indexes/psionicMonsters.htm

[tukkek]

Fortress of light: similar but with Demons and Devils attacking clerics and paladins.

Fortress of darkness: pretty much the inverse, Celestials attacking evil clerics and warrior/rogue-type muscle.

[tukkek]

Fortress of potential: manned by druid and conjurers with animal allies, attacked by Demons.

Abyssal fortress: manned by cultists and demons, attacked by celestials.

Abyssal fortress: manned by cultists and demons, attacked by celestials.

Hellish fortress: manned by cultists and devils, attacked by celestials.

Fortress of death: manned by necromancers and undead, attacked by celestials.

[tukkek]

Dwarf fortress: manned by dwarves and attacked by orcs and goblinoids. Vice-versa too (Orc fortress)?

[tukkek]

Instead of Haunts, this could make more sense as a new type of Location that takes a Haunt and uses it as the defense force, defining an attack force of its own.

Even better, take a Branch of defenders and a Branch of attackers. This opens the possiblity of generating Fortresses procedurally but that doesn't sound like it would work as well as themed ones though.

[tukkek]

Corrupted laboratory/construct, proposed branches #254 could also be attacked by Celestials.