A horrible storm hits and the party seeks shelter for the night. The rain eventually stops but the wind keeps blowing, as if by magic. When the party eventually comes out of their shelter they will be confronted by an air elemental (the CR appropriate to the party, or slightly higher). The storm was caused by a gateway opening to the Elemental Plane of Air and now the elemental is staying in the area hoping that the gateway will open again. The party can slay the elemental or attempt to find the wizard that opened the gateway in the first place....
In a wizard's laboratory, the party finds an elder earth elemental, imprisioned forever in a giant hourglass and forced to count down every hour by pouring up and down the glass. The glass cannot be shattered by steel or spell. Why is the elemental imprisioned? How can it be freed? Should it be?
A mad pyromancer has discovered a means of extracting little baby fire elementals from their home plane, and imprisoning them indefinitely in tiny orbs or cages of force. He is selling the trapped elementals as ever-burning lanterns and stoves and heaters! He's making a great profit... but is it ethical capturing and enslaving beings from another plane like this? The greater fire elementals probably don't think so.
To make matters worse, the pyromancer doesn't even care about the money he's making. After he has sold enough of his imprisoned elementals, he plans to dismiss their enclosures and free them to wreak havoc on the local populace! Burn Baby Burn!
A poor shipping merchant pleads to the adventurers to help him find out how his competition is moving goods so fast, while his boats lumber so slowly.
Upon investigation it turns out that the rival shipper has a huge water elemental bound into service pushing his ships along and increasing their speed. Can the adventurers find out what is happeneing and end it without hurting the dominated water elemental or getting arrested for sabotaging merchant lines?
A powerful aquatic elf cleric has built an enormous magical archway, called a seagate, of coral and volcanic rock that rises above the waves near a well-populated coastal nation. The seagate's magic bestows the ability to breathe water upon creatures who pass through it heading into the ocean and the ability to breathe air upon creatures who pass through it heading onto land.
An ethereal filcher has teamed up with an ethereal marauder. Both were deeply stung from their encounter with a state-sponsored wizard and they have begun a familiar-slaying spree aimed at low-level wizards throughout the kingdom. Finding them will be difficult, catching them even more so.
The party successfully negotiates an understanding with a tribe of ettercaps; the party provides meat, and the ettercaps guard the PCs while they sleep in their den. But the ettercap patriarch is a practitioner of the "ancient ettercap secrets" of limb grafting, and has always wanted to practice on a human...
An abnormally charismatic or intelligent ettin has gained several levels as a sorcerer or wizard. What's worse, he's discovered that two fully independent heads means two spells in a given round. (With the possible exception of certain spells with very complex somatic gestures that require both hands.) With this advantage, the ettin is proving utterly unstoppable by any and all military forces and adventurers in the region. Sooner or later, the ettin is going to graduate from casual raiding of caravans to actually trying to conquer and rule surrounding territories, unless someone who can stand up to twin lightning bolts and the ettin's brute force can stop it.
Note: This is intended as a continuation of the entry for Formian - Taskmaster
If the party has made it this far by violence, they will have to track the Myrmarch down (DC 15) and engage in a great deal of violence along the way. They will be able to release human hostages of varying ability (some with healing powers, some not). The Myrmarch will be ready for them (the advantage of being in a hive mind) and will order the party to "cease their unlawful activity" before attacking.
If the party gets this far by negotiation/bluffing the Myrmarch will explain that this land was ceded to the Formians 75 years ago and it is theirs by right of law. The Myrmarch will have more attendants around her (as she did not have to send them into battle) but she will be prepared for the party.
In other words, the party can have lots of little fights to get to the Myrmarch, or brace themselves for one big one.
If the party has gotten there by non-violent means the Myrmarch will ask if the human lands want to re-negotiate the contract. If the party agrees, they will have 48 hours to get an official representitive or proof that they are the legal respresentives of the land (easy enough to get, the local rulers are out of their league on this one) or just lie about it (Bluff DC modifier +15, and the Myrmarch is unfriendly).
If the encounter degenerates into combat the Myrmarch will attempt to teleport to her queen if reduced below 40 hit points.
Note: See the entry for Formian - Queen for more.
Note: This is intended as a continuation of the entry for Formian - Myrmarch
At this point the party should be concerend. If they've done their research they know that a Queen Formian is typically surrounded by 20 Myrmarchs (Knowledge Planes DC 15). Also a Knowledge (Local) check of DC 12 will reveal that the Formians are technically in the right. They were called here to perform a favor for a wizard who is now dead. There was a green dragon in the area that the wizard was unable to handle. He summoned the Formians to do the work for him and the rulers of the time agreed to hand over some of the land in exchange for the Formian's service of destroying the green dragon.
They were able to trick the Formians however, and stipulated that the land would not transer over to them until the last of the town council had died. One of the town council was a half-elf, and they thought they would have plenty of time to prepare for the Formian's return. But the dragon learned of the plot and attacked the council. The Formians killed it but, the dragon was able to Feeblemind the half-elf. The rest of the council was killed in the fight and no one knew what had happend. The half-elf spent the remainder of his days quietly in a garden and no one knew of the coming danger.
Now the Formians are back.
The party can talk their way out of this one. They can make a Diplomacy check (+15 modifier, unfriendly) to have the Formians go away for ten more years and be granted even more land when they return. They can make a Diplomacy check (+5, unfriendly) and negotiate for the return of the humans in exchange for gold or weapons equalling 10,000gp.
Or the party can fight. This particular queen is a little weak. She only has 5 Myrmarch attendants and is small for her kind (150hp). The Formians will not hold a grudge if the party gives a formal declaration of war and 24 hours notice. They will fight to the last. If the party makes a surprise attack, any remaining Myrmarchs will teleport without error to their home plane and report the trechery.
note: If a formal declaration is given others will hear of the upcoming battle and give the PCs some magic items. Noteably, the wizard's former apprentice will give the PCs a wand of fireballs with 15 remaining charges for use in the battle; it was his master's and was intended for use against the Formians.
Note: This is intended as a continuation of the entry for Formian - Warrior
The party is able to locate where a Formian Taskmaster is keeping the human hostages. The taskmaster has dominated the humans -- readily apparent from their vacant stares. The Taskmaster will not say what it is the commoners are expected to do, only that this is Formian territory as granted to them by the humans by law and that these humans are clearly in breach of contract. The Taskmaster can provide no evidence of this.
The party can kill the taskmater and its attendant workers/warriors, or it can attempt a Bluff or Diplomacy check to have the Taskmaster take the party to its Myrmarch. The taskmaster is to be considered "Unfriendly" for this purpose.
Note: See the entry for Formian - Myrmarch for more.
Note: This is intended as a continuation of the entry for Formian - Worker
The party, if they remain in the area, comes across a group of Formian Warriors who are taking some commoners hostage. The workers are within range of their hive, but their lack of lingustic ability only permits them to say that this is their territory and the commoners are therefore Formian. The party can attempt negotiaion with the Formian Warriors, or attack.
In either case the commoners say there are rumors of the Formians forming pens of humans to assist in some project.
Note: See the entry for Formian - Taskmaster for more.
The party encounters a centaur-like ant creature (which they may or may not recognize to be a Formian). It is climbing out of a river that it has clearly fallen into and been washed downstream a ways. A Knowledge (Planes) check (DC 9) will identify the creature, and a library in a small city will allow the check to be made untrained (2 8-hour periods of reserach required).
The Formian is only a worker and cannot talk, and nor is it very bright. However, if the party gets it back within 50 miles of the hive it will be able to contact the hive mind and be able to get home from there.
Which only leaves the question of what the outsiders are doing on the prime in the first place ....
Note: See the entry for Formian - Warrior for more.
A druid exile, having long plotted his revenge against the arctic communities who sent him packing, has discovered the fabled kayit aygiti, a relic that grants control over frost worms. The druid has assembled an army of these powerful beasts, and is using them to visit terror and death upon those he hates.
Elsewhere, in the sewers of a great but decadent city, a half-fiend/half-violet fungus cleric is forging the city's dispossessed into a dangerous and loyal cult dedicated to horrible Abyssal powers. Of course, the cult's subterranean complex is guarded by many shriekers.
Floggalt, half-fiend/half-violet fungus cleric 5: CR 10; Medium-size Outsider (Plant); HD 7d8+28; hp 59; Init +1 (Dex); Spd 10 ft., fly 10 ft. (average); AC 16 (+1 Dex, +5 natural); Atks +8 melee (1d6+4 and poison, 4 tentacles), +3 melee (1d6+2, bite); Reach 10 ft. (with tentacle); SA spells, rebuke undead, domains (Evil and Plant), poison, spell-like abilities (3/day - darkness, poison, 1/day - desecrate, unholy blight); SQ plant, darkvision 60 ft., resistance (acid, cold, electricity, fire) 20; SV Fort +11, Ref +4, Will +5; Str 18, Dex 12, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 14; AL CE. Skills: Diplomacy +6, Hide +5, Knowledge (religion) +5, Listen +5, Move Silently +5, Spot +5. Feats: Combat Casting, Brew Potion.