I'm writing an adventure for levels 8-11 or so, party of 4-6. Setting is wilderness encounter outside a stronghold of evil. Devil Patrols. 1. 8 Bearded Devils 2. 2 Barbed Devils (never surprised) + 6 flying Abishai with an acid supersoaker They can all gate with a certain percentage. It could go very poorly, but I think with their +2 weapons and smiting and wands they might clean house on these losers way too fast. New to devils and higher levels. Wondering if this is level appropriate.

Do any of you guys know where the Ice Devils originate? Are they based on some fantasy literature or a 70s tv show? I like that they decided to avoid one more horned, tailed, winged pitchfork devil. - but who invented them?

Looking for a reference or where to go I have been reading through the manual of the planes and I'm wondering in Greyhawk or ADND mythos/cosmology - where do the evil gods live and what are the relationships to the Arch Devils and Demon Princes? Do Lawful evil gods live in hell, but next door to Asmodeus? Who is more powerful? Does an Arch Devil worship or report to an evil god? For my campaign, I will probably have the Arch Devils and Demon Princes be the evil gods, but I want to understand how Gary or ADND was thinking these were supposed to work together?

Is there rule for scroll xp? Not seeing it in osric or dmg. Maybe just missed it. Or do any of you guys have a house rule for this?

I'm having my bad guys go on the offensive by hiring an assassin to go after the players. My players don't suspect it yet, and I want to have the bad guys be competent but also have the PC's get a fair shake. With a Classed assassin, Level 4 maybe? they get a very good shot of assassinating a character if they get surprise. To be fair to the players, in a city setting, should they always get a surprise roll even if the assassin is disguised, or the PC's are drunk, etc? If I were the player I'd be pissed if the DM told me "hey I rolled really well, so your wizard died, sword in the back", but at the same time, I think a credible threat, a really sinister assassin, should have that high chance. Should I always give the PC's a roll? The other thought I had was to have the assassin kill a henchmen. That way its personal, effectively dramatic, and doesn't take player agency away. Have you guys had the bad guys go on the offensive in a city setting before? When the PC's weren't ready for it? How did you handle it?

I'm seeding some planar activities and interactions for my home campaign. Fighting demons/devils/Dao as a way of encountering them is good and proper, and doing some research to defeat a demon-guarded crypt is another good one, but I have been reading City of Brass and the economy section is very cool. The Enchiridion brings up the same sorts of questions. So my goal is to avoid Planescape-style trivialization of the outer planes and the powers that live there, but to provide an interactive experience of them. With that vague goal in mind here's an encounter location. I'm looking for feedback on - "how to introduce characters to the Inner Planes" and - what do you think of this specific encounter? is it gameable? would it be fun? In my campaign there is a ruined elven city in a large mountain valley. I have placed Esma on a mount outside the ruins. The Pavilion of Trade The ancient elven empire possessed peerless arcane power and traveled the planes. Lesser Demon Princes might attend court, the Caliph of the Djinn might treat with the Mage-Emperor. To facilitate easy trade with the Plane of Fire they struck an accord with the Sultan of the Efreet and Amaimon of the Azer. On a small lump of elemental rock they built a pavilion of finest translucent marble, set with previous stones. A fountain of elemental water burbles. All is bright from the firmament of burning beyond the archways. The pavilion is enchanted to provide a survivable temperature, though it is still hot and bright. Natives of the prime will take 1hp damage per hour/ or heat exhaustion will give them -1 to attack and damage for 24 hours thereafter. Note: no defensive magics are in place. The might and notoriety of the Elven Mages keeps the peace. That empire is gone. Letting this fact slip, or implying it to a savvy listener will expose the careless adventurer to great danger. Note: casting Dispel Magic or Anti-Magic spell in this place is sure to cause incineration. When a mortal enters the pavilion through the gate, a chime is rung and nearby natives of the Plane of Fire may come calling, where they will barter for wares. Who comes to trade? Lesser Efreet Malik - ambitious, deceptive, wary of the might of the elves, unaware that the empire has fallen. Wishes to climb the hierarchy by force or diplomacy. If he realizes the PCs are not protected by the aegis of the elven empire he will trade at much worse terms, and possibly attemot to take the PCs as slaves or kill them an take their magic items. Monadic Deva - weary, aware of the fall of the elven kingdom, if PCs are good, will provide cautions, healing, possible spells if she believes in their quest. Not really trading as checking in on, and policing. Azer x3 - members of Amaimon's questers. Wary of being swindled. Seeking information or magic. Will mark the PCs as enemies of Azer if deceived or toyed with Fire Elemental Noble - avg intelligence Jann Adventurer. Survives by her wits. She entertains at the Sultain's court and is generally left alone by Efreet for this reason. Will rest and recuperate on the Plane of Air. She is tolerated by the Azer but suspected as a spy for the Efreet. General Trade Items any will accept - Rare Burnables - incense (sandalwood, cedar, fir, mesquite, ebonwood, strontium, pure copper, lithium chloride - souls - magic items/artifacts Efreet Trade Items Seeking - Bards/Poets. Storytellers brought to the Sultan are of high social worth - Exquisite beauties of the mortal races - Weapons that can be of use against the Djinn - Larva to trade with demons Providing - Weapons and Armor +2 (he will not let on that on these are +2 on Inner Planes and therefore +0 on the Prime) - True Names of Minor Demons (he will not let on the dangers of speaking such a name, of course) - Dam Mamara - he will not let on the dangers of this substance - Wishes for only the most precious of offerings Azer Seeking - Research (spells, technologies, intelligence) anything to take back to Amaimon - healing for one of their brothers, injured in a battle with a salamander - Divine intercession or Divination by a party cleric (may have to take place on the Prime) - Pure grade Bronze or star metals for forging new Azer Providing - arms and armor (with honesty about magic properties across the planes) - items providing protection from Fire or survival on plane of fire - information Fire Elemental Seeks - rare burnables - magical fire spells cast upon it Providing - future service as an elemental guide - temporary protection from fire (48 hours kiss of the elemental) - recharge flame weapons or wand of fire Jann Adventurer - Seeking stories to tell at the court of the sultan - seeking magical items to keep her safe on her travels - will tell of City of Brass, general info about the plane, do's and don'ts - Has heard tell of an alliance between the Efreet and a Demon Prince and how they cast down Tharizdun in the day (for my campaign)

Anthony do you have any Mortuary Temple of Esma maps sized for Roll20 or other VTT? My players have found a map in the dungeon of Tharizdun and are headed that way! If not I'll just screenshot the pdfs and work it that way.

There's a lot of discussion about Wish out there. I haven't played with it before but had a helluva treasure hit, and someone now has a ring of three wishes. They used it to bring a dead PC back. But what kind of house rules do you have for Wish? what scope of wishes do you permit in your games? Context: I just had a major disaster in the game. 2 PCs and 2 Henchmen dead, consumed by demon fire, so no Raise Dead. I think they might just roll new characters, but they do have the ring. They might want to turn back time or something. is that within the scope of the spell?

For the planes, do you guys use Manual of the Planes by Grubb? What articles or book have you found particularly inspiring or informative?

My players are at level 5. We are playing Tharizdun and they asaulted the front once, are now sneaking in the back way. I've got my own brews but I'm looking for some other modules that are good for the level 5-8 range. I've got Mortuary Temple of Esma, and I've got my own rewrite of Night of the Walking Wet, but any suggestions from you guys?