Yeah, this sounds fair. They are indeed trying very hard to grab what is going on with the storm. So maybe I will have Simeon send them a message that their attendance is required and let Katrina´s vision be somehow connected to the storm itself or maybe some disturbance in tapping the Fire Tomb´s energy for example.
WotBS WotBS advice needed (SPOILERS galore)
- Thread starter trencher7
- Start date
Yeah, this sounds fair. They are indeed trying very hard to grab what is going on with the storm. So maybe I will have Simeon send them a message that their attendance is required and let Katrina´s vision be somehow connected to the storm itself or maybe some disturbance in tapping the Fire Tomb´s energy for example.
Change in plans!
In last night´s whatsapp discussion it came out that my group is convinced that their attendance during the play would not have been necessary. I quote: "We didn´t have any good reason to go there and none of the councilmen was of any interest at that moment..." They also think that Katrina´s vision of something bad happening in the fire plane is connected to the torch and shall, on the metalevel, make them hurry up to find the torch.
At the moment I think, teach them a lesson!
One of my players was absent the last session so I could have him attend the play and let the other players play some NPCs from the crowd when Giorgio starts his betrayal. But the ship will be teleported and some of the dignitaries will die.
So I have two questions:
- What exactly is Giorgio´s escape plan after he teleported to the nearby vessel? Leave the town? Hide somewhere?
- Whose dead (among he dignitaries) on the Wayfarer´s ship would not interfere with the rest of the campaign. Simeon and Kiernan will have to survive obviously and Kiefer Numhaut will definitely die in the fire because this gives the NPC reason to proceed to adventure 4.
Or do you think I am to harsh on my players?
In last night´s whatsapp discussion it came out that my group is convinced that their attendance during the play would not have been necessary. I quote: "We didn´t have any good reason to go there and none of the councilmen was of any interest at that moment..." They also think that Katrina´s vision of something bad happening in the fire plane is connected to the torch and shall, on the metalevel, make them hurry up to find the torch.
At the moment I think, teach them a lesson!
One of my players was absent the last session so I could have him attend the play and let the other players play some NPCs from the crowd when Giorgio starts his betrayal. But the ship will be teleported and some of the dignitaries will die.
So I have two questions:
- What exactly is Giorgio´s escape plan after he teleported to the nearby vessel? Leave the town? Hide somewhere?
- Whose dead (among he dignitaries) on the Wayfarer´s ship would not interfere with the rest of the campaign. Simeon and Kiernan will have to survive obviously and Kiefer Numhaut will definitely die in the fire because this gives the NPC reason to proceed to adventure 4.
Or do you think I am to harsh on my players?
I don't think you are too harsh as long as the punishment comes in form of flavor terms and not in gamebreaking terms.
I think you should go through with the plan of having your last PC watch the play and let the others be NPCs. Make them some of people you want to die - and kill them off in fun ways. Make sure to have them be lower level than the players, so they can feel that they would have made the difference, but don't punish the last PC for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, unless he/she is ok with it.
Basically you could kill off some of the named pc's but let the last PC save the day, stopping the teleport, but still leading to casualties - that way it will be a partial success due to one PC being present.
As I wrote earlier, you could for instance make Foebane die, he would try to save the ship. He has no in-game role that cannot be replaced and the punishment comes in the form of Shaaladel (just remember to let npcs moan about if only Forbane had been alive).
In my campaign I made the play a presentation piece, which the player's enjoyed because the feeling of unease kept with them all along. After Giorgio sprung his trap he did manage to escape, but died in the ensuing storm - I didn't want him around as a non-resolved part of the plan. One could argue that someone was taking care of lose ends.
I think you should go through with the plan of having your last PC watch the play and let the others be NPCs. Make them some of people you want to die - and kill them off in fun ways. Make sure to have them be lower level than the players, so they can feel that they would have made the difference, but don't punish the last PC for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, unless he/she is ok with it.
Basically you could kill off some of the named pc's but let the last PC save the day, stopping the teleport, but still leading to casualties - that way it will be a partial success due to one PC being present.
As I wrote earlier, you could for instance make Foebane die, he would try to save the ship. He has no in-game role that cannot be replaced and the punishment comes in the form of Shaaladel (just remember to let npcs moan about if only Forbane had been alive).
In my campaign I made the play a presentation piece, which the player's enjoyed because the feeling of unease kept with them all along. After Giorgio sprung his trap he did manage to escape, but died in the ensuing storm - I didn't want him around as a non-resolved part of the plan. One could argue that someone was taking care of lose ends.
Oh boy. At this point, you could go all out. You could let Simeon, Kiernan, Foebane, and most everyone else die.
Let the remaining hero attend the play, and have the other players play some level 1-3 characters (visiting dinitaries, Lyceum students, etc.) who hang out in the back row with him. At this point, run the scenario as usual. Allow the heroes the chance to notice Giorgio leave through the stairs and follow after him. Giorgio locks the door behind them, and the under-powered party will probably lose. Make sure the "left behind" hero only gets knocked out (or at least no coup de grace). Sheena Larkins (the only NPC I really think the other adventures depend on) unlocks the door from the inside just in time to see Giorgio finish the teleportation sequence and jump overboard with the other perpetrators. She teleports the one hero and any important NPCs you want to save back to the Lyceum (less than a half mile so does not fall afoul of the pylon) and then uses healing word on the hero to keep him from dying.
If you want to use the future adventures without needing to write in new NPCs, save Simeon, Kiernan, Foebane, Sheena Larkin, and Tiljann (I think that's all the important ones). Oops, nevermind about Tiljann (too soon?
).
So the Wayfarer's Theater is likely destroyed as it would be hard for the outmatched "B" team to prevail against the saboteurs. This leaves what to do about the Seaquen flotilla and the hurricane. Pickfort and the Ostaliners should whip the town into a frenzy and form the flotilla that attacks the Shahalesti blockade. It doesn't really matter that Sheena Larkins and the hero know differently; the flotilla is running on a mob mentality at this point unless the heroes turned Pickfort before all this.
Meanwhile, the rest of the heroes are a day's travel away dealing with the witch. Lee Sidoneth is timing the hurricane to strike when the flotilla is engaging the Shahalesti fleet, and the heroes are in the wrong place. Either you have Seaquen be devastated by the hurricane, or you need to get the heroes back together.
If Seaquen is destroyed, you can narrate the destruction. The remaining hero, Sheena Larkins, and the other survivors of the Wayfarer's Theater shelter in the basements of the Lyceum. The people on the north side shelter in their basements. Much of Seaquen is devasted, but many of the inhabitants of the north side survive. The refugee camps, however, are a site of complete carnage, with no shelter, the sustained hurricane kills most of the refugees minus a few who make it to a shelter (such as Foebane's fort). The Ragesians use sending to report a successful mission, and withdraw until the army can reach them through Dassen.
If you want to give the heroes a chance to save Seaquen, they need to get back to Seaquen posthaste. A sending spell from someone in the Lyceum can notify them of the situation. Sheena Larkins would have used her bardic inspiration to ritual cast teleport after having someone use scrying to locate the heroes. Her plan would be to teleport herself to the heroes' location, have the heroes (who are warned she is coming) heal her unconscious body, and then ritual cast teleport with all of them back to the Lyceum where they get healed before they die from the fire damage during teleport. Unfortunately, she is redirected by the pylon to a cell in the pyromancer's tomb. After 30 minutes, the heroes get another sending asking why they have not returned yet. A third sending urgently begs them to return immediately to the Lyceum without delay. The heroes can return in 5-6 hours, but they likely get a point or two of exhaustion which can be handled by medics at the Lyceum. Seaquen is half destroyed at this point, and the heroes can head out to the ruins to stop the hurricane from finishing the job (and save Sheena Larkins). More of the inhabitants and some of the buildings of Seaquen survive, but most of the refugees are still dead.
Regardless of which direction you choose, Seaquen is likely no longer strong enough to be the center of the resistance. The heroes need allies and a new place for the resistance to relocate. They first turn to Dassen, setting up the next adventure. The heroes are sent with Balan as an advance group before the rest of the resistance relocates. If they are successful there (gosh I hope so; your heroes need a win), Dassen becomes the new stronghold of the resistance, and Bresk is hit by the Scourge super weapon in adventure 8.
I have to say, I am impressed by your willingness to let the heroes make their own decisions and not be led around by the scenarios in the adventures. You have truly made this saga your own, and I hope that you and your players continue to have fun with it.
P.S. And [MENTION=6781484]Mrpereira[/MENTION], having Shaaladel be the allied commander, completely cruel punishment, but totally appropriate to the situation. I laughed out loud when I read, "if only Foebane was still alive."
Let the remaining hero attend the play, and have the other players play some level 1-3 characters (visiting dinitaries, Lyceum students, etc.) who hang out in the back row with him. At this point, run the scenario as usual. Allow the heroes the chance to notice Giorgio leave through the stairs and follow after him. Giorgio locks the door behind them, and the under-powered party will probably lose. Make sure the "left behind" hero only gets knocked out (or at least no coup de grace). Sheena Larkins (the only NPC I really think the other adventures depend on) unlocks the door from the inside just in time to see Giorgio finish the teleportation sequence and jump overboard with the other perpetrators. She teleports the one hero and any important NPCs you want to save back to the Lyceum (less than a half mile so does not fall afoul of the pylon) and then uses healing word on the hero to keep him from dying.
If you want to use the future adventures without needing to write in new NPCs, save Simeon, Kiernan, Foebane, Sheena Larkin, and Tiljann (I think that's all the important ones). Oops, nevermind about Tiljann (too soon?
).So the Wayfarer's Theater is likely destroyed as it would be hard for the outmatched "B" team to prevail against the saboteurs. This leaves what to do about the Seaquen flotilla and the hurricane. Pickfort and the Ostaliners should whip the town into a frenzy and form the flotilla that attacks the Shahalesti blockade. It doesn't really matter that Sheena Larkins and the hero know differently; the flotilla is running on a mob mentality at this point unless the heroes turned Pickfort before all this.
Meanwhile, the rest of the heroes are a day's travel away dealing with the witch. Lee Sidoneth is timing the hurricane to strike when the flotilla is engaging the Shahalesti fleet, and the heroes are in the wrong place. Either you have Seaquen be devastated by the hurricane, or you need to get the heroes back together.
If Seaquen is destroyed, you can narrate the destruction. The remaining hero, Sheena Larkins, and the other survivors of the Wayfarer's Theater shelter in the basements of the Lyceum. The people on the north side shelter in their basements. Much of Seaquen is devasted, but many of the inhabitants of the north side survive. The refugee camps, however, are a site of complete carnage, with no shelter, the sustained hurricane kills most of the refugees minus a few who make it to a shelter (such as Foebane's fort). The Ragesians use sending to report a successful mission, and withdraw until the army can reach them through Dassen.
If you want to give the heroes a chance to save Seaquen, they need to get back to Seaquen posthaste. A sending spell from someone in the Lyceum can notify them of the situation. Sheena Larkins would have used her bardic inspiration to ritual cast teleport after having someone use scrying to locate the heroes. Her plan would be to teleport herself to the heroes' location, have the heroes (who are warned she is coming) heal her unconscious body, and then ritual cast teleport with all of them back to the Lyceum where they get healed before they die from the fire damage during teleport. Unfortunately, she is redirected by the pylon to a cell in the pyromancer's tomb. After 30 minutes, the heroes get another sending asking why they have not returned yet. A third sending urgently begs them to return immediately to the Lyceum without delay. The heroes can return in 5-6 hours, but they likely get a point or two of exhaustion which can be handled by medics at the Lyceum. Seaquen is half destroyed at this point, and the heroes can head out to the ruins to stop the hurricane from finishing the job (and save Sheena Larkins). More of the inhabitants and some of the buildings of Seaquen survive, but most of the refugees are still dead.
Regardless of which direction you choose, Seaquen is likely no longer strong enough to be the center of the resistance. The heroes need allies and a new place for the resistance to relocate. They first turn to Dassen, setting up the next adventure. The heroes are sent with Balan as an advance group before the rest of the resistance relocates. If they are successful there (gosh I hope so; your heroes need a win), Dassen becomes the new stronghold of the resistance, and Bresk is hit by the Scourge super weapon in adventure 8.
I have to say, I am impressed by your willingness to let the heroes make their own decisions and not be led around by the scenarios in the adventures. You have truly made this saga your own, and I hope that you and your players continue to have fun with it.
P.S. And [MENTION=6781484]Mrpereira[/MENTION], having Shaaladel be the allied commander, completely cruel punishment, but totally appropriate to the situation.
I laughed out loud when I read, "if only Foebane was still alive."Guys, thank you sooooooo much for your help!
Especially a big special thanks to [MENTION=6776887]Tormyr[/MENTION]! There is a lot of food for thought. Thank you that you were willing to write in such detail! Your and [MENTION=6781484]Mrpereira[/MENTION] 's ideas on that matter are brilliant!
I will be away over the weekend but I will let you know how I plan to proceed.
Especially a big special thanks to [MENTION=6776887]Tormyr[/MENTION]! There is a lot of food for thought. Thank you that you were willing to write in such detail! Your and [MENTION=6781484]Mrpereira[/MENTION] 's ideas on that matter are brilliant!
I will be away over the weekend but I will let you know how I plan to proceed.
P.S. And [MENTION=6781484]Mrpereira[/MENTION], having Shaaladel be the allied commander, completely cruel punishment, but totally appropriate to the situation.
I liked that part too
I was evil enough to force feed them Shaaladel in my campaign. When it came down to the discussion as who would lead I had him pull out the document the players signed giving him authority. Watching the players realize what they did and actually have them vote for him as leader… that was fun
Oh my, so they have really brought this upon themselves. In that case, I love [MENTION=6776887]Tormyr[/MENTION] 's B team option as they can at least try to help while still seeing the consequences of their decision firsthand.
And having Shaaladel as commander is such a great opportunity later on. My group avoided having to deal with him as leader of the Alliance, but they had to let him lead the "Reconquest of Shahalesti" campaign against the fourth. And Shaaladel on his home turf was an extra prick.
And having Shaaladel as commander is such a great opportunity later on. My group avoided having to deal with him as leader of the Alliance, but they had to let him lead the "Reconquest of Shahalesti" campaign against the fourth. And Shaaladel on his home turf was an extra prick.
So this is how I plan the next session (I am fully aware that the best plan never survives first contact with the players )
- The main group loots the rest of he stuff of the witches in the swamp
- They will find some clue that directs them to Lee Sidoneth being in league with the witches
- The lone hero in the city goes visiting the play (I will use [MENTION=6781484]Mrpereira[/MENTION] ´s summary which he was so nice to send me beforehand)
- Giorgio starts his betrayal, the hero and 3 lvl3 NPCs try to stop him
- The 3 NPCs will likely be killed during the fight
- The hero will be saved by Sheena Larkins who teleports them both to Lyceum while the Wayfarer ship teleports/ bursts
- The hero and Sheena will be healed
- Lyceum Mages contact the main group and inform them of what happened and announce Sheena who will teleport to them and bring them back to the City
- Sheena will get stuck in the Pyromancers Tomb
- Main group will travel to Seaquen, meanwhile Seaquen´s fleet attacked the elves
- Main group arrives in Seaquen and sees the destruction, storm is at its peak
- They see that Seaquen´s fleet is defeated but the elves are helping rescueing Seaquen´s sailors from the water
- Group is reunited and heads to Lee´s home to find a severely wounded Giorgio and a map pointing to the prison/ the tomb´s entrance
- Group clears the Tomb and has final encounter with Lee as described
- Elves enter the town and arrange a meeting in the Lyceum
- At the moment the heroes are the only more or less experienced attendees of the meeting so the elves will take over the town
- After two days of rest the viceregent of the elves will send the heroes on a Mission to Bresk
So that´s it in a nutshell!
)- The main group loots the rest of he stuff of the witches in the swamp
- They will find some clue that directs them to Lee Sidoneth being in league with the witches
- The lone hero in the city goes visiting the play (I will use [MENTION=6781484]Mrpereira[/MENTION] ´s summary which he was so nice to send me beforehand)
- Giorgio starts his betrayal, the hero and 3 lvl3 NPCs try to stop him
- The 3 NPCs will likely be killed during the fight
- The hero will be saved by Sheena Larkins who teleports them both to Lyceum while the Wayfarer ship teleports/ bursts
- The hero and Sheena will be healed
- Lyceum Mages contact the main group and inform them of what happened and announce Sheena who will teleport to them and bring them back to the City
- Sheena will get stuck in the Pyromancers Tomb
- Main group will travel to Seaquen, meanwhile Seaquen´s fleet attacked the elves
- Main group arrives in Seaquen and sees the destruction, storm is at its peak
- They see that Seaquen´s fleet is defeated but the elves are helping rescueing Seaquen´s sailors from the water
- Group is reunited and heads to Lee´s home to find a severely wounded Giorgio and a map pointing to the prison/ the tomb´s entrance
- Group clears the Tomb and has final encounter with Lee as described
- Elves enter the town and arrange a meeting in the Lyceum
- At the moment the heroes are the only more or less experienced attendees of the meeting so the elves will take over the town
- After two days of rest the viceregent of the elves will send the heroes on a Mission to Bresk
So that´s it in a nutshell!
It all went (more or less) according to plan.
The PC who was absent the last session tried to prevent Giorgio from teleporting the ship but the other players just tried to escape from the danger so he stood no chance and the ship teleported breaking in two parts during the process. At the moment all dignitaries are presumed dead.
The other PCs returned to the city after the failed attempt of sending someone to teleport them. They saw that Seaquen´s fleet was roused but the Elves tried to save all of Seaquen´s sailors that went overboard during the fight. The group went to Lee´s house to find a severely injured Giorgio and a map that led them to Teven´s prison. They went there but the encounters with the Chuul and the Skeletons weakened them so much that they had to flee the fire tomb as soon as they entered it and stumbled across the Ragesian soldiers.
So I let them rest in a ruin nearby and when they returned I let them see Lee doing some sort of ritual on a nearby island that started lightning strikes from the storm down on the city and wreaking havoc. So they took a boat and rowed through the storm to the island and killed Lee who spoke his last words.
When they returned to the city next day they just saw that an elven boat was steering towards the city and they suspect (correctly) that the elves now with all dignitaries gone want to take over the city.
So far so good but what bothered my players is that they find they do not have enough information of what all this is about.
I Need your help again! They feel that they are only reacting to what is happening.
At the end of adventure 3 what information concerning the whole campaign should be available to the PCs?
- They know of the existance of Trilliths
- They know that Leska searches the Torch
- They know where the Torch might be located
- They know what Simeon and Kiernan told them about the Contents of Kreven´s writings
What else should they at this point know about.
The PCs are going to search Lee´s house again so I could plant some clues there. I think they will with some help of the Elves also return to the prison so that I could also plant some clues there if need be. At the moment I plan to have the Ragesians have left the fire tomb with their goal of destroying the resistance accomplished but of course I could also have them still remaining there if I have to convey some more information.
Thanks again in advance.
I am fully Aware that the next two or three adventures will start by being sent somewhere to accomplish something but I also want to reward my Players with some Information for all the stuff they had to endure in the last sessions.
The PC who was absent the last session tried to prevent Giorgio from teleporting the ship but the other players just tried to escape from the danger so he stood no chance and the ship teleported breaking in two parts during the process. At the moment all dignitaries are presumed dead.
The other PCs returned to the city after the failed attempt of sending someone to teleport them. They saw that Seaquen´s fleet was roused but the Elves tried to save all of Seaquen´s sailors that went overboard during the fight. The group went to Lee´s house to find a severely injured Giorgio and a map that led them to Teven´s prison. They went there but the encounters with the Chuul and the Skeletons weakened them so much that they had to flee the fire tomb as soon as they entered it and stumbled across the Ragesian soldiers.
So I let them rest in a ruin nearby and when they returned I let them see Lee doing some sort of ritual on a nearby island that started lightning strikes from the storm down on the city and wreaking havoc. So they took a boat and rowed through the storm to the island and killed Lee who spoke his last words.
When they returned to the city next day they just saw that an elven boat was steering towards the city and they suspect (correctly) that the elves now with all dignitaries gone want to take over the city.
So far so good but what bothered my players is that they find they do not have enough information of what all this is about.
I Need your help again! They feel that they are only reacting to what is happening.
At the end of adventure 3 what information concerning the whole campaign should be available to the PCs?
- They know of the existance of Trilliths
- They know that Leska searches the Torch
- They know where the Torch might be located
- They know what Simeon and Kiernan told them about the Contents of Kreven´s writings
What else should they at this point know about.
The PCs are going to search Lee´s house again so I could plant some clues there. I think they will with some help of the Elves also return to the prison so that I could also plant some clues there if need be. At the moment I plan to have the Ragesians have left the fire tomb with their goal of destroying the resistance accomplished but of course I could also have them still remaining there if I have to convey some more information.
Thanks again in advance.
I am fully Aware that the next two or three adventures will start by being sent somewhere to accomplish something but I also want to reward my Players with some Information for all the stuff they had to endure in the last sessions.
Similar Threads
AD6_gamerati_skyscraper
Recent & Upcoming Releases
-
April 16 2024 -
May 31 2024 -
June 3 2024 -
June 4 2024 -
June 18 2024 -
July 16 2024 -
September 17 2024 -
October 1 2024 -
November 12 2024 -
February 18 2025
