Plot Help - My players captured my BBEG!

[Murrdox]

Okay, our last playing session ended with my players CAPTURING the NPC who was going to be the BBEG of the adventure. I didn't anticipate this, so I need to come up with a plausible reaction to keep them in the Adventure, and re-write my conclusion.

Also, I need help on another issue. My Players have hinted that they are not going to be picking up one of my plot hooks exactly the way I anticipated, so it's somewhat important, and I have to keep them on track on this.

I'm trying NOT to railroad my party here, but certain events need to happen. This isn't a tremendously huge campaign, only an adventure I've written to take up about 4 playing sessions.

ANYWAYS, if you read this far, here is the plot summary that you need to know in order to help me with my plotline.

This is a Forgotten Realms adventure, so there are a lot of Forgotten Realms details below.

The party has a very special key they were given to gain access to an ancient temple of Moander. Inside this temple is a piece of Moander's body, that the party must destroy. Cultists of Moander also want this piece, but they lack the key to gain access to the Temple, and they are unaware that it is in the PC's possession.

My PLAN was this -

The Party goes into the temple to retrieve the key. The party is being watched by a familiar of the leader of the cultists. When the party finds the piece of Moander's body, the Wizard "Dimension Door"s in, grabs it, and then "Dimension Door"s out again.

Sort of a "What was yours is now mine, Dr. Jones!" type of moment. The party would then track down the lair of this wizard, and stop him before he could use the piece of Moander's body in his unholy ritual.

Problem is this - I wanted to introduce him to the party ahead of time, both so the party would know who they were up against, and the bad guy would know to follow the party in order to find the piece of Moander that he's looking for.

When I introduced him to the party in an encounter.... the party disabled him and now hold him captive. That is where the session ended.

Also, my other problem is that the party doesn't seem content to go into the Temple themselves to get the piece of Moander. They want to persuade a powerful Cleric to come WITH them, to destroy it right there.

I can't just hand the party a powerful NPC follower, so I have to find a way around that.

Any help would be appreciated.

* * *

Here is what I was thinking I would do.

First, I was going to have the BOSS of the wizard the party captured come looking for him. Along the way, this wizard finds an NPC priestess who was on her way to help the party destroy the piece of Moander. He figures out who she is, kills her, and polymorphs himself into her. Then he joins the party, telling them that he'll help them destroy the piece of Moander at the temple.

When the party finds it... this new bad guy reveals the deception, snatches the piece, and teleports away, leaving my quest where it should be... except with a new, slightly more powerful BBEG.

Do you think my players will fall for this? Do you think I'm railroading them too much? Do you think my ideas suck or are great?

I'd love to pick the brains of other DMs on this! My players are really loving the plot so far. Capturing my BBEG so early was a MAJOR fluke though, and took the wind out of my sails a bit.

 

[Piratecat]

This is an awesome opportunity. Seriously. On both counts.

1. You have lots of options for the BBEG.

- He is someone very important in town, perhaps a noble. If they kill them, there will be tremendous social repercussions.

- He informs that that he is the only thing keeping his boss from seeking them out and destroying them; he tries to convince the PCs that he is by far the lesser of two evils. He's being honest. Perhaps his superior does want the PCs dead, but this cultist convinced her that the PCs could still be useful. If they kill the cultist, though...

- An entity of Moander shows up to destroy anyone who kills him. He tells the PCs this.

- Have him offer to buy the key from them for a huge amount of money.

- If killed, he has a pact that turns him into a half-Moanderish undead cleric after a few hours. He doesn't tell the group this, but he longs for the promised transformation -- and so begs them to kill him without telling them why.

and so forth. Either replace him with something cooler if they kill him (or make him come back in an altered form!), or make him more valuable alive and free than dead.


2. Have the cleric come with them. Have him heal the group, and blow away certain traps and monsters (but not all of them!) And when they find the piece of Moander, have the cleric pick it up -- and it shrivels him. Before the PCs eyes the Very Important Cleric turns to screaming dust, as does his gear. Meanwhile, the throbbing chunk of Moander (now no longer glowing green like it was) lands in the dust and starts absorbing it. The chunk will reactivate its shriveling attack in a few hours. the Pcs have to pick up the chunk and escape the dungeon, as everything in it rushes to stop them... and THEN explain the cleric's death!

Any of that work?

 

[Murrdox]

What fabulous ideas! Thank you so much!

I particularly like the bit where if the party decides to slay him, he comes back as a twisted undead servant of Moander.

I think I will milk the whole "I'm more valuable to you alive than dead - you don't want my MASTER coming after you... which he will if I end up dead or imprisoned".

Then if the party looks like they're going to turn him into the authorities in Waterdeep, he'll beg them to slay him instead... he'd rather be a twisted undead creature servant than rotting in a jail cell. If they still put him in jail... he just demands a swift execution.

I also love the idea of the piece of Moander destroying the Cleric who they bring to destroy it, and then having to explain to the church what happened!

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

The captured BBEG could also concoct a reason that he has to accompany the PCs when they go after the key. Maybe only he knows the password, or there is an unhallow effect in place around the key that only allows evil creatures to pass...something like that. Once the PCs have the key, he yoinks it, reveals that he's actually more powerful than they realized and that this was his plan all along, and teleports away.

 

[GrandArchon]

Well, you're sort of in a bind here. What you did was sort of foolish for a DM to do. Your players captalized on this, and I think they know that they've essentialy shattered your plan. If you rail-road this too much, and make it even more difficult than before, your players may get angry with you- after all, this is your fault in the first place. I suggest that you have the cult simply assemble a rescue team to extract their leader from the PCs' grasp. That way, you don't make anything more difficult, but you do leave the players essentialy where they were before they gained their un-intended advantage.

 

[kinem]

NPC cleric tags along and destroys the piece, but as he does it releases a lot of dark energy. He gets killed but appears as a spirit, and tells them that the released energy will allow the bad guys to complete the ritual unless they do such and such, then he winks out.

 

[TarionzCousin]

2. Have the cleric come with them. Have him heal the group, and blow away certain traps and monsters (but not all of them!) And when they find the piece of Moander, have the cleric pick it up -- and it shrivels him. Before the PCs eyes the Very Important Cleric turns to screaming dust, as does his gear. Meanwhile, the throbbing chunk of Moander (now no longer glowing green like it was) lands in the dust and starts absorbing it. The chunk will reactivate its shriveling attack in a few hours. the Pcs have to pick up the chunk and escape the dungeon, as everything in it rushes to stop them... and THEN explain the cleric's death!

To get the PC's to pick up the chunk, you have to give them some more clues that it won't shrivel them up too; just the fact that it's not glowing green might not be enough.

You could have the PC's sense its intense hunger just as the NPC cleric picks it up (if you do it too soon they could stop NPC from picking it up). Then, after it inhales said cleric, it gives off "sated" feelings.

Just a thought. Nice suggestions Piratecat et al.