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[SPOILERS] Enhancing Tomb of Annihilation
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<blockquote data-quote="snaggle2th" data-source="post: 7901387" data-attributes="member: 6667238"><p>My group was wrapping up Level 5 last session, when we had a campaign-changing series of events.</p><p></p><p>First--in reference to previous posts--my experienced group is savvy enough that they reasoned that the upper passages would eventually link up with the control room, so they were not particularly stressed about the whole 'Gears' situation.</p><p></p><p>The trouble started when the wizard--who has to do everything--sat in the Armillary Sphere and aligned the planets. Got him to roll a percentile check for the effect (not telling him why) and he rolled the 'contact an unknown entity' result. Rather than try to work out a huge personality change on the spot, I decided that this was Acererak. I have been planning for some time, that when Acererak appears, he will offer to let everyone live if the wizard will become his apprentice--so he made this offer telepathically, just a bit ahead of schedule. The player asked to defer this decision for a bit, and this was agreed to, with a warning not to take too long--perfectly setting up this twist for the final encounter.</p><p></p><p>The party retrieved the monk from the control room, and backtracked to the Mastodon room with the key. At the last minute before engaging the key, the two tanks inexplicably decided to wait out in the hallway. Down comes the block and the rest of the party are left to fight the devils, and it eventually goes south. The Erinyes offers to let them go in exchange for one soul, as written. They debate for many minutes. To avoid a TPK and to avoid anyone having to sacrifice themselves, they decide to tempt the devils with the Soul Monger. The Erinyes takes this offer straight to Asmodeus. While the party are debating this, the wizard secretly, telepathically asks Acererak (no one else knows what happened in the sphere) to intercede with the devils.</p><p></p><p>Ahem. Uh, guys, I have to go to the bathroom. </p><p></p><p>While they are continuing to debate, I am pacing around the bathroom, trying to think through all implications. I realize that there are several ways that this could be a campaign-ender, not a campaign-changer. I conclude now that Asmodeus knows about the SM, and Acererak knows he knows, there is only one possible outcome: Acererak offers the SM to Asmodeus with no strings--other than Acererak gets to do what he wants with the PCs.</p><p></p><p>Back at the table, the PCs debate for a while longer, and eventually, I end the session on the cliffhanger.</p><p></p><p>In the days after the session, I message each of the players with an individual offer that they received from the Erinyes telepathically during negotiations. Then I tell everyone that the Erinyes informs the PCs that a side deal has been reached, and the devils disappear.</p><p></p><p>The players lose their minds. There are hours of them messaging back and forth with accusations and threats. I sip my coffee and pretend it's their tears.</p><p></p><p>So now, I will run the rest of the dungeon as written, EXCEPT there is no Soul Monger and the Atropal is very, very, hungry. Six fresh souls will really hit the spot. </p><p></p><p>Side note: Ordered this 3D printed Atropal. It is awesome. </p><p>[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/709534492/atropal-the-god-that-never-was-resin[/URL]</p><p>Got a guy locally to paint it for me. I told him when I put it down on the table, I wanted them to ask, "What is WRONG with you??".</p><p></p><p>The encounter will run as normal, except in place of the four tentacles, the Atropal will attempt to drop PCs into the lava with its umbilical cord. I am making this a legendary action. Acererak will show up as normal, monologuing about his deal with Asmodeus, and outing the wizard, who told nobody about their negotiations.</p><p></p><p>Long-term, the players now have to deal with the consequences of their actions. The Death Curse will still be ongoing, and I have a bit of time to decide if the Soul Monger is now installed in one of the Hells (say, Avernus?) or somewhere else on the Material Plane.</p><p></p><p>TLDR: Be prepared for your players to make an offer like this when dealing with the devils. You can safely assume that they devils are not aware of the SM if they are not told, and you can rule that they are bound in the chamber and cannot communicate with the 'big boss'. But maybe if the players talk and the devils are sent back to hell the hard way, they have information to run up the chain of command...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="snaggle2th, post: 7901387, member: 6667238"] My group was wrapping up Level 5 last session, when we had a campaign-changing series of events. First--in reference to previous posts--my experienced group is savvy enough that they reasoned that the upper passages would eventually link up with the control room, so they were not particularly stressed about the whole 'Gears' situation. The trouble started when the wizard--who has to do everything--sat in the Armillary Sphere and aligned the planets. Got him to roll a percentile check for the effect (not telling him why) and he rolled the 'contact an unknown entity' result. Rather than try to work out a huge personality change on the spot, I decided that this was Acererak. I have been planning for some time, that when Acererak appears, he will offer to let everyone live if the wizard will become his apprentice--so he made this offer telepathically, just a bit ahead of schedule. The player asked to defer this decision for a bit, and this was agreed to, with a warning not to take too long--perfectly setting up this twist for the final encounter. The party retrieved the monk from the control room, and backtracked to the Mastodon room with the key. At the last minute before engaging the key, the two tanks inexplicably decided to wait out in the hallway. Down comes the block and the rest of the party are left to fight the devils, and it eventually goes south. The Erinyes offers to let them go in exchange for one soul, as written. They debate for many minutes. To avoid a TPK and to avoid anyone having to sacrifice themselves, they decide to tempt the devils with the Soul Monger. The Erinyes takes this offer straight to Asmodeus. While the party are debating this, the wizard secretly, telepathically asks Acererak (no one else knows what happened in the sphere) to intercede with the devils. Ahem. Uh, guys, I have to go to the bathroom. While they are continuing to debate, I am pacing around the bathroom, trying to think through all implications. I realize that there are several ways that this could be a campaign-ender, not a campaign-changer. I conclude now that Asmodeus knows about the SM, and Acererak knows he knows, there is only one possible outcome: Acererak offers the SM to Asmodeus with no strings--other than Acererak gets to do what he wants with the PCs. Back at the table, the PCs debate for a while longer, and eventually, I end the session on the cliffhanger. In the days after the session, I message each of the players with an individual offer that they received from the Erinyes telepathically during negotiations. Then I tell everyone that the Erinyes informs the PCs that a side deal has been reached, and the devils disappear. The players lose their minds. There are hours of them messaging back and forth with accusations and threats. I sip my coffee and pretend it's their tears. So now, I will run the rest of the dungeon as written, EXCEPT there is no Soul Monger and the Atropal is very, very, hungry. Six fresh souls will really hit the spot. Side note: Ordered this 3D printed Atropal. It is awesome. [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/709534492/atropal-the-god-that-never-was-resin[/URL] Got a guy locally to paint it for me. I told him when I put it down on the table, I wanted them to ask, "What is WRONG with you??". The encounter will run as normal, except in place of the four tentacles, the Atropal will attempt to drop PCs into the lava with its umbilical cord. I am making this a legendary action. Acererak will show up as normal, monologuing about his deal with Asmodeus, and outing the wizard, who told nobody about their negotiations. Long-term, the players now have to deal with the consequences of their actions. The Death Curse will still be ongoing, and I have a bit of time to decide if the Soul Monger is now installed in one of the Hells (say, Avernus?) or somewhere else on the Material Plane. TLDR: Be prepared for your players to make an offer like this when dealing with the devils. You can safely assume that they devils are not aware of the SM if they are not told, and you can rule that they are bound in the chamber and cannot communicate with the 'big boss'. But maybe if the players talk and the devils are sent back to hell the hard way, they have information to run up the chain of command... [/QUOTE]
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