ZEITGEIST Any issues with rearranging these ZG chapters?

Frankie1969 · Sep 6, 2018

Spoilers ahead.

I don't like the way that the party is arbitrarily diverted to the Dreaming between chapters 8 & 9 for a seemingly silly side quest. So instead I'm thinking:

chapter 7 reveals Nic is seeking Kasvarina
fey court contacts vekeshi party member, says they can help
first part of chapter 9
time is all screwy in the Dreaming
at conclusion, fey court directs party to chapter 8
time is all screwy in the Arc
at conclusion, last part of chapter 9

I may need to modify the power level of some encounters, but does this change cause any plot problems?

efreund · Sep 7, 2018

Could you elaborate on how you transition from the battle w Nic at the Spear of Tigrenes to the assault on the Royal Palace in Slate?

Frankie1969 · Sep 9, 2018

Assuming the party teleports out of Methia, there will be a time-twist montage as a backlash from extended use of the Arc, and enough time has passed for the Ob to set up their plans.

Andrew Moreton · Sep 9, 2018

To me your rewriting of the story seems even more of a contrived deux ex machina for preventing the players interfering on the wrong ritual I think as a player I would find it more obviously removing my agency and hence more annoying. But that depends on how your players think and you know that better than me.
I think I'll stick with the regular sequence but let us know how it turns out

Frankie1969 · Sep 10, 2018

That's a good point. I'm rearranging things so Borne isn't physically present, which also eliminates the problem of a partially magical construct (witchoil power) in the dead zone.

Andrew Moreton · Sep 10, 2018

I like having Borne there and am considering him to be an artifact for the purposes of the dead zone. My messing with the plot at this point is that one of my pc's is the reincarnation of Kasavarina's daughter so she risks being caught up in the memory . I hope they will consider the escape into the dreaming a better outcome than fighting it out with Borne, Nicodemus and a Danoran army and then be puzzled enough by the travel issue that they don't consider it me blocking them from taking pre-emptive action in the real world

hirou · Sep 11, 2018

Frankie1969 said:
That's a good point. I'm rearranging things so Borne isn't physically present, which also eliminates the problem of a partially magical construct (witchoil power) in the dead zone.

It was my understanding that Borne is specifically partially powered by witch oil and not by usual golem means to be able to operate in the apex of the ritual, where all magic is going haywire, but a sturdly built machine will continue to function. Also I think Borne only properly enters the city (the true dead magic zone) when Arc of Reida starts to partially restore it to its former glory, i.e. to the time of magic functioning properly, but this may be head canon.

Andrew Moreton · Sep 12, 2018

Also I believe witch oil with souls in it is used to allow magic use within the dead magic zone in Danor, while the area around the tower is the worst of the dead zone is is possible that the witch oil still provides enough magic to allow functionality. Also IIRC most of the time borne is around the arc is in hyperactive mode

Frankie1969 · Sep 14, 2018

hirou said:
Also I think Borne only properly enters the city (the true dead magic zone) when Arc of Reida starts to partially restore it to its former glory, i.e. to the time of magic functioning properly, but this may be head canon.

Sort of. The book says Borne crosses over after the party reaches the tower, but he starts on the other side of the river, way outside the Arc's field.