NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MortalPlague" data-source="post: 6498487" data-attributes="member: 62721">Legendary musicians could be very good, especially ones who died or vanished tragically young and are considered lost.  My elven noble is a bard, so it would resonate with her if there were elves there, I think.  As for the contract addendum or condition, that could be devilish fun, negotiating clauses.  We'll see how negotiatory my players feel.I do have a PC who was banished to the Abyss, I may have him put in an appearance in the entourage of a prominent devil who rescued him from the demons.  Or maybe he rescued the devil and got taken in as a reward.  Either way, he'll be a fun NPC to present.I can't think of any suitable villains to really bring into play.This is exactly what I hoped to get out of this thread, thanks Shemeska!Dispater's motivations are simple (and informed by the adventure itself, actually); he wants Tiamat not to escape Avernus, and to continue to be a nuisance to Zariel, the ruler of the first level of hell.  Therefore he has agreed to commit a legion of devils to the conflict.  Any of his devils slain will merely reappear in the nine hells.  And, I suspect, he enjoys the thought that no mortal can deny that he saved them.  That they owe a great deal of praise to Dispater for their victory.I have a few ideas for how Dispater could show his control.  I plan to have him (or his Viceroy, if he's absent) to command a pit fiend to battle the PCs to the death.  A cruel fate for the devil, and a display for his guests of the prowess of these mortals (who will dance for him, slaying a pit fiend who has displeased him).  It will also let me throw in some combat without doing some hackneyed ambush in the middle of the dinner.In addition, I plan for Dispater (or his Viceroy) to offer the PCs some liquor distilled from souls.  "That's an aged Cain Devonbrook of Cormyr, blond and bearded with a light hint of valor and strong undercurrents of justice.  Notice how the devotion breaks on the tongue, giving the sweet taste of despair at the end?"  Purely a display of opulence and wealth, and a step towards corrupting any mortal who dines with him.Sir, this information is invaluable.  Thank you for such wonderful, detailed information, both on Dispater and his court, and on the city itself.  I had only read the snippets from the 5th Edition DMG, which is more of an overview than a detailed character study.  Where is this information from?  I may have to look this book up, particularly if I plan to bring in Mephistopholes (which would, admittedly, be tremendous fun).I'm on the fence now about whether I want Dispater to show his face or not.  If he does, however, it will likely be in close company and not at the party at large.  Playing up the hatred of the Viceroy by the guests could provide a nice undercurrent of intrigue to the party.Perception of time is definitely something I want to play with.  It feels fitting that time would be altered in this place, that a banquet would stretch on for what feels like days, while mere hours have played out.  And snide one-upsmanship and self-indulgent discussion would certainly be fun to play.  Especially directed at the PCs.As for the help, they will certainly be slaves of peerless beauty, once again, to show off Dispater's opulence and wealth.</blockquote>

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