Abyssal Fortress

[Melkor]

I'm running a game on Wednesday night and needed some advice/filler:

The characters were betrayed by an evil lord they served and trapped in an abyssal prison fortress. The characters wake up hooked to chains in the cieling of a chamber in the fortress. All of their equipment is gone, and they have no memory of why they are there. The goal of the adventure will be to discover who they are, why they are here, and to escape (via discovering an exit or bargaining with the fortresses demonic lord).

I'm using a map from the WoTC Map-A-Week series:
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/mapofweek/928_v1.jpg

I just need some ideas on what to fill it with.

Any ideas ?

Thanks.

 

[Telperion]

Planescape Torment?

Well, I suppose it would be civil to allow for some clues and stuff. If they are going to be there for a long time you could do some dream sequences and stuff. Also, some of the nasties hanging around might brag about the characters "finally falling after such and such adventure", and filling in little details.

Aside from that I suppose this has some larger context, so regaining their memory would be good at some point. Maybe a cleansing at a Celestial Realms?

 

[Wycen]

Oh oh oh. I recognize that map. It is the map they use for an adventure called the Burning Mages Demense or something like that. You should be able to google that and come up with it, it'll have the runs filled out for you.

As I recall the first part of the castle has some azer in it. Then the part of over river of lava has a succubus, or maybe that was the building on the other side of the lava.

Of course I had to radically change the adventure for my group.

How about a fire salamander with a few levels of fighter or blackguard as the guardian over the lava flow.

I had fiendish dire wolves stalking them outside the manor. That is all I can remember, since they ended up all dying thanks to a bad decision with a fireball, (being on the abyss it was empowered and everyone but the evoker specialist mage who cast the spell died).

I think there is a half dragon in their somewhere.

A group of troublesome dretch with a couple levels of sorcerer is fun. The players expect to walk thru them and all of a sudden colar sprays and chill touches start getting cast at them.

Also having a prisoner who will help them if freed is a good idea, like an archon or maybe lillendi.

Some trapped rooms would also be appropriate.

What's the level of your party?

 

[Zappo]

Click on the link in my signature. I am writing a long adventure set in the Abyss, and the first part is set in an Abyssal prison. The fortress above it isn't mapped or described yet, but the prison itself is fully detailed.

 

[Melkor]

Thanks for the suggestions. That will help.
I only have a short amount of prep time.

I started the characters at Level 5, but several of them are Level Adjustment creatures with fewer hit points. I am thinking I might have to bump them up a bit to allow them to survive in the abyss - but escaping will be possible through a bargain with the prison's lord, or the characters finding a portal on the map - and "sacrificing" something to use the portal.

I wanted them to start at a level where they would have some history (completely forgotten of course), but had not lived out too much of their lives before starting the campaign.

 

[Shadow145]

blood war

Why not have them "rescued" by devils raiding the fortress. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" and all that. Could invoke a few ethical delimmas as well for added fun. Maybe have the devils agree to restore their memory if they perform some service (assassinate a demon perhaps?). Focus on the "Lawful" of Lawful Evil.

 

[der_kluge]

How about some slave/servant that the PCs could help free in exchange for information, or a way out of the fortress?

 

[Melkor]

How about some slave/servant that the PCs could help free in exchange for information, or a way out of the fortress?

Good ideas! Thanks.

I was also thinking about leaving the character's alignments "blank" for the first session.....Not only have they forgotten who they are and how they got to the abyssal prison, but they have also forgotten "how they are supposed to act".....With the flashbacks/memories that they recover, they will discover "who they used to be", but in doing so, I will give the player the choice of embracing those memories and continuing to act the way they once did, or struggle with changing to a new alignment and dealing with their past.....Just an idea.

What are some good CR 5 challenges that I could throw at the characters in an abyssal prison on a level of the abyss that has the "flame/fire" feature to it ?

Salamanders are always a cool monster. I was also thinking of using the Flame Elemental Template in Manual of the Planes and adding that to some trolls.....

A single Vrock would be a challenge to the characters at 5th level.

 

[Wycen]

Good ideas! Thanks.

I was also thinking about leaving the character's alignments "blank" for the first session.....

What are some good CR 5 challenges that I could throw at the characters in an abyssal prison on a level of the abyss that has the "flame/fire" feature to it ?

A single Vrock would be a challenge to the characters at 5th level.

I like the idea of the blank alignments, but don't let the paladin get screwed over by that, if the party has one.

A single vrock will kill the party. It's more than a challenge, unless you have 8 or more people in your party, and even then I'd expect some of the PC's to die.

Good CR 5 monsters...Shadow Mastiffs, Hieracosphinx, a grimlock with 4 levels of barbarian?

 

[Rel]

I'll be uncreative and just grab a couple quick suggestions that have cropped up in my game recently:

Some sort of "deal with the devil" for them to escape or gain information. If one of the characters will part with his soul in exchange for their escape then they can manage to get "back home". His efforts to regain his soul will certainly drive the character and may become a central focus for the entire campaign (if that's something you don't mind). For lots of creative and dastardly ideas on this one, look up my recent "How FAST should he turn evil?" thread. It should still be in the first 2 or 3 pages of the General Forum.

Also in that thread are lots of ideas about how to impliment a soul-eating demon in the shape of a dagger. This could be another idea you put in. Have the party slay some fiend in the early going who has such a blade (dagger, sword, whatever). The blade is sentient and wants to consume more souls. It is willing to tell the PC's tidbits of info about themselves for each creature they slay with it.

And I also had a ton of fun with an NPC she-devil (same thread as above) who seduced one of the PC's into a rather compromising situation. A Succubus or Erinyes will probably be too much for a party of that level, but you could tone her down a bit.

Sounds like a fun game. Let us know how it goes.