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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MrMyth" data-source="post: 4545545" data-attributes="member: 61155">Ok, I've run a second session of the adventure and have started to assemble a narrative for how I think it will go, which might be of use to you given your interest in a more linear set-up. While I'm sure the exact specifics of my plot might not be the ones for you, it might provide some useful ideas on tying the disparate groups of the Pyramid together. (Also, I've made some other cosmetic adjustments that you might find interesting, regarding Vyrellis and her shards.) My narrative:  [sblock]I found myself with several goals here. One, I wanted to provide a stronger sense of continuity as the party went through the various factions in the Pyramid - while I liked each group, I wanted them to feel like this place was an interconnected world.  Two, I wanted to establish several figures prominently - I had some success with this via the Library (where I got the party thinking about some of the big foes they were going to fight), and Karavakos himself was supported through the dreams, the stories they found, and his tendency to occasionally send spectral illusions of himself to pester them.  Yet one figure remained who seemed a rather interesting villain, but without much background - Karavakos's Shadow. Another version of the tiefling, but one whose plans were not to escape the Pyramid, but to conquer it and rule it as his own domain. A figure that none of the other shards, nor Vyrellis, knew about. How was I to draw him to the fore?  My answer came in the form of Andaran, the Satyr. Initially befriended by the party, I decided that the Shadow would gain control over him and use him as an excellent pawn to plague them throughout the Pyramid, while hinting at the Shadow's presence as they went.  Anyway, here is what has happened thus far: 1) The party arrived in the Pyramid (over a few days, as they had been split up/new characters had been introduced/etc).  2) They defeated the ettin and Vyrellis 'joined the party'. From the little advice she could (or would) tell them about the area, they decided the best place to check out was the Library. Upon going to the Library, however, they found the entrance sealed by a wall of roots and vines that they couldn't get through - one tied to some sort of primal energy source to the south.  3) They went south, fighting their way through the Arboreans. Andaran the Satyr was one of the enemies in one of those fights - and as they tide turned against the Arboreans, he decided to make a play for mercy. With only one Arborean left, he indicated they should kill it instead of him - and once they did, he threw down his weapons and surrendered, claiming the plant people were magically controlling him. (A total lie.) He did have some proof to offer - a seed pod they had embedded in his skin. All it actually did was let the plant shaman track him... but the PCs didn't know that, and bought his story. He urged them to kill the rest of the Arboreans, and aided them in doing so.  4) With the Arboreans dead, the party decided to head to the Library. Andaran said he wouldn't help them with that, saying he was frightened of the creatures within the Library - creatures so terrible the Arboreans had sealed them inside. (This was true - as a bard, he was horrified of the idea of something that could pluck knowledge out of his head - a fate worse that death, in his mind.) Since the party had started to get a sense of his true nature (arrogant and self-serving, rather than the heroic figure he presented himself as), they were fine with parting ways.  5) The party continued on to the Library, clearing it out. The last session ended there, with them planning to confront Arat Karavakos at the start of the next session.  Now, here are my plans for what comes next: Andaran's plan was simple - with the Arboreans dead, he would claim their domain as his own, enjoying one of the more peaceful and natural environs in the Pyramid. He even hoped that the surroundings would help him intimidate any newcomers that showed up in the Pyramid, to either take their belongings or recruit them as minions.  Instead, he found himself visited by Karavakos's Shadow. The Shadow promised him great power, if he would do its bidding. Though always prone to bad bargains, he might have still said no to the offer... but the Shadow also began to weave a spell over him to ensure he would serve it. Entirely oblivious, he agreed, with no idea the fate in store for him.  Two instructions he was given - to recruit others in the service of the Shadow, and to eliminate the PCs, who were a threat to the Shadow's plans to conquer the Pyramid.  When the party defeats Arat Karavakos and heads out of the library, they will find Andaran waiting for them, juggling two shiny black stones. (These were given to him by the Shadow, and will let him teleport within the Pyramid once for each stone. He will be protective of them, and guilt trip any PCs that try to take them.) He explains to the PCs that he feels bad about abandoning them after they freed him from the Arboreans, and that he wants to help them again, now that they have dealt with the monsters in the Library.  He will then join the party as they embark on their next mission - dealing with the bandits, since they have the quest to hunt down Gareth Vhen, and know he fled into the eastern rooms. They will fight through the lizardfolk, and then likely head south (since I plan to make it obvious the northern door is heavily locked and hard to pass through quietly.) Thus, they will face the bandit guards, the succubus skill challenge, and then the bandits themselves (and their werewolf.)  I imagine, by that point, the group will likely want to rest. During that rest, Andaran will wait until the least Perceptive PCs are on watch... and then steal the Head of Vyrellis and sneak away. When they discover his theft in the morning, I am certain they will quickly head after him.  Unfortunately, he will have laid some false trails to lure them into the Chamber of Rats, and then past the Bridge to the lair of the Beast in the Pit. Where he actually is is with the Flameskull and the other outcasts in the Ambush Hall, whom he is trying to recruit to the service of the Shadow.  He will still be there when the PCs enter that area and fight those outcasts. By this time, the PCs will start to see some changes in him - his skin is growing dusky, his hair turning gray, and his appearance in general becoming washed out. In any case, Andaran will lend the outcasts his assistance. When cornered by the PCs, he will try and get them to let him go by threatening Vyrellis (an empty threat, in truth). If that fails, he will use one of the black stones to teleport to the next level of the Pyramid - though doing so leaves Vyrellis behind.  At this point, PCs will have a few rooms left on the first floor - likely just the room with Vyrellis's body, and the frozen room she promises has treasure within, both of which I've slightly modified for her own plot. Once they've gotten through those traumatic experiences and rested up, I expect they'll head on up to the second level. On the second floor, Andaran is chilling with the Temple Guards, who he again aids against the PCs. His hair is now completely gray, and a black film covers his eyes, though he doesn't see to notice the changes. He flees through the secret passage to the Three Gates, which he has already arranged to be allowed through so he can seek an audience with the foulspawn seer, Medraga.  He tries to convince Medraga to serve the Shadow, but with limited success. He does succeed in convincing Medraga the PCs are a threat, and so Medraga will work towards their death (through deception or open combat as best works.) Andaran will wait for the PCs in the Hovels of the Damned, waiting to aid Medraga and the rabble in fighting the PCs. When cornered, he uses his last stone to flee.  At this point, there isn't as much need to lead the PCs on, since the remaining zones are all pretty isolated and self-sufficient. They will likely finish off the area infected by the far realms, then confront the dragon, then proceed to the next floor, where they will deal with the undead portion and the Shadow's domain. Each should be interesting enough in its own right to stand on its own.  Eventually, at the Shadow Stone, they find Andaran waiting in the Shadow's lair, and he is now a purely pathetic figure - thin and wasting away, all color bleached from his appearance, with only his voice still remaining strong and pure. He fights for the Shadow, but when the PCs defeat the Shadow, he will thank them for freeing him, even as he knows they probably won't believe him - either way, his life is weak enough that he will perish. (I might have him give them his pipes, making it a one-use healing item for the group... if they are willing to trust his dying words enough to try to use it.)  And with the Shards and the Shadow defeated, the PCs can head to the last floor and open the way to Karavakos himself for the final showdown...[/sblock] Vyrellis and the Shards:  [sblock]The changes I made here came about based on realizing that two of the Shards are practically next to each other (one in the room with the Lizardfolk, and one in the room with the succubus.) I wanted the finding of them to not come quite so rapidly together, so decided to move the one with the Succubus - and eventually settled on putting it in the Ice Chamber, since that would explain a little bit more why she would want to get the party to go in there.  Then I realized I was starting to see a theme - the shard in the library was on a statue surrounding by grass, and this shard was going in a frozen room. Vyrellis, as an Eladrin, is very connected to nature - and especially the seasons. Why not expand this into a full theme? Thus... Vyrellis and the Shards:  When Vyrellis was trapped in the Pyramid, and subsequently slain by Karavakos, her essence was split into several places in the Pyramid. The core of her being was placed in an orb, which ended up claimed by the ettin Gurrak. Three shards were created, placed with the statues of Spring, Winter and Autumn, with the last portion of her being - her physical form - representing the Summer.  H1: The Library of Whispers. In the center of the Library stands the Spring Statue, amidst a square of grass and flowers that remains fresh despite its location inside the whispering hall of knowledge. Once there was a large amethyst of pink and purple upon the statue - one of the Shards of Vyrellis. But some group trapped in the prison stripped it from the statue, and later bartered it to Rimetooth the White Dragon, and now it is found in his hoard.  P5: The Flooded Chamber. Behind this flooded area is a sealed room - and within it, a circle of brown trees beside a floor of freshly fallen leaves. In the center of the circle is the Autumn Statue, upon which is a bright orange garnet - one of the Shards of Vyrellis. The floor of the chamber is wet and slightly damp, a marshy environ due to the water draining into this chamber from the neighboring area - but it is still easy to tread upon, and the Shard can be easily reclaimed (as long the lizardfolk are defeated or pacified.) S1: The Ice Chamber. This chamber is bitterly cold - but several frozen trees, covered in white leaves of ice - can be seen throughout the room. In the chamber beyond, an icy statue of Vyrellis can be seen - the Winter Statue, source of the cold. A deep blue sapphire was once placed upon the statue - one of the Shards of Vyrellis. Unfortunately, the chamber is also filled with dangers - not just the cold itself, but several monsters imprisoned within in blocks of ice, including Trathkul, a mezzo demon that once allied with Vyrellis, but whose alliance ended... poorly. When he thaws out, it can be seen that he clutches the Shard in one hand - while he holds a magical implement in the other, presumably the magic weapon Vyrellis claimed could be found within. Once he is defeated, the Shard can be claimed, and Vyrellis can focus her will to lessen the cold in the chamber - leaving it chill, but not enough to cause actual harm to those within.  S3: Chamber of the Monoliths. Rather than a statue, this chamber holds the body of the Summer Princess herself, as Vyrellis once was called. The room is noticably warm. Within the area sealed off by the monoliths, and in the squares just outside it, the ground is covered in dry brown grass that crinkles when trod upon. The energy emitted by the monoliths themselves feels like the heat of the blazing summer sun. In the center of the room lies the nearly-perfect form of the Eladrin Princess, whose beauty - even in death - is only marred by the body's absent head. While it looks safe to approach, a deadly trap awaits the heroes should they bring the Head of Vyrellis near the waiting corpse... In keeping with the theme, I also plan to reflavor the headless corpse's powers - Razor Storm will be a cloud of razor sharp autumn leaves, Ray of Ruin a dessicating ray that saps one's strength from heat exhaustion, Force Wave a powerful breeze with the scent of spring, and Winter's Wrath, of course, needs no alteration. Phantom Step involves swirling leaves surrounding it and then fading to the ground with it vanished, etc.  I really feel that Vyrellis and Karavakos are very central to the adventure, and that making them both personalized, and building a connection from them to the players, is going to be the key to making the adventure memorable. So here's hoping these changes will help with that![/sblock]</blockquote>

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