Challenging my high-lvl group (NPCs and monsters; my players shouldn't read this!)

[Piratecat]

The key in making the six-way "discussion" work was keeping in mind the very disparate goals of each faction, so that each spokesperson could make their own desires and motivations absolutely clear. This was my "You've been in informational limbo long enough, here's a ton of data about who the major players are so that you can play them off one another" game.

It also helped that I gave the group a card with each spokesperson's name on it, tried to use different voices for each NPC, and am using different color markers on the battlemap.

 

[Joker[ZW]]

Hey Bob, didn't you hear? I killed all the modrons.

Just out of curiosity, any info on what the Parai are doing, now that you have killed their biggest enemy?

 

[Piratecat]

What the heck are the Parai? I've never heard of them... or if I have, my memory is creaky.

Enlighten me!

 

[arwink]

My memory is skittish, but I think they were LN outsiders from the Planes of Law book.

 

[Ashy]

Correct - they looked like women in slinky black, rubber dresses with masks for faces. The backs of the masks were empty, however and filled with light. Seems like when they would encounter a victim (i.e. someone they wanted to convert to the cause of law) the light would jump out of their heads to try and envelop them and the shell of of their bodies would try and absorb them. I could be wrong, however. I will check my books tonight, PC.

 

[Knight Otu]

I think I read in one of Shemeska's posts that the parai have been updated in the MM3 as the visilights...

 

[Joker[ZW]]

Parai are a different expression of LN than the Modrons, who seek only two things: beauty and perfection. If they find either of the two in a person they try to assimilate the person into their species by transforming him/her/it into a Parai.

Modrons and Parai attack each other on sight.
While Parai integrate and expand the Modrons don't have an expansionist philosophy.

Yes, they are called Visilights in 3Ed

 

[jrtyler]

Hey PCat, I absolutely love this thread. (I'm sorry I found it so late) One thing that might also give some really good ideas for working with the outsiders is the appendices in the Fiend Folio, especially the three Fiend Prestige Classes. Even worse, if you use Angels (or Guardinals, Eladrins, what have you) that have somewhat fallen due to their own pride and zealotry, one of the main pre-reqs of those classes is an outsider with the evil subtype (which I would definitely apply to a fallen angel, try Green Ronin's book of Fiends for templates on fallen outsiders). Imagine, a fallen archon with the fiend of possesion prestige class. He's so disgusted with the way he percieves others to be flawed in their fight against evil that he attempts to take them over, never realizing in his pride and arrogance that he himself has become evil by taking away free will.
Also, I don't know if this would apply but it's a really sick thing that I did once in a game I ran. Our sorceress had a faerie dragon familiar that got captured by the bad guys. By the time we were able to rescue it, it's wings had been torn off and a pair of mambraneous wings grafted on. The resulting insanity from having fiendish grafts put on a good creature carried partly over the empathic link putting the poor sorceress in anguish. It was pretty sick. My players hated me for that one too. Everyone loved that sweet little dragon. Hehe.

John

 

[Piratecat]

John, what an interesting idea. I'm not sure I can retrofit such a class on my fallen angel, but I'll check.

Thanks for the info on the parai! I never much paid attention to them before. I don't have a lot of love for them; I think with all the modrons dead, other creatures might be clamoring to claim part of MEchanus for themselves. Devils, formians, angels, slaadi, planar factions. . .

 

[Knight Otu]

Not too serious post ahead.

I think with all the modrons dead, other creatures might be clamoring to claim part of MEchanus for themselves.

Of course, the real question is - are the modrons truly dead? Just look at the modron/Primus situation on Mechanus: gears everywhere, being under siege by formians and masked lights, being confused wirh mindless constructs, less and less influence with the rising number of inevitables and formians... doesn't sound like a plane to call home if you're into total law. Way too chaotic.

Ladys and gentlemen, the real reason the modrons marched early is none other than ...

... to find a nice new home for Primus!

(of course, when Primus went to that nice new home, the hierarchy of the Mechanus modrons collapsed, resulting in the seeming death of the race. But in the nice new home, they are beginning to thrive. And once they have built up a nice power base... )

On a more serious note - was there more to the decision to kill off the modrons than the Planar Handbook controversy and the unwillingness to investigate the March of the Modrons? Just curious.