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

[Knightfall]

Ok, P'Cat have you ever seen that episode of ST:TNG where Picard is simutaneously in the past, present and future? Q puts him in that position and Picard has to think in a non-linar fashion.

Do that to them!

Either that, or take a page from the recent War of Souls Dragonlance trilogy. Not really spoilers but you've been warned anyway...




One character, NPC, trapped through time with alternate versions of the Defenders and other NPCs. That character would have to restore the timeline or go back to die in the past. Minor spoiler over.

Or you could have all the Defenders trapped in an alternate reality, where there isn't any easy way back, and maybe this reality is the real reality and stuff like that there.

Or maybe Alix could have a less dark twin in an alternate reality. But a reality in the past. Just imagine Alix as a devote paladin of Aeos... just imagine!

Or maybe Dylrath through time from the future, to warn the Defenders of what may come.



I'm done now.

KF72

 

[Greybar]

Okay, so I can't find the stats for Klixxit, even though I seem to remember him and have used Search and "Find on Page" through every part of this thread. *sigh*

Little help, someone?

thanks,
John

 

[Fade]

I thought he was posted on the Story Hour thread.

 

[Piratecat]

I'm still swooning, trembling with rapture at the vision of a future undead Priggle, but that will take some serious work to fit in plot-wise - assuming that I can do so without mangling what other things are going on in the plot. But meanwhile...

Might I suggest ancient relic being hawked by some greasy vendor, who doesn't realize what it is?.. instant diversion from the white kingdom.

So, there's a problem with this that I'm sure you've already thought of. Not with the mechanics; those are feasible. But the White Kingdom is one long-ass plot arc, and in essence it's a great big dungeon. What almost ALWAYS happens with big dungeons? I'll tell you (at least in my experience): players get bored.

Part of not letting people get bored is keeping things interesting and unpredictable; the upcoming disaster in my story hour was orchestrated partially for that reason. The other part, though, is maintaining a sense of momentum. I want to keep things feeling like they're moving rapidly forward. I want there to be a definite end in sight, and for every piece to build on what has come before. A time-based side adventure makes me nervous because I'm not sure it would maintain the momentum.

But lordy, it has potential.

EDIT - Greybar, I think he's on the main thread, in the first 10 pages. I don't think I deleted him. The fast way of checking is to go to page 10, hit ctrl-F, and type in Klixxit. If he isn't there, go to page 9 and do the same thing. It's a little bit faster!

 

[Akin Ringpeace]

A time-based side adventure makes me nervous because I'm not sure it would maintain the momentum.

And, of course, Sagiro's already been there, done that. Well, apart from the "side" part.

 

[Ashy]

I have Klixxit, if you like. Shall I repost him here? Is that who they are about to fight in the SH, Pkitty?

Akin - ya ever gonna email me?

 

[Kugar]

Another Time Travel involved side trip could involve the defenders. Imagine some divine, powerful entity wished to communicate with the Defenders in absolute secret. What would it do?
Take them back in time to the scene of their greatest accomplishments and parlay!
For example: the very climax of the comet cycle. Why? It would be natural for a powerful entity want to get involved, and all divinations about the Defenders then would be directed to the more prominent group. Would it not be cool to find out that the whole comet cycle was a really elaborate set piece to talk to current (then future) Defenders in private. What a great way to reveal a HUGE secret than from the back of the comet destined to smash Spira.

Kugar
Edit: Add PS and fixed it's timeline

Ps RE: Priggle.
It would not be future undead Piggle, but just a continuation of his life. Look below 1s represent Priggle from birth to time jump.
2s Represent Priggles after Jump.
A---D---B----------C---
2222222|2222222222|22
---------1111111111----

Events: A = Priggle Arives in past; B = Priggle Born; C = Priggle sent back in time; D = Priggle becomes undead.
Notice that that there are two Priggles active during his life until point C, but Priggle 2 would be doing everything he could to make "History" happen as he remembered - and of course it does or else there would be paradox.

Of course from Priggle's viewpoint it would be :
B1111111CA2222D2222222222B222222C22222222

 

[Knightfall]

So, there's a problem with this that I'm sure you've already thought of. Not with the mechanics; those are feasible. But the White Kingdom is one long-ass plot arc, and in essence it's a great big dungeon. What almost ALWAYS happens with big dungeons? I'll tell you (at least in my experience): players get bored.

Part of not letting people get bored is keeping things interesting and unpredictable; the upcoming disaster in my story hour was orchestrated partially for that reason. The other part, though, is maintaining a sense of momentum. I want to keep things feeling like they're moving rapidly forward. I want there to be a definite end in sight, and for every piece to build on what has come before. A time-based side adventure makes me nervous because I'm not sure it would maintain the momentum.

But lordy, it has potential.

Here's an idea, relate 'breaking the back of the White Kingdom' to the time travel plot. Maybe they need to go back in time to 'break the back of the White Kingdom'.

Defenders are in the present, they need to get this white Kingdom problem solved before the 'upcoming disaster' lays the world low, so to speak.

A future version of Dylrath comes back in time to their present location and convinces them that the only way to win against the White Kingdom is to come bakc in time with him to when the White Kingdom is just starting to rear it's ugly head.

Now, back in the past, the Defenders must make sure they don't get side tracked by events they know are going to be solved by their past selves, as well as stay clear of their past selves (the whole two instances of one self can't occupy the same space in time sort of thing).

Some things could come to light that didn't make sense before or you could drop a whole new bunch of crazy plot twists with time elements imbedded into 'em. Like an undead Priggle.

Then once victorous in the past, Dlyrath transports them back to the present where they have to deal with the knowledge that he can later in life, travel through time. and they CAN"T tell him this or they might screw up the past, present and future.

And when they get back, they arrive just as the 'impending disaster' is ready to unfold and the future Dylrath doesn't stick around and help or tell them whether or not they succeed or not. He cant' because it might cause a Paradox.



Just some random, evil time traveling ideas...

KF72

 

[Akin Ringpeace]

Akin - ya ever gonna email me?

Hey, I did ages ago. I never heard back.

I'll send you another.

 

[Kaodi]

Time Travel And Other Things

Time travel always seems to be a neat idea, but this is the sort of stuff where you really have to be careful to avoid paradox, unless you don't really care whether things are paradoxical or not... the best kind of time travel I believe is the kind where you send the players off to another demiplane without them knowing it, and have that time feature either the fast or slow time trait, so what seems like a day could of been a year in their world, or what seemed like a year could of been a day. Or even more extreme. If you really wanted to be tricky, you could insinuate the solution to the White Kingdom into some sort of inoculous mini-detail of one of their quests/adventures/encounters in the demiplane. As for other things, the White Kingdom should try to confront the Defenders not only with their fears, but with some nemeses of a sense. Malachite with a genuinely beneficial undead, Mara with the sun as a destructive force, Velendo with walls being a bad thing, and so on and so on... Hope some of this helps.

One question... will the Defenders eventually encounter the full circle of Weird sisters?