Crazed Substitute DM
- Thread starter ShadeMoon64
- Start date
SweeneyTodd
First Post
Another vote for OOC reset here. Explaining it away in-game gives it credibility, and it doesn't sound like there was anything going on that you'd want incorporated into the game.
I'd give the players an average session's worth of XP, to thank them for being good sports about the "lost" session.
I'd give the players an average session's worth of XP, to thank them for being good sports about the "lost" session.
Brother Shatterstone
Dark Moderator of PbP
ShadeMoon64 said:
This would be my choice... Somethings where bond to change but this seems rather extreme.
Was the temp DM part of the playing group as well? If so how did his character make out in the deal?
kigmatzomat
Legend
Hmmmm, I have a variant on the doppleganger idea.
Collect the now modified character sheets. Look at them and say "Exxxxxxcelent." Turn to the sub, "You have done well. These will seve me nicely." Tell everyone to pick up their 7th level character sheets and continue on with the story as if nothing untoward had happened.
3 levels later they wake up in temple of healing in the "variant" bodies. A shocked cleric is standing over them. "I'm so sorry. I didn't understand. I think I've made a terrible mistake."
He explains the party (sort of) arrived at his temple a week ago seeking aid. They'd been suffering various maladies that did not respond to normal healing magics. The cleric ascertained they were suffering some spiritual wound and were somehow incomplete. The ritual was to make them whole again but.....
The cleric now understands that the alternate adventures were clones/simulacrums with incomplete souls. His ritual swapped the two sets but not in a good way. The current bodies are artificial and still dying, albeit much slower, with the heroes' complete souls. The alternates' incomplete souls will poison their "real" bodies so that they too will die.
The party now has to find their alternates and bring them back to the cleric so he can reverse the ritual. For various reasons it can only be performed at his temple and, of course, the clock is ticking.
Of course this means consigning "themselves" to death, which should result in the opportunities for additional twisted RPing.
Collect the now modified character sheets. Look at them and say "Exxxxxxcelent." Turn to the sub, "You have done well. These will seve me nicely." Tell everyone to pick up their 7th level character sheets and continue on with the story as if nothing untoward had happened.
3 levels later they wake up in temple of healing in the "variant" bodies. A shocked cleric is standing over them. "I'm so sorry. I didn't understand. I think I've made a terrible mistake."
He explains the party (sort of) arrived at his temple a week ago seeking aid. They'd been suffering various maladies that did not respond to normal healing magics. The cleric ascertained they were suffering some spiritual wound and were somehow incomplete. The ritual was to make them whole again but.....
The cleric now understands that the alternate adventures were clones/simulacrums with incomplete souls. His ritual swapped the two sets but not in a good way. The current bodies are artificial and still dying, albeit much slower, with the heroes' complete souls. The alternates' incomplete souls will poison their "real" bodies so that they too will die.
The party now has to find their alternates and bring them back to the cleric so he can reverse the ritual. For various reasons it can only be performed at his temple and, of course, the clock is ticking.
Of course this means consigning "themselves" to death, which should result in the opportunities for additional twisted RPing.
fanboy2000
Adventurer
Something just occured to me. What if the players don't have the chere old Character sheets? What if, like me, they just level up on the same sheet untill it's unsuable?
ARandomGod
First Post
I'd do the dream. Because it's elegant and simple. Allot them a small amount of XP for it, and move on. You might even work in the dream as a prophecy or omen or something.
However, if you find the dream option distastful, you can run them through a little more side adventures... with level draining creatures to level the characters back down to where they should be, and sundering/magic item destroying creatures to return the party's treasure level back to where it should be. Make a special note to inflict something specifically horrific on the sub GM's character. Then have either some way to nullify it's effects, or just have it horrible with no game effects whatsoever.
In other words, take away everything they were given over what you think they should have, and repair the hurt ones back to where you think they should be. Everyone earns a little XP along the way, and you get a chance to run some interesting overpowered creatures.
Note: You'll have to target the level draining creatures specifically. Either have rolls done behind the screen or have creatures with a limited number of such attacks, and you get to decide when/where these attacks get sent.
However, if you find the dream option distastful, you can run them through a little more side adventures... with level draining creatures to level the characters back down to where they should be, and sundering/magic item destroying creatures to return the party's treasure level back to where it should be. Make a special note to inflict something specifically horrific on the sub GM's character. Then have either some way to nullify it's effects, or just have it horrible with no game effects whatsoever.
In other words, take away everything they were given over what you think they should have, and repair the hurt ones back to where you think they should be. Everyone earns a little XP along the way, and you get a chance to run some interesting overpowered creatures.
Note: You'll have to target the level draining creatures specifically. Either have rolls done behind the screen or have creatures with a limited number of such attacks, and you get to decide when/where these attacks get sent.
ShadeMoon64
First Post
Thanks for all the input. A few points of clarification as to my particular situation:
1) The sub ran 3 sessions not just a single night.
2) There are no copies of the characters at their old levels changes are made on the original sheets.
3) The "side trek" was presented to me before hand as elements from the old Keep on the Borderlands module. The sub "tweaked it a bit to fit the current campaign" after I had left town.
4) The other players were lead to believe that the rapid advancement was planned to get them ready for a major challenge I had planned when I returned.
For now that group of characters in on hiatus until I can work out the exact means of repair. Exhausting the charges of most of the items or degradation now that the items are away from the location in which they were discovered (like the old drow items exposed to sunlight ploy) seem the most effective way of maintaining some sort of in game logic. A large portion of the gold will be spent fixing the con drain and petrified mage. As for the rapid rise in level, I will probably have to rewrite my new story arc to fit 10th level characters. As to what may happen to the sub's character ....
let's just say it will be less than wonderful.![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
1) The sub ran 3 sessions not just a single night.
2) There are no copies of the characters at their old levels changes are made on the original sheets.
3) The "side trek" was presented to me before hand as elements from the old Keep on the Borderlands module. The sub "tweaked it a bit to fit the current campaign" after I had left town.
4) The other players were lead to believe that the rapid advancement was planned to get them ready for a major challenge I had planned when I returned.
For now that group of characters in on hiatus until I can work out the exact means of repair. Exhausting the charges of most of the items or degradation now that the items are away from the location in which they were discovered (like the old drow items exposed to sunlight ploy) seem the most effective way of maintaining some sort of in game logic. A large portion of the gold will be spent fixing the con drain and petrified mage. As for the rapid rise in level, I will probably have to rewrite my new story arc to fit 10th level characters. As to what may happen to the sub's character ....
let's just say it will be less than wonderful.
reveal
Adventurer
ShadeMoon64 said:As to what may happen to the sub's character ....
let's just say it will be less than wonderful.
I'm not sure if that was tongue-in-cheek or not but, if it wasn't, I would recommend against it. Never punish a character in-game because of the players real life actions.
