Durn's War of Fire and Ice Campaign Discussion

[Daern]

Session 22: The Froghemoth Cometh

This week we wrapped up Shelter from the Storm. After some mucking about with the white monolith (and a vision of Leska), the heroes marched up to the roof and battled the corrupted Druid Sidoneth at the edge of the raging sea!
The party was immediately swamped by a rogue wave while Sidoneth cackled madly and worked his Hurricane Orb (on a stand at the edge of the seawall). The Bard tossed out a staggering note to push the druid over the edge and ran up to battle for control of the Orb (small Arcana skill challenge).
Sidoneth disappeared for a round, only to be replaced by the Wrath of Dagon, also known as the FROGHEMOTH!!! It was a long long fight, with monsters and heroes getting repeatedly launched into the ocean, but of course they eventually prevailed. Cue the ticker tape parades, feasts and dark tidings of the wars to the north.
I used the table posted above for weather effects, but immediately realized I maxed out the encounter a bit. I had them fighting a lvl 13 Elite Controller(Sid), and a level 13 Solo Soldier (FROGHEMOTH). It was very difficult for them to hit and I almost couldn't miss. I juggled this by sort of alternating Sidoneth with the FROGHEMOTH so that when one got pushed over the edge, the other would pop back. Also, I had the FROGHEMOTH attack Sidoneth at one point after the Bard had directed one of the Druid's attacks at the monster. I also lowered both villain's defenses by one. As it was, I still didn't kill or even drop anyone, but all agreed that it was an epic fight. It took the whole session! One thing I was glad I did was make all the hit effects slides and pushes rather than immobilizations and stuns, which mixes it up without being too frustrating. In the end, Sidoneth escaped...
Now we move on to the Banquet. I will be fast forwarding quite a bit as I have half a dozen sessions remaining. The heroes will fly directly to Steppenguard, Council it up, clean house, and have a war.
Just for clarity, here's the outline of how I'd do the final encounter including some minor adjustments. (I'll try to post the FROGHEMOTH stats sometime if I can).

Sidoneth: Elite Controller lvl+3
FROGHEMOTH: Solo Soldier lvl+3 (with lots of slide effects)
Hurricane Orb: Complexity 1 skill challenge
Heavy Weather Table: (I started out rolling d4s for an effect each round, but started rolling d6s and d8s as the bard took controll of the Orb and the weather eased off. The bard now has the Orb and all are impressed by its badass-ness, though I warned them that excessive use might risk invoking the Call of Dagon once again.)

 

[Skyscraper]

The frogemoth... Heh. I remember battling one about 25 years ago and our entire party almost died there and then. Good stuff.

 

[Daern]

Sessions 23 and 24: To Go Where Eagles Dare

The campaign is really flying off the deep end now. I'm trying to speed it along, but it is so much fun to enjoy campaign world we've built up, its hard to push too much. Now I'm sort of following the players a bit.
In the last session the players enjoyed the spoils of success after saving the small town of Seaquen. They were rewarded with powerful magics and the responsibility of representing the town at the court of King Steppengard in Dassen. Their mission is to convince the king not to allow the invading Ragesian Empire to march across the country and wipe out Seaquen.

Meanwhile, it turned out the that the Dionem was actually a Universal Translator, and once they got it working the party took it to the eyrie of the Great Eagles and convinced them to help in the war effort as mounts. So they flew to Bresk on the backs of Eagles! On the way they stopped to battle a remorhaz and to confront a maniacal Steppengard Knight who was about to murder a halfling caravan. They managed to negotiate this without violence. The Knight Commander seemed to be under some sort of enchantment that was broken by the Bard's words of friendship.

Entering the city, the players went about investigating the political situation. It was obvious that with the recent assassinations and the unstable mental state of the king that events were balanced on a razor's edge. This was a loose skill challenge. We rolled initiative and went through the order twice. After that there were seven successes and one failure and that seemed good enough to me. The players had a good idea of factions and politics and were ready for the audience with the king. They were suspicious of an enchantment on the city and worried about their position in the town.

The audience featured a lot of me reading text blocks. I hammed it up to keep it interesting. I made Glibglamer a halfling and former acquaintance of the party's halfling bard. They players then took their turn, presenting themselves and the Seaquen offer of alliance. I basically let them talk for awhile. The triple skill challenge seemed awkward and unnecessary. It was all about having the players explain to me how they saw the campaign and the situation. Pure narrative and drama.

Finally, after some more political intrigue and a wild eyed warning of danger that had the whole party awake all night, the assassin attacked, sneaking into the bard's room and taking him down with poison darts. The dark elf swordmage/sorcerer was the first on the scene due to a scout position outside the inn. He chose to begin with an intimidate check, using an inquisitor mask. He was shocked when the assassing, a dark elf, looked at him and said, "Brother, I am a servant of Madness"!

Indeed, I brought back the swordmage player's character from an old 3e campaign that I had only heard of (the new PC was said to be searching for his lost brother), and I brought him back as an assassin! The one who killed the King's Familiy! I had statted him up as a 13th level solo, but no blows were struck. The players were blown away, and starting to hatch plans for switches of identity and all kinds of stuff. More ideas and plot twists than they know what to do with!

It was an awesome session that ended without a single to-hit roll.

In all honesty, I am still unsure where I am going with this. I have decided that the Dark Elf Assassin killed the family while under the enchantments of Madness. I had him describe the Dreaming Dragon as fragmented by suffering and abiding in the "mountains of madness." I have given the party all the hooks from the module as well. There is an arrest warrant out for them, although they do not know that for sure yet.

I like the idea that the Torch of the Burning Sky is lodged in the Eye of the Dreaming Dragon, which could be an aspect of the Paladine/Bahumat diety I vaguely have in my campaign world. The crippling of the Dragon is allowing Danzig(bestial god of tyranny and inquisitors) to speed his return to the mortal realm, along with eternal winter. Perhaps this is Leska's plan, to return the world to the Danzig Empire.

Anyways, I'd like to get a climactic mass battle in, and I'd like to have the players battle the Dreaming Dragon to recover the Torch. They are pretty tuned into establishing a war alliance against the empire as well, convincing the Dukes of Dassen, the Elves of Shahalesti etc to join them.

Maybe it will go like this: Flee Bresk to Gallo's Duchy, pursued by the Sphinx of the Eight Lands. Fly to the World Mountain to negotiate with the Titans for entry into the mountain's depths. Encounter the Dreaming Dragon breathing Flame throughout the astral plane and battle an aspect of the god(Dreambreath Dracolich) in order to remove the torch. Return with the Torch. Winter fades quickly as Danzig's influence wanes. The Ragesian hordes advance. Rally the troops and do battle with the Torch. Kick ass. Take over everything.

Just spitballing here. It could all change depending on what the players do. At this point they have enough knowledge, power and initiative to run with whatever they want. I reckon I only have a half dozen sessions left at best... I think we're gonna make it!

 

[Daern]

Session 25: Madness and the Sphinx of Wisdom

As I attempt to wrap this up in the next couple of weeks the campaign is straying pretty far from the modules, but I'm going to keep reporting just for the sake of completion.

The campaign has had so many twists and turns. The players and our play time has been very consistent but people are pretty confused at this point. There have been so many plot points thrown out there and I myself have struggled to keep the background story straight in my head. I did alot of brainstorming these last weeks and finally figured it out. Now I am ready for whatever the players do.

This session began with the party in their inn quarters having just encountered Madness's assassin, who turned out to be the long lost brother of one of the characters (bringing back the old PC background!). Speaking with the confused assassin revealed that he was the one who slew the Emperor Coaltongue months ago as well as the slayer of the royal family mere weeks ago. He blamed Madness, as if Madness were a real thing. He was pretty spaced out.
Outside were the sounds of armed men approaching the inn. Then bells of the Temple of the Dragon rang. The Temple (of Paladine/Bahumat/Dreaming Dragon) was where the royal family had been laid for public viewing. The assassin clutched his had and cried out, "The bells of Madness!" That was enough. The party snuck out of the inn and to an underground dwarven road that lead to both the castle and temple. The sound of an organ being played lead to the Temple. (I made Glibglamer a halfling organ-tuner and old rival of the party's halfling bard.)

Sneaking into the temple, they beheld the king at vigil, praying over his dead queen while the organ played the Ballad of Dassen. The party overheard a discussion between Glib and the King. Then the king left the temple and the party was ambushed by Glibglamer and a second assassin.
I used a Purplespawn Nightmare(Lvl 16 skirmisher) for Madness and a Dreaming Dark Assassin(lvl 13 elite). It was a nice fight because Glib being 16th level scared the crap out of the players but then went down pretty quickly.
They got a little bit of villain backstory before the fight. They then arranged the bodies to make it look like the assassin killed the king's advisor. Afterwards the party prayed to Paladine to reconsecrate the temple defiled by violence. They were rewarded with a vision:

The bulk of the Platinum Dragon pins the Horned God to the ground. Both are locked in an endless stalemate. The Dragon Dreams and is driven made by the fury of the Horned God, Danzig, who wishes to return to the mortal realm. The Dreaming Dragon has a red sliver in his eye.

I don't know why I'm into the idea of the Burning Torch being stuck in the Dragon's eye, but I dig it. The trillith have been a large and mysterious part of this campaign and I needed to reveal it. Turns out the Dragon's Dreams are fragmented and various aspects burst forth. Since the Torch was applied to increase Paladine's agony, the Dragon's more savage aspects (trillith) have gotten free. This was Leska's plan, for some of the Trillith hate their originator and wish to be free forever. They have joined in Leska's mission to free Danzig and bring another ice age.

This was further explained to the heroes when they visited the Book of Eight Lands, which is guarded by a Sphinx who it turns out is the Living Constitution of Dassen. The Sphinx is distraught that the King has not consulted him in months. Bereft of the logic of the Golden Sphinx, the king has become paranoid and despotic.

The heroes left resolving to round up the political power of Dassen and make another attempt to reason with the king. This could lead to a confrontation with the Ragesian embassy. Ideally, they will soon travel to the Dragon Graveyard and there battle the final Trillith, Revolution, a Dreambreath Dracoliche.

The characters have just dinged 11th level. Their final battle will be with an 18th level solo. After that they can wrap up the war and who knows? maybe go kill Danzig? If we have time...

 

[Skyscraper]

Now I am ready for whatever the players do.

Of course you are...

 

[Daern]

Heh! Well, a lot more than I was! At least I don't have to make major background plot decisions on the spot! I was sort of in story limbo for a little while. It was really great to layout a whole bunch of the plot last night and let them have at it. Now they can go about making some semi-informed decisions.

 

[RangerWickett]

You've taken the plot some interesting places. I'm pretty sure a level 18 solo is a tad over the top, but maybe your players can handle it. Are you planning for them to cross paths with Leska, or are you focusing the climax on the trillith?

 

[Daern]

Yeah, I want it to be over the top. Of course, I also just dropped a +4 sword, so I'll give 'em a chance.
I'm thinking that Leska will be in the background of the final mass battle. Perhaps she will show up at a negotiation for a peace treaty. That may be more of a narrative denouement than an encounter...
My idea is that she instigated all this because she was jealous of Coaltongue and thought bringing Danzig back would be a good idea. This is why the Inquisitors have all these Devils helping them. I think that if the Dreaming Dragon/Danzig situation is resolved, Leska's fiendish help might dry up, leaving her authority over the four armies much more tenuous.
Great question! I hadn't thought it all through yet.

 

[Daern]

Planning the Finale

I thought I'd ask for ideas on my final encounter. It should be coming up in a two weeks. I'm looking to make it super epic. The group will be a Wilden Druid, Halfling Bard, Goliath Barbarian, and Drow Sorcerer/Swordmage hybrid, all level 11. Maybe Katrina and Torrent will help out. Possibly a drow assassin as well.

The scenario will be this: Fighting the manifestation of a dreaming dragon's Rage in a massive cavern that holds the shackled bodies of both the Dragon and Danzig (god of tyranny and all that, Baphomet/Orcus type).

The Trillith Rage will be a Dreambreath Dracoliche
I'm thinking of using various undead dragons of lower levels like Winged Putrescence and Bone Mongrels as minions, but any monster suggestions are welcome...

The bodies of these gods will be terrain I think. One key will be that the Torch of the Burning Sky is stuck in the eyeball of the Dreaming Dragon. Removing it will require strength/arcana checks, but will instantly result in deleveling the Dracolich as the Dreaming Dragon's torment is eased.

What other terrain effects would be good? Maybe getting too close to the horns of Danzig sends a mortal into a rage? This could be good/bad (+2 to hit a random target)

Perhaps a massive bonepile that can be climbed or toppled... stalagtites...

It would be nice to come up with a multiple stage encounter, perhaps with a refresh of some sort. Maybe Danzig will manifest as well!

I want to make this a near death experience for sure, but I will be giving out some boons in advance.

 

[Daern]

Sessions 27 & 28: Politics and the End Game

Its a race to the finish now. We played the last two nights in a row. Last night was full of politics and intrigue as the heroes schemes and persuaded to various dukes and duchesses of Dassen to support their cause while the King recovered from the trauma of Madness.

I ruled that the Book of Eight Lands is guarded by a Sphinx who serves as the adviser to the king. The king had not consulted the Book in many weeks, so the heroes took that as their cue to persuade the leaders of Dassen to consult the book/sphinx. This led to some great scenes, including the wilden druid's visit to Lady Dene, an absent minded horticulturist. The druid presented himself as a tree and cast Bloom on the wintery garden, thoroughly impressing the Duchess.

Finally, the king did indeed consult the Sphinx and his torment seemed somewhat eased. He made a proclamation to the city that there was a greater threat than Ragesia, that of the return of the Horned God. He called upon heroes to quest against this threat. The players of course volunteered. Then the king called for the gathering of his hosts to march on Duke Gallo, whom he still considered a suspect and traitor.

The heroes flew off on the backs of eagles to the entrance to the labyrinth beneath the World Mountain, where Danzig sleeps, imprisoned by the Dreaming Dragon.

They entered the Seven Pillared Hall, then the labyrinth beneath. This was a little skill challenge. We ended with a glimpse of the first guardian, the Failed Lord of Winter, a Minotaur Liche who is cursed to guard the prison of his former master.

Basically, the campaign has left WOTBS behind at this point and we are looking at two more sessions to wrap up. It will include an epic battle and then a denouement of the story of the War of the Burning Sky.

I'm going to use the Keep on the Shadowfell map for the final battle. Danzig's face will be fantastic terrain: Rageblood (choose to attack an ally or take 10 ongoing and crit on 19 or 20; also defiled ground), and energy nodes. Also a bonepile that spawns bone mongrels, a portal to hell spawning Berzerking Minotaur minions, and, of course the Torch stuck in the Eye of the Dreaming Dracoliche (skill challenge to remove)