WotBS Getting Home (between Ch 6 & 7)

[emeraldbeacon]

I've got a party that's just arrived at Castle Korstull, that makes up the lion's share of Chapter 6. The conclusion of this epic dungeon crawl leaves the team some distance away from the unending firestorm, but still in the heart of Ragesian-occupied Sindaire, on the opposite side of the known world from their home base in Seaquen.

The main question I have is, how are the heroes supposed to get home? They're a long way from Seaquen, in arguably hostile territory, without much in the way of resources or allies. Shalosha is one of the only local figures who might be willing to aid, but neither she nor her accompanying wizards are capable of any truly long-range transportation (such as teleport or wind walk). Some ideas I had to get around or handwave the situation...

1. Shahalesti Help. Shalosha might have a scroll of teleport (or wind walk or something else similar), to use as a contingency in case she needs to get somewhere RIGHT AWAY. She could offer to accompany the heroes back to Seaquen, in exchange for an official seat at the war council table - something the heroes might consider as a calculated risk. Similarly, there might be a Cirqueliste member working in tandem with the Shahalesti, in an show of goodwill. They may be willing to teleport the party back home, provided they can guarantee survival.
2. The Long Way Around. Despite the Ragesian blockade of the coast, the heroes could try to charter a ship to take them home. While it would take a week or two to get back home, and might include some extra encounters in evading Ragesian patrols, and even a random aquatic encounter, but once past the Ragesian blockade of Kistan, it should be (relatively) smooth sailing back home.
3. Sore Feet. They could simply retrace their steps southwards, dodging Ragesian patrols until they arrive back in Ostalin. Again, this might incur some new encounters along the way.

Obviously, the players might also come up with some interesting possibilities. The Druid might try Transport via Plants, which would probably ultimately result in both trees exploding into flame, but would work (as long as the destination is far enough away from the Seaquen Teleporation Beacon). Finding a Ragesian camp and stealing a team of Wyverns could happen.

 

[Fuzzybear]

I had started to consider this same problem actually and I'm not sure there is a great answer obvious. I had considered them calling in to Simeon and asking for a ride back effectively, but it does come with the same problems as any other teleportation right now... the damage. With little to no preparation this time, it could easily be deadly even with Sheena halving the damage as half of my party were down when teleporting to Ostalin originally and this would be hundreds of miles further.

I wasn't as concerned with the Shahalesti wizard not being leveled up enough for a teleport personally. If the story demanded it, they can be in my opinion. I'm more concerned that it would just be teleporting bacon.

My current thought is to either have the Shahalesti help (they had to get here somehow anyway?) and either provide some fire reduction or boats to sail around. If the party doesn't trust them or want to go with the elves, they can hoof it back to the Monastery and figure things out from there. I am however open to other good ideas for sure.

 

[emeraldbeacon]

The party should know that, if teleporting straight into Seaquen, they'll probably be caught in the same Teleportation Beacon Trap that the Ragesians once controlled. Now in the hands of Lyceum Agents, though, they would probably be quick to provide emergency healing to those who fell unconscious. Travelling within extradimensional spaces (bag of holding, portable hole, etc) would also be quite feasible for weaker team members.

My personal plans are as follows (though I'm very open to recommendations):

1. Primarily, if the party treats Shalosha with respect, she will break into her emergency stash of spell scrolls, providing a Teleport option back to Seaquen, at the explicit cost of a guaranteed seat at the coalition table. She's shrewd, and even if her father sees it as an overreach, she sees an opportunity to move things in a Shahalesti-favored direction. Seaquen can't provide aid over that much distance... sending a Cirqueliste out is too risky, and anything else would take too much time and stretch their resources too thin.
2. If they don't gain Shalosha's gain, the party is on their own. Maybe they find their own magic to get home (by the end of chapter six, they'll be level 13, with potential access to level 7 spells). Alternately, more mundane means include walking back to Ostalin (options here include Kistan or the Monastery), or heading to the Sindairese capital of Turinn in hopes of finding a ship.
3. Either way, if they decide on extensive travel, they'll meet at least one Ragesian company, in either an open field or urban area. I'd like to include an inquisitor, along with some beefier troops, to really give the team a challenge. If they take the aquatic route, I might also include some kind of nautical encounter... suggestions welcome.