Greetings,
I'm planning a major plot for my party which is integral to the personal plot of one of them. The plot involves several uses of creatures from the Elemental Plane of Air as the big bad is basically trying to break free from it. The Party is composed of a Battlerager Barbarian, an Eldritch Knight, a Hunting Ranger and the PC most involved, the Storm Sorcerer. All of them are at 8th level, they are a very high damage team, though very few heals. We also use an adapted injury system from the DMG (when a character drops to 0, they gain an injury).
The plot's encounters start simple:
It first involves a chase after an Assassin (CR 8, Medium Challenge) after he completes the kill. They would have to run through a large castle all the way to the top as he tries to escape. Along the way they will encounter a group of 2 Veterans and 1 Knight (3xCR 3, Medium Challenge) and later a group of 4 Cult Fanatics (4xCR 2, Medium Challenge), the first of which can be avoided if they sneak (though I doubt they will, knowing my party).
The party will arrive as the antagonists are released from their prison in another plane, a level 14 Storm Sorcerer and a level 14 Tempest Cleric. They are not supposed to fight the antagonists as they will release a few minions from the elemental plane and attempt to escape while the party is busy. The minions released will be a CR 7 and 2xCR 1/4 (Hard Challenge), though it will be in close quarters as the CR7 will be unable to fly. The antagonists try to teleport away, hopefully the party will know better than to stop them and force them into the battle. As they leave, the party is informed of their plan to release their master by completing an old ritual and that will be completed shortly (7 hours or so). After the young dragon is defeated, the party would bare witness to the ritual. They will be atop the highest tower in the castle and will see that several villages around the area are being attacked by monsters. To stop the ritual, all monsters will have to be destroyed or otherwise made to leave the area.
The villages are one hour apart by horse (they will be able to get horses if they remember to do so).
- One village will be attacked by a CR 9, Medium Challenge;
- One village will be attacked by a 12xCR 1/2, Medium Challenge;
- One village will be attacked by a CR 8, Medium Challenge;
- One village will be attacked by a 2xCR 5, Medium Challenge;
- One village will be attacked by a CR 6, Easy Challenge, however this one is permanently invisible and they lack any way of discovering an invisible enemy;
Another way to stop the ritual is by finding the antagonists who will be hidden somewhere in the large area. The further the ritual progresses, the easier it'll be to find them if the party is smart enough.
If they are unable to stop the ritual, they will release a CR 14 (Deadly Challenge). While the boss will then proceed to destroy the area, it will then leave if not attacked as it cares little for the party (and then further the plot for later on). If attacked, it will display his might but will not chase them if they flee.
If they can stop the ritual, then the antagonists (Sorcerer and Cleric) will appear and try to kidnap the party's Storm Sorcerer for plot related reasons. They are only interested in kidnapping the Sorcerer and will not pursue if the rest escapes or kill if they are knocked unconscious, unless forced to do so. If they drop to about half HP, they will try to flee through teleportation once again.
I still don't know about what rewards I should give, but I'm more worried about balance. I don't know if this is too much for the party in terms of challenges and the time constraints. What do you guys think?
I'm planning a major plot for my party which is integral to the personal plot of one of them. The plot involves several uses of creatures from the Elemental Plane of Air as the big bad is basically trying to break free from it. The Party is composed of a Battlerager Barbarian, an Eldritch Knight, a Hunting Ranger and the PC most involved, the Storm Sorcerer. All of them are at 8th level, they are a very high damage team, though very few heals. We also use an adapted injury system from the DMG (when a character drops to 0, they gain an injury).
The plot's encounters start simple:
It first involves a chase after an Assassin (CR 8, Medium Challenge) after he completes the kill. They would have to run through a large castle all the way to the top as he tries to escape. Along the way they will encounter a group of 2 Veterans and 1 Knight (3xCR 3, Medium Challenge) and later a group of 4 Cult Fanatics (4xCR 2, Medium Challenge), the first of which can be avoided if they sneak (though I doubt they will, knowing my party).
The party will arrive as the antagonists are released from their prison in another plane, a level 14 Storm Sorcerer and a level 14 Tempest Cleric. They are not supposed to fight the antagonists as they will release a few minions from the elemental plane and attempt to escape while the party is busy. The minions released will be a CR 7 and 2xCR 1/4 (Hard Challenge), though it will be in close quarters as the CR7 will be unable to fly. The antagonists try to teleport away, hopefully the party will know better than to stop them and force them into the battle. As they leave, the party is informed of their plan to release their master by completing an old ritual and that will be completed shortly (7 hours or so). After the young dragon is defeated, the party would bare witness to the ritual. They will be atop the highest tower in the castle and will see that several villages around the area are being attacked by monsters. To stop the ritual, all monsters will have to be destroyed or otherwise made to leave the area.
The villages are one hour apart by horse (they will be able to get horses if they remember to do so).
- One village will be attacked by a CR 9, Medium Challenge;
- One village will be attacked by a 12xCR 1/2, Medium Challenge;
- One village will be attacked by a CR 8, Medium Challenge;
- One village will be attacked by a 2xCR 5, Medium Challenge;
- One village will be attacked by a CR 6, Easy Challenge, however this one is permanently invisible and they lack any way of discovering an invisible enemy;
Another way to stop the ritual is by finding the antagonists who will be hidden somewhere in the large area. The further the ritual progresses, the easier it'll be to find them if the party is smart enough.
If they are unable to stop the ritual, they will release a CR 14 (Deadly Challenge). While the boss will then proceed to destroy the area, it will then leave if not attacked as it cares little for the party (and then further the plot for later on). If attacked, it will display his might but will not chase them if they flee.
If they can stop the ritual, then the antagonists (Sorcerer and Cleric) will appear and try to kidnap the party's Storm Sorcerer for plot related reasons. They are only interested in kidnapping the Sorcerer and will not pursue if the rest escapes or kill if they are knocked unconscious, unless forced to do so. If they drop to about half HP, they will try to flee through teleportation once again.
I still don't know about what rewards I should give, but I'm more worried about balance. I don't know if this is too much for the party in terms of challenges and the time constraints. What do you guys think?
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