Shawn_Kehoe
First Post
Hi all,
My campaign arrived at a sticky spot during the last session in early September. While progressing through Chapter 4 of the Shackled City hardcover, half of the party was wiped out by that bane of the CR system: the cryohydra. This wouldn't be catastrophic, except
1) Fleeing meant that the bodies were left behind.
2) Party Funds wouldn't cover a set of raise spells at this point.
3) The hydra is still gonna be waiting when they get back.
The session wasn't very fun, so I called a one month recess, which got extended by months of personal complications and the holidays. Now I need to get the game on track. Some players want new characters and stories, others want to continue the Shackled City. Here's my plan to give 'em both.
Crux: The heroes were meant to uncover the temple of the kuo toa as part of their destiny. By falling to the hydra and abandoning their quest, the PCs have created a rift in destiny, leading to 2 paths:
Path 1 ("The Hydra Got Us!"): The surviving party members abandon the quest and move on to safer pursuits. They recruit new allies to replace their fallen comrades and go on different adventures (Ravenloft, perhaps). They eventually hear word of how Cauldron has gone to hell in their absence and may choose to return and face up to their mistakes - like a demodand foothold on the Material Plane.)
Path 2 ("What the?"): The PCs inexplicably find themselves in the hydra's cavern, watching it drive them off and dine on the corpses left behind. I know my players, they'll escape into the dungeon while the going is good, and continue the Shackled City campaign.
When they eventually return to town, they may find that some of the citizens no longer recognise them ... but I can't go overboard on this, or else all the relationship building of the past several months will be torched.
The Link: The PCs are single souls walking two separate paths linked by their dreams. When they sleep in one world, they adventure in the other. Older players may recognise this twist from the old AD&D: Ravenloft II module. In some instances, I might use this mechanism to pass information between games - ie the party that fled Cauldron hears reports about its destruction, and when the PC wakes up he carries those fragments of knowledge.
(This doesn't mean I'll switch settings mid-session every time the party rests, of course. It just provides the mechanism to run parallel campaigns with the same characters.)
The players whose characters died in the Hydra attack will have to create new PCs for the world where their allies flee, while the survivors will effectively be running two alternate versions of the same character - which should let them try some crazy experimentation in character roles.
Whaddya think? Completely crazy? (I *am* a little sleep-deprived, so I may need to edit this for clarity in the morning. Apologies if that is the case)
My campaign arrived at a sticky spot during the last session in early September. While progressing through Chapter 4 of the Shackled City hardcover, half of the party was wiped out by that bane of the CR system: the cryohydra. This wouldn't be catastrophic, except
1) Fleeing meant that the bodies were left behind.
2) Party Funds wouldn't cover a set of raise spells at this point.
3) The hydra is still gonna be waiting when they get back.
The session wasn't very fun, so I called a one month recess, which got extended by months of personal complications and the holidays. Now I need to get the game on track. Some players want new characters and stories, others want to continue the Shackled City. Here's my plan to give 'em both.
Crux: The heroes were meant to uncover the temple of the kuo toa as part of their destiny. By falling to the hydra and abandoning their quest, the PCs have created a rift in destiny, leading to 2 paths:
Path 1 ("The Hydra Got Us!"): The surviving party members abandon the quest and move on to safer pursuits. They recruit new allies to replace their fallen comrades and go on different adventures (Ravenloft, perhaps). They eventually hear word of how Cauldron has gone to hell in their absence and may choose to return and face up to their mistakes - like a demodand foothold on the Material Plane.)
Path 2 ("What the?"): The PCs inexplicably find themselves in the hydra's cavern, watching it drive them off and dine on the corpses left behind. I know my players, they'll escape into the dungeon while the going is good, and continue the Shackled City campaign.
When they eventually return to town, they may find that some of the citizens no longer recognise them ... but I can't go overboard on this, or else all the relationship building of the past several months will be torched.The Link: The PCs are single souls walking two separate paths linked by their dreams. When they sleep in one world, they adventure in the other. Older players may recognise this twist from the old AD&D: Ravenloft II module. In some instances, I might use this mechanism to pass information between games - ie the party that fled Cauldron hears reports about its destruction, and when the PC wakes up he carries those fragments of knowledge.
(This doesn't mean I'll switch settings mid-session every time the party rests, of course. It just provides the mechanism to run parallel campaigns with the same characters.)
The players whose characters died in the Hydra attack will have to create new PCs for the world where their allies flee, while the survivors will effectively be running two alternate versions of the same character - which should let them try some crazy experimentation in character roles.
Whaddya think? Completely crazy? (I *am* a little sleep-deprived, so I may need to edit this for clarity in the morning. Apologies if that is the case
)
