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<blockquote data-quote="77IM" data-source="post: 6602157" data-attributes="member: 12377">Thanks for all the replies! I have hit on an idea that incorporates what Bupp and KidSnide and others have mentioned; when the cult suffers a setback, they go into hiding and regroup for a while.The brilliant part (if I do say so myself) is how I'm going to implement this. I'm going to make the four elemental weapons behave sort of like phylacteries for the prophets: when you kill a prophet and they dissolve into their element, some time later they will re-form near the elemental node. So when the prophets are outside of their strongholds (for example, if the PCs encounter a prophet in a haunted keep or as part of a random encounter) they won't have their elemental weapon with them -- it will be safe down in the temple -- and if the PCs manage to kill the (slightly weakened) prophet, then that cult will lay low for a year or so. (The time will vary &quot;at the speed of plot&quot;.)The only way to kill a prophet permanently is to kill them WITH the elemental weapon, or to destroy it and then kill them. If you attune the weapon without killing the prophet then the prophet's spirit hangs around and annoys you and it counts as a cursed weapon.I love this idea because it also solves another problem I have. The elemental prophets are great NPCs with well-developed personalities ... who just sit in their rooms waiting for the PCs to show up and kill them. That's super boring. I'd much rather have the prophets as active villains, or even occasional allies, who cross paths with the PCs multiple times inside or outside of the dungeon. The phylactery system is a slightly-cheesy but well-understood trope of D&amp;D and a time-honored way of keeping villains alive despite player luck.Thanks again everybody for the brainstorming help!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="77IM, post: 6602157, member: 12377"] Thanks for all the replies! I have hit on an idea that incorporates what Bupp and KidSnide and others have mentioned; when the cult suffers a setback, they go into hiding and regroup for a while. The brilliant part (if I do say so myself) is how I'm going to implement this. I'm going to make the four elemental weapons behave sort of like phylacteries for the prophets: when you kill a prophet and they dissolve into their element, some time later they will re-form near the elemental node. So when the prophets are outside of their strongholds (for example, if the PCs encounter a prophet in a haunted keep or as part of a random encounter) they won't have their elemental weapon with them -- it will be safe down in the temple -- and if the PCs manage to kill the (slightly weakened) prophet, then that cult will lay low for a year or so. (The time will vary "at the speed of plot".) The only way to kill a prophet permanently is to kill them WITH the elemental weapon, or to destroy it and then kill them. If you attune the weapon without killing the prophet then the prophet's spirit hangs around and annoys you and it counts as a cursed weapon. I love this idea because it also solves another problem I have. The elemental prophets are great NPCs with well-developed personalities ... who just sit in their rooms waiting for the PCs to show up and kill them. That's super boring. I'd much rather have the prophets as active villains, or even occasional allies, who cross paths with the PCs multiple times inside or outside of the dungeon. The phylactery system is a slightly-cheesy but well-understood trope of D&D and a time-honored way of keeping villains alive despite player luck. Thanks again everybody for the brainstorming help! [/QUOTE]

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