ideas for closing a gate or rift to another plane

[Gilladian]

My PCs have accidentally disturbed something they were better off leaving alone and have broken a ring of protection around a gate that leads to a plane where many undead reside. What this plane is doesn't really matter; it's a cold, dark, evil place and the rift needs to be closed.

My group of players are a druid, a sorceress, a rogue and a fighter, all 9th level, with a couple 4th level fighter henchmen. As you can see, they're lacking in turning power at all.

What are some neat ways I could present to them for closing the gate? I don't care if they are short and sweet, or would lead them on a somewhat longer quest. There is a person/spirit around from the time the rift occurred to give them advice.

Thanks
Gilladian

 

[Morpheus]

My PCs have accidentally disturbed something they were better off leaving alone and have broken a ring of protection around a gate that leads to a plane where many undead reside. What this plane is doesn't really matter; it's a cold, dark, evil place and the rift needs to be closed.

My group of players are a druid, a sorceress, a rogue and a fighter, all 9th level, with a couple 4th level fighter henchmen. As you can see, they're lacking in turning power at all.

What are some neat ways I could present to them for closing the gate? I don't care if they are short and sweet, or would lead them on a somewhat longer quest. There is a person/spirit around from the time the rift occurred to give them advice.

Thanks
Gilladian

Finding a cleric to channel some positive energy (through the Turn Undead ability) would be useful. How high in level depends on how difficult you want to make it. The higher the level needed, the harder the task. Also, perhaps some type of sacrifice (i.e. magic item, gem, artifact) would really make it special.

 

[Morpheus]

Nothing to see here. Move along (double post)...

 

[tarchon]

My PCs have accidentally disturbed something they were better off leaving alone and have broken a ring of protection around a gate that leads to a plane where many undead reside. What this plane is doesn't really matter; it's a cold, dark, evil place and the rift needs to be closed.

My group of players are a druid, a sorceress, a rogue and a fighter, all 9th level, with a couple 4th level fighter henchmen. As you can see, they're lacking in turning power at all.

What are some neat ways I could present to them for closing the gate? I don't care if they are short and sweet, or would lead them on a somewhat longer quest. There is a person/spirit around from the time the rift occurred to give them advice.

Chuck a Bag of Holding through it and run!

 

[Rigil Kent]

A question that immediately springs to mind is how was this planar tear created in the first place? Once you know that, you can reverse-engineer how they can close it.

You also indicated that the PCs had "disturbed something they were better off leaving alone and had broken a ring of protection around the gate"; are they aware of how badly they've screwed up and what they've done? If not, it might be a good way to shake up your game with the PCs departing the area and then later hearing how Country X has fallen to a Horde of Undead.

If they are aware of what they've done, perhaps the only way to restore the ring of protection is to take a specific magic artifact (which they must first locate and then retrieve) through the planar tear. Unfortunately, this will cause the tear to be sealed with whomever is carrying the artifact on the other side.

I did something similar a long time ago in a 2E D&D game that died before the PCs could discover everything. In that game, a planar tear was created (permanently connecting the Prime Material Plane to the Abyss) when a conclave of evil clerics and mages combined their might in an attempt to tap a newly discovered source of Power. They discovered too late that what they had actually stumbled upon was a hitherto unknown level of the Abyss; one of the mages involved with the opening was a godling (son of a god who sired him in Avatar form, godling was unaware of parentage) and I had decided that only the Child of that God could close the Rift.

 

[Salad Shooter]

My party opened up a gate to a not-nice-place full of not-nice-things. The door was actually a physical door, but involved some difficulties to get to once we decided to close the door. Could only be closed by the PC that opened it, and when he placed his hand on it to shove it closed, his hand stuck. Had to chop it off. DMs. The Bane of All PCs.

 

[Saeviomagy]

What are some neat ways I could present to them for closing the gate? I don't care if they are short and sweet, or would lead them on a somewhat longer quest. There is a person/spirit around from the time the rift occurred to give them advice.

Thanks
Gilladian

Allow one of them to (through some form of ritual) become bonded to the portal to defend it for all time? Requires the quest for the ritual, the quest for the ritual components, and the voluntary sacrifice of one of the characters.

During the quest for the ritual and it's components, of course, the undead are pouring through the gate and setting up shop - so once your high level characters come back, they've still got a challenge to get through the whole 'close the gate' ritual.

And then if you really feel like it, the 'sacrificed' character can end up being still alive and around and capable of adventuring - his sacrifice was to harness the power of his goodness and selflessness. You could even give him an appropriate template of some kind in lieu of the xp for the final session.

 

[Hypersmurf]

What are some neat ways I could present to them for closing the gate?

Cover it with a shield of a titanium/trinium alloy, within a few microns of the event horizon to prevent reintegration of the matter stream...

-Hyp.

 

[csi]

I presume this undead plane is like the negative energy plane so this is what I would do. Have them travel into the plane of undead to retrieve a 'Voidstone' (see manual of the planes p81). Then have them research the spell to create a Sphere of Annihilation which will destroy the gate. I would then make a roll for the effects of this as if a gate had been cast on a sphere of annihilation (see sphere of annihilation in the DMG).

 

[Inconsequenti-AL]

Could a druidic ritual work?

Perhaps errecting a certain kind of stone circle around the portal and performing the correct rite would cause nature to block the rift? Explaining to the grand uber druid why they need to learn the ritual could be an adventure all by itself? Let alone fending off the waves of the damned determined to prevent the ritual.

Give them a horrid moral dilema - the only way to close the gate is to sacrifice a person of true and pure heart/royal blooded/a unicorn. Does the small evil outweigh the greater good. Do they need to kill them or can they just let them die in the circle.? Can they find someone who would be willing to make such a sacrifice? Can they do this without tainting themselves? Etc.


Could use to introduce to a different setting, possibly temporary?

Make them all jump through the portal. Dig out Ravenloft books. Profit.

Journey to the realm of the dead and petition the God of the Dead (very politely, I suggest!) to close the gate. Cue Planescape shenanigans.