Into the Abyss (need some help to flesh out)

[Jack99]

First of all - Bønne, Bedet, BC, Molin og Jensen - smut

















So.. My players are about to hit 20. They are working on some sort of ritual that will allow them to enter the mind of a god. In order to do just that, they are told (by the magical shopping list they have acquired) that they need the Heart of a Demon Lord. So, in order to get that, they will be heading to the Abyss and pay a visit to Grazz't.

This adventure should take about 25-30 hours of game time, stretching over the next weekend where my group and I leave the wives (temporarily) and head out into a cabin in the woods in order to play D&D.

Below is my plan so far, but I am stuck on a few points, so if anyone has a few ideas, it would be lovely.

The players travel to the Elemental Chaos, where they find (acquire) a spelljammer and fly out over the Abyss, going down into the maelstrom heading to the Plain of Thousand Portals.
Non-combat encounters:
I imagine some haggling in Sigil over the price of a spelljammer, as well as perhaps a skil challenge to avoid crashing on the Plain of Thousands Portals.
Combat encounters:
As they descend into the maelstrom, they are attacked and bordered by a crew of rogue Githzerai monk/psions. Basically just a random encounter to show off what kind of creatures live in the Elemental Chaos.

The players arrive to the Plain of Thousand Portals and find an NPC who knows which way they should head - ie where they can find a portal to the 45th layer.
Non-combat encounters:
Negotiation with yet undetermined NPC in order to convince him to show the players the way to the Iron Fortress that hides a portal to the 45th.
I also think that the players should find an interesting captive in the iron fortress that could possibly accompany them, maybe as an ally?
Combat encounters:
1 during traveling, 3 during the break-in of the fortress - with "final battle" against the leader being a "young" balor who tosses manes into a cauldron of evil essence, transforming them into something more powerful).

The players enter Grazz't's domain on the 45th layer and head through the bleak and desolate place for the capital.
Non-combat encounters: traveling merchant? Maybe even Vistani-like planar caravan. They should have a potion that will prove very useful later, but at an exorbitant cost. Fortune reading is possible too!
Combat encounters: 1 encounter (in the Viper Forest, perhaps by the Viper Forest?)

The players arrive and enter the capital and investigate.
Non-combat encounters:
Learn about Grazz't love for the drow demonbinder high-priestess in town.
Introduction of at least 2 longterm NPC's.
Find info about Grazz't.

The players decide to go after the drow high-priestess and capture her.
Non-combat encounters: As they defeat the drow and is heading home, Grazz't (or rather his aspect) will arrive and greet the players. He will congratulate them on winning the battle, but also make clear that war isn't over. He will come for his love before they can complete the ritual that will (might) kill her.
Combat encounters: 3 encounters as the players slaughter their way through the temple (a good amount of drow (demonbinders) and demons, culminating with the high priestess who summons demons every round.

Problem is, what then? The players get the girl and flee either to Sigil or the the Mortal World.

Obviously Grazz't won't sit by idly and let this happen, but I really want to involve Demogorgon and Orcus (via their aspects of course) - I imagine that maybe they want to use to their advantage that the love of Grazz't is no longer within the protective walls of Zelatar, but instead in a place where she is pretty much up for grabs!

But will they team up against the players and/or Grazz't or will they both do their own thing? Or maybe one will ally with Grazz't in order to strike at the other one?

I am not sure, and we are leaving in exactly 4 days (95 hours at the time of writing) and as you can see, while I do have a few lines, I still have some work to do in order to fill out 30-ish hours of gaming over a weekend.

But most importantly, I am not sure it feels epic enough. And as we should ideally finish the weekend by dinging 21, I really want the adventure to have a strong epic feel.

Thanks in advance

Cheers

 

[vagabundo]

But most importantly, I am not sure it feels epic enough. And as we should ideally finish the weekend by dinging 21, I really want the adventure to have a strong epic feel.

This made me lol; enter the mind of a God, Grazzt, Orcus and Demogorgon!

 

[Jack99]

This made me lol; enter the mind of a God, Grazzt, Orcus and Demogorgon!

Well, the part of entering the mind of a god does feel epic to me, but it won't happen for a couple of levels yet (around 23). Regarding (the aspects of) Grazz't, Demogorgon and Orcus, sure, they are big power-players, but I guess I just desperately want to avoid the just-another-bigger-and-higher-level-dungeon trap.

But yeah, I can see why it would make you laugh

 

[Rechan]

Obviously Grazz't won't sit by idly and let this happen, but I really want to involve Demogorgon and Orcus (via their aspects of course) - I imagine that maybe they want to use to their advantage that the love of Grazz't is no longer within the protective walls of Zelatar, but instead in a place where she is pretty much up for grabs!

But will they team up against the players and/or Grazz't or will they both do their own thing? Or maybe one will ally with Grazz't in order to strike at the other one?

Depending on the tone of your game...

As soon as the Priestess leaves the city, she pings on the radar of both ORcus and Demogorgon. They have the same goal (kind of), but they come at it in three different directions.

Demogorgon

There is something about the nature of this woman that makes her a conduit for Demogorgon. Perhaps her power at demonbinding has influenced her very blood. Demogorgon thus wants something very specific from her: her next born. The problem is, the heads disagree on the way to accomplish this, and have two different plans of action.

Demogorgon's Aspect arrives on the spot, with entourage in tow.
Head #1 immediately... attempts to sire a child with the drow, on the spot. Again, depending on the tone of the game, she may be very OK with this (or that head may use its powers of madness to make her go along with it).
Head #2 immediately begins laying some bindings down on the Drow. It plans on pulling her straight to the abyss to make her his bride.

Why is this important? The drow, if she sires Demogorgon's child, will give Demogorgon, not his Aspect, the ability to walk Earth. He can fill the child as a vessel with his Aspect, leave it in Demogorgon's abode, and now the Demon Prince is able to leave and walk the earth.

Complication: If Head #1's offense is successful, then something even more problematic becomes obvious to the players: the ritual will enduce pregnancy in the priestess. Did I mention that Demogorgon's child would reach term very fast, considering the power of the Demon? Yeah, so if they want to do their ritual, they give Demogorgon's Baby a cristening.

If Head #2 is successful, they've got to spelunk into Demogorgon's realm in order to get her back again.

Orcus

The Demon Prince of Undeath's motivation is very simple: He wants to kill the priestess. More accurately, he wants to slay her, convert her into an undead fiend, and enslave her. She insulted Orcus many many moons ago, and he does not take a slight lightly. Bonus, he gets to enslave Grazz'ts lady love, so it's equally a thumb of his nose.

Of course, Orcus shows up with entourage.

And if necessary, have Grazz't show up with Entourage to protect his lady love.

So you have a 3 way battle between three Demon Prince's aspects and their crew, converging on top of the PCs, one of which being a two-headed tentacled baboon trying to copulate with the PC's captive.

If that doesn't feel Epic, I don't know what does.

 

[Jack99]

Thanks, I was lacking some direction and goal for Demogorgon and Orcus, aside from getting to the girl to give Grazz't a bloody nose. I like the how Demo (or half of him) wants to sire a child with her and that the other part wants to sacrifice her.

As for my game, I doubt my players would be surprised if Demogorgon raped the drow on the spot. I am not sure what they will do about it though

Thanks, you got the creative juices going a bit again.

 

[jbear]

Maybe escape is not as easy as getting away and safely back to Sigil. Maybe escape gets rather tricky, they know they're getting into trouble as different worlds flash past their eyes with a sick sense that none of them are their own. Something has gone terribly wrong, but not escaping is even more dangerous, so that have to leap into one of these worlds/planes/ levels of hell or face the consequences.

Maybe either Orcus or Demagorgon, or both, directly infuence the misdirection of their return. They know the importance of the Priestess, and have made a very brief pact to to get her out of Grazz't's grubby claws. Maybe they have been a guiding influence upon the PC's from the start as they make contact with their servant in sigil, and others throughout their descent into the mind of a god. Who better to guide someone on a journey into the mind of an evil god than ... an evil god.

As escape leads them to some other strange plane of existence or another level of hell and they try to find a way to escape, now free from Grazz't's influence they (as said before by Rechan) appear like blips on the aforemetioned Orcus/Demagorgon radar and their escape becomes more urgent and complicated.

How many levels are there in hell, 666? There must be lots of interesting stuff happening on other levels that the PCs can/need to get mixed up in to find a safe way home. Maybe the place they arrive looks like Sigil at first but begins to melt away to reveal its true terrifying nature.

Maybe the pathway back eventually leads to the River Nyx where the ferryman says the price of the fare is that of a mortal soul. Who is this ferryman to whom one of them sells their soul? That can be big plot hooks for whatever is to come next... let's say, Vecna? The one handed ferryman whose face cannot be seen beneath the dark cowl of his cloak (otherwise they'd see he has only one eye too). The deal made they escape but with a sick sense of foreboding... or do they turn back into further adventures of mayhem inside the hells in search of a better deal to make it back home. After all that may only be one direction back to the land of the sane.

And, if one soul seems too little, well up the price. 2 souls? 3 is a nice round number? All of their souls.

Or do they sacrifice the Priestess (a price the ferryman will of course accept, and also demand more than just her soul if she is offered by the PCs. If so, this could cause an outright plane war throughout the Hells, as warring factions vie for this drow-version of Helen of Troy, a war that begins to spill over into other realms and eventually the campaign world... actually maybe she is actually already pregnant with the Avatar that any of these demon lords can inhabit to truly walk in the material plane in their full twisted glory.

 

[Jack99]

@jbear

Definitely an interesting take on things as well. I have partly come to the same conclusion - or rather, it's one idea I am toying with atm.

As it is, I am at a fork in my adventure-design. When the players attempt to leave the Abyss, 1 of 2 things could/should happen.

1. Grazz't manages to tamper with their ritual and they end up on some random plane of the Abyss from which you can't port out. That will essentially mean that this (so far unknown) plane will be the hunting ground where the demon lords chase the players.

2. They safely port home (and while I can't be sure) usually to the Church of Kord in their hometown. If this town, I thought it could be fun if the church is assaulted by Orcus and his legions. I can just imagine their shock (they see the church as a safe haven) when their beloved church is overrun by legions of demonic undeads led by Orcus himself.

Overall, there is no doubt that it's easier on the DM to contain the players in some random Abyssal layer, but IMO the potential for tragedy, roleplay and fun is much greater if I go for the home-gets-visited-by-3-demon-lords approach.