[KotS] Prison Breakout!

[LostSoul]

Spoilers follow for Keep on the Shadowfell. If you want to play, you probably shouldn't read this thread.

In our last game, the PCs got in way over their heads as 3 encounter's worth of monsters dropped in on them. As a result, two PCs were left behind - the Fighter and the Warlock (Infernal pact, if it matters). I said they were captured because I think a prison breakout scenario could be really cool.

What I am looking for is some advice, thoughts, and ideas on how to run the breakout.

I want both groups of PCs - the captured and the free - to be involved at the same time as much as possible.

For example, this is what I'm thinking of doing for the first encounter:

[sblock=The Dead Walk and Kalarel's Curse]
To start off the game:

• Read the boxed text on page 60 for "The Dead Walk" encounter.
• Replace Lord Padraig with Rond Telfem.
• Cut off the speech at "We are in peril!"

Cut to the torture room. The hobgoblin Warchief has been giving them a hard time.

• "You killed my warcaster! It'll be a while before another one comes. This is what you get for it!"
• They each lose a healing surge as he sears their flesh with hot pokers.

Kalarel steps in.

• "Stop!"
• The hobgoblins freak out, even the Warchief. Not something hobgoblins are known to do.
• "You are in my hands now. You think your friends will save you? My spy in Winterhaven is dealing with them as we speak."

Cut back to The Dead Walk.

• Set up the encounter.
• Roll initiative for everyone.
• Group the prisoners and Kalarel apart from the others so as not to ruin the flow. Run their encounter last.

Cut back to the torture chamber.

• Announce a skill challenge.
• Goal and Context:
  • In the Keep.
  • Kalarel wants to curse the PCs: if they don't do as he commands, they will slowly waste away.
  • His command: Kill the other PCs.
  • Success: They are not cursed. Other benefits possible based on roleplay.
• Complexity: 3 (8 successes before 3 failures).
• Level: 4. DCs are 7, 12, 17.
• Special:
  • What happens in The Dead Walk ties into here:
  • If Ninaren is killed, they get a +2 to their checks.
  • If the Magic Circle is disabled, they get a +2 to their checks.
  • If all the zombies are killed, they get a +2 to their checks.
  • Each success rolled by the PC will lower the Endurance checks on the curse by 1.
• Rewards: 525 xp.

The curse is here.[/sblock]

That keeps both groups running at the same time, everyone involved, the encounter back in Winterhaven tied to skill challenge. Great.

I'm not sure how to run things from then on, though! That's where I'm getting a little stuck.

Thoughts:

• I am thinking about running a large-scale skill challenge that will run in the background - maybe allowing a roll after each encounter. But if I do this, how can I have encounters for both groups of players at the same time? And is the skill challenge mechanic too forced/metagame for this sort of thing?
• I'll refresh the hobgoblins a bit - not sure how many, though!
• I am planning to wing things heavily. What I do want is to have some sort of system for determining what obstacles the PCs will face - something simple, like a random encounter table.
• Where do I want to hold the PCs? I don't think I want to leave them in the torture chamber, it's too close to the exit, but I don't want to put them too far down in the dungeon.

Brainstorm away!

 

[the Jester]

Nice, I like it. From the torture scene dealing healing surges in damage to the skill test to evade the curse- well thought out. I like it!

 

[Terwox]

Sounds rad, I hope it comes up in my game.

For the skill challenge -- have you ran any yet? I've only run one myself, and I think it might be a good idea to come up with a small framework for the back and forth with Kalarel.

That is, think of something that the PC's will likely say or do, or try to bargain -- and come up with something interesting beforehand for his response. If it doesn't come up, oh well.

For instance, if the warlock reveals his nature to Kalarel, Kalarel could in turn demand the name of the demon the warlock is compacted to. (Not very well related, but you get the idea.) If the warlock actually gives up this info (knowing the price is likely a horrific infernal fate,) Something could occur. Etc, etc.

 

[LostSoul]

Sounds rad, I hope it comes up in my game.

For the skill challenge -- have you ran any yet? I've only run one myself, and I think it might be a good idea to come up with a small framework for the back and forth with Kalarel.

That is, think of something that the PC's will likely say or do, or try to bargain -- and come up with something interesting beforehand for his response. If it doesn't come up, oh well.

For instance, if the warlock reveals his nature to Kalarel, Kalarel could in turn demand the name of the demon the warlock is compacted to. (Not very well related, but you get the idea.) If the warlock actually gives up this info (knowing the price is likely a horrific infernal fate,) Something could occur. Etc, etc.

I don't think I want to do that - I want to leave it open for things to arise in play. I'm hoping to get all sorts of unexpected results from the PC's actions, and tie those into what happens next.

In order to do this, I think I have to focus on Kalarel and what he wants.

What does Kalarel want?

Kalarel wants to make Sir Keegan suffer. He can do this by making Sir Keegan's failure complete - by opening the Shadow Rift.

[sblock=Kalarel's Backstory]
Some time ago, a group of good and noble vowed to push back the darkness that has been growing ever since the fall of Ancient Nerath. They wanted to restore Nerath's glory.

[I think I'll say that the PCs belong to this organization, though over the years it's been corrupted into a simple mercenary company.]

Sir Keegan was one of them; as a young knight, he was valourous and honourable. He served well and made a name for himself. His lords gave Sir Keegan the duty to watch over the Shadow Rift, to keep it from opening.

But Sir Keegan was a proud man. This duty was beneath him - he was a young knight, and glory on the field of battle was his calling, not watching over a keep like an old man waiting for the end. Resentment grew in his heart, resentment fed by too much wine.

Kobolds, goblins, and hobgoblins began to raid Winterhaven. The drunken Sir Keegan was slow to act against the threat. People died, their homes burned. One of them was Kalarel.

He saw his home destroyed, his wife and children killed, and he was sold as a slave to the Bloodreavers. He vowed revenge against Sir Keegan. To get that revenge, he needed power. Power that Orcus was willing to provide.

As a Scion of Orcus, Kelarel wrested control of the various humaniod tribes away from their chieftans. Their mates and children were sacrificed to Orcus. Kelarel raided the town, isolating Winterhaven from the Keep. Many died, more were sacrificed.

The people of Winterhaven turned their backs on Sir Keegan and the Keep: "They are in league with Orcus." Why else would they leave Winterhaven to the steel mercy of Kalarel?

With the power of sacrifice, Kalarel seeded the wine-addled mind of Sir Keegan with nightmares. Night by night they grew worse, until Sir Keegan could take no more. He slew his wife and children and finally himself on one bloody night.

With their Lord dead, the garrison could not stand against the horde Kalarel had stiched together. Shadowfell Keep burned.

Using the dark power of the Shadow Rift, Kalarel tore Sir Keegan's soul from the Shadowfell and the Raven Queen. He built a tomb to torment Sir Keegan, keeping him from his final rest. But this ritual took a lot out of Kalarel, and for years he slumbered, gathering power.

Now Kalarel has awoken. He will open the Shadow Rift where he can send Sir Keegan directly to Orcus. He will call forth the undead armies of Orcus and kill all the women and children in the Nentir Vale and sacrifice those who survive to Orcus, to suffer torment for eternity - torment as great as Kalarel's.[/sblock]

What does Kalarel want with the PCs?

He sees them as a threat - they hit him hard - and he wants to neutralize them. Part of him also respects them - maybe if they had been the ones to protect Winterhaven instead of Sir Keegan, his life would have been different. That respect makes him hate the PCs even more; he's got to break them, to reinforce his worldview, to prove to himself that those with power are just selfish bastards who only care about their own needs and don't give a rat's ass for those they have sworn to protect.

Kalarel wants to curse them, to use them against their friends, to see them destroy what they care about in order to save themselves.

Keeping that in mind, I'll just play Kalarel as hard as I can. It will be strange because I'm not getting any rolls in, but we'll see what happens in play. Things might get crazy if the PCs are successful on their rolls - who knows what the situation will end up like? That's what I want, that's why we use dice to resolve these things!

(I am thinking of allowing the PCs to spend healing surges during the skill challenge to get a bonus to the roll - "I can take the pain! You won't break me!" This way I'm also asking the players to decide how much they want to put into the conflict.)

 

[LostSoul]

I am thinking of running a skill challenge to deal with the breakout. I didn't want the skill challenge to resolve getting the captured PCs out - that's what I have a map for! (If it were abstract, then I'd probably do it. But I have a tactical map, so I might as well use it.) Instead, I decided to use the skill challenge to determine the level of alertness in the Keep - random encounters and perception checks.

This is what I came up with:

• Goal & Context:
  The goal is simple: get in, get the captured PCs, get out.
  Kalarel and the hobgoblins don't expect the PCs to come back the next day. They are busy re-grouping, and not on the watch for anything. During this day (the day after the big fight), they all suffer a -2 penalty to their perception checks.
  If the PCs wait a day, it counts as a failure.
• Complexity:
  3, 8 successes before 3 failures.
• Level:
  Level 4. DCs are 7, 12, 17.
• Skills & Checks:
  We are going to call for checks whenever the PCs make a lot of noise. Getting into a fight is one way. Checks that use the same trick suffer a -2 penalty.
  Each failure will change the conditions in the Keep. I would like to ad-lib this, but some ideas would help:
  • Guards are alert; +2 to Perception checks.
  • A hobgoblin patrol springs on the PCs before they can take a short rest. Their goal is to kill the PCs.
  • A hobgoblin patrol specifically looking for the PCs will start wandering the Keep. Their goal is to report back to the Warchief.
• Consequences:
  525 xp.
  Failure means that all resources are levelled against the PCs. The entire complex comes after them.
  Success means that all checks to get in, get out without being spotted will be successful - we will assume the PCs are too good to be noticed. No more random encounters will occur.

Any thoughts?