Looking for Ideas/Critique

[RealMarkP]

I'm running a campaign with three players, however one of them requested a short leave of absence (about 3 sessions worth) to do real life things. So, during my campaign, we were in the middle of Myth Drannor going about the regular campaign arc, where they were told that a close relative to one of the PCs was captured by a random group of devils (Baatzu) that roam the ruins. Wanting to get her back they tracked down the devils.

What I though, was going to be a decent mini story arc, was to have the PC that was leaving, forcefully dragged into Baator. Now, I came up with this idea right before the last session, so I didn't really know where this story arc could have gone. I never played a campaign where Baator was involved. So what I'm asking is for some decent Ideas as to why a Baatzu would drag this particular PC into Baator in the first place.

Currently, the other two have planeshifted into Baator, roughly 300 miles from Darkspine, in the middle of the Wastelands. I did some reading on how the devils live and their society as well as the first two layers of Baator (Avernus and Dis). So I know it's a beurocratic nightmare, full of fine print and contracts. Not to mention that the Devils are cunning and deceitful. The Blood War is always fun to get involved with as a side quest. I was thinking that the missing PC would be kept in Dis for some reason, which forces a confrontation with Tiamat (since she guards the gates to Dis).

So, throw some ideas around and maybe I can make this arc a bit smoother. Anything is better then what I have (which is currently nothing).

 

[Gilladian]

What level are the PCs? What classes?

The captured PC - what sort of background does he have? Has he had any previous exposure to devils? What about his family? Is there a tie to them anywhere in his family line? Maybe his family owes a devil a debt, and it is time to collect.

Maybe some innocuous magic item the PC is carrying is really an artifact in disguise, but the devil doesn't know which item, and is going to interrogate the PC until he figures it out.

Are you sure you really want to drag Tiamat into the mix? She's got a pretty powerful reputation, so unless you just mean to have her as a negotiation-point, things could get very messy...

 

[RealMarkP]

What level are the PCs? What classes?

The PC that's captured is a level 10 ranger/rogue. The two trying to find him are a level 10 cleric of chauntea and a level 9 half-orc barbarian (wh was reincarnated as a gnome).

The captured PC - what sort of background does he have? Has he had any previous exposure to devils? What about his family? Is there a tie to them anywhere in his family line? Maybe his family owes a devil a debt, and it is time to collect.

His back story deals with the Riders of Mistledale. His father is a figurehead in the Riders but has long cut off relations with his son. He comes from a generally Neutral Good family. I have a story arc that deals specifically with this PC. He is on a quest to weaken Cyric by helping Bane take back his portfolio (by WEakening Iyachtu Xvim so Bane can take over) and freeing Kelemvor from Cyric's own sword (Kelemvor's soul was trapped in Cyric's sentient sword, Godsbane, in the moment he was killed in the Blackstaff Tower. The sword was actually Mask, the God of Thieves in guise - wikipedia). This will remove some of the godly profiles from Cyric and make him more manageable by the gods. I was thinking of using this as an escuse of why he was taken to Baator. Asmodeus has some vested interest in reducing Cyric's power because the Grey Wastes, Cyric's realm, is one of the battle grounds of the Blood War. Asmodeus has to tip toe around Cyric because he is much too powerful. Another part of the story is that since Kelemvor is missing and Cyric has the portfolio of Death, Cyric controls the judgement of faithless souls. From what I read, this was Kelemvor's job in the Crystal Spire. Ever since Kelemvor's perceived death, Cyric has been hoarding the faithless souls for himself and turning them into his own petitioners. I'm wondering if this is a bit much. Other than this, the PC does not have any magical items that are particularly useful to the Baatorians.

EDIT: I know that the story of Kelemvor's return/Cyrics undoing/return of Bane are no really intertwined or related, but this story arc seems to captivate my players.

Are you sure you really want to drag Tiamat into the mix? She's got a pretty powerful reputation, so unless you just mean to have her as a negotiation-point, things could get very messy...

From what I read, you have to go through Tiamat to get into Dis. What wasn't clear is her role. Does she actively guard it or is it more of a passive role (just look out over the peaks of Azharul and see that there are no armies rushing into Dis).

 

[The 1 and the Prime]

While there are many technically distinct ways to earn the "chains" in Baator, these boil down into only a couple practical distinctions:

First, you can sell yourself into bondage in exchange for something. Typically, hostages are used as a means to secure contracts in Baator, especially between parties in separate Hells, but there are also cases where a person voluntarily serves in the "chains" in exchange for a contracted gain either before or after service (needless to say, one must have an ironclad contract in Baator to ensure that the sought after gains will be delivered).

Seeing as your PCs probably have not had dealings with the Devils and are getting nothing in return for their hostage, the Baatezu were probably attempting an arrest under a Hell Law. This is the other way to end up in the "chains" of the Hells. Certain enemies of the Hells are declared fair game for slaving raids, however this is not the case with any of the humanoid natives of Faerun. The Baatezu do not think it is worth the additional conflict with the powerful being of that world simply to recruit more forced labor, it is already in plentiful supply. In areas where Baatezu slaving is permitted by their Hell Law, the Baatezu mercilessly run amok (well, as amok as they get when operating at peak ruthless organized efficiency), typically destroying entire civilizations. Additionally, this PC seems too martially adept to make a good slave, they'd probably kill him rather than risk his transportation if all they were after was some forced labor.

Therefore this PC was probably arrested for a specific charge against a Hell Law. Seeing as the PCs probably have had little contact with Baatezu prior to this, we have finally narrowed down the most likely scenario for why this PC was abducted: mistaken identity.

Likely the PC simply resembles a description of a known criminal wanted in one of the Hells, or that the PC was artfully set up to match a (false) description of such a criminal given by a yet unmentioned third party. This is the only reasonable explanation for why they did not take the most efficient route of killing him on the spot. Now it is up to the rest of the PCs to navigate the bureaucracy of Hell to get this straightened out.

If I may offer a word of advice to your PCs: the Devils are evil and selfish, but they are not uncivilized. This should be approached more with the flavor of a trip to the DMV (from HELL) rather than a prison break by frontal assault. The Baatezu have bigger nastier things trying to break their prison systems than a bunch of 10th level humanoids from the Prime, and a direct assault would prove very deadly. Nevertheless, a little bureaucrat arm twisting may help if it is done with subtlety, but the sure-er method to get your way would be bribes not threats. Remember, the Baatezu are selfish in addition to being lawful. Still, it should be a challenge to convince the bureaucracy that they have made a mistake and arrested the wrong guy. To get the PCs started: they'll need to request a form 666-b from the appropriate window at the Bureaucracy of Dis and fill it out in order to get the instruction manual for form 666-a, the form required to request the general catalog of hellish forms and orders.

As far as Tiamat goes: the Gate is actually inside her complex within Azharul. It is off in a side corridor and the main audience chamber of Tiamat is actually in an entirely different wing of the complex. Keep in mind that Dis, like any city, is hardly self-sufficient and engages in brisk trade with the outside world. My advice would be to see if they can work out a deal with one of the caravans of night-hag traders that regularly herd swarms of larvae through Tiamat's lair into Dis (they'd probably want help protecting the valuable larvae from getting stolen by some of the many larvae-rustlers in the lower planes).

The "chains" of Baator are not actually a literal set of chains most of the time. It is in fact a small magical device that is affixed to the affected creature, usually by implantation in the skin, which shuts down motor control and administers pain when that creature attempts to enact most violations of a Hell's Law. Specifically, it forces the creature to obey verbal commands from any un-"chained" Baatezu (technically, a chained Baatezu would be unable to utter orders unless they were originally made by an unchained Baatezu up the line somewhere) and prevents the "chained" from fleeing under their own power. This allows most "prisoners" of the Hells to be unconfined, saving the Hells the effort of construction of prisons and making the prisoners more useful as servants.