Minor plot problem in KotS - Eberron

[hailstop]

So I'm using the Eberron conversion of the Keep on the Shadowfell. The PC's have discovered the sinister rib that Kalarel has asked to be aquired. Then they proceeded to break it up into small pieces, burn it, and spread the ashes all over the place.

Needless to say, this makes the rest of the plot points regarding said rib a bit...difficult.

Anyways, does anyone have any suggestions on what to do?

I'm inclined to have the sinister rib actually to have been an element to stabilize the portal. Without it Kalarel is going to try to stabilize it himself, but when he dies, he gets dragged into the Portal as mentioned. However, then because the portal is unstable, the keep starts to collapse, requiring the PC's to race out (perhaps a skill challenge), and on exiting the keep, it collapses into the portal, and a manifest zone of Mabar gets generated in it's place.

Then, while hordes of undead don't come out, it will be apparent that _something_ escaped which then dovetails into the rest of the campaign.

I think in the discussions the players did think about keeping it, but then decided that no way they were going to take the thing INTO the keep.

 

[Rechan]

1) I find your solution acceptable. As long as the PCs know it was their actions that caused this.

2) The rib is, after all, an evil artifact. It could very well regenerate on its own, because the PCs didn't go about the proper way to dispose of such items (bury them in salt, bind with runes, bla bla). Granted, it could days, weeks, years to regenerate, but the rib could be regenerated... and some other creature finds it.

An undead entity that inserts the rib into it, drawing power upon it, and growing more potent (possibly becoming a devourer of some kind), or a unique undead...

You get the idea.

 

[hong]

An undead entity that inserts the rib into it, drawing power upon it, and growing more potent (possibly becoming a devourer of some kind), or a unique undead...

You get the idea.

The rib of Vecna?

 

[Mercule]

The rib of Vecna?

Is that where Lilith came from?