Soneillon. Part 1 (Updated 6/15)

[dave_o]

Y'know, with the affinity certain celestials seem to have for Eadric, they should simply do the following:

Mostin sets up his rad looking-glass-portal-mirror (of doom) on some celestial plane. He scries Graz'zt, though this probably is impossible, so he scries somewhere relatively near Graz'zt. Then, Eadric simply looks at the hordes of celestials, points, and whistles.

Yeah, yeah, aeons old binding contracts. So what?

Edit: Jovol could just eat Graz'zt, and poop him out.

 

[Jeremy]

I especially like the thought of Ortwin's idea.

Nwn - "Oh dear lord... We just decimated his diplomatic envoy.. There goes diplomacy..."

Ortwin - "Nah. You're thinking like a good guy on a good plane. This is a bad guy on a bad plane and we're bad people. We tell him, 'Oops. Our bad. We'll meet with you later,' and we let him stew in the fact that in less than 6 seconds we decimated everything he could hurl at us, EASILY, and on ACCIDENT. He lost a lot of power, we've demonstrated a mysterious power that we can leave it to his imagination to find the, probably exaggerated, limit of..."

Mostin - "I guess I'm brilliant even when I'm not fully considering the consequences."

And in Mostin's defense, I think he was dead on. When told the king of the plane demands an audience, you pretty much don't have a diplomatic way to say no. So that leaves saying yes. And yes means you fight him on his turf with all the advantages and you go in blind. Mostin's near deific intellect (and raving lunacy) processed that, and decided that wiping out much of the King's power base then was a preferrable tactic. Stalling further diplomacy for a more prepared time and increasing their own perceived bargaining power and magical clout simultaneously.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

!

I have one small question, though. Just how smug was Mostin's player after that one? And how long did it take him to get through all those spells!?

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

I would recommend having a talk with Mostin's player, though: the tactic he used will destroy most any encounter, but it will also result in a TPK if used against the party. A way of fixing the combo should probably be agreed upon.

Good point.

I hate to say it, but I will have to join to chorus saying Mostin and Ortwin probably got it right -- at least based on the information they had at hand. You can't walk into a evil stronghold on the vague hope you won't be killed outright just because you are disguised.

Vaporizing an ambassadorial mission would seem like a perfectly legitimate opening move in negotiations among demons. It should not appear outlandish to Irknaan, given the company he keeps.

 

[grodog]

Great update Sep! Will you be updating Ortwin next in the House Rules section, as well?

I'm very curious to see where things go from here. Would this general situation qualify as a "nodality" as the recent events on Wyre did? If not, what more specifically is a nodality? If so, is a nodality basically any convergence of events?

Cheiromancer said:

And what are those devils doing there, anyway? I don't think they are there at Shomei's behest. I think they are there to force a confluence of events, and profit thereby: when the smoke clears, they may be able to seize the whole demi-plane.

That's my reading too. Although I also agree that Titivilus is likely there to exact revenge upon Shomei as much as anything else. In addition, he's in an excellent position (physically as well as morally) to tempt Eadric further: the Ahma may need to request aid from Titivilus to save the PCs' bacon, or to ally with them if Graz'zt or Soneillon physically appears on the plane, etc.

Jackylhunter, I'm on vacation through Sunday, and don't have access to my files. Eridanis may be able to sate you in the meanwhile, or perhaps someone who I recently sent files to?

 

[wolff96]

I'm going to have to agree with Mostin and Ortwin.

Given infernal and abyssal politics "vaporizing the messenger" isn't that uncommon. Though Eadric and pals aren't always aware of it, the Big G has eliminated several demons JUST for bringing him bad news.

Seen in that light, rendering the diplomatic envoy into "dust, stone and madness" (love that phrase, Darklone) is probably a perfectly acceptable way to decline the invitation.

As I see it:
The party extends the invitation to join in the hunt.
Irknaan "invites" them to his mansion.
The party declines.
Irknaan says "I insist."
The party reduces the entire diplomatic group to their constiuent components, effectively saying "Thanks again, but no."

 

[Sepulchrave II]

Again, I wonder what you will do when 3.5 comes out - just ignore the relevant changes to spells like Time Stop (which I hear has been majorly reworded), or somehow adapt? I'd be very interested in your perspective, Sep.

I think I'm one of the undecided. I really like 3e, for all its quirks and flaws. You learn to live with them and adapt to them. They actually help shape the rationale behind the game world.

That said, I'm a sucker for new books - I'll probably get the PHB and see how it goes from there. I've got no problem retrofitting rules to the game, and I've done it before.

 

[DanMcS]

Given infernal and abyssal politics "vaporizing the messenger" isn't that uncommon. Though Eadric and pals aren't always aware of it, the Big G has eliminated several demons JUST for bringing him bad news.

So has Shomei, she wiped out the messenger Grazzt sent to her (quite a while ago, when he sent 4 succubi to Wyre with missions, one went to Shomei).

 

[Cheiromancer]

Speaking of Shomei, here is the concept sketch that A.K. Brown prepared for me. Any comments or suggestions? If not, I'll ask her to ink it and I'll post the final version later.

[edit] The character description was from Heretic of Wyre;

Mostin had an unexpected visitor.

She was a young woman, probably no more than thirty, although her exact age was rather difficult to gauge. She wore a hooded cloak of an indigo so deep than it was almost black. Her dark hair, cropped at the shoulder, framed a face with pointed features which bespoke a fey or elven heritage. In her hand she carried a rod of black iron that hid an unknown potency. She waited patiently on the doorstep of the Alienist’s manse, until Mostin had exited his extradimensional retreat.

He scried her, and wondered what she was doing there. Thoughts about the Injunction raced through his mind. He buffed, straightened his collar, and opened the door.

"Shomei. This is an unexpected pleasure," he said.

The woman strode in. "Firewine," she said. Mostin was unsure whether she addressed him, or one of the numerous unseen servants who waited in attendance. She walked into his drawing room and sat in his favourite leather armchair, resting her chin upon her hands, her rod upright beneath them. She was, as usual, intense and preoccupied.

"Well. Did you or didn’t you?" She asked. Shomei always spoke a little too quickly for comfort.

With a few tidbits from her character right up. At the time of the portrait, she didn't have Jovol's armband yet.

 

[Noir]

Shomei

Nice sketch.
Looks like Shomei to me, though I have always imagined the iron rod a bit more stout.