They're Killing All My Ancient Evil!

[F5]

See, drawing inspiration from folklore and legend, when an ancient evil is left in a magical sleep under a swamp, you don't go and wake it up. That ancient evil has been dealt with, move on the to the next contestant. It's like toxic waste; nobody wants it in their backyard, but once it's sealed up and contained, you leave it alone...

Whos to say that the ancient dragon didn't have a clone stashed away somewhere? Or, something to consider, now that it's been released from its' magical sleep, a True Resurrection is all it takes to bring it back to full power. While it was magically held under the swamp, it was neutralized. Now that it's just dead, it has a near-limitless amount of options!

(as an aside, you want to be careful with this kind of thing: Resurrecting a defeated villain you weren't done with after a fair fight can look cheesey to the players. They might feel their voctory is lessened by the resurrection. But, given that they took out this dragon as a side-trek, with no backstory leadng up to it, in a 2-round fight, I don't think you'd be taking too much away from them...)

 

[the Jester]

Whos to say that the ancient dragon didn't have a clone stashed away somewhere? Or, something to consider, now that it's been released from its' magical sleep, a True Resurrection is all it takes to bring it back to full power.

The clone idea is also a good reason why the ancient wizard who imprisoned the dragon wouldn't have wanted to kill it. Hmmm...

As to a true rez, neither the pc nor the npc in the campaign who can perform a true rez have any reason to want to bring the dragon back. There's nobody else who could true rez it... but then, there's always a simple ressurection, I guess.

But again, not much in the way of motive there.

Thanks for the discussion, everyone!

 

[Knightfall]

The clone idea is also a good reason why the ancient wizard who imprisoned the dragon wouldn't have wanted to kill it. Hmmm...

As to a true rez, neither the pc nor the npc in the campaign who can perform a true rez have any reason to want to bring the dragon back. There's nobody else who could true rez it... but then, there's always a simple ressurection, I guess.

But again, not much in the way of motive there.

Thanks for the discussion, everyone!

Jester, you should consider adding something similar to Forgotten Realms Cult of the Dragon to your campaign. Except these cultists, as of yet, aren't very well known and have always worked in total secrecy.

I seem to remember that dragons are very rare in your world. A black cult dedicated to keeping dragons in the world, by any means possible, might be a good group of new foes for the PCs.

They hear of the PCs' deed in killing Lithos and immediately set out to destroy them while they work secrectly to have Lithos returned to life (or unlife).

The PCs might not even realize why the the evil dragon cult is hunting them. Although Orbius' divining powers could solve that in no time. I suggest that Lithos was the "sleeping" servant of a much more powerful dragon, perhaps an ancient dragon demigod. This bein wants his/her favored servant back and the draconic cult is the dragon's most loyal "humanoid" servants. (I recommend making this dragon an"epic" great wyrm, as per the rules in the ELH.)

Perhaps the draconic cult makes a deal with the wizard merchants like the PCs did. Or send a few clandestine, half-dragon assassins against PCs one at a time, when they are seperated. Or the cult could make an alliance with one of the "Marii" to go back in time, wake Lithos up before the PCs arrive, and warn the dragon that their coming. (Or perhaps just gather enough of the creatures "essence" to clone the dragon in the future or create a "empowered" improved simulacrum.)

Heh. Heh.

KF72

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

No motive for resurrection?!?!? You must be kidding! "OK boys, here's the plan. We go to the swamp of Lithos and prepare our spells. We first begin the ritual to resurrect the dragon. Then you begin the ritual to bind it to our will. When we're done, we'll have the ancient wyrm of Lithos at our command and he will perform seven tasks for us before he is free. That should be good for a kingdom for each of us. What do you say?" Or, how about: "Oh great Lithos, your most humble and devoted servant has called you back from beyond the grave, give me pre-eminence among my brethren and I shall serve you faithfully." An ancient dragon is a powerful foe and a powerful ally. If such an ally could be gained for the cost of a resurrection spell it would be well worth it. If another spell could bind the dragon at the same time, an ancient dragon as a servant would be extremely advantageous and would offer someone who would otherwise merely be prominent (able to cast resurrection) the opportunity to have power that is epic in scope.

From the sounds of it, your PCs were very careless. In a world with Resurrection, simply killing a foe is not enough. Powerful ones need to be soulbound or otherwise prevented from returning.

The clone idea is also a good reason why the ancient wizard who imprisoned the dragon wouldn't have wanted to kill it. Hmmm...

As to a true rez, neither the pc nor the npc in the campaign who can perform a true rez have any reason to want to bring the dragon back. There's nobody else who could true rez it... but then, there's always a simple ressurection, I guess.

But again, not much in the way of motive there.

Thanks for the discussion, everyone!

 

[the Jester]

You know, in all my years of dming I don't think I've ever used a dracolich.

Not that that has anything to do with this discussion.

 

[Creamsteak]

You know, in all my years of dming I don't think I've ever used a dracolich.

Not that that has anything to do with this discussion.

Dracolich with the taurasque (or similar creature) bound to it's phylactry have nothing to do with this discussion at all, do they.

 

[Gez]

If the PCs slaughter the ancient evils of my world, they'll have troubles, because some of these ancient evils are actually protecting the world from extraplanar threats, like the Ethergaunt (FF), the Kaorti (FF), the Malafide (MS), etc. With all the monster books I have (all three MMs, MoF, FF, all three CCs, both ToHs, etc.), I'm in no shortage of threats.

And there's also the threat of fiends. The 'loth daemons that are gnawing the world from the inside like a worm in an apple, the 'lith demons that aren't doing anything constructive but festering in all this decay, and the 'luth devils that are using the castoffs from this work of destruction to build their own planet, that one day shall hatch from the withered husk of the campaign world, like a rotten egg of evil.

Maybe I'm overusing metaphors.

Anyway, there are some ancient evils the world needs for its own safety, like chromatic dragons or beholders, as they protect it from other ancient evils, like illithids or fiends.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

The other thing is preparation. If your players suddenly decide to kill an ancient evil and you then promptly run the encounter before you've had adequate time to prepare, well, you get out what you put in.

I'd suggest using delaying tactics to get you through the session. Minions, traps, illusions, dungeons before the final encounter, etc., can all be used to delay the end battle.

That will give you time to prepare it properly and ensure it lives up to what it should be.

Remember, your players probably know their characters a heck of a lot better than you know every ancient evil in the game world. Give yourself some time to prepare adequately and show them why and how the evil got to be ancient...

 

[BlackSilver]

Ancient evils will generally know one another, whether they are friends enemies, allies or what have you they will have crossed paths in the past. If one is killed then the others might have heard of it, then a second one dies within just a few months, those that are left might well start investigating, find and attack their new enemies just so they aren’t next on the list.

As my significant other has pointed out the world of Buffy always seems to have greater and greater forgotten evils and enemies. Wipe one out and another crops up, filling the void of the last.

My GM suggested that the power of the ancients is something that is passed about, as long as the possessor lives the next potential cannot have it, and no one can design the next possessor no matter what they do. What is the criteria for possessing this power? No one knows.

It sounds like you have a fine group, willing to take the intuitive, a word from someone that has made the mistake in the past- do not discourage them, let them go after whom ever they wish, be logical about the new villains defenses.

Good luck

 

[Von Ether]

How about tempting your PC to become evil.

How did that plot go in World of Warcraft? The paladin decided to premptively kill off a town before it became the focal point for a heideous plague. He could have let the villagers live, but more would die. That sort of stuff.

Or you could recast some of the deeds of your heroes into evil acts and then have the players create new PC to take on their old ones.