Things to Do on Carceri...

[Arrgh! Mark!]

They don't know they are in Carceri?

Then be real, real evil. You know that 'Hell is a casino you keep winning in.. but you can't leave, it's a snowstorm outside?'

Start of a standard adventure, with a nice little town. They are told a necromancer is plagueing the town with undead. the local mayor funds them his entire fortune.

So there's a dungeon. They go and slay him.


And it's easy. Very, very easy. No matter what they roll, it's an instant hit/critical. They get vast hordes of treasure. There's some form of regeneration. Spells come back in minutes.

They slay the necromancer. But then the town is plagued by an evil overlord and his kobold minions. So they go and slay them.. easily. The bad guy goes down in a single hit. Treasure galore. Of course, the village can't handle so much loot.

They get cheered by the villagers. And then, they get told there's an evil artifact that controls all red dragons, and an evil mage of immense power has just found it. They go to his tower and slay him after lots of pyrotechnics but no damage is taken. The artifact is there.

....

Continue, making the game go as quick as possible. However, they'll try to leave eventually - all the mountain passes are snowed in, despite the fact the valley itself is perfectly fine.



The key is realising something is wrong. When they do that, only then will things start to happen.

 

[Shemeska]

Continue, making the game go as quick as possible. However, they'll try to leave eventually - all the mountain passes are snowed in, despite the fact the valley itself is perfectly fine.



The key is realising something is wrong. When they do that, only then will things start to happen.

*grin*

And when you do, you'll notice for the first time that there are no true stars, just a far off 'moon', and that at the tops of the mountains ringing the town, red light seems to be leaking up from the ground and into black vault of the sky.

*ominous sound effects*

 

[Psychotic Jim]

You mentioned the Titans... Aren't they imprisoned on Carceri. On a thread a while back a person sugguested an adventure idea of stealing Crono's eyebrows... they are purported to allow nonlinear sight. I think it developed into its own thread.

Another idea is that once they break out of the prison they have to break back into it or another prison to free somebody of dubious reputation, perhaps the only one who knows a way to leave the prison plane.

 

[Shemeska]

"You want to get out do you?" The 'loth gave a friendly smile.

"Trust me." The 'loth smiled more.



And much misery ensued, except when they do nothing at all to you, but leave you assuming that they will, making you live every day with the nagging, lurking fear that something is suddenly going to come back to haunt you, or leaving you with the fear that something terrible -did- happen, but your memories aren't exactly as you think they are...

I think it's almost a given that at some point in a planar PCs tenure they're going to get screwed over ten times to next Sunday by a 'loth, and half the time they're forced into the situation by the 'loths providing something that is indespensible. 'Let me provide you with what you need, we'll handle the price of it all later...' sort of thing.

*grin*

 

[I'm A Banana]

Another idea is that once they break out of the prison they have to break back into it or another prison to free somebody of dubious reputation, perhaps the only one who knows a way to leave the prison plane.

Ooooh, I like it...

Keep it comin'!

 

[Psychotic Jim]

Another thing that's going on in Carceri, as in most lower planes, is the eternal Blood War. Surviving any major scurmishes could be a harrowing encounter.

Another idea is that the characters could take part in some sort of War Crimes trial, administered by the 'loths. The PCs could be take the role of defense or prosecution, or perhaps brought in as witnesses or even the defendants. Of course War Crimes of the Blood War would have to be unusual, like trying to end the Blood War or showing mercy to a defeated foe. Perhaps by 1000 years in the future Rule-of-Three (the cambion from Uncaged: Faces of Sigil ) will have amassed enough power to unite all of the fiendish races under one banner. After being caught, Rule-of-Three is now being put on "trial" for attempting to end the War.

If you characters don't mind aiding evil creatures, they could, upon reaching higher levels, escort a band of planar refugees from the Blood War, including perhaps some foul gehereleths/demodans.

In the game Planescape Torment, the gate town of Curst threatens to plunge into Carceri in a bid to unite the fiends for an attack on Mount Celestia. Perhaps the town has merged with the plane, and it's up to the PCs to make it shift back onto the Outlands. Getting the gatetown to shift back could also give the party a way to escape from the Prison Plane.

Something the party might not suspect is to have the party explore a prison of a different sort, perhaps a planar insane asylum. It could be a place where the Lower Planar denezins send all the beings which they deem "insane". fiends that become good, demons that become lawful, devils that become chaotic, etc. There's a lot of real world shady practices that have been perpetrated on the mentally ill that could serve as source material.

 

[Psychotic Jim]

One of the ideas I'm taking from the 2e sources is that connections between the layers are a vertical journey more than a horizontal one. To go up in layers, you climb to the highest peaks and appear in the lowest gorges. To go down in layers, you sink to the deepest deapths and appear on the tallest rises...

....so any idea for interesting encouters on a vertical axis? What kind of "safe falls" should I let them have? What kind of creatures might be climbing these mountains, too....

What about huge demonic mountain goats? Or some sort of fiendish ivy, perhaps razorvine? Flying foes would make the trip twice as difficult.

As for safe falls, how about landing in some giant demon's food, like jelly or soup. Perhaps the demon "harvests" food by leaving out various pots and pans like how people left out jugs to catch falling rain or water droplets.

 

[Venport]

Little hlep for me too

I'm going to run an epic adventure in Carceri, The gole will be to get out. For those of you familier with the shackled city Adventure path. it will be just after they fight the final boss who is traped on Carceri. After defeating him they will realise that they don't have a way of getting back ($10,000 says my party Cleric will try and Plane shift before asking to roll a K(planes) check)

My question is what books have good info on CarcerI?? I heard that some of the plains scape books do but witch ones?

 

[Nightfall]

Things to do on Carceri:

Convert to evil

Find some evil

Kill some evil

Pray for a swift death and hope you get off the plane.

Otherwise you're pretty screwed.

 

[Ryltar]

My question is what books have good info on CarcerI?? I heard that some of the plains scape books do but witch ones?

The most important resource, IMO, is the "Liber Malevolentiae" booklet from the "Planes of Conflict" boxed set.