Halivar
First Post
I have huge party (up to 7 players + henchmen) absolutely annihilating the ToEE right now. They're going at a pretty glacial pace; they insist on clearing every single room, and I'm happy to let them do so because I am enjoying the game immensely. Until now they have exhibited great teamwork, but something has gone awry for them last session.
The party's nominal leader, a former ninja/fighter-turned-kensai (dual-classing, alignment change, and significant roleplay events involved) was alone in the air temple on the second floor. She plucked both braziers off their chains, and has been whisked away to the caverns of air!
Now, I was planning on plotting out these caverns in, say, three months or longer when the party finally got around to the 4th floor. I'm going to have to step it up a little bit. The kensai player would like to run a side solo campaign and explore her environs (she has no idea where she is at ALL). She doesn't know that there is no hope of escape without the golden skull (safely unfound on another floor of the ToEE). The notes on the caverns suggest that "whole campaigns" could take place there, but all I have is a vague map and a wandering monster table. One thing in particular that is missing is the location of the gems of power tied to the golden skull, and who or what is guarding them.
So what would you put in the elemental caverns? There is some suggestion that generations of people have made a living here. Are there settlements? Ruins?
A couple ideas I have are tied to how this particular campaign has played out: player actions have drawn Lolth deeply into the events of the campaign, and the players are unwittingly advancing her agenda in usurping Zuggtmoy as the power behind the cult of the Elder Elemental Eye. Would Lolth's agents (formerly under Lareth the Beautiful) have been banished to these very same caverns? Also, Otis, the Bachelor-Knight of Veluna from Nulb, has been "sacrificed" to these caverns (after being accidentally compromised due to the kensai's own actions), so she can possibly find at least one friend.
I also may need to dial back the encounters. The player is a level 6 kensai; but with double-specialization from UA she is a melee beast.
Another concern I have is the magic item table. The player has a ring of warmth (lucky!) so cold environments are not an issue. But she has nothing beyond a potion's duration for surviving the other planes. How should I handle this?
Any other ideas or suggestions people might have are welcome.
The party's nominal leader, a former ninja/fighter-turned-kensai (dual-classing, alignment change, and significant roleplay events involved) was alone in the air temple on the second floor. She plucked both braziers off their chains, and has been whisked away to the caverns of air!
Now, I was planning on plotting out these caverns in, say, three months or longer when the party finally got around to the 4th floor. I'm going to have to step it up a little bit. The kensai player would like to run a side solo campaign and explore her environs (she has no idea where she is at ALL). She doesn't know that there is no hope of escape without the golden skull (safely unfound on another floor of the ToEE). The notes on the caverns suggest that "whole campaigns" could take place there, but all I have is a vague map and a wandering monster table. One thing in particular that is missing is the location of the gems of power tied to the golden skull, and who or what is guarding them.
So what would you put in the elemental caverns? There is some suggestion that generations of people have made a living here. Are there settlements? Ruins?
A couple ideas I have are tied to how this particular campaign has played out: player actions have drawn Lolth deeply into the events of the campaign, and the players are unwittingly advancing her agenda in usurping Zuggtmoy as the power behind the cult of the Elder Elemental Eye. Would Lolth's agents (formerly under Lareth the Beautiful) have been banished to these very same caverns? Also, Otis, the Bachelor-Knight of Veluna from Nulb, has been "sacrificed" to these caverns (after being accidentally compromised due to the kensai's own actions), so she can possibly find at least one friend.
I also may need to dial back the encounters. The player is a level 6 kensai; but with double-specialization from UA she is a melee beast.
Another concern I have is the magic item table. The player has a ring of warmth (lucky!) so cold environments are not an issue. But she has nothing beyond a potion's duration for surviving the other planes. How should I handle this?
Any other ideas or suggestions people might have are welcome.