Warning - Spoiler! - The Fire Forest of Innenodtar

[Galladorn]

Hi everybody: Adventure 2 - The Fire Forest of Innenodtar:
Three questions about this, at least IMO, deceptivingly simple but really fascinating, moving and flavourful adventure:
1) when and how is the Shahalesti Soldier Diashan Sediell supposed to "wake up" from his state of suspended animation, in the Anyariel's Sanctuary? Will he wake up automatically at the end of the adventure, if the PCs manage to stop the forest burning, and kill (or let go) Indomitability? Or must the PCs be able to cast succesfully dispel magic to free the elven soldier from his state? Will the PCs be able to toalk to him, and if so, when, in the intentions of the adventure designers?
2) Who will tell the PCs of the fightings between the Inneodtar and the Shahalesti elves? Tiljann the Seela, if I understood the adventure well, am I right?
3) What is the difference between what Indomitability, and what Kazyk ask and want the PCs to do?
Many thanks,
G.

 

[OnlineDM]

1. I ran the adventure as Diashan being dead. I see what you mean about the sidebar on page 16 saying that Diashan can provide information later; maybe it's in a much later adventure or something. I don't think it's important, though, and I treated him as being dead.

2. My party never figured it out. They're supposed to piece it together in part from the goblin ledger they find in "A Cool Cave" (but my party happened to ignore that piece of information), combined with the later encounters with the indomitable goblins (they're described as wearing the same sigil as seen on the journal). So, my PCs still don't know, even though we're almost at the end of the third adventure. <shrug>

3. Indomitability wants the PCs to free him so that he can destroy the seela and then leave the forest. Kazyk wants the PCs to hand over the case (and later wants them to put out the fire, since he can then let them go under the letter of his contract). Kazyk is fine if the PCs let Indomitability loose and Indomitability kills them, for instance, or even if Indomitability kills the seela and then leaves, with the PCs surviving. His contract is very specific: He is not to let the PCs or their companions "leave the burning forest alive." If they're dead, great. If the forest isn't burning, also great. He's also supposed to get the case, though apparently it doesn't matter if the case is empty.

 

[Ragnar_Deerslayer]

(page references are to the 3.5 hardback)

How do the heroes get the knowledge of the Shahalesti betrayal? Timbre knows, and might tell them if the topic comes up, but she doesn't appear to have concrete evidence. Diashan, the elf in temporal stasis, knows, and can give firsthand testimony, but the PCs may not realize this. The Ghaele Eladrin might give the PCs a hint, since he is guarding Diashan, and he was summoned in response to Bhurisrava's final prayer: "that some god would protect what he [Bhurisrava] had failed to - the evidence that would bring to justice those who destroyed his homeland" (page 53).

The god that placed the spell on Diashan might remove it when Indomitability leaves. (Diashan's stats aren't included; use the stats for a Shahalesti Scout, page 585.) Alternatively, I imagine that if the PCs manage to get Diashan to the Lyceum, someone there would be able to break the temporal stasis spell just in time for the elf's testimony to make things interesting in Seaquen's relationship with Shahalesti. (Thanks to Nebten for this idea!) I had my party drag him along using the Floating Disk spell. This provided for an interesting encounter in Adventure 3 when the Shahalesti want to search the PCs stuff to make sure they aren't smuggling in anything to support the Ragesian spies.

Character Goals:
PCs: get through the Fire Forest and reach Seaquen
Indomitability: get the PCs to free him by "silencing" the seela. He will become incorporeal, leave, and the forest fires will consume the forest. The seela will die within seconds
Kazyk:
a. retrieve the case & contents
b. keep the PCs from escaping the fire forest (by destroying fire forest)
(1) by freeing Indomitability
(2) by killing Indomitability (which he's not strong enough to do)
c. gather intelligence about the forest
Nelle: save forest by killing (or, possibly, freeing) Indomitability
Vuhl (Deception): free Indomitability by killing Timbre
Tiljann: figure out a way to save the seela even if the forest burned down (sword?)

Ragnar