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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Novem5er" data-source="post: 4739881" data-attributes="member: 57859">My campaign took a sudden and dramatic turn last night.My players killed the main villain a few levels before they were supposed to <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />In a previous adventure, the group had hired themselves out as mercenaries to a silver-tongued tiefling named Vesuvius. The players had acquired a certain Onyx Skull (from a low-level Open Grave lair encounter) and the tiefling used his hobgoblin troops to round up the PCs and cajole them into handing it over.The PCs, however, decided to bargain with Vesuvius, and agreed to hand over the skull in return for some gold, a chance to experiment with the skull, and a chance of future employment. Vesuvius agreed and smiled as this was exactly what he wanted... a magic skull and a party of new lackeys (Muahaha).Over the next two sessions, the players tracked down a gnome scholar and retrieved (violently) an ancient tomb that Vesuvius had early purchased and never received. The players then joined the small hobgoblin army and invaded Llorkh (from Forgotten Realms), with the aim of getting rid of a "tyrannical" dwarf that had been over-taxing the city and driving it to ruin (dang, tax-n-spend liberal dwarfs! -joke-). After the dwarf refused to surrender, the party slew him at the doorstep of his manor.So the PCs are headed down the shadowy path of evil right? Well, apparently when they looked down from the manor hill and saw a city full of hobgoblin invaders and scared good-folk hiding behind shuttered doors... they had a change of heart.Last night's session involved the PCs exploring the conquered city (which they helped conquer, right?) and imploring the good-folk to get out while they can. Later, they are invited to a dinner at the lord's manor (where they killed the dwarf, right?) so Vesuvius can discuss their next employment. The group calmly eats with Vesuvius, his Eladrin Wizard lackey, and a group of town leaders who are discussing terms of trade and industry. After the town leaders leave, Vesuvius calls the players closer so he can discuss the next adventure: a hidden, ancient-Netheril laboratory beneath the newly conquered city.The players listen closely, nod their heads in agreement, and then pull swords. Apparently they'd heard enough, and with a lack of body guards at the table, this was an opportunity they couldn't pass up!Unfortunately for my playes, Vesuvius was no mere tiefling. He was actually a level 8 Cambion Warlord, and his eladrin wizard companion was actually his Succubus mother! Hmm... no wonder Vesuvius so arrogantly sent his bodyguards away so he could enjoy a peaceful dinner.Considering my players (3 of them) are only level 3... it was a heck-of-a-fight! The succubus was dominating a player almost every turn and Vesuvius was using his warlord powers to constantly shift himself and the players around the dining room. At one point, the succubus dominated a player into attacking HER because another player had already been kissed and would intercept the attack... and when that attack roll was a natural 20, our own tiefling warlord dropped like a sack of potatoes.The players were lucky, though. The dining room was a tight fight, which means that Vesuvius couldn't fly around the battlefield and use some of his better powers. Also, since he didn't have a retinue of hobgoblins around him, some of his warlord powers had little use.Still, after about a dozen rounds, two players had dropped below 0 (1 had come back), Vesuvius was dead, and the succubus was fleeing. Awesome fight, and I rewarded them by actually giving them a chance to win (no hobgoblin reinforcements showed up, etc)... but now I'm left wondering:Now what?I've got a city full of hobgoblins, a dead villain, and a couple levels of "story" to remap. Still... what a blast, and it's great to know that my players can still surprise me.</blockquote>

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