jim pinto
First Post
Region A, spoilers
Starting with Region A and posting as I see fit, I'm going to be
giving people SPOILERS AND ALTERNATE ENDINGS to Regions.
If you don't want anything spoiled, do not READ THIS.
These Alternate Endings will provide DMs with a new way to use the Region and finish off the climax in an interesting manner that might befit your storytelling style.
In Region A, Longtail is utilizing a portal, bringing forth Fiendish beasts into the dungeon. This is certainly a place of importance if the PCs go north into Region E and explain to the Inevitables there what is going on. This can have far-reaching implications if the PCs fail to close the portal, because this means that more creatures are coming into the dungeon, creating an influx or cretures (positive population growth) that will be hard to stymie.
Now. Since this is a low-level Region, closing the portal can't be too difficult, but DMs willing to make this part of a longer saga, are welcome to increase the DCs involved with closing the portal or place an object in another Region that can close it off. Such "cliched" ideas are not uncommon in dungeon adventures, but we've kept them to a minimum here. Some of the concepts below fit well, because the regions themselves already have built in "artifacts" that can be changed easily without undermining the campaign.
A ward staff from Region E would be perfect for sealing the gate, if the DM doesn't mind backtracking. A not so "clean" answer is a lost drow Relic from the age of Mahir (see page 432 and page 643) in Region I or M. Region C could also house one of Arum's (see page 128) lost trinkets that also closes the rift. Since his magic can do just about anything the DM needs it to do, there's no reason this can't be slipped in.
The chains from Room C21 also work and the blood of the ethereal filcher in Region C makes for a great plot device as well.... if the PCs think of it. [The blood opens the portal on itself, creating a vortex of energy that sucks everything that touches it into nether, so creatures summoned into the prime material plane immediately disappear and vice versa.]
Another possible conclusion is to remove the portal and replace it with a warped wand of summon monster 3 that the imp has tainted and recharges every night while Longtail sleeps. Longtail is unaware of the imp's true plans and in his maddened and unpredictable state continues to bring creatures into the dungeon.
This is relatively straight-forward, doesn't require too much work to impliment, and makes Longtail less of a victim (or more, depending on your POV).
Idea #3. Replace the imp and Longtail with a (fiendish) Chain Devil with the summoning strength of a Osyluth. Instead of fiendish darkmantles throughout the Region, replace them with Lemures and the occasional Bearded or Bone Devil. Of course, PCs fighting a chain devil better have a few orcs in toe as their allies to bring him down. This works really well for groups with 6 PCs.
Of course, such a shift in ecology is sure to scare the pants off of the PCs, so perhaps 1 in 5 darkmantle encounters is really an insane bearded devil lacking the summon and (silly) beard abilities and instead has the Kyton's chain powers and some improved grab/entangle ability. The insane bearded devil should always be enraged.
If the demon prefers demons over devils, use dretch, babau, and a quasit manipulator.
Idea #4 involves a ruptured egg or demon sac that creatures/spawns foul monsters. This can be tied to Region I and M easily for the aberration angle or Regions C and K, for the tainted dragon egg plot hook.
Idea #5. Rumor has it the portal is also an escape, so creatures from Regions E and F have migrated down to Region A to explore (maybe even an elf deserter from Region H). Region B has its own problems and only a handfull of goblins could really make it this far anyway.
Okay.
That's enough for today and certainly enough to scare off any PCs silly enough to read the book before you run it.
Starting with Region A and posting as I see fit, I'm going to be
giving people SPOILERS AND ALTERNATE ENDINGS to Regions.
If you don't want anything spoiled, do not READ THIS.
These Alternate Endings will provide DMs with a new way to use the Region and finish off the climax in an interesting manner that might befit your storytelling style.
In Region A, Longtail is utilizing a portal, bringing forth Fiendish beasts into the dungeon. This is certainly a place of importance if the PCs go north into Region E and explain to the Inevitables there what is going on. This can have far-reaching implications if the PCs fail to close the portal, because this means that more creatures are coming into the dungeon, creating an influx or cretures (positive population growth) that will be hard to stymie.
Now. Since this is a low-level Region, closing the portal can't be too difficult, but DMs willing to make this part of a longer saga, are welcome to increase the DCs involved with closing the portal or place an object in another Region that can close it off. Such "cliched" ideas are not uncommon in dungeon adventures, but we've kept them to a minimum here. Some of the concepts below fit well, because the regions themselves already have built in "artifacts" that can be changed easily without undermining the campaign.
A ward staff from Region E would be perfect for sealing the gate, if the DM doesn't mind backtracking. A not so "clean" answer is a lost drow Relic from the age of Mahir (see page 432 and page 643) in Region I or M. Region C could also house one of Arum's (see page 128) lost trinkets that also closes the rift. Since his magic can do just about anything the DM needs it to do, there's no reason this can't be slipped in.
The chains from Room C21 also work and the blood of the ethereal filcher in Region C makes for a great plot device as well.... if the PCs think of it. [The blood opens the portal on itself, creating a vortex of energy that sucks everything that touches it into nether, so creatures summoned into the prime material plane immediately disappear and vice versa.]
Another possible conclusion is to remove the portal and replace it with a warped wand of summon monster 3 that the imp has tainted and recharges every night while Longtail sleeps. Longtail is unaware of the imp's true plans and in his maddened and unpredictable state continues to bring creatures into the dungeon.
This is relatively straight-forward, doesn't require too much work to impliment, and makes Longtail less of a victim (or more, depending on your POV).
Idea #3. Replace the imp and Longtail with a (fiendish) Chain Devil with the summoning strength of a Osyluth. Instead of fiendish darkmantles throughout the Region, replace them with Lemures and the occasional Bearded or Bone Devil. Of course, PCs fighting a chain devil better have a few orcs in toe as their allies to bring him down. This works really well for groups with 6 PCs.
Of course, such a shift in ecology is sure to scare the pants off of the PCs, so perhaps 1 in 5 darkmantle encounters is really an insane bearded devil lacking the summon and (silly) beard abilities and instead has the Kyton's chain powers and some improved grab/entangle ability. The insane bearded devil should always be enraged.
If the demon prefers demons over devils, use dretch, babau, and a quasit manipulator.
Idea #4 involves a ruptured egg or demon sac that creatures/spawns foul monsters. This can be tied to Region I and M easily for the aberration angle or Regions C and K, for the tainted dragon egg plot hook.
Idea #5. Rumor has it the portal is also an escape, so creatures from Regions E and F have migrated down to Region A to explore (maybe even an elf deserter from Region H). Region B has its own problems and only a handfull of goblins could really make it this far anyway.
Okay.
That's enough for today and certainly enough to scare off any PCs silly enough to read the book before you run it.
)
