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So, yesterday may players finally had enough of Grigori, so they snuck into his bedroom and slew him while he slept. They then moved the body out of town while the magus used alter self to make it look like Grigori was leaving. They then dug him a grave out of town.
But is this really the end of the great and powerful Grigori? So, I was thinking it would be nice to bring him back as an undead creature to further haunt the party. The question is when and how. They are in the middle of Rivers Run Red right now.
The party consists of the following characters:
Half elf summoner and human oracle of lore, the masterminds behind the murder
Half elf inquisitor and elf magus, the ones doing the dirty work
Gnome cavalier, doesn't know what happened
Human druid, didn't like the idea, her job was distracting the cavalier.
With the exception of the cavalier, the whole party is neutral, although I might force an alignment change on the druid since neutral good seems like a better fit for her than chaotic neutral.
CEO
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My group just slew him tonight also. They HATE him SO MUCH. They actually burnt the body and spread the ashes all over the place so there is no chance in hell that he could be raised. But perhaps some sort of incorporeal undead might work. God, I think they might lynch me if I brought Grigori back. :)
-Lisa
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So, yesterday may players finally had enough of Grigori, so they snuck into his bedroom and slew him while he slept. They then moved the body out of town while the magus used alter self to make it look like Grigori was leaving. They then dug him a grave out of town.
But is this really the end of the great and powerful Grigori? So, I was thinking it would be nice to bring him back as an undead creature to further haunt the party. The question is when and how. They are in the middle of Rivers Run Red right now.The party consists of the following characters:
Half elf summoner and human oracle of lore, the masterminds behind the murder
Half elf inquisitor and elf magus, the ones doing the dirty work
Gnome cavalier, doesn't know what happened
Human druid, didn't like the idea, her job was distracting the cavalier.With the exception of the cavalier, the whole party is neutral, although I might force an alignment change on the druid since neutral good seems like a better fit for her than chaotic neutral.
Grigori is really annoying my PCs.
Were I you, I'd make him haunt the town square as a ghost talking up the PCs worst mistakes when he manifests at the hour of his death. (yay unrest) he should show up a year and a day after his death >:D
The condition for putting him to rest is the fall of the PCs kingdom or proof of Irovetti's death.
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Considering how much pain Grigori has brought to the PCs, I'll probably wait some time before bringing him back, the PCs have enough problems at the moment.
The revenant seems pretty combat oriented which doesn't fit a guy like Grigori, so I'll probably bring him back as a ghost. Or, even better, something like this.
Or the characters get blackmailed (I know what you did last chapter).
But for now, they have earned some Greenbelt vacationing.
Or the characters get blackmailed (I know what you did last chapter).
You, my friend, get a cookie for making me laugh. That was quite funny. :)
My group just slew him tonight also. They HATE him SO MUCH. They actually burnt the body and spread the ashes all over the place so there is no chance in hell that he could be raised. But perhaps some sort of incorporeal undead might work. God, I think they might lynch me if I brought Grigori back. :)
-Lisa
My group did something similar. But we did it legally. You should have seen the look on my dm's face when I arrested grigori for violating the second right (in our nation's constitution). He was beheaded and burned and I certainly hope my dm doesnt bring him back.
My players simply banished him. So he will be coming back. *evil laugh*
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So, there are no Good aligned players in the group?
Sneaking into a bedroom to kill a guy is SO an act of evil.
The gnome cavalier is neutral good, but he doesn't know what happened. He thinks Grigori just left town.
And yes, I consider this an act of evil and told the players beforehand.Their original plan was killing him and claim that he was another werewolf, but the druid refused to use wildshape and kill some lifestock to make it more authentic. So they just murdered him in his sleep and hid the body.
With spectacular diplomacy rolls, we ran him off. Then, my LN cleric(ruler) and the groups NN druid(spymaster) followed him,confronted him and, in my capacity as ruler, convicted him of trying to destroy the kingdom (he had admitted in an earlier interview that he was hired to stir up unrest and destroy our kingdom from within). I sentenced him to execution, and then gave him a chance with a 1 on 1 duel (dueling is big in this area). Ok, not much of a chance. After he died (he seemed to think that whoever had hired him had promised to raise him if he died), we utterly destroyed the body and took his stuff to a big city to sell (disguised as Grigori).
My players arrested him, interrogated him (playing Good Paladin, Bad Inquisitor & Witch), then made a counter-offer to have him go spy on Drelev. As I recall, they gave the man about 1000 GP and the Spymaster sent a team to keep watch on him.
It was a plan that, I admit, I wasn't expecting. Which meant I enjoyed it all the more. Last they heard, Grigori was arrested for inciting unrest in Drelev...
My group just slew him tonight also. They HATE him SO MUCH. They actually burnt the body and spread the ashes all over the place so there is no chance in hell that he could be raised. But perhaps some sort of incorporeal undead might work. God, I think they might lynch me if I brought Grigori back. :)
-Lisa
Give in to the Dark Side. They may hate you at the moment, but they'll remember it and thank you in the future, particularly if they get the pleasure of killing him again.
I'd steal this idea, but in my campaign fortunately (unfortunately?) Grigori got away with his life and not much else, after the PCs were cleverly able to outmaneuver and expose him as a foreign agent. He's working in the background now, and they'll get another shot at him some time.
My players so thuroughly trounced Gregori in diplomacy rolls that he left town because no one cared about him any more. He spent 1 night in a cell for disturbing the peace (The inquisitor got Oleg to file a complaint), where he was interrogated by the Queen, who discovered where he was from, but not his purpose (and she failed the sense motive on where he was from, so she thinks he is from northern brevoy). The councilor and spymaster had a fun time discreditting him in front of everyone. The spymaster mingled with the crowd, putting doubt in everyone's mind about him while the councilor went point for point with his complaints.
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So, there are no Good aligned players in the group?
Sneaking into a bedroom to kill a guy is SO an act of evil.The gnome cavalier is neutral good, but he doesn't know what happened. He thinks Grigori just left town.
And yes, I consider this an act of evil and told the players beforehand.
Their original plan was killing him and claim that he was another werewolf, but the druid refused to use wildshape and kill some lifestock to make it more authentic. So they just murdered him in his sleep and hid the body.
Coolio. Good to know.
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CEO
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My players simply banished him. So he will be coming back. *evil laugh...
My players did the same thing. And of course he came back. This time with a squad of Hellknights in tow, including a Paralictor. Grigori accused the players of killing citizens without trial (which they did do to remove Unrest). But the players had had enough, and they attacked the whole group, Hellknights and all. Should be interesting to see how the Hellknights respond down the road.
Btw, I had the players make a Loyalty check to see how the citizens reacted to the death of Grigori and the attack on the Hellknights. Because they have done quite a bit lately to make the kingdom much better, I gave them a DC 30 to avoid the Unrest. They rolled a 39. :)
-Lisa
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CEO
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My favorite moment with Grigori was the first time the PCs met him. He was in the town square and when the PCs showed up, he started going through a list of all their flaws and oversights. The PCs were kind of like, "you know, this guy is a dick, but he really has some good points." They actually really turned a corner and made some real positive changes in the kingdom that I am not sure would have happened if Grigori hadn't of shown up. But now, of course, they have made it illegal to be a bard in the kingdom. Or a Hellknight. :) Still, Grigori was the best "political advisor" the kingdom ever had!
-Lisa
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My favorite moment with Grigori was the first time the PCs met him. He was in the town square and when the PCs showed up, he started going through a list of all their flaws and oversights. The PCs were kind of like, "you know, this guy is a dick, but he really has some good points." They actually really turned a corner and made some real positive changes in the kingdom that I am not sure would have happened if Grigori hadn't of shown up. But now, of course, they have made it illegal to be a bard in the kingdom. Or a Hellknight. :) Still, Grigori was the best "political advisor" the kingdom ever had!
-Lisa
The same thing happened to my group. My players had really started bickering and fighting (both in and out of game) about the way the kingdom was going, what they should do next etc. (A danger of sandbox games).
When Grigori showed up and accused the council of economic mismanagement (true), an ineffective Baron unable to reign in his council (true), and a council so entrenched in fulfilling their selfish goals such as annexing an elven ruin or treating with natives (true, true) all of my players hated him and also were ashamed of how badly they'd treated each other both in and out of game.
Of course now he's overstayed his welcome (turning down a position on the council, and essentially criticizing EVERY decision the council has made). They tried bribing him, but his number was too high for them to afford comfortably. They were on the verge of exiling him but one of their farms is under attack by Trolls, so Grigori has had a stay of execution.
Yet because of him the party have formalized laws (especially laws about treason), they have given reigns of kingdom building over to the baron and each makes a petition based on what their character believes the kingdom might need next (but all decisions are the baron's) and they have pulled together a militia in order to make the town feel safer.
I'm going to miss Grigori when he's gone, and I'm going to love it when he returns >:-)
Grigori was a giant thorn in our sides for a while. Our general (barbarian, Int 7) kept wanting to kill him, so, as ruler, I had to forestall that. As a bard, I decided that the best way to keep him in check was to fight fire with fire. When he was out on his soapbox, the baron would come down and converse with him and the crowd, answering his charges and casting aspersions on the man. If he was so concerned with the well-being of the country, then why not do what all the good citizens do and help?
Then my character's wife showed up. He'd been in a bad marriage and run. She's the daughter of a prominent merchant in Restov. He just wanted to be a great stage presence. She wanted to groom him to take over daddy's business. So, he split. Now he's the baron of a swiftly growing new nation. So, she showed up and moved into the castle. Now daddy clawed his way up from nothing, so he's still got connections with his shady past. Hence the two shaved apes squeezed into courtier outfits she called "footmen." The story took a whole new turn as the party quickly found out what a demon from hell she was and we needed to find a way to get the baron a divorce. (Did I mention her uncle is a high ranking priest of Abadar, and the one who married the two of them? Yeah, good luck with that...)
When we were out adventuring, Grigori started taking potshots at her. The next day he accidentally run down by a carriage...after being stabbed seven times. Guess who got blamed? The baron. Thanks, lady.
My favorite moment with Grigori was the first time the PCs met him. He was in the town square and when the PCs showed up, he started going through a list of all their flaws and oversights. The PCs were kind of like, "you know, this guy is a dick, but he really has some good points." They actually really turned a corner and made some real positive changes in the kingdom that I am not sure would have happened if Grigori hadn't of shown up. But now, of course, they have made it illegal to be a bard in the kingdom. Or a Hellknight. :) Still, Grigori was the best "political advisor" the kingdom ever had!
-Lisa
My group had kind of the reverse moment for that scene. We used mending and some other quick cantrips to polish up our cavalier prime minister's (modified monarch) armor, and he went up there and threw down on the diplomacy, laying on thick how we were literally off spilling our blood in protection of the kingdom, and how he was more or less full of it.
It was also the moment when we as a group decided to create our constitution and codify the laws, as well as the rights and freedoms of the people. So it seems to me, good intentioned or not, Grigori has influenced more then one group to improve their kingdom with his rabble rousing.
My players sat on him so fast that I wonderifvthey allow any kind of freedom of speech. I think he was officially charged with sedition. Maybe it was inciting a riot. I forget. But Had they not arrested him when they did, I was running out of material to use since they proudly admitted to everything they accused them of: leaving the people defenseless while they go off on their fool's errand to tame the land that only makes them go into their homes, that the ruler is a yellow-bellied cowered, that the assassin is an extraplanar demon (which they corrected him on that she was merely an eidolon), and that the general is an adulterer, the warden is a mere boy, that the only real industry for the common man in town is whoring their women out (aka a brothel)... You get the idea.
My group just slew him tonight also. They HATE him SO MUCH. They actually burnt the body and spread the ashes all over the place so there is no chance in hell that he could be raised. But perhaps some sort of incorporeal undead might work. God, I think they might lynch me if I brought Grigori back. :)
-Lisa
the necromancer in our party has actually preserved his body and plans on doing something horribly necromantic to it if/when she's high enough level to cast 'create undead'. she wantst to bring him back as some form of intelligent undead, then zap him with her command undead ability and force him into being her slave.
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My favorite moment with Grigori was the first time the PCs met him. He was in the town square and when the PCs showed up, he started going through a list of all their flaws and oversights. The PCs were kind of like, "you know, this guy is a dick, but he really has some good points." They actually really turned a corner and made some real positive changes in the kingdom that I am not sure would have happened if Grigori hadn't of shown up. But now, of course, they have made it illegal to be a bard in the kingdom. Or a Hellknight. :) Still, Grigori was the best "political advisor" the kingdom ever had!
-Lisa
The same thing happened to my group. My players had really started bickering and fighting (both in and out of game) about the way the kingdom was going, what they should do next etc. (A danger of sandbox games).
When Grigori showed up and accused the council of economic mismanagement (true), an ineffective Baron unable to reign in his council (true), and a council so entrenched in fulfilling their selfish goals such as annexing an elven ruin or treating with natives (true, true) all of my players hated him and also were ashamed of how badly they'd treated each other both in and out of game.
Of course now he's overstayed his welcome (turning down a position on the council, and essentially criticizing EVERY decision the council has made). They tried bribing him, but his number was too high for them to afford comfortably. They were on the verge of exiling him but one of their farms is under attack by Trolls, so Grigori has had a stay of execution.
Yet because of him the party have formalized laws (especially laws about treason), they have given reigns of kingdom building over to the baron and each makes a petition based on what their character believes the kingdom might need next (but all decisions are the baron's) and they have pulled together a militia in order to make the town feel safer.
I'm going to miss Grigori when he's gone, and I'm going to love...
Man, I hope they take it that well. I have a feeling that I'm going to push them 'over' the edge with Grigori.
We tried putting Gregori in jail, which had very predictable results. The man simply has a golden tongue. In the end, he ran out of town and gave us the slip (so he thought.) We eventually caught up with him and slew him. His body is buried out there and it's case closed as far as the party is concerned.
My party managed to outwit him in their first encounter with him. They rolled a series of bluffs, diplomacy and intimidate and the crowd were throwing tomatoes at him. He ran out of town promising they hadn't seen the last of him.
I'm thinking he might return in a few months and go with more subtler approaches of spreading rumours in taverns and Inns. They discredited him publicly so he's technically defeated, but it's a great NPC that can be a recurring problem for them.
We had him arrested and put on trial for sedition and treason. My Character, Magister Kadoc (the great and mighty wizard!! haha!!) was the prosecuter and, after a legal search at his arrest, found coins in his posession that were minted in Pitax. Obviously a spy!! MAgister Kadoc brought fourth a good case while the defender advocate also brought one fourth (some bard NPC the GM made up) but truth and justice prevailed and the jury decided Grigori was guilty of sedition only and thus banished him from our lands.
I have no idea if he'll be back.
My players thoroughly trounced Grigori in a public talk-off. It helps that they were managing their nation pretty well, with the only sore spot was the number of tenements they decided to build instead of houses. Aside from that, they were smart in treating their people well and fairly.
Of course, the main reason Grigori got humiliated was that he might have a golden tongue, but the party's baron hada a platinum one. He was a marshal from the 3.5 Miniatures' Handbook, with Charisma to the max, max ranks in Diplomacy, and his marshal aura was geared to Charisma-based skill checks. He was also helped by the party cleric and high priest of the nation, who was quite popular with the common class workers.
In short, Grigori got completely humilated, and sauntered off in defeat. Still trying to find a good way to bring him back as a thorn in the PCs' side once more.
Reading through these, I am so looking forward to seeing how the party I'm GM'img for handles Grigori. No clerics or necromancers in the group, so no chance of undead vengeance, but a lot of possibilities. It's fascinating that a single event in the AP can evoke such a passionate reaction from players.
My favorite moment with Grigori was the first time the PCs met him. He was in the town square and when the PCs showed up, he started going through a list of all their flaws and oversights. The PCs were kind of like, "you know, this guy is a dick, but he really has some good points." They actually really turned a corner and made some real positive changes in the kingdom that I am not sure would have happened if Grigori hadn't of shown up. But now, of course, they have made it illegal to be a bard in the kingdom. Or a Hellknight. :) Still, Grigori was the best "political advisor" the kingdom ever had!
-Lisa
Illegal to be a bard..I can see the church of Cayden Cailyen being just a tiny bit ticked off with them for that.
Our mostly good aligned council with a lot of diplomacy among them just trumped him on rolls so many times that he eventually gave up. Our Baroness even got married as a distraction...
But his spirit was not gone. Apparently Jhod, our High Priest, took some of his words to heart. A few years after Grigori gave up, we went to lead a war against the trolls and came back to discover that Jhod had determined that the Duchess's tendency to do occasional adventuring meant that she was not the best choice for a leader. Thus, he attempted to overthrow her. (As a note, her above-mentioned husband had been assassinated two months before.)
We showed back up in town to be hailed as "heroes" with a notable omission of our Duchess's title. We found Jhod in the Throne Room, sitting on the throne, trying to convince the Duchess that she should step down as it was best for the country. The rest of the Council stands around awkwardly, so we engaged in a battle of words. Unfortunately for Jhod, our Duchess has the highest diplomacy on the council...and I rolled a 20. He wouldn't back down, so eventually the halfling bard hit himj with a hideous laughter and the dark elf duskblade tied him up and took him to the dungeon. He's going to be severely lectured, convicted of treason, and exiled. But the Duchess is going to be very insecure for a while--and will be getting married again before she begins participating in the events of Varnhold Vanishing.
In my game the king (gnome summoner) managed to get the people wanting to linch him with some spectacular rolls, while he was escaping town the NE rogue tracked him and killed him in the woods.
My party managed to totally discredit him, turning the people against him, and then took him into custody for his own protection.
Then, the new royal assassin "smuggled him out of the country for his further protection" (actually, he murdered him to death and got rid of the carcass).
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My part is made up of:
Half-Orc LG Paladin of Saerenrae
His brother the Half-Orc LG ranger of Saerenrae
Their half-brother the LG Inquisitor of Abadar
Their half-brother Half-Elf LG Oracle of Knowledge
They were able to best Grigori at swaying the crowd...
Then subsequently sent the spymaster to follow him.
Gregori happened in our campaign at a time where our ruler and grand diplomat had stopped showing up. As a result, they were kind of in the background, and Gregori was out talking about how horrible we were. Needless to say, we needed a new king. Our spymaster managed to get information out of him that he was a hired agent she informed my character of this, and was sworn to secrecy. My character, the Chancellor, ended up having him forcibly dragged into her office one night.
She told him she was fully aware of his allegiance. He tried denying it, but a hell of an intimidate check shut him up fast. She then told him that a scumbag like that was exactly what she needed on the payroll. An agreement was soon reached.
The two blamed every last problem of the city on the king and his toadie, incited a riot and chased them out of town. It was discovered in the aftermath that the king and grand diplomat had embezzled four bp worth of gold when they ran off, proving the chancellor and Gregori right. As a champion of the people endorsed by their hero Gregori,the chancellor became the new ruler. Gregori was appointed chancellor. He also received his 8000 gp payment that night. To this day, only gregori, the new baroness, and the spymaster know the truth. Since the spymaster got eaten by an owlbear, it seems unlikely anyone will figure it out.
My part is made up of:
Half-Orc LG Paladin of Saerenrae
His brother the Half-Orc LG ranger of Saerenrae
Their half-brother the LG Inquisitor of Abadar
Their half-brother Half-Elf LG Oracle of Knowledge
That party so needs a CE antipaladin of Norgorber!
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My part is made up of:
Half-Orc LG Paladin of Saerenrae
His brother the Half-Orc LG ranger of Saerenrae
Their half-brother the LG Inquisitor of Abadar
Their half-brother Half-Elf LG Oracle of Knowledge
They were able to best Grigori at swaying the crowd...
Then subsequently sent the spymaster to follow him.
wow! that is the most lawful good party I have ever seen.
wow! that is the most lawful good party I have ever seen.My part is made up of:
Half-Orc LG Paladin of Saerenrae
His brother the Half-Orc LG ranger of Saerenrae
Their half-brother the LG Inquisitor of Abadar
Their half-brother Half-Elf LG Oracle of Knowledge
They were able to best Grigori at swaying the crowd...
Then subsequently sent the spymaster to follow him.
I'm saying. They're so LG it hurts.
But the funny thing is that no one in that party worships an LG deity. I bet Sarenrae and Abadar keep telling their respective worshippers off for keeping bad company.
Sarenrae/Abadar: "I bet you're getting your aberrant believes from them!" (where the aberrant part is the lawful part for Sarenrae and the good part for Abadar) :D
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wow! that is the most lawful good party I have ever seen.My part is made up of:
Half-Orc LG Paladin of Saerenrae
His brother the Half-Orc LG ranger of Saerenrae
Their half-brother the LG Inquisitor of Abadar
Their half-brother Half-Elf LG Oracle of Knowledge
They were able to best Grigori at swaying the crowd...
Then subsequently sent the spymaster to follow him.
I'm saying. They're so LG it hurts.
But the funny thing is that no one in that party worships an LG deity. I bet Sarenrae and Abadar keep telling their respective worshippers off for keeping bad company.
Sarenrae/Abadar: "I bet you're getting your aberrant believes from them!" (where the aberrant part is the lawful part for Sarenrae and the good part for Abadar) :D
seriously! I'm just sayin
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My pc's took care of gregori so fast it wasnt funny. They walked back into town the first day he started disturbing the peace and trumped his "the pc's are off galivanting and not taking care of the people" by showing up with the little lost kid from the quests inside the back cover of Rivers Run Red, having rescued him and then force-marched themselves home, sans spells for the witch and with single-digit hp left for the ranger, without a rest to get the kid home safely. Gregori had so little time to rile up the crowd that it took little to convince the people he was creating problems without a foundation. By the end of his first day in town, Gregori was walking back to Pitax, stripped and whipped, with splinters in his bum from being "run out on a rail" by the populace. No taxes and a strong economy go a long way to keeping a populace loyal.
Wow!
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So Grigori had been plaguing the Kingdom for months. One of my players rolled a back-up PC in the form of an assassin themed alchemist. He poisoned Grigori, without telling the council he was going to do so. Our next session is the investigation into the murder.
(He has admitted his guilt to the Duke, but the Duke wants to test some of the back-up PCs skill and see how their investigation pans out).
In any case I'm tying the cultists of Gyronna and Grigori's death together. The Cultists will be stirring up trouble by weakening the gates between life & death. Which means bonus encounter with Grigori.
Grigori's Ghost
Grigori’s Ghost
CR 7
Male human ghost bard 6
CN Medium undead
Init +2; Senses Perception +8, Darkvision 60 ft.
Defense
AC 17, touch 17, flat-footed 14 (+4 deflection, +2 Dex, +1 dodge)
hp 51 (6d8+24)
Fort +3, Ref +7, Will +4; +4 vs. bardic performance, language dependent, and sonic
Defensive Abilities: Undead Immunities, Channel Resistance +4, Immunity Rejuvination
Offense
Speed fly 30 ft. (perfect)
Melee Corrupting Touch +6 (5d6) (Fort DC 17 for half) (Incorporeal Touch)
Special Attacks bardic performance (8 rounds/day, standard action), countersong, distraction, fascinate, inspire competence +2, inspire courage +2, suggestion),
Malevolence (Su): (Will DC 17): As Magic Jar
Frightful Moan (SU) (Will DC 17): Living creatures must succeed on a Will Save or be panicked for 2d4 rounds. Successful save makes a character immune for 24 hours.
Bard Spells Known (CL 6th; concentration +10)
2nd (4/day)—calm emotions (DC 16), detect thoughts (DC 16),
enthrall (DC 16), invisibility
1st (5/day)—charm person (DC 15), expeditious retreat, grease
(DC 15), hideous laughter (DC 15)
0 (at will)—dancing lights, daze (DC 14), detect magic, ghost
sound (DC 14), lullaby (DC 14), read magic
TACTICS
Before Combat Grigori drinks one of his potions of undetectable alignment before any confrontation with the PCs.
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Statistics
Str -, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 8, Cha 18
Base Atk +4; CMB +4; CMD 17
Feats Dodge, Skill Focus (Perform [Oratory]), Toughness, Weapon Finesse
Skills Disguise +13, Escape Artist +10, Knowledge (local) +13, Perception +8, Perform (Comedy) +13, Perform (Oratory) +13, Sense Motive +8, Stealth +10
Languages Common, Hallit
SQ bardic knowledge +3, lore master 1/day, versatile performance (oratory, comedy), well-versed
Grigori is going to show up in the Inn he was killed and begin accusing the PCs of conspiracy to commit his murder. He's going to use his Charm Person spell and Suggestion ability to demand immediate justice.
He then uses his Perform (Oratory) to inspire courage on the people in the inn. The people for their part (low-level commoners and experts) will try to grab the PCs and hang them from the rafters (if they can pin a PC they'll try to set a noose around that PC's neck and pull them up - a PC will begin suffocating if they don't hold their breath first).
If a PC has a ghost touch weapon he'll leap into the body of one of the nearby inn-guests and use grease to make the weapon drop.
The goal of the fight is not to defeat Grigori, but to get the NPCs out of the inn. Grigori is tied to the location of his death and can not leave the Inn.
Defeating the cultists of Gyronna ends the threat of Grigori once and for all (maybe he comes back once a year on the anniversary of his death).
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So Grigori had been plaguing the Kingdom for months. One of my players rolled a back-up PC in the form of an assassin themed alchemist. He poisoned Grigori, without telling the council he was going to do so. Our next session is the investigation into the murder.
(He has admitted his guilt to the Duke, but the Duke wants to test some of the back-up PCs skill and see how their investigation pans out).In any case I'm tying the cultists of Gyronna and Grigori's death together. The Cultists will be stirring up trouble by weakening the gates between life & death. Which means bonus encounter with Grigori.
Grigori's Ghost
** spoiler omitted **...
good times, good times!
My group met Grigori tonight, and it ended up with him arrested, being secretly run out of town (with a promise to kill him on sight next time he shows up), and the rogue, under a disgusise other spell, pretending to be Grigori and telling the people that he resolved his differences with the leaders (or something along those lines).
I know Grigori's going to come back, but I'm not sure in what form yet. He could use illusions to make the barbarian general murder innocent civillians (via disguise spells). He could show up in disguise, and go "Yeah, he had good points," and start rabble-rousing again. He could show up as himself and risk getting killed, just to cause another confrontation...
Any suggestions?
My group planned to frame Grigori but when the rogue broke into his room he found no need to but still when ahead planting the staglords silver insignia in his possession. When he was caught with Pitax gold and appearing as member of the staglords group the rogue convinced the town that lynching was in order. Then the Paladin had to calm the crowd as the bard ran for the hills. Later on the Ranger and Rogue tracked him down and stole all his possession leaving him for the wolves in wilderness. I so could bring him back.
We set our CN half-giant ranger after him. Unfortunately, before he could be tracked down, he was torn asunder by trolls.
Well that's the official story anyways.
My groups is wrapping up Stolen lands, and will be starting their own Kingdom soon. I'm particularly looking forward to how they will choose to deal with Grigori.
I've noticed that a few people have mentioned they're kingdom had laws against treason and sedition. Does anyone else think that strict laws prohibiting free speech might be protested by a minority of the population of immigrants from the River Kingdoms where free speech is a treasured right?
There's a fine line between treason and vocally criticizing the government.
Any resulting protests would probably be somewhat easier to deal with, as concerned citizens defending their perceived rights would be more reasonable than a spy intent on causing a riot.
My groups is wrapping up Stolen lands, and will be starting their own Kingdom soon. I'm particularly looking forward to how they will choose to deal with Grigori.
I've noticed that a few people have mentioned they're kingdom had laws against treason and sedition. Does anyone else think that strict laws prohibiting free speech might be protested by a minority of the population of immigrants from the River Kingdoms where free speech is a treasured right?
There's a fine line between treason and vocally criticizing the government.Any resulting protests would probably be somewhat easier to deal with, as concerned citizens defending their perceived rights would be more reasonable than a spy intent on causing a riot.
I figure it just depends on the alignment of the kingdom. In a Good kingdom, such things would be unheardof. In an Evil one, they'd be accepted as a matter of course. In a Lawful one, there might be permits, or other restrictions. In a Chaotic one, people are going to say "Why do we need a law?".
Obviously, every citizen isn't going to be of the same alignment as the kingdom. But in general, they're not going to move to a place where they dislike the laws (and moving there is how most of the citizens got there, since the kingdom's so new).
Now, if the rulers decide to start changing the laws, then you might have something for them to protest. My group is talking about passing laws requiring a permit for public speaking, as a result of Gregori. Based on this (and other changes), it'd probably mean their NG kingdom becoming LN. Which will spark unrest. Probably not riots, but definitely troublemakers.
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As we noted on the podcast, Grigori in our campaign was about to be set up on a cleverly trumped up sexual assault charge (courtesy of yours truly) and after his "rapist ass" was thoroughly discredited, he would have been taken into custody in the Wizard's Tower to be waterboarded (and worse).
We would have wrung the truth out of him by inches, no matter the cost. As a consequence, the War of the River Kings would have started several books too early. It was for this reason that Azmyth had our NPC Kobold Assassin (our Royal Assassin in our kingdom) smother Grigori during one of the bard's drunken stupors. Through the use of a disguise, Grigori was seen leaving our capital -- never to be seen again by anybody else after his departure.
His body was weighted and dumped in the swamp. Grigori is sleeping with the fishes.
Reading the reports of this stage of the Kingmaker Campaign from dozens of groups, a few things emerge as a Golden Thread concerning Grigori:
- PCs who are otherwise heroic and the champions of weal, will soon turn to extreme acts, edicts and tactics to get rid of this man, up to and including outright murder and assassination -- and worse -- when faced with Grigori's public criticism. Grigori's ability to literally make players commit evil acts with remorseless careful planning (with or without justification) that they would not otherwise do is absolutely remarkable;
- Grigori's ability to provoke such an extreme reaction speaks to the extreme emotional response the character provokes from the players, no matter the campaign, and is nearly universal. It is THE shared experience during Kingmaker;
- I conclude that Grigori demonstrates that while it is human nature to react poorly to criticism, it is ALSO human nature to react violently to harsh criticism when the person criticized in an a position of power to do so.
In this regard, the shared reaction to Grigori among players is quite astonishing and speaks quite loudly to something dark in most of us.
I also conclude that Rob McCreary's creation of Grigori, in all of the circumstances, stands as the high water mark for any NPC yet created by Paizo in its nearly ten-year history.
No other NPC, has ever provoked such a strong widespread emotional response as a consequence of merely role-playing. After all, Grigori doesn't attack, doesn't enslave or otherwise push our child endangerment, mayhem or slavery buttons. He merely speaks to a crowd and criticizes and by doing so, provokes an incredibly strong emotional reaction from the players that I expect even surprises Rob and James.
They knew it would work, I'm sure. But I doubt that they knew it would work so effectively or provoke such extreme reactions.
Awesome stories! I am looking forward running Grigori and see how my group responds.
I've read several times about the connection of Grigori with Pitax, but the AP states, that he himself doesn't know King I hired him originally. Have you changed that deliberately?
Ruyan.
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Awesome stories! I am looking forward running Grigori and see how my group responds.
I've read several times about the connection of Grigori with Pitax, but the AP states, that he himself doesn't know King I hired him originally. Have you changed that deliberately?
Ruyan.
Grigori is from Pitax and believes he was hired on behalf of Fort Drelev (leading the PCs to the events in Book 4). He also knows which agent hired him (which will lead back to Pitax one or two agents later).
Essentially, Grigori's forceful interrogation is going to lead the Player Characters towards early plot lines in books 4 and 5. So yes, it's potentially a significant problem.