DM Advice: TPK Avoidance in Our Campaign


Advice


Ideas please:

My group is leaving Magnimar for Ilsurian where they will begin to track down a vampire they know is killing Fey and has just left the Sanos Forest heading east (Thus they will begin the search in Ilsurian.).

My problem is that by choosing this course of action as opposed to another (heading far north to the Kodor Mt.s looking for Xin-Shalast in an effort to find the nearby Dark Tower of Cabilar), they are biting off more than they can chew at this level (6th Lvl Gestalt). They can't handle the vampire they are hunting at this time but it's what they want to do, leaving the search for the Dark Tower of Cabilar near Xin-Shalast for later.

Personality/ Game-Style of the Group:
One of the Players is big on combat in an olde-school, 1970s adventure modules kinda way; he also likes Sandbox-ish stuff. Another is really big into Sandbox games. (Plenty of other "styles / personalities" but these are the two relevant to this current problem.)
...See, I designed this stage of the game to lend itself to Sandbox play, thus giving the Players complete freedom to do what they want. And I need to be able to let them just Hack-N-Slash SOON.

I was pretty sure, based on the group dynamic, that they'd seek out Xin-Shalast in an effort to find The Dark Tower of Cabilar nearby. But I was also preparing for them to make a return to Cheliax, go off to Razmir or Ustalov (where some intriguing NPCs are from) or even go to one of a handful of Varisian locations to continue their adventuring. What they are choosing to do (which makes perfect sense now that I think it through more completely) is track down this vampire who has killed Fey in the Sanos.

So,... How do I allow them to play out this stage of the Campaign without getting them in way over their heads (EL wise)?

A bit more detail....
Curse of the Crimson Throne
AND
Carrion Crown Adventure Path potential Spoilers:

Spoiler:
The vampire in question is Arkminos Ramoska, the Nosferatu who makes his debut in CotCT as a non-combat encounter, and is later a small part of CC. The PCs are aware that Arkminos Ramoska hates his vampiric condition and has been trying for gazillions of years to find a way to end his undead nature (He's an Alchemist.).

In this campaign he is one of many NPCs trying to track down one of Lady Lucilla Germanicus's potions (See "Lady of the Mists" by Peter Aberg in Dungeon 42.) in an attempt to study it to see if he can find a solution to his vampirism. Meanwhile, however, he is simultaneously trying an "old wives tale" he's recently learned that drinking Fey blood could help -- and he's of course doing his own alchemical experiments with said First World blood. (Special thanks to Paizo poster "Inkedmsd" for filling me in on this idea!)

At some point vampire-of-Caliphas Florian Lamorath (Luvick's proxy) was going to meet with the PCs and trade info about what Arkminos Ramoska has been doing for some info the PCs have. Now I may have to switch that around so the Nosferatu trades info about Florian Lamorath to the PCs. ...Or something.

But I know my Players and I have a feeling that they're just gonna want to kill. The solution I'm hoping for is for Arkminos Ramoska to give the PCs another monster to kill (in addition to info on Florian Lamorath and the vampires-of-Caliphas recently spreading to Varisia, PLUS agreeing not to kill any more Fey). Hopefully that would be enough.

But I'm at a loss.

What can I do to resolve the PCs' hunt for the vampire that's not cheese ("You can't find him") or some form of railroading?

NOTE: (For those curious about the campaign)
Additional inspiration is from Dungeon #1 "The Dark Tower of Cabilar," Dungeon #25 "A Rose for Talakara," Dungeon #42 "The Lady of the Mists" and its sequel in Dungeon #52 "My Lady's Mirror,"Dungeon #62 "Night Swarm," Pathfinder Module "The Midnight Mirror," and the Pathfinder Adventure Path Second Darkness.


Well, if they're supposed to get the vampire eventually, you could power it down a little bit. Alternatively, you could drop a few false rumors that get the PCs into side quest dungeons looking for the vampire and instead finding other bad guys that have experience points and loot to drop. The PCs gain a level or two and a bag of arrows of undead bane or similarly useful consumable magic items, and then the vamp can't TPK them so easily.

Since it's a sandbox, this may actually be fairly easy to do.


Didn't check the spoilers, but remember that adventure paths are made to be broken. Feel free to be creative in getting them to avoid the situation, deal with it, or escape from it.

Just a few off the top of my head...

1. The party encounters a higher level group that got demolished by the vampire and warns them they aren't strong enough.

2. A vampire hunter warns them that the vampire is too strong for them. If they insist on proceeding, he makes a heroic sacrifice to let the party escape. Does he live or does he die? You decide!

3. Something else distracts the vampire after he has had his way decimating the party. You can foreshadow whatever this is ahead of time so it doesn't come out of nowhere.

4. Spread a rumor that he is a special vampire that can only be made vulnerable if X happens. Have X be in an appropriate level area.

5. Let them fight it out, but have a rushing river or something nearby. An NPC who sees the battle is lost dives in to escape and bids the PCs to follow.

6. Straight up tell the PCs "this vampire is a bad mother, and I expect one or more of you to die if you tangle with him. Still want to throw down, or do you want to prepare a bit more before you tangle?"

Provided you have the sort of team that will run when the battle is lost, fleeing a losing battle can actually be a great plot hook. Nothing makes players happier than coming back to someone who got the better of them and getting the last laugh.

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