Lugh Ildanach |
I need some ideas, suggestions and feedback about a really crazy and interesting idea one of my players had.
My party was in the Malfeshnekor fight (Book 1, Thistletop, after Nualia's defeat) and one the players, a girl playing and half-elf Druid, realized she couldn't do anything because she ran out of spells and her attacks didn't surpass the RD 10/magic. She then started talking with Malfeshnekor in the middle of the fight, trying to extract some info about the whole dungeon and the strange image of the man talking in Thassilonian a couple of rooms before. Crazy and hungry as he was, he only spoke about "master" Alaznist.
When the party defeated the Greater Barghest (which luckily stabilized with a natural 20), and after a heated discussion with the Cleric of Gorum, the Druid had the idea of letting the creature trapped in the same room and come back later for interrogating him about the past, the Thassilonian Empire (they talked with the Brodert Quink after the Catacombs of Wrath), Alaznist and etc.
The Cleric wanted to kill the outsider right away, but the Druid said the info about the past would be more valuable.
The party was intrigued with the idea and they were all worn-out with all the fighting. They closed the door, took the key and left Malfeshnekor there. The idea of the Druid is to come back later, fully healed and prepared, and try to extract all the info they can before killing the creature.
tl;dr
What do you think about this idea? Is Malfeshnekor willing to tell the party anything or all the years trapped and hungry have more power? If he speaks, what would be recommendable to tell the party without spoiling too much or giving out the name "Karzoug" immediately?
Lugh Ildanach |
I'd give the group some red herrings rather than the whole truth since this is REALLY early to be giving them much information about what is ultimately going on.
That's what I was thinking, too much info in book one would spoil everything and the party would be too prepared. The Druid's logic was "this beast's been here for thousands of years, he know things we can't even imagine".
Lugh Ildanach |
Malfeshnekor is supposed to be mad with hunger after being cooped up so long. Unless the PCs plan to feed him some intelligent creatures (an evil act) I don't see him being willing to tell them anything.
You are right! And the worst part is you need to feed him with a nonevil humanoid's corpse, so no "I'll throw some evil guys at him". That would be troublesome for a party filled with good characters (except for the CN Druid).
Lugh Ildanach |
Ha! now i have image of adventuring party drawn all comic book style feeding Malfeshnekor Goblin after Goblin while he sits at a table eating and spilling the beans on Thassilon:)
maybe with Brodert Quink sitting next to him feverishly jotting it all down:) thank you!
You're welcome =)
Ha! If I knew how to draw, I would surely draw that idea. I would add a fork and a knife in Malfeshnekor's hands.captain yesterday |
captain yesterday wrote:Ha! now i have image of adventuring party drawn all comic book style feeding Malfeshnekor Goblin after Goblin while he sits at a table eating and spilling the beans on Thassilon:)
maybe with Brodert Quink sitting next to him feverishly jotting it all down:) thank you!You're welcome =)
Ha! If I knew how to draw, I would surely draw that idea. I would add a fork and a knife in Malfeshnekor's hands.
i dunno a knife and fork depicts civility, i think with just his hands is the way to go:) now to come up with other RotRL comic book comedy moments.....
Misroi |
I guess the question is simply: what does Malfeshnekor get out of it, other than to keep living? His best option, in my mind, is to play along at first. Give them some nuggets to what life was like in Shalast. Heck, let them know that Karzoug was in charge, right up until Earthfall. He's dead now, though. Nothing survived Earthfall. Impress that upon the party.
"Then there were several thousand years of absolutely nothing. There were no survivors. The greatest civilizations that the world has ever known, gone in an instant. Your ancestors were still crawling about in the muck then, scared of their own shadows. I don't know how you even managed to reclaim the forgotten lore of that age, but you've somehow managed to claw your way there."
Eventually, though, his usefulness will dry up. He'll want things. Something simple at first, maybe some reading material, so he can learn just how much he's missed. Maybe a lamb, so he can sacrifice it to Lamashtu. If he's denied, he clams up. If not, his demands get stronger and stronger. He'll want a good-aligned person to consume at some point. And if he can get that, he knows he can convince them to do anything. That person might just end up being his protégé instead of Nualia. I doubt Lamashtu will care all that much.
One thing: Brodert will be ecstatic to learn that his fringe theories on the age of the Empire and the Old Light's true purpose are correct. If he's not careful, and the party lets him be alone with Malfeshnekor, the barghest might be able to convince the doddering old fool into breaking the seal. That'd be bad for him.
Latrecis |
Nothing wrong with questioning Malfeshnekor and I don't see much chance of him spilling too much info (you on the other hand...) After all he doesn't really know anything. He doesn't know anything about Nualia, Foxglove, Xanesha, Lucretia, Barl or Mokmurian. He may know something about Runeforge but your pc's don't know anything about that so he should never bring it up and they can't ask. He knows about Karzoug but that can be sketchy and he has no idea Karzoug is still around and neither do the players. So they may ask who the "hologram" in the other room is and maybe by description Malfeshnekor may recognize him but how much more is there to say? (There's a good chance Malfeshnekor has never been in that room.) That Karzoug was a runelord? Players (or Quint) already know that. That he was the runelord of greed? Ditto. What he does know is all about Alaznist and her domain. Except not only is she gone, but the entire lands she ruled are gone too (and Malfeshnekor doesn't even know that!) So fill their heads about Alaznist and Wrath and such and it's all just red herrings. The most important information he might possess is about the runewell but you can make that sketchy too. Not any more than is in Nualia's journal other than perhaps there were definitely many of them in Alaznist's lands (he doesn't need to mention or even know that Karzoug had one or more) and that they were connected to each other.
I think your players have a good idea and it should be rewarded :) I suggest you role play him as nuttier than a fruitcake and constantly distracted by hunger. Have him ask to eat one the pc's and drool uncontrollably. Have him babble on about how good human (or dwarf or elf) flesh tastes. "Are you an elf? A half-elf? Do they taste more like elves or humans?" Whenever you get bored or you're tired of questions or they ask a question you don't have an answer for, he attacks. Or after a few questions, he offers to be bound as the willing servant to one of the players for their entire lifetime if only they set him free. When they refuse, he attacks. If they don't refuse, that sounds like fun too. If they seem uncertain, he can offer "to only eat 2 or 3 of your slaves a week. Alaznist paid me much more." (Keep in mind, he's been locked up for 10000 years - a century of service to a mortal is a trivial price to pay for freedom.)
Lugh Ildanach |
Those are two excellent ideas, Misroi and Latrecis. The interesting part is Malfeshnekor can't get out of that room (due to Binding spell) and the party doesn't know that either. If they want to free him, they're going to need Antimagic Field or Mage's Disjunction. Maybe Malfesh can take even more advantage out of this. This is going to be a great sub-plot.
Do you think I should give Malfesh some Class levels so he's not so helpless when the characters gain levels? Maybe Advance him? He's already a greater Barghest, but he did actually knocked out two characters before being defeated.