GM Advice

[Vomit_hOUse]

Hey all! I posted a few months back about help with a Dread class PC and I got the answer I needed within like an hour so I thought I'd extend my information feelers again - as many of you are well beyond me in terms of gameplay knowledge, it seems an odd resource to ignore!
Ok, here goes:
In my campaign, the players main PC's have been captured by one of the established 'main villains' of the world. A month passes without anyone from the outside world hearing from the heroes, so an organization (think of them like the Avengers of this world) have sent a 'rescue team' of characters to save them. I pregenerated 10 base characters for them to choose from and flesh out. The theme of these characters were they are all less-played or little known races. I only supplied the race, and class of the characters. I let the players fill out their stats (15 point buy) and feats. I told them to make their characters broken as they can without destroying their usefulness outside of combat (ex, INT of 2 or CON of 4 to make room for a STR or DEX that is 25 or 26). Out of the 10 characters I made available, these were the ones the players chose:

A Nagaji Sorcerer (Eldritch Scrapper - Rakshasa bloodline)
A Kasatha Swashbuckler
A Wyvaran Inquisitor
A Ratfolk Gulch Gunner

NOW, here's my conundrum: the characters in need of rescue are level 13, while the rescuers are only level 8. I am trying to create a challenging 'dungeon' for them to traverse in order to reach the captured heroes. Does anyone have any suggestions for some fun creature encounters or traps to throw their way? Three of the four players are quite experienced, and the fourth is quickly becoming versed in the ins and outs of the game - so I was leaning towards making a CR10 dungeon.

Thought? Advice?

Thanks!

-VH

[chaoseffect]

A couple questions:
1. Who are these main villains exactly? What are they like? What kind of minions do they employ?
2. How were the PCs captured? Where are they being contained and by what means?

That last question is pretty important because level 13 characters are incredibly powerful; level 8s are less so. If you're thinking it is a creature that is keeping the 13s in line then you may need to reconsider because you don't want the 8s going toe to toe with it. That said you could try to insert an enemy that would be a dangerous challenge for your 13s as some kind of guardian of the "prison" (if that's what it is) and have intel tell the 8s that they can't take that guy and he is an obstacle to be worked around.

As far as actual containment, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that your 13s have magic. So in order to keep them locked down you probably need an antimagic field of some sort... perhaps they are trapped in a demiplane with the half time (to maximize torture time from the villains perspective if they are into that sort of thing) and dead magic properties and a gate to it is in said dungeon the 8s are infiltrating.

[Vomit_hOUse]

the main villain in question is based off the Herald of Hell template (I think a CR15?). He is an ancestor of one of the captured heroes and through a purposefully overwhelming army of Hernesuge demons, the main heroes awoke a few days later in the basement of the Herald's experimentation chamber within his estate. I've created machines using the technology expansion (referred to as "lost technology"), that is currently keeping the heroes restrained via magic and adamantine metal. They have yet to be able to remain conscious for more than a few minutes at a time. It's been made very clear that they are stuck here for the moment. They have not met the Herald (name Bassilius), though through their few moments of clarity and speaking with the goblin who is their caretaker, they have gathered that:

1. Bassilius wants them alive
2. This is the means to some end that they've yet to discover
3. Bassilius rarely visits the estate (relative to mortals at least)

The elevator pitch from those hiring the PC's is they are going on an extraction mission. They don't want to take on the Herald or any possible leutennants he may have lounging about the place. The "B-Squad" is to enter onto Bassilius' estate, disguised as an abandoned mansion outside a small town in a country named Lovak (Eastern Europe, for all intents and purposes, including lore). And while I'd like to have some Slavic and such inspired creatures, once the main heroes are rescued, their story is going to pick up in the mansion; their plot progression hunting Bassilius within the country. I don't want them to get sick of this style of creature, so:

I thought this: Bassilius' estate is actually a harem, and all of the residents are female and beautiful male creatures. This would go against what I think the players are expecting: Devils, demons, etc. It also can extend beyond a vast range of types, and even npc types can appear, and let the players explore every crevice of their weird new characters.

I really want to make this a fun stand-alone dungeon! Even though they will only be playing these 8s for a few sessions, their actions and the information they gain from this will rocket The players into the 3rd act of the campaign after their main heroes are rescued - Bassilius is the first encounter of 5 'main villain' who have plagued the players since the campaign began, 3 years ago.
They will have recon past anything "too powerful".

[Vomit_hOUse]

*also, as there are Devils and not the more primal outsiders, there will be opportunities to talk their way through situations and avoid conflict altogether as they slither their way through Bassilius' castle (chateau? Mansion? Penthouse suite? ..... Playboy Mansion)