Spoilers for Book 4 (and 6) of Strange Aeons.
You have been warned.
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So I'm finally having a chance to run this whole AP but when I read the whole slaver and gnoll subplot I kind of scratched my head and decided that I just wanted to cut the whole thing and build something new instead. Its a fine section, but not for this AP and I think it loses me a little. Instead at the end of the Mysterium, they will meet the Yithian Kaklatath (still in the old woman's body) who fled into an extradimensional book (or something fantastical) and he will inform them of their next move (to the Parchlands). Though before that they have a task they must complete...
Throughout the journey I will be putting in hints that they are losing reality, that they're slowly vanishing, that people may not have noticed them (explaining away why random encounters here and there never happened) or how an NPC may not have acknowledged an action they did. In short they are both alive and dead at the same time, a sort of Schrodinger's Party and they must go back to the beginning to resolve what happened. Did they die in that dream? Did they survive?
Effectively I'm changing the opening so that the party doesn't just get woken up, instead in their desperation they unknowingly project themselves into future versions of themselves so that they can find a way out of that Dream alive (which they now mastered due to Book 3's Dreamwalking). Now they know how to manipulate dreams enough to escape the Tatterman at the start, they just need a way to send their consciousness back to the start and finally resolve it. Thus opening the Box. Failing to do so in the Mysterium means they do ultimately die because the answer is only found here.
Basically I'm thinking of taking the Book 6 Twist and moving it to Book 4 so that there is a climax and a need (though unknown at the time) to go to the Mysterium and examine its depths and find the MacGuffin that lets them back to their previous bodies. Otherwise it feels too much of a breadcrumb hunt.
Effectively:
1) Resolving the events in the Mysterium.
2) A series of hardcore research segments to find the artifact buried undearneath or what-have-you.
3) Followed by a trip through time and space through to places that could have been (alternate Thrushmoor, alternate Briarstone, etc)
4) Landing with the Tatterman (redoing the opening) back in their original places.
5) Waking themselves up with their future knowledge of Dream Travel.
6) A battle with a Degenerated Bythos (for abusing time travel) right before awakening back in the present, their state confirmed.
So a few questions.
Would a Degenerated Bythos be too powerful for an average party at that portion (EL 11 ish)? How can I spruce it up if required? Its CR16 (15 with Degenerate) but it is also 1 creature and most likely the party will be in decent shape after resting. I could always have it retreat if its nearly dead, or have the encounter end if they open too many rifts or something; not sure.
How can I justify them projecting forward? A previously done ritual that was forgotten until their desperation in the Dream? A blessing from the Crawling Chaos? I plan on using him in the epilogue to offer his service to remove Xamen Dhor from their memories (at an unknown cost of course).
What interesting encounters (combat or non-combat) can I use in these alternate realities that they jump through?
Any other issues I need to prep for?
I'd love to hear some of your responses and possibly fix up some paradox related plotholes!
Thanks in advance.