Magnimar: Opening The Hells?


Advice


An interesting thing happened last week. My players, bound and determined to follow a red herring in spite of multiple NPCs trying to send them back onto the actual storyline, decided to open up the lower levels of The Hells.

I've tried to find information beyond what is in "City of Monuments," but there doesn't seem to be much. So, any ideas on what I might consider throwing at them in The Hells, or what consequences they might suffer if they make it out?

Initially, I had them encounter a necromancer, wight, a few skeletons, and a couple of CR 3 zombie servants (I'm at work and don't have my notes with me). The necromancer cast black tentacles, which kept the paladin tied up for the first several rounds, and the wight gave their arcanist a negative level over the course of combat.

So, whether the players decide advance or retreat, do you have any suggestions for what I could have around the next corner?


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Fill the first level of the abandoned jails with various undead and some haunts describing how the guards fought against the prisoners to death and then the despair from being trapped within the prison. Deeper in have them run into a "guard post" set up by the prisoners to keep the undead out of the lower levels. This is a good chance for a diplomacy encounter. The prisoners could be less than loyal (out of favor types stuck facing zombies). They could describe the 'kingdom' below. Of course the prisoners want to hear about the route out of the prison. Every one of them is a hardened criminal guilty of all sorts of crimes. They want out, and they don't mind letting the PCs past if they are willing to let them go.

Further in the other prisoners are more loyal, more of a cult following. It helps that a few 'priests' are able to create enough food to keep the population alive. Nobody questions where the food come from, or when some of the weaker prisoners get taken away for 'punishment'.

The prisoners are armed with a mixture of guards equipment and prison-made weapons. There could of been a vault inside of The Hells where very undesirable items were kept. The vast majority of the items are cursed or were involved in horrific crimes. Scatter these items among the more important prisoners.

An even lower level of the prison has been remade into a mansion, thanks to the application of Fabricate and Minor Creation. Through a combination of Minor Creation, Fabricate and Balefull Polymorph out little prince is able to feed all of his subjects. Further application of these spells creates the lavish lifestyle he has created for himself.

If the party is high enough level to deal with outsiders, consider there being a demon summoning cult as part of what keeps this place going. Include several minor demons as inhabitants of this 'Hell'. Avoid devils since they should try to restore order in a jail devoted to Asemodeaus.

And in a secret corner of the luxury level is a torture chamber/labratory that our secret ruler keeps. Here he experiments on prisoners that have fallen out of his favor. He's currently trying to figure out a way to create more meat, furs and leather without killing a prisoner. He has some of his most talented and demented subordinates working on it. The problem was actually solved already, but they continue working on 'perfecting' the process.

The 'easy' solution was to breed vermin and change them into larger animals with baleful polymorph. There is a steady stream of pigs and sheep being created from flies, rats and maggots. But that doesn't prevent the more disturbed 'researchers' from continuing to perform human experiments. One of the concerns is keeping the undead population high enough to discourage the rank and file prisoners from trying to escape. The current experiments are trying to perfect a process of creating a specter or ghost when a prisoner dies so they can gain 2 undead for each prisoner they use.

If the party is high enough level, include someone from the Stoneworks who committed several murders and has been creating several stone golems (or flesh golems) to create special guards for the prince's private chambers.


if you can find it, use 3.0/3.5 planar guides, just update the mobs to Pathfinder versions, but the special features of each plane should be roughly same with little to no conversions needed.


*edit* while not in Pathfinder, you may consider Tiamat as a back ground visual as she is listed as making her home in the 1st plane of Hell and that devils steer clear of her when she wanders about. As an example, the party has a tough fight and manages to defeat a high CR Devil, only to see in the distance Tiamat wipe the floor with a half dozen of same Devils with out breaking a sweat, She really is that tough! She could rule the 1st plane but doesn't want to...


Does Planar Adventures not have stuff on this?


Starfinder Charter Superscriber

I think many of you are confusing The Hells (a prison in Magnimar) with Hell (a plane).


Ah was reading differently way title read, didn't even think of a prison


Right, sorry. I presumed that people would know I was referring to the prison structure under the Pediment Building. That's entirely my fault for not being more clear. Even so, those are some delightful ideas for later, potentially.

I am considering combining Meirril's suggestion with having some manner of alarm go off, bringing the city guard and as many paladins and clerics are available to contain the breach. I'm pretty sure that will result in massive loss of life, though, the responsibility for which will rest squarely on the shoulders of my PCs.

Is it wrong to saddle the PCs with enormous guilt for wanting destruction and escaped evil? If it is, I don't want to be right. I will let the dice decide who lives and who dies.

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