Ah, Oppara! Is there a better place to be? Oppara's not just about the monuments and structures, though no one can dispute the glory of the Grand Bridge, spanning the mighty River Porthmos, nor the grandeur of the two stone lions that alternately pace, snooze, and roar atop the Lion Gate, Oppara's main entrance. Oppara is also a working city, with two harbors so busy that ships have trouble finding slips. It's a city of art and music, where you might find anything from the magnificent plaza around the Imperial palace to a tiny, secluded jewel of a courtyard, with mosaic paths, a sparkling fountain, and ornate stone benches beneath olive trees, cool in the afternoon heat. Full of art, music, debate, and delicious foods, Oppara is a treat for all the senses. It's difficult to say whether the view of the black cliffs under the sunlight or the thousand lamps of the night streets is the more magnificent sight.
Really, what does it matter that the gold has been stripped from the magnificent buildings it adorned in the past? The marble and stone beneath is still majestic, and the buildings still impressive. And so what if the laws and customs of Taldor seem to be falling behind the rest of the world, as the nobles and politicians quash all the so-called 'advancements' of other countries and governments. There's something to be said for stability, and Taldor has stability to spare.
I'm delighted to be running the politicking and influencing-heavy AP "War for the Crown" for you guys! Let's get this show on the road and start discussing the game and characters.
Background:
AP Blurb wrote:
As the political scene in Taldor explodes into chaos, players take on the role of agents, advocates, and saboteurs working for Princess Eutropia to help secure her claim to the Imperial throne and prevent the Empire from collapsing in on itself in civil war. Along the way, the PCs must uncover hidden secrets of Taldor’s past—many deliberately hidden—and grow from relative nobodies to powerful politicians and spymasters in the deadliest political arena in the Inner Sea.
Arenas
Since this was available to purchase in Roll20, we'll have a mapping/combat website there. We will also have a wiki because of the number of characters and non-combat challenges in this AP. I see not many have tried this as a pbp, so I'm hoping we can make it work by being creative and flexible. A lot of the GM threads mention what a blast their group is having with the AP, so be innovative and flexible and have fun!
Prequel
I'm going to start with a quick prequel adventure with very short scenarios. This will help you learn about Taldor, flex your characters, get used to working as a party, and become acquainted with some of the major NPCs in the AP. Combat in the prequel is short, so it'll be easy to do in pbp.
Live sessions?
As we get rolling and into bigger dungeons, I was wondering if you are open to scheduling a dungeon-delving session on Roll20/Discord so we can move through large dungeons in a timely fashion. We can start in pbp and decide as we see how well combat rolls. Since I've purchased the Roll20 packages, it'll be very easy for me to run the combats relatively quickly on Roll20. Keep it in mind and we can decide later. I hate to schedule a weekly session because there's so much RP in this AP, but I can tell you when a big dungeon is coming up and we can decide if we want to schedule an online session when convenient for everyone. Even 2 hours can make a huge difference to the pace of the game.
Builds
Paizo classes, archetypes, and prestige classes allowed. Archives of Nethys will be our general source for what's allowable. No guns or third-party products, please.
Build your character at first level with a 20 point buy, full hit points (of course), max starting gold.
Your character should have two traits. One can be selected (as appropriate for your character) from Paizo products. The other should come from the campaign traits in the pg. If none of those work for your character, we'll come up with something together.
Your backstory should agree with the conditions in the PG, though you do not have to work Martella in. The intro will help things fall together organically.
Skills: Use background skills. This takes some of the skills out of the adventuring group and gives you two extra skill points each level for them.
Planning: This AP is scheduled to move players from L1 to L17.
Advancement: I plan to let you know when to advance your characters, depending on the needs of the AP. I will try to be certain you get enough experience in (combat or skills or RP) to justify the level-up.
Posting: I'd like to generally get one post in from each PC daily during the week. I know weekends and holidays can be tight, but please try to post, especially if we are in combat, so it doesn't drag out too long.
Formatting: "Character dialogue." Internal thoughts. Out of character
My address book shows "50 of 446 addresses" and seven or so pages available, but all the pages past the first are blank. I certainly don't have 446 addresses in my PM directory.
Life was going along fine. Then, something happened to change that. Then something else. And another thing. Suddenly, you were on the road with nothing but your pack and a little money. Friends, family, fiancees - all have turned their backs on you.
Worse, whatever you tried has failed. New job, new town, new trade - nothing has worked. Did you inadvertently offend some stray, arbitrary god? Did someone lay a curse on you?
You haven’t found a reason for the change yet. Perhaps it is just the vagaries of fate. Or perhaps wandering is no worse than your life before. Whatever the case, the lonely road seems to be your destiny now.
Welcome! Discussion for "Regular Joes" 1E-feeling campaign using basic PF rules.
Character creation:
Stats:
Either: 18, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9
*OR*
One 18 and roll the rest, 4d6 drop the lowest.
Classes:
Build a 1st level commoner (max hp is PF 1st level standard).
Equipment:
Hold off for now. I'll work on it.
No traits. No backstory required. Not Golarion. No standard pantheon - that'll be revealed as we go. Making it all up as I go. If you want to make up some sort of commoner, peasant, low-life backstory, feel free.
A gentleman regarded Westchannel and the islands beyond from the vantage of a balcony on the western shore. The sunset behind him shone a brilliant orange on the walls of high vira and palaces of Rego Corna, northernmost of the island sectors of Westcrown, laid out for his view. It illuminated the lesser sectors of Laina and Aerum precisely as beautifully, which the man found amusing. The fresh breeze from the Inner Sea blew the short cape from his shoulders and snapped the pennons adorning the mansion where he resided, pennons proclaiming this house the residence of the highest prelate of the Church of Asmodeus.
The pennons were hardly needed, for the man wore the full splendor of the Cardinal’s robes to which he was entitled. Though not of lofty stature nor impressive build nor exquisite face, the man’s impeccable grooming and posture displayed the impressive red and black garments to their full effect. No passers-by could mistake the gentleman for anything other than what he was: Cardinal Goro Altoviti, late of Egorian, newly named high cleric of Westcrown.
Though most nobles and clergy in Egorian regarded Westcrown as a sort of disgraceful exile, Cardinal Altoviti had requested it, if by requested one understood constant petitioning of his superior for a number of months. She was dismayed to have her most promising protege suffer a transfer to such a mean post, for it reflected badly upon her as well as he, she thought. Nonetheless, she had finally granted his request, persuaded by his smooth reasoning and considerable charm, precisely as he knew she would.
Altoviti had eschewed the clerical chambers in the Qatada Nessudidia, the great temple of Asmodeus in Westcrown, much to the relief of their current occupant. Instead, he had used persuasion and wealth to separate an ancient crone of a near-extinct family from her too-large hereditary mansion - as the last of her line, she had no need of it - and sent her to a more fashionable retirement in Egorian, where she could be entertained by parties and opera nightly in that glittering city. Altoviti now had his own headquarters, secure from the prying eyes of his church’s useless priesthood in this city, where he could quarter his own staff and meet with adherents freely.
He had relocated to this new demesne quite recently, receiving the polite, uncertain bows of the Wiscrani with impassive and precise courtesy. Now he could take a few moments to survey the heathen territory of his new priesthood, with the church at his back and his enemies before him, bathed in orange light. He had scarcely relaxed into sunset musings when a knock came upon the door.
“Enter.” A cloaked, hooded, and gloved figure let itself into the room, gliding over to bow profoundly before the Cardinal.
“Well, what news?” the great man asked.
“They are parochial and suspicious,” the man replied, “And it may take some time to gain trust.”
“That is no surprise; it is just as we thought,” replied the Cardinal, “And you cannot complain of being short of money or support to accomplish your goal. I desire results, not excuses.”
“As His Excellency wishes,” replied his companion, coolly, “As I have no cause to complain about support, neither shall you have cause to complain of my results. Gold opens many doors, and this is a poor city; once a few fall, an avalanche will follow. The old noble house are the worst, yet they must do business with tradesmen and craftsmen, each of whom know a little of their habits. I, though, shall know all their habits together, and you shall know what I do, My Lord.”
“Tread prudently in the city, and I will do the same in the church. When we see the tracks of our quarry, or a stray ear or antler behind a tree, well, then I will summon the huntress.”
The hooded man chuckled. “As you say, Excellency.” At a dismissing wave of Altoviti’s hand, he bowed and withdrew.
All is dark. Then come the visions, dreams, of Jenivere under sail, canvas snapping in the fresh breeze… a privateer draws close, but the captain and first mate order the crew to the guns, and the pirates are driven off… a storm rolls the ship, passengers staggering to their bunks to strap in while the crew reefs the sails… the magnificent sunrise the morning after the storm… fishing off the side in calm waters while the dinghy ferries passengers from a tiny port… a fresh wind rolls the waters, making balance uneasy and the stomach queasy…
Whisperleaf:
You are at dinner - “mess”, the sailors call it - one of the last you’ll be aboard Jenivere. In a few more days, Eleder will be in sight, along with the end of the voyage. You finish your oddly-seasoned meal and rise to leave the table, but the man sitting next to you scoots back at the same time. The leg of his stool lands atop your foot, a piercing pain…
… that’s real. Stomach heaving, head reeling, your foot is being pinched very painfully. Why are you lying on sand in the pale light of dawn? Or dusk? And what’s making your foot hurt? You raise your head groggily…
Your foot is in the pincers of a giant… thing. Sleek and dripping wet, it has your foot in the grasp of one of its two pincers while an ominously sharp-tipped tail rises above its back. As you stir and sit up, it releases your foot and backs off, obviously startled.
Around you lie people you recognize from on board the ship, other passengers, and even a prisoner. A pile of personal goods lies likewise above the high-tide line, very near your head. You recognize some of your things among the jumble. But none of the crew or officers are here. You’re the only one awake, and you’re all alone with three pincered, stinging things the size of a large dog emerging from the surf, in search of a meal. Your foot is bleeding, and the scent of your blood seems to be attracting the others as the first quickly recovers from its startlement.
You take 1 point of damage from the bite on your foot. You are dressed as you were at the last mess - if that’s armored, you still have your armor on. The pile of gear is nearby and your weapons are there. It’s your turn.
Kintargo has always seemed a city apart from the rest of Cheliax. Separated from Cheliax proper by the Menador Mountains, it is physically apart. Filled with ships and travelers from far countries, it is culturally cosmopolitan, very different from the other major Chelaxian cities. And, despite the presence of the Church of Asmodeus, the stubborn independence that characterizes Kintargans keeps the flame of rebellion alive here.
Still, when knights of Iomedae defeated the Hellknights of the Order of the Godclaw and began calling for open revolution against the rule of Asmodeus and House Thrune, the citizens of Kintargo generally thought them naïve and foolish. Over the past few decades, the citizens and rulers of Kintargo have learned a great deal about keeping their heads down and not drawing attention to themselves, simply going quietly about their business and ignoring, as well as they could, inconvenient dictates of Asmodean rule. They feared the call to revolution would result in disaster.
House Thrune acted swiftly to declare martial law in the major cities, including Kintargo; much to the surprise of the citizenry, who had not risen in rebellion at the call of the “Glorious Reclamation”. Thrune sent one of its own, Barzillai Thrune, to be Archduke of Ravounel: a surprising move, since nobles in favor tended to remain in Egorian, leaving those nobles who had made a political misstep to be shipped to the hinterlands in virtual exile. But it was rumored that Barzillai had volunteered to rule the archduchy, and, when Kintargo’s Mayor, Jilia Bainilus, disappeared ten days ago (on a ship bound for Andoran, according to some rumors), he moved in to personally rule Kintargo. To help keep order in case the Glorious Rebellion infected Kintargo, he imported Hellknights from the south and began enlisting loyal Chelaxians in a sort of home guard, called the Chelish Citizens’ Group.
Seven nights ago, outspoken leaders of seditious groups and prohibited faiths disappeared, along with several buildings which were burned to the ground. The Night of Ashes left underground groups leaderless and in disarray. Whatever membership remains of such factions as the Sacred Order of Archivists, the Bellflower Network, the Silver Ravens, and the worshippers of Sarenrae and Milani has gone to ground. Seven proclamations issued by the new ruler have caused tension and unrest in the city, with citizens fearing worse to come. Tension has only increased when minor protests have been dispersed by the new dottari, Hellknights of the Rack.
The first major protest in the week since Thrune took power in Kintargo is rumored to be starting soon. The gathering will be in Aria Park, immediately south of the great Opera House where Barzillai set up his residence. The people plan to gather to protest the occupation of Kintargo’s seat of power by Paracount Barzillai, and the imposition of the seven proclamations. It seems the independent spirit of Kintargo is recovering from the setbacks of the past ten days.
Even with the cobblestones of Argent Avenue and the foliage of Aria Park still wet from the morning’s light rain, dozens of Kintargans have begun to gather along the facade of the opera house to protest the city’s new lord-mayor, Paracount Barzillai Thrune. The city’s new leader was appointed by Her Infernal Majestrix, Queen Abrogail II, in the wake of the previous lord-mayor’s sudden flight from the city — an event that still has local rumormongers whispering furiously. In a scant seven days, Paracount Thrune has instituted martial law, a curfew, and seven outlandish and polarizing proclamations. These actions and more have called many of Kintargo’s dissatisfied citizens here on this overcast morn. There’s been no sign yet of Barzillai Thrune himself, and the opera house’s doors remain tightly closed—as they have since the man chose the landmark as his new home—but judging by the growing sound of the protesters, he surely can’t ignore the scene on the streets below much longer.
The protest has been bruited about for a couple of days, though nobody knows exactly when it is supposed to start or what precisely will happen. Some of the locals move with purpose, assembling into tight groups which are starting rough chants to make their positions known; other citizens wander around between the chanting clusters, curious or perhaps trying to make up their minds about what position to adopt.
Street vendors, taking advantage of the unusual opportunity, set up their carts nearby, and the fragrance of hot food wafts through the air as a few children dash between the protestors, chasing one another with screams and laughter. The event could almost be festive, save for the undercurrent of tension and the silent vigilance of the half-dozen or so guards lined up in front of the opera house's tightly closed doors.
Go ahead with intro posts for your characters, including a physical description and any RP you wish to start with the others. Once everyone has posted, the action will continue.
This is the discussion for a "Three Musketeer"-style campaign. I'll start building the campaign info tab soon. My players can feel free to post and start discussing character ideas whenever they like. It's going to take me a little bit to build the campaign, but we can get started with the first encounter fairly quickly once characters are built.
This will be an original and, I hope, organic campaign. A few of us were discussing what made another campaign so fun to play and great to read, and decided that we as players had done a lot of world-building, not waiting on the GM to post and then just relax. Our characters played off one another well and we made up a lot of incidental things that the GM rolled with beautifully. Though this will be set in Golarion in a specific timeframe, I hope players will feel free to help build the world, particularly in setting and feel, but also in NPCs, events, vendettas, etc. Because it's original, there's a good chance I can weave them into the story.
So get ready to buckle some swashes! Be bold and daring! Our adventure begins SOON.
Welcome to the discussion thread for the Hell's Rebels Campaign. Please look at the Campaign Info tab for background information and rules about character creation.
To begin character creation, click on "My Account" in the top line menu of the Paizo Forums. You will be prompted for a signin even if you are already signed in (to verify that you are you before account changes are allowed).
The third box in the left column is for Messageboard Aliases. To start a new character, click the "Create New Alias" switch at the bottom of the Messageboard Aliases box. All you need to create the alias is a character name. You can select a picture later, and you can change the name until you have made 10 posts under that name. You do not need a faction.
Once you have created the alias, it will be displayed on your alias tab, visible when you click on your name on the top menu (Hello, Name). When you click it from the alias list, you will be on the information panel for that alias. You can edit the alias with the button on the upper right and store all sorts of information there, from stats to gear to spellbooks - whatever you like. By convention, we put our stats first. Here is a good, brief example of a formatted stat block. Formatting features like italics and [/b]bold[/b] are described at the bottom of each text entry box, under "How to format your text." Click the Show button to display the list of tags allowed in the posting.
Right now, I am preparing the campaign and recruiting a few mentors for those who have not played Pathfinder before (or who have not played much). You can discuss questions/concerns here, or you can PM your mentor for specific advice/information.
Welcome! Feel free to talk about character creation outside this forum, on Vent or other personal chats. A lot of the base classes and races should look familiar to you, though their roles may differ from what you expect based on how the character is tailored. A fighter can be a tank, but so can a cleric, who also heals, etc. We'll stick with core classes and races to make it simple.
Getting Started!
1. Download and read the Hell's Rebels Player's Guide. The link is under Player Resources on the Campaign Info tab.
2. Think of a name and create an alias with that name.
3. Post here and introduce yourself!
Don't worry too much about a lot of the stuff in the Campaign Info tab. We'll take time to get the characters built and the party equipped, and we'll go slow enough that you'll get the hang of things.
I created two new Campaigns here and here. I populated all the campaign threads and the info page, we've been planning in both threads, and now I can't make the initial post in either Gameplay thread.
I get the empty box as usual. When I paste the text there, it allows me to use the Preview button, but nothing shows up besides the populated text box. I can Submit, it takes some time, then nothing displays but the empty text entry box again. No new entries appear on the Messageboard sidebar log, either.
When I created the campaigns, I did have to put a first post in Gameplay, which I subsequently deleted after the rest of the campaign was set up because I didn't have the first real Gameplay post ready.
It's not an emergency because we won't start until 2/1, but I would like to be able to use these two campaigns without having to set up new ones.
Thanks for your help!
ADDENDUM: I disabled Oladon's Campaign Tools extension for Chrome and re-tried it. No joy.
I also tried using the ADD POST tool instead of just typing in the empty text box. No joy.
I did notice at one point that the url ended in "gameplay#2", so I may have dorked it up by deleting the first post. D'oh.
Discussion thread for the daily posting Hell's Rebels campaign. Feel free to start discussing party/character builds!
And please do coordinate party composition (roles). There's no need to build characters in a vacuum and then have them not function well together. And for once, I'm not running a GMPC healbot - not with two games to run. I also won't have a big stable of prebuilts to flesh out the party, as Council of Thieves provided. If everybody stays in this track, you've got a classic 4+1 setup, leaving that sweet "fifth-class" slot for somebody who enjoys support or versatility.
I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with. I'm still planning on getting the initial posts up the weekend of the 30th/31st so you can take off running on 2/1.
Though my target is daily posting, it seems like people with those "real lives" things sometimes have trouble posting on weekends. If that's the case here, that's cool; gives me time to catch up with other things or to put up larger, scene-setting posts.
I'm currently gathering players and prepping material.
If you want to keep your Darkness character, check the HRPG first for background material, then decide about your old character. You'll need to change the backstory and traits to fit Hell's Rebels.
I'm considering making this a hybrid campaign and scheduling a Skype/TTop session when we get into combat, so we roll through more quickly. Any thoughts on that idea? I can post a summary of the combat in the gameplay thread after the session.
I'm very happy some of the Darkness crew are interested!
A giant has passed. If you have never read any of his work, stop by the library, pick up one of his works, then just try to shelve it and walk away. His strange, lovely, horrible, beautiful stories will haunt you.
I run a game with some of my friends and have managed to get my boyfriend interested in playing, but recently realized he may be feeling uncomfortable about gaming alone with so many women. That got me thinking.
Do males play RPG's? Sure, I see a lot of boys... er, males... er, men (What is politically correct? I don't want to be offensive) at Gamestop and the other video game stores, but it seems to be strictly ladies' night at the gaming table and VTT.
So, do males enjoy role play? You know, beyond hitting stuff and blowing it up? I want to make my game fun for everyone, not just for women. How do I get them engaged in the game when we're not killing things?
Is there anything special we should do at the table to make males feel comfortable? Obviously, the talk about 'Aunt Flo' needs to stop when men are present. Do the scantily-clad, sexy pictures of the characters we girls identify with make men feel uncomfortable? Maybe we should cover our gaming books?
And what about male characters? I realized that my male NPC's tend to be stereotypically aggressive, smelly jerks. What should I do to make them more human... you know, more like a woman?
I appreciate any advice. I want the games I run to be welcoming to the other 49% of the population.
Westcrown is bustling on Fireday afternoon. Merchants close up shop and people leave work a little early to spend an extra hour in taverns and restaurants before hastening home to bar the windows and doors against the shadows. A cold breeze from the north chills despite the generally moderate climate of the Inner Sea.
A boarded-up tavern sits near the pier where one of the island ferries disgorges passengers commuting to their mainland homes from their jobs on the island. None many can afford to live in Parego Regicona, and few would be welcome to. Despite its prime location, the tavern has a rather weathered but neatly painted wooden sign on the front: Under New Management. Closed for Renovations. Former regulars give their old haunt wistful glances as they wonder when the place will be open again, but easily find another spot for a plate of stew, fresh bread, and a glass of wine. Visio's has been closed for quite some time now. Apparently the new owners had plenty of money to buy the place, but not enough for all the changes they wanted to make. Don't know why they need to change things. It was fine the way it was, when the Visio family ran it.
A group of Hellknights clop through the city past the tavern as the bells strike three times, pedestrians scattering from their path. They seem to be in no hurry and look around casually as they trot past, alert for trouble.
Several of us have had issues lately wherein the dice differ either between our preview and our committed post, or a prior post and the post seen the next day.
I don't have proof but will try to catch it with screen caps. It's possible it is a mass delusion.
This is the first place we noticed and commented upon it, since all the initiatives were eight at first, then they weren't.
This thread is to discuss the new Council of Thieves campaign and characters. Please check out the main tab for background and character creation information. Become familiar with Westcrown as you are able given time constraints. We'll be learning a lot more about the city, but it's helpful to start out with the basics in the campaign's Player's Companion. Links to info are on the main tab.
Please post to check in when you receive this, and welcome!
CoT was engrossing enough that my players did not want it to end, ever. I'm running a followon campaign in which Lord Mhartis is Mayor Pro Tem, elections are scheduled in about two months, and Chammady Drovenge survived and aided the party. The PC's managed to convince Admiral Vourne that they had thwarted a threat not only to Westcrown, but a potential plot against the queen. Why? Because the Church of Asmodeus is entirely silent in the AP.
My question is - why? The plausible theory my players came up with is that the church is in league with Mammon's forces, since Mammon is a servant of Asmodeus. Otherwise, why wouldn't they aid the party against the usurper? The PC's figured this was a first step for a total church takeover of Cheliax, with deniability on the part of the Church of Asmodeus if it failed. They convinced Vourne of this as well, and have been summoned to Egorian to Abrogail's court to receive some sort of honors/reward. [You should have seen their faces when they read the imperial summons, heh heh heh.]
I find their logic rather convincing. Has anybody else played it differently? Is there an official explanation I've missed? Any other good theories?
Has anyone encouraged/prohibited classes in this AP?
I had one gentleman who wanted to play a paladin but thought it might make the AP too easy. He's switching to fighter/ranger, which should be fine.
I have another who wants to play a necromancer, and I'm worried that he won't have any fun. I don't see much in the way of undead he'll be able to command, even in the first book. Besides, creating undead does not endear one to the populace, so I worry about what it will do to trust levels if he's found out.
We're planning on doing without a cleric or paladin entirely. I'll run a GMPC bard to buff and heal.
Those of you who have started already, any thoughts on the above?
Our drive ist kaput - Phillips LiteOn drive. I can buy one new online for $50 with a month warranty, but swapping the PCB with the flash memory requires desoldering and soldering the connections to the drive. They'll do it for me for $10, but I have to send the old one in and that'll take some time. The new drive ships overnight weekdays and it wouldn't take long to install.
Has anybody done this successfully? If so, does the replacement last? Ths box isn't even 1-1/2 years old yet and the drive is shot. It's very disappointing and, naturally, out of warranty.
OK, so it's the beginning of What Lies in Dust and I have a player who followed up socially with Chammady Drovenge after the mayor's dinner. She, knowing he's part of the group who's been foiling her plans, seduced him successfully and they now have a hot and heavy secret affair going. This is based on her actions detailed in the final book with the priest of Abadar, so it's in character.
I figure she'll use him and/or the party to do what *she* wants done as long as she can pick the things that will float their boat. So I'm looking for ideas that will advance her ultimate agenda. Here's what I've come up with so far:
1. Sian is still out and about. I think she'd use Sian to assassinate the priest of Abadar's family, then try to point the party that way to kill Sian and tie up that loose end, knowing they could do it.
2. She might send them on ventures to get them out of the city and disrupt the activity of the Hellknights, who are still a force for law and order and troublesome to her plans.
Anybody see other things she could point them toward, preferably which tie in with the ultimate plot targets? Not having run this before, I'm not sure which events in books 4-6 work out well and which could be changed or swapped using the party as an unwitting tool of the Drovenges.
After three years, three months, and eighteen days, my group finally finished Shackled City. It would have been a lot shorter but also a lot poorer without all the wonderful, imaginative additions from generous DMs here. You guys rock!
I disagreed with Paizo's "Adimarchus is wholly evil and unredeemable" dictate in the last adventure. That sort of thing does not sit well with my happy ending-loving party. Reinstatement into the ranks of heaven didn't seem right, either. And the whole "Adimarchus is dead and you're all done now!" was pretty abrupt. Here's what we did.
The party remembered even before the final fight that he'd reappear lying in state on Occipitus, so after killing him in Skullrot, they placed the body into bags of holding and rested up prior to a trip to Occipitus to dispose of the bodies in the pillar of fire.
When they arrived in Occipitus (with Nidrama in the party), I used Delvesdeep's dream sequences as a basis for the exposition of Adimarchus' fall, all created from the stuff of Occipitus by his restless, insane spirit. They appeared not in an osseous forest or celestial wreckage, but in a green, sunny field with an angelic Adimarchus beseiged by hordes of demons. They promptly decided to aid the lone figure and wiped the floor with the demon horde. Adimarchus thereby began indifferent to them and they won a VP by making him so. Once Addy saw his lost love Nidrama, the scene shifted, mirroring Adimarchus' memories, to effectively a stage setting of the Nidrama/Adimarchus meeting on Celestia. After a few minutes of talk and role play, he'd frown, shake is head, and say, "Wait, that's not right," and the scene would dissolve to the next one. So, in this case, two "angels" formed right behind him, sprouting from the ground but obviously formed by it, and attempted to arrest him.
They did all the right things to make him friendly, protecting him from arrest while urging him to submit to the will of heaven. Confused but swayed by their high Diplomacy roles, he agreed to let them help him. They teleported to the base of the skull, only to find it looking like the top of Skullrot, where the scene with Athux in the cage and Graz'zt trying to bargain Addy into the trap played out. Again, they interrupted, attacked Graz'zt on his behalf, removed Athux from the cage (and boy were they surprised when he transformed to a mini-Graz'zt) and kept Addy cool through the whole thing. Once both aspects were dead, he came to himself for a brief time and led the way into the skull, asking their advice on what to do next.
They voted that he should make things right with heaven and submit to their justice. They hadn't missed a single VP in the whole thing, so he agreed. They offered to plane shift him to Celestia (though I don't think any of them had the key to the plane so I'm not sure what they were planning?). He said he had a better way and would try to repair the damage he'd caused if they let him. They agreed, and he stepped into the pillar of fire. As he immolated, the flames licking his body changed from red to white, and white flame slowly grew in the red pillar until the entire thing roared white. The skull became filled with blinding white light. Eventually, the light faded, the roaring diminshed, and the pillar dwindled to nothing. They looked around to find themselves on a green hillside in Celestia, the Cathedral of feathers barely visible a long way downhill from them. There was no sign of Adimarchus. A host of angels (and eventually a few deities) gathered and told the party he'd given up his substance to rejoin the fallen parts of Celestia to the realm, his substance returning to the stuff of Celestia in the process. Their gods met with them and they were thanked and rewarded. I'm asking for a synopsis from each of what their character would want to do after their return to Cauldron (and all of them elected to return even when offered a free trip to paradise). We'll meet over dinner next week and wrap up their life stories.
It went amazingly well. I had three outcomes planned based on their VP's from the various scenes:
1. Rekill both his forms and dump them into the fire.
2. Get him to a neutral state where he'd agree to call off any wars on heaven or the material plane but would remain in Occipitus and war with his fellow demons (remain fallen).
3. Rejoin the celestial realms, giving himself in the process (best redemption I could see him having).
Addy even rolled a nat 20 on his petition to heaven to allow scenario 3! I guess it was destiny.
The stuff formed from Occipitus was not real, so did not have the same properties as the original. The baddies could do only what Addy could do himself either fallen or in a good form. I took his angelic form from the AP and transformed it to good powers/spells (with a longsword and shield rather than the claw and whip). Graz'zt and Athux came from Hordes of the Abyss, modified to only be able to do what Addy could do magically. Physically, I left 'em alone, since he could create what he damned well pleased from his own plane.
Many thanks to everyone here who contributes in any way. My players are walking on air, and I owe a whole lot of the campaign's success to your additions, questions, answers, and opinions. I hope the above might give others ideas for their own campaigns. I even thank the Paizo booth guys who hard-sold me into buying the hardcopy at Gencon all those years ago. Thanks again! :-D
