Ret42's page

Thanks! Even though it’s more work, I like the ideas you recommended of modifying encounters based on times. They already did last night at Sarnath and left the first time fighting the shades and it is what got me thinking about this initially. I wanted to show off my GOO so I just returned them to the same point in time and let them start the return trip in initiative rather than going about the entire banquet again. Perhaps I should’ve let them fail it instead, since they just left the dream again when they encountered the gug.

If the PCs try and wake up during the Oasis, I'd let them. They should have gotten all the information they needed (including the optional stat-boost and their memories) before starting the clone-fight, and I'd have Kaklatath contact them as they woke up.

However, I would not give the increased trait-bonus to any PCs that skipped the fight.
If I felt really peeved at my players just skipping an interesting encounter like that (meaning they just run instead of even trying), I'd probably have them wake up with the Dissociated Identity Madness, representing the Oasis-clones trying to take over the PCs bodies. They can get rid of it the normal way, or by travelling to the Dreamlands again and engaging their past selves (this time in an arena of their choosing, since the clones will simply appear in the Dreamlands wherever the party chooses to go).
In either case, I'd tell the players what the clones represent and what they are actually trying to do (probably to the player with the highest Sense Motive, Knowledge Arcana or Heal skill). This should be enough hints that the players can't simply run from this encounter, and that resolving it will help them in the long run.

I had my players build 7th level characters when they started the campaign as they would’ve built them that day just for this encounter. Only 2 of the 5 original characters are alive, but I had planned on making it so that if either of those characters died in this encounter, they would end up schizophrenic with their “old” personality’s trying to reinstate themselves. For the other 3 I suppose I should have a madness prepared - I suppose just a fugue state would be appropriate. I like your suggestion of them returning to the dreamlands to encounter them to return to a “normal” mental state once they’ve defeated their nightmare selves.

I’ve been running the dream quests in Dreams of the Yellow king and recently my party took advantage of the concentration check to wake themselves up in order to escape a difficult encounter. The question I have is what to do when they return to the dream? I can see it unfolding a few different ways, but not all of them make sense, especially considering later quests like the moon prison and going to see the mad poet.

Should my party essentially restart the dream as though they never even arrived there? Should they find themselves back in the starting location, but any encounters they have fought through no longer exist? Or should they return to the exact same place in the middle of the encounter, but have refreshed HP and abilities?

I’m especially concerned they will rely on this tactic and start doing it to prepare specifically for every encounter. I want the last encounter of the book to be meaningful, and I feel like them fleeing and returning the following night will cheapen it.