Rexx's page

What the heck?!? Allustan isn't a coward. He's just not dumbass enough to stay there with the pc's when he could go back for help, and I bet that if you were alone fighting a FREAKIN' dragon you'd probably run(this makes you smart, not coward) Anyways, what I was wondering is what did you guys do in relation to the corrupted mayor from Diamond Lake; my players intend in taking him and his gang down but how would his brother Allustan react? Seriously.

As this and previous threads clearly show, there are numerous ways to handle Allustan that fit any number of logical story parameters. Kudos to everyone that has handled Allustan in a way they are happy with. The author of this thread wasn't happy with the way things were handled, I offered a possible solution.

I'm happy for you, Hellfinger, that your incarnation of Allustan has a backbone and works well in that role. This was my original intention as well after reading The Whispering Cairn and Three Faces of Evil. I, along with others, looked at the subsequent written material and came up with the "coward" background as an explanation. I find that the occasional NPC that doesn't fit the "heroic mentor" expectation adds texture to the game as it challanged the player's preconceived notions. This has worked extremely well for the overall story of the campaign, as Allustan's "graduated" apprentice is really struggling with his shattered image of his former master. It makes for good roleplaying to say the least.

Lanod Neff is something of an embarrassment for Allustan and he keeps an eye on his brother out of familial loyalty. If the PCs attempt to lynch Lanod, I would expect he would attempt to intercede to prevent harm to his brother. As you have emphatically stated, Allustan is a smart man and will likely have contigency plans already prepared for such an issue. Perhaps he teleports his brother away to a safe haven until the proper authorities are involved to assure Lanod will not be lynched. Plenty of corruption can be found within the Free City's government and an act of "vigilantism" by the PCs could get them jailed in the Grand Citadel indefinitely...even if it is the "right" thing to do.

Allustan is a coward. It isn't all his fault, but he's psychologically susceptible to this disposition.

Allustan had a falling out with his master, Menzorian/Tenser. This is because of moral differences. Tenser is more proactive towards threats, Allustan is more reactive.

Allustan retreated to Diamond Lake to keep and eye on his brother Lanod. He also retreated to Diamond Lake to hide himself from his peers (Eligos, Marzena) as they knew he was a coward. I had to come up with a reason why Allustan changed in the eyes of his peers. He must have had a backbone at one time, otherwise he wouldn't have the levels in wizard that he does. I speculated that he, Eligos and Marzena were "adventuring" at one time, gathering intelligence on some sagely pursuit. Perhaps they were looking for a Wind Duke of Aqaa cairn elsewhere. They encountered a ghost. This ghost not only aged Allustan (why he seems older than Eligos and Marzena), it drained him of his lifeforce. The experience was so harrowing, Allustan has sequestered himself away from the world.

The PCs have slowly allowed Allustan to come out of his shell. At Blackwall Keep, he realizes he isn't ready yet. He runs. This damages his reputation somewhat with the PCs. They ask Marzena about him and learn a little of the ghost background. They empathize, but don't necessarily forgive. Their interaction with Eligos mellows their stance somewhat so by the time they return to Diamond Lake, they are motivated to save Allustan because they fear he cannot save himself.

If you can take some of this and apply it to your current situation, perhaps retroactively, maybe you can save Allustan as a useful NPC in your game.

The Ebon Triad has a goal of unifying three divine beings into one Overgod. This unification effort does not entail that the three aspects of the Triad will be unified. The Faceless One knows that there is mistrust between the factions and has consolidated the resources as efficiently as possible:

— Hextor is the martial arm and is responsible for security and communication with the surface.
— Erythnul is the mystical arm and Grallak Kur's soothsaying fuels the Faceless One.
— Vecna is the calculating mind of the Triad and is piecing together the steps necessary to achieve the ultimate goal.

Kur's relevation that the Triad would be tested by heathen invaders is the fact the Faceless One uses to assure that each faction remains separate. The Faceless One knows that the first step to creating the Overgod is that it needs a physical manifestation. The second step is that the Overgod's divinity needs devote faith — the Ebon Triad's existance is proof of this. Last, for the Overgod to achieve divinity, the faithful must sacrifice that which they value most. This last bit has had the Faceless One confused as value is such a relative thing. He has only recently realized that the ultimate sacrifice is a person's soul. Thus the Faceless One needs the PCs to invade and to begin spilling the blood of the faithful so that their souls will depart and be absorbed into the pool in the Black Cathedral.

The Faceless One has everything in place and has just been waiting for the invaders to come. He sowed panic in the heart of Balabar Smenk so that he would move against the Ebon Triad. The PCs arrival is expected as it is part of the Ebon Triad's divine plan. The Faceless One has secured a physical body for the Overgod's essence to fill: a massive tirapheg that has been sacrificed and sunk into the pool (part of the ceremony that Smenk saw). The Overgod's physical form must have strength and thus the martial Hextorites must die first. As they guard the lift and Black Cathedral, their initial sacrifice is assured. The Overgod's body, what is now becoming the Ebon Aspect, must have a divine mind and the mysticism of the grimlocks must be absorbed first so they must die on the PCs' blades. Lastly, the Ebon Aspect must have reason and intelligence to balance its three aspects: the Vecnians must die. The Faceless One assumes that these deaths must be "true" and not passive falling on blades as that will weaken the Ebon Aspect. Thus he keeps his plans to himself. But he knows that his time will come and that his death is necessary for the Ebon Aspect to arise, as it is his keen intellect that will invigorate the tirapheg corpse and transform it into the avatar of the Overgod. Thus the Faceless One will truly become a god and that's his overall motivation.

This is how I've justified the actions of the Ebon Aspect and how it's possible for the PCs to have moments to rest. The Faceless One needs them to rest so that they can carry out their divine mission for the rising of the Overgod.

Death by random encounter...ouch. I've become so attached to the PCs I doubt I can bring myself to having a combat-related random encounter unless it helps the plot somehow.

Here's to another fallen hero. ::raises a beverage in toast::

If the PCs fail, it's pretty clear a large population base will be exposed to rapidly spreading "disease" such as undeath. If the Adventure Path is to continue, the PCs need to get out of the Free City along with any significant NPCs necessary for later portions of the Path.

What to do with the Free City? Escaping to Diamond Lake isn't a solution as the Free City's "domain" has a larger population than the city itself.

As the PCs fight their way out of the City, the sky becomes overcast and dark. The PCs see an incredible plague of undeath spreading out from the Arena. Take a cue from your favourite zombie movie and paint the scene that way. For some reason, the action of 28 Days is how I see the escape transpiring. All the while, the overcast sky seems to get lower. The streets become shrouded in mists...the PCs suddenly feel that time is of the essence. Somehow, someway, they escape beyond the walls of the Free City, leaving the city behind swamped in a fog bank that fills the Selintin River basin. Enough wights have escaped as well to make things interesting for the PCs as they return to Diamond Lake, perhaps with the important NPCs.

In subsequent days the remnants of the Free City's military is drawn to the Free City from surrounding areas. Strangely, the Free City is still swamped in fog. The commander from Hardby sends some troops in. They never come back. Clerics, psions, and wizards attempt to scry into the City. At a culmination of tension, the mists swirl above the the City forming the vague symbol of Hextor, Erythinul, and finally Vecna. As murmurs of dread spread through the viewers, Vecna's hand and eye transform into a huge skull with writhing worms of mist falling from it. The prophetic madman is conveniently on hand and lucently decrees the Age of Worms is at hand.

Then from the mists a single figure walks out from the City. Quickly surrounded, the figure is a Rhenee matron who seems very dazed. When addressed as a Rhenee, she looks at the speaker curiously and simply states with a thick gypsy accent, "I know not what became of the Rhenee Clan, but I am Vistani..."

At that point the DM pulls the Ravenloft Campaign Setting book from his bag/shelf and looks at the players meaningfully.

"More than one world's fate hangs in the Balance. How far will the Age of Worms spread?!" the mad prophet rants.

That's how this DM intends to run with it if the PCs fail...