Turso |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
My group cleared Whisper out of Time last week, so I figured I'd make a post about how my changes were received, and what I changed in the end.
Warning, long post ahead.
TL;DR for just the changes at the bottom.
As I said in an earlier post, my goal was to place the Mysterium after Okeno (because the Mysterium theme and difficulty works better as a chapter end), and to have the PCs actually meet up with Lowls instead of just missing him every single time.
The first change was to get them to Mun's laboratory. I took some advice from a poster in the other topic and have Al-Hazred not tell them about the Mysterium. Instead he told them that Lowls knew the Necronomicon's location and went to pick up Mun before he left; the group would have to look there for clues.
The Infirmary itself was relatively unchanged, including all the clues pointing to the Mysterium. But I also added a note from Lowls that he was going to see Biting Lash to have everything ready the moment he found Neruzavin's location.
In the basement with the operating table, I added an inactive Teleportation Circle leading to Okeno's Sweatways. The in-game justification was that this was Mun's method of getting to Okeno and back to buy and transport slaves for experimenting. The circle could be activated with a "silver key", which Kaklatath outright told them ("Find the Silver Key, and me at the end"). The key was located in the attic together with the deed for the Infirmary.
With an easy method of getting to Okeno and the promise of finding the source of the voice in their head, the group quickly plowed through all of Okeno. No structural changes here, except Biting Lash did not have a map to Neruzavin; her map only showed a general area Lowls had determined. This showed he was getting closer, but was not quite there yet. The Gnolls and all other enemies in Okeno were absolutely no match for my group; I left their stats unaltered.
After taking care of Biting Lash, the group freed the slaves and herded them through the Sweatways to Mun's Teleportation Circle, getting them to Cassomir. They (rightfully) figured that setting a bunch of slaves loose on an island full of slavers would just have them get captured again.
Having freed Kaklatath and knowing Lowls went to the Mysterium, the group went there next. Upon arrival, they learned that trespassers went into the Mysterium a week ago, and they hadn't come out yet.
There were no huge structural changes here, other than the continuous reminder that Lowls could not have gotten out yet. Some party members wanted to get to Neruzavin so they could ambush Lowls there, but the idea was overruled. Most people figured they'd better stop Lowls before he could get to Neruzavin in the first place.
Kaklatath already being with the group was not a huge change. She was unwilling to go into the Mysterium, because of her fear of death, and she told the PCs from the start she wouldn't be able to contact them in there. She also stressed she was able to sense Lowls' location, and having lost his signal in the Mysterium, without it popping up elsewhere, was another indication that yes, Lowls was still here.
The Mysterium itself worked without any changes, except all enemies had received the Advanced Template (since the group was a level higher than the module anticipated).
Upon solving the puzzle to enter the Soul, the group was confronted with Lowls studying the Necronomicon, the Keeper keeping close watch over him. Lowls was surprised to see them; he expected the Stewards or Mun when the portal opened, not his old teammates/enforcers. But he was also delighted. If they managed to get all the way here after having their memories sacrificed, they were indeed worthy to travel with him. The group had some very personal reasons to absolutely HATE Lowls though, so they entered combat immediately. Lowls had the stats of a level 13 NPC Bard, with the Plant Subtype from Xhamen-Dor's infestation, and the same Necronomicon abilities that the Mad Poet had (+5 AC bonus, can move Necronomicon back into his hand as a Move Action). He also had a boosted CHA score and a Ring of Freedom of Movement.
Lowls first action in combat: Mass Suggestion. "Listen to my side of the story first, before the Stewards get here. Ask your questions now, and we can get to a peaceful resolution."
Two players made the save, two did not. While the players that made the save started combat, the other two were allowed to interrogate Lowls about his motives and what he did. A few turns later, the group managed to get a Break Enchantment spell working, and all members could now participate in the fight.
Lowls mostly used non-damaging spells like Greater Invisibility, and kept trying to convert the group back to his side, "where they belonged".
This tactic actually worked on one member of the group. This member was the only one that Lowls didn't manipulate into working for him, but instead he was bought as a slave from Biting Lash. Lowls was proud of his adventuring party, so this was the first time this member was treated as a person, instead of an object. This member actually tried to break up the fight to get to a peaceful resolution even after the enchantment broke. Lowls cast Heroism on him to help him in his efforts.
After a couple of rounds and realizing most of the group could not be converted, Lowls started lamenting how his plan would fail, if only he had more time. Until he realized something. "If only" does not apply to someone with Xhamen-Dor's power, the Necronomicon's knowledge, and his own SUPERIOR intellect. If he needed more time, he only had to create it. He used the Necronomicon's power to tear open a portal in time, and flung himself into the past. He gave one last chance to the party member that was still trying to break up the fight, to join him now or never.
I told the player in no uncertain terms that his character would become an NPC if he accepted.
In the end, he decided to determine the outcome with a roll of the dice: if his D100 showed 20 or lower, he would accept Lowls offer.
It came up 97.
Lowls disappeared with visible disappointment, showing his last trick before he left; the Heroism he cast earlier was actually Hollow Heroism, and the debuff would now activate.
(If the party had managed to kill Lowls here, the Pallid Mask would have stepped in to timewarp and resurrect him.)
During Lowls escape, the Keeper finally sprung into action, telling Lowls to hold it, and tried to erase the Necronomicon. His attempt failed however.
After a bit of selfpity the Keeper then started talking about chasing Lowls after killing everyone here, to stop Xhamen-Dor's influence (I used the speech another poster in this thread had prepared).
The Keeper hit hard, but was ultimately taken down by the party without too much trouble.
When exiting the Mysterium, the group found out from Elder Thyrr that they captured Miacknian Mun when he tried to flee. In their memory, Mun was also the only one that bribed the previous Elder and broke in. Mun himself was unsure why he did it, but felt as if an unseen force was guiding him.
Kaklatath was one of the few entities whose memories were not altered by the time-warp, and she was able to tell the PCs Lowls suddenly appeared near Biting Lash a few weeks ago, and was making steady progress towards Neruzavin.
When they received their reward of one free week of study in the Mysterium, they initially wanted to decline the offer, feeling like they should go after Lowls immediately. This got them a scolding from Kaklatath; even if they caught up to Lowls, what would they do if he tried the same trick again? They'd better stock up on knowledge before setting of to be fully prepared.
I gave the group an extra bonus for this time spent; once per day, as a group, they are allowed to make one Knowledge check with the same bonuses as if they were using a library.
In addition, one groupmember suffered from Lycanthropy since chapter one, and the Mysterium held one of the few books containing the cure.
All in all, the reactions from my group have been very positive, and they told me they really appreciated the encounter with Lowls himself. So, mission accomplished.
I am currently planning to have Lowls return once again; the version the players encountered will become the Starseed as normal, while his past-version will replace Ariadnah during the final fight.
TL;DR:
Add a Teleportation Circle in Mun's lab, leading to Okeno.
Make the circle's activation dependent on defeating the Dark Young in the attic to avoid having the players skip most of the area/hints.
Alter Biting Lash's map to show a general area instead of Neruzavin's actual location.
Emphasize Lowls still being in the Mysterium.
Add a statblock for Lowls and have him try to convert the group to his side.
Have Lowls timewarp away when he sees this is useless, or have the Pallid Mask do it if Lowls is defeated.
Use Kaklatath to tell the group what happened if they did not figure it out/managed to make the correct skill checks.