Hey!
I have a minor problem and I'm hoping to get a large list of possible solutions.
When my group of PC's finished "The Demonskar Legacy" one member of the group was unable to make it to the session, the Ranger. So the Ranger is back in Cauldron. And the main group is about to meet Kaurophon. The rest of the party is Barbarian, Druid, Healer, and Wizard. The wizard has a few levels of Rogue, and the party has a lot of multiclassing.
Of the monsters in "The Demonskar Legacy", Kysmos still lives and the Hag's Lair is untouched so the Spell Weaver skeletons are still there gaurding the bulk of the treasure. (Gaflon lead the party away to get trapped in the mirror before the party could go back for a full search.)
What ideas can you give me for Getting the party together again for the start of "Test of the Smoking Eye"?
I'm sorry I don't have my copy of the Demonskar Legency or Test of the Smoking Eye handy so I am just going on memory.
Does the party have to leave right then and there? If I can remember correctly it doesn't really have any real impact on events as such. Maybe allow the party to return to Cauldron, meet up with the Ranger and then have the 'wolf in sheeps clothes' arrive and start the adventure.
Another alternative is to have the Ranger linked to the baddy(sorry I have forgotten his name). Perhaps the baddy rescued the Ranger as he attempted to rejoin with the party and was set upon by.... This would also assist you in getting into the players confidences and lowering their defences.
If it is essential to leave immediately perhaps have the player role up another character for the voyage. Not my favourite alternative but a suggestion all the same.
Anyhow good luck
Delvesdeep
Hey!
I have a minor problem and I'm hoping to get a large list of possible solutions.
...
What ideas can you give me for Getting the party together again for the start of "Test of the Smoking Eye"?
Test of the smoking eye has some sugestions on dealing with dead/missing characters at the begining of the adventure.
My own would be to have the player roll up a new character. Perhaps a celestial creature the party finds in one of the boils. Barely alive and with no memory of what happened in the past millenia. It should at least make for some interesting roleplaying. And you have a target for Kaurophon (sp?) to bull-rush into the plasma stream at the end of the adventure.
If the player is ok with it, you might let him play Kaurophon. Just don't tell him, that he's going to betray the party, and take him over again at the end of the adventure. I don't have Demonskar at hand, so this might not be possible, but I think it's worth a thought!
Cool idea!
If the player is ok with it, you might let him play Kaurophon. Just don't tell him, that he's going to betray the party, and take him over again at the end of the adventure. I don't have Demonskar at hand, so this might not be possible, but I think it's worth a thought!
That's a very good idea, but why not let the player run Kaurophon in the final fight as well? He could wait telling him that he will betray the party until it's time though...
This would also be a good way to get the players to trust Kaurophon, since they might assume he's the players new character. I've actually been toying with the idea of using someone else to play Kaurophon myself, just for that reason.
There's always deus ex machina; just assume the Ranger was tagging along but for one reason or another happened to have wandered off and stumbled back into the party as the next module begins. If the party has already begun the module and is in the Abyss, you can simply assume the player was momentarily incapacitated and the party took him with them.
The idea of letting the player play Kaurophon sounds really cool though, as long as the player is capable of playing an unusual character like that. Kaurophon has to be cautious with his spells and in some ways he may be a bit underpowered compared to the party. However he also has a number of unique advantages the party lacks unless you are allowing them to use a bunch of bizarre templates. If you know the player really well and think he'd do it well, you can go with this idea. But I'd be careful. The party will probably be suspicious of Kaurophon the whole time anyway and even though it's tempting to let him become a PC to dispel that notion somewhat, it isn't worth it if you don't think the player in question is up to the task. Kaurophon has to be played just right in order to have the right effect.
As others have suggested, you can just let him create a new character for this adventure only. Then when the party gets back to the Prime Material, they find his Ranger has had a couple adventures of his own (give him enough levels/treasure to catch up with the others and explain what happened during the party's absence). This can be a good way to hook the party into the next adventure "Guys, you won't believe what's happened since you've been gone..."
Ultimately, do whatever you feel will be best for the campaign.