Really!!
I understand he overpowers the party for the Blackwall Keep battle. But to have him skedaddle to "get reinforcements" that he knows won't show up for the better part of the week just seems silly.
I hate scenarios that hook up an NPC with the party, anyway. So, I am considering having him send the party to meet his old friend with a letter after briefing them on the info he needs.
I suppose it's too soon to hope someone has already played out this portion of the campaign and has feedback? If anyone sees something I've overlooked with my alternative approach, I'd appreciate a heads up. Thanks.
Well, I've taken Allustan's nickname, "Smartest man in Diamond Lake", literally. What's the smartest thing to do when you are faced with a platoon of lizard men? Get the reinforcements! :)
My view of Allustan is that he's a researcher, not a battle-mage, so his bugging out fits.
|
I'm not even going to be sending him with the party. It is way too cliche for him to go with the party and then bug out and my PCs will see it coming and hate me for doing it.
A long time ago during Shackled City AP there was an adventure which culminated with a battle between a paladin the PCs potentially were good friends with and a Glabrazu (sp?) demon. The module called for the paladin to die...even if the demon never hit him....even if the party cleric was sitting on him healing him....It was one of the most unnecessary railroads ever and it was made that way because the paladin was having visions of what was to come and it would ruin the plot if he lived. As this event came to pass in my campaign I saw the looks on my player's faces as the paladin was dying in their arms and I made a call as the DM. The paladin lived and his survival made the story so much richer as the party kept him alive and managed to drag him from a layer of the Abyss back to safety.
The whole point of that story is that the Adventure Paths are made with very certain plot in mind and this causes there to sometimes be events that "need" to happen lest it de-rail the plot. Allustan being with the party during the raid and while chasing the lizardfolk down in the swamp would unbalance the adventure and would probably lead to none of the essential information being discovered. However, if Allustan has to go to somewhere else (we can't use the Free City since we know he is sending the PCs there in the 4th installment, lol) while he sends the PCs to meet an old friend then it works out a lot better.
Creative Director
|
A long time ago during Shackled City AP there was an adventure which culminated with a battle between a paladin the PCs potentially were good friends with and a Glabrazu (sp?) demon. The module called for the paladin to die...
This plot-point was always one that seemed a little sketchy to me, which is why, in the new Hardcover re-release of Shackled City, said paladin doesn't have to die. He probably will, but if the PCs can save him, excellent! He can go on from there to become a strong and valuable ally for the rest of the campaign.
ANYway... as for Allustan traveling with the PCs to Blackwall Keep. The main (the only, in fact) reason he travels with them is so that the PCs will have a chance to get to know him, trust him, and regard him as a friend. If the PCs already feel this way toward him, there's no reason he has to go with them to Blackwall. He can send them there to talk to Marzena while he stays in Diamond Lake and continues to research their finds in the Whispering Cairn without affecting the plot of the adventure at all.
"It is way too cliche for him to go with the party and then bug out and my PCs will see it coming and hate me for doing it. "
Different oar, same boat!
RE: Shackled City - my paladin died but I used it to bring back a BBEG (via quasi-possession) that had haunted the party earlier.
Thanks for the extra input, James.
In order to make Allustan look less like a coward, I'd up the number of lizards by one squad and have Allustan throw his single fireball to wipe out the extras. You could send him to Marshkeep to see if there also in need, or you might have him go to Diamond Lake, not for the sake of breaking the siege(that responsibility falls squarely on the pcs), but to inform the garrsion commander and requisition troops to replace the fallen.
Great idea Galen!
In order to make Allustan look less like a coward, I'd up the number of lizards by one squad and have Allustan throw his single fireball to wipe out the extras. You could send him to Marshkeep to see if there also in need, or you might have him go to Diamond Lake, not for the sake of breaking the siege(that responsibility falls squarely on the pcs), but to inform the garrsion commander and requisition troops to replace the fallen.
I like this a lot. Allustan bringing the PCs along for his safety at first... but then having him check on the Marshkeep before going to DL. He could have one teleport scroll for going to check on Marshkeep, then an extra for going back to DL for reinforcements. Adding in an extra two groups of lizardfolk (the original "eight", but now a typo) that he could fireball-fry before he goes would also get the party to feel better about his bug-out. "My combat spells are spent... my best use would now be to check on Marshkeep, then get reinforcements!"
In order to make Allustan look less like a coward, I'd up the number of lizards by one squad and have Allustan throw his single fireball to wipe out the extras. You could send him to Marshkeep to see if there also in need, or you might have him go to Diamond Lake, not for the sake of breaking the siege(that responsibility falls squarely on the pcs), but to inform the garrsion commander and requisition troops to replace the fallen.
Well, in defense of making him into a coward, I'm planning on having the Aspect of the Overgod from 3 Faces of Evil go king-kong on Diamond Lake so the PCs can be the heroes in front of the town. I needed a reason why Allustan didn't take it out himself.
(As to why the Aspect goes king-kong, its because I wanted the town to really dislike what was going on under the Dourstone Mine)
(As to why the Aspect goes king-kong, its because I wanted the town to really dislike what was going on under the Dourstone Mine)
A little free flow thinking/typing here...
What if the aspect goes agro, and then retreats to the pool in 3FoE to regenerate after making a raid. Perhaps Allustan did fight it, or the heroes fight it off and track it back to the mine if necessary.
Alternatively, Allustan could be out of town doing research and thus not defend DL. He could even be at Blackwall Keep and send the PCs a message "Come see me and bring X that I left in my house. hurry, for I fear that things are transpiring here that whill have ramifications greater than any of us can at this point fathom" Once the PCs arrive with item X, Allustan poofs out to do the pressing research that is more important than the potential fall of the keep. That way Allustan is more "to busy" to deal with things that he trusts the PCs can take care of, and not a coward who runs, or a one-shot-wonder who blows his load and heads off to rest.
I guess I see him as more a sage than a wizard, but one that is slowly grasping the enormity of the occuring events anf the future they portent.
ASEO out
A little free flow thinking/typing here...What if the aspect goes agro, and then retreats to the pool in 3FoE to regenerate after making a raid. Perhaps Allustan did fight it, or the heroes fight it off and track it back to the mine if necessary.
Alternatively, Allustan could be out of town doing research and thus not defend DL. He could even be at Blackwall Keep and send the PCs a message "Come see me and bring X that I left in my house. hurry, for I fear that things are transpiring here that whill have ramifications greater than any of us can at this point fathom" Once the PCs arrive with item X, Allustan poofs out to do the pressing research that is more important than the potential fall of the keep. That way Allustan is more "to busy" to deal with things that he trusts the PCs can take care of, and not a coward who runs, or a one-shot-wonder who blows his load and heads off to rest.
I guess I see him as more a sage than a wizard, but one that is slowly grasping the enormity of the occuring events anf the future they portent.
ASEO out
That's my pov as well, that he's a sage instead of a combat mage. (Besides, I'm really tired of the NPC ubermage patron in games) The idea of him going off to do research at Blackwall is a great one, thanks ASEO.
|
I suppose my current approach is a bit different. I'm portraying Allustan (in WC and 3FOE) as an old man. I'm not sure if that's going to cause me problems later on, but I'll deal with it. It seems like a more plausible action if he exhausts his spells defending the keep and then uses his scroll to try and get some help - like his frame or constitution won't stand up to a treck through the swamp. He'll be kind of leaving the adventuring to the young. At least that is the plan when we get there!
I am making a few changes myself to make Allustran seem more of heiroc ally, insted of an old guy that sends them to do something. In the TFoE, the Aspect is yes, going to go King-Kong, but he will also come out of the pool with a few assorted demon friends. As the PC's leave the mine, Allustran is there and tells them that he feels a disturbance, and some of the powerful NPCs + some DL warriers. The aspect will come out powerfully and in rage and Allustran will ask if they can take him and will engage a demon, then the warriers and NPCs on the other lesser demons.
As for EABWK there will be a few extra groups of lizard folk and more lvld lizard folk. I'm going to make Allustran fight with them the whole time (with his own rolls) and after the battle he will teleport for more reinforcments.
Anyone like that idea?
|
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
|
I suppose my current approach is a bit different. I'm portraying Allustan (in WC and 3FOE) as an old man. I'm not sure if that's going to cause me problems later on, but I'll deal with it.
It shouldn't cause you problems. You'll meet Allustan's former master Tens-- er, "Manzorian" later in the series, but archmages have a funny way of looking a lot younger than they are, anyway.
--Erik
It shouldn't cause you problems. You'll meet Allustan's former master Tens-- er, "Manzorian" later in the series, but archmages have a funny way of looking a lot younger than they are, anyway.--Erik
Sure wrinkle creams work wonders in arcane worlds.
But hey, we've got the easy-to-come-by indoor plumbing.
I'd rather look fiddy when I'm fiddy than have to despoil the Corningware.
Since the Allustan tag-along was just to create loyalty and trust, couldn't you run a little roleplaying side trek around Diamond Lake before? After the bond is established, he could then (reluctantly, of course) ask the PC's to do him the favor of checking on his mage friend. But then you will also need a reason for him not to go himself in case the party declines or suggests that themselves.
I have almost finished reading the third installment and Allustan bugging out really bothered me too. He has stoneskin prepared. I figure at the least he should offer to cast it on one of the PCs, provided they can foot the material component. I think he has a couple other buffs they could use too. Having him do that and then telling them he should get back while they plan how to deal with the lizardfolk is a decent enough excuse. But it really doesn't seem like he'd be that inconvenienced by standing back and helping the PCs with some blasting spells (he has them prepared after all). It seems that the PCs have a very tough fight as it stands, but with Allustan, they could easily route the lizardfolk with a clever plan with haste, then Allustan can teleport back.
I really would like to see another solution to this problem. I like the idea of Allustan coming along for character development but I can't figure out why he'd just up and leave so easily without sticking around for at least once skirmish, other than the fact that it makes things far too easy on the PCs. That's meta-gaming and I don't like it.