Hi All,
Question: Does theldrick need to stay alive?? Coz my party killed him :( they found him in his room and as a result he attacked them and died!!
DM Shane
Ah ok thanks, phew!! glad to see i am getting it right :)
Actually, even if your players captured Theldrick he would not survive long: if instead of killing the cult leaders, the heroes simply defeat them, the Ebon Aspect animates 1d4 hours after the defeat of last of them and, as he animates, the life of the captured cult leaders gets "sniffed out" and absorbed to feed the awakening of the Aspect.
So nothing amiss! ;-)
Bocklin
Hmmm... this gives me a problem, as in my campaign Theldrick has been captured, and handed over to the St Cuthberts, and to cut a long story short is about to escape, having killed Smenk in the process. His plan is to run off to the Free City, putting the whole cult thing aside (and meet up with his old buddy there).
As I understand it, the way the module is set up currently, my Thedrick's plan is doomed, because the rise of the Ebon Aspect is pretty much assured, which means Thedrick dies regardless. Sounds kinda like a raw deal to me, and as DM I was actually planning to have Thedrick return in the Champion's Belt now (leading those two dwarfs). So I'm thinking I'll change it and allow the Aspect to rise yet not kill off the cultists in the process...?
But I've not got my adventures handy. Anyone care to share an opinion on my idea?
The whole "All three cult leaders die if they've been defeated" idea seems stupid, anyway. The Faceless One is the true leader, anyway, just have the Aspect start to rise once the FO's work is stopped (assuming he's the last of the three to go). Do what you want to with Theldrick.
...as DM I was actually planning to have Thedrick return in the Champion's Belt .... But I've not got my adventures handy. Anyone care to share an opinion on my idea?
DM initiative and creativity is always good. I don't see any reason to stay locked-in to the plot device that kills off the cult leaders.
The whole "All three cult leaders die if they've been defeated" idea seems stupid, anyway...
To each their own. I actually like the gimmick.
Jack
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Rather than having the three leaders of the Ebon Triad die to meet a plot device, you can use the souls of those that fell to the PCs to move the plot. As the PC's return to the lift in the Black Cathedral they see the ghostly forms of those they killed entering the bubbling, black pool. I'd take the Aspect to a creepier degree and have the face of the Aspect constantly shifting to the faces of those slain by the PCs. That ought to get the mood set appropriately. If the PCs have "scampered off", the DM can relate this as a "the camera pans" moment before returning the "camera" to the unknowing PCs.
Thanks folks. I like the suggestion about the essence of the cultists going into the pool, too, I'll use it if the opportunity presents itself.
I'm definitely going to have Theldrick return in the Arena, leading those two Dwarfs (I need to scale it up a bit, so two dwarf fighters and a cleric should be a good hard fight).
If he survives that, I can bring him back once again in the Prince of Redhand too, as a guest at the dinner... I love recurring themes, especially ones where the "villian" is defeated but not killed, learns something from it and doesn't just turn up again trying to get revenge (that can get tiresome, and can make players want to butcher their enemies just so they don't return and stab them in the back some other day).
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My question, which is so incredibly unlikely to come up i'm not sure why I thought of it in the first place, is:
What happens if someone tries to revive the cult leaders???
They would probably refuse to be revived, on account of the fact that their deaths were all part of the plan (Theldrick might allow it, but the others not so much)but if they were somehow revived, what would happen? Some possibilities I thought of:
#1: the Ebon Aspect dies, but 1d4 hours later all revived cult leaders die again, and a new one comes out of the pool.
#2: the ebon aspect stays alive, but the cult leaders still "re-die" and a new one comes forth.