What if the PCs decide to go quickly to the Rift (eg the next day), rather than wait a while (giving the bad guys enough time to find out about it)?
Geoff.
Then the PCs get there and find the giants unhelpful. They don't trust strangers. As they are dealing with the giants via diplomacy or slaughter, the dragons attack and they find themselves in the beginning of the war instead of the middle of it.
--BS
You could allow the dragons to arrive at just about the same time as the PCs. Maybe when the information becomes available again, it's immediately "known" and the dragon army is immediately dispatched. Depending on where they're coming from, compared to the PCs, the dragons might still beat them by at least some number of hours.
It could be really cool to have the PCs arrive at the right area, and as they approach, the first dragons start flying in to do their initial strafing runs against the place. You'd get the opportunity to show some of the dragons hitting the wires and getting hit by ballista bolts, and having to pull back and figure out more intelligent tactics. Further reinforcements of dragons could arrive over the next few hours, so if the PCs get too lucky against initial dragon attacks, you'd be able to replace them as needed. You could also decide that since the dragons haven't settled in for the siege yet and are still seeing what's in the area, it's even harder for the PCs to sneak past some of them to get into the city in the first place.
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If the PC's show up before the dragons, they should enter in the middle of the Giant civil war. It would be neat to have the PC's ambushed by a "few" dozen giants, only to have the dragons come in when things are looking really bleak. Knowing my players, they would assume the dragons are allied with the giants. I can just imagine the look on their faces when I tell them 30 dragons are approaching while they're fighting a bunch of giants. A last-minute alliance between the giants and the players could make things very interesting.
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If the PC's show up before the dragons, they should enter in the middle of the Giant civil war. It would be neat to have the PC's ambushed by a "few" dozen giants, only to have the dragons come in when things are looking really bleak. Knowing my players, they would assume the dragons are allied with the giants. I can just imagine the look on their faces when I tell them 30 dragons are approaching while they're fighting a bunch of giants. A last-minute alliance between the giants and the players could make things very interesting.
you hit the nail on the head with this one. that would be how i'd also handle it as well as it has a very cinematic/comic book feel to it ("this looks like the end. it can't possibly get any worse than this." another character looks to the skies just in time to catch the first wing of dragons coming in. "it can and it did. look!")
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That'd take too much tweaking of the adventure setting for my liking (state of various structures, locations of different giant factions, etc.). Still, those are some fine ideas and would make for exciting scenes.
From the way it's been described in the adventures and in James' posts at these forums, seems like the Wormcrawl Fissure and the giant fortress are fairly close to one another, about 100 miles or so. Unless the PCs do some ultra-fast researching and use teleportation (which aren't together all that unlikely, really) the dragons can fly there quickly and begin the siege.
Alternately, you can have them remain "groggy" after experiencing the visions of the past at the end of 'Library of Last Resort,' especially if they're "killed" in the conflict, which would also give the dragons time to act before them.
Of course the Fabler was all my idea...
So, in relation to the places referenced on the 4-part Greyhawk map from last year's Dungeon, where, roughly along the rift are Kongen-Thulnir and the Wormcrawl Fissure. I presume the latter is fairly close to White Plume mountain, on the south side of the Rift?
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I have the opposite situation on my hands. The party Wizard wants to TP back to Greyhawk and spend like, 40 DAYS, creating stuff. How should I prompt them not to spend so much time? I reminded them that the released alot of lost lore, and reminded them that Lashonna told them they "might not be the only ones looking for the Phylactery" and my other comment was "I thought you were trying to avert the Age of Worms, not taking Spring Break". I really think that he doesn't feel a sense of urgency.
I have the opposite situation on my hands. The party Wizard wants to TP back to Greyhawk and spend like, 40 DAYS, creating stuff. How should I prompt them not to spend so much time? I reminded them that the released alot of lost lore, and reminded them that Lashonna told them they "might not be the only ones looking for the Phylactery" and my other comment was "I thought you were trying to avert the Age of Worms, not taking Spring Break". I really think that he doesn't feel a sense of urgency.
After you think a reasonable amount of down-time has occurred have the party hear rumors of masses of evil dragons attacking in the rift. That many dragons won't go unnoticed. If that doesn't get them in gear, then you can start deciding the reprecussions.
I don't blame the wizard for wanting to have some down time and make some items before taking on Dragotha. There are limits, but keep in mind that making stuff is one of the incentives to choose wizard over sorcerer, warmage, warlock, etc., and depending on what other allowances you've made for him in this not so wizard-friendly campaign (treasure-wise--see my earlier thread), the wizard may need this time to get properly battle ready.
Of course you could provide a compromise solution by having the Free City's high-level magic shops provide a hefty 30-40% heroes discount for the folks who saved the city from the Apostle of Kyuss. If this doesn't decide the wizard, then throw in the abovementioned rumors of rampaging dragons, or better yet send an agent of Dragotha to recapture the phylactery or exact revenge for its destruction. That should add urgency and make the mission personal.
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He wants to design a new spell, have his headband of intellect magicked up, find an Orange Ioun Stone, increase a fighters sword to +4, etc...the heck with that...they are supposed to be "heros" trying to avert an apocylyptic event...we're not taking a month to do stuff like that...If he insists upon it, then they will find that Dragotha found the phylactery, and it will get that much harder. And being the RB that I am, will make sure he dies at least once..
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6
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He wants to design a new spell, have his headband of intellect magicked up, find an Orange Ioun Stone, increase a fighters sword to +4, etc...the heck with that...they are supposed to be "heros" trying to avert an apocylyptic event...we're not taking a month to do stuff like that...If he insists upon it, then they will find that Dragotha found the phylactery, and it will get that much harder. And being the RB that I am, will make sure he dies at least once..
As a balancing factor, keep in mind that the latest Wormfood article encourages PCs to spend some down time crafting - and the items in question take some serious time. This crafting is likely meant to take place between Kings of the Rift and Wormcrawl Fissure, but keep in mind that the series designers wants the PCs to be able to craft.
Russ
I like the idea of rumors surfacing about the dragons hammering the city and I agree, if that doesn't light a fire under them then that's their problem. Lashonna warned them that others were looking for it and it was alluded to that once that knowledge returned to the world, Dragotha would be able to home in on it so they've been given ample evidence that time is a concern.
To really salt the wound, you could have the PCs FINALLY arrive at the Rift Canyon in time to see Brazzemal(sp?) and friends winging off to the Wormcrawl Fissure with the phylactery. Heck, don't even let them know for sure that they've captured it - let the PCs deal with the remaining giants and the enraged keepers at the citadel first only to find out that they're too late.
In response to the initial post, the PCs will still have to do some research to find out precisely where the ruins are. In addition, Teleporting to a location you've never seen before can be dicey.
If all else fails, IIRC Dragotha learns more or less instantly where the phylactery is once the PCs complete "Library of Last Resort" and unleash that knowledge upon the world. A flight of dragons should be able to get there in plenty of time to trash the place before the PCs can learn its exact location.
The module left vague exactly how long it would take for the knowledge to find its way into Dragotha's hands--it's just fairly soon (i.e. when the DM wants it to happen).
As for teleportation, the PCs could easily teleport to Magepoint, then use Tenser's paintings to teleport to the Kongen-Thulnir, if one is using this device. (I'm not sure yet that I will--it's a bit too much deus ex machina for my tastes.) Alternatively, they might be able to teleport to Alhaster and procure "overland flight" scrolls to move fairly quickly to the area. In any event, it's entirely reasonable for the party to take at least a few days off in the Free City, Magepoint, or Alhaster to stock up and recuperate after their harrowing adventure on Tilagos.