Well, not quite yet. After they cleared almost the entire Malachite Fortress, my weakened PCs headed for Kazmojens chamber. They managed to interrogate with him and buy Terrem (although he knew what they had done - I was generous with that). Then they demanded the other kids and kept on insulting Kazmojen. Eventually, he had enough and attacked. He brought everyone below -5 quickly which makes this a TPK.
I really don't want to restart with new characters and I dislike the "other party comes and helps last one"-twist. I figured maybe some of the PCs might stabilize while others could be healed by Kazmojen. Afterwards, he would sell them to Pyllrak or another slaver from the underdark.
But what could happen then?
How shall I procede, shall they be brought to the cells and given the chance to free themselves? Or should they have to free themselves from some Underdark mines?
Eventually, how can I bring up the situation with the big round guy (you know, Mr. V) ???
Arr, I wish I had fudged a few rolls for them. This sucks.
Maybe have Vhalantru show up and buy the Shackleborn boy back from the slaver, who also happens to have the PCs in shackles. Let the PCs make a diplomacy roll to see if they can convince Vhalantru to buy their freedom as well. The slaver might not want powerful adventuring types as slaves, since they tend to cause problems for his customers, so he might be willing to haggle.
Having the PCs endebted to Vhalantru might make the future adventures very interesting, to say the least.
I feel your pain!
Tonight, My party fought the Mass of Chains - the two strongest party members grappled it (which didn't really damage it) and then the rogue glued the grappling bunch to the floor with a Tanglefoot Bag.
Yep! Glued the partys über-melee-guy to the floor...
I just couldn't let such a chance go, so at that point, I introduced Kazmojen and the howler (it wasn't that farfetched that hobgoblins from the next room would have alerted him after hearing that someone were rattling the mass of chains).
I hoped that this would make Kazmojen last a bit longer and that the fight would be one of those to remember.
But the dwarven barbarian struggled to get free, and Kazmojen drove the PC into negative hp territory. The howler did the same to the halfling cleric.
The remaining PC's dragged the dying halfling cleric along and fleed the scene. Which leaves the party barbarian in the hands of Kazmojen.
I'm not sure what to do. I might pare down Alek Tercival a bit and let the barbarian's player "play Alek" during the rescue mission (in order to put some muscle in front of the group and to build some bonds between the group, the church and Alek).
Your situation? I would say that Pyllrak doesn't like fighting, so he'll leave Kazmojen "until he gets everything under control again".
Pyllrak will return some days later - when the group is somewhat rested. Chain the group together with the children, redo the auction and let the round guy destroy the chain (and perhaps a few hobgoblins) i order to get Terrem.
That'll free the PC's and perhaps put a few weapons in their hands. Then let them fight Kazmojen to regain their freedom.
/ Henning
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16
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If you are kind, have the Striders rescue them. If you want to be unkind, have the Stormblades complete the dungeon. Kill Kazmojen, free the orphans, townsfolk and party and let the party watch as the Stormblades receive all the accolades, treasure and reward from the church.
Oh I love the Stormblades angle....If my PCs get into that kind of trouble I will be stealing this idea.
Remember that any escape attempt will be difficult, especially if the PCs are placed in the cells guarded by the automatons. Their gear would be picked through, with the juicy parts taken by Kazmojen and placed in his hidey-hole.
I really like the Stormblades angle. I wish I had thought of that one myself! =)
Thanks very much for the helpful replies!
However, I'm still not sure what to do. I also think making the Stormblades the big saviors of the day would be neat but my players would hate it and I dont want to let them feel even more miserable than they feel now. What I'm trying to accomplish:
- PCs should kill Kazmojen by themselves (maybe they should level up a bit before that, though, theyre at lvl 2-3 now), their big egos need that
- Valanthrus appearance: When, how, why this late? Having Valanthru save them is a nice suggestion f2k, but I'm not sure weather it will work (my PCs hate evil creatures and seldom use diplomacy when dealing with them)
What would Kazmojen do with Terrem? He actually already sold the boy to the players before they started the fight with him. He would probably capture the PCs and sell Terrem to Pyllrak again, having Valanthru appear immediately. Of course, none of the PCs would see big V. as they're all down to -5 and below.
More information on my situation:
- all hobgoblins but one are dead! The other creatures in the fortress are still alive (mimic...)
- The striders have already been captured by Jazmojen, they're in the cells. Theres also one player character there, who was captured during a more recent delve.
I dont think delaying the whole bazaar scene would be good cause the PCs got the certain impression that the kids have been sold to Pyllrak and he'll be heading away soon. Maybe I should try to have them break free and chase Pyllrak into the depths of the underdark...?
I still dont really know how to do it without railroading them to their success. Thanks for any more suggestions!
They're rested up and sold to Pyrakk. Pyrakk puts them in magical chains with some guards. V shows up, antimagic eye frees them from the chains, overpower guards to get weapons.
The head of the Striders shows up to free the others and frees the PCs as well.
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Since the PC's are unconscious and will miss Orbius there is the possibility that Orbius and the slaver could come to a violent disagreement and when the PC's eventually come to and find that the cage they were thrown in has disintegration damage from a stray eye ray (making escape possible) and Kazmogen is dead.
The three remaining orphans could relay the story of what happened and who took Terrem. I would then NOT return Terrem to the orphanage and instead leave the PCs with the impression that thier narrow escape came with a terrible price.
Don't forget to use the two Striders, Fario and Fellian. In our campaign, they had shadowed the party into the Malachite Hold, and stepped up to assist when things got a little rough. They weren't spoilers at all, but they did help with a few quick arrows and healing spells, enough to get the party back on their feet. They could easily arrive to help break the party out of the cells (after they've been left to stew in their failure for a bit...) and then fall back into a supporting role once they party recovers a bit.
With the cells right there and slaves already being part of the story, I would use that as part of the natural progression of the adventure. The party could wait for several weeks even before a buyer shows up, so there shouldn't be a timetable for escape. Throwing low level characters into Underdark mines could be rough, and it could get away from the Cauldron-centric campaign that follows...
Throwing low level characters into Underdark mines could be rough, and it could get away from the Cauldron-centric campaign that follows...
I think you're right. The underdark would throw them off the track of the campaign.
My current plan to solve the problem is based on the suggestions in this thread. The following is an attempt to give the PCs a climatic ending:
They are thrown in the cells. After a short time, the striders free them and tell them that Pyllrak bought the children from Kazmojen but that he is currently still in the Malachite Fortress. He has Yuathyb as a guard, who has the skeleton keys (I forgot those before, they are so well hidden in the text). The PCs fight both and save the children, but Terrem is missing. They can't find him in any of the cells so they head for Kazmojens chamber once again. Kazmojen is guarding Terrem personally by orders of V, until V appears to take the boy away. This way the PCs have a climatic fight with Kazmojen, after which V appears, just as it is supposed to happen in the adventure. This hints at the PCs that Terrem is somewhat important, even more so. If they don't manage to kill Kazmojen again (and another TPK is in the air), V appears during the fight and petrifies Kazmojen to punish him for his failure of kidnapping Terrem. Also, V won't say anything about where he will bring Terrem as I think it's much more surprising if the PCs find it out for themselves.
What do you think? THANKS EVERYONE!
I have think you'll have another TPK. Pyrrak is supposed to flee, he's too powerful for the characters currently. I suppose you could keep the Striders with the party to even things out.
I still dont really know how to do it without railroading them to their success. Thanks for any more suggestions!
Here's my suggestion: After the party's defeated, Pyllrak declines to take the children because he's a coward at heart. Now that "the jig is up," Pyllrak will look elsewhere for his merchandise. It's rough enough in the underdark without a group of adventurers (or a whole town) from the surface after your hide, too. Maybe the party doesn't scare him, but the others that might follow do.
Having Pyllrak back out of the deal does a number of things. Most importantly, it keeps the children in the Malachite Fortress, giving the group time to recover from their wounds and rescue the kids. Kazmojen now has to find new buyers for not only the children, but the other slaves, too, of whom Pyllrak was a main buyer. This leaves their recovery and the rescue of the kids a little more open-ended timeframe.
It also gives Kazmojen a reason to revive the party and keep them around: "You have cost me gold and a valuable customer. But you'll pay for yourselves when I find new buyers and sell you." He's ticked off and the PCs will bear the brunt of his anger. With Kazmojen telling the party this information, they know the kids are still around and their actions, while otherwise a complete loss, have actually resulted in a minor victory.
From there, the possibilities are endless. Maybe they overcome the guards. Maybe you add a secret door and passage out of their cell that no one ever discovered. (To make them even more uncomfortable, their erstwhile captor has shoved them all in the same, cramped cell. "That'll teach 'em!" -- nobody ever accused ol' Kaz of being brilliant.) Roll a die and raise your eyebrows, "Hmmm...that's lucky."
Maybe it's a set of thieves' tools in the rogue's cell that the previous occupant never got to use. Maybe the tools are in another cell and the party needs to find a way to get the tools to the rogue.
Once free they can find healing, their equipment, the kids, the Striders or whoever or whatever you want them to find. If the PCs don't know about them, the automatons and the mimic don't need to be where they're supposed to be. Or even in the mod, if you feel they'd pose too much of a threat to the weakened party. Remember: The players don't know what's in the adventure, so changing things they haven't encountered is OK. It's more than OK if it leads to a better game for you and your players.
There is only one hobgoblin left, so the PCs aren't in grave danger of an alarm being raised (unless you want to add the drama of a chase out of the Malachite Fortress...). And that hobgoblin can be whereever the PCs aren't. If they're escaping, he's guarding Kazmojen; if they're going after Kazmojen, he's guarding the lift.
The two things that are key are that the children can still be saved and that the party can recover to a point where they can effect an escape or go after Kaz.
The one thing I'd caution against is making it seem too contrived or too easy. Make it seem like a daunting task to escape their cells and regain their equipment, all the while plotting that very thing.
As for the "too easy" part, there are few things that spoil my playing fun more that realizing that no matter what I do, the DM will allow me to succeed. If the PCs are low on hit points and/or under equipped, the fight with Kazmojen will probably not go any better than the first time.
The one thing I don't have advice for is managing your players' egos. If the characters really need to flee and come back later but the players are unwilling to do that, your whole campaign could be a constant effort on your part to assuage their egos by changing the adventures so they always "win." Ugh.
Good luck and let us know how it turns out!
From there, the possibilities are endless. Maybe they overcome the guards. Maybe you add a secret door and passage out of their cell that no one ever discovered. (To make them even more uncomfortable, their erstwhile captor has shoved them all in the same, cramped cell. "That'll teach 'em!" -- nobody ever accused ol' Kaz of being brilliant.) Roll a die and raise your eyebrows, "Hmmm...that's lucky."Once free they can find healing,...
So we continued last week and that's basically what I did, thanks for the very helpful advice, everyone, especially Jeffrey! Kazmojen threw them all in the cells, leaving them together. After staying there for a few days, they tried to escape. By talking a hobgoblin guard into coming to their cells and somehow beating him down they managed to break out. They freed all the other prisoners and encountered the automatons. After a short (unarmed) battle, a few of them were down again, the rest fled and by good thinking managed to lure the automatons into the cell blocks and close the heavy stone doors behind them. (they should be getting full xp for them now, right?).
The group found Kamozjens treasure chamber and looted it after defeating the mimic. They quickly escaped to the surface again and regained their strength. After everyone had leveled up to at least 3rd level they went back and killed Kazmojen in three rounds almost without taking any damage. The main reason for this is that three new players entered the group and all three took battle-strong classes. Poor Kaz just couldn't hit them anymore and didn't have a chance, poor boy...