Should Kaurophon be using his full assortment of spells to aid the party in all of their combats? I assumed so and had him cast cone of cold in the fight with the succubus and noble salamander and he insta-killed the salamander.
Now I'm wondering how to put the "genie back in the bottle" as it were.
Should Kaurophon be using his full assortment of spells to aid the party in all of their combats? I assumed so and had him cast cone of cold in the fight with the succubus and noble salamander and he insta-killed the salamander.
Now I'm wondering how to put the "genie back in the bottle" as it were.
I suggest that you re-read the adventure thoroughly and consider what Kaurophon's ultimate motive is: to have the party get him to the Final Test so that he can pass it and rule Occipitus.
The adventure describes that Kaurophon will only aid the group as necessary to keep them alive until the Final Test, when he will turn on the group with his full fury and resources (except for one Cone of Cold spell...); you should've kept his abilities, class and level as secret as possible until the final encounter - in effect, you've given away to the party what their climactic fight will be...now, they will be able to plan for it.
There is no "putting the Genie back in the bottle" now, but you could perhaps have Kaurophon defer from any future combats, having him explain that "I've already used by 'big spell', you're all on your own now - the rest of my spells are buffs and I'm saving them for an emergency."
Of course, lying about that at the end of the adventure will make the betrayal that more clear, even though his spall casting abilities have already been demonstrated.
Good luck,
M
Yeah, I guess I read it a few weeks before I ran it and thought I remebered it correctly.
I think I'll have him say that he had a magic item that let's him cast cone of cold once a week or something like that. Up until then he used magic missile and a few buffs exclusively so that should work.
I wouldnt change my story now. Kaupharon has to help the party to build his credibility and earn the parties trust. That's what makes his betrayal at the end dramatic, just tone his involvement down. The exception to this may be following the conversation with the fallen angel (name escapes me). Once Kaupharon is into the home stretch he is going to keep enough of the party together to insure he reaches the final test. Letting one or two members he may deem expendable die along the way will only make his final betrayal easier.
Kaupharon aided my party only in time of dire need. During the battle with the Rakshasa and Fire giant he buffed several PC's, but allowed one party member to die outright and another to fall below zero with out stepping in to aid them. None in the party noticed this however, and his betrayal at the end was a surprise to most.
Yeah, I guess I read it a few weeks before I ran it and thought I remebered it correctly.
I think I'll have him say that he had a magic item that let's him cast cone of cold once a week or something like that. Up until then he used magic missile and a few buffs exclusively so that should work.
I thought of that, but selling the "magic item" ploy would require getting past a Spellcraft and Sense Motive check or two from your spell casters to fly...
I ran Kaurophon as a "mid-level priest" until the moment of betrayal, but my group of players are all jaded veterans, so they had one eye on him anyways (no pun). Their party was also Evil and not very trusting of each other, not to mention Kaurophon, so they were almost ready for him...
...then again, half the party tried to pass the Test, so it turned into a great free-for-all, with about 2/3 of the group turning on each other and the rest retreating to the sidelines:
M
The party instantly distrusted K after the paladin detected him as evil. They just didn't buy the "it's just my fiendish blood that makes me detect as evil" bit at all. Even with him being more helpful then he should've been they still are ready to attack him at the blink of an eye.
As for the magic item bit, I doubt they'll push the issue until after the final fight when they can't find the "item". :)