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So my party stumbles into the Maze of Mirrors and triggers an ambush I laid for them with Telakin and his remaining doppleganger minions. After smoking the dopplegangers and surviving much of what Telakin had to offer in wizard-form, Telakin retreats to his sanctuary to prepare to defend it to the death. The party cinches up their belts, heals up with what divine spells they have left, and promptly looks for a place to sleep! We broke here, but I think they're going to try and use the rooms off the trapped hallway as a campsite.
UGH!
Telakin is not going to sit back for eight hours and wait for death. He's going to shift to barbarian and storm his way out of the Sodden Hold. My thought is that he would find a way to contact Zyrxog, to tell him that he'd 'captured' the targets, call in a couple of his minions that are currently 'on-assignment', and go after the party. I figure Zyrxog might send the same thralls he's supposed to appear with at the end of the Sodden Hold part of the adventure, and probably put in his own guest appearance to start the combat with a psionic blast. Without his appearance, they'll have no idea what they're up against for the second half of the adventure.
My question is this: How do dominated creatures react to such a situation as this? Would Telakin go to Zyrxog, effectively admitting his failure to beat the adventurer's as ordered? Or would it be more in-character for him to just barge into the room where they're camping and try to kill them in barbarian form? He really has no more retainers in the Sodden Hold to help him.
Classic!
This is a blunder that should come back to haunt the PC's, one way or another. You can't expect to back a monster into a corner and expect him to stay put while you take your time. Monster's adapt, they use their resources, and they call in buddies... lots of buddies!
Zyrxog, having watched the whole senario go down through his scrying pool, uses the opening left him by the PC's to regroup his forces, including the valuable Tekalin.
Xyrzog Planeshift's into Telakin's Hall (area D17) with an Octopin. Through the night the Octopin keeps tabs on the party, seeing right through the walls of the Sodden Hold thanks to it's Penetrating Sight ability. The next morning, as the PC's are preparing for the day (before they are done memorizing), the baddies strike.
A couple (or more) drow come in from the upper level to cut off the escape route and act as fodder while Telakin and Xyrzog cut them to pieces using their combined spellcasting might. Make it hard, but not too hard, and keep the octopin out of the fight, so the PC's get a rude surprise in Xyrzog's domain. Likewise, keep Xyrzog's spellcasting to a minimum. People expect Mind Blasts and mental attacks, save the Lightning Bolts for the final fight. The Drow are expendable, and ultimately, so is Telakin. When the fight turns against the monsters, Xyrzog Planeshifts away as described under area D19.
The point of the excercise is to show the PC's that the baddies are thinkers, plotters and planners as well, and a lot can be said for having the momentum, or giving it away. Instead of having Telakin cornered, get the PC's penned in and see how they react.
Anarch of Muhahahahahaha!
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I agree with the spirit of your response, Anarch, but unless I missed something in the mind flayer description (not a SRD creature, so... can't check it out AFB!) plane shift is less of a teleporting/dimentional leap ability and more of a "get out of jail free" card, a desperate move to escape certain doom.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/planeShift.htm
"Precise accuracy as to a particular arrival location on the intended plane is nigh impossible. From the Material Plane, you can reach any other plane, though you appear 5 to 500 miles (5d%) from your intended destination."
Even without plane shifting into the area, though, they could still be called upon by Telakin, and they could make their way through the sewers to Sodden Hold on foot/Octopin tentacle.
Good stuff!
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Wow. Nice catch Golbez. Given that, I wonder how the planeshift thing was ever supposed to work in the D19 encounter? Zyrxog could planeshift after hitting the party with a Mind Blast, but then how would he get back to his sanctum? He is described (from memory here) as appearing in an incorporeal form in the same room after the planeshift. If he's 5-500 miles away from his 'intended' ethereal destination, wouldn't he appear incorporeal (if he chose) somewhere else on the prime?
When he shifts back to the prime, is he planeshifting again, causing him to appear 5-500 miles from his position in the ethereal, and potentially 1,000 miles from his sanctum? Or is he simply cancelling the original planeshift, plopping him in the material where it aligns with his current ethereal position?
I probably have something wrong here, as I haven't messed with interplanar travel before.
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When he shifts back to the prime, is he planeshifting again, causing him to appear 5-500 miles from his position in the ethereal, and potentially 1,000 miles from his sanctum? Or is he simply cancelling the original planeshift, plopping him in the material where it aligns with his current ethereal position?
I believe it's the former. The more someone haphazardly plane shifts, the more likely they are to arrive at some very, very dangerous locations. To me, this accounts for the preference planar travelers have for predictable gates.
I thought something was fishy the first time I read the "phase to the ethereal" tactic in the adventure, but quickly forgot about it as I dug into the next one, having fallen behind on reading my magazines for awhile. Prob'ly something that should be addressed if/when a hardcover collection is published!
Meh, a couple scrolls of teleport and the problem is fixed, and as the PC's will never see the scrolls, no need to adjust the treasure for the adventure.
I always try to play my baddies to the level of their intelect. I rarely look at an adventure as "X monster is in Y room." If X monster has an INT score, then it acts/counteracts just as the PC's do. IMC it comes down to who is more resourceful, smarter, powerful, and well equiped (which should usually all lean in the PC's favor). I't okay for cannon fodder to be cannon fodder, but some monsters just beg to be played with a bit of pizzaz!
Anarch of thinkers