Not sure my group will run through this whole dungeon in one hit (they might not survive if they do). I figure the dopplegangers will do something if my group takes a break halfway through exploring the doppleganger lair. Anyone got any suggestions?
My initial idea is simply to "replace" the (dead) mimics with a trio of advanced (6 HD) Phantom Fungus, and leave the rest of it as is, assuming limited ability to re-stock and not wanting to push any more troops up to the 1st level.
I am getting rid of the bottom floor of Sodden hold and moving, Telakin and a couple other encounters up to the first... I think this was a little to much of a dungeon crawl feel and I didn't think that fit the city setting.
I am also going to wait till after the PC's rest to send the Drow in to attempt to assasinate the PC's. I really didn't like how after the adventure the Drow just pop in, seems to convenient and I would guess that PC's wouldnt know what to make of it. On the other hand if you send them in a day later, its obvious, people are still trying to kill them! This will help motivate them to investigate and hopefully eventually find Zyrog (still trying to find better clues to litter around to help them.)
|
There was a similarly themed thread earlier...
Look here
http://paizo.com/dungeon/messageboards/ageOfWorms/archives/hOHRIHateItWhenT hePartyStopsToRestSpoilers
Of course, in classic fashion the party zigged when I thought they'd zag. They pushed on and beat the snot out of Telakin before resting. But there were a few good suggestions in the thread.
There was a similarly themed thread earlier...
Thanks, missed that one.
Update: my guys decided to plough on, right through to the mirror maze before resting, in the process destroying everything except the invisible stalkers (by-passed that room entirely by "making their own door"). They then decided to hole up in the planning room, re-aranging the furnuiture etc., hoping to get a good night's rest. By this stage, every one of the dopplegangers were dead, except for the last three guards in the maze, plus of course Telakin.
So I figured those guards won't just sit in the maze forever, even though they have not heard the combats so far (and Telakin has very limited ability to work out what's going on in his lair unless someone escapes and tells him - no-one had escaped yet). After a couple of hours resting, I had a guard on general duty stumble into the PC's in the planning room - the PC's nailed him, but unfortunately (for the PC's) he got away with exactly 0 hp, and no-one wanted to go after him in the scary-looking maze of mirrors.
So the escaped guard alerts Telakin, who of course knows very little of what's really going on as all the guard knows is he opened a door and got hammered to within an inch of his life! So Telakin gets his guards to do some reconnicance, and when they come back Telakin finds he has very few resources at hand (himself + 3 guards), everyone else is dead, and he knows very little about the PC's true abilities or condition. So he has to make a really hard decision: I had him decide he won't waste his one divination spell just yet, he needs backup asap (is feeling he's a bit out of his depth). So he heals the guard on 0 hp a bit with a potion, and sends him off to contact Zyrxog (a version of the idea someone mentioned, saying he has cornerred the PC's, please come personally to enjoy taking them down).
After another couple of hours, Zyrxog has made his appearance, but Telakin been commanded to get them before they can rest up; Zyrxog decides to hold back at the secret entrance rather than rush into the doppleganger lair too hastily, so that part actually plays out as per the written adventure (makes more sense now as to why he's there). Telakin sends his two guards in the main doors of the planning room, using his divination spell to keep an eye on the room and time his own buffs and entrance through the secret door by the mirror maze. We called it a night just as the guards opened the main doors - the PC's only have a couple of spells left and not much more healing, so I think they will find it a big challenge to stay alive!
So thanks for the suggestions, hope my experience helps someone else.
Correction: I think Zyrzog will actually be lurking in the shadows (having extinguished the lights in the main corridor), with his thrall of drow, watching Telakin to see if he stuffs up. If he looks like Telakin is gong down, he'll throw a mind blast then leave the drow to "finish them".
Funny, you have given a reason for Zyrog to be there, when there really wasnt one in the adventure! I am about to do this tomorow, and I will be removing Zyrog from sodden hold, and make the drow wait a day to attack the PC's.
The drow attacking before the PC's have even left Sodden hold made absolutely no sense to me as a DM and I expect my players wouldnt know what to make of it (other than the DM must really wanna rush this!).
On the other hand if they stupidly try to sleep in a place where they were recently imprisoned (stupid stupid stupid) then Zyrog being there makes sense.
On a side note, in my last campaign the first adventure had the PC's waking up in a grave...with total amnesia. After fighting off some undead and almost dying one of the players said "I need to rest, so I will just lie down back in the grave". He wasnt kidding... stupid, stupid stupid.