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The PCs in my campaign are currently in the Lizardfolk lair deep in the Mistmarsh, nearing the end of the 'Encounter at Blackwall Keep' adventure. I've modified the lair quite extensively to make use of some custom terrain, but kept most of the encounters as written, and I expect the PCs to battle Shukak and find the egg chamber in the next session.
I really like the way those scenes are set to play out, but I'm strongly tempted to include a cameo appearance of or close-call encounter with Ilthane herself at the end, as a way of helping to set up her return later in the adventure path and give it a more personal kick when they actually do fight her. The problem is, I'm having trouble deciding how best to approach this.
Some ideas I'm kicking around:
1) Including a young or very young black dragon, or both, in the adventure for the PCs to fight and kill. By fighting and slaying these children of Ilthane, they create a personal vendetta and relationship with the dragon, so that she can be out hunting for them during the intervening adventures while they're off in Greyhawk. When they come face to face with her, the dramatic payoff should be remarkable. It makes her actions against Allustan a direct consequence of the PCs prior decisions, and make them somewhat responsible for what she does to him and the town.
2) Have Ilthane herself show up after the final battle, just as the PCs are breathing a sigh of relief and getting ready to leave. I'd have to do this carefully, though...I don't want the PCs to be killed by this close encounter, but rather scared out of their wits. The goal is for Ilthane to see them, and them to see her, to establish a connection and recognition factor, right before the PCs escape down a tunnel too small for her to follow.
3) If I go through with #2, I think Ilthane's next move will be to assault Blackwall Keep. When the PCs finally get there, they'll find the tower half demolished, with the stonework pitted and scarred by Ilthane's acid breath and claws. This may actually be the trigger event for the Spawn of Kyuss encounter...in a state of desperation and dragon-inspired panic, one of the soldiers opens the sealed chamber looking for a place to hide, and unleashes the spawn.
4) Killing Marzena. This is not really related to the dragon part of the encounter--unless the dragon(s) are what slay her. My thinking is that the immediate payoff of the adventure as far as plot advancement is not really rich enough to make the PCs feel like it was all worth their effort; basically, all Marzena has to tell them is what they already know, which amounts to "Hey, look...more icky green worms, and they're bad for you!" So...what if she may have known a good bit more, but never got to tell them? In my campaign, Shukak is holding her hostage and planning to give her as an offering to Ilthane...so when the PCs arrive (unless they pull of some great stealth maneuvers), Shukak could use her as a living shield while he stalls, waiting for the arrival of Ilthane (or one of her children). In that case, it's very likely that he can coup-de-grace Marzena during the encounter. Alternately, Ilthane herself might be the one to consume Marzena, either literally or with acid breath, right before the PCs' eyes.
I don't want the players to feel powerless in either situation, but if possible I do want Marzena to breathe her last before she can explain to the PCs that she has nothing new to tell them. I'd prefer that they come away with a sense of urgency and "oh, crap...now what do we do?", because I think this will make their trip to Eligos a much more logical next step. I may even try to give Marzena some dying words in which she tells the PCs that this situation is bigger than any of them, and urges them to ask Allustan to swallow his pride and look for support from 'old friends'...thus setting up the next stage of the adventure path.
I want to accomplish some of these scenes, but preferably without it coming off as contrived or robbing the PCs of their ability to affect the outcome. Any thoughts, advice, or ideas? I'm open to suggestions. :)
A non-related comment...
Your players must drool when you give them hand-outs.
Ultradan
Ha! It's funny because I'm in almost the same spot you are Christopher. They're about to enter the lair in, oh, six hours. I think that the lair is going to go pretty quickly so I'm anticipating that they'll face Shukak tonight. I'm also anticipating that I'm over-anticipating how quickly they'll go. ;)
Anyway about your suggestions:
1)I like the personal feel that killing some of Ilthane's brood has. And I love the kind of twists that make the PC's feel that events are being affected by their actions. Making the destruction of Diamond Lake more personal is great. Do you think that there would be too many of Ilthane's kiddies around given their appearance later in the path as well? Anyway, I'd replace some/most of the draconic kobolds with a young'un dragon. I don't think that the kobolds are really going to provide a CR 8 anyway and the addition of an actual dragon's breath attack could help endanger the big egg and the lizardfolk eggs as well (therefore adding urgency to the killing).
2)I wouldn't have Ilthane show up. I would rather have the unknown provide the fear than tip my hand as to exactly what they might have to face. Fear caused by doubt is so much harder to dispel than fear caused by the known.
3)Again, I wouldn't want to upstage Ilthane's attack on Diamond Lake. Great idea for the spawn release, but not quite worth it I think.
4)I hear you! IMC I felt like I kind of railroaded the PC's into chasing after Marzena. I don't know if it makes it better or worse to kill her off without giving them much info. Perhaps Marzena's final words can be something like "No! I must tell Eligos. I can't die..." cough cough, slump. Eligos of course will mean nothing to the PC's but ideally they'll be smart enough to tell Allustan who can pale at the mention of his old buddy and direct them to the Free City. This way it's not Allustan once again pushing the plot forward. Yes. I think you're right. Marzena must die...
Thanks for the ideas! Good luck.
EDIT: Ultradan you made me laugh out loud. You're right of course!
I'd also suggest you run with idea #1, which is pretty much what I did in my game too, except I had a medium-sized black dragon (a stray offspring) encountered as a "random encounter" just before the PC's got to the lizardfolk lair.
It was hiding in a marshy piece of land, mainly under the water, so the PC's had difficulty getting to it through the difficult terrain. It ended up being a good encounter - the PC's felt the power of a dragon that was only the size of a small pony (it was a tough fight), and also the dread later on when they discovered that it's mother's lair was in the lizardfolk's place... That certainly set up the later adventure, where mum comes looking for revenge, really well.
Although, like a lot of plot threads in the Age of Worms, can take a long time before event A leads to response B. So it will be a long time again until the PC's see another set of the black dragons' offspring - recurring themes are good, as long as there's a gap between. My PC's certainly prepared well when they knew they were up against a dragon, whereas begin ambushed by even a little one was difficult for them.
I just finished running this module, and I would suggest getting rid of the draconic kobolds guarding the egg chamber and replacing it with a slightly toughened-up young black dragon. The draconic kobolds were largely pointless and the PCs dispatched them in two rounds without taking any damage or even realizing what their purpose was as "guardians". Perhaps have this young black dragon could be one of Ilthane's children who has been coerced by its mother to guard the egg, and it could even drop its mother's name during the fight, to give the PCs a further clue.
Ok then. We had good times last night at the Twisted Branch lair.
3 out of 4 PCs failed their will saves against the harpies. The remaining cleric used sound burst to try to disrupt the song (unsuccessfully) which called the lizardfolk from the next room. Three captivated PCs, one cleric, one harpy left, and five lizardfolk. Ha ha ha. I had fun. They survived just fine.
In fact they went on a killing spree. I had lizardfolk drop their weapons and flee the scene screaming when the green worms came bursting out of the corpse. The PCs ran after them slaughtering as they went. The wizard was even firing bolts into one lizardfolk that was cowering in the corner hiding it's head in it's hands. Sheesh.
Anyway, they made it to Shukak's little area. I had the lieutenant in there as well. I took over the rules for a bit of a cinematic moment during the "surprise" round. I carefully describe Marzena's broken fingers, broken jaw, and harsh sobbing. As soon as she saw other humans she screamed, "Save me!" and ran across the room towards them. She got ten feet and Shukak threw his trident at her (well, almost through her). As she stared at the trident tips poking out of her chest, she said, "No! I can't die! I must tell Eligos..." and then she collapsed on the floor. Very cinematic as I said, not so much with the actual "rules".
The players got all worked up over the horrible torture and the death of Marzena, and they rushed into battle. We're still in the middle of that and it's touch and go. Kotabas went down after a two rounds (hasted barbarians with a full attack action are not to be underestimated). But Shukak has been holding his own nicely.
Anyway, sorry for the recap which should belong in a campaign journal or something. But the Marzena ploy worked so far (I have no idea if they picked up on the name Eligos though - it's hard to tell sometimes).
I'm still waffling about the small dragon. The PCs are not going to want to go rescue any eggs until they rest and they'll have plenty of time to talk to Hishka and learn all about a dragon guarding the eggs which won't be that interesting then. Any more thoughts?
The kobolds need to go. Why on earth would a whole tribe of lizardfolk be afraid to move against eight kodbolds? Yeah, fear of Ilthane and all that, but really, once your PCS fight them, they're gonna have a good laugh at how silly the little guys are as a threat... I'd go with a Black Juvenile or Young. The whole birthing chamber setup is pretty creepy...except for the kobolds. Besides, there's way too much opportunity for crafty PCS to capture one of them and force it to spill the beans on its progenitor and her plans.
Besides, this is dungeons and 'dragons'. It seems kind of a letdown to force the PCS to wait until 11th level before fighting one..
So how do you get the PCs down there without a full run-down from Hishka? "It's black and squirts acid and there's a spot on it's belly that's missing a scale if you can shoot your arrow in there."
Perhaps the kobolds were down there and they were killed by the some disgruntled lizardfolk. So Ilthane brought in something with a little more kick to "defend" the eggs from the "usurpers". Now Shukak hasn't let the tribe down to check their own eggs which is why more of them are happy to have him die and support Hishka for a change of leadership. So no one knows what Ilthane has down there? I don't want to totally ambush the party, but it would be nice not to have them all buffed up, rested and ready to go against one dragon. I guess.
So how do you get the PCs down there without a full run-down from Hishka? "It's black and squirts acid and there's a spot on it's belly that's missing a scale if you can shoot your arrow in there."
Railroad them til they think its a videogame!!! (just kidding)
Perhaps the kobolds were down there and they were killed by the some disgruntled lizardfolk. So Ilthane brought in something with a little more kick to "defend" the eggs from the "usurpers". Now Shukak hasn't let the tribe down to check their own eggs which is why more of them are happy to have him die and support Hishka for a change of leadership. So no one knows what Ilthane has down there? I don't want to totally ambush the party, but it would be nice not to have them all buffed up, rested and ready to go against one dragon. I guess.
In mine, Hiska gave enough innuendos to arouse their curiousity. Once Shulak was dead, Hiska could speak easily about the Ilthane, telling them that the dragon was responsible indirectly for the newest xenophobic tribal policies. Hiska explained that after the fight against the PCs, the lizardfolk don't have the man-power anymore to muscle out her minions, creating a slight moral obligation for the PCs to check out the chamber. It sounds like from their actions that your PCs aren't under such morals, so I'd maybe make a promise of Ilthane's forgotten treasures (heheheh) for clearing out her remaining minions. I agree, its kind of hard to get them to care about the eggchamber without railroading them...Godd luck.
In my campaign (if I may), Shukak was a draconic lizardfolk bred by Illthane herself. In fact, Illthane is the master of an entire tribe of draconic lizardfolk, and Shukak was just one of them (along with his Kotabas, another black), the first of those black lizardfolk to cow another tribe of base lizardfolk. With Shukak's death, Illthane's hold on the Twisted Branch is broken, so she'll kidnap Allustan, forcing the PCs to trek back into the Lizardmarsh, discover the destroyed Twisted Branch lair, seek out Illthane's lair, save Allustan, and destroy the dragon. Illthane's lair (Khisanth's Xak Tsaroth lair from the DL module Dragons of Despair) is tended by a tribe of draconic lizardfolk and their draconic kobold slaves.
I'd like the lair trek to take the place of the return to the Whispering Cairn. If I think PCs need the contents of Icosiol's tomb, I'll explain that Allustan, in his wizardly prowess, claimed those items in his last foray there.
I'm thinking about changing tactics slightly. Rather than draconic kobolds or a young dragon, I think that I may have Ilthane post another of her wacky creations down there. She clearly likes to tinker with nature and magic so it seems plausible that she took another marsh denizen and made it black dragon-like: an acid hydra. I think that a 7-headed black acid hydra (same as a pyro or cryo version)will provide a fun challenge.
To make this work I'll probably increase the space down there just a little bit including the entrance and exit tunnels. The entrance will be 15 feet wide (allowing the hydra to chase for a short distance underwater). The exit will be 30 feet wide (a red herring for Ilthane's size and power).
Any suggestions/improvements? This'll happen tonight...
Interesting idea, just be aware of the potential for the Hydra to run all over and squish the eggs, which is not something Illthane would want. As long as you're happy you've got that covered, I think it's an interesting idea, and certainly likely to provide more challange than the kobolds (I gave tham all 2 extra levels, and they were still no real threat to my PC's, oh well, they were still fun especially when the last one tried to break the black dragon egg and failed because it didn't get through the hardness with its teeth).
My party ran through the LIzard Lair a couple of weeks ago. They decided to deliberately avoid the egg chamber. Once they heard "black dragon mother" and "egg chamber", they said they weren't going to raise the ire of such a creature and left. (I know, I couldn't believe it either.)
On the way back out of the swamp, they had the random encounter with the black dragon. They almost managed to kill it, but it escaped before they could finish it off. The party assumed that Ilthane herself had attacked them and they had soundly defeated her. So, if she were going to attack them anyway, they might as well go back and take care of those eggs.
They went back and dealt with the egg chamber. (The kobolds were laughable.) The egg was not destroyed, so the cleric decided to take it and raise it as a pet. He brought it back to his temple in Daggerford (FR campaign), and put it in a room in his basement. He hired a guy to tend it and hatch it, then went off to Waterdeep...
I wonder how all that is going to work out for him...?
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My campaign has a whole Tiamat/Mershaulk/Yuan-ti connection to the age of Worms (or Serpents), so a lot of my BBEG's and cronies will be replaced by spawn of Tiamat and Yuan-ti.
I plan on replacing the kobolds with a one or two Blackspawn Raiders. They are far less pathetic, more black dragoney, and you gotta love the ninja thing. Ninjas, they're whackey!
The lizard "king" is also going to be a yuan-ti infiltrator (have not decided if it's gonna be a tainted one or a halfblood in disguise).
Well the acid hydra was a big hit. I basically took a cryo hydra and substituted acid. However I also increased the hp (not the hit die) to 91 and because I'm mean, I took out Toughness and substituted Improved Natural Armor for an AC of 18.
They were all buffed up as anticipated. The hydra made it's listen check when they surfaced from the water because they suck at being quiet. The wizard hasted everyone and then hid in the water again. The barbarian ran up to do his thing, and with no one else to attack, the hydra blasted him twice with acid and attacked with five other heads. ~50 points of damage later and the barbarian was sitting up and taking notice.
In the end the hydra got to attack a whopping three times before it finally died. At that point it had also taken 17 points of strength damage from multiple rays of enfeeblement which was fun.
The barbarian had 2 hitpoints left after he came out of rage, and the cleric was at 5. They were talking about what a great fight it was afterwards, so I count it as a success.
Because it made it's listen check I gave it the surprise round to approach. Therefore it was mostly blocking the entrance to the chamber and harming the lizardfolk eggs wasn't an issue.
Heh, I'm happy to know I'm not the only one that killed off Marzena. IMC she was already a corpse when the PCs arrived though - they took a week in the Free City before heading from Diamond Lake to Blackwall keep, and I'm allergic to cliffhangers that just wait to trigger when the PCs enter the scene. I gave the Eligos connection through letter drafts in her room at the Keep.
Damn I wish I had thought of switching out those kobolds. Still, they gave the wizard a chance to shine with his only 2 spells left for the day - web and burning hands :P
A brief rules pointer, Eltanin--ray of enfeeblement deals a penalty, rather than ability damage, and thus multiple rays don't stack. (Passing on something I learned on these boards). No harm no foul, though--sounds like your party had fun and was suitably challenged with the rules as applied.
A brief rules pointer, Eltanin--ray of enfeeblement deals a penalty, rather than ability damage, and thus multiple rays don't stack. (Passing on something I learned on these boards). No harm no foul, though--sounds like your party had fun and was suitably challenged with the rules as applied.
Oooh oooh oooh! Really? Oh man, that's the best thing I've heard in a long time. They loved that technique and I just know that they were going to pull it out again and again. An opportunity to defuse it ahead of time is most most welcome. Thanks!
EDIT: I found the right thread via the handy search engine. What a great tip. Thanks!
A brief rules pointer, Eltanin--ray of enfeeblement deals a penalty, rather than ability damage, and thus multiple rays don't stack. (Passing on something I learned on these boards). No harm no foul, though--sounds like your party had fun and was suitably challenged with the rules as applied.Oooh oooh oooh! Really? Oh man, that's the best thing I've heard in a long time. They loved that technique and I just know that they were going to pull it out again and again. An opportunity to defuse it ahead of time is most most welcome. Thanks!
EDIT: I found the right thread via the handy search engine. What a great tip. Thanks!
would someone mind posting that link. i've been wondering about that.
i used the black kobolds with Shukak and they were at least an annoyance while the party focused on the big guy esp with a few sneak attacks. i replaced the kobolds with a shambling mound in the egg room. this REALLY annoyed the wiz with the lightning fetish : ) they were actually expecting a black dragon... i may have a juvenile black dragon jump them on the way out of the swamp.I have a question though...the party put the dragon egg in a Bag of Holding (i figured 8 cu ft max)and i'm not sure how to handle that?? i don't think it would accidently break in extra dimensional space. would the worms hatch on their own? any ideas??
I have a question though...the party put the dragon egg in a Bag of Holding (i figured 8 cu ft max)and i'm not sure how to handle that?? i don't think it would accidently break in extra dimensional space. would the worms hatch on their own? any ideas??
Actually, I'd say they would hatch. The Kyuss worms aren't undead - they're living, so they need some oxygen. When they run out of air, they probably break out. The image of their beloved bag of holding suddenly becoming a worm geyser certainly has its charm :)
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I'm getting ready to run that particular encounter myself and after reading the egg chamber scene and this thread I too have seen the light and the need for something a little bit more interesting than kobold fodder. But here's a thought, Ilthane is a mighty, intelligent, magical beast who's mearest prescence generally signals quick doom. Wouldn't it stand to reason that she's read some of the Evil Overlords List and that her minions would be at least descent in their ability to bring quick doom as well. Why not make the kobolds do what they love: traps. Kobolds aren't stupid so I'm planning on playing them like their special ops or something. Give them a few more levels and set some rather interesting traps in egg chamber as well as the passages to and from the chamber. Can you imagine the look on the PCs faces when they finally kill the last kobold and walk out of the chamber only to walk straight into that last little trap that they never found. Or put a trap in the water way leading to the chamber that slowly fills the water with some potent acid (keeping with the acid theme of the place). Swimming through acid, even if it is diluted, just doesn't seem like fun. Anyway that's my two cents. Peace
The image of their beloved bag of holding suddenly becoming a worm geyser certainly has its charm :)Now, that's just not playing fair... :)
There have been several threads about that idea. We left the party debating what to do with the dragon egg while in the egg chamber. 3/4 were all for destroying it. However, if the one other player wins his "it's worth a lot of money" argument, it'll probably go into his handy haversack.
Which of course will be searched by the guards at the entrance to the Free City. Which of course will lead somehow to the egg being broken. Which might lead to some incarceration/doppelganger fun.
Who knows where these things can lead?
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Thanks for all of the comments and ideas, folks!
I already used the kobolds earlier in the adventure, when the party fought Shukak's lieutenant, Kotabas. When the PCs get to the egg chamber, I'll definately be putting something more significant in the chamber to make things interesting--probably a pair of black dragons (young and very young, offspring of Illthane assigned to guard the egg and make sure the worms remain undisturbed until her return). They'll engage the PCs and try to make as much havoc as possible, including the hatching of the worms, since they know Illthane is about to arrive to accept Shukak's offering (Marzena) and greet her new progeny.
I have miniatures of small, medium, and gargantuan black dragons (as well as the sorceror on black dragon mini), and am itching to use them in game. My players haven't seen my gargantuan black dragon yet, and I'm very eager to see their faces when I put it on the table...so, I'm going to be using the gargantuan to represent Ilthane and have her show up just as the PCs are evacuating the last of the lizardfolk eggs. I'll be setting it up so that the tunnel into the lizardfolk lair is too small for Ilthane, and giving the PCs a free surprise round (the water surges forward from the other tunnel as Ilthane swims through it, giving them warning of her approach). The PCs should have enough clues to guess what's coming (the young dragon will be gloating about it the whole fight), and they'll have exhausted most of their resources during the Shukak and young dragon battles--so if they do anything other than flee with that free round, they deserve a TPK. If they do flee, they can get one glimpse over their shoulders of the dragon's arrival (and she'll get a split second to see them, setting up future recognition) before rounding a bend and getting out of her reach.
That's the last they'll see of her until "A Gathering of Winds", but I plan to keep her presence in the region fresh in the minds of the PCs through various signs of her activities and rumors of her depredations. I think she will assault Blackwall Keep and leave shortly before the PCs arrive, and as they travel to the Free City, they'll hear reports of distant dragon sightings and lost contact with remote settlements. When they finally face her after their adventures in the city, it should be a very significant turning point of the campaign. Their victory over such an awesome creature, at the place where they took their first steps into adventure, should illuminate how far they've come and define them firmly--to themselves and to the world--as the major heroes in the events that follow.
Or so I hope. :)
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My Age of Worms campaign has advanced through the final battle in the lizardfolk lair, so it seems appropriate to let you know how it worked out:
Hishka and the PCs made a pact in the previous session--the PCs would slay Shukak and broker a peace agreement with the humans, and in exchange most of the Twisted Branch tribe would stand aside and not involve themselves in the battle. The PCs also agreed not to harm the lizardfolk eggs in the process, to the best of their ability. Hishka further promised that the PCs would not be disturbed as they rested before this battle. At this point Kotabas was dead and the only real challenge left in the place was Shukak, so I decided to kick things up a notch...
True to their word, Hishka's followers let the PCs pass...but word of her betrayal spread to Shukak's ears while the PCs rested. As a result, he set a couple of guards in a chamber along the tunnel leading to the egg chamber, and prepared to make his stand with the eggs. For guardians, I placed a pair of half-illithid lizardfolk (I've been meaning to find a use for those miniatures for a long time, and it seemed appropriate), who were backed up by a small black dragon (very young) who entered the fight half way through.
The PCs were warned about the "abominations" by Hishka, but she didn't know about the arrival of the dragons. (I established that Shukak had forbidden her or the rest of the tribe from entering the egg chamber for some time, and that this contributed to their decision to turn against him.) The PCs all saved against the mind blasts, and dispatched the half-illithids remarkably easily. The dragon gave them a hard time, though, and before it was over the party had used about a third of their resources (power points, spells, etc). Their buffs would soon wear out, though, so they pressed on:
In the egg chamber, they found Shukak with a readied action to impale Marzena, demanding that they show themselves and surrender if they valued her life. The 'dragon egg' was guarded by only two of Ilthane's kobolds, and that was all the PCs saw upon entering. The medium-sized Yong Black Dragon was hiding in the water, and the PCs didn't manage to spot him.
The psion decided to even out the hostage situation by levitating the black dragon egg high up in the air (I made the chamber pretty large since I knew Ilthane would be showing herself). This became a bit of a standoff, and I let the PCs know through some sense motive checks that Shukak would gladly kill Marzena if they gave him an excuse. His hatred of humans was stronger than his sense of reason. He gave them one last chance to surrender and return the egg, and they knew that he meant it, so the rogue/soulknife took a shot at him. He hit, and did damage, but not enough. Shukak ran Marzena through with his trident, and she died with a final plea about needing to warn Eligos and Allustan.
After this, the black dragon took its cue to attack, and tagged the psion with a line of acid breath. He failed his concentration check, and dropped the egg. Here's where it got interesting: it didn't break! The egg took damage from the fall, but its hardness soaked up enough of the damage that it didn't burst. It had 1 hp left.
So then the battle was joined. Since I had added to the difficulty of the fight considerably, I had Hishka show up just as it was beginning and do a bit of healing (she knew her life was forfeit if the PCs failed). My mage managed to smack Shukak down rather heavily with lighting bolts (I decided that he could angle them up enough to avoid blasting the eggs at the same time) while the psion entangled the dragon to get it on the ground. The kobolds stayed near the egg and did piddly amounts of damage with their handcrossbows. (One of them even crit for a whopping 6 points of damage!)
The battle took an unexpected twist halfway through...Shukak rolled a one on a thrown trident attack, which in out house rules is a fumble, followed by a second d20 roll to "confirm" the fumble and see how bad it was...the confirmation roll was another 1! So, I ruled that Shukak struck one of his allies instead...the kobold standing right in front of the egg, from Shukak's angle. The trident skewered the kobold and impaled it on the egg, causing the egg to rupture and spill the worms all over the kobold and into the adjacent squares. The PCs saw the worms immediately begin to burrow into the eggs and writhe all over the kobold. The dragon was also on the ground near to the egg, and it took the opportunity to taunt the PCs, telling them that "The Age of Worms has now begun! Behold the glory of Ilthane!"
The players were horrified. I was giddy. :) The psion was next in the initiative order, and reacted quickly: he put up a wall of energy (fire) in a circle around the egg, dragon, and kobold, focusing inward. He rolled terribly low damage, but it was enough to contain the worms and destroy the newly-infected eggs over several rounds.
The dragon and remaining kobold put up more of a fight, but concentrated attacks took them down soon after; the dragon never even got off a full attack action!
Still, the party was exhausted, and stunned by the events, and glad to have time to collect their thoughts. Soon Hishka began leading the organized removal of the eggs from the chamber, the PCs found the hidden chest with the treasure, the mage preserved Marzena's remains with one of Filge's nectroturgeons, and they got ready to leave.
Then the water from the larger submerged tunnel out of the chamber began to surge outward into the egg chamber, flooding it a bit more than it was before. The lizardfolk cried out Ilthane's name and ran, and the PCs, already having reached the same conclusion, did the same. They all moved their max spead towards the narrow entrance, which placed the PCs right at the opening in the tunnel. The look on my players' faces was priceless. One of them, who had figured out that I had bought the Gargantuan Black Dragon miniature, noticed an extra plastic bag among my gaming stuff, and exclaimed "You didn't!" --a pause-- "You wouldn't!" --another pause-- "you couldn't!"
Then I put it on the table and called for saving throws (fightful presence) and initiative, as I todl them that the dragon was inhaling deeply. I originally intended to allow everyone to flee down the tunnel, whether they failed or saved. Then the psion rolled a 1 on his save, and stood there cowering. (I actually started to let him flee with the others, but since he had a contingency ready to use, I backed up to let him use it and save himself.) On the initiative roll, I rolled a 1 for Ilthane, right in front of the players. They all got another action before she could go, so the psion used autohypnosis (and expended his psionic focus, I believe) to shake off the fear effect. He made his roll, and fled with the others. Ilthane released her breath attack on the opening, but no one was there to get hit, so she snaked her head and long neck into the tunnel in pursuit, calling out to them that "You cannnot stop the Age of Worms! You have not seen the last of me, mortals!!" along with a few other dire threats about the darkness to come. I took pains to describe the depth of her voice, coming as it did from a creature larger than anything they had ever seen.
We stopped shortly thereafter, and the PCs still need to make the trek back to the Keep, to wrap up the adventure fully, but I think this became the most memorable session of the campaign so far, and I'm very glad that I introduced Ilthane in this way. The PCs, who are all a bunch of Neutral mercenary-type characters, now seem invested in the Age of Worms at a much more personal level.
I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes from here for these characters, and I think they are, too.
I have had the group hear reports of a large black dragon in the area (they hear it's bigger than a horse -- from a group of halflings but that doesnt' tell them much). Anyhow, what I decided to do is instead of there being the draconic kobolds in the egg chamber, I put a young black dragon, one of Ilthane's very own spawn, set there to keep an eye on things. It will likely say things to the party like "Mother will not be pleased". If it gets too low on health it will dive into the long passage, to be encountered later. I also replaced the four potions of cure light wounds in the egg chamber with something 5th level+ PCs would more than likely use, like haste, fly, invisibility and water breathing. This will make them more apt to drink them. The last time I ran this the party never did bother with the potions.
I also deleted the kobolds in favor of a dragon child of Ilthane. The PCs also made a pact with the lizardfolk druid, who told them about Ilthane.