Secrets of the Soul Pillars wildly divergent from book


Shackled City Adventure Path


So, last session, I sprung the assassination attempt on the players, and they made it through all alive (though several had to stabilize with Action Points). They cast Speak w/Dead on one of the assassins, and found out that the temple of Wee Jas had sent them.

Instead of being normal D&D players and going straight to the source, they are investigating legal means to try to intimidate Embril & Ike -- like building their tower in the line of Pelorite's view of the sunrise being emotional abuse.

This should be interesting.


Ha ha! Why does this remind me of "The Untouchables"?

"We might not have enough evidence to get them for attempted murder, but we've got them dead to rights on a zoning violation!"


Normally, taking down Ike legally would be a tough nut to crack. Not only is the church of Wee Jas the most powerful church in town, but as a diety that supports whatever current social system is in place, plus being a goddess of vanity, Wee Jas promotes the nobility's place as the natural order of things and that it is a great thing to display your social status with elegant displays of wealth, makes Wee Jas quite popular with the ruling class. As a lawful church, they have heavy influence with the government and are intertwined with the departments of law enforcement, which grants them great political power within the legal system of the town.

However, the time is quite near that the Cagewright's plan will destroy Cauldron anyway. Ike has already sacrificed his place in Cauldron by shutting down the cathedral and turning all of his efforts into his assigned task of taking down the PCs. He doesn't care if he is regarded as a murderer. He doesn't care that the cathedral's reputation is ruined by his actions. None of that will matter in a week. Plan A failed. Plan B is contingent on the PCs meeting him in the Cathedral to which he has transformed into a trap for the PCs. He will not flee since he is tasked with the elimination of the PCs. And he has wisely set up a defensive strategy which plays to the strengths of the cleric.

So, even though the PCs may be attempting to have Ike (and Embril, who is completely inaccessable) arrested for murder, even if they convince the government to arrest him they will find that the cathedral is closed to everyone and he will not respond to any legal summons. Only a forced entry will allow access to Ike and anyone attempting to do so will find a deadly response. Which of course means that only the PCs can get Ike. Which is what Ike (and the adventure) wants. Ironically, this situation may have Vhalantru asking the PCs to arrest Ike so that Ike's deathtrap can do its job.

I did add some glyphs of warding and symbols thorough the cathedral. I thought that it was strange that he hasn't placed any in the cathedral. I also put a note on the front door that this building is closed to the public and that anyone who enters without Ike's explicit permission would be regarded as trespassers. Something to throw off anyone but determined PCs. Although it can mess with the lawful PCs.

Don't forget that there is a rumor at the front of the book that deals with the mysterious disappearance of Embril. I don't have it handy, but check the rumors section when the PCs investigates Embril.

Dark Archive

I agree with everything Frank said, though if the PCs can't prove that Ike was involved with the attack, I doubt he'd throw away the church's reputation on their allegations. Ultimately, it works if some of the town guard go to take him in and get obliterated, leading someone else to ask the PCs to do the job.

On another note, though Cauldron is a pretty enlightened city, it's still medieval period-equivalence we're dealing with. You could simply rule that there is no cause of action for emotional distress to get rid of the church of Pelor's claim. Also, keep in mind that here, as in real life, the wealthier party often has more leverage in the legal system. The church of Wee Jas can pound away on the PCs and anyone else with frivolous lawsuits using their enormous financial resources. Not that you need to include this element, but if the PCs are insistent on using the legal system to aggravate Ike, they could find themselves being sued for trespassing or hounded by tax collectors or other petty government officials, spurred on by the church of Wee Jas.


I have a sinking feeling they are going to attempt to do something to Lady Rhiavadi as well. One of the PCs is a warlock with See the Unseen, and convinced the beholder to reveal the identity of his invisible spellcasting assistant back in Life's Bazaar. So they've had it in for her since Day 1. Also, they think she may be involved due to the "Veiled Lady" answer they got from Speak with Dead. But I've thought through that contingency as well.

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