The cleric of Wee Jas in the game I am DMing just sent me a pre-game alert to his intentions to execute the law and attempt to take Racknian down during their next fight in the arena. They have just killed Bozal (and were almost completely pummelled by Bozal's demon friend) and feel they want to do swift justice on Racknian for all the wickedness they have discovered under the arena.
I'm glad to have the information in advance, as I had only prepared for the battle with the flying dwarves and not something potentially much bigger. However, I would love a bit of strategic advice on how to handle it. I'm quite new to this high-level of play, so would really appreciate some tips.
I don't want to cop-out and not have Racknian observing the games that round, nor do I want to have his viewing area somehow magically protected. These seem to be simply too overt meta-game tactics to thwart the direction of the players.
I do think that on the first sign of an anti-Racknian strike, he would leave his viewing place (knowing that the Party is dangerous) and leave his henchmen to "expel" the Party from the games. Perhaps under Okral's lead, and supported by the officious wizard (he's only 7th level), 30 or 40 of the 5th level bodyguards would take to the field and expel the party. Handling that combat may be cumbersome. Is there perhaps more heavy support that Racknian might be able to draw on in such an instance? Would Orkal's men try to kill the party in front of the crowd (clearly Pitchblade would want that), or merely expel them for Racknian to deal with some other way.
The more I think about it, the more I think it looks like TPK if they go ahead with this. I'll try to give all the indications of that being a bad idea, but any strategic advice would be gratefully received.
I don't know about strategic advice, but this is my take on the situation. And in my game this was discussed with Eligos before getting in contact with Celeste. Actually getting in contact with Celeste was a way for them not to have to go to Raknian's mansion, knock down his door, and making him new body cavities.
Raknian is a well known and liked member of society. He is well connected to the wealthy (he is very wealthy himself) and influential members of the city. He is the link between them and the rock stars (gladiators). Having a band of gladiators go crazy and suddenly attacking him in front of the nobles plus 18 thousand people sounds like suicide to me.
My group just finished their 1st round, and what really worries me is them trying to infiltrate his mansion and wanting to off him there. There is no map of the mansion but there is a passage leading to it, and it sounds to me like a perfectly valid plan.
Depending on how much time I can spare between now and our next game, I will either whip up a mansion and populate it; or, I'll plug the passage with a secret door. They haven't thought much about the ventilation passage at the infirmary/kitchen so I'm safe there.
...nor do I want to have his viewing area somehow magically protected.
Ever gone to a car race such as NASCAR and sat in the bleachers where there was no net between you and the cars? How about a hockey game where there was no plexi-glass between fans and the rink? What about a baseball game without a new behind home plate? No. Its too dangerous. Thats why we dont sit IN the ring with Mike Tyson as he's biting Evander's ear.
Remeber that show "Robot Battles" (something like that) on Discovery channel, where dudes built their own bots to fight. Spinning razor blades, pnuematic drills, etc were features of the battle room. Operators and fans watched from beyond plexiglass. Now add machineguns, flamethrowers and high-explosive missles (well, then we'd have modern UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) and the fans and operators wouldn't even be in the same Zip Code as these robots!
My point is, even in a fantasy game, protection from errant fireballs, ice storms, crossbow bolts, blade barriers, and the like is not only sensible, but could be expected at a gladitorial game featuring all of the above.
As for Raknian, yeah, he's "liked" in the city, but so are a lot of organized crime lords. Don't you think a guy that employs an assassin, with his motivations, might have enemies. Raknian knows this, and no doubt has made preperations in these events.
In fact, as he might tell any upstart PC that tries to confront him: "Thats why I'm not already dead."
All I can say is, whatever the outcome, the party should have the full force of the law come after them, and if it's Greyhawk, that's a pretty substantial force. Basically, you're party is talking about vigilante justice, which is fine in a dungeon, but not in a city. You should make it clear to them that if they go after Raknian, they will become outlaws, and will almost certainly be unable to pursue their more important quest, which is to prevent the Age of Worms from happening.
Have they found the Ulgurstasta yet? If so, they should realize that taking out Raknian doesn't end the quest. If the players have removed themselves from the arena, and they fail to take down Raknian from the arena floor, the Age of Worms will be coming to the Free City. Even if they take down Raknian, he could easily have left Okoral with instructions to free the Apostle during the championship round--as vengeance.
If the players are all about killing everything evil the minute they find it, the upper levels of this AP will be brutal to them--they'll be fighting Lashonna and a dozen Blessed Angels in Alhaster, and they're not likely to survive for the fight against Dragotha.
I almost never stop my players from doing what they want, even if it virtually suicidal, as going after Raknian in public would be. Previous posters are right in that this kind of vigilante justice would not be tolerated in Greyhawk or any other remotely civilized place. Defending yourself from attack is one thing, but attacking an apparently upstanding citizen is something else entirely. The players should however, be given some idea of the consequences of their proposed actions, however. Perhaps some well-timed advice from Celeste or Eligos could let them know this is a bad idea. If they insist on going ahead with it, then they will reap what they sow, and either a TPK or significant incarceration is the likely result. Raknian himself is a formidable opponent at their level, as is Okoral. Add in Raknian's security goons, the dwarven barbarians, and whatever City Watch force is either present (and there would be some at any large gathering like this) or can be summoned quickly, and the PCs will have a no-win situation. If they can't see it, well then it's time for them to start rolling up new characters, a little older and wiser.
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If my players try to attack Raknian from the arena floor before he makes his proclamation about Kyuss at the rise of he Urgulstasta (something I'm sure they've considered and I'll be expecting), the full force of Raknian's security and the law of Greyhawk will be brought down on them as quickly as it can be mustered.
I figure that guards will start pouring into the arena from its four main entrances within two or three rounds, which gives the PCs a very short amount of time to make their escape. Unless they can all fly, the only real avenue out of the arena that won't be spewing armed guards will be the lift to the arena's understructure. If they go that way, it will become a cat-and-mouse chance through the passages under the arena, which could lead the PCs to the Shrine of Kyuss and the Urgulstasta's chamber if they haven't yet discovered them. I'd try to arrange the timeline of events so that they reach the Urgulstasta's room right after it ascends to the arena, which would let them show up just in time to become heroes again by defeating it.
If they're arrested and don't have proof positive of Raknian's evil plans, the PCs will be tried, found guilty of attempted murder, and probably hanged if the arena events don't interfere. And even if they can proove their case to the authorities, public sentiment towards them throughout Greyhawk would turn hostile; they're be recognized on sight wherever they went and never be able to walk freely in the city again.
Of course, if they ARE arrested, nothing will stop the Urgulstasta from turning the arena into a hell-on-oerth nightmare of energy-draining undead, which makes their legal troubles largely irrelevant from that point on. For that matter, the citizens might even blame the PCs for the Urgulstasta!
Thank you all for these excellent suggestions. I agree fully with the serious force of the state backing up Racknian if they do decide to go vigilante during the fight with Pitch Blade. I will certainly paint the picture suggested by Christopher and Brian of the very visible City Guard infrastructure and the 30 or more purple-sashed bodyguards of Racknian himself.
Picking up on I've Got Reach's suggestions, I think I'll have Talabir provide a lesser globe of invulnerability for the executive suite. It may only block the 3rd level spells, but the slight magic shimmer it gives off could be interpreted as anything on a weak spellcraft check. I'll try to encourage some serious team role play before the event, debating the wisdom of such a public act, perhaps suggesting more subtle means. The elf, though not the leader our Wee Jas cleric is, sometimes provides persuasive caution to the group.
The party has not yet cracked open the green-light flooded doors in Bozal's room to see the Urgulstasta (they are thoroughly spooked by the scrolls and the nasty Akilith that gave them such trouble). The cleric had summoned two earth elementals and had them scout out the area. Only one returned (the other made full body contact with the sphere) and had little sensible to report. I don't think they have quite pieced it all together yet.
I also kind of think they may not be heros in this one. Greyhawk, in my guess, is going to the wights. We shall see soon. Game tomorrow night.
My PCs did this, but they tried to make it as non-vigilante as possible. They enlisted the High Priestess of Kord, convincing her with the evidence of the zombie-girl, and had her put her weight behind their formal challenge from the arena floor.
Raknian could have run, but he had just found out that Bozal was dead and his plans were in ruins. He would have been giving up his position, his hopes, everything he had. He chose to fight, hoping that if he won his resulting popularity would enable him to quash the accusations--after all, the accusers would mostly be dead, and the High Priestess would accept the results of a trial by combat.
The PCs waxed him (and seven of his henchmen--he wasn't going out there alone against so many of them!) and then, to make extremely sure that everyone knew they were in the right, they *excavated the ulgarstasta* with a harp of building, and killed it as an arena fight. That was a bit harder than they'd expected, but the crowd loved it, especially hacking open the worm to free the swallowed party member.
It was not politically expedient for the law to intervene after that. The PCs were too popular.
It seemed fairly reasonable to me. Sure, the Free City law could have gone after them, but we had had to portray the Free City law as extremely ineffectual throughout the last two scenarios to explain their uselessness against the dopplegangers, Zyrxog, Bozal, etc. and having them suddenly develop a backbone when it was the PCs at fault would have strained credibility.
And it was really fun to run, and I thought made for a more satisfying experience than just having Raknian get away.
I was bummed by the lack of a map of Raknian's palace too. When the module does things like have an NPC say, "There are only two places I haven't been able to get into--the Caenobium and Raknian's palace" it is not at all unlikely for the PCs to end up in Raknian's palace.
Mary