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All,
I have a question regarding what happened to Vanthus between the time of the Kraken Cove incident and when he arrived to attack the party at the end of the Farshore attack.
They skim over it in the write up, and I'm curious how people explained what happened to him.
I use CUT-TO scenes in my game (I'm an ex-Star Wars GM and I can't stop doing it), and would like to touch on it there. I picture him in a small row boat, the sun beating down on him. His skin all dry and sunburnt. As he starts drifting off to die, a Demon appears before him, waves his finger and says:
"Uh, ah Vanthus my dear. Not yet. We still have a lot of work for you" and end with Vanthus screaming...fade to black...
It mentions in one of the adventures, I think Tides of Dread, that he ends up running into a Crimson Fleet ship, which picks him up and takes him back to Scuttlecove.
He hangs around making himself a nuisance there (killing people he doesn't like, making trouble, lusting for his sister... wait, those are civic duties in Scuttlecove anyway) until getting promoted to Captain of a ship by Cold Captain Wyther and being 'remade' into a Lemorian.
Then he remembers Farshore, gets his ship together, and leads the attack before getting his face ruined by the players (hopefully).
All,
I have a question regarding what happened to Vanthus between the time of the Kraken Cove incident and when he arrived to attack the party at the end of the Farshore attack.
They skim over it in the write up, and I'm curious how people explained what happened to him.
I use CUT-TO scenes in my game (I'm an ex-Star Wars GM and I can't stop doing it), and would like to touch on it there. I picture him in a small row boat, the sun beating down on him. His skin all dry and sunburnt. As he starts drifting off to die, a Demon appears before him, waves his finger and says:
"Uh, ah Vanthus my dear. Not yet. We still have a lot of work for you" and end with Vanthus screaming...fade to black...
Depending upon your table, you might cue the 'Comanche' track from Pulp Fiction ... give the players a reason as to why Vanthus is squealing ... er, screaming ...
I use CUT-TO scenes in my game (I'm an ex-Star Wars GM and I can't stop doing it), and would like to touch on it there. I picture him in a small row boat, the sun beating down on him. His skin all dry and sunburnt.
Well, as blue_eyed_paladin said above Tides of Dread briefly describes what happens to Vanthus (in the introduction to Part Two: Raiders from Rats End).
Two days after he's put into the longboat by his crew he's picked up by the Brine Harlot. By being himself he manages to rise through the ranks of the crew and when they got to Scuttlecove he sold out the crew to the leaders of the Crimson Fleet.
So the cutscene could play out like you desribed above, but instead of the demon turning up the scene pans up towards the horizon here a red sail is starting to show.
Well, as for that exposition CUT-TO scene, that might for one betray Vanthus' source of patronage (of which in a way according to the writeup for SoS and ItM he was quite unaware - he thought his success was due to his own charming personality ) rather prematurely for the players, and lessen him as an adversary, since it shows him to be a puppet of greater powers.
That just might make his re-emergence less arresting and an utter surprise in SoS than it is supposed to.
as for the comanche track - well, I for one never found it too helpful dramatically to slander/make look ludicrous my villains prior to their final fight with the heroes. How much glory and "bite can be found in defeating a clown or muppet ?
Well, as for that exposition CUT-TO scene, that might for one betray Vanthus' source of patronage (of which in a way according to the writeup for SoS and ItM he was quite unaware - he thought his success was due to his own charming personality ) rather prematurely for the players, and lessen him as an adversary, since it shows him to be a puppet of greater powers.
That just might make his re-emergence less arresting and an utter surprise in SoS than it is supposed to.
as for the comanche track - well, I for one never found it too helpful dramatically to slander/make look ludicrous my villains prior to their final fight with the heroes. How much glory and "bite" can be found in defeating a clown or muppet ?
I would be inclined to believe that this demonstrates - or can be done to demonstrate - the folly of becoming a Thrall or such mortal (or immortal) servant to such creatures as the various fiendish lords and ladies.
In the end, such service ends up with chewing on a fan belt ... for your entire miserable afterlife, such as it may be ...
Besides, a clown with a vorpal butcher knife is still a clown with a vorpal butcher knife ... and know you know that he answered (foolishly) to a 'higher power' that should not have been trafficked with, passing on to become a giant chunk of eternal fishbait.
Ultimately, do what suits - the previous cut scene described by the OP is wonderfully done. My commentary is not intended as a disparagement or insult.
Just the way I played it - Vanthus appearing as the major villain throughout most of the earlier part of the STAP, with his backers only becoming clear later on.
And my players did go to great lengths to prevent Vanthus possible return after ToD.
I fear that by revealing and foreshadowing Demogorgon too early in the AP, one will inevitably skew the way the players tackle it - and take the shock out of the later revelation.
Of course the tremendous WAR cover on issue #150 in a way... "foreshadowed" a lot