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Hello everyone, my party is well on their way to doing something quite unexpected and I thought I would look to the many DMs of the forums to see if they have any ideas…
A member of the party is a warlock whose mother had a random affair with some person of fiendish ancestry (the PC is fully human though). On his 18th birthday he began to hear whispers in the night asking “…all children of the Scar…” to return to their master. What’s happening is that Nabathorteron is basically sending out a message to all his scattered legions in preparation for the destruction of Redgorge. Since many of his original demons are dead, his way of filling the ranks has been to send his remaining powerful soldiers out over the centuries to produce tribes of power half-fiend creatures that will be loyal to him. Because the warlock’s bloodline can be traced back to this fiendish source he is able to dimly hear this call.
The party knows that demons of the Demonskar are mobilizing. They had a random encounter with a Vrock in the jungle where they learned that it was heeding the same call. They used the ‘Star of Justice’ and were given a pretty clear message that Nabathorteron was alive and gaining strength. Much of their planning is based around ending this major threat (which they believe to be the major threat of the whole campaign!) and I soon believe they are going to enter the Demonskar.
Currently Zenith Trajectory has not yet been started, and so what I’m looking for is ideas or modules that I could use should my PCs basically go straight to the Demonskar. I still intend to run Vaprack’s Voice when the time comes, so what I’m looking for is further fleshing out of the Demonskar itself. I also fully intend to run Delvesdeep’s “Siege of Redgorge” so I don’t plan on the party being able to beat the demons before then.
Some ideas I have already:
-The party will meet two vrock sentinels once they get near the scar.
-If they try to enter under false terms they will be captured by the vrocks with the help of local gnoll tribes.
-Most of the scar will be populated by half-fiend and tiefling versions of local humanoids (gnolls, humans, giants, ogres).
-There will still be thousands of demons, but most of them will be the weakling ones that just serve as fodder.
-I need a good interrogator/torturer demon in case the party is captured.
-I need a good set of maps and or encounters.
-The party is they are stealthy enough will be able to hear the general plan to attack Redgorge using the army of half-fiends.
I soon believe they are going to enter the Demonskar.
I have similar concerns as I am in the same spot, and the group seems to be looking for something to do during their (supposed) downtime.
-If they try to enter under false terms they will be captured by the vrocks with the help of local gnoll tribes.
-Most of the scar will be populated by half-fiend and tiefling versions of local humanoids (gnolls, humans, giants, ogres).
Based on what I see, there should be LOTS of gnolls, with villages throughout the Demonskar area. They have come to this area as Nabthatoron is a direct connection to their god. In my game, the Stormblades went on a safari in the area, and encountered gnolls and a babau. This is to foreshadow the danger there. Not sure if the PCs will follow.
-There will still be thousands of demons, but most of them will be the weakling ones that just serve as fodder.
Thousands? Wow. How big is the siege on Redgorge going to be? It wouldn't make sense to have thousands around, and then when they attack Redgorge, only have less than 200 show up. The numbers should be the same.
-The party is they are stealthy enough will be able to hear the general plan to attack Redgorge using the army of half-fiends.
I would suggest that rather than having this, how about having the group intercept a messenger between the Nab and the Blue Duke? This is far more likely than getting access to the planning session (unless they have vast scrying resources).
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You are correct about the numbers thing...I should reduce it to only a few hundred demons.
As for the siege plan, the PCs won't NEED to sneak into a planning session. The big N himself is going to be coming out to organize the masses. Basically the Demonskar has been a chaotic pile of anarchy for the last few centuries because he was injured and unable to actually appear. Now that he has recovered its the force of his personality and his own personal power that brings the demons back together. He essentially publicly tells half the scar that they are about to attack Redgorge and free themselves from the banishment.
I'm also changing the siege a little bit so that it doesn't exactly follow Delvesdeep's script. There will be series of attacks by the Cauldron and Blue Duke Forces with their own siege and climax...after which the demons show up to finish the job. I can't wait to run several sessions where the party finally fights off the half-orcs and Blue Duke and celebrates their victory...only to suddenly hear war-drums and see the demon hoarde emerge from the jungles.
Plus it allows me to run a custom-made seige and mass combat rules.