RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32
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Our STAP game is slowly continuing, and the Bullywug Gambit is coming to an end. One PC is captured and tied up with Lavinia and the two Jade Ravens. He did his best to explain reasonably that they'd spoken to Harliss and were not working with Vanthus and I must say, it was hard to RP Drevoraz not listening to the very reasonable story because he didn't have the earrings. In the end, I left it with a kind of "Liar! You don't fool me that easily!" speech.
Anyway - he's tied up and so is Lavinia. My idea is that they can get free at a dramatic moment. The rest of the party has now cleared out the ground floor and basement, rescued the two other Jade Ravens, and also slaughtered the few bullywugs on the first floor.
The next session will be the climax of the adventure. They will be sneaking up the stairs and approaching the bedroom where their friend and Lavinia are held captive by Drevoraz and Bua Gorg. I'm just wondering how to play it out.
I was thinking of having Vanthus hear their approach - (he'd be hard pressed to have missed the sounds of combat downstairs, to be honest). He can shout down to the party that they'd better have brought Vanthus or else they could just be ready to catch Lavinia's head as he throws it down the stairs. (And other threats). They'll try and shout up reasonable arguments - and then what?
Drevoraz is not going to listen since they never got the earrings. If they throw a good Diplomacy check maybe Drevoraz will decide to leave, in which case Bua Gorg could freak out, send his summoned beasts down the stairs, and attack Drevoraz for breaking his promise. Cue Lavinia and the PC escaping and not knowing who to fight - Drevoraz who has admitted he might be wrong, but who shot Kora in the head in front of them - or Bua Gorg, the loathsome cleric of a demon lord.
How did you guys run the Drevoraz confrontation?
How did you guys run the Drevoraz confrontation?
Straight, with some ice !
just kidding
Drevoraz assumed the PCs were Vanthus, and let them approach to the top of the stairs, negotiating through the open doors to the bedroom, and allowing the Bullywug to hide. Since the characters didn't have the earring (none too successful with Harliss, mainly due to the fact that they were not all that impressed with her and her "righteous anger" at the Vanderboorens ), so things ended in a negotiation standstill. Mostly because he mentioned he had already knocked off Cora, to demonstrate his resolve
Players then offered Drevoraz (not knowing the Bullywug was about) free and safe passage if he faced one of their numbers in a straight duel, offering a blood oath to prove their earnestness.
Feeling cocky and oggling the slender female facing him (unfortuately a swashbuckler/swordsage, hehe ) he foolishly agreed, and lost dramatically, with a sabre run through his spine. This quick demise in turn made the Bullywug panic and scramble for the window, some ensuing chaos when he tried to knock off Lavinia and a few relieved sighs afterwards
This help any ?
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32
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I never even thought of a 'challenge' - good tip!
I'm trying to figure out how Drevoraz ticks - he must have a lot of experience with people lying to him to only trust the earring. It still seems hard to play him so distrustful when the players (not the PCs) sound so reasonable :-)
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32
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In the end I hit on a simple solution. Harliss was happy to write a letter since she knew Drevoraz couldn't read!
The final confrontation was great, guys!
The spellthief came up the stairs to the top landing first and Drevoraz shot her. She ran back down and a shouted conversation began, with Drevoraz demanding that only Vanthus should come upstairs and the party sending the letter from Harliss vertically up to the landing via een Unseen Servant.
He said this proved they weren't working for her, since she knew he couldn't read! Bua Gorg got fed up and screamed for their blood, casting a Fog Cloud on the stairs and sending two Fiendish Dire Weasels through it.
Before they died, one had drained the fighter for 12 points of Con - ouch! The paryt then rushed through the Fog Cloud and got as far as the door to the bedroom before Drevoraz turned his pistol on their captured fellow PC and told them to come no further.
The spellthief went invisible and crept up behind Drevoraz with a fantastic Move Silently roll. Everyone readied actions - EVERYONE! The whole table was still and we had a proper stand-off. People started going "Dum ... dum ... ba-dum ... ba-dum" as the seconds ticked by - sweet!
The tied up and captured Genasi was working with Lavinia to release his bonds and I dropped the difficulty every round as they began to succeed. He felt his arms free and winked at the characters in the door, readying an action to dodge the shot. (I decided to make this a sort of Full Defense action instead of letting Drevoraz automatically crit.)
And then it kicked off! The druid tumbled into the room and a cascade of readies kicked in...
Drevoraz went to shoot his captive, provoking an AoO from the invisible spellthief, who critted and sneaked him for about 22 points - a nasty surprise!
The wizard magic missiled Drevoraz for another 10 points.
The fighter shot him with an arrow for another 10.
The Genasi broke free and rolled himself and the chair his legs were tied to out of the way.
Drevoraz finally got to roll to hit ... and missed!
Bua Gorg tried to spear the tumbling druid, missing wildly.
And then, and only then, could the druid take her second step into the room!
After all that, the last two bad guys went down very quickly, but it was worth it for the stand-off.
