So I have had an interesting and somewhat frustrating week with one of my players. Here's the background info:
There are 4 PCs in my campaign. We are playing through DelvesDeep's Demonskar Ball side adventure (top notch btw). Today is our last session involving the Ball and then we are off into "Zenith Trajectory."
Now, I wanted a little more realism in my campaign, so I told the PCs that, after the Demonskar Ball, they would have a long time to recup, train, and do mundane "life stuff." In fact, I told them to plan for two years' worth of activities (but I was only going to give them 14 months and then interupt it with the Umber Hulk attack).
Each of the PCs came to my house, individually, to run through there "inbetween" time so that very little of our campaign time together would be sacrificed. Three of the four PCs did exactly what I suggested - mundane things like rebuild the shrine of Pelor, train, learn languages, develop love interests, etc. The 4th PC... ugh...
It happens that this 4th PC, we'll call him Korvain, had died way back in Life's Bazaar because he has an innate ability to piss people off. The party has had to save his bacon several times, in fact. During the raise dead sequence, I thought it would be cool (because he's playing the demonscarred trait) to have a "dream/death sequence" wandering through "a mysterious and horid plane of existence." The atrocities he witnessed, the screams he heard, and the pain he went through during his death experience has really made him a dark character. I'm fine with that... except... during that death experience, he glimpsed into a room where he overheard some demonic language being spoken. A group of hellish beings were gathered around a table arguing about something, but what really caught his eye was 12 figurines on the table and 2 more off to the side. Something was very familiar about one of those other two figurines, but he still has no idea what. He then heard one of them say, "We have twelve, all we need is one more and the ceremony can begin." At that, one of them noticed him and, with a sudden rush, as if falling backwards, he was sucked back into his revived body. The experience was confusing and left him, obviously, shaken.
"What does this have to do with his time off?" , you ask. Well, the first thing he decides to do on his time off is visit Embril at the Cathedral of Wee Jas to discuss this death experience of his. Who would know more about death than a preistess of death? Innocent move on his part, but the description he gave her sent red flags everywhere. She knew he was in a now somewhat popular adventuring crew so she couldn't just kill him then and there - it would arouse too many inquiring minds. She told him she would research some texts and get back to him.
As I saw it, I had only 3 choices:
1) Ignore it and hope that Korvain would stop snooping. However, Korvain is an Urban Ranger and he is the biggest and best snoop around so that would not work. With plans coming to fruition soon, the Cagewrights could not risk having someone like that around.
2) Kill him outright. However, then his ragtag band of heroes would investigate and that just might lead back to Embril and the Cagewrights.
3) Send him to Sasserine to read through some texts there. Once he leaves Cauldron, she could teleport to the Ebon Triad HQ in Sasserine and inform them that one of the members of the band that eradicated their cohorts under Cauldron was coming into town. She knows that the Triad would completely demolish him and it can't really be tied to here OR the Cagewrights. It's just an evil group exacting revenge for a loss.
Of course, I didn't want to kill one of the PCs. Especially for such an innocent mistake, but my hands were tied with the reality of the situation.
I had the Striders contact Korvain and inform him that, after his party's recent success in the Kopru Ruins, the investigated and found that the Ebon Triad had a HQ in Sasserine. This gave Korvain TWO reasons to go to Sasserine. So... the next day, Korvain and Fellian head off to Sasserine.
Upon arrival, they hole up in the closest inn and are soon attacked. Fellian dies, Korvain lives to be a torture pet for the goons of Hextor. They use him as a practice dummy for months, allowing him wooden "swords" so he can show his worth. As we roleplayed it out, he began to become even darker and now is considering changing alignment to evil... ugh...
If that's not enough... I need to save him and somehow make sure that he doesn't suspect Embril as the set up person. Moreover, what would Embril do? I mean, she's PISSED that the Triad didn't just kill Korvain and she knows that the party will eventually go looking for him so do I have her somehow approach the party with a concerned look and say, "The last I spoke with Korvain was several months ago and I am worried. He went to Sasserine, but my sources say he never arrived at his destination. I have done a scrying and found that he has been captured by the same cult that you helped defeat under Cauldron."
This diverts suspision away from Embril, allowing her to circumvent the party thinking she set Korvain up. When they come back to Cauldron after saving Korvain, I'll go straight into the Cusp of Sunrise invitation (perhaps having Embril announce publicly that this band is, again, the heroes of Cauldron for defeating such vile creatures). Thus, I would totally skip the Umber Hulk showdown.
Any thoughts? I need help on this one big time...
