In "Champion's Belt," the PCs killed Bozal before he was able to release the ulgurstasta. Ugh. NEVER have a PC that does something "if reduced to fewer than 5 hit points." That almost never happens.
It's extremely unlikely that the PCs have the means to shut off the containment field on their own, according to the methods described in the sidebar on p. 60. They don't have a cleric powerful enough to make the turn check and caster check (there is no cleric, actually, only a paladin), and they certainly don't have access to any of the spells listed in the top bullet point. The only option, it looks like, is to go with the third bullet point, which sounds like it requires a lot of math headaches and having a Fiend Folio.
If I go with this third option, it could be several days before the ulgurstasta is released. The PCs still have to finish the rest of the tournament. The tournament could be over by the time the ulgurstasta is released, and the PCs certainly won't have access to the underground chambers of the area once the games are over. Plus, I really don't want to stretch out the game any longer than I have to. We've been stuck on this chapter for a few months because of delays, so I really want to move it to a finish as soon as possible.
Any ideas?
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I agree such situation hardly presents itself. Myself? I ignored that sentence and the cleric would have released the ulgurstasta "after the cleric died" (I was actually lucky and the cleric got to act at 3 hp). Sort of last dying action (or in response to die to use Magic lingo.) It's no big deal, look at it as a plot resource. Or simply change that 5 hp to 30 hp, or when the cleric knows it'll be his last round.
Try not to stick too much to the module, when in doubt, err on the fun side. :)
PS. Loris Raknian can release the ulgurstasta.
I should have had Bozal release it as a dying act, but I didn't think of it until it was too late. Bozal's been dead for several minutes now. The PCs have already examine the Apostolic Scrolls and made all their Knowledge checks, so they know how the Scrolls work. Plus, the rogue is currently trapped within the Dreams of Kyuss box in Bozal's room.
The PCs don't know what NPCs are available - just create another ally of Bozal's that wasn't present when the PCs slaughtered Bozal, and have that ally release the Ulgurstasta at the appropriate moment. The ally doesn't even have to be defined in-game if the PCs don't have any way of tracking him - it's just someone who snuck back down there at the right moment, then took off for the hills...
I agree, as written 5 hp is a terrible threshold (this kind of thing is a bit too prevalent in the AoW - I tend to use my own 'morale' rules rather than a fixed hp level at which an opponent will change tactics, as that can easily get screwed depending on your PC's).
Now, as DarienCR pointed out above, Loris Raknian can release the Ulgurstasta (it's written in the adventure). So the death of Bozal doesn't really change a thing. If the Pc's can figure out how to release the Ulgurstasta themselves, then they have a chance at killing it before it is released. If they can't (and this is the most likely result), well, at least they shouldn't be too surprised when it erupts during the final fight.
In my game, it happened exactly that last way - they killed Bozal, saw the Ulgurstasta, never worked out how to get at it, and lo and behold it burst through the arena floor on about round 2 of the final combat. By that stage, the PC's were already well on their way towards defeating Khellek etc. They were not terribly surprised to see the Ulgurstasta again, and managed to defeat it despite its awesome abilities (partially because I had it randomly pick out a foe initially, which meant it swallowed a flesh golem).
So don't sweat it, the Ulgurstasta can still get out at the end, and your players should be able to defeat it because it won't be a complete surprise (generally, it's when the players are blind-sided by something really unexpected and deadly that they fall down).
I think having the Ulgurstasta burst up into the arena during the final fight is a great way to end the adventure. Too bad Bozal won't be around to see it... of course, you could always bring him back as some kind of undead - vampire maybe? He's a cleric of Kyuss, after all, so the "gift" of undeath isn't too much of a stretch.
For what it's worth - I didn't want the PCs killing him early, so I made sure he wasn't in his room when they explored his area of the dungeon. Another possibility would be to have him assume gaseous form and escape through a crack (while that demon of corruption is attacking, etc.)
Another idea would be let him have the ability to assume vermin form (kyuss worm swarm) and again escape through the cracks.