My players, characters heavilly wounded, retreated from thistletop with pretty much Nualia and Malfekshnor(sp) left.
How would Nualia play this. Presumably she knows everything else in the place has been slaughtered. Would she try to sneak out to regroup, sneak up on the camping party? Fight to the bitter end in Thistletop?
Input appreciated.
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Maybe have her make a hasty retreat to get reinforcements from Magnimar. When the PC go there in the other book, second one I believe, have some new henchmen spot them and report their find to Nualia. Then work some kind of ambush in a dark alley with a couple more henchman and make a few new hounds. Or maybe have her try and set the PCs up to get in trouble with the law. Leave a freshly sacrificed corpse in one of the PCs room. Maybe she follows the PCs back to Sandpoint using the catacombs as a new lair to unleash havoc on the town with the runewell.
It has been a few months since I ran the first book so my info may be slightly off.
Nualia wants a few things, to purge the taint of celestial blood in her body, to get in good with Lamashtu, to free Malfeshnekor, and to get revenge on the people of Sandpoint. Add a grudge agaisnt the heroes who busted up her opperation and you've got some cool directions you could do with this.
If you want to keep her local, she's smart enough to know her good deal at Thistletop has been compromised. She still wants to get Malfeshnekor out, but she can't stay there unguarded. Therefore she might run off somewhere local. As a native of the area, she knows where people stay away from, making Stoot's Rock, The Devil's Platter, or any of the nearby woods good places for her to hide. From there, she could easily draw on her knowledge of local nefarious types--buying off some Sczarni maybe or some other local higher CR goblinoids--to head back into Thistletop or track down the PCs. It might be cool if she took refuge in The Pit, maybe even with Lamashtu granting her some control over the Sandpoint Devil--that's pretty high CR, but what the Devil really is (it could be some other monster) and if it's really real is up to you.
Alternatively, Nualia does have connections to the Skinsaw Men. She could very easily head back to Magnimar and get orders to go back up and seek help from Foxglove. She'd make an interesting red herring at the beginning of the Skinsaw Murders, maybe even getting captured and blamed for the adventure's early events. Although she technically orchestrated the goblin attack on Sandpoint I'm not sure how much evidence the PCs could really present Sheriff Hemlock of that. While she's totally evil and vindictive, could your PCs let her be imprisoned/executed for murders she didn't commit?
Lots of neat options here. I'd love to hear what you decide on!
There are (imho) 2 very important reasons why she would not leave Thistletop. First is the temple, she knows it would most likely get destroyed should she leave the area and secondly is Malf. Depending upon how close she is to freeing him she may try to lock herself in the lower section whilst she makes freeing him a priority.
Personally if this where my game I'd have her make a final stand in the lower section (Does she have commune? If so maybe her God can tell her if the Quasit is dead or not) I think she is getting too close to the liberation of Malfeshnikor to abandon the dungeon now. Especially if you think about what is involved.
If she could find him and free him, he would not only help her achieve her vengeance against the town of Sandpoint, but he would be the key in cleansing her body of what she had come to see as her “celestial taint.” Nualia wanted to be one of Lamashtu’s children now. She wanted to become a monster herself..
I think she would be caught between a rock and hard place. She knows that if she stays and trys to finish releasing Malf. then the PC's are likely to come back and finish her off. They will be healed and better prepared and she doesn't have the support she had the first time. However if she leaves to get more support by the time she gets back the temple could be gone, Malf. destroyed perhaps or sealed off and her chances ruined.
I think it might depend on how close you feel she is to free Malf. If she's real close then maybe she stays frantically working away trying to free him. Knowing each second the PC's could return and she would be trapped and slain so close to her 'destiny'.
I think I'd have her leave to get help, furious that she has come so close and no forced to stop. Work out how long it will take her to retreat to Magnimar, get help and return. That gives the PC's a window to do what they will it that time and play from there. Then maybe she can be a thorn in the players side later.
Maybe she will free Malf. and that could lead to a difficult encouter with the PC's, an attack on Sandpoint?
Maybe Shaula (Not sure the spelling but the elven Ranger) see's activity at Thistletop later and the PC's can investigate again, what will they find?
Maybe she returns later as the monster she wants to be?
Loads of great possibilities...
Lamashtu granted her support creatures before (ie the 3 yeth hounds). Maybe she'll grant some more, different creatures. I don't know what resources you're using, but some chaotic evil outsiders of some sort would surely liven things up a bit.
I've chosen to have her leave Thistletop and "recruit" more support in Magnimar before smashing the party in an act of vengeance.
The party entered thistletop and were smashed up pretty badly by Malfesheknor before retreating.
She is a very effective red herring at beginning of Skinsaw, as the group is sure shes the murderer, although I've been hinting strongly at Titus Scarnetti.
Nualia lived in Magnimar until not long before the beginning of Burnt Offerings. IMC I said that she still had a townhouse there. She would certainly know a lot of people/contacts/resources.