|
Would it be possible for Kaurophon to use his lesser amulet of the planes to get them all back to the Prime? They know the location of the final test, so they would only need to leave for a short time, shift back to Occipitus, and then use some other type of teleportation magic to get themselves back to the skull. If the party disappears, the dragon might go after the rakshasa and the giant instead, allowing the party to mop up the survivors when they return.
|
|
Or Kaurophon could just use his amulet (or teleports) to leave at this point. He TOO knows where the final test is now and probably would be all too happy to see the party die. It would also make for an intresting vendetta as the party has to flee or barely survive a fight as Kaurophon waves goodbye.
Another idea is that the party decides to leave as a group and Kaurophon makes the will save to resist the teleport, letting the rest of the group flee while he goes on to try and pass the test.
Been a while since I ran this one, but a few ideas spring to mind.
First, the encounter with the giant and raksasha was extremely quick and one sided with my party. Though you are getting into the levels where whoever goes first matters a LOT.
The raksasha is there to pass the test himself. He may not want to engage the PCs not knowing their power and sprint on up the tube leaving his companion behind to deal with the party separately. (Your call, but he could get taken out by the undead fellow up ahead).
Give the PCs time to fight the fights separately while still keeping the pressure on. They don't need to know that the dragon is not about to pop up at any moment through the pool... just hold off on doing so.
Sean Mahoney
An adventure in the Abyss should be dangerous. So that is good. Even if one of your PCs dies, it need not be a problem (a TPK might be more problematic). You can always try to use a death in your story. I did in this adventure. Here's what happened:
In my campaign, the giant and raksasha killed one of the PCs from our two-men party. With one hero dead and no time or possibility to return to a temple on the Prime, I decided to use his death.
The dead PC was a LG priest. Since he died in the Abyss, the evil in this plane prevented his soul from going to heaven. So his soul manifested as a ghost that felt the evil of the Abyss pulling at him, trying to absorb his essence.
He could still use his spells to interfere in the 'real world', where his friend was, but every spell he cast, decreased his divine energy, making him more vulnerable to the plane.
The end fight between the surviving PC and Kaurophon went quite badly for the PC, since he was being tossed around by Kaurophon's telekinesis spell. The ghost priest tried to help him with some healing, but finally decided to step into the flames himself to try and save his partner. His sacrifice worked wonders (since he was a cleric of the god of sacrifice), resulting in his resurrection and him receiving the sign of the eye. It was top of the bill roleplay!
Or Kaurophon could just use his amulet (or teleports) to leave at this point. He TOO knows where the final test is now and probably would be all too happy to see the party die.
Well, he does still need an ally to betray, but I suppose he can rustle up a new one if need be.
|
|
Well, he does still need an ally to betray, but I suppose he can rustle up a new one if need be.
Yeah, but he doesn't know that at the time. He could reach the test and find that he has to go get a PC to come up there with him.
In my own game, Kaurophon stayed with the party only because he could not get a hold of the Lantern of Guidance and he booked as soon as the location of the last test became obvious.
Well, I need some advice.
I'd say give your PCs a chance to get themselves out of/through this. Keep the roleplay up - my biggest mistake as a DM is letting the roleplay slip in the tense rollplay moments.
Let them hear the dragon scraping along behind them, and decide what they'll do.
If they do plane shift out, after letting the dragon 'meet and greet' the rakshasa and giant, you might let the *players* fight it out.
Good luck!