Hi there,
I need some help. In my campaign my group is going to finish the test of the smoking eye. So hopefully one of the charakters will become the new ruler of Occipitus. I decided to use the variant smoking eye template for this guy. But now he is ruler of an entire plane with some nice new abilities they have to return to cauldron and - by the book - will never come back again. (OK, they can decide to do so after the last chapter, but that is not the point.)
I would like to get them back to Occipitus at least one more time, so the smoking eye guy can tie some bonds to his (probably) new home. I have not the time to play big side adventures, so I would like to link the ongoing campaign with this plane.
My first idea was, to set the fiery sanctum as a location at Occipitus, but that would skip the whole chapter 9 "Foundation of flame" because there is no ritual, which causes the eruption of the vulcano, the tremours and the arrival of the demodands.
My second idea was to let Adimarchus flee to Occipitus just after his release out of the cage in Skullrot. The final fight could take place at Occipitus, where Adimarchus could fight against the new ruler of the plane in order to get himself back on the throne. But this is in my opinion too late for the first return to Occipitus after chapter 6.
Some other ideas?
Sheharan
My group used Occipitus as a new base of operations. Using the template for the new ruler, they found that they saved spellcasting by having the Smoking Eye plane shift (perfectly) to where they needed to go (as long as it had been seen before). Especially after the assassination attempt early in Chapter 7, they were glad to have a "safe" place to rest, even if it is a plane of the Abyss.
This does assume that plane shift is available to the group to return to Occipitus. Possibly a magic item could be "bequeathed" to the new ruler to allow him to return. (The new ruler in our group eventually wished for the power to return to the Occipitus so that she was not dependent on the party's cleric. This wish took place on Walpurgis, which is also the day when the tree's ritual would be completed)
Another way to look at it is that once Adimarchus "dies" elsewhere, his body will go back to the Skull of Occipitus. A final fight (or resolution of his madness and soul through visions) is possible.
Occipitus does not play a large part in the rest of the campaign until they start searching for Adimarchus. I played up the tension in Chapter 7-10, making it obvious that time was of the essence. This put pressure on the new ruler to choose between helping their companions or staying on Occipitus. High-level characters should have to choose between their "kingdoms" and their friends' goals.
STUFF
Thanks - good advice. I'm going to consider these points when my group gets that far. I had been thinking similarly to the OP.
Peace,
DoD - Kev