after getting my copy of the Bestiary 2 i came across the entry for Pathfinder's take on Petitioners. Instantly i came up with a campaign wherein my PCs advance not in class levels but in Outsider HD slowing evolving from the Damned in Hell into unique Devils that could potentially be used later as "final bosses" of some potential future campaign. I've already decided that the PCs are going to be exemplary souls, they'll remember some aspects of their mortal life (name, a sense of what damned them, etc.), have two character traits, and 4 extra class skills of their choice in addition to what being Outsiders grant them. Now what i need are things that can challenge them while they strive to survive long enough to become some of the newest badasses of Hell and ideas on how i can "level" them up. any ideas or suggestions are welcome.
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Well you could always have them work for one of the big bads themselves... Asmodeous is always fun (though they don't have to KNOW who their working for) and if there evil then you can have them fight angels (maybe an angelic incursion into hell), Other Dukes of hell, Mortals who have come to hell for one reason or another, Some bestial entity from the beginning of time laid to rest within the bowls and heart of hell only to arise now because of the plots of some insane petitioner who wishes to be free of hell and will destroy it all to do it (he might even be using the PC's ;)). There really is a fair amount of things to do in hell... you just need to make sure the PC's are appropriately equipped... As for the "leveling Up" Maybe the Pc's are special, and as they gain experience they gain more of themselves as they used to be (of course hell itself might put a LITTLE bit of itself in their). Maybe they gain a patron who helps them realize more power through sinister arcane rituals and rites.
Hopefully that helps a little bit :)
All are good ideas, and i may use them or variations thereof. I know for certain that some of their biggest rivals will be the few other Petitioners of Hell that retain as much of their former selves as the PCs (the majority having their full mortal lives completely scoured by their rebirth). But what i'm looking for mainly is low level challenges for them while they're still starting out, and maybe tips on granting them new abilities as they "level". like granting the former assassin sneak attack but what kind of other abilities would be a good equivalent for the other PCs since they all share the same number of class skills, racial skill points, HD, BaB and the like.
Low level? well i guess the question you might need to answer is: were do they start? Their are a lot of low level baddies (both good and bad if you catch my meaning) Plus you can give monsters the half fiend template (half fiend goblins, orcs, hobgoblins, bugbears, etc.) Maybe they have to escape from a low ranking demons domain, starting them in its dungeon and go from their.
Or maybe they wake up beside the river styx and must find their way to some sort of civilization (a camp beneath a mountain full of partitioners of lesser sinners and minor demons trying to survive against the greater evils within hell).
Just a couple ideas for low level beginnings (maybe as a continuation they meet up with a Mortal wizard or sorcerer who offers them sanctuary in return for aiding him with his research? Plenty of points for intrigue their).
As for abilities your going to need your players help on that one. It really makes a difference what kind of character their playing. Your basically making custom classes for all involved so... Its kinda tough to say what "exactly" to give your players without knowing some background info. I would say look at the normal classes and use good judgment when working out the progression.
Maybe you can have them work in the wine press.
Hopefully they haven't read the book,
In any case, by keeping the secret, tossing other petitioners into the press, and other appropriate behavior, they can get rewarded by their commerce devil boss.
How do they gain monster levels? See the H@ll Raiser movies. They get modified and gain powers.
I agree with JadedDemiGod half fiend will add many options as will the fiendish template (i'd suggest starting with that).
Imps and Lemurs are low level devils and so are potential foes also hobgoblins, kobolds, Duergar are normally lawful evil so may be around
You could also have them summoned to the material plane for a time by clerics, mages, or even more powerful devils using their Summon power.
I like the Wine press idea, very hellish of a plot device. I'll be starting the first session tomorrow and i'll be sure to tell how wll it went, etc.
Cool :), i'm actually rather interested to hear how it goes, as this particular campaign idea sounds really interesting. Good Luck and Happy DMing ;)
First session went pretty well, i had the PCs enter into Hell plummeting like a meteor, crawling of their crater only to find themselves in a massive field filled with thousands of the recently damned.
Soon they were charged by a massive line of huge Levalochs collecting the recently delivered souls in massive iron cages strapped to their backs. The PCs had the good sense to flee and what followed was a series of checks and saves as they fought their way through the crowd trying to avoid collection.
Long story short they were herded toward a cliff, climbed down into a nearby cave and later joined a much larger group of escaped Petitioners, successfully fought off an invasion of Fiendish Thylacines and have basically made themselves one of the leaders of this large gang damned Petitioners. But one of the NPC Petitioners had sold his to a Devil (his contract being engraved onto his back) and come next session that Devil will be coming to their hideout to collect. mwahahahah
Well you could always have them work for one of the big bads themselves... Asmodeous is always fun (though they don't have to KNOW who their working for) and if there evil then you can have them fight angels (maybe an angelic incursion into hell), Other Dukes of hell, Mortals who have come to hell for one reason or another, Some bestial entity from the beginning of time laid to rest within the bowls and heart of hell only to arise now because of the plots of some insane petitioner who wishes to be free of hell and will destroy it all to do it (he might even be using the PC's ;)). There really is a fair amount of things to do in hell... you just need to make sure the PC's are appropriately equipped... As for the "leveling Up" Maybe the Pc's are special, and as they gain experience they gain more of themselves as they used to be (of course hell itself might put a LITTLE bit of itself in their). Maybe they gain a patron who helps them realize more power through sinister arcane rituals and rites.
Hopefully that helps a little bit :)
Angels? Pah. In previous D&D, devils and demons were too worried with each other to try and go screw with angels.
An idea for low level adventure might be that their demon master(s) charge them with setting a trap for a high level Good-aligned adventuring group that is messing with demony plans and whatnot.
The PCs could pretend to be trapped/in danger/need help/want to help the adventurers and lure the group into an evil demony trap of death. It's a good role-playing opportunity. They might even be rewarded by their demon boss if successful.
I'm retaining the Blood War as an aspect of my world's cosmology, but am also having elements of an overarching conspiracy between Asmodeus and Graz'zt working to turn the races of all three fiends into a united warfront against the Heavens, and my poor Damned PCs will be caught up in it.
I’m nearsighted. I take off my glasses and read the fine print on his back. ”The official agents of said devil can see out of the eyes, and hear out of the ears, of said person at will, regardless of condition of said ears or eyes!”
Now, as far as my supply of devils that i can have players encounter is concerned i've got access to both Bestiaries, the Princes of the Damned, and quite a bit of 3.5 material that i could update if i really felt like it. Does anyone know of any adventure paths that have new devils in them besides the first two in "The Council of Thieves", i'll be ordering them soon and i'd like to see if there more i could place in said order.
Now, as far as my supply of devils that i can have players encounter is concerned i've got access to both Bestiaries, the Princes of the Damned, and quite a bit of 3.5 material that i could update if i really felt like it. Does anyone know of any adventure paths that have new devils in them besides the first two in "The Council of Thieves", i'll be ordering them soon and i'd like to see if there more i could place in said order.
AP #27 - Chortov Devil (CR9); this AP's worth picking up for the Idols alone.
AP #28 - Cabal Devil (CR10); also includes cerberi and a CR7 asura
AP #29 - Possession Devil (CR6)
AP #30 - Advodaza Devil (CR18); also includes Hell Gigas and a nasty kyton variant
I'd get them all; despite what people say about the AP, the information inside is worth every dollar spent IMO. Don't know about the older APs, I only bought a few. I don't think Kingmaker had any new fiends and Serpent's Skull's probably including CE fiends, if any.
Diablo converted to D&D. There was one for 3.0 and another for 3.5.
It included stats for skeletons with bows.
Diablo converted to D&D. There was one for 3.0 and another for 3.5.
It included stats for skeletons with bows.
This was an idea I hadn't considered, I've managed to track down a copy of the Diablo II Diablerie. What I'm really liking is the stats for the Fallen Imps (as they're called in the upcoming Diablo III) I'M gonna post the updated stats for them and their shamans once I finish them but I think they'll make the perfect little fodder for a Demonic incursion into Hell as part of the Blood War.
Hmm, at some point if the PCs are captured, instead of killing them (since they can't be raised), you could draft all of them off in a hellish "Press gang" of sorts, working really, REALLY hard time in slave labor camps. Might provide some down time for the characters to define their characters a little bit more and establish bonds with each other within the context (that is, as much as the damned can bond).
One idea for a myth arc might be for what existed in hell before the devils/baatezu. In Pathfinder, the qlippoths came before the demons, so why not something coming before the devils? In Planescape, this was the Ancient Baatorians, to which the nupperibo (a nearly mindless, senseless low-level fiend). One idea you might hit them up, if they discover this fact, is for them to kidnap a nupperibo and try to "civilize" it- ie, trying to get it to advance beyond its rather limited state just to see what would happen or to use it as a weapon. See the Tome of Horrors or the upcoming Tome of Horrors Complete for stats on the nupperibo.
Other things for them might include trying to impress various sundry and evil gods for aid/shelter/assistance. This could also be a way for them to advance (the god's favor either directly improving their forms or granting them divine spell-like abilities). Another idea, should they hook up with some higher level patron outsider, is what is essentially an infernal game of babysitting. Their infernal patron assigns them to watch after a particularly obnoxious subordinate, who naturally gets itself into all sorts of other troubles and drags the PCs into all of those complicated issues you've mentioned on this thread. One of the big things about Hell is the ecology of the hierarchy- finding your niche. That often means successfully exploiting your superiors (by brownnosing) and your inferiors (abuse, intimidation, etc).
As for ideas on how to mechanically represent their advancement as Outsiders, that's a bit tougher. If you didn't want to go the Savage Species route, you could use some of the monster classes (without LA) released by Pathfinder third party makers and just reskin them as Outsider monster classes. For example, Rite publishing made a number of race guides called "In the Company of". "In the Company of Gargoyles" might make for an appropriate fit here, for example. For developing your own abilities, I'd say not to go too far past what a spellcaster or other character could do at the equivalent level. So hesitate before giving them Greater Teleport as a SLA until like 13th level or so- or whenever you're really ready for them to move around a lot.