So, last session, the entire party got kited to death by a sorcerer one level higher than the APL who ran along the rooftops raining down scorching rays.
Then we all had a long discussion about where we wanted to go with the campaign.
We decided to come up with reasons that our characters would have the determination to come back to life when they could head off to their eternal paradises. So each person came up with a reason, Paladin has to slay 1000 evil creatures with his blade to undo a curse upon his wife, Barbarian looks to find the truth behind a conspiracy in the family, and the Sorcerer isn't still exactly sure.
So, we had each of them talk to their respective man upstairs and ask to be brought back to life. Man upstairs says, "Prove your worth by cutting your path through hell to a hell-gate. I'll give you the ride there."
So, session ends with dramatic fiery scene of a valley in hell with the giant looming gate on the other end.
Then I get a call that the groups coming over in about 17 hours. I intend to sleep between now and then, and I'm pretty slow at creating adventures.
Anybody know some good suitable adventure pdfs on paizo or something that I could buy/download and use to help DM the adventure. I'd like something a little more refined than "Uh.. Ok, you've beaten the CR appropriate devils... Maybe some Fire and Earth Elementals?"
The question should be: Where/which hell, what's the layout of this valley, what would be going on here (if it's the abyss, maybe a couple of warring factions eye the party as potential resources against the other factions). Where in the material plane does the Hellgate lead to, etc.
And remember, it's a hellscape, the very scenery can be part of the challenge.
You could possibly see devils and demons battling in the blood war, angels coming down to wreak some havoc, etc.
Draw a map of the valley=number one priority. Define what kind of challenges you'd like them to face.
The forest in the middle of the valley is on fire, but never burns down, the animals/souls are writhing on the ground slowly burning to death but never actually dying. Paths through the forest, while not always under direct assault from the flames, have their own perils. And remember, the demons/devils have learned to adapt.
The lake in the middle of the inferno...is just a lake. Beautiful and pure. The hell part comes in when they realize the animals/souls can't QUITE make it to the lake to quench the flames, and the water disappears if you try to take it out of the lake. However, if they manage to find out how to get water from the lake (probably by picking up a flaming forest critter and dunking it), the water gives minor magical benefits.
What's APL? Something like the Occipitus(sp?) chapter of The Shackled City could work and could be adapted pretty quickly for what you want. The skeleton is there, just have to scale it to the party. It's set in the abyss and the pc's are cavorting around the plane to complete a test. The ending would have to be adjusted a bit, but I think you could adapt it pretty easily for what you want.
Read or Paraphrase: "The valley before is engulfed in flames. A raging wildfire appears to have almost completely consumed the forest.
As the hot wind blows dozens of small embers in your face, you notice in the middle of the valley is what appears to be a small lake.
At the end of the vally, you can see a large gate."
Everyone makes a perception check, notices a few trails leading into the forest. Doesn't matter which one they pick, but make them sweat over it. Rogue/Ranger scouting may see large tracks in one, maybe the inferno washes over the trail at one point in another, forcing a retreat, etc.
The path they DO take will end up taking them almost directly to the lake, but let them hit a few switchbacks to make them worried. At this point, feel free to hit up the PFSRD to throw a few interesting CR-appropriate fights. But only 1 or two, the real challenge is navigating the huge burning forest.
Read or Paraphrase: "The path opens up into a white sand beach. A ray of sunlight illuminates the area, (though the exact source of the light is invisble, this is where a part of Mount Celestia has been absorbed into the Abyss, so it is genuinely nice) showing a vast, crystal-clear lake. The waters appear very inviting.
The animals that are on fire here appear to be struggling to make it to the lake...but never seem to have enough strength to pull themselves out of the blaze."
This is where the big debate comes in. Take a swim in the cool, refreshing lake that could very well be a trap, or not? The good characters of the group should be showing the poor "animals" some kindness, and try to bring water to them, but only entering the blaze (or throwing say, a grappling hook) and forcibly removing them from it will work. Water taken from the lake disappears when it leaves the area illuminated by the sun.
If they do save some souls, they should get a feeling of happiness from it, and watch as the various animals turn into little motes of light and float to the source of the sunlight. However, as they continue to save more and more animals, have a feeling of strong anxiety slowly creep up on them.
The current Lord of the Blaze is coming to greet them.
will continue if this interests you at all
The Shackled City chapter would have to be scaled down iirc, but should still work fine. I'm trying to think of other modules along those lines, but nothing's coming to mind right now. The name of that chapter is "Test of the Smoking Eye." It's in Dungeon #107.
So was my little mini-quest helping, or have you found an adventure you are going to use already?
So, last session, the entire party got kited to death by a sorcerer one level higher than the APL who ran along the rooftops raining down scorching rays.
Then we all had a long discussion about where we wanted to go with the campaign.
We decided to come up with reasons that our characters would have the determination to come back to life when they could head off to their eternal paradises. So each person came up with a reason, Paladin has to slay 1000 evil creatures with his blade to undo a curse upon his wife, Barbarian looks to find the truth behind a conspiracy in the family, and the Sorcerer isn't still exactly sure.
So, we had each of them talk to their respective man upstairs and ask to be brought back to life. Man upstairs says, "Prove your worth by cutting your path through hell to a hell-gate. I'll give you the ride there."
So, session ends with dramatic fiery scene of a valley in hell with the giant looming gate on the other end.
Then I get a call that the groups coming over in about 17 hours. I intend to sleep between now and then, and I'm pretty slow at creating adventures.
Anybody know some good suitable adventure pdfs on paizo or something that I could buy/download and use to help DM the adventure. I'd like something a little more refined than "Uh.. Ok, you've beaten the CR appropriate devils... Maybe some Fire and Earth Elementals?"
If you have access to any of the old planescape material, it had some excellent flavor for such an adventure. Hellbound: The Blood War has some particularly appropiate material. One recommendation that I can make that worked for me from past experience, is having the Yugoloths (I believe they are called Daemons these days) conscript the pc's as mercenaries in the Blood War. The great thing about the NE fiends is they offer great opportunity to go beyond hack and slash mayhem in the lower planes. The Yugoloth incessantly played the two factions against each other, so there is plenty of opportunity for intrigue here.
Perhaps something along the lines of a conscription as purgatory pursuant to rebirth. There are a ton of potential hooks from that, and you can send your players on a lot of fun adventures and nefarious side plots throughout the process. I'm not sure if this is what you were looking for, but hopefully it sparks a useful idea.
Most of the stuff I could refer you to is 3.5. I haven't read many Pathfinder adventures yet. There are several of us that rotate GM duties in our group and my turn hasn't come up for a Pathfinder game yet and I don't want to end up reading what one of the other guys might use.
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They're level six. Our party will compose of a Paladin, Barbarian, and Sorcerer, maybe a bard (can't confirm whether he'll be there).
Things that makes the party unusually tough..
Barbarian has SR 14.
Paladin. Smite Evil. Evil outsiders.And vice versa.
Sorcerer is a fire blaster.
Technically, they should all be Petitioners... (Bestiary 2) That does make things a little harder, though.
Hmm.. 3.5 definitely isn't too much trouble to transfer. I didn't notice it before, but thanks for referring me to the specific Dragon magazine.
No problem, it's Dungeon, not Dragon, so make sure you get the right one if you look it up.
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The Conquest of Bloodsworn Vale has a big valley with a bunch of level 6 appropriate wilderness encounters - it could be reskinned to be on fire fairly easily.
It meets the valley requirement but not the hell/portal bit.
Crucible of Chaos is also set in a valley, has a lost city and a lot of horror elements, but is for level 8 and is quite deadly. Also not set in hell.
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There is also War of the Burning Sky #2: The Indomitable Fire Forest of Innenotdar. I'll dig up a link. http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/e/enPublishing/ogl/warOfTheBurningSky/v574 8btpy85a3&source=search
I can't remember what level we played through that at, probably 3 or 4. Not the best adventure in the world, but its got a giant burning forest. There are some reviews of the adventure on enworld.
What level are your players?
Level 6 each. They're a bit behind on the WPL curve, as they've been keeping giant piles of coin in their back pockets and haven't found a way to spend them since the last adventure.
I'm thinking throw the lord of the blaze at them for a chase scene, make him a horned hunter (who is on fire), give him a pack of hellhounds and see what happens. Maybe they get chased to the portal, maybe they defeat him and can take their sweet time, etc.