Hell yes. =-)
Speaking on the matter of Broken Moon...
** spoiler omitted **
The specifics of your campaign brought a couple if things to mind that you could consider working in. Don't overdo it, of course, but I thought of the following connections:
** spoiler omitted **
I know it's a long time to wait for a reply to a reply, but I just wanted to let you know your ideas on the General and (more immediately,) the vampire countess/diplomat in Shadows of Gallowspire have struck fertile ground. Most importantly, the Countess Natisha Pavalanis serves as a handy reservation writer for Vrood and his lackeys so I can allow Adrissant to appear in Broken Moon without the players finding his name in the journal and going, "Oh man, we gotta kill him!" ahead of schedule.
However, I decided to present her in a different way... one that demonstrates her usefulness to the Whispering Way without making the players feel like betrayed doofuses, should they choose to parley and work with the vampires of Caliphas (who I'm planning on keeping very Anti-Whispering Way.)
==== Below is my version of Countess Natisha Pavalanis ====
Countess Natisha Pavalanis was a noblewoman of considerable beauty whose loveliness just started to fade and give way to the impartial hand of age. Fervently, she used every resource and ounce of influence to search for a method to turn back or halt the hands of the clock... finally even managing to gain audience with the infamous Vampire Court of Caliphas. However, the Vampire Lord Florian Lamorath scoffed at the petty, vain noble frantically trying to hold together the seams of her retreating youth, and denied her request to become an eternally beautiful vampiress. All the more desperate (and furious at being rebuked,) the Countess fell in with the Whispering Way and Adivion Adrissant. Ever the chessmaster, Adivion saw an opportunity to dirty the hands of a noble other than himself and remain hidden. He brokered an agreement with Natisha to transform her into a vampire, if she kept up the masquerade of being human, allowing the Whispering Way to use her noble title and sway in any manner required.
Should the players, while in Caliphas, decide to look in on the countess who wrote the introduction for Vrood and his necromancers, they may find the trail leading to the Vampire Court, where "Lord Florian" informs them of the petty woman they turned away not long ago, and her desperation for unlife to preserve her beauty... thus foreshadowing her appearance at Renchurch... allowing me the glee of portending another villain well before she appears!
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I had to go back and look Natisha Pavalanis up (somehow I had overlooked her in Shadows of Gallowspire), but I can see how that would work. Your take on her actually helped me figure out an angle in my campaign that I had been looking to change.
In my campaign, the dhampir Quinley Basdel is working for the Whispering Way, but I was having a problem with changing his backstory as presented in Ashes at Dawn (if questioned by the PCs, he'll still give them the information that's listed in the adventure). But with your take on Natisha, I can have her be Quinley's mother and his tie to the Whispering Way. At the countess' behest, Quinley is actually doing his best to tie up as many loose ends in Caliphas as possible, which includes dealing with Radvir Giovanni. After all, Natisha was the one that pointed out how useful the tailor could be to Adrissant's plan. At Adivion's behest (and with Natisha's help), Quinley was the one that had been systematically eliminating vampire nobility in Caliphas to aid in the tailor's rise up the social ladder to achieve his current position (this actually leaves Radvir innocent of their deaths). But jealousy of Radvir's growing influence with Luvick Siervage and Adivion Adrissant has been eating away at Natisha for some time and now through her son, she is prepared to ruin Radvir in both their eyes so that she can take what she feels is her rightful due in both vampire society (Radvir's seat on the council) and with the Whispering Way (eliminating Radvir so that he can't be tied to the cult).
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So having already finished HoH and halfway through TotB when I got to reading this thread I've found my place to add AA into the mix with a connection to the PCs and Kendra.
At the end of the 30 day wainting period in HoH I had Kendra sell the house in Ravengro to one Esme Muralt (nee Currindon) of Ardis (originally in the Pathfiner Chronicles: NPC Guide). Esme of course is very kind to Kendra and invites her to stay at her estate in Ardis until she figures out what to do now that her father is gone. She also takes a shine to the PCs seeing uses for adventurers in her personal machinations. Indeed her agenda is in reclaiming Lozeri for the Currindon family who lost the county to the now deposed Beauturne family.
--Vrocky Horror
I've read through this thread twice now and find it full of great ideas and information. My campaign is fairly slow moving, only playing twice a month, but I'm taking things in and making plans.
A large part of my GM style is what I call "Oops" as in, typically while speaking as an NPC, I hear something come out of my mouth and in the back of my mind a voice says... "Oops..."
I'm probably alone, however, in drawing my vision of Adivion from Truman Capote's portrayal of Lionel Twain in Murder By Death. Someone the many unexpected juxtapositions--effete, but still imposing, brilliant, but tempermental, stylish, but detached--all sort of fit with the original vision of the forsaken lich. I look forward to developing the vision and I may follow along with some of the redesigns described in this thread already.
Thank you everyone for wonderful ideas and discussion!
** spoiler omitted **
Awesome! I wrote them both! =-)
** spoiler omitted **Awesome! I wrote them both! =-)
You wrote the article on the Esoteric Order of the Palantine Eye...
So, I've been meaning to ask... Are you a Freemason? The Palantine Eye's stuff reads almost word-for-word like some of my grandfather's books.
You wrote the article on the Esoteric Order of the Palantine Eye...
So, I've been meaning to ask... Are you a Freemason? The Palantine Eye's stuff reads almost word-for-word like some of my grandfather's books.
Now if I was a member of a secret society, I wouldn't very well be able to share that information, now would I? Wouldn't be much of a secret then! Hahahahaha.
In all seriousness, I'm a collector and a historian utterly fascinated with secret societies, cults, religions, and other esoterica. I've got a pretty extensive collection of Freemason and Oddfellow artifacts. Heck, I'm drinking my morning coffee now from my a 100-year-old set of Knights of Malta-marked cup and saucer set. I just love the bizarre, mysterious vibe of the organizations-kind of reminds me of my Catholic roots and the very ritualistic nature of Mass that just taps into very old traditions that have persisted for hundreds of years and longer.
As for the Golarion equivalent, I turned to all manner of inspirations for the Palatine Eye. I'm very well-versed in the history of Freemasonry, the Jesuits, the Golden Dawn, Spiritualists, Theosophy, etc, etc, etc, totally fascinated with groups like Scientologists, and I drew on my knowledge of all of them to conjure up an amalgamation of rituals, histories, and beliefs that became the Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye. I've probably got a stack of related books on the subject in my library that rivals your grandfather's!
You wrote the article on the Esoteric Order of the Palantine Eye...
So, I've been meaning to ask... Are you a Freemason? The Palantine Eye's stuff reads almost word-for-word like some of my grandfather's books.
Now if I was a member of a secret society, I wouldn't very well be able to share that information, now would I? Wouldn't be much of a secret then! Hahahahaha.
In all seriousness, I'm a collector and a historian utterly fascinated with secret societies, cults, religions, and other esoterica. I've got a pretty extensive collection of Freemason and Oddfellow artifacts. Heck, I'm drinking my morning coffee now from my a 100-year-old set of Knights of Malta-marked cup and saucer set. I just love the bizarre, mysterious vibe of the organizations-kind of reminds me of my Catholic roots and the very ritualistic nature of Mass that just taps into very old traditions that have persisted for hundreds of years and longer.
As for the Golarion equivalent, I turned to all manner of inspirations for the Palatine Eye. I'm very well-versed in the history of Freemasonry, the Jesuits, the Golden Dawn, Spiritualists, Theosophy, etc, etc, etc, totally fascinated with groups like Scientologists, and I drew on my knowledge of all of them to conjure up an amalgamation of rituals, histories, and beliefs that became the Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye. I've probably got a stack of related books on the subject in my library that rivals your grandfather's!
That is so cool. Paizo in general is fairly good about this but I do love it when a writer Does The Research. And being able to pull from so many different traditions (many of which have the same basis if you go back 500+ years) gives a very unique source of inspiration.
You probably have the bigger collection by now. After Grandpa died most of his books were donated to collections. I don't even know if we still have a copy of the thesis he wrote for his 33rd degree (he let me read it! ). Most likely not, of his kids and grandkids I was the only one who was really interested in Freemasonry and sadly I'm ineligible.
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Then I looked at his spell list and one spell amongst them made me smile: dimension door. I knew then what I had to do.
** spoiler omitted **...
Don’t forget: "After using this spell, you can't take any other actions until your next turn. "
So you don't want Adivion DDing within melee range of the party, they'll filet him as he just stands there pretty much defenseless until his next round.
If you check his feats, you'll notice these:
Dimensional Agility, Dimensional Assault, Dimensional Dervish, and Dimensional Savant. The first lifts the action restriction imposed by the spell. The second builds on the first and allows a full attack action using dim door as a charge. The third allows a full attack action with dim door being cast as a swift action. The fourth provides flanking while using the third feat. And in addition to doing all that, he can teleport up to twice his speed (up to the maximum distance allowed by the spell or ability), dividing this teleportation into increments that he can use before his first attack, between each attack, and after his last attack, provided that he teleports at least 5 feet each time.
Trust me, melee range teleportation using dimension door is not a worry for my version of Adivion. If he was based on a Soul Reaper from Bleach, this is exactly how I'd do Flash Steps and he'd be like Byakuya Kuchiki or Yoruichi Shihoin in that regard.
Hah, Blayde, my Adivion also has Dimensional Agility line of feats. :D Unfortunately I couldn't squeeze in Dimensional Savant, but I'm not even sure if it's worth the feat. I gave him Brilliant Energy weapon, so I could pull off more attacks. Here he is:
It is, but if he already has Brilliant Energy weapon (which gives PCs a penalty of roughly -8 to AC), it is not necessary.
If some players are still reading in this thread, big big spoilers ahead...
First off I wanna say thank you all for the great ideas in this threat. It inspired me to flesh out the villain in this story for my game too. If someone who maybe deeper in the story of all the AP could look over my ideas for potential holes or problems, that would be awesome. Anyways, here it goes.
We are through HoH already, so sadly no A.A. at the funeral. But I want to introduce him at the trial. I combined that with replacing the count with someone the SC will be more invested in, which I hope in my game will be Justice Daramid. So Adrissant will be in town during the trial and meet the PC briefly. I will also have him buy a picture from the coutroom sketchist, for possible use in later scrying attempts. At the end of the adventure, when the PC have said their farewells to Daramid, they will again meet him briefly, when he enters her house, as they are leaving, intending to abduct her then.
Should the PC inquire Daramid about this guy, she can actually not tell them very much. Just that he appeared a few years ago, weirdly very interested in her but lost interest after a while and is just back in town after they haven't met for a long time.
I'd also like the PC to be able to track down a bit more info on him, maybe by asking around and especially in BM, in Ascanor Mansion, where Adrissant was a regular for some time. Still working on details there though.
Any thoughts? Btw, if my names are a bit off, that's because I have the german translation of the AP, I think they changed a few names a bit.
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It is, but if he already has Brilliant Energy weapon (which gives PCs a penalty of roughly -8 to AC), it is not necessary.
I see what you're saying but still it never hurts to have that little extra when dealing with those ever resourceful PCs. If the grudge blade didn't fit him thematically in my campaign, I'd incorporate a brilliant energy rapier into my own build.
I'm a collector and a historian utterly fascinated with secret societies, cults, religions, and other esoterica. (and other crazy things)
There's a good damn reason Brandon (and Daigle, and Pett, and one or two others) are all over this AP. Whenever possible we seek out experts... that, and twisted minds think alike.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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Ok, I'm late to the party here. Taking over the adventure from the very capable hands of my wife.
Our group is just wrapping up Broken Moon and I'm debating how to introduce Adivion. My thought is that when the party has the ghost from the inn riffling through Vrood's memories the party will encounter a memory of where Adivion addresses them directly as if he knew they would defeat Vrood.
I'm still trying to absorb Watchers so not sure where else I'm going to drop references in yet. Trying to get caught up here.
Love the Path so far and it's going to be a lot of fun taking it over.
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Well...it's come to this: my players are at the crossroads. They've been putting the pieces together and, for the most part, have come up with the purpose of the Carrion Crown (they just don't know who it is for). They've had their suspicions concerning Adivion ('that nobleman') and his involvement in it all, yet they never had any proof that wasn't circumstantial. Well this Saturday, they have the opportunity to get something more incriminating. Depending on how they go about it, this one encounter could catapult them past the final act of part 5 and straight on to part 6.
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My characaters are about halfway through TotB. A little background, one of the "grounding" ideas to keep the characters in Ravengro was more than just money. Lorrimor charged his friends/proteges with seeing to the disposition of his daughter. After a few days to finally make up her mind and while the PCs were working through Harrowstone, she decided that she would keep her country home here in Ravengro, but that she would pack up most of her belongings and move back to the University (it was more home to her than Ravengro).
So, the PCs spent time clearing out Harrowstone (delaying Kendra's trip, but she was patient, understanding, and appreciated and desired both the help and the escort). When they were finished, Kendra had already hired some local youths to pack up a couple of wagons full of books, curiosities, and Kendra's belongings (leaving the furniture behind and covered). They closed up the house and bid farewell.
They met the Kin, did that stuff, and with only one other incident made it safely to Lepidstadt and all that was going on there. During the second day of the trial, the PCs got the idea of bringing in the highly-esteemed Lorrimor daughter as a character reference, only to find her gone. Dr. Crowl presented the PCs a letter to Kendra from AA to come to him in Caliphas. Kendra brought it to the good doctor seeking counsel. As the PCs were gone and with no time to lose (see the letter), Kendra left a note at the temple of Sarenrae (one PC is a cleric of Serenrae and another an Inquisitor of Sarenrae) apologizing for her speedy absence and wishing them luck and goodbye.
Here is the letter with a wax seal for Adrissant:
You will, of course, note AA's ironic and public display of a seal that can be used both upside-up and upside-down for his own purposes.
EDIT - two things: The note was delivered to Kendra in Lepidstadt after the original rider was forwarded there by people in Ravengro where the courier and AA originally expected her. Needless to say, Kendra was in a serious hurry.
By the way, I saw in an earlier post that someone had instead had AA send a letter of commisseration to Kendra while she was still in Ravengro. This letter has much much less of the supercilious note (which that letter just so perfectly captured) and a much more conciliatory and comforting note - he's trying to *lure* her so he can't very well sound off-putting. Just wanted to point out that I very much admired the first letter and wanted to explain why I changed the tone of this one.
PPS: The style of this note also tried to capture the more locquacious and complicated style of Renaissance writing, hence the use of so many qualifier. Please excuse the poor writing (by modern standards).
AWESEOME.
Can you allow saving as Word or make a copy without a Date in it?
Anyone having problems with the two links that jupistar has provided?
Ok, sure, I'll take care of that today. I must say, though, you guys are hurting my ego. :)
I can't take credit for the seal other than the design of his mark. The actual picture effect of making a wax seal, in general, I followed a tutorial to make in Adobe Photoshop. So, while the mark design is cool (the AA/W concept), it's kind've minor to me compared to the time spent on the letter!
But, I won't let my ego stand in the way of the good of the community! I'll put that out in a Word doc in an hour or so. Although, if it's just the seal you're after, you can simply right-click the picture and choose to save the picture from the menu. Alternatively, if it's just the seal you want, let me know and I'll upload a much larger seal that can be resized downward with greater precision.
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Sorry for the delay. I was in the middle of writing the letter Kendra left for the characters and as I was making a seal for her, as well, noticed that I hadn't scaled the mark well in the previous seal. So I recreated that, deleted the old document, and uploaded a new version.
Letter to Kendra
Letter from Kendra
Those are both PDF documents. I tried to upload the Word documents, but the font is lost and on one the image doesn't seem to upload. So, here's what I'm thinking:
1) You can print what's there now, obviously.
2) If the text has any value to you, you can copy and paste what's there.
3) If the image is what you need, you can copy and save the image(s) by right-clicking on them.
4) If you need a higher quality image, I will gladly upload them separately.
Any other thoughts?
Jupistar did you run any additional prequel or side quests before or during the Haunting of Harrowstone?
You know, I didn't. In fact, I ran the module pretty much as-is with only some small changes to the RPing of Kendra. I have a group of 6 20-point-buy characters, so I did beef up the encounters. But the group wasn't quite 4th level when they reached Lepidstadt.
I like one-off adventures and side quests, but I don't like things that detract from the main story too much. For example, the whole Trial of the Beast has very little to do, at all, with the WW. So, like others, I wanted to bring them into that story a little bit more. I didn't want to give the characters more distracting story-lines (Prison/Beast) than necessary - they might lose focus from the overarching story.
I have a separate gripe with the whole "wandering monster" concept. Sure, it was great way back in 1.0 and 2.0. But once we got to 3.0+, I felt we, as a community, had matured to a little bit more grittiness/realism (yeah, yeah, I know it's a fantasy game -- stfu). So, I've always had a bit of a problem with the notion that the world is sooooo dangerous that just by walking around outside for a few days, you're likely to encounter all manner of bizarre and dangerous creatures (in addition to the standard threats from bears and/or wolves)?
I mean, Aleece walks off the road a little ways and bam, dead. What kind of world is that? "Don't step off the path. Damn, I told you not to step off the path!"
The point is, if the world is so daggum dangerous, how do the farmers and the small villages survive? We make a passing nod to protection by talking about "patrols", but come on. The patrols never seem to stop you from getting attacked, why would they stop any other attacks? Hell, ever notice how the patrols themselves are usually just another hostile encounter?
And that brings me to another gripe... if fighters and priests and monks and wizards and... <grumbles on>
Hey....Dont want to Hurt your ego AT ALL. This is a great Letter. Awesome work. The only problem for me was the Date, as I play over winter.
@Windspirit: Were you able to get everything you needed?
@Helaman: I will create that tomorrow for you.
@All: Does anyone need the high quality images uploaded?
Thanks, Baron, I don't fret about stuff like that. I was more joking than serious (though, in full disclosure, maybe a slight bit of truth there). In seriousness, I'm just glad I could provide something of use. I'll put that Vrood wax symbol out there in a few moments.
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Ok, so, here's Vrood's mark. It took awhile as I looked for some additional fonts to make it work. I actually created three versions because I wasn't quite sure how I wanted it to look. Honestly, I'm not fully happy with either of the first two, but I think the third works. The goal was to really emphasize the V for AV's high opinion of himself, but I didn't want it to be reminiscent of V for Vendetta.
The first seemed too simple and second too fancy for someone like Vrood (and may have worked better for AA). The third seems to strike just the right middle note, but I'm curious what you all ultimately think.
Also, I did make it gray/black but added a hint of sickly green to it, as well. I hope that's alright.
Jupistar: don't fret about our coments, you are clearly a gentleman and a scholar.
And I would suspect a fellow Grognard ton top of that!
I'm a little curious. How did you RP Kendra differently?
Hey, I'm sorry, I totally spaced on answering your question. Well, in the module Kendra isn't really given much of a personality - she's just the sad girl who also happens to be a budding wizard.
So, I didn't give her much of a personality, either. Instead, I made her 'dependent' and left the rest of her a blank canvas on which the players applied their imagination. I showed them her picture, told them she was crying when they first met her, and then had the Professor charge the characters with seeing to her disposition along with the delivery of the books. Her home-away-from-home would be the University of Lepidstadt where her father taught and she was a student. I tried to keep her distant but welcoming. I wanted her to be there, but to be a dependent of sorts, yet with a life of her own.
So, the party escorted her and her belongings back to Lepidstadt (she packed up all but the furniture from her country home in Ravengro) - giving them additional reasons beyond a few books to travel there. Along the way (through HoH and along the road) she provided some small assistance, but pretty much left the fighting and contention to those who were better suited to it (the party). Once in Lepidstadt, she was quick to endorse the party as her friends and the friends of her father, while still remaining emotionally reserved on the surface. It wasn't until her letter that she told the characters how she really felt about them.
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Well, last night's session positively had my players on the edge of their seats. Half of the group dealt with the vampire killer (which in my game wasn't Radvir but rather Quinley Badsel acting on behalf of both his mother and the WW) while the other half went to confront AA with the hope of rescuing the Lorrimor's ward, Kendra from him. I took a page from Ice Titan and they encountered him in a dinner setting with Kendra and Count Galdana. The dinner was being served by servants that were simulacrums of the Professor (this last minute addition upped the creepiness factor for my players significantly). The fighter, who had developed a rapport with Kendra and was a noble to boot, engaged Adivion in conversation to buy time for the others to figure out some way to get her away from him. I won't go into details as far as what was said, but the gist of it came down that as far as the other party members were concerned, Adivion never saw them as a true threat to his plans. The one that concerned our mastermind the most was the fighter, not because he was the brightest or the strongest, but because he was the only one that saw Kendra as being more than just the Professor's daughter. Someone like that would always be a threat to the work he was trying to accomplish.
Then before more could be said, Adivion was attacked from behind by one of the players (invisibility and stealth) even as another grabbed Kendra and teleported her back to the Majestic. But our magus was one step ahead as his form dissolved into ice and snow, revealing him to be nothing more than a simulacrum himself. Once that realization was had, the illusion that had been surrounding the dining hall dissolved to reveal what had once been a well-maintained place had actually fallen into disrepair. With rain falling into the ruined wing they discovered that Adivion was not only still alive but was not alone.
Our villain was atop the ravener Morrowgarth looking down at them through the immense hole in the roof.
They attacked but of course the two got away. But not before one more bomb was dropped: Kendra was never the one that Adivion was after for the Carrion Crown. That distinction belonged to one of the players - the dhampir sorceror, the very one that teleported Kendra to safety.
My players were stunned, especially the sorceror's. But she had been given clues throughout the entire campaign up until last night that something was up with her bloodline and heritage.
The session ended with the aftermath: most of the players prepping for their journey into Virlych county while the sorceror was trying to grapple with learning that the legacy of Tar-Baphon lived on him.
(Sorceror's player is female; the character is male.)
Adivion is counting on one of two things: the sorceror to recuse himself from the mission and the safety of the other party members or for the sorceror to accompany the others to Renchurch when he can be grabbed for the preparation process. The less scrupulous members of the party may want to kill him and thus remove the sorceror from our villain's grasp but he's counting on the more morally upstanding players to keep that from happening (and even if they don't, he's still prepared to deal with that).
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The first seemed too simple and second too fancy for someone like Vrood (and may have worked better for AA). The third seems to strike just the right middle note, but I'm curious what you all ultimately think.
Also, I did make it gray/black but added a hint of sickly green to it, as well. I hope that's alright.
Goldilocks ... Er, jupistar, if you make a DC 30 perception check you will be able to hear me clapping from New York.
Maybe it's the power of suggestion but the 3rd one's, as they say, the charm.
Major applause for Mr. Blayde as well. I don't mean a golf clap, either. That's one hell of a way to weave Adivion into your campaign. A sterling example of making an AP your own, and just the sort of thing an author LOVES to hear, because without you guys bringing our words to life, they're just...well...words. Very well done, sir!
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Wow!
That's high praise coming from you, Brandon.
Thank you.
And you as well, baron. That's about the same reaction that my players had.
I try very hard to put personal touches on anything I run from published material and I try even harder to incorporate particular things concerning my players' characters as well. The last is met with varying degrees of success. But having AA being after one of the PCs put everything in the proper perspective for my large group (for those who don't know, I'm running for a group that, when everyone is present, numbers 11 players though I generally only deal with 9 or 10 on a regular basis) because it became more personal to all of them. Kendra was only important to some in the party (the original 8 have ties to the Professor while the three newest members are there at the behest of the Pathfinder Society to check on another PC who is also a member as well as aid the group with what they're doing). I had originally planned to use the PC angle after the conclusion of events in book 6 (so that it would be a plot twist that occurred with my Haunted Count/Heirs to the Tyrant/Vampire War scenario, of which a defeated but not quite dead Adivion would be a part) but I'm glad that things turned out as they have for my players. Their newfound sense of purpose will cause me to have to step up my game to keep up.
I just hope I'm up to the challenge they present from here on in.
How did you justify Adivion (a lvl 16 Magus) on a dracolich, running away from the party who's around lvl 10?
I'm assuming his PCs are a bit lower lvl since there are 9-11 of them. But even if they were higher, I don't think 2 CR 16 foes would have that much reason to flee outright.
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How did you justify Adivion (a lvl 16 Magus) on a dracolich, running away from the party who's around lvl 10?
When one of the PCs is an optimized paladin, that becomes a major factor in determining whether discretion is the better part of valor. In a four on two battle where such a PC isn't present, the odds were heavily in the favor of my 17th level magus and Morrowgarth. When more PCs became involved in what could have been a protracted fight where the risk of his demise becomes greater and greater (especially when that particular PC becomes a factor), then retreat becomes a much better option. I could also point out that his retreat has preserved the mystery of his full combat capabilities (which I didn't want to reveal yet).
But the main reason is he just doesn't see them as a true threat to his plans (remember that Adivion told them this to their faces). And what better way to show that than to not fight them on their terms? Will that come back to bite him? Damn straight it will! But isn't that the point when you think about it? His disdain of them has lit a fire under their butts that quite frankly I haven't seen in many of them for some time. And why wouldn't it? For the first time ever, my players didn't cause the villain to run to preserve his life. Adivion left because doing so would be far more damaging to their egos. He quit the field of battle because he chose to do so.
And you know what? It worked. Its a psychological game I'm playing with my players and its one that has been really effective thus far. They know that as a group they are under the acceptable level curve, but their greater numbers swings that around to being on better footing ECL-wise against Adivion. Morrowgarth ups that challenge a bit more for them, but they've accepted that. Come Saturday, they'll find out that Virlych county will be doing its best to hinder them as they travel across it to confront their enemy. Won't matter to them in the slightest.
Because, to quote Ice Titan, 'It is now on!'
And you know what? It worked.
I'm sure it did, I was just intrested in your explanation on that particular topic. :)
Here comes my approach to the whole Ardivion Adrissant thing:
No 'r' in his name, it's Adivion. ;)