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SPOILER LAST WARNING
My players have joined the Sun Clan fully, in fact the barbarian female Weed has Married Krojun and is carrying his child. They did so well during a History of Ashes they have a damn good standing with the Moon Clan as well and are seen as very close friends. The Harrower is seen as a Sister and was courted to join them instead. Again Weed stands out due to great RPing of a situation that won her the Moon Clans deep respect and serves as a weak but growing link to brings a bit of healing to the relationship of the Sun and Moon clans.
They handled the Clan Eater like masters. I changed it bit to make it a lot more Metaphysical and pitted them not only against Cindermaw but once swallowed the two that did the trial had to face all the mistakes and doubts and screw ups from every last book leading to that moment..and there were ALOT annnd this could have killed them the way I did it. I am not a killer GM but I do not pull punches.
All in all they RPed and rolled a damn good AP that ends with the Tribes being as close to untied as they have been in a long time, they did things the AP required to untied everyone and then did things waaay above and beyond. They really went native in fact and saw themselves as Shoanti either fully or in other cases as much as or more than Korvosan, Varisian.
A History of Ashes also saw an end to the inter-party wars. The Chars and in some cases the players tended to be at each others throats at times. Thankfully it was almost always IC... almost. Old wounds were healed and older wounds were being treated or agreed to be worked on, forgiven if not forgotten.
All sounds great right?
The unhealed wounds and the seeds of their failure....
They started with a Cleric of Sarenrae early in the AP. At times the player was very Lawful Stupid to spite being LN I think. The charcarter and the player always or nearly always meant well but again, :awful Stupid also the player was the kind that feels the need to always "shine" to spite the fact that she is not always all that bright "at times". This caused some friction within the party "mostly" IC. Another souce of the inter-party conflict was nobody wanted to lead but nobody wanted to follow either. Poo poo anyone's plans but not put any of their own forward. "I may not have an idea but I know that one is stupid!". In time cracks became fissures. The team was held together mostly by the NPC Sorcerer Harrower to be who was such an emotional wreck the one thing the party agreed on was protecting poor Anaca and saving Korvosa but for their own reasons. Loyalty to the Sable Knights, protecting a father figure who would not leave the city, The Church and so on.
In time things got bad enough for the Cleric to walk away (ooc reasons that fit IC reasons)
Enter NPC Imperia Deshay Jeggare, Cleric of Asmodues and Diabolist. Imperia is obsessed with protecting Korvosa and dreams of growing it to outshine Cheliax as a symbol of Order on Earth. With the power of her fortune and connections she seeks to covertly fight the Queen's forces. By this time in the AP the Heroes of Korvosa have put themselves at odds with The Queen. Imperia knos they need her as much as she needs them so she steps forth with a "Bargain". Simply put she wants The Queen removed and the City saved, she is not at the time looking to become queen herself but says no better choice as of yet. What she does see is that the heroes of Krovosa is an unruly anger based mob of social cannibals that in fight as much as fight the Queen. So she steps up and "assumes" command of the party.
She brutal in her tactics and cold in her actions. Think of her as Mirror Mirror Spock with hints of a spoiled rich girl. She had just the effect I had hoped for. She showed them that if nobody would lead.... somebody would lead but sadly this was fine with them, mutters and grumps but they fell in line more or less and that was a bad thing for the social core of the group. Weed who was always the most like a leader all but threw in her lot with Imperia in order not to have to lead. Others were insulting and abrasive with "The Demon Worshiper" as a pay-back for having to follow her because they did not want to lead. Anaca just became colder, sadder and more distant....seeing the horrid end that awaits any group that shits all over every Divine caster they came across. ( SCARWALL IS COMING IN A FEW BOOKS YOU FOOLS!!)
Imperia ends up a loathed default leader to spite Never doing anything to harm the party or even hamper it. In fact many times she is what saved their butts with either her money, her dwindling connections or her powers of healing and defense. Nothing she did was enough to make her anything more than that Devil B#%%@ in their eyes. Accept for Weed or seemed to form a close bond with her. In the end Imperia stuck her neck out too far and got too much of the Queens attention. Her father saw the pain coming and made it seem as if he was the man behind the curtain of all the party's moves. The Queen had him beheaded. While in a fury Imperia did not blame them but herself for being a little too attached to the party, this made her less of a forced leader and around the same time The Cleric of Sarenrae came back along with a new player of a Varisian Rogue.
The Rogue's player joining the group was herald for a while, he knows the other players and they pretty much wanted him to join because the liked him but also because they wanted a leader. Still NONE of them wanted to lead so this left the door open for Mardozi. Mardozi and his player are not known for patience. Not saying he is a bad guy but has a short fuse. I'm sure you see where this is going with a party akin to herding cats. It turned into Lord of the Flies. Bullying in and OUT of character. I even stopped running for a bit to ell them all to chill out. It did not get much better after that and the IC hurts were worse than the ooc drama that I had to crush with an iron boot. When the smoke cleared we were down two players and Weed had effectively stolen from and betrayed Imperia. Yes the "evil" girl was the victim. Also the Cleric of Sarenrae dies in a battle under the Hospice and nobody is even thinking about bringing her back to life because it's not in the budget... also none of them can. Imperia steps up, enter dark magics and hellish deals. Imperia makes contact with the soul of Denitsa, the good cleric and tells her to remain silent and allow her to deal with the Devil that will appear soon, she tries to work the system and set up the deal. The Devil get's Denitsa alone and exchanges life for Denitsa's soul. Of course this cuts her off from Sarenrae. Heeeey sorry about that Cleric but ya know what i can get you divine power with my lord and master Asmodeus!! Oh what's that you don't want to serve evil? Silly girl you already do but hey who's to say you can't do good with the power? Yeesss yesss... good girl....
Natrually the Party blames Imperia and treat Denitsa as some sort of foul monster without a soul. ( SCARWALL YOU ASSES!! You already turned Imperia against you and for some reason Denitsa came back to your abuse, died, was left to rot and then sold her soul to get back to help but again.... you poop on your only two Divine casters!!?? )
No I did not tell them this but I have said in game sooo many times how only through the aid of the Gods would they stand a chance. I also dropped so many Harrowings that said it as plain as day. OOC, "Guys, Scarwall will eat your lunch without a Holy Something or Other.". )
Now fast forward back to A History of Ashes.
Denitsa: The Dedicated ally of Imperia. Her loathing of the party is matched only by her rage that has no outlet. She has adopted Imperia's dream of a orderly and safe Korvosa ruled over by Korvosans. Some day to spread across Varisia stomping out ignorance and chaos.
Imperia: Has lost nearly everything including her mind. She had gone before The Queen and throw herself on her mercy for her "fathers" crimes. Ileosa took most of what she had and ordered her to put her close kin to death. Imperia complied and works from the shadows to undo the Queens power base (failing at it slowly too) by supporting the rebels and making more Hellish deals than she can ever hope to repay. Bartering the Souls of her Household, land holdings and the future holding she hopes to gain for future promises. Imperia sees the Party as the cause of every woe just under the Queen
Anaca: Is now a powerful Harrower and Sorcerer. Her command over Fate as well as the "Blue Flames" and deep purple electricity is staggering to the other players. The fact that the quiet and frail girl is now a silent destructive power scares them a little. Her displays of power tend to leave things on fire and sizzling or shattered. She moves forward like a woman on her way to the Gallows. She feels they have no chance and has seen death and loss with each dream.
The Queen: Yeah things couldn't be better weee!
The Rebels: Hurting and losing praying for the return of the Heroes of Korvosa.
Then came Scarwall.
Weed is the Leader they always needed. She fights for all she loves and to cleanse herself of the crushing guilt of her past with the party and most of all Imperia. The others follow her openly and agree with most of her choices, when they do not they have faith in her and give council when needed. She suspects she is carrying Krojun's child and is madly in Love with her Husband. He has humped,argued and at times punched the hard headed disruptive girl out of her and she has curbed his more xenophobic and war-blind ways. They really make the other ten times better. Krojun is not looked to as the war leader of the Quahs in their battle to free their southern homeland. She has gotten Anaca mostly out of her Death Trance but Anaca still warns of how to spite all the growing they have done at last that the sins of their past awaits them in Scarwall and the mistakes they have made will take it's due.
In the end she was right.
The Ranger died slow and in horror. Soul trapped in Scarwall.
Zellara was ripped out of the deck and locked within the castle to spite all they tried to do. "Anaca Unleashed" becomes destruction in the shape of a woman, the last good thing in her life ripped from her.
They were beat back by the forces of Scarwall twice and both times nearly died. They did not trust either of the Brotherhood of the Bones and kept them at arms length still neither one is really built to protect a party from Scarwall.
The Umbral Dragon kicked their asses but they managed to figure out a way to free him and he left the battle and the castle before killing them. They went back out to speak with him. He give them some clues in exchange for telling them to bring his loot out of there. They planned to not do so but had no idea how to get out of the castle once they were done. It did not matter.. The Danse Macabre put foot all in their asses and a few negative levels and a dead ranger later they crawled out of Scarwall and admitted, they could never do what needed to be done. With heads low and tears in eyes they were ported back to The Shoanti by Anaca.
FAIL
They vow to one day come back to free the dead as well as lift the blight but have no idea how to defeat Ileosa without the sword so they are going about it the only way they can think of. They are gathering the entire Shoanti nation to attack Korvosa...for eh freedom? They hope this invading army will be met by the rebels and together from within and without they well topple Ileosa. Weed managed to convince Krojun to not attack back in a History of Ashes as you all know but now she worked near magic in convincing him and 97% of the Nation of Clans that Korvosa MUST be taken for the good of all of Varisia. Tales of Devils an Dark Demigod Dragons was more than enough for them and the Army is nearly ready.
Anaca spoke of how the sky will turn black and the land will be awash in the blood of all peoples. How The Korvosa they fought for is already dead and they will war over a rotten corpse of their dream infected. Then in a flash of power and wind she looked into the sky and vanished never to be seen again.
I read what James has said about Ileosa's victory and the effects of it both on this board and the books. They are too late. Kazavon has completed his work in Korvosa. Most are done from the blood lettings and loyalty to it. Like a Parasite she has killed her host and flew away bloated with the life and power in Korvosa, it's body used and ruined. Now from what a read not all of the people are dead but a huge number of them. We also have the Devil of the Academae and his contract with the Queen. Korvosa is his now yes? Open to be used as a beachfront for his Hellish pawns. Then you have all the powers of the Academae at his finger tips. Imperia as well as Denitsa are all that's left of what passed for a rebellion, the rest rose up at the start of the exploding blood people and was crushed by an ultra powerful Ileosa. Now the dark wreck of Korvosa is being tended by Imperia and Denitsa as best they can but they are nothing before the powers of true master of the Academae and the "owner?" of Korvosa.
Most of this is unknown by the Growing Army of the Shoanti, only that most in Korovsa have died and The Queen left with an army of charmed slaves and Devils. They also know that Imperia has warned if they attempt to come back to Korvosa they will be faced with all of the Hell she has in her heart. Denitsa knows Imperia has truly gone insane and takes care of the Diabolist like a nurse in an asylum.
So? How does this story end!?
What kind of forces would the Academae bring to bare or more to the point what do you think their next move would be in their own plans?
What role do you think the still living people of Korvosa would play if any?
What would the other powers of Varisa do when they see a Shoanti nation Marching south? What about the Orcs amd Giants in the North?
Wouldn't the southern powers see Korvosa as ripe for the picking themselves? Where role does Korvosa's heavily taxed and drained holdings play?
Help?
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Uh, so you screwed up your own campaign willfully and then come here asking how to save it?
Thanks, but no thanks.
First off, I have a tendency to ramble, and build a post over a period of times, possibly hours, so my train of thought can often be different and sometimes I scroll up and throw a tid-bit in where it doesn't fit. So forgive me for the randomosity.
Ok, well if you don't have Academy of Secrets, buy it, and look through it for some examples of what the Academy has to offer. The owner of Korvosa, is, I believe, Lorthact, an Arch-Duke of Hell that had his power usurped and escaped to the material plane. I believe he plans on turning the Material into his own plane of Hell to regain his full power, or to use it as a springboard back to Hell and retake his plane and his former standing. Some ideas and more info for Lorthact can be found here. I haven't really read through it, just glanced, so you may want to look around on other boards for more info.
In a nutshell, the Academae is responsible for all the Imps flying around Korvosa, so plan around lots of summoned and bound creatures.
Varisa is largely a country of city-states, and I believe the Storval Plateau is mostly located within Varisia. Shoanti have marched on Korvosa on more than one occasion, so I don't think many would think too much of it. Cheliax might send reinforcements, and with the recent ascension of a devil to the ruling power of Korvosa, they'd probably happily assist as they Cheliax is the Empire of Devils.
Hmm, Mendev may send Paladins to aid the Shoanti if they learn of the change of power in Korvosa, though I wouldn't count too much as they're busy fighting against the Worldwound.
The Korvosan devils may see the Worldwound as a threat, and may actually aid Mendev in closing that rift.
How the people of Korvosa react to the army of Shoanti depends largely on what they know of the events that have transpired. Things you need to answer about what they know include:
If the know Devils now rule Korvosa;
If they know the Heroes of Korvosa are leading the army;
If they know the Shoanti are marching to aid them in re-taking the city from the Devils;
If they know the Shoanti are marching to take revenge on Ileosa's machinations;
If they believe the Shoanti are once again marching to exact revenge for Cheliax ousting them from their ancestral homeland;
If they know that the Heroes have united the Shoanti into a more peaceful people;
If they know about the Infernal allies of the Queen;
If they know about Ileosa sacrificing the city to serve her needs;
If they know about the descent of Imperia and the fall of Denista;
Any other factors you feel need answer too should also be taken into account before you make your decisions.
For instance, if they know the Shoanti are attacking, they would take up arms, but if they know the Shoanti are being led by their Heroes, they may take up arms as precaution, but strive to learn more as to why the Heroes have turned in their most dire hour. If they know about the Devils, and that their Heroes are leading an army of Shoanti to retake the city, they very well could join them and take up arms against the Devils. If they know about Ileosa, they may very well adopt something like 'Arabastian' as an insult or curse.
The Orcs of Belkzen may wish to mobilize a force to take the Storval Plateau, but it's unlikely they'd get far. The Cinderlands are a very harsh and unforgiving place, an army would not survive very long in the Cinderlands unless it knew how to live there. They would probably crush any resistance, but without pre-planned communities to take shelter and grow food in, they'd eventually fall back to Belkzen. The giants probably wouldn't care too much, a desert is no place for them.
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Another option is have all the players roll up a new party of survivors of the Korvosa, they could go on a quest to undo the horror that has befallen Korvosa. The idea being to send them on a variety of quests for a church, possibly Asmodeus as he may or may not approve of an exiled Duke in control of a city, with the reward for the quests being a a chance to succeed where the Heroes failed. They should level up to recommended level to enter Scarwall, and then powerful Divine magic replaces the Heroes with the Post-Apocalyptic travelers.
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OR!!!!!!!!!111!1
The darkness before your eyes recedes to reveal an ashen-skinned with bone white hair sitting on an immaculate throne. You stand upon a transparent floor, revealing an enormous wisp of energy circling clockwise, forming a spiral with it's tail.
She looks into each of your eyes and you sense she has seen the beginning and end of your lives, the world, and existence. She peers at your group with a passive face, reserving all judgement until you stand before her at your appointed time.
"The fate you have seen, is one that is not supposed to happen, yet one that will unless you learn to better your ways. The petty bickering and infighting has consequences that go far beyond you and your relations. Should your unwillingness to work with all faiths and temperaments continue, or your harsh criticisms of others persist, you will doom tens of thousands to a fate not of their choosing," she says with a cold, voice.
As she pauses in speech, the scene beneath them changes depictions of their own characters being tortured and punished by the most abhorrent creatures imaginable.
"There is a saying about the path to hell being paved by good intentions, and while many of your actions and decisions have been noble and brought many good things to those they effect, ultimately, your path can lead you to where you do not wish to be," she says as each one standing before her is forced to watch those suffering beneath them.
"Should you let your insecurities and petty squabbles rule your judgements and actions, you will find you have done an evil of such magnitude, there will be no forgiveness," she continues in her speech as the scenes of torture are changed to show moments of the characters fighting, verbally abusing one another, showing their unwillingness to work together, revealing their failings in as they never before had.
"I have seen the Fate of every mortal ever born, and never once have I been wrong," the Lady of Graves says while seemingly to stare at each person individually.
"But, I still leave my final judgement until you have passed beyond life and stand before me. Make your final Fate one of your own choosing," she says before a brilliant white lights flashes from her eyes, blinding every person in her presence.
As the spots before your eyes clear, and vision returns, you find yourselves in a period of time you had already witnessed. Perhaps, if you make the right choices, things will not work out to the same results that you had foreseen.
At this point, it would basically be a do over, and the players would be sent back to a point in time when they had been working well together, where they could still save Korvosa, and not doom it all to death and destruction.
First, I guess it's true what they say "Trolls gonna' Troll.".
Now that said.. Thanks you lots Tels for you well thought out reply and taking time out not only to read all of this but to give me a a reply. Let me answer the second suggestion first. I try to never do a do over but if I did wow this would be the one I smiled reading it. Cool ideas.
Okay now to the things you brought up...
Lorthact! That was his name right. Yes I have that book and all the rest of the info on Korvosa I know about him and looked into him a bit I was just unsure of how to handle his next moves I guess? It's pretty much stated that The Queen pulls her great Blood Party leaving most dead then from what I got from the boards and books anything not dead and of use would more than likely get a mind humpin' and off she goes to plot larger plots leaving Lorthact "his" city as per the agreement. Now he is still a wanted man or Devil and keeping low profile I would guess. With a fully intact MAJOR school of magic under his belt and what few people of broken will in the city he has all he needs to "start" his star rising again. I'm guessing he would not want to step on the scene in his full "Hell's Most Wanted" Devil glory. He is also not going to sit back and allow some bare assed sand dwellers to take what is his. I'm just kind of stuck on how do you fight an army with your own army of Devils Wizards and others without the forces of Hell going? "Hey where's frank? Saaaay you feel that?".
It's mostly ideas and discussion I am seeking and that is why your long post is very welcomed, again thanks.
I did not really think about the fact the other city-states would seek to save Korvosa I was wondering more if anyone thought it was more or less likely that they would seek to take the seemingly weak Korvosa for themselves? Magnimar is the main one I speak of based on their history.
Cheliax too far away to help in time and might not be worth it to them to send forces once it's or if it's held by any other force. Kind of like it's not worth them to take it into the fold and hold it while it's trying to join them before the hard times.
The People of Korvosa:
*They know the Heroes of Korvosa are leading the army.
*They know the Shoanti are marching to take revenge on Ileosa's machinations.
*They know about Ileosa sacrificing the city to serve her needs.
*They view Imperia and Denitsa as Heroes of Korvosa who stayed behind. They are also aware that they worked "with" the government but worked in ways of helping as best they could. Imperia ran a a Korvosan Gitmo that kept families together and had a reputation for the bare minimum of hardships. Denitsa was in charge of the care giving and healing of the slave builders of all the statues. The handful of living rebel leaders also know that both worked with them as double agents.
Now here is what really makes the people a sticky situation for me figuring out how they will react. They are also aware the Shoanti are coming not just to free Korvosa but to take Korvosa back as their homeland. I m torn on the right reaction to that. Again that is kind of the point of my cry for help heh my mind is spinning with Ifs and Thsns. They know The Heroes but they also Know Imperia and Denitsa. They have no idea why their two camps of Heroes are at odds. The Shoanti are old and dire foes but the people they have faith in are at the head of that army. People they trust are on the otherside are telling them that they should throw off the shackles of any invader.
Lorthact is NOT known to the people and Imperia and Denitsa is scared crapless of The Power inside the Acadamae. The two of them don't know about the Arch-Devil but do know that a vast power moves behind the school and has told them in a round about way, "Stay out of my way and I'll let you pretend you are not on borrowed time.".
Hmm I guess a small and tattered group like the people of Korvosa would play a wild card role in a battle between the Shoanti nation and The Hellspawn. At last ideas! This is why I brought this here thanks yet again!!
I would like to know your thoughts on Magnimar's role. On the one hand they have a long and bad history with Korvosa and see it as their Mosther state once but at the same time they have no reason to trust of like the Shoanti. Is it worth it to them to even make a play in this either way... or maybe they will wait in the wings and hit Korvosa after the dust clears? Hmm no I don't think Magnimar is that kind of dirty let me check.... oookay. A power hungry Lord mayor at odds with greedy and selfish Ushers. Maybe they would wait and hit the victor.
Minor point, well minor to my over all goal of this being a thought exercise that is.
Since they failed before getting to The Queen that means Sermignatto is still alive and thus he is the holder of the contract and not Lorthact. Of course Lor is Serm's master anyway but yeah that will make for and interesting dynamic. Lorthact wanting his minion to vanish and Sermignatto being the holder of the contract allowing Devils free reign. Maybe this battle got even more crowded.
Well Cheliax is the empire of Devils and IIRC, they consider Korvosa one of their crown jewels as House Jeggare is the founder of Korvosa and their family, well 'used' to rule it. House Jeggare at least may see a need to send a force, and considering Cheliax is run by Devils, they may send a force to help take Korvosa, or help defend it. It could go either way as the Dukes of Hell that are in control may know that Lorthact is in Korvosa, but can't touch him without attacking him personally. However, they wouldn't want him having such a strong position of power as he does at that point in your campaign. Not to mention, Asmodeus is basically the utmost ruler of Law and Order and if a Duke is deposed of power, he's supposed to be destroyed, yet Lorthact lives. He may see it as an infringement of the rules and command Cheliax to send a force. But, Lorthact may also have a deal with Asmodeus which is why he is still around, and Asmodeus may approve of Lorthacts machinations and send a force to aid Lorthact and help rebuild Korvosa, possibly ushering in a new age of expansion.
Magnimar, however, is fairly opportunistic, and it may turn into a three (or four) way war for the city of Korvosa. Magnimar attacking on one front, the Shoanti on another, possibly Cheliax (depending on if they attack or defend Korvosa) on a third, with Lorthact and his minions as the fourth side. I'm leaning towards Cheliax attacking Korvosa as that would just be so much more epic. Then, out of no-where, a fifth side shows up in the form of the Worldwound sending a demon expidition to fight the devils of Lorthact and Cheliax. On the heals of the demons come the mounted Paladins to hoping to drive the demons back into the pit that spawned them.
Serious potential for a battle that makes J.R.R. Tolkien salivate with envy :P
One way to spin off the Heroes leading the army is some of the survivors begin thinking that under the rule of nobles, their families, friends, their city and entire way of life was destroyed. Perhaps a return to a more tribal way of life wouldn't be so bad. Out of the thousands living in Korvosa, I'd say a few hundred remain at most. Not enough to populate the city, but with a Shoanti influx, they could form a new system of government, under Shoanti control and traditions.
As for the rival Heroes, one thing to make up your mind about is how *does* Asmodeus react to Lorthact taking control? If Asmodeus is pleased, then Imperia and Denista would receive word from him to aid Lorthact in all ways. If he is not pleased, his followers may possibly aid the Shoanti.
If the Shoanti retake Korvosa, they'll never be able to destroy the city and return it to the wilderness it was before. It very well could be a new breed of Shoanti develops, one that actively lives in the city, with their cousins living on the Plateau. If this does happen, I could see Imperia still retaining power as one of Korvosa's most ardent defenders and ally of the Shoanti. They may even name her one as part of the Elder Council that would rule Korvosa. In time, she would become the most influential member of the Council, imposing strict laws and orders that would be inline to Shoanti beliefs and traditions.
The easiest method of resolving your campaign would be the Pharasma do-over. Followed by the Survivor Do-over. The Epic Battle of Epic Epicosity, by all the interested parties would be the most difficult. You would have to play it off as the PCs attempting to make alliances with the various parties, and/or leading specialized raids to reduce the effect of rival parties. I'm currently playing in a Kingmaker campaign, and my GM has hinted my kingdom will eventually go to war, so maybe those books have a system of rules you could use to battle out the factions. Rofl, World of Warcraft, Pathfinder Edition.
Hmm, now that I think about it, the mass battle I proposed earlier does bear a lot of similarities to the Warcraft story and history. Interesting...
Oh, also, did the Devils reveal their presence within the city once Ileosa flew away to the Land of Evil Hot Chicks that Won? I'm not thinking of Lorthact, but more of lesser Devils. Imps already run rampant in Korvosa, maybe other Devils have started summoning in their kin in an effort to make a Devil version of the Worldwound.
Since I mentioned the Imps... how have the Pseudodragons reacted? I'm guessing the Pseudodragons are probably aiding the rebels, and it's very likely that the Pseudodragons are the main source of intel for the rebels, and possibly the Heroes. The Pseudodragons have telepathy up to 60 ft, so there would be no better spy for the Heroes. Or other interested parties.
ANOTHER THOUGHT!!
How did your Party deal with the Arkonas? Mine managed to stumble along, and, not luckily enough, find the one combination of lever pulls needed to avoid fighting the Arkonas at all. So as of this moment, they are still alive in my Korvosa. If any Arkonas still live in Korvosa, that's another party of individuals to take into account. Perhaps they may bring forth an army of Rakshasha from their homeland to take Korvosa now that the city is at it's weakest.
Hmm, Abadar would also probably be interested and may even send the Lawbringer to aid the Shoanti, or, more likely, Magnimar.
I can totally picture a titanic battle between the Herald of Abadar, the Lawbringer, vs the Fallen Duke of Hell, Lorthact.
You've got my imagination running rampant now I hope you know that.
Oooh, positively evil thought. Queen Ileosa turns on the Devils, offering herself in Aid to the PCs. She, and the party, could seek out the other Relics of Kazavon, giving her enough power to battle Lorthact and retake the city. Kazavon is a brilliant tactician, and part of his soul lives in Ileosa, and this may very well be a plan he concots. Perhaps the Crown, as one of his Artifacts, can be used to find the other missing Relics. Followers of Zon-Kuthon would help, and at the end of Crown of Fangs, it gives various possibilities as to the locations of each Relic. It even mentions that Zon-Kuthon himself holds one of them.
In fact, Ileosa could be the follower of Zon-Kuthon that helps the Party take on Scarwall. Kazavon may know that in order to be reformed, first the Crown must be destroyed, and in order to do that, they need to reclaim Serithtial.
All for the Greater Good right?
...
...
... Right?
Oh, your campaign makes the mad scientist in me CACKLE with glee!!
OOOOOOOH! In the Survivor Do-Over, you could have the Epic Battle of Epic Epicosity be one of the methods of their leveling up enough to take on Scarwall. Whomever is the Divine Caster could be an Aasimar that was bred for this very purpose generations ago. Aasimar often times can show up in the bloodline generations after the initial coupling of human and celestial creatures. Powerful Angels have even been suspected of intentionally fathering celestial blooded creatures knowing how the future will turn out, giving the forces of Good the best possible chance of succeeding.
Anyway, the Survivors could be fighting in the Korvosan Wars, and, over time, being loosing all hope over ever seeing a peaceful day. Then, the Aasimar caster receives a calling from some deity or divine being (I'm leaning towards Pharasma, referencing the "This Wasn't Supposed To Happen" angle) with a chance to change it all. Totally reminiscent of Terminator too.
The guy who wield Serithtial in the Survivor Do-Over NEEDS to be named Kyle Reese. If anyone catches that reference in the game, their first Curse character won't be sentenced to Hell for being a total deuchebag.
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I should point out, it's 3 AM here in Alaska and I can't sleep because I keep picturing various scenarios of where you game goes from here :P
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Epic Battle of Epic Epicosity would look like This but Pathfinder!!!!111!!
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Epic Battle of Epic Epicosity would look like This but Pathfinder!!!!111!!!!!
That...was....Epic......
Tels I love how your mind works!
Okay this is again why I knew asking here was a good idea. I'm pretty sure it's meant through the books that Lorthact's secret is so far very safe. If the forces of Hell knew then he would be dead. They have already sent a Hell Hit Squad after him that he barely escaped. That said i have no doubt in my mind that Asmodeus knows. Why he would allow a fugitive to remain free is for his complex mind to know and mortals to accept, for now. So your idea of Asmodeus commanding Imperia to action is one I really really like! I mean really like!
Imperia is broken enough to grasp at anything thrown at her to free and save "her city" and nothing give the Master of Hell a chubby like desperate powerful mortals willing to agree to anything. Since he already has the deeds of both her soul and Denitsa's I'll have to dream up something he would want from them or more to the point what more he can take from them, an easy enough task I'm sure if given enough thought.
I'll also think on what hand he will give them to play. Maybe he is seeing just how high Lorthact can rise or how low he can fall. Maybe he wants to see if the Devil can claw his way back to power and thus keep all the other Dukes busy and off his own back. Yes this will take some thought!
I still do not see Cheliax getting there in time for the opening fight and if the war does not last long maybe not there in time. As you say House Jeggare has an interest in it's safety and their kinswoman has sent word for aid months ago when Ileosa was still a threat. This allows for a force to land and add to the End War. Between that small faction, the few hundred real humans and what Asmodeus might throw her way if the price is right yes she could very well have something to either fight the Shoanti Nation or Hellspawn or Magnimar but she will have enough to help swing the battle in one of their favors. I smell deals and Contracts!!!
I'm going to have to look at how far the World Wound is. I don't think a horde of Demons would make it that far with all the forces at the wound fighting them. Plus Demons tend not to be a very unified bunch. On the other hand they outnumber their opponents by vast numbers they just lack anything like a plan or a direction so it's easier to keep them in check. If they started to sense a nexus of Order, like months to flame maybe the wound would vomit forth a Host Swarm that was not so much unified but simply drawn to their hated opposites in a migration of destruction! Bards would write about this for Ages! I'll have to think on that too and see if it would make enough sense based on distance.
If I do go that route then use the forces of Good would be chomping at it's heels.
Ileosa will remain in the "Land of Evil Hot Chicks that Won". I looove that line.
Yes the lesser devils are kind of in the quiet open. They wear the faces of mortals but their nature tends to bleed through in the way they behave and the things they say. It's like a taunt to the humans. They walk around as a new force of Soldiers and Priest and so even play the role of everyday people but nobody knows who they are or where they came from. So the real Humans have put two and two together. The imps have become an infestation and the number of domestic pets are waaaay down.
The little P.Dragons are nearly all gone and the rest are split between the ones that fled to the outer woods and the ones with strong enough bounds or attitude to keep fighting. Yes they went underground with the rebels and yep again they do work as spies. I plan on having their part in the battle sync up with the yearly migrations and have the wild and the domestic Dragons go at it with the Imp Swarm.
The Arkonas:
They were kind of the beginning of the end between the Heroes. They made their way through the Maze. Kicked enough butt. Avoided the Sphinx....poo. Nearly dropped to the Beautific and out crafted the fem Rak. In a bit of quick thinking Lady Arkona exposed her brother too was a rak and that she was a far better choice for ruling the family and helping them in their goals. Imperia was right out against it. Due to her hatred of the things. Her knowledge that "you can't trust their kind!" and her want for their powerbase. Mardozi who was part of the Cerulean Society at this time figured "what" they were did not matter. They were always here so leaving them was fine plus, he hated Ileosa and would deal with anything that would oppose her but lastly he sought of saw them as his bosses and decided it's not the teams place to be involved. Get vencarlo and get out. This lead to a heated debate and agreement that at the least one rak was better than two. So they helped her defeat her brother. At the end of the battle Lady Arkona was very weak because as you may now The Lord was NO JOKE. With her weak Imperia cried out for them to attack and she launched magicks at the lady. Mardozi left her there to die saying this way now her fight not theirs. The Ranger left with him. Weed "her friend" tried to convince her to stop during the battle but simply looked on until the end as did their Fighter. Denitsa at this time was not close with Imperia and screamed at the others to help her and not leave, she shouted about how no matter what they were a team and had to stand as one.
When it was plain none would help Denitsa flew in to heal Imperia and keep her on her feet, this was the start of their bond. In the end Imperia lost the battle and seemed to be killed. Imperia's Cohort and Denitsa fled the scene as Lady Arkona, now even more wounded did not press the attack unsure if she could have really beat a fresh Denitsa.
That was the betrayal.
Imperia later used her knowledge of the Arkona's true being as her buy in to The Queens good graces. The Arkona's are finished in Korvosa, put to death mostly but lady Ark was never found.
Avatars and Heralds.... I think they will make interesting environmental window dressing. Filling the sky with their own battle, shaking the earth with their passing. The Return of Anaca....
Its all been about the kid...
That is so long range and far fetched... it's perfect!
Something so long ranged can easily be seen and made to be seen as a master plan of The Lord of Hell and Order. I'll have to be careful with the story since Weed is a suspicious type. I'll have to be extra sneaky to do this for a final shocker when the dust settles.
In answer to your question Evil, yes Weed was pregnant when she when through an ordeal with Cindermaw!
Ha! As I mentioned I changed the deal with Cindermaw a bit so that the players on the outside had to deal with the physical challenge but the two that allowed themselves to be swallowed faced a spiritual trial.
They were separated and forced to confront their past choices and actions. They were chided by their mistakes and blasted by their more willful disruptive acts. Think of it as a deadly rendition of the Cave on Dagobah.
Indeed the Shaman told them to leave behind what they did not need within Cindermaw and be reborn.
Weed being hardheaded and independent faced the negative in her and decided her dark shadow was part of her and not to be left behind. The hurt and angry little girl full of hate should be embraced and healed and left Cindermaw without leaving her behind.
I think we have our Dark Seed.
Apologies if this is slightly off topic, but I read your initial post and enjoyed it quite a bit.
I particularly think it sounds like you had an excellent story so far, I 'personally' can appreciate failures, setbacks, and growing characters in a world where most games involve 'winning' by default in this case, it feels like you told a 'better' story than winning ever would. Again, that is my opinion that may not be shared by others. What can I say, I'm a fan of tragedies.
Sure your characters might not have been the best Hero's of Korvosa, but they certainly seemed memorable in your retelling of their story. I'm curious, how do your players feel out of character about the campaign's conclusion thus far? You mentioned some occasional out of character strife, I am just curious if they have enjoyed it all despite in character complications?
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Now just a slightly more relevant to the topic section. These are some things that come to my mind as I have gone through a rather memorable CotCT game myself.
Laori and Sial were searching for Serithtial in Scarwall if I remember correctly. What if (one of them) managed to retrieve the sword successfully? What if Serithtial overwhelmed them with her ego and possibly is now forcibly directing them in some way against their will? (We did not have a personality conflict with the sword, so she mostly followed our lead without much input, so I don't recall if the sword was particularly strong willed or not? Even if it isn't you could easily adjust it to make it more fitting)
This could get the sword out of Scarwall and possibly set up a rather dramatic sequence of events with the sword 'searching' for new hero's in the body of one of the Zon Kuthonite's and possibly testing them in some manner to find a worthy person to 'wield' the blade. Lots of room for drama here potentially as well with the NPC in question driven rather mad by the constant control of the sword.
That is at least what comes to mind at the moment.
Thank you so very much Asurasan.
See you get it! Sometimes it's great to allow players to forge their path and when it all comes around to that big win then they know they earned it. Our last session of this game was like a year ago and I was just on the phone with Weed today talking about it. In fact all of the players aside from The 2nd Rogue and the Ranger talk about this game at other games. I like stories as does my players, well the bulk of them. The down side is when they fall they fall hard but when they win they have stories that stay with them and they know they did things most players call BS on in other groups because I like to allow them to reach for the stars. When they pull something off it's due to their cunning and luck. I think a +3 Sword that you earned by the skin of your teeth and great RPing will mean more to you than the Crown of Kilrogun that you got because the Story says you get it.
Any way, not to answer your questions.....
The 2nd Rogue:
He and I do not really speak anymore to be honest. The two of us are an odd pair. Face to face and side by side in real life we are the best of friends. Even now I'd count him as a good an honorable person. I owe him a lot and I have no hate for him. That said, something happens over the net that makes he and I like fire and gasoline and only when it involves games it seems. We play in the same house it's fine. We hang out it's fine but after a long enough period on line and our personalities clash in the most violent of ways. This is the 2nd time it has happened and I am sure years or less from now one or both will forget this or forget why it mattered and we will be as close as we were. So I can't say how he felt at the end or now but I figure this was more about our reactions to tones taking and how things were said than it was about the game.
See he and I both are violent take no shizz types so when "Ya come out ya face!" we get all old school lol. Still because I and I am sure he, is old school if push came to shove we would ride for each other against an outsider.
Weed:
I kinda feel sorry for her heh.
She loved the game and enjoyed playing Weed. The drama and the growth. She started out plotting how to kill Krojun, to bumping uglies with him, to marrying him. Weed had a very interesting character arc. The player felt so too. She loved the game. Buuuuut... she also groans and facepalms at all the IC and OOC mistakes they made. She feels ALL of it was her fault for some reason. I think it's guilt. She knew pound for pound she was the only one that could have lead the group but she refused to and when she did she did it half arsed. She also knows that Weed's stubborn nature and flat out push in place of pull way of acting out cost the party soooo much pain.
To this day she speaks about how she broke the game. It bugs her but she laughs about it, all in all she has very good memories with a few heavy regrets.
Zafi:
"DAMN YOU WEED!".
That is the cleanest quote I can put up that she starts with when we all bring up the game lol! It's said with real passion but it breaks down into a wistful laugh near the end. The two of them are always goofing off the other but the truth is Zafi knows that she carries the blame too because she treated leadership like something stinky and sticky. If she saw what was wrong she should have stepped in and fixed it. At times she will say that was not in Zafi's character then at other times she will sigh and say Zafi saw it coming but was caught up in the mob mentality.
Much like Weed, she loved the game and loves Zafi. She went from a care-free Temple Prostitute and Bladed Scarf Dancer, to a progressive member of the Sklar-Quah with an adoptive daughter and a mission to make an issue of women's rights in the Quahs Ha!
Denitsa:
Denitsa always enjoys the game for the game's sake. She loves to RP and enjoys my DMing greatly. She still has a bitter taste from the way the players all turned on her IC and more so about the way some whipped the others up OOC. Still Denitsa is one of them players that will shrug and move along but ya never know how much it bugs her. All said and done she places the game and the actions outside of the game in "this case" in two boxes, the box with the game in it she enjoyed and also laughs about some of the HUGE mistakes she made.