While players aren't supposed to be trolling around in here:
My party has just entered Scarwall. So far it's been Keystone-Kopsian, as their paladin crit the orc lookout in the barbicon with Smite Evil going and Silence cast on the orc, then their bard Greased the causeway as the skeletons were charging, but I digress.
Going through the rest of Scarwall and Crown of Fangs, I notice that the fate of all the NPCs is described with the exception of Laori and Sial. If they're both alive when they enter the Star Tower, then one of them goes off with the Nightwing and the other is offered the chance to accompany. OK. Great.
What if only one of them is alive at that point? Don't forget that my party still has to face the demilich, and while I doubt it's going to survive more than 2-3 rounds (EVERY character has a holy sword, and the paladin's standard tactic when facing something that nasty is to grant everyone Smite Evil), it's going to get off at least one Wail of the Banshee, and I expect at least one of Sial or Laori to fail their save and keel over dead-like.
So I'm likely to have one follower of Zon Kuthon left, and that follower isn't going to want to join the Nightwing. So the party's going to wipe the walls with the Nightwing, and I'm going to have either Sial or Laori with the party when they recover Serithtial.
Any suggestions as to what that follower should do?
- "My mission here is finished. Have fun attacking the queen! Bye now!"
- Have the NPC stay with the party? (Kind of hard because they teleport everywhere and don't have room for him/her)?
Just curious whether anyone else has reached the Star Tower with only one of the two alive, and how you handled it. (My party actively detests Sial, so it may be moot if Laori dies. But they like Laori so much they might resurrect her. The paladin's been trying to turn her good for several modules now, and she's got an "active" romance going with the tiefling warlord.)
On further reflection, there's only one situation where it will be a problem with my group:
If Sial is the sole survivor, he'll obviously side with the Nightwing. That'll even out the fight so it'll be close, and I can't imagine him allowing a servant of his god to get obliterated.
If Laori is the sole survivor, I have significant issues: She should side with the Nightwing, but then the warlord would almost certainly side with her. That tips the odds in the Nightwing's favor, and, after the rest of the party is dead, the Nightwing would invite the warlord to join Zon Kuthon (he won't -- he's Chaotic through and through), so I'd have to have him sit around in the Star Tower until the Nightwing and Laori return, at which point they'd obviously kill him for failing to convert. Not exactly "happiness central" for the party -- the warlord would get EXACTLY what he deserved, but the rest of the group would be pretty darned pissed at him for getting EVERYBODY killed. I don't want that kind of friction in the gaming group.
On the other hand, the recourse of having Laori NOT defend the Nightwing is so out-of-character that I don't like it either.
So I'm looking at TPK, NPC totally out of character, or intentionally killing the NPC off just to avoid the issue. I don't like any of the three choices. Any other suggestions?
This critter is the servant of the NPC's god, delivering said god's edict. If there is only one NPC left alive, there really isn't much for them to do except whine about it. So why a fight?
In my game, one of the NPCs died. When this encounter happened, the party just stepped back & told the surviving NPC that it was between her & her god, tough luck, see ya.
Truthfully, there is no reason for the Nightwing and Laori to turn on the warlord when they do return. Nothing states he needs to accept Zon-Kuthon as his deity to stay with Laori. In fact, the warlord could very well promise Laori he would return, deal with Ileosa, and return to the tower to spend the rest of his days with his beloved. A possible ending for his character is that Shelyn, the Half-sister of Zon-Kuthon, and Goddess of Love, may actually grant the warlord an immortal life as long as he stays with his love. The tower would have two protectors, bonded through eons of companionship, a love eternal. Or you could have him grow old, and return as a ghost until Laori herself has been freed from the Curate.
Also, keep in mind that the Nightwing will accept someone who begs for their life, or the life of another. It may turn out the warlord offers his own life in place of Laori's, then you could have him play Laori, and she returns to the Star Tower to spend eternity with her prince.
Honestly, I like the Shelyn aspect more, much more epic fantasy ending. The switching or roles would be intriguing as well.
This critter is the servant of the NPC's god, delivering said god's edict. If there is only one NPC left alive, there really isn't much for them to do except whine about it. So why a fight?
In my game, one of the NPCs died. When this encounter happened, the party just stepped back & told the surviving NPC that it was between her & her god, tough luck, see ya.
...and THAT'S the problem with having a paladin in the party -- he's just not the sort to step back and let someone suffer. Ah, well, then at least I can blame it all on the PCs...
Actually, you've convinced me to let it play out as written, as I'll get to see some epic pathos:
- Laori defies the Nightwing's request, and it attacks her as written.
- The paladin and the warlord will immediately open a can of whoop-tail on Nightwing. Fortunately, it's tough enough to withstand full-round actions by both of them, plus the wizard if he decides to join in.
- Laori screams at the PCs for attacking an avatar of her god and attacks the paladin. The nightwing helps from afar, not appreciating taking loads of damage and wanting to stay invisible for the rest of the fight.
So now it's up to the warlord (a PC who hasn't done a lot) to decide: Defend the paladin and kill his sweetie, or join his sweetie and the critter against the rest of his party. Wow! That's going to be fun to watch...
Unfortunately, while I absolutely LOVE Tels' ideas, it's not going to happen with this PC. He's chaotic neutral because I assigned it to him for the way he plays -- once he finds out that either he or she's going to be stuck in a tower, he's going to dump her like a sack of potatoes and move on. Which is going to make it even more pathetic if he turns on his party...
Thanks for the great ideas -- At this point, I think it would actually be a much cooler campaign if it turns out this way, so I'm looking forward to it...