This is an idea I had recently. I would like to hear your opinions, and also, if you like my idea, feel free to borrow it for your own STAP campaign.
After the PCs have rescued Lavina from Divided's Ire, it seems she suffered nothing but a few scratches. Since we are told again and again in the adventures that the Abyss is a very dangerous and corrupted place, I was thinking that it would be logical that Lavinia suffers some consequences from her imprisonment in the Abyss. After all, even angels are not immune to its influence.
Also, her role in the campaign at this point has more or less ended, unless the PCs take her along as a cohort (which my group probably won't).
So what if Vanthus actually brought Lavinia to Lemoriax and there the demons attempted to turn her into a Lemorian creature? What if Lavinia somehow managed to partly withstand the influence of the ritual (because of her NG alignment and her resistance to Vanthus), giving Vanthus the idea that the ritual has failed? He would then bring her to Divided's Ire and remain there himself, as instructed by Demogorgon. Of course he would be very dissappointed.
Lavinia is actually changed into a dormant Lemorian creature. The changes are inside of her, but do not manifest as yet. Perhaps the influence of Divided's Ire suppresses them, as she is a prisoner there. Perhaps she is subconsciously fighting the transformation, which will get more and more difficult as time goes by.
After being freed Lavinia can insist on joining the PCs, feeling she has earned the right "to avenge herself". (Of course this emotion is triggered by her Lemorian side.) Then at every emotional moment (e.g. during combat) there will be a cumulative chance that she changes into a Lemorian creature. If this is in the middle of combat, this will of course create extra problems for the PCs.
The other option is that she goes back to Farshore, unaware of her problems. There she begins to suffer from nightmares, and every night there is a cumulative chance that she changes into a Lemorian creature. When she is transformed, she flees the village and hides in the jungle, and then begins to terrorize it by kidnapping people and subsequently sacrificing them to Demogorgon.
It could even be possible that Demogorgon planned this all along. He sends Vanthus and Lavinia to Divided's Ire to lure the PCs, and if S'Sharra and the other inmates fail to kill the PCs, Demogorgon has still a backup plan, namely Lavinia. He of course hopes she will transform during combat. At the very least this will delay the PCs in their actions against him. If he is lucky, the consequences will be much worse than that.
There should also be a way to heal Lavinia. I was thinking of a good minor artefact or another good object, or a specific good deity or celestial. The PCs can solve this problem as part of an extra plotline in EOME.
I like the idea, was thinking about trying to put something else into EOME to break up the whole 'go here, recruit him, go there, recruit her' routine. This would fit in quite well.
I'd personally go for her to return to Farshore, and transform some nights later, kill a couple of unsuspecting colonists and escape into the jungle. An NPC from Farshore (a Jade Raven if they're still alive) will manage to contact the PCs and tell them that Lavinia is missing. That will bring my PCs sailing back.
Capturing Lavinia should be fairly easy (even with the Lemorian template) to capture, but curing her something else entirely. I'm thinking any of the following should save her...
- A Wish or Miracle with a successful caster level check against Demogorgans will (equal to the DC save of his gaze attacks, currently 39)
- Completely immersing Lavinia in the Fountain of Beauty will block Demogorgans will, meaning a Wish or Miracle automatically work.
- (at a push) taking Lavinia to the positive energy plane (i.e. from Bastion of Broken Souls) and infusing her with positive energy to burn away the demonic energies
Would any of that work?
The fountain of beauty, definitely!
I think I will let my PCs decide whether they want to take Lavinia along or leave her in Farshore.
I will probably change a lot in EOME, since I am not only using my own campaign world, but my players have their own ideas about whom to recruit. They are already thinking along those lines at the moment, so I will just listen in and adapt accordingly.