Deja Vu

[Touc]

Just sharing an odd deja vu moment.

Months ago I posted our group's 40-round combat with Vordakai, and our last session the players returned there - now at 12th level - to face down a former PC who turned bad.

Spoiler:

The PC replaced his eye with the Oculus and gave in to temptation (all with the player's consent!) As a conjuring wizard, he teleported away and has been in hiding ever since, never forgetting that when he first replaced his eye, the other players paralyzed him magically and cut the Oculus back out (after which he stole it and fled). Years later, he's recruited Ngara the Naga who is also being hunted by the PCs, and with a Teleport Trap finally at his disposal, is prepared to set a final lethal lure. He'll use the naga and himself as bait, not giving their location away but requiring teleportation. Combine that with using the Oculus to empty a village and promising (via sending) to summon demons on random PC villages, he's ready to end this on his terms.

We stopped last session mid-battle, with another battle that is already past 25 rounds. No other place in the entire campaign has any battle ever lasted this long, and now we're twice in.

To find this comrade after scrying, and after puzzling out there is a Teleport Trap in place, they chose, in an insane move, to intentionally fail the Teleport Trap save and try to break the trap, having buffed and prepared for this. Otherwise, they might never find their comrade's lair (see spoiler as to why time was of the essence) and they didn't want to be split up.

Teleport Trap deposited them individually into sealed stone sarcophagi (W22), with the entire area flooded and a Wall of Stone over the only door in and out. Miraculously, the players escaped (I should never underestimate them!)

Had the makings of a TPK, but the ally bound by the Oculus was dismissed on a fluke roll making the BBEG battle a little more fair. Still, conjurers make great enemies. With dimension hopping, illusions, and pit creation to compliment a slew of nasty monsters, this one has survived and now both sides are down to their final spells. One player has "died" twice (Breath of Life saves), and the players have itchy trigger fingers to get ahold of this guy once and for all. They've taken down his grunts, his shadow demons, and his illusions. They've withstood blasts of his ally Ngara's fireballs raining down on them. They've played the "dispel" game on various nasty enchantments.

Spoiler:

What will be most frustrating is that they don't have any way to stop this BBEG from teleporting away after all the fighting...I'm likely to get an earful, but that's what bad guys do sometimes.

But alas, time got away from us, and the battle will wait one more week, wherein my players are likely to surprise me yet again.

[the David]

That's nasty. Can you give any details on the party?

[Odraude]

They should be a high enough level to dimensional anchor him. Assuming there is someone in the party that can cast it. Any Clerics?

[Rickmeister]

If they are smart enough, they should have D.A. prepared.
I mean, they know the PC and have used scrying on him, right?

If they give you an earful, simply state that many a level 7 character could have stopped him from escaping ;)

[Touc]

Party (all Level 12), DA was blown on an illusory "mislead" spell.

Elf Inquisitor, melee-based using an extremely highly enchanted Elven Curve Blade, armor enchanted to cast Breath of Life 1/day at 0-hp.

Dwarf Conjurer, does not have DA in his book.

Halfling Cleric (Cayden Cailen), anti-summons spell list.

Human Fighter, all spec'd to archery, also Breath of Life.

The comrade knows this party's tricks, having adventured with them for a month and having used Greater Detect Scrying (Oculus) for the past few years. It's how he found they were hunting Ngara, whom he recruited. I just don't see him sticking in the fight for much longer now that all his summoned aid and planar allies are gone and he's down over half his useful spells.

[Odraude]

The halfling cleric can prepare any spell on the cleric list, so he is the best bet for dimensional anchor. Is the player actually playing his BBEG or is he one of those guys listed up there?

[Touc]

The cleric used up a dimensional anchor on a fake, but I haven't peeked at his sheet to see if he prepared two. I've taken over the BBEG, leveled and appropriately geared him, so the player has no superior knowledge.