| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
In the game I'm running, my party "wiped" against a Leukodaemon and his minions. Instead of everyone dying, I decided to story-line it: the PCs' rolled through their Constitution checks and most of them managed to stabilize. The first PC to wake up found the Leukodaemon standing before him. The PC was told that the Daemon didn't want to kill them just yet; he had a message for them to deliver: (something about plagues spreading through the kingdom unless a particular magical item was brought to him for his master).
The Daemon most assuredly still plans to plague the kingdom regardless, but getting leg-work done first for free is definitely a bonus. Right before he left, he added "Oh, and thank you for the samples." The PC's then noticed that each of them had fresh, neat cuts below their shoulders. The skin around them is red and puffed, but otherwise show no malicious signs.
So my question is this: Are there any spells, rituals, etc. that require blood, or some other form of sample that I can use in the future to really ruin the PCs' day?
Thanks in advance!
Clone requires a good chunk of flesh and the soul has to be willing to enter the clone upon death of the original body. I suppose you could formulate a scenario where the PC is killed and has a choice to go into the clone or simply pass on (many would choose the former), and then the PC could find himself trapped in the daemon's lab. But why then did the daemon not just kidnap the party in the first place?
There are several curses and spells that have greater effects if you have the target's blood. There is a Witch's hex that involves making a waxen image that uses a drop of blood (complete magic maybe?) and the tupilaq construct can be made more deadly with a drop of blood as well.
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
You could have the players be the clones all along! Dun dun daaaah. The real players are still trapped back at the Demon's base. Then have them come in conflict with their original selves. Do they sacrifice themselves to save the world? Do they kill of their real selves and take their place? Do they work with their real selves to turn the demon's plan against them?
Its a chestnut, but a good one.
Perhaps the deamon has a witch who can now use the scarred hex on the PCs nearly at will ?
How about a mixture of EvilMinion and SlimGauge's suggestion? The Daemon is/has some kind of witch that inflicts the scarred hex that allows him to remotely make the PCs become carriers of a disease while making them immune to it.
I have made use of Mark of Justice - a level 5 spell. You don't need to be a jerk about the spell's trigger, but you should legitimately consider the motives of the caster.
you could be most of your way to a Flesh Golem
He definitely has added paranoia, nice touch to avoid the TPK. Maybe there is nothing but the 'threat of something' the daemon holds over the PCs.
Previous comments about them being walking plague bombs is an interesting avenue.
Although, perhaps there is really nothing specific, now, for the chunks of PCs in jars. But maybe they might have a black market value, or use for an alchemist or necromancer. Or to use as fodder for a poisonous mold or spore colony.
And, of course, you mean 'ruin the PCs day' tongue-in-cheek, right? Because maybe just riding about with a fresh surgical scar, no idea about what happens next juxtaposed with what a Leukodaemon stands for is enough to give them the heebie-jeebies for quite some time...
As for specific spells, there isn't too much there outside of scrying spells (which are totally useful btw).
Say that it is an implanted Ioun Stone then make it so the item casts the effects of a Blight spell once per day or week, and this effect only happens at some odd hour like midnight, so the PCs will most likely be asleep. So everywhere they go, they are actually destroying the land.
Here is some text from implanting Ioun Stones (normally only a willing procedure):
Once implanted, an ioun stone may not be sundered or targeted by effects and cannot be removed without the owner’s consent while he is alive (barring complete removal of the implanted body part).
Rumors exist of stranger, darker magics that allow spellcasters to channel spells through their implanted stones, or that cause the stones to shatter if the owner is killed, but those with any actual knowledge of these procedures are dead, hidden, or not talking.
So... vague enough to plug in whatever you want.
These are great ideas. Thanks for all the inspiration, and keep them coming! :)
|
Leukodaemons love them some disease, so perhaps the players are all now carriers of some terrible plague? Each one is a carrier, and immune to the symptoms, but they begin unintentionally spreading it to their friends, allies, and loved ones.
Perhaps he could grow some sort of plague-ridden, evil anti-PC undead miniboss squad of the players. Each one is afflicted with a different disease (given special powers related to their disease), and looks exactly like the player in question except bloated, withered, or plagued by their disease. Everybody has to fight their evil sickness duplicate.
In the game I'm running, my party "wiped" against a Leukodaemon and his minions. Instead of everyone dying, I decided to story-line it: the PCs' rolled through their Constitution checks and most of them managed to stabilize. The first PC to wake up found the Leukodaemon standing before him. The PC was told that the Daemon didn't want to kill them just yet; he had a message for them to deliver: (something about plagues spreading through the kingdom unless a particular magical item was brought to him for his master).
The Daemon most assuredly still plans to plague the kingdom regardless, but getting leg-work done first for free is definitely a bonus. Right before he left, he added "Oh, and thank you for the samples." The PC's then noticed that each of them had fresh, neat cuts below their shoulders. The skin around them is red and puffed, but otherwise show no malicious signs.
So my question is this: Are there any spells, rituals, etc. that require blood, or some other form of sample that I can use in the future to really ruin the PCs' day?
Thanks in advance!
I dont know if you have access to any 3.5 books but there were some cyst based spells in Libris Mortis. The spell to cause the cyst was a low level spell, but once the person was infected the higher level cyst spells could be used. I think the cyst could be removed, if discovered, but it was risky.
You could also have it act like a geas to an extent. It would not automatically give the PC's problems, but if the deamon found out he could make them feel pain or suffer penalties from any distance. This would give them a chance to try to remove the problem if they are sneaky enough about it.
|
Since they were close to death, perhaps the daemon ripped and sold a portion of their souls to some Night Hags. Next time someone needs raised, or perhaps earlier through nightmares, the party could find out something has them partially in thrall. Mechanically, could be as simple as if the character cannot be raised, their soul is carted off to the Abyss or some other source. In the meanwhile, their partial souls are being used to fuel some nefarious scheme. As long as they live, they power that soul portion. Whether you implement any penalty (don't recommend any change in numbers but perhaps a graying of the skin, or changing of eye color, or ledger marks in Infernal indicating ownership that manifest on the person's back) is up to you.
In any case, the party is probably expecting some hardship/quest in return for surviving the TPK. The daemon kept them alive for a reason...
I think making them disease riddled and immune so they affect a town/ base/dungeon with something nasty is the best suggestion. PC's could then solve the problem or inadvertently assist the evil dude in his evil plans to take over. Maybe he wants to take out his bosses minions to gain leadership or access to something powerful?
Sounds great... can I play?!