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I thought I might relay the fairly surprising end to my groups foray into the Manor.
To set the scene, the 5 character group has managed to work their way into the bowels of the Manor. One of the group died by their own hand as a result of the suicide haunt. The rest of the group sustained a fairly constant level of small wounds, leaving them feeling quite battered - though in reality they were not doing too bad, except for the Paladin who was badly injured and almost out of Lay On Hands. The Sorcerer was out of spells entirely.
I've allowed the dead character (a monk) to continue as a spirit, trapped by Vorel's spirit in the house. He can attack undead normally but can only interact with the group via a limited poltergeist ability. He uses this to scrawl out messages using a quill.
They have just finished an epic battle against the goblin ghasts and 4 ghouls in the large cavern just outside Vorel's lab. They decide, to my horror, to camp. In that room. I think the seawater made them feel it was somehow less dangerous than the rest of the house.
They set themselves up on the limited space on the ramp near the water, with the Paladin on first watch 20 feet down from the door.
My hints that this was in no way a good idea go unheeded. I think they need a lesson, and also think when Aldern emerges for his killing this evening there is NO WAY he would just ignore the fact that the target of his ire is camped right on his doorstep.
Aldern stealths right up to the paladin with an insanely high stealth roll and makes to backstab the paladin who has all of 12 hits.
I, of course, roll a 1.
Aldern's Initiative roll is good however so he gets an attack round before the paladin. Only the bite lands leaving the paladin on 6 hits.
The paladin rouses the party with a cry and the combat proceeds.
Even though Aldern looks exactly like the paladin (Stalker's Mask) the paladin uses Lay on Hands on himself, which is a dead giveaway.
The paladin also uses Smite Evil, which really hurts (I didn't notice until later that Aldern is CN. Is that a misprint?).
Aldern lasts 4 rounds before dying in ignomy. The spirit monk successfully trips him, and when he tries to rise the paladin's AoO crits and takes Aldern's head clean off.
So, what should have been a lesson in "don't camp on the Big Bad's doorstep" becomes "hey camp where you like and maybe it will save you the hassle of finding the big bad".
Then, when they found Vorel's lab, they took one glance and just razed the whole room with a scroll of burning hands.
They think it's all over and done with, so they leave the manor. Leaving their spirit friend still trapped in the house - he knows the house is far from cleansed.
They will be back, though, when a Raise Dead fails to bring him back, because his soul is effectively trapped. But there again, a cunning plan of mine has been turned back on me - instead of helping the dead character by allowing them to continue to participate NOW they are in an awkward spot if I play things through logically.
This group have an uncanny ability to turn my cunning plans back on me, even when they don't know what those plans are!
Love it!
I probably would have ambushed the group with Aldern+some ghouls. Unless the group managed to wipe out like every ghoul at the farmstead and in the house. And unless that would have felt too lethal.
I really enjoyed how you kept the monk PC around rather than making them sit around for a whole session. That's really clever. Did ghost monk have to go sleep too? I would have imagined him a rockin' watch.
Did they leave Aldern's body and head behind? The house could put him back together.
A neat idea, but I intend to let the group resurrect the monk for free - I don't think the suicide haunt is fair.
I'm considering having the raise dead spell bring back more than just the monk's soul, though...Love it!
Thank you.
I probably would have ambushed the group with Aldern+some ghouls.
I considered that, but the "ramp" I'd drawn on them map would have meant it was just a queue, pretty much. Plus, the session had already been one loooong combat against ghouls.
Did ghost monk have to go sleep too?
He's only been a spirit for a few hours, so I ruled that he felt the need to sleep more out of habit than fatigue.
He did, however, sleep *inside* the wall, given the limited space on the ramp.| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Yeah, I had a little gnome pyromancer who saw the hot coals in Big Mal's room in Book 1, went skipping on in, and was saved from outright death when Mal out-and-out fumbled against an AC 10 foe! Poor Mal!
Great story! I think you're handling it beautifully!
Well, it's done now, but you could have had ghouls or ghasts come up out of the water. They are undead, and don't need to breathe. The Skinsaw man isn't that tough on his own; he needs allies for his fight to last any length of time.
And it is a type; the Skinsaw Man is definitely CE.
Did they end up torching Xanesha's letter when they torched his room?
I actually think the alignment CN is correct. The Skinsaw man is CE but more than anything, Aldern is crazy with a split personality and all that.
I posted in the GM thread for that book and he's definitely supposed to be CE. The CN was a typo.
Well, it's done now, but you could have had ghouls or ghasts come up out of the water.
Doh! Wish I'd thought of that.
And it is a type; the Skinsaw Man is definitely CE.
Good to know, thanks.
Did they end up torching Xanesha's letter when they torched his room?
They did indeed. They have the link to Pug's Contraptions, at least. But Xanesha remains unknown to them. I'll have to sort that out pronto. Maybe relocate the letter to the townhouse?