Getting close to the end of BO with my group, and I had a fun idea with Malfeshnekor, but I'd love to get some advice from the RotR vets out there!
The Party - 5 experienced players in a well-balanced party (already at lvl 4). They had been steamrolling encounters prior to meeting Nualia w/ limited resources... a crit from Bruthazmus' bow dropped one PC, and they fled.
Assuming that the party handles Nualia ok after coming back w/ full resources, I was brainstorming how to handle Malfeshnekor. They know that Nualia was looking to find a secret weapon down here, but that's about all.
I was thinking when the party finds the door, that Mal could have shape shifted into a Direwolf, and try to bluff his way out of his prison... realizing that his hope for release left with Nualia, he could use guile to get them to release him. He could try to convince them that he was an Awakened Direwolf, who fought as a General for the kind and gentle Lady Alaznist in the great wars. He was captured by her foul enemies, and imprisoned here all this time. The magic of the statue has sustained him (they already ID'd that there is some sort of magic air cleaning system), and he longs for release.
The other tactic would be that since Wisdom is needed for him to communicate, he can only speak w/ the Cleric of the party (who is a CN Necromancer who specializes in Command Undead Channeling). I thought Mal could pretend to be a spirit of a wolf, killed in the cataclysm 1000 years ago and his soul has been trapped here. That would very much play into the cleric's MO (his undead are his only friends), and I can't imagine that he's pass up the chance to get a "ghost puppy". It would alsy be funny for the rest of the party, since only he can hear it (they already think he's crazy).
In any case, I'd try to throw in just enough clues to make them wary, but with his bluff he could convince them. After he's released, he'd try to eat them, and at half HP decide to run away. He could then be a nice red herring for the Skinsaw Murders...
However, in doing this I'd completely lose the element of surprise. I do like the idea of the PCs finding a locked room, open the door with the key, see it's empty (Mal being Invisible) and just walking in to loot it. That's a great setup for Dominate in surprise round, full attack round 2. But if I go w/ either bluff tactic and they don't choose to release him, then they will know something is in the room and be wary if it looks empty.
It seems like Mal would value freedom over a quick slaughter, but I didn't know if I'm giving away too much but trying to communicate with the party first. Thoughts?
The basic problem here is that both options are fun.
If you go with the bluff, and he later escapes to be a red herring, will he be too much of a distraction and make a mess of the AP?
A surprise attack is more limited but less likely to derail the game. But also less fun overall.
I'd go with whatever you think fits your players' style and ability to stay on track!
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I don't believe that he can leave the room unless someone finds and breaks the caster-level 20 binding magic laid upon it - which is a tall order for a party at that level/point in the AP. I don't think that he could maintain a Bluff long enough for the party to be able to release him - therefore I'd go for the more immediate option.
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yeah... Bellona, you're right.
But I didn't like that. At least not for what he could be for the story.
I have a player who's running a Witch and has stated he is weak to "lust for power".
So as soon as he stepped foot into Thistletop, Mal reached out to him trying to contact him or one of the other party members.
Somewhere along the adventure after Nualia, the group split up and explored the areas below.
He was on point.
He met Mal first. One thing led to another and he made a blood pact with the Greater Barghest and released him.
Now this is done based on story alone, no mechanics involved.
The rest of the party see the end of the agreement as the two shake bloody hands. The Barghest turns and sneers at the rest of the party... and simple walks out, and slowly fades from sight.
A resounding WTF did you do? Came from my table. But it all has come into play. I played up the influence of Pazzuzu in Sandpoint, and given agents of Lamashtu captured ol' Mal back in the day. I figure once outside of his cage, he'll feel a tug in that direction and serve Mr. P. He will slowly tutor our Witch in darker roads of power and be a conduit for Pazzuzu to influence/control this PC.
Now that said, the player knows this and wants to see how this will go. We've already lost one character to Pazzuzu and the Island. And no, he didn't die. Just started questioning he sanity.
I digress. I think you can play him how ever you want. He makes a tough fight, especially if the party goes directly to him after fighting Nualia and the other nasties before him. Yes, he is a red herring, but I see him(at least in my game) as a voice from the past. He'll be a mouth piece to offer hints, clues or more red herrings as the story unfolds.
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Quick update on how this resolved:
So I opted for the "ghost puppy" approach, aided by the fact that the player of the Cleric had real life get in the way, and bowed out of the game (so he became an NPC for a few sessions). I role played that he was hearing voices, and then started asking the group to find items:
So regarding the binding, in the spell it mentions that often the caster can make some sort of trigger to release the binding. Having all this time, perhaps Mal had been able to figure out the basics of the trigger, and I leveraged that into a riddle for the party... the strength of the spell is drawn from 4 components, and each needs to be subverted in some way: the physical walls, the magical forces, the caster who created the binding, and the portal that locked it shut. That was all Mal gave them.
To break the binding, they had to search for items that subverted each of these powers: for the walls, a piece of the architects from the room w/ the Shadows; for the magical force, the Sihedron medallion; for the caster they needed a symbol of someone with authority over him (the image of Karz on the gold coins from the treasury, or just having the far door open to the projected image); for the portal, the key to the room.
This also forced them to clean out the rest of the level, which put them in a position of needing rest and healing before opening the door (the players suspected something afoul). They found all the pieces and went back to town, and their friend's sanity seemed to take a turn for the worst. While they were at Magnimar spending their Thistletop money, the Cleric escaped the temple he was being treated at, and was caught ransacking their rooms (they thought to keep the 4 pieces with them). Balor had the cleric sent to the mental hospital (introducing that for the next AP) and the PCs though the only way to help their friend was to free and/or defeat Mal.
It was a fun battle, with one PC dropping (but not dying), the other front-liner down to 6 HP before delivering a double shocking grasp via a spell storing amulet of mighty fists (and dropping Mal from half to less than 10 HP). At that point, Mal used dimension door to get to the far side of the hallway, and the PCs had a rough choice... try to get one last shot in (and risk opening themselves up to a killing blow), or let him go. They decided to pursue, and dropped him that round.
I took some liberties w/ the rules in regards to the binding and the mental affects on the cleric, but it resulted in a pretty fun side-quest!