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Alright, so, my players are still under the impression they are after the Brotherhood of the Seven. They are currently at Skull's Crossing and we ended last week in the Western Caves.
Will this be a continuity error later in the story, or is this a decent way to introduce the main villain of the story into the game?
Thanks guys!
well, he hasn't arisen yet, so yeah, there will be continuity issues.
but Avaxial CAN be a good point for information drops, depending on what the group already knows.
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well, he hasn't arisen yet, so yeah, there will be continuity issues.
but Avaxial CAN be a good point for information drops, depending on what the group already knows.
Would this work instead?
"Karzoug was unable to fully awaken simply because of one ambitious giant's tinkering-the runelord's release from hibernation required much more elaborate and complex magical rituals. Originally, these rituals were to be performed by Karzoug's surviving apprentices and minions , yet the fall ofThassilon left none to undertake these tasks. In Mokmurian, Karzoug had his first window to reality in 1o,ooo years, and the slumbering wizard struck with fierce and desperate power. Mokmurian felt Karzoug enter his mind and soul, and his fate from that point on was no longer his own-his one driving goal became Karzoug's revival."
And Avaxial gives his theory on what he believes is happening.
Thanks
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Well, Avaxial certainly knows that Karzoug is the one that bound him to this area. He doesn't know him by name, though, and probably could describe the person that did so fairly well. The PCs still probably won't have a good name for this person, but they might be able to connect the description that Avaxial gives to the illusory message beneath Thistletop.
One thing that might be fun would be to have Avaxial know Karzoug's name, and offer to give it to the party if they release him from his imprisonment. Of course, that assumes the party believes that this person is important, and since they believe that the Bo7 are the Big Bads, they might not care. If you drop your hint that Avaxial felt Karzoug's presence in the world a few months back, when Mokmurian started the awakening process, then maybe they will!
I think I would go in to the session with Avaxial by prepping to describe ancient Thassilon in great detail. Spitballing off the pulse, do you mean an actual pulse- as in the barrier thrums to the 'heartbeat' of Karzoug? Or do you mean a one-time surge? I think a surge that coincides with the Late Unpleasantness works very well.
The problem with using Avaxial to introduce Karsoug, is that he doesn't know anything other than the pulse (assuming you go with that) about the present. It all ends up seeming like mood and foreshadowing if the party continues to believe the Bot7 are behind everything, but if you move the conversation with him in the right direction, the party can start to realize that maybe something greater is out there. Avaxial works well for that- you just have to be ready with full descriptions of the world from 10K years ago.
To answer your question: it's a tough way to do it, because you're shoehorning information in, but using Avaxial works just fine for introducing Karzoug.
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It's not the end of the world if they still think the Brotherhood of the Seven are behind this. It'll become apparent pretty quickly that they're not.
Some things to consider:
Technically, Karzoug has awakened, so there's no continuity issue here. He was awakened years earlier when Mokmurian made his way to Xin-Shalast.
For my game, this was too early for them to learn Karzoug is the villain. My party didn't know any of the Runelords names and had only limited knowledge of ancient Thassilon. Axaxiel does know Karzoug's name, at least in the Anniversary Edition. But he doesn't have any idea that Karzoug was a big deal. He just knows him as the wizard who summoned him into servitude. My party almost completely ignored the name, and it was fun to see them make the connection later.
Some thoughts on trying to clear things up:
- If they haven't fought Lucrecia yet, she can dialog with them a bit. If they ask about the Brotherhood, I'd expect her to say something like, "Who? Oh, that little Norgorber cult my sister was toying with in Magnimar? What do they have to do with anything, fools?"
- Defeating Barl will point them toward Mokmurian, and they could piece together that it's unlikely the Brotherhood is directing giants from the Storval Plateau.
- In my group, they had no idea until Karzoug possessed Mokmurian in the death scene in the next chapter. It really was an awesome reveal.
- I think the best option is to just let it ride. The Library at Jorgenfist is a massive information dump. They'll learn how everything fits together soon enough. I would, at most, throw them off the scent of the Brotherhood but not reveal the true villain yet.
Good luck. It's a great campaign. My group is just finishing the Runeforge.
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Alright, so, here's what I am thinking:
The main problem with the pit fiend in the dam is the completely insane description of the physics involved.
"I know! I, Karzoug, have figured it out! Never again shall the dam get too much water behind it, for I, Karzoug, will bind one of the Lords of Hell itself to monitor the water level and apply controls for all eternity!"
"Maybe we could just make a small hole in the dam at the desired maximum water level, you know, an overflow hatch like the one in your sink, Glorious Master?"
"..."
"Why are you looking at me like that, Glor..."
ZAP!!!!
"As I was saying before this servant interrupted me, I have solved this problem! Let work commence immediately!"
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The main problem with the pit fiend in the dam is the completely insane description of the physics involved.
"I know! I, Karzoug, have figured it out! Never again shall the dam get too much water behind it, for I, Karzoug, will bind one of the Lords of Hell itself to monitor the water level and apply controls for all eternity!"
"Maybe we could just make a small hole in the dam at the desired maximum water level, you know, an overflow hatch like the one in your sink, Glorious Master?"
"..."
"Why are you looking at me like that, Glor..."
ZAP!!!!
"As I was saying before this servant interrupted me, I have solved this problem! Let work commence immediately!"
Except you are applying conventional logic to Karzoug and that's not going to work. Conspicuous consumption is the order of the day! The showier the better. Seriously, building the dam wasn't about practicality, it was about displaying Karzoug's arcane mastery - look what I can do, I'm the most powerful wizard in the world! I bound two of the most powerful devils in Hell simply to power the sluice gates on my dam! Take that Xanderghul!