So, I just started running my player's through "The Inferno Gate", and when they received their new orders from Fex they asked the painfully obvious question. "Why can't Razelago just teleport to your townhouse in Senara to grab the phegmatic talisman and bring it back?" [Also, to themselves "What!? We've killed several good outsiders already! You couldn't have told us you needed their hearts before?"] Fex's real reason is that he wants the PC's out of his hair for as long as possible while he makes his final preparations for the ritual.
I had actually anticipated this and so was ready for Fex/Razelago to handwave the player's question with, "We tried already and the GR has safeguards in place against evil outsiders teleporting into the area." I thought this was reasonable given the GR's knowledge of and proximity to the Gate itself, as well as any paranoia of Thrune attacking through the use of summoned devils. That said, I'd recommend coming up with your own reason as, "Because then the first act of the adventure can't take place," seems insufficient. Other possibilities may include that Razelago is playing his own game in anticipation of Fex's downfall or that Fex wants more on the ground information about Senara since he intends to conquer it himself (though obviously he wouldn't tell the players that).
This is why I hate teleportation.
I open this thread to other instances of glaring workarounds to obstacles within the AP.
The DM "Out" for teleportation is right there in the "Teleport" spell description rules
"You must have some clear idea of the location and layout of the destination. The clearer your mental image, the more likely the teleportation works.
Greater teleportation -- which most any devil has -- is far less finicky. Fex could easily provide details to make it possible for Razelago.
"This spell functions like teleport, except that there is no range limit and there is no chance you arrive off target. In addition, you need not have seen the destination, but in that case you must have at least a reliable description of the place to which you are teleporting."
I'll argue that the better solution here is that Razelago attempted to get the talisman but
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the part that doesn't make sense to me is the Thrune sacrifice in the back end of Queen & Empire. If the GR (or anyone else who hates the Thrunes) knows this is going to happen, since it's supposed to be a regular thing, then they'd be waiting right there to jump them.
This of course, can be hand-waved away - the sacrifice needs to happen to secure some diabolic contract to defeat the GR or something - but that one little bit just makes like zero sense.
I would assume that this sacrifice is also a little known thing. Simply revealing its existence should, if one is believed, bolster the anti-Thrune cause. But that is only one of many mistakes that the GR made.
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I would assume that this sacrifice is also a little known thing. Simply revealing its existence should, if one is believed, bolster the anti-Thrune cause. But that is only one of many mistakes that the GR made.
eh. I dunno.
even then, it's like... why didn't they build a gigantic temple full of devils and bad guys around the location? why is it in the middle of the woods and not at like, Compound Thrune?
I dunno. Most of the rest of the AP is great. That little part, which is easily fixable, just nags at me.
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Cause a fortress full of evil outsiders and infernal guards in the middle of the Barrow wood screams "Hey good guys! Over here!" Plus, the Barrow Wood is a scary place; it's probably safer to keep the ritual date and location a secret and have the Queen just travel there with a full guard complement once a year. The Winter Grove isn't particularly hospitable, so it would be disadvantageous to just sit around and wait, especially when the GR needs all their boots on the ground.I would assume that this sacrifice is also a little known thing. Simply revealing its existence should, if one is believed, bolster the anti-Thrune cause. But that is only one of many mistakes that the GR made.
eh. I dunno.
even then, it's like... why didn't they build a gigantic temple full of devils and bad guys around the location? why is it in the middle of the woods and not at like, Compound Thrune?
I dunno. Most of the rest of the AP is great. That little part, which is easily fixable, just nags at me.
This is the House of Thrune. They like building big crazy symbols of their power. And this would be a spot where they would probably build one.
Even so, the Queen can't go there in secret once a year and have it remain a secret for 100 years.
This is easily handwaved away with the party being told by the Queen that: "We have entered into a contract with the Infernal Lord PLOTNAME! In order to complete this dread agreement, the House of Thrune must sacrifice X here, in the Barrow Wood, a place of dire import to Lord PLOTNAME. Of course, I cannot possibly attend, and my family, you must understand, is busied with the war. As such, as bonded agents to my house, you shall take X to the Barrow Wood and perform the ritual."
BOOM. DONE. It becomes a one-off.
Because the adventure would be over.
There is something more important than logic: imagination
Alfred Hitchcock