TALL FOLKS, TALL FOLKS! I NEED YOUR HELP.
Ok, this is the situation: One of the players in my campaing is new, and i dont mean new in the game, i mean new in the campaing. He came last saturday from hollydays and started playing. Problem is, that he started kidnapped in twistletop (players were already there, so i didnt have much choices).
He was with 3 female goblins, one of the party heroes just went into twistletop with Gogmurt's aid (the druid), after making a deal with him in the last sesion: the group kill tall people, and Gogmurt avoid new atacks to Sandpoint.
Well, everything went right! the explorer went into the room where the paladin was kidnapped, they knocked down the three goblins and...they went into a walk, without armor and half naked just to see what can they find in the first dungeon floor of twistletop (the explorer was originally looking for ameiko, she's in twistletop too).
So...they found the "demon dogs" of the cathedral. The dogs barked, the explorer run like there's no tomorrow so he can go back to his comrades (this mean run upstairs yelling, opening doors with slams, climb the wall of twistletop and cross the bridge begging for his life, just to reach the forest), and the naked paladin decide that fighting is a good idea. He survived (dont ask). Of course he didnt kill the dogs.
Well, here is the problem, the group decided to rest so...SEVEN HOURS after that, they move into twistletop, just to find a big bunch of goblins have left (to atack sandpoint) and fell into an ambush. They knocked down the goblin chieff and his fellows, and now they are going ahead to the dungeon again.
I. need. help.
1. even if they have enough experience to reach level 4, should i let them got that level? its weird to me to reach a new level just after a fight when you are about to enter another in just 5 mins.
2. the best move Nualia can make here is pretty obvious. She can just stay together with the male warrior, the wizard and her three dogs, and wipe the PC'S faces out. But i dont want to kill all my players.
3. I was thinking that Nualia can be distracted with ameiko's ritual, but i have to say that the PC's have taken more than 3 and 4 days in rescuing her, and the AP says that she's dead in two. My group has killed Tsuto a Bruthamus, so i thought she can use Ameiko as a bait or something like that.
I really need help here, what do you think i should do? let them reach 4 level and make them fight two groups of strong enemys? (the wizard, the warrior and one dog, for example, and nualia with two dogs?) or what?
Just waiting for your lovely help, tall folks.
1) It's pretty common to let PCs level up in the middle of the day. Prepared casters may not have time to prepare new spells, but other classes could get their new benefits.
2-3) You could have Nualia locked in a room performing a ritual on Ameiko, with Kyrie and Orik guarding the door. I think that's believable, it spreads out the danger, and could add some extra tension to the fight with Nualia.
1. even if they have enough experience to reach level 4, should i let them got that level? its weird to me to reach a new level just after a fight when you are about to enter another in just 5 mins.
2. the best move Nualia can make here is pretty obvious. She can just stay together with the male warrior, the wizard and her three dogs, and wipe the PC'S faces out. But i dont want to kill all my players.
3. I was thinking that Nualia can be distracted with ameiko's ritual, but i have to say that the PC's have taken more than 3 and 4 days in rescuing her, and the AP says that she's dead in two. My group has killed Tsuto a Bruthamus, so i thought she can use Ameiko as a bait or something like that.
I don't see any problem with just letting them reach level 4 if they have the experience for it. I'd allow prepared casters to fill their new spell slots using the normal rules for filling reserve spell slots.
3 to 4 days is a long time to delay attacking Thistletop. I suspect that your players are assuming that the world will wait for them while they dawdle. This is a common beginner's trap due to the popularity of this trope in video games.
I'd have Nualia stay where she is in the AP and put Orik in command of Thistletop. I wouldn't change the goblin tactics, because they're undisciplined. Commanding goblins should be like herding cats. In other words, most of the goblin encounters in Thistletop should be run unmodified.
If the PCs raise an alarm, Orik and Kyrie will engage the party. I would have them muster enough goblins to make this a Hard encounter (APL + 2). Having Orik and the goblins as meat shields will give Kyrie some breathing room to cast her spells.
After they beat Orik and Kyrie, I would inform the party that they only have 2 days to rescue Ameiko. They would learn this in character either by interrogating prisoners or by finding a journal entry on Orik or Kyrie. And I would explicitly warn them that the above trope is not in effect in my game. I would probably run the 2 day limit as 48 hours from the time this encounter ended. If they can't be bothered to gather intelligence, they deserve to suffer the consequences.
I'd have Nualia order the two remaining Yeth Hounds to continue guarding her temple of Lamashtu as written in the AP. But you could have one or both of them backing Nualia up during her fight if you want to make things harder on the party.
I don't see any problem with just letting them reach level 4 if they have the experience for it. I'd allow prepared casters to fill their new spell slots using the normal rules for filling reserve spell slots.(etc etc)
I like your ideas man, but i've a several issues here.
1. Ameiko was kidnapped just like 4 days ago, the group is fighting orik and the rest too late in my opinion (they are used to stop fighting and go back to recharge spells). I think you are right, my players maybe need to learn a lesson, this is not a computer game, if you are late, the train is gone.
2. Orik staying with Kyrie sounds pretty good to me, this can make orik fight to the death (or harder) to protect his beloved girl, or maybe to see if he can gain her hearth. About the goblins, Belor was with the group until he said he heard a big bunch of goblins heading to Sandpoint, and he went back to protect the town. Maybe that was an ilussion to take the players offguard?
3. I was thinking about making Nualia leave twistletop. After knowing that the goblins went to atack Sandpoint without permission because of their thirst of vengeance, maybe she could sacrifice ameiko and gain some extra power and new orders from Lamasthu, who make her run to Magnimar (my players have also drained the wrath catacombs so the dungeon cannot generate more warriors) what do you think about this option?
thanks man for the help
1) It's pretty common to let PCs level up in the middle of the day. Prepared casters may not have time to prepare new spells, but other classes could get their new benefits.
2-3) You could have Nualia locked in a room performing a ritual on Ameiko, with Kyrie and Orik guarding the door. I think that's believable, it spreads out the danger, and could add some extra tension to the fight with Nualia.
thanks tall folk! but i think its too late to rescue her, and even more if they can take nualia offguard after SEVEN hours of preparing twisttletop for the assault. (besides, the ritual is just taking the head of ameiko and let it see how the dogs eat her corpse), it dont take too much.
Thank you so much, further ideas are still appreciated!!
1) Rituals take as long as you need them too, 12-24 hours or more is not unreasonable for a unique non-spell effect.
2) Nualia has other things she is far more focused on and an annoying girl that she can sacrifice properly AFTER she has found her way deeper into the complex is probably low down on that list of priorities.
3) Nualia really doesn't care about the goblins. If a few die, that's really no skin off her nose. She's far more likely to tell the the other longshanks to deal with it, and only really care when it directly impacts on her search.
Not all bad guys are genre-savvy.
4) Goblins really don't strike me as the type of critters to get all put out of joint if the attacking longshanks attack then leave. They are much more likely to celebrate their amazing victory than put out more patrols. Even if they did try to organise more defences, how long seriously before those extra watches are playing kill-gull or fighting over some pickled halfling toes?
Thistletop is not a fortified position held by a disciplined and well trained military force - don't treat it like one.
1) Rituals take as long as you need them too, 12-24 hours or more is not unreasonable for a unique non-spell effect.
2) Nualia has other things she is far more focused on and an annoying girl that she can sacrifice properly AFTER she has found her way deeper into the complex is probably low down on that list of priorities.
3) Nualia really doesn't care about the goblins. If a few die, that's really no skin off her nose. She's far more likely to tell the the other longshanks to deal with it, and only really care when it directly impacts on her search.
Not all bad guys are genre-savvy.
4) Goblins really don't strike me as the type of critters to get all put out of joint if the attacking longshanks attack then leave. They are much more likely to celebrate their amazing victory than put out more patrols. Even if they did try to organise more defences, how long seriously before those extra watches are playing kill-gull or fighting over some pickled halfling toes?Thistletop is not a fortified position held by a disciplined and well trained military force - don't treat it like one.
Thank you very much!
This is pretty interesting for me, because you can see things just as Nualia would, i think. I really like your point of view about the goblins, and thats one of the reasons why i made them try an atack on sandpoint even if noone asked them to that ("hey, heroes are out, now we can kill everyone!" thats what they thought, and that gave an opportunity to the PC's to defeat the goblin thieff etc etc.
I also like how you see Nualia, however, the AP says that if she loose a fight, she will flee inmediatly, so she's not that strongly attached to twistletop that she cant see the big danger coming. What do you think about Nualia taking ameiko's life and making plans to reagroup in magnimar and planning a comeback?
Also, what do you think that the effect of sacrificing ameiko to lamasthu could be?
Aye, if things go south nualia will save her own skin first, she can always come back later, but she'll probably push that limit.
First priority is her own skin, second is under thistletop everything else is a distant third.
A sacrifice doesn't need to involve killing. It can involve all kinds of unsavoury acts that means ameiko isn't immediately killed.
Benefits from sacrifice will be anything you want, but a good suggestion is half fiend template-especially if there's a delay between confronting the party.
Also, what do you think that the effect of sacrificing ameiko to lamasthu could be?
Ameiko's sacrifice might not mean much to Lamashtu. I don't see how she has any special significance, or how she would be more meaningful than any random person off the street.
Also, what do you think that the effect of sacrificing ameiko to lamasthu could be?Ameiko's sacrifice might not mean much to Lamashtu. I don't see how she has any special significance, or how she would be more meaningful than any random person off the street.
Omg, tall folk, you just gave me an epic idea. What about impregnating Ameiko? one of Lamasthu,s children would have a noble ascendant and direct access (im the future) to a power position. Or maybe making one of the fundation familys have an aberrant ending like that is quite enough to send a message about Lamasthu,s power.
what do you think?
Thanks for the help!
Aye, if things go south nualia will save her own skin first, she can always come back later, but she'll probably push that limit.
First priority is her own skin, second is under thistletop everything else is a distant third.A sacrifice doesn't need to involve killing. It can involve all kinds of unsavoury acts that means ameiko isn't immediately killed.
Benefits from sacrifice will be anything you want, but a good suggestion is half fiend template-especially if there's a delay between confronting the party.
Hey, read above the post about the idea ive got man, because you two gave me that idea and i really want to read your opinion about it.
thank you so much, tall folk!
Only you know your players and how well something like that will go over with them, that's why I kept it vague.
Nualia could use Ameiko as a "surrogate": Bruthazmus and one of the chief's consorts had a stillborn baby. Nualia didn't want to accept the baby's death so she "tries again" by implanting it in Ameiko's womb and stitching her up.
Hi tall folks.
I just played yesterday this chapter of my campaing, thank you very much for your help, tips and advices, for sure you people have been very helpfull!
Here's what happened in the end.
"Nualia bluffed Lyrie and the mercenary warrior to stay in the second floor of the dungeon while she was impregnating Ameiko with a terryfing Lamasthu's kid. However, she ended the ritual soon enough to make her scape, while Lyrie and the warrior were planning the few ambushes they located to kill the heroes of Sandpoint.
My players went trhough all these ambushes. First thing, they found a Goblin tied in the Tentamort's cave, when the creature fell over the PC's, attracted by the goblin's screams, two of the dogs of Nualia flanked the PC'S.
The second one were Lyrie and the warrior fighting in the trap corridor, so they managed to divide the PC's and make them suffer with the magic trap. The heroes won, and only Lyrie could scape using invisibility. (my players complained a lot about this) However, they could find her later, when she realiced she had been betrayed by Nualia, Lyrie became emotionaly destroyed.
Finally they defeated the shadows, and here's where they get greedy. Before entering in the room where Malfeshnekor was waiting, the Paladin used detect evil, and he fainted. Two of them decided to enter the chamber while the archer and the sorcerer wait in the hall. Malfeshnekor focused the cleric and just demolish her with the full atack. They flee back to Sandpoint as fast as they can, one less in the team, and emotionaly destroyed, realizing that Nualia wasnt there.
That's all, i guessed you would like to know how things went. Thank you so much for the help, tall folks!!
Goblins chew, goblins bite.