Hey all!
So some of you may have seen my previous thread a while back about a Half-Orc character called Goruk - He's an Anti-Paladin Insinuator of Nethys. The short of it is he was killed and cremated at Sandpoint shortly after the party dealt with Thistletop (they released you know who and half the party suffered immeasurably during the chase scene - I ruled the magic could indefinitely contain the creature, but as soon as the door is opened, the seal would be broken), but for whatever reason ended up in the Abyss rather than Limbo and/or Hell.
During his time spent there he ended up finding the true name of a Balor and has since been using that Balor to bring him back to life. Now, I haven't quite decided what he is anymore other than because his body was cremated, his actual soul is what manifests physically in the material plane now. If he dies too many times, it's possible he could suffer soul destruction but highly unlikely because I've been giving him powers every two deaths he suffers. Since Thistletop we're now at the end of book 3 and he's died 9 times (10 if you include the original), and little does he know, the Balor he's abusing is actually not the one he has the true name of.....that one died looooong ago. So now, every time he threatens to say the Balors real name, it plays along, bringing him back, but with each revival, a little more of its essence seeps into Goruks physically manifested body.
Even more interesting is the fact the Balor is messaging followers of Pharasma anonymously, telling her agents where he is so they can kill him over and over again for disrupting the balance of life and death, speeding up the process of full body takeover. He doesn't know most of this, but he's reached the point where he's received all boons he'll get as a PC (+4 Str, Con and Cha), as well as having grown a foot in height, his skin now blackened instead of the grey Half-Orc he was, with now grown and much sharper tusks (that were once filed) and a subtle red glow on his skin in direct sunlight. The voice inside his head hasn't quite formed yet....He has 6 deaths left before he dies one too many times and ends up fully stuck in the Abyss, with his soul somewhat divided - the physical side of it being controlled by a Balor Lord and the ethereal side being stuck in the Abyss with his identity still in tact. When this happens, he's likely going to be tougher to kill than the end boss and tbh I think I'm going to have to extend his lives from 15 to 20, else it'll probably be a TPK from one of their own before they've even reached the final book.
The trick to this is he has to find some kind of ritual guide hidden somewhere deep within the Abyss to partially regain control of his physical form, slightly weakening the balors grasp over him long enough so he can kill himself, killing the Balor along with it. He also sat in a pub in a flooded village, water 2 feet deep surrounding him, slit his own throat and respawned inside a legendary creature called a Black Magga. He killed it and I gave him a "god proof" ability. Due to that he can't ever be the target of any divine spells or abilities, unless they're his own abilities stemming from himself....this is a one man job.
I got him to roll a random dice (secretly to know what he'll return as after the stories conclusion and he rolled an Aasimar.....pretty funny).
Anyway, wandering through the Sanos Forest, the party found a derelict galleon of all things, with nothing left aboard aside from the remains of a long dead captain and some items/treasure the rest of the party found. This is where things then took a strange turn....
When the rest of the party climbed down from the Ship, Goruk decided to stay and rummage through the dead captains pockets. The party walked a little ways ahead (60ft or so) thinking Goruk would join them, but instead when they turned back, the ship was gone....along with their companion. Now, the ship's meant to disappear as the area is weird, mysterious, possibly haunted and close to the first world (land of the Fey), but there's no mention where it goes to as it's never meant to return again. So, I initially figured it had gone to the 1st world, only the description I gave on the spot was something like "stepping out onto the deck of the Galleon, you're in the middle of an ocean, floating in unfamiliar territory. The sea water is as black as night, the fog surrounding you is the same and the only thing that lights the sky is the brightly lit pure white moon."
Welcome to the Shadow Plane I guess!
So, I've been toying with some ideas but am a little stumped on where to go:
1. If he dies here, he dies full stop. The Shadow Plane and the Abyss aren't connected in the usual sense of the Abyss and Material Plane. He's out of reach of the Balor Lords power.
2. I was going to have this boat like some kind of creepy ghost story akin to the ships that go missing in the Bermuda triangle - It's been afloat, blipping in and out of dimensions and traveling for the best part of 100 years. You can never tell where it'll end up next or how long it'll remain in its current location for, but for this quest I wanted it to steer him to a port in the Shadow Plane, docking at the bottom of a massive Dracula/Castlevania typed Castle.
3. When he gets there, I wanted him to have some kind of encounter with Zon-Kuthonites, perhaps walking with them standing either side of him at ease, almost as if they were expecting him, as the rest of their group pray in front of the Zon-Kuthon altar. Only it's here I don't know what to do with him. Do they all try to convert him over to Zon-Kuthon who currently lives on the Shadow Plane, possibly even granting him a meeting with the Dark Lord? Or, do they try to kill him or have something more sinister planned for him? How does he get out and back to the material plane?
4. When he eventually leaves, considering the module set there, I was going to have him re-emerge not far from where the current party are (Turtleback Ferry) in a small town called Nidal. I also wanted to go with a Hellraiser theme/vibe, as Zon-Kuthonites are very much like the Cenobites!
P.s. I've also mentioned his backstory in case you all have any further fun suggestions for me to implement, but also to kind of serve as an understanding of his character to help in creating a sidequest very much appropriate for his character. He's a Scholar of the Ancient past, with a focus on Thassilonian history....and also a bit twisted and mad, more so since he's not been able to really die.
Almost forgot - He's level 9, soon to be 10.