Well, the Vivified Labyrinth was absolutely glorious! Difficult as heck to run, but well worth it. The Party completely accepted Vimanda as Vencarlo, and she almost succeeded in turning them against Glorio and getting them to immediately backtrack to the palace and attack him. The only reason they failed is they ended up split up by the teleporters, and some of them found the real Vencarlo. When they reunited and confronted Vimanda, she shapechanged into Meliya and gave them a sob story about being trapped in the labyrinth by Glorio and that she only wanted to use them to get out. They didn't completely buy it and she managed to escape.
But, now they're suspicious of Glorio, and are tempted to head back and confront him, as they're not sure whether to try and ally with him or kill him. I'm going to have him waiting for them in the garden with his marai rakshasa, where he can use the marble elephant and water elemental against them if he can't sway them and it devolves into a battle.
But I digress. Glorio has a lot of attacks - 5 attacks with his kukri, a bite, and 1 claw, assuming he can full attack. What does he get if he uses a move action and attacks - a single kukri attack or just the bite? I'm not sure which one is his primary weapon.
I'd say his kukri, due to its higher damage output and 15-20 crit range.
It's important to note however that he only has his natural attacks in his true form—if he's trying to sway them to his side, using his true form to do so would likely be counterproductive unless they already know what he is.
It's important to note however that he only has his natural attacks in his true form—if he's trying to sway them to his side, using his true form to do so would likely be counterproductive unless they already know what he is.
That's an excellent point. He still views them as potential allies against the Queen (I'm looking to make him more of an active player in the fight for the throne), so he would only change to rakshasa form if necessary.
Although the PCs saw Vimanda shapeshift from Vencarlo's form to Meliya's, they don't seem to have made the connection that either she or Glorio are rakshasa. They're thoroughly confused - they're not sure if Glorio or Meliya is the "good" sibling, or if they're both evil. I love it when there's good intrigue/scheming as part of the plot, so I've been playing up the power struggle between the two.
Oh, do your best to get them to go along with Glorio.
I had a cleric of Shelyn who recognized him for what he was, then convinced the rest of the party that he was OK.
She managed him magnificently through the rest of the campaign, getting him to promise things in return for power (he is LAWFUL evil), and she is now the queen, while he's the seneschal at her side.
It just worked out magnificently.
I just don't have the heart to mention that, as an evil outsider, waiting 50-60 years for her to pass on so he can seize absolute control of the city is well within his acceptable parameters...
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I just don't have the heart to mention that, as an evil outsider, waiting 50-60 years for her to pass on so he can seize absolute control of the city is well within his acceptable parameters...
That's just beautiful!
He will give them a hard sell that, whatever their differences, they must band together for the "common good" to defeat the "illegitimate, tyrant Queen!" His case is supported by the fact that I have him running the equivalent of a soup kitchen on his palace grounds for Old Korvosa's poor, who are starving due to the quarantine, so he doesn't seem THAT bad! But my PCs take slights very personally, and want to stomp whoever crosses them, so I can see them turning against him even though it might be in their long-term interests to ally with him.
I think he's a fascinating character. My Glorio wants power not for wealth or glory, but because it's his place, his destiny, to rule. He has no qualms about eliminating anyone who gets in his way, but he'll take care of the people, not because he cares about them, but because they're his power base and it's the smart thing to do. He has no shortage of gold, so spreading a little wealth around for the commoners is a small price to pay for their support.
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Well that was a lot of fun. The Party emerged from the labyrinth to find Glorio waiting for them. Despite failing to kill Meliya, he offered to let them leave with Vencarlo but not the seneschal, as long as they pledged to help him overthrow the Queen and replace the grasping nobles with enlightened rulership. As expected, they replied they weren't about to replace one tyrant with another and promptly attacked. They were surprised, and a little relieved, when they hit him with an empowered fireball and he snarled and turned into Bahor.
I have a large Party, so I buffed the encounter with four girallon hiding in the trees and a stone golem (the Chamidu statue), and very nearly killed two of the Party. But as the tide turned against him, Glorio escaped, promising revenge. He has reinforcements and supplies arriving from Vudra in 2 weeks, so by the time the Party gets back from the Cinderlands he will have a strong force in Old Korvosa to help make a play for the throne during the last two chapters.