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Spoiler warning. Please don't read this thread if you are planning to play this scenario but haven't yet.
In the Rasping Rebirth, PCs can make a rather momentous decision.
I'm curious how many characters went for it :)
Venture-Captain, California—San Francisco Bay Area North & East
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I was playing something else, but at the table adjacent to me two people went for it. My friend at that table got 1 less on his will save than the other player; who then went all the way. Which is probably for the best - if my friend had rolled higher we would have wound up with
as he just names all his characters after players at the store.
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I, Xing Hai, tiefling bones oracle and self proclaimed greatest cultist of Lissala, have accepted the offer! I am excited to see where this will lead!
Admittedly, the paladin I traveled with was not too pleased with my decision, but she had some kind of grudge against me to start. Something about necromancy being evil? Well, either way, what's done is done. Now I just need to figure out a way to get my dear pet Kurshu the Undead here to keep me company.
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Egil & his companions are only about 2/3 through... we had to stop just after the offer in the OP was made. Yoshi the Samurai accepted.
Also, that bit about losing your happiest memory? That was presented to our party as 'a very happy memory'. Most of our party had a very happy memory right in the module and agreed to lose that one. This trip to the Abyss is an unpleasant slog through various disgusting sights/sounds/smells... and the one bright point in the trip is gone! alas!
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One of my player devoured the heart and it was pretty epic.
He was the paladin in the group and at first he rejected it, but then, he looked at his friends at made a prayer to saranrae before eating the heart, crying at the same time. He knew he was going to lose his power but he also knew that he needed this power to save so many innocents. He vanquished deskari and became a demon lord. I, as a gm, thought this was beautiful so I didn't retire him his paladin's abilities because he knew what he was doing and he was doing it for the greater good.
Finally he killed koth vaul and couldn't return with his friend and Malcom the demon lord was born. His holy symbol is a scythe crossed with a scimitar and in the background there is a ''bleeding sun''.
As a roleplayer this was one of the best moment I had to experience with my friends. The wife of the player actually cried (they played with those characters for over 3 years) and it was incredible at the table.
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Yea.. I had a player at my table do this. Let me try and summon him to this thread.
Indeed. I ate the heart. Now I am Demon Lord Shess.
In life I was a outsider in Taldor that managed to climb the ranks to Senator and some other titles. I was basking in the product of my ambition and power when I got the summons to go on another mission for the Pathfinders. I thought to myself, 'I could go for a vacation', to celebrate my great achievements. Some things happened and there I was, being offered the heart of Deskari. For once, I was speechless. Never had I imagined this opportunity to present itself, even in all of my ambition. Amusingly another desired the same. Ha! His will was laughable, it did not compare. We both ate of the heart but only I gained the power of which I know now that I was destined. Even more amusing was the pathetic attempt of Deskari to control me. With his power, even his will was a mere ant beneath my foot. Ah yes, speaking of ants, Koth made for some fine entertainment. To be honest, I do regret how it ended. I really should have kept him and his lackeys as pets. Oh well...
...This is the beginning...I know now that Demon Lord is merely the first step...
Alignment CE(?)
Pantheon Demon Lords
Areas of Concern
Domains
Subdomains
Favored Weapon
Symbol
Sacred Animal(s)
Sacred Color(s) Gray
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To the nine hells wit dat fell abomination! I refused its trickery an' completed the mission anyway. My companions showed their weakness of the spirit and not only accepted a deal with the beast, but refused to repent. It saddens me that their souls are lost, but free choice is both a blessing and a curse. Alas, I can no longer call them 'friend'. Their tainted blood is an affront that I cannot abide and I have reported their actions to Society leadership. I pray for their everlasting souls, but will never travel with them again.
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Venture-Agent, Netherlands—Utrecht
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My Grippli Shaman was really tempted, but I didn't have the heart (pun unintended). I always played him as a person who wants to take care of his tribe. When the whole world was threatened, he was shaking in his little boots. Should I taste corrupting power and sacrifice myself for the greater good, or risk it and believe in my own powers?
In the end, I decided not to do it. He might have been out of his depth, but but he's wise enough to know better. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Our morally grey Alchemist, on the other hand... He was portrayed as politically agnostic and just wanted to further his own research. Now he has eternity to do so. And on a different table, there was a Cleric of Urgathoa. Eating a deity's heart? Yes please!
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Venture-Lieutenant, Netherlands—Leiden
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Our morally grey Alchemist, on the other hand... He was portrayed as politically agnostic and just wanted to further his own research. Now he has eternity to do so. And on a different table, there was a Cleric of Urgathoa. Eating a deity's heart? Yes please!
Don't say he's hypocritical, say rather that he's a-political. Dr. Isambard, also known as The Good Doctor, was losing his patience. He'd already been on several missions rooting out the machinations of that crackpot scientist Thurl. And after a recent encounter with Ranginori, he'd learned that you can't make a demigod without scaring an egg. Only fearless scientific curiosity can save the world. We do what we must, because we can. For the moment he's indisposed as he's busy trying to tow this slice of Abyss closer to the Plane of Air to serve as an adjunct realm for the Lightning Serpent and himself, sort of a cosmic artillery testing range.
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My Form of the Exotic Dragon polymorphing Blood Arcanist dove at the opportunity to devour Deskari's heart along with the Diabolist Wizard. My will was greater (31 save) and so he became Demon Lord Noct.
The party knew we all had a mission goal to achieve at any cost and my character had just saved everyone from Nalfeshnee using Teleport to remove my entire dazed party from combat so if they were horrified by the choice they didn't voice it. They all indulged in Deskari's blood as well.
During the final battle people died at least 7 times. The last one standing against Koth'Vaul and both severely injured Noct managed to charge and rip Koth'Vaul's throat out sealing his path to divinity by defeating this threat.
Before retiring to the Abyss he paid for resurrections for his allies with all his gold and prestige hoping to at least gain some followers who venerate him.
(Tier 14-15 6 player hard mode, we barely scrapped by in 5 hours)
Party Composition:
15 Blood Arcanist
15 Diabolist / Wizard
15 Rogue / Horizon Walker (dimensional savant)
15 Summoner
12 Occultist
?? Dragon Disciple
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Venture-Lieutenant, Illinois—Champaign-Urbana
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My 15th level CN gnome aerokineticist Wahnàmahnà Nàckle was very tempted. He's never been overly concerned about consequences, and the opportunity for Power and Rulership sounded like fun! Once he realized he'd have to give up his day job as a stuntgnome, he decided to pass.
OOC I was even more tempted, since
Sadly, after joining the rest of his party in a shared beverage, Wahnàmahnà no longer remembers the happy day he thought he was falling to his death and suddenly started to float on air.
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So I played with my chaotic good overly multi-classed pirate character Cipher. Always been a bit of a wanderer, never really had a home port.
but hopefully will emerge from his chrysalis of a dimension changing the wings of Deskari into butterflies.
In the meantime he knows other forces will try to steal his newly acquired power before he can truly learn to use it. Luckily he has always been a hard man to find even before he had it.
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Our group was full of highly-knowledgeable Pathfinders, so one would imagine they would understand the price of this sort of deal.
Sadly, one of our own apparently asked very few questions before asking for the heart. I'm not sure what, precisely, Deskari initially offered to tempt them all so, as my mental faculties were nearly non-existent at the time. Another Pathfinder pondered challenging Melia for the prize, but eventually followed my lead and took power without accepting the diabolical bargain. The other two had no compunctions about accepting the blood. There was a fair deal of examination and questioning, to determine if we would need to put down our transformed companion. Thankfully, his mind seems his own, though I would recommend that we get some of the longer-lived races to check in on things regularly. Perhaps a group of Uprooters, if Kyronin can spare them.
The power helped turn the tables against Koth'Vaul, and despite my falling out of the sky unconscious (again), my companions woke me in time to see the final blows struck. The vrocks... vrock? Vroci? Is "vrock" its own plural? Regardless, the remaining combatants ceased their dance and swore allegiance to their new master.
Melia Sharpley. I never got the proper spelling of your name, and you can no longer leave the Abyss. However, know that some measure of your spellbook will live on in Absalom, and that your choices contributed to the treatise I later wrote on the Abyss and its inhabitants.
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A large carrion beetle comes into the Grand Lodge, carrying a scroll sealed in wax, with the symbol of the Open Road. Upon opening it, it appears to be written in colorful wax, and seeming to be written by a child.
"Lhunk heard from bug scouts that people want to know story of his rise to power. Lhunk was grouped with friends to fight demon who was getting strong. Fights happened, but we didn't find big boss man for a long time. Then a voice happened in Lhunk's head as he touch big heart, and it offered power to Lhunk. I eat heart, and got strong before fighting big boss man. We killed big boss man, and Lhunk found out he can't leave until he fixes new home, but will make home a place of science for those who want to visit."