Player wants to use [redacted] before it's destroyed in book 6


Hell's Rebels


... and I want his

Spoiler:
use of the soul anchor to "revive" Doubral
to be dramatic.

Have any of your players wanted to USE the

Spoiler:
soul anchor
?

What things would you throw in to make this dramatic?

What extra elements would you throw into the ritual besides having the DNA and the miracle scroll?

What would be the result of using

Spoiler:
the soul anchor
to "revive" Doubral?

Background
Basically, the player wants to use it to "revive" Doubral; it's a cult he's established since book 2, which I've been calling Zon Kuthon Reform and he's been calling Doubralism. (He'll have the DNA of Doubral due to a 20-year quest of plot and a scroll of miracle.) He's going to be doing this on the ethereal plane and wants to finish before the party destroys

Spoiler:
the soul anchor.
He's fine with them destroying it afterwards.

Note:

book 6:
Our table cut Part 4: Abandon All Hope and fused Part Two: The Haunting of Kintargo and Continuing the campaign: Barzillai's Return combined with Azrana's appearance (p. 66-69). This is the very last arc.


Two players expressed interest in using the [redacted] in my game. They were talked out of it by the other members of the party, but I think one player ended up being exposed to the [redacted] when retrieving the Macguffin stuffed in there.

It was left unresolved as the campaign ended.

Ultimately, the [redacted] was destroyed as repayment for the Morgana helping a PC with a difficult pregnancy. (Planar travel to hell, dying, and Breath of Life are things most doctors recommend avoiding.)

I also tied it into a subplot with Cansellarion and Thrune who teamed up to help.

I suppose in your specific scenario, the real question is whether or not it can even do what the Player wants it to do. It [redacted], bypassing the regular end of life nonsense. Using it in a deity resurrections scheme feels a little outside of its wheelhouse.

So, first things first:

Can this succeed? That's an entirely up to you question. I'd let them make the attempt and have it fail.

From what you said of the PC's plan, it looks like they want to raise a clone or copy of Doubral, even though he's still alive? Then use the [redacted] to jump start the ascension process? I question this methodology given that Doubral was an outsider for eons. He doesn't have DNA I'd assume. Miracle and True Resurrections might get you most of the way there, I guess.

But, how to make it dramatic?

Well, Zon-Kuthon might see this as an assassination attempt on his life. So, he's upset and getting involved. The church of Pharasma sees the [redacted] as unholy and blemishes on the world, so they're not likely to wanting it to be used at all.

I'd say to get this attempt you need:

A high level cleric of Zon-Kuthon, an avatar, or Herald: Something that has a close connection and is empowered by Zon-Kuthon. This person is the sacrifice/subject. The ritual will be pulling on that connection to connect to Zon-Kuthon's soul.

The Scepter of Ages. Once you have access to the soul, you need to turn back time on it until its Doubral again.

Then using the [redacted], you can pin it down over the current soul of Zon-Kuthon. This is an unintended use of the object and probably will need additional power, like miracle spells or the PC conducting the ritual's life.

Doing all this while under attack from the highest level minions of Zon-Kuthon he can muster allied with Pharasman agents.

Aiding the party is probably Shelynite agents.

Its a big brawl. Or a big courtroom scene. Maybe both. In my mind this is a pretty serious violation of a sentient being's agency. Just because Shelyn can't accept her brother's transition, doesn't mean it isn't valid. Since Zon-Kuthon aided in the sealing of Rovagug, there might be many more interested parties in seeing him stay exactly the way he is.

Unless the attempt is to just have Zon-Kuthon and Doubral running around afterwards, in which case, I don't even know. Baby God Raising Project.


There's some good stuff for me to work with here--thanks. It's good to know my table's not the only one with players thinking like this. Thinking about this further...

Interference from Pharasman and ZK agents are a go.

It's a twist on Barzillai's use of it, no question. The regular use of this particular item is to enable you to retain your memories and consciousness after death, while Barzillai used his resources to

Spoiler:
become a genius loci with his memories and consciousness after death
.

So, perhaps "Reviving" Dou-Bral in this way could entail one or more of the following:

* forcing Dou-Bral's memories into the body known as Zon-Kuthon "created anew" by the "powerful alien being" causing who knows what changes in Zon-Kuthon; end result Zon Kuthon, but changed
* true resurrection of Dou-Bral, with Zon-Kuthon unaffected;
* true resurrection of Dou-Bral, with Zon-Kuthon now inhabited solely by that "powerful alien being";
* Dou-Bral's consciousness replaces the consciousness of Zon Kuthon

What do you think?

Dou-Bral


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All can be interesting end points. I fall into a place where I consider the setting ramifications and how willing I am to engage with them in further campaigns (My table maintains continuity between APs) For example, post my Hell's Rebel's game, the Glorious Reclamation won and I have been avoiding Cheliax since so we don't have to answer questions about how that's going.

I favor either Duo-Bral and Zon-Kuthon existing simultaneously because that's just a mess waiting to happen.

But, honestly, my favorite is Dou-Bral replacing Zon-Kuthon. It messes everything up. Nidal is scrambling, and its a huge change to the status quo.

By that point, if Silver Ravens manage to Defeat Cheliax(Which I seem to recall your players being interested in?) and Banish Zon-Kuthon, their legend as nation slayers makes them a gigantic target for all the empires of the world.


Good point on setting impact, especially since I'm considering running Ruins of Azlant as a sequel to Hell's Rebels, if the players are interested.

If Zon Kuthon becomes the alien being or Dou-Bral, what would be the effect on the ecosystem of Nidal? I assume the eternal gloom was due to Zon Kuthon? Their entire ecosystem over the past 8,000 years has adapted to not having full sunlight.

Would Asmodeus be interested in trying to recruit the ZK's clerics and inquisitors if he were out of the picture? Would they go for it?

Shadow plane complication
At my table, Nidal activated their escape protocol (closed the borders, then emptied its cities mysteriously and slowly over time; Hell's Vengeance 5, page 65) a little early when the players goaded the navy of Cheliax into

Spoiler:
violating the Kintargo Contract,
then won the naval battle. The players' best guess is that the people of Nidal were forcibly evacuated to the shadow plane by the Umbral Court.

So, what happens to Zon Kuthon directly influences how interested neighboring nations are interested in a land rush in Nidal. As I imagine that these nations would be ... reluctant to try to take over with a normal Zon Kuthon watching from the shadow plane. So that option keeps things the most the same at my table.

If Dou-Bral is added as an additional consciousness to Zon Kuthon, the changes to the god, Nidal, its people, and its powerful leaders would likely play out slowly and inconsistently over time. But it would be interesting and possibly have profound effects.

If Dou-Bral's true resurrected and Zon Kuthon is now solely a powerful alien being (totally not code for Cthulhu mythos!)... the Nidalese trapped in the shadow plane with it are probably all going to die. I doubt the alien would care at all about the Umbral Court, the prayers of ZK's clerics, or its people. And the shadow plane without the protection of its lord is... hostile territory.

Dou-Bral replacing Zon Kuthon when the Nidalese are in the shadow plane would have some very interesting effects. Certainly, the minority of covert Shelynite worshippers would be very pleased but also in a lot of danger. The faithful of Zon Kuthon and the Umbral Court would likely have a lot of their powers change though.

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