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Elisyum
Here for a while
(2/28/03 4:12 am)
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Moathouse Obelisk
It seems to me that many players ignore the obelisk (sp?) from the moathouse. I really want my players to go down there, since imo this is one of the coolest parts of the moathouse (especially the black fruit).
I was just wondering if you guys knew of any way that I could 'lure' them down there without railroading or without giving too much away about what's down there. I guess what I'm asking is, how do I make the obelisk the central part of the moathouse as far as the pc's are concerned.
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Siobharek 
Still here? Wow.
(2/28/03 4:46 am)
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Re: Moathouse Obelisk
If they don't react to the big hole in the floor, or the notes about in in Geynor Ton's journal, then I'd be very careful about making them go further.
Basically, there's very little that can happen to the PCs down by the obelisk that will benefit them in any way:- Going down, they'll get drained by the obelisk, grappled by the grell, and sent plummeting down by Festrath. All of which is fun, but in this case the rewards do not match the danger.
- On the bottom, it seems that it's almost irresistible to DMs of any stripe to expose a PC to falling unconscious by standing on the big obex symbol (there has been several threads about how to make a PC say "Tharizdun" while standing there). And doing that will mean that that PC will be at a disadvantage when meeting clerics of Tharizdun (you know, the guys whose spells have save DCs in the lower 30's?
 ) later on. - The whole circular fruit chamber thing is also great, so many a thread has been devoted to ways of making PCs touch the crystal on top of the pillar (and if I had $1 for every time I've read about a DM who didn't require his PCs to have a lit torch of revealing in hand in order to see/touch the gem, I wouldn't have to worry about my wife getting fired today). And many also seem to think that the +1 ability bonus should come with a penalty, so most PCs are being robbed of that particular freeebie.
- Not to mention the poisoned pool or the grell portal, but I think you get my drift by now.
The obelisk chamber is cool, and I hope your PCs will go there. But I'd be careful about making them go.
Siobharek
...it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing. |
Tribal28
Here for a while
(2/28/03 6:05 am)
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Re: Moathouse Obelisk
The Obelisk Chamber is pretty cool but one thing I learned long ago is that not every cool thing put into and adventure is found by the PCs. Its sometimes very hard for me to let that something that I lovingly crafted for hours go (and I know I'm not the only one)
My PC's went down because they like to explore EVERYTHING and because the Cleric of the group took the leadership feat.
To work that in I had it so that his church wants to set up a base of opperations in the area of Hommlet to stop further cults of elemental evil from rising. They naturally want to take over the moat house. (They can guard, study and maybe find a way to destroy the evil there)
My group did not have the torch or any of the other equipment so no friut for them.
I think that is one thing DM's need to be careful of. Just because its COOL or neat doesn't mean it should happen to the PC's. Trying to force the PC's to do or say things that might hurt them is never good for them.
Oh and I forgot. My group is a little too high level for this part of the adventure and like many people they got it into their heads that they could just keep touching the grell portal and earn a bunch of exp. (METAGAMING!!! GRRRRRRRR) I nipped that in the bud pretty quickly. The second grell that came out had max hp and decided to hit the portal with all of its tenticals at once...causing 10 more grell with max hp to appear. The party ran away.
After that I threw the clue bat away and picked up the clue ICBM. (I told them that doing stuff like that would be very hazardous to their health)
Just my 2 cents,
Tribal
Edited by: Tribal28 at: 2/28/03 6:09:24 am
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Siobharek
Still here? Wow.
(2/28/03 6:11 am)
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Re: Moathouse Obelisk
Amen to THAT. For a long while, it looked like my creew was going inwards, towards the Fanes. Point was that they were two encounters from Stoneheart and Jigsaw, my lovingly created replacement from the orcs (cf. the BoB).
Then I managed to off 2 of them in a Water Temple ambush, so now they're doing the hamster dance in the wheel that is the CRM. Heh.
Siobharek
...it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing. |
Andorax
Still here? Wow.
(2/28/03 7:32 am)
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Re: Moathouse Obelisk
Tribal28, there's no need to use in-game punishments for out-of-game metagame behavior.
It's vastly simpler to announce "Ok, you've done the kill-the-Grell thing twice now, and we all know where this is going. I will not be awarding any more XP for any further summoned and ambushed Grell."
"Whadda ya mean, Orcs get levels too?!?" |
 Infiniti2000
Here quite a while
(2/28/03 7:48 am)
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ezSupporter
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Re: Moathouse Obelisk
Elysium, one thing you can do to entice them is have Ysslansh or Geynor Ton guarding the hole (where they are supposed to be anyway). However, during combat one or the other can call out, "You're not getting to the Obelisk!" This will, of course, make the PC's want to do the opposite, which is get to the obelisk.
Interestingly, my group didn't even mess with the grell portal. I do, however, like Tribal's idea of having the grell hit the portal himself. They are intelligent after all and should realize the benefit of summoning additional help.
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Elisyum
Here for a while
(2/28/03 9:23 am)
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Re: Moathouse Obelisk
That's what I was thinking 
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Entropius
Here for a while
(2/28/03 11:15 am)
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Wimping out from obelisk chamber
IMC, Ysslanth gave his potion of levitate to Geynor, with instructions to float above the party and blast them while he meleed.
Geynor, however, chickened out after Yss kicked the bucket and floated down the shaft, used the ceiling of the obelisk chamber to propel him to one side (rolled randomly--not the side with the grell, which would have munched on him), and went down to the bottom.
The party, after killing Ysslanth, rested in the secret passage past the wall of stone and then ... went off to the ghoul tunnels!
After finding the altar, they went into Party Paranoia Mode. They created a major image of the party, weapons at the ready, on the platform... then lowered it down.
Nothing.
They then invised the fighter/rogue and sent her down to take a look... so we now have an invisible but real rogue and a visible but fake party standing on the lift, at the top of the obelisk. The rogue notices the second lift but doesn't take it down (grells have blindsight ), and just climbs back up. After more discussion with the invisible rogue, they... head back to Hommlet!
After a scrap at the mill, they go talk to Y'dey and tell her about the shaft and the lift and the creepy purple "floor".
"There was also another lift to the side."
Y'dey: "Well, what was down it?"
Party: "We didn't go down there?"
Y'dey (partially OOC): "Adventurers these days..."
If they wind up never going back there, that's OK in my book; it's cool, but there are plenty of other cool things in the module. Like Lareth, which beat the snot out of them last session.
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