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msherman
Crimson Coil Cultist
(2/8/04 12:11 pm)
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The Vampire hits the fan
My party completely messed up last session, and I had to pull a major Deus Ex Machina to avoid a TPK. I found the whole thing very depressing. For the record, I was suffering from a bad cold during the session, and my head was a bit foggy, so if you notice anywhere I screwed up, please be kind. 
We left off at the end of the previous session with the party having just defeated the Arrowhawks. The single Invisible Stalker (one was killed when Hedrack sent it with one of the Assassins) had watched the fight, and then went to report to Varachan. Varachan was expecting these guests, so he had given the Stalker specific orders to report to him, not to disturb Master Hedrack. The party turned right (to the west), as Varachan had told them to in his last note.
There, they encountered the vampire Aramil, a Rgr/Sor ex-cohort of Sir Chase, along with 3 vampire spawn. Hamish uses his Greater Turning to destroy the 3 spawn, but doesn't affect Aramil. The party slowly beats him down to 0 hp and watch him float to the east, towards his coffin (in the secret chamber with Thrommel's). During the fight, Shalathal takes 2 negative levels from a Slam, and I point out the visible effects of both Fast Healing and Damage Reduction. Shalathal is also Dominated (to bring Chase, Aramil's old master, to him), but Hamish counters that with a Protection from Evil. It doesn't occur to the party that Aramil's disabled gaseous form returning to his coffin might alert the Vampire Prince that created him.
Meanwhile, the Stalker reports to Varachan, and is sent back to fetch the intruders to him; he'll deal with them in the manner they richly deserve. Master Hedrack will surely reward them both. The Stalker approaches the party as they cautiously investigate the halls, pausing to search the abandoned Kennel (having defeated Ukemil and his lions weeks before). No-one in the party speaks Auran, so they hear a suggestive wind, and it seems to be urging them westward. They follow, cautiously. Cyr listens at the door to the Chamber of Hate, and I describe bubbling, dripping, and clockwork machinery sounds; just as he's about to hit the door button, he hears a door open behind him, and they all hide against the south wall. They hear a human voice: "So where are they?" [wind blows] "Damn fools." He steps around the corner, and stares at the poorly hidden Hamish: "Greetings, Infidel. Quickly, into my chamber."
They meet Varachan, and he spills the beans about the Doomdreamers, the cult, the excavation, etc. I play him as neutral-evil, no longer insane, and rather depressed that he's been forced into working with ineffective goody-two-shoes such as this band of fools. He has a 6 year old slave girl chained to the wall with a long chain, who prepares tea for the party. The slave girl tries to approach Shalathal the Barbarian, the first woman she's seen since her mother was killed, but Shalathal ignores the carefully baited plot hook. :/
Suddenly, there's a firm fist at the door. Listen checks all around, and Sir Chase notices that while he hears the pounding, he hears a distinct lack of any breathing. Curious, that. "Varachan! What's going on in there?" Varachan puts a finger to his mouth, and motions to the slave, who splashes some water into the tub. "Just a moment, Thrommel, I'm in the bath." I look around, and no-one in the party seems to react at all to Thrommel's name.
Thrommel detects the stench of Good within the room, and calls forth a swarm of rats. 2 swarms will arrive in 8 rounds. Varachan takes a key from around his neck and throws it to Cyr. He points at the chest, and whispers "Tharizdun shall never be free." Then, to Hamish and Sir Chase, he whispers, "You must get me out of here. The vampire cannot enter uninvited, but he will not wait at the door forever without fetching some muscle. I fear my cover here is blown. Quickly, plan our escape!"
And here's where it all went to hell.
You may recall my story from the previous session, where the party tried to use Wind Walk as a tactical combat spell? Well, it's still active for the day, and the fools try it again. Hamish, Cyr and Shalathal all start the 5 round dematerialization process, and Hamish whispers to Varachan, "Quickly, into the tub, stall for 30 seconds!" Varachan quickly disrobes, paying no heed to his visitors prying eyes. He splashes a bit in the water in the tub, then puts on a bathrobe and goes to the door. Cyr hides and activates his Ring of Invisibility, as his now-gaseous party-mates float into Varachan's armoires. Varachan hits the door button, and as the door sinks into the floor, he says, "Thrommel, come in. In exchange for safe passage out of the fane, I'll offer you this slave girl for your... dining pleasure."
Thrommel enters the room, with a gloating look of superiority on his face. I describe his sheathed sword and black armour to Cyr, who rolls a pathetic spot check and so doesn't recognize Thrommel. Thrommel enters, batting the girl aside with his mailed sword hand (just an unarmed attack, no Slam/energy drain), and says, "I have considered your offer, Master Varachan, and find it lacking." He grabs Varachan, pinning him to the ground. Cyr nervously delays, while the rest of the party tells me they begin their five round re-materialization process(!). As Varachan struggles in vain, Thrommel sinks his teeth into the cleric's neck, draining 4 Con.
At this point, I can't figure out how to avoid a TPK, or at best losing Varachan to the Vampire. I call a washroom break, buying myself a few minutes to think. Sir Chase's player goes with me, and I mention to him that the situation is extremely dire; there's no way Varachan will survive 5 rounds while they slowly materialize. "Didn't you guys learn your lesson about trying to use Wind Walk tactically last time we played?"
We get back to the table, and as we sit down, I inform the party that as the door to Varachan's room slams shut, they hear a loud skittering sound outside it, as though a swarm of rats had descended on the hallway outside. Sir Chase floats gaseously out of the armoire, and shouts "Hamish! Dismiss the spell!" I ask him for a spot check, which he rolls a perfect 41 on; I tell him, "You instantly recognize the vampire; it's _that_ Prince Thrommel. Son of King Belvor, rightful bearer of Fragarach. Too bad you didn't keep it, eh?" Chase's player groans.
Hamish and Shalathal likewise float out, and the Wind Walk drops, leaving them all solid. Knowing that two of these interlopers are Good, Thrommel casts a weakened Varachan aside, draws his sword as he stands to face Chase. Chase and Shalathal both strike at him, for fairly small amounts of damage due to the DR. Thrommel Smites Sir Chase, doing a huge amount of damage. Hamish gets off a Holy Smite, but rolls poorly on the damage, and Thrommel saves for half (and no blindness). Shalathal attacks again, while Chase withdraws to drink a healing potion. Thrommel uses a full attack against Shalathal; sword/sword/sword/off-hand-Slam. He hits twice with the sword, and with the slam; Shalathal now has _4_ negative levels.
Hamish's player starts to react very negatively; he does not react well when faced with overpowering odds, but still never seems to want to run away.
Here's where the (first) Deus Ex Machina comes in. Varachan shouts a desperate plea. "Thrommel! Wait, I have an offer for you! Grant us free passage out of the fane, and we will offer you the one thing you truly desire; we'll take your coffin out with us. We can offer you freedom from Master Hedrack, but only if you spare our lives." Thrommel backs away, and considers the offer. "I accept your offer, <sneer>Master Varachan. You _will_ retrieve my coffin, and bring it safely across the Stalagos." Varachan fails his will save, and is dominated. Thrommel turns to each (visible) member of the party in turn, and repeats the command. Hamish, the last to be commanded, makes his will save, so Thrommel repeats himself. "No, I really mean it. You really _will_ retrieve my coffin!" This time, Hamish fails his save. "Very well, my puppets. I will now return to my coffin, and prepare myself for the trip across the Stalagos." He puffs into a cloud of smoke, and seeps out through the closed door.
With the vampire gone, Cyr makes himself visible, as the party begins to plan how to safely get the coffin out of the fane. Cyr (not dominated, since Thrommel didn't know he was there) suggests that Hamish ward them all with Protection from Evil, but Hamish dismisses that as a stupid waste of time; they have to get the coffin out quickly. The party decides that they can't get the coffin out safely via the Air Bridge, because the bridge head is destroyed, and without Wind Walk, they can't cross it. They ask Varachan about the other bridges; he explains that to get to the Earth bridge or the Water dock, they have to pass by Master Hedrack's chambers, the Greater Temple, and the Assassins' quarters, and they would surely be caught. It's much safer to double back west, and exit via the Fire Bridge. If they wait until after lunch hour has passed, the Great Hall will be likely be empty, and the Guests will not be likely to bother them if they pass, so the only worry is Chymon. It occurs to the party that they can wake Thrommel from his sleep, and he can help them defeat Chymon; they agree to this plan. At this point, I'm pretty excited -- the party and Thrommel vs. Chymon and the Ogres sounds like a really fun fight.
Varachan gives the party ochre robes, and Hamish hides his holy symbol. Varachan warns them about passing by Naquent's chamber, the only real risk between his quarters and Thrommel's. As they leave, Varachan grabs up his belongings, and smashes his Crystal Ball with a candle-stick; "It's only a minor inconvenience to my master, as he can still use Greater Scrying on his own, but at least it's something." Hamish takes the candlestick from him, and as they approach Naquent's quarters, casts Silence on it so that they can pass by unheard. Cyr scouts ahead, and listens at Naquent's door; he hears bedsprings and moaning, and communicates this fact graphically to his half-brother Chase in Drow Sign-Language.
Cyr makes himself invisible, and his player takes me outside for a chat. He asks me how much he knows about Dominate Person; I ask him for a spellcraft check, which he makes, and tell him he knows it cold. He describes his plan to me; he's going to fall back with Hamish, who runs the slowest in the party, and trip him, then hold a (pre-written) note to his face reading "You'll have to kill me if you want to reach that coffin." The goal, of course, to force Hamish to strike him, and thus grant a new save vs. the Domination at +2. A brilliant plan! Sadly; it fails in the execution; Hamish rolls a 2 on his save, and smashes Cyr with his mace.
Seeing the silent melee, the rest of the group double back to break it up. Cyr tries again, this time with Chase; thankfully, he succeeds, and the brothers run back to the octagonal room to hide, waiting for the party to return with the coffin. The rest of the party continue on to Thrommel's chamber.
When they get there, Hamish sees the Pelorite corpse, and goes to release it from it's shackles, to give it a proper burial. Varachan strikes him, saying "Stop that, we've no time for such nonsense, help me find the secret switch that reveals the coffins." Forced to abandon a fellow Priest of Pelor, Hamish gets a new save, and this time, he succeeds. He takes the corpse, and puts it reverently in his Portable Hole. Meanwhile, Shalathal and Varachan search in vain for the switch; sadly, only Cyr or Chase have sharp enough eyes to find it! Hamish casts Dispel Magic, but fails in the CL check; he then casts his only remaining Protection from Evil on Shalathal, who quickly subdues the still-dominated Varachan. They get back to the octagonal room, and let Chase and Cyr know that all is well.
The party quickly retreats to Varachan's room, where they hatch a plan to escape from the outer fane. Shalathal takes charge of occasionally bopping Varachan on the head, to ensure he remains unconscious. Here's where the second Deus Ex Machina comes in. After much discussion, they hatch a plan; Hamish uses his last Summon Monster V to call up a Lantern Archon, which he sends back to Verbobonc with a sack of gold and a desperate note asking for a scroll of Word of Recall. About 20 minutes later, another Lantern arrives, and gives Hamish the scroll -- the Cathedral there keeps some on hand, I decided; it seems reasonable... Cyr rolls out the portable hole, and Shalathal takes a deep breath and climbs in. Cyr drinks down the party's one potion of Fly, zaps himself invisible, and flies across the air bridge. He takes a single Fireball off a scroll from the lightning towers (the sorcerers had used up their spells for the day blasting the party on their way in), but gets himself and Shalathal across to safety; they make it back to the Pelorite shrine in the Dwarven temple without incident. Meanwhile, Hamish reads the scroll, and Recall's himself, Chase, Varachan, and the still-unnamed slave girl back to the Cathedral in Verbobonc.
That's where we broke for the night. Despite the failures, I was pretty generous with XP; I gave half XP for Varachan (I'll give the rest if they manage to convert him and get him to accept an Atonement from a priest of Pelor), half XP for Thrommel for breaking his domination (plus a CR7 story award for Cyr for the brilliant idea), and I gave Shalathal a CR7 story award for rescuing the little girl, even though they haven't really formed much of a bond yet. I also gave full XP for the destroyed spawn, and half XP for Aramil, since they'll almost certainly have to face him again.
But now I'm stumped. Thrommel's been played for a fool, and he'll be out for blood when he sees the party again; I think he'd even work with Hedrack to help defeat them. Hedrack will certainly want revenge on the party and Varachan. I have no idea how to play Varachan now that he's escaped like this... I'm eager to hear any advice.
Edited by: msherman at: 2/8/04 1:50 pm
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Gansk
Tolling Bell Cultist
(2/8/04 2:39 pm)
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Re: The Vampire hits the fan
Can't Thrommel only dominate once a round? Did everybody just wait around for him to dominate them?
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msherman
Crimson Coil Cultist
(2/8/04 3:05 pm)
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Re: The Vampire hits the fan
Yes, they did. Thrommel made it quite clear that that was their only option. The cleric was mostly out of spells, the Barbarian had 4 negative levels, the fighter/rogue/shadowdancer was down to about 25% hit points (and Smitable), and the rogue/wizard/assassin was hidden. There really wasn't much else they could do.
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 Infiniti2000
Brother of Venom
(2/8/04 5:20 pm)
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ezSupporter
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Re: The Vampire hits the fan
I don't see it as deus ex machina at all. It seems more like brilliant DMing, quite honestly. Varachan speaking out was totally in character, and I see nothing wrong with the way the events worked out. The lantern archon thing was perfectly acceptable, and judging that a word of recall on a scroll would be available is also perfectly reasonable.
Thrommel will certainly be pissed, and no amount of additional persuasion will work. Indeed, I'd say that he will not listen to them again and coming out 'swinging'. Hopefully, the cleric will prepare magic circle vs evil next time in preparation for the dominations.
Thrommel will go into a rage for sure. Have you decided that he can't leave the OF? If he can, then a nightly visit to Rastor would be in order. Perhaps Hedrack will ask about what happened with Varachan, and order Thrommel to tell him. Thrommel's too important to destroy, however, some Hedrack might help plan some retribution for the party's insolence, possibly setting up some defensive measures.
The one thing I don't understand is why on earth Varachan destroyed the crystal ball instead of taking it with him. That's 51,000gp right there!
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msherman
Crimson Coil Cultist
(2/8/04 8:33 pm)
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Re: The Vampire hits the fan
Thanks for the kind words, Infiniti. To answer your questions, yes, I've decided that Thrommel can't cross the Stalagos due to the running water provision; that's why he needs mortals to take his coffin out. As for the crystal ball, I didn't want it getting into the party's hands; it's too valuable. So I described it as being set into a large stone table; it would have taken dwarven masons hours to carefully remove the crystal ball intact from the table, and it was too large and heavy for the portable hole. So Varachan destroyed it to keep it out of Hedrack's hands.
On a related note, I've also ruled that living creatures can't survive teleportation while within a portable hole, which is why the party had to split up to escape the fane; otherwise, the Lantern Archon could have just teleported back and forth taking them one at a time in the portable hole.
So how do you think Varachan will behave now that he's "free", but in a Pelorite cathedral in Verbobonc? I've been putting off sending a followup mail to the players since the session, because I really don't know how to play Varachan at this point.
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msherman
Crimson Coil Cultist
(2/9/04 8:59 am)
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Re: The Vampire hits the fan
Here's the mail I just sent to the players of Chase and Hamish:
Quote:
It's about 2pm on August 19th, when you arrive in the
private shrine reserved for ranking priests at the Cathedral
of Pelor in Verbobonc. Varachan lies unconscious on the
floor, and his as-yet-unnamed slave girl clings weeping to
Hamish's leg. Chase stands at the ready, Revenge in hand,
just in case.
You are greeted by Father Ormalius, a relatively high ranking
staff priest at the Cathedral. "Father Hamish! I am so glad
that the scroll reached you in time to facilitate your escape.
Your message had us very worried. Here, let me assist your
friend."
He begins to cast a healing spell on Varachan, but Hamish
quickly interrupts him. "Wait. My friend here is under the
effects of mind controlling magic. We must dispel it before
reviving him."
"Oh, thank you! That would have been awkward, indeed!"
Ormalius casts Detect Magic, to identify the nature of the
Domination. Then, he casts Dispel Evil, and touches Varachan.
You notice Varachan's neck and shoulder muscles visibly loosen
at Ormalius' touch. Ormalius then begins again to cast a
curative spell on Varachan.
Varachan raises his head off the ground, and looks about
with a bit of confusion. He fixes his gaze on the gleaming
golden sunburst medallion hanging on the wall over the altar.
He turns his stare first to Ormalius, then to Hamish. "Gods
below. Fantastic escape plan you worked out for us there,
fools. What in Carceri were you doing hiding in the armoire?"
Ormalius seems shocked by this disrespectful outburst. He
looks to Hamish, for guidance in dealing with such blasphemy.
We'll see how Hamish and Chase react to that... Hamish is currently about 500xp away from 12th level (all the other players hit 12 from the session), so if he plays his cards right in this encounter, it'll bump him up to 12 which should make him happy.
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Infiniti2000
Brother of Venom
(2/9/04 10:38 am)
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ezSupporter
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Re: The Vampire hits the fan
That sounds good. Varachan probably would not want to have atonement cast and therefore it would fail. I'd suggest that he leave the temple (they aren't holding him prisoner, right?) and then go get atoned by a priest of Nerull. He can plague the party in the next adventure. 
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Igneous
Ebon Hand Cultist
(2/9/04 5:45 pm)
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Re: The Vampire hits the fan
Remember that a summoned creature (Lantern Archon in this case) cannot use teleportation, planar travel or summoning abilities under the 3.5 rules. No problem if you're using the 3.0 rules, but the change for 3.5 looks like it was designed to eliminate the classic 'hop in the portable hole and get teleported by a summoned monster' tactic. It also put paid to my players favourite trick (much like yours) of sending Lantern Archons back and forth to Verbobonc to deliver treasure to their banker and order emergency supplies. The removal of most weight limits from the 3.5 version of Teleport balanced this nicely.
I can sympathise with your frustration over the players trying to use Wind Walk tactically, as mine tried to do the same. They learned the hard way.
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msherman
Crimson Coil Cultist
(2/9/04 6:18 pm)
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Re: The Vampire hits the fan
Where did you get that rule from, Igneous? I knew about no summoning, but I was completely unaware of no teleportation. Summoned creatures teleporting is so well-used in my game so far that if I did find that rule, I'd probably just house rule it away, anyway.
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Igneous
Ebon Hand Cultist
(2/9/04 10:46 pm)
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Re: The Vampire hits the fan
From the SRD (and PHB) spell description for Summon Monster I:-
Quote:
A summoned monster cannot summon or otherwise conjure another creature, nor can it use any teleportation or planar travel abilities.
I can understand if you don't want to use it, but it was changed for a reason and the revised Teleportation spell is supposed to balance it. An awful lot of people don't seem to be aware of it though, so I guess they didn't look at the new spell too closely. 
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msherman
Crimson Coil Cultist
(2/10/04 3:23 am)
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Re: The Vampire hits the fan
Man, stuff like this really burns me up. They really should have done a better job of highlighting the differences between 3.0 and 3.5 in the new books, with some kind of typographical convention.
The really sad thing is that my party didn't even start using the Lantern Archon Express for deliveries to and from Verbobonc until after we switched to 3.5.
Oh well, it's such a well-trodden feature of my campaign that I'd need another 3.0->3.5 style radiation accident to change it, so for the time being at least, I'm stuck with a house rule. Thanks for the info, Igneous.
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Siobharek 
(2/10/04 5:18 am)
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ezSupporter
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Re: The Vampire hits the fan
The only teensy-weensy niggling detail that I might see is the fact that Thrommel could detect good inside Varachan's room. It's not an always-on thing, so the door might have blocked it.
But then again, it might not so...
Otherwise I'm with I2K. Good game. But they have blown any chance for making peace with Thrommel, and if Varachan goes back into the Fane, he's toast.
Oh, one last thing. You think they might try getting Fragarach back?
Siobharek
...it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing. |
smetzger
Tolling Bell Cultist
(2/10/04 5:20 am)
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Re: The Vampire hits the fan
Dang I didn't know that either.
A Lantern Archon isn't much good without its teleport ability.
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msherman
Crimson Coil Cultist
(2/10/04 6:10 am)
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Re: The Vampire hits the fan
Thanks, Siobharek.
Duh. I'm a goof; this message originally contained a four paragraph attempt to figure out if Detect Good (see Evil) works through a closed door. I should have read the whole spell before posting:Quote:
The spell can penetrate bariers, but 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt blocks it.
According to the module, walls between rooms are 2' thick, but it doesn't say how thick the doors are. I guess I just house-ruled that they're less than a foot.
Anyway, it hardly matters; Thrommel was alerted to _something_ going on in the Fane by Aramil's gasseous arrival, and could easily have followed the lingering dim stench of Good that Hamish leaves for 1d6 days wherever he goes, being an 11th level Cleric of Pelor. Pass the Evil Airwick!
As for Fragarach, I haven't heard back from Chase's player yet, but I know the players were saying that they were going to research Vampires in Verbobonc. I think I'll throw in something subtle about strong connections to thier past life being a possible but unproven avenue of restoring a vampire to life. Chase might think to try.
Edited by: msherman at: 2/10/04 6:24 am
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msherman
Crimson Coil Cultist
(2/11/04 8:28 am)
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Varachan now Friendly
In the ensuing exchange, Hamish took Varachan to task for his rudeness, and convinced him that he should in fact be thanking them for his successful rescue. He rolled a 28 on Diplomacy along with that, so Varachan is now Friendly (from Unfriendly). I'm thinking that Friendly is enough to get Varachan to tell Hamish and Chase the rest of what he knows, including how to get into the inner fane, the existance of the Tourbillion and the Talisman, more details about the Triad, more details on the Orbs of Silvery Death and Oblivion, and the fact that Hedrack's primary responsibility now is to kill the party, so leaving him alive at their backs while they head off to the Recovered Temple is not a wise course of action.
I'm thinking Varachan would need to be Helpful in order to consider accepting Atonement from a priest of Pelor. There's no way Hamish can get him from Unfriendly to Helpful; his Diplomacy isn't high enough. So after a friendly debriefing, it's off to the Temple of Nerull for Mr. V.
That advice will conflict with the advice given to Hamish by his bishop, which should make for some interesting debate in the party. Here's an exerpt from the last update I sent Hamish and Chase's players; the speaker is Bishop Loridian, the partriarch of Pelor in VB:Quote:
"I would take any advice given to you by this Varachan with
a generous grain of salt. His motivations may be personal;
from your description, he certainly doesn't strike me as the
sort of fellow to be counted on to act out of benevolence
or concern for the greater good. It would seem to me that
the clearest course of action would be to ignore these Fanes,
and Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil (bum-bum-bah!) to
deny the cult continued access to the Nodes they are using to
release the Princes of Elemental Evil. But perhaps Varachan
knows more than he is saying? Further conversation with him
would certainly be warranted."
Edited by: msherman at: 2/11/04 8:33 am
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sacooper37
Ebon Hand Cultist
(2/14/04 4:05 am)
Reply
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Re: The Vampire hits the fan
Quote:
Man, stuff like this really burns me up. They really should have done a better job of highlighting the differences between 3.0 and 3.5 in the new books, with some kind of typographical convention.
I agree -- the only conversion documentation WotC provided was that lame "Accessory Update" PDF, which was not only ridiculously incomplete but full of errors, too.
That's why, when 3.5 came out last year, I spent some time going through the PHB and DMG and put together a group of PDFs listing all the changes and placing them in context. If you're interested, click here. You may find it useful for avoiding this kind of annoyance in future...
Cheers,
Steven.
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