| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| xedrick |
Posted - 04 May 2012 : 19:34:59
Haha! So, they've made a contact and done a short side-quest for said contact as the first step of ridding a party member of the curse of Al-Huzzak's Bottle, as mentioned here:http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=16434.
Thing is, they had the bright idea to tap the contact to purchase a teleport spell directly to Westgate from Memnon (over 1,000 miles). The contact is a traveling Red Wizard merchant, so he has definitely been to Westgate several times and is more than capable of casting it, as they are more than capable of paying for it.
 Totally viable option that I didn't even consider when composing the week's adventure.
So this weekend, they're destined to land in a new city hot on the trail of Al-Huzzak as he plans to wreak his revenge on his captor. Ten days will have elapsed between the day that the efreeti was freed and the day they teleport to the outskirts of the city. No real problem, other than that the party isn't strong enough yet to defeat Al-Huzzak, and I've already hinted that the efreeti's captor is the only person who can reverse the binding.
How long do you think it would take an efreeti to exact his revenge? I'm considering having the party arrive in the city and spend a few days getting their bearings, and on the 13th day post-release, there is a catastrophic event at the mage's guild, in which most of the building is destroyed and many wizards are dead or missing, including their target. Another option is to hold off the action until the party is able to locate the individual and secure a private meeting, whereupon the beast arrives and the party is blamed for the death of the wizard. These two scenarios seem more exciting to me than if they were to arrive at the city several days after the catastrophe mentioned.
Anyone got time to bounce some ideas?
[EDIT] I know this whole thing is a little backwards, being that if they had taken a month or two to get there, they would probably catch the efreeti in the act, but now that theyre getting there quickly they will be late. But It's against everything I believe in to weaken my villians. If I do that, it's like throwing them away; why bother making them complex? |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 07 May 2012 : 17:18:55
-Since he knows it's an Efreeti, having spells or items that resist fire would help. The Dismissal spell, even though it might not necessarily work, would make me feel better, if I was him. If he has a specific home, or room, or whatever, it can be filled with glyphs and runes that protect against fire, evil, or extraplanar entities- and whether or not they actually work at protecting him against an angry Efreeti is another thing. |
| xedrick |
Posted - 06 May 2012 : 05:15:22
Thanks, Karsus.
Overconfident was the way that I was thinking I would present him to the players, keeping his cool as though he could take care of the efreeti on his own (which he can't). I've been considering having him send the party on some sort of quest before he frees the trapped character (playing up the threat posed by his customer rather than the efreeti), and when they return from said quest they find a large portion of westgate in ruins. Is the wizard dead, or in hiding? Will the character ever be free from his prison? The characters will likely make it their persional mission to destroy the creature at this point (if they haven't already).
But how would a wizard go about protecting himself from such a powerful extraplanar entity? |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 05 May 2012 : 19:16:06
quote:
Originally posted by Kentinal
All I see from available information, less skilled then should be when trying to bind something. Oh and likes money.
-Sounds like a few people I know.
quote:
Originally posted by xedrick
Well, I've already introduced plenty of NPC bad-asses into my world (low level characters want to kill everything and take their loot) so I'm thinking that this individual in westgate should be different than my norm.
Not necessarily timid or squeamish, but this Human(I've realized that my NPC names come up in searches on google, so im going to stay anonymous) is lacking in physical prowess, and he knows it. He is a respected member of the local mages guild, and a Conjurer who also specializes in the creation of certain black-market magical items behind the back of his guild superiors, who would want a cut of his profits. His second preferred school (personal choice, not game mechanics) is transmutation, and his restricted schools are illusion and necromancy. He would have to be fairly cunning (high wis and int) to be able to do the things that he does and get away with it, so his primary skillset (beyond that required for wizardry) would consist of sense motive, bluff, and diplomacy (which are taken care of by aristocrat levels).
This is about as far as I've gotten developing his personality thus far.
-Well, based on this, maybe he'd be overconfident. He's smart and cunning, is a respected member of the mage guild, and is even able to get away with doing black market stuff behind everyone's back, so he can handle whatever situation arises (or so he thinks). Since he is smart and cunning, and dabbles in illegal activities, he might have a lot of theoretical plan Bs, in case deals he makes or whatever else go wrong. If he's an aristocrat, maybe he has some kind of ancestral manor or something that is out of the way that he can retreat to if he thinks the heat is on for him and he needs to lay low for a while. |
| Kentinal |
Posted - 05 May 2012 : 18:43:05
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Karsus
-What is the Westgate Wizard like?
All I see from available information, less skilled then should be when trying to bind something. Oh and likes money.
Indeed unless we know far more about Westgate Wizard, personality, intents and abilities, it clearly is hard to know about how Wizard would react to return of his freed captive. |
| xedrick |
Posted - 05 May 2012 : 18:40:37
Well, I've already introduced plenty of NPC bad-asses into my world (low level characters want to kill everything and take their loot) so I'm thinking that this individual in westgate should be different than my norm.
Not necessarily timid or squeamish, but this Human(I've realized that my NPC names come up in searches on google, so im going to stay anonymous) is lacking in physical prowess, and he knows it. He is a respected member of the local mages guild, and a Conjurer who also specializes in the creation of certain black-market magical items behind the back of his guild superiors, who would want a cut of his profits. His second preferred school (personal choice, not game mechanics) is transmutation, and his restricted schools are illusion and necromancy. He would have to be fairly cunning (high wis and int) to be able to do the things that he does and get away with it, so his primary skillset (beyond that required for wizardry) would consist of sense motive, bluff, and diplomacy (which are taken care of by aristocrat levels).
This is about as far as I've gotten developing his personality thus far.
|
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 05 May 2012 : 17:35:01
-What is the Westgate Wizard like? |
| xedrick |
Posted - 05 May 2012 : 05:37:42
Actually, the formula that I mentioned was 10g X spell level X caster level. Just confirmed this on pg 107, DMG 3.5.
They asked for simple teleport (as teleport without error is actually called 'greater teleport' in my 3.5 PHB), a lvl 5 spell; the spell is being cast by a 16th level wizard.
5x10=50
50x16=800
I charged them a little over a thousand to make it worth his while. I'm fairly sure my math is sound here (please correct me if I'm wrong), and that means that teleport is a very inexpensive alternative to months of land or sea travel, provided that the party is capable of finding someone capable of casting the spell and having been to the desired location.
Seriously though, I want to steer the main topic of conversation here to the wizard's reaction when they show up on his doorstep... |
| Kentinal |
Posted - 05 May 2012 : 01:42:38
A DM vs. Player is not good.
Now to the problem at hand. Fast travel clearly messes with DM plans. In some ways showing up before the attack might be interesting. The planned attack comes some 10 days or quicker then the month of expected travel.
As to cost of spell, I think you need to check the math, there again it does depend on what rule set you are using. (in 3.5 SRD teleport without error does not cost 10g X caster level, I do not believe teleport is a 1st level spell in any edition.) |
| xedrick |
Posted - 05 May 2012 : 00:20:33
I understand what you're saying, Entreri, but if every NPC in my game betrays the group at every opportunity (which has happened a few times already), it only reinforces their attitude that everyone I invent should be killed. lol. They already REALLY dislike the guy, and I think that, given my past cruelty, the threat of this type of thing is sufficient in this case. I also intend to have them meet with this character again at some time. He is a travelling merchant, after all, and he would have no customers if he betrayed everyone, every time.
I do like the idea of teleporting them to someplace completely unexpected, though, I think I'm going to do something like this in the future, since they'll probably do this teleportation thing again soon. Maybe, if they show the red wiz something he really wants, then he'll betray them for it. I just don't want to be arbitrary.
As a sidenote, though, I was slightly suprised at the price at which the core handbooks place casting teleport, it's something like 10gx spell level x caster level, which barely came out to 1,000g if i'm not mistaken. Always thought it would be more expensive than that.
I want to steer the conversation back towards brainstorming how the westgate wizard would react to the news being brought to his doorstep, by the perpetrators of the crime. Again, they stole this bottle from a passing caravan in the desert, freed the efreeti, and one of them is now trapped in the bottle, seeking the creator's (westgate wiz's) help to escape. |
| Artemas Entreri |
Posted - 04 May 2012 : 23:22:46
I can see your point about not wanting to be too cruel to your players. However, Red Wizards are not known for their honesty. You could substitute the slave camp for any number of other wicked endeavors such as a pit fighting ring, crypt, dungeon, etc. |
| xedrick |
Posted - 04 May 2012 : 22:09:49
Okay, NEW BRAINSTORM TOPIC!
Arrival in westgate. locate wizard. Show wizard bottle. Wizard leaves puddle on floor.
First, fear of the efreeti. Secondly, fear of his customer's wrath(a party member stole the bottle from a passing caravan headed to calimport).
How would he react, given these circumstances?
Maybe he is furious, but maintains his composure, leading the characters to believe that he can handle the efreeti, should it return. He sends them on a death-quest, and when they return, westgate is in ruins.
BWAhahahahaaaaa.... |
| xedrick |
Posted - 04 May 2012 : 22:03:44
All great ideas, thank you all for sharing.
@Delwar: They have actually just completed a small service for the red wizard, retreiving a staff of withering from a temporarily-uncovered tomb in the calim desert. The reward was treasure from the tomb (which they needed badly) and information regarding their next stop in the removal of the bottle curse. I don't want to give them another side quest like that at the moment, but I do like the idea of simply a slight change of plans before the spell is cast, maybe landing someplace nearby but not exactly westgate. Maybe he's not welcome in westgate and instead must go to the nearest town.
@Entreti: I like it, you're really taking into account the devious mind of the Red Wizard organization. However, I've got a few problems with running it this way, because of the way my game has been going up to this point.
First and foremost, the party started out on a slave ship on the Nelanther Isles. They just recently got to the point where they've geared themselves up a bit and I feel like it would be not only cruel but also redundant to re-hash the slavery thing.
Secondly, the party has just risked life and limb (not to mention level drain that turned permanent :( ) to retrieve a Staff of Withering for him from a long lost tomb in the desert in exchange for simple information. He kind of sees these characters as potentially more useful down the line than simply sold as slaves. Not to mention how cruel it would be to take everything that they've worked for in the past few months gaming. Too soon.
What I'm trying to say here is that I've been a little cruel in the past to the group, and I'd like, for a little while at least, for things to go their way. I had intended for the trip to westgate to be fairly straightforward, allowing the characters a bit of time to breathe. It'll make it that much more impacting when I seize control again.
@Karsus:Your first point is quite interesting. Long and drawn out, like maybe the wizard that they're looking for has no idea that the efreeti is free, and maybe even weeks or months pass with them waiting for something to happen. Maybe they decide that they were wrong just before something crazy happens. Maybe the efreeti makes silent work of the wizard and the characters are next, when they least expect it? I really still like the idea of leveling the mages guild in westgate for effect. My players will never expect me to destroy such 'permanent' fixtures...
For your second point, perhaps I can level the mages guild, leave westgate in complete disarray, and give the characters even more reason to hunt the efreeti down, maybe even to the City of Brass itself?
As far as the third point, I think that ties in a lot with my response to Delwa.
Maybe even a meld of all of these ideas, teleport nearby but not close enough, get there a few days, get laughed at by the wizard, wait a few more weeks, get depressed because nothing happens, and then WHAM, inescapable chain of events. |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 04 May 2012 : 21:23:11
quote:
Originally posted by xedrick
How long do you think it would take an efreeti to exact his revenge?
-However long you want, really. If the Efreeti wants to make the process long and drawn out, to make the person he is getting revenge against suffer even more, there you go. If you want to make it happen with a 'bang', there you go. Since it's not necessarily written in stone, I might wing it and play it by ear, depending on what the PCs do.
-Personally, since they're not strong enough yet, I might have the revenge process go on in a stretched out manner, so that you can give the PCs a side-quest or something to buff them up a little and so that you have more time to think on your feet, since they're basically just bypassing all that time and effort that comes with travel.
-If they're teleporting, maybe you can have something go wrong, because of the bottle. Some kind of anti-teleportational ward on it, where the party gets "thrown off course" because of it. You could put them close enough so that it makes them feel like they didn't completely waste all that effort hiring a mage, but far enough that you have some wiggle room. |
| Artemas Entreri |
Posted - 04 May 2012 : 21:04:02
Since the PC's thought it a wise idea to enlist the help of a Red Wizard for teleportation...have the Red Wizard teleport them into a slave camp in Thay instead of to their desired destination. |
| Delwa |
Posted - 04 May 2012 : 21:02:13
Have the Red Wizard have no use for their gold, but rather agree to sell them the item for a small service. Simple, but depending on the details, could be fun.
The Thayan could even change his mind right before he casts, saying his superiors have an urgent mission that he's willing to include them in. |
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