Hzurr
2009-12-17, 03:26 PM
So last night, we wrapped up the semester with an epic fight against a mind flayer, and it was awesome. I'm running a modified version of the "Depths of Madness" module from Dungeon Magazine number 162, and since I didn't really like the "Brink of Madness" module that closes the adventure, I chose to have the party recover the Tear of Ioun at the end of this module.
I won't go into a full-blown summery, so long-story short: The Party went up against a Mind Flayer that had taken an object called the Tear of Ioun (A powerful artifact of Ioun that had been exposed to severe far-realm energy and has been corrupted), and was using it to turn townsfolk into mutated tentacled monsters. The Party defeated the Mind Flayer (he managed to escape, with one of the PCs as a thrall) and recovered the Tear, and are now debating what to do about it.
One of the PCs is a warforged cleric, who is currently the last Warforged known to exist, and is trying to figure out how to make more. He currently has a few quest hooks to find out where and how Warforged were made, and I had been planning on this quest expanding to cover the next 4 levels or so.
However, the PCs have gotten the idea of trying to cleanse the Tear of Ioun, and use the knowledge and power contained inside to learn about Warforged. They've got an exceptionally talented Wizard, a talented Artificer, and a talented cleric; so they have a pretty diverse skill set.
Here's my issue: The PCs came up with the idea of trying to cleanse the Tear and use it's knowledge. It's a creative idea, that could theoretically work; which should be rewarded (it's that whole idea of saying "yes" to bizarre ideas the PCs come up with). However, the Tear of Ioun has been described as a powerful enough artifact that it could punch a hole in the layer of reality to the far realm; and the amount of corruption done to it now is so extensive that just being exposed to the stone is enough to start triggering mutations. The PCs are currently 12th level, and this object seems to be a bit out of their power level. Originally, I had planned for a local priest of Ioun the party has befriended to take it back to the church higher-ups to be destroyed, cleansed, or contained. But now I'm not certain.
What are your suggestions? Some ideas I've had.
- Let the party know that they can eventually cleanse the Tear, but it requires a higher level ritual (say...level 20 or so).
- Let the party cleanse it, but what they recover is only a fragment of the original power
- Let the party attempt to heal it, but with disastrous consequences if they fail
- Let the party know that it's damaged beyond repair, but they need to find a way to destroy it in a way that wouldn't open up a new portal to the Far Realm or send a wave of radiation across the area.
- Have the NPC take it off their hands, and let them continue with the plot hooks they already have
I won't go into a full-blown summery, so long-story short: The Party went up against a Mind Flayer that had taken an object called the Tear of Ioun (A powerful artifact of Ioun that had been exposed to severe far-realm energy and has been corrupted), and was using it to turn townsfolk into mutated tentacled monsters. The Party defeated the Mind Flayer (he managed to escape, with one of the PCs as a thrall) and recovered the Tear, and are now debating what to do about it.
One of the PCs is a warforged cleric, who is currently the last Warforged known to exist, and is trying to figure out how to make more. He currently has a few quest hooks to find out where and how Warforged were made, and I had been planning on this quest expanding to cover the next 4 levels or so.
However, the PCs have gotten the idea of trying to cleanse the Tear of Ioun, and use the knowledge and power contained inside to learn about Warforged. They've got an exceptionally talented Wizard, a talented Artificer, and a talented cleric; so they have a pretty diverse skill set.
Here's my issue: The PCs came up with the idea of trying to cleanse the Tear and use it's knowledge. It's a creative idea, that could theoretically work; which should be rewarded (it's that whole idea of saying "yes" to bizarre ideas the PCs come up with). However, the Tear of Ioun has been described as a powerful enough artifact that it could punch a hole in the layer of reality to the far realm; and the amount of corruption done to it now is so extensive that just being exposed to the stone is enough to start triggering mutations. The PCs are currently 12th level, and this object seems to be a bit out of their power level. Originally, I had planned for a local priest of Ioun the party has befriended to take it back to the church higher-ups to be destroyed, cleansed, or contained. But now I'm not certain.
What are your suggestions? Some ideas I've had.
- Let the party know that they can eventually cleanse the Tear, but it requires a higher level ritual (say...level 20 or so).
- Let the party cleanse it, but what they recover is only a fragment of the original power
- Let the party attempt to heal it, but with disastrous consequences if they fail
- Let the party know that it's damaged beyond repair, but they need to find a way to destroy it in a way that wouldn't open up a new portal to the Far Realm or send a wave of radiation across the area.
- Have the NPC take it off their hands, and let them continue with the plot hooks they already have