Zerter
2012-04-02, 03:19 PM
I have been DMing a Pathfinder group for seven sessions now and we generally switch DMs and round up an arc after ten till thirteen sessions (12 hour sessions). I am aiming for another 3-4, but I am having trouble working out exactly where I want to go to since the party sort of switched sides two sessions ago and I have been rolling with that ever since. So what I would like to do is describe the information the party has and hear any ideas or suggestions. The reason not to include any DM priviledged information is because some of my original main objectives for the party never got any traction and I don't want to railroad the party to follow them, I am looking to rework the backstory in a way that will eventually connect with them.
The beginning...
We started out as a group of five (including the DM) but because of various reasons involving girlfriends, moving and a car accident for a long time we were effectively a group of three. All our adventures take place in the same custom made campaign world: a metropolis called Omega City. The adventure before this one featured another district in that city in which we played a bunch of good guys stopping a demonic ritual, so I thought it would be nice to play the other side and feature the party working for a Pit Fiend in a part of the city run by evil outsiders.
The two characters that worked for the Pit Fiend were a Neutral Evil Male Human Gunslinger called Cedric and a Neutral Evil Male Vishkanya Dragon Disciple (first Sorcerer) called Flopodiba.
The Dragon Disciple called Flopodiba started as someone that wanted to sell his soul for a wish and as such came in contact with the Pit Fiend (he was originally neutral but switched his alignment the first sessions for reasons that are about to be made clear). The wish was to get a second Draconic side (cold) to his electric Dragon heritage. In exchange he was to work for the Pit Fiend for all eternity, and on his death his soul would be put to work in a university setting to conduct research on Dragons.
The Gunslinger called Cedric had accepted an assignment to kill the Pit Fiend from a source unknown to him (it was wiped from his mind, but he did remember agreeing to it). And as such sought him as an employer
On meeting the Pit Fiend they were introduced to the Sereo district which was ruled by a noble familiy of Tieflings and which served as a neutral spot to various of the major Evil factions within the city (for example: Red Dragons, Hextor, Demons, Devils), a place where they could conduct negotations and business in peace. The Pit Fiend served on the council of the court of the Tieflings alongside a Red Half-Dragon - the key advisor to the tiefling familiy - to a unknown race (one of the two most powerful and most influential beings in the city is a red dragon), a incubus representing the Devils, a ooze representing the Demons, an imp that is the owner of the local magicball team (the biggest sport in Omega City), someone with the appearance of a tonberry (representing a powerful Demon living near the city) and a Kobold with no known portfolio (like the Pit Fiend himself). Aside from the council several others were allowed to appear on the court including various diplomats and people representing local interests.
The Pit Fiend himself lived in the noble portion of the town (a gated community) and the two got temporary acces to meet him and discovered that he lived alongside the Incubi Arthas that represented the Devils in the council and the head of the local magic university. He also lived close to a park that was kept in perfect condition by various imps but which was by no means meant to be entered by anyone.
In the Pit Fiend's mansion they met Qarr, a grumpy imp that was finding it hard to deal with some of the eccentrics of the Pit Fiend and found reasons to dislike both characters. The Pit Fiend was quickly shown to be unusual, reading a book called "Why diplomacy is better than intimidation by Une Molitor", and serving tea and generally attempting to be nice despite it being awkward at times (cups broke in his hands, he hurt both characters by being on fire while showing physical affection, neither of which the Pit Fiend seemed to notice). He was also shown to be a big game hunter on account of various guns and trophies visible in his office.
Both gained individual assignments.
The Dragon Disciple was to find and kill a blue half-dragon that had previously broken a deal with the Pit Fiend in order to bind the half-dragon's soul with his own and fulfill the wish. He eventually tracked him to a drug den in the slum where he found him high on something called "blue heaven" and put him out of his misery. While being there he met a well-kempt Vanara drifter called 'Bubbles' who helped him out with various local tidbits and sold him some blue heaven.
Following the completion of this assignment he went to the district where the previous adventure took place and stole a artifact there while the dungeon meant to protect it was being build and took it to the Pit Fiend.
The Gunslinger was to kill someone in the slums as well (I don't really remember). He also got to know Bubbles and bought a red hat from him.
Following the completion of this assignment he adopted a drow kid called Anakin (there are lots of Drow orphans in the city following the slaughter of an entire Drow adult population in our first adventure). Anakin posses the tattoo of a Red Dragon that covers his entire body and sometimes turns into one himself when provoked or threatened. A mysterious group of cloaked individuals is interested in him because they want to use him and several others like him to complete a ritual, so far five have been seen by the party and two have been killed, but little information has been discovered. Bubbles and Lady Gaga (to be introduced) are also known to have adopted one of the kids required for the ritual.
Events unfold...
After these happenings the two are brought together and shocking events are revealed: A Githyanki invasion has attacked the city and destroyed a signifcant portion of it, in part as payback on a Illumian Lich living in the city that had in a previous adventure waged a succesful private war against them. To counter this offense various of the major factions of the city join forces and start wreacking havoc on the Astral Plane, leaving the city without the 'adults' in charge. The city's parliament discusses what to do with the destroyed part of the city, with many prominent factions wanting to claim key portions for themselves, and eventually it is decided that those key portions will be put up for grabs in a magicball contest contest by sixteen of the city's most influential factions. Adding complication to politics in Sereo itself, both its current 'king' and his succesor have died as a result of the Githyanki invasion leaving his 13-year old son in charge.
At some point both players also get to know the local casino which is run by a ambitious young Gobold (a cross between a Goblin and a Kobold and who was previously a prominent NPC as an even younger version). There they play poker with Lady Gaga, a elf-like creature, losing big sums of money to her and finding out she has adopted one of the drow children linked to Anakin. Lady Gaga is a prominent figure in the local artists & entertainers guild and as payback for losing to her the Gunslinger kills a random guild member. At this point the Dragon Disciple is wanted by the Paladin Order 'The Order of the Sun' for stealing the previously mentioned artifact and the Gunslinger is wanted by the Artist and Entertainers guild.
Their first mutual assignment is to serve as bodygaurds to one of the star magicball players in the city, a very arrogant person that gets a rise out of both of them. They nevertheless defend him while he is practicing at the local arena against three cloaked persons (linked to the ritual with the Drow kid), who might have been there for different reasons linked to a Githzerai called Amak who was honored at the same place for a role he has played in the on-going war against the Githyanki.
Their second assignment follows the penetration of a temple to Pelor where they have to take a serie of tests meant for good aligned characters in order to reach an archive room where they take away blueprints that can help them to steal more artifacts linked to the one already stolen. This assignment sets bad blood between both players as the Dragon Disciple accidently almost kills the Drow adopted by the Gunslinger and the Gunslinger reacts badly.
Following this assignment both are invited to join the Pit Fiend on a hunt. They had hunted previously on the material plane (which featured them teleporting to various challenging locations and the Pit Fiend having a laugh as the characters fought whatever was there). This hunt however was to take place in the beastlands featuring special weapons for every hunt and more teams. The party is pitted against several challenges including a dire lion, a unicorn and an ancient red dragon that nearly kills them both after one party member refuses to use the special weapon he was given in hopes that the dragon would kill the other one.
The hunt is followed by a feast (where all the slain creatures are eaten, gaining both of them an detectable Evil aura), following which the Pit Fiend takes both of them on a special hunt. He has discovered a time and location where a rival Solar is to be and equips the Gunslinger with a special outsider slaying bullet so he can back him up (the Dragon Disciple as well, but he is not proficient with guns). They gang up on the Solar, the Pit Fiend kills him, the Gunslinger than turns on the Pit Fiend and uses the special bullet to take him out (and the DM has to hear every session how he got outsmarted, because no way was it his intention that the special bullet would be used on the Pit Fiend :smallwink:).
A serie of events than take place. The Dragon Disciple was previously equipped by a gem that would record and store part of his memories as a result of him selling his soul. As the Pit Fiend dies it is revealed he carried the same type of gem (and thus had sold his soul to someone). The characters take the gem to the Gnome mafia where they obtain a device capable of reading it, revealing that the Kobold also serving on the council (known to be the best gambler in town) was the owner of the Pit Fiend's soul and is currently trying to instigate a all-out war between the Demons and Devil in the city. A portion of the Gunslinger's memory is also unlocked and it is revealed that his original assignment was given to him by the Pit Fiend before he transferred his soul, a soul that was lost in a dumb bet. The second portion of his assignment was to find the container containing the remaining power of his soul (in the possesion of the Kobold) and destroy it.
A side-quest also takes place before these events featuring the Gunslinger first robbing an inn-keeper of a valuable magicable item and the Dragon Disciple spending hours (in real life) and about 8.000 GP to aid the innkeeper in his search for the thief only to find out it is his current ally.
In the aftermath of the reveleations concerning the Pit Fiend both characters go home to get a good night's sleep. The Gunslinger wisely finds a place to stay across his hotel as the Dragon Disciple decides to do some business on his own and informs the Incubus Arthas (that serves on the council of the Sereo district) of the death of the Pit Fiend in exchange for a substantial reward. The Dragon Disciple is quickly betrayed and prompted to share all information he has and enter the service of the Incubus. The Incubus then sends out several of his servants to kill the Gunslinger in order to ensure no one else knows about the Pit Fiend's death (which is in his political interests).
The Gunslinger notices his old room across the street is being burned down. He is later tracked down by the Dragon Disciple, who was being followed by a powerful Devil that attacks the Gunslinger. Using his wish (obtained as a result of killing the Pit Fiend) to summon an equally powerful Devil, the Gunslinger tries to deal with the Devil trying to kill him as the Dragon Disciple turns on him as well. A short battle enseus which features the death of both the assasin devil and the Dragon Disciple and it is not long before the Gunslinger decides to try his luck elsewhere as he makes his way to the other side of the city and offers his services to the Paladin order 'The Order of the Sun' (which was featured in the previous adventure and played a small role in the campaign up to this point).
A new beginning
The Order has use of his services. In order to ensure his loyalty he is outfitted with protective magic that needs to be renewed weekly in order to stop those wanting him dead (there is now a 100.000 gp reward on his head) from finding him. He is quickly teamed up with a reformed evildoer Tiefling Alchemist (the previous Dragon Disciple) and a Gnome Synthesist (a new PC). The Gunslinger is also pressured to accept a redemption to wash away his sins in order to ease his relationship with the Order. The on-going magicball tournament is at this point nearing its final stages, the Gunslinger is involved emotionally with this to some level as his son is a fanatic player and they both are big fans of the Sereo Hellcats and visit matches frequently.
Their first assignment is to steal back the artifact previously stolen by the Dragon Disciple. This involves sneaking back in the Sereo district, contacting the Gnome mafia, having contact with the Vanara Bubbles again (who seems to appear mysteriously whenever you say out loud you have need of him) and eventually using forged documentation to sneak into the noble district and contact Qarr who has need of the Gunslinger. If the Gunslinger can provide proof the Pit Fiend is deceased than Qarr can inherit his belongings, in exchange he is willing to part with the artifact (suggesting along the way he will be inheriting a bunch anyway). This happens succesfully with just one complication, part of the function of the artifact is that contact with it turns you towards the Evil side. The gunslinger is the one to handle it and after failing his will save he turns to Evil again after having previously been reformed to neutral.
The artifact is a major boon to the prestige of the Order (its original protection was handled by nobles that sometimes have competing interests with their own), and as a result they are granted one of the new districts currently being contested for in the tournament. In gratitude the Alchemist and the Gunslinger are both ensured a future project in the new district.
Following this assignment the party spends some time settling in their new roles. The Alchemist runs one of the major labs of the Order, the Male Gnome Synthesist dies in a random encounter and is reincarnated as a female Halfling and the Gunslinger sets up a protection system for him and his son as he finds out the cloaked individuals have tracked him down to the new district.
The current assignment
The assignment the party is currently on features the alchemist, the gunslinger and a male Dwarven Cleric of Pelor (another PC, one featured in the previous adventure, the Synthesist was not present last session). They were send out to gather materials for potions required for the dungeon being built to gaurd the recently obtained artifact. This involved some simple shopping, it also involves obtaining major quantities of the drug Blue Heaven and a trip to a demonic battleground to obtain a rare ore. In order to obtain the drugs Bubbles was contacted. Saying he was acting as a middleman he informed the party there was a way to obtain the quantity cheaply (the street price was a lot) by stopping the previously mentioned Kobold (the one that possesed the soul of the Pit Fiend) from rigging one of the magicball games. The Kobold was poised to use the Gnome mafia to deliver performance-enhancing drugs to a rival of the Sereo Hellcats right before a key game.
The party thus travelled to their contact in the Gnome mafia using the sewers of the Sereo district. Not willing to meet his price for information, they went out on their own to try and stop delivery for the drugs. Soon discovering how incredibly stupid it was to simply try and walk in the evil guy's lair (the place where the drugs were meant to go) with no information and no credible lies, they returned to their contact. What followed was the Alchemist trying to single handedly attack the contact. The contact easily fending him off and showing a willingness to spare him in exchange for the Alchemist delivering the Gunslinger to a location where the Gnomes could capture him for the (now) 125.000 gp reward. The contact also demanded the most valuable magic item in possesion by the alchemist.
The Alchemist than lead the party to the location under false pretense (an inn run by the Gnome mafia), but with the Gunslinger not trusting the Alchemist and refusing to enter the room where he was supposed to be lead to. This is where we left things as we were running out of time.
My question to you guys...
What seem to be the major plotlines, the major antagonists and what seems a logical way to take it from here? Originally they were never meant to work from outside of Sereo and the Kobold was meant as the major antagonist and the magicball tournament as a major part of the plot. But since that's not the way it worked out (all plothooks involving the Kobold, the first which involved the Pit Fiend's soul, the second which involved him pitting the demons vs. the devils and the current one involving the rigging of the game seem to develop no traction) I would like some ideas and inspirations on how to take it from here and wrap it up in 3/4 sessons (the idea was to end at the same time as the magicball tournament ends). To be clear, the Gunslinger and the Alchemist are definitely gonna be present every session, the Cleric and the Synthesist are unknowns and there is also a fifth unknown that has been missing as the result of a car accident but might also still join in. I will be using the Cleric as a NPC if he is not present.
What I might also mention is that there is something of a longstanding truce between the Devils and the Demons in the city and all hot conflicts are fought out on a designated area known as the 'Battleground' and that because of the rising tensions there is a very big battle scheduled to take place there shortly with Arthas leading one side and a previously briefly mentioned Demon called Ceasar leading the other.
The beginning...
We started out as a group of five (including the DM) but because of various reasons involving girlfriends, moving and a car accident for a long time we were effectively a group of three. All our adventures take place in the same custom made campaign world: a metropolis called Omega City. The adventure before this one featured another district in that city in which we played a bunch of good guys stopping a demonic ritual, so I thought it would be nice to play the other side and feature the party working for a Pit Fiend in a part of the city run by evil outsiders.
The two characters that worked for the Pit Fiend were a Neutral Evil Male Human Gunslinger called Cedric and a Neutral Evil Male Vishkanya Dragon Disciple (first Sorcerer) called Flopodiba.
The Dragon Disciple called Flopodiba started as someone that wanted to sell his soul for a wish and as such came in contact with the Pit Fiend (he was originally neutral but switched his alignment the first sessions for reasons that are about to be made clear). The wish was to get a second Draconic side (cold) to his electric Dragon heritage. In exchange he was to work for the Pit Fiend for all eternity, and on his death his soul would be put to work in a university setting to conduct research on Dragons.
The Gunslinger called Cedric had accepted an assignment to kill the Pit Fiend from a source unknown to him (it was wiped from his mind, but he did remember agreeing to it). And as such sought him as an employer
On meeting the Pit Fiend they were introduced to the Sereo district which was ruled by a noble familiy of Tieflings and which served as a neutral spot to various of the major Evil factions within the city (for example: Red Dragons, Hextor, Demons, Devils), a place where they could conduct negotations and business in peace. The Pit Fiend served on the council of the court of the Tieflings alongside a Red Half-Dragon - the key advisor to the tiefling familiy - to a unknown race (one of the two most powerful and most influential beings in the city is a red dragon), a incubus representing the Devils, a ooze representing the Demons, an imp that is the owner of the local magicball team (the biggest sport in Omega City), someone with the appearance of a tonberry (representing a powerful Demon living near the city) and a Kobold with no known portfolio (like the Pit Fiend himself). Aside from the council several others were allowed to appear on the court including various diplomats and people representing local interests.
The Pit Fiend himself lived in the noble portion of the town (a gated community) and the two got temporary acces to meet him and discovered that he lived alongside the Incubi Arthas that represented the Devils in the council and the head of the local magic university. He also lived close to a park that was kept in perfect condition by various imps but which was by no means meant to be entered by anyone.
In the Pit Fiend's mansion they met Qarr, a grumpy imp that was finding it hard to deal with some of the eccentrics of the Pit Fiend and found reasons to dislike both characters. The Pit Fiend was quickly shown to be unusual, reading a book called "Why diplomacy is better than intimidation by Une Molitor", and serving tea and generally attempting to be nice despite it being awkward at times (cups broke in his hands, he hurt both characters by being on fire while showing physical affection, neither of which the Pit Fiend seemed to notice). He was also shown to be a big game hunter on account of various guns and trophies visible in his office.
Both gained individual assignments.
The Dragon Disciple was to find and kill a blue half-dragon that had previously broken a deal with the Pit Fiend in order to bind the half-dragon's soul with his own and fulfill the wish. He eventually tracked him to a drug den in the slum where he found him high on something called "blue heaven" and put him out of his misery. While being there he met a well-kempt Vanara drifter called 'Bubbles' who helped him out with various local tidbits and sold him some blue heaven.
Following the completion of this assignment he went to the district where the previous adventure took place and stole a artifact there while the dungeon meant to protect it was being build and took it to the Pit Fiend.
The Gunslinger was to kill someone in the slums as well (I don't really remember). He also got to know Bubbles and bought a red hat from him.
Following the completion of this assignment he adopted a drow kid called Anakin (there are lots of Drow orphans in the city following the slaughter of an entire Drow adult population in our first adventure). Anakin posses the tattoo of a Red Dragon that covers his entire body and sometimes turns into one himself when provoked or threatened. A mysterious group of cloaked individuals is interested in him because they want to use him and several others like him to complete a ritual, so far five have been seen by the party and two have been killed, but little information has been discovered. Bubbles and Lady Gaga (to be introduced) are also known to have adopted one of the kids required for the ritual.
Events unfold...
After these happenings the two are brought together and shocking events are revealed: A Githyanki invasion has attacked the city and destroyed a signifcant portion of it, in part as payback on a Illumian Lich living in the city that had in a previous adventure waged a succesful private war against them. To counter this offense various of the major factions of the city join forces and start wreacking havoc on the Astral Plane, leaving the city without the 'adults' in charge. The city's parliament discusses what to do with the destroyed part of the city, with many prominent factions wanting to claim key portions for themselves, and eventually it is decided that those key portions will be put up for grabs in a magicball contest contest by sixteen of the city's most influential factions. Adding complication to politics in Sereo itself, both its current 'king' and his succesor have died as a result of the Githyanki invasion leaving his 13-year old son in charge.
At some point both players also get to know the local casino which is run by a ambitious young Gobold (a cross between a Goblin and a Kobold and who was previously a prominent NPC as an even younger version). There they play poker with Lady Gaga, a elf-like creature, losing big sums of money to her and finding out she has adopted one of the drow children linked to Anakin. Lady Gaga is a prominent figure in the local artists & entertainers guild and as payback for losing to her the Gunslinger kills a random guild member. At this point the Dragon Disciple is wanted by the Paladin Order 'The Order of the Sun' for stealing the previously mentioned artifact and the Gunslinger is wanted by the Artist and Entertainers guild.
Their first mutual assignment is to serve as bodygaurds to one of the star magicball players in the city, a very arrogant person that gets a rise out of both of them. They nevertheless defend him while he is practicing at the local arena against three cloaked persons (linked to the ritual with the Drow kid), who might have been there for different reasons linked to a Githzerai called Amak who was honored at the same place for a role he has played in the on-going war against the Githyanki.
Their second assignment follows the penetration of a temple to Pelor where they have to take a serie of tests meant for good aligned characters in order to reach an archive room where they take away blueprints that can help them to steal more artifacts linked to the one already stolen. This assignment sets bad blood between both players as the Dragon Disciple accidently almost kills the Drow adopted by the Gunslinger and the Gunslinger reacts badly.
Following this assignment both are invited to join the Pit Fiend on a hunt. They had hunted previously on the material plane (which featured them teleporting to various challenging locations and the Pit Fiend having a laugh as the characters fought whatever was there). This hunt however was to take place in the beastlands featuring special weapons for every hunt and more teams. The party is pitted against several challenges including a dire lion, a unicorn and an ancient red dragon that nearly kills them both after one party member refuses to use the special weapon he was given in hopes that the dragon would kill the other one.
The hunt is followed by a feast (where all the slain creatures are eaten, gaining both of them an detectable Evil aura), following which the Pit Fiend takes both of them on a special hunt. He has discovered a time and location where a rival Solar is to be and equips the Gunslinger with a special outsider slaying bullet so he can back him up (the Dragon Disciple as well, but he is not proficient with guns). They gang up on the Solar, the Pit Fiend kills him, the Gunslinger than turns on the Pit Fiend and uses the special bullet to take him out (and the DM has to hear every session how he got outsmarted, because no way was it his intention that the special bullet would be used on the Pit Fiend :smallwink:).
A serie of events than take place. The Dragon Disciple was previously equipped by a gem that would record and store part of his memories as a result of him selling his soul. As the Pit Fiend dies it is revealed he carried the same type of gem (and thus had sold his soul to someone). The characters take the gem to the Gnome mafia where they obtain a device capable of reading it, revealing that the Kobold also serving on the council (known to be the best gambler in town) was the owner of the Pit Fiend's soul and is currently trying to instigate a all-out war between the Demons and Devil in the city. A portion of the Gunslinger's memory is also unlocked and it is revealed that his original assignment was given to him by the Pit Fiend before he transferred his soul, a soul that was lost in a dumb bet. The second portion of his assignment was to find the container containing the remaining power of his soul (in the possesion of the Kobold) and destroy it.
A side-quest also takes place before these events featuring the Gunslinger first robbing an inn-keeper of a valuable magicable item and the Dragon Disciple spending hours (in real life) and about 8.000 GP to aid the innkeeper in his search for the thief only to find out it is his current ally.
In the aftermath of the reveleations concerning the Pit Fiend both characters go home to get a good night's sleep. The Gunslinger wisely finds a place to stay across his hotel as the Dragon Disciple decides to do some business on his own and informs the Incubus Arthas (that serves on the council of the Sereo district) of the death of the Pit Fiend in exchange for a substantial reward. The Dragon Disciple is quickly betrayed and prompted to share all information he has and enter the service of the Incubus. The Incubus then sends out several of his servants to kill the Gunslinger in order to ensure no one else knows about the Pit Fiend's death (which is in his political interests).
The Gunslinger notices his old room across the street is being burned down. He is later tracked down by the Dragon Disciple, who was being followed by a powerful Devil that attacks the Gunslinger. Using his wish (obtained as a result of killing the Pit Fiend) to summon an equally powerful Devil, the Gunslinger tries to deal with the Devil trying to kill him as the Dragon Disciple turns on him as well. A short battle enseus which features the death of both the assasin devil and the Dragon Disciple and it is not long before the Gunslinger decides to try his luck elsewhere as he makes his way to the other side of the city and offers his services to the Paladin order 'The Order of the Sun' (which was featured in the previous adventure and played a small role in the campaign up to this point).
A new beginning
The Order has use of his services. In order to ensure his loyalty he is outfitted with protective magic that needs to be renewed weekly in order to stop those wanting him dead (there is now a 100.000 gp reward on his head) from finding him. He is quickly teamed up with a reformed evildoer Tiefling Alchemist (the previous Dragon Disciple) and a Gnome Synthesist (a new PC). The Gunslinger is also pressured to accept a redemption to wash away his sins in order to ease his relationship with the Order. The on-going magicball tournament is at this point nearing its final stages, the Gunslinger is involved emotionally with this to some level as his son is a fanatic player and they both are big fans of the Sereo Hellcats and visit matches frequently.
Their first assignment is to steal back the artifact previously stolen by the Dragon Disciple. This involves sneaking back in the Sereo district, contacting the Gnome mafia, having contact with the Vanara Bubbles again (who seems to appear mysteriously whenever you say out loud you have need of him) and eventually using forged documentation to sneak into the noble district and contact Qarr who has need of the Gunslinger. If the Gunslinger can provide proof the Pit Fiend is deceased than Qarr can inherit his belongings, in exchange he is willing to part with the artifact (suggesting along the way he will be inheriting a bunch anyway). This happens succesfully with just one complication, part of the function of the artifact is that contact with it turns you towards the Evil side. The gunslinger is the one to handle it and after failing his will save he turns to Evil again after having previously been reformed to neutral.
The artifact is a major boon to the prestige of the Order (its original protection was handled by nobles that sometimes have competing interests with their own), and as a result they are granted one of the new districts currently being contested for in the tournament. In gratitude the Alchemist and the Gunslinger are both ensured a future project in the new district.
Following this assignment the party spends some time settling in their new roles. The Alchemist runs one of the major labs of the Order, the Male Gnome Synthesist dies in a random encounter and is reincarnated as a female Halfling and the Gunslinger sets up a protection system for him and his son as he finds out the cloaked individuals have tracked him down to the new district.
The current assignment
The assignment the party is currently on features the alchemist, the gunslinger and a male Dwarven Cleric of Pelor (another PC, one featured in the previous adventure, the Synthesist was not present last session). They were send out to gather materials for potions required for the dungeon being built to gaurd the recently obtained artifact. This involved some simple shopping, it also involves obtaining major quantities of the drug Blue Heaven and a trip to a demonic battleground to obtain a rare ore. In order to obtain the drugs Bubbles was contacted. Saying he was acting as a middleman he informed the party there was a way to obtain the quantity cheaply (the street price was a lot) by stopping the previously mentioned Kobold (the one that possesed the soul of the Pit Fiend) from rigging one of the magicball games. The Kobold was poised to use the Gnome mafia to deliver performance-enhancing drugs to a rival of the Sereo Hellcats right before a key game.
The party thus travelled to their contact in the Gnome mafia using the sewers of the Sereo district. Not willing to meet his price for information, they went out on their own to try and stop delivery for the drugs. Soon discovering how incredibly stupid it was to simply try and walk in the evil guy's lair (the place where the drugs were meant to go) with no information and no credible lies, they returned to their contact. What followed was the Alchemist trying to single handedly attack the contact. The contact easily fending him off and showing a willingness to spare him in exchange for the Alchemist delivering the Gunslinger to a location where the Gnomes could capture him for the (now) 125.000 gp reward. The contact also demanded the most valuable magic item in possesion by the alchemist.
The Alchemist than lead the party to the location under false pretense (an inn run by the Gnome mafia), but with the Gunslinger not trusting the Alchemist and refusing to enter the room where he was supposed to be lead to. This is where we left things as we were running out of time.
My question to you guys...
What seem to be the major plotlines, the major antagonists and what seems a logical way to take it from here? Originally they were never meant to work from outside of Sereo and the Kobold was meant as the major antagonist and the magicball tournament as a major part of the plot. But since that's not the way it worked out (all plothooks involving the Kobold, the first which involved the Pit Fiend's soul, the second which involved him pitting the demons vs. the devils and the current one involving the rigging of the game seem to develop no traction) I would like some ideas and inspirations on how to take it from here and wrap it up in 3/4 sessons (the idea was to end at the same time as the magicball tournament ends). To be clear, the Gunslinger and the Alchemist are definitely gonna be present every session, the Cleric and the Synthesist are unknowns and there is also a fifth unknown that has been missing as the result of a car accident but might also still join in. I will be using the Cleric as a NPC if he is not present.
What I might also mention is that there is something of a longstanding truce between the Devils and the Demons in the city and all hot conflicts are fought out on a designated area known as the 'Battleground' and that because of the rising tensions there is a very big battle scheduled to take place there shortly with Arthas leading one side and a previously briefly mentioned Demon called Ceasar leading the other.