Moral dilemma

[Fruchtkracher]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask, but I'm kind of stuck here.

So my BBEG became BBEG by having the PC's help him to that position. Long story short he's now a mighty powerful half-demon/demon lord and has control of at least one layer of the abyss.

Meanwhile the party is level 3, though safely away and not in his focus right now and will hopefully not be before they're at level 8-10.

But since I'm certain they'll face him again before they'll be strong enough, why would he (being a very, very intelligent wizard) not simply annihilate a potention threat with like a snap of his fingers?

And I don't simply depict him as arrogant, that would be quite out of character.

[schoklat]

How did they actually help him, being level 3 or less?
Sounds like one of a dozen, if not hundred of pawns... And right now he is far more busy consolidating his new position anyway.

[Naomi Li]

One option, they're important to some kind of plot, such as they're all infected with an organism that will drive them towards chaotic evil over time and erode their ability to resist his commands.

Second option, a more powerful enemy focuses his attention (another demon lord, a high-end devil, some archons, whatever) giving them plenty of time to get away. And if they persist in attacking anyway, make it clear that their attacks are ignored because they flat out don't matter.

Third option, he's compelled to spare them all exactly once due to an agreement he was bound to when he was MUCH weaker.

Four, they die miserably, but are brought back to life after an archon invasion recovers their unburied bodies and a friendly group spotted them some resurrections. Possibly involving a decent timeskip if you feel it's appropriate.

(Note: I wouldn't really call this a MORAL dilemma)

[Andezzar]

Second option, a more powerful enemy focuses his attention (another demon lord, a high-end devil, some archons, whatever) giving them plenty of time to get away. And if they persist in attacking anyway, make it clear that their attacks are ignored because they flat out don't matter.This. If not he would just squash them. Another reason to spare them would be because they could still be useful, whether unwittingly, unwillingly or willingly. Don't throw away your assets.


Third option, he's compelled to spare them all exactly once due to an agreement he was bound to when he was MUCH weaker.The OP said Demon Lord, not Arch Devil. Demons rarely have compunctions about breaking agreements.


Four, they die miserably, but are brought back to life after an archon invasion recovers their unburied bodies and a friendly group spotted them some resurrections. Possibly involving a decent timeskip if you feel it's appropriate.For an added twist, have some powerful Devil resurrect them and make them an offer they can't refuse.


(Note: I wouldn't really call this a MORAL dilemma)Me neither.

[Mnemnosyne]

At the moment, they do seem rather insignificant, being level 3 and all - like schoklat said, he must have had many individuals of that power helping in many ways, I would imagine, so any specific group of them likely seems irrelevant unless he takes notice of them becoming more powerful. So until they call attention to themselves, I'd say he doesn't have specific cause to seek them out - he should indeed be busy with other things.

But, if they do call attention to themselves...personally, I love Naomi Li's suggestion number four. He obliterates them, efficiently and effectively, and moves on. Give the players a description of their afterlives for a bit, ham it up, then suddenly tell them they feel a <insert good-alignment character> attempting to resurrect them. If they take the res, they eventually discover it's been 30+ years since they died. Make the timeskip significant, so it doesn't feel like an entirely deus ex machina res, and you've got the group back on their feet but it won't feel free to them. And the story possibilities are awesome.

[hymer]

Another thought:
Does he realize their potential? I'm supposing he doesn't go out of his way to kill everyone he meets, so simply meeting him should not necessarily have him focusing on them - especially since he is probably doing something more important, which brought him to the PCs' plane. Get that done, then get back before there's and quell the latest revolt from his underlings.

[Drachasor]

They are level 3. Letting them live knowing what they did is more amusing. Also amusing is letting them think they can make a difference, watching that hope and planning grow, and then crushing it like a bug.

[Hand_of_Vecna]

Just curious, how is this hubruisful party going to "confront" this guy at ultra low level? Are they planning to pay for a Planeshift before they are high enough level to cast it?

If so, a good place to give one last warning to the party would be to have good temples refuse to cast the spell, since transporting such a low level party to the Abyss is a) practically hand delivering resources to the enemy b) tantamount to negligent homicide.

Even if they don't heed this warning, they may think twice about going to an evil or very mercenary neutral temple. You could even give a last, last warning by having a Chaotic Evil temple just mug them or a Lawful Evil temple fulfill the contract then send someone after them.

[Fruchtkracher]

They are level 3. Letting them live knowing what they did is more amusing. Also amusing is letting them think they can make a difference, watching that hope and planning grow, and then crushing it like a bug.

God i love that one, it fits just perfect.

Well I may have phrased this wrong. He's mostly a normal human wizard that via Ritual transcended that status ans is slowly gaining extreme demon-themed powers as well as control over a legion of demons.
So after spelling it out, I may not even have this problem, since I control the speed of his growth anyways.

Though I'll definitely use most of your suggestions sooner or later.

Thanks for your help, guys.

[Drachasor]

To be fair, I stole the general idea from Doctor Who (Doctor's Wife episode).

I think you might want to occasionally have the PCs roll perception against a DC 20 to notice they are being scryed on by the BBEG. Have villains that wouldn't have been a threat, except someone (the BBEG) supplied them with minions/gear/spells/resources/whatever to make things more interesting.* Have the BBEG occasionally send them a note commenting on how they handled an enemy (boring, good, next time will be more fun, sorry I missed it I was too busy making my demon army bigger, etc, etc).

*At BBEG Enterprises, we don't make many of the villains you fight, we make many of the villains you fight better.

[Coidzor]

How in the planes would they *get* to a Demon Prince as level 10 characters? They wouldn't be able to tangle with a Balor, most likely. I mean, there's exceptions (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9078182#post9078182), but you'd probably know by now if they were shaping up to be such.

How in the planes did ECL 1-3 characters help a half-demon become a Demon Lord and seize control of an entire abyssal layer? :smallconfused:


And I don't simply depict him as arrogant, that would be quite out of character.

How is arrogance out of character for a Demon Prince? :smallconfused:

[Andezzar]

How is arrogance out of character for a Demon Prince? :smallconfused:Because he is bullied by all the other demon princes. :smalltongue:

[kreenlover]

Have the BBEG occasionally send them a note commenting on how they handled an enemy (boring, good, next time will be more fun, sorry I missed it I was too busy making my demon army bigger, etc, etc).

*At BBEG Enterprises, we don't make many of the villains you fight, we make many of the villains you fight better.

Stealing it. I was going to make the new BBEG be a paladin who becomes Hastur (Call of Cthulu) from the actions of the PCs, but now I think I'm just going to have them be a **** who watches the PCs for the lols.

[schoklat]

If your players overdue it, remember even (the smart) CE types don't throw away good tools easy, as long as they are no direct danger. Drop your player some hints after (cues or just some checks) how closely they "escaped" there.