VOTE: Which is the better option for this campaign?

[Chester]

I'd like the community to weigh in on this, because I'm kind of making things up as I go along!

The party is about to enter a Kaorti Cyst in an attempt to seal a portal to the Far Realms. They are acting independently (that is, without the direction of the council that they supposedly serve.)

They've been given a scroll by a wizard who, unbeknownst to them, is actually dead and inhabited by a Tsochari outsider. (Yup. Got that idea right out of Lords of Madness. Sue me. :smallwink:)

Nobody in the party even questioned him. He gave them a scroll, and they walked away happy.

I have two ideas here, and I'd like YOU to vote on which option sounds most fun!

Option A: The scroll is actually what the Tsochari says it is: a Seal Portal scroll (specifically for a Far Realm portal). The Tsochari have reason to keep the Kaorti away (perhaps a Kaorti incursion will reveal Tsochari plans, etc.). This option allows for the wizard to continue to be a presence, allowing the party to slowly discover the awful truth. It also provides opportunity for failure--there's no guarantee that they'll successfully cast the spell.

Option B: The scroll is actually a recipe for chicken soup. Maybe even cursed, who knows. This will make the party feel stupid for not bothering to examine it. Of course, this option is likely to elicit, "Hey, we WOULD have examined it, that should be a GIVEN!" The option is also kind of funny, and it forces the Tsochari subplot out in the open. They thought the Kaorti were a problem, but these are worse!

Well.....what do YOU think? I'm torn between the two.

[Scootaloo]

I'd like the community to weigh in on this, because I'm kind of making things up as I go along!

The party is about to enter a Kaorti Cyst in an attempt to seal a portal to the Far Realms. They are acting independently (that is, without the direction of the council that they supposedly serve.)

They've been given a scroll by a wizard who, unbeknownst to them, is actually dead and inhabited by a Tsochari outsider. (Yup. Got that idea right out of Lords of Madness. Sue me. :smallwink:)

Nobody in the party even questioned him. He gave them a scroll, and they walked away happy.

I have two ideas here, and I'd like YOU to vote on which option sounds most fun!

Option A: The scroll is actually what the Tsochari says it is: a Seal Portal scroll (specifically for a Far Realm portal). The Tsochari have reason to keep the Kaorti away (perhaps a Kaorti incursion will reveal Tsochari plans, etc.). This option allows for the wizard to continue to be a presence, allowing the party to slowly discover the awful truth. It also provides opportunity for failure--there's no guarantee that they'll successfully cast the spell.

Option B: The scroll is actually a recipe for chicken soup. Maybe even cursed, who knows. This will make the party feel stupid for not bothering to examine it. Of course, this option is likely to elicit, "Hey, we WOULD have examined it, that should be a GIVEN!" The option is also kind of funny, and it forces the Tsochari subplot out in the open. They thought the Kaorti were a problem, but these are worse!

Well.....what do YOU think? I'm torn between the two.

Definitely not the second. Nobody wants to go that far just to hear the sad trombone and see the DM smirk at them and wag his finger.

But then they WERE just awfully trusting, weren't they?

Depends on how open to a fudge you are - the spell on the scroll might indeed seal a portal.. .but it might also do something else, as well. Maybe it's a unique spell crafted by the tsochari for just such an occasion... and the PC's unwittingly unleash it.

[Grod_The_Giant]

How 'bout the spell redirects the portal to point to the Tsochari homeworld/homeplane?

[rollforeigninit]

Cursed Scroll!!! Cursed Scroll!!! Maybe drop a hint or so to give a chance to consider the convenience of free help unsolicited just to say you gave them a chance.

If they don't say they examine it then they don't. Given is a thing for party marching orders & Night Watches etc.

[HunterOfJello]

How 'bout the spell redirects the portal to point to the Tsochari homeworld/homeplane?

I like this option!

Another awesome option would be that the spell on the scroll really does close the portal, but it does so by teleporting the exit portal and everything around it (including the party, if they're all close enough to it) to the Far Realm.

Now the PCs get to have an adventure in the Far Realm trying to escape and find their way back. You can include all sorts of crazy encounters as well as semi-sane NPCs for them to encounter and deal with. Go full planescape style with it and make things as memorable as possible.

[Dimcair]

If you dont want your party to slaughter and torture every npc you create I would stay away from option 2.

[Totema]

http://r.phonedog.com/shared/images/2013/3/176715-whydontwehaveboth.png

It seals the portal AND makes (cursed) chicken soup!

[Chester]

Thanks for your feedback!

I'm thinking:


Scroll seals the one-way gate used by the Kaorti.
It also causes some kind of dimensional shift that sends the cyst back to the Far Realms, trapping any Kaorti outside the cyst on the material plane.
Party gets a brief glimpse into the Far Realm--they momentarily appear near a gate in a Tsochari temple.
Party gets the attention of Mak Thuum Ngatha--leaving possibilities open later.
Party returns to the Material Plane--the Kaorti Cyst and portal are both gone, but in place is a two-way Tsochari gate.


The group is in enough trouble for attempting to do this without the consent of the council.

Oops.

[Zweisteine]

Here's what I would use as the deciding factor:

If you've previously taught them not to trust random NPCs (i.e. had all the friendly NPCs just be trying to control the PCs to further their own agendas), they deserve the second.

If you haven't, have the scroll work, but start with the untrustworthy NPCs soon. Before you give them any paranoia, make sure the "wizard" is established as a friendly presence, helping them out, looking stuff up in obscure tomes, etc. Then, he will be the one source of information the PCs trust when everyone else is out to use them, and he will be free to feed them whatever lies he wants. I'd be torn about how they find out though. There're so many possibilities... They are manipulated into an evil ritual, they are attacked by priests of Pelor, he randomly attacks them (don't actually do that)...
Just don't forget to establish him as trustworthy, and make the other untrustworthy NPCs only appear at all after he is trusted (if they discover that other long-time friends aren't to be trusted, he'll be marked as well). That is, have other NPCs just hire the PCs, then betray them, or be found to be manipulating them as part of the same adventure.


EDIT:

It seals the portal AND makes (cursed) chicken soup!
Or it seals the portal by redirecting it to the Semi-Elemental Plane of Chicken Soup.

[CombatOwl]

Definitely not the second. Nobody wants to go that far just to hear the sad trombone and see the DM smirk at them and wag his finger.

But then they WERE just awfully trusting, weren't they?

I dunno, I've had pretty mixed opinions about that. I've doneit before, sometimes to good effect, others to poor effect. It mainly depends on how the group felt about the adventure in general. If they just want it over with because they find it boring, they'll probably complain about #2. If they were interested and want it to continue, they'll probably enjoy #2.

[1pwny]

The scroll should be directions to another dungeon, which has the portal-sealing scroll. Then they can feel stupid they didn't check what it said, and wasted the effort of going to the portal, while ignoring the obvious complaints that they would have checked if the scroll was cursed.

[Lightlawbliss]

The scroll should be directions to another dungeon, which has the portal-sealing scroll. Then they can feel stupid they didn't check what it said, and wasted the effort of going to the portal, while ignoring the obvious complaints that they would have checked if the scroll was cursed.

"mario adventurers, the princess scroll is in another castle"

of they DO read it, plot hook. If they don't: plot hook AND inside joke.