only three missions left in my campain

[Nosta]

My players are now level 18 started at level 4 this spring
My plot Deals with the gods losing there Divine ranks and grace as gods as being turn to mortals and a endless tower that holds the key to returning the gods back to them former self My main bad sets on the top floor being all final boss like.
My pcs have made it to floor 100 the last floor and are now traveling to defeat the final boss

my problem is I am wondering how to stretch this in to three more mission

normal fight encounters get demolished the pc
so I need some way to make it challenging with out making it op

the pc are a rogue a crusader and a Blackguard spell theif

[Hiro Quester]

As the PCs close in, bad guy teleports away, taking the god-key McGuffin with him, leaving his bodyguard of a decent challenge rating behind.

Either clues in the room, or must keep at least one bodyguard alive to interrogate, to find out where Bad Guy might have gone to.

BBG sets up in another part of the tower, all trapped and guarded again. PCs have to figure out where that is, get there, and finally defeat him.

--and/or--


Some Gods like the fact that other gods are losing their power. More power for them. Those gods send minions to defeat the PCs. So just before they get to the Big Bad, suddenly gods seriously mess with them in a very challenging way.

E.g. a trinity of Gods have studied these players as they climb the tower, and set up a doorway (through which the PCs see the Big Bad, all waiting for them and everything). The door is an extra-dimensional trap; which whisks all the players into a room in which these Gods have have summoned minions each specifically selected, trained, and equipped to work around a particular player's playstyle, and be strong in ways that target that player's weaknesses, and well fortified against that player's strengths.

Players have to figure out that the best way to defeat these minions is to get in each other's way, switch opponents. The Crusader has to defeat the Minion sent to destroy the rogue, etc.

--and/or--

Player vs. player(ish).
Room right before Big Bad contains a Mirror of Opposition, but twisted. As the three PCs stare into the mirror, they see themselves charging out at them. But the mirror Rogue goes for the Crusader, the mirror Crusader goes for the Blackguard spell thief, the BGST goes for the Rogue (or whatever)

Each player has to play his mirror self, battling his buddy. In my experience, the players have complementary strengths, which means that one is weak in places the other is strong, etc. And players have long been thinking "I could take him, if he was my enemy". Give them a chance to try it.

If it looks bad for the PC, though, have other gods (the weakened ones, who are still able to help the PCs mission in minor ways) tip the balance (slightly) in the player's favor with a well-timed item found mid-battle (the items you would give out for treasure anyway) that fills in the PLayer's weakness against that mirror PC.

[Bronk]

My players are now level 18 started at level 4 this spring
My plot Deals with the gods losing there Divine ranks and grace as gods as being turn to mortals and a endless tower that holds the key to returning the gods back to them former self My main bad sets on the top floor being all final boss like.
My pcs have made it to floor 100 the last floor and are now traveling to defeat the final boss

my problem is I am wondering how to stretch this in to three more mission

normal fight encounters get demolished the pc
so I need some way to make it challenging with out making it op

the pc are a rogue a crusader and a Blackguard spell theif

How about this:

Third to last session:

The PCs get to the top floor and find the key locked behind a mystical barrier linked to the Big Bad's life force! They battle the Big Bad, but it's tough because it is joined by powerful minions or duplicates of the PCs, or both. They defeat the boss, but his final words indicate that he'll be back! With the boss dead, the barrier is vulnerable, but while they're breaking through, a demon steps forward and grabs it instead! Cliffhanger!

Second to last session:

It's not just that one demon, other big bads have shown up to steal the key! Powerful demons, devils, or maybe even some rogue, disillusioned archons of one or more deities show up to battle for the key at the last second! They were either supporting the Big Bad from the shadows or at least watching and rooting for the bad guy team this whole time, and now they're stepping in to steal the key for themselves! However, regular, pro 'the gods' archons show up too from the second to last floor... they've been following the PCs up the tower this whole time because they don't trust the PCs (one of them is a blackguard after all), letting the PCs do all the heavy lifting.

However, that first demon steps away from key's resting place and sets off a number of traps! Explosions occur all around, the entire tower starts to rumble, sway and crumble, the walls become antimagiced adamantine and the windows are similarly barred! Strange illusionary visons show up here and there as well, obstructing line of sight. Everyone is fighting amongst themselves as well as against the PCs as whoever has the key tries to escape! However, the only way out seems to be through the door the archons came through... one of the archons got stuck in the closing door and is slowly getting crushed to death by it, and its failing body is barely holding it open! All the bad guys goals are now to get the key and fight their way out of the room so they can teleport or plane shift away to safety.

Eventually the PCs will get the key, and all the demons, devils and spare archons will be dead, leaving only the one archon trapped by the door (most didn't target it because it was holding open the only means of escape). During the battle, there will have been ample opportunity for monologuing, but if not, the archon can step in. It comes out that the Big Bad and the key were merely aspects of a greater threat... a sentient nightmare formed from the dreams of every mortal abused by the gods and empowered by every insecure fear of the gods themselves, and if it isn't stopped, eventually it will try again. The big bad was the nightmare's avatar, while the key c is linked to the nightmare's true name and is therefor a great weakness.

The key also holds quite a bit of stolen godly power, and can create portals to anywhere as well... the illusionary visions are actually portals to the Realm of Dreams that can only be used with the key. Finally, the key will disappear after being used to re-empower the gods.

The PCs have a choice now, as they stand in the crumbling building, but they don't have long to choose.

1: Use the key as originally intended to power the original gods back up. They can free the archon and it can give them a lift to the proper place.

2: Keep the key for themselves and gain its incredible power, becoming gods themselves.

3: Use the key to defeat the nighmare in it's own realm once and for all.

Either way, any of the PCs who feel like it can save the last archon if they want, even if it's just to punt it out of the door so it leaves them alone inside.

Final Session:

If the PCs re-empowered the gods, it turns out it takes time to do so, and demons and devils try to take revenge in the meantime, as everyone is beset by nightmares at night. They eventually win, but know that the threat remains.

If the PCs used the key to become gods, they get to fight the old gods! However, then they know that they will eventually face the same challenge of the nightmare.

If the PCs use the key to kill the nightmare, they can have a crazy dream adventure! Maybe it's a tough regular monster, or maybe they have to fight their way through a dream womb to defeat a nightmare zygote or something. The key would be what allows them to affect the monster at all, and doing so drains its power. The PCs could still stop the drain on the god's power, but their base level would remain less powerful, and would have to take a more active role in the worlds for more power, perhaps needing specific worship more than before (like in the Forgotten Realms), and the PCs could become champions for their specific god in the aftermath, generating more power for them over time.

[atemu1234]

Do it the old fashioned way - your princess is in another castle, this is only a shell game by a powerful demon lord.