Leading to climax/conclusion of campaign? (Storytelling/encounter questions)

[Jarmen4u]

Hey all, it's me again. It's been a pretty long game I've been running and I couldn't have done it without your help. It's about time to climax and wrap it up.

So previously, the region has been ravaged by Fey for an unknown reason, but they are close to discovering the reason. This will lead them to, hopefully, confronting the (currently undecided, but Fey) deity causing all of this. Only, I'm not sure how the party would go about that. I could plant the deity on the Material plane, but I'm not sure what kind of place he would be. So help with that would be appreciated.

Beyond that, as a first time DM, I'm not sure how to create an encounter of that magnitude. The party includes a fighter, wizard, druid, monk, and warblade. (Not very optimized, so everyone is at a fairly similar power level). They're level 9 atm, but will be at least a few levels higher by the time they get to the final fight.

As always, I really appreciate any feedback I get!

[DrMotives]

If it's the material plane, something much like a druid's grove, only large enough to hold a royal court hall would seem fitting. Other options would be a planar gateway to somewhere else. If the fey is evil and you can't use the normal planes, try the optional plane of the faerie from Manual of the Planes, or the Plane of Radiance from Dragon #321. That version of Radiance is fluffed as an opposite of Shadow, it's a transport plane. Therefor it supposed to be easy to get into through DM-defined connection points and allows for all sorts of planar invasion shenanigans.

[Jarmen4u]

Well they're not supposed to be evil aligned, though I may be misaligning it. The deity decided that civilized humanoid races are leading the world to **** (it's kind of cliche I know, but eh) so the solution is to cleanse them and return nature to its roots.

[DrMotives]

Sounds like Chaotic Neutral to me, not sure if that's what you were thinking as well. Regardless, both of the planes I mentioned aren't either good or evil, just places for fey to be from. Both are already setup to have DM-fiat entrance points straight to the Material Plane. The main thing is PoF is a twilight idyllic sylvan wonderland with dangerous creatures, while PoR is islands of lands in an eternal twilight sky, connected by rainbow bridges to the Material Plane.

[Jarmen4u]

Sounds like a good idea. Any ideas as far as the actual encounter? I'm not sure if it should be just one fight, or several small build ups to a climax, etc. I dunno if there are prebuilt deity encounters or easier ways to make them? Or maybe some brainstorming? I'm lost with that regard.

[Larrx]

There are pre-built dieties, but none of that stuff is appropriate for a level 11-12 unoptimized party. You're probably stuck with homebrew, which is fine. For the fight itself . . . I would have the fey diety and his/her spouse in a large-ish bit of geography that they had established as a planar foothold of sorts. I would pepper the area with little stone houses, little wooden houses, and mushroom rings out of which minor fey would emerge to harass the party. The casters might think to pre-emptively destroy the houses, and the rings would pop out targets for the melee to smack. Even low level fey can have some pretty debilitating sla's, so they can't be safely ignored. Should provide some entertaining confusion :)

[Selion]

Hey all, it's me again. It's been a pretty long game I've been running and I couldn't have done it without your help. It's about time to climax and wrap it up.

So previously, the region has been ravaged by Fey for an unknown reason, but they are close to discovering the reason. This will lead them to, hopefully, confronting the (currently undecided, but Fey) deity causing all of this. Only, I'm not sure how the party would go about that. I could plant the deity on the Material plane, but I'm not sure what kind of place he would be. So help with that would be appreciated.

Beyond that, as a first time DM, I'm not sure how to create an encounter of that magnitude. The party includes a fighter, wizard, druid, monk, and warblade. (Not very optimized, so everyone is at a fairly similar power level). They're level 9 atm, but will be at least a few levels higher by the time they get to the final fight.

As always, I really appreciate any feedback I get!

I don't know what kind of players you have and how you designed your world; depending on that a deity at level 11-12 could be unattackable. If in your world there are level 20 npc, as a player i would find weird that with an average level of power i could face properly a god.
So i suggest some kind of plot device that will allow your players to destroy the deity without confronting it directly or eventually some temporary burst of power that will raise your pcs power level (like an opposite deity blessing, or a power granted by an artifact).

[Jarmen4u]

I may take the route of an opposed deity blessing the party, as one of the members has a homebrew deity that may help the party out in a pinch. What kind of buff do you think it should apply, like a template or stats? Or should it be some kind of "boom you're all level 17 now"?

[DrMotives]

I think a "boom you're all level 17 now" is a bad approach, that's a significant boost that won't feel earned, and players who haven't already mapped out builds that far might not have a plan for 5 levels at once. It'll feel unsatisfying for them. Perhaps you can look at the Aspects of deities, there's some in the Fiendish Codex as well as the Miniature's Handbook. They're like Avatars, physical extensions of a god or arch-fiend, except in a CR range closer to your players' level.

[Draco_Lord]

In terms of the Divine Interference, thing, you can always go the opposite route, instead of the party being buffed they are given something to debuff their enemy. Some kind of weakness, powerful spell, what have you to bring him down to their level, or at least much closer then they are meant to be.

[Hiro Quester]

A good hook would be the McGuffin the deities are using to bring about this cleansing be the main objective.

Players have to find the minions controlling that McGuffin for the deities, stop the well-defended ritual from being completed, and destroy the McGuffin. Gives them a time limit.

Perhaps destroying an artifact like that needs help from one of the Players' gods, giving the players some anti-artifact to use when near the McGuffin, or to use to disrupt the ritual at a particular crucial point, or something like that.

That way, the players battle the deities' well-prepared minions, and if successful eventually thwart these Fey deities' plans, without having the players actually defeat the deities themselves.

[Jarmen4u]

I appreciate all the help guys. Are there any premade deity encounters in modules or other sources that I can use for inspiration or reference?

[DrMotives]

I don't know about much in modules, but if you had lots of time to prep this I love how great fey powers are done in the Dresden Files books. The scheming and politics, great supernatural powers that are all about nature and will crush humanity without a thought, it's a great setting for fey.