How does this Planescape adventure sound?

[NecroDancer]

I was wondering if this adventure seemed "cool" or not. My players are enthusiastic.


The heroes are level 4, we have

A barbarian 3/cleric 1
A bard (valor) 4
A life cleric 4
A war cleric 4
A warlock 4

Some tidbits

1. The life cleric want to multiclass into a warlock, I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for a contract he could make with a devil.

2. The barbarian is lecherous and that's getting on some player's nerves. I want to warn him in game but if he continues it I will talk to him out of game.

3. The bard has a baby hook horror, I was wondering what to do with it, keep it safe and let the bard raise it or have been it become exposed to wild magic and start displaying wild magic surges.

4. The players have just entered an agreement with the Angel, Koe, to delive weapons to both sides of the blood war (changed that part up due to some plot revamps).


So here is the plot.

The players just arrived in Sigil yesterday and have been given lodging courtesy of Koe. they will explore Sigil or decide to ask Koe for their first assignment (I know how they act they like to fight stuff or find new things).

OPTION 1: If they decide to explore Sigil they will come across a small book shop burning with people running out of it. Inside they will encounter a pack of half-dragon rats, once the rats are defeated the store owner explains that the fire started just when she announced her new book, one about the factions of Sigil. After searching the city for clues they eventually find that an organization called the Cult of Aosker was responsible for the arson and many other terrorist activities. The party also learns that the cult has revived a shipment of magical artifacts from a place called "the Bone Garden".

OPTION 2: Koe tells them that a shipment of magical items has failed to arrive and they must track it down. The heroes take a portal to a small Githyanki settlement where they learn where the shipment was last seen, an abyssal demiplane called the Bone Garden. The party obtains a ship somehow (either through stealing/lying/persuasion/or a favor) and sets off to it. After a scuffle with shadow pirates they come to the Bone Garden and learn that it's nigh deserted and that a vampire (weakened homebrew one) controls the town and has the shipment. Even worse the party can't make contact with anyone outside the Bone Garden and that a horde of Devils plan to capture it for the blood war very soon. The heroes must kill the vampire and escape the Bone Garden though the vampires portal just as the Devils start attacking. In the vampire's lair they learn that the shipment was brought to a group called the Cult of Aosker in Sigil in return for support for Orcus's undead legions.

Either option brings them to level 6 and will lead to the option they didn't pick. I'll remaining option level appropriate to bring them to level 8 when it is all over.

I will also include a good amount of side quests such as

1. Finding some liquid rubies for a devil cultist

2. Hunting down a feindish dog.

3. Stopping a serial killer.

4. Advertising a fighting club.

5. Saving a half-modron-half-slaad who is trapped in his lab.

Thanks for the replies

[LVOD]

How do you get a half modron half slaad? One is a mechanical construct formed from pure logic and order, and the other is an alien lizard monster formed from chaos. Is there a story to this?

I think the thing to keep in mind with Planescape is that the PCs are NOT big fish. They are very small fish in an infinitely large pond. The streets of sigil are literally teeming with upper level demons and demigods. There are factions that control virtually every aspect of the city. The city itself is almost sentient, and the players can easily find themselves in a completely random plane purely by accident if they're not paying attention.

If they're investigating a crime, the Harmonium are probably already looking into it, so make up a reason the players need to be involved (maybe they consider it a freak accident or they're busy with some other matter).

[NecroDancer]

So apparently Ylem (the slaad/modron) was a regular modron until he was implanted with a slaad tadpole. Ylem stayed a modron in form but in his mind he was convinced that he was a slaad. He went to Sigil where he learned to become a wizard and learned he could bring spells to life as "spell-haunts". He know works for the Titaness Zadra and is trying to bring a portal spell to life (this all came from "Uncaged" I'm not making this up).

I do want to try to emphasize that the players are not the strongest but i can't think of a good way to do this except for having overpowered monsters with "hidden" weakness (that would get old fast). I'm considering giving them a chance to ally themselves with demonlords or archdevils but that's would be much later in the campaign.

As for introducing the Harmonium I actually was thinking the same thing. The players would be considered suspects by coincidence and then need to dodge the law to clear their name (I can also introduce the Mercykillers, Guvners, and maybe the Anarchists this way).

I mainly run my adventure like a flow chart giving them multiple paths with different outcomes, the only problem is if the players think of something I don't and then I need to improve and make a new "path". Overall I want to avoid linearity because that kinda ruins Planescape.

[Beechgnome]

The adventure as is sounds good. If you want to avoid nerfing too many monsters, though, you might try sending players to the planes where the dangers are fewer or weaker first to help them up before sending them into Hell or the Abyss.

I run a campaign that isn't in Sigil but does involve a lot of planar hopping around.

So among the first adventures was a trip to Mechanus and fighting Modrons and various self-important Guvners, and also a trip to Acheron, where hobgoblins and orcs were the primary foes.

Now that they are a little higher level, I have one party (there are multiple characters and many are split up or wandering solo) that just finished Pandemonium - full of Howlers & Murksas (old 2e monsters I converted) plus Xvarts, Vargouilles and insane Fey (Queen of Air and Darkness) Warlocks.

Now they are taking a boat on the Styx to the Abyss and I think they are ready (ie. they are totally not ready.) I think if I sent them there too early, it would be a quick massacre or nerfing in the extreme. Mind you, if the adventure is all about stealth, then it should be fine. But with a lusty barbarian, I doubt that will happen.