Wrath of the Righteous AP - Herald of the Ivory Labyrinth customization

[Briawan]

Good evening everyone

as the title say, I'm trying to customize the 5th module of the Paizo AP "Wrath of the Righteous".
Lemme say, at first, that I've already modified previous modules, following Kol Korran's log here on GiTp (thank you mate).

[SPOILER ALERT]
For those who don't know the story, the party have to find where Baphomet has bring Iomedae's herald, and stop the unknow link that the demon lord is using to "absorb" the goddess's power.
They (the party) already know that Baphomet has a secret prison in his realm, a prison that even gods can't scry, and have already traveled there to find where this prision is.
Now, as the module is written, the misson consist in a pair of planned encounter in which, with some good Diplomacy rolls, the heroes know exactly where to go, and, from then, a dungeon crawl.
I quite like the second part, the dungeon crawl, as written... but the way in which they wrote the first part "find the location" is so poor.

I'm looking for some advices, maybe from someone who already ran this AP, to improve the first part of this module.

Thanks everyone ;)
Briawan

[Florian]

Hm? I don´t quite understand your question, as the party is actually brought there at the beginning of this module?

[Briawan]

Hm? I don´t quite understand your question, as the party is actually brought there at the beginning of this module?

Hi Florian,

the party is brought on Baphomet's plane, The Ivory Labyrinth, but they don't know where to go to find the kidnapped herald. The writers solve this with just 1 "talkative" encounter in the main city of this plane.
I'd like to make the research more interesting, more intrigued, maybe with some side-quests here and there.

I thought about organizing a sort of civil war between demons, started from someone who know that these heroes have already beat Baphomet once, and who could use hem to get his goal, dispossess Baphomet. I'm thinking about Orengofta, ruler of Blackbourgh, who's already a bit annoyed about Baphomet behaviour (as the module says :P).
Sadly this plan could be a bit too long for the party. They have to save/kill the herald asap, since The demon lord is using him as a link to grab divine essence from Iomedae.

[Kol Korran]

Hey there Briawan. I rarely have enough time these days to post. Some ideas though:
1. Nature of the plane, and the prison:
The Ivory Labyrinth plane, if I recall correctly from the module, is in fact a huge Labyrinth, despite looking like it has vast landscapes. It's all a powerfull illusion or such... Also,if I rmember correctly, Baphomet itself is the first minotaur, and escaped Asmodeus impossible maze, and mad it's own plane under a similar fashion.

Which means, at least thematically, that finding the hidden prison,the act of finding it and navigating the plane, is like navigating a super conplex maze...

Hmmm... so in essence, it's a puzzle (As most mazes are) but of a particular kind. And the prison is supposed to be very well hidden, supposedly immposible to find, even by divine entities.

This leads me to think... some ideas:
- You can't just explore the world/ maze till you find the prizon. It's hidden. Where do you hide stuff in mazes? Behind secret doors. So the party needs to find this secret door/ doors, to reach the place.

- if there was but a secret door, someone would have found it, and it would have been easier... complez mazes also have themes that makes mapping and navigting them much harder- shifting walls and rooms, section which are accesible only under certain conditions, and so on.

So, the prison is not only hidden behind a secret door, the access to it changes as well... perhaos at times it's only accesible by the secret path by the Pits Of Despair (for example, I don't recall the regions), yet at certain times/ conditions it's only accesible by The Endles Desert of Bones.

- Symbolism: The plane is tied and a manifestation of Baphomet itself, and it's themes and domains of secrecy, mazes and puzzles and minotaurs. Dome legends and stories make use of symbolism for doorways, paths and more (Like a certain object atually being a key or a door). I think uou can tie these into your puzzle.

- Deeper, going deeper:
Have you seen the movie Inception? A major theme there is penetrating layers of consiousness (Or sub consiousness) by getting into dreams, then the dreams of people in the dreams, and so on, going deeper and deeper, as if unraveling layers...

As an idea, the plane, the real labyrinth may be similar- at first sight, the plane may seem as in the module- vast landscapes and locals. But if the party manages to heighten their perceptions/ see through the veil/ go deeper, they may see the plane differently- more as a grand yet open maze at first, then a rougher maze, yet more complex, with more passages and hidden stuff, and possibly finally- the core design which is in fact a core represantation of Baphomet's own twisted mind, madness, cunning and deceptions.

So, depending on what elements you wish to use, the PCs may need to:
- Realize the plane is in fact a maze, with hidden layers.
- Realize the prison is behind a secret access, that may change and may require certain conditions.
- Find a way to go deeper,and see "the real dungeon".
- Do this and find the prison quickly, since they are on a time crunch.

Not fully sure as to how to represnt these mechanically, but I think you may need a general structure of the plane ( Sort of make a maze map between regions... more like an interconnected chart) for initial exploration, similar charts of variou layers (Each adding some details and paths, with symbism playing a majir part), the final secret passage ways, altering mechanism and puzzles to the prison, and... the clues that will enable through this mystery/ puzzle. ( Look up the Aleandrian's "three clue rule").

May be complex, I know,but it gives the experience more challenge, and a different feel and vibe.

But... you can also build upon the previous module, to give the players some angles to sort of use as short cuts:
- At the end of the lat module, Baphomet was killed. Sure, he'll rejuvinate, but it may take time, and more time to get fully back. Meanwhile, the plane may change less frequently, and "the cracks" be more visible. This may mean that though the emtrances to the prison often changed, the rotation may now be stuck. The players need to figure out which access is available now. Also, some areas may be "less maintained", thus giving clues to symbolism, the nature of the plane and layers

- The party alsi killed Baphomet's daughter! If I remember correctly, she was his favorite, but he hs many more offsprings? (I think her descriptiom mentioned she sacrificed some to gain it's favor). Adter her death, and Baphomet's period of rejuvination, Baphomet's other offsprings may seeknto gain more power/ more control/ "inherit" the plane? Though some may seek to kill the PCs, some may seek to strike deals, barter, or procide assistance againsy others.

This could be interesting, but may require you to make some high level NPCs... My idea?Make the prion exploration smaller, and use some of thw major opponents from there (and other sourcez) as Baphomet'a spawns...

- Ex prisoners: If the PCs can find an ex prsioner of the prison (Escaped, translocated or something else) they may get info.

- Asmodeus worshipers: Baphomet escaped Asmodeus prison. Now that he is weak, Asmodean worshiper may seek to breach the plane, and potentially reclaim/ avenge (Or at least establish a presence). They may also assist (They probably know at least parts of the design) if you're willing to strike a deal/ sign an agreement/ pay a price, possibly with Asmodeus itself... (Now, I wonder how the paladin may react to that. What is worth more? Saving the herald and potentially Iomedea and Golarion,or signing a deal with the devil itself?)

Just ideas, no concrete mechanics, but it may be fun, and memorable.
Good luck!

[Florian]

Sadly this plan could be a bit too long for the party. They have to save/kill the herald asap, since The demon lord is using him as a link to grab divine essence from Iomedae.

My group wanted to finish this module as quickly and in a very straight-forward manner as possible, as they felt it side-tracked them from the ongoing Worldwound conflict to hard.

I thought about expanding the interaction with the devil and the lich a bit, like the rich being catatonic and the group having to enter his memories of ancient Tassilon and gaining knowledge by helping in battling rival Soshen, see the sidebar on trying to redeem the lich, but ultimately decided against it.

[Briawan]

Thx you both guys,

Heya Dr. Kol :)
Happy New Year!

As always a tons of cool ideas, your's too Florian, having Alderpash more involved sounds really cool, I also love the Thassilonian story, and it could be a good way to give my players some lore about it.

I'll works on something as soon as possible and will update the post.

Thanks again!!!