GreatDane
2018-02-12, 12:55 PM
If D'arby, Gizwald, Randalf, or Tess happen upon this thread, please stop reading.
My 6th-level PCs recently arrived in a major city. A highly-placed city official connected with a recently-destroyed cultist cell (courtesy of the PCs) learned of the PCs' arrival and arranged for their death via the Friendly Neighborhood Doppelgangers. The doppelgangers tailed the PCs for a few days undetected, then struck. A doppelganger disguised as a PC stabbed the proprietor of an inn, causing half the party to be arrested by the city guard. (The other half of the party fled the scene and are now wanted by the city guard.) The arrested PCs were transferred by doppelgangers within the city guard to the doppelgangers' lair - to be mind cloned and then killed.
Unfortunately (for the bad guys), the half of the party that was not arrested managed to track their incarcerated allies to the abandoned warehouse being used by the doppelgangers as a base. A deadly fight or two later, and the players have reunited with each other, their possessions, and a good night's sleep. They explored the main area of the abandoned warehouse, but decided that going out into the city and clearing their names was more important than delving into the passages they discovered. (Unbeknownst to the PCs, these passages house the rest of the doppelganger organization, including a greater doppelganger that leads them.)
That's where we ended our last session. The question I face now is: what is the doppelgangers' next move? They've been paid a reasonably hefty sum to kill these characters. The PCs have discovered that their foes are doppelgangers. The doppelgangers have lost two members and four prisoners (freed by the PCs during their jailbreak/rescue). There is one escaped doppelganger who is aware of the situation, and will inform his allies throughout the city (and in the underground passages, once the PCs leave the warehouse entrance) over the next day. The doppelgangers have infiltrated/replaced members of several minor noble houses, the city guard, and the city bureaucracy. They are fairly well-funded and led by a greater doppelganger. They are aided by the fact that the PCs are wanted by the city guard for attacking an innkeeper. What steps can they take for damage control (reclaiming the escaped prisoners, etc) and fulfilling their contract to kill the PCs?
For reference, the player characters are low-op (by Playground standards). They include:
An elderly human druid with the shifter variant variant from PHB II
A generalist gnome wizard/Mage of the Arcane Order
A half-orc warblade/monk (likes to grapple and Power Attack)
A human duskblade who favors a reach weapon
In case it is relevant: this adventure is adapted from The Hall of Harsh Reflections from Age of Worms. Not everything is the same, but the campaign still features the Ebon Triad, the Free City, Diamond Lake, and Loris Raknian/the Champion's Games.
EDIT: Thread resolved, outcome posted below.
My 6th-level PCs recently arrived in a major city. A highly-placed city official connected with a recently-destroyed cultist cell (courtesy of the PCs) learned of the PCs' arrival and arranged for their death via the Friendly Neighborhood Doppelgangers. The doppelgangers tailed the PCs for a few days undetected, then struck. A doppelganger disguised as a PC stabbed the proprietor of an inn, causing half the party to be arrested by the city guard. (The other half of the party fled the scene and are now wanted by the city guard.) The arrested PCs were transferred by doppelgangers within the city guard to the doppelgangers' lair - to be mind cloned and then killed.
Unfortunately (for the bad guys), the half of the party that was not arrested managed to track their incarcerated allies to the abandoned warehouse being used by the doppelgangers as a base. A deadly fight or two later, and the players have reunited with each other, their possessions, and a good night's sleep. They explored the main area of the abandoned warehouse, but decided that going out into the city and clearing their names was more important than delving into the passages they discovered. (Unbeknownst to the PCs, these passages house the rest of the doppelganger organization, including a greater doppelganger that leads them.)
That's where we ended our last session. The question I face now is: what is the doppelgangers' next move? They've been paid a reasonably hefty sum to kill these characters. The PCs have discovered that their foes are doppelgangers. The doppelgangers have lost two members and four prisoners (freed by the PCs during their jailbreak/rescue). There is one escaped doppelganger who is aware of the situation, and will inform his allies throughout the city (and in the underground passages, once the PCs leave the warehouse entrance) over the next day. The doppelgangers have infiltrated/replaced members of several minor noble houses, the city guard, and the city bureaucracy. They are fairly well-funded and led by a greater doppelganger. They are aided by the fact that the PCs are wanted by the city guard for attacking an innkeeper. What steps can they take for damage control (reclaiming the escaped prisoners, etc) and fulfilling their contract to kill the PCs?
For reference, the player characters are low-op (by Playground standards). They include:
An elderly human druid with the shifter variant variant from PHB II
A generalist gnome wizard/Mage of the Arcane Order
A half-orc warblade/monk (likes to grapple and Power Attack)
A human duskblade who favors a reach weapon
In case it is relevant: this adventure is adapted from The Hall of Harsh Reflections from Age of Worms. Not everything is the same, but the campaign still features the Ebon Triad, the Free City, Diamond Lake, and Loris Raknian/the Champion's Games.
EDIT: Thread resolved, outcome posted below.