Running a (staged) escape from Hell/Baator

[Dusk Raven]

In short, one of my group's DMs is planning on running a D&D 3.5 villain campaign in the future. Some of us had so much fun working on 3.5 builds that we wondered, "What if I we run some prequel mini-adventures with our future characters, to play out events from their backstory?" And so, 2 PCs and a DMPC of at least 10th level - 2 evil Dragonfire Adepts and a Paladin who's in for a fall in the future - will find themselves, though still living, imprisoned somewhere in Baator. These unlikely allies are then going to escape together, and have some adventures while trying to get back to the Material Plane. Unbeknownst to said paladin, the entire escape is actually staged - as part of a devilish pact she isn't allowed to remember, she is permitted to escape, but if she ever loses faith in her paladin order, her soul will belong to the Nine Hells.

But that's a problem for future her! For the moment, I'm trying to plan a mini-adventure for these characters - but since the entire idea in-universe is that they successfully escape in the end and return to the Material Plane - all part of Asmodeus' plan, of course - escaping from the clutches of Hell itself will not be as impossible as one would think. It has to look real to the Paladin, and to outside observers, so it won't be easy. So, what are some suggestions for starting points, or things to happen along the way?

[icefractal]

Something the devils could do to make breaking off a chase more plausible is "convenient" demonic invasion. If things are getting too close to the party being surrounded, a group of invading demons (released prisoners) engages the diabolic forces and force them to divert their attention from the PCs.

Once this is established this as a thing that's happening, they can just send an imp messenger to "alert" any forces they want to withdraw that the demons are gaining too much ground and their presence is needed elsewhere.

It could also justify important security points being unmanned - withdraw the devils there, toss around a couple destructive spells to make it look like a fight took place, and it'd seem like the demons must have previously attacked the location.

This could even be something most of the devils sent after the party honestly think is happening, only the higher-ups need to know that it's staged.

[Batcathat]

Something the devils could do to make breaking off a chase more plausible is "convenient" demonic invasion. If things are getting too close to the party being surrounded, a group of invading demons (released prisoners) engages the diabolic forces and force them to divert their attention from the PCs.

Once this is established this as a thing that's happening, they can just send an imp messenger to "alert" any forces they want to withdraw that the demons are gaining too much ground and their presence is needed elsewhere.

A variant of this – that could sort of hint at the escape being staged – would be to only have messangers talking about invading forces and such, but no demons ever actually showing up.

[zlefin]

One basic way to advance through a hierarchy is for the person above you to fail. One devil could look to secretly 'enable' a jailbreak to make a rival look bad. It's potentially believable because it's a result of a feud between devils, as the PCs escaping is just a 'coincidence'.

[Telonius]

Give the PCs an ally to help them in the jailbreak. Here's one (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=19121436&postcount=65) I designed for a Villainous Competition a few years back.


Desideria Mentiris was the daughter of a Pleasure Devil and a Changeling cultist of Baalzebul. She was born of seduction, raised on trickery, and educated in the fine arts of temptation and betrayal. Though she wears many faces, most of her disguises have one thing in common: what appears to be a long cloak. In reality, her wings are folded and wrapped around herself, altered by her Changeling nature to appear like regular fabric.

Throughout her long career, she’s left a trail of broken heroes in her wake. Paladins and other idealists are her favorite targets. Early on in her career, she received targets from the superiors in her cult, but now she chooses high-value targets on her own initiative. Her usual method is to study the target (using various identities, like a fruit-seller or other merchant) over the course of a week to find out what makes them tick. Then, plan a meeting that makes a memorable first impression. This might involve offering unexpected assistance during a fight, begging for help while being chased by the authorities, or any other interaction that would best tug on the target’s heartstrings. (One of her proudest moments was appearing in her natural state, bat wings and all, petting the illusion of a unicorn that “ran away” a few seconds after a Paladin approached). She has no problem in using her Changeling abilities to become a male if it serves her mission; like many Changelings, her idea of gender is rather fluid.

Desideria typically gains the trust of a hero (or group of heroes), then reveals her own background to them. She is very careful never to lie, but tells selective truths to make herself seem good, vulnerable, or dependent on her chosen hero. Some example truths: her parents were a devil and a cultist (true); her parents performed a Ritual of Alignment on her (true); her background will always cause her to register as Evil (true) and arouse suspicion (true); she doesn’t believe anyone will ever fully trust her (true); she prefers to summon good-aligned creatures to help her (true); she wants to help them succeed (true); she lives in constant fear that someday, someone will find out who she really is and kill her for it (true); she doesn’t think that she’s worthy of being called Good (true, and useful on the rare occasion that someone thinks to use Detect Good on her before she gains immunity to alignment detection); she wishes people would see her as a Good person (true).

Once she has gained the confidence of the target, she begins to report their movements to other cultists or devils in the area. Her Mindsight and Telepathy abilities allow her to communicate wordlessly with invisible or inconspicuous co-conspirators close by. These associates will typically report back to the cult, and stage various events that point the adventurers towards investigating a local personality (usually a beloved Cleric or similar figure) that is putting pressure on devil-worshipers. Evidence is planted, the adventuring party comes into conflict with the Cleric, and both the Cleric and the party are put into the worst light possible. With the pressure on, she typically seduces a member of the party. She subtly eggs them on to more and more morally questionable tactics. If one of the party members is suspicious, she uses her Fiend’s Favor ability on them, giving them power freely. If a party member finally crosses the line into Evil territory, she promises to keep it quiet; for a price. In the unusual event that she is unable to turn the party to Evil, she arrange for her collaborators to “capture” her. One of them will offer to release her to the party, at the cost of one small favor.

:sabine:

[Bohandas]

Desideria Mentiris was the daughter of a Pleasure Devil and a Changeling cultist of Baalzebul. She was born of seduction, raised on trickery, and educated in the fine arts of temptation and betrayal. Though she wears many faces, most of her disguises have one thing in common: what appears to be a long cloak. In reality, her wings are folded and wrapped around herself, altered by her Changeling nature to appear like regular fabric.

Given that she's a devil, it raises the question of whether that's just poetic speech or if she's literally wearing people's faces