What can my sleep deprived PCs do in their current situation?

[MonkeySage]

My players are all level 6: They're an evoker, cleric, fighter, and barbarian.

They decided it might be fun to stay the night in the town of Dustlake against their better judgement: the townspeople were all acting very strangely, and seemed almost too clean.

As it turns out, they're all imposters; powerful man-eating fiends posing as the townspeople they butchered.

The players tried to escape, several times under cover of the omnipresent fog, but were unable to find a way out. So they instead sought shelter in the local temple; they found a hidden cellar underneathe the statue... they stayed for several hours and tried to sleep, but were prevented from doing so thanks to failed will saves; plagued by nightmares of a person who met his violent end right there in the temple.

So now they're all fatigued, and the evoker can't even prepare spells.

Making matters worse, they blew their cover in order to rescue an elven child who had been strapped to a table in the temple, quickly realizing the fiends left her as a trap. They managed to make their way to the town dungeon, and made sanctuary there... but they know full well that it is not a permanent arrangement.

They're trapped, and they're extremely vulnerable.

[Grim_Wicked]

If it's not too late yet, you can make the fiends vulnerable to daylight so they have to stay inside during the day? Or say that the rooftops are safe, because the mist doesn't reach all the way up and the fiends have to stay in the mist?

If you can't or don't want to change your fiends, the PCs either need to rest or just take their changes and sprint away. Are the fiends faster than them? Is the town walled? How safe are they right now? Would they be able, theoretically, to rest? At least the evoker should be able to prepare spells. I have to admit that I don't know the specifics of preparing spells: can he really only do so after an 8-hour rest?

Is there any way they could defeat the fiends without a fight? Like smashing an altar/magical stone that keeps them there? Might be a bit cliché, but hey, isn't everything? How much do the PCs know about the town and the fiends? You could give them a puzzle or solution if they roll a good knowledge skill check?

Just some ideas. More details about the town might be helpful in trying to come up with a plan.

[hymer]

I'm slightly puzzled. You're the DM, right? Are you looking for courses of action you can block? Or are you looking for ways to bail your PCs out?
What puzzles me is what good would it do the PCs, if you think of a way they could save themselves?

[veti]

If you're the DM and you want to let the PCs escape, then... let them escape. That's the great thing about being the DM, you can rewrite reality to make what you want happen. For example:

• Arrange something to distract the fiends for half an hour
• Create an alternative exit from the dungeon
• Give this "elven child" a scroll of Teleport, which she's been carrying about all this time without knowing what it is.

Of these, I personally would probably go with the "distraction" option as requiring the least disruption to my world-as-is, but you're better placed to judge that.

[PrincessCupcake]

Well, just from your quick description i can see a few ways this can turn out okay.

1-They barricade themselves inside and take shifts resting. Not perfect but plausible if they're taking measures to hide their presence. (If they're in the town dungeon. locking themselves into cells while making sure they have the keys would be reasonable. If it was a private home, blocking the doors and windows would work.)

2-Assuming that cleric isn't evil a Magic Circle Against Evil would be within the scope of his power, as would Blessing of The Watch. This would be an awesome thing for him/her/it to be doing. (Blessing of the Watch allows you to keep watch all night but not suffer penalties until 24 hours later.)

3- the kid knows a good place to hide in the vicinity of town. The PCs can ask the kid to show them the place, and they rest there.

[Theoboldi]

From how you described it, it sounds like the main thing preventing the PCs from getting at least one good rest is those nightmares they failed their saves against. They already have a place to hide at, if only for one night.

Is that child one of the original citizens of the town? Maybe this child can calm down the angry spirits long enough for the PCs to rest?

[MonkeySage]

This is a horror game, so there were two things I wanted to accomplish- creating a sense of vulnerability and a sense of isolation. By holing themselves up in a "sanctuary" that's more like a prison, they've isolated themselves. They're surrounded by rakshasa and it will prove difficult for them to leave. By plaguing them with nightmares I've rendered them vulnerable, for the time being. Not to mention that the rakshasa severely outnumber the players.

I worry I may have written them into a hole they cannot climb out of on their own efforts; I've tried throwing them biscuits they could use to help them survive- the wizard can now cast Gust of Wind to disperse the fog, it's just a matter of getting the rest she needs to prepare it.

The child is the daughter of wood elven royalty who were passing through and got themselves eaten; she's a level 1 ranger.

There is one way that I could conceivably help them, but it isn't something I've been wanting to do. They rescued an efreeti from a cursed bottle and he offered to grant them wishes if they brought him the head of the rakshasa leader, who placed him in the bottle in the first place. How likely is it that such a creature would care enough about the well being of mortals in order to come to their rescue? Is he in any way indebted to them?

[PrincessCupcake]

This is a horror game, so there were two things I wanted to accomplish- creating a sense of vulnerability and a sense of isolation. By holing themselves up in a "sanctuary" that's more like a prison, they've isolated themselves. They're surrounded by rakshasa and it will prove difficult for them to leave. By plaguing them with nightmares I've rendered them vulnerable, for the time being. Not to mention that the rakshasa severely outnumber the players.

I worry I may have written them into a hole they cannot climb out of on their own efforts; I've tried throwing them biscuits they could use to help them survive- the wizard can now cast Gust of Wind to disperse the fog, it's just a matter of getting the rest she needs to prepare it.

The child is the daughter of wood elven royalty who were passing through and got themselves eaten; she's a level 1 ranger.

There is one way that I could conceivably help them, but it isn't something I've been wanting to do. They rescued an efreeti from a cursed bottle and he offered to grant them wishes if they brought him the head of the rakshasa leader, who placed him in the bottle in the first place. How likely is it that such a creature would care enough about the well being of mortals in order to come to their rescue? Is he in any way indebted to them?

For now, let them do their own legwork. You have presented them with a tough obstacle. Let them try to figure out solutions on their own. With all likelihood, one of them will come up with something to get them out of this situation.

I can't really see the efreeti caring to much about their personal safety, although he'd *probably* offer useful advice if asked. (He does want them to succeed after all.)

[FocusWolf413]

In the simplest terms, your party dun f***** up. They're probably going to die because they were too dumb/proud/whatever to be cautious. Let the dice fall where they may and don't pull your punches.

[Jay R]

Why are these powerful fiends hanging around this town, now that they've already killed everyone?

Answer: They aren't done looting it.

That implies that there is something that they are looking for, which is crucial for them to find. Possibly it's the MacGuffin that can destroy or control them. Maybe it's the fiendish equivalent of the Arkenstone, and they will bargain with people who find it, or can get it.

So the PCs need to find it first. Fortunately, the fiends don't know where it is, or it's guarded by something that fiends can't break through.

That's my solution, but you don't want my solution, or yours. Listen to the players, and when they come up with an interesting scenario, make something similar to it be the truth, and prepare to wing it.

[Also, if you want to make a wizard who is out of spells relevant, then he should find a useful wand.]

[Arbane]

In the simplest terms, your party dun f***** up. They're probably going to die because they were too dumb/proud/whatever to be cautious. Let the dice fall where they may and don't pull your punches.

How dare those filthy players not accurately read the GM's mind like that. TPKs for everyone!

[FlumphPaladin]

Maybe it's the fiendish equivalent of the Arkenstone, and they will bargain with people who find it, or can get it.

The Arkenskull, said to be the head of a god, was treasured by the rakshasas until its theft by pesky do-gooders. The do-gooders hid it away to prevent its further desecration by the rakshasas, and the rakshasas themselves were content to leave it that way for a time. Recently, however, Ravanna, the possibly-divine king of the rakshasas, has been seeking after it (you decide why), and his search led him to this town, which sprang up on the site of the Arkenskull's resting place long after the deaths of the aforementioned do-gooders.

As Ravanna can only be harmed by non-divine Material Plane residents, he has ordered his search party in this town to neutralize any potential threats (i.e., townsfolk), but keep up a front to ward off unnecessary attention, so they have ample amount of time to find the Arkenskull's abode. If their cover is blown to anyone (such as wood-elf royalty, or adventurers), he has ordered a strict no-prisoners-no-mercy policy.

Oh! And are we talking about these rakshasas...

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...or these ones?

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[FocusWolf413]

How dare those filthy players not accurately read the GM's mind like that. TPKs for everyone!

Although you meant that in a sarcastic way, to a certain extent, yes. People need to realize that their characters aren't invincible and they have limits. If they try to be heroic and overtax themselves, go nuts.

[goto124]

Not to the level of "accurately read the GM's mind" on the level of telepathy, though...

[Toofey]

Other than any course of action you want to allow as other people have mentioned.

They could pray for divine intervention.

[Amon Winterfall]

My players are all level 6: They're an evoker, cleric, fighter, and barbarian.

They decided it might be fun to stay the night in the town of Dustlake against their better judgement: the townspeople were all acting very strangely, and seemed almost too clean.

As it turns out, they're all imposters; powerful man-eating fiends posing as the townspeople they butchered.

The players tried to escape, several times under cover of the omnipresent fog, but were unable to find a way out. So they instead sought shelter in the local temple; they found a hidden cellar underneathe the statue... they stayed for several hours and tried to sleep, but were prevented from doing so thanks to failed will saves; plagued by nightmares of a person who met his violent end right there in the temple.

So now they're all fatigued, and the evoker can't even prepare spells.

Making matters worse, they blew their cover in order to rescue an elven child who had been strapped to a table in the temple, quickly realizing the fiends left her as a trap. They managed to make their way to the town dungeon, and made sanctuary there... but they know full well that it is not a permanent arrangement.

They're trapped, and they're extremely vulnerable.

I don't think there's a single thing unfair about the way the GM managed this situation.
Going into a hostile environment with no easy way out and dropping your guard is a gross blunder that 6th level characters know far better than to do.

Penned in one spot, left to play endurance against foes that don't need to sleep--I think its time for the rising action of the horror campaign--the part where many of the party members die and learn that this place is insanely dangerous. Their play is basically forced--they've got to run at full tilt, and very possibly they don't make it out alive.

Perhaps it ends as a Pyrrhic victory if they get the child out alive. The mission is replaced with getting home safely, and very possibly conceding that the village is a sunk cost. Sometimes superior forces need to kick some sense into player characters--and I could see something like the fiends deciding to take the player characters alive, torturing any they get to death, and then the fiends start to go after the PC's allies and backers.

[LnGrrrR]

If the players knew it was horror, I agree with the "let them make a run for it", with the caveat that as soon as the first person goes down, the nearby ones will swarm him, a la zombies. That might provide enough cover to escape. Would it suck? Yeah, but if it had a horror vibe, and the players knew, well... dice happens.

[Rhaegar14]

Going into a hostile environment with no easy way out and dropping your guard is a gross blunder that 6th level characters know far better than to do.

In the simplest terms, your party dun f***** up. They're probably going to die because they were too dumb/proud/whatever to be cautious. Let the dice fall where they may and don't pull your punches.

How are you guys taking such a harsh interpretation of this situation? The only grossly negligent thing they did, from what the OP describes, is decide to stay in the town, and I wouldn't even call that negligence, I'd call that biting the obvious adventure hook as good players are supposed to. As far as rescuing the girl goes, rescuing children from cannibals is kind of what heroes do, even in horror games. The rest just sounds like plans and dice rolls going awry.

[J-H]

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverv...ngDivineSpells

...a divine spellcaster does not require a period of rest to prepare spells. Instead, the character chooses a particular part of the day to pray and receive spells.

Clerics do not need rest to prepare spells. They just need a time of day. Your cleric should be able to pick spells and have his full casting ability back. I'm sure there's a spell out there that removes fatigue penalties, at least for a while. If not, PFE will work, as mentioned.

The wizard might find a few scrolls stashed in a corner somewhere, or a wand of some kind.

The posts above have covered a lot of good points. I'll add one additional thought:

How isolated is this town? If it's not in the middle of nowhere, it's probably on a trade route with people passing through it daily. At least one of the traders just needs to roll a 20 on his Sense Motive to realize he needs to skedaddle and find help at the nearest temple, army barracks, or knightly order. Depending on the level of power available, they will either send an investigating party (NPC allies! a distraction!) that's expected to return within X days, or will Scry/Commune/etc., before mobilizing a small army of light. That puts a timer on the Rakshasa, gives them something else to think about and watch, and gives the party an opportunity to sneak out, kill a leader, etc.

[LnGrrrR]

To piggyback on the above, you could always have an anti-climactic Deux Ex Machina ending, where the heroes are saved by some other group of better heroes. Those "better" heroes can either then take the heroes under their wing, make fun of them, arrest them thinking they're the people who did this to the town, etc etc.