Black Spine adventure made a mess! - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Black Spine adventure made a mess!

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
dunsel
Feb 21, 2008 12:28:31 Where do I begin?

I recently ran my players through the Black Spine mountains module. Well, not quite. You see I run a rather open world where my players can pick and choose their actions. I don't railroad but now I wish I did.

They made an appointment with another NPC and left the adventure after they killed all the Gith! They never went past the BIG door. They figured that was good enough. They never found out the reasons for the Gith attacks nor did they discover who was creating these wonderful weapons. They just stopped and went away. I figured they had about 30 days to come back and complete the job. They actually stated they would be back "Soon".

Well. 30 days came and went and they happened to be right between Nibenay and the Black Spine mountains on the 30th day! Sweet! Nibaney's army was on alert and most of them were in the area. I made a show of a hugh Githyanki invasion complete with red dragons! They were freaked! The dragons attacked them twice before the army restreated. They went with the army.

OK, so now that the milk has been spilt, how far do you think I should take this? I was thinking they could just finish the adventure and kill the Githyanki's in charge or they could meet the army head on.

They are 14th-15th level.
#2
Kamelion
Feb 21, 2008 13:08:06 Awesome :D

Do you have access to the Incursion crossover in Dungeon #100 and Dragon #309? It deals with a githyanki invasion of [insert your campaign here], culminating in a strike against the githyanki lich queen herself. Great stuff and maybe worth checking out for ideas for your game?
#3
dunsel
Feb 21, 2008 14:11:33 Oh yeah, I've all that stuff but I never thought I'd have a chance to use it.
They are in a world of hurt.
Quote from one of my players, "As if Dark Sun wasn't f***ed enough. We made it worse." Hilarious.
#4
lurking_shadow
Feb 21, 2008 17:58:16 You, sir, are a very lucky DM. There's nothing better than a huge adventure hook created by the players themselves.

In these cases, you barely need to encourage the PCs to go fight the Big Bad Evil Guys. To them, it's personal.

Kudos.

Lurking
#5
ruhl-than_sage
Feb 21, 2008 23:45:30 I assume all of the SKs are still around except for Kalak. I'm sure they would have something to say about a Githyanki Invasion. Some of them might even bargin with the Lich Queen or make alliances with her against other SKs. If you are using Daskinor in your game, or have the inkling to include him I would recommend having him go on a mad rampage. Dregoth if he's around could try to caoture one of the Red Dragons to study it. There are all sort of fun possibilities. If the Githyanki end up doing enough damage, it could actually result in Rajaat getting released from his prison early
#6
dunsel
Feb 21, 2008 23:59:04
You, sir, are a very lucky DM. There's nothing better than a huge adventure hook created by the players themselves.

In these cases, you barely need to encourage the PCs to go fight the Big Bad Evil Guys. To them, it's personal.

Kudos.

Lurking

You are so right! They are seriously kicking themselves right now! I can't wait for the next session.
#7
dunsel
Feb 22, 2008 0:21:29
I assume all of the SKs are still around except for Kalak. I'm sure they would have something to say about a Githyanki Invasion. Some of them might even bargin with the Lich Queen or make alliances with her against other SKs. If you are using Daskinor in your game, or have the inkling to include him I would recommend having him go on a mad rampage. Dregoth if he's around could try to caoture one of the Red Dragons to study it. There are all sort of fun possibilities. If the Githyanki end up doing enough damage, it could actually result in Rajaat getting released from his prison early

Exactly right! All the SKs are alive and well, even Kalak is alive but they don't know this. Kalak is in hiding b/c his clone is too weak. He is continuing his research into the dragon transformation.

I updated the module to 3.5 and also to fit their current levels and it was going along swimmingly until...oh well. Good thing I didn't update past book 1 yet!

Right now, Nibenay (SK & city) is in the most immediate danger. The PCs were in the employ of the Shadow King when they were sent to the Black Spine Mountains to investigate and stop the Gith issue. Needless to say, he is not happy with the outcome and they are afraid of his reaction to their lack of action in this matter.

I was thinking about Nibenay joining his army and putting the fear back into the PCs! Should be fun. Technically, he should be furious and, upon penalty of death, order the PCs to the astral plane. Even then, he may kill one as an example. I just don't want to railroad them into a course of action. They are a smart group, so I am hoping they will figure out where they need to go w/o any prodding.

I was planning on keeping Dregoth buried a little longer, but all this noise in his backyard may just bring him out for a peek. :D They are supposed to deal with him right after this.

I haven't brought out Daskinor yet either. All my players have read all the novels so I try to keep my campaign different. It frustrates them but they also agree it is better that they don't know the upcoming plots.

Wow! Rajaat! They aren't ready for that yet! Just the mention of the First Scorceror and they give me looks.
#8
j0lt
Feb 28, 2008 0:30:43 After reading this, I have come to 2 conclusions:

1 - As a DM, I envy you.
2 - I want to be a player in your games.

Fill us in with what happens next!

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 dunsel Feb 21, 2008 12:28:31	Where do I begin? I recently ran my players through the Black Spine mountains module. Well, not quite. You see I run a rather open world where my players can pick and choose their actions. I don't railroad but now I wish I did. They made an appointment with another NPC and left the adventure after they killed all the Gith! They never went past the BIG door. They figured that was good enough. They never found out the reasons for the Gith attacks nor did they discover who was creating these wonderful weapons. They just stopped and went away. I figured they had about 30 days to come back and complete the job. They actually stated they would be back "Soon". Well. 30 days came and went and they happened to be right between Nibenay and the Black Spine mountains on the 30th day! Sweet! Nibaney's army was on alert and most of them were in the area. I made a show of a hugh Githyanki invasion complete with red dragons! They were freaked! The dragons attacked them twice before the army restreated. They went with the army. OK, so now that the milk has been spilt, how far do you think I should take this? I was thinking they could just finish the adventure and kill the Githyanki's in charge or they could meet the army head on. They are 14th-15th level.
#2 Kamelion Feb 21, 2008 13:08:06	Awesome :D Do you have access to the Incursion crossover in Dungeon #100 and Dragon #309? It deals with a githyanki invasion of [insert your campaign here], culminating in a strike against the githyanki lich queen herself. Great stuff and maybe worth checking out for ideas for your game?
#3 dunsel Feb 21, 2008 14:11:33	Oh yeah, I've all that stuff but I never thought I'd have a chance to use it. They are in a world of hurt. Quote from one of my players, "As if Dark Sun wasn't f***ed enough. We made it worse." Hilarious.
#4 lurking_shadow Feb 21, 2008 17:58:16	You, sir, are a very lucky DM. There's nothing better than a huge adventure hook created by the players themselves. In these cases, you barely need to encourage the PCs to go fight the Big Bad Evil Guys. To them, it's personal. Kudos. Lurking
#5 ruhl-than_sage Feb 21, 2008 23:45:30	I assume all of the SKs are still around except for Kalak. I'm sure they would have something to say about a Githyanki Invasion. Some of them might even bargin with the Lich Queen or make alliances with her against other SKs. If you are using Daskinor in your game, or have the inkling to include him I would recommend having him go on a mad rampage. Dregoth if he's around could try to caoture one of the Red Dragons to study it. There are all sort of fun possibilities. If the Githyanki end up doing enough damage, it could actually result in Rajaat getting released from his prison early
#6 dunsel Feb 21, 2008 23:59:04	You, sir, are a very lucky DM. There's nothing better than a huge adventure hook created by the players themselves. In these cases, you barely need to encourage the PCs to go fight the Big Bad Evil Guys. To them, it's personal. Kudos. Lurking You are so right! They are seriously kicking themselves right now! I can't wait for the next session.
#7 dunsel Feb 22, 2008 0:21:29	I assume all of the SKs are still around except for Kalak. I'm sure they would have something to say about a Githyanki Invasion. Some of them might even bargin with the Lich Queen or make alliances with her against other SKs. If you are using Daskinor in your game, or have the inkling to include him I would recommend having him go on a mad rampage. Dregoth if he's around could try to caoture one of the Red Dragons to study it. There are all sort of fun possibilities. If the Githyanki end up doing enough damage, it could actually result in Rajaat getting released from his prison early Exactly right! All the SKs are alive and well, even Kalak is alive but they don't know this. Kalak is in hiding b/c his clone is too weak. He is continuing his research into the dragon transformation. I updated the module to 3.5 and also to fit their current levels and it was going along swimmingly until...oh well. Good thing I didn't update past book 1 yet! Right now, Nibenay (SK & city) is in the most immediate danger. The PCs were in the employ of the Shadow King when they were sent to the Black Spine Mountains to investigate and stop the Gith issue. Needless to say, he is not happy with the outcome and they are afraid of his reaction to their lack of action in this matter. I was thinking about Nibenay joining his army and putting the fear back into the PCs! Should be fun. Technically, he should be furious and, upon penalty of death, order the PCs to the astral plane. Even then, he may kill one as an example. I just don't want to railroad them into a course of action. They are a smart group, so I am hoping they will figure out where they need to go w/o any prodding. I was planning on keeping Dregoth buried a little longer, but all this noise in his backyard may just bring him out for a peek. :D They are supposed to deal with him right after this. I haven't brought out Daskinor yet either. All my players have read all the novels so I try to keep my campaign different. It frustrates them but they also agree it is better that they don't know the upcoming plots. Wow! Rajaat! They aren't ready for that yet! Just the mention of the First Scorceror and they give me looks.
#8 j0lt Feb 28, 2008 0:30:43	After reading this, I have come to 2 conclusions: 1 - As a DM, I envy you. 2 - I want to be a player in your games. Fill us in with what happens next!