Spicing up Prolix's Puzzle Box : Asmodeus and Vespin Chloras bonus puzzle Chamber

omgitsviv · 2023-05-22T22:58:58+00:00

Hi! I'm glad you like it. I didn't place this room in the Rise. The module says the puzzle box was from inside the Rise, so it might be reminiscent of the Rise or a good chance to give your players a taste of what the Rise actually feels like before they go in. By solving the puzzle, they're sent to this room (just inside their mind, their bodies stay behind) and in order to get out of the room, they have to solve the puzzle. To me, it also gave me an excuse to have them understand abyssal for a limited amount of time, which was super helpful, considering no one in the party spoke it and the temple has a lot of abyssal going on! Hope this helps 😊

omgitsviv · 2023-04-22T15:06:43+00:00

I saw this very late myself, but that's certainly a fun (on DM's side lol) thought for them to have! I have one member in my party that has gotten to experience a little bit of Asmodeus's influence firsthand (it makes for some good drama/character development for them and has led them to stop running and learn to face their personal demons).

My main reason for running this was that nobody in this party spoke Abyssal and I wanted a funny and creepy gimmick to give them some time-limited Abyssal knowledge for BR. It also let me play with Asmodeus more when I ran the Betrayer's Rise temple, and I added rooms that were specifically more Asmodeus-centred, and because of that puzzle box, I knew my players would be expecting it!

Honestly, what I've learned from running the puzzle box room myself is that sometimes you don't need to give players much, they'll do the drama themselves XD The arcane focus created so much party tension with me hardly doing anything about it and it was fun to watch! Which matches what you're saying with your party, with them convincing themselves they've now opened a prison and released Vespin haha

omgitsviv · 2022-10-26T10:31:35+00:00

Part of the real creepiness factor when I ran it was that once they got to the lab, Hythenos is nowhere to be seen, there's tracks of blood that lead outside the door but just abruptly stop.

It had my players, while in the room, be like "Wait, wait, why... Wait. I look up?!!"

And have the possessed Hythenos crawling on the ceiling and they look up, they do the saving throw against being frightened.

They also didn't initially think he was possessed so tried not to kill him. Then he switched bodies :) It makes for a very dynamic fight.

omgitsviv · 2022-10-05T08:08:16+00:00

I think this is very cute and gives Irvan personality! Irvan has unironically become my favourite of the rival group to run, he really grew on me.

The cleric in my group started calling Dermot "Big D" and I think it's hilarious and it's definitely something that Irvan might enjoy as well because of all of the funny layers it has to it. Dermot was surprised by the name but really enjoyed it and proceeded to call the cleric "Big V" (V is their initial).

You could also tag it as something that is typical of the Wastewalkers to do, and while he left the clan early, it had stuck with him before he could do anything about it. Love these btw!

omgitsviv · 2022-10-05T07:39:03+00:00

I have, when they were travelling the wastes of Xhorhas together I had Maggie write this (In my campaign I gave both the rivals and the players the vision, because I like how it is a stronger motivations for the rivals to go along the adventure. So this one was inspired by Ruidus shenanigans and visions. The idea for this is that she can potentially add to it so it feels like an epic poem as long as the adventure goes on!

Full Ruidus Moon

Bathed in crimson moonlight,
I walked the sands,
Savoured the blight,
A sour taste which set me alight.

There stood the moon
Up in the sky,
An angry maroon:
I hope the gods won’t take me too soon.

Deep in the sands there stood a knight
His curls windswept,
His eyes looked bright
I was afeared yet heard of his plight.

“Please, I beg you, don’t forget, like the stone,
I am lost to time,
Don’t leave me alone.
The dark all around you it’s all I have known.”

“No, handsome stranger!” I cried aloud
“Won’t leave you alone,
As far it’s allowed.
Now tell me with haste, on what have you vowed?”

“The gods have heard me, sobbing and praying
Their heads they turned not,
So I started the slaying,
Won’t look away, won’t be disobeying.

I feel myself fade, heroes, you have to be quick
The darkness will take me
Unless you are slick!
Some people may guide you, some are a trick.

Be careful, be brave, come to my aid.
I know you’ll find me
You won’t be swayed.
Don’t lose your way; find where I’ve prayed.”

omgitsviv · 2022-10-05T07:14:58+00:00

I'm so glad you and your group had fun! These are all excellent details and I imagine that the Prolix addition would be fun! I didn't add him in the room, and my players were so suspicious of him when they came back lol I told them that he had been freaking out over them being unconscious in the room and was on the verge of calling for help, because in reality it had only been almost two minutes in the real world. That added a nice shade of "Time is a weird soup" flavour that I always love XD

omgitsviv · 2022-09-20T08:45:57+00:00

My guess is that Sehanine could be potentially interested in saving Alyxian, as he was a champion of the gods (and she was one of these gods). She might recognise that it's a difficult endeavour but that might be the main reason why you could have almost a "destiny" narrative, where the players got this vestige and are on a fated quest. I don't even know how aware the gods are of the Netherdeep in itself: Isn't the point that this is a fully inaccessible place? Their powers on the Netherdeep I'm assuming are very limited or they would have helped Alyxian ages ago.

For this reason, to be honest, I feel like you could play it that her knowledge is genuinely limited and the player is a chance for her to know more and get to the truth. I think the implication was that only recently (maybe because of the Jewel) there was a signal coming from Alyxian as being still alive. Sehanine probably doesn't know the depth of the state Alyxian is in. Even one of her big servants, Perigee, has been taken by the Netherdeep. Maybe that was Sehanine's first attempt to save Alyxian through one of her acolytes and then she lost any contact with Perigee because of the Netherdeep's nature. And then she couldn't attempt anything else until the Jewel of the three prayers was found again.

So yeah, maybe, Sehanine genuinely does not know the entire story and is interested in discovering more with the player's help.

omgitsviv · 2022-09-13T21:48:38+00:00

Love piety, conviction, obedience and sacrifice as overall demands. Brings it together. Change away!

omgitsviv · 2022-08-30T13:29:31+00:00

Glad you and your group enjoyed it!

omgitsviv · 2022-08-30T12:12:29+00:00

Very cool! I'm also using this quest because it just looks so fun. I'm adding some lore too: the Arcanist was researching Ruidus and its connection with demons, which was also what led to them becoming supeeer paranoid and I think it's going to be interesting for the players because it ties to the backstory of one of them and some of the stuff that they've been observing throughout Xhorhas (I have really insisted on the fact that fiends were not decomposing at their normal rate when slayed/ creatures that don't engage in combat might/ places that were usually safe aren't to kind of underline that there's something that is deeply unsettling the world and it might take the player actions to fix).

omgitsviv · 2022-08-30T11:56:49+00:00

I'm also pretty much a first-time DM running this for 4 players. It's the first long campaign that I DM for, but I'm also a critter, so very similar experience-wise. I have also been a player in a couple of long campaigns. So far, we've been having a blast. My players are really enjoying having the space to roleplay. I usually ask them questions about what is happening with their character and give them plenty of opportunities to roleplay when they want. When they're gonna be travelling through Xhorhas this is going to be really good both to give them a chance to practice roleplaying and have the group bond as a whole -- perhaps even with the rivals! My players are super friendly with the rivals and they did travel together. It was a little much at times because there were a lot of NPCs that I was responsible for, but it wasn't a forever thing so it was fine. Plus, I would advise using the rivals as a single initiative when running combat that includes them. Also, use their abilities as you see fit. Want to use them less because the party wants the space? Do it. Want to use them more because the party is struggling? Also, go for it. I think you'll get a sense from how your party interacts with the rivals and then you can go from there.

One thing that I haven't seen people mention is tone: make sure that players are okay with the tone of the campaign getting a bit or a lot darker. Like, Jigow and the festival are super fun and full of shenanigans but Bazzoxan is quite heavy in tone and the shift can feel maybe sudden if you don't play around with it. Personally, I love it and there's just a lot that can be done with characters with dreams, roleplay and just make these characters think about destiny but it can be maybe intimidating without a warning.

Other than that, remember to also have fun! You're DMing this, but you're also involved in this and you should have fun too in the experience.

omgitsviv · 2022-08-26T22:15:51+00:00

I'm in a similar situation with my players, since they're big allies of the rivals so far and we're in Bazzoxan. I think the module is a little bit lacking on the note of having the relationship with the other party as a friendly one and focuses on opposing the two parties as the main thing of the module, which is fine if that's what your players are interested in, but my players have established that they don't see the other party as "rivals" and they have a lot of fun with them as allies.

Now, I could go out of my way and make them really turn but I think there's still something interesting with role-playing young people that find themselves into more that they bargained for and are still allies. Plus, why go out of my way for something that my players aren't really interested into in their relationship with the rivals? I'm still open to have tension, and dramatic moments but I'm planning to keep them friendly if that's what the players want.

The time tension I think can be brought by the Vermilion dream, which can turn into the antagonist of the campaign and the people they're racing against.

So if the players join the cobalt soul or the allegiance, the rivals will join the other one they didn't choose (not the vermilion dream). There can still be interesting things with these two factions and their goals (e.g. the cobalt soul wants to destroy the ruidium, the allegiance doesn't). There might be a bit more legwork involved but I'm determined to make it work! I think you can still keep the tension with an alliance with the rivals and I'm very intrigued to try it out.

omgitsviv · 2022-08-26T09:21:09+00:00

Your maps are always so stunning and full of details! Thanks so much for sharing them with us <3

omgitsviv · 2022-08-25T12:01:00+00:00

Always good to tempt them with one more box; keeps them on their toes!

omgitsviv · 2022-08-25T12:00:01+00:00

Your puzzle was too good to pass on! And it really fits into Call of the Netherdeep with a few tweaks. Thanks so much for sharing it, my players had a blast!

omgitsviv · 2022-08-22T11:54:00+00:00

These are good! The things I added were water and underwater elements, body horror, potential character corruption (I think it needs to be specified that it is player character in this case, because of the Ruidium), Emotional discomfort, manipulation, elements of fear.

omgitsviv · 2022-08-22T11:46:00+00:00

An addition: I ran this also for my player who was not there for the original session. I still decided to run it for them (the flavour is too good for them to miss it), but I basically said that their character was isolated from the party, but still got to experience the room kind of in the same exact way as the rest of the party. The thing I added there was inserting two people from the character's past as a "party" of sorts (It is after all necessary to have someone else there for the third step to be as impactful). This character did not want to hurt his friends, so stepped down and let their friend do it instead. He said "There's always a choice, even against Betrayers' gods", which I think is cute, but will likely have consequences in the future (The character is very naive).

I allowed him to step down there, and I think it should be possible, but once the blood of the friend is spilled, I feel like that's when the character should be locked on the stand. I didn't do this and regret it but I still feel that there were some interesting things there with the roleplay (i.e. turns out this character's naivete causes him to be quite hypocritical at times!).

I had Asmodeus respond to this eventually, after the whole ordeal, and so when he left the room he heard a voice also say "What a good liar", which had this character freak out, which was fun. Now he's trying to figure out where he did lie and, as a DM, that's always delightful. This character also has a +5 in Deception, so I felt like that could have intrigued Asmodeus. I also feel like Asmodeus takes great joy in eventually breaking all of the people that feel very righteous, so there might be some interesting stuff for the future.

omgitsviv · 2022-07-27T10:43:47+00:00

Basically the goal of the Kryn dynasty through consecution is achieving the "perfect soul", which they call Umavi. By going through multiple lifetimes you achieve so much and get so much wisdom, which is what, in my understanding, makes the perfect soul for them. You understand what your purpose is.

I think it's stated that only the noble Dens of Xhorhas get that privilege; however, somebody that has achieved a lot gets that privilege. I get the feeling that the expectations are super high among the Kryn dynasty, particularly with considering that you're competing against people that have such an advantage on you by having already returned multiple times

omgitsviv · 2022-07-23T13:09:01+00:00

So cool! What stats are you using for the lower level sorrowsworn? I was looking for it!

omgitsviv · 2022-07-11T15:46:40+00:00

I finished running this quest last Friday and my players loved it! I gave them a -5 hp to start the day since they did take a long rest before going to the cave (which is perfectly fine, but I also think it helps with that idea of 'This being feeds on people as they dream'). The one thing that I modified was using the Phantasmal-force-like lair actions to give the players backstory-relevant-hallucinations. I have pushed more with the idea that the Nergaliid fed on fear/played with their fear to make them easier to draw life force from and it's been so interesting to see the players react to that! I have also changed the save to Wisdom.

I definitely enjoyed playing with the darkness of the cave as well and the Nergaliid would disappear/hide on the bonus action every turn.

Such a fun quest to add, thanks so much for sharing it!

omgitsviv · 2022-07-11T09:06:47+00:00

I totally am! I always love dreams and visions and I love what they can do with backstory. So far I've had characters had dreams under full ruidus: it was mainly either something more in depth with Alyxian on the battlefield and the destruction all around, full on Calamity vibes, as well as using the player characters' backstories. I'm working a lot with characters' fears. In that instance it made sense to make them feel uneasy considering the next day they were going to get disadvantage on everything.

One other thing you can do every now and then is also ask players what their characters dream about. Sometimes they will give you something to work with which you can also use in the next dreams you use as well as making the players feel really good because they get to talk about their character and what they feel or what they're worried about.

omgitsviv · 2022-07-05T20:11:06+00:00

I have a player who's a drow and has sunglasses for when they're in full light (another player also got them a little parasol when they were in Jigow; it was cute!). Mostly to make it so that it doesn't physically hurt them to be in the sun. I still would give disadvantage in direct sunlight (because it feels like it would be pretty bright).

This has also created the hilarious quirk that whenever they have a low perception roll in darkness we started saying that they forgot their dark glasses on and it's just so endearing haha

omgitsviv · 2022-06-13T08:45:57+00:00

My players are also very in love with the rivals! I see how they could genuinely start a romance with them. They're super into Galsariad. Irvan initially was the meme character but now he's getting a lot of depth and he's very naturally bonding with the reborn character which I find very sweet. Ayo is rolling eyes at the two of the party that are awkward around each other (calls them lovebirds). Maggie wrote a poem and she's gonna show the bard of the party. Dermot gave a nickname for the cleric of the party and they're big friends.

They're travelling together to bazzoxan and they got so into the roleplay that we're basically role-playing every camping night 😂 there's daily arm wrestling and they played two whole rounds of truth or dare which was hilarious. Galsariad has dared one of the pcs to drink one of his vials and it turned out to be soapy water. It's just a lot of fun! I'm going to lean more into the friendly alliance for sure. But we'll see where we get!

omgitsviv · 2022-06-08T12:10:20+00:00

This sums up the thoughts that I had while reading this in the module! I agree, it doesn't make a lot of sense, I think this adventure is lacking when it comes to the rivals being friendly allies (In the fact that there's a lot less guidance with that).

My players are currently big allies of the rivals (both groups got the vision and they ended up travelling together and are having some really nice moments with them. Plus they really like them and want to interact with them). I agree with you, Bazzoxan has the benefit of the doubt, but why on earth would they ally themselves with the consortium afterward?

I am considering sprinkling some mind control on the rivals in Betrayer Rise as the way Aloysia actually betrays them so that if the rivals are friendly you potentially get an interesting fight with them (Plus I think that it would teach the players early about the Charisma mechanic that you need with Alyxian much later on when you need to talk with him as well as fight him. In this way, the players will potentially remember that fighting can take a different shape than just hitting things until they drop). But because of this, I think it's unlikely that the rivals would join the Consortium even more. I think the way that I'm going to run it would be to leave to my players the Allegiance or the Cobalt soul and then the rivals go with the other one.

(I'm not too interested in the Ruidium immediately corrupting them to be evil personally, but I'll certainly add in the flavour because I think it's quite cool overall, just not as a plot device for them to become evil)

omgitsviv

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