Session II.21 – Parental Advisory. Explicit Content. May Contain Succubi. (YES, PLEASE!!!)

My players are the luckiest bastards in the world. Why? Well, because they have an awesome DM! And no "perception" check or "sense motive" will tell you otherwise.

Last session made it quite clear that if the baby the succubus is carrying is given birth, everything will drastically change in the campaign. I expected some moral discussion among the players, but I was pretty sure that in the end they would end up killing the demon-mommy and the demon-baby. It would only be a matter of "how" and "when"...

You should never interrupt your nemesis when he's in the middle of "doing the hanky-panky"

Being the succubus resting in McKymera Castle, one of two approaches was to be expected: the party could decide to go through the front door and try to expose the situation (although a highly unlikely scenario, the paladin could insist on doing that), or they could infiltrate the walls via stealth and invisibility.

They could have used scry on the target, placed themselves invisible, and teleport to the location, catching the enemies by surprise. But they are great guys, and they know I hate that kind of thing because it ruins any roleplay attempt.

So, when they announced "we're going to teleport to some small bedchambers inside the castle, not usually occupied"... The Evil Bastard in me knew that something special had to happen!

Taurus McKymera is known to be a boisterous Conan-like guy that enjoys having concubines satiate his XXX desires. Therefore, when Thorkron triggered the teleport, the party surprised Taurus in the middle of… THE HANKY-PANKY TIME!

Yup... nothing beats EPIC as having your nemesis flee along the castle dressed only in his moustache and goatie!

Copycat, copycat, copy-copy-copy, copycat

Like a Magician, a Dungeon Master isn't supposed to reveal his secrets. But, since I'm not getting paid to do this... I'M GONNA TELL YOU EVERYTHING!

Among the enemies I had prepared for the clash with the party was Antares, whose origins are linked to a background idea from one of the players (although with a few twists). I didn't want the battle to be a single scene with the group versus ten thousand stat blocks, so I had no idea when Antares (a lesser demon) would make its premiere. I wanted to stall the group a little bit (to give Taurus enough time to get properly dressed), so I threw the demon I had picked to portray Antares, a Kalavakus, from Pathfinder Bestiary 2. Needless to say that, when you have a fucking PA-LA-DIN in the group, you don't pick the enemies reasonably... YOU GO STRAIGHT FOR THE BIGGEST MUTHAFUCKING MONSTER IN THE BOOK AND MULTIPLY ITS HIT POINTS BY A GAZILLION! AND THEN ADD 25% MORE!

The thrice-damned paladin goes for 240 damage in a single round, and my jaw drops... Ok, think fast: how do you go from complete fail to total awesome in 10 seconds? Well, you keep the demon's head talking after being severed, laughing maniacally, and announcing that "Antares is like the hydra: cut one head and two more appear". And - PUFF! - there you have two more identical copies of the demon walking on air!

Nevermind that... the bastard paladin just goes for another 230+ damage round.

I REALLY am going to banish paladins from play FOREVER!

At least it was an unexpected turn of events, resulting in a good scene, and the name Antares now has an ubber demonic aura around it.

I just need to open the book and choose a CR20 baddie to throw at the paladin next session...

Humm… maybe I’ll prepare two baddies, just in case…

The hunt for the succubus continues next session!

P.S. I REALLY hate paladins...

Session Chronicle and Epilogue (Portuguese): link

Session II.20 - The Kiss of Charybdis

Sooooo, without any sort of false modesty, I must start by saying WE HAD A BLASTING SESSION!

Hands down, the 20th session of our "The Pendants of Tor-Logos" campaign was quite certainly one to place in the podium.

Release the Kraken!

When the party reaches level 13 it is time to start sending a few GARGANTUAN monsters towards them. I couldn't pass this "RELEASE THE KRAKEN” opportunity. How often do we get a high level party in a boat? Therefore, my godly powers summoned a very angry Charybdis, a child of the god of the oceans. It was time for snacks and munchies… and the rogue was the main course!

I don't enjoy very much using these monsters which are very big and only do multiple attacks with massive damage. After two rounds it becomes repetitive (even swallowing the poor rogue along the process). That is why I threw a nereid into the bargain, thus having some magical hocus pocus to play with. I'm also not a big fan of using charm/compulsion stuff against the PCs, but we're playing D&D (more accurately, Pathfinder), so there's really not much alternative...

War, and Destruction, and Demons... Oh my!

Next, came the best of the session. One of the things I try very hard to define me as a GM is the surgical placement of puzzle pieces woven by the players' actions. When a considerable amount of pieces are moved simultaneously, triggering a major history moment, it is time for the GM to sit back and enjoy the players discussing priorities and choices. And when they have different ideas, different approaches, and different ethical and moral opinions... ROLEPLAY HAPPENS!

Resuming 2,5 hours of roleplay: there's a new Titan called Kelsier, which is a balor (and a former PC from a previous campaign). He intends to enter the Prime Material Plane with his armies of demons to help the PCs' kingdom to defeat its dwarven enemies. To do so, he needs a link between the two Planes. That link will appear in the form of a soon-to-be-born child, whose parents are a succubus and the Regent Prince's cousin. Most members of the McKymera family are followers of the same god as Kelsier, therefore their understanding of the events may be quite different form the PCs'.

How, and when, to act is less than linear. The prince's cousin is a major political enemy of the party. The prince himself may not see the situation in the same way the players do. Will they kill an unborn child, without knowing if it has any inner evil? Also, the McKymera family is under a curse that prevents them from bearing progeny. What if this is the only way to overcome that limitation?

Close the notebook, cross arms, watch and enjoy... :)

Trial of the Tree Hugger

And if the previous scene didn't contain enough roleplay... how about a trial where the accused is one of the PCs, and the defense witness and lawyer are the other PCs? Thorkron had to answer before court for being the mastermind behind an attack that caused the death of city guards. There wasn't much in the prosecution, but it offered an opportunity for the players to eliminate another political enemy. These guys are rapidly getting rid of all opposition... Mafia Family in the making? I wonder...

Session Chronicle and Epilogue (Portuguese): link

Session II.18 – Demons R’ Us

I love the way our sessions always present great character development opportunities. Although short, the scene with Bellerophon in the castle of his Order played very nicely. Being the sadistic DM that I am, I always enjoy presenting PCs with situations that challenge their morality, and press them towards more shady areas. How is the paladin going to react to all the bad-mouthing from his Peacocks’ comrades? Is he going to rise up to the challenge? Will he simply quit and “suck it up”?

The scene with the old general was also quite appealing. Call me “drama queen”, but I do enjoy having these drama moments in a roleplay campaign. A general at the twilight of his life, which was supposed to be filled with glory and recognition, is being scorned and having his reputation tarnished by successive failures. Is it possible to draw a PC’s attention and make it a personal matter? Well, of course it is… >:)

Last but not least, the key part of the session was claimed by the DM’s cunning plan!

DM: Yes, I’m going to use “Veil” to disguise a Glabrezu as a simple healer praying for the king’s health. Since His Majesty is strongly connected to the god of water, I’m going to toss a water demon into the foray. And, obviously, I’m going to use a shadow demon to possess the king, all Exorcist-like.

And that’s how you end almost with a TPK… Thank you, Baldrick...

The fight was a very close one. Everybody knows that I like to play tough, but sometimes things get out of hand. “Drowning” the paladin, while having a massive glabrezu wreaking havoc among the party… Panic time! Praise be the thaumaturgist and his timely dimension door!

This one was close… Pheeeeew!

Session Chronicle: link