A rod of seven parts [Archive] - Wizards Community

A rod of seven parts [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Jarred Garrison
05-13-07, 10:03 AM So I´ve been reading through this 2nd ed. adventure while informing myself about the Queen of Chaos, and I´ve found that it has some interesting things in it, but after skipping some parts of the adventure, I´ve got the feeling that any chaotic good characters are pretty much forced to help the forces of Law to avoid the destruction of their world. This feels a bit restrictive to me, and I am not sure I got it right (since, after all, I only skim-read what I could in a couple of hours). Am I right in my perceptions, or do Chaotic but not evil characters have any real options save for trying to keep the status quo?
sciborg2
05-13-07, 01:06 PM iirc, you're right. But in this case I'd say Law does preserve the status quo. Though I'd make sure the Vaati got put in their place as well before they got too cheeky and thought they could resurrect their planar empire.
ripvanwormer
05-13-07, 05:28 PM Although the vaati were the ones who died and sacrificed to put Miska in check, the real counterpart to the Queen of Chaos on the lawful side is probably Asmodeus, who might be secretly aiding the PCs in their quest to reconstitute the rod and defeat the schemes of the obyriths. It would be interesting if you played that up, introducing some suspiciously helpful devils (who would probably be disguised erinyes or the like) and so on, letting chaotic PCs slowly discover a vast conspiracy on the lawful side of the Outer Planes, so the real solution involves not only reconstituting the rod, but also keeping it out of the claws of the baatezu. Perhaps the entire quest is part of Asmodeus' plan to rewrite all the cosmic laws in his image, and he needs the Rod in order to do that because of certain pacts and agreements he made with the vaati billennia ago. This could be tied in with the Bringing, the mass importation of larvae from the night hags into Nessus mentioned in the Planescape materials.
Jarred Garrison
05-13-07, 06:24 PM The problem I see with all this is that if the rod is assembled, pretty much the only outcomes possible are:
a) Miska is killed, and Law "wins".
b) Miska is kept imprisoned, and Law manages a minor victory, the status quo is mantained.
c) Miska is released. Chaos (evil) "wins", and starts devastating the material planes, beginning with the characters.
Now, if I want an outcome that works well for Chaotic Good/Chaotic Neutral characters, they wouldn´t want to further the Law´s agenda, having the Baatezu poking their heads in is a definite possibility. I was also planning to spice things up with some Tanar´ri trying to stop Miska from being released, since that would make the Obyriths real contenders over dominion of the Abyss (and it´s pretty much the idea I had in the beginning for the whole campaign... This adventure just seemed to work well for at least part of it).
It seems that a whole cluster**** can be made out of this... I like it :schemes:
ripvanwormer
05-13-07, 08:53 PM Perhaps the baatezu could give the PCs a rite with which to unite the pieces of the rod, without telling them that it also teleports the rod to Nessus. So the challenge would be to figure out that their ritual is flawed and also to track down the true ritual (perhaps in Mechanus). If they fail to do this, that's an opportunity for another quest to the Nine Hells to recover the rod from those who've gained it. Maybe Asmodeus' ruby rod and Dispater's iron rod are the eighth and ninth parts of the same item, and there's a struggle between conservative Dispater and ruthless Asmodeus over whether or not they should be united, giving the PCs an opportunity to play them against one another or even accept Dispater's help in thwarting Asmodeus' scheme.

While you're at it, why not bring in the eladrins and slaadi with their own agendas, to better showcase the diversity of Chaos? Maybe the eladrins want the PCs to bring the un-united parts of the rod to them so that they can twist its magic and change its nature before using it against Miska (maybe they want to redeem Miska instead of destroying him; maybe Miska was once an eladrin who was corrupted by the Queen of Chaos long ago, transformed into a tanar'ri against his will - maybe he was a former concept of Queen Morwel, thought long dead by all outside the Court of Stars). Maybe the slaadi are working variously for the obyriths, tanar'ri, and eladrins (often the same slaad working for all three), and appear in human form trying to convince the PCs to help one group or the other. Of course, some slaadi don't care what the Queen of Chaos does, and just want to keep the rod because it looks pretty and stings them when they touch it in such a hilarious way.
Jarred Garrison
05-14-07, 03:45 AM The slaadi may be an interesting extra, since one of the PC´s I´m dealing with is going to be a githzerai whose parents were slain by slaads, and she hates them with a passion.
I´m not really sure about the Eladrin, though, I know too little of them to really make them work well in a campaign, I think.
zook1shoe666
05-17-07, 11:08 PM wow... i never really thought about it like that. i am going to have to re-read it and try to consider those ideas too. :) thanx
Jarred Garrison
05-23-07, 02:56 PM My idea right now is to have some sort of CG entity entering the playing field (maybe an Eladrin, maybe some minor servant of some chaotic good god) after a while, and offering another alternative to the ones already there, perhaps something that will redeem Miska instead of destroying him. I´m still juggling options, and I may not even use all the material in the story, but we´ll see.
captainswift
05-24-07, 11:51 PM Perhaps the baatezu could give the PCs a rite with which to unite the pieces of the rod, without telling them that it also teleports the rod to Nessus. So the challenge would be to figure out that their ritual is flawed and also to track down the true ritual (perhaps in Mechanus). If they fail to do this, that's an opportunity for another quest to the Nine Hells to recover the rod from those who've gained it. Maybe Asmodeus' ruby rod and Dispater's iron rod are the eighth and ninth parts of the same item, and there's a struggle between conservative Dispater and ruthless Asmodeus over whether or not they should be united, giving the PCs an opportunity to play them against one another or even accept Dispater's help in thwarting Asmodeus' scheme.

While you're at it, why not bring in the eladrins and slaadi with their own agendas, to better showcase the diversity of Chaos? Maybe the eladrins want the PCs to bring the un-united parts of the rod to them so that they can twist its magic and change its nature before using it against Miska (maybe they want to redeem Miska instead of destroying him; maybe Miska was once an eladrin who was corrupted by the Queen of Chaos long ago, transformed into a tanar'ri against his will - maybe he was a former concept of Queen Morwel, thought long dead by all outside the Court of Stars). Maybe the slaadi are working variously for the obyriths, tanar'ri, and eladrins (often the same slaad working for all three), and appear in human form trying to convince the PCs to help one group or the other. Of course, some slaadi don't care what the Queen of Chaos does, and just want to keep the rod because it looks pretty and stings them when they touch it in such a hilarious way.

This has nothing to do with the conversation, but ripvanwormer absolutely amazes me with nearly everything he posts.

That is all. Carry on.
Yorath_theWolf
05-25-07, 11:08 PM While you're at it, why not bring in the eladrins and slaadi with their own agendas, to better showcase the diversity of Chaos? Maybe the eladrins want the PCs to bring the un-united parts of the rod to them so that they can twist its magic and change its nature before using it against Miska (maybe they want to redeem Miska instead of destroying him; maybe Miska was once an eladrin who was corrupted by the Queen of Chaos long ago, transformed into a tanar'ri against his will - maybe he was a former concept of Queen Morwel, thought long dead by all outside the Court of Stars). Maybe the slaadi are working variously for the obyriths, tanar'ri, and eladrins (often the same slaad working for all three), and appear in human form trying to convince the PCs to help one group or the other. Of course, some slaadi don't care what the Queen of Chaos does, and just want to keep the rod because it looks pretty and stings them when they touch it in such a hilarious way.

if you're bringing in the eladrins, one would think that instead of redeeming Miska, they'd be useing the rod and Miska(this is if I'm rembering right) to free the last of their children still trapped in the abyss by Pale Nights machinons.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Jarred Garrison 05-13-07, 10:03 AM	So I´ve been reading through this 2nd ed. adventure while informing myself about the Queen of Chaos, and I´ve found that it has some interesting things in it, but after skipping some parts of the adventure, I´ve got the feeling that any chaotic good characters are pretty much forced to help the forces of Law to avoid the destruction of their world. This feels a bit restrictive to me, and I am not sure I got it right (since, after all, I only skim-read what I could in a couple of hours). Am I right in my perceptions, or do Chaotic but not evil characters have any real options save for trying to keep the status quo?
sciborg2 05-13-07, 01:06 PM	iirc, you're right. But in this case I'd say Law does preserve the status quo. Though I'd make sure the Vaati got put in their place as well before they got too cheeky and thought they could resurrect their planar empire.
ripvanwormer 05-13-07, 05:28 PM	Although the vaati were the ones who died and sacrificed to put Miska in check, the real counterpart to the Queen of Chaos on the lawful side is probably Asmodeus, who might be secretly aiding the PCs in their quest to reconstitute the rod and defeat the schemes of the obyriths. It would be interesting if you played that up, introducing some suspiciously helpful devils (who would probably be disguised erinyes or the like) and so on, letting chaotic PCs slowly discover a vast conspiracy on the lawful side of the Outer Planes, so the real solution involves not only reconstituting the rod, but also keeping it out of the claws of the baatezu. Perhaps the entire quest is part of Asmodeus' plan to rewrite all the cosmic laws in his image, and he needs the Rod in order to do that because of certain pacts and agreements he made with the vaati billennia ago. This could be tied in with the Bringing, the mass importation of larvae from the night hags into Nessus mentioned in the Planescape materials.
Jarred Garrison 05-13-07, 06:24 PM	The problem I see with all this is that if the rod is assembled, pretty much the only outcomes possible are: a) Miska is killed, and Law "wins". b) Miska is kept imprisoned, and Law manages a minor victory, the status quo is mantained. c) Miska is released. Chaos (evil) "wins", and starts devastating the material planes, beginning with the characters. Now, if I want an outcome that works well for Chaotic Good/Chaotic Neutral characters, they wouldn´t want to further the Law´s agenda, having the Baatezu poking their heads in is a definite possibility. I was also planning to spice things up with some Tanar´ri trying to stop Miska from being released, since that would make the Obyriths real contenders over dominion of the Abyss (and it´s pretty much the idea I had in the beginning for the whole campaign... This adventure just seemed to work well for at least part of it). It seems that a whole cluster**** can be made out of this... I like it :schemes:
ripvanwormer 05-13-07, 08:53 PM	Perhaps the baatezu could give the PCs a rite with which to unite the pieces of the rod, without telling them that it also teleports the rod to Nessus. So the challenge would be to figure out that their ritual is flawed and also to track down the true ritual (perhaps in Mechanus). If they fail to do this, that's an opportunity for another quest to the Nine Hells to recover the rod from those who've gained it. Maybe Asmodeus' ruby rod and Dispater's iron rod are the eighth and ninth parts of the same item, and there's a struggle between conservative Dispater and ruthless Asmodeus over whether or not they should be united, giving the PCs an opportunity to play them against one another or even accept Dispater's help in thwarting Asmodeus' scheme. While you're at it, why not bring in the eladrins and slaadi with their own agendas, to better showcase the diversity of Chaos? Maybe the eladrins want the PCs to bring the un-united parts of the rod to them so that they can twist its magic and change its nature before using it against Miska (maybe they want to redeem Miska instead of destroying him; maybe Miska was once an eladrin who was corrupted by the Queen of Chaos long ago, transformed into a tanar'ri against his will - maybe he was a former concept of Queen Morwel, thought long dead by all outside the Court of Stars). Maybe the slaadi are working variously for the obyriths, tanar'ri, and eladrins (often the same slaad working for all three), and appear in human form trying to convince the PCs to help one group or the other. Of course, some slaadi don't care what the Queen of Chaos does, and just want to keep the rod because it looks pretty and stings them when they touch it in such a hilarious way.
Jarred Garrison 05-14-07, 03:45 AM	The slaadi may be an interesting extra, since one of the PC´s I´m dealing with is going to be a githzerai whose parents were slain by slaads, and she hates them with a passion. I´m not really sure about the Eladrin, though, I know too little of them to really make them work well in a campaign, I think.
zook1shoe666 05-17-07, 11:08 PM	wow... i never really thought about it like that. i am going to have to re-read it and try to consider those ideas too. :) thanx
Jarred Garrison 05-23-07, 02:56 PM	My idea right now is to have some sort of CG entity entering the playing field (maybe an Eladrin, maybe some minor servant of some chaotic good god) after a while, and offering another alternative to the ones already there, perhaps something that will redeem Miska instead of destroying him. I´m still juggling options, and I may not even use all the material in the story, but we´ll see.
captainswift 05-24-07, 11:51 PM	Perhaps the baatezu could give the PCs a rite with which to unite the pieces of the rod, without telling them that it also teleports the rod to Nessus. So the challenge would be to figure out that their ritual is flawed and also to track down the true ritual (perhaps in Mechanus). If they fail to do this, that's an opportunity for another quest to the Nine Hells to recover the rod from those who've gained it. Maybe Asmodeus' ruby rod and Dispater's iron rod are the eighth and ninth parts of the same item, and there's a struggle between conservative Dispater and ruthless Asmodeus over whether or not they should be united, giving the PCs an opportunity to play them against one another or even accept Dispater's help in thwarting Asmodeus' scheme. While you're at it, why not bring in the eladrins and slaadi with their own agendas, to better showcase the diversity of Chaos? Maybe the eladrins want the PCs to bring the un-united parts of the rod to them so that they can twist its magic and change its nature before using it against Miska (maybe they want to redeem Miska instead of destroying him; maybe Miska was once an eladrin who was corrupted by the Queen of Chaos long ago, transformed into a tanar'ri against his will - maybe he was a former concept of Queen Morwel, thought long dead by all outside the Court of Stars). Maybe the slaadi are working variously for the obyriths, tanar'ri, and eladrins (often the same slaad working for all three), and appear in human form trying to convince the PCs to help one group or the other. Of course, some slaadi don't care what the Queen of Chaos does, and just want to keep the rod because it looks pretty and stings them when they touch it in such a hilarious way. This has nothing to do with the conversation, but ripvanwormer absolutely amazes me with nearly everything he posts. That is all. Carry on.
Yorath_theWolf 05-25-07, 11:08 PM	While you're at it, why not bring in the eladrins and slaadi with their own agendas, to better showcase the diversity of Chaos? Maybe the eladrins want the PCs to bring the un-united parts of the rod to them so that they can twist its magic and change its nature before using it against Miska (maybe they want to redeem Miska instead of destroying him; maybe Miska was once an eladrin who was corrupted by the Queen of Chaos long ago, transformed into a tanar'ri against his will - maybe he was a former concept of Queen Morwel, thought long dead by all outside the Court of Stars). Maybe the slaadi are working variously for the obyriths, tanar'ri, and eladrins (often the same slaad working for all three), and appear in human form trying to convince the PCs to help one group or the other. Of course, some slaadi don't care what the Queen of Chaos does, and just want to keep the rod because it looks pretty and stings them when they touch it in such a hilarious way. if you're bringing in the eladrins, one would think that instead of redeeming Miska, they'd be useing the rod and Miska(this is if I'm rembering right) to free the last of their children still trapped in the abyss by Pale Nights machinons.