Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Delazar78 Jun 19, 2015 2:39:38	Any idea of how the lair of a Phoenix would look like?   My players need to seek a Phoenix in order to reforge a broken Flame Tongue sword. They need its help, so they won't fight it, but I'm thinking that "reaching" her should be the quest by which the Phoenix judges if they deserve its help or not.   So the "lair" should be dangerous, but not extremely deadly. any ideas?   If you know of an existing D&D scenario featuring a Phoenix I'd also like to hear it.   thanks in advance!
#2 iserith Jun 19, 2015 7:10:23	That's a tough one. Something involving fire is the obvious choice - a volcano, a place on the Elemental Plane of Fire, the sun, etc. Themes of fire and rebirth.   I'm imagining a scene where a mortai (a great sentient storm) has unleashed a torrent upon an erupting volcano, which is the lair of the phoenix. Villages in the mountains, hills, and valleys are in jeopardy from a combination of earthquakes, ash, gases, lava, and now lightning and flooding. At some point the phoenix emerges from the volcano to do battle with the mortai, an epic aerial combat amidst all the destruction on the ground. The phoenix is destroyed in this battle, but the mortai is also dispersed and the storm ended.   Heroic PCs will likely be assisting the locals and keeping them safe, rescuing those who need help, and when the storm is over and the volcano dormant again, helping them rebuild (rebirth). If they take a moment to pause their quest and do this, the phoenix - rejuvenated and reborn by their good deeds - recognizes their worth and offers its help. If they do not, it is reborn on its own and requires a quest of them first to prove their worth.   I guess that's not really a "lair," but I think it hits some of the themes that reinforce the phoenix.
#3 Nevvur Jun 19, 2015 12:31:27	Perilous climb to a mountain top. Doesn't need to be an active volcano, but that certainly adds natural hazard options. At the least, they'll need to scale some sheer rock faces to reach her nest, with a chance of falling (convenient ledges to catch the fall before the drop becomes 100% lethal). Potential rockslides along the way.   On the way up, they find a cave wherein lives an aggressive creature. If they don't take care of it now, it will catch up with them at a disadvantageous point.   When they reach the lair, the phoenix is engaged in a fight with a hostile force, and they 'kill' the phoenix just as the PCs arrive. The enemy strength has been reduced by the fight, but they're still a challenge for the PCs to overcome. After the fight, the phoenix is reborn and is amenable to helping the PCs.
#4 Delazar78 Jun 23, 2015 3:58:54	Both great ideas! I guess I'll go with a combination of the two. Thanks a lot!
#5 Wuzzard Jun 23, 2015 9:10:00	Obviously, the phoenix, after being hounded so often by PC's in its natural habitat, is now on the run hiding out in unlikely locales.  It has taken refuge in a cave in a hidden valley of the frozen north.  The locals, however, have noticed the unexpected warmish weather of late in the valley and are currently frequenting the newly discovered hot-springs.  When the PC's get there, and partake of the pool, an unexpected consequence of the magic of the pheonix and the contrivance of the PC's existence over the plot, the PC's suddenly find themselves transported into the past, where they get the chance to relive their youthful dreams of hijinx at a luxury ski resort before realizing some banal meaning of life metaphor and being transported back to the present, except for the one PC that that is smart enough to see through the shmaltzy writing, stays behind and uses the extra time to power level, and by the time he meets up with his friends again, he no longer sports that shabby grey robe and is outfitted in sparkling clean white duds.
#6 tubadancross Jun 24, 2015 9:12:50	I put a phoenix in an abandoned city that was overrun with undead. It was the only force of good in the city but the city itself looked desecrated because of it (skeletons don't cause fires). It slept in a belltower in a church on top of a hill (the bell wouldn't burn and it stayed warm with the phoenix's natural aura of heat.)    It was distrustful of people and my PCs were distrustful of anything, so them walking around and seeing a bolt of fire cross the sky into old buildings made them walk around with their weapons drawn.