My Point
Last warning, if you are a player, don't look here!
DMs click here
So I recently read through Keep on the Shadowfell, and with the intent of running it soonish I was contemplating something. What if the PCs fail?
I have every intention of continuing the plot into Thunderspyre Labyrinth assuming the heroes make it that far (which, the adventures as written assume they succeed), and I am faced with the potentially likely scenario of coming up with stuff on the fly because the players failed an encounter instead of won it. So it got me thinking about where the adventure could turn if they failed (I'm not the kind of DM to just say gameover).
Here is what I have come up with:
Option A: Death
Well, it happens. And if you failed to stop an evil cult from opening a rift to one of Orcus' armies, then there's a pretty good chance you're not in the land of the living anymore. So where does that place you? Well, the Shadowfell is home to the restless spirits who have gtrouble passing on. Perhaps our unlikely band of heroes is stuck here, held captive and made prisoner by Orcus for their attempts to thwart his plan. The players owuld have to free themselves and fight against waves of undead, before potentially using the very rift they were trying to keep shut to return to the land of the living. From there, they try to get themselves properly raised, and make a stand against Orcus and his minions. Insert adventure here.
Option B: Captured
Forshadowing in KotS tells us that there is some kind of slave trade going on at Thunderspyre Labyrinth. Perhaps the heroes weren't killed after all, merely kept alive and sold as slaves to Thunderspyre. From there they would have to free themselves, and maybe even run into a few more snags (the H2 adventure could kick right off from this point). After completion of that they could return to Winterhaven to find that the land has been runover by the minions of Orcus. Having failed to stop this from happening in H1, they now are faced with the task of sealing the rift and then purging the land of the undeadx that now reside there. Along the way they could run into a few survivors from Winterhaven. Insert adventure here.
Option C: War
Neither captured nor dead, the heroessimply failed to stop Kalarel's evil scheme. Now they stand with what few people Winterhaven could muster as the last defense against an undead invasion into our realm. Insert adventure here.
I have every intention of continuing the plot into Thunderspyre Labyrinth assuming the heroes make it that far (which, the adventures as written assume they succeed), and I am faced with the potentially likely scenario of coming up with stuff on the fly because the players failed an encounter instead of won it. So it got me thinking about where the adventure could turn if they failed (I'm not the kind of DM to just say gameover).
Here is what I have come up with:
Option A: Death
Well, it happens. And if you failed to stop an evil cult from opening a rift to one of Orcus' armies, then there's a pretty good chance you're not in the land of the living anymore. So where does that place you? Well, the Shadowfell is home to the restless spirits who have gtrouble passing on. Perhaps our unlikely band of heroes is stuck here, held captive and made prisoner by Orcus for their attempts to thwart his plan. The players owuld have to free themselves and fight against waves of undead, before potentially using the very rift they were trying to keep shut to return to the land of the living. From there, they try to get themselves properly raised, and make a stand against Orcus and his minions. Insert adventure here.
Option B: Captured
Forshadowing in KotS tells us that there is some kind of slave trade going on at Thunderspyre Labyrinth. Perhaps the heroes weren't killed after all, merely kept alive and sold as slaves to Thunderspyre. From there they would have to free themselves, and maybe even run into a few more snags (the H2 adventure could kick right off from this point). After completion of that they could return to Winterhaven to find that the land has been runover by the minions of Orcus. Having failed to stop this from happening in H1, they now are faced with the task of sealing the rift and then purging the land of the undeadx that now reside there. Along the way they could run into a few survivors from Winterhaven. Insert adventure here.
Option C: War
Neither captured nor dead, the heroessimply failed to stop Kalarel's evil scheme. Now they stand with what few people Winterhaven could muster as the last defense against an undead invasion into our realm. Insert adventure here.
Well what do you think?
4) Join up (evil campaign)
5) On the run (escape and rally a counter-army)
If they die they are dead - possibly undead - and the village has a big problem since it now has a big temple of Orcus several miles away from them, and since it´s open now it will be well guarded so closing it again will be extremly hard since in such a fight reinoforcements will arrive all the time if they start the ritual to close the rift.
Under no instances would I suggest allowing the following:
Group is pretty low on resources since they decided to have a bar fight earlier losing surges in the process, the look down the bloddy waterfall and see the portal and our beloved BBEG.
Deciding that it´s to dangeraus they retreat back to the Town to come back after a good nigts sleep. After they return fresh an enter the room, you read your part and it just so happens that the PCs come just in time
Even if the players don't fail! Because at any moment the PCs could surprise you & BAM, the whole game takes a sharp detour well away from anything you'd planned or even vaguely anticipated....
But you are on the right track with brainstorming alternate paths.
Of course, we all know that splitting up the party is not for the faint of heart. In fact, it's usually a pretty stupid thing to do. You end up with half of your party sitting around while the other half tries to hurry things up so they can do some sitting around of their own.
But, there are some strong possibilities there. For example, Option A makes sense if you had any PCs die along the way (which isn't too unlikely from the sound of things). Perhaps they get one last shot at accomplishing their mission from the other side. If they succeed, they get to go on to the higher planes -- bravo, roll up your next characters.
I like all three proposed options so much that if I were writing a TV show, I would suggest splitting the party up so that all of the possible plots could be explored.
Of course, we all know that splitting up the party is not for the faint of heart. In fact, it's usually a pretty stupid thing to do. You end up with half of your party sitting around while the other half tries to hurry things up so they can do some sitting around of their own.
But, there are some strong possibilities there. For example, Option A makes sense if you had any PCs die along the way (which isn't too unlikely from the sound of things). Perhaps they get one last shot at accomplishing their mission from the other side. If they succeed, they get to go on to the higher planes -- bravo, roll up your next characters.
I like this. Thanks for your input. *steals*
That being said, there was actually one suggestion that I really like and will probably use as an option when I run KoTS. If the party wipes at some point in the adventure I will offer an option to the players for an evil campaign that takes place at the point of failure. I like it!