Im building off a campaign I purchased but changed the final act to better suit the players and solidly more storylines
as a finale to my campaign, I have a large castle dungeon mapped out, but I am struggling to maximize the dungeon and get my party to explore.
The module I purchased had a lich (swapped for vampire), a devil influence, and a lunar dragon, but i felt lacked cohesion between the three so I'm trying to solidify it more.
Quick facts:
Party consists of 5, level 9 PCs and 2, CR 8 NPCs
Castle is the home of a vampire coven; a member of the party is a vampire of that coven (on good terms and willing to sacrifice the party) and the coven knows they are coming.
The matriarch of the coven is able to use devil magic of some sort (warlock patron?)
The reference book requires a lunar dragon be in the mix, sleeping under the castle seeking powerful magic users to help her return to the moon. the party does not know about the dragon
I am trying to think of a way to encourage my party to explore the very large cool castle that I made. Id love any ideas that can be offered.
My working ideas (incredibly open to changing)
The party is aware of several NPCs of note who are rumored to have been trafficked by the vampires, maybe remind them of that so its as simple as a search for the prisoners?
Maybe the vampire matriarch is scared of her new devil patron and tries to get the party to get rid of it? but she cant reveal the nature of the pact so they gotta root around her castle to clues on the nature of her magic and how to get rid of it? Problem is im not sure what combat encounters would be there? devil possessed vampires?
In order to free the dragon, they need to find certain keys or items attuned to various monsters in the dungeon. The have to seek out those mini-bosses and deal with them first in order o get their key item and use it with the others to free the dragon.
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
As far as encouraging them to look around, a simple locked door does the trick. If you have a good lockpick, creating a series of locks that are required to be opened at the same time is also doable (or in quick succession, quicker than a single PC let alone 2 could managed on lockpicking skill).
If you are using devil magic, then the creation of enemies that fit the theme becomes more simplistic. Having some of the lesser vampires assume more demonic statuses within the different rooms you allow them into will create different encounters that remain mostly thematic. Substitute summons or minions for those that fit the theme more directly.
Looking for the set of keys in 1 room, they stumble upon the inpatient center (or trafficking room, whatever you want to consider it). Make it a tiered setup where it's difficult to get to the one in charge of 'turning' them. Put a few stronger guards and a bit of terrain in the way, a floor level with some Vampire Spawns, and maybe you only really work and changing the boss of the room.
Another room they have to find might be the walk-in cooler which houses exactly what you'd expect. Could make the encounter in here with cold debuff and could make it to where the one who comes to create the 'meals' has influences in the devil magic perhaps as a favor of the Matriarch.
You could also offer up that there might be hidden rooms or compartments in this dungeon that might push the part into the chamber they are trying to get to a different way.
If the party works around encounters and finds there way to her, she might not be afraid of her devil patron in my mind, but she might be looking for ways to use the party to create control variables to where she can 'use' the patron for the benefits while avoiding being turned into a mindless pawn like the devil might be setting her up to become. The party could do this, only to be turned on, creating more motivation to end her once and for all (If desired, the party might also agree to open dialogue with the devil in question here, and create the buildup for the big battle at the end).
I would also point out that if you've made it this far and have a group happy to play, you can also just trust your instinct as far as what to do. so i wouldn't overthink it, and just make something that looks fun to you and if your judgment so far has worked then it probably will continue to do so!
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Im building off a campaign I purchased but changed the final act to better suit the players and solidly more storylines
as a finale to my campaign, I have a large castle dungeon mapped out, but I am struggling to maximize the dungeon and get my party to explore.
The module I purchased had a lich (swapped for vampire), a devil influence, and a lunar dragon, but i felt lacked cohesion between the three so I'm trying to solidify it more.
Quick facts:
Party consists of 5, level 9 PCs and 2, CR 8 NPCs
Castle is the home of a vampire coven; a member of the party is a vampire of that coven (on good terms and willing to sacrifice the party) and the coven knows they are coming.
The matriarch of the coven is able to use devil magic of some sort (warlock patron?)
The reference book requires a lunar dragon be in the mix, sleeping under the castle seeking powerful magic users to help her return to the moon. the party does not know about the dragon
I am trying to think of a way to encourage my party to explore the very large cool castle that I made. Id love any ideas that can be offered.
My working ideas (incredibly open to changing)
The party is aware of several NPCs of note who are rumored to have been trafficked by the vampires, maybe remind them of that so its as simple as a search for the prisoners?
Maybe the vampire matriarch is scared of her new devil patron and tries to get the party to get rid of it? but she cant reveal the nature of the pact so they gotta root around her castle to clues on the nature of her magic and how to get rid of it? Problem is im not sure what combat encounters would be there? devil possessed vampires?
In order to free the dragon, they need to find certain keys or items attuned to various monsters in the dungeon. The have to seek out those mini-bosses and deal with them first in order o get their key item and use it with the others to free the dragon.
As far as encouraging them to look around, a simple locked door does the trick. If you have a good lockpick, creating a series of locks that are required to be opened at the same time is also doable (or in quick succession, quicker than a single PC let alone 2 could managed on lockpicking skill).
If you are using devil magic, then the creation of enemies that fit the theme becomes more simplistic. Having some of the lesser vampires assume more demonic statuses within the different rooms you allow them into will create different encounters that remain mostly thematic. Substitute summons or minions for those that fit the theme more directly.
Looking for the set of keys in 1 room, they stumble upon the inpatient center (or trafficking room, whatever you want to consider it). Make it a tiered setup where it's difficult to get to the one in charge of 'turning' them. Put a few stronger guards and a bit of terrain in the way, a floor level with some Vampire Spawns, and maybe you only really work and changing the boss of the room.
Another room they have to find might be the walk-in cooler which houses exactly what you'd expect. Could make the encounter in here with cold debuff and could make it to where the one who comes to create the 'meals' has influences in the devil magic perhaps as a favor of the Matriarch.
You could also offer up that there might be hidden rooms or compartments in this dungeon that might push the part into the chamber they are trying to get to a different way.
If the party works around encounters and finds there way to her, she might not be afraid of her devil patron in my mind, but she might be looking for ways to use the party to create control variables to where she can 'use' the patron for the benefits while avoiding being turned into a mindless pawn like the devil might be setting her up to become. The party could do this, only to be turned on, creating more motivation to end her once and for all (If desired, the party might also agree to open dialogue with the devil in question here, and create the buildup for the big battle at the end).
I would also point out that if you've made it this far and have a group happy to play, you can also just trust your instinct as far as what to do. so i wouldn't overthink it, and just make something that looks fun to you and if your judgment so far has worked then it probably will continue to do so!