DMIng an upcoming DoIP session where the PCs have tracked down the primal demigod boar, Gorthok for revenge and the greater good.
Encounter is balanced(hopefully great) but at the end I want to ramp up the tension and stakes for the campaign story if they win by reintroducing the main villain Cryovain, the white dragon. Gorthok and Cryovain are beefing because of Neverwinter Woods territory.
I want my player's losing their minds and desperately wanting to play next session. They're hooked been playing weekly with same group for over a year.
Just want next level "what the what?!" Excitement
If I do reintroduce Cryovain, would any of these plot twists be epic or just troll the players? Or both?
PCs defeat Gorthok. Cryovain arrives and claims their kill, says villian speech trope#1, flys off.
PCs getting close to defeating Gorthok. Cryovain arrives, claims the coup de grâce, says smarmy villain speech #1 and jets with the kill.
PCs get Gorthok to half health. Cryovain arrives to battle Gorthok. (PCs caught in the middle) Cryovain wins...speech, claims kill, yada yada
Cryovain arrives at or near the beginning of the battle. Kaiju battle, (PCs caught in the middle... yada yada yada
Reluctant to do this one
Gorthok about to win. Cryovain arrives to save their bacon.
I'd definitely avoid saving their bacon or interfering with their fight, it's not easy to get the balance right where the players don't feel like bystanders.
What sort of character is Cryovain? Does he have a humanoid form, and if so have the players met them?
If Cryovain is a sinister and smooth-talking villain (like your average British villain in American movies) then they might arrive in human form to congratulate the party on their victory (with a slow clap) and explain how they had been meaning to kill Gorthok for a while, and now you've saved them the trouble. Then do some speech about how they can't be left to claim the victory for themselves, and do some nasty magic to banish them to another plane or some such (there to do quests to get back).
If Cryovain is more warlike they might be angered by the party killing Gorthok and vow vengeance on the party, vowing to return when they are stronger again to have a fair fight.
If Gorthok is winning, then perhaps you could have Cryovain arrive and do things in the background, which distracts Gorthok, perhaps even to the point of Gorthok abandoning the fight to go after Cryovain.
Of your original suggestions, number 1 is the best. Let the players do the whole fight, then have the dragon arrive and claim the kill as their own, perhaps denying the players some loot or something, but not interfering with their time to shine in combat. Maybe have them make some perception checks toward the end of the fight to see if they notice a sinister shape appearing on the horizon, or some such.
DMIng an upcoming DoIP session where the PCs have tracked down the primal demigod boar, Gorthok for revenge and the greater good.
Encounter is balanced(hopefully great) but at the end I want to ramp up the tension and stakes for the campaign story if they win by reintroducing the main villain Cryovain, the white dragon. Gorthok and Cryovain are beefing because of Neverwinter Woods territory.
I want my player's losing their minds and desperately wanting to play next session. They're hooked been playing weekly with same group for over a year.
Just want next level "what the what?!" Excitement
If I do reintroduce Cryovain, would any of these plot twists be epic or just troll the players? Or both?
Reluctant to do this one
Thoughts & Feedback
Thx!
I'd definitely avoid saving their bacon or interfering with their fight, it's not easy to get the balance right where the players don't feel like bystanders.
What sort of character is Cryovain? Does he have a humanoid form, and if so have the players met them?
If Cryovain is a sinister and smooth-talking villain (like your average British villain in American movies) then they might arrive in human form to congratulate the party on their victory (with a slow clap) and explain how they had been meaning to kill Gorthok for a while, and now you've saved them the trouble. Then do some speech about how they can't be left to claim the victory for themselves, and do some nasty magic to banish them to another plane or some such (there to do quests to get back).
If Cryovain is more warlike they might be angered by the party killing Gorthok and vow vengeance on the party, vowing to return when they are stronger again to have a fair fight.
If Gorthok is winning, then perhaps you could have Cryovain arrive and do things in the background, which distracts Gorthok, perhaps even to the point of Gorthok abandoning the fight to go after Cryovain.
Of your original suggestions, number 1 is the best. Let the players do the whole fight, then have the dragon arrive and claim the kill as their own, perhaps denying the players some loot or something, but not interfering with their time to shine in combat. Maybe have them make some perception checks toward the end of the fight to see if they notice a sinister shape appearing on the horizon, or some such.
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
DM's Guild Releases on This Thread Or check them all out on DMs Guild!
DrivethruRPG Releases on This Thread - latest release: My Character is a Werewolf: balanced rules for Lycanthropy!
I have started discussing/reviewing 3rd party D&D content on Substack - stay tuned for semi-regular posts!