[dungeoncrawl] Re: Thursday morning summary

John,

You're right on target!  And your 
summary captures where things stand 
really well.  OK, so here's the deal:

The group needs to track down Celane 
and Dr. Klaw.  Apparently, Celane hates 
the Riders because one of them crippled 
her a long time ago, and her resentment 
is so strong that she's trying to keep 
godhood out of their hands.  Dr. Klaw 
supposedly wants to "liberate" his 
world from "merchant kings", and seems 
to have been in control of the artifact 
from the start (since he's such a bad 
guy).

The gods are important because the (now 
diabolical) Amrikol wanted to use them 
to weaken Dendar enough for him to have 
a chance of gaining power (kind of like 
when Dr. Doom confronted the Beyonder 
for you comics readers).  He seems to 
have lost interest in this pursuit as a 
result of talking to Gargauth, a 
banished realms power who traded 
membership in the nine with freedom 
from hell (since the nine have that 
authority).

I'm really happy with how things are 
going, and eager to see this conclude.  
As a DM, I'm facing two challenges:

1.  Nadan - nothing against the 
character or how he's played, but he's 
a combination of bad attitude and 
tremendous power.  Individuals who 
might not go berzerk to kill him 
normally (like Ariakas) find that goal 
to be a necessity when he taunts them.  
Ironically, he's becoming the Ceranno 
of the group.:).

This is a problem for me on only one 
level - I'm worried that if he dies as 
a result of a situation like this, it 
might seem like I'm gunning for the 
character.  I hope it's understood by 
everyone that if Nadan picks a fight 
with a big guy and dies, it's really 
not my preference!

2.  Convolution - I'm worried that the 
plot is becoming so complex that people 
need a score card.  I really, really 
hope to contain that next week.

Also, I see this wrapping up in the 
next 2-3 weeks - rapidfire, eh?

>     Ok, first with a summary, then 
with thoughts.
> 
>     The Riders had just come from 
Amrikol's castle in the Thunderpeaks,
> and had harangued Elminster into 
transporting them back to Sigil.  He
> agreed, but when they passed through 
the Worldwalk spell he cast, they
> found themselves in Hell, facing the 
Black Legion, who had been
> conversing with some devils.
>     The two groups briefly spoke, 
with Amrikol giving little indication
> of his plans, when suddenly the Black 
Legion attacked.  Already wounded
> from their battle in the castle back 
on Faerun, Quasit and Carpathia
> were quickly killed.  Magnus wanted 
to retreat, but the Riders became
> separated, and he was unwilling to 
leave anyone behind.  Mileena used
> her necromantic skills to bring 
Carpathia back as an undead, and the
> Riders fought valiantly against the 
Black Legion.
>     The battle was going poorly when 
suddenly another Amrikol appeared,
> this one looking more like the 
Amrikol the Riders had faced in their
> early days.  He declared the other 
Amrikol an impostor, and spat on the
> Black Legion (except for Talon) who 
he felt had betrayed him by working
> for the doppleganger.  The Amrikol 
that had been leading the Black
> Legion recently tore off his helmet, 
revealing elvish features that bore
> a striking resemblance to Magnus.  He 
began to fight the original
> Amrikol, and the Riders tried to stay 
out of the way.  Eventually they
> joined the fight against the elven 
Amrikol, and Magnus finally slew him
> with a Meteor Swarm.  However, as 
soon as he died, he was reborn as one
> of the Nine, the arch-fiends that 
rule Hell.  Apparently he had made a
> deal with a banished Realms power, 
although the specifics of the deal
> are unknown.
>     Faced with the power of this new 
form, the Riders, the original
> Amrikol and Talon fled through a 
portal to Sigil.  Once there they went
> to Ambrosia's Inn, and parted ways 
with Amrikol and Talon.  They rested,
> then resurrected their fallen 
comrades.  Unsure of what to do, they
> began to research.  Magnus sent some 
of the group to research how they
> might gain the power they have been 
chasing, while he went to free a
> devil in exchange for information on 
the new form of the elvish
> Amrikol.  He also recruited Gadget to 
their team, as it seems that they
> will be dealing with Klaw, his old 
enemy.
> 
>     So where does that leave them?  
Let me recap.
>     Dennis says that Klaw will have 
joined up with Celane and the
> deities, and is heading to his home 
planet.  Supposedly, Celane called
> the remnants of the deities to her 
thanks to an artifact, the claw of
> Dendar the Night Serpent.  However, 
only someone with no moral
> compunctions can use the claw of 
Dendar to it's full potential, and so
> Celane will easily lose control of 
the deities to Klaw.  Klaw will then
> use the power he possesses to "set 
right" things in his world.  The
> Riders are going to journey there to 
make sure Klaw does nothing drastic
> and to rescue Celane.
>     Meanwhile, there is still the 
problem of gaining the power of the
> gods.  According to what the Riders 
have learned, the elvish Amrikol is
> now out of the race.  Their devil 
ally told them that one of the Nine
> would have no time or interest in 
focusing their attention on one measly
> little prime world when they can 
affect all realities everywhere by
> taking part in the Blood War.  He 
should no longer be involved.
>     However, the original Amrikol is 
now interested in the power.  And
> the Riders aren't sure how to get 
it.  It seems that they need to
> destroy Dendar the Night Serpent to 
gain the power, but Dendar killed
> all the deities of that Realm, so 
destroying him is no easy task.  The
> Riders are looking into ways to do 
that now.
> 
>     That's it for me.  I'd be 
thrilled if someone would comment on my
> conclusions and tell me if they are 
correct.
> 
> 
> 
>

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