Author Topic: Need Help With a Setpiece (in HELL)  (Read 7187 times)

Offline Necrosnoop110

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Need Help With a Setpiece (in HELL)
« on: November 16, 2011, 08:09:13 PM »
(Sorry if this is in the wrong place we seem to have lost the "GM Gameology" forum, which I think should be brought back)

Anyways, the party is 9th level if it matters and the whole group is about to jump into a magical portal to rescue someone. However, the portal is into some sort of hell dimension. I'm looking for a design for a battle ground, in an adventure, magazine, whatever, I'll scale anything you suggest so level doesn't matter as much as the coolness factor. Something that is really interesting, super crazy fun place for a battle. Obstacles whatever, anything but the plain old flat dull surface. Any suggestions?

Peace,
Necro

(or failing that do you know of any published adventures that take place in the abyss or some other hell-like place that I can search through for ideas)
« Last Edit: November 16, 2011, 08:25:45 PM by Necrosnoop110 »

Offline Ryu Hayabusa

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Re: Need Help With a Setpiece (in HELL)
« Reply #1 on: November 16, 2011, 08:58:49 PM »
Have you considered the Fiendish Codex 1 and 2? They describe several areas in the Abyss and Baator that could serve well. The Manual of the Planes also describes the lower planes and may be useful.

Is this any particular hell dimension, by the way?

Offline Necrosnoop110

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Re: Need Help With a Setpiece (in HELL)
« Reply #2 on: November 16, 2011, 09:13:33 PM »
Have you considered the Fiendish Codex 1 and 2? They describe several areas in the Abyss and Baator that could serve well. The Manual of the Planes also describes the lower planes and may be useful.

Is this any particular hell dimension, by the way?
I have looked at FC1 but don't own #2. I'm not looking for background information about the plane as much as I am looking for a single battlefield. My PCs will be jumping in rescuing a friend and then returning back to the prime material plane. I'm just looking for a really cool place to have them fight and then return. I'm looking for something they will find fun and interesting. Not just a bare cave or barren wasteland. 

As to the particular dimension, this is a home-brewed campaign so it could be anything that works. Anything "hell-like." 

Thanks,
Necro   
« Last Edit: November 16, 2011, 09:15:31 PM by Necrosnoop110 »

Offline RobbyPants

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Re: Need Help With a Setpiece (in HELL)
« Reply #3 on: November 17, 2011, 08:31:12 AM »
Some planes have cool stuff like subjective gravity, but sadly, Hell isn't one of them.

Still, you have lots of environmental options at your disposal. The other cool thing is that there's no reason you can't mix and match things in ways that would otherwise seem ridiculous. Stuff like:
  • Lava
  • Fire (even if it's not burning anything)
  • Poisonous fog
  • Acid
  • Rocks, outcroppings, and cliffs at impossible angles
  • Windstorms just in certain areas of the maps that push you.
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Offline littha

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Re: Need Help With a Setpiece (in HELL)
« Reply #4 on: November 17, 2011, 10:08:56 AM »
As its a homebrew setting you can get away with a lot of things for your hell.

Floating rocks with screaming faces on them
Darkness that eats people and moves around the battlefield.
Impossible geometry
Nonmechanical effects on the PCs, blood begins to run from their eyes etc (no actual penalty but it takes advantage of the players ties to the character)


Try and steal good ideas from where you can find them, I would avoid the whole lakes of molten lava thing as its sorta cliché and nowhere near offputting enough. I suggest watching the last episode of the Berserk anime, it has a rather disturbing enviroment. Also Hellraiser
« Last Edit: November 17, 2011, 10:14:14 AM by littha »

Offline Nachofan99

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Re: Need Help With a Setpiece (in HELL)
« Reply #5 on: November 17, 2011, 12:02:56 PM »
How about blood.  Like blood everywhere.  Blood coming out of the walls, ceiling, floor, everywhere! The entire battleground could also be a gigantic devil - a super massive devil - the character's are fighting on.  That could have all sorts of neat stuff involved.

I love the floatin rocks with screaming faces suggested by Littha.  Maybe the faces are crying blood?  Just on a Blood kick today I guess.

Offline sirpercival

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Re: Need Help With a Setpiece (in HELL)
« Reply #6 on: November 17, 2011, 12:21:04 PM »
You could use Acheron, as the whole plane is basically a collection of battlefields... all of which take place on enormous cubes floating in midair.
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Offline RobbyPants

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Re: Need Help With a Setpiece (in HELL)
« Reply #7 on: November 17, 2011, 01:30:38 PM »
You could use Acheron, as the whole plane is basically a collection of battlefields... all of which take place on enormous cubes floating in midair.
This plane has subjective gravity relative to the cubes, right (or am I getting that mixed up with Mechanus' gears)?
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Offline Bozwevial

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Re: Need Help With a Setpiece (in HELL)
« Reply #8 on: November 17, 2011, 01:56:07 PM »
You could use Acheron, as the whole plane is basically a collection of battlefields... all of which take place on enormous cubes floating in midair.
This plane has subjective gravity relative to the cubes, right (or am I getting that mixed up with Mechanus' gears)?
I think both have subjective gravity. I've used the gears as a lower-level adventure before. The idea was to take a load of cargo and cross from one side of a massive gear to another by passing through the canyon formed by two of the cogs, with the time limit being however long it took the meshing gear to come back around. It made for a nice little frantic setpiece, since the party thought they'd be crushed if they took too long. That would be a terrible punishment, of course--I made sure that there'd be enough space between the teeth for them to lie flat and survive. The cargo wouldn't be so lucky.
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Offline Necrosnoop110

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Re: Need Help With a Setpiece (in HELL)
« Reply #9 on: November 17, 2011, 02:14:42 PM »
wow! great ideas folks, thanks :)
« Last Edit: November 17, 2011, 02:16:14 PM by Necrosnoop110 »

Offline veekie

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Re: Need Help With a Setpiece (in HELL)
« Reply #10 on: November 17, 2011, 03:32:23 PM »
Don't forget killer vegetation(they basically work like traps). Basically Everything Is Trying To Kill Something. And they aren't too picky.
Everything is edible. Just that there are things only edible once per lifetime.
It's a god-eat-god world.

Procrastination is the thief of time; Year after year it steals, till all are fled,
And to the mercies of a moment leaves; The vast concerns of an eternal scene.

Offline Necrosnoop110

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Re: Need Help With a Setpiece (in HELL)
« Reply #11 on: November 18, 2011, 01:15:28 PM »
Thanks everyone great ideas. Ok, for two follow up questions:

(1) Anyone know of any good abyssal or hell-like pictures or artwork online?

(2) Do you have any suggestions for an infernal contract? By that, I mean, that I'd like the demon that is holding the captive to offer the PCs (heroic good group) some sort of tricky evil offer to release the prisoner if they do X. A non combat option but something with real risk. Remember they on the abyssal plane when this offer is made and I don't want to just make the prisoner exchange a simple sale I want some long-term consequences. Not so strong that they won't do it but strong enough where it has repercussions that they don't like.

Peace,
Necro

Offline Bozwevial

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Re: Need Help With a Setpiece (in HELL)
« Reply #12 on: November 18, 2011, 01:25:08 PM »
(2) Do you have any suggestions for an infernal contract? By that, I mean, that I'd like the demon that is holding the captive to offer the PCs (heroic good group) some sort of tricky evil offer to release the prisoner if they do X. A non combat option but something with real risk. Remember they on the abyssal plane when this offer is made and I don't want to just make the prisoner exchange a simple sale I want some long-term consequences. Not so strong that they won't do it but strong enough where it has repercussions that they don't like.
Letting a demon into their heads three times at a time of the demon's choosing?
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Offline veekie

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Re: Need Help With a Setpiece (in HELL)
« Reply #13 on: November 18, 2011, 01:33:41 PM »
^^
Unlikely for PCs to accept that I think. What about thrice they may be asked to walk away from a situation, provided no direct harm would befall them? Easier to to digest, and don't forget to include the contractual consequences if broken.
Everything is edible. Just that there are things only edible once per lifetime.
It's a god-eat-god world.

Procrastination is the thief of time; Year after year it steals, till all are fled,
And to the mercies of a moment leaves; The vast concerns of an eternal scene.

Offline Necrosnoop110

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Re: Need Help With a Setpiece (in HELL)
« Reply #14 on: November 18, 2011, 05:40:40 PM »
and don't forget to include the contractual consequences if broken.
What should those be?

Offline SneeR

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Re: Need Help With a Setpiece (in HELL)
« Reply #15 on: November 18, 2011, 06:03:08 PM »
Okay, I may be late to the party here but I have a campaign that features Hell prominently. Some places I have:
(I'll start by saying that Hell is supposed to be horrible and inhospitable, so not everywhere is PC-friendly)

-An endless sea of diseased blood. There are piles of humanoid bones so high that they peak out from the blood here and there. There is a red musk in the air that blocks sight beyond 60 feet and forces Fortitude Saves to avoid becoming Nauseated every few minutes. If you becom nauseated, you can't stop until you succeed on a Fortitude sSave or breathe fresh air. If you become nauseated, you must also make another Fort save or become diseased, since the musk is just the blood particles floating about. Make sure they know that they are breathing human blood, and that they can hear the screams of those being bled somewhere in the distance.

-Miles of fissures and rock... with fire instead of air. Doesn't matter how it works, everything is burning, even the air you breathe. The closer to the bottom of the fissures you get, the hotter the fire (2d6 fire damage rather than 1 d6 per round).

-Endless murky magical darkness. Any light only illuminates within 5 feet. In that light, you can see that the floor is squirming--it is in fact, an entire plane of living bodies piled on top of each other, bound together by barbed wire. They can smell sweat and blood mixed together, and can hear moans of pain whenever they walk through the darkness. Obviously, walking on such unstable footing equates to about 5 foot move speed. The barbed wire itself may actually attack them, using an improved grab/constrict combo that does hp and WIS damage (making them go crazy), and when they have lost their will, they are integrated with the floor. (By the way, there is no ground beneath the bodies. Digging will only get you dirty)
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Offline veekie

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Re: Need Help With a Setpiece (in HELL)
« Reply #16 on: November 18, 2011, 07:08:56 PM »
and don't forget to include the contractual consequences if broken.
What should those be?
Standard one could be a broken fate. Once a day a d20 roll is a nat 1(or thrice, period) or an enemy gets a nat 20, as the demon chooses(that is to say, worst possible moment). To each oathbreaker.
Everything is edible. Just that there are things only edible once per lifetime.
It's a god-eat-god world.

Procrastination is the thief of time; Year after year it steals, till all are fled,
And to the mercies of a moment leaves; The vast concerns of an eternal scene.

Offline Mooncrow

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Re: Need Help With a Setpiece (in HELL)
« Reply #17 on: November 18, 2011, 07:11:35 PM »
and don't forget to include the contractual consequences if broken.
What should those be?
Standard one could be a broken fate. Once a day a d20 roll is a nat 1(or thrice, period) or an enemy gets a nat 20, as the demon chooses(that is to say, worst possible moment). To each oathbreaker.

Be sure to make it the initiative roll :p 

Offline Necrosnoop110

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Re: Need Help With a Setpiece (in HELL)
« Reply #18 on: November 25, 2011, 09:37:06 AM »
Awesome folks, thanks! This advice worked out perfectly.