The Curse of Artaith (a 3.5 Campaign Journal)

[curious-puzzle]

Edit: BTW what was Spotter's planned ironic fate?

The divine power he had inherited would keep showing him all these terrible things people would do if he didn't kill them, forcing him to become a non-stop executioner. Then when he had killed nearly everyone remaining on Artaith, it would reveal how he was simply acting out Zophiel's dying will of omnicide, nothing more.

[curious-puzzle]

Epilogues!

Spoiler: Talvosh

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Talvosh decided that he was going to make something of the various orc tribes. With his strength, Talvosh went straight through any chieftain foolish enough to stand against him. It didn't take very long until Talvosh was THE Warboss. Then with his wealth (combined with his "boys" gathering resources), Talvosh began outfitting and building the orcs into a proper nation.

And then eventually, his thoughts turned to War.

Spoiler: Spotter

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It was hard going, but the remaining survivors along with Spotter were a tough bunch. They traveled from Logos, and began exploring. Here and there they found pockets of survivors, and kept expanding and moving. Forging alliances with the savage elves of the Summerlands was a big step, as was discovering an entire city flash-frozen and preserved in the far North of Haron's Folly. Once they were freed, they would actually become a nation again.

Spotter did speak with Maria once more. It turns out that Maria had taken her army of undying constructs (powered by the souls of those Forged who had fallen and died) and attacked the Daemons of the Labyrinth head-on. "No more will any interfere with Artaith. Not daemons, not spirits, not angels. When I'm done with the Labyrinth, I'll tear the gods off their thrones and kill them too if I have to."

One day either the daemons will kill Maria and her Legion of Steel, Maria will snuff out the fiends, or the Labyrinth will-change whoever's left. One day something will come back, and Spotter will be ready for it

Spoiler: Puck

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The last thing he said to Angelena was "Goodbye." He's held to his promise since. Puck helped Talvosh for a bit, but quickly realized that he couldn't simply hang around the orcs, they would eventually object to him feeding on them. So Puck began to wander, always following Angelena's Rules. He would find people and observe them, and if they were not just and innocent, if they sinned, he would take them.

After some time, Puck had the feeling that he was being tracked, so he found a mountain range and made a lair for himself. Venturing out to occasionally snatch some foolish evildoer from one of the rough frontier villages within the range, Puck prepared to confront whatever or whoever was coming after him.

Puck was going to live forever. Nothing would stop him.

Spoiler: Sona

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Sona returned to the Eyrie, and was greeted warmly by her former teachers, now peers. She spent many days there, recovering from the mental scars of Artaith. It was a mixed blessing returning to the school - Verlaine was nowhere to be found, but Sona knew that he had not fallen into Artaith, nor been trapped amongst the Fey forever. The last clue to his whereabouts was that he had ventured out amongst the Outer planes of existence, deep and far to find some way of breaking the Curse.

Soon, Sona set out to find him, and tales of a masked Wanderer striding across the worlds began to spring up.

Spoiler: Angelena

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A cleric of Angelena's strength abruptly reappearing shook the landscape. With the feeling of Pelor's hand on her shoulder, Angelena set out to bring light and hope to wherever needed it. Her travels eventually built into what was unofficially called the Second Crusade of Light, spreading across nations and washing evil away wherever it was found. After years, Angelena was guided towards a growing threat- a newly formed nation of orcs, swelling and threatening to engulf every country touching it in the fires of war.

But along the way, she found strange rumors in a collection of frontier villages all surrounding a mountain range. They were all strangely restrained and civilized for collections of outcasts and bandits...unnaturally so. And all the villages had the same rumors, stories, and terrified accounts. If someone "sinned", did anything that could even be considered slightly unkind or unjust, Something would come for them and take them away. And that person would never be seen again.

That Something was seemingly unstoppable. It couldn't be harmed, it didn't bleed, and no wall could stand against it. And it left no footprints, only multiple narrow punctures-like many limbs ending in points.

[curious-puzzle]

And the thing everyone has actually been waiting for:

Achievements!

Spoiler: Unlocked achievements

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What a terrible place: Awaken in Artaith

Here and there: Receive a gift from the Twins

We all float down here: Explore the Sinking village

THIS IS DARK S-Shh you wanna get sued?: Die for the first time in Artaith

Dem bones: Defeat the Necrodancer and his backup musicians

A mirror, darkly: Travel into the Shadow

A shadow on the mind: Defeat the Dark Presence

Jungle fever is overrated:Push through the Jungle

Up and down and up and…: Traverse the shattered canyons

Got some rare things on sale, stranger: Encounter Grabislov the Eminent

A Rare respite: Rest your head at Shepherd’s Sanctuary

Nothing in every direction: Cross the Wasteland

A scar in time: Encounter the ghostly city three times

Anger management: Defeat Jezelle

Sunlight’s end: Solve the puzzles of the Melted Keep and the tomb below it

Legend woven in thread: Find the ancient tapestries

The City of 15 nights: Reach Logos

Deadly neurotoxin: Speak with Pathos..and survive

Anger management part 2: Defeat Jezelle a second time, along with her draconic minion

Victory at a cost: Repel the incursion and save the majority of important figures in Logos

The Pilgrim’s prophecy: Enter the portal of Revelation

A world buried in ash: Travel to Lethe

Shadow, shadow: Find and light the hidden bonfire

You know these two: Vanquish the Twin Guardians

Sovereignty over Flame: Gain the power to step between Bonfires

A fragment of Power: Acquire a Primal Spark

We have a boat: Find and successfully activate the Heliosan swiftship

Pride faded by twilight: Reach the island of Helios

Blood, sand, and gold: Win at least one fight in the Helios arena

Are you a franchise: Purchase items from both Grabislov’s Emporium and the Illuminated Mirror

Another reflection: Use the mirror of transmigration to rebuild yourself

A Wonder of the past: Step foot onto the floating island-palace of Helios

I want it all: Defeat Janath

Mandate of Heaven: Free (and heal) the Mage-king of Helios

Halfway there: Acquire 2 Primal Sparks

We stand together or die: Help the survivors of Helios to travel to Logos

Wyrm of Devastation: Awaken and speak with Tephras

The Architect of Fate revealed: Discover the existence (and name) of Zophiel

Divine retribution: Overcome the agents of Fate

Pursuit: Defeat the Pursuer

Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt: Save the Twins and convince them to travel to Logos

Behind the curtain: Descend into the sublibraries of Pathos

You need therapy: Stop the Incarnation of Madness

Original Sin: Learn more about Uthra’s death

Oh yes...Paleblood: Walk the streets of Eulethron

Haven’t you seen horror movies?: Speak the Court of Owl’s poem aloud

Who needs friends: Defeat a boss or miniboss by yourself

Born of the blood, made men by the blood, undone by the blood: Explore the Grand Cathedral

Fear the Old Blood: Consume the Ichor

Speak not a whispered word of them: Crush the Court of Owls

Power: Acquire 3 Primal Sparks

The Rake: Discover the fate of Rhamiel

Brush with Death: Summon Uthra and receive her blessing

Slay the gods and topple their thrones: Acquire the Anathemic Lances

Stoke the embers: Make a sacrifice for Alexandria

Prime directive: Remind Bulwark of his duty

Who’s running?: Convince the Twins to stay and help

Sunken treasure: Discover the sunken library of Midpoint

Rage against the heavens: Cut down the agents of Fate

Heart of a Star: Acquire all 4 Primal Sparks

Iron strings: Parley with the Iron Mage of Logos

The End of everything: Enter the Labyrinth

The Beast: Stand against and slay the Beast

Just a scratch: Be reduced to -400 or lower hit points

Home of the gods: Enter Hyperborea

To the Moon: Enter the divine prison of Zophiel

A sputtering light against the dark: Discover the fate of Adremmelach

Struggle against Fate: Slay Zophiel, the three-faced goddess

Coin’s Edge: Broke the cycle of misery and ended the Curse of Artaith

Let’s get out of here: Escape Artaith

Spoiler: Locked Achievements

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There’s nothing left: Become Hollow

My Sin becomes me: Be consumed and corrupted into a Daemon

Mastery within and without: Defeat the Masters of the Falling water Monastery

Aaaaiiiieeeeee: Survive falling the entire length of a deep canyon

Who are you?: Discover the Shepherd’s identity

Red in tooth and claw:Defeat the imprisoned Eater of Men

Rodents of Horrifying size: Go Spleunking in the sewers of Logos

That’s quite enough of that: Prevent the Northern Bonfire from being corrupted and stifle the Daemonic incursion before it even begins

I really shouldn’t be here: Dive into the corrupted portal and trap yourself in the Labyrinth

Snuffed out: Lose the entirety of Logos to the Daemons

What playthrough are you on?: Do not lose a single asset or important figure during the Incursion

Who ya gonna call?: Permanently lay the Ghost Beholder to rest

It is very dark: Pass through the shadowed maze without using the Lantern

Where the Dead do not die: Explore the expanse of the Gravefields

An ancient Hunger: Stand against the First Hollow

Petrified: Enter the Stone Prison

Time left behind: Become one of the Stone Prison’s “Guests” and awaken to darkness

Dancing stone: Shatter the Blackstone Gigant

Underneath the Mountain: Meet the Goblin King

Steel and Honor: Earn the respect of the Hobgoblin blademasters

Still the earth: Save the Goblin holds from a fiery fate

We need a bigger boat: Defeat the Nightwave

It’s not a conspiracy if they ARE out to get you: Hunt down those blinded by Greed

A race against time: Stop the Apocalypse from the sky from being unleashed

Off with their heads!: Free the Mage-king, without curing his insanity

An empire of death: Unleash the Mage-king’s hateful spirit upon the world

By Mortal hands: Kill Coronis the fallen angel

Dragonslayer: Defeat Tephras

No honor amongst thieves: Kill the book-thieves

Explorer: Enter and exit every cube in a Sub-library

Luddites: Leave Pathos broken

Full repair: Completely restore Pathos to full capacity

Aggressive acquisition of knowledge: Each party member steals at least one book from Pathos’ library

Frozen secrets: Explore Haron’s Folly, once Haronfast

Teeth on the wind: Defeat the Wendigo

Divine madness: Free the remains of Rhamiel

Anger management part 3: Defeat Jezelle a final time

Death is light as a feather: Convince Rowen the Mage-King to abandon revenge

Life amongst the flames: Discover the remnants of the Goblin Holds

An ark to preserve: Use Pathos’ library to save survivors

The Council of Murder: Execute the personifications of Genocide

Lotus eaters: Overcome the Lotus-beast’s traps without a single death

Let’s make a deal: Bargain with Zophiel to escape the world of Artaith

The cycle continues: Stoked the Hearth of the World, and awoke once more on the beach

Let it all die: Condemned the world to Oblivion

This world owes me nothing: Broke the Curse and escaped Artaith for yourself

Here be monsters: Step foot onto the Dragonlands

The First World: Entered the Summerlands

The river of death: Entered Sheol (while alive)

Planar traveler: Traveled to all seven planes of Artaith

Paragon: Save all important individuals from their fates

Genocide run: Kill everyone you meet

We’ve been here before: Retrace your steps through Artaith a second time

[danielxcutter]

Hoooooooooo boi.

[Brion]

Oh I'm completely and absolutely sure that Puck will never end up the end boss/nearly the end boss of another campaign*.


*Some sarcasm may be applied.

[danielxcutter]

Oh yeah, what was with that Lance expanding and blowing the Maiden apart? And why'd it kill the other two?

Actually... what *were* the stats for the Lances?

[curious-puzzle]

Oh I'm completely and absolutely sure that Puck will never end up the end boss/nearly the end boss of another campaign*.


*Some sarcasm may be applied.

Well, he was one or two Vitae away from becoming a pretty brutal surprise boss, so yeah, I'm also "certain" that couldn't happen.

Oh yeah, what was with that Lance expanding and blowing the Maiden apart? And why'd it kill the other two?

Actually... what *were* the stats for the Lances?

The Lances were expanding because Sona had Shrunk them, and it was super dramatically appropriate for the shrink enchantment to break when they connected. Remember, they originally were gigantic and holding up a 100 ft or so deity body.

As for stats, they didn't have hard dice size or stats like that. They did however cause negative levels to anyone with more than 5th lvl divine casting, and just the creepy crawlies to anyone else. And when they connected, they auto-dazed that aspect of Zophiel, pinned them in place (except for magical transportation), and would strip that aspect of some of their special abilities.

Also, if at least three of them hadn't connected by the time that all the aspects were reduced to 0 hit points, Zophiel could have snuck part of her essence away to be reborn later.

[Picanet]

Snuck it away where?!????

[Spellbound]

The list of achievements about killed me. So much undone despite how much was completed! And I was just thinking back onto some of the plot points that weren't followed up on... even with that I didn't even think of half of the places you apparently had written out. I'm impressed and curious now. :P

[curious-puzzle]

Snuck it away where?!????

Oh, you know...

Spoiler: Unrelated

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Places.

The list of achievements about killed me. So much undone despite how much was completed! And I was just thinking back onto some of the plot points that weren't followed up on... even with that I didn't even think of half of the places you apparently had written out. I'm impressed and curious now. :P

Admittedly there wasn't really an easy way to go everywhere in one go-around. It would have taken Stoking the Hearth/ Linking the Fire and starting everything all over again, possibly more than once. And while once might have been an interesting thought exercise, more than that seems fishy.

And I'm always willing to ramble on about places/things/creatures/ideas if anyone had questions.

[Onos]

Puzzle, dude (and players!), this has been an awesome read! You guys are solidly amongst the legendary campaign logs for sure.
....I don't suppose you guys are planning to tackle the 'aftermath of Artaith' anytime soon? The epic foreshadowing in the epilogues is just too good.
And I may be slightly late to the party but any chance you could PM me the character backstories?

[Picanet]

Lol. I did send puzzle a bit of Post Artaith writing he hasn’t gotten to yet, and I was bugging Puck’s player about how Puck would feel about playing bodyguard while Sona started plane hopping looking for her buddy Verlaine.

Spoiler: Verlaine actually may have ended up in the plane and world of Tjar; an old game world of mine (and where my WIP novel is set - thus no journal). Sona was actually inspired by an NPC in that game. Originally I made Jezelle to play.

... there’s writing about that too somewhere lol. Jezelle in the party and Sona rebuilt as a villain.

[Spellbound]

Questions I have? Lots, but that's not very helpful... a lot of the bosses seem to be linked to hidden locations (quite dark souls esc) so I'll ask primarily about those to start.

The Gravefields
The Stone Prison
Haron's folly (this one seems to have been referenced in spotters epilogue)
The dragonlands
The summerland

In addition Rhamiels behavior if released and the Personification of Genocide were both particularly intriguing...

[curious-puzzle]

Puzzle, dude (and players!), this has been an awesome read! You guys are solidly amongst the legendary campaign logs for sure.
....I don't suppose you guys are planning to tackle the 'aftermath of Artaith' anytime soon? The epic foreshadowing in the epilogues is just too good.
And I may be slightly late to the party but any chance you could PM me the character backstories?

Thanks Onos! And the idea of doing up stats and balanced challenges for epic levels makes me twitch - so if we did, wouldn't be for quite a while. Had my fill of prepping and running high-level stuff for a little bit.

And it may not be a PM, but have a shiny Link

Questions I have? Lots, but that's not very helpful... a lot of the bosses seem to be linked to hidden locations (quite dark souls esc) so I'll ask primarily about those to start.

The Gravefields
The Stone Prison
Haron's folly (this one seems to have been referenced in spotters epilogue)
The dragonlands
The summerland

In addition Rhamiels behavior if released and the Personification of Genocide were both particularly intriguing...

All right - some bullet points on these bits and pieces so I don't fall into overly dramatic descriptions :P

The Gravefields: This was where Hollows from multiple nations were imprisoned/banished/hurled at the beginning of the Curse. As the Curse spread faster and faster, the giant oubliette/tomb quickly outgrew any attempt to build it securely, and degenerated into more of a walled-off mini-nation. Leaving mindless and soulless constructs to continue building further downwards and upwards, it ended up a a necropolis to nearly rival Logos in size.

Why would have the party wanted to go here other than for the sake of exploring? There was some truly ancient treasures and magics hidden under the tides of Hollows. Also, some of the most ancient Hollows slumbered here, still held together by will. Any clever ideas to communicate or compel could resulted in some extremely juicy info about the nature of the Curse and its beginnings.

Also, if the party had been more intrigued by the remaining pantheon of Artaith, this would have been a place to aid Uthra (goddess of death). Destroying the ancient Hollows and sealing the portals to Sheol (the plane of the dead) that they exploited would have been a major sidequest for sure.

The Boss area of the Gravefields would have been the First Hollow. I didn't have any stats or anything like that, but the core of the idea was a lot like Manus, Father of the Abyss. He was going to be a Super-undead, probably starting with a Death giant and going from there.

The Stone Prison: A mysterious fortress ruled by a coven of powerful Medusae. Before the time of the Curse they were content to collect individuals that caught their interest, or to imprison others for exorbitant sums- as the Curse overwhelmed everything, they became a haven of sorts for those willing to pay. For the low price of everything that you valued, the Medusae would turn you to stone, to wait the Curse out. Or until the world ended, whichever came first.

This was going to be the major source of new player characters if anyone met a permanent end, rather than "you randomly run into a level 15 hero that hadn't been doing anything until this precise moment." It also could have been a way of rescuing/saving innocents from the dangers of the end of the world - can't go Hollow and fade away if you're frozen in stone, as well as all those already locked way. That was an option if the party made bargains/peace with the Medusae - or if they slaughtered them all, was an option after finding a mass cure to petrification. Once the sky went dark, though, a group of particularly nasty daemons attacked the prison, killed/corrupted the medusae, and methodically decapitated every statue in the place (and then spread the heads all over).

The boss of this area was going to be a tuned-up blackstone gigant, which in a normal game I'd be terrified of it just ruining an unprepared party. ALSO! I had evil plans that if everyone got petrified, they'd eventually wake up who knows how much later into a super-dark "last fleeting embers" world where everything was somehow WORSE, and some time-travel/ dimension breaking would have been needed to try and recover.

Haron's folly/Haronfast: A super-northern near-polar city, Haronfast was meant to be a sanctuary from the Curse. Unfortunately, the inhabitants of the frozen north were not kind, and any who traveled there vanished in the snow.

This would have been a "we have to look for more survivors to band everyone together" location. Getting there would have been a big part of the danger - it's wwaayyy north (and an excuse to use the Frostburn book). Traversing the tundra and icy landscape would have involved fighting off nasty fae and other frozen baddies as well as surviving the weather. If they reached the city, the party would have discovered the entire city magically frozen in ice and time. Somehow freeing the city would mean an entire city of higher-than average level Uncursed NPCs suddenly on the PCs side.

The boss of this area would have been (at least one) Wendigos, possibly combined with a Pathfinder Whisperer. Isolation, madness, and high-speed aerial abductions!

Dragonlands: An untamed continent ruled by savage and insane dragons, squatting amongst the ruins of their primordial empire.

This was still a "broad strokes" area, but this was more an option if the party liked exploring and killing monsters more than following silly prophecies. This would have been my excuse to have more dragon fights, shamelessly crib stuff from Eberron's Xen'drik, and find some sweet loot piles.

As for a boss of an entire continent...eeh, would have been more of a series of increasingly nasty dragons (and ruins with still angry protectors). Eventually there would have been some truly ancient and still intelligent dragons, where suddenly the party would stop monster hunting and start being hunted.

The Summerlands: The plane of the mercurial Fey, a world of untamed beauty and unmatched cruelty. Very much an "optional level", exploring the Summerlands (which was easier to access through places of wild nature) would have resulted in skirmishes with crazy tribal elves, lethal riddle-duels with bridge-trolls, and the "salvation" of escaping the curse by becoming a plaything for the Sidhe.

I'm very much a fan of the "Fey are super scary and powerful, but you can protect yourself by figuring out and following their rules." Me being a big fan of Jim Butcher and Patrick Rothfuss would have definitely shown up here.

As for a boss...probably something involving Ragewalkers, cause they're awesome.

Rhamiel's behavior if freed? Well, if the party had made the really bad decision of freeing him from the Anathemic Lances and then just leaving...they would have released the utterly insane remnant of an already unbalanced deity of excess and passion upon Artaith. Rhamiel would have immediately started slouching his way towards concentrations of still-sane survivors, spreading a Plague of Mad Beasts in his wake.

So adding some shakes of eldritch-werebeasts, 28 days later, and madness to an already crappy place. Best options were leaving Rhamiel locked up to be leeched off of, or finding a way to mercy-kill him.

The Personification of Genocide (or the other name I liked, the Council of Murder) were the trio of Obscisidaemons that the party briefly fought with before the Beast (that they escaped from and ended up teleporting directly to the Beast). More a Mini-boss encounter, I just thought they were cool and creepy, and they would have been a nasty fight.

[danielxcutter]

Oh. OH! That city Spotter found in his epilogue must be Haronfast!

[Spellbound]

Thank you for enlightening me :). I'm really fond of the Stone Prison as a melding of the implications of Dark Souls with the magic of D&D. The fact that it provides a way to find new character is quite elegant.

Also I can't help but be sad that the party missed out on tangling with a wendigo and a whisperer! The whisperer in particular is nasty and I've always wanted to see one play in game...

As a fan of a similar portrayal of the Fey I'm a little disappointed I didn't get to see them used. And only a little bit because ragewalkers are wonderful...

I was quite curious about The Goddess of Hope becoming the Goddess of Death and it seems like the Gravefields would have been the place to learn about that. Your deities were all quite intriguing throughout. I'm torn between asking for more context or just accepting the pleasant ambiguity you've left us with. :P

[Archeoaevis]

I've been reading this for a while, but I've only just made a forums account. This was a great read, and it sounds like a fun campaign to play in and DM for.

I just have two questions, both about Jezelle.
1. In the canonical ending, what happened to her after Zophiel was defeated?
2. What was the unused third and final battle against her?

[curious-puzzle]

Oh. OH! That city Spotter found in his epilogue must be Haronfast!

Correct!

I was quite curious about The Goddess of Hope becoming the Goddess of Death and it seems like the Gravefields would have been the place to learn about that.

That was one of those proto-history events that only the gods themselves were 100% on, but yeah there would have been more info available there.

Uthra was killed by Zophiel. Why Zophiel killed her I deliberately never made an answer for, figured the lack of explanation was better. That act of deicide + the weapon she used (the Labyrinth in a raw, unbound antimatter evil sort of thing) were the reasons the other gods imprisoned Zophiel. When Uthra returned/was reborn, the deities worked together and bound said evil antimatter stuff / superdaemon weapon around and upon itself, and bam you get a Labyrinth.

And then things devolved from there.

I've been reading this for a while, but I've only just made a forums account. This was a great read, and it sounds like a fun campaign to play in and DM for.

I just have two questions, both about Jezelle.
1. In the canonical ending, what happened to her after Zophiel was defeated?
2. What was the unused third and final battle against her?

Thanks Archeoaevis, glad you enjoyed the read! And as for your questions;

1) Jezelle was already completely insane by the time the party had gathered 2 Primal Sparks, and had pretty much become a daemon (albeit an exceptionally willful and independent one). Without the draw of Vitae, she'd degenerate into a crazed monster (much like most of the dragons in Artaith), possibly something super scary that Spotter and the new inhabitants of Artaith would have to eventually deal with.

2)Remember the dragon-y shape the party spotted off in the distance of Eulethron before they got distracted by the grand cathedral? The one blowing up buildings and making a general nuisance? That was Jezelle. She'd become mostly draconic, started a lair just next to the edge of Eulethron, and was enjoying randomly attacking anything she came across.

That boss fight was a pyroclastic dragon, with Jezelle's upper body growing out of the side of the dragon's neck symbiote style. Both would take actions, the dragon with nasty physical attacks and breath weapon (which was either a superheated screaming fire and ash cone, or a Disintegrate laser) and Jezelle with a multitude of spells. Jezelle would be a lot harder to hit, but any nasty hits to her could stun the dragon briefly

[PrismCat21]

I'm still curious about the almost fight with that other party of adventurers.
They were so close to attacking, but against form, they held back and talked instead. :,-(
Would have been greatly entertaining to see how the fight went.
Oh well :)

[curious-puzzle]

I suspect it would have been really fast, really bloody, and I'm mostly certain the book-thieves would have died messily. They consisted of a rogue/swordsage, a conjurer/malconvoker, a dervish/revenant blade (starting with a mix of ranger/fighter/warblade), and a disguised half-fiend war troll. So whichever side had more people go first would have the initial advantage - but then the whole "frenzy and not die" would have pulled ahead.

[Ionsniper]

So I am curious. In your achievements you list relighting the bonfire and redoing campaign over again with a second time through your world. How would that have worked out as far as time wise and equipment/levels wise?

[curious-puzzle]

I had a couple ideas, depending on what the test subjectsplayers liked more.

1)end the game with the not-particularly happy, "You saved the world, and your reward is to do it again." Fade to black

2)start the campaign world back over, but leave the party with their levels and equipment. Basically just let them rampage, and unearth all the hidden and ancient monstrosities/bosses (about the only things that would provide a threat for a while) and then have the Labyrinth full-on start devouring the world and make it an epic-level struggle against an interplanar invasion.

3)Start the party back at a lower level, but in gestalt (with one side being locked as their previous classes)

4)Have them make new characters, and make their original ones new bosses.

[PrismCat21]

I had a couple ideas, depending on what the test subjectsplayers liked more.

1)end the game with the not-particularly happy, "You saved the world, and your reward is to do it again." Fade to black

2)start the campaign world back over, but leave the party with their levels and equipment. Basically just let them rampage, and unearth all the hidden and ancient monstrosities/bosses (about the only things that would provide a threat for a while) and then have the Labyrinth full-on start devouring the world and make it an epic-level struggle against an interplanar invasion.

3)Start the party back at a lower level, but in gestalt (with one side being locked as their previous classes)

4)Have them make new characters, and make their original ones new bosses.

Option 2 sounds like it would have been a blast. Option 4 is straight up Evil. ...so
i approve naturally.

[curious-puzzle]

Except I think option 2 would have driven me insane with the stat-work involved :D