Zjelwyin Fall on-deck in grodog's Greyhawk

That's a great question. I feel like multi class characters have a suite of limitations and handicaps that might make a level for each class just fine. Multi class characters are after all made of glass. 😆 Otherwise, I might provide enough xp to elevate all classes by half.

But then they might be lower than 4th level still, and able to return to the Fall to loot it again (not that there aren't other ways around that stricture too...).

Allan.

It's so nice to see the adventure used by others. As luck would have it, I too ran ZF yesterday during my Saturday group's session! They experienced VC 1,2 and three. The party got separated at the Sapphire door. Two of them then died to monodrones. The remaining ranger ended up summoning the shuctulb, which tore him to pieces. But everyone made their system shock check and woke up a few days later under the care of the celestial knights... Who then begged them to make another attempt.

I an curious about a few things, Anthony:

- Did you change-up ZF at all for the players who had previously visited the site?*

- How did the two groups do (if both went??), in comparison to your original crew?

* I positioned ZF as a place that is different every time it’s visited, so past histories of visits would not be useful guides to exploring it in the future, save as examples of the kinds of things that could be encountered, rather than the specific encounters’ contents themselves.

Allan.

Good to know, thanks. I'm trying to gauge his personality in part based on his power level relative to the other, better-defined NPCs from City of Brass. The fact that he preferred his harem as undead is interesting, and aligns with my perception of him as vain (and that is why, in part, that he resides in the astral plane to prevent the physical decay of his body into traditional skeletal lichdom). The fact that he is so powerful, but still could not compete with Iblis is telling! :D "Many self-styled lich kings"!! :D Allan.

Vanity is on the nose. The proxy body in his hoard is for his use! But Dachod is also an unwilling nihilist who sees the bitter end of everything as inevitable. This is both why his sigil is the broken hourglass and his lair preference is Astral. He's denying time----recall the Gringlings were the Writers and Eaters of Time, but Dachod has chosen neither. A true outcast.

Were Dachod to face Iblis now, outside the City, I think Iblis would have little chance against the ascended demigod. But back in the day, Iblis' many support systems would have won the day, not least of which was the City itself and its many defense mechanisms at Iblis' disposal.

I admit it is fun to talk some of the back story because my Players rarely scratch the surface of this lore. They are just trying to stay alive and every session unearths more lore that is impossible for them to keep in RAM. The handouts sit in an REAL inbox in a messy pile. Oh that you lived in Austin!

Thanks again, I appreciate the insights into your design thinking and intentions! :D

I'm thinking that Drachod (I added the extra 'r' in my version of his name) may offer help to the PCs out of desire for self-preservation (aka, the goodness of his heart ;) )---if their reaction rolls are good. He acts as a custodian for prophetic lore from the clergy of Celestian, and in return Celestian helped to build ZF and still maintains it on Drachod's behalf. So he has a vested self-interest to ensure that Celestian continues to invest that daily Primal flux into ZF.

So the PCs will retrieve the prophecy previously-deposited* in ages past. That they're pulling this particular prophecy (the sestina I emailed you) will pique his concern and curiosity, in particular if he notices one of the PCs carrying the lesser tentacle rod. (In fact, he'll be far-more concerned about evidence that the drow attempted to infiltrate ZF and will immediately connect them to the prophecy, although he won't share that detail with the PCs, or Celestian). Hence the help. If he notices that, he may also geas the PCs to deliver a message to the Master at the NWI (which would be a handy way to introduce that into the game), or perhaps to Tenser, Iggwilv, or someone comparable (I haven't decided yet---he may just keep the info to himself, for the moment, too).

* The PCs don't know this yet, but they're not just bringing back a scroll with the prophecy on it. To retrieve the prophecy requires a virgin twin acolyte, and Drachod will kiss her to transfer it (sort of a cross between the Quickening from Highlander and the kiss of the angel Simon from The Prophecy). Drachod himself is the storage device. To deposit the prophecy into him (which the PCs are not doing) is a bit more intimate.... The twins are critical to the process: the prophecy, while it is deposited into one of them, infects both: so the twin who remains on the Prime also acts as a receiver for the prophecy, and gains access to it at the same time that the other twin in the Astral receives it from Drachod. This ensures data availability for the priesthood in case the first twin doesn't successfully return home. (The NPC twins naturally know nothing of this either).

I do think it's unlikely that we would move to Austin, but I will still keep you posted on any possible conferences or work trips in your vicinity! NTX is still in my plans for June 2023.

Allan.