How much of a cheat should I be?

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

OK, last session went well (I'll catch up on journals soon, Joel, I promise!) but didn't quite finish. Players were left in a dungeon, hiding and resting in the one place that could be reached by neither the vampire (behind running water) nor the clockwork man (blocked by trap requiring two people to operate) that are after them. They've got the mcguffin they came for (the souldrinker dagger) and are suitibly scared of it taking over and making one of them go all Gollum on everyone. One of them died (and was ressurected when the Grim Reaper that came for his soul was fought off) and all of them are very wounded. Things will be better in the morning when they get their spells back and can heal a bit more, but they will still be in bad shape.

Now, we've scheduled a one-day session to finish out the adventure. (usually we play for a full weekend) The plan was for them to fight the vampire on the way out, lose the dagger to him, and have him in turn fight the clockworkman and lose the dagger to him. Then the clockwork man would go massacre a nearby village and have to be stopped. Big confrontation. Climax of a 3 year campaign, etc.


BUT.... they... killed... my... Vassalich!!! Of course, they were supposed to kill him, but not before he got to fire a shot. (Poor planning on my part and good planning on theirs let them get in several shots before he got his protection spells up and then finish him off by killing his familiar when he was at 1 hp.) I spent a good deal of time working up this guy and wasn't expecting him to get mauled quite so soon.

The good news: they haven't found his phylactery yet, so he'll be back. But not for 2d10 days. By then, they'll be out of the dungeon and the whole confrontation with the clockworkman will be over.

So should I:

a) Have him come back early, like in the morning before they leave. This is cheating, but could be rationalized by giving him a salient power of fast rebirth, or saying since he was trying to become a full lich, he got the rebirth speed of a true lich (1d10 days) and rolled real well. He hits them for round 2, and dies again. I get to behave like a spoiled brat and use my toy that I worked hard on.

or

b) have him come back later, such as when they are completing the ritual to destroy his dagger and have him interrupt. He hits them for round 2, and dies again. I only cheat on the die roll to ensure that he's back before the ritual completes. But this is a bit of anti-climax, dramatically speaking, because they will already have beaten the big baddie, and here's a "Gotcha, I'm alive!" ending, but with the wrong bad guy.

or

c) Roll out the 2d10, and let the dice fall where they may. Vassalich will be back, but maybe in time only for revenge at a later date. I keep my honor by not cheating, but might end up only with a sequel adventure and not an addition to this one.


?


Still reading after all this babbling? What would you do?

[Scipion_Emilien]

I suggest that you first role the dice, and see what it done, if it s a low value, your dilemna is resolve in itself.

If not and you have to cheat the return of the vassalich, give the players some bonus knowledge or item that woud account for their early victory.

So you will be cheating, but the PC too.

[Tobias Blackburn]

Roll the dice and let the numbers stay as they land. The best part about a lich is that they come back time and again, making killing them into a quest in and of itself. If he comes back too soon, the player's might call foul and feel cheated of their victory. If he comes back later on, you still get to use him and he could have even worse things to do to them for ruining his plans.

[Jason of the Fraternity]

BUT.... they... killed... my... Vassalich!!! Of course, they were supposed to kill him, but not before he got to fire a shot.

If bringing the vassalich back early would promote an integral part of your story, then I would recommend that you forgo the dice-rolling and bring him back early. You are the dungeon master, and the rules can be broken and remade to suit your game.

However, I wouldn't cheat just because the group fought better than what you anticipated (i.e., don’t punish your players with another encounter just because the battle went too quickly). As Tobias pointed out, a great aspect of (vassa)liches is their ability to return time and again. This character could easily become a thorn in the group’s side, especially if they destroy one of its precious magical items. Therefore, unless the encounter is needed, I would roll the dice and play things out appropriately.

[CorvusCornix]

In my opinion a DM CAN'T cheat, because you don't try to actually win the game. If you bend a few rules to create a memorable event for your players, then what the hell, go for it. It's not cheating if you help your players having a thrilling adventure!

What you might want to ask yourself is: do you want to bring your Vasa-Lich back soon just because you have put so much work into him and WANT him to be there, OR does it really make the adventure better (more exciting and memorable)? Furthermore, would the players know they where cheated? Do they know a Vasa-Lich needs 2d10 days to resurrect? Otherwise, maybe your Ravenloft simply is different from ours - as long as you could somehow explain it to the players (which of course you shouldn't) then I don't see any problem there.

However, I agree with Jason, don't bring him back early just because you want to, when there is no good reason for him to be there. I'd say Option c) doesn't sound so bad, having a recurring nemesis you really seem to like sounds good to me..

[Joël of the FoS]

(I'll catch up on journals soon, Joel, I promise!)

Yay, let us know!

Whatever the feat / item / magic to bring him back quickly, why don't you bring him back in another lowest form, something to show he lost part of his power when they defeated him the first time - a bodiless entity (ghost, shadow, ...), zombie-like corpse with his intelligence in it, etc.

So even if you bring him back quickly, they will see the result of their action the first time.

Joël

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

However, I wouldn't cheat just because the group fought better than what you anticipated (i.e., don’t punish your players with another encounter just because the battle went too quickly).

What you might want to ask yourself is: do you want to bring your Vasa-Lich back soon just because you have put so much work into him and WANT him to be there, OR does it really make the adventure better (more exciting and memorable)?

this is exactly what I'm thinking. I don't know how much I'm letting my desire to use the Vassalich cloud my better judgement.

Furthermore, would the players know they where cheated? Do they know a Vasa-Lich needs 2d10 days to resurrect?

No, and they would probably never find out. That's the only reason I'm tempted to do it.

I think I'll probably go with option c. If the dice favor me, and he makes it in time for the ritual, fine. If not, he'll be back later.

Thanks for the pep talk...