First, I hope this post is in the right section. Mods, please move it if it isn't!
Second, to get to my point of difficulty, I'm going to need to set up a lot of context. Listening to other people's campaigns can be like listening to other people's dreams -- a real drag -- so I promise to keep it as short as I possibly can, and make it as enjoyable to read as I can. That said, I might need more than one post to cover it all. My apologies in advance, not only for being so long, but also because I might not be able to get all these post written in one sitting.
Okay then! First, the characters. I'm not sure if it's 100% germane to my problem, but I can understand if people might want to know anyway.
We have (all 6th level, almost 7th):
Half Elf Cleric
Human Bard
Dragonborn Paladin
Halfling Druid
Halfling Sorcerer
Tiefling Rogue
Dwarf Barbarian (GMPC)
Now, the adventure:
THE LIBRARY OF THE GIANTS
The Tale So Far: The Party are chasing a Cambion Wizard/Demogorgon cultist named Azoth, who is trying to piece together the stuff he needs to cast a spell that will summon a giant avatar of Demogorgon to destroy a local city. The pieces that Azoth needs are located in the Library of Giants, a legendary place, whose location was long-lost but, to get the point, both the Azoth and the Party learned the location of: It's on the moon! Azoth had about a day's lead on the party, and both took Giant-sized airships (don't ask) through space (don't ask) to land on the moon, with the Party taking a brief detour to liberate some of the slaves from a Mind Flayer ship.
On the moon, they learn from the local Moon Rock People that the Library, an extremely tall tower, was there, but has buried itself into the ground like a corkscrew, and currently like fifty feet under the soft, loose moon sand. The Party, with the Moon Rock People's help, dig down there, and the Party is able to enter the Library through the the large windows at the top of the tower. (This causes sand to begin pouring into the Library like a sand timer, which may or may not be important for finishing my adventure.)
The Party enters the Library, which you should imagine as like the Guggenheim Museum, only built for literal Giants. After exploring around a bit*, and coming across a party of renegade Mind Flayers who found their way in (not related to the ones they fought in space), and meeting the immortal Hill Giant who acts as the lone librarian, they figure out their goal and how to obtain it. Azoth has found his way to a Secret Forbidden Books Room, which is where the spell stuff he needs is kept, so the Party must find their way to that room, if they hope to stop Azoth from getting what he needs (and maybe just defeating him outright).
To get into the Secret Forbidden Books Room, they need the permission of Selune, the Goddess of Secrets, and her evil twin sister, Shar. They find Selune's room, and to get her permission, she gives each an individual secret that they are not allowed to share with anyone else (Big Campaign Secrets, in other words.) If they do so, they will be struck down dead. They then find Shar's room, and to get her permission, each character must whisper a personal secret about themselves to her (secrets that even the other players don't know). They do this, and they find the entrance to the Secret Forbidden Books Room, leading to an amusing (to me at least) bit where the Mind Flayers try to follow the characters in (they parleyed with them earlier, and are on neutral terms), but are stopped by an invisible unpierceable wall.
The Party is now in the Secret Forbidden Books Room.
*There's a lot more here I could talk about, including why the Library is corkscrewing itself into the ground, but I don't feel it's germane. If you disagree and want to know more, let me know.
Next: The Actual Problem!
Second, to get to my point of difficulty, I'm going to need to set up a lot of context. Listening to other people's campaigns can be like listening to other people's dreams -- a real drag -- so I promise to keep it as short as I possibly can, and make it as enjoyable to read as I can. That said, I might need more than one post to cover it all. My apologies in advance, not only for being so long, but also because I might not be able to get all these post written in one sitting.
Okay then! First, the characters. I'm not sure if it's 100% germane to my problem, but I can understand if people might want to know anyway.
We have (all 6th level, almost 7th):
Half Elf Cleric
Human Bard
Dragonborn Paladin
Halfling Druid
Halfling Sorcerer
Tiefling Rogue
Dwarf Barbarian (GMPC)
Now, the adventure:
THE LIBRARY OF THE GIANTS
The Tale So Far: The Party are chasing a Cambion Wizard/Demogorgon cultist named Azoth, who is trying to piece together the stuff he needs to cast a spell that will summon a giant avatar of Demogorgon to destroy a local city. The pieces that Azoth needs are located in the Library of Giants, a legendary place, whose location was long-lost but, to get the point, both the Azoth and the Party learned the location of: It's on the moon! Azoth had about a day's lead on the party, and both took Giant-sized airships (don't ask) through space (don't ask) to land on the moon, with the Party taking a brief detour to liberate some of the slaves from a Mind Flayer ship.
On the moon, they learn from the local Moon Rock People that the Library, an extremely tall tower, was there, but has buried itself into the ground like a corkscrew, and currently like fifty feet under the soft, loose moon sand. The Party, with the Moon Rock People's help, dig down there, and the Party is able to enter the Library through the the large windows at the top of the tower. (This causes sand to begin pouring into the Library like a sand timer, which may or may not be important for finishing my adventure.)
The Party enters the Library, which you should imagine as like the Guggenheim Museum, only built for literal Giants. After exploring around a bit*, and coming across a party of renegade Mind Flayers who found their way in (not related to the ones they fought in space), and meeting the immortal Hill Giant who acts as the lone librarian, they figure out their goal and how to obtain it. Azoth has found his way to a Secret Forbidden Books Room, which is where the spell stuff he needs is kept, so the Party must find their way to that room, if they hope to stop Azoth from getting what he needs (and maybe just defeating him outright).
To get into the Secret Forbidden Books Room, they need the permission of Selune, the Goddess of Secrets, and her evil twin sister, Shar. They find Selune's room, and to get her permission, she gives each an individual secret that they are not allowed to share with anyone else (Big Campaign Secrets, in other words.) If they do so, they will be struck down dead. They then find Shar's room, and to get her permission, each character must whisper a personal secret about themselves to her (secrets that even the other players don't know). They do this, and they find the entrance to the Secret Forbidden Books Room, leading to an amusing (to me at least) bit where the Mind Flayers try to follow the characters in (they parleyed with them earlier, and are on neutral terms), but are stopped by an invisible unpierceable wall.
The Party is now in the Secret Forbidden Books Room.
*There's a lot more here I could talk about, including why the Library is corkscrewing itself into the ground, but I don't feel it's germane. If you disagree and want to know more, let me know.
Next: The Actual Problem!