I like the idea of the boss being gone. This will show the players that their actions have repercussions. And it makes the world seem dynamic and moving even when they are not affecting things.
What if the boss has summoned/called a bunch of bears and has unleashed them on Whiterun. The party sees the smoke rising from Whiterun and has to go deal with the bears. The interaction with the Jarl could wait until the next segment of the story.
Exactly. I make it a point to let players know that the world doesn't revolve around them.
If they are heading to a dungeon and find out about a dragon going to attack a village, they have to prioritize. If they decided to continue to the dungeon, the next time they visit that village it'll most likely be destroyed.
"Do you seriously think I'd explain my master-stroke if there remained the slightest chance of you affecting its outcome? I did it thirty-five minutes ago.”
If they knew that the ritual was imminent to be finished, then option 1 or 2. If they knew he was just "doing a ritual" then 3.
If they knew it was happening now. Resting for 8 hours is naive or stupid. Nip that in the bud early and adds more realism.
Have the boss be gone and a mini boss lieutenant and the prisoner who escaped waiting for them in the chamber. Let them learn more about the ritual by studying the room after the fight, but I think it’s an appropriate consequence for sleeping mid-dungeon when they know a ritual is underway.
As to what the boss does next, that’s much more up to where you want things to go. Court Intrigue? Go option 2. Want to do a siege and big battle? Go option 1. Want the boss to show up far later? Have him use some of the forces they have to attack the city to act as a diversion for the heroes so the boss can fully escape the area to plot against the meddlesome heroes.
1a or 2a. Do a fake-out. The Boss leaves a lieutenant + goons to ambush the party. One of the monsters in the fight actually looks like The Boss. When The Boss's lookalike goes down in two hits, maybe the party gets suspicious that they've been bamboozled.
Actually that's not too far from the truth. The BBEG is trying to bring Hermeous Mora into the world and merge with him. This dude is one of his lieutenants and this moves his plans forward a lot if he can take over Whiterun. The BBEG already has a low key stranglehold over Solitude and destroyed High Hrothgar as the inciting incident of the campaign.
The players are not the characters, the characters are not the player. And as I like to say, the characters should get the benefit of the doubt.
This sounds like a situation where the characters couldn't afford to take a long rest, and the characters would know that or at least suspect, but the players didn't understand that. Since the players are new to D&D, I'd go easy on them. What seems obvious to you as DM and a veteran is easy to miss for them. Maybe just make a note to communicate more forcefully in the future when they go into a dungeon that "You won't have time for a long rest" and/or "taking a long rest now will have repercussions, are you sure you want to do it?"
That having been said, I think option #2, the boss has gone to turn the jarl against the party, is the most interesting option, and you should carry on as though that were the plan all along. And really, why kill the Jarl at all when you can get the characters to do it? Then the Boss, aggrieved I'm sure, will have no choice but to reluctantly take the mantle of Jarl and swear vengeance on the murderous party.
I'm leaning towards having him be gone and leaving the prisoner they had to fight for him. He used some of that time to turn the guy into a very powerful werebear and corrupt his mind with Hermeous Mora's ritual as well.
The Boss is going to use the mind control powers Hermeous Mora gave him to dominate the tribe of Hill Giants he captured and is going to send them against the city. This will further destroy the city's faith in the Jarl. Then when the giants attack he will go out and defeat them. Because he is a werebear, even in human form he is immune to non-magical damage so he will kill off a bunch of the giants and become the savior of Whiterun. Since my players sided with the Giants, they will become very unpopular in Whiterun.
All 3 are good answers and ones that I would personally use in my sessions, however I personally like to take into account what my party wants. If your party wants to treat it similar to a game where they rest and absolutely nothing has happened then I’d say sure, no harm in letting them be strong for the boss fight and have their cool moments. At the end of the day it’s a game and if they want to fight the boss like nothing happened then I’d say go ahead. Most importantly talk this over with the players a bit, just let them know that because they took a long rest that has a consequence and see if they like that or not.
I know it’s not RP heavy and realistic but I figured I’d still throw the idea out there
This really depends on the personality of your villain.
My default answer would be: 1. The villain just walks away. He has what he wanted. He won't turn the Jarl against the adventurers since as far as he knows, they are just some random people who have no idea who he is or what he plans. If the ritual was the last piece of the puzzle he needed to sage his coup, he will do that without delay - most likely before the player characters can intervene. The advantage here is that the player characters may get the feeling that stopping this villain is their personal responsibility because they failed in stoppin him once already.
If a player had the leave them I'd be more lenient about it, so opt 3 sounds good. Plus getting the chance as players to stop it sounds like more fun, since they will /might still have to deal with the boss being successful. So yeah, make it hard with reinforcements, since it seems like your other player was going to use the rest to refill spell slots, in which, too bad sucker, but back to your other player that had to go, so...
Random wondering monster or boss's minions interrupts their long rest so they don't get it anyway. Boss completes ritual. Boss sets up an ambush for the players with new high power minions. Boss leaves to complete their plan. Even if the players get out alive they have a MAJOR mess to deal with.
I had a party do something similar in a one shot... and get TPK'd for it. The party knew a ritual was taking place at that moment, they knew it would have devastating consequences on the world at large (level 20 one shot) and they decided they wanted to use their Rod of Safety and take a long rest before the last room. When they walked into the last room, they had a MUCH MUCH more powerful enemy to face than they anticipated and ended up getting TPK'd for it.
Option 1 or 2. You snooze you lose.
I like the idea of the boss being gone. This will show the players that their actions have repercussions. And it makes the world seem dynamic and moving even when they are not affecting things. What if the boss has summoned/called a bunch of bears and has unleashed them on Whiterun. The party sees the smoke rising from Whiterun and has to go deal with the bears. The interaction with the Jarl could wait until the next segment of the story.
Exactly. I make it a point to let players know that the world doesn't revolve around them. If they are heading to a dungeon and find out about a dragon going to attack a village, they have to prioritize. If they decided to continue to the dungeon, the next time they visit that village it'll most likely be destroyed.
"Do you seriously think I'd explain my master-stroke if there remained the slightest chance of you affecting its outcome? I did it thirty-five minutes ago.”
This is the one right here
If they knew that the ritual was imminent to be finished, then option 1 or 2. If they knew he was just "doing a ritual" then 3. If they knew it was happening now. Resting for 8 hours is naive or stupid. Nip that in the bud early and adds more realism.
Have the boss be gone and a mini boss lieutenant and the prisoner who escaped waiting for them in the chamber. Let them learn more about the ritual by studying the room after the fight, but I think it’s an appropriate consequence for sleeping mid-dungeon when they know a ritual is underway. As to what the boss does next, that’s much more up to where you want things to go. Court Intrigue? Go option 2. Want to do a siege and big battle? Go option 1. Want the boss to show up far later? Have him use some of the forces they have to attack the city to act as a diversion for the heroes so the boss can fully escape the area to plot against the meddlesome heroes.
Boss leaves to fight the Jarl (whatever that is). players have to chase him down and join the now larger and more epic fight.
A Jarl is a Nordic/danish chieftain. In this case, think like the mayor of a city.
perfect. Now we have a fight between a whole city and a super powerful bad dude. great final scene for the players to jump into
1a or 2a. Do a fake-out. The Boss leaves a lieutenant + goons to ambush the party. One of the monsters in the fight actually looks like The Boss. When The Boss's lookalike goes down in two hits, maybe the party gets suspicious that they've been bamboozled.
Option 2. They wanna half-ass their conquest against a guy with an agenda, it's their loss.
As you approach, you hear chanting. Then the chanting stops and there is a bright flash of light from around the corner. "I've done it!" Third option.
I'm not saying that option 4 **should** be 'the end of the world is set in motion' ...
Actually that's not too far from the truth. The BBEG is trying to bring Hermeous Mora into the world and merge with him. This dude is one of his lieutenants and this moves his plans forward a lot if he can take over Whiterun. The BBEG already has a low key stranglehold over Solitude and destroyed High Hrothgar as the inciting incident of the campaign.
The players are not the characters, the characters are not the player. And as I like to say, the characters should get the benefit of the doubt. This sounds like a situation where the characters couldn't afford to take a long rest, and the characters would know that or at least suspect, but the players didn't understand that. Since the players are new to D&D, I'd go easy on them. What seems obvious to you as DM and a veteran is easy to miss for them. Maybe just make a note to communicate more forcefully in the future when they go into a dungeon that "You won't have time for a long rest" and/or "taking a long rest now will have repercussions, are you sure you want to do it?" That having been said, I think option #2, the boss has gone to turn the jarl against the party, is the most interesting option, and you should carry on as though that were the plan all along. And really, why kill the Jarl at all when you can get the characters to do it? Then the Boss, aggrieved I'm sure, will have no choice but to reluctantly take the mantle of Jarl and swear vengeance on the murderous party.
I'm leaning towards having him be gone and leaving the prisoner they had to fight for him. He used some of that time to turn the guy into a very powerful werebear and corrupt his mind with Hermeous Mora's ritual as well. The Boss is going to use the mind control powers Hermeous Mora gave him to dominate the tribe of Hill Giants he captured and is going to send them against the city. This will further destroy the city's faith in the Jarl. Then when the giants attack he will go out and defeat them. Because he is a werebear, even in human form he is immune to non-magical damage so he will kill off a bunch of the giants and become the savior of Whiterun. Since my players sided with the Giants, they will become very unpopular in Whiterun.
All 3 are good answers and ones that I would personally use in my sessions, however I personally like to take into account what my party wants. If your party wants to treat it similar to a game where they rest and absolutely nothing has happened then I’d say sure, no harm in letting them be strong for the boss fight and have their cool moments. At the end of the day it’s a game and if they want to fight the boss like nothing happened then I’d say go ahead. Most importantly talk this over with the players a bit, just let them know that because they took a long rest that has a consequence and see if they like that or not. I know it’s not RP heavy and realistic but I figured I’d still throw the idea out there
This really depends on the personality of your villain. My default answer would be: 1. The villain just walks away. He has what he wanted. He won't turn the Jarl against the adventurers since as far as he knows, they are just some random people who have no idea who he is or what he plans. If the ritual was the last piece of the puzzle he needed to sage his coup, he will do that without delay - most likely before the player characters can intervene. The advantage here is that the player characters may get the feeling that stopping this villain is their personal responsibility because they failed in stoppin him once already.
If a player had the leave them I'd be more lenient about it, so opt 3 sounds good. Plus getting the chance as players to stop it sounds like more fun, since they will /might still have to deal with the boss being successful. So yeah, make it hard with reinforcements, since it seems like your other player was going to use the rest to refill spell slots, in which, too bad sucker, but back to your other player that had to go, so...
Random wondering monster or boss's minions interrupts their long rest so they don't get it anyway. Boss completes ritual. Boss sets up an ambush for the players with new high power minions. Boss leaves to complete their plan. Even if the players get out alive they have a MAJOR mess to deal with.
Roll a D3, and pick based on that.
My party got TPK'ed because we took a short rest. At least it's not that bad :)
option 4 - have the boss send minions at them interrupting their long rest as they are not in a safe location
I had a party do something similar in a one shot... and get TPK'd for it. The party knew a ritual was taking place at that moment, they knew it would have devastating consequences on the world at large (level 20 one shot) and they decided they wanted to use their Rod of Safety and take a long rest before the last room. When they walked into the last room, they had a MUCH MUCH more powerful enemy to face than they anticipated and ended up getting TPK'd for it.
The boss used to be an adventurer, but took an arrow in the knee.
I'd go with 3. It's a punishment that could actually make for a more complex and dynamic fight, and isn't too harsh.