First time visitor... I'll LIKE and SUBSCRIBE, just because. But anyway... One of my 2 groups will be encountering a Rakshasa in their next session. Having dealt with the creature before, it totally sucks in combat, even with its immunities and resistances. It's real power is keeping its identity hidden. In my setting, he's not the BBEG. Not even close. However, for the past few centuries, he's disguised himself as a dwarf and is the king of a dwarven nation. He keeps his minions (the dwarves) constantly trained and ready for battle, even though there are no "apparent" threats to him or his country. He, however, has it in for the current ruler of the underworld (which I call "Hehl"). This person, a mortal named Vigila, has subjugated all the demons and devils in Hehl, and is currently considered an ally to the PCs. The last thing the Rakshasa wants is to be killed, because he knows that Vigila would destroy him immediately if he were to reconstitute there. Consequently, he keeps himself surrounded by loyal followers (none of which carry piercing weapons!) However, his followers are unaware of his true nature. He has an artifact the PCs want, and he'd be willing to trade it for something he believes is better. Getting to my question: In the prior groups (I'm current running groups 5 and 7 in my setting; group 5 is the party about to meet him, they are level 11, meaning they can easily take the Rakshasa unless I modify him significantly) I've felt that this encounter hasn't been as good as it could have been. I'm not great at "Drama" in the sense the Rakshasa would want to stir up, so I'd be open to some ideas and suggestions on how to run him better than I have in the past.
Hi Scott! First off I love the name of your underworld and the situation it is in with a mortal ruling over it. This is why reaching level 10 and higher can get so cool. I should have said, that the Rakshasa would be a good BBEG for a lower level party, but as you say at level 11 the party would not find one very challenging. I think you have set it up perfectly tbh. By having him surrounded by his minions at all times, he should never be caught alone. Did you ever play 4e? They had a great mechanic for minions where they were, let’s say, normal Dwarf warriors but with one HP. This means you can have swarms of them, which can be very deadly, but easy to kill. This can lead to really cinematic action, as the heroes cut a swathe through the masses of enemies. A powerful mage or Cleric as a lieutenant and a couple of heavies and I think you have a cracking encounter. If the party know his true self then perhaps the party may try to talk their way out of a fight. I always reward this kind of tactic with an actual opportunity to convince the guards, or perhaps the lieutenant, by judging the actual argument and the speech that is given as well as a performance or charisma check of you sort. Hope this helps Scott, good luck and let us know what you ended up going with. Keep slaying!
@@eddiebaby1982 The session with the Rakshasa was last Friday. Here's what happened - They arrived in the city and after convincing the soldiers/guards that they needed to see the king, they were escorted to the castle. The city is built for war - Multiple layers of walls, and throughout the city are grand towers with ballistae, and everything is manned and ready. There are no taverns, inns, or anything (this is a city of DWARVES, by the way!) When a PC offered the captain a drink, the captain scoffed, "Drinking dulls the senses. We can't afford such distractions." Wow. When they came to the castle, under heavy escort (and having been relieved of their weapons), they were searched again (finding more weapons on the rogue, of course) and brought in to audience with the "king." He wants what he wants. He has an artifact that they want. They try using insight checks, but with his +10 deception, he's pretty good with his lies and misdirection. The druid in the party, however, wants to know why he hates the witch ruling Hehl so much. He goes into this diatribe talking about the great war between demons and devils, and how that before she arrived in Hehl, they co-ruled (not peacefully, of course) the realm. She subjugated both and took her place. He feels that the situation is untenable, and that fiends should be allowed to pursue their own destiny, and not be ruled by a mortal. During the conversation, he intentionally reveals his true nature... When serving brandy to the party members from his credenza, he drops the illusion on his hand that is holding the decanter. Of course, his "body guard" is standing right behind him the whole time - a modified version of the "Mighty Servant of Leuk-O". One of the descriptors I included is that the dwarves are very much like the duergar, but are just fine working and training in day light. The party actually agreed to the terms of his trade and the deal was made. He got what he wanted. They got what they wanted, and they left in peace. Though, in his parting words, he said, "It won't be you coming to me asking for my help, it will be you coming to me asking how you can help me."
