Well, just for starters, all sorts of horrific sights as the demons claim the souls of everything else in the castle.

To impress upon the PCs that running like fuck would be a good idea, have a group of Royal Guardsmen, all equipped far better than the PCs and whom they know to be a higher level, get slaughtered by a single demon without even so much as scratching it.

Rivulets of molten precious metals staining the floor near the royal treasury would also be good. The screaming of the horses trapped in the stables as well, and the frenzied and desperate attempts by dogs, rats, cats, crows and any other animal that isn't chained in to try to get the fuck away would help set the mood as well. Although perhaps the rats fleeing the dungeon before the collapse would be the first sign of things going wrong.

Oooh, sounds nice. I figured I'd have lots of little imps flying about, setting servants and small animals on fire. Perhaps have group of guards be mind controlled by a succubus, and let them kill each other for sport.

What I'm really looking for are puzzles that require teamwork, like they need to open a portcullis and need to combine their efforts to open it.

Kind of reminds me of Berserk.

Having ridiculously strong enemies presents you with an interesting option here- you can basically rule out combat and give your players the chance to be tricky. Don't make escaping the castle a cakewalk, make them have to think about a way to escape, and make it very clear to them that they do *not* want to engage the demons in direct combat.

Some ideas that I came up with off of the top of my head...

You could have them stumble upon an armory with a couple of powder kegs in it. They could do all sorts of stuff with those.

Perhaps you could have them encounter a demon that doesn't directly engage them in combat and have it bargain with them for assistance of some sort.

You could have them find a ballista with one bolt loaded and no others in sight.

If you wanted for there to be a couple of survivors scurrying around in the bloodbath, you could do that, too. Think of good reasons why they'd be alive, though, if you choose to do this, and don't make them overly useful. Something like a cowardly guard who they can intimidate into handing over the keys to an armory, or a cell, or something valuable. Perhaps a servant who knows of a secret passage out of the castle BUT OH WAIT YOU'LL HAVE TO GET TO IT FIRST, HAHA. I'd, personally, have any helper npc's play very minor roles, as the players should be the heroes, not Dave the Mage and his invisibility spell. And I'd make sure that any helper npc died horribly, as the players should be the only survivors of this.

It sounds like this could potentially be a lot of fun. Work out a lot of different hooks within the encounter, but always expect for your players to try something unexpected.

MOAR MAHJONG CAT!

>>7043302

There is, unfortunately, none to be had.

>>7043249

Ah! Very good inspiration. I knew this was a good idea.

>>7043302
Ron.

Looks like you've got some good ideas so far, OP. I'd really love to contribute but my brain has shut down and I'm about to nod off. Looks like it will be an awesome campaign start.

>>Guilty or not, the PC's have been arrested and jailed for a crime of their choosing
>>of their choosing
Caught my eye, and you deserve props for this. Between this and the rest of your post, I think you'll do a very fine job. Best of luck on your first attempt.

Now, assuming the PCs leave the castle alive and don't attempt something else unexpected, think about what will happen after their immediate escape. There will likely be a form of traditional pursuit with searchers, dogs, and other trackers. Those evaded, signs with a massive reward for the PCs will show up everywhere, with numerous bounty hunters and highly skilled trackers hired directly and/or enticed to independent efforts to capture the PCs by the money. If they don't manage to capture the PCs fast enough, expect the lich to start resorting to drastic measures--destroying whole towns that he suspects the PCs might be in, or whom might be sympathetic, and doing his best to let the PCs know that more will come unless they turn themselves in. Seeing the daughter of that innkeeper who gave them shelter despite the reward, crushed beneath the bricks of the very inn, could be quite the effective moment.

Also, I'd only give the lich a month to get them back if you want a fast-paced game. A year, and he'd be content with not having results for days, even weeks at a time before getting impatient.

Again, best of luck to you!

Well, one kink to throw into the works towards the end is that it turns out that in fact the PCs did lose their souls to the castle. They just made it out alive anyway. The problem is that the continued existence of their bodies independently of their souls fucks up all sorts of shit for the demons.

The demons have of course not told the Lich-King about the fact that he actually did meet his soul-quota, because if they can con him into letting them eat his soul (or actively fighting them and thus breaching the contract) they can take all the souls bound into his lichdom for other use.

As for other traps, there's the fact that the entire building is steadily collapsing. Don't bother throwing too much else in the path of your PCs, just scenes of horror that they can't do anything to stop and a desperate scramble to get out of the castle before it comes down, or before any of the incoming demons eat them.

Perhaps some sort of a chase scene; demons come for the PCs, and the PCs either shake them by some fancy footwork or shake them because the demons find easier prey.

Also, I recommend running at least one session before the Eclipse where your players are roaming the castle freely, meeting NPCs, getting a feel for the place, etc, at the end of which they get taken by the guards and chucked in prison. That way they have a little bit more investment in what's about to happen to the place.

>>7043368
>>shake them because the demons find easier prey.
If you do this, you could give them quite the damning decision--are they going to let someone defenseless (children, a cute girl one was eyeing pre-prison, etc)be torn apart to assure their escape? And if they try to rescue them and bring them along, be ready for that adjustment to your campaign.

>>Also, I recommend running at least one session before the Eclipse where your players are roaming the castle freely, meeting NPCs, getting a feel for the place, etc, at the end of which they get taken by the guards and chucked in prison. That way they have a little bit more investment in what's about to happen to the place.
While this could be good, there's a lot to be said for starting the campaign off in the thick of the action. Much easier to hook your players' interest that way.

>>7043362
>Also, I'd only give the lich a month to get them back if you want a fast-paced game. A year, and he'd be content with not having results for days, even weeks at a time before getting impatient.

I'm not so sure about this. Whatever the time limit is, the king knows that the PCs had to have been in the castle at the time of the deal, so they must be close by. The more time goes by after the start, the less likely it becomes that they PCs will be found, because the search radius becomes continuously larger. He'd be impatient no matter what, his soul is on the line after all.

>>7043411
I say this because I recently ran a game where the players started out on the run. They'd kidnapped the princess and didn't know why (snapped out of the spell in the middle of doing so), so they took her and hauled ass out of the city. Within 5 days they'd managed to put a lot of distance between themselves and the city, plus put up a significant buffer against capture.

Now they're planning their return to the city to get revenge on the guy who did it to them (a free agent paid by another country), disguising themselves and sneaking in so they don't get nabbed on sight.

>>7043166

Couldn't you set it so that the PCs make it out alive but are forever hunted by the BBEG's minions for all of eternity and are stuck between the spirit and physical realms, a la Berserk?

>>7043452

I could, but I haven't actually gotten around to reading berserk yet. Just finished Hellsing, I won't be starting another until finals are over.

Anything else you need help with, OP? Looks like your main question was answered. Long time GM here who gets a lot of kudos from his players, so I must be doing something right. Have to go to bed really soon though, so I won't be refreshing this thread too long.

Wait.. the bargain was for "Every soul within the castle's walls?" Why wouldn't the king just then vacate the castle on the day of the pact?

>>7043625
I'm sure there was a minimum quota in the fine print. These are devils the guy is dealing with, after all.

>>7043625
It's implied in the OP that there's a minimum number of souls required, hence the orders to ramp up the arrests.

As for why he couldn't vacate the non-criminals, or at least the nobility in the castle, it's probably because
a) he's an evil bastard making a pact with the devil for lichdom. He just doesn't give a shit. Or
b) Devil shows up in his room and says, "Surprise! Time to sign, now or never." King isn't given time to vacate due to infernal sneakiness.