The Net Book of Plots
Volume V
Editors Note:
This book marks the first in a new format, made for conversion to HTML
and for indexing. My enormous thanks go to Alexander Forst
(alex@complang.tuwien.ac.at) and to Soh Kam Hung (h.soh@trl.telstra.com.au)
for their dedicated efforts in designing this tagging scheme and help in
tagging and editing the plots. I hope all enjoy this new collection and
dont forget to tell the authors how it went if you run a plot.
—————————————————————————
know they had from their father or some more ancient ancestor. Note that these
types of inheritances don’t have to be land, wealth or possessions: sometimes
certain _rights_ were just as valuable. For instance the right to own land in
certain places, the right to start a business, or be exempt from taxes, or
whatever. For balance, it probably shouldn’t be something _too_ wonderful. It
may even have problems attached (squatters on land, politicians who don’t like
people exempt from taxes, etc.).
and stuffing them down chimneys and fireplace flues. People find out when they
light their morning fires and the smoke backs up. No visible wounds. Is it
poisoning? Demons? Rabid Santa Claus?
horrible floats to the surface. They run back and tell everyone. Was it alive?
Dead? Is it there when someone goes to investigate?
carry (a sword? helmet? shield?). He offers to pay with a small marble
crucible.
say is very useful for describing natural phenomena. The local church
immediately denounces it as unholy and sacrilege.
of a part of the body from its normal position, usually the womb or the
rectum. I kid you not. Look it up.
to a mage, etc.) retrieve, whole and unbroken, the internal acid sac of an
acid-spitting dragon. First kill it (non-destructively), then cut out the
sac (tricky business).
started it? What implications will it have?
monomania (becomes obsessed with one task to the exclusion of all else, becomes
depressed when task completed), or a megalomaniac blacksmith.
Areas with unusual forms of government. For example, a pedocracy (government by
scholars and the educated), or a syndicracy (rule by a body of syndicates, each
representing some business interests).
is defiled. Several weeks of time, and great cost.
the group obtain the intact scent glands of 6 skunks.
made of wood and wire, that you’re supposed to manipulate into some particular
shape (you know the kind – even a Rubik’s Cube, maybe!): if the owner fails a
save, he/she becomes enraptured by it, and won’t put it down. If it’s finally
forcibly taken away, they’ll react violently for a couple of turns. Or one of
them little kaleidoscope tubes: if the person doesn’t save, they’ll continue to
stare through it and giggle. If it’s taken away, same reaction as above.
terrible murder. It’ll move a little on its own, or tingle, or drop from your
grasp, or moan eerily, or whatever. If the murder can be investigated and maybe
solved, this behaviour will stop.
law, and instead of being thrown in jail they’re forced to perform several says
(weeks?) of community service:
-
* street cleaning
* city storage/library inventories
* stray animal extermination
* litter-bearer for someone important
* issuing summons or assisting in the arrest of particularly dangerous
people
conspicuous.
of the characters. Takes _weeks_ to wear off.
inside: they may lead to further adventures, or just be teasers.
-
* the history of a land they do not know
* someone’s diary
* an index of animals, with drawings, none of which they’ve seen before
* recipes
* astronomy
travelling companion for a while, whether they like it or not. See Clyde, from
the Clint Eastwood movies “Every Which Way But Loose” and “Every Which Way You
Can”.
People (not the party) get killed in bizarre ways:
* crushed within a grist mill.
There can be a reason behind it all (the setup to whatever other adventure you
* skewered on the walled city’s front gate portcullis.
* struck dead by a falling cheese.
* leg held fast under the rubble of a collapsed wall, eaten alive
by stray dogs.
want), or not.
of wondrous efficacy for anyone willing to pay the price. Each potion
requires payment of something really odd: 6 turtles, 3 double-yolker eggs,
a painting of a tree, or something equally goofy.
cities. They’re big and rich-looking, and they’ll be constant targets.
Non-stop.
folk. The local Assassin’s Guild is carrying out the executions, under
order from a secret cult of half-elvan fanatics. Investigation will
reveal that all of those killed were half-orc, although no one knew it,
most of the time. The cult despises the idea of orcs defiling the human
heritage they share.
your players are like mine, they beat every rumour to death, especially if
it’s demonic. The priest will hear of their investigation, and may even
start worrying and acting suspiciously: this may lead the players on even
_more_.
infiltrate a ceremony of an evil religious sect, to save the intended
sacrifice. (Hey, does this sound familiar? Ahhh, so what?)
If the party think they the goodies, then just drop them some rumours
about the cult and its sacrificial doings. This should be sufficient to
draw in properly-played PCs. If they are not inclined to do such a thing
for nothing, then have them hired on to do so (a wealthy parent is concerned
their newly-converted child is going to be a sacrifice, or the established
local religion wants a stop put to this heathen bunch and their evil
practices).
In any case, info about the cult should be sketchy. They’ll have to sniff
out rumours about town. They’ll have to pay some snitches (who may or may
not give them good information). They should get a little too close for
someone’s comfort, and they should get attacked for it. Maybe with magic, a
curse or something serious.
Specifically, they’ll want (i) cult background and (ii) location of the next
sacrificial ceremony. The second will be very hard to get.
If some of the characters want to try to infiltrate the cult, this will be
next to impossible. Unless some _very_ convincing magical method is
possible to replace an existing cultist, they’ll be found out. If they try
to “join”, they’ll be turned away and everyone’s guard will be up.
If they manage to locate the ceremony, they’ll witness terrible magic and
nasty rites. An attempt to rescue sacrifices will be met with (i) much
priestly magic (i) moderate armed resistance. If the party is strong, and
they let the ceremony proceed at all before stepping in, they’ll be
confronted wit whatever terrible otherworldly thing the cult was attempting
to summon with the sacrifice (its notice was gained with the beginning of
the ceremony, and it is furious at the sacrifices which it did not receive:
it’ll appear and attack everyone, cultists included).
There’s also a chance that they’ll get captured themselves and get added to
the list of sacrifices. This is a good way to go if the party splits up and
comes in from two different directions, or tries to co-ordinate two
different tasks at once: one group will suddenly notice that the other has
been captured and is being led to the slaughter. This adds urgency to their
task. đ
If this is the case, a good hook is to have the cultists do something to one
of the characters, pre-sacrifice, that is somehow permanent: a terrible
scar, or a spell, or some such. Something that they have to live with (and
role-play with) for the rest of their lives, preferably.
There’s lots of good hooks from the after effects, if they’re successful in
saving the sacrifice, or even killing off most of the cultists. They’ll earn
the undying enmity of that sect, and they’ll be after them forever. They
may get some nasty curses from the priests before they win. They may have
allowed a terrible monstrosity to be summoned, which will wreak havoc, of
course. They may even get blamed for this. Perhaps they’ll discover that
local officials or nobles were somehow illegally involved (they belong to
the cult, or have struck a black deal with them). Will they reveal such a
conspiracy? Can they really prove it?
goal, like blackmailing a mob boss, or performing a dangerous extraction.
The characters are promised support, if needed. They go on the job and
encounter _heavy_ resistance. The support that was promised never shows up,
the characters are hung out to dry. It would seem that the job was just a
distraction that the Corp’s solos could perform a job easily, seeing that
everybody was hunting the PC’s.
The PC’s have a reason to hate the Corp that hung them out to dry, and need
to look out for the ones that they crossed. Could even have cops, or CIA
looking for them because of the first run. Makes for an interesting, if
short, life.
The campaign starts with a Corp hiring the PC’s, preferably the PC’s do not
know each other. The Corp is an assistant VP in some Corp. This Corp has
ideals on how a company should act, in a way that promotes the common good.
The Corp has most of the lower echelons in his division agreeing with him.
The company president prefers the traditional style of business, you know
the corporate way. The AVP cannot be removed without causing massive
disruptions in his division. So between the division and the rest of the
Corp there is animosity.
That is just the background, the characters are hired by the Corp for
typical runner purposes. The Corp will provide as much in the way of help
that he can (about level 3 or 4 of resources). Some missions will be
nothing more than “good deeds” for various people. About the third or
fourth mission the expected support will fail, bring the characters to
believe that the AVP betrayed them (he didn’t, it was a traitor in the
division).
Eventually the characters will become involved in a war for control of the
company when the old president is assassinated. The Corp will be split
almost evenly between two factions. One is lead by our AVP, he has gained
more support than he had, because he is better qualified than his opponent.
The players start out as a cop group. It is well known that the police
force is quite corrupt. After some missions (with at least one internal
affairs mission) the city decides to scrap the police force and hire
corporate police.
The city can not pay for the police force that it needs (hence the
corruption) and trades some control over policy for police protection. The
trade is quiet, the city would riot if it knew. When the corporation takes
over it fires everybody, including our players. The players should be left
in job limbo for a while. Next let them find out the “cost” of police
protection and encourage them to go public. Before the players go public
have a council member explain why the decision was made that way.
If the players get into lots of trouble, remember that the good cops will do
everything in their power to help. Of course, the players shouldn’t know
which cops are good and which work for other people.
uses monsters found in that setting, but, with a little work, you could use
it for almost any role playing system short of sci-fi ultratech.
The malevolent race known as the Illithid (Mind Flayers) can well remember
when their world Ith was a glorious paradise, when it’s black jungles
bloomed wild, when the warm, primordial oceans washed the unspoiled beaches,
when the Shrouded sunned themselves atop armorlichen spires miles high,
their razor sharp foreclaws glittering the violet light. All the Illathid
race was happy, and lived at peace, with just the right amount of
inter-racial violence to ensure nobody would get bored.
That was long ago, and now strange things are beginning to happen to the
Mind-Flayer garden of Eden. The sun of their homeworld is becoming brighter
and stronger. The seas are getting warmer, the foliage greener, and in time,
the Illathid will be driven underground. Their home planet will soon no
longer support them. Several centuries ago, the grand and glorious Order of
the Ebon Tentacle finally seized the initiative from it’s competitors and
gathered almost a thousand Illathid in the great chamber of council. Heads
bowed in reverence, the multitudes breathlessly awaited the commands of the
great mind. At last the brain pool spoke, and it ordered it’s children to
cast themselves upon the Astral seas, searching for another world, a place
where the ecology of Ith could be recreated down to the minutest detail, and
the Illithid could once again live in the relative peace of constant
interracial war. And so it was done, and not long ago, some fortunate
Illathid began a hive on a world known to it’s inhabitants as “Earth”. The
planet’s measurements seemed exact, slightly larger than Ith even, with a
comparable atmosphere and seas that had the potential to support Ith life
with some modification. But the sun there was too bright for Illathid
existence, forcing the first pioneers to take shelter underground. It was
then that they found the moon. It was worshiped as a god by the local
inhabitants, but the Illithid knew better. The moons of Ith were smaller by
far, and completely unsuitable for the purposes that the Illithid had in
mind.
Tunnelling out the centre of the moon, the Illithid plan to create a
perfectly circular chamber that is in effect a giant lifejammer helm. The
life force of thousands of living creatures will be necessary to accomplish
the goal; move the moon to a position in which it will block the sun’s
light, and hold it there. Luckily, the planet beneath is crawling with
living creatures of no particular consequence that will make excellent
sacrifices… The Shrouded would just eat them anyhow, once the ecology of
Ith is transplanted. And so was launched possibly the most half-baked plot
for world domination ever cooked up by sentient creatures that smell faintly
of squid and eat human brains.
to envisage my new band of heroes as a weird mixture of technology and
fantasy from three basic ‘periods’, viz: the ‘normal’ fantasy time frame, a
modern (1995) period, and a futuristic, post-apocalypse period (very
Terminator 2 in feel). The characters that could fit into this strange
crossover seemed to step right out of my mind; they could include a knight
on a Harley, wielding a magic bastard sword and an ion cannon, or an elf
with cyber-enhancements, armed with longbow and Uzi machine-guns, or a
robotic warrior armed with a staff of fireballs and a copy of the
Necronomicon.
I realised that what I was trying to do was to combine all of my
inspirations, from Lovecraft to Scwarzenegger, Tolkien to 2000AD – I’m sure
you get the picture…
Right, the next phase was to design the fantasy world that would be the
starting point for the campaign. I had had the name OverEarth rolling around
in my mind for quite a while, which inspired a setting that was basically an
alternative Earth with the normal fantasy/historical time frame, magic
systems, etc. The starting point would be the island kingdom of Beorsca, off
the west coast of Uropha, and basically an alternative England…
Next I developed my arch-enemy for Beorsca, the usual vicious mage and
power-hungry tyrant, but added the twist that he was the father of
one of the PCs…
Now came the real challenge – how to start the actual campaign, how to
develop the characters, and how to provide the rationale for the ‘jumps’ to
our own present-day Earth and its post-apocalypse future
My solution to the dilemma was based upon two beliefs that I had formulated
over the years…
Firstly, that role-playing a character in a fully developed fantasy world
is almost impossible, because of the lack of frames of reference. What I
mean by this is that if I tell you to role -play someone from Paris, your
mind automatically throws out images of the Eiffel Tower, street cafes, etc,
but if I say role-play an elf from Elshaven, you have no mental images on
which to base your character.
Secondly, I had found that role-playing groups often squabble and argue at
every turn, even when playing fully in character. This arguing always seemed
to spoil the impression that the group was a cohesive whole, and it seemed
ludicrous that they remained together at all…
The solution to the first problem is simple to run, and turns out to be the
‘engine’ that drives the PCs towards their goal. In brief, I decided that
the characters had actually battled their arch-enemy across Beorsca 900
years ago, and then followed him through a gate to present (1995) Earth and
eventually to the post-apocalypse future Earth. However, when they finally
faced him (by then armed with weaponry from all three settings), he once
again stepped through a gate, trying to return to OVEREARTH. The characters
followed, and the trap was sprung. The arch-enemy sealed access out of the
gates, and the characters were trapped in an inter-dimensional limbo…
Time passes, and our PC benefactors (which could either be your campaigns
gods, or some ultra-powerful NPC) stumble/s upon the characters locked in
limbo, strips them of their techno-items, and sends them back to their home
world (in this case OVEREARTH). However, it is now 900 years later, and the
arch-enemy has just about destroyed the PC’s realm, which is now a dead
island dominated by his (expectably) demonic forces. To make matters worse,
and to really spice things up, the characters don’t have a clue who they
are, where they come from, etc. Even better, their 900 year experience in
limbo has caused their skills to atrophy, so that although they were, let’s
say 15th level, they’re now 5th level, or 1st level if you’re particularly
cruel…Thus the players don’t have to try to role-play in what in terms of
geography or history is a totally foreign world, because it is also foreign
to the CHARACTERS!
And the final twist, which accounts for the usual inter-character bickering,
is that the party’s original leader, a warrior of great skill and huge
personal charisma * is not with them when they return*. They are aware of
his (or her) absence, and cannot function as a unit without him/her.
And so the scene is set for the poor players, aware only of their names and
their rudimentary skills, to…
-
* find out who they are…
* find out how they got there…
* relearn their skills…
* track down their missing leader…
* track down the arch enemy…
* and pursue him once more across the dimensions…
-
* they will automatically despise the arch enemy…
* their bickering will make sense…
* their lack of knowledge of the campaign setting will make sense.
guild receives an item he really wants, he sets up an elaborate system to
get it. He arrests the PCs on false or trumped up charges (a good way to
get them introduced), then offers them absolution if they do him a favour.
He wants them to infiltrate the thieves guild by a secret back door and find
out some info on some item that will be showing up soon. When the PCs get
through the sewers to the guild, the captain’s men will frame them for a
robbery that just took place. The players escape the angry thieves, but get
captured by the town guard. Along the way they have picked up enough clues
to figure out what has gone on, but they can’t prove it. So they must
escape from jail and go confront the captain as he is leaving town with the
item. After this excitement, the PCs don’t have much choice to become
roving adventurers, since the thieves guild wants their heads.
I’ve been GMing for over a decade now. Every once in a while, people ask me
how I come up with plots. I’m not entirely sure, except that I look for
problems and then complicate them. The two most useful questions in
plotting are “Why?” and “How?” (“Who?” “Where?” “What?” and “When?” also get
a work out.)
Anyway, I thought I’d share a technique that I use when I’m absolutely
tapped out or when I can’t seem to come up with anything original. You know
the times — all you can come up with is cliche material you’ve done a
hundred times in the past. The first idea that comes to mind establishes
squatter’s rights on your frontal lobes.
(I want to emphasise that this isn’t the only technique, or the best
technique. It’s simply *a* technique that I find useful.)
The technique is to limit yourself. When you’ve got the whole wide universe
to work with, then you have *too many* possibilities. By setting arbitrary
restrictions, you remove things from consideration and narrow your focus.
You’ve already got a bunch of stuff established which places restrictions on
you. You know what genre you’re working in — that gives you a bunch of
genre conventions you can choose to work with or against. You know what
your player characters are (usually), and you probably have some sense of
location and season. All of these things are restrictions. If you’re doing
a sword and sorcery campaign, the question of aliens doesn’t come up.
That set of restrictions presumably isn’t enough (or you wouldn’t need this
technique). The next thing to do is set some arbitrary restriction: the
entire adventure takes place in a single room, for example, or the entire
adventure is built around what you did last weekend. Other possibilities
include story anthologies and (ahem) a dictionary of cliches or quotations.
The technique really relies on forcing the juxtaposition of unusual elements.
Here’s a (lengthy) example. I have a Dark Champions campaign. I know the
characters, I know the time of year, I know the city (none of which tells me
what the next story is). So I’m sitting here listening to the soundtrack
album for “Dumb and Dumber” and I decide that I’ll create a plot that
incorporates *something* from each song on the album.
Here are the songs on the album:
The Ballad of Peter PumpkinHead – Crash Test Dummies
New Age Girl – Deadeye Dick
Insomniac – Echobelly
If You Don’t Love Me (I’ll Kill Myself) – Pete Droge
Crash – The Primitives
Whiney, Whiney (What Really Drives Me Crazy) – Willi One Blood
Too Much Of A Good Thing – The Sons
You Sexy Thing – Deee-Lite
Where I Find My Heaven – Gigolo Aunts
Hurdy Gurdy Man – Butthole Surfers
Take – The Lupins
The Bear Song – Green Jelly
Get Ready – The Proclaimers
Hmm. Peter Pumpkinhead and The Bear Song suggest some kind of kid
song/nursery rhyme feel. Get Ready supports that with lines like “Fee Fi Fo
Fum.” You Sexy Thing, Too Much of a Good Thing, and If You Don’t Love Me
(I’ll Kill Myself) all suggest some kind of excess, perhaps emotional
overdrive — maybe a mind control plot? Somebody discovers a *real*
aphrodisiac and starts dumping it in the water? Someone is infatuated with
another person, makes the threats to suicide if he or she doesn’t return the
affection, but the other person’s attitude could be described as Whiney,
Whiney (What Really Drives Me Crazy).
New Age Girl is a sort-of love song to someone named Mary Moon who is (in
fact) a New Age Girl. She’s now an NPC in the adventure.
First plot that comes to mind with this: take the lowest charisma hero who
often complains he doesn’t have a love relationship and give him a groupie
(Mary Moon) who follows him around as the group tries to track down someone
who’s committing a series of thefts (Take) based on nursery rhymes. That
leaves me with Hurdy Gurdy Man, Crash, Insomniac, and Where I Find My Heaven
as plot elements to incorporate.
I don’t like it. So we’ll try again. Instead, let’s start with the
insomniac. Suppose someone has the oft-used psionic power of tangible
hallucinations and dreams. He or she knows it and has started trying to stay
awake (Insomniac). It’s not easy to make a living if you have this kind of
disability, so he or she is living as a street musician (Hurdy Gurdy Man).
That also gives us the street-level feel and makes the psionic harder to
track down. He or she has a tremendous crush on Mary Moon (we’re back to her
again).
The first hallucination is Peter Pumpkinhead, a reasonably nice fellow.
Freaked, she leaves and is pursued by other nursery-rhyme characters.
Although Peter is quite likeable, but the others (the Bear that went over
the mountain, for instance) don’t have to be. Not knowing what’s going on,
Mary seeks out the PCs; if the PCs are too hard to find, they’ll encounter
her, trapped by the Bear. This leads to both Mary and the PCs trapped in
the psionic’s ideal world (Where I Find My Heaven). It’s not pleasant for
the PCs, because he regards them as competition (Too Much of a Good Thing).
This is obvious because Mary has a crush on one of the PCs (You Sexy
Thing). This environment, combined with Mary’s information, lets them know
who they’re looking for. The PCs can get out by moving fast enough and far
enough — the psionic’s powers aren’t all-encompassing, after all.
This, with the uppers, unhinges the psionic (If You Don’t Love Me, Whiney
Whiney). The first evidence is when Peter Pumpkinhead (trustworthy up until
now) turns psychotic.
In the meantime, (1) the psionic, worried, has been awake on uppers long
enough for hallucinations to start anyway, and (2) our villain of the piece
has figured out where these nursery-rhyme apparitions are coming from, and
is also searching for the psionic.
Still to include: Take (a robbery of some kind?) and Crash.
The bad guy catches the psionic, uses hypnosis or mind control to generate
some truly unpleasant hallucinations to perform robberies (Take), including
running an armoured car off the road (Crash) and picking up the money.
The good guys catch up, there is a fight and the problem of what to do with
the psionic. I leave that up to the players.
Now, a lot of the details still need to be worked out, but there’s a basic
setup, antagonist, and conflict.
Not entirely without cliches (to really eliminate cliches, you’d have to
know the characters better), but it’s certainly different than what I would
have come up with otherwise.
Anyway, it’s a technique I find useful, so I thought I’d share it for those
who are having trouble jump-starting their plots.
ship, but finally one merchant offers to sell them one. The price can be
discussed – a lot. Now the reason the ship is sold cheap if necessary, is
that it is a ghost ship. The previous captain was killed by the second in
command when he discovered what they were *really* doing (Smuggling?
Worse?) Now, the ghost will control the ship, and no matter how the players
try, it will quietly ÂŤdrift offÂť towards the island where the previous
captain was killed. The players will experience his death in their dreams,
some as the victim, some as the perpetrator. On the island, another ship
will be arriving shortly with the murderer abroad, and the ghost will appear
and explain that he must be avenged, and will show them a treasure if they
do it. Of course, what the players do might have consequences for their
social position etc, depending on how they do it.
The characters are ambushed lightly, and when the ambushers run away, they
leave behind a sack. The sack contains a small faerie, gnome, or whatever,
who wants the characters to help them open a gate to Arcadia. The gate
turns out to be a frozen lake, and the only way to melt it is to remove the
church that is being built not too far away…and perhaps a sacrifice is
necessary.
the team was about to fragment due to people moving for work. We finished
the campaign with an extended and excellent war.
This led to the ideal opportunity to start off the new characters as newly
enlisted men pulled into the system by a “draft bill” This allowed me to let
them all know one another and also it afforded me the chance of letting them
start with more powerful characters for the basic training that they went
through. This pleased the older players who just shelved experienced
characters Additionally it opens the way for reasons why less suited
characters would want to be multi-classed fighter-anything. Now with the
returning heroes of the war they feel inadequate. All of the available jobs
are being snatched by anyone who killed a worm let alone an Orcish
commander. So the party are forced to seek an alternative livelihood. Roll
on adventuring.
In the first net plot book, there is a quick adventure idea summed up as:
“Save the good dragon from the evil princess”
Some suggestions
Evil Princess intent on overthrowing her parents, but lacking the needed
backing among the leaders of the army, has managed to locate an Arcane and
purchase (with monies/items stolen from the kingdoms treasury) an
amulet/ring/potion/item which allows her to control the dragon which for
generations has helped protect the (select compass direction) borders and
mountain passes of the kingdom from marauders and invading forces. The
dragon under her control has been attacking outlying areas and the
population is in an uproar. The forces of evil, alerted by the princess
that her plan is beginning to bear fruit, are moving towards the kingdom.
The king has suspicions, the general knows what’s up, but can not take
direct action against the princess, the court wizard is away at the time
(arranged by the princess, false leads on an ancient artefact etc). The only
hope for the kingdom is that heroes will arise and release the dragon from
the princesses control, and bring to light the entire plot so that the king
can banish her and make her younger sister the true and good heir. If the
heroes should fail, the entire kingdom will be cast into a era of darkness
and evil.
Just to add my own thoughts on this interesting idea.
“Save the good dragon from the evil princess”
The dragon in question does not have to be full grown. Imagine the evil
princess holding a dragon egg or hatchling ransom to force the local dragon
population to do her bidding.
To adapt this to a forest scenario use a faerie dragon protector of an
ancient forest. Or even have the whole thing be an illusionary romp caused
by the dragon!
Lastly, imagine the evil princess gaining control of the court wizard’s
psuedodragon familiar. This is possibly worse than ransoming the dragons
depending on the wizard’s level!
This scenario is best played a bit light-hearted. It starts with the party
entering a very remote village, Village. This village is far removed from
normal government dealings and as such they have their own small local
monarchy. As the party approaches there is great unrest in the town
square. There are trappings as if a festivity is about to commence, but the
townsfolk, also known as the Village People, are very concerned about
something. Anyone they ask will point them to the garrison commander,
Moostard (a colonel), who can relate the story.
“The town was preparing to celebrate the 16th birthday of the
princess. The country side was invited for a great feast. But
lo, this morning when the princess was not to be found we
checked and found that her room had been breached and she had
been kidnapped.”
(Any clues or ideas who has taken her?)
“We suspect the black robed worshipers of Evil Mackricks. A
hideous band of clerics that terrorised this area decades
ago with the aid of terrible beasts.
We found a black mace in her bedroom. They used a ladder to
climb up to her window. She must have put up a struggle as the
room was in disarray.
[ if there are any optional witnesses they will report of
black cloaked individuals who, if anyone was close enough,
had the symbol of a giant eye on their chest ]
(What was the princesses name?)
[look a bit flustered, look at your notes then answer] Beauty.
Princess Beauty. She was very beautiful, renown for her charm
and demeanour.
(Why?)
The Emaks haven’t been heard from in a long time. From what
little memory I have, they gave sacrifices to their deity (Ram)
on the night of a new moon….that would be tonight! Over the
past few months there have been a couple of others who have
disappeared. We had no clue to their disappearance and thought
they were the victims of monsters or bandits.
(Why us?)
The garrison is not very large. Most of the patrols are out
on multi-day patrols and aren’t due back for at least another
full day.
(Where?)
Over the river and through the woods to grandmother willow you go.
From there its over hill and dale. They came on horses so they
should be trackable.
The party should have little trouble following the tracks and finding the
valley. They should be approaching the temple about sundown. The temple is
in a shallow valley. The clerics should have at least a few guards or
patrols, avoidance is a fine way of dealing with them.
The main temple is a long building built into the side of the valley. The
building has a large set of double doors, a single large eye is centred on
the doors. There is a small stable that is adjacent to the front of the
temple. A small door leads from the stable to the temple. There is a
stable hand that is armed with a pitchfork in the stable along with a few
horses among the stalls.
If the party is able to approach quietly they can enter from either the
front doors, which open quietly and are not currently locked, or from the
stable. Both lead into a small anteroom. The back wall of the anteroom is
covered with a large heavy curtain.
As the party peeks through the curtain they can see the main temple area. It
is dimly lit by several torches and braziers. Several of the pews have
initiates in them. At the far end is the alter. A priest is concluding
some sort of ceremony. The princess is chained, standing on the far side of
the altar facing a statue. The statue is made of stone and is that of a
large round (2 meter diameter) creature with one large eye in the centre.
The creature also has several eye stalks (appendages ending in a small eye)
sprouting off of it. The centre eye is made of a huge ruby, about the size
of two large fists. The eyes at the end of each eye stalk are about the
size of a regular human eye and are of various types including emerald
sapphire, onyx, etc.
The priest at the altar is finishing a ceremony that concludes with his arms
outstretched. The centre eye of the statue begins to glow and the light
slowly begins to extend until it envelopes the princess. After a few
seconds the princess collapses, her pallor now a dull grey. This entire
process takes less than a minute.
If the party doesn’t intercede at this point the priest will continue with
the physical sacrifice of the princess’s body. This will result in the
unalterable death of the princess. What the party must do is intercede and
rescue the body of the princess as well as the centre jewel from the
statue. The ruby is hollow and if held up to the light, the face of the
princess can be seen almost as a reflection or a ghost within. To restore
the princess the party must merely break the ruby with the body of the
princess close by.
Most of the initiates are not well trained and have Mediocre combat
ability. The priest and optional acolytes have Fair or Good combat ability
plus some magical ability. Along the back wall is a concealed door that
leads to other chambers including a jail area (with jailer and optional
prisoners), some storage rooms, and the private quarters for the priest.
Ultimately if the party does not succeed and the clerics continue on their
way, they will continue to steal souls until they can animate their deity.
capital city of Gunthenor for the first time. It is usually appropriate for
thieves to visit or register with the local guild. Alternately, a member of
the guild may seek them out, make friends and then later try to steer them
with a tip if the party is looking for an adventure or work.
The guild master (or new friend), Nelbin, should eventually meet up with the
party. He isn’t someone to be totally trusted, although this has to be
discovered over time. He isn’t evil, just has his own agenda. He is or has
been a thief at some point in his life. He doesn’t relate all he knows and
tries to paint a picture of a ruthless baron practically kidnapping his
friend. He doesn’t want to tell the party too much, because if captured
they won’t know anything. He is concerned that the baron might become
proactive if he finds out that someone is trying to check up on him.
Nelbin relates the following:
Up in the remote Northlands the local baron has unjustly
imprisoned a friend [maybe]. I ask you to rescue a personal
friend [true] who did no wrong other than travelling through
the area with too many gems in his possession [partial truth].
I have tried to rescue him myself, but failed [lie]. I was
captured, and let go with a stern warning [lie]. I do not
believe I would be so lucky if my face was seen again [true].
(What’s your friends name?)
Leafloc, an elf and a good archer. [a good thief too]
(Where exactly is it?)
An associate of mine, Prelenna, can act as a guide. She is a
good guide, but not much of a fighter. She will take you to the
keep, but will not enter.
This tale is full of half-truths. The baron worries the guild and Nelbin in
particularly. The baron has risen to power in a remote area, the wild woods
of the Northlands. Information and intelligence on him is limited. Nelbin
knows he likes to stay secluded, but has allies within the governmental
hierarchy. He has shun any contact with the guild. Attempts to contact him
have gone unanswered, sometimes the messenger doesn’t return. The baron has
a strong hold on his territory and works both sides of the legal fence. He
conducts raids on some towns or trade routes, while others are protected.
No one is aware of any of this.
Nelbin first met the baron [he thinks] face to face after he was captured
after infiltrating the barons main [he thinks] fortress. He was sneaking
around inside the fortress when something landed at his feet. Whatever it
was caused the immediate area to go completely silent. He turned and saw a
man with bright yellow eyes at the end of the hallway staring at him. Then
he heard strange words in his mind that he recognised as some kind of spell,
soon after he fell fast asleep. When he awoke he was imprisoned.
Nelbin is a Good thief and was finally able to escape. Over time he was
able to collect enough pieces of scrap metal to create a crude pick. He
then slunk in the shadows of night until he reached a small store room.
There he was able to create a secret/false hole in one wall and make his
escape.
Unbeknownst to Nelbin is that the baron is of a strange race called the
Senders [ see below ]. Nelbin also doesn’t realise that his run in was with
the barons only son.
The stronghold is in the wilderness of the north. This particular
stronghold is not the barons main quarters, but merely one of several
outposts. The baron is known to maintain patrols over a large area. What is
not known is that the baron maintains odd alliances. The fortress is
currently being guarded by a band of goblins. In other areas the baron has
employed humans, mercenaries, orcs, and even an ogre or two. He tries to
keep racial skirmishes to a minimum by separating races where he can. As
far as the baron knows, his prisoner is a poor thief he caught
investigating. The Sender at this particular outpost turns out not to be
the baron, but the barons only son. The guards at his outposts are well fed
and organised. Usually reporting to a human captain.
The structure is a 2 story keep, two guard towers in the front with a
battlement that runs across the front and halfway down the east/west sides.
There are few windows. The front battlement covers a small courtyard that
doubles as a small stable area. Oil holes and an arrow slit over the centre
aid in the defence of larger scale assaults. If they have hot oil prepared
is up to you. Tree cover makes it reasonably easy to approach.
Size of the structure and the number of guards is dependent on how strong
the party is and how difficult the rescue is intended to be. The storage
room is located in a back corner, there is some shrubbery and undergrowth in
front of the hole.
The stairs in the middle of the structure give an idea of where the stairs
leading down to the jail area are. Obviously the inside needs to be
detailed. If a full lower level is desired it can also be detailed.
+—-( )——-( )—-| |—-( )——( )——+
| | | |
| tower | battlement area | tower |
|__________| _ _ _ _ _|_ _ _|_ _ _ _ _ |___________|
| | | |
| | | |
| b. a. b. a. |
| | | |
^ ^
v | | v
| |
| _ _ _ _ _| | _ _ _ _ _ |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |_| |
| |_| |
|___ |-| |
| | |-| |
|SR| |
| | |
+x—( )———————————-( )——+
If the party is able to make the break out and escape, but does not kill the
Sender, they hear as they are making their break:
“My father the baron will be greatly angered by this….”
The Senders
A race of humans that have the gift of limited telepathy. They can speak
to humans and most intelligent humanoids using their mind. The recipient
can hear the Senders thoughts as if they were clearly spoken in their native
language. The Senders can not read a persons thoughts, just place their
thoughts as if spoken. Senders have a minimum of Good intelligence. It is
unknown if the Senders are a separate race, or a human mutation. The
Senders ten to have been either leaders of men or persecuted by the fearful.
clearing and finds out that there is a party going on there. What/Who has
arranged the party and if the PCs are welcome is up to the GM.
and this is the story which are told for them:
The master, of the one who contacts the PC, has a slight problem. The
master is a wizard and he owns a book, called Symbolica, which has some
*very* powerful spells in it (Ie. the wizard in the team might want it
himself). But Symbolica is stolen! The master knows who the thief is,
another wizard, and where he is. The master cannot pick it up himself
because of reasons the PCs won’t understand. Therefore he asks the PCs to
help him, and he will pay them richly if they fulfil the task. The PCs sets
off and do the quest. But it is one thing they overlooked: the truth!
This is the truth: The so-called thief is the rightful owner! The PCs master has 1) Their original master is mad at them (for not fulfilling their task 2) The rightful owner is mad at them (quite obviously!). 3) The second team don’t know what they should think and might decide to
fooled them! The master has also set out another team of adventurers who’s
task is to follow the PCs and make sure they fulfil their task. The second
team are told that the PCs is doing this task as a punishment for a crime
they have committed. When the PCs finally has discovered the truth they
find themselves in a very delicate situation:
and/or discovering the truth).
fight the PCs (Depending on how much the second team knows.) They
maybe don’t know the truth and continue with their mission – to force
the PCs to deliver the book.
No friends, no money, only wounds and enemies. I think they will think it
over once or two before they says yes to their next adventure…
after the border, or just before it, they are contacted by a man who
claims he is a nobleman and he needs their help.
This is the story he tells them. “For some years ago this country was
a happy country. There were peace and the people were well fed.
Everybody was happy and it was a healthy kingdom. But there was a
snake in the paradise: Duke Foo (Call him something that’s would make
sense depending on your world). He had an eager longing for the crown
and for three years ago he took it with the help of foreign help. The
old king, and some of the noblemen who where loyal to him [the man
lowers his head in a gesture that means that he’s on of them], were
send in exile.
The kingdom was sent into terror. People with opinions which didn’t
please the king where killed. Good men and women where tortured and
killed for the sheer pleasure of the king. The once happy nation was
now a frightened country!
For two and a half years the rightful king has been abroad but never,
*never*, lost faith in once again come back and making justice! I am
sent forward to make sure that the rightful king can enter his castle
safely and it is in that task I need your help. I need your help to
assassinate the pretender-king!”
The PCs get some extra details (like a map of the castle) and afterwards the
sets off onto their task of justice.
How far they comes before they discover the truth is up to you but
they should get the chance of really, really screwing things up.
The truth is: the nobleman was lying.
For some years ago the country was not happy, it was in terror -the
terror of the king. After a while one of the noblemen was sickened by it
and created a revolution and put himself in the throne. The new king is
not a good king but his intentions are good. He wants to put things
right and to make the country a happy nation. He has succeeded in
some parts and the people love him (they will love anyone who threw
out the old king). The old king was send into exile together with some
noblemen. That part of the story is correct, the fake part is the
parts where the government of each king is described.
What the PCs now are going to do is to kill the good king and to
reinstall the evil one.
Nice plans eh? Just watch out when you tell the players the truth.
They might be angry… đ
Well, I think they should have a fair chance of discover the truth
themselves, *before* everything goes out of hand. But if they overlook
the evidence…. Make them suffer…
This is one of my better adventures, the problem is that I didn’t
GM it correctly so the players didn’t get scared. đ
Tip: Read “The Shadow over Innmouth” (sp?) by Lovecraft first.
On a medium big island (4-6 miles across) there is a village and a mansion a
mile or two from the village. A forest lies around the mansion, which is
next to the sea. The mansion is own by an eccentrically man who only has one
servant. He also have a brother in some big city (who’s a doctor).
One day when one of the people in the village comes up to the mansion for
some purpose he discovers that the front door is partly open. In one room he
finds all the furniture put away up against the walls and a lot of signs is
carved in (with a knife or similar) into the floor, walls and roof. On the
middle of a big symbol there is a body, recognised as the brother of the
master of the mansion dead, sacrificed. The servant and mansion owner are
no-where to be seen. The villager sends for help.
Tahadaah… The players enter the scene from the left… đ
During the search in the house they goes into the kitchen and then out of it
(nothing interesting there, they shouldn’t be allowed to investigate too
much here…). After a couple of minutes they find that they are missing one
of the NPCs (anyone you like) who was following them. They finds him in the
kitchen, killed with a meataxe with tremendous force. They haven’t heard
anything! They should realise that someone (some_thing_?) was in the kitchen
WHEN THEY WHERE THERE TOO! Dahdahdaahda!
It’s the servant (who is 800% insane and lives in the forest on the island)
who killed him, when returning to steal some food.
Handouts:
A letters from the mansion owner’s brother. They are talking about what a
grandfather did to his daughter (married her to a Deep One, but that’s not
said straight out) and in that way “put this curse on our family”. He also
talks about fact that he has found a medication against this (“my eyes are
once again normal and I don’t have to wear sun goggles in the middle of the
winter”). He also says that he “comes home to cure you my dear brother, even
though it seems that you don’t realised what a curse this is”. The last
letter says that the brother arrives the night before the man from the
village finds his body and ends with “Stay out of the water, for God’s
sake!”. You may also give them a unfinished letter from the Mansion owner
saying he is rejecting the offer. He thinks the grandfather did the right
thing.
What has happened:
Persons involved: The Mansion owner, who is Deep Ones (or “Deep-Ones-will-
be”); his doctor brother (who doesn’t want to be one); the mansion owner’s
servant.
The mansion owner thinks the Deep Ones connection is the best thing
that has ever has happened to him (there are letters telling about this in
the doctor brother’s home and they both write diaries). When the
doctor-brother arrives late at night his brother is prepared. With the help
of his servant (they both completely insane) he strikes down the doctor and
sacrifices him to some Outer God. The servant now extremely insane (SAN=
-[VERY big number] đ ) runs away out into the woods (it is he who kills
the NPC in the kitchen when he tries to collect some food. He will later try
to escape to the mainland and run to some place, not even himself knowing
where to (maybe a secret temple, but that’s another story)). The mansion
owner escapes down a tunnel to the ocean, down to a Deep One-City.
initial or first time adventure. Someone needs to be a thief, best if
he is just starting out. Since this is used as a characters initial
adventure it tends to steer and have more of a fixed story line than
many scenarios. (p.s. I avoiding typing he/she in many places, not because
I don’t want to be PC, but rather I think it reads easier.)
Note: Some GM only notes are included at points in [ ]’s, frequently it
bits of text that may be read directly to the player(s).
GENERAL BACKGROUND (optionally read to player(s)):
Years ago in the small village of Dillow, a hobbit named Pilar
(pronounced Pee-lar) retired from adventuring and opened up a small
inn, “The Home of the Happy Hobbit”, a two- or three-storey structure
with basic kitchen & dining services, a bar, and a few private rooms to
rent. While some suspect Pilar used to be an adventuring thief, he
denies it and uses colourful metaphors and ambiguous language to
describe his previous experiences.
“Oooo, if I only had a gold piece for every time I’ve been
misunderstood/misquoted/misplaced/misjudged/misbegotten/
misinterpreted/misguided/missing-in-action/miserable…….”
In general he is fair with his customers and is more interested in a
relaxing livelihood, than squeezing his patrons for a few extra coppers.
The inn itself was nondescript for awhile, but soon began to make a name for
itself. They have the ability to serve ice cold drinks even on the
hottest of summer days. You can also get cheese, milk, and fruit out
of season; things you can’t even get at the inns in the larger cities.
Pilar is the only one who knows the secret and he has yet to tell anyone.
His part time helpers are mostly members of his extended family/clan.
GM PLOT TOUR and OVERVIEW:
Dillow has a small garrison, <30 guards, who patrol the countryside in
an effort to keep order and monsters in their place. Usually there are
no more than 5 to 10 guards in town. The captain of the guard is a
human named Wooten.
The main player character is the thief. The thief's tutor, Pilar the hobbit and
innkeeper, is murdered and the PC is accused of the crime. Unknown to
any of the players, Pilar has a basement that leads to some cooled
caves. He recently stumbled on a new fissure that eventually led to an
ancient finished dungeon corridor. The corridor eventually dead ended
at a cave in. There was also a room that looked either unfinished or
caved in, but Pilar discovered that the rubble appeared to be silver
ore. Knowing little about mining, but knowing from his adventuring days
that many dwarves have knowledge of mining, he has been on the look out
for a dwarf, or more precisely a miner. He has tried extracting some
of the ore himself, but created a small cave in that almost buried him.
Pilar's actions were noticed by an unknown adversary (possibly an
innkeeper from a nearby city who wanted Pilar's secret of cold drink)
who sent a FAIR half-orc assassin (named Ugluk) to Dillow under the
guise of a miner named Draggard. Draggard showed up in town and having
been briefed on some very basic mining terms, was able to convince
Pilar that he could help him. Pilar swore him to secrecy, got him to
sign some form of a contract, and then took him to his secret cave.
The hobbit explained how he had taken a small bit out, found it to be
silver ore of decent quality and had been unsuccessful in extracting
any large quantity. As the conversation progressed it started to become
evident that Draggard didn't know mining from a hole-in-the-ground
(so to speak). As Pilar was just starting to get suspicious, Daggard
took the ice dagger he had broken off in the ice cave and killed Pilar
with a vicious back stab.
What Daggard did NOT know, was that the door to this dead-end dungeon
room had a hidden catch that left it locked from the inside. The catch
is in the door frame right at floor level. Pilar found it, when he was
in a similar situation as the door frame by the catch was slightly
worn. Daggard is trapped, scared, and foreseeing himself starving
to death, although he thinks that someone will find the
way down here sometime today or tomorrow. As he waits he thinks of a plan.
CHARACTERS, WITH POSSIBLE STARTING LOCATIONS
* Thief, just starting out under Pilar’s instructions
* Warrior, hired member of the guard or even captain of the guard
* Priest or druid, accused defence aid or impartial arbitrator
* Any dwarf or person with mining skill. Pilar will want to meet him
and may have scheduled a meeting for the day of the murder
* Any class, lone patron at the inn
* Any class, resident of the town or nearby countryside
* Any class, just passing through, and/or waiting for the inn to open
BACKGROUND for thief player (optionally read to all players):
[ This character may have grown up in or around Dillow. There are
many farms and large woodlands in the surrounding countryside. ]
Pilar, the local innkeeper, is by far the most colourful individual in
the village. You have always been fascinated by his stories of
adventuring. His stories of adventuring have always fuelled your
imagination. Going into deep dark dungeons, fighting evil monsters,
and finding precious and magical gems seem almost dreamlike
compared to this sleepy little town. Over the years you have found
yourself helping out at the inn and fancy yourself to be a protege of
Pilar’s. He has shown you several “tricks of the trade” including
how to pick simple locks (“I’ve only done this when the owner forgot
his key or if I was curious as to what was inside”, insists Pilar),
how to sneak about quietly in shadows, and even how to scale a wall.
[ Make up an specific tales you feel will appeal to the character,
sometimes explaining why a “thief” is not a bad thing to be. ]
THE STORY (as presented to the thief character):
It is a slow time in Dillow. Pilar’s inn has no boarders.
[ possible exception is to have one of the PCs to be the only boarder ]
Recently, however, Pilar has been noticed to be rather excited about
something. He has been seen around town asking people if they know any
dwarves.
[ Specific individuals may have even been asked if they know anything
about mining. If someone investigates enough they may be able to learn
that Pilar has recently purchased some mining equipment (shovels etc.) ]
You wander into town and immediately notice that the inn is still dark
and closed. Usually Pilar is open by now, serving the occasional
breakfast. There are no lights on inside.
[ If at this point the character asks around he MAY find out that
yesterday Pilar was seen talking with an ugly stranger. ]
[ If one of the players characters was staying at the inn, they
found themselves locked out last night and had to go stay in
a farmers barn. They plan on coming back into town later to
have a word with Pilar, but that is later. ]
[ Hopefully the character will now be asked to do some
roleplaying and try to enter the inn. ]
[ If checked, the door and windows are locked]
Your curiosity is aroused and since Pilar has shown you several
times how to pick the lock, it only takes you a moment to open the
door (after all you help out here, you’re practically an employee!).
Inside, all is quiet, too quiet. You look around, it doesn’t look
like Pilar finished cleaning up last night. There are a few tables
that haven’t been cleared. There is no fire in the fireplace either.
You notice that the kitchen door behind the bar is open, which is very
unusual.
[ There is nothing else out of place, perhaps some unwashed glasses
on the bar. ]
As you enter the kitchen you notice that the door to the basement
stairs (under the stairs that lead upstairs) is also open.
[ If the character proceeds. ]
You slowly descend the stairs into the darkness. The creak of the
stairs sound especially loud in the eerie silence.
[ There is a lantern hanging at the bottom of the stairs if needed. ]
You find yourself in the basement storeroom. Boxes and barrels
fill the room, in some places from floor to ceiling. The room is
filled with an abundance of odours from the containers. Off in
one corner you see some shovels, torches, and rope.
You are about to leave when you feel a chill. You give one more look
around and notice some boxes in one corner seem out of
place. You look behind those boxes and you see an open trap door with
a ladder
leading down into a rough hewn passage.
[ Assuming the character continues…. ]
You proceed down the ladder, finding it a bit odd as you realize
the rung spacing is intended for someone shorter than yourself
[ OK, so I’m assuming the character isn’t a hobbit ]
You find yourself in a rough passageway. It seems like it
might be a natural fissure, with minimal working to make it
wider in a few places. It slopes down slowly. After 50 or
60 feet of rough twisty passage you come to a crude door.
On closer inspection, it is really a very heavy curtain.
As you slide the curtain to one side you are met by a very cool blast
of air. Inside is a crude chamber with rough walls, a few stalagmites
and stalactite, and yet more containers, some cheeses, and kegs of beer.
The ceiling and walls are very damp. Looking around, you see in the
far corner behind a stalagmite is another crude trap door. This one
is at a 45 degree angle between the floor and the wall. The hinges
are on the top of the door.
[ If they look carefully they will see a hook mechanism
that can hold the door open. ]
Pulling open the trap door, you are met with a freezing cold breeze.
A small opening leading steeply down is revealed. You notice a muddy
rope has been tied to the stub of a stalagmite and has been fed
down the hole. As you start to make your way down you start losing your
footing as it gets very slippery [ check Dex ]. You slide down the rest of
the way, figuring your total descent to be at least 40 feet. The last 5
feet is a drop off, leaving you on your butt, and a cold one at that.
Looking about, you have entered a small underground ice cave. Ice
stalagmites and stalactites abound in this 100 foot circular cavern. A
small pool is visible on the far side. You can hear the sound of dripping
and/or running water. The ice glitters like diamonds.
[ This is what it appears to be, a super cooled cave from an unknown
source. There are no diamonds here. An ice toad lives in the pool,
which Pilar knows of and now knows to avoid. The to/from destination
of the feed stream for the pool is not detailed, nor is the full
reason for the ice cave.
The floor is slippery, rough, and uneven. If the floor is examined
at the entry point, a path/trail (.) can be found that winds through
the cave, avoiding the pool, and leads over to the other opening.
** If the stalagmites along the path are ALL CAREFULLY examined,
** one of the smaller ones can be found to be flattened, having been
** recently broken off. This clue should NOT be given out easily.
]
You see between the stalagmites a passage that leads back, sloping
upwards slightly. The going is rough as the floor is slick. The rough
passage winds back a little bit and then unexpectedly turns into a
finished corridor. The stone work on the walls seems extraordinarily
good…..and old. The passage way leads straight back for about 50
feet or so, ending in a cave-in of rubble. Oddly enough, there is a
door about 40 feet along the right hand wall.
[ This next part need to be played out carefully. Daggard is trapped
inside. He will probably hear if the person makes any kind of noise
coming down the corridor or checking the door. The following is
only one possible scenario. ]
You carefully open the door. It goes in a little bit and then opens up
into a room. You can see what appears to be Pilar lying face down. You
take a step into the room and are shoved from behind. You fall to your
knees and you are just able to make out someone human sized running out
of the room.
[ If the character takes off after Daggard….. ]
As you come out of the room you see the fleeing person is at the end
of the hall, going out of sight round the bend. His footsteps echo
loudly in the otherwise silent surroundings.
[ At this point you should allow the person to chase, keeping the
culprit in sight, but not gaining ground significantly. If the person
is able to make the proper dice rolls, you might allow them to
grab a foot when going up the slippery chute or the ladder, but
then give Daggard a good chance at kicking them off.
After following Daggard closely, as they reach the kitchen/bar
area they can see/hear Daggard bursting out of the inn and shouting
“Murderer! Murderer!” to the captain of the guard who happens to
be in the street in front of the inn with a couple of guards.
]
[ If the character takes their time and looks around the room first… ]
The room is long and narrow. One side ends in a finished wall, the
other ends in a caved-in mess of rubble. There is a wheelbarrow full
of wet dirt near the rubble. There are no other pieces of mining
equipment. Pilar is lying face down, between the wheelbarrow and
the door. He is pointed towards the rubble. Upon examination he
is found dead from a some sort of stab wound to the back.
[ At this point they will probably leave to find out more. By the
time the character gets up to the first floor, he will be met at
the door by the Wooten (the captain), two guards, and Daggard.
In either case, something resembling the following ensues.
– Daggard spins a tale which includes the following points
– He had a meeting scheduled with Pilar today, about mining
– Finding the inn dark, but the front door open he proceeded
down the various passage ways, much like the character did
– He found you standing over the body and ran back to tell the captain
– As the character raises objections, Daggard tries to dispel them.
– Daggard is willing to be searched, even suggesting it if no one brings
it up. Furthermore, Daggard suggests searching the inn, passageways,
and the room itself for the weapon.
The results of such a search reveal NO pointed weapons or tools.
There are no spikes or picks among the mining equipment.
Searching the final room and rubble reveals no weapon.
– If the character happens to have a dagger or pointed weapon, Wooten
can examine it and tell that it doesn’t have any blood on it,
and it doesn’t appear to have been used recently and/or doesn’t
match the stab wound.
As this goes on, part of Daggard’s natural personality should come out. He
is a half-orc and is very abrasive and ugly to boot. He is also slippery
and a stranger in town. Wooten would like to believe the character, but
doesn’t trust Daggard. If the character is having trouble figuring out
the puzzle part, have Wooten ask some leading questions, but do NOT solve
it for the character. Have the other characters help if need be. Maybe
the contract between Pilar and Daggard can be found. As a last resort
maybe someone will notice the broken ice stalagmite along the ice cave path.
The key is the wet dirt in the wheelbarrow. That is where Daggard put
the ice dagger after stabbing Pilar. Wooten is willing to take the
characters word especially after Daggard gets a scared look in his eye
when the key piece of evidence is explained.
Maybe the characters will get a reward. Maybe Daggard will confess and
name his employer. Do with it what you will.
If the characters are later allowed to enter dig into the tunnel after
the cave-in, what wonders they find is up to you….
]
The “The Home of the Happy Hobbit” basic map:
Map Key:
| or – : wall
| | : door in horizontal wall
= : small door in vertical wall
|xxx| : heavy/locked door
< > : window
# : rock, or inaccessible
. : path
% : cave-in or rubble
$ : silver ore
V or > : slope in direction indicated
{ : water, pool or stream
S : ice stalagmite and/or stalactite
m : shovels and misc. mining equipment
w : wheelbarrow
P : Pilar’s body
Ground Floor:
+———————–|xxx|———————-+
| = =s __| |
| | Kitchen/ =t _ | |
|—raised floor——-| Upper store|a _ | ^
|______________________| |i – |
| B A R ! | |r – | v
|___________________!__|____________|s . | |
| | fire | |
| +——-+ |
| |
^ ^
( various benches, chairs, & tables )
v v
| |
| |
| |
+—-| |————< >—————< >——+
Upper Floor:
+—< >———-< >——————————-+
| | s __| |
| medium = t _ | |
| private | +————+a _ | ^
| room | |############|i – |
|————–| |############|r – | v
| cheap | +——–+###|s . | |
| private = | fire |########| |
| room | +——–+——–+ |
|————–| | | |
^ | = Pilar’s = Pilar’s ^
large | | Office | Room
v expensive | +———–+ v
| private | | cheap | |
| room = = private | |
| | | room | |
+—————-< >———————-< >——+
Lower Level:
############## -|xxx|————+############################################
############## = = |############################################
############## | Kitchen/ +-||-+############################################
############## | Upper store| _ |######## > ### ######################
############## | | – |###### > #######V## #####################
############## | | – |###### ######### | (cool ##################
############## |____________| . |#+—–+############ room) ##################
############## | fire |###| +-+ X|############ ###################
############## +——-+###| basement |############# ###################
############################| storeroom |################ X ##################
############################|m |#################V###################
############################+———–+#################V###################
##########################################################V###################
##########################################################V###################
##########################################################V###################
########################################################## ###################
######################################################### ##################
###################################################### .. ###############
############################################ … S S ##########
##$$$$####################################### S ….. S S #####
#$$$$##——————+################# S S . S #######
#$$$$$$$% w |############### S . S S S ######
#$$$$%$$ P |############# S … S . S S ####
$$$$$$$%% |########### S .S ….S S S S ###
##$$$$$$—–+ +——–+############## .. S ######
##$##$#$#####| |######################### .S S S S S #######
———-%%–||——–###############.S.. S (ice cave) S ####
<-UNKNOWN %%% #### > > ..S S S ###
——–%%%————-## # ############ S {{{ #####
########################## #################### {{{{{{{{ #######
###################################################### {{{{{{{{{{{{{ ########
#######################################################{{{{{(pool){{{{{#######
#########################################################{{{{{{{{{{###########
#########################################################{###{{{{#############
########################################################{######{##############
#######################################################{{#######{{############
#####################################################{{##########{{###########
This is a short (and somewhat hackneyed, but still fun) sci-fi
adventure I’ve run a few times. The results are usually quite good if
you can create the proper atmosphere. Think Aliens, or Outland. I
run it using my own homebrew background and mechanics, called Star
Patrol, which is based on FUDGE. Check out http://www.io.com/~colin
for more details.
Synopsis:
Minions of the Dark have begun constructing a dimensional gate beneath
the Republic outpost on Deju. The outpost’s leader has been replaced
by the minions, who are using the Gift to create a perfect illusion of
the leader. They are proceeding to infiltrate deeper into the
outpost, replacing more key figures. And, they have begun enslaving
part of the outpost’s inhabitants, using them as slave labor to
dig/construct/whatever the secret.
The characters are travelling on the starship Fickle Fate, which is
scheduled to deliver several geolocks and some replacement personnel
to the outpost. The stopover is supposed to be a short one, and the
poor design of the landing bays, which are just next to the garbage
collection/expulsion unit, make the stop seem even longer. But, the
outpost’s only canteen, “the Pit”, is abuzz about something…
Legalese:
This document is free. Permission is given to redistribute it and/or
modify it under 2 conditions:
1. My name stays on it.
2. No profit is made from redistribution or modification.
———————————————————————-
1. The Pit – melee & social, roleplay
Characters go to the bar, as the Fickle Fate’s entertainment console
is pretty pitiful. They notice that the party in the back, which is
getting progressively louder, inebriated and angry, seems to be
talking about a
The largest of the lot gets up, goes over to him, spins him around in
his barstool, and shouting something about “This one’s for Jorick!”,
attacks the surprised
A fight ensues, with the attackers inebriated buddies crowding around,
cheering him on with phrases like “That’s it, Kitoog, help him find
Jorick!” and “One more for Landers!”.
The
intervene, will end up an unconscious bloody pulp on the floor. If
they do, they easily defeat the drunks, who are quickly
shipped off to lockup by the local constabulary, which show up after
a few rounds. The
several rounds, and pours out the story of the disappearances. It ends
with mention of the reward for finding them, and a plea to call
him if they hear anything.
Thargrim
Str – Great (+2 @ scale -1)
Dex – Good (+1)
Int – Good (+1)
Tch – Fair (+0)
Per – Good (+1)
Psi – Fair (+0)
Tou – Great (+2)
Scale -1
Gifts: Longevity, Legal Enforcement Power: Deju Outpost.
Faults: Stubborn, Kinda Ugly, Prefer Enclosed Spaces.
Skills: Mechanicals – Poor (+0), Blaster – Great (+2), Streetwise –
Great (+2), Detect Whopper – Fair (+0), Melee – Great (+2),
Deal-making – Great (+2), Languages – Good (+1), Medical – Fair
(+0), Swimming – Fair (+0), Alien Culture – Fair (+0),
Intimidate – Fair (+0), Tailing – Mediocre (-1)
Weapons/Equipment: Blaster, Comlink, Light Armor (+2).
Notes:
Kitoog
Str – Good (+1 @ scale 2)
Dex – Good (+1)
Int – Fair (+0)
Tch – Fair (+0)
Per – Fair (+0)
Psi – Fair (+0)
Tou – Good (+1)
Scale 2
Gifts: Regal Bearing, Excellent Sense of Smell, Roar, Reputation:
Don’t Mess With Me.
Faults: Farsighted, Phobia of Water, Odious Personal Habit: Licks Fur,
Odious Personal Habit: Coughs up Hairballs, and Code of Honor:
Skills: Hold Liquor – Superb (+3), Melee – Great (+2), Streetwise –
Great (+2), Unarmed Melee – Great (+2), Mining – Good (+1),
Blaster – Fair (+0), Technology – Fair (+0), Mechanicals –
Fair (+0), Dodge – Fair (+0), Gambling – Fair (+0)
Weapons/Equipment: Comlink, Miner’s Mate (treat as Buzzsword).
Notes:
Eventually, Thargrim excuses himself to attend to his duties.
The bar is clearing out anyway, so the characters head back to the
ship. As they do, they run into the somewhat distant and laconic
Director of the Deju outpost, Rath Shiventire, who inquires as to
their enjoyment of their stay, and as to the whereabouts of the
Sergeant (who has just departed).
He bids the characters safe journey and leaves.
The ship’s docking bay abuts the outpost’s garbage collection and
removal depot, which lends a foul aroma to the area. As the
characters hurry past the slimy ramp, one spots a worker, dumping a
load of garbage into the removal robot ship’s container. Out of the
corner of the character’s eye, he/she could swear that there was a
_body_ hidden in the garbage.
———————————————————————-
2. Victim – non-combat, brains
The characters must stop/override/whatever the garbage robot ship so
they can inspect the contents and find out who the unfortunate victim
is. (As a goad to investigate, maybe they’re passing the garbage heap
and notice the body just as the reward notice flashes by on a nearby
databoard.) Discovering the Director’s corpse is fairly important.
The characters should have some difficulty defeating the droidship’s
security, or mechanically rigging things, or whatever, but should
succeed.
It turns out to be the body of the Director. (Impossible!!! They just
got done talking to him…)
Turn up the suspense and atmosphere.
———————————————————————-
3. Sneak a Peek – non-combat, brains, possibly blaster
After the body’s been discovered, the PC who found the body goes to security,
only to find that Thargrim has been murdered, evidently moments before
the PC arrived. The agents of the Dark, posing as security officers,
decided that Thargrim was making too much trouble, and were in the
process of replacing him, when the PC called with the news of the
discovered body. Their plan is to eliminate the PC, and they will
chase the PC through the station.
“With thoughts of Thargrim’s woeful tale and the reward flitting
through your mind, you quickly call the Sergeant up on the comlink.
You quickly relay the details of your discovery, to his amazement and
confusion. Lowering his voice, he asks you (the discoverer only) to
come to Security HQ to make a statement and elaborate. He urges you
to move quickly and to keep a low profile. In fact, maybe a quick
disguise of some sort might be in order…”
When the character arrives at Security:
“The wide blast door to Security is open, although it’s after hours.
You enter, pass through the disorganised and cramped reception
area, and spy a light coming down a darkened corridor – probably
Thargrim’s office. Starting down the corridor, you see a couple of
the Sgt’s men are sitting casually on desks, drinking synthcaf. One
looks at another person apparently sitting in the office that you
can’t see, and then motions you down the hall. You start down the
hall, and one of Thargrim’s men, a bit overweight, and greying at the
temples, stands up and hitches up his drooping shipsuit.”
(Ask the character to make a Perception check, and ignore the results,
before you read this next part. Paranoia is a good thing.)
“You pass a couple of empty cells, making out their cots and holovids
dimly as you walk by. Then you pass a closet door, and notice a dark
puddle seeping from underneath the door. It’s BLOOD! Your head snaps
up, and see the Sergeant’s man watching you. A leering grin comes to
his lips. Your heart jumps to your throat – it’s some kind of trap.
You wheel around as fast as you can, and bolt for the door.”
“A weird wet/metallic coughing noise rings behind you, just as you
turns the corner. You catch a glimpse of a slimy green/black dart
lodged in the door in front of you, just as you duck out of the
office. The acrid smell and the image of the slime melting the
cerametal door jolts you as you tear off towards the Fickle Fate,
running as fast as you can.”
“Behind you, possibly from a cell somewhere back in Security, you hear
a familiar bellow of the bruiser from the bar last night, saying ‘Wot?
Who the Hell? What the blazes is going on here?!'”
Kitoog, who was sleeping off his previous night’s binge, was a friend
of the late Thargrim. Kitoog was a regular in jail, and Thargrim
never locked his cell. So, after the security guys/Darklings go
running after the PC, he lets himself out to find out what’s going on.
“The clomping feet are getting louder and louder behind you, and this
damned outpost must have been designed while under the influence of
Spin…”
Make a few contested Running skill checks. If the heavies win a
couple, they may be able to get off a few shots. Let the character
keep a bit ahead of them, though.
Kitoog figures out what’s going on, and with his superior knowledge
of the station’s infrastructure, saves the character, sneaks him back
to the Fickle Fate. Tells the character about the accident, the
disappearance of the 3rd shift crew, etc.
On a hunch, Kitoog suggests they scout out the “accident” area.
Couple of obstacles like sneaking past wardroid guards, defeating
security systems.
Starlab’s PX-5 Defence Droid
Str – Mediocre (-1)
Dex – Good (+1)
Int – Good (+1)
Tch – Mediocre (-1)
Per – Good (+1)
Psi – Fair (+0)
Tou – Great (+2)
Gifts: Knowledge Skills@Fair, Built-in Blaster Rifle, Built-in Trooper
Armor (+4 DM), Built-in Comlink.
Faults: Must Be Repaired (Can’t Heal), Needs to be Recharged Once per
Day, Can Only Have 4 Skills.
Skills: Blaster – Superb (+3), Melee – Great (+2), Unarmed Melee –
Great (+2), Dodge – Great (+2).
Weapons/Equipment: Most PX-5’s carry a melee weapon of some kind.
Riot clubs are common.
Notes: PX-5’s are standard warrior droids. They’re pretty hobbled in
terms of skills. If a player wanted to be a PX-5, it’d be
worth 4 gifts. Given PX-5’s low Perception skill, Poor (-2),
they’ve earned a reputation as tough in battle, but easy to
sneak around.
———————————————————————-
4. Gate – blaster
By way of ventilation grate, arrive at the hellish scene of the
construction of the dimension gate. Characters overhear the faux
Director speaking into a comlink “Tell his Excellency that he may dock
at any time. My research has been an incredible success. We will
open the dimensional gate briefly to test it, before he arrives. Tell
him I look forward to presenting my results to him.” He speaks in
strange, horrible sounding language to the faux security officers.
The enslaved inhabitants of the outpost are mining, smelting, and
generally constructing the gate, which is a weird combination of
cerametal alloys, intestine-like tubes, and twitching flesh-like
panels, all pulsing to something like a heartbeat. Bioplastic never
looked like this.
The Director and his henchmen begin to open the gate – a horrible
shadow creature begins coming through. No time to go back and prepare
– the characters must stop this thing NOW!
Massive psionic/blaster/Darktech weapons battle. Lots of lurching
Dark-Enfolded outpost victims. PCs should be able to Kill off
henchmen, but the Director should escape, screaming in that weird
language into his comlink.
He’s headed towards the landing bays. PCs in hot pursuit, when the
outpost rocks as if struck by the hand of the Maker. The bruiser from
the bar hears on the comlink that some sort of starship is pummelling
the outpost, and that the Director has escaped to join it aboard a
patrol cutter. The outpost’s defences have been sabotaged by the
impostors.
Gadzooks!
Muzcuh – The “Director”
Str – Good (+1)
Dex – Good (+1)
Int – Fair (+0)
Tch – Fair (+0)
Per – Fair (+0)
Psi – Good (+1)
Tou – Fair (+0)
Powers: the Gift, Enfolded
Skills: Acting – Superb (+3), Melee – Great (+2), Unarmed Melee –
Great (+2), Blaster – Great (+2), Dodge – Fair (+0)
Psi Skills: Telepathy – Good (+1), Psychokinesis – Good (+1)
Weapons/Equipment: DarkTech Rifle (Dam: +5, OB: +1, Rng 18/75/180)
Notes: Muzcuh uses his Dark Gift to trick the minds of any who observe
him into seeing him as the Director. This illusion is flawless
to any who see him, but might be detected by someone with the
Gift. He is also an excellent impostor.
Typical Enslaved:
Str – Great (+2)
Dex – Fair (+0)
Int – Fair (+0)
Tch – Fair (+0)
Per – Fair (+0)
Psi – Fair (+0)
Tou – Fair (+0)
Skills: None. (All at -2)
Weapons/Equipment: Varies. Usually the Enslaved armies carry simple
weapons, like clubs and axes.
Typical Darkling:
Str – Great (+2)
Dex – Good (+1)
Int – Fair (+0)
Tch – Fair (+0)
Per – Fair (+0)
Psi – Fair (+0)
Tou – Great (+2)
Skills: Melee – Great (+2), Unarmed Melee – Great (+2), Blaster –
Great (+2), Dodge – Fair (+0), Sneak – Fair (+0), Perception –
Fair (+0), some probably have starship skills
Weapons/Equipment: Varies. Most carry a DarkTech Rifle (Dam: +5, OB:
+1, Rng 18/75/180) , and wear some sort of armor
(treat as Light Armor – +2)
———————————————————————-
5. Save the Base – ship
The Fickle Fate is the outpost’s only hope. They have to stop the
Darkship from destroying the outpost.
The Darkship beginning to open up a landing bay for the Director’s
cutter when the Fickle Fate starts blasting it. The Darkship puts up
shields and closes the bay, stranding the cutter, and turns some of
its guns from the outpost to the Fickle Fate. Characters must disable
the guns before the outpost is just an ionized crater. The Darkship
only sustains a few hits before fleeing, leaving the cutter behind.
Characters can destroy it, try to board, etc.
Director won’t let himself be taken alive.
DarkShip
Warp Speed : Good (+1)
Speed : Good (+1)
Manoeuvre : Good (+1)
Shields : Fair (+0)
Hull : Good (+1)
Crew : ??
Passengers : ??
Cargo : ??
Consumables : ??
Computer : ??
E. Hyperdrives : unknown
Ship’s Guns : DarkTech Disruptor Cannon (FP: +3, OB: -1), 2
: DarkTech Laser Cannon (FP: +1, OB: -1)
Cost : ??
Universal Dynamics 88-V Patrol Corvette
Warp Speed : Fair (+0)
Speed : Mediocre (-1)
Manoeuvre : Fair (+0)
Shields : Fair (+0)
Hull : Good (+1)
Crew : 3
Passengers : 10
Cargo : 75 tons
Consumables : 6 weeks
Computer : Starship Pilot – Mediocre (-1), Astrogation – Poor
: (-2)
E. Hyperdrives : yes
Ship’s Guns : 2 turreted Ranger Weapon Systems Pulse Cannon (FP:
: +1, OB: +0)
Cost : 200,000 Cr. (50,000 or so, used)
Notes : Atmosphere capable
Fickle Fate
(modified Universal Dynamics TF-78a Freighter)
Warp Speed : Fair (+0)
Speed : Fair (+0)
Manoeuvre : Good (+1)
Shields : Fair (+0)
Hull : Good (+1)
Crew : 3
Passengers : 8
Cargo : 80 tons
Consumables : 6 weeks
Computer : Starship Pilot – Mediocre (-1), Astrogation – Poor
: (-2)
E. Hyperdrives : yes
Ship’s Guns : turreted Ranger Weapon Systems Pulse Cannon (FP: +1,
: OB: +0), 2 turreted Laser Cannon (FP: +0, OB: +0)
Cost : not for sale
Notes : Atmosphere capable
perhaps years and requires a lot of continuity. If your players are
the type that gets their characters killed fast and often, then
this one is not for you.
Requirements: At least one high-level fighter, paladin or bard
who always acts like a hero and does heroic deeds (called the
hero later on). The party should use some specific Inn or hotel
as their base between adventures.
During their first or second visit in the Inn the party meets
a lovely, black-haired, tanned young lady who belly-dances
for the audience. The girl should be exceptionally beautiful
and charming, so that the characters are bound to notice her.
After the show the girl dresses up and comes to sit by the
same table with the player characters. She introduces herself
as Alanil (use whatever name you like) and tells that she is
with another adventuring party. It should become apparent that
she is somehow interested in the heroic character (choose a
handsome PC that can’t resist women), but when the hero tries
to make his move, the girl says that she is already involved
with someone else. This someone is Stompur (again, change the
names if you wish), another great hero known for his big muscles
and bad temper. Make it clear that Stompur is someone you
wouldn’t want to make angry.
Every time the party visits the Inn the hero meets Alanil and
gets a chance to spend some time and talk with her. Slowly the
hero gets the impression that Alanil cares for him and the feeling
should be mutual. At the same time between Stompur and the hero
develop a hatred for each other. Anyway, nothing more serious ever
gets to happen. Stompur is out for an adventure most of the time
and his reputation grows steadily – so does the hero’s reputation.
After a year or so Alanil tells the hero that she senses
something bad, but does not know exactly what it is.
Soon after this the party will meet another gorgeous young
woman, Shenadal, who wants to join them. Shenadal is as beautiful
as Alanil, but blonde. Little by little the players should learn
that there is something very similar about these two women, but
they can’t figure out what. Shenadal also likes to spend a lot
of time close to the hero. The two ladies never meet.
Time passes and Shenadal adventures with the party. The heroes’
reputation keeps on growing. One day the two parties (the
players and Alanil’s party) meet accidentally. Something very
strange happens, the girls begin to change their shape…
Both Alanil and Shenadal are powerful ancient dragons who have
polymorphed themselves into young pretty girls, so that they
can easily get close to heroic fighters. The dragons have had
a competition going on for centuries: the one that eats more
and greater heroes in 500 years wins!
This plot gives you a chance to surprise you players in a way
they’ve never experienced. Someone they’ve known for a long
time wants to eat them up! They will have to fight side by side
together with Stompur, whom they hate, against the dragons,
whom they have learned to like or even love.
Have fun.
level cleric’s first adventure. It can also be used to help build a group
of adventurers.
Scenario Description: A local knight and a score of men have been dispatched
to stop an “ogre” which has been harassing a nearby village. The newly
graduated PC cleric has been ordered to assist the high priest who owns/runs
the church in the village. Shortly after arriving at the church, the high
priest puts the newbie cleric in charge as he leaves on an urgent mission.
Thus putting the cleric on the spot.
Places in this Scenario:
Town: Mid-sized town where the PC has learned his trade. The knight and his
men in this adventure are from this town.
Village: This village is getting harassed by an “ogre”.
Forest: It would take four or more days to walk across this mid-sized
slightly hilly forest. The forest is home to the druid Banoust and many
woodland creatures. Several unusual events have occurred here recently.
A boy from the village discovered a cave which is actually the ruins of
tribesmen who lived here long ago. An ogre, ogre mage actually, arrived and
has been causing the local village problems by killing and eating horses, cows,
and stealing valuables. Yesterday, an evil mage,Yagok Iztzwini, entered the
Ruins and soon died from a curse which came over him.
Burial Cave: This is where the body of the dead wizard Yagok Iztzwini is
buried and where the reincarnation spell was performed.
Church: The church of the high priest Thalpas is located in the Village.
Small attendance during services. Beneath the main floor of the church are
several rooms: master bedroom, guest bedroom, store room, and
secret room which contains the Staff of Life and Soul Returning.
Tribesman’s Ruins: Many centuries ago, tribesmen lived in this region of the
continent. After years of war, they were defeated or chased out of the area.
This place was once sacred to them and its secret location was known
only to a few select individuals.
NPCs in this Scenario:
Banoust – Druid: Powerful member of this class. The druid has figured out
what happened to the mage/ogre-mage and has prepared a scroll containing
the location of the mage’s body, where the ogre-mage’s cave is, and what he
thinks happened to the mage and ogre mage (he is correct). The druid gives
the scroll to a woodland creature and sends it on its way to warn the
knight of what might happen.
Ogre: Unknown to any PC or NPC (except Banoust) in this adventure, the ogre
is a magic-using ogre (Read Japanese Ogre or ogre mage) who has sort of
been possessed by an evil mage. The possession occurred in the last 24
hours. A dying mage forced the druid Banoust reincarnate the mage. Something
went wrong with the reincarnation and now the ogre mage has two souls.
The ogre can use both the powers of the mage and the ogre mage. The
knight Teramore Lightman expected a normal ogre not an ogre mage or an ogre
mage possessed by an evil mage. The ogre mage is using hit and run tactics
on the knights, which means he casts one offensive spell then disappears.
Squire: This newbie fighter is the Squire of the Knight called Teramoor
Lightman. If the GM is trying to bring together a group of new adventurers,
have a fighter play the squire in this adventure.
Teramore Lightman – Knight: The knight is very experienced and has killed a
few trolls in his day. He is both strong and stout. The people of the land
believe that this should be a very easy mission for the knight. They are
wrong!
Thalpas – The High Priest: A middle aged human who has spent many a year
adventuring and has retired to a little church he built in this village.
The local population respect him, but, they love the local druid. The
attendance at the church isn’t as high as he would like it to be. He sees
the problem with the ogre as a chance to win a few of the locals over to
his church.
Thalpas gets along well with the higher members of the church because he
usually stays out of the intrigue of the upper circles of power. They mostly
leave him alone and he rarely attends any of the annual church functions to
which he is invited.
Yagok Iztzwini – Evil Mage: A moderately powerful mage with slightly evil
side He is very intelligent, impatient, and known for his ability to size up
a person with just a slight glance. Recently he purchased a scroll from a
farmer in the village who claimed his son found it in a cave in the forest.
The scroll was a minor magic but Yagok paid the farmer for directions to the
cave. Yagok discovered that the cave was the ruins of the type associated
with tribesmen who lived in the area several centuries ago. Upon entering,
he was hit by a horrible curse. Yagok managed to get out of the cave and
soon came across Banoust who was picking berries for lunch. Yagok used a
spell to force Banoust to bury his body and reincarnate him. Banoust buried
the body in a cave (different from the tribesmen ruins) and performed the
reincarnation. Something went wrong with the reincarnation and Yagok’s soul
went into the body of a nearby Ogre Mage. Yagok blames the villagers for his
death.
New Items in this Scenario:
Staff of Life and Soul Returning: Touching this item to ANY dead body or
even the smallest piece of a body, will cause the body to instantly return
to a 100% functional state and the soul will return from wherever it might
be to the body. The soul must still exist on some plane of existence. It
is like an unlimited resurrection or golden drops of heavenly essence. If
the soul is contained in some other place or item, it will still return.
The Plot:
GMs Notes/Setup: An ogre has been bothering farmers by killing livestock
and destroying property. He lives in the wooded hills near a village about
a day and a half from this town. A local knight and a score of men have
been dispatched to remove the ogre. The knight is very experienced and
has killed a few trolls in his day. The people of the land believe this
should be a very easy mission for the knight.
Since the church doesn’t want clerics (especially newbies!) just hanging
around the church, they have decided to send a recent graduate out to
assist the high priest Thalpas. Thalpas owns/runs the church in the
village near the ogre. They don’t think the knight will have much trouble
with the ogre but figure it can’t hurt to send someone to assist the
high priest should any serious injuries happen. The cleric will not
travel with the knight and his men and will have to travel on his own.
GMs may want to role-play the journey out or just let the cleric arrive
at the church.
Arriving at the Church: Arriving at the church, the high priest Thalpas
immediately puts the cleric to work cleaning the very dusty church. The
high priest is very much a loner and lives alone in the church. In fact,
the High priest doesn’t have any other clerics around.
The knights will find the ogre but will get into real trouble. Unknown
to them, the ogre is a magic-using ogre (Read Japanese Ogre or ogre mage)
who has sort of been possessed by an evil mage. The possession occurred
in the last 24 hours. A dying mage forced a druidical type priest to
reincarnate the mage. Something went wrong with the reincarnation and
now the ogre has two souls inside itself. The ogre can use both the powers
of the mage and the ogre mage. The knight expected a normal ogre not an
ogre mage or an ogre mage possessed by an evil mage.
The druid Banoust has figured out what happened to the mage/ogre-mage and
has prepared a scroll containing the location of the mage’s body, where
the ogre-mage’s cave is, and what he thinks happened to the mage and ogre
mage (he is correct). The druid gives the scroll to a woodlands creature
and sends it on it’s way to warn the knight of what might happen. The
warning arrives too late.
After the fight with the ogre, A great owl flies over Teramore and drops
Banoust’s warning scroll. The knight reads the scroll then orders the
squire to take the scroll to the church in the village and give it to the
priest in charge. The squire is also told to tell the cleric about the
many wounded men. To make sure the squire gets to the church, Teramore
orders the squire to take a long route back instead of a direct path, where
the ogre-mage may be waiting to ambush him.
Needless to say, the knight runs into trouble with the “ogre” and beats a
hasty retreat back to the village. The newbie cleric has been put in charge
of the church and will have to handle the knight, his men, the villagers,
the druid, Banoust, and the “Ogre”.
The Adventure:
Introduction: Having just “graduated” from school, you were selected by
a high ranking member of the church to go on a mission of small importance.
You are ordered to travel to a small shrine not more than a day or two
journey from this town and assist the high priest as he sees fit. Knowing
your adventurous side, you are told that it is a simple mission and not a
major quest or adventure. A knight has been sent with a score of men to
rid a forest of an ogre which has been pestering local farmers. You are
being sent to help the high priest on the slight chance there will be some
wounded men.
The Journey: The GM may role-play this or just let the cleric arrive
at the church.
Arriving at the Church: When the cleric arrives, he doesn’t act surprised
that he is here. He will show the newbie priest where the broom and mop
are so he can begin cleaning. The church hasn’t been cleaned in many months!
The priest will constantly check the PCs work and be very picky about how
he does the job. He will be watching how the newbie reacts to the treatment.
He doesn’t like yes-men. If the character just puts up with the treatment,
dinner will be bread and a very tasty soup. If he shows some character,
the priest will say he is glad to see him stand up for himself and break
out the good stuff for dinner such as a fine ham, cheese, wine, fruit, etc.
The Tour: Before going to bed, the priest will give a tour of the entire
church. There are several rooms below the church which serve as private
quarters, guest quarters, storage (loaded with many fine foods and wine),
and a hidden chamber. Within the hidden chamber is a holy relic found
during the Thalpas’s adventuring days. He will tell the newbie about the
holy relic (Staff of Life and Soul Returning). He will say “Touching the
staff to any dead body will fully restore life and limb and return its
soul no matter where it might be”. A small room with a straw bed will be
made available for the newbie.
Squire’s Arrival?: NOTE: This may not occur here! If the squire fails to
follow the orders of his knight and proceeds in a direct line to the
village, he will arrive safely. He will give the scroll to the high priest
and tell him of the battle with the ogre-like creature. Thalpas asks the
PC to cure any wounds the squire has and to give him something to eat.
Thalpas will then study the scroll in private and not share the information
with the PC. NOTE: The squire arrived somewhere around midnight.
Thalpas’s Departure: The cleric wakes up in the morning to find Thalpas gone
and a note left for him/her. The note says that PC cleric in charge of the
church and tells him that he will be back in a few days. His reason for
leaving will depend on whether the squire arrived last night. If so, he
claims to be going to the church council for advice. If the squire didn’t
arrive, he claims that he has a strong feeling that he will need the
assistance from a few of his old adventuring buddies.
Later That Day: A few of the villagers will come and go asking questions,
where is Thalpas, where is the knight, why is the squire here by himself,
etc. The villagers seem worried. If the cleric reassures the villagers, he
gets 1 good point. If he makes it worse by saying something stupid, he gets
1 bad point.
The Next Day: The knight Teramore Lightman arrives with his wounded men. He
seems mad and a little frustrated. He asks where Thalpas is and who is in
charge. When he hears that the PC is in charge of the church, he acts very
respectful of the PC and even seeks his wisdom on the situation in front
of his men. Specifically, he want to know if they should go out and try to
attack this creature again. At this point, several of his men cry out in
favour of attacking and getting revenge. If not, what should they do, just
sit and wait? If the clerics god is against revenge and the cleric speaks
against revenge he gets one good point. He gets one bad point if he doesn’t
try to quell any talk of revenge. If the God endorses revenge, reverse the
scoring. If the cleric advises caution and posting of guards and patrols in
the village, he get one good point. If he doesn’t offer advice or just tells
them to do no action he gets one bad point. If he suggests and all out attack
against the ogre, you can expect the men to get wiped out (3 bad points).
NOTE: Teramore will answer any questions the cleric asks to the best of
his ability.
That Night: During the night, the ogre attacks the village. If guards or
patrols were placed by the cleric, one of the guardsmen will be killed and
the ogre will appear to have been driven off by the other guardsmen. If no
guards or patrols were established, one house will be attacked and two
villagers (man & his son) will have died in the attack. The ogre appears to
have hit and run. The villagers will be shaken up by this situation and the
cleric must show no fear to inspire the people. Even the knight appears to
be shaken and will respond according to the clerics actions. He will be
brave it the cleric is and not so brave if the cleric isn’t. If a guardsman
dies, Teramore will say to the cleric “It could have been worse, some of the
villagers could have died. You were wise to suggest a patrol.” If the
guardsman dies, give the cleric 1 good point, if two villagers die, he gets
2 bad points.
The Next Day – Squire’s Arrival?: NOTE: This may not occur here! If the
squire didn’t arrive earlier, he will arrive now. Teramore will be upset
with the squire and he may not be his squire after this mission is over.
The squire does give the scroll to the cleric. If the cleric interferes
with the knight-squire relationship, the knight will listen to his advice
but will act according to his own sense of honour.
Later that Day: Banoust the druid arrives in town. If the cleric has not
been reassuring and/or not acted bravely, they will flock to the druid
leaving him along. If he has been brave and/or reassuring, only a few of
the villagers will rush to Banoust. Banoust will talk to a few of the
villagers then head toward the church. He will relate the tale of the wizard
Yagok and the reincarnation. He will also mention that he was attacked this
morning and the spellbooks he took from Yagok had been stolen. He fears that
the Ogre will be able to get his full range of spells now.
Reaction to Banoust: The villager will be watching Banoust and the cleric to
see signs of strength and weakness. Banoust will make rather loud statements
in public regarding Thalpas’s leaving the village in a time of crisis. The
cleric needs to counter these statements. Whoever wins this verbal fencing
will wins the heart and soul of the villagers. If the cleric wins, give him
2 good points and 2 bad points if he fails.
Solution to the Adventure #1: The Staff of Life and Soul Returning can be
used to bring the life and soul of the wizard Yagok Iztzwini back to his
body. If the cleric figures this out, and mentions this to the knight and
the druid, a plan may be created by the three of them. The druid will help
get the cleric to the dead wizards body. The knight and the squire will
volunteer to go with in case of trouble. The knight may even suggest using
himself and his guardsmen to draw the ogre’s attention while the cleric,
druid and squire bring the wizard back to life. There will be no problems
in either capturing the mage or killing him after the staff is used. The
now weaker ogre mage will be easily killed by Teramore and his men. The
cleric earns 6 good points.
Solution to the Adventure #2: The next day, Thalpas returns with his old
adventuring buddies. They kill the ogre mage without too much trouble.
Other Solutions: Characters always manage to come up with unexpected plans.
So award 6 points for removing the ogre mage/mage problem. Award 1 bad point
for each villager who dies, and 1 bad point for every two guards men who die.
If the squire dies, add 1 bad point, and add 3 bad points if the knight dies.
Since this is an opportunity for roleplaying. The GM may add other encounters
to the adventure such as settling disputes between villagers, husbands &
their wives, parents and children.
Closing Notes:
If the cleric ended with more good points than bad points, he should be
rewarded in some way.
Here are some possibilities.
1) Thalpas gives the cleric a well trained war horse.
If the cleric ended with more bad points than good points, he should be
2) Thalpas gives the cleric a map. The map “claims” to lead the cleric
to where a magic tome to increase one’s wisdom is hidden.
3) Newbie cleric is recognized by church leaders as an up and coming cleric.
Perhaps you are too challenging to have around? They send you on another
mission.
4) If the newbie cleric has earned sufficient experience to advance a level.
His/her training is arranged for by the church at no cost to the cleric.
5) The church grants the cleric special dispensation in a special ceremony.
Whenever the cleric cast a “Cure wounds” spell, add +1 to all dice rolled.
6) The church grants the cleric special dispensation in a special ceremony.
The cleric is granted an extra first level spell per day.
punished in some way. Here are some possibilities.
1) Thalpas orders the cleric to a vow of silence and meditation in his temple
for the next week.
2) If the holy relic is some how lost, he will be quested to recover it.
3) The cleric has to tithe half of his money for the next 12 months.
4) In a special ceremony, the cleric loses the ability to cast bonus spells.
This ability will return when “God” feels the cleric has earned it or the
need is great. NOTE: not the cleric’s need!
Getting a group together. The purpose of this adventure was to give an
individual character an adventure for himself with the further goal of
building an adventuring group. Here is how you could start a group from here
by adding other characters. I would suggest exploring the “tribesman ruins” as
a good starting place for further adventuring.
1) The squire could be another adventurer who could join the cleric.
2) One of the knight’s men decides to leave the knights service.
3) Banoust could introduce the cleric to an elf or druidical character.
4) After the ogre, a hunter from the village decides he likes adventure.
5) One of Thalpas’s adventuring buddies has an apprentice….
the PCs are hired to close it, possibly involving a long and difficult
process or series of quests.
run across an ancient evil that is now running him like a puppet. After
raising an army of humanoids and worse, the PCs are sent to investigate.
least thought they did. It has managed to return again much weaker, but is
gaining power quickly.
again, and must be recovered and re-imprisoned or destroyed while it still
can.
Blinded by their new treasures, they don’t realize they are becoming
servants. Rescuers are needed before it is too late.
hired to track it down and retrieve it.
grabs power. The PCs must rescue the heir, dispose of the wizard, and then
defeat the invading army.
However, he doesn’t realize that this item will break his control over
them. Once free, the PCs must work to stop his evil schemes.
recover it. Unfortunately they find that it has already been appropriated
by the other bad guys.
beat them to the locations of the hidden keys and/or recover the hidden keys
already found.
land they have been granted.
must find the source and stop it before the balance is upset.
before the baron arrives at midnight.
However, there are many who do not wish this prophesy to come true.
wizard’s tower. Their only chance at escape is to enter the tower and try
to survive it.
either spies to find out what, or to try to stop this opponent before
another goblin war occurs.
PCs are the only ones in the position to recover stolen property and
practice diplomacy to prevent this.
must track him down for justice.
sides when they see the damage being done.
they picked up something very important to the bad guys, who will stop at
nothing to recover it.
the throne with friends. Meanwhile, outside forces threaten, and it is up
to the PCs to fix things up.
to lay it to rest for once and for all. They are sent on a quest for a
mighty artefact to destroy the beast, and then must use it on the dragon.
he sends the PCs to do the job.
******************* CAMPAIGN LINES AND RESPONSIBILITIES *****************
* *
* This campaign, designed and played over the course of five years, *
* was designed for the concurrent adventuring of four different groups *
* of Player Characters. The plot lines of campaign, five major and *
* five minor, are interwoven as much as possible, but could be run *
* individually. The majority of this material is original, questions *
* and comments will be welcomed by the author. *
* *
* Any use of copyrighted material, explicit or implicit, does not *
* constitute a challenge to the ownership of that copyright. The *
* author/owner of this document otherwise retains the rights to all *
* to all material contained herein. Permission is granted for non- *
* profit reproduction and/or distribution so long as this notice is *
* retained in its entirety. *
* *
* Welcome to The Tarathan! *
* *
*************************************************************************
This file is set up in the following format:
I. Welcome message, copyright disclaimer and introduction to the
format.
II. Description of the four player groups.
This campaign was designed for, and in my experience was certainly large
enough to have four different groups of player characters adventuring
at the same time. We did this in order to add a little more variety
to the game and to allow for players to experiment with different
characters. A breakdown of which group(s) were responsible for each
plot line is included after each title (see below).
III. Background explanation of names and terms
In the interests of respecting other people’s hard work and copyrights,
some geographical and cultural names have been changed. Also, as the
majority of this material is original, I include a short
description of some of the terms that are used in this document.
IV. Plot Lines and Explanations
The ten plot lines of this campaign are divided into five major
and five minor collections of adventures, which (as much as
possible) have ties among and through each other. The unifying
reference or force behind the campaign is “The Song of Solastin
Ash”, a 6000+ year old prophesy of the greatest elven Spellsinger
(annotated and appended to this document.) I used the “Song”
primarily as foreshadowing and adventure hooks/references in the
campaign, leading characters along from one stanza to the next.
Each plot line has been written in the following format (NOTE –
Numbers in [brackets] refer specifically to the “Song” located in
Part V):
– Title [Lines of Primary Reference in the “Song”] Name of
Responsible Character Group
i.e **Arcanum [7-14, 25-32] Group I (Main Characters)
– Historical Reference: Background to the plot
– Campaign Goals and Challenges: The general goal that the PC’s
should achieve in this particular plot line, plus three to five
specific challenges or obstacles.
– Specific References: Additional references in other stanzas
of the “Song” and explanation.
i.e. [11-12] As the magical drain becomes more drastic, the
Runic Heiarch of Lagur (Water) increasingly uses her powers to
try and contain the damage.
V. The Song of Solastin Ash
The “Song”, here in its entirety, has been annotated for easy
reference to each plot description. Individual lines or stanzas will
be referenced in [brackets].
The “Song” follow a specific pattern (with refrain after each set of
stanzas):
Refrain
Major Plot Line
Minor Plot Line
Legend or Call of Heroes
…
Refrain
“Legend” is an account of some piece of ancient Tarathan history and
“Call of Heroes” is a foreshadowing of many of the NPC’s to be found
in the campaign.
++++++ GROUP DESCRIPTIONS +++++++
Group I – The main characters who start at a lowly level, however are
advanced rather fast through `parallel adventures’ setting up background
for secondary Groups (II-IV). Although they are ultimately the deciding
force, they play a minor role until Parts Three and Four of the Campaign.
1. Wizard/Sorcerer Student of the Arcanum, future Runist
Group II – “The Bonded and Fettered, Yet Free to Be Doomed”, a collection
2. Cleric/Priest Psionic Potential
3. Thief/Rogue “Darkfang” and “Keldarion”
4. Fighter/Warrior Ties to the Northern Reaches/Selidon Keep
5. Other(s) (GM’s Discretion)
of medium/high level characters with one extraordinary ability
score and a common legacy, the `Golden Shackles’ on their
wrists. Predestined to release the Riders, die in the course of their
trials, return as Servitors and restore Power to The Tarathan.
Group III – This Group of high level characters is based in a
medium-sized castle, part of the Protectorate of Selidon in the Northern
Reaches. Their role is primarily to explore the adventure possibilities
of the `landed’ nobility and provide a show of force within the Campaign
when necessary.
Group IV – This Group is actually made up of a wide range of characters
of varying levels who serve as playtesters for various character classes
and races.
++++++ EXPLANATION OF NAMES AND TERMS ++++++
—> NAMES of Geographical Locations (in order of appearance in the
Plot Lines)
Amaranth – a country ruled largely by wizards, also the name of the
capitol city. Extremely unfriendly toward clerics/priests. Political
tensions with the Windlands.
The Tarathan (The Jewel) – the name of the campaign world, also the
name of the collection of planes upon which the Twenty Immortals
reside
Windlands – a broad expanse of wind-swept plains east of Amaranth.
Home to a wide variety of nomadic tribes. Political tensions with
Amaranth.
Northern Reaches – largely untamed wilderness north of the “Southern
Kingdoms”
Underworld – the network of tunnels, chambers and caverns below the
surface of The Tarathan.
Develin – a prosperous country south of Amaranth. Ruled by a
consortium of Merchant-Princes.
The Heights – the forest-state of the Elves
Warren – a particularly excavated and populated area of the Underworld
directly below Develin and The Heights. Supported by four massive
cornerstones.
Sand Lords – the nomadic rulers of the desert on the eastern coast of
the continent. Particularly unfriendly toward wizards.
Selidon Valley/Protectorate – The main center of population in the
Northern Reaches.
Cloud Mountain – a singular, massive mountain in the center of the
Windlands. Site of pilgramage and prophesy for the nomadic tribes.
Adatia – a county beyond the eastern sea, populated and ruled by
wizards. Unofficial patron of Amaranth.
—> NAMES of Gaming Terms (in order of appearance in the Plot Lines)
Power – all magical effects, including arcane (Wizards), holy
(Clerics/Priests), and those produced by items and artifacts.
Excludes Psionics and Rune Magic.
Rune Magic (Runic Heiarch) – Old Earth Magic, captured and controlled
by runic inscription. A secret society lead by five Heiarchs
(representing four elements plus Spirit/Balance.)
Heart of the Tarathan – a large ruby, the primary collector of Power
on The Tarathan.
Chamber of the Spheres – a massive Dark elven magical construction
designed to restore Power to The Tarathan bypassing the Arcanum.
Sol – the authority over the Tewnty Immortals.
Protocols – the edicts of Sol passed down at the Reckoning. The
First Protocol states that “no Immortal shall walk the face of The
Tarathan.”
Erdefount – the first source of water in the Underworld.
Stone-Father’s Tome – Agathon, Patron Immortal of the Underworld,
wrote this history of the his ‘children’, who eventually broke among
themselves and became the different races of the Underworld.
Celarion – the secret political organization of Shadogodon, Patron
Immortal of Strife. Led by the “Rose” (highest political title.)
Orbs of Cymid Dar – three silver orbs, an artifact of great power.
Cursed to drive the user slowly insane.
++++++ PLOT LINES +++++++
-=-=-=-=-= GREATER LINES =-=-=-=-=-=-
**Arcanum [7-14, 25-32] Group I (Main Characters)
Historical Reference – The Arcanum, the magically active remains of a
star summoned in battle by the Nameless One (a pre-Reckoning Sorcerer-
King), rests thousands of feet below the city of Amaranth. The impact
of this comet killed the Nameless One’s rival, Hanel, and shifted the
planet, plunging it into a global cataclysm. Millenia later, in the
current era, the emanations given off by this star, deep in the earth,
act as a magic- enhancing `aura’ in and around the country of Amaranth.
This aura, however, consumes a significant deal more Power than it
creates and is slowly draining Magic from The Tarathan.
Campaign Goal and Challenges – The PC’s must identify the Arcanum and
its nature, locate and find a way to stop it or its effects.
– I. One of their members is a member of the Brotherhood of the Arcanum,
Specific References –
the ruling (albeit secret) political power in Amaranth.
– II. All other members of the Brotherhood will stop at nothing to
prevent the destruction of their `free’ source of Power.
– III. The ongoing war with the Windlands requires more and more magical
investment, draining The Tarathan’s Power even faster.
– IV. The extremely inaccessable location and unfathomable power of the
Arcanum itself makes it extremely difficult for mortals to reach it and
impossible to touch or affect it in any way.
[11-12] As the magical drain becomes more drastic, the Runic Heiarch of
Lagur (Water) increasingly uses her powers to try and contain the
damage.
[13-14] Agathon, preoccupied for several thousand years with his search
for the Heart of The Tarathan, will return after its discovery (see
“Tokens”) and transform the surviving Dark Elves into his new Chosen,
banishing the Illithid.
[22-23, 72-73, 76-77, 99, 103-104] Finsternis (c.f.), trapped in his
rise to Immortality in a nether-plane and neither mortal or immortal, is
the only person capable of completing the magical `circuit’ – the Heart
of the Tarathan – in the Dark elves’ (c.f.) “Chamber of the Spheres”,
however, the act, while restoring Power to The Tarathan, would also
fully elevate him to the Twenty.
[9, 50] The Dragon of Ash, a work of ritual magic, using the Arcanum
against the the Windland’s horde, and the death of Prayle (c.f.) in the
Northern Reaches both signal the final vestiges of Power on The Tarathan.
**Riders [34-41, 116-123] Group II (Bonded)
Historical Reference – Before the Reckoning, The Tarathan was divided
only between Light and Dark, the two `Bastions’ of the Age.
Approximately six thousand years before the current campaign takes
place, the Vangaurd of the Bastion of the Light, led by the Psionicist-
Mage Kry the Just and his four knights, faced the Thirteen Riders of the
Vanguard of the Dark. The battle raged on the edge of a chasm in the
center of Trynnia, Kry’s kindom. The Riders were eventually banished
and bound, but the knights were killed and Kry was lost as the edge of
the chasm gave way beneath him. It was at that point that Sol called
the twenty surviving Immortals to the Jewel, issued the Protocols and
the new Age was begun.
Campaign Goal and Challenges – The PC’s, having released the Riders,
must find out their weaknesses, track them down and destroy them.
– I. The only effective way to combat the Riders’ auras is to possess one
Specific References –
of the Treasures of Old, the weapons of Kry and his knights.
– II. The Patron Immortals of Strife, Domination and Death each have a
vested interest in the freedom of the Riders, and the advantage that can
be gained by the chaos that the Thirteen create.
– III. Kry’s tomb has been used as the foundation for the Seers’ Obelisk
(c.f.), drawing on the psionic energies which are still associated with
his spirit.
[18-19] Finsternis (c.f.) corrupts one of the original members of Group
I, who later bears his child, the future the leader of the Celarion and
the bearer of the First Treasure of Old.
[36] In the early years of the final battle, Kry’s knights numbered
eight, however as the Riders became more powerful, four of the knights
joined with the weapons of their `brothers’ to better protect them.
[75] The Dark Elven kingdom falls prey to a plague unleashed by
Scourge, which slowly decimates the populace and threatend the
completion of the Chamber.
[118-119] These three points outline the former borders of Trynnia, at
their center lies the valley of the Obelisk and the tomb of Kry the
Just.
**Flood [61-68] Group IV (Experimental)
Historical Reference – The “Master”, a heretofore mythical monster of
the Underworld, with the help of Agathon’s Chosen, has begun a slow
process of weakening the `Cornerstones’ – four massive, natural pillars
which support the kingdoms of Develin and the Heights above the `Warren’, a
giant region of the Underworld. If the pillars are completely destroyed,
the entire region will sink, flooding it entirely and killing millions.
Unfortunately, the plot isn’t discovered until two of the pillars are
destroyed, necessitating a replacement of the underground supports.
Campaign Goal and Challenges – Find four saplings in Agathon’s `Granite
Forsest’ to replace the lost pillars while preventing the Master from
collapsing the remaining two.
– I. In order for the saplings to grow outside of their natural habitat,
Specific References –
they must be planted in soil from `the Deep’ and watered with from the
Erdefount itself.
– II. The followers of Agathon, faced with the Illithid conspiracy to
collapse of the Warren, have begun a rebellion against the Chosen.
– III. The Dark elves, in a move to hide their plague-induced weakness,
and protect the Chamber of the Spheres, close their borders and
ruthlessly kill any trespassers.
[44] An accurate copy of the “Stone-Father’s Tome” lies in the archives
of Casteln Mists, detailing the true history of the races of the
Underworld, which would further incite and ultimately justify the
revolution against the Illithid.
[13, 16, 31, 43, 72] The Underworld can easily provide access to any
number of underground locales, information which may be useful to other
Groups as well.
**Scelectious [88-95] Group IV (Experimental)
Historical Reference – Over two thousand years ago, the Patron Immortal
of Thievery was vanquished by a new, young Initiate named Denethor [c.f.
Evolution]. The son of Sol and the Runic Heiarch of Lagur (Water),
Denethor is not bound by the Protocols, allowing him to roam The
Tarathan at will. Now, a host of villians have nearly succeeded in
returning the `Immortal Who is No More’ to the Prime Plane. For the
past thousand years, the priests, Chosen and Servitors of Scelectious
have maintained a hidden temple in the Onyx Keep, dominion of the chief
campaign antagonist, Finsternis. They have finally neared the point
where they are ready to try to break the binding that holds their
Immortal.
Campaign Goal and Challenges – The PC’s must identify the threat of the
Scelectious’ minions, and find a way to either stop the shattering of
the Barrier, or face and kill the Immortal on this plane.
– I. Supported by Finsternis, the remaining Priests, Chosen and Servitors
Specific References –
of Scelectious, will fanatically defend their Temple and the coin which
is the key to breaking the Barrier.
– II. For a variety of reasons, most of the Twenty fear the power of
Scelectious upon the face of The Tarathan and have commanded their
Chosen to cooperate in preventing his return.
– III. In infiltrating the Onyx Keep, PC’s will be confronted by the
spectre of one of Kry’s Knights, and “Yesterday’s Son”, bearer of the
First Treasure of Old.
– IV. Finsternis, seeking a easy path to Immortality, hopes to vanquish
the weakened survivor of the imminent battle between Sceletious and
Denethor.
[18-19, 125] The son of Finsternis (the `Outsider’) and Elsavin (the
`Scion of Willows’), aged through the blood sacrifice of his mother’s
life, bears the First Treasure of Old [c.f. Riders] and has been raised
to be the first leader of the Shadgodon’s Celarion.
[52] Deramis ip Baccus (the `Assassin Invisible’), one of the few
surviving Scarael Excalibur and servant of Finsternis will infiltrate
the PC’s Group and strike from within.
**Seers’ Obelisk [115-122] Group I (Main Characters)
Historical Reference – The Seers’ Obelisk, made from Power-receptive
Shadowstone, is in fact a massive psionic beacon created to contact
creatures with active and potential psionic powers, and draw them to it.
Once it has contacted all of the minds within range of its `call’, it
will siphon off their ability and channel it to Alain, the Patron
Immortal of Fate.
Campaign Goal and Challenges – Locate and destroy the Obelisk before it
completely drains all psionic potential from The Tarathan, raising Alain
to a position far beyond the rest of the Twenty.
– I. Kry’s spirit, fully awaked by the last of the Four Treasures of Old
being used once more against the Riders, will draw Penumbra to the
Obelisk for their final battle.
– II. The Obelisk is virtually invulnerable from physical, psychic
and magical attack, with the exception of it’s base [“It’s four corners
are weaker than the one.”]
– III. The `Armies of the North’ will be forced to engage in the battles
sundering the Southern Lands, culminating in the Call of the Obelisk.
Specific References –
[74-75] The Seers, in need of massive quantities of Shadowstone, enter
into an agreement with the Dark elves, who control the remaining
sources of the mystical rock. However, after receiving the Stone,
betray them to the Rider Scourge, who unleases a devastating plague upon
in the Underworld.
-=-=-=-=-= LESSER LINES =-=-=-=-=-=-
**Finsternis [16-23] Group I (Main Characters)
Historical Reference – Finsternis, an ancient, evil black dragon,
shapechanged into a High Elf, becomes the chief campaign antagonist in
his quest for Immortality. Lord of the Onyx Keep high in the Amaranthan
Alps, he can be found througout the Southern Kingdoms in the service of
the dark Immortals.
Campaign Goal and Challenges – Oppose Finsternis’ aims.
– I. Finsternis will be instrumental in formenting dissent among in the
most volitile areas of the Southern Kingdoms, inter alia the Windlands –
Amaranth conflict and the Sand Lords’ Jihad.
– II. The `Temple Prime of the Banished Immortal’ is housed in
Finsternis’ keep, which will be the staging ground for the battle
between Denethor and Scelectious.
– III. Finsternis’ son, the new Rose of the Celarion, will seek to avenge
his father’s “death”
Specific References –
[77, 104] In his quasi-immortal state, Finsternis will be the only
person capable of placing the Heart of The Tarathan in the Dark elves’
Chamber of the Spheres.
[125] `The Scion of Willows’ , Elsavin, will betray the PC’s and marry
Finsternis, giving him a son.
**Prayle [43-50] Group III (Castle)
Historical Reference – Hundreds of years ago, a renegade arch-mage was
sealed into a mountain crypt in Selidon Valley. Opened and awakened by
an earthquake, the insane mage, Prayle, now seeks the remaining keys to
his power and revenge on the Council Arcana, who imprisioned him.
Unknown to him, the entire Council is in stasis under the watchful eye
of the Northern Elven kingdom, awaiting the Call of the Seers’ Obelisk.
Campaign Goal and Challenges – Find and kill Prayle, before he regains
his full power through the Orbs of Cymid Dar. Also, fulfill the
prophesy returning the Councils Arcana of Casteln Mists before the Call
of the Obelisk.
– I. The discovery of Casteln Mists will prompt Selidon’s Keep to
Specific References –
mobilize, which will trigger an orc and troll offensive in the south of
the Protectorate.
– II. Prayle’s death will signal the first major failure of Power from the
Tarathan.
– III. Vladyen the lich, Prayle’s mentor, will haunt Casteln Mists after
the Council returns and the castle becomes a part of the Protectorate.
[108,109] “Spinner of Falsehood” names Prayle, “Archmage of Sleepers”
names Chelic, of the Council Major
**Dark elves [70-77] Group II (Bonded)
Historical Reference – Driven from the surface by the Earthshaker wars,
one Elven clan survived in the shadows of the Underworld. With their
sensitivity to the flows of Power in the world, the elves recognize the
danger of the Arcanum and have begun construction of the Chamber of the
Spheres in order to restore Power to The Tarathan.
Campaign Goal and Challenges – Find the Heart of the Tarathan and
assist the Dark elves in the construction of the Chamber.
– I. Shunned and misunderstood by most races, the Dark elves are
Specific References –
extremely defensive and wary of strangers, especially after the outbreak
of plague.
– II. The Illithid and Seers both will seek to prevent any contact with
the Dark elves and the completion of the Chamber.
– III. In its final stages, any mortal approaching the Chamber will be
destroyed by the Power already coursing through it, necessitating a
quasi-divine intervention (Finsternis).
[11-12] As the magical drain becomes more drastic, the Runic Heiarch of
Lagur (Water) increasingly uses her powers to try and contain the
damage.
[13-14] Agathon, preoccupied for several thousand years with his search
for the Heart of The Tarathan, will return after its discorvery (see
“Tokens”) and transform the surviving Dark Elves into his new Chosen,
banishing the Illithid.
[63] The growing revolution against the Illithid complicates movement
and completion of the Nucleus.
[22-23, 72-73, 76-77, 99, 103-104] Finsternis (c.f.), trapped in his
rise to Immortality in a nether-plane and neither mortal or immortal, is
the only person capable of completing the magical `circuit’ – the Heart
of the Tarathan – in the Dark elves “Chamber of the Spheres”, however,
the act, while restoring Power to The Tarathan, would also fully elevate
him to the Twenty.
[108] “Shaman Below” names the High Advisor Teranis of the Dark elves,
who will first accept the PC’s offers of help.
**Demon/War [97-104] Group IV (Experimental)
Historical Reference – Using a stolen Dark Elven soul crystal, a
foolish Amaranthan mage succeeds in summoning a demon, which then breaks
free and kills him. After ravaging the Broken Lands, it begins to enter
the Windlands, which is taken as an act of war, as the frayed tensions
with Amaranth snap and fighting begins. The demon makes its way
singlemindedly toward the Cloud Mountain where a sea of undead and
spirits wait for release.
Campaign Goal and Challenges – Stop the Demon and try to stem the
escalation of hostilities between Amaranth and The Windlands.
– I. Factions both inside and outside the countries have strong interests
Specific References – [9] A Ritual Spell of War, the “Dragon of Ash”,
in the continuation of the conflict, including the Adatians, Develinian
Arms Dealers, and Finsternis, among others.
– II. The Dark elves do not care about the war, but will stop at nothing
to retrieve their stolen crystal, which is in the possession of, and key
to the banishment of the demon.
– III. The whole incident, from the crystal to the declaration of war, was
actually a plot by the Seers to test their influence and destabilize a
region highly resistant to their plans.
will be unleashed upon the invading Windlanders, but the drain upon the
Arcanum will cause the first magic-dead period.
**Tokens [124-131] Group I (Main Characters)
Historical Reference – Five of the Immortals (Goldoron, Rydion, Solonor,
Denethor, and Agathon) will act as the guides, patrons and challengers
of the PC’s throughout the campaign. Their tokens grant a limited
passage and assistance in the realms of their Immorals, as well as being
keys to the ultimate completion of the campaign.
Campaign Goal and Challenges – Pass the various tests and collect the
tokens of the Five Immortals.
– I. Goldoron (Matter) – Token of the Karellion
Specific References –
– II. Rydion (Time) – Token of the Flute
– III. Solonor (Thought) – Token of the Branch
– IV. Denethor (Energy) – Token of the Hand
– V. Agathon (Entropy) – Token of the Heart
[4] Successfully banishing or destroying Scelectious will win
Denethor’s Token of the Hand.
[13] If Agathon is led to the Heart of The Tarathan, his quest will be
fulfilled and he will present it as his Token.
[53] The Emerald Heiress is the Lady of an Elven family-keep lost under
a curse banishing them into a loop of time. Rescuing them will win the
Token and friendship of the clan.
++++++ SONG OF SOLASTIN ASH +++++++
1 “The Power of this world shall fade from the Well,
2 And the Thirteen shall ride from the dark pits of Hell,
3 The sea shall rise up and strike `gainst the land,
4 And the shadow of twilight shall wound thy right hand,
5 The deaf shall hear the call of the One,
6 And the face of the Twenty shall turn to the Sun.
7 Immortal Power ne’er meant for fool aims,
8 Jewel’s path disrupts and destiny claims,
9 The Dragon of Ash shall herald the Fall,
10 As chaos lays claim to the Immortal Hall.
11 As farther the Soul of the Jewel disappears,
12 The Lost Lady washes the wound with her tears,
13 The Forsaker, his treasure at the Heart of the earth,
14 Shall champion the Soulless, in the hour of their birth.
15 The Power of this world shall fade from the Well…
16 He not of the Jewel both minion and lord,
17 holds forth Darkness’ banner from magic and sword,
18 corrupts one of the Light and First Treasure bestows
19 upon Yesterday’s Child, the fount of the Rose.
20 In death finds he the Door, yet passes not through,
21 in the service of Five, as the Power withdrew,
22 Heroes of Light, in Healing the Land,
23 shall grant him the right with the Twenty to stand.
24 The Power of this world shall fade from the Well…
25 As the Earthshaker Wars turned the mountains to sand,
26 And grim nightmares unleashed stalked o’er the land,
27 Did the Sorcerer King incant damnation bold,
28 Above, in the heavens, came the comet foretold.
29 With the swiftness of Yeristict’s Coursers it came,
30 And bore down on Hanel and poured forth its flame,
31 As the impact shifted the heart of the world,
32 Magic unbidden through the heavens unfurled.
33 The Power of this world shall fade from the Well…
34 The Vanguard of ancients, of Darkness unchained,
35 Crashed ‘gainst the Triad as the Light slowly waned,
36 The Spirits of Four, in the hands of their kin,
37 Defied the Dark Bastion and the shadows within.
38 The Guilty, yet Blameless, Devinra’s legacies’ doom,
39 Hoofbeats of thunder from the cold prison tomb,
40 Despair in the Caverns, Shades silently rise,
41 History’s Treasures the Just shall advise…
42 The Power of this world shall fade from the Well…
43 Fortress and mountain, sanctuary, catacomb,
44 Shelters secrets forgotten and Stone-Father’s Tome,
45 Watched o’er by the Queen, and from eternity freed,
46 Old Magic shall rise at the height of Light’s Need.
47 Three silvern dangers from the Dark One bestowed,
48 Upon the Weaver imprisoned tidings evil forbode,
49 The last Dragon’s Keep, the Historian’s soul,
50 The fall of the Shadow foretells the Bell’s toll.
51 The Power of this world shall fade from the Well…
52 An Assassin Invisible, the Shaper of Stone
53 The Emerald Heiress and the Watchman Alone,
54 Son of the Wind sacrificed to the Skies,
55 The Harper, the Gallant, the Sage to the Wise.
56 No actor untouched by fate or design,
57 No one without title, or known by a Sign,
58 Born to nobility in a court never seen,
59 Pauper and prince, servant or queen.
60 The Power of this world shall fade from the Well…
61 The Master, his minions the Cornerstones rend,
62 And the Heroes above are called to defend,
63 `Gainst the tyrannous Chosen, tide rises below,
64 As above the Jewel’s oceans, their boundaries o’erflow.
65 Nought but the Saplings of the Granite Lord’s wood,
66 Have the weight of the heavens collapsing withstood,
67 The waters of Erdefount and the Deep’s fertile soil,
68 Shall spring forth the seed, and quell Chaos’ toil.
69 The Power of this world shall fade from the Well…
70 Long banished from sunlight, long lost to the earth
71 From the city of starlight springs exile’s worth,
72 From the Kingdom Unknown shall the River arise,
73 At the close of the Age e’re the last Magic’s tide.
74 The Servants Unseeing `gainst the Hidden conspire,
75 Contagion’s curse strikes the spark to the pyre,
76 The Heartbeat, the Token, the double-edged sword,
77 No mortal deed shall see the Power restored.
78 The Power of this world shall fade from the Well…
79 In the times e’er the Reckoning ages ago,
80 As Immortals crossed heavens and mountains below,
81 The Mistress of Rings and the Champion’s might
82 Challenged Corruption’s hold and the forces of Night.
83 The Vanguards met and Stars looked down upon,
84 The ageless challenge `twixt twilight and dawn,
85 By the Lightwoven path to the Point of Time’s Close,
86 Betrayal fell and malevolence rose.
87 The Power of this world shall fade from the Well…
88 From beyond the Barrier the Banishd cries,
89 His Chosen, forgotten and Faith slowly dies,
90 Rise up in the Darkness and strike forth to reclaim,
91 That stolen by Childsplay, the dusklight aflame.
92 One not of the Twenty, yet once of the Jewel,
93 Watches in anticipation, to challenge the Rule,
94 Else mortal endeavor Immortality ends,
95 The Fall of the Youngest Jewelshatter portends.
96 The Power of this world shall fade from the Well…
97 Arrogance folly calls forth kindling of war,
98 From progeny’s rest, and forgotten lore,
99 The cost of the Radiance, the Land of Fell Dreams,
100 Still Guardian the price of the folly redeems.
101 Great powers clash and Pawns move to their whims,
102 Below battle continues and Jewelspirit dims.
103 Cascade unquenchable, hope from the Unclaimed,
104 Shall heal heaven’s wound, and the Initiate Named.
105 The Power of this world shall fade from the Well…
106 Lords of the North, the Teacher of Runes,
107 the Bonded and Fettered yet free to be Doomed,
108 Spinner of Falsehood and the Shaman Below,
109 Archmage of Sleepers, the Master of the Bow.
110 A song for each person, but a single tale winds
111 across the ages and to destiny binds,
112 Tools of the Masters who art Pawns of the Game,
113 Each identity secret until found by the Name.
114 The Power of this world shall fade from the Well…
115 In the age of the Bastions, the Triad preserves,
116 The Balance twixt Sol and the Power that He serves,
117 From the Village Unending, to Peaks’ fiery gate,
118 and the Castellan’s Keep, Trynnia’s borders create.
119 Of Old, He holds Power of magic and mind,
120 Thirteen in the dungeons of Elden shall bind,
121 King’s Rest – the Foundation, the One’s final call,
122 Places the Blind at the Crown of the Hall.
123 The Power of this world shall fade from the Well…
124 Clanschief Unchosen, Harmony’s Thread,
125 Scion of Willows, to the Outsider wed,
126 the Duty’s Companion, and the Healer of Woes,
127 Shall see the unfolding till eternity’s close.
128 The fourth of the Twenty shall be mortal guide,
129 with strength undiscovered `gainst destiny’s tide,
130 Their Tokens deserve and through fire shall receive,
131 lines of all colors, a tapestry weave.
132 The Power of this world shall fade from the Well…
133 Twelve platinum chests, and the last living jewel,
134 The life of a maiden and the ritual cruel,
135 The Mason crafted the Galleon of Stone,
136 Earth Magic sprung from mercy unknown.
137 Vengeance descended and sought to demand,
138 The sacrifice due and the traitor command,
139 But greater Force struck the messenger down,
140 And gifted the Martyr the rebellion’s crown.
141 The Power of this world shall fade from the Well,
142 And the Thirteen shall ride from the dark pits of Hell,
143 The sea shall rise up and strike `gainst the land,
144 And the shadow of twilight shall wound thy right hand,
145 The deaf shall hear the call of the One,
146 And the face of the Twenty shall turn to the Sun.”
—————————————————————————-
Phil Scadden, Scadden Research55 Buick St, Petone, Lower Hutt
New Zealand
ph (04) 568-7190, fax (04) 569 5016
