I Need Ideas for My Thayan Campaign

The Thayan Menace

The Thayan Menace

First Post
I am currently running a 3.5 FRCS Thayan campaign and I am fresh out of ideas.

The party lineup consists of the following individuals:

Gori Ahriman (NE; male Mulan human; Rgr1/Bbn5/Ftr1; patron: Malar): Nobleman; kidnapped as a small child & raised in Rashemen; he is a skilled tracker.

Kesia Ahri-Phanar (LE; female Mulan human; Cjr5/Red2; patron: None): Former apprentice of Orlov Grimgaze; nobility; long brown hair; has tattoos of arcane power on her temples and neck; very young; naïve demeanor; strong vengeful streak.

Caelin ab Gethin (LE; male Damaran human; Ftr7; patron: Bane): Associate of Isis; ennobled outlander and war hero; former Thayan military commander; freelance executioner; eight feet tall; his body is covered with tribal tattoos and Banite slogans; has a strong sense of teamwork, but is utterly ruthless.

Haffrung Helleyes (N; male Mulan human; Clr3/Wiz1/Mys2/Geo1; patron: Kossuth): Evangelist for the Fire Lord in the Enclave of Sorrows; his spells often have a flame motif (although he does not have the Spell Thematics feat); head tattoos look like raging flames; red reptilian eyes.

Isis (LE; female Rashemi human; Ftr5/Thayan Knight 1/Blk1; patron: Shar): Bodyguard to Kesia Ahri-Phanar; works as a freelance military trainer for several local temples; has long raven-black hair and icy-blue eyes.

Ra’Faz (LE; male Rashemi human; Mnk7; patron: None): Retainer and childhood friend of Kesia Ahri-Phanar; shaved head with long topknot; no head tattoos; tattoos of hourglasses (with sand running out) on both arms; he is always eager to fight.

These PCs are currently residing in the Enclave of Sorrows, a district of Bezantur dominated by the Church of Shar.

Any thoughts?
 
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Psychotic Jim

Psychotic Jim

First Post
First of all, what are the characters goals and dreams? What are their places in and views of society? Who are their allies and enemies?
What is the nature of the game?

A few ideas:

Monopoly: A particularly charismatic, high-level Red Wizard seeks to ending the petty bickering and competition between the varous Red Wizard factions. A revolutionary thinker, he seeks to unite all of the various enclaves and literally make them into a giant Magical Wal-Mart chain with a single ownership. He has a sizeable following among certain factions in Thay. How would the Banites (including Caelin ab Gethin) react? Would they see it as the ultimate development of their dream of tyrannical law? Or an end to rule by those who deserve it? Would the various religions (Kossuth, Bane, Shar, etc.) fight to gain footholds in such a brave new world?

Slave rebellion: Slaves massively outnumber slaveowners in society. What would happen if something motivated the slaves (particularly the Rashemi) to rebel? How would this affect the party?

Genocide: If you're familiar with Ravenloft, the trapped Red Wizard Hazlik (darklord of Hazlan) has a plan to wipe out all the Mulan out of existence by constructing a dread artifact. He seeks revenge for his embarrasment at the hands of his fellow Red Wizards and entrapment in the demiplane of dread. Your players could deal with any possible planar repercussions of such a plan. IIRC, Hazlik is detailed in Ravenloft's Gazeteer II.

War: The Guild of Foreign Trade has now come to blows with the thieve's guild and bureacracy of Bezantur. They've declared open war on one another. Or you could do a war between Kossuth and Shar.
 

painandgreed

painandgreed

First Post
In my Thayan campaign, one of the PCs was nobility and was sent on various quests by one of his grandfathers old adventuring buddies to "help him prepare for leadership". In actuallyity, the old buddy was working for his uncle who wanted the position he was in line for and just trying to get him killed so he could inherit everything. From there they would be drawn into the web of Thayan politics and not onlly forced to choose sides but also help out. The Zulkirs always have invasion plans or other plots and are in constant need of lieutenants.

You've got a decent amount of nobility. Perhaps it's time for the family history to catch up to them. They could end up inheriting lands or title and even if other family members don't kill them for it, they'll have to deal with the enemies of the family as well as the normal duties that come with the inheritance. They'll ahve a chance to form alliances and such but for the most part, the sides have been picked and their fate has been formed by acitons of others besides themselves.

Undead army need leading? Gate to the elemental plane of fire need protecting? Some powerful red wizards are always looking for hired help to do the dirty work. Not only can the share of a successful plot be well worth the danger, but such powerful wizards are likely to help those who services may be needed again.

The oligarchy in charge always needs agents. The party seems powerful enough to get things done but not so powerful as to draw attention to themselves. A person in Waterdeep may need to be assasinated or they may need somebody to go to Zentil Keep to complete the purchase of rare spell components and bring such back to Thay. For that matter, they may need somebody to scour the lands in search of those rare spell components. If youlike espiange and role playing, the party could be give the task of going to a particular city or region and starting a spy network there, finding allies for Thay, and killing the enemies.

Good is on the run in the Forgotten Realms. Time to give it a coup de grace. Send them after various agents of good (and thus enemies of Thay) such as another adventuring party or well known noble. Give them the general task and let them come up all the details, planning and execution.
 

D

dargoth3

First Post
Perhaps get the PCs to found an enclave in another FR city

The Church of Shar might try and corrupt an enclave so it starts selling Shadow weave items instead of regular weave magic items
 

Quickleaf

Quickleaf

Legend
Geez! I couldn't help thinking when I looked over the player's roster, what a mean and nasty group of PCs you have! Is anything sacred or holy to these scumbags? ;)

Since all I know about Thay is there are slaves, I'll run with that theme...

Hound of Bezantur
One or more of the PCs' slaves turned up killed. But not just dead, slaughtered in a hideous fashion, ripped apart and mauled. When other slaves find the body, they try to hide it from the PCs, fearing a witch hunt for the killer. If they successfully conceal things, the next week another slave died. This time the PCs are sure to hear about it. The older slaves whisper about "the hound of bezantur." Their investigation begins with the slave's body in a classic forensics scene. If they don't take steps to dish out some hush money or quiet people, the guard will be called. And that's the last thing the slaves want.

See, everyone has a different take on the nature of the hound.
-- The captain of the city guard is convinced its a politically motivated killer and will demand access to the PCs' headquarters, records, personal lives, etc. If there's anything incriminating, they'll need to burn the evidence ASAP.
-- One of the PC's enemies implicates Gori; after all, everyone knows those Rashemeni barbarians are savages who delight in bloodshed.
-- The slaves believe an old legend that the hound is a savage beast captured in the desert by priests of Shar and Malar. It was lured back to civilization by killing a couple slaves and feeding them to the creature. They say it looks like a cross between a hellhound, a frilled giant lizard, and a zebra. Supposedly, it can move at lightning speed and cling to walls like a spider, though nobody really knows for sure.

It turns out the killer is a rival slaver with a vendetta against the PCs' slaves. Seems like a group of his slaves escaped and fled into Bezantur, only to be enslaved by another slavetrader before becoming the PCs' property. He and his pack of dire hyenas are taking revenge on the getaway slaves for the slanders they made about him and the money they stole. Ideally, he'll try to implicate the PCs for the killings, and when they are investigate/ put under house arrest / taken to trial, he will offer to help the PCs pay for their slaves and upkeep their homes while they are unable to. He files all the right paperwork, and spares no expense on their home/slaves. Legally, the PCs are in his debt even if they manage to avoid being framed.
 

The Thayan Menace

The Thayan Menace

First Post
Look Who's Coming to Dinner

There has been a change in the party roster. The character playing Gori Ahriman is sick of playing a "third rate tank" as he puts it and now wants to play a rogue.

I'm actually relieved, since the party was in dire need of someone with trapfinding skills.

Anyways, Gori will be replaced by:

Zax Urman (NE; male Mulan human; Rog7; patron: Mask): An emigre from the Thayan enclave in Waterdeep; loosely connected to the Guild of Foreign Trade; minor nobility; black eyes; sallow skin; shaved head with no visible tattoos.

I am thinking of turning Gori into an NPC however.
 

The Thayan Menace

The Thayan Menace

First Post
These are the People in Your Neighborhood

Psychotic Jim said:
First of all, what are the characters goals and dreams? What are their places in and views of society?
Click to expand...
Caelin is a Thayan nationalist that seeks to expand the influence of his adopted homeland through the act of conquest. He is eager to cleave skulls and eviscerate all who stand in the way of the Red Wizards, and he is looking for capable leadership to give him a sense of purpose in battle.

Haffrung is a Kossuthan zealot who seeks to gain as much magical power as possible. His studies of questionable magicks have permanently disfigured his eyes and, if the extent of his unsanctioned arcane dabbling is discovered, he could be a target for the Red Wizards.

Isis seeks to advance her abilities as a lethal armored combatant. She currently has divided loyalties however; she is both a Thayan knight and a blackguard of Shar.

Kesia is simply eager to amass magical power and wreak havoc on any who oppose her. So far, she has not displayed any ambition for wealth or political authority, but that could change.

Ra'Faz is currently looking to join the Monks of the Long Death. He is obsessed with combat and seems to have developed a taste for negative energy.

Zax is a new party member simply looking to fit in and make a windfall, by any means necessary. He also seeks to increase his political standing in the Guild of Foreign Trade.


What is the nature of the game?
Click to expand...
To answer your question, the game is a combination of horror, mystery, and political intrigue. And, yes, there is plenty of violence.
 

S

Storyteller01

First Post
If your up for a challenge, leave it up to the players. Since they have agendas of their own, let the players work on them in game (it's a cold day in he.. I mean They. What do you do?).

Lots of ad-libbing, but these types of adventures yield some of the best times...

YMMV :)
 



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