League of Assassins - Concluded.

The basic plot of the module is as follows: The local Lord has decided to build a hospital in his capital city. To raise money for the hospital he will auction off a collection of unique jewelry and gems (some magical) that he recently found in a secret chamber within his castle. These items each have a unique history and have been out of circulation for around 60 years (collected by a previous Lord).

Most items have now now been identified and had their histories researched. One hundred wealthy kings, emperors, nobles and other aristocrats from through out the globe have been invited to this attend this auction. These nobles and their entourages will soon begin to arrive in the city. All of these people will each have their own political histories, enemies, etc.

The local Thief & Assassins Guild has learned that the International League of Assassins (ILA) is coming to town for their "Challenge Convention" (held once every 4 to 6 years). Each member guild will send "their best" to compete. The local guild has been excluded from this meeting due to their "home court advantage". The local guild has discovered that there are four targets, each worth a different point amount, and that the auction has a major role in the ILA's objectives.

The local Silver Moon Adventurers will be hired by the Lord as security for the auction. They need to protect the items and also try to figure out which of the guests are either assassins or targets. Unbeknownst to them, one of the targets is also a member of their own group.

I would welcome and appreciate any suggestions for (A) Assassins (B) Aristocrats or other wealthy political leaders to be attendees (C) Items to be auctioned off. People or items orignally developed for other campaign worlds could be easily added to this module, as our campaign setting has been primarily a single small continent, with the rest of the world kept open-ended. If your suggestion are already posted somewhere please provide a link, otherwise feel free to post them here.

(I use forgotten realms personalities just to exemplify here...)

* One of the aristocrats is both thief and target, under different alter ego's. He may talk to the party to ask for their protection, and use this as an opportunity to steal. He's a master of disguise and may have more personalities. For EXTRA fun, make him schizophrenic, and that his different personalities are not known to his other self.

* The local guild is actually not too satisfied with the choice of their hometown as place for the challenge, as they tend to disrupt ordinary thiving and killing for some time afterwards. They will actually try to HINDER the efforts of their "union friends". Perhaps they're not even part of the ILA, which is why their city was chosen in the first place! They'll want to hire the party to hunt down as many of the ILA members as possible, without drawing attention to themselves.

* The party thief is able to bluff her way into the challenge by claiming to be the selected champion of a faraway city (who they've secretly killed - or perhaps they bribed the guild of that city to appoint her)

* Idea for items: Make it an auction of fairly ordinary items worn by famous people, like some of todays celebrity auctions. Example: The morning robe of a late king of Cormyr, with a minor enchantment to always stay warm; the well-used leather armour of Princess (now Queen) Alusair, one of Elminsters used-up wands of wishes etc. Stuff of dubious values except to collectors and /or fanboys/girls/neuters.

* One of the aristocrats will DEMAND the return of the ARTIFACT that is RIGHTFULLY THEIRS. Then again, so will another, claiming that his ancestor won it from the first aristocrats ancestor in a fair duel 200 years ago, while a third one will claim it to be stolen from his ancestral home 250 years ago... ending up in a not-so-noble fistfight, where an assassin might have opportunity to get at his target, or a thief the opportunity to steal said item.

* Bountyhunters from different cities may come as well, hoping to catch a prey that always seem to get away from them. They might do more damage than the ILA members themselves.

I'll see if I can think up some more ideas...

Rln, Thank you very much for the suggestions. I'll address them each as follows:

1. Love the idea of the Schizophrenic, I'll definately use this. Any suggestions for who this/these actually are (name, class, level, etc)

2. The Local guild absolutely is not pleased! They are members of the ILA, but "their best" were sent off to another continent by the ILA on a wild goose chase, just to get them out of town. The guild will want to hinder the festivities, but have to be VERY CAREFUL, so as not to tick off the ILA and find themselves both expelled from the group and future targets.

3. I expect the party will attempt to have their own thieves try to get in, but will leave this up to the players to decide.

4. Nice idea on celebrity items. I've used the Forgotten Realms former bard and now demigod Finder Wyvernspur in my campaign before, so will probably add an item of his.

5. The notion of former owners putting in claims will be a key subplot. I am currently working on a side storyline where three related Elvan kingdoms will all claim ownership of a particular item.

6. Thanks for the bounty hunter suggestion. I'll add it in.

Any other suggestions will be welcomed. I'll start detailing some of the information about the setting on this thread. I will be using the following code

A = Assassins groups; B = Guest groups; C= Items to be auctioned.

LOA - Phlooredah and Jawlt

The setting for the League of Assassins module is the land of Phlooredah (pronounced ‘Florida’, an alternate version of the Piers Anthony Xanth series map joke). Phlooredah is an oval shaped island continent, approximately 600 miles east/west and 400 miles north/south in size. The political system is that of a confederacy of 9 autonomous Lordholdings. Every 15 years the Lordholders assemble to elect a Lordhholder as the continent’s leader, with the title of King or Queen. The leader’s role and limited authority is to settle disputes between Lordholders, issue a uniform currency for the continent, uphold free trade between the Lordholdings, and maintain a standing military to protect the continent from external invasion or war.

The “League of Assassins” module will be set in Jawlton, the capital city of the Jawlt Lordholding. Jawltorn is a large city with a population of approximately 18,000. The city is situated where a major river reaches the coast. Jawlt is the smallest of the 9 Lordholdings, and is located along the southern coast of the continent.

Jawlt’s elected Lordholder is Lord Kindor, an 9th level lawful-neutral fighter, who is now in the middle of his third consecutive 5-year term as Lordholder. He has an 8-person council to assist with the management of the Lordholding, each with their own sphere of responsibility. Kindor recently found the hidden treasure trove of jewelry within his vast castle. He is uncertain which of his predecessors assembled the collection, but the finding of it has gotten him out of a serious predicament that he found himself in. He has now committed to build a large hospital within his city, auctioning of these items will raise the necessary funds to build, staff, and maintain the hospital.

The NPC’s from the Jawlt Lordholding (Character Code designated “J”) will include at least the following:

J1. Lord Kindor, 9th level human fighter, Lordholder. Kindor also currently serves as an Admiral in the Queen’s Navy, one of five top military leaders on the continent.

J2. Lord Ki-Geloryn, 0-level human aristocrat, Lord of the Jawlt Township of Gelorynth and Jawlt Council Member for Diplomacy.

J3. Sir Phillip, 6th level human bard, Jawlt Council Member for Commerce and Trade. Philip and Kindor have always had a tenuous relationship, Philip having been Kindor's opponent during all of the past three elections.

J4. Melito, 10th level human thief, Jawlt Council Member for Security. He is also the former Guild master of the Jawlt Thief and Assassins Guild. He was forced to resign from the guild 9 years ago after he publicly testified about an assassination attempt against Kindor by a rival thieves' guild. He still maintains close ties to the guild, and will NOT be pleased that the ILA has come to town.

J5. Captain Waller, 7th level human fighter, Leader of the 8-ship Jawlt Navy and Jawlt Council Member for Sea Protection.

J6. Colonel Tenbar, 7th level dwarf fighter, Leader of the 500-man Jawlt Army and Jawlt Council Member for Land Protection.

The remaining 3 members of the Jawlt Council are the Silver Moon Adventurers playing characters Lannon, Narg and Serita (currently featured in the Story Hour “Chinese Take-out”).

assassination politics

http://www.infowar.com/class_1/BELL1.html-ssi

An interesting mine of ideas for the culturally sanctioned use of assassins; modern-day oriented, but the essential idea is still very applicable to a setting in which secrecy can be magically or otherwise arranged fairly reliably.

Reason

The Thenossia Lordholding

While at least half of the assassins and guests at the auction will come from other lands, there will also be a dozen groups from cities of the other eight Phlooredah Lordholdings. They are as follows (designated by the group code “A” for assassins or “B” for invited auction guests):

Thenossia Lordholding:

Thenossia is the 2nd largest Lordholding, located from the southwest corner to central Phlooredah. Much of its territory is either desert or mountains. It is a Monarchy, as the 3 western lordholdings have been ruled by a single family for over 300 years. Groups of attendees will come from two major cities.

B1. Karjjil Valley: This landlocked city is located at the base of Mt. Karjjil, Phlooredah’s largest peak. It is currently the Capital of both the Thenossia Lordholding and Kingdom of Phlooredah, as the continent’s current ruler, Queen Jennifer, resides there. NPC’s from this group are as follows:

Queen Jennifer, 9th level lawful neutral human fighter. Jennifer married into the royal family, and is serving as Regent until her young son, Prince Matthew, reaches the age of 16 and then becomes Lordholder. Six months ago she began her 15-year term as Phlooredah’s 6th ruler. Queen Jennifer wears a magic shortsword, borrowed from Lord Kindor, which detects any Assassin within 20 feet of her.

General Aaron, 6th level neutral good human Ranger. Aaron is one of five top military leaders of the continent. He is also a member of the adventuring team known as The Elucidators.

Treasurer Grimway, 11th level lawful neutral dwarf thief. The elderly Grimway is Jennifer’s most trusted advisor, and has been appointed Treasurer of Phlooredah. He also acts as her official spokesperson.

A1. Halla: This coastal city was initially the home port of the Silver Moon Adventurers, 11 to 14 years ago. When the Silver Moon changed their allegiance to Jawlt and Lord Kindor the Lord of Halla, Toronas, was angered and insulted. The Halla Assassins Guild was hired by him to “make them pay”. Their attempt was largely unsuccessful. The Halla Guild was then identified as the culprits of this action by Melito, the Guildmaster of the rival Jawltorn guild.

Both Guilds belonged to the ILA, and Melito’s exposing of a fellow member Guild was a direct violation of the ILA’s ‘Professional Practice Agreement’. Halla filed a protest with the ILA, and Melito was required to resign from the Jawltorn Guild, with that guild also reciving a heavy fine. Shortly thereafter Lord Toronas vanished and was never seen again. The Halla Guild strongly suspects that the Silver Moon was responsible for their sponsor’s disappearance, and have been waiting 9 years for revenge on the Silver Moon, was well as an opportunity to deal with Melito.

** NOTE: The specific NPC assassins from this group have yet to be determined and I would welcome your suggestions.

Kaloon Lordholding

The Kaloon is located on the western coast of Phlooredah. Much of its territory is heavily forested and home to druids. It is a Monarchy, as the 3 western lordholdings have been ruled by a single family for over 300 years. The known Assassin that will be part of the module is as follows:

A2. Cortang. This coastal city was the original home of the Royal Family, and the Lordholding’s Capital. King Matthan is officially the leader of both the Kaloon and Cantage Lordholdings. Since Matthan lives in the other Lordholding he has designated a Regent to rule over Kaloon in his absence, Lady Annette.

Lady Annette is a 7th level neutral evil human Assassin. She is also mentally unstable, deeply in love with Matthan, and angry that he married her rival Jennifer instead. She once worked with the Silver Moon Adventurers, having been sent by the Lord Toronas of Halla to spy on them during their first mission, 14 years ago. She died on that mission and the Silver Moon buried her. She was later resurrected by the Lord Toronas, and has fought the Silver Moon twice since then.

She WILL NOT be invited to attend the auction as either a guest or assassin. She is NOT a member of the ILA, however she found out about the present situation from friends in the Halla Guild, where she used to be a member. Her life’s mission now is to assassinate Queen Jennifer, but she needs to accomplish this without Matthan knowing that she was in any way responsible. She views this current situation as an opportunity to do so, and pin the blame on one of the visiting ILA assassins.

**NOTE: Suggestions welcome as to how she will go about accomplishing this and whether she will be working alone or with one or more partners.

Cantage Lordholding

Cantage Lordholding:

Cantage is a large Lordholding, located from the northwest corner to central Phlooredah. Much of its territory is comprised of light forests and farmlands. It is a Monarchy, as the 3 western lordholdings have been ruled by a single family for over 300 years. It and the Kaloon Lordholding are currently ruled by King Matthan. Attendees will come from three different cities from this populous Lordholding.

B2. Autzvourg. This ancient landlocked city is Phlooredah’s most populated community, with nearly 60,000 people. It is situated at a major crossroad. Four aristocrats from this city will attend the auction. The Silver Moon Adventurers met these individuals at a formal affair 7 years earlier, as well as at Queen Jennifer’s coronation 6 months ago. These NPC’s are the following:

Lord Geoffrey Burgoyne, human fighter

High Priestess Melanie, lawful good human cleric of Ukko

High Priest Darren, chaotic good human cleric of Huan-Ti & Hotoru (the Twin Gods)

Sir Carter Rosewood, lawful good human paladin

**NOTE: Suggestions welcome regarding any or all of the above characters.


B3 Pirna. This landlocked city is the Lordholding’s Capital and home to King Matthan, Queen Jennifer’s estranged husband. He is as follows:

King Matthan (class and level undetermined) was the 5th Ruler of Phlooredah, serving a 15-year term that ended 6-months ago when his estranged wife was elected the new ruler. He is a short dark haired man with an inferiority complex that he tries to hide (not unlike the Lord Farquaad character from the film “Shrek”). He only became King in the first place due to political shenanigans of his older brother, the late Lord Toronoas, who planned to rule through his ‘puppet’ brother.

As the husband of the current Queen, he is allowed to retain the title King, although his actual authority is now limited to only the two Lordholdings that he directly rules. He previously was surrounded by a group of powerful advisors, but with the change of power they have abandoned him and returned to the Cantage city of Dunn. He and Jennifer currently maintain a cordial but distant relationship, which they struggle to maintain for the sake of their 6-year old son, Prince Matthew. He commands a large fleet of ships, so was named as an Admiral in the Queen’s Navy, one of the five top military leaders of continent.

He will travel to the auction accompanied by a pair of aristocrats from the same city. The Silver Moon Adventurers met these individuals at a formal affair 7 years earlier, as well as at Queen Jennifer’s coronation 6 months ago. The only thing determined thus far about these NPC’s is their names, Lord Thomas and Lady Antoinette Khorram.

**NOTE: Suggestions welcome regarding the above couple, and why they are with Matthan.


A3 Dunn. This coastal city is a theocracy that is home to the Dunn-Phlooredian Church, which presents itself as a Lawful Good/Lawful Neutral religion. In reality, the church is a “front” for the Lawful Evil Church of Loviatar, the Mistress of Pain. The Church’s behind-the-scene High Priestess leader, the man-hating Lady Pamela, had worked her way into a position as King Matthan’s Chief Advisor. She is not pleased with the recent change in power, feeling that Queen Jennifer has betrayed her. Pamela will not hesitate to remind Jennifer that she is owed a debt of gratitude for having resurrected her from death a decade earlier.

The Church has its own three-woman assassination team, who ARE NOT members of the ILA (but have found out about the current situation from their associate, Lady Annette of Kaloon). They are as follows:

Lady Darlene, assassination team leader, 10th level lawful evil human monk. Darlene is Pamela’s most trusted advisor. She has fought the Silver Moon on several occasions, and they are aware of her association with Pamela and Loviatar. The other two NPC members of this team have yet to be determined, but at least one will probably be an assassin, and the other probably a cleric of Loviatar. These individuals will be totally unknown to Kindor, the Silver Moon Adventurers, and other attendees of the auction. While they consider Lady Annette an ally, they will not participate in her scheme to assassinate the Queen, as Pamela thinks that she still may have some use for the Queen.

**NOTE: Any suggestions regarding the other members of this team, and motivations of the group would be welcome.

Re: League of Assassins (suggestions sought)

Silver Moon said:

I would welcome and appreciate any suggestions for (A) Assassins (B) Aristocrats or other wealthy political leaders to be attendees (C) Items to be auctioned off.

Click to expand...

Er... I thought I answered this once, but my reply is nowhere to be found.

Anyways, if looking for ideas for some unusual assassins, and you can adapt to 3e rules (from what I understand from your Chinese take-out thread, you don't use 3e), the PDF Crimson Contracts has some bizarre ideas for assassins:

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=531&PHPSESSID=93f57cd9a52c01d56403487e986e94ef

Anyway, nice reply RLN. Those ideas make me want to run a game like this.

Re: Cantage Lordholding

Silver Moon said:

The only thing determined thus far about these NPC’s is their names, Lord Thomas and Lady Antoinette Khorram.

**NOTE: Suggestions welcome regarding the above couple, and why they are with Matthan.

Click to expand...

Hmm, how about this...?

Lord Thomas is a rather plump unpleasant nouveau-rich who earned his title due to bailing Matthan out of debt back when he was the formal King. He's a wealthy merchant now, with the manners to match, though beneath the elegant facade lurks the common street criminal who fought his way to the top. Right now, he's hoping to get Matthan's help with some unsavory business deal (could be slaves, could be narcotics, could be stolen goods--it's entirely your call...) While at the auction he will try to enjoy some of the seedier pleasures in town.

Lady Antoinette Khorram is Thomas's business partner. This should never be seen as a sign of friendship between the two, as each hates the other, and would gladly kill the other if they didn't realize the trouble it would land them in. Khorram is an old blood family, with Lady Antoinette its head, and she naturally despises the upstart Thomas, especially as he is far wealthier than her. However, each needs the other in the business world--Thomas provides the funding (and a bit of underworld support), while Antoinette provides the connections and approval of various old families. She is a devout member of the Dunn-Phlooredian Church (and may very well know the truth behind the church's practices.)

Well, what do you think?