Help with New Adventure ideas please? (Orbs of Dragonkind)

[Tim Hubick]

Currently we are doing a 1-20 (21) campaign "the age of worms" but i know my players will want to bridge into epic level adventures and what better way to save the world again, by putting them through an adventure dealing with the orbs of dragonkind.

right now as it stands, we just finished the free city arena tourny and are headed back to see alustan. so i have a long ways away to start planning for the new adventure.
another thing is i dont know how this current campaign ends. and how to even bridge it into "the orbs of dragonkind" adventure.

i was hoping to get some ideas on how to do the epic level adventure.....so i was wanting to ask you guys for help and the straight to the point question, when you think of the orbs of dragonkind, what kinds of things would you like to see in the adventure?? i know this is an open ended question. and it leaves alot open to discussion. so please help a fellow DM/player/friend.

I eagerly await your responses!

cheers!

Tim

 

[Quickleaf]

[MENTION=6749195]Tim Hubick[/MENTION]
There could be some link between Kyuss/Dragotha and the Cult of the Dragon that involves the orbs?

In my current campaign I had one of the orbs enter play as a gift to the king on his birthday of majority from the emissary of a not-so-friendly nation. It was a terrifying gift, because it showed the nation was willing to part with an artifact of vast power, and the orbs carry curses that befall anyone using them (I think it was dragons of that type become aware of, and hostile toward, the user). It was the orb of green dragonkind. Shortly after this, a red dragon attacked the castle and the PCs narrowly defeated it after suffering a casualty. Now they're trying to figure out what the hell happened.

One way to look at the orbs is that they're tools for controlling massive engines of war (dragons), so a plot rife with political intrigue and warfare suits the orbs well.

 

[Tim Hubick]

sounds about right.

I was mainly looking for scenarios for each orb. what i can do for monsters. encounters and traps n such.

would the players go after the evil orbs or the good orbs?

 

[Quickleaf]

sounds about right.

I was mainly looking for scenarios for each orb. what i can do for monsters. encounters and traps n such.

would the players go after the evil orbs or the good orbs?

When it comes to building encounters in 3e I won't be able to help beyond broad strokes because I have very little 3e experience, much the less at epic levels. I do however have lots of experience running the Orbs of Dragonkind in 2e and now in 4e.

The way I've approached running them is two make three sides: the PCs' kingdom, an invading magocracy, and a distant theocratic empire that is slowly gearing up for conquest. Then I looked at which of the 10 orbs were in possession of one side or another when the campaign began, and which we're lost/an unknown fate befell them.

For example the Black Orb of Dragonkind was lost in the Underdark...only to be found by Va-Guulgh, king of the kuo-toa (from D-2!). The king set the orb in the statue of Blidolploop and gazes at it fondly, the ancient dragon spirit within slowly driving the king mad. This is relevant to the PCs because the mages of the invading kingdom have a loyal black dragon who is helping them in their conquest for mutual benefit. However, the black dragon knows one of the mages' agendas is gathering the chromatic Orbs of Dragonkind (both for their own power & as a check to the growing threat of the theocratic empire). Thus,, the black dragon would very much like to keep the orb out of anyone's hands...except maybe his to free the spirit of his forebear trapped within. So the PCs may run across this black dragon and get the low down from him and then while they're exploring the Underdark (on another quest), they can run across the Shrine of the Kuo-toa and realize that their sacred black gemstone is actually the Orb of Black Dragonkind!

So that's one example of how you can set up an Orb as a major game piece in the politics of your world.