I Need Ideas for My Thayan Campaign

[The Thayan Menace]

A Party Rout With Clout

I had a fairly good session yesterday, but my main villain really stuck it to the party.

Check him out:

Mustapha Xaod, Male Spectral Mage (Mulan) Nec5/Red3: CR 10; Medium undead (incorporeal); HD 8d12; hp 61; Init +6; Spd 30 ft., fly 30 ft. (good); AC 14 (+2 Dex, +2 deflection), touch 14, flat-footed 12; Base Atk +3; Atk / Full Atk +5 melee (paralysis, incorporeal touch); SA paralysis (Fort DC 16); SQ corporeal manipulation, enhanced specialization, item link, madness, specialist defense +2, spell power +1 (casts as 9th level caster), turn resistance (+2), unnatural aura; AL NE; SV Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +8; Str –, Dex 14, Con –, Int 17, Wis 12, Cha 14; for more details on spectral mages, see the Magic of Faerun (pp. 189-190).

Skills: Concentration +13, Craft (Alchemy) +7, Craft (Carpentry) +7, Hide +10, Intimidate +13, Knowledge (Arcana) +14, Knowledge (Religion) +10, Knowledge (Thay) +5, Listen +3, Profession (Mortician) +6, Spellcraft +14, Spot +3.

Feats: Alertness, Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Eschew Materials, Extend Spell, Improved Familiar, Improved Initiative, Scribe Scroll, Sudden Maximize, Tattoo Focus (Necromancy).

Languages: Common, Abyssal, Draconic, Rashemi, Thayan.

Spells Prepared (4/5+1/4+1/4+1/2+1; save DC 13 + spell level): 0 – acid splash, detect magic, prestidigitation, touch of fatigue*; 1st – cause fear*, detect undead, mage armor, ray of enfeeblement* (x3); 2nd – false life*, fog cloud, mage armor (extended), see invisibility, Tasha’s hideous laughter; 3rd – dispel magic, hold person, rage, vampiric touch* (x2); 4th – bestow curse*, enervation*, lesser geas.

Mustapha cast a sudden maximized enervation at Caelin; then paralyzed him, taking him out of the fight.

The spectral mage then cast lesser geas at Isis and told her to kill her entire party. Isis, being a Thayan knight, automatically failed this save and started attacking everyone (beginning with a succesful coup de grace on Caelin). Eventually she was brought down by the remaining three party members.

Kesia was paralyzed by Mustapha and finished off with a vampiric touch coup de grace.

Ra'faz and Zax ran away.

Fortunately, Haffrung was somewhere else for this session.

I guess it's time to think about restructuring the campaign.

 

[Nightfall]

Well I was going to suggest this:

In a very subtle move by the Lord of the Hidden Layer, he has managed to enrage the Szamm by having Fey'ri that were formerly loyal to Malizaid join in raids by drow seperatists looking to claim new lands after the ruckus of Lolth's Silence. These less than loyal fey'ri are also on the lookout for new recruits...but don't realise just yet that they are infact being dupped by the Lord of the Hidden Layer. His TRUE motivation is the retainment of Thakorsil's seat. To do so, he plans on sacrificing these pawns to have Szamm move the artifact to a location nearer a demoncyst that is unknown to any but himself. Szamm though suspects something is amiss and thus contacts those that Harper about a possible leak in his organization. While the Harpers could care less about the problems of Thay, they do realize the potential danger of such an artifact falling into someone else's hands. Thus they send out a merc by the name of Ghaldliss Taim. Taim is actual a greater doppleganger with ties to the Unseen as well as a close ally of a cult of Graz'zt in Thay. Graz'zt, ever viligant for the return of old enemies, sees and knows of the plot. He doesn't want to get his hands or his armies dirty BUT does want to weaken his fellow rivals as well as ensure the demise of Eltab for good. Thus he weaves a three fold plot. The first is to use one of his rivals, in this instance, Orcus, power and influence to wage a war. (Orcus is very willing to do so. Eltab, after all, stole a prized artifact and is now in possession of something Orcus considers rightly his.) Thus he plans on "helping" Orcus covertly by tricking the Mykrul Death Knights in Orcus' service along with their knowledge. Secondly he has his spies search out the location of legandary blade, Hadryllis. Then he plans to drop clues to some Tormites and/or Tyrrans of its location. Finally he will have his ultimate revenge by having a major cultist kill Eltab just after the shattering of his Adamantine binding.

So whadda think?

 

[The Thayan Menace]

Please Sir ... Can I Have Some More?

So whadda think?

Cool idea; I could use more though. Keep 'em coming.

 

[Nightfall]

Use what? More ideas? Or something else?

There always this:

Mazzy, seeing that Eltab has interfered with his plans to convert the fey'ri to his side, decides to call in a marker. That marker being the infamous and now defunct lord of the 6th, Geryon. Geryon, being the snake like guy that he is, manages to bargin with the Night Serpent. He asks her to send out nightmares in the Material Plane. In exchange, he offers her the nightmares of a few minor nobles devils that had joined him but are no longer use to him. These nightmares though don't work as plan as they run rampant while the dreamer still suffers. A few end up in Thay and start to cause the Zulkirs of Divnation and the Conjuration to wonder what the heck is going on.

Meantime Orcus, with the aid of the Queen of Whispers, starts to inflirate the ranks of Eltab minons to gather more detailed info. In the process though he manages to bring back one of his more fearsome creations, the Visages. Two of them, the Visage calling itself Black Despair, and the other only known as Shadowed Fear, decide they have to get a few draco-liches on their side. In that instance, they call on the Twisted Rune's Runemaster, the Blue Draco-lich, to find out lairs of any potential draco-liches. There is one, a young green with asperations of godhood. (He believes he is chosen to be the Chosen of Null, and thus assumes draco-lichdom has to be it.) The Visages convince the deluded dragon they can give him this, but instead turn him into a vampiric dragon, under their command (Shadowed Fear has levels of cleric in addition to additional HD). They send out the dragon to start killing off thralls as well as loot potential demoncysts for reclaimation and turn them into part of Orcus' demese on Faerun. Unfortunately for Orcus, while the Queen of Whispers is loyal to him, she also feel a slight feeling of guilt for betraying her one time lover's father. While she isn't about to go against Orcus, (She knows she lacks sufficent resources for such a move, even if she's on Faerun.), she does try, covertly to give aid by finding adventurers to deal with the vampiric dragon. This is another instance where the adventurers might work for Eltab instead of against him...but then they'll also have Graz'zt going against them too.

 

[The Thayan Menace]

No More Metaplots Please

Maybe I should be more precise about what I am looking for.

I actually have my own ideas for campaign metaplots; what I need now are regular adventure (or module-type) ideas with a Thayan twist.

While the extraplanar material you have provided is interesting, the overwhelming compexity of it would interfere with my storyline.

So ... just ideas on Thayan adventures and, please keep in mind, the characters are only 7th level (bordering on 8th).

 

[The Thayan Menace]

Bump

<Bump ....>

 

[Nightfall]

Ehrm...sorry I just metaplot. I don't do adventures.

My only other advice, fight some demons in a demoncyst.

Fight Fey'ri.

Fight Shade.

Fight SOMEONE!

 

[The Thayan Menace]

Too Bad

Ehrm...sorry I just metaplot. I don't do adventures.

Bummer ....

 

[Graf]

Bummer ....

Without knowning what your predecided meta-plot for the game is it would be tricky for someone to suggest specific adventure ideas.

Poke around and pick up a few dungeons with desert themes (to my recollection its a bit dry there) that fit that and you are good to go no? Its mostly a matter of swapping "local Zulkar" for "local lord". No?

 

[The Thayan Menace]

Plot Hounds Beware

Without knowning what your predecided meta-plot for the game is it would be tricky for someone to suggest specific adventure ideas.

Give it a go anyway. I'll sort through what you suggest and tailor it to fit. Just don't try and give me the FRCS cosmology all at once; I just want one or two-session scenarios.

Also, I cannot reveal my overarching plot lines ... my players read these threads.

Finally, Thay is temperate not arid ... the red wizards use weather control magic to ensure a pleasant environment.