Need advice for an adventure in Hillsfar.

[Kristivas]

I'm looking to build an encounter in a tower in the city of Hillsfar (Forgotten Realms), but I'd also like a little advice as to how to get there.

The PCs are chasing down the heads of an organization that's hunting two of them, who are to be sacrificed for an evil ritual if captured. In a previous game, they found a note with the first letters of the first names of two of their targets (a husband and wife, though the PCs don't know that yet). I was thinking these two should be up-and-coming minor nobility, who are hiding their true, evil intentions with shows of charity and benevolence. This keeps attention from the awful things they do on the sly. I have their tower designed, and I have their nefarious plots for the city all planned out.

I need inspiration for the following 3 items. I'm asking because I want to do a few things differently than I ordinarily would to really throw the group off.

1. How to get them from the gates of Hillsfar to the door of the villains. I don't want to make it too easy, but I also don't want to go through anything too drawn out and convoluted. I just need nuggets of inspiration to get me going, to get them going.
2. The husband of the two is going to be the physically weaker, and will be a caster. I really want to use Blade Guardians from CW, because I picture him directing minions rather than fighting on his own. Maybe casting from an alcove or otherwise hard-to-reach place.
3. The wife is a cleric of Bane.

The group is pretty tough, being levels 11-10. There's a Sorcerer/incantrix, a Warblade, a Psychic Warrior (with a level of monk and swordsage, talash-something I can't spell feat that makes it awesome), a rogue/assassin, and an Archer (fighter/1 level of EWM for close-combat archery). Healing for the party is mostly done with wands, pots, and a DMM'd Lesser Vigor spell they donate gold to an NPC cleric to get cast in the AM for out-of-combat heals during adventures.

Appreciate any advice.

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

I started to type a reply and then realised anything I might suggest is likely to contradict your plans for these two NPCs.

Why don't you actually post some information about their plans in Hillsfar and the organisation they belong to and I can riff from there?

 

[XunValdorl_of_Kilsek]

What are their races?

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

The question of races is really important because Hillsfar only allows humans inside the walls.

If there are non-humans then the PCs will need to disguise themselves and/or find a way to be smuggled inside. And if anything goes wrong, they could end up fighting in the arena.

Another thing to consider is the loyalty of the cleric of Bane. Is she loyal to the Zhentarim or to the High Imperceptor of Bane? Is her marriage a cover for her other activities or does her husband share her loyalties?

Do the PCs have a relationship with the Harpers? The Harpers may be able to help the non-humans get into the city. They may offer further assistance if it means stopping, for example, a Zhentarim plot.

 

[Kristivas]

I started to type a reply and then realised anything I might suggest is likely to contradict your plans for these two NPCs.

Why don't you actually post some information about their plans in Hillsfar and the organisation they belong to and I can riff from there?

I should note, first off, that I'm playing post-Spellplague with 3.5 rules.

The two NPCs are Mini Big Bads. The organization they're working with is trying to reclaim the Crown of Horns and resurrect the dead deity Myrkul, which also requires capturing and killing two of the PCs in a sacrifice (or so the group was told). There aren't many who know how to enact the ritual that should theoretically put Myrkul back together, and the group has decided to ax them, steal the crown from Mulmaster [it's not really there, teehee, but info about it is] without being obliterated, and toss it into the fires of Mordor (I haven't worked out how they'll get rid of the crown if they manage to capture it, but it's a ways off).

Not only were Bane and Myrkul once allies, but with Bane's power grab of the Goblin Deities, Tiamat, Loviatar, etc.. it would do not only to have his old friend returned, but also in his debt.

Amid all of the charity and shows of kindness, the husband and wife are trying to find the perfect alchemical formula to put into the water supply of the town in order to turn the majority into slaves. So far, they're just poisoning a few of the wells and making a grand showing of coming along to help the sick. This is to further their political reputation, and to study the progress of their experiments. They're getting close.

The Cleric is loyal to the Grand Perceptor of Bane, as the rest of the organization is based in Mulmaster (where the group will be headed next). Though, I should note, the plan to restore Myrkul is not commonly known. Certain members of the Church of Bane and the Church of Loviatar either put this plan together, or it was divinely inspired to them. Either way, they're keeping it as quiet as they can.

She and her husband very much share the same goals and loyalties. "You had me at baby cannibalism!"

It's likely the cleric and wizard will either kill the PCs or die. The group is rather slick, using Dimensional Anchor to trap pretty much any casters they encounter to keep them from teleporting. Even if one of the Bads would try and surrender, the group's not likely to take them prisoner for later escapes, firm in the belief that minions of Bane are too dangerous to let live.

The Rogue, Warblade, and Psychic Warrior are Human. The Sorceress and Archer are both Elves. The Sorceress can Alter Self herself, and they're going to have to figure something out with the archer. I'm not sure if she picked up Polymorph (sigh), but if so, that would help to get him in.

They haven't met the Harper's yet. I thought to add them in if the group manages to escape Mulmaster with information on the crown. By then, they would have gotten the Harpers' attention, I'd imagine.

Appreciate any advice.

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

Pardon my self-induglence...

Cool! Coincidentally, I've been mucking around with some ideas for a 13th Age campaign set in the post-Spellplague, pre-Sundering era involving Bane's plan to increase his power further by, inter alia, absorbing the power of Myrkul - currently diffused between physical remains in the Mere of Dead Men and the Crown of Horns (with the Crown also very involved in my plans) - and the power of Bhaal - currently split between Cyric in his imprisonment and the physical remains in the black water near Boareskyr Bridge.

Of course, another option for getting the Dark Three together like that is so that Jergal can finally execute the millennia-old plan he has to seize even more power than he wielded before he effectively surrendered his portfolios to these three.

But I digress....

(snip) The two NPCs are Mini Big Bads. The organization they're working with is trying to reclaim the Crown of Horns and resurrect the dead deity Myrkul, which also requires capturing and killing two of the PCs in a sacrifice (or so the group was told). There aren't many who know how to enact the ritual that should theoretically put Myrkul back together, and the group has decided to ax them, steal the crown from Mulmaster [it's not really there, teehee, but info about it is] without being obliterated, and toss it into the fires of Mordor (I haven't worked out how they'll get rid of the crown if they manage to capture it, but it's a ways off). (snip)

How about this?

The only way to destroy the Crown of Horns is to cast disintegrate or something similar upon it while it is touching The Companion, the second sun above Elturgard. The only problem with doing this is that it also destroys The Companion or turns it into a thing of shadow (dusk) or even darkness. Now the secret of its means of destruction sounds like just the sort of dark secret a cleric or other servitor of Shar would be likely to provide.... In short, the Crown gets destroyed but between angry paladins and a Netherese empire that now realises The Companion isn't blocking their expansion plans, you've got your next adventure of mini-campaign ready to go.

(snip) Amid all of the charity and shows of kindness, the husband and wife are trying to find the perfect alchemical formula to put into the water supply of the town in order to turn the majority into slaves. So far, they're just poisoning a few of the wells and making a grand showing of coming along to help the sick. This is to further their political reputation, and to study the progress of their experiments. They're getting close. (snip)

Alchemical formula? The first thing that springs to mind is aboleth slime (or illithid mucus - but I'll stick to the aboleth slime for the moment).

As an alternative, instead of the potion actually turning everyone into slaves, another option would be to have it weaken the will by inflicting Wis damage which then reduces the victim's Will save. Then, at the risk of stealing an idea from the 2E boxed set Night Below, the real dominating effect actually comes from one or more obelisks taken from an aboleth city. Perhaps there are more than one: there is a single pillar in the centre of the city (or close enough) that is the master obelisk where the BBEGs perform their patented evil ritual, while there are lesser obelisks secreted around the city in an equidistant radial pattern centred on the master pillar. (The master pillar may also need to be jump-started by the Crown of Horns.)

If you went with this, the PCs could arrive just at the city is really getting dumbed down. The guards at the gate are inattentive and generally listless so getting in, even for the elves, is really easy. It's then up to the PCs to save the city which may not even be grateful once the PCs do what they do.

But if the PCs fail, the BBEGs have converted an entire city to mindless thralldom in the name of Bane. Unless, of course, it was just an aboleth plot....

The Cleric is loyal to the Grand Perceptor of Bane, as the rest of the organization is based in Mulmaster (where the group will be headed next). Though, I should note, the plan to restore Myrkul is not commonly known. Certain members of the Church of Bane and the Church of Loviatar either put this plan together, or it was divinely inspired to them. Either way, they're keeping it as quiet as they can.

She and her husband very much share the same goals and loyalties. "You had me at baby cannibalism!"

Yeah, if I had known it was the post-Spellplague Realms I wouldn't have mentioned the Zhentarim. But I would throw in a beholder for old time's sake. (Back to the idea of the pillars. What if the central one was actually controlled by a beholder mage [or half-illithid beholder, aka mindwitness, from 3.x's Underdark] and there are ten others - representing the ten eyes of a beholder - each guarded by another beholder. Only the beholder mage needs to be slain... but if the PCs find one or more of the other obelisks they might be able to find clues as to what is happening and/or divine the way to the primary obelisk.)

And they sound like a lovely couple.

Does that help at all or am I spending too much time writing something I might use?

 

[Kristivas]

Does that help at all or am I spending too much time writing something I might use?

That's amazing. I like a lot of that, and I think I'll put it to use. Especially the poison being used to dull the senses and do Wis damage. It seems a lot more threatening than just a potion that turns people into slaves. You can be snapped out of a mind control effect like that. Not so easy when two people are "George Dubya Bush'ing" you into a frenzy due to your lowered Wisdom. Much harder to help folks that don't want it.

Thanks a ton!

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

You're most welcome. I'm glad it was of some assistance. For a while there I was thinking to myself, "This is a horribly self-indulgent post.:

Anyway, I am glad you posted what you did about the water because the part about it being "alchemical" got me thinking: "What substance could cause that?" "Oh yeah, aboleth slime." And this is where it really is self-indulgent: I think I will be using these ideas!

Please do post your session report if you are able as I would love to know how this played out.

 

[Kristivas]

You're most welcome. I'm glad it was of some assistance. For a while there I was thinking to myself, "This is a horribly self-indulgent post.:

Anyway, I am glad you posted what you did about the water because the part about it being "alchemical" got me thinking: "What substance could cause that?" "Oh yeah, aboleth slime." And this is where it really is self-indulgent: I think I will be using these ideas!

Please do post your session report if you are able as I would love to know how this played out.

Likewise if you get to use anything like that in your games. We're playing this weekend, so we'll see how it goes.

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

Likewise if you get to use anything like that in your games. We're playing this weekend, so we'll see how it goes.

Sadly, those ideas are probably 2-3 campaigns away. We're still running a campaign set in Neverwinter and that will be followed either by a sandbox in the Silver Marches or the return of the Zhentarim to Shadowdale. (I'm also using the 4E Realms - but with the 4E rules.)

I'll look forward to reading about your game after the weekend.