Great play report [MENTION=54629]pukunui[/MENTION]!
My dilemma after one session is the PCs took Captain Laskilar captive (after routing a pirate attack on the ship they traveled aboard) and presented him to Wakanga O'tamu as a "gift." We left the session with PCs spending night as Wakanga's guests, while Wakanga has a private conversation with his captive/guest Captain Laskilar. What is the result of that meeting?
ToA loosely gives Wakanga motives (working with the Harpers, and...not much else) & mentions that Captain Laskilar is in contact with wealthy patrons in Port Nyanzaru. And that's about it. To be fair, I knew from the outset that ToA paints with some pretty broad strokes anything that's not associated with a dungeon...so I knew that I'd have to generate lots of details...
I ended up doing a complete write-up for Wakanga O'tamu (and I'm working on similar write-ups for other merchant princes) using ToA, my own ideas mixed with AD&D
Jungles of Chult & other books,
Twenty Sides to Every Story blog &
The Many and Fabulous Bazaars of Port Nyanzaru...
[SBLOCK]
Wakanga O’tamu (magic host with the most)
LN male Chultan human
mage; lore/info, good magic, potions & scrolls
Background: ?
Personality: dandy, magnanimous, hospitable, prevaricating
Goals: maintain his prestige as “most-liked” merchant prince, promote stronger "good" foreign ties, believes knowledge should be freely shared, wishes to create a public library/musuem, restore the College of Wizards under his supervision
Power Base: favorable public opinion, supported by Temple of Savras & Harpers
Politics: cordial relationships with other merchant princes except Jobal (who disagrees over sharing knowledge of Chult), his tendency to flip-flop on issues gives him a reputation of political expediency and no true convictions
Villa: Decorated with blue
continual flame & soft music,
arcane lock private areas; 2
flying swords &
rug of smothering by doors, 5 Chultan
gladiators, Syndra Silvane (LN female Flan human
archmage, Death Curse) may be guest.
Quests
Ancient Teleportation Circles: There used to be one in Port Nyanzaru, but it was recently destroyed by a mob (roused by someone unknown) fearing evil in jungle. He believes there may be other circles in the Valley of Lost Honor (the Eshowe tribe once used shadow magic teleportation) and Mezro (which had an arcane academy). For such knowledge, Wakanga would cast
teleportation circle for free and grant access to his “rare stocks.”
College of Wizards: Wakanga wishes to see the old College of Mages which once existed in Mezro restored, along with the rule of one mage per clan supervised by Mage Hunters. He will offer 25-50% discounted spellcasting services for any books/relics from the Library of Mezro or College of Wizards (areas 8 & 9,
Ruins of Mezro), as well as granting access to his “rare stocks.”
Jobal’s Dirty Secret: Wakanga suspects the merchant prince Jobal’s wealth was gained on an expedition in which Jobal betrayed the party he was guiding. With proof, Wakanga could use it to pressure Jobal into relenting on allowing “good” foreign interests back into Port Nyanzaru. If the PCs gain proof of Jobal’s malfeasance, Wakanga will gift them each with a healing/climbing potion or 1st-level spell scroll.
Wizard’s Journal: In his collection Wakanga has a tattered, water-damaged explorer’s journal from 15 years ago. It describes a wizard’s journey through Chult in search of the “Heart” along with his shield guardian companion. Wakanga can pinpoint where it was found (“Vorn”). If the construct and amulet are brought to him, Wakanga gifts PCs with a spellbook containing 15 spells he knows (1st-5th) or one of his magic wands.
Common Goods
Healing potion or
climbing potion 80 gp
Spell scroll, 1st-level 100 gp
Spell scroll, 2nd-level 550 gp
Special
Spellcasting services negotiated rates
Rare Stocks
Wand of the War Mage +2 (req attn) 5,000 gp
Wand of Magic Missiles 8,000 gp
Shroudcrown (req attn) 11,000 gp
This agate-studded bronze circlet holds considerable power over undead. The wearer can turn undead as a 10th-level cleric 1/day, and she is constantly hidden from unintelligent undead.[/SBLOCK]
So I have a good idea of what might interest Wakanga (lore on the College of Wizards in Mezro... info. on an ancient teleportation circle...), but I am less certain about Captain Laskilar...
Who would he already be dealing with in Port Nyanzaru and *why*? A merchant prince? One of the "beggar princes"? A faction? Someone else altogether?
EDIT: I *think* I'm close to cracking this. It took cross-referencing a passage in ToA with a map in
Jungles of Chult and then picking up
Heart of the Wild on DM's Guild, but I think I've got it...
The "wizard's journal" that Wakanga has is similar to the map from
Jungles of Chult (just with mention of a shield guardian) in that it references "The Heart." And then
Heart of the Wild puts it all together: a magic stone once imbued with some of Ubtao's essence. Wakanga wants to be the one to find this stone – since it symbolizes the old magical traditions. Laskilar is going to share a lead about who can lead them to it: a Chultan tribal sage some 7-8 days west of Port Nyanzaru....
So that leaves me with: How does Laskilar know about this tribal sage & the Heart?