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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Epametheus" data-source="post: 444409" data-attributes="member: 719">Inspired by the combination a very bad movie, a headache, and just being in a weird mood, I've got the following (realistically, it will be a few months before I could run it in IMC, but I'm tossing this up while I still remember stuff)9th level Party, possibly 10th, composed of a 2/7 rogue/(Monte) sorceress, L9 Hatcaster (home-brew class, less spells per day than a wizard but gets to build a personal spell list from the wizard, cleric, and druid lists), L1/8 monk/cleric, L9 druid, and a L9 mixed-Fighter-classes comes across a decently sized town.  My own character is a L9 fighter type, but won't be participating in the Climactic Battles (I think; it'll depend on whether or not the other fighter is still just a punching bag by that point; he's the unluckiest sod ever, and would be dead about 8 times over already if not for DM fudging).Anyways, here's what's wrong with this town (no names yet -- I'm awful with names, and always come up with them last):Town ruler:  A fallen Trumpet Archon (now lawful evil) who has come to believe that the source of mortal suffering is Free Will, and that he therefore has a duty to stomp it out.  All of his good-aligned powers have become evil-aligned, and he's also been granted by his new divine patron Suggestion at will, Charm Monster at will, and Mass Suggestion 1/day (so that I might be able to force the party to listen to some big speech that I'll probably need to write out).  His current goal is to try to instill into the townsfolk Absolute Obediance to His Will.  He figures they'll be much happier to follow his commands than to try to determine for themselves what they want to do.  However, the Archon won't hesitate to sacrifice his servants, and by this point many of them would happily die for him.  He's been laying down the groundwork for his endeavor for most of the past year, and has been openly ruling for the past few months.  He's fairly satisfied with how his experiment is working out, and would be looking at expanding his dominion, except for one serious problem.The Cultists: In direct opposition to the Archon is the Cult of Quanthosk'alys, a god who is known on Earth as Nyarlathotep.  This is one of the many places throughout the world where the Cult is laboring to establish Quanthosk'alys as one of the world's dieties.  Through the forbidden knowledge granted by 'Thosk, even ordinary peasants are able to use magic, though at a high personal cost.  The way I'm handling CoC magic makes vastly safer for a trained spellcaster to use, so the cult cell will be headed by some sort of arcane caster (it could be headed by a priest, but the clerics of Quanthosk'alys in this world aren't granted spells yet; they're restricted to channelling negative energy and using CoC spells).  Anyways, the Cult, which has also been festering in the city for about a year, now seeks to take control and convert the rest of the populace to Quanthosk'alysism.  Cult forces and Archon forces have been making surgical strikes against each other, sometimes resulting in pitched battles of brain-washed slaves and forbidden magicks.  The cult is horribly ruthless, and those who are unwilling to learn the spell Contact Quanthosk'alys and cast it are often horribly sacrificed to appease foul beasts that are being called forth to battle the Archon's forces.The Victims:  The Archon has established control over about 25% of the town, and made brainwashing the original guards and militia a top priority; those who would disobey the fallen celestial are re-educated, and the most stubborn are brought before him.  He doesn't mind taking a few minutes to personally crush a rebel's spirit through his own powers.  The Cult holds another quarter of town, and has taken an inquisition approach to the poor souls within their sphere of influence.  Those who are unwilling to sacrify their sanity to Quanthosk'alys are purged from existence.  The remaining 50% constitutes their battle-ground.A no-man's land area seperates the areas controlled by the two factions; the area has been stripped clean of both life and objects of value.  The rest of the town exists in a state of controlled anarchy, now.  Since the Archon no longer has absolute authority due to the Cult's movements, the greater portion of the town is now controlled by thugs who are waiting to see which side will win before joining one, not really understanding what awaits them in either case.  Some elements, composed of relatively inexperienced (as in: the good ones are already dead or worse) priests, arcanists, professional warriors, and vigilantes who just want to take their city back are trying to resist the push of both of the Archon and of the cultists into the areas in which they don't hold dominance; these well-meaning defenders are being steadily whittled away; some die, some are forcibly converted.As final insult, due to actions taken by the archon a year ago, the city is now surrounded by a wall, and there is only one gate -- which the Archon's forces now hold.  People are allowed in, but no one is ever allowed out.  Not a problem for people who can fly, but a serious problem for the commoners.  Travellers have learned to avoid the place.  To get the party in there, I'll probably have a hook involving needing to retreive a particular person from this hell-hole.To salvage this city:  Two things must happen.  One is that the Archon must die, or at least be driven off.  The second is that the Idol of Quanthosk'alys, which serves as the focus for the cultist's forbidden powers, must be destroyed.  The former combined with a new person being elevated to power should encourage reasonable order (as opposed to psychotic order), while the latter will cause the cultists to just be normal people again, effectively ripping out the cell's fangs.  Slaying or driving off the cell leadership would make it a much surer deal.I've got some vague combat ideas for the Archon (I think he'll be facing the party by himself, if it comes to it -- the combination of flight, arrogance, and raw power), but what's up there is the core of the mess I have so far.So, how's it look?</blockquote>

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