I'm not entirely sure this is the right forum for it but I couldn't think of anywhere else it would be appropriate. Feel free to shove it anywhere.
If you are my players (you know who you are) then don't read this and if you're a player in RttToEE, then it's probably best you don't read it either.
When I first heard about RttToEE, I decided to wait a while, see some reviews and some opinions and whatnot. Everyone seemed to think it was ok so I bought it, read it and liked it. But I also wanted to run it as the backbone of a full campaign, starting at 1st level and eventually reaching godhood.
So I did some research into various areas and came up with some complicated plot-lines about the Scarlet Brotherhood and the Black Brotherhood etc. to get them to 4th-level and heading towards Hommlet. But I still didn't have an overall idea of what was going to happen, just some vague notions.
Then I read one of the Oerth Journals (excellent GH material btw, can be gotten from Canonfire.com) where Gary Gygax answered some questions regarding Greyhawk. One of them was about the Elder Elemental God and Tharizdun. I was stunned to find out that all was not as it seemed however I also decided that I'd use the material to my advantage by constructing the plot, as detailed below.
The following requires that you either know the RttToEE adventure and a little bit about the origins of the Elder Elemental God (Oerth Journal #12) or have played the original ToEE. It is essentially a plot idea that can turn your characters into gods. It's not fully detailed since to do so would require explaining a lot of stuff that would take several pages of space but it should be enough to give people plenty of ideas on how to incorporate it into their own epic campaign.
I'd love some feedback and suggestions but I'm really only posting it 'cause I think it's cool
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As an act of remorse, Dorgha Torgu has sought out those of strong spirit to reverse evil things, to aid those who have been wronged, and to otherwise help those suffering injustices. He has done this by gifting those who can withstand the burden with minor elemental powers*.
One of his aims is to see that the Elder Elemental God does not regain his power in this world. To that end, he has chosen four heroes to seek out the stronghold of Vilp-akf'cho Rentaq's worshipers and redress the balance.
However, in so doing he has become the unwitting pawn of Tharizdun. Through many gods, Tharizdun has channeled his power, fooling worshiper and god alike. Iuz, Zuggtmoy, Lolth and the Elder Elemental Eye have all fallen victim to this ruse but only the Elder Elemental Eye remains as a funnel for Tharizdun. So close are their goals that it has been easy for him to confuse worshipers of the Elder Elemental Eye into a co-operative action which will, they think, result in the ressurrection of both deities. But there can be only one.
Tharizdun has staged a plot so obtuse that not even Machiavelli could fathom its intricacies. He has harnessed the one thing that can truly set him free: the will of good heroes powered by the good intentions of a god. Knowing about the heroes of Dorgha Torgu (those blessed with elemental powers), he has beckoned a minion, one known as the Dreamspeaker, to summon them together through their dreams and gently nudge them towards destroying the archoelementals.
In essence, the Orbs of Death and the plans to summon the archoelementals was only a ruse hatched by Tharizdun in order to get good heroes to kill them. This is much easier than getting evil heroes to kill the good archoelementals. Thus heroes will destroy four of the locks to his prison: the evil Archoelementals. Once done, Tharizdun will have enough power to sunder the remaining four, the good Archoelementals. And thus will he be free.
But what not even Tharizdun knows, since Dorgha Torgu erased it from his own memory, is that Dorgha Torgu is the third aspect of the Elder Elemental Eye. The three aspects of the Elder Elemental Eye are Vilp-akf'cho Rentaq, the Unmaker; Ghaunadaur, the Maker and Dorgha Torgu, the Made. These three embody the fundamental forces of the universe, creation/good, destruction/evil, and existance/neutrality.
Thus to prevent Tharizdun from obliterating the universe and causing oblivion for all (this is not destruction, destruction is a natural force and a part of the cycle, oblivion is nothing), Dorgha Torgu must wake Ghaundaur and convince him to remake Vilp-akf'cho Rentaq (who was sundered by Beory) so that the three of them can redress the balance.
However, with his stripped down powers and not knowing who he truly is, Dorgha Torgu cannot do this, therefore he needs the aid of the chosen four to discover a way to defeat Tharizdun; essentially this means discovering who Dorgha Torgu actually is by way of connecting Ghaundadaur to Vilp-akf'cho Rentaq, waking him and questioning him. Even then, the only way that Tharizdun can be imprisoned is if Dorgha Torgu sacrifices himself and his power and imbues it within the four chosen ones. He must do this because, although technically still a greater god, his power is severely restricted in the mortal realms and only by funnelling his entire being into a vessal capable of wielding the power can it be used to it's full potential. Even then, no mortal vessal could possibly withstand such immense power and so the power has to be divided into at least four vessals. The four must then capture and contain the Dark Lord with their powers before the energy consumes them entirely. Since the only way to imprison Tharizdun properly is to uncork the bottle, so to speak, the PC's will have to also sacrifice themselves as well, allowing the energy to overwhelm and consume them.
What the PC's don't know is that by doing this, their souls will be rescued by the powers that be and they will be instated as the new archoelementals (quasi-deities) and will be charged with forever guarding Tharizdun's prison.
--
*Essentially this is just an elemental resistance equalling the characters level, ie. Fire resistance 5 for a fifth level character of fire, plus a few spells. I had them choose one cantrip/orison at first, castable once per day, and every five levels they get one extra spell at a higher spell level and their previous spell can be cast once more so that at 5th level a character would have one cantrip castable twice a day and one first level spell castable once per day. These spells had to reflect something about the element in question.
If you are my players (you know who you are) then don't read this and if you're a player in RttToEE, then it's probably best you don't read it either.
When I first heard about RttToEE, I decided to wait a while, see some reviews and some opinions and whatnot. Everyone seemed to think it was ok so I bought it, read it and liked it. But I also wanted to run it as the backbone of a full campaign, starting at 1st level and eventually reaching godhood.
So I did some research into various areas and came up with some complicated plot-lines about the Scarlet Brotherhood and the Black Brotherhood etc. to get them to 4th-level and heading towards Hommlet. But I still didn't have an overall idea of what was going to happen, just some vague notions.
Then I read one of the Oerth Journals (excellent GH material btw, can be gotten from Canonfire.com) where Gary Gygax answered some questions regarding Greyhawk. One of them was about the Elder Elemental God and Tharizdun. I was stunned to find out that all was not as it seemed however I also decided that I'd use the material to my advantage by constructing the plot, as detailed below.
The following requires that you either know the RttToEE adventure and a little bit about the origins of the Elder Elemental God (Oerth Journal #12) or have played the original ToEE. It is essentially a plot idea that can turn your characters into gods. It's not fully detailed since to do so would require explaining a lot of stuff that would take several pages of space but it should be enough to give people plenty of ideas on how to incorporate it into their own epic campaign.
I'd love some feedback and suggestions but I'm really only posting it 'cause I think it's cool
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As an act of remorse, Dorgha Torgu has sought out those of strong spirit to reverse evil things, to aid those who have been wronged, and to otherwise help those suffering injustices. He has done this by gifting those who can withstand the burden with minor elemental powers*.
One of his aims is to see that the Elder Elemental God does not regain his power in this world. To that end, he has chosen four heroes to seek out the stronghold of Vilp-akf'cho Rentaq's worshipers and redress the balance.
However, in so doing he has become the unwitting pawn of Tharizdun. Through many gods, Tharizdun has channeled his power, fooling worshiper and god alike. Iuz, Zuggtmoy, Lolth and the Elder Elemental Eye have all fallen victim to this ruse but only the Elder Elemental Eye remains as a funnel for Tharizdun. So close are their goals that it has been easy for him to confuse worshipers of the Elder Elemental Eye into a co-operative action which will, they think, result in the ressurrection of both deities. But there can be only one.
Tharizdun has staged a plot so obtuse that not even Machiavelli could fathom its intricacies. He has harnessed the one thing that can truly set him free: the will of good heroes powered by the good intentions of a god. Knowing about the heroes of Dorgha Torgu (those blessed with elemental powers), he has beckoned a minion, one known as the Dreamspeaker, to summon them together through their dreams and gently nudge them towards destroying the archoelementals.
In essence, the Orbs of Death and the plans to summon the archoelementals was only a ruse hatched by Tharizdun in order to get good heroes to kill them. This is much easier than getting evil heroes to kill the good archoelementals. Thus heroes will destroy four of the locks to his prison: the evil Archoelementals. Once done, Tharizdun will have enough power to sunder the remaining four, the good Archoelementals. And thus will he be free.
But what not even Tharizdun knows, since Dorgha Torgu erased it from his own memory, is that Dorgha Torgu is the third aspect of the Elder Elemental Eye. The three aspects of the Elder Elemental Eye are Vilp-akf'cho Rentaq, the Unmaker; Ghaunadaur, the Maker and Dorgha Torgu, the Made. These three embody the fundamental forces of the universe, creation/good, destruction/evil, and existance/neutrality.
Thus to prevent Tharizdun from obliterating the universe and causing oblivion for all (this is not destruction, destruction is a natural force and a part of the cycle, oblivion is nothing), Dorgha Torgu must wake Ghaundaur and convince him to remake Vilp-akf'cho Rentaq (who was sundered by Beory) so that the three of them can redress the balance.
However, with his stripped down powers and not knowing who he truly is, Dorgha Torgu cannot do this, therefore he needs the aid of the chosen four to discover a way to defeat Tharizdun; essentially this means discovering who Dorgha Torgu actually is by way of connecting Ghaundadaur to Vilp-akf'cho Rentaq, waking him and questioning him. Even then, the only way that Tharizdun can be imprisoned is if Dorgha Torgu sacrifices himself and his power and imbues it within the four chosen ones. He must do this because, although technically still a greater god, his power is severely restricted in the mortal realms and only by funnelling his entire being into a vessal capable of wielding the power can it be used to it's full potential. Even then, no mortal vessal could possibly withstand such immense power and so the power has to be divided into at least four vessals. The four must then capture and contain the Dark Lord with their powers before the energy consumes them entirely. Since the only way to imprison Tharizdun properly is to uncork the bottle, so to speak, the PC's will have to also sacrifice themselves as well, allowing the energy to overwhelm and consume them.
What the PC's don't know is that by doing this, their souls will be rescued by the powers that be and they will be instated as the new archoelementals (quasi-deities) and will be charged with forever guarding Tharizdun's prison.
--
*Essentially this is just an elemental resistance equalling the characters level, ie. Fire resistance 5 for a fifth level character of fire, plus a few spells. I had them choose one cantrip/orison at first, castable once per day, and every five levels they get one extra spell at a higher spell level and their previous spell can be cast once more so that at 5th level a character would have one cantrip castable twice a day and one first level spell castable once per day. These spells had to reflect something about the element in question.
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