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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Grumbleputty" data-source="post: 7282496" data-attributes="member: 31985">Meet the PressDeep in a catacomb, the party stumbles across three ragged survivors of a previous adventuring party- in this instance, a portrait artist, a  minstrel and a talented but low-level bard. They were hired to accompany the other band of heroes and record their heroic exploits, but sadly the other party was wiped out, leaving only these bedraggled, half-starved survivors.The artisans happily offer to record the party's own heroic exploits if they allow them to join the party. The bard's mildly-cursed instrument, however, inspires him to create music that tends to cause dissent- songs that point out foibles, magnify disagreements between party members and inflame rivalries. Should the party prove themselves, however, it's likely someday they'll be in a tavern and hear a song about themselves. Either way, the party is now adventuring for an audience, which could change their behavior in interesting ways.The LandingThe party comes across a long furrow of scorched earth and stone, as though something large and heavy gouged itself into the earth. At the end of the furrow is a smooth sphere, about 3' in diameter, which has cracked in half.In the sand nearby the party spots the marks of a crawling infant, which after about 15' become the toddling footprints of a child. The footprints grow as the party follows them, reaching the size of a powerfully built adult before the trail is lost.A Walk in the ParkIn the center of a thriving, bustling metropolis sits a large park area, a half-mile long and a quarter-mile wide. Here wildlife flourishes, and all manner of fey creature can be glimpsed- although many have a sinister cast to them. The locals visit the park warily, usually only using the open fields on the outskirts, rarely using the paths through the middle, and never entering at night.The park exists solely because of a powerful druid from long ago, when the city was just starting to grow. The druid fought to maintain her precious patch of forest, even as civilization came to the area and eventually surrounded her woods. She knew when she passed the city would completely engulf her lands, so in desperation she took the dark steps to becoming a druidic lich. Now she sits at the center of her domain, certain to protect her woodland for all eternity.The QuandaryLooking for a cave entrance leading to their next adventure, the party stumbles across a company of knights, arguing fiercely. They stumbled across a family of Drow Elves and their (now former) slaves, who had been driven to the surface by political infighting among their kind. The Drow were captured without a fight, and now sit miserably in steel cages, awaiting their fate.The Knights are divided almost equally about what to do with their captives- they were passing through in the course of a long journey, and all agree this is a frustrating distraction. One faction argues strongly for putting the Drow to death- they are clearly and detectably evil, and mistreated their slaves terribly. If the Drow were set free, this faction argues, they would strive to return to power among their people and return to their evil ways- if asked, the haughty Drow Matron of the family says very little to suggest otherwise.The second faction believes it would be dishonorable to harm the Drow, who surrendered without a fight and have several non-combatants among them. Furthermore, to even turn the Drow over to local authorities would surely lead to their deaths, no different than if the Knights hacked them down themselves.  The only course of action that makes sense, they argue, is to set the Drow free so the Knights can continue on their journey to serve a much greater good.To complicate matters, about half of the Drow's former slaves are themselves from evil races- the Knights are also in disagreement about whether freeing some slaves and killing others would be justified, or if all of the slaves must be given their freedom even if many will continue to be evil.The party could probably tip the balance toward either faction with a few skill-checks, or could propose a third solution. They might listen to the whispered offers from the Drow themselves, for treasure and magic as a reward for helping them escape and confront their rivals in the Underdark. Or, if the party is wise, they may just want to keep riding past...The White Stag:As the party crosses through a desolate wilderness, a large Stag with a dazzling white hide steps into the path ahead of them and fixes the party with a with deep, intelligent gaze before dashing into the woods.Each of the party members have heard legends of the magic of the White Stag, although no two have heard the same story. Encourage your players to take 15 minutes and devise the story their character heard growing up- all should have some fabulous treasure for those who capture the White Stag, and some dire fate for those who fail. Let the party members all quickly swap their stories- then, should the party choose to pursue the Stag, use what bits you like to determine their real rewards or fates. Or ignore it all- maybe it's just an ordinary white deer.</blockquote>

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