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Message: <blockquote data-quote="doctorbadwolf" data-source="post: 8340127" data-attributes="member: 6704184">So, to go more into how to run the scenario I put forth earlier, let’s imagine an adventure. The goal is to get better gear (the treasure), build your reputation as mercenary bards, and make contact with a potential ally and help her avoid assassination as she prepares for a honor duel where she either keeps her throne, or dies.   First you must go to the island of Charano, and contact an established ally and help her with a thing and get some goods in return. She is an old witchy countess of something similar who helped one of the group in their youth. Beautiful, dangerous, intelligent, and in command of her small domain. She has the secret of an old magic, a magic that sorcerers do not understand because it is of the land and the old ways before the gods had names.   Basically some social challenges (Conan interacts with a different culture, making friends and/or enemies), and then a reminder of just how weird and dangerous and unknowable magic is, as you make the PCs enter a shared dream state with the local villagers where they must battle faceless demons to protect the land from famine. If they go through with it, and survive, they gain a minor magic item and can talk thier way to being taught how to use this shared dream to communicate in each other’s minds (gaining basically the message cantrip s/day as a boon). If they win the battles, they don’t have to finagle or negotiate for the knowledge, and if a PC performs especially well, saves some villagers lives, etc, that PC might get a spear that looks like it’s made of bronze but that is hard as steel, and which is especially deadly to aberrations and fiends.  Next, the ally leads the group to a mountain pass in her domain where the meeting is to take place. Another social challenge, maybe an exploration challenge for getting there without spending a bunch of resources, and an ambush by assassins when you do arrive.   Treat the mountain passes and such like a dungeon, when the environment is very much part of the challenge. At the end of that segment, the ancient temple is revealed, the Priestesses of yhe God try to betray the Year Queen to consolidate thier power. Fight with some blood clerics and assassins and whatever they summon, while keeping the assassins from ganking your new (hopefully) ally, ending (if victorious) in a temple to loot, a new ally who assumes full control of her Queendom (with DM notes on how to expand on the corruption of civilization in S&S using her vicious removal of those who oppose here’s she has now deposed the previous (arguably worse) regime, and a village of harvesters who would love to benefit from your newfound wealth by providing all manner of services and companionship.   Notes for further play; what cost does the shared dream ritual have? Can the PCs get the villagers to agree to share that cost when the time comes? Will the Year Queen turned regular Queen remain an ally, and even if so will she remain herself long enough for her help to be a good thing? Will the countess demand a greater cost later on?</blockquote>

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