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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MerakSpielman" data-source="post: 809677" data-attributes="member: 7464">Ingredients:Key Phrase: "Left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing"Other Ingredients: Her father's eyes, a new moon, "No rest for the wicked"NPC: Citrella Farmarch (human Cleric2)Other important figures:Ric Farmarch, her father (Expert 3, Aristocrat 1)Ethen Dunnol, Head of the League of the Future (Expert 1, Sorcerer 3, Aristocrat 1)Misc League members (appropriate to EL of party, with at least one expert or aristocrat level each)Citrella was born into a moderately well-to-do merchant family seventeen years ago. She was taughtfrom an early age that devotion to her family and their political connections was paramount. Tragically,her mother died when she was very young. The death, though tragic, was an unavoidable accident andthe temples of Mor’s End refused to raise her, saying that common accidents were the will of thegods. Citrella was angry, but eventually succumbed to her father’s pleas to understand that death is anatural part of the world and will come to everybody in time. Despite his heartfelt concern, however, shealways had a secret suspicion that her father was keeping something from her.When Citrella announced her vocation to join the temple of Cuthbert, everybody was surprised. RicFarmarch, her father, questioned her intently about it, but decided her devotion was sincere. Having afamily member in a prominent temple, he decided, was not the worst thing that could happen to theFarmarch family business. Citrella’s true motivation, however, was that if she studied long and hardenough, nobody she loved would ever have to die again (once she learned Raise Dead). Cuthbertwas the only deity that appealed to her bitter and resentful, but still basically good, soul.Now, Ric Farmarch had always been a student of astronomy, and one evening Citrella received anurgent message that she should return home from the temple immediately. Fearing something dire, sherushed home to find her father doing nothing but looking intently into a contraption he explained was a“telescope.” He explained it’s function, and bade her look through it.Ric explained what she saw, “That, my daughter, is a previously undiscovered heavenly body! It circlesour own world, like the sun and moon. I discovered this New Moon three nights ago, but waited totell you until I was sure. It was never seen before because it is composed of a very dark material,perhaps akin to obsidian.”Citrella was impressed, but not duly so. What good was a new moon to the inhabitants of the regularworld?Just then there was a brisk pounding on the door. Ric looked up in fear, and ushered Citrella into acloset. “Trust me, love. You cannot help me here.”Hidden in the enclosure, she heard the door bang open and a strange, low voice began to speak.“So, Brother Ric, it seems you have found another way to undermine the League. If we had known whatyou were doing, we would have stopped you a long time ago, but alas, when our attention is fixedelsewhere, it seems the Left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.” Her father replied, “I do my work for the good of the League, Brother Ethen. If a new heavenly body isdiscovered, we need to know about it and see what it foretells of the future.”The reply was sharp and bitter, “Such a discovery would throw everything we’ve worked for for the lastfive centuries to ruin! Our plans were based off of the most precise astrological observations. A newmoon cannot exist. We would have known about it. Your lies are intended only to undermine theorder. You are a traitor to the League of the Future, Brother Ric.”“But my telescope...”“A demon’s deception.” there was a loud crash, followed by her father’s cry of outrage, “Which will nowtrouble us no longer. Your sentence would have been death, Brother Ric, but we have decided to belenient. You think you would have learned your lesson after what befell your beloved wife. Must we nowturn to your only daughter?”“Leave her out of this! My wife knew what she was getting into. Citrella knows nothing.”“Very well. Your fine for your treachery shall be, then, none other than the eyes that observed this falseabomination.”There was a struggle, and a scream of utmost pain that made Citrella want to burst out of hiding, but sheknew her death would solve nothing. She stayed where she was, though it pained her.“With that, ex-brother Ric, we leave you.” The door closed.Citrella emerged and saw her father Ric lying on the floor, blood pooling around his head. A spell solvedthat, but then she saw her father’s eyes[/b], gouged out by the League of the Future, lying on the floor. Inthat moment, before Cuthbert himself, she held aloft her holy symbol and swore retribution on the onesthat had brought this upon her family, “From this moment forth, there shall be no rest for the wickedin Mor’s End. I will hunt down my enemies wherever they might flee, and bring just retribution upon them,in thy name, oh great Cuthbert.” She also decided, in that moment, that there was no need to involve therest of her temple. This was personal, and she could handle it with her own resources.Citrella took her father’s eyes and preserved them in a jar with a Gentle Repose scroll,planning on having them restored once her quest was complete.“Father,” she implored the quietly crying man, “What is the League of the Future and where do I find it?And what did they do to Mother?”And, after some convincing, he told her.THE LEAGUE OF THE FUTUREThe League was founded a thousand years ago by a secretive band of militant astrologers. Their planwas, and still is, to bring the world under their total domination. Their plan is to get each of their membersinto prominent positions in society, and to study astrology to predict the future of their plan and whatmoves they should make, and when. They have astrology down to a precision science, but the discoveryof a new moon would throw everything off. Their long-term plans would be ruined. Rather thanaccept the new heavenly stage and restart their plans, they chose to disbelieve Ric’s discovery and casthis from the League.The League of the future is comprised only of well-to-do, reasonably prominent members of society.They are led by Ethen Dunnol, a man who has made his personal fortune in the local pottery business.Ric’s wife was a member of the League, but attempted a risky plan involving gaining the trust of the localroyalty. When it became clear that she was very close to compromising League secrecy, she ran into a“convenient accident,” but she did truly know all along the risk she was taking.Ric developed the telescope with the goal of more accurately measuring the movements of the heavenlybodies. The discovery of a New Moon alarmed and excited him so much that he reported hisfinding to the League without thinking through the results of his unexpected announcement.HOOKS1) The most obvious hook is to have Citrella attempt to hire the party to help her with her dirty work. Shewill allow the PCs to talk to her father, if they like. Her plan is to take out the League one member at atime, starting with Ethen Dunnol. Only use this hook if the PCs are not against a bit of righteous murder.2) Ethen Dunnol, fearing some sort of attack, might hire the PCs as guards. Imagine their surprise whenthe assassin turns out to be a good cleric!3) The PCs have heard of a strange series of murders in Mor’s End, all among the wealthy class. Therewas no theft or clues of any kind at any of the crime scenes. The local authorities hire the PCs to lookinto it.~STAT BLOCKS~Citrella Farmarch, Female Human Clr2 of Cuthbert: Medium Humanoid ; HD 2d8 (Cleric); hp 16;Init +1; Spd 20; AC 16; Atk +1 base melee, +2 base ranged; +1 (1d8, Mace, heavy); AL CG; SV Fort +3,Ref +1, Will +8; STR 11, DEX 13, CON 11, INT 10, WIS 17, CHA 15.Skills: Concentration +1, Heal +4, Knowledge (religion) +1, Spellcraft 1. Feats: Iron Will, Toughness.Spells Per Day (4/3/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0)Possessions: Weapons: Mace, heavy.Armor: Chain shirt.Shields: Shield, small, steel.Magic: Potion: Cure Light Wounds (1); Potion: Cure Light Wounds (1); Scroll: Gentle Repose (3);Scroll: Gentle Repose (3); Potion: AidEthen Dunnol, Male Human Ari1/Exp1/Sor3: Medium Humanoid ; HD 1d8+1 (Aristocrat), 1d6+1(Expert), 3d4+3 (Sorcerer); hp 24; Init +3; Spd 30; AC 10; Atk +3 base melee, +0 base ranged; +4(1d4+2, Dagger, Masterwork); AL LE; SV Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +9; STR 14, DEX 9, CON 12, INT 16,WIS 11, CHA 19.Skills: Alchemy +4.5, Bluff +7, Concentration +3, Diplomacy +7, Gather Information +7, Innuendo+2, Intimidate +6, Jump +12, Knowledge (arcana) +9, Knowledge (The Planes) +11, Listen +2,Profession (Astrologer) +10, Scry +6, Sense Motive +2, Spellcraft +6, Spot +2. Feats: Alertness, Improved Initiative, Skill Focus: Profession (Astrologer).Spells Known (Sor 6/6): 0 -- Arcane Mark, Detect Magic, Open/Close, Prestidigitation, Read Magic;1st -- Charm Person, Expeditious Retreat, Magic Missile.Possessions: Weapons: Dagger, Masterwork.Armor: Padded, Masterwork.Magic: Wondrous: Cloak of resistance (+2); Wondrous: Brooch of shielding; Wondrous: Boots ofstriding and springing (used with Expeditious retreat if battle going poorly).</blockquote>

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