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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ashockney" data-source="post: 1029563" data-attributes="member: 1363">Give them their own toys and sandbox...In the North, you don't have to worry much about Elminster.  Your primary issues will be with Silverymoon (Alustriel), Waterdeep (Khelben, Laeral, Piergeron, and Mirt), and Mithral Hall (Bruenor Battlehammer).  Give all these big boys their own set of toys and tell them to go play in their own sandbox.  They should be contending with Epic level planar forces.  Dealing with things more fantastic than most people can even imagine.  Helping to maintain balance and order.  I don't think it's an all-bad thing to have some "forces for good" who can provide a safe haven (never completely safe) and a handful of resources under dire circumstances.  Even in a "grittier" world, you still have to have someone who mentors, supports, and shelters you.  Or you won't last long.The harpers just had a big internal struggle and they are breaking off into different groups.  A perfect excuse to minimize, or eliminate, their impact on your campaign.Things to do from 3rd to 10th level:1) Exploration of Dungeons throughout the North.  Pick an object, relic, piece of information, secret to uncover, and place the answer in a handful of wicked-cool dwarven ruins or ancient elven burial grounds.2) Early incursions of humaniods (drow led, deep, deep, deep undercover, but to be discovered).3) Discover what has brought the frenzying barbarian tribes of the North into conflict with the forces of Larue.4) Undermountain.  There's always undermountain.5) Conflicting merchant caravans/nobles vie for control of trade down the Dessarin.  Are there other motives behind this conflict (zhents, etc.)Brooding uber-evils on the rise, "going to hell in a handbasket":1) Shadovar - infiltrating spies throughout the realms, using far superior magical technology, perhaps even replacing key members in leadership positions with Greater Dopplegangers.2) Phaerimm - nothing brightens up a day like a handful of evil archmagi.3) Fey'ri - possible drow alliance?4) Khelben and Laeral go evil...afflicted by the evil artifact, the Crown of Thorns, Khelben has gone renegade, but his closest friends don't believe it.  Secretly, he plots and manipulates his extensive network to cause chaos throughout the north.5) A good sized meteor/disease/diety whallops one of the relative safe-haven's of the north.  I'd recommend Waterdeep, for a variety of reasons.Also see the Waterdeep in Ashes thread.</blockquote>

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