Ovinomancer
No flips for you!
OK, here’s the sit. We have to save the world (cliché, I know). We have just received the information necessary to take the fight to the BBEG and solve our little problem once and for all. Here’s a little background:
~2000 years ago, our world was ruled by demons and devils. They had cut a bargain with the gods, and through a loophole, claimed dominion over the land. All sentient races were enslaved. A slave revolt arose, and through cunning and luck, managed to seal away the outsiders by conducting a ritual involving 5 keys: a gate, a bowl, a knife, a stone, and the blood of a spellfire wielder. Outsiders 0, slaves 1.
Jump ahead 2000+ years. Current day. An organization of truly wacko individuals has been slowing accumulating the necessary means to undo the ritual and bring about the return of the outsiders. No good idea why they think this is a good thing, but there you go. They call themselves the Dark Spire. Enter the heroes: a motley collection of unlikely heroes that there ever was. We have spent a long year uncovering the plot of the Dark Spire, starting with the abduction of two children who possess spellfire. Along the way, we have located and secured the original key for the ceremony, along with an instruction manual/history book that details the ritual and the times leading up to it. A good read, if you don’t mind learning that all you know is based on a lie, and that the Gods are not perfect, and have not always been there (so to speak). We have just finished obtaining the last key, and have set about learning as much as possible about the ritual, and where the Spire is in their attempt to undo it (they have made copies of the keys, and have the children for the spellfire).
As far as we can figure, the Spire is anywhere from 1 day to 6 months away from completing the anti-ritual and getting their way. Given that our DM is a rat bastard, but does want to screw his whole campaign up (pardon the meta), we have a little time to get into position. Here’s the problem: letting everyone know the world as about to end, especially from a group of no account adventures, is bound to cause problems. Various heads of state (Elves, Dwarves, Humans) are aware of our mission and are sympathetic to our cause (the world ending, no duh), but, for the about reason, cannot give full fledged aid. So, we have some assets, but can’t generate an army. In our favor, though, is that we have discovered a way to perfect the original ritual, and solve the problem on a permanent basis. We just have to get to the gate, which is in the middle of the Spire base, on a cliff face, and have enough time to perform the ~2 hour ritual that might just kill everything within a 200 miles radius. No prob, we’re HEROES!
What I would like from the boards is any thoughts on how to disrupt an organization that we know very little about, don’t know who the leaders are, and don’t know the layout of their base camp. Any thoughts on how to learn info, strike team targets, etc would be good. We have a limited budget, but may be able to procure items from the various nations, if we can prove their usefulness. The enemy is well prepared, has powerful mages, and, we assume clerics, and has been scrying the party on a regular basis. By the way, the gate itself is a divination sink, so it is difficult, if not impossible, to scry near its location. Also, the gods, as per the contract they agreed to, cannot provide assistance directly as it pertains to the ritual or those performing it, so divinations and communes are out also.
Sorry for the long post, but any thoughts would be welcome!!!
PS we are about 14th level party average, with a straight cleric and a straight wizard, just to help things along.
~2000 years ago, our world was ruled by demons and devils. They had cut a bargain with the gods, and through a loophole, claimed dominion over the land. All sentient races were enslaved. A slave revolt arose, and through cunning and luck, managed to seal away the outsiders by conducting a ritual involving 5 keys: a gate, a bowl, a knife, a stone, and the blood of a spellfire wielder. Outsiders 0, slaves 1.
Jump ahead 2000+ years. Current day. An organization of truly wacko individuals has been slowing accumulating the necessary means to undo the ritual and bring about the return of the outsiders. No good idea why they think this is a good thing, but there you go. They call themselves the Dark Spire. Enter the heroes: a motley collection of unlikely heroes that there ever was. We have spent a long year uncovering the plot of the Dark Spire, starting with the abduction of two children who possess spellfire. Along the way, we have located and secured the original key for the ceremony, along with an instruction manual/history book that details the ritual and the times leading up to it. A good read, if you don’t mind learning that all you know is based on a lie, and that the Gods are not perfect, and have not always been there (so to speak). We have just finished obtaining the last key, and have set about learning as much as possible about the ritual, and where the Spire is in their attempt to undo it (they have made copies of the keys, and have the children for the spellfire).
As far as we can figure, the Spire is anywhere from 1 day to 6 months away from completing the anti-ritual and getting their way. Given that our DM is a rat bastard, but does want to screw his whole campaign up (pardon the meta), we have a little time to get into position. Here’s the problem: letting everyone know the world as about to end, especially from a group of no account adventures, is bound to cause problems. Various heads of state (Elves, Dwarves, Humans) are aware of our mission and are sympathetic to our cause (the world ending, no duh), but, for the about reason, cannot give full fledged aid. So, we have some assets, but can’t generate an army. In our favor, though, is that we have discovered a way to perfect the original ritual, and solve the problem on a permanent basis. We just have to get to the gate, which is in the middle of the Spire base, on a cliff face, and have enough time to perform the ~2 hour ritual that might just kill everything within a 200 miles radius. No prob, we’re HEROES!
What I would like from the boards is any thoughts on how to disrupt an organization that we know very little about, don’t know who the leaders are, and don’t know the layout of their base camp. Any thoughts on how to learn info, strike team targets, etc would be good. We have a limited budget, but may be able to procure items from the various nations, if we can prove their usefulness. The enemy is well prepared, has powerful mages, and, we assume clerics, and has been scrying the party on a regular basis. By the way, the gate itself is a divination sink, so it is difficult, if not impossible, to scry near its location. Also, the gods, as per the contract they agreed to, cannot provide assistance directly as it pertains to the ritual or those performing it, so divinations and communes are out also.
Sorry for the long post, but any thoughts would be welcome!!!
PS we are about 14th level party average, with a straight cleric and a straight wizard, just to help things along.
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
