Stormborn
Explorer
Along the lines of your MacGuffin idea here is something I had written up for a possible campaign:
The Modular Coffin
About 125 years ago Elias Lesten was a necromancer of considerable means, running a thriving magic arms dealership. He was, however, getting old. Most necromancers coming to his stage in life would begin the long ritual of lichdom. There was one small problem, in his adventurous youth Elias had ran afoul of the Black Temple, worshipers of the gods of death. With their enmity assured, any productive state of undeath was unavailable to Elias, so he sought another way. It took years and all of his considerable fortunes but at last he was able to construct a fantastic suit of armor, which when ritually sealed would trap his soul with in his body, allowing him to live forever between life and death.
On the eve of his triumph Elias suffered a heart failure and died. Leaving his six apprentices and son with nothing more than the armor and a staggering amount of debts and a host of enemies. It soon became evident that the seven could not continue to work together without their master’s iron will to keep their own egos in check; and so, rather than begin the inevitable process of betrayal and murder, they parted ways. Each one taking a piece of the master’s greatest work with them.
Wren, the youngest of the apprentices, took a boot and returned to his home, a small mining village a few days away. Life in the city had changed him, and he lusted for power. Using nefarious means he got it and soon was running the small town. Then, Wren made a deal with a local band of kobolds to come in and work the mines for him, hoping to increase production and expand his power base. He used the kobolds to keep check on the disgruntled locals as well. It all ended badly though, and when the kobolds and villages went to war with one another Wren was one of the first to go. The village is now abandoned, but the descendants of the kobolds still live in the mines, and hide within their lair the armor segment.
Joash was a blacksmith, doing most of the mundane work at the shop. It was he that betrayed his master, slipping a potion into Elias’ drink than evening. The others suspected Joash, but none would openly accuse him. Joash quickly fled with his segment, the left leg, down river to the port cities and their planned to take a boat to a far kingdom. His boat, however, ran aground on the rocks of a small island. There the latent power with in the armor segment has transformed him and the other passengers and crew into ghouls that prey upon the islands halfling fishermen.
Kelen, most experienced of the apprentices, took the breastplate and fled to the larger cities of the empire. There he made quiet a name for himself as a powerful necromancer. This attracted the attention of a band of adventurers who, having obtained it, lost it in the city's catcombs while searching for a deadly abberation that was manipulating the city's crime guilds.
While the apprentices fled the city, the son worked hard to restore his family’s fortunes and eventually achieved a degree of success. His heirs now operate one of the more prominent magical arms dealership in the region, supplying both the military and adventurers with weapons, armors, potions, and other magical gear. The latest scion of the line is Miriam Lesten.
Miriam is in late middle age and now longs to retrieve his great grandfather’s armor and complete what Elias started. He has spent several years sending agents through out the land, gathering information on the fleeing apprentices. The trail is old, and long cold, but he has finally scrapped together a few leads. Rather than wasting his personal guards and agents on the actual retrieval, he has decided to hire some likely adventurers to do the job for him. Enter the PCs.
Miriam holds auditions to get the best team he possibly can. Each player and the GM creates 3 PCs that would be fun for anyone to play. Using summoned monsters and mock dungeons their skills are tested and points awarded. Miriam then forms a party from a number of PCs equal to the number of players. The PCs need not be the ones each Player created and the GM is the final arbitrator on who gets what. These groups are sent out to the above locations, and others as they are discovered, to retrive the pieces of the Coffin Armor. If a PC should die, or if a team should fail, Miriam adds the next PCs on the list to the team - and has the resources to send them via Teleport. He gives the PCs a magical compass that points toward the nearest piece of armor and small gong that can be used to signal the following: 2 gongs = mission accomplished, return requested, 3 gongs followed by a pause and then any number of gongs = dead party members send back up as follows (number). Miriam sets a deadline of one week for each part of the mission and will send a new team through if he hasnt heard from them by the end of that time.
Miriam, however, has not been as subtle in his investigations as he might have wished. The Black Temple has also long desired the components of the armor. Having become aware of Miriam’s efforts they will try any means necessary to snatch the armor away from him, including recruit one or more of the PCs.
Miriam’s business rivals do not know what it is he is after, but they know it is something important to him. They desire to acquire it, learn its secrets, or use it as leverage against him.
So, make of that what you will.
The Modular Coffin
About 125 years ago Elias Lesten was a necromancer of considerable means, running a thriving magic arms dealership. He was, however, getting old. Most necromancers coming to his stage in life would begin the long ritual of lichdom. There was one small problem, in his adventurous youth Elias had ran afoul of the Black Temple, worshipers of the gods of death. With their enmity assured, any productive state of undeath was unavailable to Elias, so he sought another way. It took years and all of his considerable fortunes but at last he was able to construct a fantastic suit of armor, which when ritually sealed would trap his soul with in his body, allowing him to live forever between life and death.
On the eve of his triumph Elias suffered a heart failure and died. Leaving his six apprentices and son with nothing more than the armor and a staggering amount of debts and a host of enemies. It soon became evident that the seven could not continue to work together without their master’s iron will to keep their own egos in check; and so, rather than begin the inevitable process of betrayal and murder, they parted ways. Each one taking a piece of the master’s greatest work with them.
Wren, the youngest of the apprentices, took a boot and returned to his home, a small mining village a few days away. Life in the city had changed him, and he lusted for power. Using nefarious means he got it and soon was running the small town. Then, Wren made a deal with a local band of kobolds to come in and work the mines for him, hoping to increase production and expand his power base. He used the kobolds to keep check on the disgruntled locals as well. It all ended badly though, and when the kobolds and villages went to war with one another Wren was one of the first to go. The village is now abandoned, but the descendants of the kobolds still live in the mines, and hide within their lair the armor segment.
Joash was a blacksmith, doing most of the mundane work at the shop. It was he that betrayed his master, slipping a potion into Elias’ drink than evening. The others suspected Joash, but none would openly accuse him. Joash quickly fled with his segment, the left leg, down river to the port cities and their planned to take a boat to a far kingdom. His boat, however, ran aground on the rocks of a small island. There the latent power with in the armor segment has transformed him and the other passengers and crew into ghouls that prey upon the islands halfling fishermen.
Kelen, most experienced of the apprentices, took the breastplate and fled to the larger cities of the empire. There he made quiet a name for himself as a powerful necromancer. This attracted the attention of a band of adventurers who, having obtained it, lost it in the city's catcombs while searching for a deadly abberation that was manipulating the city's crime guilds.
While the apprentices fled the city, the son worked hard to restore his family’s fortunes and eventually achieved a degree of success. His heirs now operate one of the more prominent magical arms dealership in the region, supplying both the military and adventurers with weapons, armors, potions, and other magical gear. The latest scion of the line is Miriam Lesten.
Miriam is in late middle age and now longs to retrieve his great grandfather’s armor and complete what Elias started. He has spent several years sending agents through out the land, gathering information on the fleeing apprentices. The trail is old, and long cold, but he has finally scrapped together a few leads. Rather than wasting his personal guards and agents on the actual retrieval, he has decided to hire some likely adventurers to do the job for him. Enter the PCs.
Miriam holds auditions to get the best team he possibly can. Each player and the GM creates 3 PCs that would be fun for anyone to play. Using summoned monsters and mock dungeons their skills are tested and points awarded. Miriam then forms a party from a number of PCs equal to the number of players. The PCs need not be the ones each Player created and the GM is the final arbitrator on who gets what. These groups are sent out to the above locations, and others as they are discovered, to retrive the pieces of the Coffin Armor. If a PC should die, or if a team should fail, Miriam adds the next PCs on the list to the team - and has the resources to send them via Teleport. He gives the PCs a magical compass that points toward the nearest piece of armor and small gong that can be used to signal the following: 2 gongs = mission accomplished, return requested, 3 gongs followed by a pause and then any number of gongs = dead party members send back up as follows (number). Miriam sets a deadline of one week for each part of the mission and will send a new team through if he hasnt heard from them by the end of that time.
Miriam, however, has not been as subtle in his investigations as he might have wished. The Black Temple has also long desired the components of the armor. Having become aware of Miriam’s efforts they will try any means necessary to snatch the armor away from him, including recruit one or more of the PCs.
Miriam’s business rivals do not know what it is he is after, but they know it is something important to him. They desire to acquire it, learn its secrets, or use it as leverage against him.
So, make of that what you will.
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