IRON DM revival!
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Re: Re: Tuerny vs alsih2o
Yeah, I spent most of my time researching irony.
I think that it is more than normal feelings however. I think that I could have done much better with, for example, Rune and Griswold's ingredients. Those just scream interesting adventure ideas in ways that tasty pudding never will. ;-)
alsih2o said:
i, personally struggled terribly with this one, always coming up with a story more than an adventure. i felt this set of ingredients was tougher then the others, but i suspect that that is a normal feeling when it is your turn
Yeah, I spent most of my time researching irony.
I think that it is more than normal feelings however. I think that I could have done much better with, for example, Rune and Griswold's ingredients. Those just scream interesting adventure ideas in ways that tasty pudding never will. ;-)
Lordnightshade
First Post
Rune: Shadow Dragon CR: Wyrmling 2; very young 3; young 5; juvi 7; young adult 10; adult 12; mature adult 15; old 17; very old 18; ancient 20; wyrm 21; great wyrm 23.
Alignment is Always Chaotic Evil
Anything else you need?
[edit] Not quick enough... hehe oops...
Alignment is Always Chaotic Evil
Anything else you need?
[edit] Not quick enough... hehe oops...
Last edited:
seasong
First Post
Rat Bastards: I've posted my interview in your thread, with a scenario I'm reasonably proud of (for a few hours work).
Tuerny: Congratulations. I hope to face off with you at some point with ingredients more to your liking
.
Tuerny: Congratulations. I hope to face off with you at some point with ingredients more to your liking
.
Last edited:
Rune
Once A Fool
The Fishy God[/ b]
Ingredients:
A Primer on the Pantheon:
Dagon’s reach is far. It extends into the Astral, where sects of Githzerai Monks worship him in massive temples. His reach extends also into the Shadow, where Dark temples house his followers. So, too, does the Prime offer up sacrifices to Dagon, the Fish-God, where the astral and the shadow meet.
Once, Dagon was but a simple god of agriculture; he was a bastion against the wilderness, an immense tower of civilization in the wilds. This is how his power waxed enough to dominate his pantheon. As the world urbanized, Dagon’s sphere of influence grew. All of the elder Gods, the creators, have, long ago, yielded to the Fish-God, or perished to his hosts.
One slight problem has arisen with his schemes of power, however; Dagon is dead. Fortunately, most of the rest of the Pantheon doesn’t know it, yet.
In his place, a creature of the Far Realm stands, clothed in the image of the dead God. It is the Shadow Dagon. Its likeness is so imperceptible that the other gods, powerful as they may be, cannot distinguish this Shadow Dagon from the true, dead Dagon.
...Except that this Shadow Dagon has no divine power. At all. It is a dangerous game that this false god plays, for the other gods of Dagon’s pantheon are also native to the Far Realm. Many suspect the true nature of the Shadow Dagon. Others...know.
Here, begins our adventure:
This adventure is intended to be used as a diversionary scenario from the current campaign. The PCs may begin this adventure while on any errand, as long as they are traveling through a wilderness that can support standing water (that is, probably not a desert) at some point. Most of this adventure will take place on a demiplane created specifically for the trial that is to come. The PCs should comprise a party of around 4 level 10 characters.
The adventure begins with the encounter of three groups of pilgrims in the wilderness.
One group, the largest, is made up of some fifty Prime-mortals, mostly human clerics. The second group consists of about twenty Githzerai Monks, most with levels in cleric. The final group consists of but a single entity, an adult shadow dragon. Every member of the pilgrimage wears a strange icon—that of a half man-half fish, save for the conspicuous shadow dragon. These are worshippers of Dagon, who have each seen a vision of the god’s death in this wilderness, which they do not comprehend. All of these worshippers are unusual in all three planes; Dagon’s reach is wide, but he is no longer widely remembered. Nor, for that matter, is the rest of his pantheon.
With each person, the vision varied, but in all cases, the image of Dagon was clearly seen falling through the earth into a wide, but shallow, pool. The pilgrims are all traveling to this pool and should, keeping their current pace, reach it in the early afternoon. The pool, specifically, is the spot that Dagon was killed, but more importantly, the fine sand that lines the bed of the pool is all that remains of the dead god. An observer will quickly note that the shadows of countless fish flit along the fine sand, but the pool is most certainly empty.
Each of the worshippers have lost all granted divine abilities and spells, but most choose to believe that Dagon has found disfavor with them. Only a few dare mutter musings closer to the truth.
Most of the pilgrims will treat the PCs civilly, provided that the PCs don’t provoke them by insulting them or, especially, eating fish in front of them. Two of the pilgrims are not disposed to be so generous, however, and are actively hostile toward the PCs; they attempt to instigate trouble at every opportunity. One of these is a Githzerai Monk, who identifies himself with the uninspired name, "Human-bane." The other is the Shadow Dragon, whose name is just beyond the limit of mortal speech.
"Human-bane" has a grievance against the "lesser races" of the Prime, particularly humans, because he was once held captive for a dozen years in a dungeon in a human city. He was constantly infuriated that such an inferior race could overpower and dominate him for so long. Like many who hate, he is quick to categorize broadly and overlook specific cases. Demihumans are not much better to "Human-bane" than humans. He is a githzerai monk10/cleric(with no powers)5.
The shadow dragon, on the other hand, is just a jerk. More precisely, he is just a very big bully. In fact, being chaotic evil, the shadow dragon can't actually even be a cleric of the Fish-God, who was lawful evil. The shadow dragon is an Adult with no levels in anything, whose worshipping of Dagon has always manifested itself, primarily, in the collection of sacrifices. His choice of deity resulted from a brush with death when he was very young, from which he was saved by some worshippers of the Fish-God.
As is often the case with such individuals, an underlying low self-esteem has caused them to join together as compatriots. They are not friends, but they seek social affirmation for their cruelty within each other.
If the PCs travel with the pilgrims, these two NPCs will attempt to provoke the party into a fight almost constantly. Should the PCs fight the two individuals, the rest of the pilgrims will stand back to watch; they are not permitted to engage in combat against the other worshippers of Dagon, but they are getting tired of the two pilgrims' foolishness.
If the PCs are winning the fight against "Human-bane" and the shadow dragon, they will disengage short of death, if they can. They will show no mercy to the PCs, even performing coup de grace attacks on fallen PCs, if they get the opportunity.
If the PCs do not travel with the pilgrims, "Human-bane" will become especially suspicious of them and will double back to harry them, enlisting the aid of his dragon ally. When they catch up to the PCs, combat is inevitable, and the results will likely be lethal. If the PCs kill "Human-bane" and the Shadow Dragon, they will immediately find themselves falling into a deep slumber, from which, they will awaken in a demiplane constructed by the gods of Dagon’s pantheon as a type of court.
If the PCs do not kill, or do not fight at all, the Shadow Dragon and the Monk, they will awaken in the demiplane of the court after their natural slumber. By morning, the Shadow Dragon and the Monk are dead and the PCs will be on trial. And their accuser really doesn’t care if they are guilty or not.
In the Balance:
Once in the demiplane, the PCs will find that they are confronted with a massive scale, ornately decorated, but unbalanced. In one side, two unusual coins rest, one far larger than the other, but both massive. The smaller of the two is minted with the image of a githzerai wracked in pain. The other is of a dragon, similarly contorted.
Shadowy figures ebb and flow on the fringes of the vision of any mortal observers; these are the gods of Dagon’s pantheon. They speak in whispered voices that echo through the mind, usually in tongues so unsuited for the mortal mind that all who hear them must make an immediate Will save against DC 20 or suffer 1d6 points of subdual damage. This save must be made every round that the PCs stand before the gods, whether successful, or not.
The PCs will quickly learn that they are on trial for the murder of these two worshippers of Dagon. Dagon is, in fact, their accuser. His solution is a simple one; the balance that has been disrupted by the murder of his worshippers must be regained by placing the PCs on the other end of the scale. First, of course, they will have to be minted into coins.
If this were the crux of the trial, it would be over immediately, of course, especially if the PC actually did kill the two worshippers. The truth is, however, that the PCs aren’t the ones who are really on trial. Rather, it is Dagon, or, more accurately, the Shadow Dagon, who is being tried. The members of Dagon’s pantheon, those defeated and relieved of equal shares in power can sense that Dagon seems to have lost his power and are taking the opportunity to dethrone him.
In order to maintain the (admittedly, lopsided) balance of power that Dagon has built up, the Shadow Dagon needs to prove that no power has been lost. If the slayers of his worshippers do not go punished, he has clearly lost even the most rudimentary powers.
Of course, the Shadow Dagon is, relatively speaking, pretty powerless. Consequently, it is not concerned in the slightest with finding out who killed the worshippers, or why. The PCs are likely suspects (whether actually guilty, or not) and the Shadow Dagon intends to rush them toward death as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, the other gods don't want this to happen, especially the two who actually murdered Dagon.
They will do everything in their power (which is quite a bit) in order to delay the outcome of the PCs' trial. After many hours, the trial will be adjourned and the PCs will be allowed to roam the demiplane as they will—in another dozen hours, they will be summoned to the scale, once again.
While the PCs are free, they may choose to do several things, some of which might include
Concluding the adventure:
If the PCs are successful in aiding the gods in exposing the Shadow Dagon as a false Dagon, they will be rewarded with their lives and will be returned to their home plane. The gods, while cruel, cold, and alien, are not without a sense of humor, however, and the PCs will not return empty handed. The gods will send with them the two massive gold coins. These coins are solid gold, save for the skeletons inside of them, and are large enough to sink even the strongest economy.
Furthermore, as a final gesture of malicious good-will, the gods will gift the PCs with piles and piles of fish. Of course, this will greatly trouble and displease any pilgrims who still happen to be around, when the PCs return, but, hey. What’s a little salt in an open wound to the gods?
Even if the PCs are minted into coins and weighed in the balance, the Shadow Dagon's trial is not over. The only end that it will ever have, really, is death--the other gods are just waiting for some kind of slip-up.
Ingredients:
- Fine sand
- Shadow Dagon
- A dead God
- Unusual coins
- Githzerai Monk
- Maintaining balance
A Primer on the Pantheon:
Dagon’s reach is far. It extends into the Astral, where sects of Githzerai Monks worship him in massive temples. His reach extends also into the Shadow, where Dark temples house his followers. So, too, does the Prime offer up sacrifices to Dagon, the Fish-God, where the astral and the shadow meet.
Once, Dagon was but a simple god of agriculture; he was a bastion against the wilderness, an immense tower of civilization in the wilds. This is how his power waxed enough to dominate his pantheon. As the world urbanized, Dagon’s sphere of influence grew. All of the elder Gods, the creators, have, long ago, yielded to the Fish-God, or perished to his hosts.
One slight problem has arisen with his schemes of power, however; Dagon is dead. Fortunately, most of the rest of the Pantheon doesn’t know it, yet.
In his place, a creature of the Far Realm stands, clothed in the image of the dead God. It is the Shadow Dagon. Its likeness is so imperceptible that the other gods, powerful as they may be, cannot distinguish this Shadow Dagon from the true, dead Dagon.
...Except that this Shadow Dagon has no divine power. At all. It is a dangerous game that this false god plays, for the other gods of Dagon’s pantheon are also native to the Far Realm. Many suspect the true nature of the Shadow Dagon. Others...know.
Here, begins our adventure:
This adventure is intended to be used as a diversionary scenario from the current campaign. The PCs may begin this adventure while on any errand, as long as they are traveling through a wilderness that can support standing water (that is, probably not a desert) at some point. Most of this adventure will take place on a demiplane created specifically for the trial that is to come. The PCs should comprise a party of around 4 level 10 characters.
The adventure begins with the encounter of three groups of pilgrims in the wilderness.
One group, the largest, is made up of some fifty Prime-mortals, mostly human clerics. The second group consists of about twenty Githzerai Monks, most with levels in cleric. The final group consists of but a single entity, an adult shadow dragon. Every member of the pilgrimage wears a strange icon—that of a half man-half fish, save for the conspicuous shadow dragon. These are worshippers of Dagon, who have each seen a vision of the god’s death in this wilderness, which they do not comprehend. All of these worshippers are unusual in all three planes; Dagon’s reach is wide, but he is no longer widely remembered. Nor, for that matter, is the rest of his pantheon.
With each person, the vision varied, but in all cases, the image of Dagon was clearly seen falling through the earth into a wide, but shallow, pool. The pilgrims are all traveling to this pool and should, keeping their current pace, reach it in the early afternoon. The pool, specifically, is the spot that Dagon was killed, but more importantly, the fine sand that lines the bed of the pool is all that remains of the dead god. An observer will quickly note that the shadows of countless fish flit along the fine sand, but the pool is most certainly empty.
Each of the worshippers have lost all granted divine abilities and spells, but most choose to believe that Dagon has found disfavor with them. Only a few dare mutter musings closer to the truth.
Most of the pilgrims will treat the PCs civilly, provided that the PCs don’t provoke them by insulting them or, especially, eating fish in front of them. Two of the pilgrims are not disposed to be so generous, however, and are actively hostile toward the PCs; they attempt to instigate trouble at every opportunity. One of these is a Githzerai Monk, who identifies himself with the uninspired name, "Human-bane." The other is the Shadow Dragon, whose name is just beyond the limit of mortal speech.
"Human-bane" has a grievance against the "lesser races" of the Prime, particularly humans, because he was once held captive for a dozen years in a dungeon in a human city. He was constantly infuriated that such an inferior race could overpower and dominate him for so long. Like many who hate, he is quick to categorize broadly and overlook specific cases. Demihumans are not much better to "Human-bane" than humans. He is a githzerai monk10/cleric(with no powers)5.
The shadow dragon, on the other hand, is just a jerk. More precisely, he is just a very big bully. In fact, being chaotic evil, the shadow dragon can't actually even be a cleric of the Fish-God, who was lawful evil. The shadow dragon is an Adult with no levels in anything, whose worshipping of Dagon has always manifested itself, primarily, in the collection of sacrifices. His choice of deity resulted from a brush with death when he was very young, from which he was saved by some worshippers of the Fish-God.
As is often the case with such individuals, an underlying low self-esteem has caused them to join together as compatriots. They are not friends, but they seek social affirmation for their cruelty within each other.
If the PCs travel with the pilgrims, these two NPCs will attempt to provoke the party into a fight almost constantly. Should the PCs fight the two individuals, the rest of the pilgrims will stand back to watch; they are not permitted to engage in combat against the other worshippers of Dagon, but they are getting tired of the two pilgrims' foolishness.
If the PCs are winning the fight against "Human-bane" and the shadow dragon, they will disengage short of death, if they can. They will show no mercy to the PCs, even performing coup de grace attacks on fallen PCs, if they get the opportunity.
If the PCs do not travel with the pilgrims, "Human-bane" will become especially suspicious of them and will double back to harry them, enlisting the aid of his dragon ally. When they catch up to the PCs, combat is inevitable, and the results will likely be lethal. If the PCs kill "Human-bane" and the Shadow Dragon, they will immediately find themselves falling into a deep slumber, from which, they will awaken in a demiplane constructed by the gods of Dagon’s pantheon as a type of court.
If the PCs do not kill, or do not fight at all, the Shadow Dragon and the Monk, they will awaken in the demiplane of the court after their natural slumber. By morning, the Shadow Dragon and the Monk are dead and the PCs will be on trial. And their accuser really doesn’t care if they are guilty or not.
In the Balance:
Once in the demiplane, the PCs will find that they are confronted with a massive scale, ornately decorated, but unbalanced. In one side, two unusual coins rest, one far larger than the other, but both massive. The smaller of the two is minted with the image of a githzerai wracked in pain. The other is of a dragon, similarly contorted.
Shadowy figures ebb and flow on the fringes of the vision of any mortal observers; these are the gods of Dagon’s pantheon. They speak in whispered voices that echo through the mind, usually in tongues so unsuited for the mortal mind that all who hear them must make an immediate Will save against DC 20 or suffer 1d6 points of subdual damage. This save must be made every round that the PCs stand before the gods, whether successful, or not.
The PCs will quickly learn that they are on trial for the murder of these two worshippers of Dagon. Dagon is, in fact, their accuser. His solution is a simple one; the balance that has been disrupted by the murder of his worshippers must be regained by placing the PCs on the other end of the scale. First, of course, they will have to be minted into coins.
If this were the crux of the trial, it would be over immediately, of course, especially if the PC actually did kill the two worshippers. The truth is, however, that the PCs aren’t the ones who are really on trial. Rather, it is Dagon, or, more accurately, the Shadow Dagon, who is being tried. The members of Dagon’s pantheon, those defeated and relieved of equal shares in power can sense that Dagon seems to have lost his power and are taking the opportunity to dethrone him.
In order to maintain the (admittedly, lopsided) balance of power that Dagon has built up, the Shadow Dagon needs to prove that no power has been lost. If the slayers of his worshippers do not go punished, he has clearly lost even the most rudimentary powers.
Of course, the Shadow Dagon is, relatively speaking, pretty powerless. Consequently, it is not concerned in the slightest with finding out who killed the worshippers, or why. The PCs are likely suspects (whether actually guilty, or not) and the Shadow Dagon intends to rush them toward death as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, the other gods don't want this to happen, especially the two who actually murdered Dagon.
They will do everything in their power (which is quite a bit) in order to delay the outcome of the PCs' trial. After many hours, the trial will be adjourned and the PCs will be allowed to roam the demiplane as they will—in another dozen hours, they will be summoned to the scale, once again.
While the PCs are free, they may choose to do several things, some of which might include
- ...the exploration of the demiplane. Should the PCs choose to do this, they will find that it is not as featureless and dark as it at first appears. After half an hour of walking in any single direction, they will begin to see that the demiplane echoes the landscapes of their own world. Except the influences of the Far Realms still creep through; massive tentacles break the forest lines and the mountain ranges and the sun crawls from west to east through the sky. Observant PCs may begin to guess that this demiplane is closely related to the Far Realm.
- ...an inquisition of the gods. This is particularly risky, as none of the gods will appreciate being addressed directly by mortals, but each will answer according to its motives, that is, if the gods believe that answering the mortals will help to bring about the downfall of Dagon, they will do so (although not necessarily truthfully). The Shadow Dagon, of course, will answer no questions. The only thing keeping it from attacking the mortals outright is the fact that Dagon’s sphere of influence included civilization and order. The two murderers of Dagon will not , under any circumstances, admit to murdering the Fish-God. This would bring suspicion and distrust down upon their heads, were it known.
- ...an attack on the gods. As this isn't really a viable option, the deities in this adventure have not been given stats (if, indeed, deities should even be given statistics). However, if the DM feels the need to provide stats for the gods, it is suggested that the power level far exceed that of the party. This option should be pretty obviously suicide.
- ...an attack on the Shadow Dagon. If the PCs figure out the truth about the Shadow Dagon, they may decide that they could possibly win a fight against it. Certainly, the other gods would be pleased to see this happen. They will not, however join the fight under any circumstance. In their minds, at least, if the PCs are killed outside of the trial, the deaths of Dagon's worshippers have not gone avenged and Dagon loses the trial. If the PCs somehow defeat Dagon (the two murderers know that this is possible, because they know that the Shadow Dagon is an imposter), the gods are rid of Dagon permanently.
- ...a retreat. If the PCs have the ability to leave the demiplane through magical means, there is nothing stopping them from doing so (unless they try to do it in front the Shadow Dagon, who will attempt to put a stop to it by any means at its disposal). In fact, the other gods would be very pleased if this were to happen, they would take such an event as a clear failure on the part of Dagon to defend his own worshippers. The only rewards that the PCs will gain, here, however, are life and freedom. Should the PCs attempt to regain entrance into the demiplane, they will find that relocating and entering the demiplane to be quite impossible. This means that having part of the party escape to find reinforcements (perhaps because only part of the party is able to escape) is not necessarily a viable option.
The Shadow Dagon is a Chaotic Evil Outsider Aberration (lots of tentacles, but mostly just for show) that is, in most respects, the equivalent of a level 15 human rogue. However, every round spent in contact with the Shadow Dagon (for instance, every round spent engaged in combat with the Shadow Dagon), the characters lose a little bit of their sanity. This is represented by dealing 1d6 subdual points each round unless a successful Will save at DC 30 is made.
Concluding the adventure:
If the PCs are successful in aiding the gods in exposing the Shadow Dagon as a false Dagon, they will be rewarded with their lives and will be returned to their home plane. The gods, while cruel, cold, and alien, are not without a sense of humor, however, and the PCs will not return empty handed. The gods will send with them the two massive gold coins. These coins are solid gold, save for the skeletons inside of them, and are large enough to sink even the strongest economy.
Furthermore, as a final gesture of malicious good-will, the gods will gift the PCs with piles and piles of fish. Of course, this will greatly trouble and displease any pilgrims who still happen to be around, when the PCs return, but, hey. What’s a little salt in an open wound to the gods?
Even if the PCs are minted into coins and weighed in the balance, the Shadow Dagon's trial is not over. The only end that it will ever have, really, is death--the other gods are just waiting for some kind of slip-up.
Excellent, seasong.Hey mmadsen, I just critiqued your sample scenario over in the home game. I know it was just a sample, but Psion's was already critiqued out
Let's get to it, people! And, alsih2o, I heard you! I'm expecting two brilliant submissions in the home game thread...Also, standing offer: if anyone liked what I did to mmadsen's sample, post something in the home game over the next day or two and I'll try to post an appropriately nemmerlesque critique. I've got to keep myself busy while I'm waiting for incognito's second round.
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