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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Enkhidu" data-source="post: 1512816" data-attributes="member: 351">I'm not so sure I like this one, but the round has the bad timing (for me) of being a night that my 1 year old is running a 102. At least I had multiple reasons to be awake.Here goes:Spring 2004 Iron DM TourneyR2 – M2: Semi-final RoundZappo vs. EnkhiduThe Ingredients: Protected ForumClever TrollSticky ThreadHivemindGame DayOngoing Campaign The Adventure:Noah-where to RunAdventure Notes: Noah-where to Run is a sidetrek style adventure meant for mid to high level PCs. While this adventure works best in campaigns that use psionics, such use is not strictly necessary.SummaryWhile at a huge olympic-style event, the PCs encounter competitors who are much more than what they seem, and get caught up in the possible “rebirth” of a dead mindflayer.BackgroundWhen the mindflayer Q’Rill’q died ten years ago (at the hands of the sons of Gith), he left three legacies: the Amulet of T’Krik, the Black Brigade, and countless newly freed thralls. Most of these body-and-mind slaves died within weeks, but a few – including those more “affected” by the mindflayer’s psychic depredations - managed to survive the predators of the underdark caverns of their former master. These few were damaged in mind and body, and worse, even in death their mindflayer master still held some power over them. The thralls found themselves linked, able to read one another’s feelings and even thoughts as their master had done before. The link drove some away, only to find that they could not escape the thoughts of the others no matter how far they ran, and it drove others mad. Those that lived and kept their minds set out for the surface, and eventually escaped the underdark.Yet even escape to the relative safety of the surface world did not completely erase their psychic scars, nor the danger posed by those who still sought to break the link that bound them all together.Now, on the day of the Great Games, some of those survivors come together to meet and speak face to face, while another waits for his opportunity to destroy them and silence the voices in his head once and for all. The Great GamesThe Great Games are a sexennial one day event that brings together brave and capable souls for a series of competitions that test problem solving skills, bravery, teamwork, and other “heroic” qualities. They are an invitation only affair, and are known to be highly selective.For the purpose of this adventure, most of the events in the Games are left undeveloped, as they bear little impact on the adventure’s progression. While one challenge of the day is loosely outlined below, DM’s are encouraged to include as many other events as they wish. Examples of suitable events can be found in the Alabaster Cup (described in the Complete Warrior) or the  Challenge of Champions events from Dungeon magazine, as well as several 3rd party d20 publisher’s products. However, the contestants of the final event of the day (the “main event” as it is billed) will only be for the winners of the day’s earlier events.Throughout the Games, Rus (see below) will preside over all of the major events. This will provide another clue to the strange goings on later.-The “Web”One event that should be use for this adventure is the “Web” an obstacle course that is one giant artificial spiderweb. It consists of a deep shaft sunk into the earth and a series of tunnels and antechambers below. Across the shafts lie a number of sticky threads that simulate webs. They in all respects are identical to permanent webs (as the spell of the same name), save that they are not flammable. The contest should be a three man team race to recover three objects hidden in the antechambers below. Fastest time wins the event. Ideally, PCs will compete in this event.One of the underground antechambers has been “sealed off” with an illusory wall and is in actuality being prepared for use by the Hivemind for later in the day. PCs with a high enough spot might notice this if they compete.Adventure HooksObviously, if PCs can become involved in this adventure by simply being at the Great Games. Ideally, this will be because they are competing in them.NPCsThe HivemindThis collection of individuals are those that remain of Q’Rill’q’s thralls, and they all share the link. This link is limitless in range, as fast as thought, and completely involuntary. Its members are now of “one mind” and act as a perfect unit in all they do. However, this group disbanded when they reached the surface (in order to both find out about the  world they just rejoined and find a way to end their link), and have not met face to face in years. During this time, the Hivers found that they had a gift for orderly thinking (and in fact their alignment as a whole shifted toward LN) and ended up in governmental positions as clerks and secretaries. And for a long while, they secretly influenced decisions in a dozen duchies and kingdoms.They might have never come together again; however, two events have prompted them to meet face to face: one, the Hive has “lost” several members (both to death, which is particularly painful for the rest of the Hive, and to some other force that simply separated their members from the Hivemind), and two, one of the “separated” brethren (a Gnome named Maldur) has found a Hive member and called them all together to explain how they can free themselves from the link that binds them together. As such, they decided to meet at the Great Games, as one of their number (a Gnome named Rus) is an organizer of the Games.The Hivemind includes persons of both genders, many races (mostly native to the surface) and all professions. Most of the Hivemind’s individuals are NPC classes (experts, commoners, warriors), but it also has a number of standard classed individuals: Crothian (Halfling Sor), Angcuru (Elven Ftr), Ao (Human Rog), Tallok (Dwarven Clr), and Dungannon (Human Wiz) are some of these. The exact makeup of the Hivemind is up to the DM, but the total ECL of the group should be 2 levels higher than that of the PCs (of course, because the Hivemind contains so many low level members, their actual numbers will be quite large – it is conceivable that the  Hivemind could be 50 or 60 strong).The Hivemind provides certain game effects: its spellcasting members can cast spells through one another in a manner identical to that of familiars, the every member of the hivemind uses the Will save of the member with the highest save, and all Knowledge based skills (and several INT and WIS based skills) are shared among the members.”Morrisey”: Freed-thrall Troll (Sorc)One of Q’Rill’q’s thrilled body guards, the troll known as “Morrisey” is not your standard troll. While, in his natural form, he is a bit of a runt (both smaller and weaker than an average troll), he is also quite smart and charismatic for a troll, and has no small skill as a natural spellcaster (Sorcerer levels). He is also quite mad, having been driven so by the bombardment of voices in his head. “Morrisey” long ago forgot his original name; his master owned him body and soul (and in ways still does – see below). While still a thrall, he was a bodyguard to the mindflayer, and was sometimes used as a “suit” for the illithid (with the mindflayer basically possessing the troll in order to use its superior strength to kill and torture as he pleased). When Q’Rill’q died, Morrisey was as lost as all the other thralls: however the rest of what would eventually become the Hivemind shunned him, as they were most often the victims of the mindflayer while he “wore” the troll’s body.Since reaching the surface, Morrisey has become something of a novelty - he has disguised himself as a tall, rangy human, using magic/psionic items to change his appearance (alter selfwands and the like), and has developed a name for himself as an adventurer of some skill, coming back from certain death that his companions succumb to. Unknown to those who think him heroic, he also earns his living as a particularly brutal assassin (something that PCs with the right sort of skills may know). During his “adventures”, he has discovered the value of subtlety and subterfuge, and has become a very clever troll: his preferred MO is now to befriend his target, buff himself with spells and magic items (if necessary), and attack while the target’s guard is down (or while already in a fight). The troll bears all the hallmarks of a sociopath. Strangely enough, Morrisey – while he has never been able to completely shield himself from the barrage of thoughts he is subjected to on a daily basis from the Hivemind – has managed to turn them into “whispers” that do not adversely affect him. Likewise, the Hivemind is not truly connected to the troll, and cannot sense him the way they do their other members. However, if he comes in contact (within 20’) of four or more of the Hivemind’s members, this shielding will fail and he will be subjected to the full horror (for him) of the Hive.Morrisey still remembers the faces of the thralls that make up the Hivemind, and has accepted his invitation to the Great Games because the messenger that delivered the summons was one of their number.Morrisey should have a total ECL of 1 or 2 levels above the PCs.Q’Rill’q: Disembodied MindflayerQ’Rill’q was an illithid who knew how to plan, and long before his death found a way to ensure his eventual rebirth. Upon his death, his mind passed into the network of minds he had created, binding them and creating what would eventually become the Hivemind: since then, he has been on an ongoing campaign to reassemble his former power and eventually reincorporate fully. For a time, he only existed in fleeting impulses, and was not able to manifest his persona in any meaningful way, but recently he has begun exercising his growing power, manifesting himself in the bodies of several of his thralls and controlling them like puppets. This caused havoc on his thralls’ bodies, consuming them utterly, and he abandoned this practice for a while. However, he has finally managed to “wear” one of the thralls – one that the others call Maldur. Currently, Q’Rill’q has totally subsumed Maldur, and is using him to bring the other Hivers together. If he succeeds, he will reestablish his control over his thralls and eventually use their essence to fuel his rebirth. Events on Game DayThe Hivemind Individual members of the Hivemind will compete in the games in order to keep up appearances (in fact, any time an event requires teamwork, it is extremely likely that they will win hands down). However, most of the Hive’s members will serve in more menial ways. In any event, the Hive will see nearly everything that goes on Game Day, and if one of them sees it, they all will.The Hive is planning on meeting the evening of Game Day, during the “main event”, in a secluded and guarded area set up as one of the event courses (the Web, above). In order to scare off intruders, once the meeting begins Dungannon will set a persistent image of a number of large spiders in the Web. If a fight in the Web occurs, he and Crothian will summon fiendish dire spiders to guard the shaft and tunnels while the Hive either retreats (through yet another illusory wall and into a passage that comes up in Rus’ encampment) or fights.In this protected forum they will meet Maldur and discuss. Of course, unbeknownst to the Hive, they will also be ripe for the mindflayer that rides Maldur.MorriseyMorrisey, as a hero of repute, has been invited to the Great Games. He will compete in several of the smaller competitions, and will do well in everything he enters. He will win at least one competition, which will qualify him for the main event late in the day. Morrisey should end up competing against the PCs in at least one event if they compete at all - if this happens, then the troll will make every attempt to “befriend” the PCs, seeing them both as means to get more information about the organizers of the event and as possible targets later on. He will go as far as to offer to join their team if they’re a member short for a certain event (the Web is a perfect event for this). If he can, he will pump them for info about how they got their invites and who delivered them, who they’ve seen, etc. His overriding concern is to find more information about the Games.In any event, Morrisey will discover both the time and the place of the Hive’s meeting, and will be on hand to break up the party minutes after it starts.The Main Event During the final event of the day (which begins at dusk and is full of fanfare – exactly what form the event takes is unimportant to the adventure save that it should draw the largest crowd of the day), Rus will be conspicuously absent, as will Morrisey. Inquiries will reveal that the latter was seen climbing down into the Web at the beginning of the main event.If the PC’s do not interfere, then the Hivemind will meet, only to find that Maldur has been re-thralled by the old master. When this is revealed, Q’Rill’q qill attempt to assert his dominance on the freed thralls, only to find that while his power has grown it has not grown enough. He will manage to re-enslave many of the Hive, but not the most powerful among them (basically any Hive member with PC class levels). No later than two rounds after this happens, Morrisey will enter the antechamber and begin killing everything in site. In the end, it is likely that Q’Rill’q will simply decide to abandon the other thralls and “wear” Morrisey again, which will probably mean doom for the rest of the Hive.If the PCs do interfere (getting by the Webs and the spiders, both illusory and summoned and encountering the ongoing melee), then much depends on a number of factors – if they arrive while Morrisey is still in human form but before Q’Rill’q has re-enthralled him, then he may attempt to get the PCs to fight alongside him, claiming that the others are possessed (which is true, but not in the way he claims). If he has reverted to his true form but has not yet been enthralled, then he will attack them, because they must not escape to tell the rest of the world what he is. If, however, the mindflayer has enthralled him, it will use all of his memories to cook up a suitable story for his form (for, while Morrisey is cunning and clever, Q’Rill’q is a super genius). In any case, once Morrisey comes the Hivemind will attempt to flee if possible, and fight if cornered.AftermathWhile this adventure should be very quick to play through, the PCs should have their hands full dealing with any surviving NPCs. If for example, they fight against Morrisey and he escapes, they will have an enemy skilled in deception and murder. Even if fight alongside Morrisey, it is only a matter of time before he betrays them at a time when they trust him most. Survivors of the Hivemind, whether friend or foe by the end, could end up wielding a great deal of political power and using it for the PCs or against them. And if Q’Rill’q survives and manages to re-incorporate (his mind, if not his body), then they will have an illithid that walks freely on the surface world. Loose ends galore!Quick Recap: Protected Forum: the “Web” event locale and the location of the Hive’s meeting with MaldurClever Troll: Morrisey, a troll skilled in deception and betrayalSticky Thread: the false spiderwebs in the WebHivemind: former mindflayer thralls still linked telepathicallyGame Day: The day of the Great Games, when all the action takes placeOngoing Campaign: Q’Rill’q’s master plan to gather his thralls together and use them to allow his rebirth</blockquote>

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