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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Imperialus" data-source="post: 4739303" data-attributes="member: 893">Going to follow it pretty close... There will likely only be a couple of cult members in the larger clan, just a couple halflings who've been kidnapped and charmed while out gathering herbs anyhow.  This hasn't drawn a great deal of suspicion since quite often the gatherers will spend several nights in the swamp before returning home.The smaller clan will have a lot more cult members, probably closer to 80%.  The PC's will discover that the clan leader returned after having 'escaped' the clutches of the lizardmen and has been stirring up hostility against the larger clan as well as telling the other halflings of a vision he had of the 'swamp god' during his ordeal.  He's ordered the cultists to begin gathering different herbs and stockpiling them at the behest of this swamp god with promises that he can provide them with a better life.Overall I'm going to try and keep the same feel as the original adventure.  I'll need to change some stuff around.  The small clan likely wouldn't have an inn (nevermind two) so instead they might get put up in a common house with the same result.  I want to include the church, but I'll need to play with it to make it 'folkier'.  After all these halflings were never terribly 'civilized' to begin with.  I'm actually thinking that the small clan at least (which is where the corrupted temple would be) are actually centered around the worship of primal creatures through druids.  There will also be a lot fewer 'former adventurers' wandering around.  The halflings will be capable fighters (they need to be to survive the swamp) but not adventurers.I like the idea of having having a few members of the large clan stealing food (or herbs) from the smaller clan too.  You're right that would add a cool plot twist and add some shades of grey to the whole situation.The actual cult leader I was going to make a Young Black Dragon.  He fits the 'swampy' theme more IMO and unlike 1st ed I could actually throw them up against a dragon at 3rd level.  The charm spell would be provided by a ritual that he has access to.  The Lizardmen, and now the Halfling cultists having been put to work gathering ingredients for it.After defeating the dragon the PC's will learn that the ritual was given to the dragon by another outsider, and that it in turn is one of the rituals stolen from the Grey Wardens during the war.  This will give them the incentive to track the dragons source down (since recovering the rituals is the overarching 'goal' of the heroic tier of the campaign) and it might even make them start to question what exactly the rituals used by their patron organization entail.  After all there's some pretty powerful mind control at work here and the only reason it wasn't used on them is because the rituals were stolen 15-20 years ago.The cool thing about the whole plot though is that even the Lizardmen aren't evil.  They're just under the control of the dragon.  The halflings rely on the Lizardmen to trade stuff that only grows in the deepest parts of the swamp and the lizardmen rely on the halflings to provide them with stuff like metal tools and weapons.  If the PC's charge in swords swinging, they could upset that balance and have everyone end up dead or unable to support themselves.</blockquote>

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