DonAdam
Explorer
If any of my players happen to be on this board, never ever look at this thread.
My 2-schoolyear old FR Harper campaign is about to enter its 3rd and final year.
The big conclusion to the campaign involves the prince of the Shades trying to recreate the magical ritual that Karsus used (detailed in Lords of Darkness). I actually came up with the shades doing it long before I had that book, but then I found out that one had tried it already, which has worked out perfectly.
What Karsus (an ancient Netherese wizard) did was to try to merge himself with Mystra (the old one), almost destroying the Weave. High Prince Telamont (ruler of the shades) is going to try the same thing, in an effort to kill Mystra, leaving only the Shadow Weave.
He's going to succeed, but the player characters are first going to have an opportunity to create a "mini-weave" around themselves that will leave them as the only non-Shadow-weavers able to use magic on Faerun.
I intend on using the Book of Eldritch Might 3 extensively in this game. I'm rewriting Realms cosmology a bit to make the Nexus Mystra's domain. The different sites will be on different planes, with Mystra (aka the Weave) ordering the planar energies that power magic; the Shadow Weave is being explained as an alternate way of ordering those energies.
So the players are going to end up in the Nexus, and find out that there is a catatonic avatar of the old (LN) Mystra floating out there somewhere.
However, they will need the materials by which they can perform the ceremony to bring back that avatar. That's where hopping to the different Nexus sites (planes) comes in.
I would like each site to take no more than 2 sessions, and each one to "feature" one or two of the characters, since they'll each be getting some kind of uber haus artifact along the way (so that they can survive the showdown with the 35th level Talamont at the end for a few rounds). Here are the characters:
Aseid- cali
e fighter/sorc/dragon disciple (red dragon); he already has his big item, a sword made from the meteorite of a world that the shades destroyed, but he will need it to pick up some kind of extra properties at the end (it's been growing in power throughout the campaign)
Beldizar- an elven monk/wiz (shining hand of Azuth); he's using a prestige class that I wrote for his order, and I think I've got him covered (see below)
Bjorn- a waterdhavian courtier (Rokugan)- he's "the fop," unstoppable in social situations but very goofy all around; I need something for him very, very heavy on roleplaying, preferrably of a swashbuckling bent
Darthnos- elven druid of Mielikki (also has a cohort elven cleric of Angaradh, but they can just take one adventure); this isn't the typical druid, he's one of if not the most pure-hearted characters I've ever seen roleplayed
Ian- a librarian from Silverymoon, Psion (shaper); he just recently entered a mindscape for the first time, and had a big hulking demon of an avatar; he's going to discover that he's the descendant of Shar, who is trying to bring him over to the Shadow Weave so that she can build up a group of Shadow Weave psions (psionics is just a third form of magic); I've almost got an idea for him (see below)
Gimble- a gnome trapsmith (rogue) that was a spy in the party for Khelben's organization, but has since repented and changed his ways; he's very into complex mechanical stuff, and acts much more like a dwarf; he's very serious and taciturn, having been raised in Mithril Hall
They'll all be 9th-10th level by the time we get to this part of the adventure.
*whew* Still here? Alright, here's what little I have in terms of adventures for these various locations. What I'm looking for is more ideas (especially if they let me alter published modules) for adventures for these places.
The Nexus: The last leg of the campaign will be kicked off here; I'm thinking that the characters will find Azuth (deprived of his power) and get into a hideout in the Nexus; Beldizar will get a Soul Magic spell to get them to their first destination...
The Vale of Stars: They'll be after both the first component for res'ing Mystra and Paraden, Blade of the Nexus. I'm thinking that the Dao will have breached Castle Arthanath with Paraden, and that they have to destroy the sword inside the castle for some reason (any ideas?). Since Beldizar is a monk, I would much rather have the sword merge with him (hence the breaking) and have him inherit its powers (with maybe a little less enhancement bonus). This is easy to write as a site-based exploration adventure once they're inside the castle.
I could also obviously work some Aseid stuff into this adventure, with the Dragon Magic and all. I also need the villagers to be involved somehow. Any ideas of how to set up the situation to get all the connections, so that the players can be creative in figuring out a way into the castle, or to deplete it of guardians?
Vabrin's Forge: I can always use this to beef up Aseid's sword. Also, I want one or two sessions in a place with steampunk-level technology (for Gimble). Could I tie this in any way?
Bastion of the D'stradi: Maybe I could change the humans to using steampunk stuff for Gimble?
Tomb of Frozen Dreams: This one will work perfectly with Ian. I want him to find out here that not only is Shar is his descendent, but also an angel that she corrupted, so he has both celestial and evil blood in his veins. I want some kind of very cerebral adventure for this location. Any suggestions?
Pool of Glenmasis: Begging to be used for Darthnos, but I need some kind of good fey-based plot to base it on.
City in the Storm: I'm strongly considering making this into a big court-intrigue adventure for Bjorn, trying to convince the locals to undertake a quest that coincides with the party's interests.
So, can I get some helpful suggestions for these? I've got a few months to flesh out these ideas, but I don't want to be rushing to finish adventures as the time approaches.
I want to make the types of adventures in each of these locations radically different so that they seem like really different places. Rather than all dungeon crawls (though at least one is appropriate, especially for the caste), I would like to have stuff like infiltrations, court intrigue, sieges (with players defending), mysteries, etc.
Also, again, I have a preference for adapting published modules or parts of them rather than just writing stuff from the ground up. Any suggestions along those lines would be quadruply appreciated.
My 2-schoolyear old FR Harper campaign is about to enter its 3rd and final year.
The big conclusion to the campaign involves the prince of the Shades trying to recreate the magical ritual that Karsus used (detailed in Lords of Darkness). I actually came up with the shades doing it long before I had that book, but then I found out that one had tried it already, which has worked out perfectly.
What Karsus (an ancient Netherese wizard) did was to try to merge himself with Mystra (the old one), almost destroying the Weave. High Prince Telamont (ruler of the shades) is going to try the same thing, in an effort to kill Mystra, leaving only the Shadow Weave.
He's going to succeed, but the player characters are first going to have an opportunity to create a "mini-weave" around themselves that will leave them as the only non-Shadow-weavers able to use magic on Faerun.
I intend on using the Book of Eldritch Might 3 extensively in this game. I'm rewriting Realms cosmology a bit to make the Nexus Mystra's domain. The different sites will be on different planes, with Mystra (aka the Weave) ordering the planar energies that power magic; the Shadow Weave is being explained as an alternate way of ordering those energies.
So the players are going to end up in the Nexus, and find out that there is a catatonic avatar of the old (LN) Mystra floating out there somewhere.
However, they will need the materials by which they can perform the ceremony to bring back that avatar. That's where hopping to the different Nexus sites (planes) comes in.
I would like each site to take no more than 2 sessions, and each one to "feature" one or two of the characters, since they'll each be getting some kind of uber haus artifact along the way (so that they can survive the showdown with the 35th level Talamont at the end for a few rounds). Here are the characters:
Aseid- cali
e fighter/sorc/dragon disciple (red dragon); he already has his big item, a sword made from the meteorite of a world that the shades destroyed, but he will need it to pick up some kind of extra properties at the end (it's been growing in power throughout the campaign)Beldizar- an elven monk/wiz (shining hand of Azuth); he's using a prestige class that I wrote for his order, and I think I've got him covered (see below)
Bjorn- a waterdhavian courtier (Rokugan)- he's "the fop," unstoppable in social situations but very goofy all around; I need something for him very, very heavy on roleplaying, preferrably of a swashbuckling bent
Darthnos- elven druid of Mielikki (also has a cohort elven cleric of Angaradh, but they can just take one adventure); this isn't the typical druid, he's one of if not the most pure-hearted characters I've ever seen roleplayed
Ian- a librarian from Silverymoon, Psion (shaper); he just recently entered a mindscape for the first time, and had a big hulking demon of an avatar; he's going to discover that he's the descendant of Shar, who is trying to bring him over to the Shadow Weave so that she can build up a group of Shadow Weave psions (psionics is just a third form of magic); I've almost got an idea for him (see below)
Gimble- a gnome trapsmith (rogue) that was a spy in the party for Khelben's organization, but has since repented and changed his ways; he's very into complex mechanical stuff, and acts much more like a dwarf; he's very serious and taciturn, having been raised in Mithril Hall
They'll all be 9th-10th level by the time we get to this part of the adventure.
*whew* Still here? Alright, here's what little I have in terms of adventures for these various locations. What I'm looking for is more ideas (especially if they let me alter published modules) for adventures for these places.
The Nexus: The last leg of the campaign will be kicked off here; I'm thinking that the characters will find Azuth (deprived of his power) and get into a hideout in the Nexus; Beldizar will get a Soul Magic spell to get them to their first destination...
The Vale of Stars: They'll be after both the first component for res'ing Mystra and Paraden, Blade of the Nexus. I'm thinking that the Dao will have breached Castle Arthanath with Paraden, and that they have to destroy the sword inside the castle for some reason (any ideas?). Since Beldizar is a monk, I would much rather have the sword merge with him (hence the breaking) and have him inherit its powers (with maybe a little less enhancement bonus). This is easy to write as a site-based exploration adventure once they're inside the castle.
I could also obviously work some Aseid stuff into this adventure, with the Dragon Magic and all. I also need the villagers to be involved somehow. Any ideas of how to set up the situation to get all the connections, so that the players can be creative in figuring out a way into the castle, or to deplete it of guardians?
Vabrin's Forge: I can always use this to beef up Aseid's sword. Also, I want one or two sessions in a place with steampunk-level technology (for Gimble). Could I tie this in any way?
Bastion of the D'stradi: Maybe I could change the humans to using steampunk stuff for Gimble?
Tomb of Frozen Dreams: This one will work perfectly with Ian. I want him to find out here that not only is Shar is his descendent, but also an angel that she corrupted, so he has both celestial and evil blood in his veins. I want some kind of very cerebral adventure for this location. Any suggestions?
Pool of Glenmasis: Begging to be used for Darthnos, but I need some kind of good fey-based plot to base it on.
City in the Storm: I'm strongly considering making this into a big court-intrigue adventure for Bjorn, trying to convince the locals to undertake a quest that coincides with the party's interests.
So, can I get some helpful suggestions for these? I've got a few months to flesh out these ideas, but I don't want to be rushing to finish adventures as the time approaches.
I want to make the types of adventures in each of these locations radically different so that they seem like really different places. Rather than all dungeon crawls (though at least one is appropriate, especially for the caste), I would like to have stuff like infiltrations, court intrigue, sieges (with players defending), mysteries, etc.
Also, again, I have a preference for adapting published modules or parts of them rather than just writing stuff from the ground up. Any suggestions along those lines would be quadruply appreciated.
