Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Malvoisin" data-source="post: 5953386" data-attributes="member: 40128">Some possible adventurer hooks to consider using or adapting:[sblock=Hooks]1. To Boldly Go: The Desolation is a largely ignored and unexploredwasteland where two massive armies virtually smashed themselvesto pieces. Those who have braved its depths have hurriedlypassed through studiously ignoring the battleground around themand the ruined city it surrounds. Surely something of value remainsto be gleaned from such a cataclysmic conflict of old. Inthis instance, the party, having gained enough power to attemptit, can be one of the few to have ever tried plumbing the great unknownthat is the Desolation. Most have deemed it too dangerousor devoid of anything of value, but there are always legends ofsome great knight who fell on the battlefield clutching his powerfulsword that was never recovered or some powerful wizardwhose mighty staff disappeared in the melee and must still belying out there somewhere. Perhaps the party just wants to be thefirst to have successfully braved the farthest corners of the Desolationand lived to tell of it. Parties of a less lawful bent might beinterested in the rumors of burial mounds that were erected fornoble warriors who fell in battle and were interred with portionsof their riches.2. Trail Blazers: A party of this level has many connectionsgained over their career. One of these, a merchant-lord andsometimes patron of their expeditions, has his eye on thelucrative trade of the distant north. There are fortunes to bemade but the risks and expense are too great to make caravansthrough the Desolation worthwhile. However, if a partyof proven adventurers could tame the area and open a safetrade route, a monopoly on the new route could be establishedand a fortune made by all. Maybe he wants someone to clearthe monsters out of the Desolation altogether, or perhaps hejust wants a safe route to be found that can easily be controlledand kept secret. Either way such an endeavor has never beensuccessfully accomplished, but if the right group could be persuadedto undertake the task…3. Land Grant: Rewards come in many forms to parties of successfuladventurers, not always just heaps of gold and magic items.For the successful completion of a recent mission a king has bestowedupon a member of the party noble title and grant to landat the farthest flung reaches of his holdings. The land just so happensto be in the Desolation. The party must come to the Desolationto try and not only bring order to the Camp but tame thewilds of the Desolation as well in order to establish their fiefdom.A variation on this theme is that a newly ennobled baron has justreceived such a grant and needs to hire a party of adventurers toreclaim his lands for him. Perhaps minor titles and land grantsawait them if they are successful.4. Save the Forest: If the party is of a more naturalist demeanor (druids,rangers, barbarians, etc.) they could come to the Desolationin order to erase the centuries-old blight from the lands. Commonwisdom says that surely some source of evil taint remains to keepthe land corrupted, so if such a taint were discovered and removedthe forces of Nature could begin their process of rehabilitating theaccursed ground.5. Sleepless Knights: A cleric of Muir has located in the templearchives a set of orders issued by Zelkor during the Battle of Tsarthat somehow survived and were transported back to civilizedlands. These orders detail the assignment of the paladin lord Bishuand his company, adherents to the faith of Muir, to hold the cityof Tsar and await relief from the Army of Light. Lord Bishu wasalways thought lost in the Dungeon of Graves like the rest of theArmy of Light. The fact that he never returned and the possibilitythat he or some of his command may have survived for sometime at Tsar holding to their duty has ignited the church hierarchy.What did Bishu accomplish during his time in the city? Dohis bones, surely now sacred relics of the church, still rest thereawaiting repatriation? Could he or any of his knights somehowby the grace of the gods have survived all the intervening span ofyears and man their posts still awaiting relief? The church cannotafford to send any of its own on a possibly foolhardy mission intounknown danger with only a small hope of success, but adventuringparties are often known to undertake such assignments.6. Sinister Secrets: Zelkor was not the only one suspicious of thedisciples’ sudden withdrawal from the city after the Battle of Tsar.The record of that event is well-known and has been pondered bymany since that day. Was it all just to trap to destroy the Army ofLight at Rappan Athuk? If so why not reoccupy Tsar, a vast anddefensible temple-city along a lucrative trade route, instead of settlingfor a dingy hole in the ground in some far flung forest. Couldthe entire withdrawal and debacle in the Forest of Hope have been aruse within ruse to draw attention away from seemingly abandonedTsar for some other, altogether unguessed reason? Questions suchas these and more have been on the minds of the patriarchs of thetemples of Thyr and Muir for some time. Now they wish to send ina small group to infiltrate the unplumbed ruins and discover whatsinister secret may have been kept so well for so long. This hookworks well with parties of a noble or holy content.[/sblock]</blockquote>

Verification