Zardnaar
Legend
So my current campaign started out in the Lost Library of Lethchauntos which I placed in the Storm Horns and Cormyr was offering a domain in the Stonelands. PCs did that and established bastions. But have been traveling a lot kinda negating them oops.
Plot carried them into Anauroch with the assumed BBEG being Shades. Today's session they hit level 8 and a lot of foreshadowing from level 2 came togather. Various NPCs have been using them as puppets since then via sidequests.
Important bits.
Crazy amnesiac guy with spellfire wandering the stonelands.
Various NPCs with sidequests. Harper's, Purple Dragon Knights and mysterious strangers.
Shadow Storms sweeping down from Anauroch.
Exploding mythallars and dead magic zones tied to them and fall of shade Imperium.
A warning about 12 princes (of Shade/New Netheril).
Someone's been collecting fragments of level 10-12 spells. They've learned about Karsus, fall of Netheril, the shades. Lots of hints about the Terraseer, Karsus and Ioulaum. Off screen Aumvor and Larloch. All 5 survive in some form 1502 DR. Learned off Jergal. They know about killing winds, karsus avatar and proactive move mountain spells. They found fragments and multiple DC30 Arcana checks.
So what faction would you pick? Setting up the final showdown around level 11.
1. Shades sent an ambassador offering a truce. Revealing the Phaerimm have returned and the Lords of Madness used lifedrain spells to create Anauroch. They claim to be Shar free (2 followers of Selune in the party). New city is in a dead magic zone. They want to be left alone in a small pocket centered around the Shaol of Thirst/former shadow sea and new Shade. Partial truths but ambassador seemed genuine. They rolled very well vs his charisma checks.
2. Ioulaum. He has appeared as an astral projection. They know about time gates and he wants a Mythallar. Claims to be projecting through time.Due to very high perception checks they suspect he is in the current era. Jergal also said his soul was not judged. He disappeared in Netherils final years and was around in 3.5. He claims to want the Mythallar to save his enclave. They suspect he wants to use it to power a 12th level spell as they know only 2 Netherese could cast one.
3. Terraseer. Still around in 3.5. Sarrukh lich in Oreme in Anauroch. Oreme was rebuilt in 4E, ruins in 5.5. Wants nether scrolls. They don't know what he is a Sarrukh lich. He is just a Netherese archmage. Goal is to retrieve the Nether scrolls and reduce the harm Netheril legacy has inflicted.
4. Aumvor from 3.5. Wants to reestablish Netheril. Has been yanking their chain since lvl 3. Not hostile but has stasis vaults with Netherese survivors. Has been preserving Netherese descendants for years via kidnapping. May be involved in saving one players people due to Netherese bloodlines. Spoiler alert villian. They dont know that.
5. Harper's. Left over plot hook from 3.5 the Eye of Selune. One of them dispatched adventurers to Synod (crashed enclave) in 1373. They failed and the Shades recovered a Mythallar that the Shadovar remnant presumably has. Its a shadow engine tied to the Shadow Weave. Ioulaum could use it as well. The Eye is tied to a lost Netherese Enclave Selune saved (3.5 Lost Empires of Faerun).
6. Purple Dragon Knights. PCs have bastions in the Stonelands. Having some PDK companies could be interesting. They have reknown score of 8, 1 they get an uncommon weapon or armor. One PC is baron of the Stonelands.
7,8,9. Zhents. Larloch. Karsus plot hooks. Mystryl may also be revived via second sundering. Larloch misses her. Jergal has claimed although revived Mystra is relatively weak hence Netherese shenanigans around vl 10-12 spells. Shades are messing around with the weave via a Mythallar, Ioulaum is messing around with the time stream/time gates, someones messing around with lvl10-12 magic, and something about 12 princes. And the Phaerimm are apparently back. 4 cities they know of survived the fall, 4 are in ruins, 1 left. Returned Netheril raised a city in 4E. It crashed again.
Campaign final could go in multiple directions based on what factions they support or oppose. They've told Ioulaum to go to hell abd suspect an NPC is Ioulaum and mysterious stranger is Karsus (its him or Mystryl dont ask). 2 crashed cities to explore. Potentially a floating one, Potentially creating a new one.
Plot carried them into Anauroch with the assumed BBEG being Shades. Today's session they hit level 8 and a lot of foreshadowing from level 2 came togather. Various NPCs have been using them as puppets since then via sidequests.
Important bits.
Crazy amnesiac guy with spellfire wandering the stonelands.
Various NPCs with sidequests. Harper's, Purple Dragon Knights and mysterious strangers.
Shadow Storms sweeping down from Anauroch.
Exploding mythallars and dead magic zones tied to them and fall of shade Imperium.
A warning about 12 princes (of Shade/New Netheril).
Someone's been collecting fragments of level 10-12 spells. They've learned about Karsus, fall of Netheril, the shades. Lots of hints about the Terraseer, Karsus and Ioulaum. Off screen Aumvor and Larloch. All 5 survive in some form 1502 DR. Learned off Jergal. They know about killing winds, karsus avatar and proactive move mountain spells. They found fragments and multiple DC30 Arcana checks.
So what faction would you pick? Setting up the final showdown around level 11.
1. Shades sent an ambassador offering a truce. Revealing the Phaerimm have returned and the Lords of Madness used lifedrain spells to create Anauroch. They claim to be Shar free (2 followers of Selune in the party). New city is in a dead magic zone. They want to be left alone in a small pocket centered around the Shaol of Thirst/former shadow sea and new Shade. Partial truths but ambassador seemed genuine. They rolled very well vs his charisma checks.
2. Ioulaum. He has appeared as an astral projection. They know about time gates and he wants a Mythallar. Claims to be projecting through time.Due to very high perception checks they suspect he is in the current era. Jergal also said his soul was not judged. He disappeared in Netherils final years and was around in 3.5. He claims to want the Mythallar to save his enclave. They suspect he wants to use it to power a 12th level spell as they know only 2 Netherese could cast one.
3. Terraseer. Still around in 3.5. Sarrukh lich in Oreme in Anauroch. Oreme was rebuilt in 4E, ruins in 5.5. Wants nether scrolls. They don't know what he is a Sarrukh lich. He is just a Netherese archmage. Goal is to retrieve the Nether scrolls and reduce the harm Netheril legacy has inflicted.
4. Aumvor from 3.5. Wants to reestablish Netheril. Has been yanking their chain since lvl 3. Not hostile but has stasis vaults with Netherese survivors. Has been preserving Netherese descendants for years via kidnapping. May be involved in saving one players people due to Netherese bloodlines. Spoiler alert villian. They dont know that.
5. Harper's. Left over plot hook from 3.5 the Eye of Selune. One of them dispatched adventurers to Synod (crashed enclave) in 1373. They failed and the Shades recovered a Mythallar that the Shadovar remnant presumably has. Its a shadow engine tied to the Shadow Weave. Ioulaum could use it as well. The Eye is tied to a lost Netherese Enclave Selune saved (3.5 Lost Empires of Faerun).
6. Purple Dragon Knights. PCs have bastions in the Stonelands. Having some PDK companies could be interesting. They have reknown score of 8, 1 they get an uncommon weapon or armor. One PC is baron of the Stonelands.
7,8,9. Zhents. Larloch. Karsus plot hooks. Mystryl may also be revived via second sundering. Larloch misses her. Jergal has claimed although revived Mystra is relatively weak hence Netherese shenanigans around vl 10-12 spells. Shades are messing around with the weave via a Mythallar, Ioulaum is messing around with the time stream/time gates, someones messing around with lvl10-12 magic, and something about 12 princes. And the Phaerimm are apparently back. 4 cities they know of survived the fall, 4 are in ruins, 1 left. Returned Netheril raised a city in 4E. It crashed again.
Campaign final could go in multiple directions based on what factions they support or oppose. They've told Ioulaum to go to hell abd suspect an NPC is Ioulaum and mysterious stranger is Karsus (its him or Mystryl dont ask). 2 crashed cities to explore. Potentially a floating one, Potentially creating a new one.
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