While reading the latest issue of Dungeon, namely the Gates of Oblivion adventure, I was inspired to come up with the following mega-adventure / campaign. I post it here mainly to collect your opinions.
Sources:
City of the Spider Queen mega-adventure
Gates of Oblivion (Dungeon #136 pgs. 66-82)
Lords of Darkness (Shades pgs 78-95)
The Apocalypse Stone (AD&D adventure heavily modified)
The Shades have returned to Faerun with intentions of conquering the continent and eventually Toril itself (turning the entire planet into an extension of the Plane of Shadow). Once this happens, Toril will be the staging ground for conquering the Material Plane. During their 1700 year absence from Faerun, the Shades have been journeying thru the Plane of Shadow, rebuilding their power thru ancient arcane tomes and rites long since lost to inhabitants of Toril. Knowing that their power is augmented by the Plane of Shadow, the Shades have devised a way to open a rift in the Material Plane (using the Gates of Oblivion) that would allow the Plane of Shadow to leak in and overtake Toril and eventually the entire Material Plane. The High Prince founded the Cult of the Monolith, an apocalyptic sect whose missionaries travel from world to world, converting the locals to their nihilistic creed. The Cult is based in a city-state named Lacc, which is found in the Plane of Shadow and contains the Gates of Oblivion. Prior to returning to Toril, the High Prince placed his twin sons, Prince Mattick Tanthul and Prince Vattick Tanthul in charge of the Cult of the Monolith (and effectively, in charge of Lacc). The twin brothers in turn both masquerade as Tenaris Xin to hide their true identities from any who would pry into the cult’s activities. The Shades that returned to Toril have now begun to actively seek out Netherese artifacts, including the Netheril Scrolls (it is but a vague rumor that the Netheril Scrolls contain arcane might of which the world has not seen in nearly 2000 years – in metagame terms, 10th level spells). The High Prince believes that these artifacts, in conjunction with the Gates of Oblivion, will provide the Shades with the necessary tools to gain dominion over the Material Plane. In order to accomplish this feat, the Shades must first contend with the powers that rule Toril, namely the Dragons, the epic elite, and divine intervention. To ensure the dragons will not interfere with their plans, the Shades have been gathering the Orbs of Dragonkind. Once all of the Orbs are gathered, the Shades will be able to invoke The Rage of the Dragons (an archaic arcane ritual that destroys the Orbs and in the process causes all the dragons to slip into irresistible feral madness). The other major threats to the Shades plan are the epic heroes of this world and divine intervention. Several years prior to the return of the City of Shade to Toril, elite groups of powerful Shades (each lead by one of the High Prince’s sons) secretly returned to Faerun and began infiltrating selected groups that could cause the High Prince’s plans to be hindered. Rogue individuals not tightly associated to any group of power (such as loner archmages, powerful undead, and extraplanar beings calling Faerun their home) are being eliminated by the High Prince himself. Once the Shades have a presence in these numerous groups, and the High Prince has eliminated the more bothersome epic elite, the next phase of the Shade’s plan will go into effect; the introduction of the city-state Lacc and the Gates of Oblivion onto the Material Plane (led by the Tanthul twins posing as Tenaris Xin). Immediately following the emergence of Lacc will be the invocation of the Rage of the Dragons and the removal of the Apocalypse Stone from it’s once-hidden resting place (this will cause a disjunction between the Material Plane and all of the other planes in the cosmology with the exception of the Plane of Shadow which has it’s link due to the presence of Lacc. This disjunction will block divine intervention). As the powerful groups align themselves to strike at these threats, the Shades and Shadovars that have infiltrated these groups will counterstrike from within and cause their downfall.
The initial groundwork has been laid: The sleeper cells of Shades and Shadovars have successfully infiltrated numerous groups in Faerun (including the Harpers, Zhentarim, and Red Wizards). The Gates of Oblivion have been awakened and even now the effects are being felt in Faerun. The Gates of Oblivion were ‘tested’ by the Shades recently and these ‘tests’ resulted in the utter destruction of the Demonweb Pits and caused the disappearance of Lolth (it is not known if she was killed or simply abandoned her corner of the Abyss during it’s destruction).
The party will first become involved when it is discovered that there is a drow exodus from the Underdark into the ancient lands of the surface elves (namely Myth Drannor and the Elven Court in Cormanthor Forest). The clues will lead the PC’s to the realization that Lolth is silent and other deities in the drow pantheon have raced to fill the void left by the Spider Queen. Along the way, they will uncover clues that point to a far more serious and diabolical plan of which the disappearance of the Spider Queen is merely a footnote.
Sources:
City of the Spider Queen mega-adventure
Gates of Oblivion (Dungeon #136 pgs. 66-82)
Lords of Darkness (Shades pgs 78-95)
The Apocalypse Stone (AD&D adventure heavily modified)
The Shades have returned to Faerun with intentions of conquering the continent and eventually Toril itself (turning the entire planet into an extension of the Plane of Shadow). Once this happens, Toril will be the staging ground for conquering the Material Plane. During their 1700 year absence from Faerun, the Shades have been journeying thru the Plane of Shadow, rebuilding their power thru ancient arcane tomes and rites long since lost to inhabitants of Toril. Knowing that their power is augmented by the Plane of Shadow, the Shades have devised a way to open a rift in the Material Plane (using the Gates of Oblivion) that would allow the Plane of Shadow to leak in and overtake Toril and eventually the entire Material Plane. The High Prince founded the Cult of the Monolith, an apocalyptic sect whose missionaries travel from world to world, converting the locals to their nihilistic creed. The Cult is based in a city-state named Lacc, which is found in the Plane of Shadow and contains the Gates of Oblivion. Prior to returning to Toril, the High Prince placed his twin sons, Prince Mattick Tanthul and Prince Vattick Tanthul in charge of the Cult of the Monolith (and effectively, in charge of Lacc). The twin brothers in turn both masquerade as Tenaris Xin to hide their true identities from any who would pry into the cult’s activities. The Shades that returned to Toril have now begun to actively seek out Netherese artifacts, including the Netheril Scrolls (it is but a vague rumor that the Netheril Scrolls contain arcane might of which the world has not seen in nearly 2000 years – in metagame terms, 10th level spells). The High Prince believes that these artifacts, in conjunction with the Gates of Oblivion, will provide the Shades with the necessary tools to gain dominion over the Material Plane. In order to accomplish this feat, the Shades must first contend with the powers that rule Toril, namely the Dragons, the epic elite, and divine intervention. To ensure the dragons will not interfere with their plans, the Shades have been gathering the Orbs of Dragonkind. Once all of the Orbs are gathered, the Shades will be able to invoke The Rage of the Dragons (an archaic arcane ritual that destroys the Orbs and in the process causes all the dragons to slip into irresistible feral madness). The other major threats to the Shades plan are the epic heroes of this world and divine intervention. Several years prior to the return of the City of Shade to Toril, elite groups of powerful Shades (each lead by one of the High Prince’s sons) secretly returned to Faerun and began infiltrating selected groups that could cause the High Prince’s plans to be hindered. Rogue individuals not tightly associated to any group of power (such as loner archmages, powerful undead, and extraplanar beings calling Faerun their home) are being eliminated by the High Prince himself. Once the Shades have a presence in these numerous groups, and the High Prince has eliminated the more bothersome epic elite, the next phase of the Shade’s plan will go into effect; the introduction of the city-state Lacc and the Gates of Oblivion onto the Material Plane (led by the Tanthul twins posing as Tenaris Xin). Immediately following the emergence of Lacc will be the invocation of the Rage of the Dragons and the removal of the Apocalypse Stone from it’s once-hidden resting place (this will cause a disjunction between the Material Plane and all of the other planes in the cosmology with the exception of the Plane of Shadow which has it’s link due to the presence of Lacc. This disjunction will block divine intervention). As the powerful groups align themselves to strike at these threats, the Shades and Shadovars that have infiltrated these groups will counterstrike from within and cause their downfall.
The initial groundwork has been laid: The sleeper cells of Shades and Shadovars have successfully infiltrated numerous groups in Faerun (including the Harpers, Zhentarim, and Red Wizards). The Gates of Oblivion have been awakened and even now the effects are being felt in Faerun. The Gates of Oblivion were ‘tested’ by the Shades recently and these ‘tests’ resulted in the utter destruction of the Demonweb Pits and caused the disappearance of Lolth (it is not known if she was killed or simply abandoned her corner of the Abyss during it’s destruction).
The party will first become involved when it is discovered that there is a drow exodus from the Underdark into the ancient lands of the surface elves (namely Myth Drannor and the Elven Court in Cormanthor Forest). The clues will lead the PC’s to the realization that Lolth is silent and other deities in the drow pantheon have raced to fill the void left by the Spider Queen. Along the way, they will uncover clues that point to a far more serious and diabolical plan of which the disappearance of the Spider Queen is merely a footnote.
