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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Aries_Omega" data-source="post: 3363397" data-attributes="member: 15693">I am the DM of a game right now and due to lack of prep time I used a few free adventures of the WOTC web site and from Dungeon Magazine. I now have painted myself into a corner of sorts. I started off with <a href="http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20040626a" target="_blank">"Dry Spell"</a> with four 3rd level characters. I added the back story that the Himtooth Marauders were attacking just about all caravans and riders going in or out of the area and their was a prominent noble (a wizard) that was killed and the loot they carried off. The noble wizard was going to confront a corrupt Church bishop named Palkin. He had no idea how evil Palkin was. Palkin was actually responsible for rallying the Himtooth Marauders from a small group of brigands to a clan of bandit kings. The Himtooth Marauders know him under an alias as Lord Erebus.Palkin has a facade of goodness but is actually in league with evil powers. Clerics in my game world mechanically work similar to how they do in Eberron in regards to alignment vs. abilities for those familiar with Eberron.There was a bounty put out by the Church on Himtooth Marauders. The Marauders had outlived their usefulness for Palkin (they got ride of a noble who he hated and could expose him) and now are villains. To keep up appearances of a great bishop, he hired a conservative religious knight (the fighter), his skilled equerry (a rogue) and his confessor (a NPC cleric friend from childhood) and told them to gather a fighting company to take on the Marauders. He found these two people:a very private, bow wielding elven woodsman (Wild Elf Druid to Solonor Thelandira)a very affable dwarven merchant and sometime "treasure hunter" (Hill Dwarf Fighter/Sorcerer...who sells alchemy items)They went and did the quest, found the serpent statues mentioned in Dry Spell as foreshadowing for the next adventure. When they got back, the local lord threw a party in the Bishop's honor for hiring such good adventurers. The lord presented them with documents that are basically letters of marque. This power play effectively shifted control of the party from the Bishop to the nobles. Bishop Palkin still needed them to put his plans in motion.During the party A local farmer crashed the party to tell the lord that the river they depend on for trade and food was recently poisoned with a tide of filth, and a goblin named Belig has claimed responsibility. If the people of the hamlet don't pay a ransom, Belig has promised them much worse will come with the next poison tide. This is from Dungeon 135...<a href="http://paizo.com/dungeon/products/issues/2006/130" target="_blank">"Within the Circle"</a> and once again yuan-ti are hinted...okay just about said they are around.During Within the Circle the characters lost many items to a side quest with a half-green dragon rust monster. When the PC's asked the lord for compensation to pay for new gear he denied them based on the fact he is not asking for any taxes on the treasure they found, which is standard to be taxed. This really ticked off the fighter who went to Bishop Palkin for advice. Playing the good guy he told him to turn in his letter of marque and work for him and the Church. He presented him with a suit of enchanted mithral full plate as well as items to the rest of the party to sweeten the deal. The party agreed and their first mission was to make sure that a evil man would be cremated. This led to Dungeon 135 <a href="http://paizo.com/dungeon/products/issues/2006/135" target="_blank">"Funeral Procession"</a> with the change of the god of luck Jodai not being Grazz't but Merrshaulk.This is where I am at now. So far the bishop is using the party to eliminate rivals and partners he no longer needs. He is trying for a power play somewhat like Palpatine did in Starwars. The fighter sees him as a great good, kind and wise man of the Church. He has no idea he is an evil cultist. The player of fighter wants to take on the paladin prestige class (<a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/prestigiousCharacterClasses.htm#prestigePaladin" target="_blank">paladin</a>, <a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/prestigiousCharacterClasses.htm#prestigeRanger" target="_blank">ranger</a> and <a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/prestigiousCharacterClasses.htm#prestigeBard" target="_blank">bard</a> are prestige classes in my world) and recently took a level of favored soul to someday soon take on the paladin prestige class. The only thing I can think of for the next adventure is that he is accused of heresy and sorcery (he can do divine magic and didn't go to the seminary to learn it...he must be getting his power from somewhere evil) and he must go quest for some holy item to prove he is good since it would burn him or something if he was evil. This is a good idea and all but I want to include more yuan-ti somehow...or some kind of hard to fight reptilian creature. Any ideas what to do after Funeral Procession?</blockquote>

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