The Little Raven
First Post
So, I recently read the Black Company books and they inspired me to run a mercenary company with an epic spin. This is my rough outline for the first adventure.
Inspirations
Mythic Backstory
This is the background that drives the entire main arc of this Heroic to Epic adventure path.
After the creation of the Abyss, the pantheon was horrified. Many of the gods immediately demanded Tharizdun be slain for his atrocity, but Amoth argued for imprisonment as much divine blood was already being spilled in the Dawn War. The others acceded, and Bane led an assault on Tharizdun so that Amoth, Kord and Torog could bind him with chains forged by Moradin. Three keys were given to the gods who were tasked the imprisonment. Kord keeps his key in his realm in the Astral Sea. Torog's key lies hidden from all eyes somewhere below the Underdark. Amoth's key was taken by demons when he was slain, and through bargaining and treachery came to rest in the Forgotten Temple.
Adventure Backstory
Airspur has been adapted to the implied setting, and changes were made to fit with my encounter design and plot threads.
Twenty years ago, the rightful heir to the city-state of Airspur was deposed by his brother. During that time, the exiled prince became known as Beggar, a ruthless but fair mercenary captain of the company called the Scavenger Sons. He has spent his time in exile amassing the resources, men, and contacts he needs to take back his birthright. The PCs were recruited very recently, and are the final resource Beggar needs to begin. Beggar wakes the PCs up in the dark of night, takes them into his arcanist's tent, hands them sealed orders, and spirits them away to a hidden teleportation circle in Airspur.
The Adventure
In this first part, Resistance in Airspur, they immediately meet a contact from the local thieves' guild, the Honest Few. Their orders are to gain the backing of four factions within the city in order to undermine the Usurper. I'm using a variation of a skill challenge by Mike Mearls for moving through the city without attracting attention. They will meet with people and take on small jobs in order to gain trust, as well as deal with fallout from the main arc, such as Tharizdun cultists found in the tombs and caves around the city. The adventure will have a time limit, as Beggar will arrive in 30 days with the army, which coincides with the Usurper's coronation anniversary celebration. The final events will be a ballroom social encounter, and after that a fight with the Usurper, who has turned himself and much of his inner circle into Abyssal genasi.
The second part, No Quarter Given, has the PCs following the remnants of a Tharizdun cult they decimated back in Airspur. The cultists are fleeing with the Usurper's body to a mountainous region. If the PCs did some things right in the first adventure, they know that the Usurper was very much interested in an "archaeological site" found in that area. This will consist of a bunch of random encounters in the wilderness area around the temple itself (hex maps and all), as well as some cultist-based encounters to provide info for the PCs. It will conclude with the defeat of an orc tribe that works with the cultists to protect the temple's location.
The third, The Slain God's Key, is an adaptation of the Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun, with some 4e changes in scaling (Mike Mearls gave some suggestions for what he does with 1e adventures when converting them), plot changes to make it fit more in line with 4e and my take on Tharizdun, and will be reconfigured slightly to use Dungeon Tiles. It will culminate with a deathmatch with the undead Usurper and his new boss, a powerful priest of Tharizdun.
The Future
My second arc is vague at the moment, but it involves them being hired by a newly crowned elven king to help him restore order to the Fourleaf Vale (so named because it has four distinct forests). I'm not sure about much else, except it will feature them escorting an important NPC through a city overtaken by undead creatures based on Left4Dead (with the zombies from 1 and 2) for a time.
After that, I have few concrete plans. Paragon will feature them going into the Underdark and eventually gaining Torog's key, and Epic will have them getting Kord's key. Obviously, it will culminate with an encounter with Tharizdun of some kind.
Feedback
I wanted to solicit feedback, and suggestions, especially on side plots to employ in the city and wilderness areas in order to add a bit more life.
Inspirations
- Black Company
- 4e interpretation of Tharizdun
- Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun
- Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide treasure list (black iron key, specifically)
- Abyssal Genasi article
- Airspur articles
- Honest Few article
- The Mockers, from Feist's Riftwar books.
- Skill Challenges articles (moving through the city, wilderness chase, infiltration, ballroom social encounter)
Mythic Backstory
This is the background that drives the entire main arc of this Heroic to Epic adventure path.
After the creation of the Abyss, the pantheon was horrified. Many of the gods immediately demanded Tharizdun be slain for his atrocity, but Amoth argued for imprisonment as much divine blood was already being spilled in the Dawn War. The others acceded, and Bane led an assault on Tharizdun so that Amoth, Kord and Torog could bind him with chains forged by Moradin. Three keys were given to the gods who were tasked the imprisonment. Kord keeps his key in his realm in the Astral Sea. Torog's key lies hidden from all eyes somewhere below the Underdark. Amoth's key was taken by demons when he was slain, and through bargaining and treachery came to rest in the Forgotten Temple.
Adventure Backstory
Airspur has been adapted to the implied setting, and changes were made to fit with my encounter design and plot threads.
Twenty years ago, the rightful heir to the city-state of Airspur was deposed by his brother. During that time, the exiled prince became known as Beggar, a ruthless but fair mercenary captain of the company called the Scavenger Sons. He has spent his time in exile amassing the resources, men, and contacts he needs to take back his birthright. The PCs were recruited very recently, and are the final resource Beggar needs to begin. Beggar wakes the PCs up in the dark of night, takes them into his arcanist's tent, hands them sealed orders, and spirits them away to a hidden teleportation circle in Airspur.
The Adventure
In this first part, Resistance in Airspur, they immediately meet a contact from the local thieves' guild, the Honest Few. Their orders are to gain the backing of four factions within the city in order to undermine the Usurper. I'm using a variation of a skill challenge by Mike Mearls for moving through the city without attracting attention. They will meet with people and take on small jobs in order to gain trust, as well as deal with fallout from the main arc, such as Tharizdun cultists found in the tombs and caves around the city. The adventure will have a time limit, as Beggar will arrive in 30 days with the army, which coincides with the Usurper's coronation anniversary celebration. The final events will be a ballroom social encounter, and after that a fight with the Usurper, who has turned himself and much of his inner circle into Abyssal genasi.
The second part, No Quarter Given, has the PCs following the remnants of a Tharizdun cult they decimated back in Airspur. The cultists are fleeing with the Usurper's body to a mountainous region. If the PCs did some things right in the first adventure, they know that the Usurper was very much interested in an "archaeological site" found in that area. This will consist of a bunch of random encounters in the wilderness area around the temple itself (hex maps and all), as well as some cultist-based encounters to provide info for the PCs. It will conclude with the defeat of an orc tribe that works with the cultists to protect the temple's location.
The third, The Slain God's Key, is an adaptation of the Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun, with some 4e changes in scaling (Mike Mearls gave some suggestions for what he does with 1e adventures when converting them), plot changes to make it fit more in line with 4e and my take on Tharizdun, and will be reconfigured slightly to use Dungeon Tiles. It will culminate with a deathmatch with the undead Usurper and his new boss, a powerful priest of Tharizdun.
The Future
My second arc is vague at the moment, but it involves them being hired by a newly crowned elven king to help him restore order to the Fourleaf Vale (so named because it has four distinct forests). I'm not sure about much else, except it will feature them escorting an important NPC through a city overtaken by undead creatures based on Left4Dead (with the zombies from 1 and 2) for a time.
After that, I have few concrete plans. Paragon will feature them going into the Underdark and eventually gaining Torog's key, and Epic will have them getting Kord's key. Obviously, it will culminate with an encounter with Tharizdun of some kind.
Feedback
I wanted to solicit feedback, and suggestions, especially on side plots to employ in the city and wilderness areas in order to add a bit more life.
