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[SPOILERS] Enhancing Tomb of Annihilation
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<blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 7377481" data-attributes="member: 20323"><p>I wasn't satisfied with the presentation of the factions in ToA, so I made some revisions...</p><p></p><p><strong>FACTIONS OF CHULT, REVISED</strong></p><p></p><p><em>There is a bit of "foreigners save the people of Chult" undercurrent in how ToA is presented. However, my group is comprised of Chultan natives & I wanted to give the peoples of Chult greater agency, so I made the Emerald Enclave a faction indigenous to Chult and tied it to an adventure site (the Emerald Crater) from AD&D's take on Chult.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Emerald Enclave:</strong> Inheritors of the druid & spiritlord teachings and old faith of Ubtao, the Emerald Enclave seeks to protect the jungles from being despoiled whether by dark magic or the greed of men. Though they have no true leader, there are legends that the Enclave’s founder is an ancient emerald dragon dwelling deep in the jungle; many members wish to find the <u>Emerald Crater</u> said to contain the jungle’s <em>nyama</em> (life force). Qawasha is a member.</p><p></p><p><em>The Flaming Fist & Order of the Gauntlet seemed to occupy very similar roles of "fighting undead" in ToA, so I emphasized their differences; the former are cynical treasure hunters operating under false pretenses of helping, while the latter are idealists woefully underprepared for Chult who *may* switch sides.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Flaming Fist:</strong> Mercenaries backed by Duke Ulder Ravengard of Baldur’s Gate, the Flaming Fist came to Chult under auspices of fighting the undead menace, but their true intentions are to loot ruins. Under the command of Liara Portyr, they’ve already looted the Ruins of Mezro, and seek to do the same when they find Omu. Shago is a member. They sell “charters of exploration” to keep tabs on rival treasure hunters.</p><p></p><p><strong>Order of the Gauntlet:</strong> Brave foreigners, many clerics and paladins, come to combat the undead scourge, but have found themselves woefully underprepared for Chult’s culture & jungles, as well as the sheer intensity and size of the undead attacks. Gradually, their ideals are being worn down as death, disease, and madness take their toll. If they learn that the Death Curse will result in the end of all liches (well, except Acererak), some misguided members might be swayed into fighting so the Death Curse continues on its course. Niles Breakbone, commander of Camp Vengeance, leads the order in Chult.</p><p></p><p><em>The Harpers are painted as a generic good-guy organization, swooping in to help whenever people can't stand up for themselves. I decided to portray them as meddling do-gooders whose interference in Chult has led to the Ring of Winter set loose upon the land. I also decided to play up the ambiguity around Artus: is he possessed or not?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Harpers:</strong> A secret society of good-aligned spellcasters and spies, the Harpers covertly act against any abuse of power; they work behind the scenes to aid the weak, poor, or oppressed. However, their well-intentioned meddling often has unintended consequences; in the case of Chult, Artus Cimber (who may or may not be possessed) and his <em>Ring of Winter</em> which the Harpers fear will fall into evil hands. Allies of the Harpers include Wakanga O'tamu, Syndra Silvane, and Lomar Dral (captured by yuan-ti).</p><p></p><p><em>The Red Wizards I've left as is: smooth-talking bad guys.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Red Wizards of Thay:</strong> Sent by the lich Sszas Tam to steal the Soulmonger and hunt down Artus Cimber for the <em>Ring of Winter</em>, these wizards employ bribery, honeyed words, and magical gifts to get leverage on various high-ups. They're in Chult under the auspices of trading magical items, but hardly anyone is fooled. Unbeknownst to the Chultans, they operate out of the Heart of Ubtao (very taboo) where their leader Valindra Shadowmantle studies the lore of Omu and maintains contact with various groups via <em>sending</em>, such as Zagmira’s in Omu.</p><p></p><p><em>I thought the Ytepka Society was under-utilized. Yes, they opposed the colonial powers, but that's no longer as pressing an issue, so ToA relegates them to market watchdogs & pirate hunters. Which is cool, but doesn't really tie into the main story. These are Chultans, so clearly they care about the undead ravaging Chult! I added a foil for them – the Horned Society – which helps tie them into the main plot.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Ytepka Society:</strong> A secret society of Chultans who drove off their colonial exploiters, the Ytepka (Triceratops) Society works against any evil or foreign group getting too much power in Port Nyanzaru’s government. At one time they opposed the <u>Horned Society</u> of Omu (necromancers who served Acererak’s will), making sure forbidden magics stayed out of Port Nyanzaru, but these days pay most attention to the Red Wizards and Zhentarim. Their ranking member is secretly the merchant prince Zhanti.</p><p></p><p><em>In ToA, you have the frost giants, Xandala, Harpers, Red Wizards, *and* Zhentarim all after Artus Cimber. It seemed a little overkill to me, so I made the Zhentarim neo-colonialists seeking to manipulate Princess Mwaxanaré so they can be the power behind the throne when a new royal regime begins. This helps explain, at least partly, why the Princess is in hiding – the Zhentarim are looking for her and her brother. I also decided to explicitly tie the Zhents to a group of slavers on the islands east of Refuge Bay, which helps drive home the ugly history of slavery & it still being "legal but frowned upon", and lets the Zhents play the "ally with us or we sell your little brother into slavery" card.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Zhentarim:</strong> Having made inroads with merchant prince Ifan Talro’a and slavers at <u>Slaver’s Cove</u>, the Zhentarim are shady neo-colonial sellswords and merchants seeking to expand their influence, wealth, and power by controlling Chult’s future. In particular, their plan is to secure various mines, get the merchant princes beholding to them, and “befriend” (or abduct) Princess Mwaxanaré to control the next generation of royalty. River Mist and Flask of Wine work for the Zhentarim as spies looking out for Princess Mwaxanaré.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Quickleaf, post: 7377481, member: 20323"] I wasn't satisfied with the presentation of the factions in ToA, so I made some revisions... [B]FACTIONS OF CHULT, REVISED[/B] [I]There is a bit of "foreigners save the people of Chult" undercurrent in how ToA is presented. However, my group is comprised of Chultan natives & I wanted to give the peoples of Chult greater agency, so I made the Emerald Enclave a faction indigenous to Chult and tied it to an adventure site (the Emerald Crater) from AD&D's take on Chult.[/I] [B]Emerald Enclave:[/B] Inheritors of the druid & spiritlord teachings and old faith of Ubtao, the Emerald Enclave seeks to protect the jungles from being despoiled whether by dark magic or the greed of men. Though they have no true leader, there are legends that the Enclave’s founder is an ancient emerald dragon dwelling deep in the jungle; many members wish to find the [U]Emerald Crater[/U] said to contain the jungle’s [I]nyama[/I] (life force). Qawasha is a member. [I]The Flaming Fist & Order of the Gauntlet seemed to occupy very similar roles of "fighting undead" in ToA, so I emphasized their differences; the former are cynical treasure hunters operating under false pretenses of helping, while the latter are idealists woefully underprepared for Chult who *may* switch sides.[/I] [B]Flaming Fist:[/B] Mercenaries backed by Duke Ulder Ravengard of Baldur’s Gate, the Flaming Fist came to Chult under auspices of fighting the undead menace, but their true intentions are to loot ruins. Under the command of Liara Portyr, they’ve already looted the Ruins of Mezro, and seek to do the same when they find Omu. Shago is a member. They sell “charters of exploration” to keep tabs on rival treasure hunters. [B]Order of the Gauntlet:[/B] Brave foreigners, many clerics and paladins, come to combat the undead scourge, but have found themselves woefully underprepared for Chult’s culture & jungles, as well as the sheer intensity and size of the undead attacks. Gradually, their ideals are being worn down as death, disease, and madness take their toll. If they learn that the Death Curse will result in the end of all liches (well, except Acererak), some misguided members might be swayed into fighting so the Death Curse continues on its course. Niles Breakbone, commander of Camp Vengeance, leads the order in Chult. [I]The Harpers are painted as a generic good-guy organization, swooping in to help whenever people can't stand up for themselves. I decided to portray them as meddling do-gooders whose interference in Chult has led to the Ring of Winter set loose upon the land. I also decided to play up the ambiguity around Artus: is he possessed or not?[/I] [B]Harpers:[/B] A secret society of good-aligned spellcasters and spies, the Harpers covertly act against any abuse of power; they work behind the scenes to aid the weak, poor, or oppressed. However, their well-intentioned meddling often has unintended consequences; in the case of Chult, Artus Cimber (who may or may not be possessed) and his [I]Ring of Winter[/I] which the Harpers fear will fall into evil hands. Allies of the Harpers include Wakanga O'tamu, Syndra Silvane, and Lomar Dral (captured by yuan-ti). [I]The Red Wizards I've left as is: smooth-talking bad guys.[/I] [B]Red Wizards of Thay:[/B] Sent by the lich Sszas Tam to steal the Soulmonger and hunt down Artus Cimber for the [I]Ring of Winter[/I], these wizards employ bribery, honeyed words, and magical gifts to get leverage on various high-ups. They're in Chult under the auspices of trading magical items, but hardly anyone is fooled. Unbeknownst to the Chultans, they operate out of the Heart of Ubtao (very taboo) where their leader Valindra Shadowmantle studies the lore of Omu and maintains contact with various groups via [I]sending[/I], such as Zagmira’s in Omu. [I]I thought the Ytepka Society was under-utilized. Yes, they opposed the colonial powers, but that's no longer as pressing an issue, so ToA relegates them to market watchdogs & pirate hunters. Which is cool, but doesn't really tie into the main story. These are Chultans, so clearly they care about the undead ravaging Chult! I added a foil for them – the Horned Society – which helps tie them into the main plot.[/I] [B]Ytepka Society:[/B] A secret society of Chultans who drove off their colonial exploiters, the Ytepka (Triceratops) Society works against any evil or foreign group getting too much power in Port Nyanzaru’s government. At one time they opposed the [U]Horned Society[/U] of Omu (necromancers who served Acererak’s will), making sure forbidden magics stayed out of Port Nyanzaru, but these days pay most attention to the Red Wizards and Zhentarim. Their ranking member is secretly the merchant prince Zhanti. [I]In ToA, you have the frost giants, Xandala, Harpers, Red Wizards, *and* Zhentarim all after Artus Cimber. It seemed a little overkill to me, so I made the Zhentarim neo-colonialists seeking to manipulate Princess Mwaxanaré so they can be the power behind the throne when a new royal regime begins. This helps explain, at least partly, why the Princess is in hiding – the Zhentarim are looking for her and her brother. I also decided to explicitly tie the Zhents to a group of slavers on the islands east of Refuge Bay, which helps drive home the ugly history of slavery & it still being "legal but frowned upon", and lets the Zhents play the "ally with us or we sell your little brother into slavery" card.[/I] [B]Zhentarim:[/B] Having made inroads with merchant prince Ifan Talro’a and slavers at [U]Slaver’s Cove[/U], the Zhentarim are shady neo-colonial sellswords and merchants seeking to expand their influence, wealth, and power by controlling Chult’s future. In particular, their plan is to secure various mines, get the merchant princes beholding to them, and “befriend” (or abduct) Princess Mwaxanaré to control the next generation of royalty. River Mist and Flask of Wine work for the Zhentarim as spies looking out for Princess Mwaxanaré. [/QUOTE]
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