Ok, so I have a basic plot in mind for a 1st to 11th-level campaign that I'd like to flesh out. So I'd appreciate any ideas or input people could throw my way.
I'm using the 4e FR setting and aside from boosted stats using premade characters, the setting and rules will be bog standard.
The premise of the story is that The Hammer of Moradin is an artefact that the dwarves have kept in trust for aeons. It is supposedly the hammer Moradin used to forge the dwarves.
The location of the hammer has been a secret even from the various leaders of the dwarves ever since the stronghold was built. Only one dwarf in existence knows of the hammer's whereabouts and that person chooses devout and worthy dwarves to act as guardians at the secret citadel. But even they don't know what they're guarding.
So when it was stolen, this person informed the various leaders of the dwarves and the various religious leaders of the dwarves and they decided they needed to retrieve it.
However by this stage, reports of the hammer and its use had begun to filter throughout the region. The leaders of surrounding realms became very concerned because the person using it was a dwarf and he was gathering a large army of strange creatures to him in the Underchasm.
The surrounding realms warned the dwarves that should these forces rally and get through the golden gates that they would do everything in their power to stop their advance, including wiping out the dwarves if they had to.
The dwarven leaders knew that this mad dwarf had to be stopped, but they also knew something that nobody else did: nobody could wield the hammer for long without Moradin's approval. Therefore, whoever was wielding it was on a direct mission from Moradin himself.
Facing a decision that put them between a rock and a hard place, what they needed was someone ignorant and yet devout, someone who could potentially get to and stop the dwarf, but who wouldn't figure out that they were actually acting against Moradin's wishes. They needed scapegoats.
Enter the PC's.
The PC's are all dwarves who are devoted to Moradin. They have been given a sacred mission (without the people giving it to them ever actually stating what they want done) to retrieve the hammer and destroy whoever wields it and thwart their plans.
They are told that once they embark on their mission, that they will be entirely on their own. They are not to report back in any manner and will gain no support. The dwarven leaders will disavow all knowledge of the mission and the PC's should they attempt to go public.
The aim of the dwarf wielding the hammer currently is to free Telos, the primordial trapped beneath Vaasa. Telos once aided Moradin in the wars and Moradin and he made a pact that he would return the favour one day. Telos could be a very powerful dwarven ally as well. The dwarven leaders don't know this and probably wouldn't be swayed by it anyway as it would mean making far too many enemies.
The wielder has gathered earthen genasi to his cause as well as many duergar. The dwarven leaders won't and can't let the army through the gates lest they allow Underhome to be overwhelmed completely and lose East Rift altogether. This is not the only exit from the Underchasm, however it is by far the easiest and quickest, especially for an army.
The Warlock Knights are also interested in seeing this plan thwarted.
So, that's the gist of what I've done so far. Any suggestions, hints, clues?
I'm using the 4e FR setting and aside from boosted stats using premade characters, the setting and rules will be bog standard.
The premise of the story is that The Hammer of Moradin is an artefact that the dwarves have kept in trust for aeons. It is supposedly the hammer Moradin used to forge the dwarves.
The location of the hammer has been a secret even from the various leaders of the dwarves ever since the stronghold was built. Only one dwarf in existence knows of the hammer's whereabouts and that person chooses devout and worthy dwarves to act as guardians at the secret citadel. But even they don't know what they're guarding.
So when it was stolen, this person informed the various leaders of the dwarves and the various religious leaders of the dwarves and they decided they needed to retrieve it.
However by this stage, reports of the hammer and its use had begun to filter throughout the region. The leaders of surrounding realms became very concerned because the person using it was a dwarf and he was gathering a large army of strange creatures to him in the Underchasm.
The surrounding realms warned the dwarves that should these forces rally and get through the golden gates that they would do everything in their power to stop their advance, including wiping out the dwarves if they had to.
The dwarven leaders knew that this mad dwarf had to be stopped, but they also knew something that nobody else did: nobody could wield the hammer for long without Moradin's approval. Therefore, whoever was wielding it was on a direct mission from Moradin himself.
Facing a decision that put them between a rock and a hard place, what they needed was someone ignorant and yet devout, someone who could potentially get to and stop the dwarf, but who wouldn't figure out that they were actually acting against Moradin's wishes. They needed scapegoats.
Enter the PC's.
The PC's are all dwarves who are devoted to Moradin. They have been given a sacred mission (without the people giving it to them ever actually stating what they want done) to retrieve the hammer and destroy whoever wields it and thwart their plans.
They are told that once they embark on their mission, that they will be entirely on their own. They are not to report back in any manner and will gain no support. The dwarven leaders will disavow all knowledge of the mission and the PC's should they attempt to go public.
The aim of the dwarf wielding the hammer currently is to free Telos, the primordial trapped beneath Vaasa. Telos once aided Moradin in the wars and Moradin and he made a pact that he would return the favour one day. Telos could be a very powerful dwarven ally as well. The dwarven leaders don't know this and probably wouldn't be swayed by it anyway as it would mean making far too many enemies.
The wielder has gathered earthen genasi to his cause as well as many duergar. The dwarven leaders won't and can't let the army through the gates lest they allow Underhome to be overwhelmed completely and lose East Rift altogether. This is not the only exit from the Underchasm, however it is by far the easiest and quickest, especially for an army.
The Warlock Knights are also interested in seeing this plan thwarted.
So, that's the gist of what I've done so far. Any suggestions, hints, clues?
