Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Ellorin 06-28-07, 05:57 AM	Hello everyone! As the title shows, I need your thoughts and opinions on a little twist I'm going ti give in our current campaign, But first, let me provide you with the facts... The place is a fort in Q'barra, approximately 2 days away from Newthrone and a frequent target of pirates and lizardfolk. Unknown to the public, it was built over a temple of a Rajah erected during the Age of Demons. The temple was sealed by the previous PCs, a seal now broken by a Kuo-Toa cultist and his followers. The current PCs are aware of the opening and the nature of the opener (not the temple's though-yet) and were convinced to turn a blind eye in exchange of a relic, a necromantic animator ballista( based on the Heroes of Battle one, but definitely stronger). It was a brutal siege and the commander was pretty useless, so they went for it It's been 3 months now and the ballista has seen regular use, a fact that has made necromantic magic an unofficial but quickly growing factor in New Galifar's army Some clerics have objected but the crown hasn't yet acted on it. New Galifar's stance is not what concerns me at the moment-sooner or later the PCs will determine it. It's the outside froces' attitude that I'm thinking of. Here are some players I've thought of: 1. Well, obviously, (un)death centered religions. I wouldn't bet on the Keeper, but the Blood of Vol might see the whole situation as an opportunity to strengthen its position. Furthermore, our Warlock is a follower of the Blood as well, so they can easily gain a supporter. Meanwhile, the warlock is a Karrn as well, which leads us to 2. If the use of necromancy continues on, Karrnath might try to use it as a common ground and attempt to its necromantic "technology" as a lever to gain official diplomatic ties with Q'barra, the only of the 5 nations able to do so. None of the PCs are unfriendly to Karrnath and one is a loyalist,so they could be approached by the Karrns. 3. Concerning the anti-undeath brigade, I highly doubt tat the Aereni would present much of a problem...it's too soon. Still, the Church of the Silver Flame, particularly the Templars, and many SH followers would definitely react. Protests, sabotages political pressure...they won't stand for it. Knowing the PCs' good reputation they might convince them to work against I or II. 4)As for the Inspired...every passing day the army of New Galifar is becoming weaker and weaker, it's failures strengthening Riedra's role in Q'barra. A new weapon would be a threat to that plan. On the other hand, they could oppose it publicly, use agents of the Dark to assure that New Galifar doesincrease its use of necromancy to a HUGE degree till it goes out of hand ("accidents", assaults on lizardfolk that might even draw Haka'torvhak's attention, a Q'Barran regime much stricter in order to quell the opposition), and then orchestrate a revolution that puts their pawn of choice on the throne. And then again, maybe not. I'm not sure what to do with them... That sums it up. I apologise for the long read. So...any thoughts? Is the whole situation a worthy idea or should I simply forget the whole thing? They would certainly be much appreciated...
garner_adam 06-28-07, 01:11 PM	Ellorin, This sounds like an interesting adventure back drop with numerous spots for intrique. My suggestion to you is now that you have all the "behind the scenes" work fleshed out try focusing on a few potential antagonists. I'd also suggest running a few different adventures with this information in the background so it could settle in. Maybe one or two sessions. This way you can find out which way your players will likely swing. From there focus on antagonists and I think you'll probably have a nice campaign that will do most of the work it's self.
kentonblack 06-28-07, 07:16 PM	really, when in doubt, build a NE gnome sorcerer5/bloodmagus10 and ansk yourslef "why the hell does he exist in my campaign?"
Rechan 06-28-07, 08:18 PM	Who is New Galifar fighting here, that they need siege weapons? 3. Concerning the anti-undeath brigade, I highly doubt tat the Aereni would present much of a problem...it's too soon. Still, the Church of the Silver Flame, particularly the Templars, and many SH followers would definitely react. Protests, sabotages political pressure...they won't stand for it. Knowing the PCs' good reputation they might convince them to work against I or II. Given that Thrane and the SH couldn't put a damper on Karrnath, how are they going to do this with NG? And, even if they tried, couldn't NG point at Karrnath and say "And just why aren't you protesting Kaius?" And do those religions have a lot of strength in Q'Barra to actually effect matters, or is it just a lot of bluster? 4)As for the Inspired...every passing day the army of New Galifar is becoming weaker and weaker, it's failures strengthening Riedra's role in Q'barra. A new weapon would be a threat to that plan. On the other hand, they could oppose it publicly, use agents of the Dark to assure that New Galifar doesincrease its use of necromancy to a HUGE degree till it goes out of hand ("accidents", assaults on lizardfolk that might even draw Haka'torvhak's attention, a Q'Barran regime much stricter in order to quell the opposition), and then orchestrate a revolution that puts their pawn of choice on the throne. Imagine, if you will, violent undead being attracted to NG. Mohrgs, vampires, and wraiths in particular. These undead are causing a serious ruckus amid the human populations. The Inspired could be bribing these undead; they can't toy with their minds, but the Inspired can give them a few empty vessel victims and then point them at NG. Then, the Inspired start a propaganda campaign. NG is reckless and ineffective with their necromancy; were Karnath knew what they were doing, the NG hasn't been able to bind these undead beneath their will, or to know how to stop them. If anything, the Inspired could say that the simple level of Negative Energy is drawing the undead there, where in Karrnath they have to follow certain rules, here they have free reign and "Negative energy" to feed on. It's likely utter bull, and any Karrnathi official or person very knowledgable in the topics of Karrnath's undead laws or the manner of Negative Energy could say "Uh, no", but experts knowing otherwise doesn't stop good propaganda if you can get the public behind it (especially if you have powers like Suggestion on hand).
Ellorin 06-29-07, 04:05 AM	Ellorin, My suggestion to you is now that you have all the "behind the scenes" work fleshed out try focusing on a few potential antagonists. I'd also suggest running a few different adventures with this information in the background so it could settle in. Maybe one or two sessions. This way you can find out which way your players will likely swing. All sound advices. Thanks a lot!
Ellorin 06-29-07, 04:47 AM	Who is New Galifar fighting here, that they need siege weapons? At first it was an ambitious ( some might say say Inspired) assault of the Cloudreavers. It might come as a surprise, but it's the lizardfolk. Certain Cold Sun tribes possess resources unexpected: arcane power(warlocks in particular, I might add binders), alchemical weapons and, above all, sophisticated tactics( well, they're not the Valenar)- all the result of rakshsa manipulation, whereas traditional lizardfolk use brute strength( half fiends and half dragons as well) in order to crash the rogue tribes and the New Galifar forces, perceived as corruptors. It's all a rakshasa plot to twist a part of the draconic prophecy and actually use it to get rid of Rashaak. Given that Thrane and the SH couldn't put a damper on Karrnath, how are they going to do this with NG? And, even if they tried, couldn't NG point at Karrnath and say "And just why aren't you protesting Kaius?" And do those religions have a lot of strength in Q'Barra to actually effect matters, or is it just a lot of bluster? Well, they are the major New galifar religions. Furthermore, the throne of New Galifar is much less stable and powerful than Karrnath's- the pressure will be much stronger than what Kaius felt and, frankly, Sebastes in no Kaius. Imagine, if you will, violent undead being attracted to NG. Mohrgs, vampires, and wraiths in particular. These undead are causing a serious ruckus amid the human populations. The Inspired could be bribing these undead; they can't toy with their minds, but the Inspired can give them a few empty vessel victims and then point them at NG. Then, the Inspired start a propaganda campaign. NG is reckless and ineffective with their necromancy; were Karnath knew what they were doing, the NG hasn't been able to bind these undead beneath their will, or to know how to stop them. If anything, the Inspired could say that the simple level of Negative Energy is drawing the undead there, where in Karrnath they have to follow certain rules, here they have free reign and "Negative energy" to feed on. It's likely utter bull, and any Karrnathi official or person very knowledgable in the topics of Karrnath's undead laws or the manner of Negative Energy could say "Uh, no", but experts knowing otherwise doesn't stop good propaganda if you can get the public behind it (especially if you have powers like Suggestion on hand). A nicely insidious plan. Thanks for the feedback! I really need to choose their pawn...I'm considering a theocratic regime or House Deneith but I'm not satisfied yet.
Rechan 06-29-07, 06:08 AM	I really need to choose their pawn...I'm considering a theocratic regime or House Deneith but I'm not satisfied yet. Have you seen the Manchurian candidate? You might try a page from that book. Namely: a native Q'Barrian, possibly a farmer or a riverboat worker who became famous after heroic deeds during clashes with the Lizardfolk. He could be played up as the Quintessential Q'Barrian - out of the ashes of destruction and poverty and up into courage under fire due to idealism, guts and skill. It's pure inspiration to the commoner. Of course, all of these Heroic Deeds are manufactured by the Inspired through toying with minds and a few Cold Sun patsies. The Folk hero, while charismatic on his own right, has been fed all these lies and buys into them whole heartedly. Why, his entire life could have been engineered by the Inspired. Then, once this is done, the Inspired begin a campaign of getting the common NG citizens to push this folk hero towards the throne. This would be more effective if the folk hero is anti-necromancery ("Only the living can be couragous!") and is backed by commoners who oppose the use of undead (here comes backing by the SH and SF). Now, maybe the PCs stumble across some information that truly disproves this hero's story. Maybe they were THERE at that battle, and did not see such happen, or that they find later documented proof of a soldier who was part of the Inspired brainwashing technique, and he later 'broke out' and wrote some crazy journal entries. Or he's a hermit in the woods with a key piece of information they need, but he just won't shut up about his nightmares that have startling resemblances to things the PCs know as truth. The NG king's agents come across the PCs, find out that they have this useful information, and ask them to help quell this would-be revolution before it's too late. If the PCs find out that the Inspired are behind the Rogue Undead plot, then they may be able to link the Rogue Undead with the Anti-Necromancy Folk Hero-com-charismatic leader. The only problem here is: what happens? Can the PCs prove that the Folk hero is a fake? How can they prove it to the wellspring of popular support? And, if they manage that, I think that the whole Anti-Necromancy thing would collapse in on itself, because the Face of the Anti-Necromancy, Anti-King movement just figuratively had his head chopped off and put on a pike. It would demoralize the entire movement because they associated HIM with IT. If the PCs know he's a fake but can't prove it, then that means that they know the guy who the majority of the population supports is a pawn of someone. How do they deal with that, and how can you DM the outcome?
Ellorin 07-01-07, 03:50 PM	Have you seen the Manchurian candidate? You might try a page from that book. Namely: a native Q'Barrian, possibly a farmer or a riverboat worker who became famous after heroic deeds during clashes with the Lizardfolk. He could be played up as the Quintessential Q'Barrian - out of the ashes of destruction and poverty and up into courage under fire due to idealism, guts and skill. It's pure inspiration to the commoner. Of course, all of these Heroic Deeds are manufactured by the Inspired through toying with minds and a few Cold Sun patsies. The Folk hero, while charismatic on his own right, has been fed all these lies and buys into them whole heartedly. Why, his entire life could have been engineered by the Inspired. Then, once this is done, the Inspired begin a campaign of getting the common NG citizens to push this folk hero towards the throne. This would be more effective if the folk hero is anti-necromancery ("Only the living can be couragous!") and is backed by commoners who oppose the use of undead (here comes backing by the SH and SF). Now, maybe the PCs stumble across some information that truly disproves this hero's story. Maybe they were THERE at that battle, and did not see such happen, or that they find later documented proof of a soldier who was part of the Inspired brainwashing technique, and he later 'broke out' and wrote some crazy journal entries. Or he's a hermit in the woods with a key piece of information they need, but he just won't shut up about his nightmares that have startling resemblances to things the PCs know as truth. The NG king's agents come across the PCs, find out that they have this useful information, and ask them to help quell this would-be revolution before it's too late. If the PCs find out that the Inspired are behind the Rogue Undead plot, then they may be able to link the Rogue Undead with the Anti-Necromancy Folk Hero-com-charismatic leader. The only problem here is: what happens? Can the PCs prove that the Folk hero is a fake? How can they prove it to the wellspring of popular support? And, if they manage that, I think that the whole Anti-Necromancy thing would collapse in on itself, because the Face of the Anti-Necromancy, Anti-King movement just figuratively had his head chopped off and put on a pike. It would demoralize the entire movement because they associated HIM with IT. If the PCs know he's a fake but can't prove it, then that means that they know the guy who the majority of the population supports is a pawn of someone. How do they deal with that, and how can you DM the outcome? And a fabulous pawn indeed-very nicely done Rechan! The lowly Q'barran hero should definitely be considered. Of course, the plan requires the support of many powerful figure, but this is the Inspired we're talking about. I was also considering the "enlightened" approach-something inspirish without being downright inspired. Violence, instability, increasing spread of dreamlily, perhaps rampant necromancy...and a movement for a quieter way of life appears. But the folk hero makes great sense too. You've certainly made a point here...