Post/Author/DateTime	Post
DarkPawn 10-13-06, 04:07 PM	Could use a few suggestions for my story line. My party entered the Mournlands on behalf of House Cannith South. They were trying to test out an item that was suposed to negate the effects of the mournlands both magical and environmental. The item malfunctioned shortly after they entered (obviously need much more work) and they were caught in a bad storm. They took shelter in a ruined building and found an entrance into the lower levels. While exploring the lower levels they ran into a band of Dhakaani Hobgoblins that had arrived trying to release an ancient Dhakaani warlord. They ended up defeating the hobgoblins and then without knowing, freed this ancient Dhakaani Warlord. At this point I haven't decided if the warlord voluntarily was placed her or involuntary. He was placed in a tomb and a temporal stasis spell was placed over the room. A magically trapped door locked him in this room. The door has a magical trap that sucks anyone who fails at bypassing or disarming it into a small demiplane. Finding your way out can unlock the door. The party bypassed the door and when this happened the temporal stasis was released. They entered the room and find a closed coffin. They of course open it and this ancient warlord emerges. Now I made him undead...for whatever reason he became undead striving to fight against the Daelkyr and this is probably why he was imprisoned or placed here. He is a hobgoblin and wears a symbiont breastplate, with helm...(all one creature attached together, so one piece not two). Now that he is free he will find his way to Darguun and will find the Dhaakani tribe the Bladebearers...which the book states holds an artifact that is why they are named such. I was thinking about having this artifact be a sword, that belongs to this now freed undead being. Prophecy states when he returns for his blade he will lead to the "rebirth" of the Dhakaani Empire. I decided to name this being Llesh Vengaar. I see Chieften Ruus Dhakaan bending a knee to him. I then foresee Llesh Vengaar turning his sights on Kech Volaar (Wordbearers) and their stronghold of Volaar Draal. This is just too strategic for him to pass up. Both by having a fortress and also by uniting the entire Dhaakani Empire under one ruler (himself). The PC's are going to hear about this new ruler and will figure out eventually they released him. They will most likely feel obligated to try and help with the problem. Llesh Haruuc is obviously going to move to stop Llesh Vengaar and will send aid to the Volaar Draal. I see this as a long term battle with the PC's mostly acting as guerrillas. They are ranging in levels from 1 to 3 so are no match for Llesh Vengaar in combat but eventually they will grow powerful enough to possibly challenge him. Just want some thoughts on this campaign arc and any suggestions or ideas. Thanks ahead of time.
DarkPawn 10-13-06, 11:54 PM	Okay I'm sorry that is a lot to read. I would like opinions though both good and bad. Just want to bounce some ideas back and forth here. This is my first time running an Eberron campaign and it has been years since I've run anything.
Kaizer_Ryu 10-14-06, 01:52 AM	I have a couple of questions first: 1. From how you described it, the PC's were there when Llesh Vengaar was released. What led to them a.) not get owned b.) lose his trail c.) not have the blinding flash of obvious that he would try to restore the Dhakanni Empire? 2. The other tribes would not neccessarily kneel to him as one. This is some dried up husk from an age gone by. Why should he rule? Why doesn't he bend a knee to one of them? I know Llesh Vengaar would think he has every right to do so, but I don't see the ones in power now being so willing to just bow out. From what you described and the possible problems, I could see a massive civil war erupting. On one side are those who chose to follow Vengaar, feeling that a restored Empire was more important than loyalties to their tribe. On the other are those who refuse to bow to an ancient warlord who has not suffered with them, nor earned their respect with anything other than his past glories. The ones following Vengaar would likely put up a better fight, as they would be expertly led and under a single commander, while the rest would still be separated into their various factions. The PC's could ally with these disparate groups and, as you were thinking, take part in guerrilla warfare against an obviously superior force (attacking supply lines, stealing materials, etc.). Meh, take it if you wish. Note: All this is, of course, ignoring the fact that you sent the PC's into the Mournlands at or around level 1. You are either very lenient...or very evil. ;)
DarkPawn 10-14-06, 02:00 PM	I have a couple of questions first: 1. From how you described it, the PC's were there when Llesh Vengaar was released. What led to them a.) not get owned b.) lose his trail c.) not have the blinding flash of obvious that he would try to restore the Dhakanni Empire? 2. The other tribes would not neccessarily kneel to him as one. This is some dried up husk from an age gone by. Why should he rule? Why doesn't he bend a knee to one of them? I know Llesh Vengaar would think he has every right to do so, but I don't see the ones in power now being so willing to just bow out. From what you described and the possible problems, I could see a massive civil war erupting. On one side are those who chose to follow Vengaar, feeling that a restored Empire was more important than loyalties to their tribe. On the other are those who refuse to bow to an ancient warlord who has not suffered with them, nor earned their respect with anything other than his past glories. The ones following Vengaar would likely put up a better fight, as they would be expertly led and under a single commander, while the rest would still be separated into their various factions. The PC's could ally with these disparate groups and, as you were thinking, take part in guerrilla warfare against an obviously superior force (attacking supply lines, stealing materials, etc.). Meh, take it if you wish. Note: All this is, of course, ignoring the fact that you sent the PC's into the Mournlands at or around level 1. You are either very lenient...or very evil. ;) I'll try to clarify a bit. When Llesh Vengaar arouse he was in a weakened state. He was in no condition to fight a battle and unequipped to do so. The PC's basically left him alone and have no idea who he is. The only clue is a sword they found with ancient runes on it. This sword will hold some answers. Llesh Vengaar is not a sadistic crazed murderer. As long as the PC's stay out of his way at this point, he is more then happy to be free and will head to Darguun where he can sense his sword. As for sending the party into the Mournlands (most of them were 2nd level), I didn't send them. I offered possible adventure hooks and they chose this one. They are kind of regreting this decision and after shortly entering wanted to leave. The storm made them take shelter and they plan on leaving immediately after it stops. At full strength Llesh Vengaar is far more powerful then any leader in Darguun individually. He is also the owner of the sword carried by the Bladebearers. The prophecy could be viewed in many different versions. The version Llesh Vengaar is picking is the one that he is the last hope for the Dhakaani Empire. From what I've read about the Dhakaani Empire, they did not worship gods. They worshipped their ancestors. When one of those ancestors (and a hero from the past) shows up, I think some will be more then happy to follow him. The first step for Llesh Vengaar will be retrieving his sword from the Bladebearers. Assuming Chieften Ruus Dhakaan hands the sword over willingly or not is besides the point at this point. P.S. I am very evil. In this situation, the PC's found a dungeon basically and found some loot. They made it through alive and found a few treasures. The twist is they unleashed an ancient evil that is going to have a huge impact on the world. It will cause a civil war in Darguun. Now they have to decide if they will help solve the problem they created.
Kaizer_Ryu 10-14-06, 07:35 PM	Ah, that does make more sense. Thanks. From what I've read about the Dhakaani Empire, they did not worship gods. They worshipped their ancestors. When one of those ancestors (and a hero from the past) shows up, I think some will be more then happy to follow him. The first step for Llesh Vengaar will be retrieving his sword from the Bladebearers. Assuming Chieften Ruus Dhakaan hands the sword over willingly or not is besides the point at this point. I can't really find anything on who/what the Dhakanni worshipped at the moment, except a small blurb in ECS the says that most goblinoids worship the Mockery or the Shadow. More recently, Dol Dorn, Dol Arrah, and Balinor. But that may just be for the Ghaal'dar clans. Since Vengaar is going off the interpretation of the Prophesy that suits him best, I can see the PC's getting mixed up with Dragons of the Chamber (unbeknownst to the PC's, of course) as they try to guide the Prophsey to their own aims. It could lead to further adventures after (if) this one is taken care of.
DarkPawn 10-14-06, 07:41 PM	Ah, that does make more sense. Thanks. I can't really find anything on who/what the Dhakanni worshipped at the moment, except a small blurb in ECS the says that most goblinoids worship the Mockery or the Shadow. More recently, Dol Dorn, Dol Arrah, and Balinor. But that may just be for the Ghaal'dar clans. Since Vengaar is going off the interpretation of the Prophesy that suits him best, I can see the PC's getting mixed up with Dragons of the Chamber (unbeknownst to the PC's, of course) as they try to guide the Prophsey to their own aims. It could lead to further adventures after (if) this one is taken care of. I could have sworn I read somewhere that the Dhakaani were atheist except for the odd balls that worship the Mockery in Darguun now. Not sure where I read this but it kind of made sense to me. At this point I'm thinking about this story arc lasting for quite awhile. The PC's will basically be pawns on a chess board. Llesh Vengaar will make a move and the PC's will either stop him or fail in doing so. I foresee this going on for awhile and eventually they'll have a more personal confrontation with him. I really like Darguun and want to incorporate a good deal about it into my campaign. None of my PC's are goblinoids but I'm kind of a big fan of the Dhakaani Empire. I'm tempted to have one of the PC's get this Dhakaani artifact sword...which will have the standard curse, if you are not a goblinoid you become one if you use it.
Kaizer_Ryu 10-14-06, 08:09 PM	At this point I'm thinking about this story arc lasting for quite awhile. The PC's will basically be pawns on a chess board. Llesh Vengaar will make a move and the PC's will either stop him or fail in doing so. I foresee this going on for awhile and eventually they'll have a more personal confrontation with him. I really like Darguun and want to incorporate a good deal about it into my campaign. None of my PC's are goblinoids but I'm kind of a big fan of the Dhakaani Empire. I'm tempted to have one of the PC's get this Dhakaani artifact sword...which will have the standard curse, if you are not a goblinoid you become one if you use it. One of the best ways I could see this panning out is for the PC's to be recruited to find artifacts from the Dhakanni Empire. If you're fighting a warlord with his own uber artifacts, would it not make sense to try and find others to match up to them? It's no secret that artifacts of varying value turn up in various locations in Darguun on a daily basis. There could even be several times where the PC's and Vengaar's forces are racing after some rare artifact, and the PC's success makes the end battle that much easier. Maybe there is some ancient device the Dhakanni used to control their slaves, or an eldrich machine, or something of that nature. You may even want to thow in the slightly-cliched-yet-effective "Death Ray" plot. No matter what it is, it should probably follow the "If he gets this, it will be very, very bad" line. It could even be a "we don't know why he wants this, but it can't be good" situation, which I think is more likely, as well as more suspenseful. I might even throw in the twist that one of the NPC's they're working for was a spy, and at least some of artifacts the PC's worked so hard to find are taken anyway. They then have to race to stop his nefarious plans from coming to fruition. Just to frustrate the PC's, some of the artifacts could actually be useless, and the info was bogus in order to throw them off the trail. If you want, you could give the PC's info on various leads, and make them choose which one to follow. The black market in Rhukaan Draal would be a prime place for leads, rare items, not to mention loads of shady characters and intrigue. Of course, this would get boring if it was the only thing they did. To spice things up, you could send them on the standard hit-and-run guerrilla strikes, send them to disrupt command and control, or even root out spies in the group they work for. I guess it depends on your players and the abilities of their characters.
Teron Gorefiend 10-14-06, 10:27 PM	I'm afraid I don't have time to contribute much, but I'll point out that the Dhakaani were agnostic, with dirgesingers maintaining a sort of vague reverence for the empire's past. About the living breastplate... besides the fact that I don't think an undead creature could nourish a symbiont, isn't it odd for an ancient Dhakaani warlord to wear a creation of the Daelkyr?
DarkPawn 10-14-06, 10:44 PM	About the living breastplate... besides the fact that I don't think an undead creature could nourish a symbiont, isn't it odd for an ancient Dhakaani warlord to wear a creation of the Daelkyr? Llesh Vengaar has fast healing and the symbiont has altered a bit after he donned it (when he was still living). He took it from a daelkyr that he helped destroy (or defeat and trap). Thinking to use the daelkyr's own tools against them but this led to his corruption. It slowly altered him as he altered it. When he died the symbiont basically brought him back (think of the symbiont as an epic symbiont, compared to a normal one). Now the symbiont is a big key to his destruction.
DarkPawn 10-14-06, 10:48 PM	One of the best ways I could see this panning out is for the PC's to be recruited to find artifacts from the Dhakanni Empire. If you're fighting a warlord with his own uber artifacts, would it not make sense to try and find others to match up to them? It's no secret that artifacts of varying value turn up in various locations in Darguun on a daily basis. There could even be several times where the PC's and Vengaar's forces are racing after some rare artifact, and the PC's success makes the end battle that much easier. Maybe there is some ancient device the Dhakanni used to control their slaves, or an eldrich machine, or something of that nature. You may even want to thow in the slightly-cliched-yet-effective "Death Ray" plot. No matter what it is, it should probably follow the "If he gets this, it will be very, very bad" line. It could even be a "we don't know why he wants this, but it can't be good" situation, which I think is more likely, as well as more suspenseful. I might even throw in the twist that one of the NPC's they're working for was a spy, and at least some of artifacts the PC's worked so hard to find are taken anyway. They then have to race to stop his nefarious plans from coming to fruition. Just to frustrate the PC's, some of the artifacts could actually be useless, and the info was bogus in order to throw them off the trail. If you want, you could give the PC's info on various leads, and make them choose which one to follow. The black market in Rhukaan Draal would be a prime place for leads, rare items, not to mention loads of shady characters and intrigue. Of course, this would get boring if it was the only thing they did. To spice things up, you could send them on the standard hit-and-run guerrilla strikes, send them to disrupt command and control, or even root out spies in the group they work for. I guess it depends on your players and the abilities of their characters. Very good ideas and many were how I was thinking about having the adventure turn out. The first serious issue is Llesh Vengaar trying to take the Wordbearers citadel. If they don't receive aid they will surely fall over time. If the PC's and some of Llesh Haruuc's troops show up they could swing the battle. If they decide they don't care Llesh Vengaar will have a nice little fortress to plot from. This will make it much harder later on for the PC's to reach him if they decide to. I plan on having each and every event affect how things will turn out far into the future. If the PC's stop a good number of Llesh Vengaar's plots, they will have a much easier time of defeating him far down the road.
goblin_pride 10-15-06, 09:43 AM	The first serious issue is Llesh Vengaar trying to take the Wordbearers citadel. If they don't receive aid they will surely fall over time. ok, I don't know if you noticed it or not, but Rhukaan Draal, the capital of Darguun is the home of the Rhukaan'tash tribe, Lhesh Haruuc being their leader. Now that being said, do you suppose it's possible that the Kech Volaar tribe make their home in the city of Volaar Draal? The ECS puts it's population at what, a little over eight thousand people? A city that large would require a very long and very extensive siege to begin with, but the book describes the holdings of the Kech Volaar as having things like caverns where food is grown inside the city. I could be wrong, but wasn't starvation one of the top three reasons a city falls? Not trying to completely rain on your parade, it'd be more likely to work as a logical step if the Dhakaani hero that strode out of the past unified the dhakaani tribes and marched on Rhukaan Draal. There's another dhakaani blade there in the hands of a non-dhakaani hobgoblin with the unabashed gall to call himself a Lhesh as well, certain to torque the nuts of any true Dhakaani warlord. Just my take on it, but what do I know, I'm just a cowardly little gobbo....
DarkPawn 10-15-06, 03:13 PM	ok, I don't know if you noticed it or not, but Rhukaan Draal, the capital of Darguun is the home of the Rhukaan'tash tribe, Lhesh Haruuc being their leader. Now that being said, do you suppose it's possible that the Kech Volaar tribe make their home in the city of Volaar Draal? The ECS puts it's population at what, a little over eight thousand people? A city that large would require a very long and very extensive siege to begin with, but the book describes the holdings of the Kech Volaar as having things like caverns where food is grown inside the city. I could be wrong, but wasn't starvation one of the top three reasons a city falls? Not trying to completely rain on your parade, it'd be more likely to work as a logical step if the Dhakaani hero that strode out of the past unified the dhakaani tribes and marched on Rhukaan Draal. There's another dhakaani blade there in the hands of a non-dhakaani hobgoblin with the unabashed gall to call himself a Lhesh as well, certain to torque the nuts of any true Dhakaani warlord. Just my take on it, but what do I know, I'm just a cowardly little gobbo.... I disagree with how you're viewing things. The Wordbearers are the smallest Dhakaani Tribe. They clearly state this. Also Ruus Dhakaan has made attempts on engulfing Volaar. When Vengaar shows up Russ Dhakaan will still want to unite the Dhakaani tribes. Marching on the capital would be suicide for Vengaar. There are 82,000+ people there. They are very loyal to Llesh Haruuc and the Houses have pull there too. Llesh Vengaar does not have an army yet. He has a handful of hobgoblins that were planning on freeing him. He is heading back to Ruus Dhakaan because he has his sword. He will take it back, and then Ruus will most likely fall in behind him (temporary at least) to use Vengaar's legend to start pulling the tribes to his banner. Ruus Dhakaan is not ready to take Llesh Haruuc on, but this is perfect. No matter what happens he can end up ahead of the game. If Llesh Haruuc defeats Llesh Vengaar he can say he was forced or charmed. If Llesh Vengaar wins the Dhakaani Tribes will be ruling and he can then focus on overthrowing Llesh Vengaar. Either way when things pan out both parties might be very weak, and ripe for the plucking. Volaar Draal is the perfect prize. Yes it is highly defended but far less then the capital. Volaar is the key to uniting all the Dhakaani Tribes under one banner. As long as Volaar's wordbearers are against the bladebearers, they will never be united. Volaar Draal is also a wonderful fortress like you pointed out. I'm not saying that Vengaar has to lay siege to the fortress with Ruus Dhakaan but that is definately a possibility. Llesh Vengaar will force all of Dhakaan's troops toward Volaar Draal, not holding anything back.
goblin_pride 10-19-06, 01:10 AM	I disagree with how you're viewing things. The Wordbearers are the smallest Dhakaani Tribe. They clearly state this. Also Ruus Dhakaan has made attempts on engulfing Volaar. When Vengaar shows up Russ Dhakaan will still want to unite the Dhakaani tribes. Marching on the capital would be suicide for Vengaar. There are 82,000+ people there. They are very loyal to Llesh Haruuc and the Houses have pull there too. Llesh Vengaar does not have an army yet. He has a handful of hobgoblins that were planning on freeing him. He is heading back to Ruus Dhakaan because he has his sword. He will take it back, and then Ruus will most likely fall in behind him (temporary at least) to use Vengaar's legend to start pulling the tribes to his banner. Ruus Dhakaan is not ready to take Llesh Haruuc on, but this is perfect. No matter what happens he can end up ahead of the game. If Llesh Haruuc defeats Llesh Vengaar he can say he was forced or charmed. If Llesh Vengaar wins the Dhakaani Tribes will be ruling and he can then focus on overthrowing Llesh Vengaar. Either way when things pan out both parties might be very weak, and ripe for the plucking. Volaar Draal is the perfect prize. Yes it is highly defended but far less then the capital. Volaar is the key to uniting all the Dhakaani Tribes under one banner. As long as Volaar's wordbearers are against the bladebearers, they will never be united. Volaar Draal is also a wonderful fortress like you pointed out. I'm not saying that Vengaar has to lay siege to the fortress with Ruus Dhakaan but that is definately a possibility. Llesh Vengaar will force all of Dhakaan's troops toward Volaar Draal, not holding anything back. You've missed the point as well, I think. The bone of contention is the succession among the two Dhakaani heirs, if a Lhesh from the past comes walking in after multiple centuries in stasis, odds are good both tribes will tell him to sod off, but if one follows, most likely it would be the Kech Volaar because they would have records showing that the Lhesh in question really is a Dhakaani lhesh. So logic dictates that they would be the easier of the two to tame and conveniently the leader of the Kech Volaar is a useless twit and the Dirgesinger seems to make all the decisions. Your Lhesh Vengaar could be the one Hobgoblin that would unify the Dhakaani remnant and thus he would march on Rhukaan Draal to remove the usurper Haruuc. With the combined strength of both Dhakaani tribes and all of their assorted goblinoid clans as well as the Kalkor among the Marghuul, your Lhesh Vengaar would easily take the capitol in a matter of days if not hours. Remember, the Dhakaani have all the skills of the Empire, things like taking a city or defending one are their strong points. As to why the Kech Volaar would join, their dirgesinger would make an excellent leiutenant to Lhesh Vengaar and I'm sure a Dhakaani Lhesh would never consider going to war against one, but with one under his banner? Positions of prominence for the leaders of both tribes would make them close ranks rather nicely. Remember the Dragonshard articles, the average Dhakaani you'll see outside of Darguun is around 6th level in player classes, that means an awful lot of lower level ones hidden in the mountain strongholds. Lhesh Haruuc's ragtag government couldn't stand up to an attack by an organized and united Dhakaani force. And if Ruus Dhakaan is killed trying to bring the head of Haruuc to Vengaar, that's the cost of warfare, neh?
DarkPawn 10-19-06, 01:58 AM	You've missed the point as well, I think. The bone of contention is the succession among the two Dhakaani heirs, if a Lhesh from the past comes walking in after multiple centuries in stasis, odds are good both tribes will tell him to sod off, but if one follows, most likely it would be the Kech Volaar because they would have records showing that the Lhesh in question really is a Dhakaani lhesh. So logic dictates that they would be the easier of the two to tame and conveniently the leader of the Kech Volaar is a useless twit and the Dirgesinger seems to make all the decisions. Your Lhesh Vengaar could be the one Hobgoblin that would unify the Dhakaani remnant and thus he would march on Rhukaan Draal to remove the usurper Haruuc. With the combined strength of both Dhakaani tribes and all of their assorted goblinoid clans as well as the Kalkor among the Marghuul, your Lhesh Vengaar would easily take the capitol in a matter of days if not hours. Remember, the Dhakaani have all the skills of the Empire, things like taking a city or defending one are their strong points. As to why the Kech Volaar would join, their dirgesinger would make an excellent leiutenant to Lhesh Vengaar and I'm sure a Dhakaani Lhesh would never consider going to war against one, but with one under his banner? Positions of prominence for the leaders of both tribes would make them close ranks rather nicely. Remember the Dragonshard articles, the average Dhakaani you'll see outside of Darguun is around 6th level in player classes, that means an awful lot of lower level ones hidden in the mountain strongholds. Lhesh Haruuc's ragtag government couldn't stand up to an attack by an organized and united Dhakaani force. And if Ruus Dhakaan is killed trying to bring the head of Haruuc to Vengaar, that's the cost of warfare, neh? No offense, because I did ask for opinions afterall; however, I think you're stating things as if your way is definately the only way that would work. I think many different scenarios could play out. The fact that the Bladebearers are carrying an artifact that they are named after, hence a blade...is part of the Ruus's clan history. They were suposed to hold this blade till Vengaar returned... that is a big part of the storyline. I guess Ruus could change his mind but that is the reason they have been holding the blade for 5,000 years now. It is a huge element in my back story. There is more to why the wordbearers won't willingly join Vengaar, this is more history and legends that only they remember. Mainly, after he donned the symbiont armor he began to change and fall from the ideals of the Dhakaani. He was basically becoming like a Daelkyr and hence why he was banished. This isn't common knowledge but the Wordbearers believe their version of this tale. I'm not saying your idea is bad. I'm merely trying to say there are many ways to skin a cat. I don't think my idea is really that bad either. It is all about fun...and making a story for people to play in. If Vengaar shows up then crushes Haruuc, that won't really leave anything for my PC's to do. Darguun will become united under Vengaar who will lead them against the other nations to try and reforge the Dhakaani Empire. This doesn't leave much for a group of level 2 to 3 characters to do. With my storyline they will have a lot of options for adventure and eventually Vengaar may win Darguun. If this happens the PC's should now be of a level to do something about it. Again, thanks for your opinions. Just seems like you're speaking in the definitive of how this is how it would happen. I think there are many more options then just your view.