Concerning Drow... [Archive] - Wizards Community

Concerning Drow... [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
scissors
05-22-05, 11:39 PM First off I'd like to thank everyone who responded to my last request for campaign help.
Second I think I've decided to run my party through the published adventures first, and starting my home-brewed campaign at around 7th level. ( It is under my impression the party will average around this level after Grasp. Correct me if I'm wrong so I can make the proper adjustments. )

I've decided to incorporate the Drow as a recognizable force. I've always been a drow fan, ever since my addiction to Everquest.

What I need now, is ideas on an epic-scale reason a powerful drow would be the campaign focus. I would like to steer clear of X'endrik for now, and make it a stop later on in the campaign when the party finally takes the battle to the enemy's home turf.
The main npc will be someone I've used in numerous campaigns. Morfalath D'Sade, a drow of course... and I think this time I will make him cleric/wizard mystic theurge. I have gleefull fantasies about using the spell Spiderform ( FRCS ) and changing it to Scorpionform.

I kinda want to keep away from the "BBEG has a powerful artifact that needs to be recovered" type of adventure if at all possible... and ultimately have this drow end up being a force that needs to be dealt with. Perhaps not on a world shattering scale, but enough to make most of Khorvaire's attention to focus on him.
Any ideas? Are there any factions a drow might have dealings with? Maybe only for the time being because it serves his purpose...
I've also decided to finally use the Sharn location for this, and utilize the City of Towers sourcebook.
And yes, I would still like to use Heroes of Battle in the future.
Thanks in advance for any input!
Scissors
Luni
05-23-05, 01:11 AM Story with a twist.

The drow of Xen'Drik are slowly getting massacred. One at a time, entire families at a time, it seems to be an unstoppable, undetectable thing. So, the drow have gathered around Morfalath D'Sade.

Morfalath D'Sade has said that the thing hunting them is bound to Xen'Drik, so he believes that the drow should emigrate of Khorvaire. Of course, the immigration doesn't go well, as the powers that be don't want a powerful new force showing up. So some drow end up fighting back, and taking territory by force.

As for the thing hunting the drow? It could be Morfalath D'Sade himself, trying to create an army. It could be the dragons, trying to fulfill part of the prophecy. It could be the Lords of Dust. Or it could be someone from Khorvaire, who is trying to use the drow to restart the war.

In the end, this Morfalath D'Sade doesn't even have to be the villain. He could be misunderstood, and the party could bring peace and a place on Khorvaire for the drow.

I don't think most people would see this story coming.
Just another user
05-23-05, 04:01 AM What about the old, but always true "someone stole the holy artifact he was guarding and now he is seriously ****** and will go to any length to recover it and punish the reponsable (where 'responsable' could include the whole of Korvhaine"?

To elaborate a litte, at the time of the fall of the giant empire the tribe of Morph received the duty to guard a powerful Giant's artifact, or the pieces of it (the same that was used to kick away Dal Quor, maybe?) and be sure that nobody will use it again. Some time ago someone was able to stole some of those pieces, now Morph is sending his people to Korvhaine to find them and if they fall is willing to destroy all the life on Korvhaine to be sure that nobody use it. To add a twist you could even make it not Evil , the point is the artifact is excedingly powerful, if it is used again, expecially wihout a full knowledge of how it works, there is the serious risk that non only Korvhaine, but the whole world will be destroyed. Morfalath is only going for the lesser evil from his point of view.
scissors
05-23-05, 05:16 PM Very good ideas! I think I will actually be able to utilize both of them, as a matter of fact.
Not sure about making Morf "misunderstood" though, he's always been the "Darth Sidious" of my FR campaigns. :D
I'm using other npc's from my last game.. I was a player though not a DM. They were FR characters, one Aphael Pel Talath, an Evereskan conjuror who is now Aphael Pel Talath d'Phiarlan... a bard (or is she?) Haha!
And Rumil Arines, an npc of the campaign "The Wounded Kingdom" and long-time staple character of one of my close friends. He was a Bladesinger in WK... so I think I will keep him the way he was.
Im a long way from it, since I still have to run the three published adventures and get the characters to 7th level.
Hm, will they even be 7th level at the end of Grasp of the Emerald Claw? If not I can adjust accordingly.
But if anyone is interested I can post a synopsis as the storyline unfolds, as I've seen others do here. :)
Looking forward to this!
Just another user
05-23-05, 07:26 PM Very good ideas! I think I will actually be able to utilize both of them, as a matter of fact.
Not sure about making Morf "misunderstood" though, he's always been the "Darth Sidious" of my FR campaigns. :D

Then it is easy, just make him persuade the characters that he is misundertood and then make him backstab them. :)
scissors
05-23-05, 11:56 PM Then it is easy, just make him persuade the characters that he is misundertood and then make him backstab them. :)

Excellent idea! Although I must admit.. Im glad I will be using this tactic with a new group. My old party would NEVER trust any character I name Morfalath. LOL.

I'm pretty sure I've got the hook and beginning down.

It will start with the pc's being invited to attend a performance by Aphael, a dance and song number being held in Menthis. Afterward, they will be invited to attend a dinner gathering alongside Aphael and Rumil along with many nobles from the area.
Sometime during the meal, drow assassin will attack. Using their darkness ability for cover, they will hurl boomerang by the dozens. This is merely for effect, Im not sure how many there will actually be. Im thinking they are on the rafters above the table, and crawled in from the roof. Each boomerang will be coated with white poison. Many of the nobles will be slain, and Aphael and Rumil will be wounded and poisoned.. ( this should take care of the 'why don't you higher level npc's help us' question ). As they escape 3 cloaked beings will drop from the rafters and land on the table.
The cloak falls away revealing what they really are... scorpion swarms. Good thing this dining hall opted for real torches instead of everbright lanterns, eh?
A while later, and after some investigating... Ambassador Morfalath shows up on peaceful terms, and explains the situation more thoroughly...
Just another user
05-24-05, 02:50 PM Excellent idea! Although I must admit.. Im glad I will be using this tactic with a new group. My old party would NEVER trust any character I name Morfalath. LOL.

The cloak falls away revealing what they really are... scorpion swarms. Good thing this dining hall opted for real torches instead of everbright lanterns, eh?
A while later, and after some investigating... Ambassador Morfalath shows up on peaceful terms, and explains the situation more thoroughly...

Ambassador? So in your Eberron Drows are civilized enough to have stable relationship with the Five Nation? Interesting, I admit that I was thinking a more discrete approach with the drow going around hooded and cloaked, possibly even magically, asking questions about the last Xen'drik expedition and the members of this expedition staring to be found dead by poison or by some weird bladed weapon, IMHo you should keep hidden form the players than they are fighting drows as long as is possible to increase the surprise,they could use local hands that they have payed or charmed, summoned creatures, weird "made in xen'drik" warforged or other construct.

That is, unless seeing a drow in Korhvaine in your game is not such a big deal, like it seems, if it is so then forget it.
scissors
05-25-05, 12:06 AM Well, no I don't want it that common. I just thought the boomerangs and scorpion swarms would be a dead give-away.
Ambassador is just a name he gave himself. In reality, he would be no better than the assassins, both groups just want the same thing and Morfalath tries a more sleazy diplomatic approach at first. As a matter of fact, he hopes to use the higher-ups to help him eradicate the opposing drow force, leaving it open for himself.
I just thought it would be cool for him to arrive amongst a few loyal followers and present himself and his false intentions to Phiarlan... giving the illusion of being civil and able to put aside his differences to achieve something of more importance.

I feel the drow in my game should be more civilized and perhaps xenophobic at the same time. I've just never pictured them as barbaric really. Especially after escaping slavery from giants.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
scissors 05-22-05, 11:39 PM	First off I'd like to thank everyone who responded to my last request for campaign help. Second I think I've decided to run my party through the published adventures first, and starting my home-brewed campaign at around 7th level. ( It is under my impression the party will average around this level after Grasp. Correct me if I'm wrong so I can make the proper adjustments. ) I've decided to incorporate the Drow as a recognizable force. I've always been a drow fan, ever since my addiction to Everquest. What I need now, is ideas on an epic-scale reason a powerful drow would be the campaign focus. I would like to steer clear of X'endrik for now, and make it a stop later on in the campaign when the party finally takes the battle to the enemy's home turf. The main npc will be someone I've used in numerous campaigns. Morfalath D'Sade, a drow of course... and I think this time I will make him cleric/wizard mystic theurge. I have gleefull fantasies about using the spell Spiderform ( FRCS ) and changing it to Scorpionform. I kinda want to keep away from the "BBEG has a powerful artifact that needs to be recovered" type of adventure if at all possible... and ultimately have this drow end up being a force that needs to be dealt with. Perhaps not on a world shattering scale, but enough to make most of Khorvaire's attention to focus on him. Any ideas? Are there any factions a drow might have dealings with? Maybe only for the time being because it serves his purpose... I've also decided to finally use the Sharn location for this, and utilize the City of Towers sourcebook. And yes, I would still like to use Heroes of Battle in the future. Thanks in advance for any input! Scissors
Luni 05-23-05, 01:11 AM	Story with a twist. The drow of Xen'Drik are slowly getting massacred. One at a time, entire families at a time, it seems to be an unstoppable, undetectable thing. So, the drow have gathered around Morfalath D'Sade. Morfalath D'Sade has said that the thing hunting them is bound to Xen'Drik, so he believes that the drow should emigrate of Khorvaire. Of course, the immigration doesn't go well, as the powers that be don't want a powerful new force showing up. So some drow end up fighting back, and taking territory by force. As for the thing hunting the drow? It could be Morfalath D'Sade himself, trying to create an army. It could be the dragons, trying to fulfill part of the prophecy. It could be the Lords of Dust. Or it could be someone from Khorvaire, who is trying to use the drow to restart the war. In the end, this Morfalath D'Sade doesn't even have to be the villain. He could be misunderstood, and the party could bring peace and a place on Khorvaire for the drow. I don't think most people would see this story coming.
Just another user 05-23-05, 04:01 AM	What about the old, but always true "someone stole the holy artifact he was guarding and now he is seriously ****** and will go to any length to recover it and punish the reponsable (where 'responsable' could include the whole of Korvhaine"? To elaborate a litte, at the time of the fall of the giant empire the tribe of Morph received the duty to guard a powerful Giant's artifact, or the pieces of it (the same that was used to kick away Dal Quor, maybe?) and be sure that nobody will use it again. Some time ago someone was able to stole some of those pieces, now Morph is sending his people to Korvhaine to find them and if they fall is willing to destroy all the life on Korvhaine to be sure that nobody use it. To add a twist you could even make it not Evil , the point is the artifact is excedingly powerful, if it is used again, expecially wihout a full knowledge of how it works, there is the serious risk that non only Korvhaine, but the whole world will be destroyed. Morfalath is only going for the lesser evil from his point of view.
scissors 05-23-05, 05:16 PM	Very good ideas! I think I will actually be able to utilize both of them, as a matter of fact. Not sure about making Morf "misunderstood" though, he's always been the "Darth Sidious" of my FR campaigns. :D I'm using other npc's from my last game.. I was a player though not a DM. They were FR characters, one Aphael Pel Talath, an Evereskan conjuror who is now Aphael Pel Talath d'Phiarlan... a bard (or is she?) Haha! And Rumil Arines, an npc of the campaign "The Wounded Kingdom" and long-time staple character of one of my close friends. He was a Bladesinger in WK... so I think I will keep him the way he was. Im a long way from it, since I still have to run the three published adventures and get the characters to 7th level. Hm, will they even be 7th level at the end of Grasp of the Emerald Claw? If not I can adjust accordingly. But if anyone is interested I can post a synopsis as the storyline unfolds, as I've seen others do here. :) Looking forward to this!
Just another user 05-23-05, 07:26 PM	Very good ideas! I think I will actually be able to utilize both of them, as a matter of fact. Not sure about making Morf "misunderstood" though, he's always been the "Darth Sidious" of my FR campaigns. :D Then it is easy, just make him persuade the characters that he is misundertood and then make him backstab them. :)
scissors 05-23-05, 11:56 PM	Then it is easy, just make him persuade the characters that he is misundertood and then make him backstab them. :) Excellent idea! Although I must admit.. Im glad I will be using this tactic with a new group. My old party would NEVER trust any character I name Morfalath. LOL. I'm pretty sure I've got the hook and beginning down. It will start with the pc's being invited to attend a performance by Aphael, a dance and song number being held in Menthis. Afterward, they will be invited to attend a dinner gathering alongside Aphael and Rumil along with many nobles from the area. Sometime during the meal, drow assassin will attack. Using their darkness ability for cover, they will hurl boomerang by the dozens. This is merely for effect, Im not sure how many there will actually be. Im thinking they are on the rafters above the table, and crawled in from the roof. Each boomerang will be coated with white poison. Many of the nobles will be slain, and Aphael and Rumil will be wounded and poisoned.. ( this should take care of the 'why don't you higher level npc's help us' question ). As they escape 3 cloaked beings will drop from the rafters and land on the table. The cloak falls away revealing what they really are... scorpion swarms. Good thing this dining hall opted for real torches instead of everbright lanterns, eh? A while later, and after some investigating... Ambassador Morfalath shows up on peaceful terms, and explains the situation more thoroughly...
Just another user 05-24-05, 02:50 PM	Excellent idea! Although I must admit.. Im glad I will be using this tactic with a new group. My old party would NEVER trust any character I name Morfalath. LOL. The cloak falls away revealing what they really are... scorpion swarms. Good thing this dining hall opted for real torches instead of everbright lanterns, eh? A while later, and after some investigating... Ambassador Morfalath shows up on peaceful terms, and explains the situation more thoroughly... Ambassador? So in your Eberron Drows are civilized enough to have stable relationship with the Five Nation? Interesting, I admit that I was thinking a more discrete approach with the drow going around hooded and cloaked, possibly even magically, asking questions about the last Xen'drik expedition and the members of this expedition staring to be found dead by poison or by some weird bladed weapon, IMHo you should keep hidden form the players than they are fighting drows as long as is possible to increase the surprise,they could use local hands that they have payed or charmed, summoned creatures, weird "made in xen'drik" warforged or other construct. That is, unless seeing a drow in Korhvaine in your game is not such a big deal, like it seems, if it is so then forget it.
scissors 05-25-05, 12:06 AM	Well, no I don't want it that common. I just thought the boomerangs and scorpion swarms would be a dead give-away. Ambassador is just a name he gave himself. In reality, he would be no better than the assassins, both groups just want the same thing and Morfalath tries a more sleazy diplomatic approach at first. As a matter of fact, he hopes to use the higher-ups to help him eradicate the opposing drow force, leaving it open for himself. I just thought it would be cool for him to arrive amongst a few loyal followers and present himself and his false intentions to Phiarlan... giving the illusion of being civil and able to put aside his differences to achieve something of more importance. I feel the drow in my game should be more civilized and perhaps xenophobic at the same time. I've just never pictured them as barbaric really. Especially after escaping slavery from giants.