False Mark of Death [Archive] - Wizards Community

False Mark of Death [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
He-Who-Sits
01-09-06, 08:52 PM I've been kicking around an idea, but for the life of me I am haveing a tough time justifying its use.

It is based around the mark of death, specifically, a hoax involving fooling people into thinking someone has it. Someone would have to have a tattoo that at least resembles the mark (looking it up might be trouble some, but not impossible). Then have an elf who would wear the thing, and then perhaps imbue to tattoo with some magic so they can cast some death related spells (inflict spells would probly work).

The problem come when I wonder "Why would anyone do this?" Sure it could fool people for short periods of time, and as long as it was never closely examined, but the Dragon Mark Houses, Undying Court, and Vol would take a very unhealthy intrest in those perpetrating the fraud. It is a plot point I'd like the throw players in a loop over, but I am not sure where to start. I'd love to hear any ideas.
Rekko
01-09-06, 09:37 PM House Phiarlan, weilding the Mark of Shadow, have found an elf bearing the Mark of Death. A house member, apparently sent by the matriarch, approches the PCs and ask them to invistigate. The NPC is in fact an Emerald Claw Infiltrator within House Phiarlan. Vol wants to meet with the bearer of the mark, but does not want to attract attention on the fact that the Mark of Death might finally reappeared.

At this point, you choose. Either it was a prank. Someone made on himself a permanent arcane mark shaped like the Mark of Death. It could be a psionic tatoo, anything. Or it is an abberant dragonmark who ressembles the Mark of Death in shape and/or in powers. Or the Mark of Death truely reappear.

The PC's need to fallow the Death dragonmarked elf for two weeks and identify his talents and the mark. Moreover, they need to bring him to the NPC who hired them. Then, he can hire them to bring the elf to Vol herself. If it's a prank, she'll probably kill the elf, want to kill the PCs, alter their memories, name it. If it's a real Mark of Death, she will force the PCs to work for her and being high ranked within the Emerald Claw of the Blood of Vol.

Hope it helps
Rekko
Realmsrat
01-09-06, 10:22 PM Have you forgotten about the Traveller and his minions? I suspect at least one among their number would be crazy enough to send shoackwaves through the dragon marked houses by making a false Mark of Death.
Feor
01-09-06, 10:45 PM Why wouldn't the Blood of Vol themselves propogate the myth? Perhaps they have some grand scheme forming somewhere, so they decide to distract the Twelve and everyone else, by having the mark of death reappear. They'd be the most likely to know what it looks like, being the only group to have access to the actual Article (the Aerenal Elves might have drawings of one, but the House of Death was annihilated before the other races would have had much chance to interact with it.

So, one night while celebrating their latest victory in the local town, one of the PCs (an Elf or Half-Elf, or even one of the young races if you want to get people really worked up) dissapears, but he's back in bed the next morning, except... what's this strange tatoo? It's.. it's a dragonmark!

Really it's an advanced artifact, a carefully crafted arcane mark with epic level permanancy cast on it. Also, under the skin where it is the Blood implanted him with a tile having the same properties as an eternal wand of... something suitable for a least mark of Death, Inflict Minor seems most likely, though something like Ray of Enfeeblement or Chill touch could work.

The players are now on the run. The houses have been tipped off, and are after them. Perhaps every so often the afflicted character vanishes for a few hours (when no one would miss him) and when he reappears his mark has manifested to a new level. The party would have to find out where this mark comes from, and if they figure out it's fake, they have to go to the Blood and somehow force them to remove the mark. (Plus, if you've read City of Towers, the Houses wouldn't be the only interested Party ;))
He-Who-Sits
01-09-06, 10:52 PM Have you forgotten about the Traveller and his minions? I suspect at least one among their number would be crazy enough to send shoackwaves through the dragon marked houses by making a false Mark of Death.

Yes I did actully. Infact, I compleatly forgot about the dark six and the soveren host. My champagn is focused on Karreth and Thrane, and those just slipped my mind. A bit embarassing actully.

Rekko, yours is a nice idea, I need to modify a few bits to fit in but some good ideas.
FartKnocker
01-09-06, 11:14 PM There are beings who remember what the Mark of Death is, what it stands for, how it looks and it's history. I'm thinking Rakshasa. They have been around for a long time, waiting patiently. They would have the desire and know-how to pull this off and make it believable. Plus, I think they would enjoy it too. :) Heck, they might even have a REAL Mark of Death person entombed, mummified, resurrected somewhere. Definitely a high-level entaglement.

I've tried to seduce a PC into manifesting the Mark of Death for free. They wouldn't fall for it. My group doesn't fall for my 'freebie' traps any more.

Maybe I should tempt them with snacks? Hmm......

FartKnocker
The Necromancer King
01-10-06, 07:22 AM Three of my players currently have manifested the Dragonmark of Death. They're human (an oversight on my part; inexperience with the game world before our first campaign started. I know better now). It's caused a fair bit of ruckus for many, many game sessions, and recently got their mother (and in a roundabout way, one of them) killed. Which sucks a lot because most of the story revolves around these three, and if another dies I may well have to scrap the campaign as a dud and move on.

I would have to say of all the Big Names in Eberron, the most likely to produce a fake dragonmark would be King Kaius. The man wants out from the power of the Blood of Vol, and if he thought for an instant he could create a fake to fool Erandis herself, he'd do it. It's a big gamble, but in the end, it's worth it for him.
MarkB
01-10-06, 09:31 AM Here's a thought: Someone powerful (perhaps a member of one of the Elven Houses of Shadow, perhaps Erandis d'Vol out for revenge) has a really big grudge against one of the larger Aereni Elven families.

They can't strike at so powerful and remote a group directly, but they know the history of the House of Vol, especially its demise. So they arrange to have a member of the family knocked out and kidnapped briefly, just long enough to have them imbued with a false Least Dragonmark of Death (actually a magical tattoo), including an appropriate innate ability.

They arrange for the family member to be found by some high-ranking member of a dragonmarked house, who will recognise the 'mark' - and then they start the rumour-mill stirring, especially ensuring that some of the more accurate rumours reach the ears of a member of the Chamber, hoping to eventually trigger another draconic reprisal like the one which wiped out House Vol.
Feor
01-10-06, 09:35 AM House Vol wasn't wiped out for having the Mark of Death though, they were wiped out for breeding a half-dragon (Erandis) the destruction of the Mark of Death was just a side effect.
Rekko
01-10-06, 09:48 AM The mixed ideas of The Necromancer King, Feor and myself could be really interesting, might even consider a few sessions on it.

House Phiarlan found a elf carrying a least Mark of Death.
A house member, apparently sent by the matriarch, an elf carrying a Mark of Shadow, hires the PCs to watch the Death dragonmarked elf. I would say the NPC is xxxx d'Phiarlan who was seduce by the Blood of Vol and entered either or both The Blood of Vol and the Emerald Claw.
While watching the prey, the PCs lost track of her and when they find her back, she has a lesser dragonmark.
It is a servitor of Kaius who puts the mark on the elf skin. I suggest the PCs don't know about it for now. They can fight with the servitor if they see him kidnap the elf but would flee before answering any question.
The PCs bring the elf to xxxx d'Phiarlan. He pays them whatever was the promise price plus a beautiful and attractive bonus. The PCs demand why or he tells them it is for them to bring the elf into the Lazaar Principalities on the island of Farlnen. The PCs shouldn't know it is Vol's lair, they could think it's a House Phiarlan outpost or even headquarters.
The PCs could eventually meet Vol, she figures out it's a false mark, she rages and kill the elf. Then, she turns onto the PCs. I would make them spend an action point to calm Vol if they don't have the level to fight her. If they fight her, she kills one PC then ask them to find who's behind all this.
She resurrects the dead PC. The only track they have is that man who kidnapped the elf...
Then you decide: the PCs could find Kaius' minion quickly or they don't and set off on another mission in the region and hope to meet again the minion. If your PCs are creative enough, they can hire mercenaries to find him, glue wanted postcards or set any trap to bring the minion or even Kaius to them. Vol would understand that one single person to found in a mass is quite a deal so she won't press the matter, but would want reports on the progress.

That's one alternative. The other one would be:

If there's an elf in your party, make him victim who carries the false Mark of Death.
Then the same story occurs but the PCs are the ones being watched by another adventuring party hired by xxxx d'Phiarlan.
They can meet or fight with them to figure out what's happening.
They will fight Kaius' minion and lose.
Eventually, they will meet with xxxx d'Phiarlan, either they have been taken to him by the hired adventurers or they beaten them and arranged a meeting with the house member.
If they were taken, they will be brought to Vol's lair. They can try to escape but will eventually be going there.
If they met xxxx d'Phiarlan, he could have bought the PCs and ask them to go into Vol's lair.
At Vol's lair, she meets with the PCs, kill the elf with the false mark, spend action point to calm her or fight her until one other PC is dead, hires them to invistigate on the kidnapper, brings back dead PCs, eh voila!

Rekko
Rekko
02-04-06, 03:06 PM He-Who-Sits, have you played out the adventure yet? If yes, how did it go? If not, how's the progress doing?

Rekko
(Psi)SeveredHead
02-04-06, 05:59 PM It could be a form of terrorism. Instead of claiming you have a super-weapon that can cause another Day of Mourning, you could pretend to have the Mark of Death. If you can kill people magically while your mark glows, people may believe it. Unlike a Day of Mourning/nuclear weapon, which is something you don't want to demonstrate.

Now claim you're not the only one with the "Mark of Death" :devil:

Or it could be a madman who believes he or she has the Mark of Death, when they really don't... instead, they've got an aberrant mark that bears some resemblance to the real Mark of Death.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
He-Who-Sits 01-09-06, 08:52 PM	I've been kicking around an idea, but for the life of me I am haveing a tough time justifying its use. It is based around the mark of death, specifically, a hoax involving fooling people into thinking someone has it. Someone would have to have a tattoo that at least resembles the mark (looking it up might be trouble some, but not impossible). Then have an elf who would wear the thing, and then perhaps imbue to tattoo with some magic so they can cast some death related spells (inflict spells would probly work). The problem come when I wonder "Why would anyone do this?" Sure it could fool people for short periods of time, and as long as it was never closely examined, but the Dragon Mark Houses, Undying Court, and Vol would take a very unhealthy intrest in those perpetrating the fraud. It is a plot point I'd like the throw players in a loop over, but I am not sure where to start. I'd love to hear any ideas.
Rekko 01-09-06, 09:37 PM	House Phiarlan, weilding the Mark of Shadow, have found an elf bearing the Mark of Death. A house member, apparently sent by the matriarch, approches the PCs and ask them to invistigate. The NPC is in fact an Emerald Claw Infiltrator within House Phiarlan. Vol wants to meet with the bearer of the mark, but does not want to attract attention on the fact that the Mark of Death might finally reappeared. At this point, you choose. Either it was a prank. Someone made on himself a permanent arcane mark shaped like the Mark of Death. It could be a psionic tatoo, anything. Or it is an abberant dragonmark who ressembles the Mark of Death in shape and/or in powers. Or the Mark of Death truely reappear. The PC's need to fallow the Death dragonmarked elf for two weeks and identify his talents and the mark. Moreover, they need to bring him to the NPC who hired them. Then, he can hire them to bring the elf to Vol herself. If it's a prank, she'll probably kill the elf, want to kill the PCs, alter their memories, name it. If it's a real Mark of Death, she will force the PCs to work for her and being high ranked within the Emerald Claw of the Blood of Vol. Hope it helps Rekko
Realmsrat 01-09-06, 10:22 PM	Have you forgotten about the Traveller and his minions? I suspect at least one among their number would be crazy enough to send shoackwaves through the dragon marked houses by making a false Mark of Death.
Feor 01-09-06, 10:45 PM	Why wouldn't the Blood of Vol themselves propogate the myth? Perhaps they have some grand scheme forming somewhere, so they decide to distract the Twelve and everyone else, by having the mark of death reappear. They'd be the most likely to know what it looks like, being the only group to have access to the actual Article (the Aerenal Elves might have drawings of one, but the House of Death was annihilated before the other races would have had much chance to interact with it. So, one night while celebrating their latest victory in the local town, one of the PCs (an Elf or Half-Elf, or even one of the young races if you want to get people really worked up) dissapears, but he's back in bed the next morning, except... what's this strange tatoo? It's.. it's a dragonmark! Really it's an advanced artifact, a carefully crafted arcane mark with epic level permanancy cast on it. Also, under the skin where it is the Blood implanted him with a tile having the same properties as an eternal wand of... something suitable for a least mark of Death, Inflict Minor seems most likely, though something like Ray of Enfeeblement or Chill touch could work. The players are now on the run. The houses have been tipped off, and are after them. Perhaps every so often the afflicted character vanishes for a few hours (when no one would miss him) and when he reappears his mark has manifested to a new level. The party would have to find out where this mark comes from, and if they figure out it's fake, they have to go to the Blood and somehow force them to remove the mark. (Plus, if you've read City of Towers, the Houses wouldn't be the only interested Party ;))
He-Who-Sits 01-09-06, 10:52 PM	Have you forgotten about the Traveller and his minions? I suspect at least one among their number would be crazy enough to send shoackwaves through the dragon marked houses by making a false Mark of Death. Yes I did actully. Infact, I compleatly forgot about the dark six and the soveren host. My champagn is focused on Karreth and Thrane, and those just slipped my mind. A bit embarassing actully. Rekko, yours is a nice idea, I need to modify a few bits to fit in but some good ideas.
FartKnocker 01-09-06, 11:14 PM	There are beings who remember what the Mark of Death is, what it stands for, how it looks and it's history. I'm thinking Rakshasa. They have been around for a long time, waiting patiently. They would have the desire and know-how to pull this off and make it believable. Plus, I think they would enjoy it too. :) Heck, they might even have a REAL Mark of Death person entombed, mummified, resurrected somewhere. Definitely a high-level entaglement. I've tried to seduce a PC into manifesting the Mark of Death for free. They wouldn't fall for it. My group doesn't fall for my 'freebie' traps any more. Maybe I should tempt them with snacks? Hmm...... FartKnocker
The Necromancer King 01-10-06, 07:22 AM	Three of my players currently have manifested the Dragonmark of Death. They're human (an oversight on my part; inexperience with the game world before our first campaign started. I know better now). It's caused a fair bit of ruckus for many, many game sessions, and recently got their mother (and in a roundabout way, one of them) killed. Which sucks a lot because most of the story revolves around these three, and if another dies I may well have to scrap the campaign as a dud and move on. I would have to say of all the Big Names in Eberron, the most likely to produce a fake dragonmark would be King Kaius. The man wants out from the power of the Blood of Vol, and if he thought for an instant he could create a fake to fool Erandis herself, he'd do it. It's a big gamble, but in the end, it's worth it for him.
MarkB 01-10-06, 09:31 AM	Here's a thought: Someone powerful (perhaps a member of one of the Elven Houses of Shadow, perhaps Erandis d'Vol out for revenge) has a really big grudge against one of the larger Aereni Elven families. They can't strike at so powerful and remote a group directly, but they know the history of the House of Vol, especially its demise. So they arrange to have a member of the family knocked out and kidnapped briefly, just long enough to have them imbued with a false Least Dragonmark of Death (actually a magical tattoo), including an appropriate innate ability. They arrange for the family member to be found by some high-ranking member of a dragonmarked house, who will recognise the 'mark' - and then they start the rumour-mill stirring, especially ensuring that some of the more accurate rumours reach the ears of a member of the Chamber, hoping to eventually trigger another draconic reprisal like the one which wiped out House Vol.
Feor 01-10-06, 09:35 AM	House Vol wasn't wiped out for having the Mark of Death though, they were wiped out for breeding a half-dragon (Erandis) the destruction of the Mark of Death was just a side effect.
Rekko 01-10-06, 09:48 AM	The mixed ideas of The Necromancer King, Feor and myself could be really interesting, might even consider a few sessions on it. House Phiarlan found a elf carrying a least Mark of Death. A house member, apparently sent by the matriarch, an elf carrying a Mark of Shadow, hires the PCs to watch the Death dragonmarked elf. I would say the NPC is xxxx d'Phiarlan who was seduce by the Blood of Vol and entered either or both The Blood of Vol and the Emerald Claw. While watching the prey, the PCs lost track of her and when they find her back, she has a lesser dragonmark. It is a servitor of Kaius who puts the mark on the elf skin. I suggest the PCs don't know about it for now. They can fight with the servitor if they see him kidnap the elf but would flee before answering any question. The PCs bring the elf to xxxx d'Phiarlan. He pays them whatever was the promise price plus a beautiful and attractive bonus. The PCs demand why or he tells them it is for them to bring the elf into the Lazaar Principalities on the island of Farlnen. The PCs shouldn't know it is Vol's lair, they could think it's a House Phiarlan outpost or even headquarters. The PCs could eventually meet Vol, she figures out it's a false mark, she rages and kill the elf. Then, she turns onto the PCs. I would make them spend an action point to calm Vol if they don't have the level to fight her. If they fight her, she kills one PC then ask them to find who's behind all this. She resurrects the dead PC. The only track they have is that man who kidnapped the elf... Then you decide: the PCs could find Kaius' minion quickly or they don't and set off on another mission in the region and hope to meet again the minion. If your PCs are creative enough, they can hire mercenaries to find him, glue wanted postcards or set any trap to bring the minion or even Kaius to them. Vol would understand that one single person to found in a mass is quite a deal so she won't press the matter, but would want reports on the progress. That's one alternative. The other one would be: If there's an elf in your party, make him victim who carries the false Mark of Death. Then the same story occurs but the PCs are the ones being watched by another adventuring party hired by xxxx d'Phiarlan. They can meet or fight with them to figure out what's happening. They will fight Kaius' minion and lose. Eventually, they will meet with xxxx d'Phiarlan, either they have been taken to him by the hired adventurers or they beaten them and arranged a meeting with the house member. If they were taken, they will be brought to Vol's lair. They can try to escape but will eventually be going there. If they met xxxx d'Phiarlan, he could have bought the PCs and ask them to go into Vol's lair. At Vol's lair, she meets with the PCs, kill the elf with the false mark, spend action point to calm her or fight her until one other PC is dead, hires them to invistigate on the kidnapper, brings back dead PCs, eh voila! Rekko
Rekko 02-04-06, 03:06 PM	He-Who-Sits, have you played out the adventure yet? If yes, how did it go? If not, how's the progress doing? Rekko
(Psi)SeveredHead 02-04-06, 05:59 PM	It could be a form of terrorism. Instead of claiming you have a super-weapon that can cause another Day of Mourning, you could pretend to have the Mark of Death. If you can kill people magically while your mark glows, people may believe it. Unlike a Day of Mourning/nuclear weapon, which is something you don't want to demonstrate. Now claim you're not the only one with the "Mark of Death" :devil: Or it could be a madman who believes he or she has the Mark of Death, when they really don't... instead, they've got an aberrant mark that bears some resemblance to the real Mark of Death.