Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Nerdicus 06-17-07, 04:47 PM	Ok, so I'm running a solo game for a friend. He wants to play someone who is from a dragonmarked family, but who manifests an aberrant mark. Cool. So now I'm trying to work out a bit of a story for the campaign and wanted to recruit the aid of you for creative help. Here is what I have so far: The character, Galen, is from one of the Vadalis family lines, of which there are several. His mother bore the least mark of Handling before she was slain a few years back in a raid on her farm. Her husband was killed years ago in a similar raid shortly before the character and his twin sister were born(so they think anyways). Galen and his sister both grew up as house scions and had it good. With them was a warforged named Flint who pledged his life to the family after one of his fellows killed the man of the house, Galen's father(again, so he believes). The truth of the matter is that Galens real father was one of the intruders, and Flint was their guide. They were coming through the area heading to one of the settlements nearby in order to do some violence(remember this is durring the last war) when they stumbled apon the rich lands of Galen's family villa. While Flint and the others were dealing with the house gaurds, one of the other members of the mercenary crew slipped in, using unknown powers(Aberrant mark) and made it to where the women were taking shelter. He had his way with one before he was interupted by Galen's father. As you can guess, the unlucky woman who was taken as spoils by the intruder). This Intruder then killed Galen's father and made to get awya but was slain by Flint who later made it to the scene and figured out what had happened. Flint, being a good souled warforged could not let the crime go unpunished and killed the wrong doer. THen, seeing that it was his fault for leading the men there, surrendered to the house gaurds and then pledged his life to Galens mother. So, the mother(I'll call her...Farrine), Farrine, took Flint into her service and made him swear to never speak of what happened to her. Several months later when she found out she was with child, she doubled the oathe and told everyone that it was her husbands child. THe child became two children as she had twins, and she loved them fiercely despite their ill fated conception. so, several years prior to the game start, Farrine dies leaving her lands and belongings to Galen and his twin sister Sharra.But, do to the swirling polotics of a dragonmarked house hold, the twins found themsevles staying with distant cousins of theirs far from their family estates where they finished their growing up. They had only Flint, their stoic protector as a token of their old lives. Game starts a few months after they left their cousins estates to go and see the world and make a name for them. Neither Glaen nor his sister have manifested their marks, so everyone fealt it best they go out and adventure. They took with them Flint, and their cousin Aron, whom they do not like. While on their travels, heading south towards Breland, they stop over in the family estates of close relatives to their cousin who is journeying with them. While they are staying in his lands, he manifests the least mark of handling. After that he becomes a total jerk, lording over everyone around him, especially his two cousins, Galen and Sharra. While they have been in their cousins lands, they discover that he and his ilk are breading questionable creatures for was purposes. Something that the House is trying to stear away from in these troubled times of peace. In their quest for the truth, Galen and his sister discover that whom ever these creatures are for, they are going ot be used for combat, as they are being trained for such. Whew! So, it is while the twins are investigating this plot that something happens that forces both to manifest their aberrant marks. Galen( the Player character) will manifest a least dragon mark while his sister will manifest the Mark of Tarkanan! So, I got all that stuff figured out. the situation that leads to the marks being manifested, and what happens directly afterwards. what I'm looking for here, is some help in the farther reaching things. Like, who are these war creatures being bread for? Why are they doing this? And also, anything else you might have to say about the concept in all. Thanks in advance.
Rechan 06-17-07, 05:26 PM	The most likely cause of the mark's mainfestation would be a fight. And that's simple enough to handle: While investigating, the two inadvertantly say the "attack" command, and one of the war beasts attack them. The beasts could be bred not necessarily For War, but for other matters: Gladitorial combat, a campaign into the Demon Wastes or Droaam or Xen'Drik (essentially bodyguards). They could also be creatures bred to be hunted as Big Game by people in Khorvaire who want a fail safe (i.e. 'Oh crap it's going to kill us, say the stand-down word!'). Alternatively, they may not necessarily be War beasts, but instead are killing machines for a very specific purpose: Hunting something Nasty. For instance, this Vandalis farm may be engineering beasts capable of taking down undead, because their supporters are going to go hunt for hidden Karnathi bunkers filled with zombies/skellies waiting to be commanded in case of war. This way, removing Karnath's supplies of dormant undead footsoldiers would be like dsetroying a cache of weapons. Perhaps the beasts have natural attacks that are deadly to undead, or can track them down easier, etc etc etc. Or they could be bred to specifically hunt down and kill lycanthropes, as an attempt to utterly destroy any remnants of them. These, in general, are just notions so that it's not "They're gunna invade somebody!" Although if you WANT to do that, then the answer is simple: Droaam. Droaam has a ton of monsters, and Breland, wanting to get rid of Droaam, needs some nasty powerful soldiers. Perhaps these are particularly resistant to a petrification, given that Droaam has lots of medusa commandos and cockatrices.
Nerdicus 06-17-07, 05:47 PM	To give an idea of the sort of things the family is breeding: Mage bred wolves: Most likely for some goblinoids. Mage bred Owlbear: For damage. Pure and simple. This is what the fight that causes the manifestations will be about. The two stumble into the Owlbear breeding area and the cousin decides that he has had enough of his meddling cousins and releases one of the owlbears. Mage bred Manticores: The player won't find out about this until later. The rough of the story is going to go like this: Player stumbles onto owlbear den with his sister. Madness and battle ensues. In the fray they both manifest their marks. The cousin sees this and forces them to flee. They flee towards their old family villa near mossmantle from Varna where the cousins land was near. In the flight they quickly learn that they have been snitched on, and the House is after them. The flight itself will be some fun roll palying because it will force them to go near several settlements and hoepfuly i can make it so he needs to go into them for supplies or something. Anyways, once they make it to their old lands, they find that it has been taken over by soemthing. I'm thinking a goblinoid band that found it durring the last war and set up camp, but haven't dicded for sure. Durring this time the PC will come to learn, through Flint his faithfull gaurd and friend, that his real father was not the man he thinks. The tale of his true patronage comes out, and the question of, who was my father? becomes first priority. I don't know who the father is yet other then he bore an aberrant mark. I may have him as being a tool of some greater force like the Sisters from Droaam, or maybe even a dragon master who has been cultivating certain elements of the dragon prophecy in secret. So yeah, there is the rough outline of what I have. Any thoughts are welcome. Also, any thoughts on how you see House Vadalis handlign this would be welcome.
Syltorian 06-17-07, 06:13 PM	Mage bred wolves: Most likely for some goblinoids. This could work, especially if Vadalis was trying to support the Goblins agains the Valenar elves. After all, Vadalis is not too friendly with the latter. Other ideas might be that this particular Vadalis estate is in league with the Eldeen Wolves, who raid territory across the border. Maybe they want to increase some terrorist activities in farming communities near the border. Or, going back on the history, I believe it was said in Dragonmarked that Vadalis had bread some truly horrible creatures for the War of the Mark, creatures which had to be destroyed afterwards. Perhaps some accounts from back then have recently been found but this cousin, who is trying to replicate these creations. Mage bred Owlbear Excepting rule-zero (and the Vadalis Beastkeeper PrC), the magebred template may only be applied to animals, not magical beasts. However, if you go with the recreating War of the Mark beasts, it might work, for story-purposes. Anyways, once they make it to their old lands, they find that it has been taken over by soemthing. I'm thinking a goblinoid band that found it durring the last war and set up camp, but haven't dicded for sure. Eldeen Wolves, Children of Winter, Ashbound, Royal Eyes of Aundair seeking a base in the Reaches, Lhazaar pirates, any type of bandit, awakened animals formerly belonging to Vadalis, outsiders (if the place has become a manifest zone); there are many things that could happen there. Also, any thoughts on how you see House Vadalis handlign this would be welcome. Now, this is something I have absolutely no evidence for, but it has always struck me that House Vadalis is the least likely of all houses to cast someone out because they are aberrants (with the exception of Ghallanda, who quite openly accepts them). Vadalis puts family above business; they refuse to accept other traditions of the Dragonmarked Houses. They are generally considered as weird by the rest. What with their pervading family spirit, it would surprise me to hear that they cast a relative out because he has developed an aberrant mark; I would see them more as treating him as a family member who has caught a nasty disease and needs to be helped. Maybe put under house-arrest (protracted quarantine) somewhere. He will most likely not be allowed to have children, however. He could be in trouble if he refuses to submit to the 'quarantine', though. Of course, as it doesn't actually say anything to confirm this in the books, you are free to do what you want. The Cousin might also decide to frame them for other crimes, or somehow try to get the house to act against them by throwing his own weight around.
Nerdicus 06-17-07, 06:46 PM	I like tieing in the new mage bred creaures to the war of the Mark idea....and yeah...owlbreas that are bred to hunt down specific things and destroy them... I'm thinking that when the whole thing comes out with the owlbear that there will be some inocent by-standards around, most likely it will be for this that the PC will try to kill the thing, and they will inevitably die in the fight. Once the PC is in flight, the cousin concoctsa story of how his cousins killed everyone there, savaged them with there aberrant marks. It is for that reason that the House is after them. I fully agree though about the House being the most liekyl to not outcast a family member for an aberrant mark. And so I was thinking for this game, the family has several bloodlines that are all of the Vadalis stalk, but are infact quite far in relations. And these individual bloodlines will differ in view point and goals greatly. Where the story starts, it will be in the territories controlled by the cousin whose family has been trying to gain the upper hand with the House. I want to include some serious iinner house conflict witht his game. Play up what can happen when two sifes of a house come to open warfare. But I want to tie it into to other national comflicts aswell. Like...the cousins line is in liege with Aundair and are supporting them in invading the Reaches through their holdings which span a good chunk of the border between the two nations. The other families will be tied in with the Reaches but also maybe with Breland who will try to step in towards the end of things to help stabilize and sieze control. I like where this is going. Maybe we should expand this thread to invite anyone who has used the House Vadalis as a key plot device to get in on the conversation and tell us how they used them.
Syltorian 06-17-07, 07:52 PM	I like tieing in the new mage bred creaures to the war of the Mark idea....and yeah...owlbreas that are bred to hunt down specific things and destroy them... If the cousin found other descriptions of the War of the Mark, he might become quite a dangerous opponent. After all, that war was against the aberrant. Maybe he knows some special tricks that can only affect them (e.g. the feats and spells in Dragonmarked that work against the aberrants). I'm thinking that when the whole thing comes out with the owlbear that there will be some inocent by-standards around, most likely it will be for this that the PC will try to kill the thing, and they will inevitably die in the fight. Once the PC is in flight, the cousin concoctsa story of how his cousins killed everyone there, savaged them with there aberrant marks. It is for that reason that the House is after them. That sounds like a good reason for Vadalis to try and do something. If the cousin has greater influence in the House, they'll believe him. As a side-quest, you could have one or more survivor, who must be tracked down by the PCs to prove their innocence before their cousin finds out about them and has them hunted down by his beasties. I fully agree though about the House being the most liekyl to not outcast a family member for an aberrant mark. And so I was thinking for this game, the family has several bloodlines that are all of the Vadalis stalk, but are infact quite far in relations. And these individual bloodlines will differ in view point and goals greatly. Where the story starts, it will be in the territories controlled by the cousin whose family has been trying to gain the upper hand with the House. This is, to a certain extent, contradicted by Dragonmarked. Vadalis is presented as the exception to the rule that the House scions generally have little relationship outside their immediate family. However, Vadalis is also much less strict than other Houses, so having some of them pursue goals contrary to Varna is not unlikely. Personally, I would make this a more isolated cases. One member (the cousin) with a few sympathisers starts his plan, and provoques a situation where the other members have to chose between sides only now that they realise there is an accute problem. I want to include some serious iinner house conflict witht his game. Play up what can happen when two sifes of a house come to open warfare. But I want to tie it into to other national comflicts aswell. Like...the cousins line is in liege with Aundair and are supporting them in invading the Reaches through their holdings which span a good chunk of the border between the two nations. Aundair will be vary wary about invading the Reaches. Sure, they want to regain them. But if they invade, even if provoqued by, say, owlbear-incursions, the situation will feature the following problems: 1) Aundair has broken the Treaty of Thronehold by invading a foreign nation. This will make it look bad to other nations, if they have to make a decision on whose side to intervene. 2) Aundair has to concentrate it's armies on the western border, which means weakening the south-eastern one. Which happens to be where it joins Thrane and Karrnath. 3) Thrane has much disputed territory with Aundair, and the two nations don't like each other very much. Thrane is also the most compact of the nations, so the least hurt by taking away forces from one border to attack somewhere else. They might decide to solve those border-disputes, under the pretext of getting the treaty-breaker Aundair back to heel. 4) Karrnath gets much of its food from the Eldeen Reaches, and risks a famine if that supply gets interrupted. Which means Karrnath is more or less forced to do what it can to stop a war in the Reaches. One way to do that is to cross the Scion's Sound and hit a weakened border in Aundair. Especially if Thrane is already in, which will make it less likely that the Thranes sneak-attack Karrnath in turn. In other words, if this is not played very carefully, you could have sparked the next war. Of course, that might be what you want. You'll also have to be careful not to have of a House allying with a specific nation. That goes against the tenets of neutrality. Vadalis will be forced to intervene drastically against the cousin to prove it is still sticking to the accords of Korth. Political reason will probably be more important than hunting down some random mass-murderer. That can be left for later, or to someone not occupied with large-scale politics. The other families will be tied in with the Reaches but also maybe with Breland who will try to step in towards the end of things to help stabilize and sieze control. Before Breland gets in, the druids will try to solve the matter. The Wardens of the Wood will certainly intervene, but the Ashbound too could well use this to point out how dangerous House Vadalis is. Another reason Vadalis at large will be forced to deal with the cousin first, the PC only once everything else has been settled. Also, remember that while the Reaches are exporting food there, Breland is not too popular in the Reaches either. After all, the Reaches declared their independence from Aundair because Fairhaven had refused to help them against a Brelish invasion. That's not to say that you should not go ahead with your plan. I'm merely pointing out that there are consequences that should be taken into account. Of course, if the cousin isn't ready yet, he needs to get rid of the PCs first before Vadalis starts investigating too much. And if he has the help of Aundair, the PCs might also have to fight off agents and assassins from the Royal Eyes.