Queen of Stone [Archive] - Wizards Community

Queen of Stone [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
naturax
02-13-08, 02:57 PM Has anybody used the Queen of Stone? I need to run an encounter in which the PCs steal a valuable artifact that she has been keeping, a relic of a weapon that was designed by Arcanix in the Last War but never used. I know about the dragonshard about the medusas of Droaam but I need a clearer idea of what her palace might be like, what sort of life she would live, what her court would be like... the sort of details I can turn into a gaming session.

Any ideas would be welcome!
andrewknaut
02-17-08, 10:57 AM The city they live in was once a Metropolis, which could be fun enough for the group, running through a ghost city horrified that a single person could be watching.
As for council and such, they bask in their own superiority, and are fairly closed off to the rest of the people in Droaam, at least to what I got. Monsters that can use petrify attacks live there as well, so basilisks and such are more or less pets for the Medusa's. And it seems no other humanoids other then Medusa's live there.
naturax
02-17-08, 08:54 PM Thanks for this! What I ended up doing was having the city mostly deserted and in ruins, with isolated newer buildings here and there, each with a single medusa inside.

At the centre of the city was a huge pit: the gate to Khyber over which was the palace of the Queen of Stone. The palace was built like a huge medusa's hand, each finger providing a pillar of support, to hold the structure over the middle of the pit.

The palace itself was one huge room, empty, but with a raised platform in the middle upon which the Queen of Stone was standing with a petrified wyvern. With a gaze, the wyvern became unpetrified, but only for an instant, as with another gaze the Queen petrified it again. She was posing it, moving it bit by bit until it had the perfect expression and position. Then she sunk into the floor with the stone wyvern to place it in her underground vault, accessible only by traveling through the stone itself. The players tried to pursue but the floor was solid marble.

Eventually the PC had an illusion cast upon him to make it look like he was petrified, so the Queen of Stone brought him down to the vault to add to her collection, which is how they got into the vault. Then the PC turned and attacked the Queen of Stone, killing her (with help from a newly unpetrified person that was already in the vault).

So my new question that I'd like some help brainstorming is: what happens in Droaam when the Queen of Stone dies? Any political ramifications?
andrewknaut
02-18-08, 12:33 PM Sounds sweet, that could have been fun.

As for politics, that depends on how your Droaam is set up. The Hags would most likley be upset but only becuase they are lossing support. The Hags don't want conflict, and with the Queen of Stones dead theres going to be some madusas wanting revenge, and for the Hags to keep their support they will most likely have to act on that revenge.
Unless the Queen was getting in there way, in which case the party would be revered by the Hags.
The followers of the Queen will still want revenge though, don't forget that. They may even go as far to hire House Tharshark to get the party.
Glad I could help.
BrotherDog
02-21-08, 04:56 AM Thanks for this! What I ended up doing was having the city mostly deserted and in ruins, with isolated newer buildings here and there, each with a single medusa inside.

At the centre of the city was a huge pit: the gate to Khyber over which was the palace of the Queen of Stone. The palace was built like a huge medusa's hand, each finger providing a pillar of support, to hold the structure over the middle of the pit.

The palace itself was one huge room, empty, but with a raised platform in the middle upon which the Queen of Stone was standing with a petrified wyvern. With a gaze, the wyvern became unpetrified, but only for an instant, as with another gaze the Queen petrified it again. She was posing it, moving it bit by bit until it had the perfect expression and position. Then she sunk into the floor with the stone wyvern to place it in her underground vault, accessible only by traveling through the stone itself. The players tried to pursue but the floor was solid marble.

Eventually the PC had an illusion cast upon him to make it look like he was petrified, so the Queen of Stone brought him down to the vault to add to her collection, which is how they got into the vault. Then the PC turned and attacked the Queen of Stone, killing her (with help from a newly unpetrified person that was already in the vault).

So my new question that I'd like some help brainstorming is: what happens in Droaam when the Queen of Stone dies? Any political ramifications?

That would be very, very bad. The Queen of Stone is the head of one the three sides of a civil-cold war in Droaam. She only feigns fealty to the Daughters of Sora Kel until a time she can convince others (the PCs would have been an example of such) to discredit them, and increase her standing in the country. She is LN, very fairplay-minded and would've been willing to possibly negotiate services for the item. Especially if any party members were gnomes that could've given her a benevolent reputation(i.e: the press).

This killing would also re-start the civil-war over the country's leadership. The only thing keeping the situation from being as widespread as the last war, would be the gnolls. No GOOD would ever come from her death.

That's almost as bad as killing Tzaryan Rrac.
naturax
02-21-08, 06:36 AM That would be very, very bad. The Queen of Stone is the head of one the three sides of a civil-cold war in Droaam. She only feigns fealty to the Daughters of Sora Kel until a time she can convince others (the PCs would have been an example of such) to discredit them, and increase her standing in the country. She is LN, very fairplay-minded and would've been willing to possibly negotiate services for the item. Especially if any party members were gnomes that could've given her a benevolent reputation(i.e: the press).

This killing would also re-start the civil-war over the country's leadership. The only thing keeping the situation from being as widespread as the last war, would be the gnolls. No GOOD would ever come from her death.

That's almost as bad as killing Tzaryan Rrac.

Welp, it happened, so I have to deal with it. The good news is that I can get the PC caught in the middle of everything. Right now, the PC is on foot, in the wilderness of Droaam not far from Medusa Town, trying to get to the mines in the byeshk mountains run by House Tharashk to free the (warforged) prisoners of war being used as slaves there. I'm sure this ought to be terribly exciting to run, but there are so many ways to go at this point that I'm having trouble figuring out what should happen next.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
naturax 02-13-08, 02:57 PM	Has anybody used the Queen of Stone? I need to run an encounter in which the PCs steal a valuable artifact that she has been keeping, a relic of a weapon that was designed by Arcanix in the Last War but never used. I know about the dragonshard about the medusas of Droaam but I need a clearer idea of what her palace might be like, what sort of life she would live, what her court would be like... the sort of details I can turn into a gaming session. Any ideas would be welcome!
andrewknaut 02-17-08, 10:57 AM	The city they live in was once a Metropolis, which could be fun enough for the group, running through a ghost city horrified that a single person could be watching. As for council and such, they bask in their own superiority, and are fairly closed off to the rest of the people in Droaam, at least to what I got. Monsters that can use petrify attacks live there as well, so basilisks and such are more or less pets for the Medusa's. And it seems no other humanoids other then Medusa's live there.
naturax 02-17-08, 08:54 PM	Thanks for this! What I ended up doing was having the city mostly deserted and in ruins, with isolated newer buildings here and there, each with a single medusa inside. At the centre of the city was a huge pit: the gate to Khyber over which was the palace of the Queen of Stone. The palace was built like a huge medusa's hand, each finger providing a pillar of support, to hold the structure over the middle of the pit. The palace itself was one huge room, empty, but with a raised platform in the middle upon which the Queen of Stone was standing with a petrified wyvern. With a gaze, the wyvern became unpetrified, but only for an instant, as with another gaze the Queen petrified it again. She was posing it, moving it bit by bit until it had the perfect expression and position. Then she sunk into the floor with the stone wyvern to place it in her underground vault, accessible only by traveling through the stone itself. The players tried to pursue but the floor was solid marble. Eventually the PC had an illusion cast upon him to make it look like he was petrified, so the Queen of Stone brought him down to the vault to add to her collection, which is how they got into the vault. Then the PC turned and attacked the Queen of Stone, killing her (with help from a newly unpetrified person that was already in the vault). So my new question that I'd like some help brainstorming is: what happens in Droaam when the Queen of Stone dies? Any political ramifications?
andrewknaut 02-18-08, 12:33 PM	Sounds sweet, that could have been fun. As for politics, that depends on how your Droaam is set up. The Hags would most likley be upset but only becuase they are lossing support. The Hags don't want conflict, and with the Queen of Stones dead theres going to be some madusas wanting revenge, and for the Hags to keep their support they will most likely have to act on that revenge. Unless the Queen was getting in there way, in which case the party would be revered by the Hags. The followers of the Queen will still want revenge though, don't forget that. They may even go as far to hire House Tharshark to get the party. Glad I could help.
BrotherDog 02-21-08, 04:56 AM	Thanks for this! What I ended up doing was having the city mostly deserted and in ruins, with isolated newer buildings here and there, each with a single medusa inside. At the centre of the city was a huge pit: the gate to Khyber over which was the palace of the Queen of Stone. The palace was built like a huge medusa's hand, each finger providing a pillar of support, to hold the structure over the middle of the pit. The palace itself was one huge room, empty, but with a raised platform in the middle upon which the Queen of Stone was standing with a petrified wyvern. With a gaze, the wyvern became unpetrified, but only for an instant, as with another gaze the Queen petrified it again. She was posing it, moving it bit by bit until it had the perfect expression and position. Then she sunk into the floor with the stone wyvern to place it in her underground vault, accessible only by traveling through the stone itself. The players tried to pursue but the floor was solid marble. Eventually the PC had an illusion cast upon him to make it look like he was petrified, so the Queen of Stone brought him down to the vault to add to her collection, which is how they got into the vault. Then the PC turned and attacked the Queen of Stone, killing her (with help from a newly unpetrified person that was already in the vault). So my new question that I'd like some help brainstorming is: what happens in Droaam when the Queen of Stone dies? Any political ramifications? That would be very, very bad. The Queen of Stone is the head of one the three sides of a civil-cold war in Droaam. She only feigns fealty to the Daughters of Sora Kel until a time she can convince others (the PCs would have been an example of such) to discredit them, and increase her standing in the country. She is LN, very fairplay-minded and would've been willing to possibly negotiate services for the item. Especially if any party members were gnomes that could've given her a benevolent reputation(i.e: the press). This killing would also re-start the civil-war over the country's leadership. The only thing keeping the situation from being as widespread as the last war, would be the gnolls. No GOOD would ever come from her death. That's almost as bad as killing Tzaryan Rrac.
naturax 02-21-08, 06:36 AM	That would be very, very bad. The Queen of Stone is the head of one the three sides of a civil-cold war in Droaam. She only feigns fealty to the Daughters of Sora Kel until a time she can convince others (the PCs would have been an example of such) to discredit them, and increase her standing in the country. She is LN, very fairplay-minded and would've been willing to possibly negotiate services for the item. Especially if any party members were gnomes that could've given her a benevolent reputation(i.e: the press). This killing would also re-start the civil-war over the country's leadership. The only thing keeping the situation from being as widespread as the last war, would be the gnolls. No GOOD would ever come from her death. That's almost as bad as killing Tzaryan Rrac. Welp, it happened, so I have to deal with it. The good news is that I can get the PC caught in the middle of everything. Right now, the PC is on foot, in the wilderness of Droaam not far from Medusa Town, trying to get to the mines in the byeshk mountains run by House Tharashk to free the (warforged) prisoners of war being used as slaves there. I'm sure this ought to be terribly exciting to run, but there are so many ways to go at this point that I'm having trouble figuring out what should happen next.