Post/Author/DateTime	Post
squidfur- 04-20-07, 01:21 AM	Delving through some of my adventures, both old and new, there's been some good ideas that i'd like to incorporate into my next campaign. I'm having problems though with one of my characters. Ircande, an illithid savant has eaten the brain of a follower of Shar and became enamored with the possibilities of the Shadow Weave, devoting his study to the advancement of that art. Now, I see him as the leader of the cult the pc's will be up against and figure his goals to be far reaching - something akin to the large scale effects present in the old Night Below adventure (in which aboleths try creating a domination field with which to control the surface world powered by the souls of scores of spellcasters), or City of the Spider Queen and, to a small degree, the recent Tearing of the Weave adventure. For whatever reason, I've become stuck on the idea of him using the shadow weave to advance his goals. However, I just can't decide what those goals are. Thats where you come in. Can you please help me? Spew forth your ideas, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaasssssssssseeee eeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Telagaunt 04-20-07, 03:52 AM	Illithid are typically psionic-related, so before I answer your question, I wanted to suggest you looking up the Shadow Mind PrC (there is an official Wizards site here for it too), if you haven't done so already, maybe just seeing game mechanically, or some of the traits, bonuses to this, can give you some ideas also. Anyway, to your question :D I would stick with something Underdark related. Like Menzoberranzen, or a less-Lolthite infested city like Ssamath (which if you decide to make your illithid an arcane spellcaster, might give you some leverage in working in a city of wizards). You didn't state whether the PC's are from the Underdark (like drow, or deep gnomes, etc..) or from the Surface. But Illithids rarely IMO take interest in the Surface. Perhaps Bragen d'Arthe (sp?) of Menzoberranzen somehow recruit your PC party (whether from the Surface or Underdark) to defeat this Illithid from usurping power in some drow city. Or, maybe something like Menzoberranzen, notable Matron Triel Baenre (or any of the Noble Houses), are interested in a trade relationship, or to fully invade some illithid community that your Illithid has control of, which in turns makes a conflict. I will note some spoilers relating the events in the Underdark that may help you. I'm not sure what you're familiar with as far as some key notes to maybe work with so here are some spoilers incase you haven't read certain novels. SPOILER WARNING - While Jarlaxe, isn't completely in charge of his mercenary band anymore (Braegen D'arthe), he was noted in one of Salvatore's books has being the 3rd son of Former Matron Baenre. - Kimmieral as far as I know from one of RAS series is heading up the band now, a Psionic/Cleric (or Wizard) I forget. - In War of the Spider Queen Series, Lolth was silent (and her priests were unable to cast their cleric spells) so if you wanted to date the campaign a bit back, this might help you if you place the timeline here. Or subsequently in the aftermath of Lolth being silent, and seemingly a Greater God now and making the Demonweb Pits her own plane of Faerun, outside the Abyss. - Ched Nasad is in ruins. There is a faction of drow Shadow Weave users still living there who worship Shar - Ssamath is a mostly wizard/socercer patriarch, where there is a 'House of Shadow' (devotees of Shar) trying to work their way into political power within the city - Shar has the Underdark domain, and your campaign for the antagonist could be related to her trying to gain more power over Lolth in the Underdark