Need some help with a plotline. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Need some help with a plotline. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Cunning Linguist
01-22-04, 08:30 AM May have some spoilers for City of the Spider Queen Chapter 2, for players out there..

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So, my players are doing the last fight, in the first chapter of City of the Spider Queen, and they have talked about how there is to much fighting, and they want more roleplaying/research/info things going on. (these guys are coming from CoC type of gaming)

So here’s the story: A evil party has been sent down to find out, and fix why a beholder cell in Zhentil Keep is not getting it’s standard delivery of drugs from the Drow in Maerimydra. The Beholders sell this drug, via the Zhentarim in Zhentil Keep, and there is now a drought in Zhentil Keep, and they are having problems from undercover Thayan agents who are trying to gain Vice via drug trade. (The Drow used to supply Bloodfast, but the Thayans are bringing in Dreammist. Despite the higher price, the drug addicts are buying up almost everything)

But I digress.

The players have found out that the real problem lies in Maerimydra, but they are in no rush to get there. I want to place Yrthak Cavern before the lake of Shadows, and I want the tower inside this cavern to be a real wizard tower, where a really old Red Wizard is trying to become a lich. He is old and does not want to die, but necromancy is not his best field, so his road towards Lichdom has taken over 10 years of research, and soon he will be done. (This might also be the same wizard who once ran the Affiliated Merchants of the underdark, Maltuk, and the assassination attempt might have been his cue to get out of the group, so he places a well made simulacra in his place, and ran away)
The Wizard is an expert on portals, and that’s why he is down here. He could do the research in Thay, and he often travels there to do some library searches. But in his now fragile state, he does not want other wizards to have the opportunity to take him down, and take his place among the high ranking wizards.
(problem one, a portal wizard would be a specialist in Conjuration right?)
The players meet this wizards only a few hundred feet down the road after leaving Szith Morcane, he will be coming out of a portal in the wall, when it closes, no mark will be left. (He is a expert, and does not like people using his portals, unless they pay so they can see where they are) The wizard knows the characters from before, they have done some work for the Red Wizards, and they are well known.
So he invites them to his tower, explaining about himself, and why he is down here. (maybe telling a lie or two)
When they arrive at the tower, they see that there has been a raid on the tower, the stone golem guard lies lifeless on the ground, and someone has been in the tower.

Now here is where I fall short.

I want it to be the Kuo-Toa from the Lake of Shadows to be the bad guys. I want them to have stolen the wizards future phylactery, and use it for “something” (what is this something). I also want the Nagas in the Naga Crawls to be the wizards first suspect. (Why would the wizard think this?)

So, I need a reason for the Kuo-Toa to steal the phylactery. I also need some story for why the Nagas did not do it. Perhaps they have some clues on who did? (They need some info to give to the PC’s at least) Also, what kind of clues can I hint of along the way?

Also, the wizard does not want to tip the players of his plan to become a lich, so he tells them it’s something else. What would this “something else” be?

So, can anyone help me with this? I would like the players to throw more skill checks then less combat dice, so all kind of skill check reference is also good.
rob4
01-22-04, 12:47 PM 1. Why would the Kuo-Toas steal the phylactery? Maybe they are afraid of this wizard and want to steal his power. They spy on him (maybe a priest/priestess scryed on him?) and find him spending a lot of time with the phylactery and think it's the source of his power.

2. Why would he suspect the nagas? Perhaps he had a run-in with them before and he angered them.

3. Motives. Maybe the nagas, after being angered by the wizard, tipped the Kuo-Toas off to his "threat" to them.

4. Clues. The PCs could find some of the Kuo-Toa's famous adhesive somewhere in the wizard's tower.

5. What could the wizard say the phylactery is? Some kind of magic item the PCs would be sure not to want to keep for themselves. Maybe a robe reddener or something. :rolleyes:
Cunning Linguist
01-22-04, 12:53 PM 1. Why would the Kuo-Toas steal the phylactery? Maybe they are afraid of this wizard and want to steal his power. They spy on him (maybe a priest/priestess scryed on him?) and find him spending a lot of time with the phylactery and think it's the source of his power.

hmm.. this might work out, the pc's would then need to decide who they should trust with the phylactery.
Wizard says it's a portal jamer or something like that, and the Kuo-Toa say it's a migthy weapon that he can enslave the Kuo-Toa with.

Noone will know what it's really for.. *EvilDM lol*Muhahaha

Anyone know how I can slip in the stone giants? They would stand out as some sort of neutral groupe..
Dargoth
01-22-04, 07:03 PM What the Red Wizard tells the party:

The gem is a rare spell component for a spell that would allow the Red Wizards to banish the demonlord Eltab back to the Abyss

Why the Red Wizard think the Nagas are involved in the theft:

The Red Ziard finds scales smeared on the remains of the Stone Golem but when he examines them to identify the scales he fails his Knowledge check and mistakenly IDs them as Naga scales

Why the Kuo Toa want the gem:

The gem was origionally a part of a Kuo Toa shrine to Blibdoolpoolp but was stoleon year ago by the Nagas. The Red Wizard then stole it from the Nagas. After the Kuo Toa's lost the gem Blibdoolpoolp abandoened them and refused to grant any spells to the clerics of the Kuo Toa city until the gem was restored, this is why the Kuo Toa where so desperate to find it

Just a few ideas
Cunning Linguist
01-22-04, 07:47 PM Also good ideas.. but like I said, got any idea how the Stone Giants could get involved? In the adventure they play the part of resting area and/or information area. But since this is coverd by the Red Wizard now, perhaps they can be something else..

A twist in the plot somehow.. perhaps they also want the phylactery also, beliving it to be a item of great power?

Or perhaps they want it destroyed? If I was a stone giant what would I want?
Dargoth
01-22-04, 07:58 PM The stone Giants may opposse the Kuo Toa:

The giants release that once the gem is restored to the Shrine then the Kua Toa will become far more dangerous to the Stone Giants because they'll be able to cast spells again

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Cunning Linguist 01-22-04, 08:30 AM	May have some spoilers for City of the Spider Queen Chapter 2, for players out there.. - - - - - So, my players are doing the last fight, in the first chapter of City of the Spider Queen, and they have talked about how there is to much fighting, and they want more roleplaying/research/info things going on. (these guys are coming from CoC type of gaming) So here’s the story: A evil party has been sent down to find out, and fix why a beholder cell in Zhentil Keep is not getting it’s standard delivery of drugs from the Drow in Maerimydra. The Beholders sell this drug, via the Zhentarim in Zhentil Keep, and there is now a drought in Zhentil Keep, and they are having problems from undercover Thayan agents who are trying to gain Vice via drug trade. (The Drow used to supply Bloodfast, but the Thayans are bringing in Dreammist. Despite the higher price, the drug addicts are buying up almost everything) But I digress. The players have found out that the real problem lies in Maerimydra, but they are in no rush to get there. I want to place Yrthak Cavern before the lake of Shadows, and I want the tower inside this cavern to be a real wizard tower, where a really old Red Wizard is trying to become a lich. He is old and does not want to die, but necromancy is not his best field, so his road towards Lichdom has taken over 10 years of research, and soon he will be done. (This might also be the same wizard who once ran the Affiliated Merchants of the underdark, Maltuk, and the assassination attempt might have been his cue to get out of the group, so he places a well made simulacra in his place, and ran away) The Wizard is an expert on portals, and that’s why he is down here. He could do the research in Thay, and he often travels there to do some library searches. But in his now fragile state, he does not want other wizards to have the opportunity to take him down, and take his place among the high ranking wizards. (problem one, a portal wizard would be a specialist in Conjuration right?) The players meet this wizards only a few hundred feet down the road after leaving Szith Morcane, he will be coming out of a portal in the wall, when it closes, no mark will be left. (He is a expert, and does not like people using his portals, unless they pay so they can see where they are) The wizard knows the characters from before, they have done some work for the Red Wizards, and they are well known. So he invites them to his tower, explaining about himself, and why he is down here. (maybe telling a lie or two) When they arrive at the tower, they see that there has been a raid on the tower, the stone golem guard lies lifeless on the ground, and someone has been in the tower. Now here is where I fall short. I want it to be the Kuo-Toa from the Lake of Shadows to be the bad guys. I want them to have stolen the wizards future phylactery, and use it for “something” (what is this something). I also want the Nagas in the Naga Crawls to be the wizards first suspect. (Why would the wizard think this?) So, I need a reason for the Kuo-Toa to steal the phylactery. I also need some story for why the Nagas did not do it. Perhaps they have some clues on who did? (They need some info to give to the PC’s at least) Also, what kind of clues can I hint of along the way? Also, the wizard does not want to tip the players of his plan to become a lich, so he tells them it’s something else. What would this “something else” be? So, can anyone help me with this? I would like the players to throw more skill checks then less combat dice, so all kind of skill check reference is also good.
rob4 01-22-04, 12:47 PM	1. Why would the Kuo-Toas steal the phylactery? Maybe they are afraid of this wizard and want to steal his power. They spy on him (maybe a priest/priestess scryed on him?) and find him spending a lot of time with the phylactery and think it's the source of his power. 2. Why would he suspect the nagas? Perhaps he had a run-in with them before and he angered them. 3. Motives. Maybe the nagas, after being angered by the wizard, tipped the Kuo-Toas off to his "threat" to them. 4. Clues. The PCs could find some of the Kuo-Toa's famous adhesive somewhere in the wizard's tower. 5. What could the wizard say the phylactery is? Some kind of magic item the PCs would be sure not to want to keep for themselves. Maybe a robe reddener or something. :rolleyes:
Cunning Linguist 01-22-04, 12:53 PM	1. Why would the Kuo-Toas steal the phylactery? Maybe they are afraid of this wizard and want to steal his power. They spy on him (maybe a priest/priestess scryed on him?) and find him spending a lot of time with the phylactery and think it's the source of his power. hmm.. this might work out, the pc's would then need to decide who they should trust with the phylactery. Wizard says it's a portal jamer or something like that, and the Kuo-Toa say it's a migthy weapon that he can enslave the Kuo-Toa with. Noone will know what it's really for.. EvilDM lolMuhahaha Anyone know how I can slip in the stone giants? They would stand out as some sort of neutral groupe..
Dargoth 01-22-04, 07:03 PM	What the Red Wizard tells the party: The gem is a rare spell component for a spell that would allow the Red Wizards to banish the demonlord Eltab back to the Abyss Why the Red Wizard think the Nagas are involved in the theft: The Red Ziard finds scales smeared on the remains of the Stone Golem but when he examines them to identify the scales he fails his Knowledge check and mistakenly IDs them as Naga scales Why the Kuo Toa want the gem: The gem was origionally a part of a Kuo Toa shrine to Blibdoolpoolp but was stoleon year ago by the Nagas. The Red Wizard then stole it from the Nagas. After the Kuo Toa's lost the gem Blibdoolpoolp abandoened them and refused to grant any spells to the clerics of the Kuo Toa city until the gem was restored, this is why the Kuo Toa where so desperate to find it Just a few ideas
Cunning Linguist 01-22-04, 07:47 PM	Also good ideas.. but like I said, got any idea how the Stone Giants could get involved? In the adventure they play the part of resting area and/or information area. But since this is coverd by the Red Wizard now, perhaps they can be something else.. A twist in the plot somehow.. perhaps they also want the phylactery also, beliving it to be a item of great power? Or perhaps they want it destroyed? If I was a stone giant what would I want?
Dargoth 01-22-04, 07:58 PM	The stone Giants may opposse the Kuo Toa: The giants release that once the gem is restored to the Shrine then the Kua Toa will become far more dangerous to the Stone Giants because they'll be able to cast spells again