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scarolina 02-05-05, 10:03 PM

Hey guys and gals. I am about to commence a play-by-post game set in the Silver Marches region of the Forgotten Realms. Both my group and the format of play prefer in-depth roleplay and character development. I'm hoping for feedback on my outline of the first adventure. I'm specifically looking for suggestions about religious groups as well as other potential motives or different angles. The campaign begins in the tiny village Rauvincross at the northern mouth of the Moon Pass in the Silver Marches, tens of miles from Sundabar. Though relatively close to Sundabar, Rauvincross is something of an oasis of civilization in the inhospitable Nether Mountains. It's main purpose is to supply mule teams to lead others through the treacherous Moon Pass Gorge. I am not familiar with most FR canon, so I'm happily ignorant of my own ignorance. I've decided that this tiny village has a long-standing alliance with a clan of goblins that live nearby in the mountains proper. The goblins supply information to the townsfolk about rumors and movements of the savage humanoids that terrorize the mountainside while the village gives the goblins information about civilized raiding parties and the like. This helped both the humans and goblins for a long time, for any information garnered in the frontier is extremely valuable. However, with the recent formation of the League of the Silver Marches, the town may come under greater scrutiny by other civilized folk. I doubt the Sundabarran militia would be happy to hear that the privileged information they gave the leaders of Rauvincross was then supplied to a clan of goblins. Anyway, when the PCs enter the picture, they will notice that this rugged frontier town is lacking its expected vitality. The town has been hit by the Burning Plague, as per the eponymous 3.0 module. The town's leaders have been wary to ask Sundabar for help, because they don't want their secret alliance to become known, nor do they want to tarnish their appearance of trustworthy self-reliance, which is, afterall, the image with which the village sells its services. The only thing I'm taking from the module is the plague and the orc cleric; I'm excising the kobolds and the silver mine. A small group of charismatic townsfolk are rallying the people to believe that the goblins are behind the plague (I'm thinking a cleric here, just don't know to whom). The goblins are also affected by the plague and, not surprisingly, charismatic members of the clan are pushing the idea that the humans of Rauvincross are the true perpetrators. Eventually, the PCs should find the orc responsible for the mess, and before dispatching with him will be told that their efforts were in vain, and that attacks like this will soon commence in similar villages across the periphery of the Silver Marches (I'm thinking this guy is with Obould's group, but that doesn't matter too much right now). While the PCs are responsibly fighting off the orc and ending the plague, uprisings of some degree will be occurring in both Rauvincross and within the clan. When the PCs think they have finished the adventure (stopping the plague) they will actually be reaching the point where they will have to make a major choice, A) inform Sundabar of the orc's warning, B) stop a coup from occurring in Rauvincross, or C) stop the goblins from doing something bad. Of course, if they manage to do all three, then sweet. My motives for the upheavals within the town and clan are not entirely clear. I prefer to exploit Faerun's rich pantheon and display to the players the importance of religion and the gods. As such, right now I imagine the leader of the human charismatic group as a cleric of some deity, perhaps nefarious, perhaps just misguided. On the other hand I see the leader of the goblin uprising as an individual or group strictly focused on power. They don't realize the comfort that the alliance allows for their clan, and instead wish to parlay with one of the Moon Pass's powerful denizens. I'm not sure what type of creature is the right choice for this role, nor do I know if this is necessarily the right call at all. Basically, I'm looking for some ideas on the person who would try to overthrow the town's establishment, along with their motives. Likewise, I'm looking for who would overthrow the traditions and leaders of the goblin tribe, and their motives for doing so (and if you think parlaying their knowledge of the human town is a good idea, with whom would they parlay?). If it helps, I have a party made up of four characters. We play 3.0. The group is not min/maxed; like I said at the beginning we are most interested in character and world development. Party:: Lvl 1 Dwarf fighter (to become sorceror at 2nd lvl) Lvl 1 Human bard Lvl 1 Human ranger Lvl 1 Halfling paladin Thanks in advance for all replies. Cheers