Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Chronomage 05-19-04, 05:31 AM	For four players of 14th - 16th level The wizard of the party is sitting around minding his own business, perhaps toasting the latest venture with some bosom comrades in the fine local inn, when a portent interrupts. Appearing before him is the symbol of the Magister, appearing in red and silver flames with stars of purple. Slowly it is rent as though by unseen claws, till tattered and shatters, resolving into a new symbol, a new device unknown but with a startling clue: the symbol bears the kiss of the Shadow Weave! The usurpers symbol is soon vacated by the power of Azuth, as he supplants the offender with a new magister of his choosing, but the shock is felt around the world. A Shadow Weave user has defeated the greatest of the Weave users! Somewhere, unseen by the heralds and handmaidens of Mystra, a new power arises...
Chronomage 05-19-04, 07:51 AM	Wow, 17 views and not one reply. I screwed up good on this one! *goes off and sulks somewhere, eating a stale chocochip cookie*
Cunning Linguist 05-19-04, 08:07 AM	Sure.. it sound nice, but what's your player going to do when he hears about it? Will he stand up and run of looking for the Shadow guy who killed this magister? Does he even know where he is? Was this symbol only for him, or for every mage, just like them Bane returned? If I got this as a starter for my game, and I was the mage, I would be stumped as to what I had to do.
Monsoon28 05-19-04, 08:16 AM	Not a bad Idea, But! The current Magister isn't all that powerful, infact she's really nothing but a book worm. Secondly, the position of Magister is now appointed, you can't become one by killing the previous. Now if the vision is only stating that a shadow weave user had killed the magister that's fine, but it isn't all that impressive (she had levels but no combat experience and not likely to have offensive spells memorized). It might imply though that shadow weave users are becoming more bold! EDIT: Doh CL beat me to it! BTW CL, like your new Signature! :)
Chronomage 05-19-04, 09:34 AM	Well, obviously there would be more to the adventure hook than that. I imagine that as being the intro movie to a video game, after which the PC involvement would be enforced by other characters seeking them out, or news reaching them of armies on the march and such. To me, that sounds like the triggering part for some further offensive by wizards of the shadow weave.
Autosponge 05-19-04, 12:09 PM	It's more like cut-scene material than a hook. There's no option or choice for the PCs to make that will take them "deeper down the rabbit hole". But I like the idea for kicking off a campaign.
Sarta 05-20-04, 01:53 AM	As has been said, the current Magister, while incredibly powerful, really isn't the magical duelist Azuth was back in his heyday. I like the cut scene, but would really look into ways of making it more personal and meaningful for the player in question. One suggestion might be to work in a meeting with the current Magister. Perhaps the player has begun to research a new spell and has run into a stumbling block. The magister, always a champion of new magics, decides to get involved and shows up to discuss the problems that he or she has run into. She tells the pc that she will do some research and see if she can find a way to overcome this stumbling block. She contacts the pc a few days later and lets the pc know that she has found a promising lead and will get back to him or her shortly. Now run the cut scene a few days later. The full impact becomes even more aparent when the pc realizes that all arcane spell casters received the same vision. The pc now has some incentive to get personally involved in the plotline. They also have a potential pay-off with the possibility that solving the crime will lead the pc to concluding the research of their new spell. Not only does a plotline like this allow you to introduce a new BBEG, but also competing parties. The death of the magister at the hands of a shadow-weave user will rile up a lot of spell-casters. The pc and his or her group of adventurers will most likely not be the only ones investigating this. You have the opportunity to introduce some other groups that may assist or hinder the party in their efforts to put things right. Sarta
Chronomage 05-20-04, 01:55 AM	Oh, they've already met the Magister, no worries there. And I like the other suggestions too.