Advice For My New Campagin [Archive] - Wizards Community

Advice For My New Campagin [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Lord of Shadows
11-15-05, 02:45 PM Okay, the following is the basic plotline for the upcoming campagin I'm planning. I only have one player, and he's already created his character. All I'm really looking for is advice or suggestions on possible plot changes, encounters, or anything else you care to comment on. Enjoy:

Character

Zeirthan Blackfire - 6th level Psion(savant)/ 4th level SoulKnife
Species: Human, Gender: Male
Primary Weapon: Mind-Blade, Secondary Weapon: Dagger Whip
Primary Skills: Knowledge (Psionics), Open Lock, Psicraft, and Search

The Campagin

The adventure begins in the small villiage of Shady Vale in the heart of the halfling kingdom of Shinnam. Zeirthan has been hired by the local baron to investigate the dissapearance of all the miners from the local silver mine. The loss of the miners has left the town crippled, with only women, children, and elderly citizens left. Questioning around town, Zeirthan discovers that the local population of goblinoids and orcs have been silent the past few months, and a visit to the mine turns up goblin arrows and evidence of orc soliders.

Tracking the raiders turns out to be a simple task, and Zeirthan is led back to their lair, an abandoned keep in the foot hills of the Obsidian Mountains. Within the keep Zeirthan faces hoards of goblinoids and orcs as he fights his way to the chieften, Rookar, a half-ogre warrior. As Zeirthan faces off against Rookar, the raider chief summons his undead father to fight beside him, a gift from a darker evil that lurks below. When Rookar and the orge zombie finally fall, Zierthan finds evidence of someone else behind the kidnapping, and a trail leading deeper into the mountains.

As he decends into the darkness, Zeirthan unknowingly crosses the fine line between underground, and the underdark, the domain of dark things. It is here, among the shadows, that Zirethan discovers evidence that the miners from Shady Vale may still be alive, but in the clutches of a lich. The brave psion makes his way into the underdark necropolise, battleing waves of undead creatures in search of the captives. His search reveals that the miners have been moved even furthur into the underdark, and now the lich stands in his way of rescueing them.

After a fierce battle, and a return to the surface to resupply and heal, Zeirthan moves on into darker tunnels, moveing closer to the true evil behind the kidnappings. Finally his search leads him to the gates of House Kemerinvelderon, a renegade drow family more commonly known as House Kel'Morain. Here Zeirthan discovers the terrible truth behind the capture of the Shady Vale miners. The Kel'Morain nobles seek to sacrfice the halflings to summon a creature to the mortal plane, a dark deity known as Scrax, a rival of Lolth, and a truely horrible monster.

In the finale chapter of the adventure, Zeirthan breaks into the drow house and locates the miners. After freeing them he seeks out the nobles of the house, Firstboy Draco Kel'Morain, Secondboy Roaxian Kel'Morain, and Matron Mother Tyanai Kel'Morain. One by one the psion warrior slays them, and then, as the magic that holds the underground palace together fades and it begins to fall apart, Zeirthan must escape back to the surface with the miners.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

So thats it. Once again I'm just looking for Questions, Advice, Comments, and anything else you care to post in response to this. :cool:

Thanks,
LoS
FireJewel
11-15-05, 03:01 PM Sounds Cool :cool:

How is he going to find out about the captives once he's in the underdark, though? I mean, drow houses don't normally advertise and humans aren't trusted to give info to.

Whatever happened to the lich? Is the lich still there and just not in possession of the miners? Is the lich working with the drow? (Now *there's a scary thought!)

Also, this may give somewhere to go beyond the story... Why are the Kel'Morain's summoning the Scrax? I am assuming they did something to lose Lloth's favor. What was it? Maybe they also had an item of powerful evil magic in their possesstion, and they let it fall to the hands of a different party. (Not drow, but still evil). That's why they were "exiled". Your next mission for the psion could be to figure out what is it, who has it, and stop them... :plotting:

Sounds like fun, though...
olshanski_home
11-15-05, 03:08 PM I can solve that adventure!

Scry 4th level spell $280 gp
Scry 4th level spell (in case first fails) $280 gp
Teleport 5th level spell $450 gp
Teleportation Circle 9th level spell $1530 gp (for NPC caster, otherwise $4280 gp for scroll)

Even if you don't allow the whole shebang (teleportation circle), you've got to consider that someone would scry on a missing miner to find out where they are.

With a 10th level character, and an expected wealth of 49,000 gp, this looks to be about between 5% and 10% of the character's resources.
Illion the Red
11-15-05, 03:08 PM 1. This seems like a heavily scripted adventure. Does the player have any choice in how he deals with the plotline?

2. Be careful as the PC could easily get overwhelmed by numbers, especially if the monsters fight intelligently. What happens if they surround the PC and use "Aid Another" to help one of the orcs to grapple the PC, followed up by a series of sneak attacks from all around?

Somehow, I just don't see the PC surviving the adventure. I would suggest adding more roleplaying elements and toning down the combat. On lucky crit and the campaign is over.
Lord of Shadows
11-15-05, 03:12 PM FireJewel

good questions.

To answer the first, this has been something I've been thinking about for some time, it is a tough one. At first I considered a fellow adventurer who was already down there, but that seemed to convinient. Next I though maybe some Deep Gnomes, as they are sometimes friendly with surface dwellers, but thats been done. Finally I decided that the source of information is a creature known as the Merchant of Doom. this is a character my player has run into before. the merchant is plane hopping mad man who sells everything you could ever dream of. I remembered that my player really enjoyed chatting with the merchant in previous adventures, so I figued I'd bring him back for an encore, this time he'll be seeking out underdark items to add to his stock.

As for the lich, he is indeed working for House Kel'Morain, I've acctualy considered makeing him a slain memeber of the noble family who continues to serve after death.

and thanks for the ideas for continueing the campagin, but if I plan too far ahead I'll lose intrest int he beginning of the adventure and I wont want to play it anymore :P
Dex
11-16-05, 01:48 AM One thing i noticed was that there isn't any psionics in this adventure, bar the PC. If he's playing a solo psionic character, the adventure would benefit from other psionic NPCs (unless he is the only one for some reason).

So he's tirelessly tracking down the bad guys? Great, but he hasn't got the survival skill. Has he got cohorts? allied NPCs? Did he remember to pack a wand of Heal? I'd run an adventure like that for a party, personally, and it just seems like the campaign is just two adventures back to back (the orc/goblin/ogre one, and the really long underdark crawl).

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Lord of Shadows 11-15-05, 02:45 PM	Okay, the following is the basic plotline for the upcoming campagin I'm planning. I only have one player, and he's already created his character. All I'm really looking for is advice or suggestions on possible plot changes, encounters, or anything else you care to comment on. Enjoy: Character Zeirthan Blackfire - 6th level Psion(savant)/ 4th level SoulKnife Species: Human, Gender: Male Primary Weapon: Mind-Blade, Secondary Weapon: Dagger Whip Primary Skills: Knowledge (Psionics), Open Lock, Psicraft, and Search The Campagin The adventure begins in the small villiage of Shady Vale in the heart of the halfling kingdom of Shinnam. Zeirthan has been hired by the local baron to investigate the dissapearance of all the miners from the local silver mine. The loss of the miners has left the town crippled, with only women, children, and elderly citizens left. Questioning around town, Zeirthan discovers that the local population of goblinoids and orcs have been silent the past few months, and a visit to the mine turns up goblin arrows and evidence of orc soliders. Tracking the raiders turns out to be a simple task, and Zeirthan is led back to their lair, an abandoned keep in the foot hills of the Obsidian Mountains. Within the keep Zeirthan faces hoards of goblinoids and orcs as he fights his way to the chieften, Rookar, a half-ogre warrior. As Zeirthan faces off against Rookar, the raider chief summons his undead father to fight beside him, a gift from a darker evil that lurks below. When Rookar and the orge zombie finally fall, Zierthan finds evidence of someone else behind the kidnapping, and a trail leading deeper into the mountains. As he decends into the darkness, Zeirthan unknowingly crosses the fine line between underground, and the underdark, the domain of dark things. It is here, among the shadows, that Zirethan discovers evidence that the miners from Shady Vale may still be alive, but in the clutches of a lich. The brave psion makes his way into the underdark necropolise, battleing waves of undead creatures in search of the captives. His search reveals that the miners have been moved even furthur into the underdark, and now the lich stands in his way of rescueing them. After a fierce battle, and a return to the surface to resupply and heal, Zeirthan moves on into darker tunnels, moveing closer to the true evil behind the kidnappings. Finally his search leads him to the gates of House Kemerinvelderon, a renegade drow family more commonly known as House Kel'Morain. Here Zeirthan discovers the terrible truth behind the capture of the Shady Vale miners. The Kel'Morain nobles seek to sacrfice the halflings to summon a creature to the mortal plane, a dark deity known as Scrax, a rival of Lolth, and a truely horrible monster. In the finale chapter of the adventure, Zeirthan breaks into the drow house and locates the miners. After freeing them he seeks out the nobles of the house, Firstboy Draco Kel'Morain, Secondboy Roaxian Kel'Morain, and Matron Mother Tyanai Kel'Morain. One by one the psion warrior slays them, and then, as the magic that holds the underground palace together fades and it begins to fall apart, Zeirthan must escape back to the surface with the miners. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- So thats it. Once again I'm just looking for Questions, Advice, Comments, and anything else you care to post in response to this. :cool: Thanks, LoS
FireJewel 11-15-05, 03:01 PM	Sounds Cool :cool: How is he going to find out about the captives once he's in the underdark, though? I mean, drow houses don't normally advertise and humans aren't trusted to give info to. Whatever happened to the lich? Is the lich still there and just not in possession of the miners? Is the lich working with the drow? (Now *there's a scary thought!) Also, this may give somewhere to go beyond the story... Why are the Kel'Morain's summoning the Scrax? I am assuming they did something to lose Lloth's favor. What was it? Maybe they also had an item of powerful evil magic in their possesstion, and they let it fall to the hands of a different party. (Not drow, but still evil). That's why they were "exiled". Your next mission for the psion could be to figure out what is it, who has it, and stop them... :plotting: Sounds like fun, though...
olshanski_home 11-15-05, 03:08 PM	I can solve that adventure! Scry 4th level spell $280 gp Scry 4th level spell (in case first fails) $280 gp Teleport 5th level spell $450 gp Teleportation Circle 9th level spell $1530 gp (for NPC caster, otherwise $4280 gp for scroll) Even if you don't allow the whole shebang (teleportation circle), you've got to consider that someone would scry on a missing miner to find out where they are. With a 10th level character, and an expected wealth of 49,000 gp, this looks to be about between 5% and 10% of the character's resources.
Illion the Red 11-15-05, 03:08 PM	1. This seems like a heavily scripted adventure. Does the player have any choice in how he deals with the plotline? 2. Be careful as the PC could easily get overwhelmed by numbers, especially if the monsters fight intelligently. What happens if they surround the PC and use "Aid Another" to help one of the orcs to grapple the PC, followed up by a series of sneak attacks from all around? Somehow, I just don't see the PC surviving the adventure. I would suggest adding more roleplaying elements and toning down the combat. On lucky crit and the campaign is over.
Lord of Shadows 11-15-05, 03:12 PM	FireJewel good questions. To answer the first, this has been something I've been thinking about for some time, it is a tough one. At first I considered a fellow adventurer who was already down there, but that seemed to convinient. Next I though maybe some Deep Gnomes, as they are sometimes friendly with surface dwellers, but thats been done. Finally I decided that the source of information is a creature known as the Merchant of Doom. this is a character my player has run into before. the merchant is plane hopping mad man who sells everything you could ever dream of. I remembered that my player really enjoyed chatting with the merchant in previous adventures, so I figued I'd bring him back for an encore, this time he'll be seeking out underdark items to add to his stock. As for the lich, he is indeed working for House Kel'Morain, I've acctualy considered makeing him a slain memeber of the noble family who continues to serve after death. and thanks for the ideas for continueing the campagin, but if I plan too far ahead I'll lose intrest int he beginning of the adventure and I wont want to play it anymore :P
Dex 11-16-05, 01:48 AM	One thing i noticed was that there isn't any psionics in this adventure, bar the PC. If he's playing a solo psionic character, the adventure would benefit from other psionic NPCs (unless he is the only one for some reason). So he's tirelessly tracking down the bad guys? Great, but he hasn't got the survival skill. Has he got cohorts? allied NPCs? Did he remember to pack a wand of Heal? I'd run an adventure like that for a party, personally, and it just seems like the campaign is just two adventures back to back (the orc/goblin/ogre one, and the really long underdark crawl).