The return of Taratai
So I was reacquainting myself with the Path of Inspiration by way of Faiths of Eberron and I came across the bit about the Void of Taratai, and that's when I got a plot idea that I'd very much like to take out for a spin. What if Taratai came back? It turns out that she didn't die with her Kalashtar line, that she's been somewhere else trying to return. Since her line is dead she can't simply be reborn among the Kalashtar, and she can barely reach the material plane, only able to be born into the easiest of hosts within the psychic/dream bolstering range of the hanbalani altas. In other words, she's secretly reborn in a single generation of hundreds of Chosen. She's basically kluged together her own substitute Kalashtar race, borrowing from the Dreaming Dark's eugenic ingenuity.
All of their lives these Chosen have had what Riedra would have them believe is an altavar, a dark spirit, whispering into their minds, growing louder with each passing year. It calls itself Taratai. What the little voice whispers, after every telepathic announcement from the Inspired, every Quori dream of duty and obedience, every rousing sermon delivered on a holy day by the local eidolon is: 'Don't believe their lies.' Most keep this voice a secret out of a fear for their lives, and it claims that it shields its presence from the sight of the Inspired. Those who don't keep its secret find that they are handled with standard secrecy but surprising care, receiving what amounts to psychiatric counsel and sponsor to help them stay on the Path while shouldering the burden of this altavar.
Most have, with Taratai's guidance, found enough of their 'siblings' to form small, secretive groups. Many believe the dark secrets that she reveals to them about Riedra, the Inspired, the Quori, but many others believe that this altavar is a test, one which they mean to overcome. What all know is that the time of simply hiding will soon be at an end; Taratai's Chosen will soon reach the age when they will begin to be selected as hosts for the Quori, and when the new homeowner realizes that someone's been squatting the ectoplasm is really going to hit the cognizance crystal.
Of course, it's all a lie...
Because this is Eberron and the Dreaming Dark are involved, there's a sinister plot in all of this. The little voice isn't Taratai, it's a Quori agent of the Dreaming Dark which was chosen to have its consciousness shattered in imitation of the distribution of spirit that created the Kalashtar. The plot sacrifices a significant portion of a generation of Chosen in order to create an army of sleeper agents with an utterly genuine enmity to Riedra (which will be assured when the Inspired 'discover' Taratai and chase her Chosen from Riedra with a faux pogrom). They will flee to Adar and, with luck, will eventually be accepted by the Path of Light as fresh allies in the struggle against Riedra. It will be wrongly believed that, due to the 'Kalashtar' spirit within them already occupying their minds, these Chosen cannot be possessed by the Quori. Once they're positioned all it will take is a momentary lapse in the Shield for the false Taratai to lead her brethren of the Dark into the unwitting vessels, placing hundreds of the Inspired at the heart of the Adaran resistance for what the Dreaming Dark intends to be a killing blow to the Path of Light.
The party would spend the first part of the campaign performing duties for the Inspired, all the while being led to evidence of their nation's dark truths. Eventually the party will be forced to flee Riedra, joining with hundreds of their outcast brethren, at which point the party's aim shifts to earning the trust of the only potential ally they have left in the world. Once they've achieved that through personal struggle and thrillin' heroics, the Dreaming Dark will take them over and, through a struggle I'll detail in a moment, they manage to break free, ward themselves against further possession, and escape the overrun monastery. From there the game takes whatever direction the players choose. Hide in Sarlona, strike back at Riedra, seek out new allies, move to Khorvaire and start new lives, whatever.
I currently have all of two players, but they're good players. Since they don't mind (my) DMPCs, I'll be in the group too. Both to fill out the party mechanically and to create a greater character diversity for roleplay we're each going to play two characters: one Chosen and one member of the heimin-like lower castes devoted to another player's Chosen. It's likely that the three heimin will consist of two Savage Legion bodyguards and an Elan servitor. I intend to exploit this element by making the heimin the ones who first fight, then rescue the possessed Chosen when the Dreaming Dark make their move. I also anticipate a number of split combats in which the Chosen deal with one challenge while the heimin fend off another.
I don't have a lot of detail on the Chosen of the party yet, just that one of them is going to be an agent of the Thousand Eyes who is thematically fashioned after the Kuni Witch Hunters of Rokugan.
So, what do you think? Did I miss anything important? Is there anything cool that I could do with this set-up that I haven't thought of? Is there any change that you would make to this set-up if it were yours to do so? I'd appreciate absolutely any and all feedback. Thanks.
The only thing I would recommend would be to look up the history of both Riedra and Adar (which are both huge countries compared to the nations of Khorvaire). Secrets of Sarlona is a good place to start, and has a lot of useful information on the defenses of both countries.
The only flaw I currently see in this plan is, if I recall correctly, Adar is constantly shielded from most methods of ethereal travel, as well as a giant version of Dimensional Anchor - so it's nearly impossible to actually possess someone inside the country though someone that is already possessed can still get in - they just can't get out. Of course this psychic shield is constantly maintained at specific points across Adar and there are stats for how to disable them (so perhaps some sleeping enchantment/compulsion commands to disable them once the PCs arrive in Adar to lower the barrier even for a moment).
There are also some fun NPCs regarding the leadership of the Kalashtar and notable Dreaming Dark members who have their own personal motives that can be played off one another.
As for a "where the PCs can go from here" there is an artifact (complete with Indiana Jones Last Crusade style tests) called the Teeth of the Three in Sarlona that might be a good way to permanently rid themselves of the possibility of being possessed...or maybe even strike back at the hanbalani altas of Riedra...
Hope this helps. I look forward to future news of your game!
And ye - MrCelsius: Your new altavar is creepy
I like it. It's got a good setup, a nice twist, and it's not often to see a plot/campaign take place in Sarlona. Heck it's rare for me to see an Eberron campaign based around the Dreaming Dark and the Kalashtar.
Really? Huh. That's weird since I think they're probably my favourite/the best antagonistic group in the entire setting.
The only thing I would recommend would be to look up the history of both Riedra and Adar (which are both huge countries compared to the nations of Khorvaire). Secrets of Sarlona is a good place to start, and has a lot of useful information on the defenses of both countries.
Yeah, I'm still working my way through SoS. I was around the half-way mark when one of my players borrowed it to help come up with character ideas.
The only flaw I currently see in this plan is, if I recall correctly, Adar is constantly shielded from most methods of ethereal travel, as well as a giant version of Dimensional Anchor - so it's nearly impossible to actually possess someone inside the country though someone that is already possessed can still get in - they just can't get out. Of course this psychic shield is constantly maintained at specific points across Adar and there are stats for how to disable them (so perhaps some sleeping enchantment/compulsion commands to disable them once the PCs arrive in Adar to lower the barrier even for a moment).
Yep, I read about that one. I'd been thinking of a small, covert strike force managing to infiltrate and disable the local Shield generator long enough for the Chosen to be turned into Inspired, but I got another idea about five minutes ago.
I'll spend the party's time in Riedra convincing them of the tremendous power of some collection of mysterious psychic artifacts. 'In our hands, these weapons will be the doom of the Adaran resistance.' That sort of thing. Once they change sides it'll fall to them to capture the artifacts from their disparate locations. It's a trap, of course; once all of the artifacts are brought together in proximity to a shield generator, they trigger and, functioning as separate parts of one psionic device, disable the shield long enough for the takeover to happen.
Officially, Taratai is imprisoned in the shield that protects Adar. Unofficially, it's up to you where Taratai is.
Yep, but I don't plan on bringing the real Taratai into it. I think the shield thing is something that the DM/players reading the books know but that the Kalashtar aren't necessarily aware of; they mourn Taratai as though she were dead.
I like the Dreaming Dark sleeper agents twist, it could have a kind of Total Recall movie vibe: "And thanks for not getting yourself killed. Maybe now, we will meet in dreams, you never know".
Haha, yeah. I've been pondering something along those lines. One plot point which appeals to me is that the Quori which was shattered into hundreds of fragments in order to impersonate Taratai was told, by the Dark, that she would be restored once the mission was over. Instead, when the other Quori enter the minds that she guided them to, she's left in a corner of the host's mind, a forgotten prisoner. Even worse, she can see in the minds of the Quori that have moved in that she will never be restored to wholeness, that she's been written off as a casualty of war. When the PC Chosen regain themselves she's still with them, and their minds are the only ones in which she remains free. Now she needs them to help her find a means to restore herself, aid she'll have to earn by helping them in return. It's up to the PCs whether they adventure to find a way to free her or to find a way simply to destroy her.
It looks like a couple of the lower-caste members are going to be a Thri-Kreen Monk|Ranger -- a bodyguard to one of the Chosen from the Savage Legion -- and a Dragonborn Barbarian|Sorcerer reskinned as an Ogre Mage. I think that the lower-caste character I bring to the table will be a Warforged Swordmage|Lazylord fluffed as an Elan Egoist/Soulknife.