I'm running a campaign currently set in 1357 DR and pretty soon, the year will change to 1358 DR after my players will undergo suspended animation inducted by Shaundakul. They will wake up in the middle of the Time of Troubles.
The thing is, after my players come back to Faerun, they will be in the Frost Hills near Mithral Hall and it is likely the first place they will go to. They will get news there but I wonder what should I tell them.
I would like them to know that the dwarves and allies repelled a drow attack (Battle of Keeper's Dale) but I don't know if it happened before, during or after the Time of Troubles. The "Grand History of the Realms" book is superb but hasn't given me knowledge on this matter. Only that both events (Time of Troubles and Battle of Keeper's Dale) happenned in 1358 DR. I also read the Icewind Dale Trilogy but that was a long time ago...
So help me wizards of the coast boards, you're my only hope.
Info on my campaign and another question:
Set in 1357, PCs are hunted by somebody they don't know. They have been convicted of a crime they didn't commit and were sentenced to Undermountain. They escaped by a portal that led them to Quaervarr and after some adventuring in the Silver Marches, they set out for Waterdeep to find out who framed them. The thing is, one of their contacts in Waterdeep told them their face was plastered everywhere and they were wanted in the City of Splendors. Somebody knew they were alive and wanted them dead.
So after deciding to lay low for a while before returning to Waterdeep, the group decided to trek it to Mithral Hall because the group's two clerics of Shaundakul are trying to find a lost shrine dedicated to their god. Since their god is weak, they hope that finding the lost shrine will bring their god back to power.
This is where we are. I want the PCs to find the lost shrine and after battling a White Dragon, they will meet Shaundakul. They will black out and have visions as the god will show them what each of them seeks/wants. When the PCs will wake up in 1358 DR, in the middle of the Time of Troubles, everyone will surely go to Waterdeep seeing as all their visions will tie them to a certain man, a Devout of Myrkul. Turns out, he is an ancient of the Arcane Brotherhood just as 2 of the PCs are. Those 2 PCs saw him plot an insidious event in the past and so he wants everybody in the party dead. Believing they are dead after their Black out in the Frost Hills, he launches his plan.
This is were I want to tie the PCs with this man and his plot to use the Crown of Horns to lure Myrkul to Waterdeep... Some PCs will be motivated by revenge, some by their god and others by pure altruism, but, they will try to foil those plans!
So again, I'm asking all of you if this makes sense lorewise. I know the Crown of Horns was shattered by Khelben in 1357 but I know it was reformed somehow... So I'm wondering how it was reformed and when.
Thanks a lot!
Sorry for the long read... :P
- completely ignore the "historical events" of the Time of Troubles. Create an alternate reality where the gods are actually smart and don't do dopey things. Don't have Mystra-avatar try to face Helm-still-a-deity, for example, she's smarter than a rock after all.
- make sure Midnight, Cyric, and Adon all die insignifcant deaths as mortals, and never ascend. Let Kelemvor live out his days as a mortal, then die from natural causes, also never ascending.
- instead, let your PCs help recover the Tablets of Fate.
- Myrkul stole the fragments of the Crown of Horns from Khelben, reforged it and imbued it with some of his divine energy (during the ToT). Exactly what he did to accomplish this isn't completely certain, but it became a major artifact that houses some of his personality.
Seriously, if you get rid of Midnight, Adon, Cyric and Kelemvor, you've opened up a ton of plot hooks that can be way better used in a campaign than anything we saw in the cheesy Avatar novels. Make it your own story.
The first thing I'd do is write a list of all the deities that were cast down. I'd also mark where they ended up, and what ends up happening (sans player involvement). I'd then keep a pretty good track on time (days, weeks, months) of the campaign. As time passes, I'd blast them with all sorts of crazy rumors - some true, some false, some only partly true. The whole world will have seem to have gone mad, and then I'd maneuver events to ensure that the players find themselves smack dab in the middle of it.
I'd avoid putting the players in a position to become gods - unless they're really high level and they're going to retire after the campaign. However, I'd move to put them in position to aid various avatars against others and be rewarded appropriately. You should draw from the events of the Time of Troubles, not feel bound by it.
So how about;
The PCs find themselves in post Battle of Keeper's Dale Mithral Hall. Clerics don't have spells to heal, the place as gone to hell and everyone is exausted. The PCs who were tought dead are told of the events of the Time of Trouble. So, I'm thinking that the party's Cleric and Mage might have been imbued by some of Shaundakul's power from their meeting with him. And so, their spells might work but will always have a 5 or 10% failure chance. With a 1 indicating a weird effect.
Like as if they had been chosen by Shaundakul himself.
Then I would have the PCs get to Waterdeep and witness a land that has gone crazy and meabe have them cross a battle between 2 avatars and a town where Bhaal is having cultist murder innocent folks. Then they'd try to recover the tablets of fate from the Bad Guy Devout of Myrkul as he wants to give them to Myrkul so he'll make him very powerful.
This way, the PCs are directly involved in the Time of Troubles but I just don't know where to go from there. I don't want them ascending to godhood and they are not high level. They'll probably be lvl 10 when they'll get there.
So I'm thinking:
-Battle against a toned down avatar of Myrkul atop Blackstaff Tower or someplace else, ending with a befriended Cyric that backstabs the PCs, steals the Tablets of Fate and wants to ascend.
The history books would have revised this event seeing as the PCs aren't a band of do-gooders and have had trouble with the law... One of them is an Assassin, another one is a Guild Thief, one is an ex-Arcane Brotherhood member and the ranger spent time drinking on the brink of depression and attacked a caravan near Nashkel.
OR
-Something else... Which I have no idea about...
Thanks for the help guys! It's really appreciated!!
Deity Locations during the ToT
I like the idea of having Shaundakul involved. He's a fascinating deity that's really not been explored much in the Realms. Intimately tied to portals, portal-walking, and "riding the winds," he's an old deity that predates many of the others including Tymora and Beshaba. It's even been suggested that he dates back to the early Rus, the ancestors of the people of Rashemen. Among his names in antiquity, he has also been called the "Helping Hand" for helping guide travelers who become lost along their way.
One thing to consider, maybe Shaundakul gives them amulets that are really, really ancient magic, back from the time he was much more powerful and worshipped prior to the fall of Myth Drannor. These amulets might enable the players to travel along a portal network (finding a forgotten portal network connecting places in Rashemen to places in the ruins of Myth Drannor, how cool would that be?), which is stable despite the Time of Troubles... or to Wind Walk safely despite magic's instability during the ToT.
Myrkul and his evil minion, also excellent. And if Cyric gets put down as a mortal and prevented from ascending, most excellent.
I can't really help with the Battle of Keeper's Dale, sorry. I'm not sure if it's really stated in which month it happened, so I'd just pick one randomly - it's not like the players are likely to notice or care. If you want it to happen before the ToT I'd just say that's when it happened - whatever works best for your campaign. It's just a few months difference at most, after all.
I'll second some of Jorunhast's suggestions. One of the great things about using Shaundakul is that you can move the players around the map very quickly as they "accidentally" stumble upon a complex portal network. So if you -DID- want your players to be more actively involved in the ToT then that's one easy way to handle it.
Oh. Just had an awesome idea. A sacred portal artifact of Shaundakul. It doesn't take you where you WANT to go, it takes you where you NEED to be. Awesome plot device and great for a DM if you don't want your players just wandering off in a random direction.
Here is something I'd envision using...
Countless generations ago, long before the fall of Myth Drannor, there was an ancient pack of Lythari that created the shrine that your players uncover. This pack converted to the worship of Shaundakul. Due to their intense devotion and their largely pacifistic nature, Shaundakul blessed them with the ability to travel quickly throughout the world to where they NEEDED to be. This ability was connected to the amulets that they wore.
When the players black out and reawaken the clerics will each have a strange amulet. They would be identical - a compass with the holy symbol of Shaundakul on it and the phases of the moon behind the holy symbol. It would primarily be made of silver (thus preventing it from being used by evil lycanthropes - the primary enemies of the Lythari). For the Clerics, this amulet also doubles as a holy symbol, and would allow them to turn evil lycanthropes. The phases of the moon would be in gold as would be the strange lettering on the back of the amulet. The gold lettering on the back would read: "U Werekh Kye We." This translates to "Great Winds Be Born" in the Lythari Dialect of Elven.
When this phrase is spoken aloud in a place accessible by the wind - it will summon forth a small breeze. This breeze would be noticeable but not something really strong, but with the breeze comes a strange mist that blows across the ground to settle around everyone nearby. Those that remain within the mist begin to become incorporeal. This takes several minutes to happen, allowing anyone in the mist to flee the mist, but also making it rather useless to escape combat.
After the several minutes have passed and everyone is fully incorporeal the wind seems to pick up and blow the mist away into the air... along with everyone in it. As the wind blows the players across the world, to where they NEED to be; they witness the events that take place below them. I'd use it similarly as to how Robert Jordan used the wind in his opening chapters in the Wheel of Time.
You can use the wind as a way to describe what the players see as they pass across the world, giving them a "birds eye" view of the events that are unfolding - of their scale and magnitude. Ultimately, though the wind sets them down to where they need to be.
If they use the amulet to try and avoid where they need to be it simply won't work. The wind doesn't carry them off. Thus, the amulet is more or less 100% controlled by you, but it also allows you to move the players around to where you want them to be at any moment in time.
That deity list is going to be pretty helpful for the next part of my campaign. I also love the amulets idea. It's something I will consider using!
I want the PCs to experience the Time of Trouble amidst the people of Faerun. I want the PCs walking into towns and wondering what to do with people imploring their help as they still have the favors of the gods. I want the PCs surrounded by people that sees them as if they SHOULD help them at all cost...
That is why I would want my PCs traveling at least a little distance on foot. I don't want them battling gods or seeing gods die. I just want them to feel as though the world as gone nuts and the Gods themselves are walking on Toril.
So, I'm thinking the PCs are going to have those visions when they black out. These visions will give them clues about who wants them dead and also will tell them that this person is a threat to the city of Waterdeep.
When they wake up, they'll all compare their visions and be weirded out about the amulets which will transport them to a small town. There they won't know what to do but will come into contact with the Guild Thief's contacts and that will give them an opportunity to strike against one of their enemy which they know is working for the Minion of Myrkul that has the tablets of fate.
From there, they are going to get to the minion's lair to confront him and his new "friend" Cyric. After the fight, Cyric flees with the Tablets and the PCs chase him.
I'm actually thinking of letting Cyric ascend to godhood... I think he would make a good villain and I know my players would love to have a god as an ennemy. :P
Yeah. I could see that working! Thanks guys!
I'll give you news about what happens next! We're playing tomorrow night and the PCs are leaving Rivermoot and heading to the Frost Hills toward Mithral Hall. They'll meet some Dwarves headed for King Battlehammer's new kingdom and meabe... some frost giants. :D
Feel free to give any suggestion! So far you guys have been very helpful! :D
Yes, I think that's why the amulet idea is so useful. It allows you to convey a sense of scope.
If you want to emphasize that the world has gone mad, the best way to do it is to actually show them what has happened rather than tell them. Let them see the armies gathering as they blow through the camps; let them see devastation that wild magic has wrought; let them see cities burn and people flee for their lives across open fields into monster filled lands. Give them a glimpse of what is going on, and then let them blow right by onward to whatever destination you have in store for them.
In reality, the amulet used in this fashion is a railroading device. It's better than using normal portals because the players may find a way to abuse them (at least if they are two way portals). This allows you to create rough outlined adventures which you connect together via the use of the amulet. It also allows you to drop them anywhere, literally, like right in the middle of the wilderness for seemingly no reason - only to, five minutes or so later, encounter a group of fleeing refugees which provides your hook - their reason for being there.
It's kinda like the Wizard in the Wizard of Oz. Don't pay attention to the man behind the amulet - er curtain.
Also, an interesting idea building off of that... with the gods running around in avatar form and stuff, I'd imagine its possible that a group of common folk mistake the players for gods due to the method of their arrival. I love giving players a bit of rope to hang themselves with... and I'm pretty sure at least a few members of your group sound like the type that'd want to convince the locals that they were indeed gods. Not only could this create interesting interparty conflict, if they manage to convince the locals you could allow that rumor to spread. Suddenly, people are hunting them in order to kill them and obtain divine power for themselves. Ha. That could be another way you introduce someone like Cyric to them if you allow him to have Godsbane.
After re-visiting the thread, I'm pretty sure we can provide you with more assistance if you told us more about the characters. Give us their character names, class, their goals (if any), and a brief background which includes some tidbits on their personality type.
I think just typing that out will flood your brain with ideas.
Also, are you using the 3E or 4E D&D rules?
I apologize in advance for my english. It's not my natural language. :P
I'm using 3E D&D rules and my PCs' classes, personnality and goals are as follows:
-Mithlain Erinion: Illusionist 5 / Rogue 2, Moon Elf. He is an ancient member of the Arcane Brotherhood. He left when he found out his mindset didn't fit with the organisation. He fled with Amarilys Goodbarrel (see below) as he thought their treatment of her was cruel. He aims to find out who set him up for death in Waterdeep and has since learned that the people wanting him (and his companions) dead, are intimitaly tied to the Arcane Brotherhood. He met one of his old rival at a Mage Fair in Silverymoon. The two dueled but Mithlain lost. He has since then learned that this rival is now after him; apparently getting some orders from up high in the Brotherhood.
He met the groupe in Daggerford.
The player aims for the Mage Lord Prestige class in LEoF.
-"Chelsmeth": Ranger 7, Moon Elf. He is somewhat of an anomaly of an elf as he is near 6 feet tall and loves to drink. In his past he helped as a caravan guard and as a scout along the Sword Coast up until he met a band of gnolls led by Agraar; a Gnoll Chieftain. After Agraar lost some mens, he challenged Chelsmeth to a duel and won. Chelsmeth was left for dead and how made it back to Nashkel, he'll never know. Although he didn't take his lost lightly and lost it... He snaped and passed his time getting in tavern brawls, getting drunk and became a shell of a man. He even attacked a caravan for pure thrills... After some time sobering up, he cleaned out and accepted to escort some caravans to earn some gold. He ended up in Daggerford where he met the rest of the group and got incolved with them.
He wants to find out who set the group for execution in Waterdeep and who wants them dead. He also wants to find Agraar to have his revenge.
Frath Stonar: Ranger 2 / Cleric of Shaundakul 5, Illuskan. He is the husband of Anya (See below) and the two met as Frath was a wounded young hunter. He was healed by Anya and her Master and was brought to the monastery where she lived. The two had the same age and fell in love with each other. Frath was then initiated to the dogma of Shaundakul and found the life at the monastery pleasing so he undertook his training as a cleric.
Shortly before their master's death, the pair was married and they undertook their holy pilgrimmage toward Waterdeep and later toward Myth Drannor. Although, they never made it that far... The two were captured by Agraar (Gnoll Chieftain) near Waterdeep and were brought as slave up to the vicinity of Quaervarr. They were later found by the rest of the group and joined them in their quest to rid the vicinity of Quaervarr from bandits and Gnolls.
They have undertaken a quest to find Meirhald, an ancient shrine of Shaundakul, because Frath was afflicted by Lycanthropy as the group was leaving the Moonwood. During his curing by a priest, he had a vision of Shaundakul mentionning the ruins and so Anya and Frath leaved with the group toward Meirhald which they think is located in the Frost Hills.
The two clerics want Shaundakul to regain power as they have had a lot of visions of their god and he appeared weak...
Player aims for the Windwalker prestige class.
Anya Stonar: Rogue 2 / Cleric of Shaundakul 5, Illuskan. Her parents died from a very young age and she lived for 7 years in an orphenage. She soon escaped and ran away passing through villages. She learned to survive by developping her ruse... Although she didn't want to get attached to anything, she met a priest of Shaundakul that soon took her for tutelage at the Monastery.
There she met Frath and her story is pretty much the same as him seeing as they are tied to one another.
Player aims for the Windwalker prestige class.
Xandos Lamstrand: Rogue 5 / Guild Thief 2, Tethyrian. Xandos lived in the Dock Ward in Waterdeep where he soon got involved with the local way of doing business. He had a friend with whom he always got involved into some sort of plan regarding pickpocket or some other bad schemes... Soon, Xandos started to aim for bigger and bigger prize seeing as this was his only way to get some income. He also found the thrill exhilirating and always wanted more; even going as far as stealing some riches from some crypts in the City of the Dead.
This is where he got caught by a priest of Tymora. This priest brought Xandos in the temple to do some work and straighten the young boy but Xandos wanted freedom... So he escaped but got caught again. This time, he did 2 years in prison. When he got out his childhood friend got taken in by a small local thieves' guild and Xandos was invited to join.
He joined willingly seeing as this guild was not a murderous type of guild like the Shadow Thieves. He found his liking here and was sent to Silverymoon to deliver a message from his guild to a local man tied with the small Silverymoon thieves' guild. He met the party there and since they were originally supposed to go to Waterdeep, he joined them but now he agreed to go to Meirhald to help them. He seeks some kind of atonement for what he did in the past but he won't leave his guild.
Abdul Khaled: Rogue 7, Calishite. Abdul is the son of a great Calimport Slaver. He and his brother soon got their father's business when he died and so they started a good slaving operation in the city. Abdul then fell in love with a girl named Nassima and so his day to day operations with the Slaving Company got looser. His brother didn't like that at all.
Abdul's brother schemed behind Abdul's back to get Nassima on his side and betray Abdul to get full share of the Slaving Company. They sent him out on a deal in Chult to find some new Slaves but Abdul was attacked by Assassins. When he came back to Calimport, he found out Nassima had fled North with his brother and a lot of gold.
Abdul considers himself lucky not to have the Khaled's private army at his heels and fled North to get some answers and his revenge. He met the Party in Daggerford.
He plans to find out who wants him dead and wants to go to Waterdeep to get some answers...
Players aims for the Assassin prestige class.
DEAD PCs:
Amarilys Goodbarrel: Sorcerer 5, Ghostwise Halfling. Amarilys was a sorcerer hailing from Chondalwood that got captured by the Arcane Brotherhood for study. She fled along with Mithlain as the Brotherhood was experimenting on her. She too was wanted dead and adventured with the group a while. She died during a bandit ambush around Quaervarr.
This player is now playing Anya Stonar.
Thoïan Pagason: Druid 5, Thethyrian. He met with the group in Daggerford and he too was wanted dead. He died in a bandit ambush near Qaervarr.
This player is now playing Frath Stonar.
Gorstag Buckman: Fighter 6, Illuskan. Gorstag hailed from Quaervarr and left the village to start trading some pelts with his brother to other villages in the north. He sooned gained a good proficiency with his bow because of the dangers of the region but also because he was always hunting for his living. He found that the business they had wasn't paying enough and so he decided to go to Waterdeep and left his brother.
After adventuring with a group and surviving an orc ambush along the way, he arrived in Daggerford and met the group heading for Waterdeep. He too was wanted dead.
He didn't die but left the group in Quaervarr and stayed to take care of his father and help defend the village.
The Story so far! Note that the PCs started the campaign as level 4.
Prologue. Spring, 1357 DR.
The PCs (Mithlain, Amarilys, Thoïan, Gorstag, Abdul and Chelsmeth) all met in Daggerford south of Waterdeep and were given a very good amount of gold to escort a merchant toward the City of Splendors.
After repelling a Gnoll attack, they arrived in Waterdeep and immidiatly behind the walls, the heroes were arrested by the Watch. Turns out, they were accused of banditry around the city. This was false of course but the watch didn't care. They got tossed in prison and 3 days later, they were brought to the gallows for execution.
A good crowd gathered for the hanging and the PCs were all lined up and ready to get it... They spoted some weird things going out in the crowd: The merchant that brought them here having gold given to him by a cloaked men. Some youth throwing rocks at the PCs and more importantly, Milanseth Asanandar, an ancient member of the Arcane Brotherhood that seemed to be suprised to see Mithlain and Amarilys ready to be hanged.
So after some yelling and some escape artist checks that almost resulted in Abdul getting hanged before anybody else. The PCs were spared as Milanseth Asanandar talked to a Magistrate and succeeded in having the PCs dropped in Undermountain instead of being hanged.
So the Watch brought the PCs to the Yawning Portal and while the PCs wanted to talk to Milanseth Asanandar, they were rushed and were left with a lot of questions...
-Who wanted them all dead?
-Who was that cloaked figure giving gold to Shank Breenwater, the merchant that betrayed the PCs...
After a small meal and some small talk with Durnan, who liked the PCs as he knew deep down that they warn't so bad after all; the PCs were lowered in Undermountain without their gear.
Chapter 1: Escape from Undermountain.
The PCs navigated in Undermountain as best as they could and scavenged some gear from dead bodies and Goblins. They encountered the Sluggard tribe, a caryatid column, and some other problems. Most of all, they were hungry, needed light and were scared s***less.
The PCs managed to find a section of the dungeon that was occupied long ago by the Melairkyn Clan. There they met the Ghost of king Melair IV that read their souls and saw that most of them were good folks. He bargained with the PCs: He wanted his old shield back in exchange for a way out for the PCs.
They agreed to the term of the old Ghost and started their search.
After a lot of exploration, they came upon a cult of Velsharoon that wanted to see the PCs. The PCs attracted the attention of the cult as they had a great capacity for survival... They wanted to make an offer to the PCs: Get some bones from the Melairkyn's crypts and in exchange they would get great riches, a place within the cult and great power.
The Cult of Velsharoon wanted to reanimate some dwarves from the Melairkyn Clan and so had some artifacts. Including the Shield the PCs were looking for.
The PCs stole the Shield and gave it back to the Ghost of King Melair IV. He in turn showed them the way to Yeldoon's Crypt where they would find a portal leading them out of here.
So the PCs found the crypt that was also being excavated by Velsharoon's cult. After a battle with the leader of the cult that they had met before. They managed to kill him and meet an archeologist that was hired by the cult. He was friendly to the PCs and said he didn't know what was in Yeldoon's Crypt but he knew by his research that Yeldoon was the Count of Quaervarr long ago.
The archeologist explained to them that Yeldoon went mad some time ago after acquiring a medallion and he killed his wife and children. Nobody knew why but he was obsesed with the "secrets under the mountain"... So while the population of Quaervarr wanted to burn his manor, he managed to escape to Undermountain and after some exploration, he decided to make Undermountain his crypt along with his Sidekick.
The PCs, along with the archeologist, opened the crypt and battled an Allip and Lord Yeldoon as a revenant. After the tough battle they found a portal behind the sarcophagus. It led them to the basement of Yeldoon's burnt manor outside Quaervarr.
Stay tuned for an update. I need to go study for my final exams... I'll probably continue the story later.
Sorry for the long read...
Here are some notes that I've made as I read what you've posted so far. Some of them may have already been covered in game. Either way, here is some stuff that came to my mind as I was reading.
- Mithlain wants to become a Magelord, and one of the special requirements is that he needs to be tutored by a Magelord or obtain rare tomes to study the magelord tradition. Either option will cost him no less than 10,000 gp or a service of equal that value.
- Mithlain's story needs to somehow bring the Arcane Brotherhood back into the picture. He's an ancient member, and thus likely knows a number of their secrets, or in other words "he knows too much to live." Why are they letting him run away without repercussion?
- Since the Arcane Brotherhood is important, it is therefore important to know what is taking place in Luskan during the ToT and how this might impact or influence their decision to deal with Mithlain once they realize he is still alive.
- Who is Milanseth Asanandar and what is Mithlain's relationship with him? Clearly they know each other to some degree. How do you plan to use him in the future? Is he trustworthy? Is he loyal to the Brotherhood?
- You could use Milanseth Asanandar or another member of the Arcane Brotherhood to offer Mithlain a way "out." Have him approach Mithlain secretly and propose an offer to him. He will agree to speak to the Arcane Brotherhood on his behalf and seek to get him released from their service, provided he swears to never breathe a word of the secrets he knows. However, this comes at a price - he needs a favor. He needs something stolen from someone powerful in Waterdeep, and since Mithlain is already considered to be a criminal... whats the harm in committing another crime, right? Now, this could be a trap that is being set for Mithlain, it could just be a member of the Brotherhood using him, or it could be genuine. I wouldn't make it genuine, but ultimately I think it's important that he somehow be identified either through capture, a witness, or by being forced to leave evidence behind. Even if he isn't captured it'll make him a "real" criminal. Does he involve the rest of the group? If not how does the rest of the group feel about his criminal activity?
- Building off the above, maybe what he's been asked to steal are Magelord Tomes, though he doesn't know it until after he's stolen them. He then faces a choice: does he give them to the Arcane Brotherhood and harm his chances to become a Magelord, or does he keep them for himself and betray the Arcane Brotherhood *AGAIN*.
- Mithlain locates a Magelord, but there are some problems. First, this Magelord is powerful and doesn't have a lot of time. There are a number of other petitioners who seek to become his apprentice, and they arrived before Mithlain. Second, there are people around this powerful Magelord who seek to use him or gain his favor... these people seek to use Mithlain to their own ends, and sometimes these ends (even if it isn't clear) brings him into conflict with the desires of the Magelord. Third, there are people who surround the Magelord that don't like Mithlain and seek to undermine and block his chances for success. Fourth, on his quest to become a Magelord, Mithlain encounters alternative opportunities - access to "lesser" paths that are much easier.
How does Mithlain deal with the competition? How does Mithlain deal with those who seek to use him to get close to the Magelord? How does Mithlain deal with those who are loyal to the Magelord, but seek to block his opportunity to become the Magelord's apprentice? Does Mithlain remain on the path to become a Magelord, or does he decide it isn't worth his time and takes the easier path?
- I'd spend more time digging into Chelsmeth, there isn't much to work with there. For example, heading back to Waterdeep to find out who wants them dead and taking down Agraar are goals that are most likely shared by the entire group. He needs at least one more individual goal, preferably a goal that will cause some conflict.
- Clearly there has to be another encounter with Agraar where Chelsmeth has the opportunity for revenge... unfortunately, things are a bit more dire than expected. Over the years Agraar's band of gnolls have conquered a neighboring tribe of gnolls. They're three times as large as Chelsmeth remembers.
- Building off the above - it gets worse. Since this is the Time of Troubles and the gods are walking the land in avatar form, Agraar is attempting to bring forth Yeenoghu, the Demon Prince known as the Beast of Butchery and Ruler of Ruin - the commonly worshiped "deity" of the Gnolls. If the players fail to stop Agraar then the Demon Prince will be brought forth to walk on Toril, chasing after the avatars of the gods, and causing all sorts of problems. (All this, of course, assumes Agraar isn't already dead.)
- Elven loyalty? How does Chelsmeth feel about Mithlain? They're both moon elves. Is there any loyalty between them due to race?
- Frath & Anya are likely to have strongly intertwined goals seeing as they're both clerics of Shaundakul and married.
- Frath & Anya should feel compelled to travel far and wide seeking out lost shrines of their deity, as well as spreading his faith. Provide opportunities for them to convert people and establish faithful initiates to tend to the shrines before they begin traveling once again.
- The amulet suggestion would help Frath & Anya a great deal as it would satisfy one of the requirements they need to get the Windwalker PrC. A cautionary note, however... the Windwalker PrC is a bit on the powerful side. You should review it and make some minor changes to it if it is too powerful for your game. (They get BAB progression as if they were a fighter, +1 to their divine spell caster level each level, four skill points per level, gets the skills: Hide, Move Silent, Search, and Spot - among others - and gets at least one special power each level.) Flavor and character wise its awesome, I'd just review it to make sure it isn't over powered for your game, and if so make some minor tweaks to bring it in line.
- Find ways to test Frath & Anya's faith in their deity. Probe each of them and try to decide how their approach to worshiping Shaundakul differs from the other. Then give them subtle nudges to split them among those theological lines. For example, they uncover an ancient heresy that confirms one point of view over another.
- Establish enemies of the faith that they must confront. Maybe they're heretical cultists of the faith, secretly supported and empowered by Talos.
- Xandos & Abdul can be viewed together as well. Abdul is clearly more of the bad guy whereas Xandos is seeking to atone. I'd place them in opposition, with Abdul's actions threatening Xandos' ability to atone.
- Xandos believes his guild isn't like the Shadow Thieves, that they aren't the "murderous type." Abdul seeks to become an Assassin - very much the "murderous type." Thus at some point Xandos is going to want to hook up with his guild in Silverymoon. It should turn out that they're very much looking for someone to do some dirty work for them. They offer it to Xandos, he'll likely refuse if he's still seeking to atone, and that's when it falls into Abdul's lap.
- Abdul should be inducted as a member of Xandos' thieves guild in Silverymoon after he kills someone, this allows him to fulfill one of his requirements to become an assassin. He will also become the first assassin of the thieves guild and will be asked to train more.
How does this impact the relationship between Abdul and Xandos? How does Xandos feel about the thieves guild now? Does he still seek atonement?
- At some point you're going to have to direct the campaign down further south to allow Abdul to obtain revenge, though this can wait awhile. It appears as a more long term loose end.
Here are some other plot ideas based on the other information:
- When it becomes known that the group is alive they receive a plea from an old friend by the name of Gorstag Buckman. The message does not state what he wants, though he makes clear it is urgent and asks them to come to Qaervarr as soon as possible. When they arrive they learn the spirits of the dead are returning to life and are haunting the town. It is unclear why.
As the players investigate they will encounter two primary spirits - the strongest of those that have returned - both of which are very familiar: Amarilys Goodbarrel and Thoïan Pagason. They have both been driven insane by their predicament and do not recognize the PC's.
The PC's will eventually learn of a cult of Myrkul that has set themselves up in the town. The Time of Troubles has weakened the veil between the living and the dead, allowing them to draw the spirits of the recently deceased back to Toril. They are harvesting these spirits for their spiritual energy which they are then using to craft magical items to be of use to the cult in the war between the Gods. This task was given to them by Myrkul himself.
When the PC's defeat the cultists it just so happens that they were nearly ready to harvest the spirits... and it also just happens that the items that they were about to create are ***VERY*** useful to the group. The PC's uncover a ritual that would allow them to complete the cults work and obtain the items. The Clerics of Shaundakul, upon reading the ritual, realize that they can reverse what was done and send the spirits back to the Fugue Plane where they can (hopefully) find peace.
However, the group is then faced with a difficult decision: Do they help ensure their former friends spirits have a chance at a peaceful afterlife, or is the lure of loot just too much for them?
These are just some ideas I had as I read through the information. I hope its helpful.
I'll write back tonight and give you some more info on the campaign and the players. Including what has already been done and explored in what you said.
But for now, it's Final Exams time!
-Mithlain and Chelsmeth are good buddy. The stand up for each other and make a good team but they rarely emotion regarding it.
-Milanseth Asanandar is in fact an ex-member of the Arcane Brotherhood turned Harper. The PCs met him again in Silverymoon (In Chapter 3) and he asked them to do something for him since he pretty much saved their **** in Waterdeep. He was in Silverymoon to spy on the doings of the Arcane Brotherhood (He knows them well) and offered the PCs some great information. (Again, this is in Chapter 3 which I'll write the summary here later). I have plans for him as he told the PCs they sould meet in Waterdeep to discuss some other things.
-The Arcane Brotherhood is important. The main antagonist (the devout of Myrkul) is in fact an Arcane Brotherhood member. The reason he wants to kill the PCs is because Mithlain and Amarilys have seen him plot something during their days in Luskan. Although Mithlain doesn't know it yet, he will remember it in his vision after finding the shrine to Shaundakul.
-The Arcane Brotherhood will attack the PCs in the Frost Hills. They are students (including Mithlain's rival) sent by the BEBG Devout of Myrkul. (Big Evil Bad Guy)
-Abdul has found ties between Nassima, the women that betrayed him, and somebody higher... Though it isn't clear, he found she wants them dead. This investigation by Abdul started in Chapter 2 and always went on. He never really told the other PCs that his ties with Nassima might be the cause of their problems and the other PCs don't know about all of this. He'll probably reveal it later...
-In fact the BEBG hired Nassima to kill the PCs because she had lots of contacts in Waterdeep. She also knew Abdul and how to trap him...
-After Chapter 3, Abdul found notes regarding the fact that the BEBG didn't trust Nassima. She put her hopes in a stupid merchant that couldn't kill the PCs and so the BEBG told he'd be using more reliable assets from now. He was referencing to Mithlain's rival and some Arcane Brotherhood members. He still keeps Nassima in tow though. She is useful...
- I just hope that the player who plays Abdul does the right thing and talks about the notes he found to the others in the group...
-I was meabe planning on Milanseth Asanandar to be the Magelord tutor that Mithlain needs. The PCs should go see him in Waterdeep as after their last meeting, he said to stop on by if they needed anything.
-I love the idea with Agraar and Yeenoghu. This will tie the story of Chelsmeth, Anya and Frath as they all want revenge on him. I know there isn't much to work with here but this is the backstory the Player gave me.
-The different views of Abdul and Xandos as also being brought up and resulted in an alignement change for Xandos... He wants to atone really badly now... He feels sick now. (this happened in Chapter 3)
-They have also been introduced in Silverymoon's guild. (Chapter 3). Abdul got a contact in an assassin's guild and did his first job and Xandos fulfilled a job by delivering a message from Waterdeep. I didn't play much on that conflict but I'll admit that I should.
-I love the hook with Gorstag and the cult of Myrkul. He was a PC that all the players liked. He was very much the kind everyday man that you could imagine out of a northener.
-I kinda want to keep the group together most of the time. Separation happened in Silverymoon and it took some time to resolve the plotlines both groups got into. Some Players didn't really liked this fact as they thought it slowed the game down.
-Because of this, I don't think I'm going to go with an overly complicated plot with Mithlain's Magelord Tutor. I'm going to keep it fairly simple.
Alright that's it for now. Expect a summary of Chapter 2 and meabe 3 for tonight. Chapter 2 dealt less with the overall plot but it started again in Chapter 3.
- I think some character building has to be done between Mithlain and Chelsmeth... something that involves Elves. Since Shaundakul's main and most famous shrine is in Myth Drannor, I suggest a trip there at some point. There is something for everyone there... also that is where the avatar of Shaundakul appeared during the ToT. (The avatar, of course, doesn't have to appear there or still be there when they arrive... but it is clearly an important sight in the faith.)
There is plenty to do in Myth Drannor, but there needs to be something that is Elf related though - something that strengthens the bond between Mithlain and Chelsmeth. That opens up the opportunity for you to test their bond later on. I'd encourage you to speak to Chelsmeth's player a bit and encourage him to expand somewhat on the background.
If you are interested in making a stop there I can do a bit of research on Myth Drannor for you to try and give you an idea of what is going on there around this time period.
- Since the other PC's don't know that Abdul is indirectly responsible for their current problems... muhahaha.
After Abdul achieves his goal of becoming an assassin it'll be time for him to begin accepting contracts. Have the BEBG send him a letter congratulating him on his new line of work and offer him a task. As payment he will offer up Nassima to him on a silver platter. If Abdul wants to accept the task he'll be told where he can leave word.
If Abdul leaves word then a set of instructions will be given to him. Abdul is to deliver the group to a set location at a specific time. The BEBG will make certain Nassima is there. His job is to kill Nassima and find on her person a vial of green liquid. The BEBG will make clear that his intentions do not involve the rest of the group or Abdul, that all he wants to do is protect the secrets of the Arcane Brotherhood.
After he has killed Nassima he is to take the vial and ensure that Mithlain drinks it. The liquid will erase Mithlain's memories of the Arcane Brotherhood - thus protecting their secrets. After the Brotherhood has had a chance to confirm Abdul's success they will reward him with a suitably large sum of gold. Naturally, it is important for Abdul to buy the story hook, line, and sinker so that he goes along with it. It must seem believable.
Of course, if Abdul carries out the plan he will lead the group right into a trap. The BEBG obviously can't risk letting the rest of the group live because of what Mithlain might have told them. However, Nassima is indeed there - and she mocks Abdul, and makes clear that he's done a "good job" of "bringing them to their deaths." Have her screw with the other members of the groups mind so that they begin to believe that Abdul intended to betray them.
Assuming they survive the trap Abdul will have a lot of explaining to do.
- I agree about not having Mithlain's plot line become too encompassing for the story. Generally speaking, in my games, I like to do periodical spotlight moments where the group focuses on this issue or that issue involving a member of the group.
However, I've come up with an alternative idea that works just as well. Rather than having Milanseth Asanandar be the Magelord... have him as rivals against one. Since the group "owes" Milanseth a favor he can use this as leverage to gain their assistance.
Playing off another idea I suggested, Milanseth has a rival in Waterdeep that he wants some important documents stolen from... and he wants the group to help him do it. He'll promise and pledge that his rival is currently away and that his estate is currently empty aside from some Golems that he left behind as guard. Try and concoct the story in such a way that the players are interested, even have him flatly tell them that the wizard is wealthy with many magical trinkets that could be of interest to them. All he wants are some old arcane scrolls in that wizards possession and a journal.
The story should seem true and in fact it is true. The players will defeat the Golems and locate what Milanseth wanted. However, it will turn out what he wanted are scrolls and tomes that detail how one becomes a Magelord. To complicate matters further, just glancing at the journal will show clearly without a doubt that Milanseth's rival is a Harper.
The group has already broken the law by breaking an entering. Mithlain is a Harper himself now, and likely so are other members of the group. Working with a member of the Arcane Brotherhood isn't going to look good so that's not really an excuse they can give, right?
They are really faced with a tough choice. Forgo the treasure found in the estate and leave the Magelord tome behind along with the journal - thus displeasing Milanseth Asanandar. Alternatively, they betray the Harpers and rob the rival blind. After that it will be up to Mithlain and the group as to whether or not they hand over the Magelord tome and other information. (If they do so after Milanseth Asanandar studies them he will agree to teach what he knows and learned to Mithlain.)
If the group decides NOT to betray the Harpers and NOT to take ANYTHING from the Estate then nothing happens. They leave uneventful and have to return to Milanseth Asanandar with news of their change of heart / failure. The downside is that Mithlain thinks the opportunity to become a Magelord is now closed to him. The upside is that later, once the group is discovered as being back in Waterdeep by the Harpers, they'll receive contact. This contact will be the wizard they plotted to rob who is requesting their aid in seeking out who attacked his Golems. :p That gives Mithlain the opportunity to introduce himself and attempt to get the other Harper to teach him how to become a Magelord.
However, if the group takes even a SINGLE COPPER COIN from the estate the plan will begin to unravel. As they move toward the exit they will have to pass through a chamber. This chamber is used by the wizard as teleportation chamber. He will appear just as they're about to enter the room along with someone else. (Unknown to the group it will be one of the Lords of Waterdeep.)
The group will have to think fast, but both the wizard and the lord should have a good chance of spotting / hearing them. The group also has the chance to attack, if they so choose. If they're heard the wizard will immediately shout something to the lord along the lines of 'We're not alone! Go!' The Lord ***WILL*** have spotted the group and will have the ability to identify them. The Wizard will begin casting a spell to transport the Lord away to safety while he attacks the thieves.
If they cannot stop the wizard from teleporting the Lord to safety then this will expose them as criminals. It will not only destroy their reputation with the Harpers but it will of course make staying in and around Waterdeep difficult.
If they stop the wizard from teleporting the Lord to safety then they have the opportunity to kill both of them. This has the side benefit of protecting their identity and not destroying their relationship with the Harpers. However, it will mean that bad things happen to Waterdeep due to the loss of one of their lords, and that Milanseth Asanandar will have information in which to blackmail the group at a later date.
Regardless of what happens, the group has the opportunity to betray Milanseth Asanandar and keep the Magelord information to themselves. This could possibly mean that they burn bridges with BOTH the Harpers, become even MORE wanted criminals in Waterdeep, AND make an enemy out of Milanseth Asanandar.
The Story Continued:
Chapter 2: The defence of Quaervarr.
When the PCs got out of Undermountain, they found themselves in the basement of Yeldoon's old burnt manor on the outskirts of Quaervarr. After getting outside, the PCs where rejoiced to be in the sun and enjoyed the fresh air. They had spent nearly 2 tendays in Undermountain... They were dirty, wounded, and were really extasic to be outside this hell hole.
After a little trek to the gates of the town, they were coldly greeted by the lookouts. The PCs basicly looked like bandits. They were dirty, smelled really bad and were heavily armed. It took some negociation to let them in.
After they got in, the PCs immidiatly saw that something was up in Quaervarr. Gorstag insisted that the town usually wasn't like that. People were mostly in their houses, woodcutters were in the Whistling Stag with no work to do... Life was stalling in Quaervarr and the PCs soon found out what was going on.
Turns out that the town was under a blockade established by some bandits. They attacked every woodcutter, every merchant, every caravan coming in or out of Quaervarr and worst of all, the Count didn't even bother to send more troops for defence. He was holed up in his manor with most of the Guard. Only 5 guards were left in the village and they were led by Joïa, a great charismatic Lass.
The PCs couldn't leave without getting their heads cut off and empaled on a pole so they decided to help. Of course, Gorstag helped in convincing the PCs. After all, this is his hometown we're talking about!
After seeing Joïa and befriending her, she told the PCs could act as scouts. They needed to find the bandit camp and they also needed to know what was happening with "Knights in Silver" from Silverymoon that went in the woods a tenday from now and didn't give any news...
The PCs set out a small expedition in the Moonwood surrounding Quaervarr and soon managed to find the bodies of some of the men from the "Knights in Silver". After a fight with some bandits that followed them, the PCs interrogated a prisonner to learn that the camp was located North east from Quaervarr, near a small waterfall.
The PCs came back to Joïa with the news and she said that the PCs should go tell the Count. He doesn't listen to her but meabe if the PCs bring him the information, he will be able to send some men to help clear out the camp.
After a hard negociation with the guard at the gate of the manor outside of town, the PCs finally got in and found the Count nearly dying. (Count Jierdan, an NPC I created. For some reason I thought it would be more fun to have Quaervarr and nearby villages be ruled by Counts)
The Count was in his bed, pretty much uncounscious but alive, and beside him was his counsellor. This Counselor did most of the talking and he was categoric on the mather: The Count told him he needed the guard over here and he respected the word of the Count. This was fishy. The PCs didn't like that one bit but they couldn't do anything for now.
At the Whistling Stag (Local Inn and taphouse), Abdul met a man named Mehmen Aseïd. He was a Calishite just like him so this intrigued him. He looked like a merchant that was stuck in town but Abdul found the situation weird... He decided to sneak in his room at night and found something interesting. The man had ties to Nassima. He did business with her in Waterdeep but it wasn't specified what kind of business. Abdul kept this to himself and didn't tell anyone...
With Joïa's advice, the PCs also found help with the local druids from the Oak House just outside of the village. They needed the PCs to go and check on some wood cutting to the North East. The druids had been hit hard by an attack by some bandits and needed to recover a bit. Thoïan of course befriended Miss. Clearwater, the leader of the circle there.
After some travelling through the woods to the North East, the PCs found some woodcutters chopping an impressive amout of wood. It turns out that with some spying of a conversation with the quartermaster and a messenger, the PCs were able to learn that the village of Oakney was gathering wood to build a palissade and meabe some "warmachines"
-(Note. The village of Oakney is a small village I created to be the antagonist in this part of the story.)
The PCs reported this to Joïa but the village had came under attack while the PCs were gone. This was terrible, the bandits had never attacked the village directly but now they had no boundaries. Enough was enough! Joïa tried to form a milicia and asked the PCs to get rid of that camp. Or at least, meabe make a small raid on it.
While heading for the camp, the PCs were ambushed by some bandits and Thoïan and Amarilys died here. The PCs were saddened by the loss and buried the dead, promising to press on and fight for them!
Near the camp, the PCs stumbled upon Knights in Silver that had survived. Together, they mounted a formidable plan and attacked the camp during the night. Everything went according to plan but the PCs didn't know that the bandits had hired Gnolls mercenaries.
The fight ended with the PCs and Knights in Silver victory. The bandit's chief was captured and while checking out the tents of the gnolls, the PCs found a slave pit. Within that pit was Frath and Anya that had been captured by Agraar in Waterdeep. When Chelsmeth heard that they had been captured by the same gnoll that he tracked, he welcomed them to the party and both Anya and Frath were happy to be free at last and to help the PCs in helping Quaervarr.
-(Note: The player's plan was VERY good. One of the best they came up with. They're getting better with tactics.)
The Bandit chief revealed that Oakney payed the bandits to harass Quaervarr and furthermore, some poison was bought by none other than the counselor of Count Jierdan. In other words, the counselor was using the Count as a puppet for Oakney's future takeover.
Abdul also searched in some tents and found out that Mehmen Aseïd had recently paid the bandits to leave Quaervarr in a hurry so they'll let him pass... Something was up with him...
-(Note: In fact, Mehmen left the village as he saw the PCs. He had good relations with Nassima and knew she wanted them dead but ultimately failed in Waterdeep. So he left Quaervarr to warn her that they are still alive. From now on, he spies for her.)
Upon getting back to the village, the bandit chief was sent to jail and the PCs went to confront the counselor. The problem is that they arrived too late... The counselor had killed the Count with a dagger through the throat and told the PCs that troops from Oakney were on the way. Without a leader, the Count from Oakney (Count Marvar) could claim the position and bring Quaervarr under Oakney's jurisdiction. All for the good of the village... Of course... The Counselor had heard of the PCs success at the bandit camp and had to go with plan B...
After battling the counselor and an assassin disguised as a healer that kept the Count sick, the PCs managed to kill him by pushing him off the balcony of the manor. Joïa arrived and everyone agreed that great measures needed to be taken. They had to prepare for a fight against Oakney's troops and they had to find an heir.
After some research, the PCs found nothing. Turns out Count Jierdan's only son had died in a hunting accident 2 years before.
After almost giving up, Gorstag joked about the Count's frolicking and had a flash. The maid of the house! After questionning, she admitted she had a child from the Count and nobody except the count and her knew about it. This was a shock for the PCs and everyone in town; Joïa was the heir.
-(Ok, so you could see it coming from a mile away... So what? :P )
The problem is that she was a bastard child and everybody agreed that Count Marvar from Oakney would never accept this and attack nontheless. So Joïa took office as a leader and directed the preparations for the big battle.
During preparation, the PCs trained militia, directed scouts from the Oak House and were sent to kill some scouts from Oakney. The population from Quaervarr built some rickety guard towers at the gates and most able men were trained by the PCs.
The day of the battle, at morning, Quaervarr had 300 militiamen, 30 warriors and 20 horsemen on the battlefield in front of the gate. Oakney had 200 militiamen and 200 warriors on the field... The PCs led some troops in battle and Gorstag led Archers defending the walls. After a bloody battle in the snow, Quaervarr's troops won the day and Count Marvar was captured. He was to be put in prison and a fair trial was promised by Joïa. This satisfied the PCs.
The next day, the PCs were thanked by Joïa and greatly rewarded. They were now seen as heroes by the population. They stood forward and protected the people of a small village. The citizens of Quaervarr started burying the dead and the priest prayed. Even though the victory was cause for a great celebration, the fact was that the village had lost a lot of good souls that day.
Two days later, Joïa was crowned as Countess of Quaervarr and the PCs leaved south for Silverymoon. Joïa gave them information on the road ahead but couldn't help them with their quest of finding who wanted the PCs dead... She informed the PCs that the fastest way to Waterdeep was to take a boat in Silverymoon; about 3 days walk from here.
When the PCs left, Gorstag stayed behind. The group was sad to leave a good companion like him behind but they understood. He wanted to stay with his father and help protect Quaervarr in the future. Anya and Frath decided to tag along the other 3 and travel with them. They wanted to travel and if they could get to Waterdeep and eliminate a beast like Agraar, then it was all for the best! After a sad farewell, the PCs departed south through the Moonwood toward Silverymoon.
... And toward Chapter 3.
As you see, Chapter 2 didn't deal a whole lot about the general plot but served as a great way for the PCs to prove themselves and to tie a strong friendship. Of course, it costed the lives of two heroes and one left but the remaining 5 left Quaervarr confident in their abilities.
After the PCs left Quaervarr, they camped in the Moonwood for one night. As it turns out, Gorstag had always told them about the lycanthropes hiding in the forest but the PCs had never taken care of his fears.
As it turns out, the PCs were attacked by 4 werewolves that night and Mithlain, Anya and Frath got bit and infected with lycanthropy. Of course, they panicked but there was nothing they could do now; they had to get to Silverymoon to try to get a cure before the next Fullmoon. (Which was 4 days away).
The PCs didn't lose time and only stopped the next night in Stonefields, a small hamlet between Quaervarr and Silverymoon. It was there that they met Xandos. He had just delivered a letter to a partner of Silverymoon's guild that has been expelled from the city and now he wanted to go back to Waterdeep. So when the PCs told that they were headed there, Xandos decided to join the group.
-(Note: Gorstag's player now plays Xandos and Amarilys and Thoïan's players now play Anya and Frath.)
After getting in Silverymoon, the group soon noticed that a magefair was in town and that it attracted a lot of visitors from around the realms. The market place had a small section for shows but the fair itself was located south of town, just outside the city walls. The PCs also met somebody they knew. The new count of Oakney, Count Marvar the second, was in Silverymoon with some knights. He arrogantly saluted the PCs and continued his way toward the Palace... What was he doing here the PCs thought?
Still worrying about lycanthropy, the PCs used the opportunity to talk to a potion maker and he directed the PCs toward Ali's potion shop nearby. He worked for her. Ali was a friendly halfling lass and she immidiatly accepted to brew some Belladona potions for the PCs. Although it costed a lot, the infected PCs absolutely wanted to cure the affliction as soon as possible.
The good news is that after the drink and some fortitude saves (belladona is a poison after all), Mithlain and Anya were cured but Frath had rejected the plant's effects and so, Ali couldn't help him...
While heading to the Wayward House inn for the night, the PCs got ambushed in an alley. They felt Silverymoon was very peaceful and secure and so they waren't expecting that at all. The mysterious assaillants wanted them dead and after the fight, the PCs didn't find anything of interest on them...
At the Wayward House, the PCs met with Milanseth Asanandar. This was unexpected and at first the PCs were suspicious of him. But soon, the mage told them he was happy to see they were still alive and asked about what they had been doing. Shortly afterward, he asked the PCs for a favor. He had saved their lives in Waterdeep so he tought that they owed him a favor.
What Milanseth wanted was a book. A book that was stolen from his employer in Waterdeep. He told the PCs he didn't have the time to look into it seeing as he was busy spying on the doings of the Arcane Brotherhood in Silverymoon. In exchange, Milanseth promised good information for the PCs when they'd bring back the book.
After some more talking, the PCs agreed to recover the lost book (A book on conjuring). First they had to look for a Gnome named Dragnan. He was the one that stole the book and was last seen by Milanseth near the Magefair. Meabe he was trying to pawn that book...
At the Wayward House, Abdul also saw Mehmen Aseïd once more. This time he really found it weird to see him there but he wasn't so sure about him. He thought he could really just be a merchant with a lot of money that had some small business meetings with Nassima... This is why Abdul decided to just keep an eye on him for now... He wasn't sure about the intentions of this calishite.
-(Note: Of course, during this time, Mehmen is spying on the PCs for Nassima.)
The next morning, Anya and Frath went to the temple of Oghma as there was no shrine of temple of Shaundakul nearby. They asked the priest to deliver Frath from lycanthropy. The priest accepted and so the ritual took a while to prepare and could only be done at night...
(-Note: That isn't true but it was for story purpose)
During that time, the other PCs where looking for Dragnan and soon found him at the Magefair. He was in front of a booth and was really angry at the man behind it. Everybody was looking at him as he threatened the man and threw a table to the ground...
The PCs identified him as Dragnan and asked what was going on. Dragnan told the PCs he had given a valuable book to Miresk's School of Thaumaturgy as a bribe in exchange for a membership but they refused him. That is why he was so mad. Not only had they refused him but they also took "his" book.
Of course, the PCs took advantage of that and offered to get the book back for him. It was a great way for the PCs to get the book Milanseth wanted.
Dragnan told the PCs that there was a way inside the school through the sewers and then that it would lead to some kind of maze used to test the students there. The PCs agreed and got back in town to scout the place a bit before their entry through the sewers.
It was at this Magefair that Mithlain met with Loïkan, a rival from his time at the Arcane Brotherhood. At first Loïkan didn't seem hostile but soon the two ended up in the Mage duel arena and battled it out. Turns out Loïkan won the fight but Mithlain knew he would get his revenge... Altough, he sensed as if something was wrong. He felt as if Loïkan was testing him and he tought he saw him report to somebody else...
As the sun set, the ritual was ready and Frath was layed on a bed on the last floor of the highest tower of the Halls of Inspiration. The casting began but something went wrong. The windows of the tower shattered and Frath got agitated. Anya and the Priest had to tie him down. He immediatly changed into a Werewolf!
Frath soon fell uncounscious and had a vision. Shaundakul came to him and showed him some ruins on top of a mountain. Frath didn't recognize the place. The god said the word "Meirhald" while pointing to the top of the mountain. The vision was blurry and the god looked weak but the shrine looked impressive. Then, when the vision faded out, Shaundakul touched Frath on the forehead and looked at him with compassion in his eyes. When Frath woke up, he was on the material plane with the priest and Anya and he was now back to normal. He was cured from lycanthropy.
Anya and the priest were relieved but something was odd. The priest didn't have the time to cast the prayer needed to remove the curse, yet Frath was cured... It could only mean one thing: Shaundakul had cured Frath and showed him an important place for the cult that was now lost. At this moment, the two priest of Shaundakul knew that they had to find this place and help their god regain his strength!
During that time, the other PCs got attacked in a tavern by some dwarven sell-swords. The PCs managed to capture one before the guards arrived and interrogated him. The PCs learned that a certain tiefling recently arrived in the city and was posting bills in some seedy places regarding a reward for the PCs' death. Apparently he was paid by the new count of Oakney; Count Marvar the second wanted the PCs dead! When the guards arrived. the PCs met with Alcen, a member of the Spellguard that came to investigate the trouble at the tavern. Alcen was friendly with the PCs but was a bit annoyed that they had been in the city for only 2 days and had created a trail of bodies. Sure these people were criminals but the guards prefered to capture them alive...!
Anyway, Alcen did provide the PCs with some help against the tiefling by cornering him in the inn where he worked, the Stagstand. The PCs waited out in the back alley to question him and a fight ensued when the tiefling tried to escape by the back door. Anya and Frath got there in time and soon, the tiefling and his goons were laid dead in the alley. The PCs told Alcen about the Count wanting their heads on a pike but he replyed that he couldn't do anything. After all, he was a Count and there wasn't enough proofs against him. Alcen leaved the PCs to their business but stated that they should really stay out of trouble. They had attracted a lot of attention in only 2 days...
Soon the PCs split the group and Mithlain, Chelsmeth, Xandos and Abdul went looking for that book while Frath and Anya went to the Vault of the Sages to get some information on Meirhald.
The group infiltrating the school had some problems with the trial in the basement and had to get out to resuply and heal... Turns out, things were pretty complicated.
The group at the Vault of the Sages found some information about Meirhald. Turns out that it was located near Mithral Hall but unfortunatly, the location was very vague. During their research, the PCs at the Vault met with Count Marvar the second. He was looking for some legal documents and info on alliances. Anya and Frath met with him and talked openly about things. They asked for Marvar to stop sending killers after them and that all they did was fight in a war, they had no grudge against him, his father or the people of Oakney.
After a lot of talking and some good diplomacy, the Count decided to leave the PCs alone. Turns out he only sent killers because his father told him to and the PCs exploited the situation by saying that he shouldn't stand in the shadow of his father! That the man had ruined the village of Oakney. Surely he could do better! This was a great diplomatic success for the PCs. One less enemy to worry about!
-(Note: I was really impressed by Anya and Frath's handling of the situation. They really made some great points and I let them have this victory. After all, it was pretty brilliant on their part. They deserved it.)
During the time the other PCs licked their wounds and made another plan, Anya and Frath got involved with two students from Miresk's school of Thaumaturgy that brought stolen scrolls in the Vault. The two students accidentaly opened a portal to Avernus (First Layer of the Nine Hells) and one of them was brought in by a devil...
The keeper of the Vault wanted the portal closed but Anya and Frath insisted in going in with Miln, one of the two student that wanted to get his friend back. After some fighting, the PCs came back to the material plane with Miln in extremis but the other student was dead...
Now the autorithies wanted Miln in prison but the keeper of the vault worked so that he would only be exiled from the city. Anya and Frath insisted on the fact that it was only an accident and so the keeper turned a blind eye. They could leave with Miln as long as they left the city... They had shown great judgment and the keeper trusted them... The only problem was that the guards could not see Miln from now on as he was a wanted man!
After everyone in the party got together in a taphouse, they made a plan to get the book in Miresk's School of Thaumaturgy. As it turns out, Miln accepted to help since he could get in as he wished and knew about the tricks of the place. He didn't care about anything anymore. He would be expelled from the school because of what happenned at the Vault and he was to be exiled from the city...
Xandos and Abdul also had met with the local thieve's guild and had learned about the secrets of the basement. In exchange they needed something of value that came from the school to give to the guild. Abdul also gained a contact with an assassin and had his first contract. He fulfilled it the next morning in the docks. Turns out he had to kill a convicted rapist.
-(Note: This contact for Abdul is just a Vaasan assassin from a more prolific sect. He will come in contact with him later (Chapter 4) but only through letters for a while)
-(Note: The Silverymoon thieve's guild only played a small part with Xandos and Abdul. I made it that it was a very small guild too. I didn't want them to become too important and distract the PCs while the others didn't have a thing to do...)
The PCs entered the School's basement the next night and managed to snag some valuable books and potions from the library while the School was being searched by the Alcen and some guards for what happened at the Vault the day before.
After getting the book and paying the guild, Miln took his share and the PCs promised to get him to Waterdeep. Soon after, the PCs met with Milanseth Asanandar at the Wayward House who rewarded them and told them of some good intel.
The day before, he had met with a man from Waterdeep and this man sounded suprised that Milanseth worked with the PCs. Milanseth asked why and apparently, the PCs faces were on bills posted in the streets of Waterdeep. So somebody knew they were alive and had survived undermountain!! They were wanted in Waterdeep!
Milanseth suggested that it might be better for them to lay low for a while before returning there. The law would not welcome them if they showed up at the gates of the city.
Wondering what to do in the meantime, the PCs agreed to follow Anya and Frath to Mithral Hall where they might find more information about Meirhald.
Also, while at the Wayward House Abdul spied a conversation between Mehmen and the barkeep. Apparently he was headed to Rivermoot to catch a boat for Waterdeep. How strange... He was going in the exact direction the PCs were going...
The PCs were interrupted as an explosion rang outside. Turns out a mage from Miresk's School of Thaumaturgy was mad that the guards had the school closed and had summoned a Howler in the docks. The PCs were there to help and after a long battle, the PCs brought down the crazy wizard with the help of the guard.
Once more they had gotten into trouble... :P
The next day, as the PCs got ready to leave by buying some supplies, Alustriel made a speech at the market place. Turns out that the events with the school of Thaumaturgy worried the citizens and she wanted to reassure them. She appointed Alcen as the new director of the School and integrated it to the Lady's College. "Such incidents will never happen again" she said. The presence of the guard was to be greatly increased in the streets of the Jewel of the North.
Further more, she told of orcs flooding out of the Spine of the World and heading toward Sundabar as the ices were melting. She told the citizens not to worry and that they wouln't get here before summer and that Knights in Silver were being sent in Silverymoon's pass to stop the orc's advance.
The crowd went wild. They loved their leader.
After the speech, the PCs left the beautiful city of Silverymoon and headed west toward Rivermoot and Mithral Hall. They were looking for Meirhald, a lost shrine of Shaundakul and they didn't know what they would find there or what awaited them along the way.
Whew. Sorry for the long read. I find it helps me a lot to type it out like this. I'll write Chapter 4 tomorrow. This is where the PCs are now so it won't be as long! :P
I can't wait for Chapter 4. It sounds like an amazingly fun campaign, and that you're doing a great job. I also find that writing things out like that helps me. It triggers something in my brain that, as I write, ideas just start coming to me. It also helps to clarify things and give me a sense of direction, especially if I'm winging things a lot.
I do have one question though... Who is Milanseth Asanandar? I thought he was a member of the Arcane Brotherhood... now I'm not so sure. 
EDIT: Nevermind. I found it. Former member of the Arcane Brotherhood turned Harper. That makes much more sense to me now.
It's always nice to get some good comments from your players. They are your audience after all. :P
Anyway, I need to get this campaign rolling into 5th gear now. The overall story needs a lot of work and I need to try to focus the PCs a bit more. They're now in Chapter 4 heading for Meirhald and as possible, I want to accelerate the double plotline regarding the ennemy that wants them dead and the time of troubles!
Chapter 4: Meirhald.
As the PCs left Silverymoon, they traveled along the road that follows the Rauvin river. After their first day of walk they got to Rauvinwatch keep as the sun was setting but wouldn't be allowed in. The Master was having a training exercice for the rookies and so didn't want any distraction.
So the PCs pressed on and got to a small inn used by merchants who had to get to Silverymoon and Nesmé without a boat. The inn didn't even have a name and when the PCs got in, the owner was the only person up. The merchents who owned the 3 carriages outside were asleep.
After some relaxing and eating, the PCs and the innkeeper heard some screaming coming from outside. After some searching around the inn they found a hunter that was badly wounded. Something had clawed him and that thing was huge.
The PCs healed the hunter and talked with him to learn of a big bear that attacked him. He was shocked as bears usually don't come so close to places like the inn. Furthermore, he had never seen a bear this big!
The next day the PCs left and agreed to keep an eye out for the bear just in case. As they got meabe 2 hours further from the inn, they saw giant tracks in the mud of the road. They followed the tracks toward a small hill and BOOM! As they got on the other side, a Dire Bear attacked them!
After a lenghty battle, the bear fell to the ground but Anya had died by a major bite that hit her throat... Frath was incredibly saddened and cried all the tears from his body... He had lost his wife... The other PCs then did a great act and pooled gold together to resurect the lady. The only problem is that they had to go back to Silverymoon, which costed them some time.
Anyway, they went back to the inn for the night and after arriving there, the merchant and the resting hunter were really happy to learn that the bear was dead. The PCs had brought the head to give to the innkeeper as they thought it would make a great trophy. They had also brought a lot of meat to give to the inn to the innkeeper's wife and she was very happy about it.
The PCs then made a plan: Xandos, Abdul, Chelsmeth and Miln would stay at the inn while Mithlain, Frath would go to Silverymoon with Anya's corpse.
-(Note: At this point Miln (an Elven Wizard) was an NPC played by me. He tagged along the PCs wherever they would go as long as they did not go back to Silverymoon. He had lost everything and didn't really care where life brought him...)
Before sunset, the innkeeper's wife lended the PCs a cart with a horse to go faster and so they left. They wanted to get there as fast as possible.
Along the way, the PCs met with two travelers and Frath was happy to know that the 2 men were priest of Shaundakul on a pilgrimmage to the Lady's Hand Monastery near Silverymoon. All of them camped together on the side of the road as it started raining and the PCs were cold.
After some talking and sharing a small meal, the oldest priest, a gnome, offered to resurrect Anya for them Mithlain and Frath. Of course this would be no small feat but with Frath and the other priest's help, they could do it.
As everybody settled for the ritual, the air was still and almost no sound could be heard from the river nearby... As Frath was assisting the old gnome by praying alongside the corpse, he fell uncounscious and Mithlain rushed to help him. As it turns out, nothing could wake him up. The other priest didn't really know what to do as the Gnome was in a sort of trance and still praying for the resurection... Meabe they should just wait out and see...
All the while at the inn, the PCs were having diner when Abdul saw a merchant he knew enter along with two bodyguards. Mehmen Aseïd went in and had had dinner... Abdul was fed up with this and the other PCs knew that something was up with that man...
So Abdul went and talked to the merchent for the first time since Quaervarr... Turns out the merchent blamed Abdul for stealing some transaction records. Things didn't go very smooth as Mehmen bluffed his way out of Abdul's questions...
Later in the evening, the PCs heard loud noises outside and felt the ground shaking. Something was up. They went outside and saw what happened; a dire bear with arrows through his hide was running for his life toward the back of the inn and was followed by orcs, an ogre and a fiendish dire wolverine! The merchants and their escorts helped the innkeeper and his wife barricade the door and prepare a defence while the PCs went outside to slow the attackers.
The Dire bear went down after another arrow from the orcs hit it and then the PCs took position. The fight was pretty intense as there was a lot of orcs... Near the end of the fight, the PCs felt something in their backs but when they turned around, only Abdul and Xandos saw what looked like a carriage heading west...
During that time further down the road. Mithlain and the other priest of Shaundakul also encountered orcs raiding their campsite. The two fought for their lives but also protected the bodies of Frath, Anya and the Gnome priest that tried to resurect Anya.
Still at the same time, Frath was dreaming. Or was he? He found himself in a strange field with high grass and found Anya sitting there. The two were reunited. But how come? That was weird. They were of course extasic to see each other but soon heard the voice of what sounded like Shaundakul calling from a tower in the distance. He only said their names and looked like he was very weak...
Anya and Frath got to the tower and climbed it. The tower was mostly empty except from the last floor where there were some undead in some kind of library. The duo battled the undead and found they had marks in the form of Myrkul's symbol... After the fight, the PCs climbed on the roof and found Shaundakul himself, there, trapped in an orange crystal. His voice was a moaning and the two clerics kneeled in front of it... Anya then raised her hand and touched the crystal and this is when it happened: The two clerics got thrown between time and space. They tumbled and travelled between planes to finally enter their bodies back on the material plane in a shock.
They had seen their god and he looked weak. They had been to some sort of weird plane where undead creature bearing the mark of Myrkul had control over a tower... Was this a dream?
As Anya and Frath woke up on the Material Plane, the battle Mithlain led against the orcs was over. The priest of Sahundakul were wondering what happened... Clearly Shaundakul was the one responsible for Anya's resurection! The group talked about what happened and decided to take some rest. If Shaundakul was as weak as the PCs told, then the two priest of Shaundakul that were going to Silverymoon should try to find some more adepts to hear what they had heard, seen or felt.
The next day, the PCs reunited at the inn and made plans to leave. The strange thing is that they had not seen Mehmen. Perhaps he was the one that leaved during the fight? At the inn, the PCs encountered troops from Silverymoon that were headed to High Hold because the orcs attacked this village too. Nobody had any idea the orcs would be around these parts so fast. This looked like some kind of scouting bands sent to test the defenders.
After some hagling with the captain of the troops because Xandos had stolen quite a good sum of money in a betting scam at the magefair, he managed to bluff his way into paying the captain instead of being brought to back to Silverymoon for trial.
The PCs then left with Miln (who went invisible to avoid being seen by the resting troops in the inn) and headed toward High Hold; a small village along the way to Rivermoot.
The PCs arrived at High Hold in the evening and decided to stop here. They found that the town also had been attacked. They rested at the only inn in the village and Chelsmeth wondered if the PCs could meabe help the locals with the orcs.
The next morning, Chelsmeth, Anya and Frath headed to the fort in High Hold and talked to Captain Taggerton about the attacks. They asked if they could help but the PCs saw that the troops from Silverymoon had arrived and everything was under control. They were rebuilding some houses and building a barricade to the north... The captain jokingly told the PCs that if they encountered some Orcs in their travel, they should kill them.
While talking to the captain, the PCs saw a carriage heading west toward Rivermoot... This again looked like Mehmen...
Along the way to Rivermoot, the PCs found they were followed by a gnome and 3 armed men. The followers caught up with the PCs and pretty soon the PCs recognized the gnome. It was Dragnan, the gnome that had stolen Milanseth's book and had given it as a bribe to Miresk's School of Thaumaturgy... He was mad. The PCs had made a fool out of him by giving "his" book to somebody else.
The PCs battled with Dragnan and his hired goons and soon the PCs had the adventage. Dragnan begged for his life and the party spared him. He was crying as he realized what a fool he had been. He sent 3 good mens to their deaths and regretted what had just happened...
The PCs told Dragnan that they would let him go and in exchange Dragnan told them something... As it turns out, he had found those three henchmen at Silverymoon's Fighter's Guild and while negociating prices, he saw a man dressed in Arcane Brotherhood clothes... This man enquired about special stuff that the Guild Master didn't have (Dragnan couldn't hear what it was). Dragnan heard the man talk about how the PCs were headed to Mithral Hall and this is how he found the PCs...
This was good intel for the PCs and after a description, Mithlain immidiatly recognized the Arcane Brotherhood man as Loïkan, his rival.
The PCs now knew that the Arcane Brotherhood wanted them dead and that they would surely strike in the future... The only thing is that they did not know when. Muhahahaha!
After sending Dragnan from where he came with his hands tied behind his back, the PCs continued to Rivermoot and found a burning carriage along the way. After inspecting it, they found two bodies that had been hit by large weapons and Abdul found some letters which he kept for himself. These letters were from Nassima to Mehmen. They told how if he could not do his job, THEY would send someone else to do it and that he might not like what would happen... She told him she liked him and that she wished he would reconsider the job...
The scene was weird as Chelsmeth soon found that tracks from the fight had been erased and a body had been dragged away. The PCs concluded that orcs don't hide their tracks... Something was weird; once again!
-(Note: It's pretty clear that Mehmen didn't want to do his job. He is not a killer. What happened here is that Mehmen got killed and his body dragged away but the PCs don't know this. The Arcane Brotherhood killed him as he was not doing his job.
I also want the PCs to meet Mehmen later. He will tell them how he has lost everything and how he will help the PCs if they helped him a bit on the money side. Of course, he will be a Doppleganger from the Arcane Brotherhood and will lead the PCs into a trap. )
The PCs thought that meabe the person that was dragged away was a prisonner and meabe they could follow the tracks to get to him in time. Abdul then discouraged them. He knew it was probably Mehmen...
Later, the PCs got to Rivermoot and there found that some music coming from the Graveyard was disturbing the townfolks. The PCs agreed to investigate but found that the mayor Taern Analori seemed ill... And very bleak... He told the PCs he went to see what was happening with three of his men from the Rivermoot rangers but one was lost and the other two went mad.
The PCs thought that meabe they could handle it. Especially if it meant crossing the river for free. :P
So the PCs went to the graveyard at night and had fashioned themselves some wax to put in their ears. This way, the strange music wouldn't bother them.
After a fight with a Crypt Chanter that raised some zombies (including the lost member of the Rivermoot Rangers), the PCs entered the Branhad family crypt as they had heard moaning and crying coming from it. It was the crypt of the ancient mayor of Rivermoot.
There they found a tormented man... the ancient mayor of Rivermoot, Elizar Branhad, which was now a vampire!
The vampire was angry and sad that the PCs killed his daughter (the crypt chanter). He was litterally going insane. He told he had reanimated her to brighten his "life" as she was the only thing that mattered for him. Now the PCs had killed her and had destroyed 5 years of work...
Now he just wanted to be left alone...
The PCs didn't know what to do (especialy the clerics) but ultimately, they thought that the vampire was no big threat in the state he was now and meabe they should leave him like he wishes to. They talked with him some more but left him alone and managed to seal the tomb with a stone shape spell.
Heading back to Taern Analori, the current mayor, they told him of what happened but didn't have to tell him about the vampire. The PCs knew he had been bitted as the Elizar Branhad told them about it. As the PCs got ready to leave the mayor's house, they saw that his wife had bite marks on her neck...
It was hard for the PCs to let this go. Of course they were vampires but they warn't hostile and seemed to care for the townfolks of Rivermoot. Still, meabe they would cause some problems later... This was a big moral choice.
At the tavern later that night, Xandos met with someone from his guild in Waterdeep. The man (someone that is quite important in the guild) had been sent to find out what was going on with Xandos as he had not came back from his delivery yet. The two talked for a while and after learning Xandos was going to Mithral Hall, the man offered Xandos to talk to Regis, a new crime lord in Calimshan about an alliance of some sort.
The man explained that Regis had passed by Waterdeep some time ago and was headed to Mithral Hall. He tought it might be a good idea to meet with him to get some allies for the small guild.
-(Note: I made it so Regis as gotten the guild from the hands of Pasha Pook after he and his friends killed him. I didn't really want to implicate the Companions of the Hall; in fact, I don't want to have Drizzt at all in my campaign but I thought that Regis was interesting with his Ruby )
The PCs decided to leave the next day and after crossing the river, they got to a small dwarven camp at the foot of the frost hills. This camp was established by dwarven travellers who wanted to join King Bruenor's kingdom but couldn't pass with their carts and carriage. The pass leading there was full of melting snow and avalanches were a big risk at this time of year.
The PCs geared in winter clothing and started to climb nontheless. There they met a priest of Moradin digging the snow for the bodies of 3 dwarves that had tried to pass nontheless.
The priest told the PCs to head toward a higher pass called West Pass. There they could get to Mithral Hall with less risk. Altough he told them they should be wary of Bugbears...
As of now, the PCs are climbing toward the West Pass and have just spotted some bugbears up on high.
Next session will begin with a fight against those bugbears.
There they will meet with the False Mehmen and will probably find themselves in a pretty weird town considering the mayor and her wife are now vampires... :P
Do you have any sadistic ideas? :D
I always have sadistic ideas.
I'd say that when they use the amulets they appear on the outskirts of Rivermoot.
What has happened since they've been gone: The Rivermoot vampires have taken over the village. The entire village is more-or-less undead. Unknown to the PC's though, a priest of Myrkul is behind this... and he used the Vampires to accomplish it. However, the PC's will (and should) assume that the Vampires are responsible alone.
On the outskirts of Rivermoot where they appear they find an unlikely individual... False Mehmen! He is as shocked to see them as they are him. False Mehmen thought that they were dead and has been ordered to give aid to the priest of Myrkul, and has just recently arrived with a contingent of mercenaries. The mercenaries don't know that they're going to be helping vampires, as that likely would have frightened them away from taking the job, so this has been kept on the down low.
When the PC's arrive the plans of False Mehmen change. He can't hide the fact that Rivermoot has been overrun with undead, and can't blow his cover to the PC's. So he lies to them and tells them that he hired those mercenaries to attack Rivermoot and retake the village from the Vampires. If the PC's have trouble believing that Mehmen is doing something out of the kindness of his heart, he will admit that it's true - it's not entirely out of kindness - he had business contracts with Rivermoot. The Vampires have ruined EVERYTHING and have cost him quite a bit of money. He's pissed and wants revenge... besides, he'll likely earn all the money he lost back and more once the village has been retaken - those that move there are going to need supplies and the like after all, right?
The PC's will likely turn their attention to Rivermoot. They will feel guilty about NOT taking care of the Vampire problem when they had the chance, and will likely blame themselves for what has happened. Mehmen will exploit any grief felt by the PC's to the highest degree possible. If the PC's grow suspicious of him, he'll admit openly that he hopes the PC's help him attack Rivermoot as he isn't completely sure his mercenaries can retake the village on their own.
The goal here is two fold:
A) Close the Rivermoot plotline.
B) Get Mehmen close to the PC's.
Once the PC's have dealt with Rivermoot it will turn out that Mehmen is a horrible commander. All his mercenaries have ended up dead. (In reality this was done so he didn't have to pay them, lol.) He will lay dibs on all the belongings to the mercenaries... so, you know... he can return their belongings to their families. (In reality he plans to sell it for profit.)
Mehmen should have with him one or two loyal associates / bodyguards. Likely individuals who at least have some idea of the plot. Their loyalty to Mehmen's superiors is questionable, but they can be kept in line by them if necessary. False Mehmen has purchased their aid with dead Mehmen's money. They're super useful to him, and enhance his ability to do his job.
They are a Bard and Rogue duo, Calishites from the south who've been specially hired and brought north by Mehmen. Openly they do not appear to know each other save after being introduced my Mehmen. In private, they've known each other for years and are in fact lovers. They both claim to travel a lot (this is true). The reality is that they're a highly capable spy / assassin duo who normally target nobility.
I'd base the female off the Assassin and Cloaked Dancer PrC. A former Calishite sex slave who was trained in exotic dancing, she'd be highly beautiful and intensely charismatic. On the surface it appears as if Mehmen hired her to entertain him and his associate. In truth, she acts as a social chameleon, luring others into her traps through seduction and kind words. She is intensely skilled in the arts of serving nobility and is the ideal courtier.
After a battle she entertains the PC's with her dances and songs. She offers kind words of encouragement, and when she sees an opening to be seductive she takes it. I'd focus her upon Abdul, primarily, but any of the other male PC's would do well. Perhaps even Frath if you want to try and drive a wedge between him and Anya by making her jealous – especially if you think Frath will be open to her advances.
Her goal is not merely to charm and seduce the PC's by making their lives a little bit brighter. It's to pump them for information. Her way of doing it is very casual, so it is not as if she is attempting to pry, but rather make them feel more comfortable and at ease.
I'd base the male off the Assassin, Invisible Blade, Shadow Dancer, and Master Thrower. A former Calishite Gladiator who moved into petty crime, and then quickly graduated into assassination - a job he's been doing ever since. He acts as Mehmen's capable business associate. He appears to have contacts all over the place, and it was in fact him who hooked Mehmen up with the Mercenary Captain and his group before the PC's arrived.
If asked what EXACTLY he does, he calls himself a professional middle man. You need to make an important meeting? He's got a friend of a friend who can set it up for you... for a price, of course. Want to meet the King? No problem, it just so happens that he has a friend, of a friend, whose sister knows someone close to the Queen, and it just so happens that the King will be in this village on this date; it wouldn't be hard to set up a coincidental meeting with his Majesty. This is the type of guy that he is and what he appears to do for a living.
In reality he uses those same skills to set up assassination contracts and set up chance encounters where he and his lover can just-so-happen to bump into their mark at the right moment. Since they're both intensely charismatic individuals it isn't hard for them to woo their mark, and in doing so, put themselves in a position to assassinate them.
The male is the type of guy you'd like to have as a buddy, someone you'd like to go drinking with, and you just KNOW they're going to get you into trouble. But he's so fun to be around - such a free spirit - that you can't help be drawn into his insanity. He's the type of guy who pays for the PC's drinks, congratulates them on a job well done while slapping them on the back and then - with a wink and a nod - hustles them out of a bit of cash while gambling. Very sly. Very approachable. It should be easy for them to imagine how this guy has contacts all over the place.
What you DO NOT want the PC's to realize is that these two are both deadly as hell. I'd simply use the PrC's as inspirational fluff and build them in such a way that you KNOW they'd be a challenge to the players. These two alone should give the entire group of PC's a run for their money, but if you add Mehmen into the mix then it becomes a down right deadly encounter. Not something that will verge on a TPK, but something where you know that if the players aren't prepared that at least one is going to die.
Combat wise they work as a team. The female does enthralling magical dances which distract the PC's while the male starts whipping out hidden throwing daggers and hurling them at the PC's for massive sneak attack damage. It should hurt - a lot. The pain should be quick and fast, and both will attempt to keep their distance from the players, thus their tactics are less useful in crowded areas. Regardless of where it is they should utilize terrain well. Keep in mind that these are professional and skilled killers.
As for false Mehmen... I'd loosely base him off the fluff for the Master of Masks PrC which is also found in Complete Scoundrel, and I'd also look at the Merchant Prince from Power of Faerûn. He should be less combat oriented than the other two, but should also find ways to give critical support where necessary. However, even more so than the other two False Mehmen will do all that he can to avoid physical combat. If he's cornered and weapons are drawn he will simply move to flee.
All three should be fairly prepared for escape, especially from a crowded area. They could utilize diversions (they have no moral compunction about killing innocents, obviously), alchemical means (think smoke bombs), or magical means... whatever is necessary. They'd always try and keep their backs to an exit.
After Rivermoot is dealt with the PC's should be ready to head off... but wait! Mehmen complains that he has no bodyguards. That with the world having gone insane that it is unsafe to travel without an armed escort. He offers to pay the PC's to be his bodyguards. He tells them that he will travel wherever they go, so long as they give him time to make arrangements in each town, village, or city they pass through. In exchange for this he will pay the PC's and help them sell their unwanted items. In addition he will allow them to make use of his business contacts.
Ideally, you've also been given a chance to introduce the PC's to Mehmen's associates. So they'd also come with the package - they travel with Mehmen, and where he goes they go. So even if they don't trust Mehmen they might be persuaded to work with him because they like the other two.
If the PC's agree then Mehmen and his two associates travel with them and Mehmen keeps his word. He sells anything unwanted that is found by the PC's, taking a sizable cut for himself of course, and then paying the PC's for their services as his bodyguard.
While the PC's were away the False Mehmen has completely subsumed the identity of dead Mehmen, and has actually become a rather successful merchant in the North. However, in addition to fulfilling his duties to the PC's Mehmen is also spying on them. This is the main reason he wants to make sure he has time to do what he needs to do in each village, town, and city they stop in... he needs to pass word off to his superiors of the activities of the PC's.
As they travel danger will seemingly just appear out of nowhere. It will seem as if their enemies know their every movement and plan. They do, of course, because their enemies are in their midst. Some traps will be setup by Mehmen and his assassins and others by his superiors. Mehmen's wealth and success has afforded him some much needed flexibility and freedom from his superiors so he isn't as expendable as dead Mehmen.
He makes the logical case that he doesn't want to move against the PC's himself because if he does so, then it will not only blow his cover; if he fails it will be difficult to infiltrate them again.
Assuming the PC's catch on that in order for their enemies to know EXACTLY where they are at JUST the right time, someone must be feeding them information, suspicion should immediately fall upon Mehmen. However, ideally he is so useful to them that they don't really want it to be him.
It is likely that if they suspect Mehmen that they will turn to his associates and begin to probe them with questions. If his associates think the PC's are onto what is happening, they will drop subtle hints that one of the PC's is betraying the group. Perhaps Abdul is feeding information to the enemy, he is an assassin after all, right? If he's willing to kill for money then he's certainly willing to trade information for money as well. What about Mithlain? Are you sure he didn't have second thoughts and attempt to smooth things over with the Arcane Brotherhood? What about Chelsmeth? What do you -REALLY- know about him? Frath and Anya? Don't they have some important quest that they're on for their deity... what if they're trying to make a secret deal so it doesn't distract them from their holy quest? And finally what about Xandos? Sure, he says he wishes to atone, but he is also committed to staying with his guild... one has to wonder why that is, right? Draw upon every doubt and suspicion that a PC might have so that they begin to point the finger at each other.
If all else fails, and the jig is up, the PC's will likely move to confront Mehmen. When that happens his associates will be there with him. If a fight breaks out then all three will face the group. If Mehmen looks as if he is in danger of being hurt, he will flee the battle. The other two will stay and fight, giving Mehmen enough time to make an escape. If it looks like one of them could possibly die, they will also attempt to make an escape, but they won't leave Mehmen alone.
If one or all of them escape they continue to harass the PC's from afar drawing upon their contacts, associates, and resources to make their lives even more difficult. This will continue until they're dead. It is likely that the two assassins will pro-actively set a trap and attack the PC's and either kill them or be defeated. Mehmen will have to be hunted down, cornered, and trapped so he can't escape. Then killed.
Ideally, the betrayal of the two associates of Mehmen should cut deep. It should be pretty clear from the combat that they're both highly skilled and dangerous, and with some minor check it should be pretty clear that they're both assassins.
I'll write back tomorrow as I'm going to sleep now. The semester has been rough!
I'm just going to say that I love the idea of Rivermoot being overrun with undeads and I love the False Mehmen idea.
Anyway, I'll tell you more tomorrow morning!
Thanks a lot! Your help has been incredible! :D
One of the best things about using False Mehmen in this way is that it puts Abdul in a very difficult position. He has the most information about Mehmen (the real one anyway), but he's keeping it from the other players. Abdul will most likely be the one to raise the loudest objection to guarding / traveling with Mehmen as a result. The other PC's may be inclined to side with him as former Mehmen acted pretty suspicious.
If the group wishes to travel with Mehmen and Abdul objects this places him in a difficult position. It either forces him to confront Mehmen with the evidence privately, or bring it to the attention of the rest of the group. If he tells the rest of the group he then has to explain why he kept such information secret.
The above is one of the reasons I suggested introducing the other two NPC's as Mehmen's associates. They are there to smooth over Mehmen's rough edges. In my mind I'm picturing Mehmen as an aloof eccentric with a keen eye toward mercantile endeavors. He's not the type of guy that goes around cutting peoples throats; a bit of a coward at heart, actually. Someone who likes fine clothing and good wine... but perhaps a bit too aloof to really connect with the PC's on a deep emotional level. This isn't a major problem, I don't think, because the PC's will likely never trust Mehmen anyway... which is another reason he has to be useful to them.
If you like the idea of using Mehmen's associates, then it should be easy to better ingratiate themselves to the PC's by putting Mehmen down behind his back. As an example the female might say, "Mehmen doesn't know good taste when he has it right in front of him. I think he finds numbers more beautiful than women." Meanwhile, the male might say, "Mehmen pays well, it's true, but he's a stick in the mud. Not an ounce of humor in the man. Ha! I haven't even seen him smile at anything but gold."
This sets them up to look as if they could be turned against Mehmen, and makes it easier for the PC's to confide in them.
As for False Mehmen outside of his dealings with the PC's... just imagine having the powers of a Doppelganger and being a merchant. With your powers you're certain to get the best of virtually every negotiation because you're going to know exactly how low or high the other person is willing to go. You're going to know when you're being cheated, and when to push and when to hold your cards close. Your ability to take on the forms and faces of others further enhances your abilities. You can frame rivals, impersonate others to lure them into bad business deals, commit crimes (such as arson) without a risk of being identified... and all of this can be accomplished easily if Mehmen doesn't target super heavy hitters and doesn't grow TOO rapidly that he attracts TOO MUCH attention.
I'd make it appear as if Mehmen arose to power in the North as a merchant after the PC's disappeared. He made a few very good investments, won over some influential individuals, and made a few very clever and strategic business moves. Unknown to others, of course, he's using his natural powers as a Doppelganger to enhance his chances of success.
Meanwhile, he's completely subsumed the identity of Mehmen and no one seems the wiser.
If the plan to get the PC's to take Mehmen along fails, and it doesn't end in a confrontation... then all three of them can be used against the PC's later down the road. Their lives become a living hell as suddenly they're wanted all over the North. Their faces are plastered everywhere, their crimes in Waterdeep are known to all. Mehmen would seem to show up at all the wrong times with all the wrong people.
Ultimately, this forces the PC's into the underbelly of the North. If they fall in with the Harper's it allows them to use Harper contacts and hideouts. Chelsmeth is ideally suited to helping them navigate the wilderness, allowing them to stay off the main roads. Xandos and Abdul can be used to make connections with the criminal elements of the North, etc.
Oh, I forgot to mention... Clerics of Shaundakul are very interested in recruiting more merchants into their faith - especially caravan merchants. To set things up to make Mehmen seem like a possible individual they could convert to the faith, I'd make him the head of a medium sized Coaster. (In essence his business is one in which he sells caravan space to other merchants, who rely on his business to transport their goods across the North.)
If / When he joins the PC's he'll begin acting as a Factor; which is a trade agent who buys, sells, and sees to the safe storage, delivery, and transport of cargo. In essence, he's offloading the stuff the PC's want to sell to be collected by his caravan company, taking a cut for himself, and passing on some profit to the PC's. He'd also be able to sell the PC's most anything they'd want to buy. Even if he doesn't immediately have it, he should be able to make the arrangements to get it. Of course, he'll milk the PC's for every copper they have... he may, also of course refuse certain things declaring their request "impossible", "not worth the effort", "beyond their ability to pay", or some other reason.
This is how Mehmen earns his keep with the PC's, making himself extremely useful. As they adventure they'd find loot which they obviously cannot use and want to sell. They'd go to Mehmen, he'd take care of it for them - it also saves the group time from having to deal with trivial errands in cities and the like - they have a one stop shop traveling with them. If they want to buy something in town they inform Mehmen what they want, and he ensures that they get it, charging them extra for his effort.
Those amulets surely won't work with Mehmen and his entourage. So meabe after the initial flight that gets the PCs to Rivermoot, the amulets won't work for a while. They will work again when the PCs either get rid of him or find that he his a traitor.
The only thing that bothers me is how to tie the Undead infestation to the rest of the plot. But of course, I could assume that the PCs are going to regret their previous actions in Rivermoot so they will want to right the wrongs they caused.
I was planning on having Elizar Branhad, the vampire they sealed in the tomb, come back to town. He will have taken over Rivermoot and is now completely insane. He was already pretty much insane when he met the PCs so he could have escaped with gaseous form through some sort of hole and gotten the mayor, Taern Analori, to do his bidding. The mayor is technicaly his spawn so this could work.
When I mean that he is insane, I mean it. The whole town is pretty much burned down and undeads are walking down the streets. The only survivors are holed up in a small stone building that was once a warehouse near the docks. Survivors include Shania Analori, the daughter Taern Analori. Taern has killed his wife under Elizar's command and now serves as second in command... He seems like he is totaly empty on the inside... Although he might shed some feelings for his daughter if he sees her.
After entering the Village, False Mehmen and his mercenaries will split from the PCs and go secure some place. The PCs will secure another place. This makes simpler encounters. When the town is almost clear, the PCs meet with Mehmen in front of the Mayor's house. Mehmen has lost his mercenaries and is now with his two friends. They plan to assault the house.
The PCs will move in the house with Mehmen and confront Elizar and Taern Analori.
The problem is that I just don't know how to fit the priest of Myrkul in this. Did he come here on his own? Is he the one that freed Elizar? Is he manipulating Elizar for his own end? And if so, what are his goals?
My guess would be that he leaves before the PCs enter the mayor's house. He flees using some sort of magic means and the PCs might be able to spot him. If they score high enough on their spot checks they might see that Mehmen has seen him too and has a weird look on his face.
Altough I would like the PCs to confront that priest of Myrkul and I'd also like to tie him to Soth, the BEBG that wanted the PCs dead and has the Tablets of Fate. This way, the PCs could get some clues on where to head next.
Or meabe there is no priest of Myrkul at all but then, why would Mehmen have gone to Rivermoot in the first place?
Of course, after Rivermoot, the PCs leave with Mehmen and I'll push hard for him to seem REALLY useful. He'll be able to sell items at an advantageous price and buy almost anything for the PCs. I think they could travel together for a while after Rivermoot.
Also, even if Abdul speaks to the group about the letters he has, he'll only be able to prove that Mehmen once had ties with Nassima but refused to follow her orders. Those orders are left vague and even then, the PCs will only see that he had a change of heart. In fact, it is the REAL Mehmen who had a change of heart. That is why the Arcane Brotherhood killed him.
Yep I really like those ideas. I just have to push hard on the fact that mehmen is an established merchant in the North now. The fact that he has come to rid the town of those undeads will be hard to believe at first but I'm pretty sure the PCs will buy it. The idea of the traveling merchant is nice but I think it limits the power of the amulets.Those amulets surely won't work with Mehmen and his entourage. So meabe after the initial flight that gets the PCs to Rivermoot, the amulets won't work for a while. They will work again when the PCs either get rid of him or find that he his a traitor.
That sounds good... just a minor snag, though. Even if they don't realize Mehmen is a traitor they still might ditch him just so they can use the amulets.
You can avoid that by simply saying the amulets will not work until the PC's REALIZE Mehmen is a traitor and / or decide that they don't want him to go with them because they don't trust him. It'll tie back into the whole notion: You go where you NEED to be not where you WANT to go. They need to deal with Mehmen's treachery and Rivermoot first.
That way it doesn't work because of Mehmen, but not simply because there are other people who want to travel with them using that method. (This leaves open the possibility of you allowing them to take others with them in the future using this method.)
Also, it avoids a situation in which the PC's attempt to work out an arrangement with Mehmen to be his ally / friend / make use of his services, but at the same time get to use their amulets. So in this sense it is more of an unconscious choice on the part of the players and their characters. The amulet is forcing them to confront Mehmen and his treachery until they can once again be used.
To help the PC's believe the story about Mehmen, when they first use the amulets and travel - we'll call it 'Riding the Wind' - they should clearly see that the world has changed A LOT from what they remember. It should be clear that some time has passed, and thus make it somewhat plausible that Mehmen has grown to become somewhat well known in the North as a merchant.
The only thing that bothers me is how to tie the Undead infestation to the rest of the plot. But of course, I could assume that the PCs are going to regret their previous actions in Rivermoot so they will want to right the wrongs they caused.
I was planning on having Elizar Branhad, the vampire they sealed in the tomb, come back to town. He will have taken over Rivermoot and is now completely insane. He was already pretty much insane when he met the PCs so he could have escaped with gaseous form through some sort of hole and gotten the mayor, Taern Analori, to do his bidding. The mayor is technicaly his spawn so this could work.When I mean that he is insane, I mean it. The whole town is pretty much burned down and undeads are walking down the streets. The only survivors are holed up in a small stone building that was once a warehouse near the docks. Survivors include Shania Analori, the daughter Taern Analori. Taern has killed his wife under Elizar's command and now serves as second in command... He seems like he is totaly empty on the inside... Although he might shed some feelings for his daughter if he sees her.
The problem is that I just don't know how to fit the priest of Myrkul in this. Did he come here on his own? Is he the one that freed Elizar? Is he manipulating Elizar for his own end? And if so, what are his goals?
My guess would be that he leaves before the PCs enter the mayor's house. He flees using some sort of magic means and the PCs might be able to spot him. If they score high enough on their spot checks they might see that Mehmen has seen him too and has a weird look on his face.
Altough I would like the PCs to confront that priest of Myrkul and I'd also like to tie him to Soth, the BEBG that wanted the PCs dead and has the Tablets of Fate. This way, the PCs could get some clues on where to head next.
Or meabe there is no priest of Myrkul at all but then, why would Mehmen have gone to Rivermoot in the first place?
Of course, after Rivermoot, the PCs leave with Mehmen and I'll push hard for him to seem REALLY useful. He'll be able to sell items at an advantageous price and buy almost anything for the PCs. I think they could travel together for a while after Rivermoot.
I'd be shocked if the PC's didn't realize they'd later regret their choice. However, now that I've had a chance to think about it... it just seems to obvious. Here is my suggestion, and how you might tie in a Cleric of Myrkul.
After the PC's left the first few weeks went well. The Towns immortal Mayor and his wife loved their village so much that, even compelled to feed upon them, they resisted the urge - feeding upon livestock instead. This caused the villagers to grow worried and concerned - their livestock were dying under mysterious circumstances! They were being drained of all their blood with puncture wounds in their bodies.
Word of this strange occurrence began to spread. This attracted the attention of the Cleric of Myrkul and he and a few cultists went to Rivermoot to investigate. (Obviously they would have suspected vampires from the rumors.) When they arrived the villagers were worried that there were strange bloodsucking monsters that stalked the night. The mayor attempted to soothe their concerns, but was likewise acting strange - being a vampire he would only hold village meetings in a building just after dusk. This was covered with the lie that the Mayor's wife was "sick" and needed his attention during the day.
This and a number of other strange actions by the Mayor to the Cleric of Myrkul painted them clearly as Vampires. As he and his cult investigated they uncovered the sealed tomb of Elizar Branhad, the Vampire that created the Vampire Spawn that were the Mayor and his wife. The cultists opened the tomb to find a broken Elizar. His daughter was dead once again, five years of work down the drain... emotionally broken by the PC's. He didn't even realize he was sealed in his tomb, as he didn't even bother an escape attempt. He was all but giving up on his un-life.
This is when the Cleric of Myrkul saw an opportunity and took it. He created a divine ritual - a sort of permanent turning - and enslaved Elizar Branhad to the will of Myrkul. The ritual was completed after the Cleric had Elizar beaten and held down, as a giant holy symbol of Myrkul was carved into the flesh of his chest. The symbol glows with negative and unholy energy, forcing the Vampire to serve the aims of Myrkul, and more directly the aims and desires of his clergy.
The cult then used Elizar to gain control of the Mayor and his wife, which began the downfall of the village. Those that survived have hold up in a burned down stone building that used to be a small church to the goddess Waukeen. It's priest is dead and it is clearly the most sturdy building left in the village. The survivors are hold up in there, and they've survived off a handful of rations that has lasted them two weeks.
The survivors are being led by Shania Analori, the daughter of the Mayor. She's being supported by a number of Militiamen who managed to survive as well.
The village is a mixture of undead livestock and undead villagers. Imagine vampiric chickens, zombie cows, and ghost pigs.
When Mehmen and his mercenaries along with the PC's attack Rivermoot, they split up. The PC's encounter an unknown Vampire Spawn (former Farmer), and some undead livestock. The curse of Vampirism has clearly driven him insane. As they travel through Rivermoot and fight they can hear Mehmen and his mercenaries (though they can't see them). They are clearly fighting - the sounds of battle are unmistakable - as are the screams of the wounded and dying.
The PC's then come upon something odd. One of the few structures untouched by fire... a large warehouse in the docks district. This is where the cult of Myrkul has hold up. The sounds of fighting by Mehmen's forces have alerted them to the danger. (Mehmen had hoped it would.)
As the PC's enter the warehouse they hear the final chants of the cult, led by the Cleric, which results in the animating of a Flesh Golem (stitched together from livestock and parts of villagers. It would be ideal if the PC's would have to fight something like headless chicken zombies and villagers missing large parts of their body / chunks of flesh... the PC's may wonder where these things went too... the answer is the Flesh Golem.
Unfortunately for the Cultists the Golem was not quite ready. The attack on the village was unplanned. The players have to face off against the cult, the cleric, and the golem. If the Cleric is badly injured or the golem falls, then he flees off into a side area of the warehouse - an office like area... that's where he's set himself up. He goes there to barricade the door and heal himself. If the PC's take too long then he summons some spirits (likely of dead cultists the PC's just killed) to aid him in battle against the PC's.
Eventually, the PC's will make their way to the office. It will be clear that the cleric is using this as his personal chambers. The players will defeat the cleric and when this is done will have a chance to search the room.
First, a journal will be open and on clear display on the desk. This journal will clearly tell the PC's what has happened to Rivermoot since they've been gone. It will also provide the necessary information to connect them to the next plot point - to the BBEG.
Second, there will be some minor loot here. Mostly of the resupplying sort. I'd drop any loot that is needed here to ensure the PC's are properly resupplied / have a chance to recover from the battles they've faced so far without resting.
Despite the death of the Cleric Elizar Branhad is still bound to follow the will of Myrkul. This means Elizar continues his orders until slain / cured of vampirism. This means the same is true for the Mayor and his wife.
There are three main paths the PC's can take from here.
The first is that they can visit the burned down church of Waukeen. They will learn that survivors are inside, but they will refuse to open the doors until the undead are all gone. They also learn that Shania Analori is alive and leading the survivors, and she'll tell them that her parents are vampires - nothing the PC's don't already know. She'll plead with the PC's to end them - that if they were still alive they would not have wanted this to have happened... The PC's could force their way into the church, but this would endanger those inside and would make them very angry.
The second path they can take is to go to the mayor's house. This should not be difficult to locate, all they'd have to do is follow the trial of mercenary corpses. When they arrive outside they'd find the Mayor fighting off the last of Mehmen's mercenaries; the first image they see is of the Mayor ripping out the throat of the Mercenary Captain. Mehmen then yells for a retreat just as he and the last survivors (three) see the PC's come around the corner. When the Mayor spots the PC's he'll grab one of the last surviving mercenaries, and pull him - screaming and pleading for help - into his home and slam the door.
Mehmen will tell the PC's how glad he is to see them, and then relay how difficult the fight has been up till this point. There will be screams from inside the home, pleas for help, which Mehmen will ignore. His concerns are focused on what the PC's have learned so far.
When the PC's do approach the home and go inside, they find that the survivor is still alive. He's being held hostage. Also inside will be the Mayor and Elizar. Elizar will have his back to the group, gazing out of a window in a very relaxed fashion. The Mayor will have an extremely feral look about him, which is made much worse by the fact he is covered in gore and blood. The Mayor may also growl at the PC's as he holds the hostage to the wall next to Elizar.
Elizar makes some soothing gestures and turns to look Elizar in the eyes. He speaks slowly and calmly something along these lines, 'Be calm and still my child. No harm shall come to you by my hand.' The hostage has been dominated and does exactly as told.
Elizar then turns and begins to speak to the PC's. At this point the PC's should have a clear view of Elizar's chest - the holy symbol of Myrkul that glows with negative energy and unholy light - he merely smiles at the PC's. He attempts to engage them in conversation. He speaks about their intentions in Rivermoot, and if they've killed the Cleric of Myrkul then he is already aware - he 'felt his spirit torn from this plane to flee to another.' He'd also make comments about any spawn of the Vampire they killed, calling them 'Myrkul's Children.'
The Vampire is clearly insane - Hannibal Lecter style. If the PC's threaten him, then he tells the PC's that it would be unwise to do so. He threatens to have the Mayor kill the hostage. If the PC's advance, and don't come up with a clever way to prevent it, then it's clear the Vampire lied as the hostage rises to attack the PC's and defend the Vampires.
One way or another there will be a battle there, unless the PC's just decide to leave Rivermoot (in which case THERE WILL BE MAJOR CONSEQUENCES! ). When the Mayor and Elizar are dead they turn into their gaseous form and retreat to their coffins in the tomb.
This brings us to the third and final path: They will go to the Graveyard to seek out Elizar Branhad's tomb. When they arrive they'll be ambushed by the Mayor's wife and some undead. She's there guarding the tomb to make sure no one disturb the coffins within. The Mayor's wife will appear to have more control than the Mayor himself - she will weep exclaim that she didn't want any of this to happen, that it wasn't her fault, and that she can't stop herself. She will also plead with the PC's not to kill her - to save her instead - even as she attacks the PC's.
Ultimately though, to stop the attack, they have to defeat her - which forces her into her gaseous form to retreat into her coffin located within the tomb in the graveyard.
The PC's then have a couple of choices. They can get some stakes and kill the Mayor, his wife, and Elizar Branhad permanently. Alternatively, they can find a way to save them. Meaning that they will have to raise enough money to afford resurrection or true resurrection they can "cure" them of Vampirism. The players may not be aware of this, but I would allow the appropriate checks for the Wizard and Clerics. If they make the check then they realize they can "save" them, otherwise they have the option to simply randomly guess it (or metagame it). Either way, the option is open to them.
If Elizar, the Mayor, and his wife are returned to life they go into retirement. Though they are immensely grateful. There may be some additional reward for the players for accomplishing this. Alternatively the players may kill Elizar to free the Mayor and his wife from his control. This is also a possibility, but this will anger the survivors of Rivermoot if / when they find out. Shania Analori herself will lead a group there to put a stake through the heart of her parents, but will never warm up to the PC's as a result of having to do so.
There is no negative consequences for killing all three vampires, just an additional reward for them saving some or all of them.
Regardless of what happens, Shania Analori becomes the new Mayor of Rivermoot and vows to rebuild the village. Assuming the PC's didn't screw things up and anger Shania (either by forcing her to kill her own parents or forcing their way into the church), then she will become a strong ally that they can depend on in the months, weeks, and years ahead. They will be declared the heroes of Rivermoot, along with Mehmen.
The players may be asked to stay awhile in Rivermoot by Shania. Mehmen will agree that this is a good idea, but tell the PC's he has an offer for them when they can next speak privately. Assuming how hard the battles are it is likely that the PC's drained their supplies. Thankfully for them Mehmen will have just what they need to restock (for a price, of course.)
The burned church and the dead priest of Waukeen will prompt Shania to make an off-hand remark in front of the clerics of the group that they're going to have to find someone to rebuild the church and possibly rededicate it to a new deity. This should be a major hint for the clerics of the group, who should have the opportunity to send funding to Rivermoot to build a church to Shaundakul there.
Sorry if the above is a bit choppy, I kept getting distracted while I was writing it. As I glanced back over it I wanted to point out something important. The players are not likely to have enough gold to cure all the Vampires (perhaps not even one of them). However, they may be clever enough to approach Mehmen and ask for his help.
I'd get them to RP it out and make some appropriate checks. Regardless of the results, Mehmen will agree to front the funds to cure the Mayor's wife, with some strings attached. If the PC's make good rolls, then he'll also agree to cure the Mayor. He will refuse to front the money to cure Elizar Branhad. If the PC's want that they'll have to come up with an alternative route.
The important strings attached, of course, is exactly what Mehmen wants: to travel with the PC's, using them as "bodyguards" when in reality he is spying on them.
Also, I'd leave Mehmen's associates out of the combat. They will "stay at the camp" but in reality will be shadowing Mehmen under his orders, but keeping their distance. If he is attacked they will appear to defend him. Obviously, Mehmen is not fighting in combat but commanding the mercenaries - purposefully getting them killed so he doesn't have to pay them.
Finally, I'd leave one or two mercenaries alive. Lucky survivors. One of them should be completely mentally broken from the experience, traumatized beyond belief. Mehmen will ask what the PC's think should be done with him, and depending on what is done with the mercenary he could make a reappearance later.
Hopefully this helps. These are just some ideas that came to me - stream of consciousness typing. Hope it is useful.
I really like the idea of the Amulets not working until the PCs have dealt with Mehmen one way or another. I would give the PCs some hint as the magic of the amulets being blocked by something. Anyway, I don't think the PCs will want to ditch Mehmen early to use the amulets. I'm thinking of having the PCs go to Nesmé after Rivermoot. Like the boat they'll take after the restoration of the town will have to stop to Nesmé because no boat make it all the way from Rivermoot to Waterdeep.
There they'll meet Gorstag who was looking for his brother. Since Nesmé isn't too far from Rivermoot, they would travel there by boat and so the amulets wouldn't be used until later. I don't really know what will happen there but I'm working on it. Meabe the PCs will get a whiff of Mehmen's doing and suspicion will arise. I'll keep you updated.
There they'll probably get involved with the population that thinks they are gods and can cure them of all their woes. This will be where I give the PCs some rope to hand themselves with. Of course, during this time, Mehmen will be sending some information to his superiors from the Arcane Brotherhood.
I like the ideas you gave with Overun Rivermoot. That's pretty much how I imagined it. Except I'll go along the lines of Elizar Branhad went mad once te priest of Myrkul unsealed his tomb and summoned tons of undead with the knowledge he acquired while trying to revive his daughter.
The priest of Myrkul and his cultists is also something I like a lot! I also thought about a flesh golem and this will prove a tough fight for the PCs along with the cultist. The idea of having the PCs find some documents will lead them on the right track toward Waterdeep and the person they seek. Soth, the BEBG.
In Rivermoot, the PCs will mostly fight against zombies and skeletons and also a couple of vampire spawns. This will be quite an epic battle. My campaign isn't very action oriented but I think this will be different. I want to give this battle a Diablo 2 feel. Exactly like when you get to Tristram, the town from the first game, thats now overun by undeads and demons.
I too was thinking of leaving Mehmen's two associates on the outskirts of town. Altough, as soon as the battle is over, they move in with Mehmen's carriage and introduce themselves. Mehmen won't make his big proposal there as I want the PCs to get attached to his associates.
I'm pretty sure Chelsmeth will get attached to the man from the duo. I can imagine the two drinking and having some fun playing dice or Three Dragon Ante. I was also thinking of using the girl to seduce Frath. This will create some pretty interesting conflict.
Your help was really REALLY incredible regarding the Rivermoot plotline! (And everything else too!) Thanks a lot! I really think I'm going to use everything you listed here to run these encounters.
I'll also have Count Marvar the Second come to help toward the end of the fight. He heard about what was going on in Rivermoot and sent some troops to help out. The PCs will probably see how he changed and isn't like his father at all.
We were supposed to play yesterday but the group couldn't get together. We'll be playing on January 3rd next and we'll start with the fight with the bugbears. I was also planing on Loïkan (Mithlain's rival) to attack the group in the frost hills. I'll give hint to the PCs that someone is following them...
He has taken over Real Mehmen's job of spying and killing the PCs and the PCs knew he was going after him. They got the information from Dragnan after the fight but they didn't know when he was going to attack.
He'll attack with summoned monsters but when his minions die, he'll teleport away. He'll be a regular henchmen of Soth the BEBG.
I'll use him to expose some important hints to the PCs as he's levitating above West Pass and Yelling at the top of his lungs:
-He'll say how he's suprised about the PCs survival ability. They survived getting hanged in Waterdeep AND Undermountain.
-Even though it doesn't matter, he's come to finish the job.
-Now that their friend Milanseth isn't here, there is nothing to save them.
-He'll ask Mithlain if he could really get away with all he knows. (Even if Mithlain doesn't really know yet, he'll remember it in his dreams and visions. He'll see how he knows something of importance and how the Arcane Brotherhood might want the group dead because of this.)
-He'll tell Mehmen wasn't able to do his job so they eliminated him. He doesn't intend to fail miserably like Mehmen did. (When the PCs will meet False Mehmen, he'll tell the PCs how he managed to flee from the Arcane Brotherhood and make them think he was dead. All of this is a lie to make the PCs think he is an ally.)
I'll write back soon as I add more stuff to the next sessions. I was thinking of having the PCs passing through the Underdark to get to the peak where Meirhald is. They could travel along with a scout from Mithral Hall.
Anyway, I'm still working on all of this. But now that I have a very good chunk of the story in my head, it'll be pretty easy to plan all of this.
Here is something that could prove problematic:
"-He'll tell Mehmen wasn't able to do his job so they eliminated him. He doesn't intend to fail miserably like Mehmen did. (When the PCs will meet False Mehmen, he'll tell the PCs how he managed to flee from the Arcane Brotherhood and make them think he was dead. All of this is a lie to make the PCs think he is an ally.)"
If you take the path where False Mehmen is a highly successful merchant in the North, ***AND*** that he faked his death to fool the Arcane Brotherhood... that would be very hard to believe. He'd need to explain why he wasn't living his life on the down low.
Now, you could easily use both by linking the mercenaries in the story to be his bodyguard. Have False Mehmen tell them that he's been fighting off members of the Brotherhood for some time.
To make this believable if the PC's question the Mercenaries, have the mercenaries recovering from a recent encounter with a wizard on the way to Rivermoot. The Wizard was a lone Harper that managed to use his magic to spy on Mehmen and learn the truth. The Wizard attacked Mehmen and the mercenaries managed to kill the Wizard (though they lost a couple of their own). Mehmen refused to speak much about the encounter, simply calling the wizard "insane."
Mehmen would then confide in the PC's if they questioned him, that the Wizard was really an Arcane Brotherhood member, but he didn't want to alarm the mercenaries.
This would make his plea for the PC's to act as his bodyguards hold even MORE weight. After all the Arcane Brotherhood is trying to kill them as well, right?
Mehmen would clearly know the most about Mithlain, and false Mehmen could use this as an opportunity to tug on Mithlain's heartstrings... you know, in a way to say, "See Mithlain, we aren't so different!"
If the PCs interrogate Mehmen on what he knows of the insidious plot of the Brotherhood; he'll respond next to nothing since he was only a hireling for them.
So yeah, I think this could work well if I insist on the fact that Mehmen was attacked by the brotherhood after they found out he rose as a merchant.
I worked a bit on the Mithral Hall part of the story and I'm thinking the characters are going to meet Bruenor Battlehammer after arriving. After all, he knows the region quite well because of his search for the halls. Bruenor will just have finished a meeting with Alustriel regarding the defence of Mithral Hall. As it turns out, the Drows are gathering in the tunnels and the leaders think that an attack is imminent.
Bruenor will greet the PCs coldly. He doesn't have time for trivial non-sense and will dispense very little information on Meirhald. He'll basicly tell the PCs that it's on the highest peak of the Frost Hills and that it's guarded by a guardian... The fastest way there is through the Underdark as Spring as brought a lot of snow in the passes leading there.
If the PCs make a good impression, he'll dispense a scout to lead them trough the tunnels and back.
If probed, the scout (Rulaf Thornshield) will tell the PCs that a White Dragon was rumored to have it's lair in the ruins at the top of the peak the PCs want to go. He tought these ruins were nothing of interest and it is actually the first time someone wants to head there.
While in Mithral Hall Xandos will surely want to meet Regis. The halfling is seen appointing Bruenor's meetings and if the PCs want to meet him, they have to wait until the night.
At night, the halfling welcomes the PCs in his quarters but for a small fee. He tries to pass for a powerful guild leader of Calimport when in reality, he lost it all and that is the reason he is back in the North. If the PCs are disbelieving, he will attempt to use his Ruby on them. He will deceive the PCs this way and will have them send a message to Xandos' guild in Waterdeep.
Regis wants money from that guild and by making the PCs think he is very influent, the guild is going to pay to have Regis' guild become an ally. Of course, as an agent of the guild, Xandos would have to front the money now.
If the PCs discover Regis' scheme, then he shows regret but still insist on the fact that his connections might prove useful to the PCs.
(I'm working on the intel he might have for the PCs)
Abdul might also look for his new target in Mithral Hall. A certain Thorik Swiftaxe can be found at the Gorlishd tavern in the commons. If information is gathered on him, it can be found that he arrived 2 months ago wanting to join King Bruenor's kingdom but all he does is drink and get in petty fights around the taverns.
If more information is gathered, Abdul will find out that he is in fact an outlaw that ran away from his debts and attempted to hide in Mithral Hall for a while.
We'll see how Abdul will manage to kill him. The ways to do it are plentiful. Poison in his drink. Start a fight with him. Wait for him to take a leak out back. Wait for him in his room. Etc.
After the killing is done, Abdul will receive payment through a letter and a small bag containing gold. The letter contains no mark but simply states that the cult will meet him soon.
I don't think the PCs will stay long in Mithral Hall. Just long enough to gear up, recover from their trek across the hills and their fight against Loïkan. After small the small dealings of Xandos and Abdul are done, they will surely head toward Meirhald as soon as they can.
I also plan on having Loïkan attack the PCs as they are close to Mithral Hall. This way, if they want to head to town to rest and get some supplies, Mithral Hall will be closest instead of Rivermoot or the dwarven camp at the foot of the hills.