So here are the questions I propose, any input at all is extremely helpful:
-Who are the key figureheads of the Black Hand
-Who are their main enemies
-Where are they most likely found
-Which regions are they banned from
-Who are their allies
-What is their motivation to serve Bane
-What additional, creative input could you offer to help expand on the campaign (ie. encounters, character creation, travel methods, etc)
Some of these thing I know, I merely want public opinion on things.
Thanks to any and all who aid in my quest for knowledge of the Banites.
Sincerely,
Lord_Typhus
Have you checked out Lords of Darkness? That has info on the Zhentarim. So does the FRCS. LoD is out of print, but you can still obtain it (check online).
Oh, I've got LoD & FRCS both, I was merely looking for any personal input into the whole thing. Thanks anyways though, Rinon.
Oh, I've got LoD & FRCS both, I was merely looking for any personal input into the whole thing. Thanks anyways though, Rinon.
You're welcome.
Thanks.
-Who are the key figureheads of the Black Hand
-The Chosen of Bane, Fzoul Chembryl, is obviously a very powerful political force within the Chuch of Bane. Numerous lesser, unnamed priests can also wield sizable political power, as per the needs of your campaign.
-Who are their main enemies
-Most notably, the Church of Torm, and the Church of Cyric. Any organization that has a patron that is an enemy of Bane is likely to be an enemy of the Church of Bane.
-Where are they most likely found
-Anywhere you want them, truthfully. Zhentil Keep is a obvious choice, but the Church of Bane can exist anywhere...Hidden, of course.
-Which regions are they banned from
-Most places wouldn't tolerate openly worshipping Banites, which is why Bane is worshipped in secret in most places.
-Who are their allies
-Any organization that has a patron that is an ally of Bane is likely to be an ally of the Church of Bane. There aren't too many, though. Bane doesn't have too many friends.
-What is their motivation to serve Bane
-Like anything else, power. The will to dominate also plays a part.
Citadel of the Black Hand!
As for enemies; Harpers.
Motivation: Nationalism is very viable. A strong, lawful, autocratic government isn't necessarily a bad thing - but remember that they'll have secret police and such too.
Mintar and Thay are places where Bane's worshipped too. Llorkh too.
As for enemies; Harpers.
Motivation: Nationalism is very viable. A strong, lawful, autocratic government isn't necessarily a bad thing - but remember that they'll have secret police and such too.
So basically Banites could wish to form a government founded upon Bane's rule, with tyrannical secret police controlling the populace...Hmm...Cool idea
Take a place in complete anarchy, e.g. Unther. Have a Zhentarim-funded group of nationalists with Zhentarim training rise up and start restoring order, slowly but surely. They then provide safety for people in general, but sometimes certain folk get whisked away. The Banites will blame something like Harpers and that the Harpers are working for whoever's causing the trouble, and people will generally accept that explanation as the government, aka Banites, are actually making things better on a whole. When the Banites then start brainwashing their populace with propaganda, making people see the strength of Bane's dogma. Remember that it all must be done covertly by the Banites. And when the time's right, they openly build temples to Bane and such. And then you've got a new Mintar.
Wow...You may be just the person I was looking for...would you be open to helping with the Campaign design? All credit would be given to you for your help and it would give my players a chance at some outside creativity...
Wow...You may be just the person I was looking for...would you be open to helping with the Campaign design? All credit would be given to you for your help and it would give my players a chance at some outside creativity...
Just throw things at me, i can probably come up with something for most campaigns=)
i'd suggest you do it like you've done so far; with a thread and have several people come with input.
I'll be sure to keep you updated; look for more info this evening.
http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1027834
it's my NPC submission thread for my campaign
Alright=)
Sweet...Hopefully we can get some submissions going over there; it's been looked at plenty of times, so all there is to do now is promote it and wait...:D
Ah, LK...my favored mentor...
-I don't get that kind of remark nearly as often as I should, and I shouldn't get that remark nearly as often as I do...
Any ideas on how to set up a Church's ranking structure?
-According to Faiths and Avatars, these are the titles of his priests/priestess', going from unimportant to important:
"Slave"~Watchful Brother/Sister~Deadly Adept~Trusted Servant~Willing Whip~Hooded Meanace~Black Fang~Striking Hand~Vigilant Talon~Masked Death~Dark Doom~Higher Doom~Deep Mystery~Deeper Mystery
-Those who make it past the last one are given unique, individual titles, such as: Vigilator, Lord/Lady of Mysteries, Lord/Lady of the Hand, Imperceptor, Dark Imperceptor, Grand Bloodletter, High Inquisitor, and High Imperceptor
So basically Banites could wish to form a government founded upon Bane's rule, with tyrannical secret police controlling the populace...Hmm...Cool idea
-Yes. The following passage is from a passage written by Emperor Palpatine, based on his readings of the Sith book, The Weakness of Inferiors. What he says is definitley applicable to a Banite as well.
"Inferiors continually endanger their own lives and the lives of others through poor decisions, reckless behavior, and inability to engineer the reality of their ambitious dreams. They are like children, crying in frustration because they do not comprehend their own limitations. These weaklings need structure- to be shown their place in the existing social order. It is left to the wise and powerful to provide that structure in order for civilization to survive and thrive in the galaxy. Those who cannot- or will not- accept that peace and order are far more impoartant than their own selfish desires must be removed from society before they can inflict any lasting damage."
I've actually spoken to both of you a few times before on old screennames so I know your reputations for great work and advice.
Thanks.
Lord Typhus
Decide on a place, then i can be a bit more constructive=)
I have previously used the Church of Cyric as the major enemy of the Banites. This could work excellent with the "slowly taking over a region" plot that Khaelieth suggested. You could use Amn/Tethyr as a region as it is strong in Cyric support but the different fraction battle to become the No. 1 Cyricist group. The Banites could use this as a way to erradicate them slowly one by one, by uniting (in disguise) with one of the groups to kill of one of the others, and then turning on the first group. The people of Amn/Tethyr would be happy to get rid of these tyrants, and would not know that they have in fact been taken over by another just as bad.
I would use the Twin Towers of Eternal Eclipse and the Mountain of Skulls as the two Cyricist groups.
I've heard of the Towers, but where is the Mountain of Skulls from? LoD?
Sure, what you need help with really? i'm currently running a campaign where Calimshan has allied with Mintar to re-annex Tethyr, Erlkazar and perhaps Amn.
Decide on a place, then i can be a bit more constructive=)
-Sure, gimme ideas/issues and I'll give my imput.
Working out the details; had a late night last night...The Army calls...blah
I would use the Twin Towers of Eternal Eclipse and the Mountain of Skulls as the two Cyricist groups.
-There's only one tower left. One was..."moved" during the Erevis Cale trilogy.
Working out the details; had a late night last night...The Army calls...blah
-Understood.
-There's only one tower left. One was..."moved" during the Erevis Cale trilogy.
-Understood.
What do you mean by moved? Without giving the novel away could you tell a bit more about it?
What do you mean by moved? Without giving the novel away could you tell a bit more about it?
-I don't want to give the novel away. But, when I say it was moved, I am being fully serious. One tower was...moved, as in picked up and placed somewhere else. It was cleansed of Cyricists, as well, and has been claimed since by a different deity, who is an enemy of Cyric, and is quite fond of stealing. ;)
LK, Khaelieth...You guys up for a challenge? Go to my MPC thread, throw some creative weight around and see what you can come up with; that way, I'll work the NPCs into the Campaign and we can work on all our discussions based off of them...
-That's the one thing I don't like doing, since I don't campaign in the Forgotten Realms, and can't use those NPCs in my own campaigns, without some major tweaking, as I make sure to tailor a character around the campaign world. :P
-That's the one thing I don't like doing, since I don't campaign in the Forgotten Realms, and can't use those NPCs in my own campaigns, without some major tweaking, as I make sure to tailor a character around the campaign world. :P
Just make something 'generic' that I can tweak ( all i really gotta do is add the regional bonus feat & change a bit of his backstory...
LK, Khaelieth...You guys up for a challenge? Go to my MPC thread, throw some creative weight around and see what you can come up with; that way, I'll work the NPCs into the Campaign and we can work on all our discussions based off of them...
i can make character concepts, but won't roll them.
i can make character concepts, but won't roll them.
That's fine I'll roll em'...let me know what you've got on your mind m8.
Could you tell me where in the Realms you're playing? Would make making an NPC easier=)
Mostly along the Sword Coast, Amn, Waterdeep, and of course, Undermountain...My personal PC's from the North though, near the Spine of the World.
