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#1 Mr_Miscellany Sep 01, 2011 13:09:54	From the Questions for Ed Greenwood (2011) thread at the Candlekeep.com forums (page 48):   There are of course many more sources of clerical income, such as the sale of holy relics and their lesser cousins, "favors of the god" (meant to bring good luck to the bearer or household), "tokens of the god" (holy symbols of recognition and veneration for the common/lay worshipper rather than the "holy symbol" a priest carries; i.e. the equivalent of a real-world Catholic crucifix worn by an "ordinary" man or woman), but you missed the BIG one: priesthoods delivering verbal and written messages, documents, and small valuables over vast distances, from one individual to another [e.g. to relatives or family members], "altar-sworn" for safe delivery (i.e. the priests swear before the deity to deliver whatever it is faithfully, without altering or distorting it, pilfering from it, or violating its privacy if possible [obviously, the contents of a verbal message are known to the bearer, but a written message will NOT be unsealed or read by any member of the priesthood, nor will they allow a third party to read it], upon pain of losing the favor of the deity = being expelled from the church), for fees. In other words, almost all faiths in the Realms offer a FedEx-like service, and derive cumulatively great amounts of income from doing so. (There's an interesting sideline to this: someone in possession of something unique that will get him or her killed, such as stolen royal regalia, may well in desperation deliver it into the hands of temple priests with a fee to deliver it to a fictitious person or one the sender, but few or no others, know to be dead . . . so the priesthood will now keep and conceal the item(s) "forever" as they seek to deliver them to the proper person . . . whom they will never be able to find.) This amazing bit of Realmslore from the creator of the Forgotten Realms (aka Ed Greenwood) is loaded with potential for adventure ideas in any era of the Realms.   When you read the above passage, what adventure ideas come to mind?
#2 Mr_Miscellany Sep 01, 2011 16:11:31	The following is an adventure idea using the altar-sworn concept. It favors DMs who own the new Neverwinter Campaign Setting book, but can be easily adapted for use by DMs that don't own it. Basic Outline: A cleric of Oghma, one Zanar Blackshore, has lost a document he was altar-sworn to deliver from a Masked Lord of Waterdeep to the merchant Thresker Shond in Neverwinter.  The document was contained inside a scroll tube made of iron, sealed shut on both sides with cork and wax. The cleric was about one day’s ride from Neverwinter when he was waylaid on the road by Mintaran watchmen disguised as mercenaries. These men were under the direct orders of Lord Neverember to steal the cleric’s belongings and rough him up, but not slay him. Neverember suspected the document was provided by a rival based in Waterdeep and likely contained proof that Thresker or one of his associates (all suspected members of the Sons of Alagondar) has a legitimate claim to the crown of Neverwinter. Zanar proved a tougher fight than either Lord Neverember or his bullyblades suspected; the cleric quickly recovered from the initial assault and tracked his attackers through the woods to their camp. Watching from the trees, Zanar made ready to ambush his foes and recover the scroll tube when a pack of plaguechanged minions created by Aboleths and set loose in the lands surrounding Neverwinter swarmed over Thresker and the bullyblades simultaneously. The savage creatures killed the bullyblades to a man and made off with the their bodies any possessions they wore, including the scroll tube. The cleric found that with the loss of the scroll tube his powers as a cleric have disappeared. He was severely injured in the fight with the minions and barely made it to Neverwinter as a result. The clerics of Oghma refused Zanar entry into the temple of Oghma. Zanar then sought out the merchant Thresker. Both Threskar and Zanar (now healed of his wounds) practically beg the PCs to find the scroll tube and return it. Absolute secrecy is a must. The cleric can guide them but will be of little use in a fight. About two days after the PCs depart, Lord Neverember will have a second group of bullyblades (backed by a mage or other artillery, depending on the desires of each particular Dungeon Master) leave Neverwinter to search out their comrades and the priest of Oghma. Neverember’s spies are watching Thresker and others suspected of being Alagondar members and may report the PCs to Neverember as well. The Dungeon Master is free to divise the reasons why the plaguechanged creatures attacked the bullyblades. They could be simply attacking because of hunger or madness. Or they could be under orders from the Aboleths to retrieve the document for use in manipulating the powers that be in Neverwinter (as well as any would be powers, such as the Sons of Alagondar) at a later time. Tracking the plaguechanged creatures shouldn't be hard and can lead to all sorts of interesting/dangerous locations outside Neverwinter, which gives the DM a free hand to create encounters appropriate for the party level and that suits the DM's particular taste.