The question is where to set this in the realms that fits relatively with the Lore, as most of them HAVE read FR novels. I know the rule of 'It's your game, do what you want with it!' but I don't wanna go too off base.
I'm going to do Kobold Keep and/or the Loudwater raid as the 1st level adventure. I'm converting an old 1st edition adventure to run from 2nd level thru 4th or 5th level. Here's the blurb:
treason walks the land...
Trouble stirs in Dunador! The King lies dead of a wound received during a hunting expedition. His brother, Lord Edrin, challenges the rightful Crown Prince, a half-trained young man named Edmund, for possession of the throne while Edmund travels on a pilgrimage to the holy shrine of Nevron. Forces throughout the kingdom vie for control of the realm. Throughout the realm, plots are brewing and evil hands are eagerly clutching the sword of treason. Inevitably the focus of these intrigues is in the troubled province of Andevar to the north. For it is here that the young Prince has journeyed and here that he must be crowned.
In this dark hour Dunador has but one faithful servant: Hollend, chief advisor to the old king. Painfully aware of all that is at stake, Hollend has sought the aid of a brave party of adventurers in a desperate bid to tip the scales in favor of truth and justice. But, even as the party secretly enters Andevar, the forces of evil strike with blinding speed and ruthless determination.
Another area could be Tethyr, which has seen royal and political strife many times. It's one of the Realms locations seen as Medieval (ie. castles, knights, feudalism, etc). As of 4E, I think things have settled down, but this adventure easily disrupts that, giving the old feeling of warring fiefdoms for power and I think it's a good way to get new FR people into the mix.
If not Tethyr, then perhaps Damara? The king there is crazy, evil, and it wouldn't be a shocker to find him dead one day. There, you could utilize the threat from the Warlock Knights of Vaasa (who might or might not be involved) or the Demonic cult spreading from the south out of Impiltur.
If you want to make it closer to Loudwater and make it more localized (strife within the city instead of encompassing a whole country) then it could happen in Nesme or another small city within the Silver Marches.
-An alternative would be to set things in the Border Kingdoms, and just import everything wholesale as you want it, and chalk it all up to already being in the area.
Western Heartlands
that shoon kingdom
(Note, that I run my personal game in Calimshan (sp?), but that's because I'm all for the Arabian Nights thing)
-An alternative would be to set things in the Border Kingdoms, and just import everything wholesale as you want it, and chalk it all up to already being in the area.
Yeah, I was going to say something along those lines--make up your own, similar Realm.
Our of curiosity, what was this old 1E adventure called?
Yeah, I was going to say something along those lines--make up your own, similar Realm.
Our of curiosity, what was this old 1E adventure called?
Destiny of Kings
The thing to remember is the old king was a well, liked, just and honest ruler (LG). His son is on a rite-of-passage trip with minimal guards, and the adviser is very suspicious of the old king's younger brother.
Its Hamlet done in D&D
Damara sounds great too. If you dont want to kill a character in the frcg (at least in this adventure) alter your story a bit. Say the prince is a foxmantle, blood of the last king. Yarin found out about the newborn after the "accident" , or the prince revealed himself just now. First case: Yarin after his coup thought his grasp of power was not solid enough. He declared himself guardian of the boy, responsible for his life until 20 years old (now). The pilgrimage can be to the monastery of the yellow rose. Where the ruler prays to ilmater and understands his kingdom's suffering in a vision before taking the mantle of the king.
If you want to surprise your old edition players you can try elturgard. The "prince" is a remarkable young cleric destined to be the next high observer. While in a pilgrimage to a shrine of torm, a jealous high priest strikes. Claiming that the young prince hasnt returned yet, and ofc the kingdom cannot remain without a leader, he steps up to fill the seat. Battling some corrupted paladins can be interesting for some LG PCs.
If you have a lot of monster encounters you can try velen. The duke's son goes for his trip, while the uncle backed up by nelanther pirates and/or cyricists takes the throne. Nearby murandinn can come to the picture easily. Its warbands will kill the prince leaving no trail to the manipulators.
You can try smaller scale conversions, if you think your 2-5 lvl characters shouldnt affect a whole realm. You can use battledale. The town of ambrose built around the abbey of the sword is deeply religious. The young prince must travel to a shrine of tempus or to aencar's manor to gain the strength and wisdom of the legendary mantled king.
If you want a more "out of the way" location try procampur, a very lawful city. The king (thultyrl) and his advisor (hamayarch) demand of the prince to keep the old tradition. He must travel to the ancient dwarven site near high haspur, where the dwarves gave their blessing to the first king to establish the town, to appease the dwarven spirits. (see the vast free download and
3e frcs).
http://oracle.wizards.com/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind9902b&L=realms-l&D=1&P=1349
http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5179
It's described in Lands of Intrigue, which is a free download.
Of course with the 4e vampirism in the region things may need some additional adjustments...
with several places to look, I'm surprise no one has suggested the Sword Lands or Eskorn in Abeir yet. I'm thinking now Cormyr, Velen, Eskorn, Sword Lands, Tethyr, The Border Kingdoms, Elturgard, or Aglarond might all work
My goal for heroic tier looks something like this:
!st level: PCs organize as a team. King is killed in a Hunting Accident. PCs stop a goblin raid on the town while shopping (goblin raid on Loudwater), which the party traces back to its source (a modified Kobold Keep or Ogre Barrow, probably) where they find a note that someone paid the goblins to raid the town. They return to town and should be Lvl 2, or close to it (all of this happens in a day or so) where their victory is the talk of the town. the next morning, they are approached by Hollend who sends them on their quest to find young Prince Edmund.
The encounters within a castle-town, a cathedral, two small keeps, a wilderness shrine, "random" encounters with gnolls and bandits, and a wood full of undead should bring them to 5th level by the time they return with the Prince for his coronation. along the way, it turns out a noble (NOt Edrin or Aimar) hired the goblin raiders to give a threat he could use against Edmund.
The New King, not knowing whom on the noble court he can trust, decides to trust in these adventurers who have rescued him, appointng them Royal advisors and troubleshooters. 5th-6th level will involve rooting out the remaining conspirators, including what Powers might have bankrolled it. 6th-10th level, the PCs will be Royal troubleshooters, dealing with threats to the realm at the behest of the young king, which will bring them into contact with the wider Realms (Netherese threats if we set the game in Cormyr, for instance. Or Thay if its set in Alagrond, both as examples). As we head into paragon, a war that turns into an extra-planar threat seems the likely direction to go, with Epic having the party deal with a threat to the Realms as whole.
Destiny of Kings
The thing to remember is the old king was a well, liked, just and honest ruler (LG). His son is on a rite-of-passage trip with minimal guards, and the adviser is very suspicious of the old king's younger brother.
Its Hamlet done in D&D
Neat, thanks for the information.
Had to wait for PHB 2 to arrive, but it was worth it. So far the story revolves around Rhogar the dragonborn Amnian mercenary realizing that what he is doing is inappropriate, removing a peaceful people from their homes just so another nation can use their resources.
He is summarily ousted from his unit and left to fend for himself. He has just met the Druid, a human named Alaric who is looking for a few good adventurers to help him in his quest to rid Snowdown of the Amnian threat. Other members of the team so far are, Valanda, a genasi Swordmage who was traveling to Returned Abeir when her ship was taken by lycanthropic pirates from Moray. Garan, a halfling Sorcerer and Ardath, a deva Invoker on a pilgrimage to Gwynneth to settle a bet about the firbolgs and Torak, the half-orc Ranger from Alaron looking for a fight worth fighting. Last, but not least we have Mordan, a tiefling Bard from Callidyrr who realized right away that here was a tale in the making.
I was surprised at some of the choices my players made; they are usually not such xenophiles, preferring more traditional fantasy races. My NPC Druid is the only human this time around.
Bel