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DM's Block

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
DrKissinger1
Mar 28, 2010 21:53:07 Hey guys. The 4E Forgotten Realms campaign I'm running now is my first-ever DMing attempt, and I'm having a little writer's block for the next adventure. I do have an overall campaign arc imagined, and to save time, I'll just quote myself from an FR lore thread:

"While I've been very happy with 4E overall, I absolutely reject the idea that evil fighting evil is uninteresting. On the contrary, I think it allows for a lot of nuance, intrigue, and moral dilemmas for player characters. Right now, I've had the (good-aligned) party approached by a cell of Banite Zhentarim in Hillsfar (their leader is the granddaughter of the Thayan ambassador to Hillsfar; I wanted to establish the connection between Bane and Thay early on, plus I do a badass Russian/Thayan accent). The Banites are willing to offer the party critical intelligence on Cyricist plans, as they cannot risk acting on their own out of fear of retaliation.

This puts the party in a very awkward position. They have the intelligence and ability to thwart Cyricist operations in Hillsfar, but they would be acting both at the request and to the benefit of Banites. Do they refuse to help the Banites if refusal means allowing Cyricists to murder the First Lord of Hillsfar?"

This all went as planned, and the party successfully rescued First Lord Nomerthal from the Cyricist assassins. The dungeon basically worked as a "home invasion invasion"; the party had to race against time to reach Nomerthal before the Cyricists. They learned along the way that the Cyricists were able to attack through a portal opened to Darkhold from the basement of Nomerthal Manor (presumably by a doppelganger spy).

The party's attitudes towards the Banites have been mixed, which is fantastic. Some want to leave town and have nothing to do with them. Others think that if they can provide intelligence on how to foil evil plots, there's no reason to refuse to listen. Currently, they're staying at a luxury inn furnished by the Banites. They haven't promised any future service to Layla Vrass, the Banite leader, just yet, but they also haven't burned that bridge. They've also established contact with Lord Nomerthal after saving his life.

I'm a bit undecided on what to throw at the party next (they're level 5, for point of reference). I envision things coming to a head and the party eventually turning against the Banites once they are powerful enough to do so (probably level 9-11, as a heroic-tier wrap-up). Up until then, I want them to go on more quests, either from the Banites, Lord Nomerthal, or even the Cyricists if the party is inclined to listen to them. Any quest from these groups should optimally have the objective of foiling one or both of the others.

One idea I've been toying with is having the party explore the Thayan Enclave in Hillsfar (abandoned and sealed by the Red Wizards since Szass Tam's coup in Thay), since it would be a tempting location both for the party (lusting after the Wizards' treasure) and for the Banite leader (whose grandmother had been the Thayan ambassador to Hillsfar - perhaps disappearing under mysterious circumstances?). There's a great map of a Thayan Enclave in the 3.5E Lords of Darkness book that I can adapt, but I'm stumped on what to have the party encounter inside, both in terms of monsters and story elements. My first instinct is to go with undead, as the site has been abandoned for a century, and Szass Tam likely portaled his undead minions into the enclave to destroy any political enemies there.

Does anyone have any neat ideas for traps, monsters, objectives, or puzzles inside the abandoned enclave? The dungeon will be interesting for what it reveals about Thayan history alone, but I also want there to be plot points relevant to the Zhentarim civil war. Ideas for traps would be particularly nice, since the party has not yet encountered any (partially because no one is trained in thievery or dungeoneering), and a sealed Red Wizard Enclave is not complete without them.
#2
feyberry
Mar 28, 2010 23:15:24 Why did the Banites want to save Lord Nomerthal? I don't know what his connection is to them. As for the Thayan enclave... you could throw in some shadow-based creatures from the Shadowfell. A set of glyphs around the interior wall seals them in and are starting to fail unbeknownst to anyone in Hillsfar. Have the last encounter be a shadow dragon exiting through a portal that would bring them from the Shadowfell into Faerun.

Make the dragon insubstantial and weakened at first and over the course of the battle, remove these conditions and increase its physical damage to show the dragon becoming more substantial and part of Faerun and not the Shadowfell. Shadow creatures and a persistant damaging shadow aura that increases with strength as well would make the final encounter more interesting as well.

Alternatively, you could use the Eidolon I've been working on. I just don't have the Shadow Beast minions or the Avatar of Shadows done yet.

rpg-bestiary.wikidot.com/monster:the-eid...

You could also make the shadow creatures a third faction that uses a type of changelings to infiltrate both the Cyricists and the Banites. Would really make the pc's heads spin.
#3
DrKissinger1
Mar 29, 2010 11:16:52
Why did the Banites want to save Lord Nomerthal? I don't know what his connection is to them. As for the Thayan enclave... you could throw in some shadow-based creatures from the Shadowfell. A set of glyphs around the interior wall seals them in and are starting to fail unbeknownst to anyone in Hillsfar. Have the last encounter be a shadow dragon exiting through a portal that would bring them from the Shadowfell into Faerun.

Make the dragon insubstantial and weakened at first and over the course of the battle, remove these conditions and increase its physical damage to show the dragon becoming more substantial and part of Faerun and not the Shadowfell. Shadow creatures and a persistant damaging shadow aura that increases with strength as well would make the final encounter more interesting as well.

Alternatively, you could use the Eidolon I've been working on. I just don't have the Shadow Beast minions or the Avatar of Shadows done yet.

rpg-bestiary.wikidot.com/monster:the-eid...

You could also make the shadow creatures a third faction that uses a type of changelings to infiltrate both the Cyricists and the Banites. Would really make the pc's heads spin.

These are some fantastic ideas! Very much appreciated.

As for the Banites' connection to Lord Nomerthal, there is none. They just oppose Cyricist plots wherever they can find them, to keep their power in check in the Zhent civil war.
#4
feyberry
Mar 31, 2010 2:09:34 Have the Lord take the pc's into his confidence that he's a harper agent and working to pit the Banite and Cyricists against each other.
#5
calm
Mar 31, 2010 16:51:43 Introduce a mysterious person, perhaps a neutral (seemingly) party, taking advantage of various factions. Make it something a bit more powerful than the PCs at this level. Perhaps it requests their aid in retrieving a historical relic for it (purpose unknown) at the Enclave in exchange for info about certain Banite activities. Have this personage reveal a little more about itself to the party over a couple of levels, seemingly feeding them useful info, until the Banites or some other group make it worth the middleman's effort to sell out the party. They are attacked by some group and if they learn who sent them, take it back to their patron. Maybe there's a fight, or maybe the patron buys his/her way out of the situation with some vital info. If a fight, the PCs still get the vital info from the patron's belongings.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 DrKissinger1 Mar 28, 2010 21:53:07	Hey guys. The 4E Forgotten Realms campaign I'm running now is my first-ever DMing attempt, and I'm having a little writer's block for the next adventure. I do have an overall campaign arc imagined, and to save time, I'll just quote myself from an FR lore thread: "While I've been very happy with 4E overall, I absolutely reject the idea that evil fighting evil is uninteresting. On the contrary, I think it allows for a lot of nuance, intrigue, and moral dilemmas for player characters. Right now, I've had the (good-aligned) party approached by a cell of Banite Zhentarim in Hillsfar (their leader is the granddaughter of the Thayan ambassador to Hillsfar; I wanted to establish the connection between Bane and Thay early on, plus I do a badass Russian/Thayan accent). The Banites are willing to offer the party critical intelligence on Cyricist plans, as they cannot risk acting on their own out of fear of retaliation. This puts the party in a very awkward position. They have the intelligence and ability to thwart Cyricist operations in Hillsfar, but they would be acting both at the request and to the benefit of Banites. Do they refuse to help the Banites if refusal means allowing Cyricists to murder the First Lord of Hillsfar?" This all went as planned, and the party successfully rescued First Lord Nomerthal from the Cyricist assassins. The dungeon basically worked as a "home invasion invasion"; the party had to race against time to reach Nomerthal before the Cyricists. They learned along the way that the Cyricists were able to attack through a portal opened to Darkhold from the basement of Nomerthal Manor (presumably by a doppelganger spy). The party's attitudes towards the Banites have been mixed, which is fantastic. Some want to leave town and have nothing to do with them. Others think that if they can provide intelligence on how to foil evil plots, there's no reason to refuse to listen. Currently, they're staying at a luxury inn furnished by the Banites. They haven't promised any future service to Layla Vrass, the Banite leader, just yet, but they also haven't burned that bridge. They've also established contact with Lord Nomerthal after saving his life. I'm a bit undecided on what to throw at the party next (they're level 5, for point of reference). I envision things coming to a head and the party eventually turning against the Banites once they are powerful enough to do so (probably level 9-11, as a heroic-tier wrap-up). Up until then, I want them to go on more quests, either from the Banites, Lord Nomerthal, or even the Cyricists if the party is inclined to listen to them. Any quest from these groups should optimally have the objective of foiling one or both of the others. One idea I've been toying with is having the party explore the Thayan Enclave in Hillsfar (abandoned and sealed by the Red Wizards since Szass Tam's coup in Thay), since it would be a tempting location both for the party (lusting after the Wizards' treasure) and for the Banite leader (whose grandmother had been the Thayan ambassador to Hillsfar - perhaps disappearing under mysterious circumstances?). There's a great map of a Thayan Enclave in the 3.5E Lords of Darkness book that I can adapt, but I'm stumped on what to have the party encounter inside, both in terms of monsters and story elements. My first instinct is to go with undead, as the site has been abandoned for a century, and Szass Tam likely portaled his undead minions into the enclave to destroy any political enemies there. Does anyone have any neat ideas for traps, monsters, objectives, or puzzles inside the abandoned enclave? The dungeon will be interesting for what it reveals about Thayan history alone, but I also want there to be plot points relevant to the Zhentarim civil war. Ideas for traps would be particularly nice, since the party has not yet encountered any (partially because no one is trained in thievery or dungeoneering), and a sealed Red Wizard Enclave is not complete without them.
#2 feyberry Mar 28, 2010 23:15:24	Why did the Banites want to save Lord Nomerthal? I don't know what his connection is to them. As for the Thayan enclave... you could throw in some shadow-based creatures from the Shadowfell. A set of glyphs around the interior wall seals them in and are starting to fail unbeknownst to anyone in Hillsfar. Have the last encounter be a shadow dragon exiting through a portal that would bring them from the Shadowfell into Faerun. Make the dragon insubstantial and weakened at first and over the course of the battle, remove these conditions and increase its physical damage to show the dragon becoming more substantial and part of Faerun and not the Shadowfell. Shadow creatures and a persistant damaging shadow aura that increases with strength as well would make the final encounter more interesting as well. Alternatively, you could use the Eidolon I've been working on. I just don't have the Shadow Beast minions or the Avatar of Shadows done yet. rpg-bestiary.wikidot.com/monster:the-eid... You could also make the shadow creatures a third faction that uses a type of changelings to infiltrate both the Cyricists and the Banites. Would really make the pc's heads spin.
#3 DrKissinger1 Mar 29, 2010 11:16:52	Why did the Banites want to save Lord Nomerthal? I don't know what his connection is to them. As for the Thayan enclave... you could throw in some shadow-based creatures from the Shadowfell. A set of glyphs around the interior wall seals them in and are starting to fail unbeknownst to anyone in Hillsfar. Have the last encounter be a shadow dragon exiting through a portal that would bring them from the Shadowfell into Faerun. Make the dragon insubstantial and weakened at first and over the course of the battle, remove these conditions and increase its physical damage to show the dragon becoming more substantial and part of Faerun and not the Shadowfell. Shadow creatures and a persistant damaging shadow aura that increases with strength as well would make the final encounter more interesting as well. Alternatively, you could use the Eidolon I've been working on. I just don't have the Shadow Beast minions or the Avatar of Shadows done yet. rpg-bestiary.wikidot.com/monster:the-eid... You could also make the shadow creatures a third faction that uses a type of changelings to infiltrate both the Cyricists and the Banites. Would really make the pc's heads spin. These are some fantastic ideas! Very much appreciated. As for the Banites' connection to Lord Nomerthal, there is none. They just oppose Cyricist plots wherever they can find them, to keep their power in check in the Zhent civil war.
#4 feyberry Mar 31, 2010 2:09:34	Have the Lord take the pc's into his confidence that he's a harper agent and working to pit the Banite and Cyricists against each other.
#5 calm Mar 31, 2010 16:51:43	Introduce a mysterious person, perhaps a neutral (seemingly) party, taking advantage of various factions. Make it something a bit more powerful than the PCs at this level. Perhaps it requests their aid in retrieving a historical relic for it (purpose unknown) at the Enclave in exchange for info about certain Banite activities. Have this personage reveal a little more about itself to the party over a couple of levels, seemingly feeding them useful info, until the Banites or some other group make it worth the middleman's effort to sell out the party. They are attacked by some group and if they learn who sent them, take it back to their patron. Maybe there's a fight, or maybe the patron buys his/her way out of the situation with some vital info. If a fight, the PCs still get the vital info from the patron's belongings.