| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Delwa |
Posted - 11 Feb 2015 : 23:56:54
If you are one of my current PC's, get out now, or die a more horrible death than you could possibly read about in the following text.
I've been running a campaign for the past several months that I plan on ending with a bang several months from now. I've a few ideas bouncing around in my head, and I'm wondering if any of my fellow scribes would be willing to help me smooth some things out. The campaign link has my campaign journal, but it isn't organized to make sense to the general public. Feel free to browse, but the pertinent details are as follows:
Campaign as it stands: (Year To Be Determined)
Outside the Matrix
First off, the whole game (unbeknownst to most of the PC's, but some are getting suspicious) is taking place inside "The Matrix." It's all in the PC's heads. Every one of them is the mind slave of a small group of Illithids in a undecided location in the Realms. These Mind Flayers serve Maanzecorian, the illithid god of knowledge and secrets. This group of Illithids has a simple purpose; to find out if there might be some knowledge hidden at or near Zhentil Keep regarding some of Maanzecorian's divine essence that Orcus stole from him ages ago.
The experiment involves a theory on humanoid memory, that all sentient creatures hold within the deepest recesses of their mind, the collective memories of their ancestors. Highly evolved beings such as the Illithid call this a Hive Mind, and are enlightened enough to tap into it at will. Lesser, un-evolved beings like humans and elves, don't have this. The consequence of this is that human imagination is not real. Instead, when humans, elves, other "lesser" beings make believe things, they are only pasting together things in their race's subconscious past. Whether this theory is true or not, I'm willing to leave open, point is, it's lead to putting the PC's in a kind of stasis pod, modifying their memories so that they think the Matrix is real, and letting their own imaginings lead them.
Inside the Matrix:Current date 1 Tarsakh, 1490 DR
Those imaginings have lead them to Zhentil Keep.
In game, the PC's are following a drow Matron Mother's orders. They are serving her as fodder/spies to spy out the Ruins of Zhentil Keep, and help the matron establish a foothold there. The matron intends to eventually establish a surface kingdom, and hopes to use Zhentil Keep's ruins as a base, if she can wrest the former stronghold from the Zhents, who currently do not have a strong presence in the Keep after Shade razed the place.
The PC's are currently in Secomber, and plan to take the Black Road across the Anauroch to Zhentil Keep.
Relevant Past Lore In My Realms
Orcus was slain on the Prime Material in 1385 DR by PC's in one of my other campaigns. In the little more than a century since, the Prince of Undeath has climbed back up the Totem Pole and has attained Balor status. He is trying to collect artifacts and divine essences in order to become the mighty being he once was. The divine essence of Maanzecorian is one of his chief prizes. He needs it. The Mind Flayers intend to see to it that he doesn't get it, and instead wish to return the essence, if found, to their deity.
Additionally, one of the PC's died at low level and made a deal with Orcus in order to be returned to life. Essentially, the PC's agreed to do Orcus' bidding whenever the Demon asks in exchange for being returned to life. So far, all Orcus has asked has been an assassination or tomb desecration. (They just now reached level 5.) The party is under the assumption that because it was a deal with a demon - a being of chaos, and because there was no contract signed, that the forces of darkness cannot hold the barbarian if he should break contract. I'm willing to let them believe that and leave the truth of that assumption as a possibility. Wouldn't mind hearing thoughts there.
Finally, one of the PC's knows he's in the matrix. He's a gnome mage/warlock. His warlock pact is with Maanzecorian, but he has treacherous intent toward the illithid patron god. The deity knows this, but for now uses him as a pawn.
Here's my intent.
I intend to wrap up things "inside the Matrix" with the original Tomb of Horrors adventure. If the PC's are wiped out by the adventure, they will wake up in stasis pods inside a Mind Flayer complex and have to fight their way out to freedom. If they somehow succeed in overcoming the Demilich, then they will all instantly wake up inside the Illithid stasis chamber for the same ending.
I do intend to make the following tweaks to the lore to fit the module into the Realms, and incidentally, this is where I could use the most help.
I intend to make Acererak a former Netherese archmage, now demilich. His other history seems to fit that, and his ties to Orcus will fit in beautifully with the Illithid plot, both inside and outside the matrix.
Somehow, Orcus may have entrusted Maanzecorian's divine essence (or a clue to its location) with Acererak, and it is buried in his tomb. I want the PC's to find such a hints that such a clue is in the tomb (though they won't know it's "The Tomb of Horrors when they find clues leading to the tomb) when they reach an appropriate level and shuttle them off to the Tomb of Horrors after said clue.
I'm thinking of either placing the Tomb of Horrors deep in the catacombs beneath Zhentil Keep or relatively nearby. Perhaps to the South in the Vast Swamp, perhaps in the Anauroch. Any thoughts on placement would be welcome.
I'm also considering making Acereak's when-he-was-alive dwelling place somewhere near Zhentil Keep to tie it all together.
Any and all ideas are welcome. I'm particularly looking for ideas that will help me tweak things to make Acereak fit as a Netherese archmage, or blend his history into the region surrounding Zhentil Keep.
|
| 16 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Delwa |
Posted - 22 Apr 2015 : 02:59:14
Ok, I had a few more thoughts on this topic, more specifically regarding developing the area of Zhentil Keep and less focus on the Tomb of Horrors, and I wanted to bounce them around the grand tumbler that is this forum for refinement.
According to the FR Wiki, the Keep was leveled by the City of Shade.
Shade has since fallen, so the threat of repercussions if the Zhents try to reclaim their old stronghold is small.
I was thinking that in the wake of Shade's fall, having a NPC Shar worshiping Shadovar mage trying to take over the ruins for his own purposes would make for some interesting potential, given that one of the PC's is a priest of Mask, and last I read in the Godborn, Mask and Shar aren't bosom friends.
Add to that mix the current Zhent interest. Again, what little info on their current state there is, I've gleaned from their wiki article and playing the Neverwinter MMO. For this game, the Zhents want their City back, and maybe are willing to use brute force to take it back. Bandits, Shadovar, and Undead beware. I'm considering making the Zhents the dominant faction in the area, hired mercenaries and all helping them take over the Ruins little by little.
The Shade would of course be working subtly to undermine this, but his main goal is finding the Tomb.
I've got a PC who's basically gone all goody-two shoes on my "evil" party, and has managed to become a Harper friend, and is well on his way to earning the Harper's trust and becoming an agent. He could easily represent Those Who Harp's interests in the Ruins of Zhentil Keep and keep things lively. But he'll have to keep it on the down-low. If half the party found out he's allied with the Harpers, he'd be dead.
Anyway, of those factions, I was thinking the Shadovar mage might be seeking the Tomb of Horrors, thinking a clue to finding the divine essence of Maanzecorian (see original post under the "Outside the Matrix" heading) might lie within the tomb.
The Zhents would know the Shade is up to something, but they'd want to know what.
The PC's would have plenty of reasons to throw their finger into the pie. What reason they settle on, I don't usually bother predicting. I just set up the salad bar and let them go nuts.
Any thoughts, NPC ideas, other additions? How do you think the rest of the region would respond? What about those bandits the wiki mentions? Anyone have anything on them that I might add?
I have the Ruins of Zhentil Keep boxed set, any ideas from that box I may have not read or overlooked that you would pull into this scenario?
|
| Arian Dynas |
Posted - 18 Feb 2015 : 09:40:11
I thought ye might appreciate that little scrap ;) |
| Delwa |
Posted - 15 Feb 2015 : 22:43:54
quote:
Originally posted by Arian Dynas
I should be ashamed of myself. I'm running a campaign in the area and Shadowdale's history is lousy to the eyeteeth with them.
The area around Zhentil Keep and the Dalelands was known at the time as the Land Under Shadow and was ruled over by the Drow. So if you want your Netherese Acerak to have a tower in the area he would need to have contended with the drow. Though, perhaps he formed some sort of alliance with them? It would help tie it back to the Illithids (though I know not how specifically.)
I think I will stick with him as a cambion. It's not likely to come up in game much, I don't think, but if it does, that's what I'm going with. This campaign, my players' characters usually just ask two questions once they decide to go somewhere: "what are we hunting, and how do we kill it?" Not that the players aren't interested in the lore of the world, mind. Their characters just don't care about the villain's backstory unless it's relevant to overcoming the foe.
The Drow angle will make things fun. I'll have to tinker with that a bit. I don't want to tie the current day Drow together with the Drow Acereak dealt with, but I'm going to do something with it. It does tie back to the Illithids nicely. |
| Arian Dynas |
Posted - 13 Feb 2015 : 11:04:34
I should be ashamed of myself. I'm running a campaign in the area and Shadowdale's history is lousy to the eyeteeth with them.
The area around Zhentil Keep and the Dalelands was known at the time as the Land Under Shadow and was ruled over by the Drow. So if you want your Netherese Acerak to have a tower in the area he would need to have contended with the drow. Though, perhaps he formed some sort of alliance with them? It would help tie it back to the Illithids (though I know not how specifically.)
So there's my two coppers worth. An alliance with the drow and the Twisted tower, perhaps, and Acerak himself, a Cambion Netherese Archmagi, a respected researcher into the Lower Planes (seeing as Netheril was a Neutral society on the whole, with laws and the cultural specifics of each Enclave being at the whim of it's ruling Archmagus.) who either formed an alliance for reasons of his own with the Drow of the Dalelands, or something of that nature, perhaps his tower was the Twisted Tower of Ashaba.
As for names; here's a few anagrams I could come up with.
Karereca
Kraearec
Recaeark
Karcaere
Carkaere (SAR-kare?)
|
| Arian Dynas |
Posted - 13 Feb 2015 : 10:36:05
quote:
Originally posted by Delwa
Thanks for the reply, Mr. Krashos!
I've toyed around with changing Acereak's name, but I can't come up with something juicy, and I don't want to use a known Netherese archmage's name in place of it. The names in the Netheril boxed set aren't particularly realmsy, so it's something to stew on. I've got a few months until this dungeon comes into play, though. I just like to be prepared in advance.
Knowing my players like I do, they aren't familiar with ToH beyond the name Acereak and the demon head. They wouldn't recognize a map of the dungeon if I showed it to them. If I tweak those two details, I should be golden.
I do want to change the demon head. To what, I'm not sure yet. Maybe a portrayal of Orcus or something equally demonic, but just different enough from the original to make anyone suspicious that I'm running ToH start second guessing themselves. On the other hand, my players are a suspicious lot. Whether they know I'm running ToH or not, they aren't likely to mess with anything I put on the walls. I've scared them enough in the past they're very cautious. The only party member likely to even stick their arm in the hole is the party Kender, and the rest of the party likes her enough in character, they'd likely tackle her to the ground and insist she wait until the void has been thoroughly examined. Everyone else will likely keep a wide berth, just because.
As far as the gargoyle... I'm still toying with ideas, chief among them being re-skin the gargoyle and just use the same stats. I have the D&D Next Playtest conversion for ToH that was published in Dragon, and I'm running this game in 5E, so converting from older editions isn't going to be too difficult, but re-skinning is my preferred method of laziness. 
Well... if you really want some cachet and don't mind screwing with their perceptions a bit... you could call him Karsus, or Lauroch. :D
Though personally I would stick with him as a Cambion, being such would give him a reason for his researches into the Planes, in particular the lower ones. That and for a connection to Zhentil Keep and the Moonsea, well I'll go check my copy of Netheril, Empire of Magic and see what was there at the time.
|
| George Krashos |
Posted - 13 Feb 2015 : 03:55:34
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Oooh, but the REAL Kalaeral, the one in Ed's home campaign, isn't going to be all that happy. And she's too pretty to leave her sad, boys. Trust me. 
love,
THO
You really are naughty!
Now spill ...
-- George Krashos |
| Delwa |
Posted - 13 Feb 2015 : 00:32:42
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Oooh, but the REAL Kalaeral, the one in Ed's home campaign, isn't going to be all that happy. And she's too pretty to leave her sad, boys. Trust me.
love,
THO
Now that has made my curiosity soar through the roof! I would be forever in your debt, dear lady, if you told me more. |
| The Hooded One |
Posted - 13 Feb 2015 : 00:26:21
Oooh, but the REAL Kalaeral, the one in Ed's home campaign, isn't going to be all that happy. And she's too pretty to leave her sad, boys. Trust me.
love,
THO |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 13 Feb 2015 : 00:21:50
quote:
Originally posted by Delwa
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Delwa
Thanks for the reply, Mr. Crashos!
I've toyed around with changing Acereak's name, but I can't come up with something juicy, and I don't want to use a known Netherese archmage's name in place of it.
Reverse it and tweak it a bit. Instead of Acererak, make it Kerelys, or Kelerys, or Kalaeral...
Wooly, sometimes I over-complicate things so much, I need a good slap.  I've tried running Acereak through an Anagram calculator and even tried making letter substitutions on the A=Z variety, but that's the one thing I hadn't tried yet. Kalaeral works beautifully. Bless you.
Glad it works for you! 
Simple solutions are sometimes the best. |
| Delwa |
Posted - 12 Feb 2015 : 23:46:54
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Delwa
Thanks for the reply, Mr. Crashos!
I've toyed around with changing Acereak's name, but I can't come up with something juicy, and I don't want to use a known Netherese archmage's name in place of it.
Reverse it and tweak it a bit. Instead of Acererak, make it Kerelys, or Kelerys, or Kalaeral...
Wooly, sometimes I over-complicate things so much, I need a good slap. I've tried running Acereak through an Anagram calculator and even tried making letter substitutions on the A=Z variety, but that's the one thing I hadn't tried yet. Kalaeral works beautifully. Bless you. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 12 Feb 2015 : 23:41:29
quote:
Originally posted by Delwa
Thanks for the reply, Mr. Crashos!
I've toyed around with changing Acereak's name, but I can't come up with something juicy, and I don't want to use a known Netherese archmage's name in place of it.
Reverse it and tweak it a bit. Instead of Acererak, make it Kerelys, or Kelerys, or Kalaeral... |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 12 Feb 2015 : 23:41:28
quote:
Originally posted by Delwa
Thanks for the reply, Mr. Crashos!
I've toyed around with changing Acereak's name, but I can't come up with something juicy, and I don't want to use a known Netherese archmage's name in place of it.
Reverse it and tweak it a bit. Instead of Acererak, make it Kerelys, or Kelerys, or Kalaeral... |
| Delwa |
Posted - 12 Feb 2015 : 23:27:48
Thanks for the reply, Mr. Krashos!
I've toyed around with changing Acereak's name, but I can't come up with something juicy, and I don't want to use a known Netherese archmage's name in place of it. The names in the Netheril boxed set aren't particularly realmsy, so it's something to stew on. I've got a few months until this dungeon comes into play, though. I just like to be prepared in advance.
Knowing my players like I do, they aren't familiar with ToH beyond the name Acereak and the demon head. They wouldn't recognize a map of the dungeon if I showed it to them. If I tweak those two details, I should be golden.
I do want to change the demon head. To what, I'm not sure yet. Maybe a portrayal of Orcus or something equally demonic, but just different enough from the original to make anyone suspicious that I'm running ToH start second guessing themselves. On the other hand, my players are a suspicious lot. Whether they know I'm running ToH or not, they aren't likely to mess with anything I put on the walls. I've scared them enough in the past they're very cautious. The only party member likely to even stick their arm in the hole is the party Kender, and the rest of the party likes her enough in character, they'd likely tackle her to the ground and insist she wait until the void has been thoroughly examined. Everyone else will likely keep a wide berth, just because.
As far as the gargoyle... I'm still toying with ideas, chief among them being re-skin the gargoyle and just use the same stats. I have the D&D Next Playtest conversion for ToH that was published in Dragon, and I'm running this game in 5E, so converting from older editions isn't going to be too difficult, but re-skinning is my preferred method of laziness. |
| George Krashos |
Posted - 12 Feb 2015 : 22:44:07
Just because he was a cambion in GH lore doesn't mean that he has to be one in the Realms. In fact, I'd change his name wholly because otherwise your players will meta-game and realise you are going to be running Tomb of Horrors. Change every background detail bar the dungeon (and change some of that too in terms of the cosmetic 'look' - i.e. the 'demon' head containing a sphere of annihilation should look like something different, the 4-armed gargoyle could be a hunefer, etc). The last thing you want is for your players to twig that you are running the Tomb of Horrors.
-- George Krashos |
| Delwa |
Posted - 12 Feb 2015 : 14:03:53
Thanks for pointing out that he was a Cambion. That had skipped my mind.
This could explain some things, though.
I do need to clarify, I don't intend for Acerak to have any part in the founding of Zhentil Keep. Just that perhaps he had a tower or something there. Basically, Zhentil Keep is built on the geographic place where he used to live. Maybe he lived there because his cambion status made him ostracized and feared by fellow mages? Would that really fit?
I do think the original adventure gives several possible locations for the Tomb. I'm away from books at the moment.
Even if Acerak built his tomb in Anauroch and lived elsewhere, it could still work... decisions...
Thanks for the feedback! Keep it coming, I'm open to ideas.
|
| Arian Dynas |
Posted - 12 Feb 2015 : 03:16:41
Well for one I would stick the Tomb in the Anarouch for three reasons.
1. It's the most logical place for a Netherese archmage to be buried being that it's the site of Netheril (Perhaps it was made post Karsus' Folly? Or perhaps much of the tomb was part of Acerak's own enclave, which was buried under the sands by the impact and retrofitted? 'Twould be a fine way to "hide" that it's the Tomb of Horros by setting up the expectation of a Netherese city. Perhaps Acerak decided that as his country had died, he, a corpse would reside in the ashes.)
2. The Tomb itself is established in the original adventure as being in a desert.
3. Zhentil Keep is far too recent a development for Acerak to truly be involved.
A few things to keep in mind however; originally Acerak was a Cambion (I suppose that would make him a tiefling in 3rd and now a cambion again in 5th.) so that may have changed how the Netherese viewed him. Acerak could possibly be post Netherese and decided there was a poetic significance to hiding a midst the bones of the great empire. Either that or perhaps his peers looked upon him strangely, being the spawn of a demon, but, well as I recall, raw power and the ability to shear the tops off of mountains was all that was required for membership among the archmagi of Netheril. Likely he would have been a fine resource for his fellows concerning the Outer Planes.
To tie it back to Zhentil keep like you want however, it would be wiser perhaps to have the tomb contain a method for finding Maanzecorian's essence rather than the actual object itself; perhaps there's a portal underneath Zhentil Keep that can only be unlocked with some of Orcus' essence (a trip to the Bloodstone lands for a trimming of the White tree anyone? :D ) leading to Abyssal vault? Perhaps the portal and the vault were designed originally by Acerak and given a vile fruition by Orcus' foul hand? |
|
|
