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Kno
Senior Scribe
452 Posts |
 Posted - 17 Apr 2010 : 10:44:15
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I'm really interested in how did they end, what did the big bad evil guy at the end want, blow up the realm, conquer the world, save the universe and so forth. I'm looking for high level ideas.
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z455t |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 17 Apr 2010 : 11:10:35
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| Quite honestly most of my high level campaigns ended with arguing in-laws, discussions about business with authorities, arguing with Khelben over being watched by his agents, characters trying to run an inn, characters going "back to nature" or deciding to form an (armed) utopia or generally trying to keep their kids in line. I cant remmember there having been a major "bad guy" that had to be defeated in the end of the players career. There has been more or less wars with the Zentarim and Fzoul that bound several groups/campaigns together, but they never defeated them and cleansed Zenthil Keep exactly. I seem to remmember the oldest characters left for Zakhara in the end to get away from assassins and scheming mages sent after them and ended up in some major trouble with a werefox and her charms instead. |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3240 Posts |
Posted - 17 Apr 2010 : 16:49:02
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Two of the campaigns that stand out:
Destroyed a god that was destroying the world. This led to the world being reborn and our characters returning home (which, in some cases meant back to other worlds).
The other, we found the key of time and re-established the gnomish god of time to Faerûn in order to save Elminster, Larloch, The Simbul, Szass Tam and every other major caster of the Realms in order to prevent the destruction of Abeir-Toril. (This was in 2002, lol). |
I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.
Ashe's Character Sheet
Alphabetized Index of Realms NPCs |
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Doc Filth
Seeker
55 Posts |
Posted - 18 Apr 2010 : 12:21:32
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| The last one I ran that actually finished (quite a while back now...) ended with a Wild Mage PC becoming the god of Wild Magic, and involved lots of runniing round Waterdeep, Undermountain, the back end of the Western Heartlands and Cormyr. The absolute highpoint was the total mess the PCs made of Darhold... |
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Kno
Senior Scribe
452 Posts |
Posted - 18 Apr 2010 : 12:40:33
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quote:
Originally posted by Doc Filth
The last one I ran that actually finished (quite a while back now...) ended with a Wild Mage PC becoming the god of Wild Magic, and involved lots of runniing round Waterdeep, Undermountain, the back end of the Western Heartlands and Cormyr. The absolute highpoint was the total mess the PCs made of Darhold...
I too had a god of magic involved
The PC's had two major foes, a monastic cult of Arkaiun-descended mageslayers, exceptional for their resistance to spells. They've grown mutated laraken larvae for food. They had limited skill in weakening the Weave in small areas. The other group used them for the assault on Mt. Talath temple in Halruaa. Once the place was occupied this undead scalefolk cabal tried a ritual where they merged a huge number of magic elementals into an aspect of Mystra. The avatar would possess reptilian traits just as they remembered from the age of Mhairshaulk. The cabal believed in the cyclical nature of history and they wanted to start the process of making the World Serpent whole again. The avatar was the first step in making the connections because it was Weave-like.
quote:
Originally posted by Jorkens
Quite honestly most of my high level campaigns ended with arguing in-laws, discussions about business with authorities, arguing with Khelben over being watched by his agents, characters trying to run an inn, characters going "back to nature" or deciding to form an (armed) utopia or generally trying to keep their kids in line. I cant remmember there having been a major "bad guy" that had to be defeated in the end of the players career. There has been more or less wars with the Zentarim and Fzoul that bound several groups/campaigns together, but they never defeated them and cleansed Zenthil Keep exactly. I seem to remmember the oldest characters left for Zakhara in the end to get away from assassins and scheming mages sent after them and ended up in some major trouble with a werefox and her charms instead.
That's interesting about the utopia, where they wanted to establish it and what was it supposed to be like?
I had a group running an inn (and a criminal guild below) but they were unimaginative when doing business.
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
Two of the campaigns that stand out:
Destroyed a god that was destroying the world. This led to the world being reborn and our characters returning home (which, in some cases meant back to other worlds).
And, who was this god, how it was destroying the world and why?
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z455t |
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Cleric Generic
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
565 Posts |
Posted - 18 Apr 2010 : 14:27:23
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I've had a Far Realm pseudo-god in orbit around Toril spawning cults, near zombiepocalypses and generally raising hell in an attempt to find it's lost mate that was imprisoned by the Netherese. The PCs, at various points, infiltrated the cult, went feral in the Nether Mountains, got lost in Undermountain and were trapped in Waterdeep during the zobbiepocalypse. In the end, after battling a major avatar of the pseudo-god, the PCs released the trapped mate through the medium of a summoned celestial monkey...
In my current game, I've got Gargauth releasing custom made evil artefacts into the hands of mortals and using them to manipulate various factions into bringing Faerun to it's knees in a vaguely 3rd age Sauron sort of fashion. His aim is to win back the favour of Asmodeus and be allowed back to hell, preferably taking a sizeable wodge of Toril with him. The PCs, in this case, are the reincarnations of ancient heroes who last defeated Gargauth, and have been manipulated since birth by the Harpers.
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Cedric! The Cleric Generic and Master of Disguise!
ALL HAIL LORD KARSUS!!!
Vast Realmslore Archive: Get in here and download everything! http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/archfr/rl
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wintermute27
Learned Scribe
USA
179 Posts |
Posted - 18 Apr 2010 : 15:58:41
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While not 100% original, the last long campaign I ran was a combination of two adventure modules, heavily modified and run back to back. To give a little back story for this one, the PCs had just finished running through Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave, adapted to take place in Thesk. At the end, while attempting to escape from the Plane of Shadow, Shar snatched them up and they were dumped in an inn several months later, with no memories about where they were or what had happened after they were taken. They were also marked with mysterious Azure Bonds.
Unfortunately, we never finished the game because I ended up moving back to NC. The players in the game were curious about what was going on in the campaign (they had managed to clear two of the marks without having any idea what they were or how they worked) so I "un-locked" the GM only sections of the wiki for them to look at. While the campaign was based on the 2nd edition adventure module The Curse of the Azure Bonds, I did make several changes to turn it into my own story.
My current campaign, The Adventures of the Stonelanders, is the first completely original campaign story I've run since I started GMing about 3 years ago. Since I'm not sure if any of my players come here, I can't really say much about the overlying plot right now. |
My Current Campaign: The Adventures of the Stonelanders |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 18 Apr 2010 : 18:21:05
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quote:
Originally posted by Kno
quote:
Originally posted by Jorkens
Quite honestly most of my high level campaigns ended with arguing in-laws, discussions about business with authorities, arguing with Khelben over being watched by his agents, characters trying to run an inn, characters going "back to nature" or deciding to form an (armed) utopia or generally trying to keep their kids in line. I cant remmember there having been a major "bad guy" that had to be defeated in the end of the players career. There has been more or less wars with the Zentarim and Fzoul that bound several groups/campaigns together, but they never defeated them and cleansed Zenthil Keep exactly. I seem to remmember the oldest characters left for Zakhara in the end to get away from assassins and scheming mages sent after them and ended up in some major trouble with a werefox and her charms instead.
That's interesting about the utopia, where they wanted to establish it and what was it supposed to be like?
I had a group running an inn (and a criminal guild below) but they were unimaginative when doing business.
Well, I don't think they ever planned it that much out. Just an idea of a place where all races were welcomed, they could rule themselves and not be bothered by suspicious Harpers or greedy Zenth's. Its been over ten years since that campaign(or maybe nearer to fifteen), so things are a bit blurred. I think it was in the Lurkwood area. The whole thing ended up in several diplomatic roundabouts between players, with local Voadkyn and a drawn-out custody case involving a couple of assassins. Don't ask.
There were some ideas for a thieves guilt in Waterdeep, but the thief didn't trust his followers at all and after a while the main thief left Waterdeep (leaving an extremely expensive flesh golem made to guard his treasures in the inn) for Arabel and confrontations with the Night Parade. I seem to rememberer him getting a Lordship in Cormyr through that, but things are a bit unclear by now. |
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dragonfriend
Seeker
Italy
65 Posts |
Posted - 18 Apr 2010 : 23:32:16
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In my first long Realms Campaign the evil guy was Cyric. He wanted to prevent the return of Bane (2nd edition game). It ended with bane back to the dead, Cyric happy and one of the PC becamed a new lesser god. Willy, god of adventure, planar travel and "good thieves". He now lives under the realm of Brightwater :)
After that adventure the evil guy was the Banelich under Zhentil Keep. But the party ended with the group wizard turned evil. He killed the group paldin, his wife and the baby. The campaign ended. Too sad.
Last adventure was Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil. The bad guy was IMIX :) what a battle! |
Edited by - dragonfriend on 18 Apr 2010 23:35:49 |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3240 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2010 : 04:43:22
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quote:
Originally posted by Kno
And, who was this god, how it was destroying the world and why?
Wow... it's been almost 10 years since we wrapped up that campaign. I can't remember his name, but I can give you some more details.
Basically, our characters were 'transported' to the world by the last of two gods in order to save it. We had a lot of dream-messages about freeing these 'powers' (kinda like demi-gods) in order to find the key to open the cell that was holding the god that brought us there. (She had been trapped by the other god who was trying to destroy the world to remake it in his image, i.e. evil.)
Some fun things that happened. We ran into a tarrasque near the end of the campaign (signaling the end was nigh), but managed to distract it and run away thanks to the druid casting insect swarm (the old 2E version where it prevented the target from doing anything...).
This was the campaign that launched Ashe as well and, back then, he wasn't the brightest of the group. To take into account that sometimes I think up stuff that my character might not, I got in the habit of making Int checks to see if he would have thought of what I thought of. Anyway, we have the key, get to the portal that has the 'good' god trapped behind it and a though occured to me (and, since he made the check, Ashe too) that maybe, just maybe the evil god was behind the portal and we've been duped all along. At the time, the whole party wasn't at the game (we had some scheduling difficulties), so only two other players were there. They took my advice under consideration, but didn't think I was right, so we opened the door.
And let the big bad evil god out that was waiting there for us so he could destroy the world.
It should be noted that the DM is my best friend and he later told me that he both almost had an aneurysm and killed me at that moment (especially since the campaign had been a weekly game running for two years by then). |
I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.
Ashe's Character Sheet
Alphabetized Index of Realms NPCs |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36784 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2010 : 05:00:53
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quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
To take into account that sometimes I think up stuff that my character might not, I got in the habit of making Int checks to see if he would have thought of what I thought of.
I did that a lot with my minotaur, back in 2E.  |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3240 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2010 : 05:39:46
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
To take into account that sometimes I think up stuff that my character might not, I got in the habit of making Int checks to see if he would have thought of what I thought of.
I did that a lot with my minotaur, back in 2E.
Heck, I still do it today with my Half-orc Barbarian. |
I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.
Ashe's Character Sheet
Alphabetized Index of Realms NPCs |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2010 : 05:42:10
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
To take into account that sometimes I think up stuff that my character might not, I got in the habit of making Int checks to see if he would have thought of what I thought of.
I did that a lot with my minotaur, back in 2E.
And I as well. In fact, 'twas a habit that I maintained for so long, that it practically became an unofficial rule that was added to my games. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3240 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2010 : 05:43:14
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"Great minds drink alike."
Or was that think? I can never remember.  |
I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.
Ashe's Character Sheet
Alphabetized Index of Realms NPCs |
Edited by - Ashe Ravenheart on 19 Apr 2010 05:43:31 |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2010 : 13:33:20
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Sadly, none of them made it to the end  |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Cleric Generic
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
565 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2010 : 13:51:19
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quote:
Originally posted by Alisttair
Sadly, none of them made it to the end
Yeah, unfortunately this tends to be fairly common. It's really hard to get a group that can meet on a weekly basis for over a year, even if the DM doesn't burn out well before that. The longest weekly game I've played in was just over nine months, and that one nearly hospitalised the DM.  |
Cedric! The Cleric Generic and Master of Disguise!
ALL HAIL LORD KARSUS!!!
Vast Realmslore Archive: Get in here and download everything! http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/archfr/rl
2e Realms book PDFs; grab em! - http://poleandrope.blogspot.com/2010/07/working-around-purge.html |
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1073 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2010 : 09:27:07
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I have had one over-arching plot over the last 22/23 years of playing in the Realms. Someone let Loki into the Realms to cause all sort of mischief and chaos, and finally after those 20 odd years and 3 major campaigns within the larger ongoing campaign, the players have finally pieced together the clues and figured out Loki is an interloper and active in the Realms. What they don't know is that someone let him into the Realms, so am sure in another 20 years that secret might get uncovered (then they have to figure out why! ).
I found having one catalyst for lots of the main campaign issues makes things clearer and easier as a DM as I can hang lots of hooks onto the same point of origin even though most of them seems obtuse and obscured and unattached when the PC's blunder in and 'fix them'
The look on the players faces when they (very recently) discovered the proof was brilliant, as they realised all those other little things they had previously found out but didn't make sense, now made sense. It got them reminiscing about previous characters and events and campaigns and how what they did 'back then' has effected the current game. Of course they now want to go and find the mischievious Loki and kick him back to Asgard and out of the Realms, which is an epic quest (in the truest meaning of the word) of its own.
Cheers
Damian
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So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005 |
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Quale
Master of Realmslore
1757 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2010 : 11:43:24
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Once, I had the ''save the multiverse'' plot, and it was a sidequest. One of the pcs was the Master of the Spirit of the Transcendent Order (Planescape) nearly ascending and becoming one with the planes and the Cadence. Secretly the pc was possessed by a baernaloth (long story, this progenitor of pure evil was like a virus, but composed of spiritstuff, small and undetectable, hooked on the pc's chakras). The villain wanted upon the Cipher's ascension to gain access to whatever is behind the planes (Balance) and to rewrite the reality where the most pure evil in the current version of the multiverse becomes neutrality or the new standard. Eventually the pc had die, but that didn't quite work, then to get rid of his spine at the mercy of Lovecratian swarm creatures.
And I had a nuts time-travel campaign that was epic, and some others.
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Darkmeer
Senior Scribe
USA
505 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2010 : 16:17:58
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I, personally, loved Moander. The long-running plot of the previous Realms game I ran in the dalelands and the mountains southeast of Anauroch was dealing with someone who brought Moander back through a foul ritural.
Initially, I used an adventure from Dungeon where the PC's were investigating a kidnapping of a Lord's daughter, and, unbeknownst to the PC's she was aiding the cult. She bore the son of the cult leader, through which it was later found out to have been very indecent indeed (they were related). This, along with a nightlong ritual, that the PC's crashed, brought the child into the world AND brought the remaining vestiges of Moander's power into the child.
This brought the PC's a devil's choice, either slay the baby, or let it live and try to purify it. Well... the Drow of the party did the talking, and sacrificed the baby. To which both the mother and the cult leader vowed revenge, with the cult leader snatching the child and running, but not before setting off a rockfall trap to cover his escape. This left the Mother and the PC's together.
The mother feigned ignorance, which the PC's believed (I still don't know how I managed to choke down my smirk at this). So, with the mother's 'help' the PC's begin chasing down the cult leader. This all comes to a head when the PC's begin to find real clues, and then actually find the location.
The cult had been divided into 2 factions: One following the main leader, and one following the mother. The mother sicked some harpies and ogres on the PC's while she tried to capture the cult leader and get the corpse of the child back. The PC's catch up to her, slay her, and begin the trek into the mountains to get the cult's only remaining leader.
The cult leader had done the most despicable thing, created a rotting man flesh golem (sized HUGE) for the vessel, using the child's spirit as the host for the Golem, which brought Moander's essence back. The golem, thus transformed into a "living golem" (from savage species) had, essentially, the same game statistics as a Formorian Giant. The fight was hard, and the cult leader was killed outright rather quickly. Without the cult leader to focus the faith, the golem went berserk, slaying everything in its path, including the "babykiller" drow from the beginning of the arc, a DMPC Psion, and nearly killing the other PC's before they took it down.
The PC's are unknown heroes at this point, as they prevented the cult's rise at that point, but made a heck of a contribution to the unsung heroes of the Realms (they had no bard).
If I recall the party was:
Avariel Wizard/Fighter/Bladesinger, Drow Rogue/Fighter, Ghostwise Halfling Fighter/Rogue, Human Psion, Human Druid/Ranger, and a troll Paladin.
The Drow was replaced later with a Drow Wizard, and the Psion with a Human female cleric. The troll wandered away, and was never heard from again. |
"These people are my family, not just friends, and if you want to get to them you gotta go through ME." |
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Alystra Illianniis
Great Reader
USA
3750 Posts |
Posted - 21 Apr 2010 : 06:11:17
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LOL!! Great campaign! Mine usually starts in one of two ways, but always in the same city. The first hook is the party gets mistakenly drugged and ends up in a self-contained, pocket-dimention village simply called "the Community", which apperently is the retirement/getaway home for the spy networks of various nations when they need their agents to "disappear" permanently. It also appears to have no way out- once you're there, "no one leaves the Community..." (My hubby has played through this often enough that he now HATES those words.) Getting out is the hard part, and leads into the main campaign of finding out who sent them there and why, which naturally leads into othr adventures.
The second starter quest is a bit more hack-n-slash. Caravans from the starting city have been disappearing on the trade route to the nearby dwarven kingdom, and dwarves are suspected of raiding them, due to clues left behind. when the pc's get to the dwarf land, they claim that humans have been raiding THEIR caravans, and both sides are threatening war. The truth is a bunch of duergar have set up camp in a cavern complex near the trade route, and are stealing from both sides, and making it look like the other side was involved in order to start a war and weaken the dwarven kingdom for their own planned war. After that, it branches off into other areas and adventures. Some of them from both start points have included- a group of nixies whose children have gone missing in their lake through some strange portal, leading into a water-filled tomb of an ancient Phaeroh's mistress who was a priestess of Bast to rescue the nixies, then getting cursed with cat-allergy/attraction by Bast for desecrating (stealing from) her shrine in the tomb, then having to go on a quest to rescue a captive cat-lord from an evil wizard doing experiments to attone for the desecration; an arquebus-smuggling ring bringing gnomish weapons into a conflict between an elven nation and the agressively expansionist human lands next-door, leading into rescuing a lone drow (my bard) who is beset by orcs, only to discover later while he travels with the party that he is being hunted by his half-sister, and having a run-in with the expanding human nation's de-facto ruler, a vampire who is immune to sunlight, fire, and most other known weaknesses, and his death knight henchmen; inheriting a haunted mansion as a quest reward (for uncovering the duergar plot) and getting a pc possessed by one of the spirits, angering a druid with a decidedly nasty agenda, and his cougar companion and goblin minions, and being recruited by a peculiar young CG red dragon to slay his mother who is starting a cult of Tiamat in the mountains. And did I mention the frequent appearances by the resident god of mischief? Yup, I get some really weird campaign ideas....
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The Goddess is alive, and magic is afoot.
"Where Science ends, Magic begins" -Spiral, Uncanny X-Men #491
"You idiots! You've captured their STUNT doubles!" -Spaceballs
Lothir's character background/stats: http://forum.candlekeep.com/pop_profile.asp?mode=display&id=5469
My stories:
http://z3.invisionfree.com/Mickeys_Comic_Tavern/index.php?showforum=188
Lothir, courtesy of Sylinde (Deviant Art)/Luaxena (Chosen of Eilistraee)
http://sylinde.deviantart.com/#/d2z6e4u |
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Kno
Senior Scribe
452 Posts |
Posted - 23 Apr 2010 : 21:14:38
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| Thanks for the ideas, Loki being in the Realms is tempting, wondering about his possible relations with Cyric, Mask, Tyr and Kezef. Darkmeer, Moander is fun, already had him in the Azure Bonds plot that ended badly (forest fires). Alystra, particularly like your idea about an arquebus-smuggling ring, with evil gnomes, reminds me that old video game (starts with A ?). |
z455t |
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Basil the Geek
Acolyte
USA
16 Posts |
Posted - 02 May 2010 : 20:10:18
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I just wrapped up a near two year campaign where the players were all inhabitants of a virtual Faerunian history built upon the collective denial of few million Netherese survivors of the destruction of Ioullaum’s enclave Xinlanal.
The citizenry had escaped the diaspora by attempting to create a new material plane in which the reality allowed Karsus to succeed only that the grand spell was sabotaged instead incorporating their collective psyches within a sentient Mythallar forming a god like psychic gestalt living in a virtual reality of its own liking.
Only the Mythallar and a few participants in the ritual knew the truth, but only for an instant as they exploded into a million crystal shards scattered around the globe and into the multiverse as the weave came apart and reintegrated under new metaphysical laws.
These shards are each a trans-dimensional psychic fractal of the collective and its only remaining material form in the Forgotten Realms. They are sought after for their unique psychic properties frequently used as improved Psi Crystals.(They are also gateways into and out of the collective)
The players enter the game over a thousand years later unaware of this history as in this reality the diaspora never happened, the Netherese succeeded in altering realty effectively catapulting Karsus into godhood. The problem is that this isn’t real, someone/thing desires to keep everyone fat dumb and happy and is willing to manipulate, coerce, alter memories, even rewrite ones psyche (somewhat worse than being simply dead) to maintain this façade.
Yes I know, the concept has been done hard since the Wachowski’s brought it mainstream but it worked and the players expressions epic when they all realized I successfully hoodwinked them. Expressions soon changed to horror and despair upon realizing many of the philosophic concepts and why the sabotage but they persevered and eventually escaped to the real Realms late during the Time of Troubles there casting abilities retarded, magic items malfunctioning and old mentalities out of whack with the rest of the world.
But, the collective doesn’t truly ever let you go as the party was continually harassed by “agents” attempting to bring them all back. The players eventually returned to finish the issue once and for all.
The potential results at the end are…
A: The original spell is completed; a new alternate reality explodes into being with one player getting to utter the “I am Tetsuo” line and the survivors starting a new pantheon.
B: The original Saboteur wins out, becomes the overgod and does as he pleases too the surviving party members now possibly ascendant beings in his reality.
C: The collective collapses in on itself into a singularity, a permanently locked away purgatory for its inhabitants.
D: Nothing changes
E: The collective explodes, tossing its inhabitants now reincarnated into a unique new race, scattered randomly across the multiverse. (The end the players blundered into)
The campaign had a sort of “Matrix” meets “Logan Run” then “Blast from the Past”, “Radioactive Dreams”, “Mad Max” once they translated over to the Realms, and finally an insane Akira, I can’t handle becoming god, everything is blowing up, sort of feel to it.
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Quale
Master of Realmslore
1757 Posts |
Posted - 04 May 2010 : 11:21:06
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| your campaign is like Jack Vance's story about villagers looking through parts of a broken demiurge into paradise (overworld) and refusing reality |
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Tyranthraxus
Senior Scribe
Netherlands
423 Posts |
Posted - 04 May 2010 : 14:14:52
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The longest campaign I ran was Ruins of Adventures, or the Phlan campaign as the players called it and it took about a year to complete. I threw in alot of side-treks and there was alot of roleplaying and intrigue. The halfling cleric and half-drow rogue of the group joined Tyranthraxus during their adventures in the city but turned against him working as double agents for Cadorna. When the party found out about Cadorna's plans they were shocked and they went to the castle to confront Tyranthaxus and kill Cadorna as well (but they never found him).
After that some characters were replaced who had died in the final showdown with big T and we started Curse of the Azure Bonds. Unfortunatly the party was wiped out by the dracolich beneath Haptooth Hill.
The players created new characters and we did a few adventures in the Dalelands where they finally ended up in the Underdark and got captured. When they woke up they had strange azure bonds (again  ) and we continued were the previous campaign ended and this time they defeated the dracolich and killed the red wizard who was ruling Hap and started to build a keep where his tower once stood. One by one they removed the bonds and I replaced the last part of Curse of the Azure Bonds with Pool of Radiance - Attack on Myth Drannor and added a bond of the Cult of Dragons. When they finally defeated Tyranthraxus (this time possessing a red dracolich) they went to Cormyr.
I ran Cormyr - Tearing of the Weave as written followed by Shadowdale - Scouring of the Lands but the party's military campaign failed and their castle in Hap was captured by the Zhents and the whole party died in a fight with a skeleton dragon (they HATE undead dragons now). This all took about 3-4 years of playing. |
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Basil the Geek
Acolyte
USA
16 Posts |
Posted - 04 May 2010 : 18:43:09
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quote:
Originally posted by Quale
your campaign is like Jack Vance's story about villagers looking through parts of a broken demiurge into paradise (overworld) and refusing reality
Now this is an example of why I love the internet. I’m currently going through a cantankerous and indecisive “can’t decide what book to read” period and you’ve provided me with one that’s now grabbed my interest.
My influences for this game came from having watched Dark Star, Wizards and Zardoz the night before a USC science fiction writer’s convention back around 77 where I got to corner Ray Bradbury for an hour alone during lunch. I saw him again in 2000 at Dragon Con where he seemed ancient and tired but remembered me which was cool. I hope he’s doing well.
Almost forgot, there's a little "Demon with a Glass Hand" in it too.
Many thanks Quale!
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Edited by - Basil the Geek on 04 May 2010 22:17:18 |
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Alystra Illianniis
Great Reader
USA
3750 Posts |
Posted - 04 May 2010 : 21:28:18
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quote:
Originally posted by Kno
Thanks for the ideas, Loki being in the Realms is tempting, wondering about his possible relations with Cyric, Mask, Tyr and Kezef. Darkmeer, Moander is fun, already had him in the Azure Bonds plot that ended badly (forest fires). Alystra, particularly like your idea about an arquebus-smuggling ring, with evil gnomes, reminds me that old video game (starts with A ?).
Thanks. Glad to provide some ideas, though the smuggling ring was actually run by Spelljammin Arcanes, not gnomes. The gnomes had BUILT the arquebuses, but the weapons were being stolen and then sold on a black market half'way across the world. |
The Goddess is alive, and magic is afoot.
"Where Science ends, Magic begins" -Spiral, Uncanny X-Men #491
"You idiots! You've captured their STUNT doubles!" -Spaceballs
Lothir's character background/stats: http://forum.candlekeep.com/pop_profile.asp?mode=display&id=5469
My stories:
http://z3.invisionfree.com/Mickeys_Comic_Tavern/index.php?showforum=188
Lothir, courtesy of Sylinde (Deviant Art)/Luaxena (Chosen of Eilistraee)
http://sylinde.deviantart.com/#/d2z6e4u |
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Kno
Senior Scribe
452 Posts |
Posted - 04 May 2010 : 22:17:37
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The arcanes, even better, they are a mystery inspiring creatures, and poor gnomes never getting the recognition they deserve, as it should be.
I see that the Azure Bonds plot is quite popular. Basil, I tried the Matrix in the Realms too. PC's entered a portal into the Astral Plane. It was like the construct program from the movie, a part of Jhaamdathan army drilling program long abandoned, evolved on its own. Took them awhile to realize that the size of their muscles is irrelevant in this place.
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z455t |
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Quale
Master of Realmslore
1757 Posts |
Posted - 05 May 2010 : 07:58:03
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quote:
Originally posted by Basil the Geek
My influences for this game came from having watched Dark Star, Wizards and Zardoz the night before a USC science fiction writer’s convention back around 77 where I got to corner Ray Bradbury for an hour alone during lunch. I saw him again in 2000 at Dragon Con where he seemed ancient and tired but remembered me which was cool. I hope he’s doing well.
Almost forgot, there's a little "Demon with a Glass Hand" in it too.
Many thanks Quale!
you can't miss with the Dying Earth, it's one of my favorites ever
I did play with the concepts of illusory reality, only that Shar and Selune were aspects of Maya from the eastern religions. |
Edited by - Quale on 05 May 2010 07:59:23 |
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Quale
Master of Realmslore
1757 Posts |
Posted - 05 May 2010 : 08:15:10
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Here's some of the higher level plots from nearly ten years of play, written as short as possible, lot of noncanon elements as well.
In my time-travel campaign the pcs were energy-beings from the far future that chose to incarnate (thus limit) themselves into human and pre-human evolutional forms, like symbionts. The plot follows the story about illithids dominating in the future and humans as the race of ''destiny''. The Hegemony (Ilsensine's draeden thought-cluster) unable to conquer these beings evolved from humans (inspired by Banks' Culture but with magical technology, and evolved Planescape's Revolutionary League) seeks their vulnerabilities in the past. The pcs were involved in five ages of the cosmic Sun.
During the fifth age they as Dukar-Numos agents subverted the plans of the Kraken Society for the Arcane Brotherhood, who would fall into slavery to the whisperings of the Old Ones of Illusk. And during the Avatar Crisis they stopped Hoar from becoming a factol (Mercykillers) and a Soletaken (kind of shapeshifter, by drinking the blood of the Dragon Lady of Untha(lass)).
After the first Imaskari civilization died, the pcs organized the defences (remaining constructs and bound planar creatures) against the looting barbarians and then the slave-armies of yaksha (rakshasas that made a dream pact with the quori-fey collective) rajas of the south. They searched the planes for surviving Imaskari colonists, finding only the proto-kaorti from Gobi's Carcosa of Earth (Hastur's experiments) and the spirit of the chained alienist Shekelor-Kzon. His directions helped them in discovering the astral vessel of the god-construct, Aoskar. The pcs abandoned Shekelor to his painful, maddening imprisonment, learning that the alienists of Ellyn'Taal and other nonhuman arcanists wanted his knowledge, that created the undecipherable and apocryphal Nether Scrolls (51., 52.). Instead they crashed the astral vessel on the carcerian walls of a Blood Rift's daemoncyst, freeing the bearer of the purifying fire of the 3rd Sun, Aroden, his titanic torch possessed a few remaining sparks to heal the kaorti. The surviving pcs retired in Illusk, one of them taking the name of Jeriah Chronos.
A million years before, the pcs were involved in the rebellion against Glyth, and then allied with Tanoz (Auppenser) against the followers of Gith and Zerthimon (who hadn't had some villainous plot in mind, but would lead humanity elsewhere). Then in the fourth part the bad guys were various planar powers who fought over dominance over the most important prime world. Until the appearance of the first natives (titans, giants and humans - alchemy) who kicked them out. The fifth part was at the end of the Age of the First Sun, 13 bil. years ago, where the pcs were fey beings on a fleet of spelljammers living in a phlogiston-like astral protoplane (Aum) encountering alien intelligences with ''get of my lawn'' attitude. And they had foes like the Arcane who wanted their star charts back. The real villain was conceptual, the spelljammers dragged chronomantic megaliths that needed to placed strategically. It was a war of protofey spirits of against time, to shatter its bonds and change its linear nature. Plots 3 and 4 are still unresolved, need to finish the history for both ages and titan Chronos' story to continue.
Other campaigns/adventures that I remember
1. Visiting a reptillian creator race tomb the pcs were cursed and mutated into various forms of yuan-ti. Then the villain (batrachi changeling) manipulated them into doing its dirty work for the alchemical ingredients of the cure. Too homebrew to post more.
2. In 1160s DR, pcs as agents of Tharsult (homebrew, inspired by Sicily with the northmen) and mercenaries trying to keep the emperor of a diabolist, decadent empire (inspired by Cheliax of Golarion) alive, against the schemes of Ashtaroth and his infernal nephew pretendant, Halruaan agents of Danchilaer, Rundeen and the Five Shires pirates.
3. A witch of Tsigala (neutral-aligned homebrew version of Talona) and an arcanist of Ologh (version of Oghma, philosophy not a god) unleashed a plague that specifically targeted Chondathan blood. They discovered words of pure evil in the language and hoped to lessen the effects (there's a house of information dealers, Jhaamdathan survivors from Altumbel, partially responsible for the refinement and spread of Chondathan, who unknowingly used the lore and techniques supplied by arcanaloth binders). These words resonate and have some influence on reality, like weakening the lower-planar barriers after centuries of use.
4. Tiny particles of anti-magic cosmic dust fell on Thay and northern Mulhorand causing political chaos. The Scarlet Brotherhood (imported to Veldorn) then seeked to regain a bit of their long lost investments since the rebellion.
5. Bloodstone/Daemonlands campaign, some of the plots. A nentyarch gatekeeper driven mad by an alien spirit of chaos, randomly teleports throughout the land, affecting the planar rifts by its presence and corrupts the primal commands of the Raumathari maug construct-army on the Bloodwall; Citadel of the Assassins breaking the yearly frost fey ritual, Zhenghyi's dragons breaking their monoliths, causing glacial instability, one of the arcane glaciers sliding towards the Bloodwall; an army of death giants emerging from the Wells of Darkness daemoncyst and burying itself around the Ironfang Keep, Talfiric style; seven companies from Morov volunteering for the Wall as replacements, secretly juiced up by the Haagentis; Cult of the Dragon counters Zhengyi's plots in hunting down a dragonblooded orc clan of Tharashk who have the ability to smell a type of cursed bloodstone originating from Asgorath, when thrown into a dragon's hoard, it gradually transforms the owner into a dracolich; a chaos dwarf discovers an ancient spellweaver throne in the Tortured Lands and raises the Necromantis (exoskeletal undead army); etc. too long
6. And I had an alternate Wyrmskull Throne story except the villains were the Aurum (imported from Eberron, different members, arrogant Melnibonean sun elves from Chondath, greedy gold dwarves from the south, and an aurumach rilmani), started with their involvement in the Moonshae feyfairs, not Myth Nantar.
7. This one's too homebrew, an undead continent replaces Zakhara, in the centre of a huge desolation dhampir Fremen-like people collect blood and treat it with special spice (ancient Imaskari recipe). In the east, the elven vampire courts learn about their reservoirs. Pcs are in the middle, as explorers from the north searching for the source of their holy river of blood (Egypt-inspired realm but undead) ...
8. Twisted Rune experimenting with the ghost of Abdul Alhazred in Zakhara and regretting it, stuff spilling out of the portal-house in Calimport.
A few more ridiculous ones, some from back when we just started playing
9. Taern Hornblade of Silverymoon was replaced by a malaugrym, but at the same time his evil twin brother Baern had the Unseen on his payroll, and a green dragon seeking to expose the malaugrym with a Tearn clone while distracting already confused pcs with a halfing lycanthropy pandemic.
10. Something about the shades building a flying ''aircraft carrier'', don't remember.
11. A Sembian necromancer moving into the Vale of the Lost Voices researching elven mortality.
12. Zhent agents, greedy merchants, bureaucrats from Irieabor, Myrkul's priests of famine and werebeavers disturbing the shipping business of the pcs along Chionthar, later falling into into slave-debt to Orien Priakos of Westgate.
13. That continued into another campaign, sort of ''Eberron in the Realms'', where the Korth Edicts of the houses (altered to fit) were negotiated with the Lord's Alliance. Had many assassinations, sabotages and interferences from the Iron Throne, Knights of the Shield and Amnians/Shadow Thieves.
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 05 May 2010 : 11:32:42
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quote:
Originally posted by Quale
quote:
Originally posted by Basil the Geek
My influences for this game came from having watched Dark Star, Wizards and Zardoz the night before a USC science fiction writer’s convention back around 77 where I got to corner Ray Bradbury for an hour alone during lunch. I saw him again in 2000 at Dragon Con where he seemed ancient and tired but remembered me which was cool. I hope he’s doing well.
Almost forgot, there's a little "Demon with a Glass Hand" in it too.
Many thanks Quale!
you can't miss with the Dying Earth, it's one of my favorites ever
I did play with the concepts of illusory reality, only that Shar and Selune were aspects of Maya from the eastern religions.
For me the very idea of Cugel the Clever ever setting his feet in the Realms is a scary one. Although it is a book I would love to read. |
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Sill Alias
Senior Scribe
Kazakhstan
588 Posts |
Posted - 05 May 2010 : 11:39:06
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Nice scenario, Quale, but future with ilithids as the race of destiny?
 *shaking in anger*
FOUL VERMIN! JUST WAIT UNTIL THE UNITED GITHIYANKI AND GITHZERAI WILL TEAR YOU APART TO CLEAN THE LAND FROM YOUR PROGENY! |
You can hear many tales from many mouths. The most difficult is to know which of them are not lies. - Sill Alias
"May your harp be unstrung, your dreams die and all your songs be unsung." - curse of the harper, The Code of the Harpers 2 ed.
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What were the plots of your campaigns?
