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ericlboyd
Forgotten Realms Designer
USA
2089 Posts |
 Posted - 30 Nov 2005 : 19:30:50
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There's a nifty little adventure in Dungeon #130 for 1st-level characters by Sam Brown.
Set in Featherdale, this can be used as the opening adventure of a new campaign, either for a group of characters already known to each other or for a new group that needs to be introduced.
The adventure has the nice twist that the NPC who hires the PCs is actually sending them on two missions, both legitimate. The first mission is well defined and can be completed during the adventure. The second mission is only the first step in unraveling a much larger plot thread. The author does a good job of using monsters and traps from the Monster Manual and Serpent Kingdoms as CR-appropriate threats.
While the second plot thread of this adventure is very open-ended and gives a good start to an enterprising DM, I am hoping that the author will write a sequel.
My only quibble with the Realmslore is that I'm not convinced anyone with the rank of "Baron" should be running around in Featherdale. I'd make him a wealthy landowner who acts not unlike a baron. Also I'm confused by references to him being in line to the throne. It's not clear if this is referring to the baronial seat he's already acquired or if there's an implication that Featherdale has king. These are just minor, minor quibbles in a great adventure.
--Eric
PS Not to toot my own horn, but I think this adventure could be a great lead-in to "Adderposts", a short adventure that I wrote found in Serpent Kingdoms.
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http://www.ericlboyd.com/dnd/ |
Edited by - ericlboyd on 30 Nov 2005 19:31:43
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4692 Posts |
Posted - 30 Nov 2005 : 20:00:05
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| Well with out reading adventure, had to know. A Baron might not hold Featherdale but could rather be a younger son of another realm. As such could very well be in line for the thone if he outlives older brothers and/or sisters (if succession is gender nuetral). |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 30 Nov 2005 : 22:39:45
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| As far as I know, the only modern Daleland 'barons' are self-proclaimed ones. And the names (Joaquim, Jonah) are wrong. |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6680 Posts |
Posted - 30 Nov 2005 : 22:48:45
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He's clearly from Sembia. They have a long tradition of buying defunct and extinct titles from other locales of the Realms and using them to increase their (perceived) standing and prestige. He's certainly not a baron of Featherdale. I really wonder why people set adventures in the Realms if they aren't going to bother to read even the most basic sources properly ...
-- George Krashos
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"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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Purple Dragon Knight
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1796 Posts |
Posted - 01 Dec 2005 : 06:37:44
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quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
He's clearly from Sembia. They have a long tradition of buying defunct and extinct titles from other locales of the Realms and using them to increase their (perceived) standing and prestige. He's certainly not a baron of Featherdale. I really wonder why people set adventures in the Realms if they aren't going to bother to read even the most basic sources properly ...
-- George Krashos
In all fairness to the module author, I have read Realms material for over 16 years now, and I would not know where to look in order to find a 'good', in-depth write-up on Sembia's rulers and nobility... as far as I can remember, that country was "open DM territory" until 3E came up with some basic info on it.
I'm probably wrong on this, mind you... Although I've been reading the Realms for years I seem to lack the insane amount of memory some of you, dear Sages of Candlekeep, seem to possess. The way some of you conjure old 1st edition sources on that lord or this lady sometimes, regrettably, just plain frightens me. |
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Dhomal
Senior Scribe
USA
565 Posts |
Posted - 01 Dec 2005 : 07:04:13
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Hello-
I agree at least in general. Sometimes its quite scarry! LOL
I've been reading Realms things since the beginning of the realms as published - evern earlier if you include older Dragon articles - but we had little to no idea that there was a cohesive whole at that time - or at least *I* did not know!
I own, and have read probably 97% of the available sourcebooks from all editions, as well as probably somewhere in the range of 40% of the novels. Still - I am amazed at what is known apparently 'off the cuff'. I see timestamps of questions and answers - and sometimes there is as little as 15 minutes to an hour before there is a reply with an answer!
In many ways - I am jealous - I wish I had the memory - or the time to devote to re-reading material to get to that point.
I am however - Very grateful for this forum to discuss and ask questions. It is the BEST place IMHO to share the FR wealth - and learn - oh the learning I have done!
As far as the usefulness of the module - if it is a simple title that does not seem to fit - that is Way more easilly fixed that having a character who is 100% realms-compliant involved in a shoddy adventure that lacks some insight or intriguing aspect.
As I recall from recently having read the Dungeon submission guidelines - having a new 'angle' on something will go a long way to help get an adventure accepted. That being said - and with Mr Boyd's comment - I am looking forward to seeing this adventure - especially since I am looking to start a campaign after the first of the year - and some low-level stuff would fit well with what I am looking for / working on.
Dhomal |
I am collecting the D&D Minis. I would be more than willing to trade with people. You can send me a PM here with your email listed - and I can send you my minis list. Thanks!
Successfully traded with Xysma! |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 01 Dec 2005 : 14:55:11
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| I'll definately have to check this out, though it hasn't arrived yet. My PCs are going to Essembra for Shieldmeet soon, and while they aren't quite up to the Adderpost adventure, I am going to sneak in some references to it. |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6680 Posts |
Posted - 01 Dec 2005 : 22:54:32
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When I mentioned "basic sources" I was talking about the FRCS which gives more than adequate detail on the Dalelands and Featherdale - at the very least it tells you what kind of ruling/authority system it has: no mention of kings or a nobility that I can recall. Of course, sometimes the basic sources aren't enough - that's why all prospective FR authors and designers should visit Candlekeep. They'll get all their answers in a jiffy.
-- George Krashos
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"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2005 : 03:21:12
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Actually, as I was reading it I had thought about this being a "home away from home" for a noble from another region, and that his title might be from another area. It really is a pretty good adventure, and a good "Serpent Kingdoms" campaign lead in. I liked the whole take on Yuan-Ti books.
At any rate, I popped by Paizo and asked the author to jump over here sometime to discuss the module, and I hope he takes me up on this offer. |
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baudot
Acolyte
3 Posts |
Posted - 05 Dec 2005 : 16:30:17
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Hallo folks. Sam here. Thanks for the invite, KEjr.
As I'm chiming in from a week behind the start of this thread, forgive me for doing a Q&A style catch-up on the thread so far.
Q. Sequel?
A.
I haven't spoken with Dungeon about it. A proposal for one will probably be in my next batch.
Q. What's a Baron doing in Featherdale?
A.
The shortest answer is that I started writing the story before pinning down exactly which Dale it was in, and the idea of a low noble of good character was already entrenched in my thinking by the time that Featherdale dropped by and explained that it was the Dale where this story had to take place and would I notice it already please? I didn't notice the conflict at first in re-reading over the various other details of Featherdale, but when I did, I didn't feel bad about it. Huh? Let me try to explain why.
My read on Featherdale as a democracy is that it's a democracy to the same degree as ancient Greece was. That's to say that most people are self sufficient, and as such, democracy sits well there. I buy into the theory that suggests that democracy tends to arise where power is naturally spread, like pastoral Greece, where there wasn't a way to exert power over the average citizen-shepherd. Tyranny is more natural in places where there is single vital resource that has to be regulated to function, such as ancient Egypt and her irrigation network that spread water beyond the flood plain. The Forgotten Realms are not Eberron: Magic may be common, but the fabric of daily life for the average community has more in common with our own world's early cultures than one where magical signaling towers deliver messages faster than the Pony Express and the Lightning Rail carries world-weary travelers faster than any train prior to the last century of our own world. Without these mechanisms to homogenize cultures, things tend to end up more messy, and local exceptions arise in the face of regional trends.
The short conclusion to that drawn out paragraph is that I felt ok with putting a low noble in a democracy because even Greece had its tyrants. I read the people of Featherdale as pragmatic, hardworking souls who would accept governance from a noble so long as it was good rather than staging a revolution just to have the same council of elders as the cities around them. The Dales are a jumbled federation, and my read on them is that there are a few minor nobles scattered throughout Featherdale the same way as there are a handful of council-run communities in Daggerdale or Battledale, even though their one-word government description is "Lordship".
That's not to say that it couldn't have been done differently. The story might have worked out better with Wildhurst as a wealthy and respected elder rather than low nobility, and if that notion appeals to you, as always, I encourage you to make it your own and tell it that way. I still question making the elder of Thistle a 'squire' which, while not a noble title, is one with a place in a feudal hierarchy. For those of you bothered by the references to crowns and thrones, I wasn't quite happy with how that turned out myself, but decided to stick with the best-known references to feudal authority rather than go out of the way to specifically note the reduced symbols available to a low noble. In particular, I was trying to trim Wildhurst's drunken speech, which to this day is longer than I like. If you read this as implying that there was a larger feudal structure in place, I don't blame you, but it wasn't my intent.
At this point, you might be wondering "Why not make it Not Featherdale? Why not just set the adventure in Daggerdale?" Featherdale really jumped out at me as the place to set the adventure because I wanted a quiet locale where nothing ever happened. Sure, Featherdale has been invaded a handful of times, and it's had its share of meddling from the Red Wizards, but next to the other Dales that starts to sound like background noise. I wanted the most peaceful, well run location I could to set the story, so that the mystery revealed in the course of the story would be more strikingly out of place. Yuan-ti? What? Here? For how long? If a place seems peaceful and well run, it may only be that the local illuminated powers are more efficient than the ones next door. The Dales are a frontier of yuan-ti expansion, and had the atmosphere that I was looking for. Also, the Dalelands are oft-travelled by elves. The slender, angular features of yuan-ti purebloods blend in more easily in communities rich in half elves and those with smaller traces of elven blood. I want DMs who continue that plot thread to have that tool at their disposal.
Q. The names are wrong for the region!
A. Mea culpa. Are you volunteering to fact check those for future submissions? ;) |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 05 Dec 2005 : 16:54:13
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Personally, one of the things that I was thinking of was that our esteemed Baron, as per George's assertion, might be a Sembian from a Sembian family that settled in the region. While he hereditarily inherits the keep and the immediate lands that he owns, that would not have to imply that he has any official standing in Featherdale. In fact, the way he hires the adventurers struck me as more of a "helping out the neighbors" type of thing than an official act by a ruler.
But that was my take on it.
I was just glad to see someone tackle moving the Yuan-Ti threat into areas that were not noted for it. Its almost too obvious if you tell your players that you want to have them start out in Tashluta that Yuan-Ti will be a major campaign villain, but Featherdale?
Reading back through the descriptions of Featherdale, it seems they pick their leaders when they need them. If someone is living in a castle in their backyards and isn't giving them orders or taking on airs, I would assume they would just look at him as another resident of the Dale.
But I would be interested in hearing how everyone else interprets this.
And and thanks Sam for dropping by for the discussion. I hope you stick around and find some other threads that will pique your interest. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36874 Posts |
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Alaundo
Head Moderator
United Kingdom
5696 Posts |
Posted - 05 Dec 2005 : 18:51:02
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Well met
Indeed a hearty welcome to Candlekeep, Sam  I have yet to work through this adventure in detail, but it is sat right here on my pile of Realmslore research 
I hope ye enjoy thy stay at Candlekeep and hope to hear much more from ye in the future.
Oh, and ye should have a private scroll now waiting for ye  |
Alaundo
Candlekeep Forums Head Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
An Introduction to Candlekeep - by Ed Greenwood
The Candlekeep Compendium - Tomes of Realmslore penned by Scribes of Candlekeep
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 05 Dec 2005 : 19:24:09
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Sam,
Can I snag your reply for our files of replies from authors/game designers? |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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baudot
Acolyte
3 Posts |
Posted - 05 Dec 2005 : 19:26:54
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But of course.
If there are further questions, I would be happy to fill in places missing. |
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ericlboyd
Forgotten Realms Designer
USA
2089 Posts |
Posted - 05 Dec 2005 : 20:55:09
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quote:
Originally posted by baudot
But of course.
If there are further questions, I would be happy to fill in places missing.
What do you expect the Baron will do next? He commisioned the PCs because he was nervous about the nature of the hidden backers who had done so much for him, but is what they found enough to tip the balance?
Why did the House of the Circlet need their depot cleared out originally? Something must have forced them to retreat, if only temporarily.
--Eric
PS Obviously, every DM can make up his or her own answers, which is one of the great bits about the adventure, but I'm curious as to what you had in mind. |
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http://www.ericlboyd.com/dnd/ |
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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 06 Dec 2005 : 02:45:21
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As I read it, Featherdale is more an anarchy than a democracy: it has no structure of nobility, and Featherdarrans would respond to a self-appointed baron with ridicule or indifference. They think little of other Dales' noble pretentions and likely tell cautionary stories of their (notably Harrowdale's) swordpoint-lords.quote:
Originally posted by baudot
Q. The names are wrong for the region!
A. Mea culpa. Are you volunteering to fact check those for future submissions? ;)
Yes -- feel free to PM me the relevant text.
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baudot
Acolyte
3 Posts |
Posted - 06 Dec 2005 : 04:35:22
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quote:
Originally posted by ericlboyd
What do you expect the Baron will do next? He commisioned the PCs because he was nervous about the nature of the hidden backers who had done so much for him, but is what they found enough to tip the balance?
The Baron was looking for information on who his benefactors are, and the clues he has are incomplete. The book on the altar was set to a Decipher Script DC of 30 specifically to keep all but the most unlikely min-maxed 1st level party from being able to glean the most important clues from the book without seeking assistance. (An elven wizard with Int 20, 4 ranks of Decipher Script, and Skill Focus(Decipher Script) can do it, and if one of your players actually took that character build, it would be criminal to not let him have this chance to shine.) The idea here is that the next step is to get the book deciphered by someone outside the party, which is the hook to keep the party involved if you want to, and one of the opportunities for the antagonists to start to sniff out the party.
So: The Baron’s next action related to this plot thread is to locate someone who can get more than crude clues out of the book and have the book delivered to them. If the Baron manages to get a hold of an adequate and accurate translation of the book, he realizes that the conspiracy isn’t one he can just ignore, nor one that he can conscience joining in truth, and takes the path of least resistance: He joins in name, but considers himself a double agent. The House has loyalty tests at each level of involvement, and as he is now deeper into their workings, he will be facing them again. Without intervention, this time he will fail.
To me, the more interesting question is how to get the party to internalize an emnity with the yuan-ti so that future episodes don't need Wildhurst acting as motivator. Some thoughts on that in a bit.
quote:
Originally posted by ericlboyd
Why did the House of the Circlet need their depot cleared out originally? Something must have forced them to retreat, if only temporarily.
The yuan-ti agent who maintained the depot went missing, without the other Builders of The House (i.e. the other true yuan-ti members) being able to find out what befell him. The depot was (intended to be) destroyed after a cursory pillaging to bury the secrets of the presumed deceased member in the event that whatever finished him off tracked him back to his lair and discovered more there. One of the downsides of being a loose-knit, hyper-secretive conspiracy is that you aren't as likely to be on hand to witness what fells your fellow conspirators, and can't afford to assume that it was just plague, or bandits, or wild beasts. Away from the yuan-ti elders, the fledgling agents of The House didn't yet have in their membership anyone with the abilities to perform the divinations necessary to set their minds at ease, and assumed the worst to be on the safe side. This setback is one of the reasons The House's plans have taken as long to come to fruition as they have.
What actually felled the lost Pureblood? Arrogance. He attempted to negotiate the services of a band of gnollish raiders personally, and overestimated his own magnetism. Addressing the leader of the band as Rhuar'gnahh (literally: "Mouthfull") he discovered quickly and painfully that this term of endearment in gnollish culture is used only between mother and cub, never between adult males.
Now if you'll permit me to ramble a bit on how to develop the plotline from there, while reducing dependence on the Baron...
We don’t want the party to be pursuing this mystery because it matters to someone else, we want it to matter to them. If it’s me running this story line, at the conclusion of the adventure this plot goes out of the limelight for a bit and an unrelated module gets run. Perhaps someone else in need of adventurers hears of the rescue of Thistle and makes their suit to the PCs.
There’s method to this madness. If we focus all of our story arc build-up on one plotline, it’s hard to keep the pace of handing out clues satisfying to the players without giving out too much too soon. Weaving between this plot thread and another not only stretches out the period of clue-giving, it means the campaign doesn't end when this plot comes to a conclusion. For clues to keep the party wondering and worrying while on other missions, here are some scenes I’d work into other adventures in a campaign:
- One of the party members, while visiting home, finds that his good-for-nothing cousin has become the provider for the household. Revelations as to the rake’s sudden employability can come sooner, when the PC sees Circlet insignia on the cousin, or later, when they encounter each other on opposite sides of a fight.
- The insignia of The House starts to appear on coinage and in family crests around the Dales. Most of the perpetrators are clueless, bottom rung members of the secret society, and can provide no clues, knowing at most that they are involved with a powerful secret organization that will enrich them with it when it rises to power. The spread of such symbols is The House’s first moves at associating its own symbols with popular authority in the public mind. In particular, the symbol is associated with a growing body of powerful merchants, influential thugs, and self-proclaimed gentry. The House’s motivations for creating such a power structure are twofold: First, it displays the rewards given to those who join them in a way that creates a sense of rising power and brings converts into the fold. Second, it’s easier to steer a power structure made up of a few mighty power wielders than to try to steer the votes of an council or senate, as rule in the majority of the Dales.
- One PCs’ sisters receives a marriage proposal from a suitor whose star has been rising rapidly. The PC is present for a conversation where the sister expresses her concerns about the character of the suitor, while an elder relative tries to convince her to accept the proposal, because he carries the symbol of The House in his crest, and "everyone knows" that the people associated with that symbol are the most important people in the Dales and rising in importance rapidly. The relative cites several cases of recent celebrities who carry the same symbol, and their rapid rise to power and respect.
- The party, in the course of their travels, is hosted by a senior member of The House. Before they (and their host) realize who they (each) are dealing with, the party gets the chance to see that their host’s wealth is swollen by plentiful if listless servants, and his extensive farmlands contain fields of exotic plants that seem to grow no fruit. The agents of The House enjoy the benefits of having large stables of drugged slaves, and the more senior house members grow the very drugs that keep their and other house member’s slaves docile.
- The party has several near-miss encounters with agents of The House asking after them. Innkeepers mention offhand that someone was by, asking about them. If they ignore these warnings by not being more secretive, they soon find themselves ambushed by a group of skilled rogues with all the advantage of advanced preparation, and a yuan-ti pureblood agent of The House watching from the shadows, ready to slip off never-noticed if the combat goes badly. If combat fails and the party still refuses to travel in secret, they may next find themselves drugged along with every other patron of the inn where they stay, as an agent of the yuan-ti has slipped into the kitchen and dosed the entire pot of evening stew. Perhaps one party member escapes to make a stand or slink after her fallen comrades; a scholar away from the group comes downstairs to find thugs carrying out her slumbering comrades, or the vegetarian elf notes the inn’s patrons, her companions included, crashing unconscious around her as she is mysteriously unaffected, or the fighter type actually makes his fortitude saves and remains standing, if swaying.
Either way, this should be a hard encounter. (CR of party level+3 or higher.) The notion here is that a) it’s fair to throw a hard encounter at the party if they’ve already ignored repeated warnings given to them. b) villains stop being scary if they not only don’t win, but don’t ever even get a leg-up on the protagonists. c) if the party loses, as they’re likely to do, it’s an opportunity for the players to feel the impact of their own heroism. They should be set free by someone in their debt from their prior adventures. Now mature DMs know that there’s nothing more annoying to the PCs than to be helpless by DM fiat and to have the more-powerful NPCs rescue them in an entirely scripted fashion. It’s another thing entirely if the players really feel like they earned the salvation, that they had a chance, however slim, at not being captured. You can have a mighty NPC and her retinue free the PCs by force, but to my way of thinking, it’s more effective to have the PCs freed by the little guy. The PCs’ captors might be able to fight off anyone weak enough to be in debt to the party, but their guard drops from time to time too.
The scene I have in mind is one where the caravan holding the captured PCs stops in a town where the party had a positive impact on the lives of others. The chained, drugged PCs are pained by a blinding flash of sunlight as the wind blows the covers back from their cages as the carts roll into town, and in that moment, they are seen by one of the town urchins, who decides to act out of his own gratitude and bravery, or carries the message to another villager indebted enough to the party to do so. That night, while their captors slumber, the party is painstakingly filed out of their bonds, and lead on a stumbing escape to a farmhouse on the outskirts of town. There they are delivered to one of the city’s aging grandmothers, who brews strong purgative teas for them. The party spends the next day struggling back out of a dreamlike state as they puke up the drugs that kept their fighters weak and their spellcasters too muddled to channel their magic. From there the party gets to make the decision of whether to stay long enough to regain their full strength and risk exposing those who saved them to retribution, or flee the scene as quickly as possible to regather themselves elsewhere. (Depending on the party’s level, priestly magic may make this decision moot.)
A few points about how I would envision running such a scene: Keep it quick; a montage of sensations muddled together in a dream like state with only moments of lucidity. You want to the players to take home the message that the enemies they have made are real, and dire, but you want to be very careful not to linger on the party’s helplessness as this is likely to frustrate the players to no good end, and void the fun of the game. I’d aim to have the entire scene from the party’s unconsciousness to their recovery from the drugging told in 5 minutes, in my best descriptive style to have the players wondering at what was going on around them and hanging on for any clue rather than being frustrated at the actions they can’t take.
It’s also important to have the party’s gear rescued with them. (It’s stored in a steamer trunk in the same compartment they are.) Gear is a big part of the power of any D&D character, and depriving them of it mostly forces them to immediately return to confront their captors. If you give them their gear back immediately, you have leisure to let the character of their captor ferment in their minds. Few things are as precious of a storytelling tool as an antagonist who has a history of beating the characters. When the players finally get to deliver their return stroke, it’s all the more satisfying. You did remember to give their captor a distinguishing feature for the party to recognize him by, and a tactical gimmick for the party to have figured out how to foil by the next time their paths crossed, right?
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The dramatic thrust of these scenes is to establish The House as a power that is coming out of hiding, and drawing respect from people who would be horrified if they knew its true nature. As with any good conspiracy plotline, there are layers to the mystery. Those who seem to benefit most from The House and steer it are not yuan-ti but their most indoctrinated servants in the Dale communities. The yuan-ti keep to the shadows, acting as advisors, messengers, fixers, mercenary captains, and any of the other masks of “the power behind the throne” for their agents. The end goal is to create a region of the Dales ruled by The House large enough to be defensible from outside powers, whose leaders are all puppets and worshippers of their scaly masters, providing wealth, pampering, and a stepping stone to further conquests.
Only a handful of the top ranking agents of The House would recognize a yuan-ti if they saw one, while those being groomed and examined for possible promotion are tested for their reaction to indoctrination suggesting that all of their wealth and prosperity is a gift from the serpentine ones and that the proper response is secret worship and servitude. The power structure of The House is largely managed and cultivated by those who will not be on top in the final scheme. |
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Dungeon #130: Within the Circle (Spoilers)
