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3catcircus
Acolyte
32 Posts |
 Posted - 25 Apr 2006 : 16:48:16
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Plots - Integrating T1-4/A1-4/GDQ1-7 in Forgotten Realms
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My Players Keep Out!!!!!
**Spoilers Below**
Ok - I need a little bit of help.
I plan on running the T1-4/A1-4/GDQ1-7 series, set in Faerun in a 3.5 game. I need a little bit of help in doing so. Below are some of my thoughts on integrating this (note that I'm right now using UK2/UK3 and the Presence is an indication to my PCs that some type of chaotic being plotting annihilation of the multiverse is at work (perhaps Moander being reawakened), awakening The Gauntlet as a means of getting the PCs ready for the T1-4/A1-4/GDQ1-7 series).
1. I plan on setting T1-4 in the North, with Hommlet near the confluence of the Rauvin and Surbrin rivers and using either the High Forest or the Moonwood as the setting for the temple.
2. I plan on using Thesk or Impiltur, Altumbel, and the Pirate Isles for A1-4.
3. I plan on setting GDQ1-7 in the North (Hartsvale for G1-3) and sections of the Northdarl for D1-3.
4. I plan on using bane and either Moander or Ghaundaur/Juiblex for T1-4 - I'm thinking that maybe Juiblex is granting spells in Bane's name or else there are cultists attempting to revive Moander and Ghaunadaur is secretly granting spells - all in an attempt to unleash the forces of entropy and chaos - a way to use the elemental planes to soften up the surroundings before demons from Hellgate Keep surge forth and lay waste to the Silver Marches. Another thought is maybe Juiblex or Ghaunadaur is using Moander cultists to allow the evil elemental lords to strike a blow against the Faerunian elemental gods (Akadi, Grumbar, etc.) I'm also thinking that as part of this, that there is a rivalry between the cultists and the slavelords (i.e. cutting into each other's slaving business).
5. I'm thinking that the Iron Throne will be behind the slavers in A1-4 - with Krakosh the Storm Giant as the tie to GDQ1-7 (disguising himself as other types of giants to stir them up and suggest that they march on Nesme and other towns of the North). I'm thinking either it is Ghaunadaur thwarting Lolth (who has Edralve, a slavelord, as a worshipper), or Juiblex is advancing the Tanar'ri in the Bloodwar by interfering with Krakosh's ability to find Sfena (and thus prevent a Baatoran stronghold on Faerun).
6. This will all result in the silence of Lolth as the PCs "kill" her - preventing her from acting for a while.
So - what I need help with: gelling some of my thoughts into a more coherenet, cohesive plot. Also - any suggestions on PC levels for these adventures. I'm planning on having them tackle T1-4 at 5th level and am thinking that Q1 will probably be epic in level. I might even throw in H4 or A Paladin in Hell as part of the places that the PCs could end up while exploring the Demonweb Pits and stepping through a portal.
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 25 Apr 2006 : 17:25:59
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It might be a bit more helpful if you named the modules, instead of just listing the numbers. I only recognize the A1-4 ones, myself.  |
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Thauramarth
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
729 Posts |
Posted - 25 Apr 2006 : 18:59:11
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
It might be a bit more helpful if you named the modules, instead of just listing the numbers. I only recognize the A1-4 ones, myself.
Wooly! My faith in thee has been shaken!
UK2 - The Sentinel; UK3 - The Gauntlet;
T1-4 - The Temple of Elemental Evil;
GDQ1-7 The Giants-Drow-Lloth module (hmmm... my faith in my own abilities has been shaken, too...).
H4 - The Throne of Bloodstone;
Ah, the good old days when TSR still gave its modules interesting Code Names... Give me a U2! An I6! An I12! And top it off with an H4!
For Realms purposes, I always used Moander, too, instead of Zuggtmoy, and I picked one of the CE guys for the partner (Talos, or Ghaunadaur) to fill in for Iuz. The High Forest has always been a favorite spot for the Temple of Elemental Evil It can even "pretend" to tap into the giant fungus humungous below the High Forest (forgot its name for a second... for lots of seconds, actually). |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 25 Apr 2006 : 19:03:06
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Well H4 already takes place in the Bloodstone Lands of Vassa/Damara/and the like. :)
The others, I never owned or know much about.... |
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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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 25 Apr 2006 : 19:13:57
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quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
Well H4 already takes place in the Bloodstone Lands of Vassa/Damara/and the like. :)
The others, I never owned or know much about....
Ditto, except I don't own any of the H series yet, and I picked up a cheap copy of A1-4 several years ago (mainly because I'd heard talk it was a brutal but good series of modules). That was before I was even online... |
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Mace Hammerhand
Great Reader
Germany
2296 Posts |
Posted - 25 Apr 2006 : 20:23:04
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I placed Sentinel/Gauntlet somewhere in the North, would have to look at the map again, but I think it was somewhere near where the Harpells live...
As for Temple etc... I have no idea, I bought the old module for nostalgic reasons that's all.
If you want to integrate Dark Clouds Gather, I used the nether mountains, the gleaming citadel was turned intzo a netherese outpost and the village was re-named into Timberspring...sounded not so Moonshaeish :-) |
Mace's not so gentle gamer's journal My rants were harmless compared to this, beware! |
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Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2449 Posts |
Posted - 25 Apr 2006 : 22:43:22
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That's... a LOT of gaming! I know ToEE was supposed to take characters from 1st to about 12th level (at least), and some of the others were the same. Do you need all of them to make your campaign work? I'm just worried you'll be working through modules for the next ten years. For instance, take the PC's through T1-4 and then into GDQ, skipping A1-4. I don't know the others you mentioned and can't comment.
Personally, I'd favor Moander over Jubilex, since he's always had a stronger presence in the Realms. Unforunately, he's permanently dead (or as permanently as any god), so you'll probably need a different one. Also, since you're plunking this square where there used to be some really powerful elven empires, you could rule that the god is imprisoned, not by that crusading army, but by elven high magic (they did it to Moander, twice, among others), and that the temple grew up around the site, trying to figure out what arcane condition the high mages set for the god's release. Since this could have happened ten thousand years ago, if you ever wanted to bring a favorite god into the Realms, this is your chance. Maybe tie the god into the GDQ part? |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 25 Apr 2006 : 22:52:39
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| Ghaunadaur, in FR, is also known as Jubilex according to Demihuman Deities, if you didn't know that. |
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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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 25 Apr 2006 : 22:55:49
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quote:
Originally posted by Hoondatha
Personally, I'd favor Moander over Jubilex, since he's always had a stronger presence in the Realms. Unforunately, he's permanently dead (or as permanently as any god), so you'll probably need a different one.
Not necessarily. The piece of him trapped in Tsornyl is still alive and kicking, and Powers of Faerūn lists how he could return to godhood (though getting his portfolios back is another matter). |
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3catcircus
Acolyte
32 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2006 : 00:08:28
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Hmm - well - the original set of factions is as follows (for T1-4): Four different elemental factions, a faction devoted to Iuz, one devoted to Lolth, and one devoted to Zuggtmoy.
I've no problem with keeping the elemental evils - rivals to the Akadi, Grumbar, etc. I can replace Iuz with Bane (or Velsharoon). I'd like to keep the Lolth faction. I can either use Zuggtmoy, Moander, Vhaeraun or Ghaunadaur. Given the Lolth faction, I'd like to use either Zuggtmoy or Vhaeraun.
One of the things I am thinking is - maybe - the way to tie in the A1-4 series is that one of the factions from T1-4 is "poaching" slaves bound for Slavelord blocks - an Edralve (a loyal Lolth worhsipper) is alerted by the Lolth faction from T1-4 that the Zuggtmoy faction is behind it - because they need massive amounts of slaves to sacrifice in order to aid in freeing her...
I don't mind the existing tie-ins between A1-4 and GDQ1-7 in the published books, so I can still use that.
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Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2449 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2006 : 00:49:17
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@ Wooly: Hmm. Looks like I need to reread Power of Faerun again. What section is it in? That does settle a question I had about whether when Finder killed Moander all of his imprisoned parts also died, though.
As for deities, neither Iuz nor Zuggtmoy have ever had any presence in FR. They're Greyhawk deities. Now, there's nothing saying you can't import them into FR, but that might be more work than needed.
Also, (bearing in mind it's been a while since I read T1-4), I thought the Elemental Evils were simply the four temples, each devoted to their own element. The fourth level had gates to the inner planes, but it seemed that they worshipped more "Chaotic Evil" than any god beyond Zuggtmoy, and a little Iuz.
So, since the elemental lords are portrayed as distant and sometimes brutal (despite being N), you could have a whole bunch of CE priests worshipping them. If you want to do away with that part and have the temple be four temples, each aligned to a different evil god, each at each others' throats, that'd work too. I'd try to find a bunch of CE gods, though. Lloth works great, and maybe toss in Vhaeraun too (since it works so well for your campaign and they'd be at each others' throats).
For the other two, I'd probably stay away from Bane, since he's so lawful. Ghaunadaur is another idea as a replacement for Moander, except then it looks like most of the drow pantheon. Other possibilities: Shar, Cyric, Talos. After Wooly's comments, I'm starting to like the idea of a lost Moander sect, trying to get their god freed and back into the heavens. |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
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3catcircus
Acolyte
32 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2006 : 01:59:42
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quote:
Originally posted by Hoondatha
As for deities, neither Iuz nor Zuggtmoy have ever had any presence in FR. They're Greyhawk deities. Now, there's nothing saying you can't import them into FR, but that might be more work than needed.
Well - I'm planning on replacing Iuz. Seeing as how Zuggtmoy *isn't* a deity, but a Demon (Prince(ss)? Lord(Lady)?), I see no reason *not* to use her in Faerun.
quote:
Also, (bearing in mind it's been a while since I read T1-4), I thought the Elemental Evils were simply the four temples, each devoted to their own element. The fourth level had gates to the inner planes, but it seemed that they worshipped more "Chaotic Evil" than any god beyond Zuggtmoy, and a little Iuz.
So, since the elemental lords are portrayed as distant and sometimes brutal (despite being N), you could have a whole bunch of CE priests worshipping them. If you want to do away with that part and have the temple be four temples, each aligned to a different evil god, each at each others' throats, that'd work too. I'd try to find a bunch of CE gods, though. Lloth works great, and maybe toss in Vhaeraun too (since it works so well for your campaign and they'd be at each others' throats).
Maybe, but since there *are* evil elemental deities, I see no reason why the temple(s) couldn't be devoted to them.
quote:
For the other two, I'd probably stay away from Bane, since he's so lawful. Ghaunadaur is another idea as a replacement for Moander, except then it looks like most of the drow pantheon. Other possibilities: Shar, Cyric, Talos. After Wooly's comments, I'm starting to like the idea of a lost Moander sect, trying to get their god freed and back into the heavens.
I like the lost Moander sect (and I get to use LEoF...), but I'm thinking, based on the original and updating it to the present, I'm gonna do the following:
1. Velsharoon is replacing Iuz.
2. Lolth stays.
3. I'm using the evil elementals deities.
4. Ghaunadaur is replacing Zuggtmoy.
I'm doing this after re-reading each of the super-modules since Lareth is supporting Lolth and Zuggtmoy is opposing Lolth in T1-4. A1-4 has the slavers supported by a drow house devoted to The Elder Elemental Evil and opposing Lolth. GDQ1-7 retroactively makes this the case. Since Ghaunadaur = Juiblex = Elder Elemental Evil (and EGG confirmed that the EEE is*not* Tharizdun) I'll use Ghaundaur.
That solves *that* problem. Now - which factions will the slavelords represent. I'm thinking that even though they are backed by a drow house, I'll just make Edralve (one of the slavelords) backed by them. I'm thinking of any of the following as other factions: Monk of the Long Death, Thayans, Banites/Cyricists/Zhents, and the original idea of the Iron Throne, based upon some suggestions I've read already.
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2006 : 03:42:13
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quote:
Originally posted by Hoondatha
@ Wooly: Hmm. Looks like I need to reread Power of Faerun again. What section is it in? That does settle a question I had about whether when Finder killed Moander all of his imprisoned parts also died, though.
It's the High Level Challenges chapter. Specifically, pages 117-8. |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2449 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2006 : 13:22:54
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| Ahh, I remember it now. There's so much good stuff in there, it's hard to remember it all. Thanks. |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
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3catcircus
Acolyte
32 Posts |
Posted - 28 Apr 2006 : 17:45:26
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Hmm? No suggestions for what factions should make up the Slavelords???
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Beirnadri Magranth
Senior Scribe
USA
720 Posts |
Posted - 28 Apr 2006 : 17:56:38
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| temple of elemental evil reminds me of the Canticle. I imagine something like that would be set somewhere north east of Tethyr maybe even the border lands... |
"You came here to be a martyr in a great big bang of glory... instead you will die with a whimper."
::moussaoui tries to interrupt::
"You will never get a chance to speak again and that's an appropriate ending."
-Judge Brinkema |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 28 Apr 2006 : 17:59:33
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quote:
Originally posted by 3catcircus
Hmm? No suggestions for what factions should make up the Slavelords???
Well, I can name a few but I don't know those modules. :)
The Zhents.
Shadow Thieves.
Unseen.
Any of the slavers from Skullport.
Or any group you might want to make up. |
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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Assimilating T1-4/A1-4/GDQ1-7 in Faerun...
