The Net Book of Plots
Volume V

Editors Note:
This book marks the first in a new format, made for conversion to HTML and for indexing. My enormous thanks go to Alexander Forst (alex@complang.tuwien.ac.at) and to Soh Kam Hung (h.soh@trl.telstra.com.au) for their dedicated efforts in designing this tagging scheme and help in tagging and editing the plots. I hope all enjoy this new collection and dont forget to tell the authors how it went if you run a plot.

Patrimony
Tim Dickinson (dickinst@crl1.crl.aecl.ca)
Setting: Any   Genre: Any  
A character (or a follower, or henchman) receives an "inheritance" they didn't know they had from their father or some more ancient ancestor. Note that these types of inheritances don't have to be land, wealth or possessions: sometimes certain _rights_ were just as valuable. For instance the right to own land in certain places, the right to start a business, or be exempt from taxes, or whatever. For balance, it probably shouldn't be something _too_ wonderful. It may even have problems attached (squatters on land, politicians who don't like people exempt from taxes, etc.).


Chimneys
Tim Dickinson (dickinst@crl1.crl.aecl.ca)
Setting: Urban   Genre: Any  
There's a killer on the loose in town. Someone (something?) is killing people and stuffing them down chimneys and fireplace flues. People find out when they light their morning fires and the smoke backs up. No visible wounds. Is it poisoning? Demons? Rabid Santa Claus?


Floating
Tim Dickinson (dickinst@crl1.crl.aecl.ca)
Setting: Urban   Genre: Any  
Some washing women (damn, I'm sexist) are down by the river when something horrible floats to the surface. They run back and tell everyone. Was it alive? Dead? Is it there when someone goes to investigate?


The Crucible
Tim Dickinson (dickinst@crl1.crl.aecl.ca)
Setting: Urban  Genre: Any  
Some guy off the street comes up to a character and wants to buy an object they carry (a sword? helmet? shield?). He offers to pay with a small marble crucible.


Calculus
Tim Dickinson (dickinst@crl1.crl.aecl.ca)
Setting: City  Genre: Fantasy  
Some sages in the city come up with a new higher-order mathematics which they say is very useful for describing natural phenomena. The local church immediately denounces it as unholy and sacrilege.


Prolapse
Tim Dickinson (dickinst@crl1.crl.aecl.ca)
Genre: Any  
A medical condition with which to inflict a PC; specifically, the falling down of a part of the body from its normal position, usually the womb or the rectum. I kid you not. Look it up.


Get the Acid
Tim Dickinson (dickinst@crl1.crl.aecl.ca)
Setting: Wilderness  Genre: Fantasy  
The players must (for whatever reason - debt, magical item required, payment to a mage, etc.) retrieve, whole and unbroken, the internal acid sac of an acid-spitting dragon. First kill it (non-destructively), then cut out the sac (tricky business).


Rumour
Tim Dickinson (dickinst@crl1.crl.aecl.ca)
Setting: Urban   Genre: Any  
A nasty personal rumour spreads about a PC. It's untrue, and quite nasty. Who started it? What implications will it have?


Insane companions
Tim Dickinson (dickinst@crl1.crl.aecl.ca)
Setting: Any   Genre: Any  
Henchmen or hirelings that turn out to be insane. For example, a soldier with monomania (becomes obsessed with one task to the exclusion of all else, becomes depressed when task completed), or a megalomaniac blacksmith.


You call this government?
Tim Dickinson (dickinst@crl1.crl.aecl.ca)
Setting: Any   Genre: Fantasy   Genre: Sci-Fi  
Areas with unusual forms of government. For example, a pedocracy (government by scholars and the educated), or a syndicracy (rule by a body of syndicates, each representing some business interests).


Holy water
Tim Dickinson (dickinst@crl1.crl.aecl.ca)
Setting: Urban   Genre: Fantasy  
A cleric must become involved in re-making a holy water font after the old one is defiled. Several weeks of time, and great cost.


Skunks
Tim Dickinson (dickinst@crl1.crl.aecl.ca)
Setting: Wilderness   Setting: Forest   Genre: Fantasy  
A quest/magic spell component/item recharging ritual/whatever requires that the group obtain the intact scent glands of 6 skunks.


Magic toys
Tim Dickinson (dickinst@crl1.crl.aecl.ca)
Setting: Any   Genre: Fantasy  
Little magic items that charm or entrap the user. For example, a little puzzle, made of wood and wire, that you're supposed to manipulate into some particular shape (you know the kind - even a Rubik's Cube, maybe!): if the owner fails a save, he/she becomes enraptured by it, and won't put it down. If it's finally forcibly taken away, they'll react violently for a couple of turns. Or one of them little kaleidoscope tubes: if the person doesn't save, they'll continue to stare through it and giggle. If it's taken away, same reaction as above.


Haunted item
Tim Dickinson (dickinst@crl1.crl.aecl.ca)
Setting: Any   Genre: Fantasy   Genre: Horror  
An item that's haunted or cursed because it was used in the commission of a terrible murder. It'll move a little on its own, or tingle, or drop from your grasp, or moan eerily, or whatever. If the murder can be investigated and maybe solved, this behaviour will stop.


Community service
Tim Dickinson (dickinst@crl1.crl.aecl.ca)
Setting: Urban   Setting: City   Genre: Any  
Character(s) get arrested for fighting/carrying weapons/some other obscure law, and instead of being thrown in jail they're forced to perform several days (weeks?) of community service:

In addition, as criminals, they're given a big ol' tattoo, someplace really conspicuous.


Dyed in the wool
Tim Dickinson (dickinst@crl1.crl.aecl.ca)
Setting: Urban   Genre: Any  
An accident where a quantity of brightly-colored dye gets poured all over one of the characters. Takes _weeks_ to wear off.


Curious book
Tim Dickinson (dickinst@crl1.crl.aecl.ca)
Setting: Any   Genre: Any  
The characters lay their hands on a book that has very curious things written inside: they may lead to further adventures, or just be teasers.


"Every Which Way But Loose"
Tim Dickinson (dickinst@crl1.crl.aecl.ca)
Setting: Any   Genre: Any  
A friendly orangutan becomes the party's strong, goofy and unpredictable travelling companion for a while, whether they like it or not. See Clyde, from the Clint Eastwood movies "Every Which Way But Loose" and "Every Which Way You Can".


Gruesome
Tim Dickinson (dickinst@crl1.crl.aecl.ca)
Setting: Urban   Genre: Fantasy   Genre: Horror  
People (not the party) get killed in bizarre ways:

There can be a reason behind it all (the setup to whatever other adventure you want), or not.


Wyrd Witch
Tim Dickinson (dickinst@crl1.crl.aecl.ca)
Setting: Wilderness   Setting: Forest   Genre: Fantasy  
A wacky old witch in a hut in the woods, who will procure magical potions of wondrous efficacy for anyone willing to pay the price. Each potion requires payment of something really odd: 6 turtles, 3 double-yolker eggs, a painting of a tree, or something equally goofy.


Pick Pockets
Tim Dickinson (dickinst@crl1.crl.aecl.ca)
Setting: Urban   Setting: City   Genre: Fantasy  
Characters should get their pockets picked more often when they're in cities. They're big and rich-looking, and they'll be constant targets. Non-stop.


Ethnic Cleansing
Tim Dickinson (dickinst@crl1.crl.aecl.ca)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Urban   Setting: City  
Some locals are being murdered - some of high standing, some common folk. The local Assassin's Guild is carrying out the executions, under order from a secret cult of half-elvan fanatics. Investigation will reveal that all of those killed were half-orc, although no one knew it, most of the time. The cult despises the idea of orcs defiling the human heritage they share.


Demon or not Demon, that is the question
Tim Dickinson (dickinst@crl1.crl.aecl.ca)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Urban  
A rumour that a local priest of high standing is a demon. He's not, but if your players are like mine, they beat every rumour to death, especially if it's demonic. The priest will hear of their investigation, and may even start worrying and acting suspiciously: this may lead the players on even _more_.


DARK MASS OF KOREEM-CIL
Tim Dickinson (dickinst@crl1.crl.aecl.ca)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Urban  
The general plot: the characters have to get information about, then infiltrate a ceremony of an evil religious sect, to save the intended sacrifice. (Hey, does this sound familiar? Ahhh, so what?)

If the party think they the goodies, then just drop them some rumours about the cult and its sacrificial doings. This should be sufficient to draw in properly-played PCs. If they are not inclined to do such a thing for nothing, then have them hired on to do so (a wealthy parent is concerned their newly-converted child is going to be a sacrifice, or the established local religion wants a stop put to this heathen bunch and their evil practices).

In any case, info about the cult should be sketchy. They'll have to sniff out rumours about town. They'll have to pay some snitches (who may or may not give them good information). They should get a little too close for someone's comfort, and they should get attacked for it. Maybe with magic, a curse or something serious.

Specifically, they'll want (i) cult background and (ii) location of the next sacrificial ceremony. The second will be very hard to get.

If some of the characters want to try to infiltrate the cult, this will be next to impossible. Unless some _very_ convincing magical method is possible to replace an existing cultist, they'll be found out. If they try to "join", they'll be turned away and everyone's guard will be up.

If they manage to locate the ceremony, they'll witness terrible magic and nasty rites. An attempt to rescue sacrifices will be met with (i) much priestly magic (ii) moderate armed resistance. If the party is strong, and they let the ceremony proceed at all before stepping in, they'll be confronted with whatever terrible otherworldly thing the cult was attempting to summon with the sacrifice (its notice was gained with the beginning of the ceremony, and it is furious at the sacrifices which it did not receive: it'll appear and attack everyone, cultists included).

There's also a chance that they'll get captured themselves and get added to the list of sacrifices. This is a good way to go if the party splits up and comes in from two different directions, or tries to co-ordinate two different tasks at once: one group will suddenly notice that the other has been captured and is being led to the slaughter. This adds urgency to their task. 8-)

If this is the case, a good hook is to have the cultists do something to one of the characters, pre-sacrifice, that is somehow permanent: a terrible scar, or a spell, or some such. Something that they have to live with (and role-play with) for the rest of their lives, preferably.

There's lots of good hooks from the after effects, if they're successful in saving the sacrifice, or even killing off most of the cultists. They'll earn the undying enmity of that sect, and they'll be after them forever. They may get some nasty curses from the priests before they win. They may have allowed a terrible monstrosity to be summoned, which will wreak havoc, of course. They may even get blamed for this. Perhaps they'll discover that local officials or nobles were somehow illegally involved (they belong to the cult, or have struck a black deal with them). Will they reveal such a conspiracy? Can they really prove it?


Taken in
Robert Underwood (GEO10701022@NKU.EDU)
Genre: Cyberpunk   Setting: Urban  
The group is gathered together by Mr. Johnson. The group has a specified goal, like blackmailing a mob boss, or performing a dangerous extraction. The characters are promised support, if needed. They go on the job and encounter _heavy_ resistance. The support that was promised never shows up, the characters are hung out to dry. It would seem that the job was just a distraction that the Corp's solos could perform a job easily, seeing that everybody was hunting the PC's.

The PC's have a reason to hate the Corp that hung them out to dry, and need to look out for the ones that they crossed. Could even have cops, or CIA looking for them because of the first run. Makes for an interesting, if short, life.


Betrayal
Robert Underwood (GEO10701022@NKU.EDU)
Genre: Cyberpunk   Genre: New Age   Setting: Urban   Setting: City  
The campaign starts with a Corp hiring the PC's, preferably the PC's do not know each other. The Corp is an assistant VP in some Corp. This Corp has ideals on how a company should act, in a way that promotes the common good. The Corp has most of the lower echelons in his division agreeing with him. The company president prefers the traditional style of business, you know the corporate way. The AVP cannot be removed without causing massive disruptions in his division. So between the division and the rest of the Corp there is animosity.

That is just the background, the characters are hired by the Corp for typical runner purposes. The Corp will provide as much in the way of help that he can (about level 3 or 4 of resources). Some missions will be nothing more than "good deeds" for various people. About the third or fourth mission the expected support will fail, bring the characters to believe that the AVP betrayed them (he didn't, it was a traitor in the division).

Eventually the characters will become involved in a war for control of the company when the old president is assassinated. The Corp will be split almost evenly between two factions. One is lead by our AVP, he has gained more support than he had, because he is better qualified than his opponent.


Good Cops
Robert Underwood (GEO10701022@NKU.EDU)
Genre: Cyberpunk   Setting: Urban   Setting: City  
The players start out as a cop group. It is well known that the police force is quite corrupt. After some missions (with at least one internal affairs mission) the city decides to scrap the police force and hire corporate police.

The city can not pay for the police force that it needs (hence the corruption) and trades some control over policy for police protection. The trade is quiet, the city would riot if it knew. When the corporation takes over it fires everybody, including our players. The players should be left in job limbo for a while. Next let them find out the "cost" of police protection and encourage them to go public. Before the players go public have a council member explain why the decision was made that way.

If the players get into lots of trouble, remember that the good cops will do everything in their power to help. Of course, the players shouldn't know which cops are good and which work for other people.


The Magical Land of Ith
Chris Bova (chbova@vassar.edu)
Matt Sernett (sernett@max.muhlberg.edu)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any  
What follows is a campaign idea worked out for a fantasy campaign, and it uses monsters found in that setting, but, with a little work, you could use it for almost any role playing system short of sci-fi ultratech.

The malevolent race known as the Illithid (Mind Flayers) can well remember when their world Ith was a glorious paradise, when it's black jungles bloomed wild, when the warm, primordial oceans washed the unspoiled beaches, when the Shrouded sunned themselves atop armorlichen spires miles high, their razor sharp foreclaws glittering the violet light. All the Illathid race was happy, and lived at peace, with just the right amount of inter-racial violence to ensure nobody would get bored.

That was long ago, and now strange things are beginning to happen to the Mind-Flayer garden of Eden. The sun of their homeworld is becoming brighter and stronger. The seas are getting warmer, the foliage greener, and in time, the Illathid will be driven underground. Their home planet will soon no longer support them. Several centuries ago, the grand and glorious Order of the Ebon Tentacle finally seized the initiative from it's competitors and gathered almost a thousand Illathid in the great chamber of council. Heads bowed in reverence, the multitudes breathlessly awaited the commands of the great mind. At last the brain pool spoke, and it ordered it's children to cast themselves upon the Astral seas, searching for another world, a place where the ecology of Ith could be recreated down to the minutest detail, and the Illithid could once again live in the relative peace of constant interracial war. And so it was done, and not long ago, some fortunate Illathid began a hive on a world known to it's inhabitants as "Earth". The planet's measurements seemed exact, slightly larger than Ith even, with a comparable atmosphere and seas that had the potential to support Ith life with some modification. But the sun there was too bright for Illathid existence, forcing the first pioneers to take shelter underground. It was then that they found the moon. It was worshiped as a god by the local inhabitants, but the Illithid knew better. The moons of Ith were smaller by far, and completely unsuitable for the purposes that the Illithid had in mind.

Tunnelling out the centre of the moon, the Illithid plan to create a perfectly circular chamber that is in effect a giant lifejammer helm. The life force of thousands of living creatures will be necessary to accomplish the goal; move the moon to a position in which it will block the sun's light, and hold it there. Luckily, the planet beneath is crawling with living creatures of no particular consequence that will make excellent sacrifices... The Shrouded would just eat them anyhow, once the ecology of Ith is transplanted. And so was launched possibly the most half-baked plot for world domination ever cooked up by sentient creatures that smell faintly of squid and eat human brains.


Starting out in OverEarth
Carl Green (navarre@iafrica.com)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any  
This plot describes how I started characters in a new campaign. I had begun to envisage my new band of heroes as a weird mixture of technology and fantasy from three basic 'periods', viz: the 'normal' fantasy time frame, a modern (1995) period, and a futuristic, post-apocalypse period (very Terminator 2 in feel). The characters that could fit into this strange crossover seemed to step right out of my mind; they could include a knight on a Harley, wielding a magic bastard sword and an ion cannon, or an elf with cyber-enhancements, armed with longbow and Uzi machine-guns, or a robotic warrior armed with a staff of fireballs and a copy of the Necronomicon.

I realised that what I was trying to do was to combine all of my inspirations, from Lovecraft to Scwarzenegger, Tolkien to 2000AD - I'm sure you get the picture...

Right, the next phase was to design the fantasy world that would be the starting point for the campaign. I had had the name OverEarth rolling around in my mind for quite a while, which inspired a setting that was basically an alternative Earth with the normal fantasy/historical time frame, magic systems, etc. The starting point would be the island kingdom of Beorsca, off the west coast of Uropha, and basically an alternative England...

Next I developed my arch-enemy for Beorsca, the usual vicious mage and power-hungry tyrant, but added the twist that he was the father of one of the PCs...

Now came the real challenge - how to start the actual campaign, how to develop the characters, and how to provide the rationale for the 'jumps' to our own present-day Earth and its post-apocalypse future

My solution to the dilemma was based upon two beliefs that I had formulated over the years...

Firstly, that role-playing a character in a fully developed fantasy world is almost impossible, because of the lack of frames of reference. What I mean by this is that if I tell you to role-play someone from Paris, your mind automatically throws out images of the Eiffel Tower, street cafes, etc, but if I say role-play an elf from Elshaven, you have no mental images on which to base your character.

Secondly, I had found that role-playing groups often squabble and argue at every turn, even when playing fully in character. This arguing always seemed to spoil the impression that the group was a cohesive whole, and it seemed ludicrous that they remained together at all...

The solution to the first problem is simple to run, and turns out to be the 'engine' that drives the PCs towards their goal. In brief, I decided that the characters had actually battled their arch-enemy across Beorsca 900 years ago, and then followed him through a gate to present (1995) Earth and eventually to the post-apocalypse future Earth. However, when they finally faced him (by then armed with weaponry from all three settings), he once again stepped through a gate, trying to return to OVEREARTH. The characters followed, and the trap was sprung. The arch-enemy sealed access out of the gates, and the characters were trapped in an inter-dimensional limbo...

Time passes, and our PC benefactors (which could either be your campaigns gods, or some ultra-powerful NPC) stumble/s upon the characters locked in limbo, strips them of their techno-items, and sends them back to their home world (in this case OVEREARTH). However, it is now 900 years later, and the arch-enemy has just about destroyed the PC's realm, which is now a dead island dominated by his (expectably) demonic forces. To make matters worse, and to really spice things up, the characters don't have a clue who they are, where they come from, etc. Even better, their 900 year experience in limbo has caused their skills to atrophy, so that although they were, let's say 15th level, they're now 5th level, or 1st level if you're particularly cruel...Thus the players don't have to try to role-play in what in terms of geography or history is a totally foreign world, because it is also foreign to the CHARACTERS!

And the final twist, which accounts for the usual inter-character bickering, is that the party's original leader, a warrior of great skill and huge personal charisma * is not with them when they return*. They are aware of his (or her) absence, and cannot function as a unit without him/her.

And so the scene is set for the poor players, aware only of their names and their rudimentary skills, to...

The great part is that...


No Honour among Thieves
Quinton (quinton@sumter.cso.uiuc.edu)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Urban   Setting: City  
The captain of the guard is in the employ of the thieves guild. When the guild receives an item he really wants, he sets up an elaborate system to get it. He arrests the PCs on false or trumped up charges (a good way to get them introduced), then offers them absolution if they do him a favour. He wants them to infiltrate the thieves guild by a secret back door and find out some info on some item that will be showing up soon. When the PCs get through the sewers to the guild, the captain's men will frame them for a robbery that just took place. The players escape the angry thieves, but get captured by the town guard. Along the way they have picked up enough clues to figure out what has gone on, but they can't prove it. So they must escape from jail and go confront the captain as he is leaving town with the item. After this excitement, the PCs don't have much choice to become roving adventurers, since the thieves guild wants their heads.

From Rock to Plot
John McMullen (jhm@sentex.net)
Genre: Any   Setting: Any  
I've been GMing for over a decade now. Every once in a while, people ask me how I come up with plots. I'm not entirely sure, except that I look for problems and then complicate them. The two most useful questions in plotting are "Why?" and "How?" ("Who?" "Where?" "What?" and "When?" also get a work out.)

Anyway, I thought I'd share a technique that I use when I'm absolutely tapped out or when I can't seem to come up with anything original. You know the times -- all you can come up with is cliche material you've done a hundred times in the past. The first idea that comes to mind establishes squatter's rights on your frontal lobes.

(I want to emphasise that this isn't the only technique, or the best technique. It's simply *a* technique that I find useful.)

The technique is to limit yourself. When you've got the whole wide universe to work with, then you have *too many* possibilities. By setting arbitrary restrictions, you remove things from consideration and narrow your focus.

You've already got a bunch of stuff established which places restrictions on you. You know what genre you're working in -- that gives you a bunch of genre conventions you can choose to work with or against. You know what your player characters are (usually), and you probably have some sense of location and season. All of these things are restrictions. If you're doing a sword and sorcery campaign, the question of aliens doesn't come up.

That set of restrictions presumably isn't enough (or you wouldn't need this technique). The next thing to do is set some arbitrary restriction: the entire adventure takes place in a single room, for example, or the entire adventure is built around what you did last weekend. Other possibilities include story anthologies and (ahem) a dictionary of cliches or quotations. The technique really relies on forcing the juxtaposition of unusual elements.

Here's a (lengthy) example. I have a Dark Champions campaign. I know the characters, I know the time of year, I know the city (none of which tells me what the next story is). So I'm sitting here listening to the soundtrack album for "Dumb and Dumber" and I decide that I'll create a plot that incorporates *something* from each song on the album.

Here are the songs on the album:

Hmm. Peter Pumpkinhead and The Bear Song suggest some kind of kid song/nursery rhyme feel. Get Ready supports that with lines like "Fee Fi Fo Fum." You Sexy Thing, Too Much of a Good Thing, and If You Don't Love Me (I'll Kill Myself) all suggest some kind of excess, perhaps emotional overdrive -- maybe a mind control plot? Somebody discovers a *real* aphrodisiac and starts dumping it in the water? Someone is infatuated with another person, makes the threats to suicide if he or she doesn't return the affection, but the other person's attitude could be described as Whiney, Whiney (What Really Drives Me Crazy).

New Age Girl is a sort-of love song to someone named Mary Moon who is (in fact) a New Age Girl. She's now an NPC in the adventure.

First plot that comes to mind with this: take the lowest charisma hero who often complains he doesn't have a love relationship and give him a groupie (Mary Moon) who follows him around as the group tries to track down someone who's committing a series of thefts (Take) based on nursery rhymes. That leaves me with Hurdy Gurdy Man, Crash, Insomniac, and Where I Find My Heaven as plot elements to incorporate.

I don't like it. So we'll try again. Instead, let's start with the insomniac. Suppose someone has the oft-used psionic power of tangible hallucinations and dreams. He or she knows it and has started trying to stay awake (Insomniac). It's not easy to make a living if you have this kind of disability, so he or she is living as a street musician (Hurdy Gurdy Man). That also gives us the street-level feel and makes the psionic harder to track down. He or she has a tremendous crush on Mary Moon (we're back to her again).

The first hallucination is Peter Pumpkinhead, a reasonably nice fellow. Freaked, she leaves and is pursued by other nursery-rhyme characters. Although Peter is quite likeable, but the others (the Bear that went over the mountain, for instance) don't have to be. Not knowing what's going on, Mary seeks out the PCs; if the PCs are too hard to find, they'll encounter her, trapped by the Bear. This leads to both Mary and the PCs trapped in the psionic's ideal world (Where I Find My Heaven). It's not pleasant for the PCs, because he regards them as competition (Too Much of a Good Thing). This is obvious because Mary has a crush on one of the PCs (You Sexy Thing). This environment, combined with Mary's information, lets them know who they're looking for. The PCs can get out by moving fast enough and far enough -- the psionic's powers aren't all-encompassing, after all.

This, with the uppers, unhinges the psionic (If You Don't Love Me, Whiney Whiney). The first evidence is when Peter Pumpkinhead (trustworthy up until now) turns psychotic.

In the meantime, (1) the psionic, worried, has been awake on uppers long enough for hallucinations to start anyway, and (2) our villain of the piece has figured out where these nursery-rhyme apparitions are coming from, and is also searching for the psionic.

Still to include: Take (a robbery of some kind?) and Crash.

The bad guy catches the psionic, uses hypnosis or mind control to generate some truly unpleasant hallucinations to perform robberies (Take), including running an armoured car off the road (Crash) and picking up the money.

The good guys catch up, there is a fight and the problem of what to do with the psionic. I leave that up to the players.

Now, a lot of the details still need to be worked out, but there's a basic setup, antagonist, and conflict.

Not entirely without cliches (to really eliminate cliches, you'd have to know the characters better), but it's certainly different than what I would have come up with otherwise.

Anyway, it's a technique I find useful, so I thought I'd share it for those who are having trouble jump-starting their plots.


A ship of fools
Ketil Z Malde (ketil@ii.uib.no)
Genre: Fantasy   Genre: Horror   Setting: Ship  
The characters need to cross some ocean. It is difficult to get hold of a ship, but finally one merchant offers to sell them one. The price can be discussed - a lot. Now the reason the ship is sold cheap if necessary, is that it is a ghost ship. The previous captain was killed by the second in command when he discovered what they were *really* doing (Smuggling? Worse?) Now, the ghost will control the ship, and no matter how the players try, it will quietly "drift off" towards the island where the previous captain was killed. The players will experience his death in their dreams, some as the victim, some as the perpetrator. On the island, another ship will be arriving shortly with the murderer abroad, and the ghost will appear and explain that he must be avenged, and will show them a treasure if they do it. Of course, what the players do might have consequences for their social position etc, depending on how they do it.


The characters are ambushed lightly, and when the ambushers run away, they leave behind a sack. The sack contains a small faerie, gnome, or whatever, who wants the characters to help them open a gate to Arcadia. The gate turns out to be a frozen lake, and the only way to melt it is to remove the church that is being built not too far away...and perhaps a sacrifice is necessary.


Returned veterans
Mike Jones (MIKEJONES@safripol.senchem.co.za)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any  
I had a team that had played together for about three years. Unfortunately the team was about to fragment due to people moving for work. We finished the campaign with an extended and excellent war.

This led to the ideal opportunity to start off the new characters as newly enlisted men pulled into the system by a "draft bill" This allowed me to let them all know one another and also it afforded me the chance of letting them start with more powerful characters for the basic training that they went through. This pleased the older players who just shelved experienced characters. Additionally it opens the way for reasons why less suited characters would want to be multi-classed fighter-anything. Now with the returning heroes of the war they feel inadequate. All of the available jobs are being snatched by anyone who killed a worm let alone an Orcish commander. So the party is forced to seek an alternative livelihood. Roll on adventuring.


"Save the good dragon from the evil princess- pt1"
James Tackett (jtackett@lightspeed.net)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any  
In the first net plot book, there is a quick adventure idea summed up as: "Save the good dragon from the evil princess"

Some suggestions

Evil Princess intent on overthrowing her parents, but lacking the needed backing among the leaders of the army, has managed to locate an Arcane and purchased (with monies/items stolen from the kingdoms treasury) an amulet/ring/potion/item which allows her to control the dragon which for generations has helped protect the (select compass direction) borders and mountain passes of the kingdom from marauders and invading forces. The dragon under her control has been attacking outlying areas and the population is in an uproar. The forces of evil, alerted by the princess that her plan is beginning to bear fruit, are moving towards the kingdom. The king has suspicions, the general knows what's up, but can not take direct action against the princess, the court wizard is away at the time (arranged by the princess, false leads on an ancient artifact etc). The only hope for the kingdom is that heroes will arise and release the dragon from the princesses control, and bring to light the entire plot so that the king can banish her and make her younger sister the true and good heir. If the heroes should fail, the entire kingdom will be cast into a era of darkness and evil.


"Save the good dragon from the evil princess- pt2"
Rick DiTullio (rditulli@forest.drew.edu)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any   Setting: Forest  
Just to add my own thoughts on this interesting idea. "Save the good dragon from the evil princess"

The dragon in question does not have to be full grown. Imagine the evil princess holding a dragon egg or hatchling ransom to force the local dragon population to do her bidding.

To adapt this to a forest scenario use a faerie dragon protector of an ancient forest. Or even have the whole thing be an illusionary romp caused by the dragon!

Lastly, imagine the evil princess gaining control of the court wizard's psuedodragon familiar. This is possibly worse than ransoming the dragons depending on the wizard's level!


Behold Such Beauty
John A. Murphy (jam@philabs.research.philips.com)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Wilderness  
This scenario is best played a bit light-hearted. It starts with the party entering a very remote village, Village. This village is far removed from normal government dealings and as such they have their own small local monarchy. As the party approaches there is great unrest in the town square. There are trappings as if a festivity is about to commence, but the townsfolk, also known as the Village People, are very concerned about something. Anyone they ask will point them to the garrison commander, Moostard (a colonel), who can relate the story.

The party should have little trouble following the tracks and finding the valley. They should be approaching the temple about sundown. The temple is in a shallow valley. The clerics should have at least a few guards or patrols, avoidance is a fine way of dealing with them.

The main temple is a long building built into the side of the valley. The building has a large set of double doors, a single large eye is centred on the doors. There is a small stable that is adjacent to the front of the temple. A small door leads from the stable to the temple. There is a stable hand that is armed with a pitchfork in the stable along with a few horses among the stalls.

If the party is able to approach quietly they can enter from either the front doors, which open quietly and are not currently locked, or from the stable. Both lead into a small anteroom. The back wall of the anteroom is covered with a large heavy curtain.

As the party peeks through the curtain they can see the main temple area. It is dimly lit by several torches and braziers. Several of the pews have initiates in them. At the far end is the alter. A priest is concluding some sort of ceremony. The princess is chained, standing on the far side of the altar facing a statue. The statue is made of stone and is that of a large round (2 meter diameter) creature with one large eye in the centre. The creature also has several eye stalks (appendages ending in a small eye) sprouting off of it. The centre eye is made of a huge ruby, about the size of two large fists. The eyes at the end of each eye stalk are about the size of a regular human eye and are of various types including emerald sapphire, onyx, etc.

The priest at the altar is finishing a ceremony that concludes with his arms outstretched. The centre eye of the statue begins to glow and the light slowly begins to extend until it envelopes the princess. After a few seconds the princess collapses, her pallor now a dull grey. This entire process takes less than a minute.

If the party doesn't intercede at this point the priest will continue with the physical sacrifice of the princess's body. This will result in the unalterable death of the princess. What the party must do is intercede and rescue the body of the princess as well as the centre jewel from the statue. The ruby is hollow and if held up to the light, the face of the princess can be seen almost as a reflection or a ghost within. To restore the princess the party must merely break the ruby with the body of the princess close by.

Most of the initiates are not well trained and have Mediocre combat ability. The priest and optional acolytes have Fair or Good combat ability plus some magical ability. Along the back wall is a concealed door that leads to other chambers including a jail area (with jailer and optional prisoners), some storage rooms, and the private quarters for the priest.

Ultimately if the party does not succeed and the clerics continue on their way, they will continue to steal souls until they can animate their deity.


Fortress of the Sender
John A. Murphy (jam@philabs.research.philips.com)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Wilderness   Setting: Castle  
This works best with a party that contains a thief. The party is in the capital city of Gunthenor for the first time. It is usually appropriate for thieves to visit or register with the local guild. Alternately, a member of the guild may seek them out, make friends and then later try to steer them with a tip if the party is looking for an adventure or work.

The guild master (or new friend), Nelbin, should eventually meet up with the party. He isn't someone to be totally trusted, although this has to be discovered over time. He isn't evil, just has his own agenda. He is or has been a thief at some point in his life. He doesn't relate all he knows and tries to paint a picture of a ruthless baron practically kidnapping his friend. He doesn't want to tell the party too much, because if captured they won't know anything. He is concerned that the baron might become proactive if he finds out that someone is trying to check up on him.

Nelbin relates the following:

This tale is full of half-truths. The baron worries the guild and Nelbin in particularly. The baron has risen to power in a remote area, the wild woods of the Northlands. Information and intelligence on him is limited. Nelbin knows he likes to stay secluded, but has allies within the governmental hierarchy. He has shun any contact with the guild. Attempts to contact him have gone unanswered, sometimes the messenger doesn't return. The baron has a strong hold on his territory and works both sides of the legal fence. He conducts raids on some towns or trade routes, while others are protected. No one is aware of any of this.

Nelbin first met the baron [he thinks] face to face after he was captured after infiltrating the barons main [he thinks] fortress. He was sneaking around inside the fortress when something landed at his feet. Whatever it was caused the immediate area to go completely silent. He turned and saw a man with bright yellow eyes at the end of the hallway staring at him. Then he heard strange words in his mind that he recognised as some kind of spell, soon after he fell fast asleep. When he awoke he was imprisoned.

Nelbin is a Good thief and was finally able to escape. Over time he was able to collect enough pieces of scrap metal to create a crude pick. He then slunk in the shadows of night until he reached a small store room. There he was able to create a secret/false hole in one wall and make his escape.

Unbeknownst to Nelbin is that the baron is of a strange race called the Senders [ see below ]. Nelbin also doesn't realise that his run in was with the barons only son.

The stronghold is in the wilderness of the north. This particular stronghold is not the barons main quarters, but merely one of several outposts. The baron is known to maintain patrols over a large area. What is not known is that the baron maintains odd alliances. The fortress is currently being guarded by a band of goblins. In other areas the baron has employed humans, mercenaries, orcs, and even an ogre or two. He tries to keep racial skirmishes to a minimum by separating races where he can. As far as the baron knows, his prisoner is a poor thief he caught investigating. The Sender at this particular outpost turns out not to be the baron, but the barons only son. The guards at his outposts are well fed and organised. Usually reporting to a human captain.

The structure is a 2 story keep, two guard towers in the front with a battlement that runs across the front and halfway down the east/west sides. There are few windows. The front battlement covers a small courtyard that doubles as a small stable area. Oil holes and an arrow slit over the centre aid in the defence of larger scale assaults. If they have hot oil prepared is up to you. Tree cover makes it reasonably easy to approach.

Size of the structure and the number of guards is dependent on how strong the party is and how difficult the rescue is intended to be. The storage room is located in a back corner, there is some shrubbery and undergrowth in front of the hole.

The stairs in the middle of the structure give an idea of where the stairs leading down to the jail area are. Obviously the inside needs to be detailed. If a full lower level is desired it can also be detailed.

		+----( )-------( )----|     |----( )------( )------+
		|          |                           |           |
		| tower    |    battlement area        | tower     |
		|__________| _ _ _ _ _|_ _ _|_ _ _ _ _ |___________|
		|                     |     |                      |
		|          |                           |           |
		|  b. a.                                  b. a.    |
		|          |                           |           |
		^                                                  ^
		v          |                           |           v
		|                                                  |
		| _ _ _ _ _|                           | _ _ _ _ _ |
		|                                                  |
		|                                                  |
		|                                                  |
		|                                                  |
		|                                                  |
		|                                |_|               |
		|                                |_|               |
		|___                             |-|               |
		|  |                             |-|               |
		|SR|                                               |
		|  |                                               |
		+x---( )----------------------------------( )------+
If the party is able to make the break out and escape, but does not kill the Sender, they hear as they are making their break: "My father the baron will be greatly angered by this...."

The Senders

A race of humans that have the gift of limited telepathy. They can speak to humans and most intelligent humanoids using their mind. The recipient can hear the Senders thoughts as if they were clearly spoken in their native language. The Senders can not read a persons thoughts, just place their thoughts as if spoken. Senders have a minimum of Good intelligence. It is unknown if the Senders are a separate race, or a human mutation. The Senders ten to have been either leaders of men or persecuted by the fearful.


The Party
Jonas Steverud (d4jonas@dtek.chalmers.se)
Genre: Any   Setting: Wilderness   Setting: Forest  
The PCs, who are travelling through a forest, comes out into a bigger clearing and finds out that there is a party going on there. What/Who has arranged the party and if the PCs are welcome is up to the GM.


Symbolica
Jonas Steverud (d4jonas@dtek.chalmers.se)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any  
The PCs are contacted in some way (by rich person in an inn? ;-) ) and this is the story which are told for them:

The master, of the one who contacts the PC, has a slight problem. The master is a wizard and he owns a book, called Symbolica, which has some *very* powerful spells in it (Ie. the wizard in the team might want it himself). But Symbolica is stolen! The master knows who the thief is, another wizard, and where he is. The master cannot pick it up himself because of reasons the PCs won't understand. Therefore he asks the PCs to help him, and he will pay them richly if they fulfil the task. The PCs sets off and do the quest. But it is one thing they overlooked: the truth!

This is the truth: The so-called thief is the rightful owner! The PCs master has fooled them! The master has also set out another team of adventurers who's task is to follow the PCs and make sure they fulfil their task. The second team are told that the PCs is doing this task as a punishment for a crime they have committed. When the PCs finally has discovered the truth they find themselves in a very delicate situation:

  1. Their original master is mad at them (for not fulfilling their task and/or discovering the truth).
  2. The rightful owner is mad at them (quite obviously!).
  3. The second team don't know what they should think and might decide to fight the PCs (Depending on how much the second team knows.) They maybe don't know the truth and continue with their mission - to force the PCs to deliver the book.
No friends, no money, only wounds and enemies. I think they will think it over once or two before they says yes to their next adventure...


A Royal Murder
Jonas Steverud (d4jonas@dtek.chalmers.se)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any  
The PCs are at the border on their way into a new kingdom. Shortly after the border, or just before it, they are contacted by a man who claims he is a nobleman and he needs their help.

This is the story he tells them. "For some years ago this country was a happy country. There were peace and the people were well fed. Everybody was happy and it was a healthy kingdom. But there was a snake in the paradise: Duke Foo (Call him something that's would make sense depending on your world). He had an eager longing for the crown and for three years ago he took it with the help of foreign help. The old king, and some of the noblemen who where loyal to him [the man lowers his head in a gesture that means that he's on of them], were send in exile.

The kingdom was sent into terror. People with opinions which didn't please the king where killed. Good men and women where tortured and killed for the sheer pleasure of the king. The once happy nation was now a frightened country!

For two and a half years the rightful king has been abroad but never, *never*, lost faith in once again come back and making justice! I am sent forward to make sure that the rightful king can enter his castle safely and it is in that task I need your help. I need your help to assassinate the pretender-king!"

The PCs get some extra details (like a map of the castle) and afterwards the sets off onto their task of justice. How far they comes before they discover the truth is up to you but they should get the chance of really, really screwing things up.

The truth is: the nobleman was lying. For some years ago the country was not happy, it was in terror - the terror of the king. After a while one of the noblemen was sickened by it and created a revolution and put himself in the throne. The new king is not a good king but his intentions are good. He wants to put things right and to make the country a happy nation. He has succeeded in some parts and the people love him (they will love anyone who threw out the old king). The old king was sent into exile together with some noblemen. That part of the story is correct, the fake part is the parts where the government of each king is described.

What the PCs now are going to do is to kill the good king and to reinstall the evil one.

Nice plans eh? Just watch out when you tell the players the truth. They might be angry... ;-)

Well, I think they should have a fair chance of discover the truth themselves, *before* everything goes out of hand. But if they overlook the evidence.... Make them suffer...


A Mansion Tale
Jonas Steverud (d4jonas@dtek.chalmers.se)
Genre: Horror   Setting: Building  
This is one of my better adventures, the problem is that I didn't GM it correctly so the players didn't get scared. :-( Tip: Read "The Shadow over Innmouth" (sp?) by Lovecraft first.

On a medium big island (4-6 miles across) there is a village and a mansion a mile or two from the village. A forest lies around the mansion, which is next to the sea. The mansion is own by an eccentrically man who only has one servant. He also have a brother in some big city (who's a doctor).

One day when one of the people in the village comes up to the mansion for some purpose he discovers that the front door is partly open. In one room he finds all the furniture put away up against the walls and a lot of signs is carved in (with a knife or similar) into the floor, walls and roof. On the middle of a big symbol there is a body, recognised as the brother of the master of the mansion dead, sacrificed. The servant and mansion owner are no-where to be seen. The villager sends for help.

Tahadaah... The players enter the scene from the left... :)

During the search in the house they goes into the kitchen and then out of it (nothing interesting there, they shouldn't be allowed to investigate too much here...). After a couple of minutes they find that they are missing one of the NPCs (anyone you like) who was following them. They finds him in the kitchen, killed with a meataxe with tremendous force. They haven't heard anything! They should realise that someone (some_thing_?) was in the kitchen WHEN THEY WHERE THERE TOO! Dahdahdaahda!

It's the servant (who is 800% insane and lives in the forest on the island) who killed him, when returning to steal some food.

Handouts:

A letters from the mansion owner's brother. They are talking about what a grandfather did to his daughter (married her to a Deep One, but that's not said straight out) and in that way "put this curse on our family". He also talks about fact that he has found a medication against this ("my eyes are once again normal and I don't have to wear sun goggles in the middle of the winter"). He also says that he "comes home to cure you my dear brother, even though it seems that you don't realised what a curse this is". The last letter says that the brother arrives the night before the man from the village finds his body and ends with "Stay out of the water, for God's sake!". You may also give them a unfinished letter from the Mansion owner saying he is rejecting the offer. He thinks the grandfather did the right thing.

What has happened:

Persons involved: The Mansion owner, who is Deep Ones (or "Deep-Ones-will- be"); his doctor brother (who doesn't want to be one); the mansion owner's servant.

The mansion owner thinks the Deep Ones connection is the best thing that has ever has happened to him (there are letters telling about this in the doctor brother's home and they both write diaries). When the doctor-brother arrives late at night his brother is prepared. With the help of his servant (they both completely insane) he strikes down the doctor and sacrifices him to some Outer God. The servant now extremely insane (SAN= -[VERY big number] ;-) ) runs away out into the woods (it is he who kills the NPC in the kitchen when he tries to collect some food. He will later try to escape to the mainland and run to some place, not even himself knowing where to (maybe a secret temple, but that's another story)). The mansion owner escapes down a tunnel to the ocean, down to a Deep One-City.


Home of the Happy Hobbit
John A. Murphy (jam@philabs.research.philips.com)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Building   Setting: Cave  
This is a good initial party get together, that works well for an initial or first time adventure. Someone needs to be a thief, best if he is just starting out. Since this is used as a characters initial adventure it tends to steer and have more of a fixed story line than many scenarios. (p.s. I avoiding typing he/she in many places, not because I don't want to be PC, but rather I think it reads easier.)

Note: Some GM only notes are included at points in [ ]'s, frequently it denotes bits of text that may be read directly to the player(s).

GENERAL BACKGROUND (optionally read to player(s)):

Years ago in the small village of Dillow, a hobbit named Pilar (pronounced Pee-lar) retired from adventuring and opened up a small inn, "The Home of the Happy Hobbit", a two- or three-storey structure with basic kitchen & dining services, a bar, and a few private rooms to rent. While some suspect Pilar used to be an adventuring thief, he denies it and uses colourful metaphors and ambiguous language to describe his previous experiences.

In general he is fair with his customers and is more interested in a relaxing livelihood, than squeezing his patrons for a few extra coppers.

The inn itself was nondescript for awhile, but soon began to make a name for itself. They have the ability to serve ice cold drinks even on the hottest of summer days. You can also get cheese, milk, and fruit out of season; things you can't even get at the inns in the larger cities. Pilar is the only one who knows the secret and he has yet to tell anyone. His part time helpers are mostly members of his extended family/clan.

GM PLOT TOUR and OVERVIEW:

Dillow has a small garrison, <30 guards, who patrol the countryside in an effort to keep order and monsters in their place. Usually there are no more than 5 to 10 guards in town. The captain of the guard is a human named Wooten.

The main player character is the thief. The thief's tutor, Pilar the hobbit and innkeeper, is murdered and the PC is accused of the crime. Unknown to any of the players, Pilar has a basement that leads to some cooled caves. He recently stumbled on a new fissure that eventually led to an ancient finished dungeon corridor. The corridor eventually dead ended at a cave in. There was also a room that looked either unfinished or caved in, but Pilar discovered that the rubble appeared to be silver ore. Knowing little about mining, but knowing from his adventuring days that many dwarves have knowledge of mining, he has been on the look out for a dwarf, or more precisely a miner. He has tried extracting some of the ore himself, but created a small cave in that almost buried him.

Pilar's actions were noticed by an unknown adversary (possibly an innkeeper from a nearby city who wanted Pilar's secret of cold drink) who sent a FAIR half-orc assassin (named Ugluk) to Dillow under the guise of a miner named Draggard. Draggard showed up in town and having been briefed on some very basic mining terms, was able to convince Pilar that he could help him. Pilar swore him to secrecy, got him to sign some form of a contract, and then took him to his secret cave. The hobbit explained how he had taken a small bit out, found it to be silver ore of decent quality and had been unsuccessful in extracting any large quantity. As the conversation progressed it started to become evident that Draggard didn't know mining from a hole-in-the-ground (so to speak). As Pilar was just starting to get suspicious, Daggard took the ice dagger he had broken off in the ice cave and killed Pilar with a vicious back stab.

What Daggard did NOT know, was that the door to this dead-end dungeon room had a hidden catch that left it locked from the inside. The catch is in the door frame right at floor level. Pilar found it, when he was in a similar situation as the door frame by the catch was slightly worn. Daggard is trapped, scared, and foreseeing himself starving to death, although he thinks that someone will find the way down here sometime today or tomorrow. As he waits he thinks of a plan.

CHARACTERS, WITH POSSIBLE STARTING LOCATIONS

BACKGROUND for thief player (optionally read to all players): [ This character may have grown up in or around Dillow. There are many farms and large woodlands in the surrounding countryside. ]

Pilar, the local innkeeper, is by far the most colourful individual in the village. You have always been fascinated by his stories of adventuring. His stories of adventuring have always fuelled your imagination. Going into deep dark dungeons, fighting evil monsters, and finding precious and magical gems seem almost dreamlike compared to this sleepy little town. Over the years you have found yourself helping out at the inn and fancy yourself to be a protege of Pilar's. He has shown you several "tricks of the trade" including how to pick simple locks ("I've only done this when the owner forgot his key or if I was curious as to what was inside", insists Pilar), how to sneak about quietly in shadows, and even how to scale a wall.

[ Make up an specific tales you feel will appeal to the character, sometimes explaining why a "thief" is not a bad thing to be. ]

THE STORY (as presented to the thief character):

The "The Home of the Happy Hobbit" basic map:
	Map Key:
		| or - : wall
		|   |  : door in horizontal wall
		  =    : small door in vertical wall
		|xxx|  : heavy/locked door
		 < >   : window
		  #    : rock, or inaccessible
		  .    : path
		  %    : cave-in or rubble
		  $    : silver ore
		V or > : slope in direction indicated
		  {    : water, pool or stream
		  S    : ice stalagmite and/or stalactite
		  m    : shovels and misc. mining equipment
		  w    : wheelbarrow
		  P    : Pilar's body

    Ground Floor:

		+-----------------------|xxx|----------------------+
		|                      =            =s __|         |
		|                      | Kitchen/   =t _ |         |
		|---raised floor-------| Upper store|a _ |         ^
		|______________________|            |i - |
		|     B A R         !  |            |r - |         v
		|___________________!__|____________|s . |         |
		|                       | fire  |                  |
		|                       +-------+                  |
		|                                                  |
		^                                                  ^
		        ( various benches, chairs, & tables )
		v                                                  v
		|                                                  |
		|                                                  |
		|                                                  |
		+----|     |------------< >---------------< >------+


    Upper Floor:

		+---< >----------< >-------------------------------+
		|              |                     s __|         |
		|   medium     =                     t _ |         |
		|   private    |       +------------+a _ |         ^
		|   room       |       |############|i - |
		|--------------|       |############|r - |         v
		|   cheap      |       +--------+###|s . |         |
		|   private    =       |  fire  |########|         |
		|   room       |       +--------+--------+         |
		|--------------|       |           |               |
		^              |       = Pilar's   =  Pilar's      ^
		    large      |       | Office    |  Room
		v   expensive  |       +-----------+               v
		|   private    |       | cheap     |               |
		|   room       =       = private   |               |
		|              |       | room      |               |
		+----------------< >----------------------< >------+


    Lower Level:

############## -|xxx|------------+############################################
############## =            =    |############################################
############## | Kitchen/   +-||-+############################################
############## | Upper store| _ |########     >   ###   ######################
############## |            | - |###### > #######V##     #####################
############## |            | - |###### #########  |  (cool ##################
############## |____________| . |#+-----+############ room) ##################
##############  | fire  |###|   +-+    X|############      ###################
##############  +-------+###| basement  |#############     ###################
############################| storeroom |################ X ##################
############################|m          |#################V###################
############################+-----------+#################V###################
##########################################################V###################
##########################################################V###################
##########################################################V###################
########################################################## ###################
#########################################################   ##################
######################################################   ..    ###############
############################################           ... S   S    ##########
##$$$$#######################################   S  ..... S   S           #####
#$$$$##------------------+################# S    S .            S      #######
#$$$$$$$%  w             |###############       S .   S   S          S  ######
#$$$$%$$     P           |#############   S  ... S .           S       S  ####
$$$$$$$%%                |###########    S  .S  ....S      S     S  S      ###
##$$$$$$-----+  +--------+##############   ..   S                       ######
##$##$#$#####|  |######################### .S   S  S      S   S        #######
----------%%--||--------###############.S..  S     (ice cave)    S        ####
<-UNKNOWN %%%              ####   > > ..S        S    S                    ###
--------%%%-------------##  #    ############      S        {{{          #####
##########################     ####################       {{{{{{{{     #######
######################################################  {{{{{{{{{{{{{ ########
#######################################################{{{{{(pool){{{{{#######
#########################################################{{{{{{{{{{###########
#########################################################{###{{{{#############
########################################################{######{##############
#######################################################{{#######{{############
#####################################################{{##########{{###########


DECEIT AT DEJU
Colin Steele (colin@aol.net)
Genre: Sci-Fi   Setting: Building  
Introduction:
This is a short (and somewhat hackneyed, but still fun) sci-fi adventure I've run a few times. The results are usually quite good if you can create the proper atmosphere. Think Aliens, or Outland. I run it using my own homebrew background and mechanics, called Star Patrol, which is based on FUDGE. Check out http://www.io.com/~colin for more details.

Synopsis:
Minions of the Dark have begun constructing a dimensional gate beneath the Republic outpost on Deju. The outpost's leader has been replaced by the minions, who are using the Gift to create a perfect illusion of the leader. They are proceeding to infiltrate deeper into the outpost, replacing more key figures. And, they have begun enslaving part of the outpost's inhabitants, using them as slave labor to dig/construct/whatever the secret.

The characters are travelling on the starship Fickle Fate, which is scheduled to deliver several geolocks and some replacement personnel to the outpost. The stopover is supposed to be a short one, and the poor design of the landing bays, which are just next to the garbage collection/expulsion unit, make the stop seem even longer. But, the outpost's only canteen, "the Pit", is abuzz about something...

Legalese:
This document is free. Permission is given to redistribute it and/or modify it under 2 conditions:

  1. My name stays on it.
  2. No profit is made from redistribution or modification.
----------------------------------------
1. The Pit - melee & social, roleplay

Characters go to the bar, as the Fickle Fate's entertainment console is pretty pitiful. They notice that the party in the back, which is getting progressively louder, inebriated and angry, seems to be talking about a at the bar.

The largest of the lot gets up, goes over to him, spins him around in his barstool, and shouting something about "This one's for Jorick!", attacks the surprised <alien race>.

A fight ensues, with the attackers inebriated buddies crowding around, cheering him on with phrases like "That's it, Kitoog, help him find Jorick!" and "One more for Landers!".

The is getting his butt kicked, and unless the characters intervene, will end up an unconscious bloody pulp on the floor. If they do, they easily defeat the drunks, who are quickly shipped off to lockup by the local constabulary, which show up after a few rounds. The introduces himself as Sergeant Thargrim, buys several rounds, and pours out the story of the disappearances. It ends with mention of the reward for finding them, and a plea to call him if they hear anything.

Thargrim

Str - Great (+2 @ scale -1)
Dex - Good (+1)
Int - Good (+1)
Tch - Fair (+0)
Per - Good (+1)
Psi - Fair (+0)
Tou - Great (+2)
Scale -1

Gifts: Longevity, Legal Enforcement Power: Deju Outpost.
Faults: Stubborn, Kinda Ugly, Prefer Enclosed Spaces.
Skills: Mechanicals - Poor (+0), Blaster - Great (+2), Streetwise -
        Great (+2), Detect Whopper - Fair (+0), Melee - Great (+2),
        Deal-making - Great (+2), Languages - Good (+1), Medical - Fair
        (+0), Swimming - Fair (+0), Alien Culture - Fair (+0),
        Intimidate - Fair (+0), Tailing - Mediocre (-1)
Weapons/Equipment: Blaster, Comlink, Light Armor (+2).
Notes: (alien race)

Kitoog

Str - Good (+1 @ scale 2)
Dex - Good (+1)
Int - Fair (+0)
Tch - Fair (+0)
Per - Fair (+0)
Psi - Fair (+0)
Tou - Good (+1)
Scale 2

Gifts: Regal Bearing, Excellent Sense of Smell, Roar, Reputation:
       Don't Mess With Me.
Faults: Farsighted, Phobia of Water, Odious Personal Habit: Licks Fur,
        Odious Personal Habit: Coughs up Hairballs, and Code of Honor:
        (another alien).
Skills: Hold Liquor - Superb (+3), Melee - Great (+2), Streetwise -
        Great (+2), Unarmed Melee - Great (+2), Mining - Good (+1),
        Blaster - Fair (+0), Technology - Fair (+0), Mechanicals -
        Fair (+0), Dodge - Fair (+0), Gambling - Fair (+0)
Weapons/Equipment: Comlink, Miner's Mate (treat as Buzzsword).
Notes: (another alien)
Eventually, Thargrim excuses himself to attend to his duties.

The bar is clearing out anyway, so the characters head back to the ship. As they do, they run into the somewhat distant and laconic Director of the Deju outpost, Rath Shiventire, who inquires as to their enjoyment of their stay, and as to the whereabouts of the Sergeant (who has just departed).

He bids the characters safe journey and leaves.

The ship's docking bay abuts the outpost's garbage collection and removal depot, which lends a foul aroma to the area. As the characters hurry past the slimy ramp, one spots a worker, dumping a load of garbage into the removal robot ship's container. Out of the corner of the character's eye, he/she could swear that there was a _body_ hidden in the garbage.

--------------------------------------------
2. Victim - non-combat, brains

The characters must stop/override/whatever the garbage robot ship so they can inspect the contents and find out who the unfortunate victim is. (As a goad to investigate, maybe they're passing the garbage heap and notice the body just as the reward notice flashes by on a nearby databoard.) Discovering the Director's corpse is fairly important. The characters should have some difficulty defeating the droidship's security, or mechanically rigging things, or whatever, but should succeed.

It turns out to be the body of the Director. (Impossible!!! They just got done talking to him...)

Turn up the suspense and atmosphere.

--------------------------------------------
3. Sneak a Peek - non-combat, brains, possibly blaster

After the body's been discovered, the PC who found the body goes to security, only to find that Thargrim has been murdered, evidently moments before the PC arrived. The agents of the Dark, posing as security officers, decided that Thargrim was making too much trouble, and were in the process of replacing him, when the PC called with the news of the discovered body. Their plan is to eliminate the PC, and they will chase the PC through the station.

"With thoughts of Thargrim's woeful tale and the reward flitting through your mind, you quickly call the Sergeant up on the comlink. You quickly relay the details of your discovery, to his amazement and confusion. Lowering his voice, he asks you (the discoverer only) to come to Security HQ to make a statement and elaborate. He urges you to move quickly and to keep a low profile. In fact, maybe a quick disguise of some sort might be in order..."

When the character arrives at Security:

"The wide blast door to Security is open, although it's after hours. You enter, pass through the disorganised and cramped reception area, and spy a light coming down a darkened corridor - probably Thargrim's office. Starting down the corridor, you see a couple of the Sgt's men are sitting casually on desks, drinking synthcaf. One looks at another person apparently sitting in the office that you can't see, and then motions you down the hall. You start down the hall, and one of Thargrim's men, a bit overweight, and greying at the temples, stands up and hitches up his drooping shipsuit."

(Ask the character to make a Perception check, and ignore the results, before you read this next part. Paranoia is a good thing.)

"You pass a couple of empty cells, making out their cots and holovids dimly as you walk by. Then you pass a closet door, and notice a dark puddle seeping from underneath the door. It's BLOOD! Your head snaps up, and see the Sergeant's man watching you. A leering grin comes to his lips. Your heart jumps to your throat - it's some kind of trap. You wheel around as fast as you can, and bolt for the door."

"A weird wet/metallic coughing noise rings behind you, just as you turns the corner. You catch a glimpse of a slimy green/black dart lodged in the door in front of you, just as you duck out of the office. The acrid smell and the image of the slime melting the cerametal door jolts you as you tear off towards the Fickle Fate, running as fast as you can."

"Behind you, possibly from a cell somewhere back in Security, you hear a familiar bellow of the bruiser from the bar last night, saying 'Wot? Who the Hell? What the blazes is going on here?!'"

Kitoog, who was sleeping off his previous night's binge, was a friend of the late Thargrim. Kitoog was a regular in jail, and Thargrim never locked his cell. So, after the security guys/Darklings go running after the PC, he lets himself out to find out what's going on.

"The clomping feet are getting louder and louder behind you, and this damned outpost must have been designed while under the influence of Spin..."

Make a few contested Running skill checks. If the heavies win a couple, they may be able to get off a few shots. Let the character keep a bit ahead of them, though.

Kitoog figures out what's going on, and with his superior knowledge of the station's infrastructure, saves the character, sneaks him back to the Fickle Fate. Tells the character about the accident, the disappearance of the 3rd shift crew, etc.

On a hunch, Kitoog suggests they scout out the "accident" area.

Couple of obstacles like sneaking past wardroid guards, defeating security systems.

Starlab's PX-5 Defence Droid

Str - Mediocre (-1)
Dex - Good (+1)
Int - Good (+1)
Tch - Mediocre (-1)
Per - Good (+1)
Psi - Fair (+0)
Tou - Great (+2)

Gifts: Knowledge Skills@Fair, Built-in Blaster Rifle, Built-in Trooper
       Armor (+4 DM), Built-in Comlink.
Faults: Must Be Repaired (Can't Heal), Needs to be Recharged Once per
        Day, Can Only Have 4 Skills.
Skills: Blaster - Superb (+3), Melee - Great (+2), Unarmed Melee -
        Great (+2), Dodge - Great (+2).
Weapons/Equipment: Most PX-5's carry a melee weapon of some kind.
                   Riot clubs are common.
Notes: PX-5's are standard warrior droids.  They're pretty hobbled in
       terms of skills.  If a player wanted to be a PX-5, it'd be
       worth 4 gifts.  Given PX-5's low Perception skill, Poor (-2),
       they've earned a reputation as tough in battle, but easy to
       sneak around.
----------------------------------------------
4. Gate - blaster

By way of ventilation grate, arrive at the hellish scene of the construction of the dimension gate. Characters overhear the faux Director speaking into a comlink "Tell his Excellency that he may dock at any time. My research has been an incredible success. We will open the dimensional gate briefly to test it, before he arrives. Tell him I look forward to presenting my results to him." He speaks in strange, horrible sounding language to the faux security officers.

The enslaved inhabitants of the outpost are mining, smelting, and generally constructing the gate, which is a weird combination of cerametal alloys, intestine-like tubes, and twitching flesh-like panels, all pulsing to something like a heartbeat. Bioplastic never looked like this.

The Director and his henchmen begin to open the gate - a horrible shadow creature begins coming through. No time to go back and prepare - the characters must stop this thing NOW!

Massive psionic/blaster/Darktech weapons battle. Lots of lurching Dark-Enfolded outpost victims. PCs should be able to Kill off henchmen, but the Director should escape, screaming in that weird language into his comlink.

He's headed towards the landing bays. PCs in hot pursuit, when the outpost rocks as if struck by the hand of the Maker. The bruiser from the bar hears on the comlink that some sort of starship is pummelling the outpost, and that the Director has escaped to join it aboard a patrol cutter. The outpost's defences have been sabotaged by the impostors.

Gadzooks!

Muzcuh - The "Director"

Str - Good (+1)
Dex - Good (+1)
Int - Fair (+0)
Tch - Fair (+0)
Per - Fair (+0)
Psi - Good (+1)
Tou - Fair (+0)

Powers: the Gift, Enfolded
Skills: Acting - Superb (+3), Melee - Great (+2), Unarmed Melee -
        Great (+2), Blaster - Great (+2), Dodge - Fair (+0)
Psi Skills: Telepathy - Good (+1), Psychokinesis - Good (+1)
Weapons/Equipment: DarkTech Rifle (Dam: +5, OB: +1, Rng 18/75/180)
Notes: Muzcuh uses his Dark Gift to trick the minds of any who observe
       him into seeing him as the Director.  This illusion is flawless
       to any who see him, but might be detected by someone with the
       Gift.  He is also an excellent impostor.

Typical Enslaved:

Str - Great (+2)
Dex - Fair (+0)
Int - Fair (+0)
Tch - Fair (+0)
Per - Fair (+0)
Psi - Fair (+0)
Tou - Fair (+0)

Skills: None. (All at -2)
Weapons/Equipment: Varies.  Usually the Enslaved armies carry simple
                   weapons, like clubs and axes.

Typical Darkling:

Str - Great (+2)
Dex - Good (+1)
Int - Fair (+0)
Tch - Fair (+0)
Per - Fair (+0)
Psi - Fair (+0)
Tou - Great (+2)

Skills: Melee - Great (+2), Unarmed Melee - Great (+2), Blaster -
        Great (+2), Dodge - Fair (+0), Sneak - Fair (+0), Perception -
        Fair (+0), some probably have starship skills
Weapons/Equipment: Varies.  Most carry a DarkTech Rifle (Dam: +5, OB:
                   +1, Rng 18/75/180) , and wear some sort of armor
                   (treat as Light Armor - +2)
-------------------------------------------
5. Save the Base - ship

The Fickle Fate is the outpost's only hope. They have to stop the Darkship from destroying the outpost.

The Darkship beginning to open up a landing bay for the Director's cutter when the Fickle Fate starts blasting it. The Darkship puts up shields and closes the bay, stranding the cutter, and turns some of its guns from the outpost to the Fickle Fate. Characters must disable the guns before the outpost is just an ionized crater. The Darkship only sustains a few hits before fleeing, leaving the cutter behind. Characters can destroy it, try to board, etc.

Director won't let himself be taken alive.

DarkShip

Warp Speed     : Good (+1)
Speed          : Good (+1)
Manoeuvre        : Good (+1)
Shields        : Fair (+0)
Hull           : Good (+1)
Crew           : ??
Passengers     : ??
Cargo          : ??
Consumables    : ??
Computer       : ??
E. Hyperdrives : unknown
Ship's Guns    : DarkTech Disruptor Cannon (FP: +3, OB: -1), 2
               : DarkTech Laser Cannon (FP: +1, OB: -1)
Cost           : ??

Universal Dynamics 88-V Patrol Corvette

Warp Speed     : Fair (+0)
Speed          : Mediocre (-1)
Manoeuvre        : Fair (+0)
Shields        : Fair (+0)
Hull           : Good (+1)
Crew           : 3
Passengers     : 10
Cargo          : 75 tons
Consumables    : 6 weeks
Computer       : Starship Pilot - Mediocre (-1), Astrogation - Poor
               : (-2)
E. Hyperdrives : yes
Ship's Guns    : 2 turreted Ranger Weapon Systems Pulse Cannon (FP:
               : +1, OB: +0)
Cost           : 200,000 Cr. (50,000 or so, used)
Notes          : Atmosphere capable

Fickle Fate
(modified Universal Dynamics TF-78a Freighter)

Warp Speed     : Fair (+0)
Speed          : Fair (+0)
Manoeuvre        : Good (+1)
Shields        : Fair (+0)
Hull           : Good (+1)
Crew           : 3
Passengers     : 8
Cargo          : 80 tons
Consumables    : 6 weeks
Computer       : Starship Pilot - Mediocre (-1), Astrogation - Poor
               : (-2)
E. Hyperdrives : yes
Ship's Guns    : turreted Ranger Weapon Systems Pulse Cannon (FP: +1,
               : OB: +0), 2 turreted Laser Cannon (FP: +0, OB: +0)
Cost           : not for sale
Notes          : Atmosphere capable


All the pretty ladies...
Tuomas Koivu (tuokoivu@sara.utu.fi)
Setting: Any   Genre: Fantasy  
This plot is intended to be the backbone of a long campaign lasting perhaps years and requires a lot of continuity. If your players are the type that gets their characters killed fast and often, then this one is not for you.

Requirements: At least one high-level fighter, paladin or bard who always acts like a hero and does heroic deeds (called the hero later on). The party should use some specific Inn or hotel as their base between adventures.

During their first or second visit in the Inn the party meets a lovely, black-haired, tanned young lady who belly-dances for the audience. The girl should be exceptionally beautiful and charming, so that the characters are bound to notice her.

After the show the girl dresses up and comes to sit by the same table with the player characters. She introduces herself as Alanil (use whatever name you like) and tells that she is with another adventuring party. It should become apparent that she is somehow interested in the heroic character (choose a handsome PC that can't resist women), but when the hero tries to make his move, the girl says that she is already involved with someone else. This someone is Stompur (again, change the names if you wish), another great hero known for his big muscles and bad temper. Make it clear that Stompur is someone you wouldn't want to make angry.

Every time the party visits the Inn the hero meets Alanil and gets a chance to spend some time and talk with her. Slowly the hero gets the impression that Alanil cares for him and the feeling should be mutual. At the same time between Stompur and the hero develop a hatred for each other. Anyway, nothing more serious ever gets to happen. Stompur is out for an adventure most of the time and his reputation grows steadily - so does the hero's reputation.

After a year or so Alanil tells the hero that she senses something bad, but does not know exactly what it is. Soon after this the party will meet another gorgeous young woman, Shenadal, who wants to join them. Shenadal is as beautiful as Alanil, but blonde. Little by little the players should learn that there is something very similar about these two women, but they can't figure out what. Shenadal also likes to spend a lot of time close to the hero. The two ladies never meet.

Time passes and Shenadal adventures with the party. The heroes' reputation keeps on growing. One day the two parties (the players and Alanil's party) meet accidentally. Something very strange happens, the girls begin to change their shape...

Both Alanil and Shenadal are powerful ancient dragons who have polymorphed themselves into young pretty girls, so that they can easily get close to heroic fighters. The dragons have had a competition going on for centuries: the one that eats more and greater heroes in 500 years wins!

This plot gives you a chance to surprise you players in a way they've never experienced. Someone they've known for a long time wants to eat them up! They will have to fight side by side together with Stompur, whom they hate, against the dragons, whom they have learned to like or even love.


An Ogre by Any other Name
Wayne J. Rasmussen (wjr@netcom.com)
Genre: Fantasy   Genre: Magic   Setting: Urban   Setting: Village   Setting: Wilderness   Setting: Forest  
Scenario Requirements: This scenario has been designed for a single first level cleric's first adventure. It can also be used to help build a group of adventurers.

Scenario Description: A local knight and a score of men have been dispatched to stop an "ogre" which has been harassing a nearby village. The newly graduated PC cleric has been ordered to assist the high priest who owns/runs the church in the village. Shortly after arriving at the church, the high priest puts the newbie cleric in charge as he leaves on an urgent mission. Thus putting the cleric on the spot.

Places in this Scenario:

Town: Mid-sized town where the PC has learned his trade. The knight and his men in this adventure are from this town.

Village: This village is getting harassed by an "ogre".

Forest: It would take four or more days to walk across this mid-sized slightly hilly forest. The forest is home to the druid Banoust and many woodland creatures. Several unusual events have occurred here recently. A boy from the village discovered a cave which is actually the ruins of tribesmen who lived here long ago. An ogre, ogre mage actually, arrived and has been causing the local village problems by killing and eating horses, cows, and stealing valuables. Yesterday, an evil mage,Yagok Iztzwini, entered the Ruins and soon died from a curse which came over him.

Burial Cave: This is where the body of the dead wizard Yagok Iztzwini is buried and where the reincarnation spell was performed.

Church: The church of the high priest Thalpas is located in the Village. Small attendance during services. Beneath the main floor of the church are several rooms: master bedroom, guest bedroom, store room, and secret room which contains the Staff of Life and Soul Returning.

Tribesman's Ruins: Many centuries ago, tribesmen lived in this region of the continent. After years of war, they were defeated or chased out of the area. This place was once sacred to them and its secret location was known only to a few select individuals.

NPCs in this Scenario:

Banoust - Druid: Powerful member of this class. The druid has figured out what happened to the mage/ogre-mage and has prepared a scroll containing the location of the mage's body, where the ogre-mage's cave is, and what he thinks happened to the mage and ogre mage (he is correct). The druid gives the scroll to a woodland creature and sends it on its way to warn the knight of what might happen.

Ogre: Unknown to any PC or NPC (except Banoust) in this adventure, the ogre is a magic-using ogre (Read Japanese Ogre or ogre mage) who has sort of been possessed by an evil mage. The possession occurred in the last 24 hours. A dying mage forced the druid Banoust reincarnate the mage. Something went wrong with the reincarnation and now the ogre mage has two souls. The ogre can use both the powers of the mage and the ogre mage. The knight Teramore Lightman expected a normal ogre not an ogre mage or an ogre mage possessed by an evil mage. The ogre mage is using hit and run tactics on the knights, which means he casts one offensive spell then disappears.

Squire: This newbie fighter is the Squire of the Knight called Teramoor Lightman. If the GM is trying to bring together a group of new adventurers, have a fighter play the squire in this adventure.

Teramore Lightman - Knight: The knight is very experienced and has killed a few trolls in his day. He is both strong and stout. The people of the land believe that this should be a very easy mission for the knight. They are wrong!

Thalpas - The High Priest: A middle aged human who has spent many a year adventuring and has retired to a little church he built in this village. The local population respect him, but, they love the local druid. The attendance at the church isn't as high as he would like it to be. He sees the problem with the ogre as a chance to win a few of the locals over to his church.

Thalpas gets along well with the higher members of the church because he usually stays out of the intrigue of the upper circles of power. They mostly leave him alone and he rarely attends any of the annual church functions to which he is invited.

Yagok Iztzwini - Evil Mage: A moderately powerful mage with slightly evil side He is very intelligent, impatient, and known for his ability to size up a person with just a slight glance. Recently he purchased a scroll from a farmer in the village who claimed his son found it in a cave in the forest. The scroll was a minor magic but Yagok paid the farmer for directions to the cave. Yagok discovered that the cave was the ruins of the type associated with tribesmen who lived in the area several centuries ago. Upon entering, he was hit by a horrible curse. Yagok managed to get out of the cave and soon came across Banoust who was picking berries for lunch. Yagok used a spell to force Banoust to bury his body and reincarnate him. Banoust buried the body in a cave (different from the tribesmen ruins) and performed the reincarnation. Something went wrong with the reincarnation and Yagok's soul went into the body of a nearby Ogre Mage. Yagok blames the villagers for his death.

New Items in this Scenario:

Staff of Life and Soul Returning: Touching this item to ANY dead body or even the smallest piece of a body, will cause the body to instantly return to a 100% functional state and the soul will return from wherever it might be to the body. The soul must still exist on some plane of existence. It is like an unlimited resurrection or golden drops of heavenly essence. If the soul is contained in some other place or item, it will still return.

The Plot:

GMs Notes/Setup: An ogre has been bothering farmers by killing livestock and destroying property. He lives in the wooded hills near a village about a day and a half from this town. A local knight and a score of men have been dispatched to remove the ogre. The knight is very experienced and has killed a few trolls in his day. The people of the land believe this should be a very easy mission for the knight.

Since the church doesn't want clerics (especially newbies!) just hanging around the church, they have decided to send a recent graduate out to assist the high priest Thalpas. Thalpas owns/runs the church in the village near the ogre. They don't think the knight will have much trouble with the ogre but figure it can't hurt to send someone to assist the high priest should any serious injuries happen. The cleric will not travel with the knight and his men and will have to travel on his own. GMs may want to role-play the journey out or just let the cleric arrive at the church.

Arriving at the Church: Arriving at the church, the high priest Thalpas immediately puts the cleric to work cleaning the very dusty church. The high priest is very much a loner and lives alone in the church. In fact, the High priest doesn't have any other clerics around.

The knights will find the ogre but will get into real trouble. Unknown to them, the ogre is a magic-using ogre (Read Japanese Ogre or ogre mage) who has sort of been possessed by an evil mage. The possession occurred in the last 24 hours. A dying mage forced a druidical type priest to reincarnate the mage. Something went wrong with the reincarnation and now the ogre has two souls inside itself. The ogre can use both the powers of the mage and the ogre mage. The knight expected a normal ogre not an ogre mage or an ogre mage possessed by an evil mage.

The druid Banoust has figured out what happened to the mage/ogre-mage and has prepared a scroll containing the location of the mage's body, where the ogre-mage's cave is, and what he thinks happened to the mage and ogre mage (he is correct). The druid gives the scroll to a woodlands creature and sends it on it's way to warn the knight of what might happen. The warning arrives too late.

After the fight with the ogre, A great owl flies over Teramore and drops Banoust's warning scroll. The knight reads the scroll then orders the squire to take the scroll to the church in the village and give it to the priest in charge. The squire is also told to tell the cleric about the many wounded men. To make sure the squire gets to the church, Teramore orders the squire to take a long route back instead of a direct path, where the ogre-mage may be waiting to ambush him.

Needless to say, the knight runs into trouble with the "ogre" and beats a hasty retreat back to the village. The newbie cleric has been put in charge of the church and will have to handle the knight, his men, the villagers, the druid, Banoust, and the "Ogre".

The Adventure:

Introduction: Having just "graduated" from school, you were selected by a high ranking member of the church to go on a mission of small importance. You are ordered to travel to a small shrine not more than a day or two journey from this town and assist the high priest as he sees fit. Knowing your adventurous side, you are told that it is a simple mission and not a major quest or adventure. A knight has been sent with a score of men to rid a forest of an ogre which has been pestering local farmers. You are being sent to help the high priest on the slight chance there will be some wounded men.

The Journey: The GM may role-play this or just let the cleric arrive at the church.

Arriving at the Church: When the cleric arrives, he doesn't act surprised that he is here. He will show the newbie priest where the broom and mop are so he can begin cleaning. The church hasn't been cleaned in many months! The priest will constantly check the PCs work and be very picky about how he does the job. He will be watching how the newbie reacts to the treatment. He doesn't like yes-men. If the character just puts up with the treatment, dinner will be bread and a very tasty soup. If he shows some character, the priest will say he is glad to see him stand up for himself and break out the good stuff for dinner such as a fine ham, cheese, wine, fruit, etc.

The Tour: Before going to bed, the priest will give a tour of the entire church. There are several rooms below the church which serve as private quarters, guest quarters, storage (loaded with many fine foods and wine), and a hidden chamber. Within the hidden chamber is a holy relic found during the Thalpas's adventuring days. He will tell the newbie about the holy relic (Staff of Life and Soul Returning). He will say "Touching the staff to any dead body will fully restore life and limb and return its soul no matter where it might be". A small room with a straw bed will be made available for the newbie.

Squire's Arrival?: NOTE: This may not occur here! If the squire fails to follow the orders of his knight and proceeds in a direct line to the village, he will arrive safely. He will give the scroll to the high priest and tell him of the battle with the ogre-like creature. Thalpas asks the PC to cure any wounds the squire has and to give him something to eat. Thalpas will then study the scroll in private and not share the information with the PC. NOTE: The squire arrived somewhere around midnight.

Thalpas's Departure: The cleric wakes up in the morning to find Thalpas gone and a note left for him/her. The note says that PC cleric in charge of the church and tells him that he will be back in a few days. His reason for leaving will depend on whether the squire arrived last night. If so, he claims to be going to the church council for advice. If the squire didn't arrive, he claims that he has a strong feeling that he will need the assistance from a few of his old adventuring buddies.

Later That Day: A few of the villagers will come and go asking questions, where is Thalpas, where is the knight, why is the squire here by himself, etc. The villagers seem worried. If the cleric reassures the villagers, he gets 1 good point. If he makes it worse by saying something stupid, he gets 1 bad point.

The Next Day: The knight Teramore Lightman arrives with his wounded men. He seems mad and a little frustrated. He asks where Thalpas is and who is in charge. When he hears that the PC is in charge of the church, he acts very respectful of the PC and even seeks his wisdom on the situation in front of his men. Specifically, he want to know if they should go out and try to attack this creature again. At this point, several of his men cry out in favour of attacking and getting revenge. If not, what should they do, just sit and wait? If the clerics god is against revenge and the cleric speaks against revenge he gets one good point. He gets one bad point if he doesn't try to quell any talk of revenge. If the God endorses revenge, reverse the scoring. If the cleric advises caution and posting of guards and patrols in the village, he get one good point. If he doesn't offer advice or just tells them to do no action he gets one bad point. If he suggests and all out attack against the ogre, you can expect the men to get wiped out (3 bad points). NOTE: Teramore will answer any questions the cleric asks to the best of his ability.

That Night: During the night, the ogre attacks the village. If guards or patrols were placed by the cleric, one of the guardsmen will be killed and the ogre will appear to have been driven off by the other guardsmen. If no guards or patrols were established, one house will be attacked and two villagers (man & his son) will have died in the attack. The ogre appears to have hit and run. The villagers will be shaken up by this situation and the cleric must show no fear to inspire the people. Even the knight appears to be shaken and will respond according to the clerics actions. He will be brave it the cleric is and not so brave if the cleric isn't. If a guardsman dies, Teramore will say to the cleric "It could have been worse, some of the villagers could have died. You were wise to suggest a patrol." If the guardsman dies, give the cleric 1 good point, if two villagers die, he gets 2 bad points.

The Next Day - Squire's Arrival?: NOTE: This may not occur here! If the squire didn't arrive earlier, he will arrive now. Teramore will be upset with the squire and he may not be his squire after this mission is over. The squire does give the scroll to the cleric. If the cleric interferes with the knight-squire relationship, the knight will listen to his advice but will act according to his own sense of honour.

Later that Day: Banoust the druid arrives in town. If the cleric has not been reassuring and/or not acted bravely, they will flock to the druid leaving him along. If he has been brave and/or reassuring, only a few of the villagers will rush to Banoust. Banoust will talk to a few of the villagers then head toward the church. He will relate the tale of the wizard Yagok and the reincarnation. He will also mention that he was attacked this morning and the spellbooks he took from Yagok had been stolen. He fears that the Ogre will be able to get his full range of spells now.

Reaction to Banoust: The villager will be watching Banoust and the cleric to see signs of strength and weakness. Banoust will make rather loud statements in public regarding Thalpas's leaving the village in a time of crisis. The cleric needs to counter these statements. Whoever wins this verbal fencing will wins the heart and soul of the villagers. If the cleric wins, give him 2 good points and 2 bad points if he fails.

Solution to the Adventure #1: The Staff of Life and Soul Returning can be used to bring the life and soul of the wizard Yagok Iztzwini back to his body. If the cleric figures this out, and mentions this to the knight and the druid, a plan may be created by the three of them. The druid will help get the cleric to the dead wizards body. The knight and the squire will volunteer to go with in case of trouble. The knight may even suggest using himself and his guardsmen to draw the ogre's attention while the cleric, druid and squire bring the wizard back to life. There will be no problems in either capturing the mage or killing him after the staff is used. The now weaker ogre mage will be easily killed by Teramore and his men. The cleric earns 6 good points.

Solution to the Adventure #2: The next day, Thalpas returns with his old adventuring buddies. They kill the ogre mage without too much trouble.

Other Solutions: Characters always manage to come up with unexpected plans. So award 6 points for removing the ogre mage/mage problem. Award 1 bad point for each villager who dies, and 1 bad point for every two guards men who die. If the squire dies, add 1 bad point, and add 3 bad points if the knight dies.

Since this is an opportunity for roleplaying. The GM may add other encounters to the adventure such as settling disputes between villagers, husbands & their wives, parents and children.

Closing Notes:

If the cleric ended with more good points than bad points, he should be rewarded in some way. Here are some possibilities:

If the cleric ended with more bad points than good points, he should be punished in some way. Here are some possibilities:

Getting a group together. The purpose of this adventure was to give an individual character an adventure for himself with the further goal of building an adventuring group. Here is how you could start a group from here by adding other characters. I would suggest exploring the "tribesman ruins" as a good starting place for further adventuring.


Dish du Jour: Magic!
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any  
A wizard accidentally opens a gate to a plane of magic-eating creatures, and the PCs are hired to close it, possibly involving a long and difficult process or series of quests.


Evils' Puppet
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any  
A civil war erupts in a supposedly peaceful realm. A dabbling noble has run across an ancient evil that is now running him like a puppet. After raising an army of humanoids and worse, the PCs are sent to investigate.


Growing evil
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any  
A different party of adventurers destroyed a horrible evil years ago, or at least thought they did. It has managed to return again much weaker, but is gaining power quickly.


Troublesome artifact
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any  
An evil artifact has escaped its imprisonment and is causing problems again, and must be recovered and re-imprisoned or destroyed while it still can.


Dwarven treasures?
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any  
Dwarves have found an ancient wealth... and an ancient evil as well. Blinded by their new treasures, they don't realize they are becoming servants. Rescuers are needed before it is too late.


Missing Person File
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)
Genre: Any   Setting: Any  
PCs are sent to search for the one man who can help with a problem.


Spot the artifact
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any  
A mage once invented a powerful item that is now needed badly. The PCs are hired to track it down and retrieve it.


All in days work...
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any  
An army descends on a nation at nearly the same time the court magician grabs power. The PCs must rescue the heir, dispose of the wizard, and then defeat the invading army.


Beat the wicked wizard
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any  
A wizard forces PCs to retrieve a magical item that he cannot get to. However, he doesn't realize that this item will break his control over them. Once free, the PCs must work to stop his evil schemes.


Fetch back that item
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any  
The bad guys have discovered a powerful magic item, and the PCs are sent to recover it. Unfortunately they find that it has already been appropriated by the other bad guys.


Secure that lock on Hell
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any  
Forces of evil are searching to release an ancient evil power. The PCs must beat them to the locations of the hidden keys and/or recover the hidden keys already found.


Undisturbed title?
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any  
PCs are made nobility, but with the catch that they must first clear the land they have been granted.


Out, out cursed spot..
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)
Genre: Fantasy   Genre: Horror   Setting: Any  
A magical curse that affects only certain good guys appears, and the PCs must find the source and stop it before the balance is upset.


Assassins at Pumpkin time
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)
Genre: Any   Setting: Building  
At a costume party there is an assassin, and the party must find him/her before the baron arrives at midnight.


Prophesy
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any  
The PCs are the possible fulfilment of an ancient prophesy. However, there are many who do not wish this prophesy to come true.


You call this shelter?
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Building  
The PCs are being chased through the wilderness when they come upon an old wizard's tower. Their only chance at escape is to enter the tower and try to survive it.


Goblin war
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any  
Something is massing the humanoids for an attack. The PCs are sent as either spies to find out what, or to try to stop this opponent before another goblin war occurs.


My god is more omnipotent then your god...
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)
Genre: Any   Setting: Any  
A third religion is trying to start a religious war between two others. The PCs are the only ones in the position to recover stolen property and practice diplomacy to prevent this.


Strike force
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)
Genre: Any   Setting: Any  
The PCs are requested for an army's special strike team.


Time after time
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any  
An evil archmage has fled through time to escape punishment, and the PCs must track him down for justice.


Crime war
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)
Genre: Any   Setting: Urban  
A huge underworld crime war is brewing, and the PCs cannot help but choose sides when they see the damage being done.


Hot property
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)

PCs are captured by the bad guys, but manage to escape. In their escape, they picked up something very important to the bad guys, who will stop at nothing to recover it.


Succession
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)

Genre: Any   Setting: Any  
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any  
The king has passed on with no clear successor, and factions strive to fill the throne with friends. Meanwhile, outside forces threaten, and it is up to the PCs to fix things up.


Waking dragons
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any  
The ancient dragon has once again stirred, and it falls to the PCs to lay it to rest for once and for all. They are sent on a quest for a mighty artifact to destroy the beast, and then must use it on the dragon.


Extraplanar master
Benjamin Jud Quinton (quinton@ih-nxt04.cso.uiuc.edu)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any  
An extraplanar being needs help on this plane, and since he cannot manifest, he sends the PCs to do the job.


The Tarathan
Alexander T. Knapp (100431.464@compuserve.com)
Genre: Fantasy   Setting: Any  

******************* CAMPAIGN LINES AND RESPONSIBILITIES *****************
*                                                                       *
* This campaign, designed and played over the course of five years,     *
* was designed for the concurrent adventuring of four different groups  *
* of Player Characters.  The plot lines of campaign, five major and     *
* five minor, are interwoven as much as possible, but could be run      *
* individually.  The majority of this material is original, questions   *
* and comments will be welcomed by the author.                          *
*                                                                       *
* Any use of copyrighted material, explicit or implicit, does not       *
* constitute a challenge to the ownership of that copyright.  The       *
* author/owner of this document otherwise retains the rights to all     *
* to all material contained herein.  Permission is granted for non-     *
* profit reproduction and/or distribution so long as this notice is     *
* retained in its entirety.                                             *
*                                                                       *
* Welcome to The Tarathan!                                              *
*                                                                       *
*************************************************************************
This file is set up in the following format:
I. Welcome message, copyright disclaimer and introduction to the format.

II. Description of the four player groups.
This campaign was designed for, and in my experience was certainly large enough to have four different groups of player characters adventuring at the same time. We did this in order to add a little more variety to the game and to allow for players to experiment with different characters. A breakdown of which group(s) were responsible for each plot line is included after each title (see below).

III. Background explanation of names and terms
In the interests of respecting other people's hard work and copyrights, some geographical and cultural names have been changed. Also, as the majority of this material is original, I include a short description of some of the terms that are used in this document.

IV. Plot Lines and Explanations
The ten plot lines of this campaign are divided into five major and five minor collections of adventures, which (as much as possible) have ties among and through each other. The unifying reference or force behind the campaign is "The Song of Solastin Ash", a 6000+ year old prophesy of the greatest elven Spellsinger (annotated and appended to this document.) I used the "Song" primarily as foreshadowing and adventure hooks/references in the campaign, leading characters along from one stanza to the next.

Each plot line has been written in the following format (NOTE - Numbers in [brackets] refer specifically to the "Song" located in Part V):

V. The Song of Solastin Ash
The "Song", here in its entirety, has been annotated for easy reference to each plot description. Individual lines or stanzas will be referenced in [brackets].

The "Song" follow a specific pattern (with refrain after each set of stanzas):

"Legend" is an account of some piece of ancient Tarathan history and "Call of Heroes" is a foreshadowing of many of the NPC's to be found in the campaign.

++++++ GROUP DESCRIPTIONS ++++++

Group I - The main characters who start at a lowly level, however are advanced rather fast through 'parallel adventures' setting up background for secondary Groups (II-IV). Although they are ultimately the deciding force, they play a minor role until Parts Three and Four of the Campaign.

  1. Wizard/Sorcerer - Student of the Arcanum, future Runist
  2. Cleric/Priest - Psionic Potential
  3. Thief/Rogue - "Darkfang" and "Keldarion"
  4. Fighter/Warrior - Ties to the Northern Reaches/Selidon Keep
  5. Other(s) - (GM's Discretion)

Group II - "The Bonded and Fettered, Yet Free to Be Doomed", a collection of medium/high level characters with one extraordinary ability score and a common legacy, the `Golden Shackles' on their wrists. Predestined to release the Riders, die in the course of their trials, return as Servitors and restore Power to The Tarathan.

Group III - This Group of high level characters is based in a medium-sized castle, part of the Protectorate of Selidon in the Northern Reaches. Their role is primarily to explore the adventure possibilities of the `landed' nobility and provide a show of force within the Campaign when necessary.

Group IV - This Group is actually made up of a wide range of characters of varying levels who serve as playtesters for various character classes and races.

++++++ EXPLANATION OF NAMES AND TERMS ++++++
---> NAMES of Geographical Locations (in order of appearance in the Plot Lines)

Amaranth - a country ruled largely by wizards, also the name of the capitol city. Extremely unfriendly toward clerics/priests. Political tensions with the Windlands.

The Tarathan (The Jewel) - the name of the campaign world, also the name of the collection of planes upon which the Twenty Immortals reside

Windlands - a broad expanse of wind-swept plains east of Amaranth. Home to a wide variety of nomadic tribes. Political tensions with Amaranth.

Northern Reaches - largely untamed wilderness north of the "Southern Kingdoms"

Underworld - the network of tunnels, chambers and caverns below the surface of The Tarathan.

Develin - a prosperous country south of Amaranth. Ruled by a consortium of Merchant-Princes.

The Heights - the forest-state of the Elves

Warren - a particularly excavated and populated area of the Underworld directly below Develin and The Heights. Supported by four massive cornerstones.

Sand Lords - the nomadic rulers of the desert on the eastern coast of the continent. Particularly unfriendly toward wizards.

Selidon Valley/Protectorate - The main center of population in the Northern Reaches.

Cloud Mountain - a singular, massive mountain in the center of the Windlands. Site of pilgramage and prophesy for the nomadic tribes.

Adatia - a county beyond the eastern sea, populated and ruled by wizards. Unofficial patron of Amaranth.

---> NAMES of Gaming Terms (in order of appearance in the Plot Lines)

Power - all magical effects, including arcane (Wizards), holy (Clerics/Priests), and those produced by items and artifacts. Excludes Psionics and Rune Magic.

Rune Magic (Runic Heiarch) - Old Earth Magic, captured and controlled by runic inscription. A secret society lead by five Heiarchs (representing four elements plus Spirit/Balance.)

Heart of the Tarathan - a large ruby, the primary collector of Power on The Tarathan.

Chamber of the Spheres - a massive Dark elven magical construction designed to restore Power to The Tarathan bypassing the Arcanum.

Sol - the authority over the Twenty Immortals.

Protocols - the edicts of Sol passed down at the Reckoning. The First Protocol states that "no Immortal shall walk the face of The Tarathan."

Erdefount - the first source of water in the Underworld.

Stone-Father's Tome - Agathon, Patron Immortal of the Underworld, wrote this history of the his 'children', who eventually broke among themselves and became the different races of the Underworld.

Celarion - the secret political organization of Shadogodon, Patron Immortal of Strife. Led by the "Rose" (highest political title.)

Orbs of Cymid Dar - three silver orbs, an artifact of great power. Cursed to drive the user slowly insane.

++++++ PLOT LINES +++++++
-=-=-=-=-= GREATER LINES =-=-=-=-=-=-
**Arcanum [7-14, 25-32] -- Group I (Main Characters)

Historical Reference - The Arcanum, the magically active remains of a star summoned in battle by the Nameless One (a pre-Reckoning Sorcerer- King), rests thousands of feet below the city of Amaranth. The impact of this comet killed the Nameless One's rival, Hanel, and shifted the planet, plunging it into a global cataclysm. Millenia later, in the current era, the emanations given off by this star, deep in the earth, act as a magic- enhancing `aura' in and around the country of Amaranth. This aura, however, consumes a significant deal more Power than it creates and is slowly draining Magic from The Tarathan.

Campaign Goal and Challenges - The PC's must identify the Arcanum and its nature, locate and find a way to stop it or its effects.

Specific References -
[11-12] As the magical drain becomes more drastic, the Runic Heiarch of Lagur (Water) increasingly uses her powers to try and contain the damage.

[13-14] Agathon, preoccupied for several thousand years with his search for the Heart of The Tarathan, will return after its discovery (see "Tokens") and transform the surviving Dark Elves into his new Chosen, banishing the Illithid.

[22-23, 72-73, 76-77, 99, 103-104] Finsternis (c.f.), trapped in his rise to Immortality in a nether-plane and neither mortal or immortal, is the only person capable of completing the magical `circuit' - the Heart of the Tarathan - in the Dark elves' (c.f.) "Chamber of the Spheres", however, the act, while restoring Power to The Tarathan, would also fully elevate him to the Twenty.

[9, 50] The Dragon of Ash, a work of ritual magic, using the Arcanum against the the Windland's horde, and the death of Prayle (c.f.) in the Northern Reaches both signal the final vestiges of Power on The Tarathan.

**Riders [34-41, 116-123] -- Group II (Bonded)

Historical Reference - Before the Reckoning, The Tarathan was divided only between Light and Dark, the two `Bastions' of the Age. Approximately six thousand years before the current campaign takes place, the Vangaurd of the Bastion of the Light, led by the Psionicist- Mage Kry the Just and his four knights, faced the Thirteen Riders of the Vanguard of the Dark. The battle raged on the edge of a chasm in the center of Trynnia, Kry's kindom. The Riders were eventually banished and bound, but the knights were killed and Kry was lost as the edge of the chasm gave way beneath him. It was at that point that Sol called the twenty surviving Immortals to the Jewel, issued the Protocols and the new Age was begun.

Campaign Goal and Challenges - The PC's, having released the Riders, must find out their weaknesses, track them down and destroy them.

Specific References -
[18-19] Finsternis (c.f.) corrupts one of the original members of Group I, who later bears his child, the future the leader of the Celarion and the bearer of the First Treasure of Old.

[36] In the early years of the final battle, Kry's knights numbered eight, however as the Riders became more powerful, four of the knights joined with the weapons of their `brothers' to better protect them.

[75] The Dark Elven kingdom falls prey to a plague unleashed by Scourge, which slowly decimates the populace and threatend the completion of the Chamber.

[118-119] These three points outline the former borders of Trynnia, at their center lies the valley of the Obelisk and the tomb of Kry the Just.

**Flood [61-68] -- Group IV (Experimental)

Historical Reference - The "Master", a heretofore mythical monster of the Underworld, with the help of Agathon's Chosen, has begun a slow process of weakening the `Cornerstones' - four massive, natural pillars which support the kingdoms of Develin and the Heights above the `Warren', a giant region of the Underworld. If the pillars are completely destroyed, the entire region will sink, flooding it entirely and killing millions. Unfortunately, the plot isn't discovered until two of the pillars are destroyed, necessitating a replacement of the underground supports.

Campaign Goal and Challenges - Find four saplings in Agathon's `Granite Forsest' to replace the lost pillars while preventing the Master from collapsing the remaining two.

Specific References -
[44] An accurate copy of the "Stone-Father's Tome" lies in the archives of Casteln Mists, detailing the true history of the races of the Underworld, which would further incite and ultimately justify the revolution against the Illithid.

[13, 16, 31, 43, 72] The Underworld can easily provide access to any number of underground locales, information which may be useful to other Groups as well.

**Scelectious [88-95] -- Group IV (Experimental)

Historical Reference - Over two thousand years ago, the Patron Immortal of Thievery was vanquished by a new, young Initiate named Denethor [c.f. Evolution]. The son of Sol and the Runic Heiarch of Lagur (Water), Denethor is not bound by the Protocols, allowing him to roam The Tarathan at will. Now, a host of villians have nearly succeeded in returning the `Immortal Who is No More' to the Prime Plane. For the past thousand years, the priests, Chosen and Servitors of Scelectious have maintained a hidden temple in the Onyx Keep, dominion of the chief campaign antagonist, Finsternis. They have finally neared the point where they are ready to try to break the binding that holds their Immortal.

Campaign Goal and Challenges - The PC's must identify the threat of the Scelectious' minions, and find a way to either stop the shattering of the Barrier, or face and kill the Immortal on this plane.

Specific References -
[18-19, 125] The son of Finsternis (the `Outsider') and Elsavin (the `Scion of Willows'), aged through the blood sacrifice of his mother's life, bears the First Treasure of Old [c.f. Riders] and has been raised to be the first leader of the Shadgodon's Celarion.

[52] Deramis ip Baccus (the `Assassin Invisible'), one of the few surviving Scarael Excalibur and servant of Finsternis will infiltrate the PC's Group and strike from within.

**Seers' Obelisk [115-122] -- Group I (Main Characters)

Historical Reference - The Seers' Obelisk, made from Power-receptive Shadowstone, is in fact a massive psionic beacon created to contact creatures with active and potential psionic powers, and draw them to it. Once it has contacted all of the minds within range of its `call', it will siphon off their ability and channel it to Alain, the Patron Immortal of Fate.

Campaign Goal and Challenges - Locate and destroy the Obelisk before it completely drains all psionic potential from The Tarathan, raising Alain to a position far beyond the rest of the Twenty.

Specific References -
[74-75] The Seers, in need of massive quantities of Shadowstone, enter into an agreement with the Dark elves, who control the remaining sources of the mystical rock. However, after receiving the Stone, betray them to the Rider Scourge, who unleases a devastating plague upon in the Underworld.

-=-=-=-=-= LESSER LINES =-=-=-=-=-=-

**Finsternis [16-23] -- Group I (Main Characters)

Historical Reference - Finsternis, an ancient, evil black dragon, shapechanged into a High Elf, becomes the chief campaign antagonist in his quest for Immortality. Lord of the Onyx Keep high in the Amaranthan Alps, he can be found througout the Southern Kingdoms in the service of the dark Immortals.

Campaign Goal and Challenges - Oppose Finsternis' aims.

Specific References -
[77, 104] In his quasi-immortal state, Finsternis will be the only person capable of placing the Heart of The Tarathan in the Dark elves' Chamber of the Spheres.

[125] `The Scion of Willows' , Elsavin, will betray the PC's and marry Finsternis, giving him a son.

**Prayle [43-50] -- Group III (Castle)

Historical Reference - Hundreds of years ago, a renegade arch-mage was sealed into a mountain crypt in Selidon Valley. Opened and awakened by an earthquake, the insane mage, Prayle, now seeks the remaining keys to his power and revenge on the Council Arcana, who imprisioned him. Unknown to him, the entire Council is in stasis under the watchful eye of the Northern Elven kingdom, awaiting the Call of the Seers' Obelisk.

Campaign Goal and Challenges - Find and kill Prayle, before he regains his full power through the Orbs of Cymid Dar. Also, fulfill the prophesy returning the Councils Arcana of Casteln Mists before the Call of the Obelisk.

Specific References -
[108,109] "Spinner of Falsehood" names Prayle, "Archmage of Sleepers" names Chelic, of the Council Major

**Dark elves [70-77] -- Group II (Bonded)

Historical Reference - Driven from the surface by the Earthshaker wars, one Elven clan survived in the shadows of the Underworld. With their sensitivity to the flows of Power in the world, the elves recognize the danger of the Arcanum and have begun construction of the Chamber of the Spheres in order to restore Power to The Tarathan.

Campaign Goal and Challenges - Find the Heart of the Tarathan and assist the Dark elves in the construction of the Chamber.

Specific References -
[11-12] As the magical drain becomes more drastic, the Runic Heiarch of Lagur (Water) increasingly uses her powers to try and contain the damage.

[13-14] Agathon, preoccupied for several thousand years with his search for the Heart of The Tarathan, will return after its discorvery (see "Tokens") and transform the surviving Dark Elves into his new Chosen, banishing the Illithid.

[63] The growing revolution against the Illithid complicates movement and completion of the Nucleus.

[22-23, 72-73, 76-77, 99, 103-104] Finsternis (c.f.), trapped in his rise to Immortality in a nether-plane and neither mortal or immortal, is the only person capable of completing the magical `circuit' - the Heart of the Tarathan - in the Dark elves "Chamber of the Spheres", however, the act, while restoring Power to The Tarathan, would also fully elevate him to the Twenty.

[108] "Shaman Below" names the High Advisor Teranis of the Dark elves, who will first accept the PC's offers of help.

**Demon/War [97-104] -- Group IV (Experimental)

Historical Reference - Using a stolen Dark Elven soul crystal, a foolish Amaranthan mage succeeds in summoning a demon, which then breaks free and kills him. After ravaging the Broken Lands, it begins to enter the Windlands, which is taken as an act of war, as the frayed tensions with Amaranth snap and fighting begins. The demon makes its way singlemindedly toward the Cloud Mountain where a sea of undead and spirits wait for release.

Campaign Goal and Challenges - Stop the Demon and try to stem the escalation of hostilities between Amaranth and The Windlands.

Specific References - [9] A Ritual Spell of War, the "Dragon of Ash", will be unleashed upon the invading Windlanders, but the drain upon the Arcanum will cause the first magic-dead period.

**Tokens [124-131] -- Group I (Main Characters)

Historical Reference - Five of the Immortals (Goldoron, Rydion, Solonor, Denethor, and Agathon) will act as the guides, patrons and challengers of the PC's throughout the campaign. Their tokens grant a limited passage and assistance in the realms of their Immorals, as well as being keys to the ultimate completion of the campaign.

Campaign Goal and Challenges - Pass the various tests and collect the tokens of the Five Immortals.

Specific References -
[4] Successfully banishing or destroying Scelectious will win Denethor's Token of the Hand.

[13] If Agathon is led to the Heart of The Tarathan, his quest will be fulfilled and he will present it as his Token.

[53] The Emerald Heiress is the Lady of an Elven family-keep lost under a curse banishing them into a loop of time. Rescuing them will win the Token and friendship of the clan.

++++++ SONG OF SOLASTIN ASH +++++++
1	"The Power of this world shall fade from the Well,
2	And the Thirteen shall ride from the dark pits of Hell,
3	The sea shall rise up and strike `gainst the land,
4	And the shadow of twilight shall wound thy right hand,
5	The deaf shall hear the call of the One,
6	And the face of the Twenty shall turn to the Sun.

7	Immortal Power ne'er meant for fool aims,
8	Jewel's path disrupts and destiny claims,
9	The Dragon of Ash shall herald the Fall,
10	As chaos lays claim to the Immortal Hall.

11	As farther the Soul of the Jewel disappears,
12	The Lost Lady washes the wound with her tears,
13	The Forsaker, his treasure at the Heart of the earth,
14	Shall champion the Soulless, in the hour of their birth.

15	The Power of this world shall fade from the Well...

16	He not of the Jewel both minion and lord,
17	holds forth Darkness' banner from magic and sword,
18	corrupts one of the Light and First Treasure bestows
19	upon Yesterday's Child, the fount of the Rose.

20	In death finds he the Door, yet passes not through,
21	in the service of Five, as the Power withdrew,
22	Heroes of Light, in Healing the Land,
23	shall grant him the right with the Twenty to stand.

24	The Power of this world shall fade from the Well...

25	As the Earthshaker Wars turned the mountains to sand,
26	And grim nightmares unleashed stalked o'er the land,
27	Did the Sorcerer King incant damnation bold,
28	Above, in the heavens, came the comet foretold.

29	With the swiftness of Yeristict's Coursers it came,
30	And bore down on Hanel and poured forth its flame,
31	As the impact shifted the heart of the world,
32	Magic unbidden through the heavens unfurled.

33	The Power of this world shall fade from the Well...

34	The Vanguard of ancients, of Darkness unchained,
35	Crashed 'gainst the Triad as the Light slowly waned,
36	The Spirits of Four, in the hands of their kin,
37	Defied the Dark Bastion and the shadows within.

38	The Guilty, yet Blameless, Devinra's legacies' doom,
39	Hoofbeats of thunder from the cold prison tomb,
40	Despair in the Caverns, Shades silently rise,
41	History's Treasures the Just shall advise...

42	The Power of this world shall fade from the Well...


43	Fortress and mountain, sanctuary, catacomb,
44	Shelters secrets forgotten and Stone-Father's Tome,
45	Watched o'er by the Queen, and from eternity freed,
46	Old Magic shall rise at the height of Light's Need.

47	Three silvern dangers from the Dark One bestowed,
48	Upon the Weaver imprisoned tidings evil forbode,
49	The last Dragon's Keep, the Historian's soul,
50	The fall of the Shadow foretells the Bell's toll.

51	The Power of this world shall fade from the Well...

52	An Assassin Invisible, the Shaper of Stone
53	The Emerald Heiress and the Watchman Alone,
54	Son of the Wind sacrificed to the Skies,
55	The Harper, the Gallant, the Sage to the Wise.

56	No actor untouched by fate or design,
57	No one without title, or known by a Sign,
58	Born to nobility in a court never seen,
59	Pauper and prince, servant or queen.

60	The Power of this world shall fade from the Well...

61	The Master, his minions the Cornerstones rend,
62	And the Heroes above are called to defend,
63 	`Gainst the tyrannous Chosen, tide rises below,
64	As above the Jewel's oceans, their boundaries o'erflow.

65	Nought but the Saplings of the Granite Lord's wood,
66	Have the weight of the heavens collapsing withstood,
67	The waters of Erdefount and the Deep's fertile soil,
68	Shall spring forth the seed, and quell Chaos' toil.

69	The Power of this world shall fade from the Well...

70	Long banished from sunlight, long lost to the earth
71	From the city of starlight springs exile's worth,
72	From the Kingdom Unknown shall the River arise,
73	At the close of the Age e're the last Magic's tide.

74	The Servants Unseeing `gainst the Hidden conspire,
75	Contagion's curse strikes the spark to the pyre,
76	The Heartbeat, the Token, the double-edged sword,
77	No mortal deed shall see the Power restored.

78	The Power of this world shall fade from the Well...

79	In the times e'er the Reckoning ages ago,
80	As Immortals crossed heavens and mountains below,
81	The Mistress of Rings and the Champion's might
82	Challenged Corruption's hold and the forces of Night.

83	The Vanguards met and Stars looked down upon,
84	The ageless challenge `twixt twilight and dawn,
85	By the Lightwoven path to the Point of Time's Close,
86	Betrayal fell and malevolence rose.

87	The Power of this world shall fade from the Well...

88	From beyond the Barrier the Banishd cries,
89	His Chosen, forgotten and Faith slowly dies,
90	Rise up in the Darkness and strike forth to reclaim,
91	That stolen by Childsplay, the dusklight aflame.

92	One not of the Twenty, yet once of the Jewel,
93	Watches in anticipation, to challenge the Rule,
94	Else mortal endeavor Immortality ends,
95	The Fall of the Youngest Jewelshatter portends.

96	The Power of this world shall fade from the Well...

97	Arrogance folly calls forth kindling of war,
98	From progeny's rest, and forgotten lore,
99	The cost of the Radiance, the Land of Fell Dreams,
100	Still Guardian the price of the folly redeems.

101	Great powers clash and Pawns move to their whims,
102	Below battle continues and Jewelspirit dims.
103	Cascade unquenchable, hope from the Unclaimed,
104	Shall heal heaven's wound, and the Initiate Named.

105	The Power of this world shall fade from the Well...

106	Lords of the North, the Teacher of Runes,
107	the Bonded and Fettered yet free to be Doomed,
108	Spinner of Falsehood and the Shaman Below,
109	Archmage of Sleepers, the Master of the Bow.

110	A song for each person, but a single tale winds
111	across the ages and to destiny binds,
112	Tools of the Masters who art Pawns of the Game,
113	Each identity secret until found by the Name.

114	The Power of this world shall fade from the Well...

115	In the age of the Bastions, the Triad preserves,
116	The Balance twixt Sol and the Power that He serves,
117	From the Village Unending, to Peaks' fiery gate,
118	and the Castellan's Keep, Trynnia's borders create.

119	Of Old, He holds Power of magic and mind,
120	Thirteen in the dungeons of Elden shall bind,
121	King's Rest - the Foundation, the One's final call,
122	Places the Blind at the Crown of the Hall.

123	The Power of this world shall fade from the Well...

124	Clanschief Unchosen, Harmony's Thread,
125	Scion of Willows, to the Outsider wed,
126	the Duty's Companion, and the Healer of Woes,
127	Shall see the unfolding till eternity's close.

128	The fourth of the Twenty shall be mortal guide,
129	with strength undiscovered `gainst destiny's tide,
130	Their Tokens deserve and through fire shall receive,
131	lines of all colors, a tapestry weave.

132	The Power of this world shall fade from the Well...

133	Twelve platinum chests, and the last living jewel,
134	The life of a maiden and the ritual cruel,
135	The Mason crafted the Galleon of Stone,
136	Earth Magic sprung from mercy unknown.

137	Vengeance descended and sought to demand,
138	The sacrifice due and the traitor command,
139	But greater Force struck the messenger down,
140	And gifted the Martyr the rebellion's crown.

141	The Power of this world shall fade from the Well,
142	And the Thirteen shall ride from the dark pits of Hell,
143	The sea shall rise up and strike `gainst the land,
144	And the shadow of twilight shall wound thy right hand,
145	The deaf shall hear the call of the One,
146	And the face of the Twenty shall turn to the Sun."

Phil Scadden, Scadden Research
55 Buick St, Petone, Lower Hutt
New Zealand
ph (04) 568-7190, fax (04) 569 5016

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