I'm planning on running the Age of Worms soon, and came to read this forum first (as you do).
I've seen so many great ideas on here, more than I can thank you for in the character limit of this post, but one thing stands out: - Lots of people don't like the Ebon Triad, it's something that seems so patently ridiculous that many players will twig that it is hiding something before they even reach the Free City.
I was thinking then, what if the Ebon Triad weren't trying to create the Overgod out of three gods, but out of three archfiends? Rather than Hextor, Vecnor and Erythnul, how about Asmodeus (King of Hell), Anathraxus (the Oinoloth) and either Demogorgon, Orcus of Graz'zt?
I like the idea of this myself, but do not know how I would implement it. While this idea certainly would seem to fit Asmodeus, who wants to unite the lower planes against heaven, it is finding the right demon prince that irks me. Demogorgon is the Prince of Demons, but beyond being the Capo di tuti Capi of the Abyss, there is little to recommend him for this roll, he spends his time focussed on the Blood War and internal Abyssal politics, so it would seem out of character for him to try this merger idea (that said, it could be a plot of Aamuel to permanently silence Hethradiah or the other way round). Graz'zt would seem perfect: he is the most scheming demon prince, and like Asmodeus, he wants to unite the lower planes to cast down the heavens. The problem with him is that he is not the Prince of Demons, and his followers as outlined in the Age of Worms are too... savage. Orcus again suffers from the fact that he is not the Prince of Demons, but the appearance of undead such as Spawn of Kyuss might allow the idea that the Ebon Triad is behind the outbreaks of undead to hold that much more water...
Ideas?
Don't forget that first of all, the Ebon triad is a bogus cult, a con game put in place by a deeper conspiracy to fulfill one of the many prophecies leading to their true goal.
That said, you can skip asking yourself if this cult would fit Asmodeus, or any other archfiend, as they have nothing to do with it and nobody asked for their agreement : if the three archfiends idea is OK with you, go for it.
Yeah, I always liked the concept of the Ebon Triad (sham cult that, through their tenacity, became a real cult), its just the adventure in which they appear needs a lot of work.
Oh yes, I know that it is a sham, but I don't believe it's a believable sham as is, and am asking if it would be more believable as a cult to unite three archfiends?
Maybe. In my campaign, my group didnt buy the whole Hextor working with Erythnul thing...... until the overgod showed up. Then they believed it.
To further expound on my last comment. You know your group better than anyone on here. If you think that they would find the idea of the gods aligning to laughable, by all means change it. But in the end, they will be forced to believe in the cult whenever the cult's belief manifests as the overgod (or over-fiend).
When I first started reading the OP I thought Graz'zt would be perfect. Really though, who cares if he's the 'Prince of Demons' or not? He has the right agenda and really the title of 'Prince' is kind of a misnomer because can anyone really be in charge of the hordes of the Abyss?
Since the cult is all a facade it doesn't really matter if the three would get along long enough for such a conspiracy to come to fruition.
In my game I'm eschewing all established deities and putting the Cthulhu Mythos in place. The cults will be dedicated to Nodens, Tsathoggua, and Hastur and their goals will be to merge the three into an overgod that will rise to a higher station and bring favor upon the cultists.
The poor sods don't quite understand how this whole Mythos thing works...
In my game I'm eschewing all established deities and putting the Cthulhu Mythos in place. The cults will be dedicated to Nodens, Tsathoggua, and Hastur and their goals will be to merge the three into an overgod that will rise to a higher station and bring favor upon the cultists.
The poor sods don't quite understand how this whole Mythos thing works...
ooooOOOOooooh. I like this.
...something awesome...
ooooOOOOooooh. I like this.
You like it? Don't steal it! ...and by that I mean I hope you not only like it but also steal it. I'm also getting rid of alignment and putting sanity in it's place. Only Mythos deities means no clerics or druids making primary healing fall on the paladin. [evil laugh] [/evil laugh]