In my AoW adventure, the players have learned a little bit about the rod of law, also known as the Destiny Wand, and its seven parts. (Old C64 Gamers will recognize this artifact from Bard's Tale – my gamers really liked this idea.)
I’ve read through the first part of the AoW Overload, and found that the PCs encounter one of the pieces of the rod. I was under the assumption early on that a good portion of the adventure would be the many adventures it would take to collect all seven parts of the rod (in the event that all seven parts weren’t flung through the cosmos Marvel Super-Hero Style) to defeat the BigBadEvilGuy at the end of the last adventure. I was disappointed that this was not the case, according to the story outline. I groaned even louder when I read that Manzorian (sp?) offers personalized magic items for the rod. He wants the rod? He’ll still make the offer, but it won’t be for heroic uses, and if the PCs decide to make this trade, they will live to regret it later on.
I am going to introduce adventures that will take them on the hunt for the other 6 pieces, scattered throughout Oerth; as they increase in power, their ability to travel great distances should resolve continuity issues. As such, I expect the PCs to become supremely powerful (if all were to come to fruition) – perhaps Epic Level – and with the Destiny Wand, would need to fight a buffed-up Dragotha or Kyuss, which shouldn’t be a problem.
I also hope that character tie-ins are not forgotten later on in the path; if they are supposed to meet Tirra later on in the adventure and their previous dealings with her dictate how the guild treats the PCs, then I hope this event does come to pass.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the AoW adventure path and the direction its going, but I think I will add more octane to the fuel tank. I am going to fashion my adventure different to a degree that my players might be surprised that THEIR adventure path isn’t the exact one that appears in their mailbox every month.
I like the thought of introducing new quests for the rod- my players have always wanted an epic campaign, and one of them tried running one once, but it fell apart very fast (he started us all at about 28th level, and was not prepared for the challenge). I still think the best way to do an epic campaign is to actually work to get there, but it takes so long, and when the party is so powerful, it's difficult coming up with story for them (at least for me). The rod already has a great background, and they probably won't want to just quit their characters and start a new campaign when we reach the end of AoW, so I think I'll have them go on the hunt for the rod then. Thanks for the ideas!
I was considering gathering parts of the rod BEFORE the characters met Dragotha/Kyuss, so parts of it would be found prior to Epic levels.
But expanding on your idea, if fragments of the rod WERE blown across the multi-verse Marvel Super-Hero style, that would play right into the hands of an Epic level campaign....Plane Shifting to the different realms to fight uber-demons, etc.
There is so much I want to do, but ultimately I have to decide what is really important in the limited time that we have as a gaming group. I now see the quandry that a movie director goes through in the editing room.
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If i'd include the hunt for the parts of the rod, i'd do this prior to the conclusion of the AP. Why should the PC's search for the missing parts after they defeated Kyuss?
Sure, lust for personal might is always a good reason, but i think it would be far greater in terms of storytelling, when all the searches would lead to the grande finale with mad Kyuss.
The search could include several encounters with the Ebon Triad that tries to prevent the recovering of the rod.
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I think that this idea would be cool as a simultaneous campaign. Have a 2nd group actively seeking the Rod, while the first follows the AOW campaign. Perhaps have them cross paths, and maybe even run once or twice with all of them. Perhaps have them all in the city for "The Champions Belt" then perhaps have them cross paths in Redhand, then finally have them all join toghether in episode 10 "Kings of the Rift"
Wow, I may have to start another group now.
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I like the idea of following up the AoW with a quest for the Rod. Perhaps agents of chaos come after the Party (or Manzorian) becaus they (he) have a piece. That could start an epic adventure to gather all the parts, unite them, and use the rod to defeat a rejuvenated Miska the Wolf-Spider. That would be cool. In fact, I seem to recall something from second edition that detailed a bunch of wolf/spider type demons that were the minions of the Queen of Chaos and followers of Miska. Anybody but me remember that, or am I going crazy?
I was thinking of introducing a new threat to stimulate the search for the 6 other parts, although what could be more threatening than the re-introduction of Kyuss to the world would be difficult to come up with (but, knowing my group, personal greed would go a LOOONG way as a motivator).
I really like the idea of a separate campaign to hunt down the pieces as the party goes along. That would give a better reason for Manzorian to want to trade the party for it. Someone was upset about that in another post somewhere. I may start working on that- I was planning another campaign just before AoW came out, but since it had to do with a fanatical cult seeking the destruction of the world, too, I've decided to let it sit for a good long while until my group is ready for one of those again.
My group seemed pretty interested in finding out about Ogremoch in TWC, so that might be an interesting plot to involve, as well. I can finally use para-elementals!!!
I have decided that somewhere near the end of the adventure, Manzorian/Tenser (I haven't decided who this person will be) will suggest gathering the rest of the pieces of the rod. Powerful diviniation magic was used to locate the pieces, spread across the planes, and the PCs will make use of Manorian/Tenser's hall of mirrors; a room full of various mirrors that transport beings to specific planes. Here I can introduce various creatures and enemies for the PCs to fight that they might not have otherwise had a chance to.
Given that this event is of apocolyptic measure, his offer to "trade magic items for the rod" is only a temporary bargain. When the PCs are powerful enough to wield the rod, he will offer it back when presenting the PCs with the locations of the rest of the segments and what must be done to stop the evil Kyuss.
I'd also like to add that Mike Mearl's introduction of the "slow worm" might be an Adventure Path savior. I have a player who is gripping with why he is involved in the first place....what is his motivation? He isn't in it for the goodness of people, and isn't motivated by money. He has no loved ones in this land, and was a "Dirty Faced Miner" just yesterday. Solution: This character will injest a slow worm, and over time it will kill him. He will now have motivation; he must learn about the worm, by learning about the worm, he might find a cure. Sorry, but the worm doesnt incubate in a day or a week, and cannot be healed with Remove Disease, Heal, or other similar spells. So while I've had to change things about the slow worm, the idea was a game saver. Thanks Mike!
I have decided that somewhere near the end of the adventure, Manzorian/Tenser (I haven't decided who this person will be) will suggest gathering the rest of the pieces of the rod. Powerful diviniation magic was used to locate the pieces, spread across the planes, and the PCs will make use of Manorian/Tenser's hall of mirrors; a room full of various mirrors that transport beings to specific planes. Here I can introduce various creatures and enemies for the PCs to fight that they might not have otherwise had a chance to.
Given that this event is of apocolyptic measure, his offer to "trade magic items for the rod" is only a temporary bargain. When the PCs are powerful enough to wield the rod, he will offer it back when presenting the PCs with the locations of the rest of the segments and what must be done to stop the evil Kyuss.
I'd also like to add that Mike Mearl's introduction of the "slow worm" might be an Adventure Path savior. I have a player who is gripping with why he is involved in the first place....what is his motivation? He isn't in it for the goodness of people, and isn't motivated by money. He has no loved ones in this land, and was a "Dirty Faced Miner" just yesterday. Solution: This character will injest a slow worm, and over time it will kill him. He will now have motivation; he must learn about the worm, by learning about the worm, he might find a cure. Sorry, but the worm doesnt incubate in a day or a week, and cannot be healed with Remove Disease, Heal, or other similar spells. So while I've had to change things about the slow worm, the idea was a game saver. Thanks Mike!
Thank Sean K Reynolds, for he wrote the adventure. But I'm sure Mike appreciates your kind words!
Thank Sean K Reynolds, for he wrote the adventure. But I'm sure Mike appreciates your kind words!
Oops, good catch! Thanks Q!