So, when I dropped the notion that I'd be running a D&D game after a long break, several of my players got to talking and decided it would be interesting to have an entire party of exalted characters with high ideals and generally lawful.
Now, this seems a powerful choice for the Age of Worms path considering all the evil and undead about. I like that. It will be a heroic game, which we haven't had in awhile, and stopping the Age of Worms is assuredly an exalted quest. I'll be making the villians abit more vile, and I've got a set of changes to make to accomodate the path for Eberron, but I'm stuck as to how I can get this eager band interested in the Whispering Cairn.
My players will not have characters motivated by money or items, ad one would expect for the exalted, so I need some other ideas. I've had a few thoughts, but they usually run into conflict with other events, and so I could really use some suggestions.
I'll be making the villians abit more vile... .
You're going to make the villains of AoW a "bit more vile"? I'd like to see that! LOL When Chaotic Neutral characters are described as "Ruthless, Hardened Professional Criminals" (Balabar Smenk), I think you may have to go along way to make evil beings in this campaign more "vile" than they already are. In my opinion, the strongest thing this AoW campaign has going for it is the rich variety of Evil personalities the party will face; Theldrick, Faceless One, Filge, Loris, and Zyrzog just to name a few...
How's this for a campaign hook - Divine Visions granted by a clerics god foreshadow doom and pestilence in his/her dreams. A trinket left to him/her by their passed master now seems to have awakened, and seems to have the desider to "return" to the Whispering Cairn.
Also, some of the information that is passed to characters in the first three issues (AoW backstory) could be of common knowledge to these special heroes, and are aware of Kyuss' return.
On Assignment FTW! I merely attatched the Paladin in the group to the local garrison and decided that the garrison commander owed Lazaar a favor, so he lent the paladin to lazaar.
Keep in mind that your characters are still first level, no matter how high minded they might be, they still have to prove themselves to the rest of the peoples.
My players will not have characters motivated by money or items, ad one would expect for the exalted, so I need some other ideas. I've had a few thoughts, but they usually run into conflict with other events, and so I could really use some suggestions.
That's great. All of my campaigns are steered down this path, though not every PC is a paladin or has exhalted feats.
I would toss in minor instances of injustice. Have a barmaid get groped at a tavern (perhaps by Kullen). Have a young child pilfer a loaf of bread (spot check to notice) from an angry baker. Show someone beating a starving dog or flogging a tethered horse. See what the group does in the face of such events.
Make Smenk into the most loathsome and dispicable example of a human being, someone you can't help but hate, but make him relatively innocent in action. Have grateful damsels throw themselves on male heroes. Present moments where PCs could easily take something that isn't theirs. Make them choose between their own lives and the lives of others. Test them.
I would definitely tap into the BoVD to offset the exhalted angle and add that flavor of good vs. evil, one of the eternal dynamic opposites. Pick a few feats, a prestige class, and some spells, and draw from those. The necrotic cyst, evil brand, and other feats would work great. Some of the necrotic cyst spells are nasty.
Here's an idea based on the backstory for my group's paladin, Sir Gabriel. The group's ultimate goal will be to find out what happened to the missing Paladin of Heironious. Just weave a few hints here and there throuhg out the campaign to keep in play, but the real quest will turn out to be the AOW.
As for a start to kick it off. Have the group be assembled by their repective leaders to investigate the rumours of "Unkillable" undead. One of the first places to look into would be the cairns dotting the hill side. An ancient map of the cairns' locations, which would include the WC location, could then be obtained by the group.