I was intending to post this up on Riptide777's thread about Cagewrights but I was concerned about ambushing his thread so...
As others have mentioned many times over one of Shackled Cities greatest weaknesses is the main villians - the Cagewrights.There are 13 of them! Most of theses villians are never seen until the final few adventures just before the party desposes of them. They may as well be random monsters for all the feeling, anticipation and closure the encounter gives to the party.
SO...
I'm changing the whole make up of the Thirteen to 6 members, 6 apprentices and 1 leader.
Here are my 'Thirteen' and when they are encounter by the party -
The Apprentices-Most are present during the 'Party at House Rhiavadi' plus a few other guests
1. Zarn Kyass (Blue Duke - apprentice of Gau Kleeoch)
2. Fetor Abradius (Loremaster - Apprentice of Shebeleth)
3. Khyron Bonesworn (Leader of evil Adventurers - apprentice of Alurad Sozizan
4. Ike Iverson (Wee Yas 2nd in command - apprentice of Embril)
5. Velior Thazo (2nd in charge of the Last Laugh - apprentice of Nulin 'Fish' Wiejeron)
6. Thifirane (Cauldron Noble -Apprentice to Vhalantru)
Full Members/The Masters
1. Vhalantru (Cauldron self appointed 'Mayor')
2. Nulin 'Fish' Wiejeron (Assassin & Last Laugh Jester/Guildmaster)
3. Shebeleth Regiden (Spiritual Leader of Addimarchus)
4. Embril Aloustinai (High cleric of Wee Yas)
5. Gau Kleeoch (Minotaur Fighter)
6. Alurad Sozizan (Blackgaurd/cleric)
Leader
Dyr'ryd
Clarifications
1Fetor will most likely be killed during the Secrets of the Soul Pillars chapter but the party will find correspondance to and from Shebeleth to let them know of their connection.
Similiarly Ike will probably be cleaned up during Secrets of the Soul Pillars. If both these events occur then by the Party at Rhiavadi there will be only 4 cagewright apprentices left plus other potential evil allies.
2During the Party at House Rhiavadi the party will have an excellent opportunity to despose of almost all the Cagewright apprentices. Other powerful evil allies have also been invited to the party (Mhad, Vervil Ashmantle, Adrick Garthun etc. Thifirane is the longest serving apprentice and closest to full membership and therefore spokesperson of the leaders.
I will have to change Thifiranes speech a small amount and foreshadow the meeting as a collection of apprentices and allies but other thean that little will have to change I hope.
3I will need to come up with another adventure/side trek after Thirteen Cages to make up the players XP they will need to face Adimarchus but this should not be difficult.
4 I am changing Nulin 'Fish' Wiejeron into the Guildmaster of the Last Laugh and only Jester. I realize the HC states that there is more than one leader but they are never written up anywhere so, as mush to tie up loose ends as anything else, I will make 'Fish' the Cagewright assassin the ultimate leader and have Velior Thazo (the Jester mentioned in the Party at House Rhiavadi) his second in command.
The party may attack the Last laugh headquarter before the latter chapters so 'Fish',and therefore one of the Thirteen, may be killed early. Otherwise they will face him during 'Thirteen Cages'. The party will hear of Fish and may even see him earlier in the path to help foreshadow this villian.
5I will (DMTodd has inspied me here) drop the Strike at Shatterhorn adventure altogether and move Embril elsewhere - either to Thirteen Cages or back into the Cauldron (Church of Wee Yas?)
Shatterhorn to me is a huge waste of time and the Embril encounter seems like the only memorable and important portion of the whole adventure.
Cagewright Foreshadowing
Shebeleth High Bishop of my clerics order but he can be a visiting High Bishop/Church Leader of St Cuthbert or any other church. At first if he appears generous and kind, even offering gifts to to the party and community this will help alevate suspicions. Later he may return demanding changes to the church etc. When the party uncover his true identity and motivations it will be a shock.
Nulin 'Fish' Wiejeron Guildmaster/Jester of the Last Laugh. The party may meet the dangerous villian when they interupt a meeting he is having with Vhalantru, when they attempt to hunt down Jil and/or when they attack the Last Laughs headquaters.
Gau Kleeoch Gau is the General of a great army who waits to invade the frontiers lands after the Canceri gate is opened. The Blue Duke commands a division of this army who she sent to Cauldron as the strike team of her forces. When the Blue Duke dies she seek to meet with his killers (disguised) and attack them before she looses her temper, changes form and attacks before fleeing when Vhalantru appears to rescue them (part of his manipulations & efforts to keep the Cagewrights plans in place) or the Striders/Chisel.
Alternatively perhaps she is seen by the Chisel on the battlefield after the Invasion of Redgorge. She may even issue a threat to send out the Blue Dukes heros or destroy the town on her own before leaving in a rage.
Later research may reveal her identity...?
Alurad Sozizan Blackgaurd and sadistic killer of any adventurers attempting to aid Cauldron in the past perhaps Alurad was seen by the party murdering an adventuring party who enters the city. Perhaps he was the one who killed Todd before her came to be left in the Cathedral of Wee Yas?
Vhalantru - takes care of himself
Embril - takes care of herself
Dyr'ryd – does he need foreshadowing???
Questions
Can anyone see any problems with these changes?
Should I swap any of the apprentices or masters with other NPCs?
Anyway just the way I'm leaning at the moment.
Delvesdeep
This is good stuff (as always)! I guess I would make a few comments...
First, you are cutting out 1 1/2 adventures, I am very curious to see what your plan is for replacing these (though I think it is a good idea, since those specific parts bog down in just a repetitive mash of combat). If you don't have a good alternative (and I think there will be one) then there really isn't a reason to drop 1/2 the thirteen.
Second, foreshadowing Dyr'ryd can be done as other leaders are taken out. Most of this would take place during the adventure he appears in, so it wouldn't foreshadowed too much, but things like dying curses and such could be used for him. Additionally he really could drive home the themes of madness and carceri.
Sean Mahoney
Delvesdeep, this is a heaven's sent. Good Job!
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Do not discount Meerthan Eliothorn and the Striders. They nearly caught the Cagewrights during their last plot (but that was a pyrrhic victory, decimating their own resources and members). They are a really good way to bring information about the Cagewrights to the party. They have been researching the topic for many many years and should know, who they should be on the lookout for, especially Dyr'ryd, and will have some info about many other members of the organisation (but not on Embril, because she joined at a much later date here in Cauldron).
This is good stuff (as always)! I guess I would make a few comments...
First, you are cutting out 1 1/2 adventures, I am very curious to see what your plan is for replacing these (though I think it is a good idea, since those specific parts bog down in just a repetitive mash of combat). If you don't have a good alternative (and I think there will be one) then there really isn't a reason to drop 1/2 the thirteen.
Second, foreshadowing Dyr'ryd can be done as other leaders are taken out. Most of this would take place during the adventure he appears in, so it wouldn't foreshadowed too much, but things like dying curses and such could be used for him. Additionally he really could drive home the themes of madness and carceri.
Sean Mahoney
I plan on replacing the Cagewrights that I have excluded in Thirteen Cages with powerful followers - perhaps more Demodands or other villians the party have faced and perhaps not conquered yet.
I may use the other members that I have written out from the Strike on Shatterhorn adventure still but just not as Cagewrights. Perhaps they are allies of the cause or powerful followers of the Smoking eye cult that is beginning to spread throughout Cauldron and perhaps as far as Sasserine.
Perhaps in place of the Shatterhorn adventure the party can hunt down Embril who has risen the undead Kopru army from the lake necropolis in the Haunted Village or assembled the Forst Giants of Jarls Hold to destroy Cauldron once and for all.
The mass sacrafice of lives is the price she has bargained with Adimarchus captors to release him and their spirits will forever be trapped in the torturous walls of Skullrot. Whether the bargain is kept is irrelevant.
The party would have to stop Embril and her cult members (read unused Cagewrights) to stop the impending invasion. Perhaps a vision of Adimarchus will be seen by the adventures which threaten to sends them insane beckoning them to release him and revealing to them the spread of his influence, madness and power around Cauldron unless they stop him. It may prove a better catayst ofr their final trek than what is currently provided.
Anyway this is all just off the top of my head and I haven't thought through the ramafications of the adventure or whether to use the missing cagewrights in it at all.
Overall though I still believe reducing the number of ultimate villians and the players focus to just a few powerful figures is more meaningful to the party and overall plot of the Path.
Delvesdeep
>> I plan on replacing the Cagewrights that I have excluded in Thirteen Cages with powerful followers - perhaps more Demodands or other villians the party have faced and perhaps not conquered yet.
I was thinking a tribe of salamanders would really enjoy a volcanic eruption. I think they will be my mooks for 13 cages.
I don't know if I'll lower the CR for Adimarchus or if I'll insert an adventure in there. It's a long way off.
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Delvesdeep,
One way that i have planned to foreshadow Alurad Sozizan is that at one point the players hear a rumour that a crazy looking, tatooed warrior and a fiendish dire badger (I think thats the correct description - dont have the magazine with me right now) had ambushed a part of adventurers travelling between Sasserine and Cauldron, leaving only one survivor to make it to town (and generate the rumour).
Later in the campaign, the Striders will call back to Sasserine for re-inforcements (sseing that events in Cauldron are getting worse, or thinking that they may be closing in on the Cagewrights), and once again this group will be attacked by Alurad, leaving only one survivor to straggle into Cauldron and tell the Striders (and the PCs) about it.
Delvesdeep,
One way that i have planned to foreshadow Alurad Sozizan is that at one point the players hear a rumour that a crazy looking, tatooed warrior and a fiendish dire badger (I think thats the correct description - dont have the magazine with me right now) had ambushed a part of adventurers travelling between Sasserine and Cauldron, leaving only one survivor to make it to town (and generate the rumour).
Later in the campaign, the Striders will call back to Sasserine for re-inforcements (sseing that events in Cauldron are getting worse, or thinking that they may be closing in on the Cagewrights), and once again this group will be attacked by Alurad, leaving only one survivor to straggle into Cauldron and tell the Striders (and the PCs) about it.
I like your idea. I may use that myself. Though I will throw in that it was Alurad who killed Todd and the party can find this out by talking to the remaining members of the Stormblades (assuming they are on civil terms by that stage;)).
Delvesdeep
Once again inspiration emanates in a radiant manner from your thoughts, Delvesdeep. I read your post yesterday and was just in the midst of sorting out the structure and nature of the power groups in my own campaign. How fortuitous! So taking a leaf out of your book (or should I say a chapter) here’s what I’ve come up with:
Apprentices
Thifirane (apprentice to Vhalantru)
Fetor (apprentice to Shebeleth)
Ike (apprentice to Embril)
Velior (apprentice to Nulin)
Xokek (apprentice to The Ebon Mind) (cerebromancer)
Gau (apprentice to Alurid)
Cagewrights
Vhalantru
Shebeleth
Embril
Nulin
The Ebon Mind, Thearryn (Psion)
Alurid
I have decided that part of the Cagewrights long term plans to ensure success is to have members in strategic positions of power within Cauldron so that:
A) They can monitor events
B) They can manipulate events in their favour
especially when the s*** hits the fan.
In terms of plot this allows many of them to be met and foreshadowed and for each PC to have a particular nemesis – one that is closely associated with them in some manner.
Shebeleth will masquerade as a church inquisitor from the Cathderal of Pelor in Sasserine and make life hell for my resident priests of Pelor (Kristoff and one PC, Rahm).
As Delvesdeep wote Nulin seems imminently capable of heading the Last Laugh, with Velior as his second.
The Ebon Mind – as posted in Riptide777’s post : This is what I have done with one of my PC's. He is an elan psion and has ostensibly come to Cauldron to help another elan set up a "Department of Psionics" at the Blue Crater University. In reality he has been sent to Cauldron by the elan council to track a dangerous psionic renegade known as "The Ebon Mind". Fresh evidence has recently come to light that The Ebon Mind was in the region about 30 years ago and it is the best lead the council has had in years. Who is the Ebon Mind? It's Thearryn Louvel, one of the 13, whom I have changed from a wizard to a psion to give my campaign some more flavour in that direction.
Xokek is changed to a psionic character to match his master’s class. He will approach the new Psionics department and apply to become a student.
I like the idea of Alurid being a party killer but I think I’m going to leave that up to the Necrocants.
Gau is outwardly a member of the Temple of Lordly Might and is their high powered muscle man. His true allegiance of course is to The Cagewrights.
Others
Khyron is still the leader of they Necrocants. However the other members are in fact the three assassins used at the beginning of the Soul Pillars – Tulrak, Kennock, and Zeanna. The Necrocants reside in the Haunted Village but have contact with various nefarious groups and are often hired for “Wet Work.” They are the ones, aided by Vhalantru that have culled the Cauldron population of adventurers. Like Delvesdeep’s Alurid, I plan to have rumours that they killed an adventuring party and eventually have the party actually see them attacking a group. It possible that Alurid could be the leader of this group and they are unaware of his membership in the cagewrights.
Being a nasty bunch, the Necrocants have made enemies. I intend to have them first foreshadowed by the arrival of a bounty hunter in Cauldron – who of course is chasing the Necrocants. I’m toying with the idea of making this Kyan Winterstrike – one of the omitted Cagewrights.
Ardeth Webb has become the leader of an evil monk organisation in my campaign.
Gadrick Arthun is actually a member of the Last Laugh
The rival gang the Alley Bashers quickly becomes near to extinction and their leader retreats to the prison mine, Blackmaw, that is located on the slopes of cauldron (from dungeon 135 – The Chains of Blackmaw). “Old Man” Muros does this is for his own safety and fully intends to run the guild secretly, from there.
I think that might be the best way to do things. Tailor specific individuals to be important to the individual characters in some way. This can be done from very early in the campaign or if you are already part way through they can start being introduced (which could help add suspicion of them).
Very good indeed...
Sean Mahoney
>> Tailor specific individuals to be important to the individual characters
Except that gets kind of hokey when every character has an evil relation, a mistake I made. One character's sister was Triel, another character's sister was Jil, the wizard's mentor was Festor. The other players starting wondering which of their relations were really evil machinations.
I still say there are too many of them. Better to cut them way down rather than trying to tie all of them in.
awesome stuff everyone! This has been a great help. Occationally need a jump start for those creative juices, and getting a different perspective from other DM's is always appreciated. Oh and thanks for the thought on not ambushing my thread delvesdeep. LOL.
Tailor specific individuals to be important to the individual characters in some way.
You also run into the problem of needing the characters to live in order to push the story forward. This was a problem I ran into.... I had an archivist character that had major involvement with the "Smoking Eye." However....he gets hit with a death spell and rolls a "1" for the same. Suddenly the party is like, "well since he's dead, why are we here in Occipitus anyways? We don't care about the smoking eye." Needless to say, I had Nidrama come in and raise him, which felt a bit forced,.
I agree with Sean....and DMTodd & Ogre_Bane. :)
The Cagewrights I have chosen were done so because I believed they were the most important and interesting villians in the Path. They also linked well and were easy to foreshadow making the final encounter with each of them memorable and emotive.
But I can't see a problem with changing one or two of them to better fit your game, interests, style and players. As both DMTodd and Ogre_Bane eluded to - too much of a good thing feels contrived. One villian with connections to the party or who is a characters 'opposite' is probably more than enough.
If I was going to change one of the six 'masters' it would be either Gau (female minotaur fighter/general) or Aluzid (blackgaurd) and perhaps change either one with one of the Cagewright wizards. But in saying that I think I'll still include the wizards but they may take on Demodand or (as DMTodd suggested earlier) Salamader form :)
Anyway this thread is just my possible solution to a flaw I felt that could corrected.
Just ideas
Delvesdeep
Assuming that some people are thinking of using this structure and possibly changing some of the members I included (Zeal did a good job with his adaptation), I thought I would write down the Cagewrights I feel that are important to keep and those that could be easily substuited -
Apprentices
All thirteen of the original Cagewrights had the potential to have an apprentice and many of them did. The only one I can remember off hand is Thifirane and she still remains an apprentice in my version too.
Important/Essential Apprentices
Thifirane (Cauldron Noble -Apprentice to Vhalantru)
Thifirane is Vhalantru's right hand girl - she even ends up with one of his eyes!. She is a very visable figure in the Path and plays a crutial part in letting the players know the plans of the Cagewrights. Her link to the Cagewrights and the ultimate plot can not be under estimated. For these reason alone she seems to be the quintessential Cagewright Apprentice.
Fetor Abradius (Loremaster - Apprentice of Shebeleth)
Fetor is the reason that the Cagewrights learnt the Soulweavers secrets and ritual to help them realize their evil plans. He is also a corrupted follower of Adimarchus which ties him nicely to Shebeleth. Fetor is another impotant step towards the Cagewrights and was (and perhaps still is) paramount to their plans.
Ike Iverson (Wee Yas 2nd in command - apprentice of Embril)
The Church of Wee Jas has a very visable sinister presence in the Path for almost the entire scope of the adventure series. Being second in command, the man behind the assassination attempt and, most importantly, the 'protector' of the 14th cage Ike deserves his place. His obvious ties to Embril also doesn't harm either.
Velior Thazo (2nd in charge of the Last Laugh - apprentice of Nulin 'Fish' Wiejeron)
Another very visable sinister force in the city for the entire Path is the Last Laugh. Unfortunately after a big built up and a great deal of behind the scenes work, the Last Laugh fades into oblivion with not even a whimper. In fact after Velior makes a presence during the Party at House Rhalandi the organisation is never seen again...
I think this is a waste so this is why not only Velior becomes directly involved in the Cagewrights but why also his new master gets a place also.
Non essential/replacable apprentices
Zarn Kyass (Blue Duke - apprentice of Gau Kleeoch)
Zarn could easily be replaced, exchanged or used as written. The reason I included him is because he plays an important role as second in command of the gaurd (before assuming Teresongs position after desposing of him during the Invasion at Redgorge). He is another visable sign of evil change in Cauldron and leads the half-orcs that filter ino the gaurd to signal that things are changing for the worse in Cauldron.
The Blue Duke also links beautifully with Gau and monsterous fighter types, a rarity in the campaign.
Khyron Bonesworn (Leader of evil Adventurers - apprentice of Alurad Sozizan
Khyron is included because IMHO he is an extremely interested NPC. The fact he wield a skull mace, wears his dark armour and is the leader of the Necroaunts is enough to make him stand out and be remembered by any party.
I like the idea of him linked with the Blackgaurd Cagewright -Alurad and will use them to despose of adventures in and around Cauldron until they meet the party before or during the Party. Zeals idea of allowing the party to see them attack a group of adventurers (perhaps a band thye had only recently met and befriended) would be a great foreshadowing tool.
I'm sorry I was going to do the Master/Full Members now but home calls.
For those interested I'll post the rest up later.
Does anyone have any arguments why any of the apprentices should be swaped and alternatives that they could be swaped with?
Thanks for your interest
Delvesdeep
Assuming that some people are thinking of using this structure and possibly changing some of the members I included (Zeal did a good job with his adaptation), I thought I would write down the Cagewrights I feel that are important to keep and those that could be easily substuited -
Apprentices
All thirteen of the original Cagewrights had the potential to have an apprentice and many of them did. The only one I can remember off hand is Thifirane and she still remains an apprentice in my version too.
Important/Essential Apprentices
Thifirane (Cauldron Noble -Apprentice to Vhalantru)
Thifirane is Vhalantru's right hand girl - she even ends up with one of his eyes!. She is a very visable figure in the Path and plays a crutial part in letting the players know the plans of the Cagewrights. Her link to the Cagewrights and the ultimate plot can not be under estimated. For these reason alone she seems to be the quintessential Cagewright Apprentice.
Fetor Abradius (Loremaster - Apprentice of Shebeleth)
Fetor is the reason that the Cagewrights learnt the Soulweavers secrets and ritual to help them realize their evil plans. He is also a corrupted follower of Adimarchus which ties him nicely to Shebeleth. Fetor is another impotant step towards the Cagewrights and was (and perhaps still is) paramount to their plans.
Ike Iverson (Wee Yas 2nd in command - apprentice of Embril)
The Church of Wee Jas has a very visable sinister presence in the Path for almost the entire scope of the adventure series. Being second in command, the man behind the assassination attempt and, most importantly, the 'protector' of the 14th cage Ike deserves his place. His obvious ties to Embril also doesn't harm either.
Velior Thazo (2nd in charge of the Last Laugh - apprentice of Nulin 'Fish' Wiejeron)
Another very visable sinister force in the city for the entire Path is the Last Laugh. Unfortunately after a big built up and a great deal of behind the scenes work, the Last Laugh fades into oblivion with not even a whimper. In fact after Velior makes a presence during the Party at House Rhalandi the organisation is never seen again...
I think this is a waste so this is why not only Velior becomes directly involved in the Cagewrights but why also his new master gets a place also.
Non essential/replacable apprentices
Zarn Kyass (Blue Duke - apprentice of Gau Kleeoch)
Zarn could easily be replaced, exchanged or used as written. The reason I included him is because he plays an important role as second in command of the gaurd (before assuming Teresongs position after desposing of him during the Invasion at Redgorge). He is another visable sign of evil change in Cauldron and leads the half-orcs that filter ino the gaurd to signal that things are changing for the worse in Cauldron.
The Blue Duke also links beautifully with Gau and monsterous fighter types, a rarity in the campaign.
Khyron Bonesworn (Leader of evil Adventurers - apprentice of Alurad Sozizan
Khyron is included because IMHO he is an extremely interested NPC. The fact he wield a skull mace, wears his dark armour and is the leader of the Necroaunts is enough to make him stand out and be remembered by any party.
I like the idea of him linked with the Blackgaurd Cagewright -Alurad and will use them to despose of adventures in and around Cauldron until they meet the party before or during the Party. Zeals idea of allowing the party to see them attack a group of adventurers (perhaps a band thye had only recently met and befriended) would be a great foreshadowing tool.
I'm sorry I was going to do the Master/Full Members now but home calls.
For those interested I'll post the rest up later.
Does anyone have any arguments why any of the apprentices should be swaped and alternatives that they could be swaped with?
Thanks for your interest
Delvesdeep
I'd would just say that for each of those guys, you have to find a way to foreshadow them. How do you foreshadow Bonesworn? He jsut appears out of nowhere.
>> Velior Thazo (2nd in charge of the Last Laugh
My players had a solid hatred for the Last Laugh and Jil. Her defeat was a highlight, in fact, they solidly persued her and I had to move the Brass Trumpet encounter up before the Demonskar.
To defeat Jil and then say "oh, but she wasn't the leader, the leader is some random guy you haven't heard of" would be bad. Even foreshadowing a different leader would be bad in my mind. Let your players accomplish something by defeating Jil and have that be the end of the Last Laugh.
>> Blue Duke
That's an NPC the players know about and enoucnter frequently (or at least hear about). I don't know why you'd remove him.
Apprentices
All thirteen of the original Cagewrights had the potential to have an apprentice and many of them did. The only one I can remember off hand is Thifirane and she still remains an apprentice in my version too.
Important/Essential Apprentices
Thifirane (Cauldron Noble -Apprentice to Vhalantru)
Thifirane is Vhalantru's right hand girl - she even ends up with one of his eyes!. She is a very visable figure in the Path and plays a crutial part in letting the players know the plans of the Cagewrights. Her link to the Cagewrights and the ultimate plot can not be under estimated. For these reason alone she seems to be the quintessential Cagewright Apprentice.
Fetor Abradius (Loremaster - Apprentice of Shebeleth)
Fetor is the reason that the Cagewrights learnt the Soulweavers secrets and ritual to help them realize their evil plans. He is also a corrupted follower of Adimarchus which ties him nicely to Shebeleth. Fetor is another impotant step towards the Cagewrights and was (and perhaps still is) paramount to their plans.
Ike Iverson (Wee Yas 2nd in command - apprentice of Embril)
The Church of Wee Jas has a very visable sinister presence in the Path for almost the entire scope of the adventure series. Being second in command, the man behind the assassination attempt and, most importantly, the 'protector' of the 14th cage Ike deserves his place. His obvious ties to Embril also doesn't harm either.
Velior Thazo (2nd in charge of the Last Laugh - apprentice of Nulin 'Fish' Wiejeron)
Another very visable sinister force in the city for the entire Path is the Last Laugh. Unfortunately after a big built up and a great deal of behind the scenes work, the Last Laugh...
I'd would just say that for each of those guys, you have to find a way to foreshadow them. How do you foreshadow Bonesworn? He jsut appears out of nowhere.
>> Velior Thazo (2nd in charge of the Last Laugh
My players had a solid hatred for the Last Laugh and Jil. Her defeat was a highlight, in fact, they solidly persued her and I had to move the Brass Trumpet encounter up before the Demonskar.
I never picked Jil as the leader of the Last Laugh just more the 'face' of the organisation. I can't see any harm in swapping Velior for Jil as a Cagewright apprentice but I don't think the Last Laugh should die with Jil.
My initial thoughts on foreshadowing Velior was to have him directly refered to by Jil during the Brass Trumpet encounter. Thinking about it now though I think replacing Velior with Jil would be a better fit and require less changes and work in terms of foreshadowing.
As far as having Jil the ultimate leader...I find that a bit harder to imagine. I'll try and explain my reasons I used 'The Fish' as the Jester/Last Laugh Guildmaster in my next post but foreshadowing him should be relatively easy (I hope ;)).
The Blue Duke is a very notable and identifiable figure but as far as being influential, well, he doesn't really fit the bill. But saying this I still chose him to include as a Apprentice because of his role in the Path.
Anyway thanks for your support DMTodd
Delvesdeep
To defeat Jil and then say "oh, but she wasn't the leader, the leader is some random guy you haven't heard of" would be bad. Even foreshadowing a different leader would be bad in my mind. Let your players accomplish something by defeating Jil and have that be the end of the Last Laugh.
>> Blue Duke
That's an NPC the players know about and enoucnter frequently (or at least hear about). I don't know why you'd remove him.
Ignore.
Sorry DMTodd my last post was a bit confused with a mixture of your last post and my written reply. I'll repost just my reply again to help unjumble my previous post and make it clearer for you to decifier.
You posted yout reply too quickly for me to go back and edit my original post after I realised my mistake!
Repost
I never picked Jil as the leader of the Last Laugh just more the 'face' of the organisation. I can't see any harm in swapping Velior for Jil as a Cagewright apprentice but I don't think the Last Laugh should die with Jil.
My initial thoughts on foreshadowing Velior was to have him directly refered to by Jil during the Brass Trumpet encounter. Thinking about it now though I think replacing Velior with Jil would be a better fit and require less changes and work in terms of foreshadowing.
As far as having Jil the ultimate leader...I find that a bit harder to imagine. I'll try and explain my reasons I used 'The Fish' as the Jester/Last Laugh Guildmaster in my next post but foreshadowing him should be relatively easy (I hope ;)).
The Blue Duke is a very notable and identifiable figure but as far as being influential, well, he doesn't really fit the bill. But saying this I still chose him to include as a Apprentice because of his role in the Path.
Anyway thanks for your support DMTodd
Delvesdeep
Here are my justifications/motivations for choosing the following NPCs as Master Cagewrights -
Master Cagewrights
Vhalantru (Cauldron self appointed 'Mayor')
Is there a bigger, more memorable villian in the SCAP?! Tieing him in with the Cagewrights seems a no brainer for me.
My only reservation is that why he is extremely well known to DMs as the master manipulator behind most of the earlier adventures the party only have contact with him in either form(according to the HC)in Life's Bazaar, Zeniths Tajectory and finally in Lords of Oblivion.
Embril Aloustinai (High cleric of Wee Yas)
Embril is another villian who is very familiar to the party and is active from very early in the Path. Embril is already a Cagewright in the original write up so included her is not a difficult decision.
The party do not really meet Embril(again according to the HC) at any stage (unless you play the Demonskar Ball) but hear a great deal about her as they progress.
Shebeleth Regiden (Spiritual Leader of Addimarchus)
Shebeleth is the strongest link of the Cagewrights to the arch evil villian of the SCAP - Adimarchus. He is a sinister and manipulative figure who is responsible for the creation of the Tree of Shackled Souls and much of the ritual. As such he also links with the Loremaster Fetor who discovered the secrets of the ritual of planar junction initially.
IMHO he one of the most influential and memorable evil figures of the path.
Nulin 'Fish' Wiejeron (Assassin & Last Laugh Jester/Guildmaster)
As I've stated a few time now the Last Laugh is a very visable evil presence in Cauldron and secretly behind many of the evil missions that occur there. When Jil dies so it seems does the organisation which personally I always found a bit of an anti-climax.
I always felt that the guild should be attacked by the party and their headquarters breached.
The HC mentions that their is numerous guildmaster but they were never written up. As such I felt it would be an easy transition for the Cagewright Assassin 'Fish' to fill such a role.
If the party were to attack the Last Laugh Headquaters before they meet the 'Fish' during Thirteen Cages and kill the Jester it give the party tremendous satisfaction and sense of closure. It would also prove a significant blow to the Cagewrights in general.
Non-essential/easily trensferable choices
Alurad and Gau are probably (again in my opinion) the least notable and influential Cagewrights in terms of the plot so are therefore the easiest to swap with another of the Cagewrights.
Alurad Sozizan (Blackgaurd/cleric)
The sadistic slayer of adventurers who dare attempt to come to Cauldron rescue, Alurad is bound to come across the party at some stage. Ideally I would love to organise that Alurad attacks the party sometime after Vhalantru orders their demise and the Wee Yas Assassins fail. Perhaps instead of the Half dragon/half minotaur attack? Ideally he will escape the attempt but if he dies I may swap him in the 13 Cages adventure with one of the Wizard Cagewrights....???
Gau Kleeoch (Minotaur Fighter)
I have written Gau somewhat to be the General of the Cagewright forces and to be more tactically intelligent than written up as in the HC. I included Gau to be fill the brawn role of the organisation which is otherwise missing.
These are my justifications and added to the foreshadowing and reasons I mentions in my first post I hope, if you intend on using the structure, it helps you adapt it to your game.
Thanks for your interest
Delvesdeep
My comments are based around what happened in my game. Maybe it makes some sense to say what happened:
My players took Terrem from the orphanage and "adopted" him. While at Zenith Tracjectory, Jil and the Last Laugh were hired by Dyr'rd to kidnap him. Players return home to find their servants killed and Terrem gone. Some Gather Information reveals that it was the Last Laugh (actually, one servant wrote out 'Last L' in his own blood before dieing) and that the boy was given to a demon.
This understandly had my players out for revenge. We played one full game session with me thwarting everything they did because "it wasn't time for a showdown with Jil according to the book". Finally realized my mistake and let the players go after Jil in teh Brass Trumpet. They capture her, learn of Dyr'ryd, and turn her over to the authorities. Satisfying conclusion.
For my players, suddenly introducing another leader of the Cagewrights, who they have no way of knowing about until then, would have made Jil anti-climatic and put me in the same problem - the players would want to go after that guy. So better for me to let Jil be the end of it. YMMV.
I think this also helps with a second problem SC has: for most of the campaign, the characters have to sit around and wait for the adventure to come to them. My players were getting very frustrated that they couldn't "do" anything themselves (Sorry, Terrem is gone, nothing you can do. Sorry, Zenith is gone, nothing you can do. Sorry, research on "Cagewrights" gives you nothing you can act on). Moving the encounter with Jil gave them some satisfaction.
As for V: Yeah, he's a great bad guy. Really central to my campaign. I have one noble in the campaign and he's had extensive contact with V. V named them heroes, Demonskar Ball was at V's, V made them go back and get Zenith, etc. After the tax riot, V forbid the party cleric to heal the "instigators" of the riot. Half of the party really hates "the bark-eating elf" while the noble in the party feels he has to stay loyal. That will be a great showdown.
Lastly, while your scheme might work for your group, there's just no way that my players would be able to keep track of that many bad guys. I already have problems with "who's that guy again?".
Last Laugh/ The 'Fish'
DMTodd I can appreciate you situation. It sounds like you are fairly advanced in the Path so foreshadowing another LL Leader might be difficult. If you are vaguely interested you may wish to have things work a round the opposite way to most of the assults (ie House Rhalandi, Oblivion, Wee Yas) and have the Last Laugh assult the party.
The players could recieve a urgent sending from Jenya saying the church is under attack. The players may gather forces etc and rush to her aid. When they arrive she is bewildered to the message she never sent it.
'Rufus' is in attendence and say coldly - 'No I did!' and promptly attempts to assassinate Jenya or a party member as the Last Laugh flock in(size/strength depends on party level). The Fish may fight to the death or if the parties allies arrive or he is getting beaten, he flees with what's left of his forces.
The party will probably kill him right there but if he does manage to escape they may assult the Last laugh Headquarters directly and finish the organisation off for good.
If they do nothing the Fish will turn up disguised as another of their allies and attempt a direct assissation attempt on them.
Alternatively the Fish could start to turn up as any number of disguised allies before making attempts on the parties life and just fleeing and/or the LL could pick up their efforts and begin to directly assult the players holdings/friends.
This would be enough to motivate and foreshadow this Cagewright for your party. In the end though you know what you want and what works best for your party and your game.
Number of Cagewrights
With the structure above I've reduced the number of Cagewrights from (potenially) 27- 13 Apprentices, 13 Masters and 1 leader to 13 all together.
On top of this many of the apprentices and masters are prominant figures in the Path and written adventures already so foreshadowing is less of an issue.
For example -
Apprentice Appearances/Encounters
Fetor (appears in Secrets of the Soul Pillars)
Ike (appears in Secret of the Soul Pillars)
Thifirane (appears in Party at House Rhiavadi)
Blue Duke (appears in Party at House Rhiavadi)
Jil or Velior appears in Brass Trumpet or House Rhiavadi)
Kyron appears at House Rhiavadi
So from these apprentices/villians 2 will be killed during Secrets of the Soul Pillars (already foreshadowed), 1 at the Brass Trumpet (already foreshadowed), Blue Duke during the tax riots and Invasion at Redgorge, Thifirane throughout the Path and Kyron at House Rhiavadi.
Kyron is probably the only one you would need to foreshadow and as I've written him up as Aluids apprentice he, as his party, the party would have heard that he had assulted parties and may have even seen him in action previous to this.
Cagewright Masters - require more foreshadowing
Vhalantru - Lords of Oblivion
Embril - 13 Cages or new adventure
Shebeleth - 13 cages
Nulin 'Fish' - Last Laugh Headquarters/13 Cages
Alurid - 13 Cages/new adventure
Gau - 13 Cages
So out of these 2 are already included adventures and foreshadowed throughout the path(Vhalantru & Embril) while the remaining 4 need some foreshadowing.
Overall though this is a huge reduction in numbers and work on the DM. Players will already know 5 of the Apprentices and 2 of the Master Cagewrights so this leaves only 5 villians to foreshadow instead of almost 26.
It will make the final encounters with the group much more memorable and satisfying for the party and DM a like.
I don't think there is now too many Cagewrights or bad guys....do you think they need to be reduced further?
Anyway thanks for your comments and good luck with your game.
Delvesdeep
Well, I think it would be too many for my group. Heck, it might be too many for me - I've read all the adventures but I can't remember who half of those people are.
As for foreshadowing all of them, I ran into some trouble as is with my limited number of cagewrights (we're at Test of the Smoking Eye). Between adventures, we'd have several roleplay-only sessions where I was foreshadowing people. Given that the players can't really act on any of that foreshadowing, it got to be too much.
I think a DM that is foreshadowing V, Embril, the Stormblades, and having encounters with the Last Laugh and Jil is got plenty to do right there. Once the PCs learn of the cagewrights, dropping hints to Dry'yrd and Festor will keep you busy.
But that's just me.
(BTW Delves, I need you to finish up Shackled City so that you can start producing Savage Tide content for us. Speed your group up!)
I onlt just got Dungeon Magazine Issue #139 yesterday! :) So I'm guessing my group will be playing STAP going on their current pace in 2010.
And that is if we don't play AOWAP first!
Thanks for the compliment but you seem to have plenty of good ideas yourself.
I take your point with your campaign and the Cagewrights. Too may villians is too hard for any group to follow especially if you are attempting to foreshadow them this late into the SCAP.
I am very hopeful though that my structure above has reduced the villian focus suitably. Onlt time will tell though.
Delvesdeep
I've been reading all of the posts above with a lot of interest. Our group is only about a third of the way through Flood Season, so I have time to make changes if I want to.
But here's a thought--if a shady organization (the Cagewrights) is operating in the area, and has recently come to the area because it happens to be one of the few places where they can perform their ritual...doesn't it stand to reason that the PCs aren't necessarily going to have had contact with many of the bad guys before the finale? I mean, realistically, the Cagewright masters are busy prepping their ritual for most of the campaign anyway, so they aren't going to be that visible. I'm not sure that the PCs killing a bunch of bad guys that they haven't personally had contact with is all that anticlimactic. And if the Cagewrights are only in the area for this ritual, I can't see them being that bothered (or having time) to get that involved in the local scene.
Just my thoughts.
--Fang
>> doesn't it stand to reason that the PCs aren't necessarily going to have had contact with many of the bad guys before the finale?
Yes, realistically, that makes perfect sense. Story-wise though, that's not a lot of fun. It's more fun to know the bad guys, have developed some animosity for them, and then get to face them.
I'll probably use some of the cagewrights without foreshadowing (that minotaur might be Dyr'ryd's bodyguard or something) but I want to foreshadow the "major" ones.
I've been reading all of the posts above with a lot of interest. Our group is only about a third of the way through Flood Season, so I have time to make changes if I want to.
But here's a thought--if a shady organization (the Cagewrights) is operating in the area, and has recently come to the area because it happens to be one of the few places where they can perform their ritual...doesn't it stand to reason that the PCs aren't necessarily going to have had contact with many of the bad guys before the finale? I mean, realistically, the Cagewright masters are busy prepping their ritual for most of the campaign anyway, so they aren't going to be that visible. I'm not sure that the PCs killing a bunch of bad guys that they haven't personally had contact with is all that anticlimactic. And if the Cagewrights are only in the area for this ritual, I can't see them being that bothered (or having time) to get that involved in the local scene.
Just my thoughts.
--Fang
The Cagewrights are meant to be the ultimate manipulative masterminds behind all the evil that befalls Cauldron and the party throughout the Path.
Vhalntru is a mere ally of this organisation (according to the offical HC).
Which confrontation do you think your party will
(1) eagerly anticipate more?
(2) remember afterwards?
(3) be most motivated to seek?
My strong guess in the final battle with Vhalantru and the reasons are simple - because they know him, his evil work and how he has personally manipulated and wronged them.
Conversely the party know there is an evil organisation who is determined to turn Cauldron into a gate town to Canceri. They march off to face the terrible bad guys and come across the first of them and ask - 'Are you a cagewright?'
A bit of a let down don't you think? You could throw anyone in that dungeon and say they were Cagewrights. In face throw in a few townspeople and the party would probably murder all of them assuming they were the terrible Cagewrights. In fact the Cagewrights may have further manipulated the party by sending them to a dungeon full of a rival group and the party would never know.
In my opinion evil needs a face or the party loses motivation and focus. When they face whats meant to be the ultimate evil orgaisation of the game they need more of a reason than - "Go kill them they are the bad guys'.
They need to feel personally affronted -
Vhalantru has manipulated you and the city from the start using you as a puppet all while pretending to be you ally
Shebeth is not the Arch bishop of your faith... he is a Cagewright who has driven your church and the city to the brink of insanity
Embril has been a Cagewright from the start and has used her church to destroy the rest of the faiths in Cauldron and sent assassins to kill you
The Fish is the Jester of the Last Laugh and killed (Skylar, Jenya etc)
Alurid has systematical killed every adventuring party that has tryed to help Cauldron including the Stormblades..
Gau is the general of the Cagewright army and commander of the Blue Duke.
You probably won't have to remind the players of any of this because they will remember and would be determined and motivated to kill most of this group anyway even if they weren't the Cagewrights.
Much better motivation than -they are the Cagewrights go kill them...
Just my opinion of course as always
Oh, I definitely agree....that's why I've been following this thread....I'm just being lazy....looking at all those great ideas, and thinking, boy, it's already a ton of work, but this stuff would make it so much better...LOL! This is the first major campaign I've ever DM'd (other than a lot of one-shots for different groups through the years), and I never thought it would be so much work. It's as bad as writing a novel--all those story threads to hang on to!
Thanks again for sharing all your great ideas, Delvesdeep!
(I'm getting the Demonskar Ball ready to run in a few weeks--that is really wonderful stuff!)
--Fang
Some really great thoughts in here for DM's who want to flow better. One of my biggest complaints about SC is that the background and motivation of the NPCs are rarely disclosed to the PCs, even indirectly.
However, for people like Fang, who find it interesting but a lot of work, perhaps there is a simpler solution. When the PCs defeat Vhalantru , they uncover his desk and all his research on the Cagewrights, giving them a +10 bonus on research related to the Cagewrights. Given a well-stocked library (+6) and assume that some 15th level character has maxed his Knowledge (local, religion, or arcana), then their knowledge check is +38. By the book, information on one Cagewright can be known with a DC 40 check. So, they should be able to find some information on who the Cagewrights are at this point. A generous DM might even let them know all of them, in general terms, so as to convey backstory and motivation but not give much tactical advantage.
That's not to undermine the work done in this thread, at all. Just an alternative for some busy (or lazy ;) DMs.
When the PCs defeat Vhalantru , they uncover his desk and all his research on the Cagewrights, giving them a +10 bonus on research related to the Cagewrights.
That's another good idea.
I'm leaning towards doing at least some of the replacements as Delvesdeep suggests, but one of my main concerns--apart from it being a lot of work ;)-is that knowing my group, the minute they get a name, they're going to be howling for blood. I foresee all the Cagewrights dead in their tracks long before the end of the AP if I make them too obvious.I've played with these guys for the past seven years (though not as DM), and one of the group's major problems is that they don't back down. Ever. And I'd hate to have to kill them all off...
--Fang
Unrelated to the stellar contributions of this discussion...
I've played with these guys for the past seven years (though not as DM), and one of the group's major problems is that they don't back down. Ever. And I'd hate to have to kill them all off...
Sad as it might be, consider it lesson learned if it should come to that.
I will also add that I agree wholeheartedly that the AP is significantly lacking in information and motivation for the PCs, especially where the Cagewrights are concerned. What would we do if these great ideas couldn't be shared! Synergy, man, yeah synergy!
Koramado
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When the PCs defeat Vhalantru , they uncover his desk and all his research on the Cagewrights, giving them a +10 bonus on research related to the Cagewrights.That's another good idea.
I'm leaning towards doing at least some of the replacements as Delvesdeep suggests, but one of my main concerns--apart from it being a lot of work ;)-is that knowing my group, the minute they get a name, they're going to be howling for blood. I foresee all the Cagewrights dead in their tracks long before the end of the AP if I make them too obvious.
I've played with these guys for the past seven years (though not as DM), and one of the group's major problems is that they don't back down. Ever. And I'd hate to have to kill them all off...--Fang
Dedekind's idea definitely has merit, whether you use my structure or the original number of Cagewrights.
In terms of workload I plan on posting a document on everything written here on RPGenius once we have finished discussing all the intricaties.
At the moment though there is little changes you will have to make. I'll include a few Foreshadowing ideas below.
In regards to your over suspicious, eager and bloodthirty party. If a few Master Cagewrights get killed before they are 'supposed to' then I can't see any harm. If they are smart enough to see through lies and disguises then they should be rewarded with the evil villians death.
But if they bite off more than they can chew...then the same is try the other way. As Koramado stated, it would be a good lesson to not take on every NPC they disagree with or who upsets their sensabilities.
The death may cause an uproar initially and a lot of tantrum throwing, but it will give the message to them from that point on that you will not protect them and if they upset the wrong person then they will have to pay the consequences.
If you are really nice just have a true resurrection scroll in their possession at the time or make readily available. Either way the point will be made and they may be more agreeable to NPCs in the future ;).
Here are a few foreshadowing ideas you may choose to employ sooner rather than later whether you use the smaller cagewrights numbers I have wriiten up above or the original version.
Hope the ideas help.
Foreshadowing
The below Cagewrights are not foreshadowed in the SCAP at the moment so hear are a few ideas to make the them more memorable to the party.
Khyron Bonesworn (Apprentice) & Alurad Sorizan (Master)
Khyron is the clerical leader of the Necrocants and apprentice to Aluizid the Blackguard slayer of adventurers.
Possible Foreshadowing for these villains could involve –
Chapter 4 or earlier
The party here from a reliable source (possibly Meerthan) that a group of adventurers known as the Red Riders were ambushed on the road to Cauldron by a group known as the Necrocants. The Necrocants were lead by a handsome man with yellow eyes who wielded a skull caped mace and a shield adorned with a white skull. Only one member of the Red Riders survived the attack.
Chapter 5
At the beginning of Chapter 5 the ‘Strider’ of the party is contacted by Meerthan, urgently summoning them to the Drowning Morkoth. When they arrive Meerthan is prepared and quickly tells them that Fario, Fallian and Shensen were ambushed by the Necrotaunts are hiding in the jungles a few miles from the Lucky Monkey.
Meerthan teleports them to the Striders and find Fallian unconscious and the other two badly injured and out of spells. Within a few rounds the Necrotaunts find the party and Striders and attack.
The Necrocants are Khyron (see HC write up), Ranita (8th level Wizard/Necromancer), Malruin (6th level human ghost rogue), Sir Hellin (Swordwraith) & Dralan (Frost Giant Mummy).
Khyron retreats after things start to turn against his group and Meerthan commands the party and Striders to let him go hoping to magically trail him back to his Cagewright Master.
Later the same day Meerthan asks the party to come to the Drowning Morkoth to help him scry for Khyron and to try and remember everything they see in case his scrying is discovered and what they see is the only clues they have to locating the Master Cagewright and the other Masters.
Meerthan produces a large ornate silver mirror and begins to chant. The reflection begins to waver like a pond disturbed by a stone before the image becomes clearer and the party find themselves looking at a the ruins of a dark temple.
A figure clad in spiked armour climbs the stair of the temple which is easily recognizable as Khyron. The dark cleric walks through the shadow filled hallway, his footsteps echoing off the ancient walls before approaching the dimly lit altar.
Stooped over the altar with his back to Khyron, is a man wearing a cloak made of human skin covering his shadowy full plate armour. Shaggy black hair protrudes from his scalp and a great bloodied sword sits at his side. A huge red badger sits atop the altar snarling at the clerics approach.
‘I have failed Master’ you hear Khyron say breaking the silence, ‘the Striders still live….’
The man spins around, anger blazing in his bloodshot eyes. In his blood covered hands he holds the torso of a man who he has carefully begin to tear the skin from. His face is covered in a pattern of blood-red tattoos and hanging around his neck is a necklace of fresh hearts.
Khyron quickly continues -‘They called for help and we..’
‘Silence!’ the dark man raises his hand in fury, ‘and you came straight back here?! I said never to seek me out unless I summon you!’ he screams in anger at his cowering apprentice.
The crazed looking Cagewrights looks about the room until his eyes stare directly at the party. ‘And now you have brought them to me!’
‘Meerthan. I know where you are now. I will come to take your heart soon!’ he cackles before casting non-detection and ending the scry.
After the scry Meerthan sits stunned for a moment.
In a trance in whispers to himself - ‘He was meant to be dead, my leader died killing him’
Pulling himself out of the introspection Meerthan tells them the man is Alurad Sorizon, crazed adventurer slayer and sadistic blackguard slaughter of the Cagewrights. When the Striders attacked the Cagewrights Alurad had cut sway through many of their strongest members before Meerthan’s leader finally slew the man with his final breath.
Meerthan devotes his attention over the next chapter in finding Alurad.
Chapter 7
Khyron has been disfigured when they see him at the party. The skin of one half of his face has been torn off in payment for his mistake. The party will combat Khyron once again at House Rhalandi and likely kill him.
Shebeleth Regidin (Master Cagewright – Spiritual Leader)
Shebeleth, Spiritual Leader of the Cagewrights and High Priest of Adimarchus, abhors other faiths and the hope they provide to the future agonized slaves of Canceri and his master – Adimarchus. He is determined to wipe all potential spiritual resistance from Cauldron before he initiates the evil ritual that will turn it into a permant planar gate to the Prison Plane.
Chapter 3 or 4
The High Inquisitor and Arch Bishop of the church (either St Cuthbert or the party clerics church), His Divine Holiness, Shebeleth Regidin arrives in a white and gold carriage to help the faith in its dire of hour. Shebeleth is adorned with a high peaked cap and long white and gold robes. He walks with a golden staff.
The party may see the coach or just meet with the High Bishop at his request. Jenya, Asfelkir, Kristof or the leader of the party clerics church should be respectfully thrilled by the arrival of Shebeleth and be very keen to introduce the party to him. Shebeleth tells them he was wriiten to by Jenya/Askelkir/Kristof about the troubles in Cauldron and has come to help. He asks the party about their adventures and listen to their thoughts, worries and suspicions. Shebeleth gives the party each of minor magical item to help protect the church and defeat the evil that seems to be washing into Cauldron.
Items: Necklace of Fireballs (Type 1), Hand of the Mage, Phylactery of Faithfulness* and Eyes of the Eagle.
* The Phylactery dictum is a little different – far more militant and tolerant of other faiths including other ‘good’ faiths.
Shebeleth encourages the party to work to help the Cauldron community in any way and return with any information about the evil that Jenya/Asfelkir/Kristof had written to him about and he will personally reward them.
If they seems suspicious about Shebeleth he questions them directly about their concerns and even asks them to detect his alignment, read his thoughts etc and uses his remarkable trickery spells and abilities to twist them.
Chapter 5
Shebeleth begins to make some changes to the church, ‘encouraging’ more acolytes to be trained (hand picked and loyal to him), more funds to be used to train more holy soldiers/guards to protect the faith and go out and bring the faith into the homes of the needy and frightened. He uses a great deal of his personal treasury to help fund the improvements and uses some of his wealth to help repair the church petitioner’s homes which were damaged from the floods and riot/s. Shebeleth says he is becoming concerned with the other churches connections with the corrupt government and nobles
In reality these improvement are being used to buy loyalty, eat up the churches funds and prepare for an attack on the other good churches.
Chapter 7
Shebeleth has asked the church leader (Jenya etc) to step down because of past incompetence’s and the new direction of the faith at the start of the Chapter.
If the party resist this Shebeleth says he will give the leader one more chance but only if they openly take actions against the evil that is building in the city hidden in the churches themselves. Holy defence and strong resolve is required immediately.
If the party tell Shebeleth where they are going he makes sure he warns Fetor of their potential arrival before beginning to gather his flock and manipulate, mass charm etc them into a religious fever.
When the party travel to the Demonskar, Shebeleth gathers the church faithful and new holy defenders to attack the evil hidden in the Church of ….(Pelor, Kord or other). The ensuing conflict kills many needlessly and damages both churches.
When the party kill Fetor and discover that Shebeleth is his Cagewright Master that will return to the city to confront the evil cleric.
Shebeleth greets them with his headgears off revealing the ruby eye embedded into his forehead. He cackles insanely as they approach saying – ‘The damage is already done my pitiful servants. The churches will never recover in time before the Cagewrights terror is unleashed upon Cauldron. You have been little more than gullible pawn I’m afraid…’
He then uses time stop to summon 2 Fasastu and 1 Kelubar Demodands to finish off the party and then Word of Recall to return to the Fiery Sanctum.
Delvesdeep
In terms of workload I plan on posting a document on everything written here on RPGenius once we have finished discussing all the intricaties.
At the moment though there is little changes you will have to make. I'll include a few Foreshadowing ideas below.
Wow. Thank you, Delvesdeep. Here I was getting ready to apologize for hijacking your thread with inconsequentials, and then you give me this...
You have been so much help to my campaign. I hope you know how much we all appreciate your work!
Shelbeleth was actually the first one I considered working in, because I figured--like you said--that he could be posing as a bishop of St. Cuthbert, perhaps come to Cauldron to witness Jenya's investiture as High Priestess following Sarcem's death, and then sticking around under the pretense of helping her become familiar with the duties of a High Priestess.
Thank you very much!
--Fang
I've been thinking a bit more about Thirteen Cages and Strike on Shatterhorn.
I had a brief skim through Thirteen Cages and can't see many difficulties with swapping the two mages and the evil monk with powerful Salamanders/firey creatures. I may even just change these Cagewrights race with Salamander and low their class levels slightly to compensate. Therefore the difficulty level with not decrease but the party focus (find and kill the Cagewrights) will be left intact.
But these are just initial thoughts at the moment....
Regarding replacing the Strike on Shatterhorn I was hoping for some ideas, any ideas...
Here are my very raw and unthoughtout first ideas but I am very keen to hear any alternative ideas.
I've tweeked Adimarchus backstory every so slightly to make his emprisionment to have occured thousandss of years past rather than just 50 (can you forsee any problems with this change?). Other than that the story remains the same.
Strike of Shatterhorn
Following the destruction of the Cagewrights order and the death of Dyr'ryd - Embril goes into hiding and desperately seeks a way to release her new master - Adimarchus.
Along with Alurad, the blackgaurd, and her newly resurrected Spellweaver ally, Embril travels to the site where she believes Adimarchus' madness first touched the world and the point where she believes he may reached and released from.
Before Shebeleth had begun the ritual he had discovered a way to release the Lord of Madness. Dark Mrytal is the warden of Skullrot and a lichfiend of incredible strength. Shebeleth had made made a pack with the dark fiend that if he was able to capture the citizens of the city and force them into Skullrot, the fallen angel would be released.
While Shebeleth never saw his plan to fruition, Embril had intends to.
Thousands of years before the Haunted Village even came into existance, deep beneath the lake surface that the village silently looks out over, an empire of Kopru's built a grand city.
At the centre of the city, at the lowest point of the lake, the Kopru found a stange stone and used it to carve out a statue to honour their Emperor. Unfortunately the stone was from another plane - Canceri, known as Sorrow Stone.
The same type of stone that Fetor carved his likeness of Adimarchus out of and that channeled the fallen angels anguish, this stone relays all the anguish of the most crazed and sorrowful creatures of Canceri.
For decades the statue remained dormant. Few Kopru went near the beautiful carving because it left them feeling sorrowful, angry and resentful of the world but it remained relatively harmless.
On the night of Adimarchus betrayal and capture within Skullrot, his blast of maddening anger and sorrow washed over the unsuspecting city driving the Kopru within insane. When hunger and each other eventually left them all dead they still did not know peace for they rose from the lake floor as insane spirits of sadness.
When thousands of years later Kozomajon attempted to raise the Kopru spirits from thier Necropolis, it was their madness that turned them upon the necromancer and made them uncontrollable to him.
With the knowledge of how to control a Sorrow Stone, Embril has been able to control the Emperors statue with the aid of her Spellweaver ally and now seeks to unleash the insane Kopru Ghosts upon Cauldron from their own lake.
After they have rested, the party will need to hunt down Embril to the underwater Kopru Necropolis, kill Alurad and westle control of the statue from Embril before returning to Cauldron with the statue and turning back the insane ghosts that begin to pour from the Cauldrons lake and start to turn all that llok upon them mad.
Anyway just my ideas right now. I already see a few problems but I waould value any input on this adventure or an alternative one greatly.
Delvesdeep
Is Shatterhorn a compelling adventure that you really want to run? From my browse of it, it seemded another dungeon crawl against the cagewrights again. I was going to either drop it, going straight to Asylum or replace it with something. It's a long ways off at this point so I haven't worried about it much. The list of possible replacements from recent Dungeon mags are (Adventure, Level, setting):
Dawn of a New Age 20 Urban & Dungeon
Gates of Oblivion 18 Dungeon, Planar
Heart of Hellfire Mountain 20 Dungeon
Into the Wormcrawl Fissure 19 Temperate Canyon & Dungeon
Kings of the Rift 18 Mountain, City, Dungeon
Lich Queen's Beloved, The 18 Planar
Maure Castle: The Greater Halls 17 Dungeon
Razing of Redshore, The 20 Underwater
Root of Evil 18 Dungeon
Twisted Run, The 17 City, Dungeon
Vlindarian's Vault 18 Dungeon
No you have misinterpreted me DMTodd. I am removing Strike on Shatterhorn from my path and replacing it with my own adventure which I outlined in the post above.
I believe that the adventure that preceeds the final adventure and final confrontation against the main villian should lead the party towards the conflict. It should have something to do with Adimarchus, insanity and create some concrete reason why the party must defeat him promptly.
While the adventures you have suggested are excellent (I have planned on using the Lich Queens Beloved as another side trek as part of another interweaving plot I have weaving throughout the path) but they still lack this prelude.
I believe without a build up to Adimarchus the battle will end up like the Strike on Shatterhorn adventure - nameless & meaningless encounters.
Just my thoughts
Delvesdeep
Now I see why the name 'Delvesdeep' commands such awe and respect on this board...
Dear sweet flippin' Lord, I LOVE the Shebeleth idea. I'm not sure about the whole reworking the Cagewrights, but the Shebeleth plot is locked in. There's a cleric of Pelor in the party, so this will fit perfectly. As for the Alurad scenario...workable, but I'll have to modify it if nobody in the party joins the Striders (and so far I see no character with the disposition or inclination in that direction). Of course, the party haven't met Ferio and Fellian yet, seeing as how they've just entered Jzadirune (and our second session is this weekend).
I also want to keep the yuan-ti sorcerer in the Shatterhorn ruins, because I just went through my copy of Dragon 330 and saw all those nifty snake-motif spells from the Volume Venificus (spells inscribed by Merrshaulk on living snakes). Gotta use them when the party gets there.
Even if I use all the Cagewrights, there's no real need to foreshadow all of them; they're going to meet a few of them anyway, especially with the delicious Shebeleth idea. Did I mention I really, REALLY like the Shebeleth idea?
Embril, Shebeleth, Alurad...I'm sure I can work in foreshadowing for the others as well as needed.
I suppose I could put Shelebeth in with the Cuthbertian church instead of Pelor. Let's see some pros and cons:
St. Cuthbert:
Pros:
* Inquisitor idea fits nicely in Cuthbertian attitude.
* Party's half-orc Cuthbertian paladin would have to make some serious decisions about who's in the right: Jenya or Shebeleth.
Cons:
* Cuthbert's church is one of the strongest in the campaign, with a highly competent and prominent NPC leader in Jenya, which risks putting too much focus on these two NPCs interacting rather than on the players where it belongs.
* Half-orc has ample RP opportunities from racial tensions and the mercenaries coming into town.
Pelor:
Pros:
* Weakest church would benefit (albeit temporarily and only in a twisted way) from such a personage, with a weaker leader in Kristoff than Jenya is.
* Party's Pelorian priest would have to make serious decisions about Shebeleth's actions before he reveals himself to be the prime scumball.
Cons:
* Priest has ample role-playing opportunities in dealing with his older (adopted) brother, Todd Vanderboren and the Stormblades.
* Paladin might be more inclined to do some evil-detecting on a member of another Church who is acting out-of-sorts.
Weighing them, it seems that the Pelor option would be the best from a story point of view, while either option works from a role-playing point of view. What do you people think?
Thanks for your appreciation Borealis, it's always god to hear people actual read your work and think they may use it themselves.
I'm sure the Church of Pelor would work just as well as the Church of St Cuthbert.
The only downside I can see is the organisation and stuctures of each faith. St Cuthbert is a Lawful faith with a rigid heirarchy, strict regulations and focus on laws and punishment. By its nature Shebeleth arrival into this structure would be less questioned and more blindly minupulated by those within the church.
Pelor is a faith that is far less rigid in its dogma and organisation. The Leadership and structure of the church would be far more open and relaxed. As a result an unfamiliar figure would be viewed with more likely to be questioned and viewed with suspicion.
Conversely though...
Cauldron's Shrine of Pelor is a relatively minor faith in the city and has recently lost its two highest ranking 'officals'. Kristof is inexperienced and unsure of himself and his new role. I'm sure that under these conditions, the Shrine would be crying out for direction and leadership and Kristof would be far more willing to bow to outside help than any other church in the city at the moment.
Remember, whatever decision you make, ensure that you play Shebeleth as a kind, supportive and generous benefactor initially. Players are ususally far more willing to accept a new figure if they praise the party for their accomplishments, appear open and willing to help and reward them in some way. Depending upon the stage you bring Shebeleth into the fray, I would reward your paladin with a circlet of blasting (minor) or even a Sunsword if Shebeleth is included later on.
Overall though, you know your party and what senerio would work best for them and by the sounds of it Pelor seems like the most viable option.
Good luck and have fun
Delvesdeep
Delvesdeep, I wanted to let you know that I appreciate that effort as well. The Archbishop Shebelith's parade is entering Cauldron this saturday. :)
Half the group will be meeting the Archbishop at a welcoming party at House Rhiavadi. They'll get a chance to actually meet Thifirane, as well as have Tearson Skellerang introduce them to his new second in command: Zarn Kyass.
Meanwhile, the party's ranger and cleric of Farlanghan are going to be off investigating the disappearance of a merchant caravan from Sasserne: the same caravan ferrying the diviner's special order scroll of Deflect Ray (or whatever the new spell in Tome of Magic is called). The cleric is a Strider (and the ranger had been offered a position but declined), so I'm going to have the rest of the players take control of Shensen, Fario and Fellian for the trip. When they find the decimated remains of the caravan, they're also going to find an ambush by the Necrocants (as above).
In an especially evil twist, they are going to be able to recover a crumpled up and stained scroll of Deflect Ray, but it is going to be an subtly altered version that Orbius has had commissioned. The new version will give a bonus to ray attacks made against the subject of the spell. The diviner will probably discover that with an arcane knowledge check when he's copying it into his spellbook, but that should make him even more paranoid. >:)
So, in closing: thanks for all the good ideas and inspiration. You have made my game better.
~Qualidar~
Thanks for your appreciation Borealis, it's always god to hear people actual read your work and think they may use it themselves.
I'm sure the Church of Pelor would work just as well as the Church of St Cuthbert.
The only downside I can see is the organisation and stuctures of each faith. St Cuthbert is a Lawful faith with a rigid heirarchy, strict regulations and focus on laws and punishment. By its nature Shebeleth arrival into this structure would be less questioned and more blindly minupulated by those within the church.
Pelor is a faith that is far less rigid in its dogma and organisation. The Leadership and structure of the church would be far more open and relaxed. As a result an unfamiliar figure would be viewed with more likely to be questioned and viewed with suspicion.
Conversely though...
Cauldron's Shrine of Pelor is a relatively minor faith in the city and has recently lost its two highest ranking 'officals'. Kristof is inexperienced and unsure of himself and his new role. I'm sure that under these conditions, the Shrine would be crying out for direction and leadership and Kristof would be far more willing to bow to outside help than any other church in the city at the moment.
This can even tie in with the deaths of the Pelorian priests pre-campaign; they were killed in order to provide Shebelth the opportunity to step in and further weaken Cauldron prior to the Cagewrights' plans being fulfilled.
Ah, the joys of networking creativity. Maybe I should prepare a handout to announce his impending arrival.
OOH! Really EVIL thought. I wonder if there's a way to manipulate the party's cleric to come up with the idea of inviting the Inquisitor to Cauldron himself. Maybe let him find hints that there was something sinister behind the deaths of the priests (he already has some suspicions after the first ten minutes of play anyway). Then have him discuss it with Kristof, who drops the idea, which the cleric can then pick up and promote himself.
Would Shebeleth have come from Sasserine or somewhere else?
Delvesdeep, I wanted to let you know that I appreciate that effort as well. The Archbishop Shebelith's parade is entering Cauldron this saturday. :)
Half the group will be meeting the Archbishop at a welcoming party at House Rhiavadi. They'll get a chance to actually meet Thifirane, as well as have Tearson Skellerang introduce them to his new second in command: Zarn Kyass.
Meanwhile, the party's ranger and cleric of Farlanghan are going to be off investigating the disappearance of a merchant caravan from Sasserne: the same caravan ferrying the diviner's special order scroll of Deflect Ray (or whatever the new spell in Tome of Magic is called). The cleric is a Strider (and the ranger had been offered a position but declined), so I'm going to have the rest of the players take control of Shensen, Fario and Fellian for the trip. When they find the decimated remains of the caravan, they're also going to find an ambush by the Necrocants (as above).
In an especially evil twist, they are going to be able to recover a crumpled up and stained scroll of Deflect Ray, but it is going to be an subtly altered version that Orbius has had commissioned. The new version will give a bonus to ray attacks made against the subject of the spell. The diviner will probably discover that with an arcane knowledge check when he's copying it into his spellbook, but that should make him even more paranoid. >:)
So, in closing: thanks for all the good ideas and inspiration. You have made my game better.
~Qualidar~
Great foreshadowing ideas Qualidar! The party will have an opportunity to meet three future major villians in the one encounter. I think I may use this idea myself.
The Necrotaunt ambush should also be interesting. Let me know how it pans out.
Thanks
Delvesdeep
This can even tie in with the deaths of the Pelorian priests pre-campaign; they were killed in order to provide Shebelth the opportunity to step in and further weaken Cauldron prior to the Cagewrights' plans being fulfilled.
Ah, the joys of networking creativity. Maybe I should prepare a handout to announce his impending arrival.
OOH! Really EVIL thought. I wonder if there's a way to manipulate the party's cleric to come up with the idea of inviting the Inquisitor to Cauldron himself. Maybe let him find hints that there was something sinister behind the deaths of the priests (he already has some suspicions after the first ten minutes of play anyway). Then have him discuss it with Kristof, who drops the idea, which the cleric can then pick up and promote himself....
I like the idea of getting the character to 'come up with' the idea of inviting Shebeleths assistance. This would certainly reduce suspicion and give a degree of ownership and responsibility of the Arch-Bishop to the players from the start.
I had a similiar idea with Vhalantru. I've played him up as a drunked (he is the cities drinking champion afterall ;)) and helpful politician to completely throw my players off the scent. He has taken them into his confidences, sharing his growing concern about the Lord Mayor and Teresong and their promotion of increased taxes and gaurd recruitment. Vhalantru has also painted Annahs (of the Stormblades) father as a villian, and the real 'power' within the council.
When the Lord Mayor goes missing Vhalantru will tell the party that the council is electing a new lord mayor and that Teresong and Anhkin are the candidates. I am hoping the party urge Vhalantru to put himself up for election and then miraculously win it!;)
Even if the party doesn't make the suggestion he will later explain that he became certain that the other two were corrupt and put himself up to save the city. Unfortuanately though now he fears for his life!
Earlier in the path I will of had the party witness and then later encounter Orbius so they build up a genuine hatred for the villian.
When the truth is finally revealed the party should be frothing at the bit to despose of the evil beholder. I'm even thinking of having Vhalantru make a last effort twist and have him still in his Vhalantru suit when they finally encounter him in Lords of Oblivion and claim to be the 'real' Vhalantru who captured months a go...
I see how it goes.
Have fun
Delvesdeep
Had another idea on how to tie in the party priest with Shebeleth. Since he (of his own volition) chose to be a member of the Vanderboren family, offering oodles of RP opportunity with Todd, I can easily tie that in with Sasserine and the other half of the Vanderboren family. I'll have to bounce this idea off the player, of course, but he could easily have been receiving his training in Sasserine while staying with his relatives (including Vanthus, who rivals Todd for nastiness), at the Church of Pelor there and at least somewhat under the tutelage of the head of the Order of Pure Light, a recent faction within the Church strongly dedicated to the stomping of evil. Of course, the Order of Pure Light would be Shebeleth's idea, tying into his plan to weaken the faith of Cauldron's citizens. He might even have sent the party cleric back to Cauldron slightly ahead of his scheduled time due to the emergency, with orders to report on anything suspicious. After Ulf (the cleric) reports either to Kristof or directly to Shebeleth, then Shebeleth can make his grand entrance in Chapter 3 (right at the beginning, with assurances that Sarcem was returning shortly with the wands...), and things can proceed from there.
Please, please, PLEASE let the player be amenable to this. His background is mostly undefined at this point, since he had to write up the character sheet at the last moment due to having lost the original version. He just picked the Vanderborens because of their connection to the Orphanage. Little did he know...
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Thanks for everyone's ideas and suggestions here - especially delvesdeep.
I plan to use a lot of delvesdeep's ideas in this regard in my own campaign, particularly reducing the number of Cagewrights and many of the forshadowing ideas - espcially the Shebeleth one as others here are too - a new PC - probably playing a cleric of Pelor - is planning to join our game next session, partway through Flood Season! He may arrive from Sasserine as part of the "Bishops" entourage....
Just to play devil's advocate for a moment delvesdeep, I notice that your changes to the apprentices will mean that most of the participant's at Thifrane's party in Lords of Oblivion will now be Cagewright apprentices. So if you havent already thought of it, you may need to adjust the reason for the meeting, and come up with a different explaination for why the non-cagewrights are there?
Thanks for everyone's ideas and suggestions here - especially delvesdeep.
I plan to use a lot of delvesdeep's ideas in this regard in my own campaign, particularly reducing the number of Cagewrights and many of the forshadowing ideas - espcially the Shebeleth one as others here are too - a new PC - probably playing a cleric of Pelor - is planning to join our game next session, partway through Flood Season! He may arrive from Sasserine as part of the "Bishops" entourage....
Just to play devil's advocate for a moment delvesdeep, I notice that your changes to the apprentices will mean that most of the participant's at Thifrane's party in Lords of Oblivion will now be Cagewright apprentices. So if you havent already thought of it, you may need to adjust the reason for the meeting, and come up with a different explaination for why the non-cagewrights are there?
Good point as usual Mothman, the structure of the meeting would be altered somewhat...
I was thinking that Thifirane will still host the gathering - being the most senior apprentice of the three present.
Flanking her during the meeting will now be the Blue Duke and Khyron, the other two Cagewright Apprentices at the meeting. The other two can share the speech to ensure the party realize their importance and rank compared to the other figures present.
Perhaps Lady Rhiavadi first introduces herself, Khyron and the Blue Duke as Apprentices of the powerful cult of madness known as the Cagewrights during her formal intoductions previous to her formal speech.
I would suggest that Khyron take up the speech after tapestry image turns into the Tree of Shackled Souls discussing the Soul Cages, the ritual and the tree itself while the Blue Duke continues the speech when it shifts to discussing the roles of the slavers, mercenaries, spies, assassins etc in the final paragraph.
Other than this, make sure Khyron and the Blue Duke (and Jil for that matter earlier in the same chapter) have silver cage pendants as a visual link to the organisation, and not much else needs to be changed as far as I can see.
What are your thoughts?
Delvesdeep
Oy. That speech is a hard one. I hate exposition.
Instead, having completely swiped your 6+6+1 apprenticeship idea, I'm looking to change this speech into a discussion between the attending members and let it serve as an introduction to those characters I (and you) haven't had a chance to foreshadow yet.
For example, Thifirane can ask Zarn how their forces stand; someone could ask about how the death of Iverson will affect their plans; Khyron can report on his group's ambush of the Stormblades; and so on.
It would seem hokey if you foreshadowed everybody, but a scene like this will tie everything together in time for the big end-game push.
Oy. That speech is a hard one. I hate exposition.
Instead, having completely swiped your 6+6+1 apprenticeship idea, I'm looking to change this speech into a discussion between the attending members and let it serve as an introduction to those characters I (and you) haven't had a chance to foreshadow yet.
For example, Thifirane can ask Zarn how their forces stand; someone could ask about how the death of Iverson will affect their plans; Khyron can report on his group's ambush of the Stormblades; and so on.
It would seem hokey if you foreshadowed everybody, but a scene like this will tie everything together in time for the big end-game push.
That sounds great. Any chance you could write up how the conversation may generally flow if the characters do not intervene?
Great idea
Delvesdeep
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Oy. That speech is a hard one. I hate exposition.
Instead, having completely swiped your 6+6+1 apprenticeship idea, I'm looking to change this speech into a discussion between the attending members and let it serve as an introduction to those characters I (and you) haven't had a chance to foreshadow yet.
For example, Thifirane can ask Zarn how their forces stand; someone could ask about how the death of Iverson will affect their plans; Khyron can report on his group's ambush of the Stormblades; and so on.
It would seem hokey if you foreshadowed everybody, but a scene like this will tie everything together in time for the big end-game push.
Nice idea Fletch. Seems like it might be the way to go.
I just might have an opportunity to bring Shebeleth into the picture a wee bit earlier than anticipated. See, the party has no idea what actually causes the Vanishing. They're speculating on dust right now. So they brought a wand they found up to the surface, touched by the rogue and sorcerer (only the latter made his save). They also brought a bag of tricks, but the paladin made his save. They gave the wand to Kristof for safekeeping until they have time to identify it themselves...
Now they've found a couple of scrolls and the paladin didn't make his save this time. So naturally they'll be heading back up within the next day or so. Imagine their icky feeling when they find out Kristof also contracted the disease, and refuses to seek help from the Wee Jas temple. If the Kordian priest can't help (and Jenya already tried and failed to cure it), and if the party can't find a way to save him, this might leave the party cleric as the only Pelorian cleric in the city. Naturally he isn't going to be able to handle things himself, forcing him to request assistance from Sasserine. And one of his instructors, the head of the Order of Pure Light, shall answer the call...
Of course, this will give them a pretty big clue as to what actually causes the Vanishing...but you can't win them all.