I just sent this to one of my playerrs, a Strider of Farlanghan. It's her briefing from Meerthan. I thought I'd post it here in case anyone could use it.
~Qualidar~
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The Assault on the Manor Karatis
Three decades past, the founding seven members of the Striders of Farlanghan, along with half a dozen famed adventurers hired for support, invaded the manor house of the then-noble family Karatis within the Free City of Greyhawk. It had been learned that the family was the front for a cabal, known as the Cagewrights, that worshiped certain powerful inhabitants of the dimension known as Carceri. During the assault, the Cagewrights managed to free one of their masters from the Prison Plane. Although the creature was driven back through the gate, and the surviving Cagewrights were forced to flee, the cost was high. Of the 13 heroes that participated in the assault, only two survived. Of the fallen, eight were irrevocably lost.
Of the surviving Cagewrights little is known. They were once ruled by a Council of Thirteen. In addition, most on the council had taken on apprentices to further spread their beliefs.
These are the Cagewrights that escaped destruction:
Dyr’ryd: The leader of the Thirteen is a creature known as Dyr’rad. Said to be a powerful and massive outsider, twisted and deformed, it is presumed that he may be a demodand. However, there were no surviving witnesses from the assault on the Manor Karatis that could offer verification. His apprentice was destroyed in the assault.
Ardeth Webb: A woman tainted by an infernal bloodline, Ardeth was orphaned at birth 150 years ago. She was raised in a Scarlet Brotherhood monastery, trained in the racist ideologies of that nation, before she eventually left them behind to join the Cagewrights. Her apprentice was once the assassin Nulin “Fish” Weirjon, and she had not taken another after his elevation to the Councel of Thirteen.
Nulin “Fish” Wierjon: Nulin had been elevated to Councilmember just prior to the assault on Karatis. His nickname came from his beginnings as a petty criminal on the docks of the city of Redhand. When others got in his way, they ended up dead, and soon he had a reputation that presumably captured the attention of the Cagewrights.
The Grey Man: His (or her) identity is unknown, but the entity known as the Grey Man served as Spymaster for the Cagewrights. Much of his network was compromised by documents uncovered during the Striders’ raid, but the man himself slipped away. His apprentice was captured during the raid, and eventually executed.
The Speaker: Little is known of the one known as “The Speaker”. He is rumored to be the chief priest of whatever entity the Cagewrights worship, but who that is remains a mystery.
The Apprentices:
Gau Kleeoch: Four decades ago the minotaur general Gau Kleeoch oversaw the northern barbarian hordes of Kurag Durm. Her troops sacked over two dozen border keeps before the united army of three nations was mustered to turn her back. Gau surfaced years later as apprentice to Toborauk, a fire giant slain by the Striders.
Alurad Sorizan: As the “Butcher of Harrowford” the farmboy Alurad was responsible for the murder of an estimated 36 innocents. His penchant for collecting trophies from his mutilated victims brought him to his mentor Shaavik, a priest of Erenthul slain by the Striders. It was similarities to his killings seen in the Cauldron region several years ago that originally turned the Striders’ attentions to the area.
Kyan Winterstrike: Apprentice and bodyguard to her slain wizard mentor, Kyan was able to fuse her magical training with her skill at archery. She served as sniper and scout on Cagewright expeditions, and had a hatred for her fellow apprentice Viidran.
Viirdran Daraqor: A dark elf, Viirdran served as apprentice to a Cagewright sorcerer that committed suicide rather than face capture. Little is known of his capabilities, other than he was both a skilled warrior and powerful wizard. It is known he shared a mutual loathing with Kyan Winterstrike.
swipe! My players have just defeated Ike Iverson after his assasination attempt, and they are finally starting to do some investigation of the Cagewrights. Hopefully the player with the strider connection will think to ask Meerthan what he knows after Meerthan debriefs the PC on recent activities. Thanks for this useful summary!
No problem.
The unnamed Cagewrights are Shebelith (the Speaker) and Xokek (the Grey Man). I'm getting Shebelith into town early (see the New Cagewrights thread) so I don't want to give up his name. I think I'll have to fit Xokek in somewhere as well. Perhaps he'll take the role of one of the tax collectors to go and assess every nook and cranny of my player's new headquarters.