Okay, I'm planning a campaign for this summer (so please don't look at this thread Sexi Golem).
A basic premise is there was a terrible warlord, we'll just call him the Dark Lord for cliche's sake. He was served by a sorceress (who worshipped Wee Jas). Eventually, a paladin opposed them, and from across the battle field, the Jasadin mage was immediately smitten (pun intended) by the paladin's appearance and bearing. She convinced Mr. Lord to not kill him, but capture him (he can be turn to our side, make him watch you do evil, yadda yadda). Really, she just wanted to "get with" pally-boy, but it didn't work (resolve of the righteous and all that, resist tempation, so on and so forth). She became intrigued, and eventually truly fell in love with the paladin (converting from Evil to Neutral).
So, when Dark Lord finds out, he kills the paladin, and the sorceress defects. She bolsters the opposing army, and they manage to kill Darkius Lordius. But, as he was dying, the sorceress cursed him so that he couldn't be ressurected, at least not be normal means.
Now, she bore El Diablo a son before she met the paladin (and she bore a son with the paladin, too- can't wait for the reunion!). We'll call him "BBEG the 2nd." He took over from Pop after the whole "killed and cursed thing," but he wants to bring good ol' Daddy back. Darned curse. But, at least he's got Da's old sword, right?
Meanwhile, there is an Altar of Life, a druidic artifact. Basically, it's a stone altar that serves as a focus for any type of ressurection magic and replaces the need for those diamonds. Quite powerful, really. But, wait, there's more! If you order your ressurection on the Spring Equinox, the Altar can True Ressurect ANYONE (humanoids, monstrous humanoids, and giants, actually), no matter what (even if they died of old age, but then if they wander too far from the Altar it's Poof! and they're dust).
But, you'd better read the fine print. This function of the Altar requires a sacrifice. Either a creature or group of creatures whose HD total equals that of the subject of the intended ressurection can willfully trade their lives for the dead guy's... or an amount double that can be forceably sacrificed. That's the wierd thing about druids, they're always going on about this "balance" and incorporating both Good and Evil, and they're pretty serious about it. Crazy guys, right?
Course, Mr. McNasty II learned about the Altar and doesn't have a care in the world about killing around 40 guys to bring back Level 20 Badass Dad. But, the keeper of the Altar happened to be one of those "Good" druids and didn't want that. So, he allied with some dwarves and sank the Altar into a cave and sealed it forever.
Well, at least until silver was discovered in the ground 10 years ago and a boomtown popped up right on top of that Altar and started digging. What a co-inky-dink! They haven't found it yet, but they're getting close, and the current druid is worried.
Evil Jr. is still out there. People have tried to kill him before, and even succeeded, but he just keeps coming back. Wonder why that is?
Oh, yeah, because he's secretly a vampire, that's why.
So, here's the questions I want to ask.
1. What would be a cool wording for the curse the sorceress uttered? This is a tale that bards have told for a few centuries, a little more seriously than I have, so it should be something inspiring. Also, I'm wondering if the Altar should just be more powerful than the curse, or if there should be some kind of loophole in her wording (unbeknownst to the sorceress) that allows the Altar to work where an actual spell, spell-like ability, scroll, or staff wouldn't.
2. I expect the campaign to hopefully get to the point where I could make Mini-Evil around level 10 or so. However, dad's old sword is at least +6 (unholy, wounding, keen, and pure enhancement), maybe even more (haven't pinned it down exactly, don't need to at the moment). So, obviously I'm breaking wealth-by-level guidelines here. But, my thought is to go ahead and outfit him as a level 10 (or whatever he ends up being) as per the RAW, but then throw on Hope's Bane (the sword) on top of all that. Am I looking at a TPK by doing that? What would you all suggest as a method of handling this situation?
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1. What would be a cool wording for the curse the sorceress uttered? This is a tale that bards have told for a few centuries, a little more seriously than I have, so it should be something inspiring. Also, I'm wondering if the Altar should just be more powerful than the curse, or if there should be some kind of loophole in her wording (unbeknownst to the sorceress) that allows the Altar to work where an actual spell, spell-like ability, scroll, or staff wouldn't.
"A curse upon your soul so black, the Gods' own hands can't bring you back!"
It's a little corny, but it works (and it rhymes!). Plus, it would provide the loophole you're looking for. Divine magic from the gods can't restore him, but natural magic (as the altar) could.
2. I expect the campaign to hopefully get to the point where I could make Mini-Evil around level 10 or so. However, dad's old sword is at least +6 (unholy, wounding, keen, and pure enhancement), maybe even more (haven't pinned it down exactly, don't need to at the moment). So, obviously I'm breaking wealth-by-level guidelines here. But, my thought is to go ahead and outfit him as a level 10 (or whatever he ends up being) as per the RAW, but then throw on Hope's Bane (the sword) on top of all that. Am I looking at a TPK by doing that? What would you all suggest as a method of handling this situation?
NPC Wealth levels prevent the BBEG from being on-par with the party equipment-wise, so I don't think giving him an uber-sword is going to be that big of a deal. Just make sure it doesn't have Vorpal or any other insta-kill abilities. A custom lifestealing enchantment might be cool, though, especially since he's a vampire. The other side of the coin, of course, is to have the party find the paladin's sword which may be equally powerful (or at least close) to balance it a bit.
1. What would be a cool wording for the curse the sorceress uttered? This is a tale that bards have told for a few centuries, a little more seriously than I have, so it should be something inspiring. Also, I'm wondering if the Altar should just be more powerful than the curse, or if there should be some kind of loophole in her wording (unbeknownst to the sorceress) that allows the Altar to work where an actual spell, spell-like ability, scroll, or staff wouldn't.
"A curse upon your soul so black, the Gods' own hands can't bring you back!"It's a little corny, but it works (and it rhymes!). Plus, it would provide the loophole you're looking for. Divine magic from the gods can't restore him, but natural magic (as the altar) could.
2. I expect the campaign to hopefully get to the point where I could make Mini-Evil around level 10 or so. However, dad's old sword is at least +6 (unholy, wounding, keen, and pure enhancement), maybe even more (haven't pinned it down exactly, don't need to at the moment). So, obviously I'm breaking wealth-by-level guidelines here. But, my thought is to go ahead and outfit him as a level 10 (or whatever he ends up being) as per the RAW, but then throw on Hope's Bane (the sword) on top of all that. Am I looking at a TPK by doing that? What would you all suggest as a method of handling this situation?
NPC Wealth levels prevent the BBEG from being on-par with the party equipment-wise, so I don't think giving him an uber-sword is going to be that big of a deal. Just make sure it doesn't have Vorpal or any other insta-kill abilities. A custom lifestealing enchantment might be cool, though, especially since he's a vampire. The other side of the coin, of course, is to have the party find the paladin's sword which may be equally powerful (or at least close) to balance it a bit.
I like both ideas. :)
I also just had another idea about the evil son. The secret part of "secretly a vampire" is pretty important, because that can be as much of a liability as a boon. So, I'm thinking every time he goes into battle, he takes his second in command with him, along with a cadre of elite hobgoblin bodyguards (I like them as the stormtroopers and workhorses of evil armies). Sometimes the craving for blood gets too strong, and he goes into a rage killing boh friends and foe and draining them, to the horror and surprise of both sides. He then assumes the identity of the lieutenant he killed to avoid questions of "how is this guy still around?" Making sure that he and his higher ups wear armor and clothing that conceals their features is part of his plan, making the differences hard to spot.
First, I would like to say that that Campaign sounds very cool and original. Well, as for the sword, the Paladin sword(as Fatespinner suggested) would be a good idea and could even out the equipment problem. Obviously it should do some extra damage versus evil, or maybe it could even have the Paladins soul in it(The evil lord thought that would be a good torture), so it's a sentient object...he could tell them about what had happened if they ask him, and he could say that he would not fight with them unless they used him to vanquish the evil son perhaps? Well, I hope that helped. Also, the natural instead of Divine power to revive with the altar (as Fatespinner suggested) would make sense with that little loophole.
Your friend,
Sir Smashes Alot
Fatespinner got a chance to beat me to it, since I was thinking of the magic of nature loophole...
But here is the curse wording I was thinking of, as an alternative:
"Foul spawn of hades! For killing <insert name of Paladin here> out of spite, may The Goddess spite you so that no magic of man or God will save you from your torment!"
A little less corny, and a hell of a lot more dramatic. Perhaps overly dramatic...
But that might at least spark some ideas for you.
Make the Paladins Sword one of those weapons that gets better over time. A Legacy Weapon. ~shrugs~ Why not? And the BBEG's sword can't be touched by good people or they take damamge.
I might go with something less rhymy in the end, like Disenchanter posted. Also, I'm thinking of just making the paladin's sword a good ol' Holy Avenger. Never featured one in my games before and... it makes sense! Besides, one of the characters is going to be a paladin.
More questions regarding this campaign!
Okay, I've kind of written myself into a corner. The campaign starts in the Spring, when there is a ceremony to be performed. Everyone thinks it memorializes some historic event, but in truth, it renews the wards on the vault the Altar is in.
A group of tieflings has come into town with the plan of stealing the relic used in the ceremony and selling it. One of them murders the Heironean priest who has it while he's asleep, but the presence of the PCs in the temple throws him off and he has to bolt, rather than carefully sleuthing back to his lair. An exciting (I hope) scene follows where they chase him into a warehouse and stalk him through crates and barrels. The thief finds a cask of oil and uses his dagger to knock a hole in it, making noise and drawing the party's attention. They come over and see the liquid, but by the time they realize what it is, the hiding murderer throws an alchemist fire at them, then flees during the distraction.
The town gets locked down. The party will have seen the murderer and noticed at least his red eyes by now. Someone like that doesn't come into town without being noticed. So, they talk to the gateman. Provided they can get the info from him, he tells them a hooded figure came in at night two weeks ago and paid him a lot to keep quiet. He had a wagon, too (where the other tieflings hid, so as to not arouse any more suspicion). He directed them to a certain shady inn, where the party goes and talks to the innkeeper. But the tieflings didn't go there, they have another place in mind already.
After roughing up the innkeeper, the party will learn that the Sawfish Boys are a local powerhouse of petty crimes. Yes, the Sawfish Boys, as in the gang from Funeral Procession in Dungeon #130. That adventure will come after this one, modified for 2nd level.
So, the innkeeper tells the party that he'll set up a meeting for them and the Sawfish Boys. But, the tieflings actually are residing with the demon cult under the slaughterhouse where the Sawfish Boys work, and so these crooks alert them. Then the tieflings come and break into the party's room at another inn in an attempt to off them. During the fight, they drop the name of their guild, the Bezekira (yes, taken from another Dungeon adventure, but Home Under the Range won't be featured in this campaign, although Tealpeck's Flood from #137 will; "Tealpeck's" heir is actually the sorceress's descendant).
The Heironean temple can tell the party that the Bezekira are an international tiefling crime syndicate.
And that's where I'm stuck. How in the world does the party go about finding where the murderer is? And why would he be on his own? I want them to find him and kill him, and then his is the body being buried in Funeral Procession. The demon cult will worship Orcus rather than Graz'zt, fitting more fully with their desire to "revive" the murderer as a mohrg.
Now, there are four tieflings in this branch of Bezekira. Two will die in the night raid. I'd like one to live to report to their superiors. Why would the other, the murderer, be away from the Orcus cult's hideout, and how could the party find him? The Sawfish Boys aren't going to rat- the cultists would kill them. No one else really knows what's going on. There are high enough level clerics in town to cast divination, but I'm not sure what they would ask and what response they would get to progress the adventure further.
Any thoughts?
The easiest way I know of is the Clerical spell "Locate Object" cast for the relic. Since it is 3rd level, and you state that there are clerics able to cast 4th level spells.
I didn't read anywhere if you stated the murderer got he relic or not, but if not, you might consider letting him get it.
Maybe the murderer was off killing someone else? Or perhaps he was running some kind of errand. Picking up a package of sorts? If ot was on a rival gangs turf, they'd point him out to hurt the Sawfish Boys.
If not that, why not have one of the wives/girlfirends of one of the Sawfish Boys give them someinformation. Being a thug or thief is one thing, being in or working with a demon cult is another. I'm not very familiar with the gang or the adventure they come from, but this might be doable.
Or you could just have all sorts of false clues that everytime the follow them it leads to the building the Sawfish Boys use. If all the ittle details keep coming back to one place, they might just search it on that.
Hope some of this was useful, or starts a new train of thought.
Yes, the murderer got the relic. I thought about having clerics cast locate object, but they'd have to walk around scanning (it's a Large Town by DMG rules), which would alert a lot of people. Not to mention, they have the thing in a lead-lined box.
The priest was killed in an attempt to throw even more confusion into the mix. They're not really so interested in offing anyone else- they mainly want to take their stolen relic and skip town to sell it. This is a 1st level adventure, so I want the criminals to be smart, but still make some mistakes.
I like the girlfriend route. She might not be willing to rat on her "lover," but she may be willing to oust his new, even shadier partners.
I'm not really wanting the party to go to the slaughterhouse yet, because that's the focal point of Funeral Procession. That's why I'm trying to figure out why the tiefling thief/killer would be outside of the slaughterhouse, which would be a safe-zone.
Hmm... the town is on the edge of a rather large lake (maybe half the size of Lake Eerie). Perhaps one of the two remaining tieflings goes to try and arrange passage out of town with some river pirates or the like. Either through tip or divinations, the party can find out about the meeting and get to the relic and the tieflings that way.