The Champion’s Belt (#128) – Modifications
I’ve never been happy with the 24 teams in the games and the weird way in which the PCs have to reach the finals. So I made 16 teams and worked with the normal knock-out system: 16 => 8 => 4 => 2 => 1. I also briefly worked out all the teams: there were basically three kinds of teams: 6 local teams (from Waterdeep in the Forgotten Realms setting), 5 arena teams (from famous arenas all over the Realms) and 5 city teams (from neighbouring cities). The PCs formed one of the local teams.
During the Free Dinner the PCs got a full description of all the other teams and got the possibility to interact with them. I also worked out the rules of the games and had Talabir Werik go over them. The PCs also have to sign a contract to state that the organizer of the Games is not responsible for any accidents or deaths.
Finally I also wrote out the words of the Apostelic Scrolls. The words describe the ritual to create an ulgurstasta from a normal green worm. One of the steps in the ritual included the offering of a righteous soul. This referred to a former companion of the party, the paladin Mélinde (from Diamond Lake, and the girlfriend of one of the PCs). When the PCs were captured in The Hall of Harsh Reflections, Bozal Zahol paid them a visit and took the paladin with him to offer her to Kyuss. The PCs find her dead body under the arena, beyond resurrection.
After ‘The Champion’s Belt’, I inserted another Dungeon adventure: ‘And Madness Followed’ (issue # 134).
In my version of this story, Sophia Lasilaran became a follower of Kyuss, having been reformed by none other than Ilthane the Black Dragon. The play Sophia wrote was called ‘The King of Worms’ and told the story of how the mortal Kyuss came to power, of how he met the Harbinger who gave him the first green worm and how he tried to ascend to godhood in the monolith ritual. at the climax of the play, a portal to the past opened, allowing green worm to flow into the theatre and kill the spectators, drawing their life force through the portal (and through time). Each soul would make Kyuss stronger, maybe giving him the power to break free of his monolith.
The PCs come across the first remnants of a performance in Sophia’s hometown, a small hamlet between Waterdeep (the Free City) and Leilon (my Forgotten Realms replacement of Diamond Lake). In Sophia’s house the PCs find notes giving them a lot of background information on Kyuss. The also come across the name Ilthane.
The trail leads to Leilon (Diamond Lake), where Sophia already finished a second performance. Among the many victims is the mother of one of the PCs, as well as a host of important people from Leilon. Balabar Smenk did not attend the play and grabs the opportunity to gain even more power in town. The PCs fight some of the remaining Kyuss undead, including a powerful Sword of Kyuss (stats from Spire of Long Shadows) – the former captain of the Lances turned undead.
The PCs hurry to Waterdeep (the Free City) to stop Sophia’s performance for a large audience in the bard Academy (of which one of the PCs is a member).
I left the next adventure ‘A gathering of Winds’ (#129), more or less unchanged. I only had Ilthane kidnap one of the PCs to lure the others to the Whispering Cairn to kill them. Obviously her plans failed.
I left most of this module as is, though I added in Raknian's son Liam, who is the half-brother of one of the PCs (who is one of Loris Raknian's illegitimate sons). The biggest of my changes dealt with the arena teams. I made each one from scratch, as the module teams would have been obliterated in short order by my powerhouse PCs. They were:
Sentinel Guard: Six fighter types who used shield other and aid another in conjunction with their signature weapons.
The Order of the Dragon: Six oriental types consisting of three samurai, a sohei, a monk, and a wu jen.
Pitch Blade: Six level 10 dwarven barbarians.
Madtooth was madtooth.
Auric's Warband: Auric, Khelleck, Liam Raknian, and three stone golems.
The Champion’s Belt (#128) – Modifications
I’ve never been happy with the 24 teams in the games and the weird way in which the PCs have to reach the finals. So I made 16 teams and worked with the normal knock-out system: 16 => 8 => 4 => 2 => 1. I also briefly worked out all the teams: there were basically three kinds of teams: 6 local teams (from Waterdeep in the Forgotten Realms setting), 5 arena teams (from famous arenas all over the Realms) and 5 city teams (from neighbouring cities). The PCs formed one of the local teams.
I know this was a long time ago, but do you have the other teams detailed out in a place you can share it?
Thanks in advance,Allissara