When my current campaign ends within a few months, I plan to begin a new homebrewed campaign. I've got plenty of time to plan, so I want to create a lot of good detail. The campaign centers around the Feywild and Moonstair, a town detailed to some extent in the adventure King of the Trollhaunt Warrens.
Anyone want to help? I'm looking for anything from feedback to help designing specific encounters. Here is what I have so far (I apologize for the length)...
Background
During the Dawn Wars, the time when the primordials battled the gods over the middle world, several primordials judged parts of their creation to be too vivid and bright and hurled those pieces away. The primordial Zexor, the savage creator, was one such primordial. The gods soon captured him and he slept countless ages in a prison in the Elemental Chaos. The gods made order of the discarded creation, and the Feywild was born.
After Zexor awoke, he saw what the gods did with the discarded material and vowed to destroy it for revenge and his basic drive for savage destruction. He sought allies outside his prison. The first ally was the Planeweaver, an ancient eladrin who learned to manipulate areas of the planes to her will. Of her, Zexor asked to find a means to entwine the Feywild and the Shadowfell, sibling cosmos with polarized energies that cancel each other out. The Planeweaver has already begun several rituals for such a cataclysmic crisscrossing. Her ultimate goal is godhood, a goal that requires scores of followers and extreme power. She hopes her part in the plot to destroy the Feywild will deliver her both.
The second ally is Jovogornon, the Nightmare Whisperer. This crazed creature, somehow manufactured in the Plane of Dreams, has more mysterious motives than just power. Jovogornon, the Dread Devourer, feeds on the nightmares and fears of mortals. Seeing an opportunity to feast on the horror of the creatures of a dying Feywild, Jovogornon agreed to help. Manipulating several powerful creatures of the Feywild, Jovogornon helped to preoccupy the denizens and inspire chaos. His most powerful victim is none other than Tiandra, the Summer Queen. Manipulating the Queen threw the Court of Stars, the major political body of the Feywild, into an uproar. Lastly, Jovogornon has inspired a war among the Beast Lords, throwing the fey world into even more chaos.
Finally, Zexor himself gathers energy and allies to escape his prison. If he manages, he could cause a great deal of destruction.
Overall Direction of the Campaign
While this is the planned route, I like to keep things open for my players; some of the actual details may change. I broke down the plot into parts based on level.
Lvls 1-3 The campagin begins in the city of Moonstair, where two great rivers converge and a Feywild portal resides. Approached by a pale halfling trader from a village that sits up a tributary of the river Vardar, the PCs are asked to investigate the sable liquid that recently began filling up the tributary. The tainted water appears to be affecting the villagers’ health. No one outside the village has noticed the darkened river, for the water becomes further diluted downstream.
The PCs move up the river into dangerous territory until they reach Frostscape Village at the base of a mountain of the same name. Eventually, they find that the black liquid pours out from the mountain. The PCs enter Frostscape to find the source.
Frostscape was once the home of a dwarven city now ruined due to time and turbulence. Several fractions now exist in Frostscape, the most powerful being Traxinax, an adult white dragon. After many challenges and battles, the PCs find the source: black falls escape from a Shadowfell river made of the substance through a portal. This portal is one of the failed results of the Planeweaver's attempts to entwine the Feywild and the Shadowfell. The PCs are unlikely able to close the portal at this time, so the solution is to redirect the flow into the Underdark rather than to let it seep out to the mountain’s exterior. Unfortunately, this disturbs a berbalang, which then seeks vengeance.
Lvls 4-6 These levels will feature an adaptation of the Wrath of the River King. Although not directly related to the overall plot, the adventure allows the PCs to explore the Feywild and learn of some of its stirrings.
Lvl 7-10 The adventurers return to Moonstair with new riches and power. This gains the notice of Kelana, the mayor of Moonstair. She hires the PCs to investigate a series of assassination attempts on her life. Investigations lead to a local sect of the Bloodghost syndicate, a network of criminals run by a bugbear family. This particular sect has fallen under the influence of a night hag sent by the Summer Queen. The Queen mistakenly believes that former ally Kelana has devious designs on the nearby eladrin castle-city of Celduilon.
Lvl 11-13 After the Great Warren in the swamps to the east was cleared of trolls, a mind flayer moved in to the structure. Noting the increasingly distraught local fey and animals (all due to the unrest in the Feywild), the mind flayer used his thralls to kidnap victims throughout the region for the purpose of feasting. The mind flayer assumed Moonstair would blame the kidnappings on the fey or savage beasts. The PCs bypass the swamp to find the real source of the kidnappings and to destroy this terrible threat.
14-16 Kelana wonders why the ambassador from Celduilon has not visited in some time. She sends the PCs into the Feywild to investigate. The city-castle is in a state of civil war – an evil eladrin influenced by one of Zexor’s minions has taken over. The PCs help a resistance gain back control of the city-castle and kill the evil leader.
17-20 Back in Moonstair, the fey and beast attacks have worsen. Kelana asks the PCs to visit an enclave of private druids and request for the druids to come to the aid of the city. The PCs find the enclave embroiled in the Beast Wars. The druids consent to help the PCs if the heroes agree to enter the Feywild with the druids and help settle a truce among the various beast lords. However, a couple of the beast lords selfishly wish to continue the war for the spoils they hope to gain.
21-23 With the help of Oran, an archfey called the Greed Lord, the PCs infiltrate the Court of Stars to determine the cause of the Summer Queen’s insanities. Eventually, they are lead to Jovogornon, the Nightmare Whisperer, who hides in an Underdark formian fort.
24-26 The PCs enter the Shadowfell where the Planeweaver continues her rituals in a shadar-kai city. They stop the Planeweavers’ various rituals and slay the Planeweaver herself.
27-30 The PCs enter the Elemental Chaos to find Zexor’s prison and prevent his escape.
Frostscape was once the home of a dwarven city now ruined due to time and turbulence. Several fractions now exist in Frostscape, the most powerful being Traxinax, an adult white dragon. After many challenges and battles, the PCs find the source: black falls escape from a Shadowfell river made of the substance through a portal. This portal is one of the failed results of the Planeweaver's attempts to entwine the Feywild and the Shadowfell. The PCs are unlikely able to close the portal at this time, so the solution is to redirect the flow into the Underdark rather than to let it seep out to the mountain’s exterior. Unfortunately, this disturbs a berbalang, which then seeks vengeance.
If you can get hold of it look for the old 2nd Edition campaign 'Daggerfall' which has exactly this scenario. The scenario in Daggerfall is in the FR, the river south of Waterdeep that us next to Daggerfall is oozing poison.
The PC's go to check it out to find the old dwarvenhold of Illefarn contains three factions, Dwarves (who are trying to take the area back), Orcs(who were residence), human(necromancer, human and undead). All three are fighting for control of the mine. It details the mine, details the patrols of the factions and treasure.