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"You are the chosen! You are the chosen!" The High Priest of Nerull whispered in the ears of a youthful Mordenkainen.
"You have a destiny. A destiny to save all of the lands of the Flaness..." He threw another brick of Lotus Resin on the Brazier.
"The Devourer is coming..."
"The Devourer?" The Young apprentice was sluring his speech. The Narcotic was overcomming his resistance.
"Yes...Tharizdun is preparing his return...and you will pervent his emergence." He stroked Mordenkainen's shoulders creating a momentary arousal.
"How?" The young boy was weakening.
"He works by corrupting Empires. No one is immune. No one is strong enough."
"They arnt?" Mordenkainen's face twisted with despare.
"No...and that is why you must keep them divided amongst themselves."
"Seek his words and you will know him by his deeds. Even now he whispers to them."
"Whaaa?" The High Priest put his fingers against Mordenkainen's Lips.
"Shhh! He will hear you! Now sleep." The boy collapsed into the seat.
So you are looking for a reason to go Greyhawk with your 4E and you figure the Players have it all figured out. But what if they dont. WHat if everything they think they know is a lie? What if Mordenkainen had a forgotten past? One which led him down the road to a confrontation with Tharizdun? What if his reasons for opposing Tharizdun were a lie built through brainwashing? Where would Greyhawk be left then?
You're freakin' me out, man.
I like it. :)
You've got some intriguing elements in there.
I must admit, from reading this post I realize I know next to nothing about Greyhawk. I recognize Mordenkainen, he wrote a bunch of spells. Other than that, I don't understand anything you wrote about.
I'm sure it's a compelling pitch for Players/GMs who have studied Greyhawk extensively, but as a hook for non-experts it doesn't work.
Were the original B modules set in Greyhawk? Or was that Mystara? I played through those a ton when I was young.
dingo, you can use that intro for any edition. And having been playing in Greyhawk since '83...the thought of converting THE D&D setting over to 4E is just anathema to an old timer like me.
But...good luck with your ideas.
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dingo, you can use that intro for any edition. And having been playing in Greyhawk since '83...the thought of converting THE D&D setting over to 4E is just anathema to an old timer like me.
But...good luck with your ideas.
If the world of Greyhawk has bet everything on Mordenkainen (self appointed secret keeper and guardian) what happens if and when he fails?
The World of Greyhawk is cast into chaos (ideal for the points of light setting of 4E).The Kingdoms and Empires are gone...the Ruination of Greyhawk abounds...as people huddle in isolated communities terrified by the horrors of Tharizdun that wander the land all the while being fed on by the things that corrupt their communities from within.
The powerful influences of Good become nothing more than a moment of Hope.
The Good Times are but a moment. They have become terrible places. The only hope is to survive. Something as simple as compassion is no longer viable. If little Jimmy is outside the Gates when they close because Ghouls are racing out of the forest, only a community prepared to scarifice the many for the one is going to throw those gates open in the hope he gets to the Village before the Monsters do.
Laws are going to be about absolutism. If you make a mistake, there will be no sympathy for your actions. You will be expelled as a threat.
The Phrase 'Heroes are people who get others killed' will have real meaning for the people of communities that have survived (even flourished) by not taking chances. They dont let strangers in.
Mordekainen is not the only force for good/non evil in Greyhawk.
The kingdoms of Nyrond and Keoland continue to strive to fight back the forces of evil. Every good aligned Cleric on Flanness tried to make the dark times brighter.
Remember this is in the middle ages so there is no quick communications and even magic users don't use communication spells every day. Thus it's easy for evil to isolate an area for nefarious purposes.
If you set your Greyhawk after the Greyhawk Wars, the setting is already pretty dark, with Scarlet Brotherhood influencing many countries in the south, and Iuz conquered many countries in the north.
Yes you could have Mordekainian as a recurring NPC, either as manipulator (befriends pcs, then sets them again various groups then eventually the PCs work out what is going on) or as just plain troublemaker, constantly giving rival groups/people information against eachother.
While this act would not make the world collapse quickly, it would seriously hinder good and neutral aligned countries and groups ability to cooperate effectively against evil.
If you want further reason for Mordekainens villany, perhaps he is related to Tasha/Iggwilv? Son of Iggwilv, half brother to Iuz.
You don't want to give the good guys no chance at all, you could have Druid circles with Ranger agents aid the commonfolk and travellers, perhaps in alliance with their roguish friends the Rhennee. Likewise you could have groups of Lycanthropes as temporary allies to PCs, they don't like the evil cults but have their own agenda. This leads to a more Shades of grey feel.
Either pre or post Greyhawk wars, most of the time the adventurers and commonfolk respond to evil acts, so the town is already raided, the princess already kidnapped, so Evil has the initiative and started the events rolling before good responds, and this makes the world a dangerous place to start with.
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Mordenkainen is said to have given some warrior a magic sword so as to pit him against other evil (It might have even been the Sword of Kas and he gave it to Robilar?). He caused the fall of Furyondy? (which was supposed to have unified with another Lawful Good Kingdom by Marriage).
His Agenda is not Balance by letting things fall where they may, his is about kicking over ant hills to keep them burning up surplus resources on rebuilding.
From memory the Scarlet Brotherhood kidnapped the Prince of Veluna to prevent his marriage to a Furyondy Princess. (paid by Nyrond to prevent a powerblock in the west) The Prince was taken to the Temple of Elemental Evil.
However it's your world, if you want Mordekainen behind the kidnapping and aiding Kas and then Robilar then go for it. He was travelling companion of Robilar for a long time.
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From memory the Scarlet Brotherhood kidnapped the Prince of Veluna to prevent his marriage to a Furyondy Princess. (paid by Nyrond to prevent a powerblock in the west) The Prince was taken to the Temple of Elemental Evil.
However it's your world, if you want Mordekainen behind the kidnapping and aiding Kas and then Robilar then go for it. He was travelling companion of Robilar for a long time.
No...its not for setting, I've just not played in Greyhawk for so long I have only the vaguest recolection of what went on.
'Mordenkainen's Gift of a Sword' is said to have been one of the times he provided support to the forces of Evil to ensure some concept of 'balance'.
I thought Mordenkainen had allowed the events that culminate in the Prince being bitten by a vampire...
im playing greyhawk, 4th ed.
i reset the setting to the folio from 1983. and restriced class/races to 1st ed phb. starting with series u, moving on to series a, then g, d, q
Donnald - That sounds great.
Slave lords, Giants, Drow. Lots of bashing Chaos and Evil for fun and profit.
Yellowdingo - Daemon/Yugoloth Dinosaurs might be likely minions of Tharizdun.
Here's some links on Tharizdun you might find useful -
http://www.canonfire.com/wiki/index.php?title=Tharizdun
http://mux.net/~ulmo/greyhawk/tharizdun.html
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20040510x
Don't forget this one -
http://www.canonfire.com/cfhtml/modules.php?name=Downloads&d_op=viewdow nloaddetails&lid=183&title=The%20Dark%20God
Limited magic options -
1 : Only Heroic Tier powers work.
2 : All spells have a percentage chance of failure or side effects.
3 : Arcane and Divine Powers/Magic is gone, and people start getting Psionics (like Dark Sun, everyone has a wild talent)
4th edition terms might mean everyone has 1 At Will and 1 Daily power from Psionic or Primal power sources, in additional to normal powers.
Very different Greyhawk, gritty stuff.
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Limited magic options -
1 : Only Heroic Tier powers work.
2 : All spells have a percentage chance of failure or side effects.
3 : Arcane and Divine Powers/Magic is gone, and people start getting Psionics (like Dark Sun, everyone has a wild talent)4th edition terms might mean everyone has 1 At Will and 1 Daily power from Psionic or Primal power sources, in additional to normal powers.
Very different Greyhawk, gritty stuff.
Yes. intermittent CELLPHONE service as it were... It might be more accessible near major shrines providing a more 'points of light' quality to the activities of clerics.