I want to provide an experience for my PCs where they feel like the characters they've created are integral to some so of the action in the campaign. I've got a few ideas, but I would love to see how other GMs would handle this.
Player 1: Elven druid. Father sold into slavery in Cheliax and managed to escape to his freedom. Character grew up with his father telling him stories about "his people", the Ekujae, and the druid is returning to the Mwangi Expanse to reconnect with his long lost kin.
Player 2: Human Fighter. A minor noble from Korvosa, his sister was raped by a group of men. The character tracked down these men for vengeance and killed two of them before he took a nasty wound to the face. The very strict laws of Korvosa has forced this character to flee the city in fear that he'll be hanged.
Player 3: Elven rogue. The son of a pirate captain in the Shackles, this character has connections to the criminal underworld. When he helped his best friends, two brothers, complete a job stealing some priceless jewels or some such, he thought he'd be set for life. He wasn't expecting one of the brothers to betray them, trade the ill-gotten gains for hard drugs, and then attack him in a pesh haze. After killing one brother, the other brother wants revenge, and so this character had to get out of Dodge.
Player 4: Human sorceror. His grandfather was an adventurer who explored the Mwangi Expanse, and discovered a powerful artifact in the shape of an orb. Touching this cursed artifact, his grandfather's adventuring party was teleported into the vastness of the void. Passing out and letting go of the artifact, he awoke later in the care of some clerics at a temple. That orb is still up in the void, the grandfather told his character from a young age, and the character is obsessed with recovering it himself. To aid him in his quest, his grandfather gave him a map of the Mwangi Expanse and tattoos for the night sky on the back of his hands so he can always find his way home.
Obviously players 2 and 3 are easier to write in to the adventure. I can invent some NPCs looking for them, and they could easily be working for an opposing faction. Maybe a crazy Hellknight bent on bringing the fighter to justice has spent all his resources tracking him to the Mwangi Expanse, and a rogue turned assassin teams up with the Red Mantis to hunt his brother's killer.
I was thinking I could make the druid's tribe be the one camped out in the Artisan District of Saventh-Yhi. It'd require some changes from human to elf, but they could have easily have moved to Saventh-Yhi in the hundred or so years since his father was sold into slavery. I'm not sure if this is the best solution, but it doesn't effect the plot too much.
I'm not sure how to handle the sorcerer's character. Do I come up with some sort of crazy artifact with a lingering curse attached to it, or maybe do something with his grandfather's old adventuring group that is presumed to have died in the Void, or... Really, one of the more interesting backstories, and ties into his Starsoul bloodline nicely, as his grandfather was "affected" by his trip to the Void, and I don't want to miss a chance to use it.
Yar!
***SPOILERS BELOW!!!***
1: could be any of the tribes native to the region, though The Tribe of the Sacred Serpent could work as well. Include some thoughts on the Radiant Muse, as she is a god to that tribe. They don't all have to be elves either... he could have been a unique shaman or witchdoctor under the Muse until one day when exploring the surrounding regions got captured and put to the whip.
Another hook for this character may not be reuniting with his people, but defending them against the slavers of Sargava, turning them into a natural Rival as they travel to Saventh-yhi to turn any inhabitants there into slaves, and this PC is the only one who can stop them.
4: There just happens to be a strange blue orb in a certain Salt Mine in part 2: Racing to Ruin. It caused the destruction of the mines and the loss of many families. Perhaps the grandfather's companions are among the salt weights they must fight, or perhaps one of his Grandfather's former companions has become the Blue Warrior himself! How did the orb get into the mines? Well, the grandfather only says it's still in the void, but how could he truly know?
You could also have the mysterious orb be part of one of the Vaults of Madness, and his Grandfather's party has been trapped in Ilmuria for the last untold number of years. You could even make them Eando Kline and his companions, turning his grandfather's old adventuring party into a VERY central part of the later plot.
One of my players did something similar to your orb story, however...
... just to give an idea of what could be done with such a backstory/artifact. ^_^
~P
I totally forgot about the Salt Mines and that weird orb thing that defies explanation. I'll have to look into that some more, and see how I can work that in. I might be able to reflavor a large portion of those mines. Thanks for the feedback.
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Just some other thoughts that might help...
Player 1: In Eleder he could hear about how xenophobic the Ekujae are to "outsiders" and even those "tainted" by the outside world. Maybe he even talks to some Ekujae slaves taken in Eleder. He should learn right off the bat that the jungle elves probably aren't going to be taking him back in with open arms without him proving himself.
Then you can easily insert an encounter with Ekujae scouts between Tazion and the entrance to Saventh-Yhi. They tell him if he wants to be welcomed back into the tribe, he'll have to prove himself. Maybe the Ekujae lost an artifact of some importance to the Maka-Yiki bandits. When the bandits were driven from the Kaava Lands, the elves tracked them to this area and the bandits disappeared. The artifact would of course be located somewhere with the bandits in Vault H when the bandit gang was dominated by M'deggog.
Alternate: maybe the Ekujae are working on tightening relations with the Kalijae tribe to the north/northwest. The Kalijae are taking a beating in their constant battle with the Gorilla King and if the Ekujae can strike a blow against him, they could secure close ties to the northern tribe. This could be done by Player 1 by driving the Gorilla King out of Saventh-Yhi in Book 4.
Maybe if he does one or both of these and is welcomed back into the tribe, the Ekujae elves become an additional force that can be called on to help in the final battle in Book 6.
Player 2: Great idea with the Hellknight from Korvosa stalking him. Maybe this Hellknight from Korvosa also joined forces with the Order of the Coil around Eleder. The Order of the Coil would be MOST interested in information that outsiders are trying to find potentially dangerous secrets within the jungle and release them to the outside world. Maybe the Order of the Coil forms their own expedition to chase the others becoming a racing faction in Book 2 and trying to drive out the other factions in Book 3. Player 2 would have to deal with his nemesis chasing him from Korvosa and now all his other Hellknight friends.
There's another good thread here about the seldom used (and rarely mentioned) Order of the Coil. Might want to check that for information.
Player 3: this just screams to have a built in antagonist within the Shackles Pirates faction. Maybe the other brother is even directly connected to Captain Kassata somehow. Makes the conflict between Player 3's faction and the Pirate faction much more personal. This also opens up some good roleplaying opportunities with Aerys as well. If she befriends Player 3 on Smuggler's Shiv, then finds out that he's wanted for murder by her mentor, Kassata, which side is she going to choose?
Player 4: I love connecting him to the blue orb in the Salt Mine. You could also leave a warning near it in mine (written in Azlanti) that this orb was originally from Saventh-Yhi, but they buried it (or teleported it away) far from the city because it was so dangerous. Or have the orb more "crystal ball" sized (instead of "room" sized) and have it lying in a cracked open Azlanti chest with the warning on the chest. You could include information about the orb or how to use it as Mysteries in the city that the Player could potentially find.
Is it really dangerous? Is it cursed? If it's improperly used will it launch people off into the void? Is it really a serpentfolk artifact that the Azlanti claimed after Ydersius's defeat and the Azlanti hid it because it was a dangerous weapon the serpentfolk could use? If the serpentfolk find out it has resurfaced are they going to want it back and send Serpentfolk Seekers after it (probably)?
Just brainstorming out some ideas.
Hope that was some help!
I guess who the hell knight and other brother are working with will largely depend on what relationships they foster with the other castaways on Smuggler's Shiv. Right now, both Aerys and Ishiro are MIA after some botched diplomacy rolls, so if they die, I can replace them with a hell knight and the other brother as the main NPCs of those factions later on, at least as far as player involvement goes.
I didn't even think about using the Order of the Coil, though. I'll have to go back and look into them more. Having another faction entirely that's completely antagonistic would work great if the other five end up being friendly competitors.
I'll have to really work with that orb idea. I need to find out more of the backstory, I guess, since it looked like he wrote it in a hurry and some parts were sorta vague. Maybe that will help guide me. Having it be important for the serpentfolk in some way will help me establish and keep a strong serpentfolk presence for books 2-4 when they're kinda lacking.