Just wondering what others think about using bits of the Book of Vile Darkness in the AOW? We havent started the campaign as of yet but i am planning on tweaking it a bit to make it more 'mature'. I plan on adding a few spells here and there to some of the Ebon Triad members in TFOE, as well as using the rules for drugs in the Emporium. I feel that Diamond Lake has got just the right kind of gritty realism about it to handle these modifications. I also plan to have a side plot running involving a demon worshiping cult of Fraz-urb-lu, hidden in an abbandoned building somewhere in the town. Not to sure of the ins and outs of this yet but seeing as they worship the prince of deception and lies i may go with the cultists duping the pcs into recovering parts of the demon lords staff, not realising what it is they are really doing. The article in Dragon has a lot of good hooks to it , especially dealing with the cultists.
|
Not to sure of the ins and outs of this yet but seeing as they worship the prince of deception and lies i may go with the cultists duping the pcs into recovering parts of the demon lords staff, not realising what it is they are really doing.
Yeah, the "Demonomicon of Iggwilv" articles are some of my all-time favorites in Dragon. This idea works great, especially if the PCs think they're gettint the Rod of Seven Parts. I'd go from that angle. Have Allustan regale the PCs early on with tales of the Wind Dukes (if the PCs don't have the Knowledge skills to know themselves), then introduce a mysterious bald figure, dressed in blue robes of ancient design whose clothing always seem to be caught in a mild wind. This character convinces them that with the Age of Worms fast approaching, the time is ripe for new heroes to again take up the Rod of Seven Parts to do battle with this new evil. As things go on and the PCs (surely) notice that things aren't exactly what they seem (probably when they notice that the "Rod" seems to look funny, and that pieces of it are held in defended sanctuaries of good), have the cultist make up convincing stories otherwise ("a little known fact of the tale of the Rod's destruction was that during this battle the Rod absorbed some of Miska the Wolf Spider's chaotic essence, infusing it partially with the power of the abyss. If we construct it fully, I should be able to remove this taint with your blessed assistance.").
As for AoW and BoVD together at last, I'm planning to use a feww ideas from it (including drugs and maybe a few Vile spells and such). If you play it up as a gritty mining town and make the villains who are part of this apocalyptic cult truly evil, it helps the PCs fee like real heroes. I say go for it.
I believe James or Erik mentioned some time back that Book of Vile Darkness was used in parts of this adventure path. It certainly suits the feel of it.
|
|
I'm planning on using the BOVD for sure in some of the future installments if it seems suitable.
The most stuff in there doesn't really fit into low-level adventures, but the idea of incorporating the drug addiction-rules in scenes within the Emporium is a good idea.
I plan on using some of the corrupt spells with future villains and might modify some NPC's with vile feats.
For my taste, the 'Whispering Cairn' is mature enough to me for my style of DMing and i won't add BOVD-elements just to increase the gore-score or even make it more horrible
(If that's a side effect of using certain stuff or rules,it's fine by me).
Thanks for the replies guys. I realy like where you are taking my Fraz-urb-llu idea.Question for James here: Any reason why the Book of Vile Darkness isn't used more in adventures submitted to Dungeon? I for one think that it is a fantastic piece of work, pssibly one of Monte Cooks greatest!
|
|
If I had to venture a guess, I'd say its because their "sealed Vile section" spawned angry commentary in the mail section for- what, a year? I'd be tentative about putting "Vile" content in an adventure too. Over time, I've seen more come in- the demon Princes covered in <i>Dragon's</i> all have the feat Dark Speech feat, there was the adventure involoving stopping the pirate cultists of Asmodeus, etc. Let's hope the trend continues.
Creative Director
|
We actually use the Book of Vile Darkness fairly often for Dungeon. The main reason we don't use it all the time is for two reasons:
1: Not every adventure benefits from a Vile Darkness hookup.
2: When we utilize a spell, prestige class, monster, or whatever from a non-core book, we reprint the full details necessary to use those rules in the adventure, since we don't assume that every reader has every D&D book. Since we have to reprint these rules, utilizing material from non-core books quickly makes an adventure longer than it would be. It's a balancing act. As a result, we tend to cherry pick only what we really need for an adventure.
So if there's something in the Book of Vile Darkness (or any other WotC book) that you'd like to use in an adventure you want to submit to us... go for it! Just keep in mind the hit your adventure will take to its effective word count.
We've got no plans on doing a sealed section in the future like we did in #95 (as fun as that adventure may have been to write!) but we'll certainly not be shying away from more mature storylines as they appear. The Forgotten Realms Campaign Arc we're starting up in #126 certainly has its share of inspiration from Vile Darkness, for example...
Not to sure of the ins and outs of this yet but seeing as they worship the prince of deception and lies i may go with the cultists duping the pcs into recovering parts of the demon lords staff, not realising what it is they are really doing.Yeah, the "Demonomicon of Iggwilv" articles are some of my all-time favorites in Dragon. This idea works great, especially if the PCs think they're gettint the Rod of Seven Parts. I'd go from that angle. Have Allustan regale the PCs early on with tales of the Wind Dukes (if the PCs don't have the Knowledge skills to know themselves), then introduce a mysterious bald figure, dressed in blue robes of ancient design whose clothing always seem to be caught in a mild wind. This character convinces them that with the Age of Worms fast approaching, the time is ripe for new heroes to again take up the Rod of Seven Parts to do battle with this new evil. As things go on and the PCs (surely) notice that things aren't exactly what they seem (probably when they notice that the "Rod" seems to look funny, and that pieces of it are held in defended sanctuaries of good), have the cultist make up convincing stories otherwise ("a little known fact of the tale of the Rod's destruction was that during this battle the Rod absorbed some of Miska the Wolf Spider's chaotic essence, infusing it partially with the power of the abyss. If we construct it fully, I should be able to remove this taint with your blessed assistance.").
As for AoW and BoVD together at last, I'm planning to use a feww ideas from it (including drugs and maybe a few Vile spells and such). If you play it up as a gritty mining town and make the villains who are part of this apocalyptic cult truly evil, it helps the PCs fee like real heroes. I say go for it. [/QUOTE
]
Ok time for an update. I now have a few miles to the east of Diamond Lake, a secluded mausoleum, that sits alone on a small plateau. The mausoleum stands watch over a grave yard that is in turn surrounded by a 6' high stone wall. Within the mausoleum resides a group of cultist who venerate Dispater. Now this is taken from the write up on the cults of Dispater in BOVD. I have kept things similar to how it is written but have fleshed out the mausoleum and changed the cult leader to a human called Keldar Squint. Keldar knows a lot more about the nature of the mauosoleum than he reveals to his thirteen cultists. Filge knew of the mausoleum but he also knew that it was off limits for grave robbing, a reason that the 'good people' of Diamond Lake allow a cult of Dispater to exist so close to their town. In fact Keldar and his cultists guard a great treasure deep below in the maze like crypts. A fragment of the rod of Fraz-urb-luu is kept safe there, the only portion not held by the forces of good or balance. Dispater himself sent it here when it somehow came into his hands. Now it is guarded by traps of a devious and fell nature as well as a Catobalign demon trapped here by trickery and wards of power.
Allustan can tell anyone who asks him all that he knows of the mausoleum:
1. That it is under the sway of a cult of the dread Dispater.
2. That this is the closest settlement to the mausoleum.
3. If the mausoleum was any closer to Greyhawk then it would probably have been eradicated by now.
4. Yes, the cultists do serve an evil power, but they have never bothered anyone and in fact they make quite good watchers of the dead,(a fact that Allustan puts down to them probably worshipping Wee-Jas as well.((Wrong)).
5. Allustan believes that the cultists are guarding something that is kept hidden below the mausoleum.
6. This something has always interested him but he has never been able to find out what it is, apart from the fact that it may have something to do with the Wind Dukes.
Now after a few more levels are gained the PCs encounter the blue robed individual when the y visit Allustan, for whatever reason. He is sat with Allustan in his study. A faint breeze is blowing here moving the odd sheet of paper. Allustan has a look of mixed delight and shock on his face. HE explains that the blue robed stranger has finally put the pieces together for him. It turns out that he has been meeting on a regular basis with the blue robed man, for some time now and they have finaly discovered what it is that is held below the ancient mausoleum to the East of town...One of the fabled pieces of the Rod of Seven Parts! Of course it must be freed from evils hands as soon as possible...
But of course things are not what they seem. The blue robed man who calls himself Gust is actualy a follower of Fraz-urb-luu and has been entwining Allustan in a web of deception for a while now.
He tries to get the PCs to aid in the 'Rods' recovery but if not will resort to his back up plan...the trio of rival adventurers...
I forgot to add that the Catobalign demon is from the Oerth journal that appeared in Dragon a while back.
I would realy appreciate any sugestions as to possible places that other parts of the rod of Fraz-urb'luu could be located. If possible I think that they should be in relation to areas that the pcs will be visiting during the AOW.