I'm going to be starting a new side-campaign set in Luskan, starting with "Mad God's Key" and then going on to "Box of Flumph" (they're both harbor-city adventures featuring a half-orc thug with a single out-sized tusk -- coincidence?). However, I'm not that familiar with Faerûn, so I'm looking for suggestions on how to transpose the Greyhawk-specific elements of "Mad God's Key."
Zagyg, I figure, can pretty easily be swapped with Halaster. But who would be the best choice to replace Vecna for the cultists? Beshaba? Cyric? Mask?
I'm open to suggestions!
-The Gneech
Zagyg, I figure, can pretty easily be swapped with Halaster. But who would be the best choice to replace Vecna for the cultists? Beshaba? Cyric? Mask?I'm open to suggestions!
-The Gneech
Velsharoon is the power of necromancy and liches. It's a fairly solid fit. Jergal could apply as well, but his followers aren't quite the mad cultist types.
Out of the choices you listed, I would choose Beshaba, or Kiaransalee, or a worshipper of Myrkul who just won't let go of Myrkul's worship, despite the fact that Myrkul's dead, post-Time of Troubles.
Personally, I think a worshipper of Myrkul who doesn't want to believe that his/her god's dead would be a great potential recurring villain. The fun question would be, where does he get his abilities from, if Myrkul's dead?
Personally, I think a worshipper of Myrkul who doesn't want to believe that his/her god's dead would be a great potential recurring villain. The fun question would be, where does he get his abilities from, if Myrkul's dead?
Ooooh, I didn't even think of Myrkul. Heh. I could see that /totally/ fitting in with Mad God's Key. It could even possibly tie in with the information in Faiths & Pantheons about Borem...
The snarky answer to your question would be: a Feat. The niftier answer is, well... Jergalisarealbastardain'the? (At least, IMC)
Myrkul's an intriguing possibility, thanks! (Although the M.O. the cultists use certainly suggests Mask. Must ponder this.) A deposed cleric of Myrkul would certainly have motivation to pin the crime on followers of Mystra, making that a good choice to substitute for the disguises as clerics of Boccob.
-The Gneech
Out of the choices you listed, I would choose Beshaba, or Kiaransalee, or a worshipper of Myrkul who just won't let go of Myrkul's worship, despite the fact that Myrkul's dead, post-Time of Troubles.
Personally, I think a worshipper of Myrkul who doesn't want to believe that his/her god's dead would be a great potential recurring villain. The fun question would be, where does he get his abilities from, if Myrkul's dead?
Yeah, there's a feat that lets you gain powers from a dead god. It also prevetns you from going to the Wailing Wall, or whatever it was, when your number finally comes up.
It might be worth a feat, but I would just as soon wish that Myrkul were not dead. He was so cool.
If you set the cleric up as a recurring villain it may even be kind of neat to have him as the head of a cult of Mask, but to secretly be devoted to either Myrkul or Cyric (just because Cyric has more of a history with Mask). Of course, that's too obtuse if you're going to just use him as part of a one shot, but in an ongoing campaign it could be cool, especially if his cell of Mask worshippers slowly start doing things that really don't go with the tenets of Mask's faith and a higher ranking priest sends someone to investigate, etc. etc.
Remember, Myrkul isn't completely dead.
Call it "Mad God's Crown" and you've got yourself an adventure.
If you set the cleric up as a recurring villain it may even be kind of neat to have him as the head of a cult of Mask, but to secretly be devoted to either Myrkul or Cyric (just because Cyric has more of a history with Mask). Of course, that's too obtuse if you're going to just use him as part of a one shot, but in an ongoing campaign it could be cool, especially if his cell of Mask worshippers slowly start doing things that really don't go with the tenets of Mask's faith and a higher ranking priest sends someone to investigate, etc. etc.
I don't expect this particular guy to survive -- he's basically set up as a flunkie of some larger threat. I might go that route with the guy's masters, however...
-TG
I'm throwing my vote in for a follower of Myrkul with "Servant of the Fallen" from Lost Empires of Faerun. If you wanted to go with a more twisted worshiper of Jergal, he could also be a character with "Heretic of the Faith" that sees Jergal as a more twisted, secretive god of death and necromancy.
Heck maybe your Jergal heretic would see Jergal as being the Spellweaver god of death and necromancy that invested a great deal of power and his essense in these green worm things that some OTHER god was using to create an army of undead, that, if successful, would make him an overgod that could challenge Ao himself for control of Faerun.
Hm . . . that second paragraph sounds familiar . . .
