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Charles Phipps
Master of Realmslore
1425 Posts |
 Posted - 12 Oct 2007 : 22:12:54
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Death of the Dragon Campaign
Hey guys, I'm doing the awakening of the Devil Dragon in our game and the Ghazaneths. However, I'm interesting in expanding the role of the story to include more for the PCs to do.
I was thinking of ways to expand the adventure into a mini-campaign and trying to figure out what to do in order to make the PCs have an important part inside it. Here's some thoughts I've come up with.
1. Running a version of The Giants Series with hordes of the guys coming out of the Stonelands and Thunder Peaks that the PCs have to route in order to keep Southern Cormyr from falling while the armies are to the North.
2. Have Gondegal return, or something very similiar to him and lead the forces in Arabel against the monarch. Possibly it's the real Gondegal or maybe someone impersonating him. Nevertheless, he's a force to be put down.
3. Involve the Cormaeril family in trying to overthrow the Obarskyrs yet again with the aid of the Fire Knives.
I figured that the player characters could endear themselves during the time when heroes are needed badly during this occasion. Though I'm not sure what sort of rewards I should give them in the new and unstable Alusair Regency.
Any suggestions would be good. Basically, I just wanted to get feelings on what could make a campaign chronicling Azoun IV's fall to be good.
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My Blog: http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36971 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2007 : 04:30:57
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I'd have someone impersonating Gondegal. People just don't get out of Ravenloft all that oft.
Not to plug my own work, but my first Hook in volume 8 of the Compendium may come in handy, as an additional adventure. You could increase the prominence of the family, and make the missing patriarch be someone who is powerful and a staunch supporter of the throne. That way, the PCs pretty much need the guy to be around to help keep things stable -- that gives them more motivation for that adventure. And, for an additional twist, the doppelganger impersonating the patriarch could know or be known to the one impersonating Gondegal (assuming you go that route). |
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Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 13 Oct 2007 04:35:58 |
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Charles Phipps
Master of Realmslore
1425 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2007 : 05:45:29
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I'm considering the "False Gondegal" to be a Clone that's created by Zhentil Keep. How Manshoon managed to acquire some hair or tissue samples from the man I'll leave unexplained but they have a LOT of weird habits for plans down the road. It'll be about 17th level and probably a lot more charismatic than the original and able to play politics better thanks to coaching from the Keep.
He'll be part of a rather unholy alliance between the Devil Dragon, the Zhents, The Cormaerils and the Fire Knives. The Devil Dragon has no intention of keeping any bargains that she makes (wanting to see Cormyr destroyed) but the Cormaerils are anxious to see the country returned to their hands...even if its in ashes. I imagine Manshoon is aware the Dragon will never keep any alliance but has very little to lose.
I figure this will give the PCs a lot more "lower class" enemies to fight than the novels allow.
And very good suggestion, I loved that hook. |
My Blog: http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/
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Iliphar1
Learned Scribe
Austria
133 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2007 : 12:00:32
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An important Question would be:
Are your PC involved with the crown?
It might be possible, that if the PC bought an Adventurous Charter, that the Crown might want to recruit them, if they have closer ties with Crown, Warwizards or Purple Dragons, they will certainly recruited.
If I were you, I'd leave Gondegal himself out of the game, only have a few nobles spreading the rumour, that Gondegal has returned. What, if the PC recieve the order to inquire about Gondegal and finally figure out, that everything was just a ruse to keep the attention, because the noble plannes something else?
About the reward, you might give your party quite a lot of things, a Village, a Fortress, etc. A lot of people will have died in the war and a lot of good servants will be needed. |
'You see dead bones? ... I see an army!' Ezechiel 37 |
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Charles Phipps
Master of Realmslore
1425 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2007 : 18:12:50
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| Mostly, I wanted to use Gondegal because I figured that this would be as good a time as any to use him. I can't figure what other time there would be to use a couple of decades old threat. |
My Blog: http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/
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Halidan
Senior Scribe
USA
470 Posts |
Posted - 14 Oct 2007 : 00:09:32
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| Personally, I go with running a version of the Giants Series. First of all, you can't beat a classic like G1-3. Secondly, it adds a lot of muscle to the threat of the dragon and would allow you to build up to the awakening of the devil dragon. Have the Hill Giants and their orcs attack first, then add Frost Giants attacking out of the Dragonspine Mountains (or whereever else you'll be placing them) and finally have the Fire Giants attack just before the Dragon wakes up. It gives Cormyr a war on many fronts and plenty of epic story moments to go around. |
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Down the Valley of the Shadow,
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The shade replied,
"If you seek for Eldorado!"
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Sanishiver
Senior Scribe
USA
476 Posts |
Posted - 15 Oct 2007 : 04:07:15
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I did something like this to get my first 3E Realms game going. Just like you I found I had a good backdrop via the War, but needed ways to feature the players more in the story and make their efforts just as important as any NPC during the war.
I hit on the idea of having the Crown dispatch several groups of adventurers (including the players) on quests throughout Faerûn to discover objects that could defeat the Ghazneths.
This let me take the adventures The Crucible of Freya and Demons and Devils (both by Sword and Sorcery Studious/Necromancer Games) and use them to really test my players.
They ended up coming back with a Sphere of Annihilation and used it to fend off one Ghazneth long enough to save King Azoun and protect him so he could have relatively safe passage to Arabel.
It seems like you're going the Gondegal/Giants Series route, so all I can say in closing is that having the War as a backdrop seems to work great as a means of converting other adventures for use during that time period.
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Running "Death of the Dragon" campaign
