I think that's very cool, and it's a good way to introduce the characters to something way beyond them right now.
Maybe you could describe it as actually still being in the underdark, locked in a magically sealed chamber for millenia. It has only time, and over the long, dark years probing at the wards it has finally found a weakness.
It has been able to slip a part of its consciousness through to start manifesting in the world above and is seeking the details/components for a ritual to fully free it. That gives a compelling reason for this powerful being to need relatively low-powered thralls; those with lower mental defenses are the only ones it can affect at this point... but it's getting stronger.
This kind of setup lets the enemy progress in power along with the players, and sets up a lot of cool possibilities.
Awesome job with this very cool campaign so far.. can't wait to hear more.
That's a really great idea, Beach. I might pitch that to the players and see what they think. It's only a little different to what I've got now, but I think it's a lot more effective and interesting; certainly a lot more "D&D"-feeling.
Also, just wanted to point out that I know the Abiding One shouldn't really require fonts of magical energy to focus its psionic powers. Unfortunately, the players are only Level 2 at this point, so an Aboleth is so much more powerful that it's not even a contest. I needed to figure out ways for the low level group to somehow affect this ancient, other-wordly creature, without actually, you know ... fighting it. So they've dealt with its agents, and now they're learning that it needs these fonts of power to focus its mind, since its so far away from the seas of its birth. Those are things the 'Watch can handle right now, you know?
They have no hope of defeating the Abiding One directly, but if they can weaken it by destroying these Hearts, maybe they can force it back into the Underdark. That's a start, at least. When they're higher level, they'll have the option of taking the fight to the Abiding One on its home turf, which could be really interesting.
Also, I really wanted to play up the Abiding One as this creature of unimaginable power. I want the players to fear it. I want it to warp the world around it with illusions, and give people who encounter it nightmares. I want it to be unique, I guess. So I never even describe it as an aboleth. In my version of the world, maybe it's the only one of its kind, you know what I mean? I don't imagine an underwater city where hundreds or even thousands of these things live. That's just ... way overboard.
If it's a single, unique monster, who's terrorized the world since the race of Men was young, that's a lot more memorable, I think.
I think the Abiding One is awesome! Great write up and excellent campaign!
If I may, I have a suggestion. As you acknowledge, the Abiding One shouldn't really require fonts of power for his psionic energy, but I completely agree that you don't want level 2 adventurers taking on something that may or may not be more powerful than a God. What if the the Hearts aren't actually doing what you have said they are? What if they appear to be focal points (to both the party and NPCs), but in truth are something else entirely? I propose that they may actually serve as feeding nodules for the Abiding One, passively sucking in excess psionic essence from the city and providing the aboleth with the nutritious dreams and thoughts. However as they are destroyed, the Abiding One no longer can simply 'Abide' in relative peace, and it becomes increasingly proactive in reestablishing it's dominance over Strasa. Basically, at some point down the line it would be awesome to have your players come to the understanding that their involvement isn't actually solving the problem, it's making it worse!
One thing you might also explore at some point is having the Abiding One gradually undo the Watch's reputation until they find themselves on the wrong side of the law and without friends... except maybe the Zessith or the Lich. A good thing about this that the various factions in the town are probably more balanced enemies in the early levels than a super monster. In one of my friend's campaigns he had a mindflayer turn all of the world's governments against the party, which was an interesting turn of events since they had been focused before on fighting terrorists for the government. similarly, an aboleth of this power has no shortage of pawns and agents, willing or not, whether they know it or not.
Of course, all this is simply my 2 coppers, so do whatever you feel is awesome, because it sounds like you are already a roll! Can't wait to here about Session 3
Thanks, man! I really appreciate all the support for the story. I've always liked aboleths, but truth be told, I probably wouldn't have chosen the Abiding One to be the primary antagonist for the story just yet, but the players decided that's what they were most interested in. It requires a little finesse on my part, but I think we're going pretty well at this point. The Abiding One hasn't appeared "on screen" at this point, and I'd like to keep that from happening as long as possible. The players understand that it's an aboleth, but at this stage, they're really still relying on my creepy descriptions of it. The Abiding One doesn't necessarily look like an aboleth from the book at this stage; the players see it as a writhing black mass beneath the water, with three lantern-like eyes, and thousands of yawning, toothless mouths lining its tentacles, each oozing foul mucus into the water.
At any rate, it's a lot creepier than the way it looks in the book. And I want to keep that feeling with the players as long as possible. By battling its agents, and thwarting its goals from the periphery, they're able to be a thorn in the side of an impossibly powerful creature. But you're right: as they continue to get nearer and nearer to their ultimate goal, it's only going to make things more difficult for them; friends become enemies, safe havens become traps, etc.
There's a lot of potential here to mess with the players, and it's going to be a lot of fun.
In game 3, I wanted to change things up a bit; step away from the Abiding One story a little, and focus a bit more on the characters and their backstories. Also, because 2 of our players haven't had any D&D experience for about ten years, and the other 2 only get to play every once in a while, my first two sessions were pretty much "on rails"; I had a specific set of actions I basically wanted them to perform, and that's what they did each night. I felt like I kind of had to do that the first few sessions to get everyone on the same page, and to get them to understand new concepts, like Skill Challenges, under optimal conditions.
Now that we've got a few games under our belts, I decided it was time to let them sand-box it. I sat down with the players, and really described certain sections of the city, and basically let them do whatever they wanted: Virgil made his way toward a Guard House on Cecil's Wall, to speak with an old friend about the conflict with Zessith; Akkarin took some time to study some new scrolls; Phaedra felt as though she'd spent a little too long on the right side of the law, and began writing up plans to steal something important; finally, Victoria decided to check out the new "Bounty Board" I'd set up at the Brazen Foal.
It's basically just a place where I can put up random "quests" that need doing around town. They don't necessarily have anything to do with the main plot, but if the PCs feel like dispatching some out-of-control undead servants that are locked up in the lower sections of the Ferryman's Institute of Practical Necromancy, or putting down a Dire Wolf that's been stalking human prey on the far side of Old Lake Strasa, they have that option now.
At an early stage in the game, I tossed some plot the players' way.
Before I continue with that, let me touch base quickly on Phaedra's storyline: she's a relatively young Eladrin, raised in the Feywild, by a noble Elvish family. Her father was a diplomat of sorts, who traveled to Strasa often. During those visits, she'd sneak out and get into trouble whenever possible. She ended up falling in love with a thief named Mal, and the two of them essentially ran off together. He taught her how to be a rogue, and took her in as his apprentice at the "Thieves' Guild". Things went well for a while, then, during the night of a big heist, the owners returned home and caught them red-handed. Mal, apparently concerned only with saving his own skin, killed th home owners, then turned on Phaedra, and knocked her out cold.
She woke up some time later in chains, framed by Mal for the murders. Fortunately, Victoria happened to be in the area when Phaedra was scheduled for execution, and was able to pychically detect the girl's innocence. Using her influence as a member of Kord's clergy, she saved the girl from the noose, and the two became friends.
So, in game 3, a raven comes to the 'Watch's HQ (which they call "The Roost") with a message for Phaedra. It's from Mal. The message is only brief, but he expresses his undying love for her, and says that he thought she was dead. For years, he's agonized over what happened, and he says things aren't as she thinks. He says he can prove it, if she'll meet him alone at the Crooked Coin, a tavern in the Elvish district that doubles as the headquarters for the local Thieves' Guild.
Phaedra contacts the other members of the 'Watch, and let's them know where she's headed. They ask if she wants backup, but she says she can handle it. At this stage, Phaedra fully intends to murder Mal when she sees him again. In my world, Elves are sort of seen as second-class citizens. They don't belong in the cities. Their customs are strange. Their gods are different. You know what I'm saying? The Elvish district is on the poor side of Cecil's Wall, and it's pretty run down. It's a haven of thieves, and the Crooked Coin is the closest thing that district has to a capitol building.
I wish I could keep writing this, but it's taking me a while lol, so I'll have to split it up into two sections, and do the other one later.
I've been printing out your posts from this thread because there are such great stealable ideas
The Bounty Board? Genius! I always bemoan the intrusion of video game elements into tabletop RPGs but this is an implementation that makes a ton of sense and allows for a break from the main storyline if, say, a player or two can't make it one week. Even if the whole party is in the middle of a dungeon, you can do a flashback to a bounty that the players who are present did at some point.
And this bit with Phaedra and the lover who she thought framed her for murder. Is he telling the truth? Does it matter? Great stuff.
Milkducks, you sir, are a scholar and a gentleman. If at all possible you should make a gameblog (and just copy paste all the stuff you've written so far) and post a link in your sig to preserve it for posterity, should this thread fade into obscurity (which I hope it shan't).
Anyway, I was wondering if you would be interested in any submissions for little side story quests that might round out the city? I'd be really happy to make some. (if you can't tell I really want to run a campaign in Strasa, but currently I've got too much else going on and my players can only commit to one campaign right now[and it would probably be silly for me as well, considering I want to do it in a custom 3.5 variant with sanity, vitality points, armor as DR, variant/possibly custom classes and about half of the Unearthed Arcana book] *sigh* )
Milkducks, you sir, are a scholar and a gentleman. If at all possible you should make a gameblog (and just copy paste all the stuff you've written so far) and post a link in your sig to preserve it for posterity, should this thread fade into obscurity (which I hope it shan't).
Anyway, I was wondering if you would be interested in any submissions for little side story quests that might round out the city? I'd be really happy to make some. (if you can't tell I really want to run a campaign in Strasa, but currently I've got too much else going on and my players can only commit to one campaign right now[and it would probably be silly for me as well, considering I want to do it in a custom 3.5 variant with sanity, vitality points, armor as DR, variant/possibly custom classes and about half of the Unearthed Arcana book] *sigh* )
I know this is the WotC forum and all, but how awesome would Strasa be in a Dark Heresy game?
I think the answer is INCREDIBLY AWESOME. I would imagine it as a flooding forge world, possibly under xenos threat, but in actuallity the true threat lies deep within the world itself...
mgbeach, curse you for me making me even more anxious to play ANOTHER awesome campaign! CURSE YOU!
Okay, guys. Sorry again for the delay; I've got an almost 2 year old son I look after while my wife's at work, I go to school full time, and I'm busy prepping for Session 4 (which is tonight!), so I don't always have the time to sit down and do a write up. I don't mean to keep everybody waiting, lol, but I'm just so busy.
At any rate, here's Part 2 of Game 3:
Navigating through the Elvish district was sort of a skill challenge for Phaedra. She's an Eladrin, so she'd normally be safe (as safe as anyone can be while traveling through the Elvish District of Strasa, which is not very safe at all), but since she's so well-known throughout the city as a "do-gooder" member of the Raven Watch, she could potentially be met with a lot more resistance than she'd be comfortable with. So Phaedra pulled up her hood and made a series of Stealth and Streetwise checks to navigate the disctrict quickly and quietly, with an occasional Bluff or Diplomacy check thrown in to bypass anyone who might possibly recognize her.
When she finally reached the Coin, Phaedra still had every intention of murdering Mal for what he'd done, regardless of any "explanations" he might have. When she found him seated in a shadowy corner-booth, however, all slumped over like a man defeated by his own conscience, she hesitantly decided to at least hear him out. It had been something like 10 years since Mal's apparent betrayal, and while Phaedra's elvish heritage had kept her young and strong, Mal was now a man of about 50; his hair was thinning, his belly had grown a bit fat, and there was a kind of sadness in his eyes.
She wasn't convinced he didn't deserve to die, but Phaedra felt, at the very least, like she was in a position of power in the relationship, and she liked that feeling. So she heard him out.
Mal explained that what happened between them was an accident. He killed the home owners out of instinct, to protect her, and even though he realizes now that it was obviously the wrong thing to do, he knocked her out because he couldn't bear for her to see that side of him. He didn't want her to think of him as a murderer. He didn't want her to see the deaths he was responsible for. Mal explained that he tried to escape with her, but things got complicated quickly; the city guard showed up, and during the fight, Mal dropped Phaedra and couldn't recover her without getting himself killed.
He escaped from Strasa that night, and fled to the border-city of Northbridge, where he remained until recently. Word of the 'Watch and their deeds have traveled far throughout the land, even as far as Northbridge, and when Mal heard that Phaedra was alive, he had to return. He explained that he's agonized over what happened every single day since, and that he knew she probably wouldn't forgive him, but that he had to try. He also claimed that he could prove his innocence, if need be.
Mal knows of an elvish device called an "Arboreal Mirror", whose reflective surface is made from the shimmering, magical waters of the Feywild. These mirrors, he explains, reveal the truth of all things, and that if they can acquire one, it will surely prove his innocence and good intentions. He explains that he's already gathered the necessary materials and crafted the mirror's small frame, so all they need to do is get some water from the Feywild.
They're pretty ambiguous in the books about how you actually enter different planes, I think. Sometimes they say entire cities simply appear during the twilight hours, or that a system of caves leads to the Shadowfell, or whatever. In my world, there are special locations where the barriers between worlds are thin, called "Feygates", that one can pass through from one plane to another. It's important to note, however, that only Fey creatures, because of their innately magical nature, are able to "slip the gap" between planes.
So Mal, being human, can't get to the Feywild without Phaedra's help. He physically cannot pass through the Gates unless he's accompanied by a Fey.
So, some of you might be thinking, "How much is this 'Arborean Mirror' worth?" and, "Wow, seems convenient that Mal shows up when he needs Phaedra to get something for him," and a number of other things. Well, you're right: Mal is a bad person. He doesn't love Phaedra now anymore than he ever did. He left her to take the wrap for his actions intentionally 10 years ago, and when he found out she survived the betrayal, he returned because he thinks he can manipulate her feelings again, and secure her (and the 'Watch's) help in acquiring an Arborean Mirror -- which he intends to sell for a profit, or use for his own nefarious purposes.
Mal is a master manipulator, and he's a hell of a lot more cunning than you might think. He asked Phaedra to come to the meeting alone because he knows full-well that she travels with a psychic (Victoria), who could detect his Bluff without even trying (Victoria's Passive Perception is over 20, even at level 2, and she's taken a Feat that gives her another +5 to Perception against people who are hiding -- she detects their thoughts). So if he knows what's good for him, he'll never come within eyesight of that Cleric.
Thankfully for him, Phaedra decides to help. She's still not entirely sure he's not just trying to use her, but if he tries anything, she's got the 'Watch behind her, ready to kill this guy at a moment's notice. They agree to meet again at the Feygates, a few miles north of town, at sunrise (when the barriers between worlds are at their thinnest).
So Phaedra returns to the Roost and tells everyone what's happened. They agree to go with her through the Feygates to help acquire the water she needs to complete the Arborean Mirror, but they also talk with her about Mal, and about what needs to happen. After a little discussion, they all agree that regardless of his guilt or innocence in Phaedra's capture 10 years ago, they're going to capture Mal and turn him in to Strasa's city guard when they return. They also agree to head out extra early, so they can arrive at the Feygates first, and sniff out any possible traps the old thief might have laid.
So they head out while it's still dark the next morning, and on their way to the Feygates, they're ambushed by a pack of hungry grey wolves. It's a tough fight, but they come out on top. Victora remembers that on the Bounty Board back at the Foal, there was a posting about a vicious Dire Wolf that's been an issue in the area for some time, and that there's a reward for putting it down. The 'Watch is able to follow the wolves' tracks back to the alpha's lair, where they have a really tough battle with the Dire Wolf and the rest of its pack. In the end, the 'Watch is victorious (Phaedra's player really coming into her own as a rogue, and her damage output is through the roof, at least compared to the other members of the group).
And that's pretty much where the story ended that night.
We're playing again this evening, and we'll pick right up where we left off.
