Subject: MYSTARA-L Digest - 23 May 2002 to 27 May 2002 (#2002-138) From: Automatic digest processor Date: 28/05/2002, 17:00 To: Recipients of MYSTARA-L digests Reply-to: Mystara RPG Discussion There are 3 messages totalling 272 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. The Omens adventure I 2. The Omens adventure II 3. The Omens adventure III ******************************************************************** The Other Worlds Homepage: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/OtherWorlds.asp The Mystara Homepage: http://www.dnd.starflung.com/ To unsubscribe, send email to LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM with UNSUB MYSTARA-L in the body of the message. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 11:37:56 +0300 From: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Ville_V_L=E4hde?= Subject: The Omens adventure I OMENS AND PORTENTS By Ville Lähde This adventure was written originally in 1994 for the Finnish RPG magazine "Claymore", issue 3/94. Although written in a generic form, it was designed for Specularum, Karameikos, as a continuation for the adventure "The Painted Bay… the Bloodied Streets". I have rewritten the adventure to make it explicitly Mystaran. If you wish to make this adventure part of a campaign alongside with the previous Specularum adventure, I recommend that some time elapses between them. Perhaps this would be a good time for the Monolith adventure? General notes This adventure builds on the basis of the divided population of Specularum, Thyatians and Traladara. The division is a political and economic one, as much more ruling positions are held by Thyatian houses, nobles and merchants. The average poorer person is likely to be a Traladara. In the past this difference and the fact that the Thyatians are invaders have caused a lot of tensions. Nowadays due to the rulership of Stephan Karameikos the situation is a lot less volatile. Still, the fact remains that ethnic background is he basis for the divisions of power in this country. The halfbreeds, people born from mixed marriages, make up roughly fifth of the population. It is up to the DM to decide whether this legacy gives opportunities or causes discrimination from both sides. In this adventure the two churches, Church of Traladara and Church of Karameikos, play important roles. Church of Traladara in based on the worship of the heroes of "the Golden Age", whereas the Church of Karameikos has imported the pantheon of the Thyatian Empire. Like many such pantheons, it has incorporated worship from many parts of the world, including Traladara (Halav belongs to the pantheon, after all). If the two churches are compared, Church of Traladara has a larger congregation, but it is a lot poorer than the Church of Karameikos. But the Church of Karameikos is very young indeed, as it must have been created only 30 years ago, when Karameikos ascended to throne. (Note: I think it is safe to assume that the Churh wasn't in existence in Machetos. Look at the Vaults of Pandius for some additional info on the Churches.) So, basically it is a tool of power, although the motives of its founders can also have been honestly religious - Håvard Faanes suggested in his article on the Church that Olliver Jowett has written its central tract, and I think it is a good assumption. Still, even though the ideas might have been religious, the motive of Stephan to ask for foundation of a new church was clearly political. One final difference is that Church of Karameikos has a knightly order, the Order of Griffon. Drugs have an important role in this adventure. As suggested in the previous Specularum adventure, much of the drug trafficking takes place in the Foreign Quarter, although Iron Ring and/or Veiled Society dabble in it too. The Kingdom of Thieves doesn't seem the type. In Specularum laws against drugs are strict, or actually laws against smuggling drugs. There are licensed herbalists and alchemists who can sell narcotics, like boosted absinth, stimulats and hallucinogens. Alcohol, tobacco and mild herbal drugs are allowed. Otherwise, the City Guard hounds drug traffic. What kind of drugs might be around? From Ochalea via Thyatis opiates, hashis from Ylaruam, mushrooms from the North etc. The DM can make up more exotic varieties, of course. Veiled Society and the power-hungry Radu clan are active in this adventure also. Perhaps after playing this adventure the DM may wish to make a short excursion into the Veiled Society thread? ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 11:38:42 +0300 From: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Ville_V_L=E4hde?= Subject: The Omens adventure II The Plague Strikes The adventure starts in early summer, a few months after the start of the trading season. A few weeks ago a comet appeared in the skies, a powerful omen and a portent of evil things. The Traladaran population is especially nervous, since their tradition is tied closely to such "superstitious" things. People are fearing plagues, drougth, famine and flood. Most of the Thyatians were not so impressed by the omen. But it is clear that the whole atmoshpere of the city has changed. Very soon is seems that the omens were true. A strange plague hit the people of Specularum. Many residents become pale, they suffer from amnesia and get fits of madness. After a short time many regress to just sitting on the streets and coffing black goo. (The DM may wish to read Ursula le Guin's "Farthest Shore" and get inspiration from the episode in the city of Hort.) Eventually there are some deaths. Priests from the Church of Traladara walk the streets, trying to cure the sick people, but with little success. Even the more powerful prayers just ease the symptoms for a while, until they return with a vengeance. Patriarch tries to pray to the Immortals, seeking the roots of this malady, but to no avail. The Church of Karameikos intervenes too, but it clearly uses much less resources and centres its attention on the richer victims. This is bound to cause bitterness, even some fighting. If the priests are threatened, Order of Griffon is sure to send its knights to guard them. All in all, the healers are baffled. Such a disease is totally unknown to them. Stephan Karameikos decides to ask Teldon of the Guild of Mages for help, but even he gets nowhere. This all increases the tensions between the two people. There are more streetfights and bar brawls. Very soon prophets of doomsday and demagogues hit the streets. The Truth behind the Plague It is no wonder that the esoteric or priestly institutions can shed no light on the situation, since they are looking in the wrong place. Even though the comet pointed everyone's attention to celestial matters and plagues, the root of this malady is more mundane: drugs. In the spring a new Ylatuamian drug called "atabe" hit the streets of Specularum. Its normal effects are mild hallucinations, euphoria and laziness. It is taken orally as a black paste covered in leaves (boiled cabbage, wine leaves etc., so it is usually disguised as food). Longterm use results in heavy physical and psycholocial addiction, paleness of the skin and irritation. Not good stuff this one. But unexpectedly the effects of the drug on the Traladara are much more severe: addiction often after the first dose, fits of amnesia or memory distortion and recurring violent madness. Eventually the victim becomes catatonic, her/his tongue blackens and black goo comes out of the lungs. Thyatians don't suffer from the adverse effects, except the normal addiction, mixed people get lighter symptoms. Why is this? "Atabe" is grown in the area of Surra-Man-Raa. The Bead of Oblivion that is buried under the city has affected the development of this plant for centuries. Some of its effect, although in a distorted form, has been transferred into the plant itself. It attacks not only the memories, but the biological legacy of Nithia. As the Traladara are basically genetically Nithians, the effect on them is strong. Actually the same phenomenon has been noticed in Minrothad too, although the Nithian "bloodline" isn't so strong there as in the Traladara, who have had much less outside contact in the past. Minrothadians know of the plant, and it has been banned in the isles altogether. They call it the Black Devourer. The smugglers of atabe didn't know about this effect. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 11:39:45 +0300 From: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Ville_V_L=E4hde?= Subject: The Omens adventure III The Doppleganger The leader of the smugglers isn't human, he is a doppleganger. (If you think an exotic monster doesn't fit the atmosphere of your Specularum, you can of couse make him a mage or a disguise-expert.) The doppleganger has killed the merchant Karol, a burgher living in a rich house by the King's Wall, opposite to the Ambassadors' Quarter (beyond the Old Wall). The doppleganger and his hired goons, some goblins or orcs, used the cover of the night to burrow a crack into the King's Wall, broke into Karol's house and killed him. Now the doppleganger liven in Karol's house under his identity, and his goons trnsport the drugs to him from the hidden stash in the ruined city of Krakataos. Originally the doppleganger brought the drugs to Karameikos under the identity of a foreign trader, Ahmad-Al-Azred of Ylaruam. Distribution of atabe was handled in the following way: The Doppleganger assumed again the identity of Ahmad-Al-Azred and contacted Veiled Society to make a deal. The deal stipulaties that thugs of the Veiled Society distribute atabe and get half of the income. The Veiled Society profits from this not only economically but also politically, as Radu clan plans to take advantage of the coming trouble. They think that an outbreak of serious addictions gives them an opportunity to bribe the addicted into spreading malice against the Thyatians. However, they had no idea that the effects of atabe would be so horrible. Veiled Socitety has given "Ahmad" twenty of its thugs. Most of atabe is being sold in the South End, but some of it is distributed in the bars, inns and brothels of the Merchants' Quarter. They don't sell much in the Nest, since most of it is controlled by the Kingdom of Thieves. Also they stay out of the Foreign Quarter. Assuming the identity of Ahmad directs possible suspicions to the Foreign Quarter, as the leader of the local Ylaruamian gang is called Ahmad-Al-Azrad. The real Ahmad knows nothing about the situation, he is much more worried about the recent events in the Foreign Quarter - gang fights have increased. (Note: If you have played "The Painted Bay… the Bloodied Streets" and Tegell survived, Tegell has joined the gang that he supported, and restlessness in the Quarter isn't over. Perhaps Tegell's gang takes advantage of the situation and tries to spread it's sphere of influence. Other possible gangs in addition to the Ylaruamians and Tegell's gang [ierendians?] could be a bunch of drunkard dwarves, some scavenging kobolds and outcast minrothadian thieves.) The Plot thickens Church of Traladara sends one of its priests to investigate the causes of the new malady. A group of mercenaries are hired to help him and protect him form harm, as the streets aren't safe now. The PCs are of course the mercenaries, or perhaps a PC priest is sent to the mission. The Patriarch asks him/her to find out more about the disease by questioning healers and the victims, and to prevent any conflicts from spreading. Patriarch doesn't want any trouble with the Church of Karameikos, especially the Knights of Griffon. He knows that the opposition faction of Oderbry could cause a lot of trouble. If the DM wants, Cult of Halav could add some spice to this soup. What can be found out? First of all, the disease has spread only to the Traladaran and mixed population. Anyway, it would be much harder even to find the Thyatian users of atabe, since they would be very secretive of this vice. It is very hard, even impossible, to find out that the victims of the plague are users of atabe. Many of their memories have been distorted or vanishes due to the side-effects, and they too fear punishments for breaking the Duke's law. However, a rumour of "a Dark Master who offers happiness eternal" may reach the PCs. Veiled Society is causing disturbances in the city, using demagogues to anger the population (see before). a few smaller riots take place, and a couple of Thyatian shops are robbed. At some point agents of the Society try to incite a mob to charge to the temple of the Church of Karameikos to seek aid to the disease. This however should take place a bit later on, after most of the resources of the Church of Traladara and the local healers have been sapped. The City Guard and the Knights of Griffon are ordered to stop the mob. One possible event is a riot outside the Guild of Magicians. During times of evil omens and bad portents, it is ofthe the mages who are blamed. It will be up to the PCs to stop the battle of minimise the damage. If they manage to save the Guild, Teldon's gratitude may prove to be an important asset later on. Eventually the amount of deaths will increase, and even Veiled Society and the Radus will be alarmed. The Society decides to pull out of the operation, but about half of its thugs stay with "Ahmad", since atabe has prove to be a great source of income. The Veiled Society reluctantly contacts the Kingdom of Thieves and suggests negotiations to handle the situation. Perhaps the investigators of the Church find out about this, or have contacts on either side (from the previous adventures?). The Society promises to pull out and to supply the name of the culprit. But note, that they have no idea that Ahmad is Karol, and that Karol is a monster. Ideally, the PCs are asked to take care of the matter, or the information is sold to them. Or perhaps the Kingdom and they cooperate in taking care of the "Ylaruamian menace". When I played this adventure, this stage resulted in various protracted street battles between the gang of the real Ahmad, Tegell's gang, Kingdom of Thieves and the investigators of the Church. Eventually it should become known that the real Ahmad is innocent, at least to selling atabe. There are many ways how the role of Karol-doppleganger may become known. Some drug dealers may be caught and interrogatied succressfully. Or perhaps the investigarots manage to get some divination help from the Magicians' Guild (the boring solution). [IMC the PCs were the investigators of the Church, and one of them was a contact from the Kingdom of thieves. A few weeks earlier they had been hired by the real Karol, still alive, to kill an ogre in his cellar. The ogre was one of the doppleganger's thugs. They actually had found the crack in the wall, but had totally forgotten about it.] Anyway, the doppleganger must be killed. If/when it manages to escape, it will try to return to Krakataos, where its allies wait. Perhaps the monster had buried a stash of atabe in the garden of Karol's house and will return later. If the PCs try to look for the doppleganger's nest, the local Rangers' and Hunters' Guild could be helpful. [By the way, the next city adventure will include the guild.] Otherwise thay are likely to lose track or if they don't, get busted in the ensuing combat. Perhaps the doppleganger is so bitter that it decides to poison some wells with the remaining atabe? Endgame Even after the doppleganger is killed, the whole problem isn't over. Numerous citisens are suffering from withdrawal, including the Thyatian victims. The ehtnic tensions are on the rise, and as the last two city adventures will portray, this may lead to destructive outcomes. The gangs of the Foreign Quarter have spread their influence, and if he survived, Ahmad may be very bitter towards the Church of Traladara. And since the Church of Karameikos also suffered some loss of authority, perhaps Oderbry decided to make his move… And remember that the comet might actually have been a real omen, and the disaster is yet to come. ------------------------------ End of MYSTARA-L Digest - 23 May 2002 to 27 May 2002 (#2002-138) ****************************************************************