Corruption of the Swords - Aftermath
by John Calvin, Max Monas and Jens "the Stalker" SchnabelThis section will deal with possible routes that the DM can lead his campaign through after these adventures are played out.
While playing through the Phase I scenarios, PCs may turn down paths that have not been dealt with in any detail in the limited number of adventures presented here. Many of these pathways are logical directions for the PCs to take, but because of time and space constraints we have not been able to detail them all. Or perhaps as a DM, you and the players have finished running these adventures, but wish to continue the campaign. The following ideas are an attempt to help DMs flesh out the rest of this campaign for whatever reason. Many of these ideas may be expanded upon by us during our planned Phase II and Phase III adventures, but we will provide some of the basic structure here for DMs who wish to get a head start.
Prince Kol:
The kobold prince of Glantri has been involving himself in the local politics of Darokin. The PCs may wish to track down this lead in order to find out who has been encouraging humanoids to disrupt caravan trade in the northern part of Darokin. There are a few encounters that might shift the party's interest in this direction. They could be curious about where humanoids are coming from in either adventure 1 or adventure 2, or perhaps they could track an Umbarth agent through the broken lands and up into Glantri (from adventure 3).
House Umbarth:
House Umbarth is the other side of the coin concerning Prince Kol and his humanoid raiders. These scheming individuals may be used to pull the PCs further into the political intrigue of Darokin. PCs might decide to investigate this after running into Umbarth agents in adventure 3.
There is a tentatively planned Phase II adventure to deal with these first two topics.
Attleson's History:
What was the real fate of Oliver Attleson? DMs get the whole story in Appendix 1, but some PCs may get curious. Several high ups in Corun House know the truth about Attleson's demise (but not the current location of the sword Roc), and will guard it at all costs. PCs who take an over-zealous interest in this topic may find out that Dark Petal Cult assassins are not the only professional killers in town. The Coruns will be sure to hire some of their own to silence the party forever.
For an added twist, characters who work as agents of Corun house might just be sent on an expedition to retrieve such information...before it falls into the wrong hands. Perhaps it already has, and the PCs are the hired killers that Corun House turns to...
There is a tentatively planned Phase II adventure dealing with the Coruns, and their secrets.
The Swords of Wayland:
After retrieving the sword Roc, the PCs may wish to search for the other Swords of Wayland. See The Stalker's article on the swords in the Tome of Mystara, issue #4, for more details on these artifacts, as well as possible adventure ideas. Note, though, that the swords of that article have not been converted to the new D&D 3rd Edition rules, as the two Swords of Wayland involved in Phase I, Lohnibbog and Roc, have been in Appendix 2. Conversions of more of the swords will eventually become available.
Although there will undoubtedly be a Phase II adventure dealing with the Swords of Wayland (some of them at least), it is unlikely that we will try and detail adventures revolved upon each and every one of them. DMs should feel free to come up with their own plots concerning these powerful weapons.