The Shadow Pearls
by Duncan YoungThe party have just uncovered charts from the Sea Reavers of the Crimson Fleet, detailing where the Shadow Pearls have been deployed - figured other may find these maps useful!
(massive credit to Thorfinn Tait for the maps of course)
Map of pearl distribution across Alphatia (not sunk) and Thyatis
Close up in Known World
Party currently trying to decide which nations to leave to fend for themselves!
No Shadow Pearls in Aengmor or Rockhome, due to other background plot issues
There's more on my blog about the campaign history.
Briefly, the Sea Reavers/Crimson Fleet are from the seas around the Savage Baronies (so rather than lemorian, their powers are from the red curse, and tey have been seeding clay deposits with cynnibryl to fuel their campaign. The Master had been paying them to harry the navies on the eastern front of the known world for another foray across Sind into Darokin, but has found the Fleet usurped from under him by Demogorgon worship. So instead of yuan-ti, I used Aranea from Herath instead
I left Yavdlom out of the pearls as I think there's reasons why Deomogorgon might find uses for the Serpent peninsula...! but I like your thinking...
Another tool, here's my map of the Scuttlecove factions - I'd hoped the PCs would play them off against each other, but mostly turned into knocking on the door and rolling initiative...!
Ah, actually the Master isn't behind the Pearls - it's still Demogorgon, but the confusion has been something the players had to wrestle with. I like plots where entropy forces are as much of a hurdle to each other as they are to the other spheres
The Master has been licking his wounds since Red Arrow, Black Shield, and was looking for a way to bring war to the known World on the Eastern Front. So He sponsored the Sea Reavers (Crimson Fleet) to stir up trouble around Sea of Dread and Thyatis as a prelude to a second invasion through Sind and Darokin. I'm also using some background ideas about the Master having the Chaos Star from the Heldannic Knights Gaz
BUT
Demogorgon worshippers infiltrated the Fleet and diverted their goal from what the Master had been intending - so rather than harrying the navies, they have seeding the Shadow pearls too. Inadvertently, this will actually benefit the Master, but the Fleet haven't bene the visible threat to divert the Known Worlds attention as much as he's hoped.
I thought the party may pay a visit to Orc's Head Peninsula and Savage baronies, but not happened as yet. Involving Pyre would be a really interesting idea....!