Seriously though, I always thought Lady Marilenev has the opportunity to be a great villain if she just gets pushed over the top a little - so I AM looking for some evil immortal or demonic Mystaran entity to be here patron...
Here's what I'm thinking:
Lady M is this tragic figure - I pictured her on the battlements of the castle all those years ago, watching the men march off against the Duke, and then learning with shock and dismay days later, when a lone rider returns, clad in black, about how the rebellion was brutally put down by the Duke's Thyatian henchmen and the Traladaran cause was lost.
Lady M progressed from depression into reclusion - and then had a vision for revenge. She rejoined Karameikan society, adopting the persona described in the gazetteer (that of charming socialite) but the black hatred of the Duke she harbored guided her towards magical studies... her agents sought books of forbidden lore amongst the ships coming and going along the waterfront, and brought her books and scrolls with blasphemous knowledge from ancient civilizations, ancient places (Thothia? Oceania?)
When not in the city, the crumbling, mouldy, gothic Castle Marilenev served as her personal chamber of horrors as she descended into madness and insanity. The villagers learned to fear her.
Now, many years later, she's the pawn of some powerful entropic being; she maintains her facade as the charming socialite and spends most of her time in the city, but all the time she plots to overthrow the Duke, granted powers and favors by her evil, otherworldy patron. She's now ready to be a much-more effective recurring vilain.
Questions:
So - first question for you Mystara lore-masters, who/what would be a 'good' evil patron for my foul villainess version of Lady Marilenev?
Are there evil patrons of the ancient Beast-men, who would oppose the Duke - both because he's rebuilding Traladara, and also because he might be return of Halav?
Follow-up:
When I get a chance, i'll write a part two which will give you some context on how I'll be using her - I plan on running a modified version of the "Marilenev Rebellion" and integrating it in with pieces of "The Veiled Society" and "Davinios' Complaint" - it'll be cool.
My character was Grygor Marilenev. He purports to be one of the cousins or nephews of Magda, who everyone thought had died in the rebellion 30 years ago. One day, in about 1000 A.C. he shows up at Marilenev Castle and explains that he had gotten away from the battle and managed to flee to Glantri to live with some distant relatives in Boldavia. He decided to return now that the "heat" was off and Magda needed him.
Grygor is smart, good looking, educated and charismatic. He instantly becomes a hit among the disenfranchised Traladarans, and becomes a symbol of Traladaran nobility past. The problem is that nobody really remembers him. He also seems a bit young for having participated in a battle 30 years ago, but not too young for it to be impossible (he says that he was just a boy, barely able to wield a sword...).
Magda, of course, desperate and lonely, ignores any questions, names Grygor her heir, and latches herself to his coattails, as Grygor begins a public campaign to right the wrongs the Thyatians have committed against the Traladarans over the years.
The Truth: Grygor is a relative of the Marilenevs, and he recently returned from Boldavia. That's pretty much the only truth to his story. In actuality, he left Marilenev for Boldavia 300 years ago to learn Necromancy from the great wizards of Glantri. And he learned the practice well. He is now a great wizard and a nosferatu. He fled Glantri because of some wizardly scandal in that Machiavellian country, and is trying to start over in Karameikos.
Grygor is not really a bad guy. He is power hungry, and needs blood to live. But he is honestly proud of his familial heritage and is concerned for the fate of his Traladaran "subjects". He could actually be a good and powerful leader for the Traladarans, uniting them for a better future. However, if his secret was exposed (by Thyatians, or perhaps jealous Tornescus or Radus) he would be destroyed.
R.A.
The campaign just started, but so far, I've had the players crash into Karameikos (literally - they shipwrecked!) and become involved in the events of "Night of the Vampire" at Vandevic Manor.
Backstory: In my Mystara, Davinios is a charismatic speaker who is developing a lot of followers - he'll be more brash, outspoken, and messianic - almost a revolutionary. (Baron Kelvin has been looking for justification to have him jailed for being a malcontent). Word that Davinios and his followers would be coming to Specularum to petition the Duke in open court has spread south... Lady Marilenev, the schemer, began planning how to destabilize the city during it. She struck a deal with House Radu to put into motion the events of the "Davinios' Complaint" adventure idea, and to have her own people in the city to create riots and mayhem ("The Marilenev Rebellion").
My characters started to learn about Traladaran politics during "Night of the Vampire" - they were mingling with various Traladaran lords (Lord Vandavic, Moubotka, Ourosko, and Lady Constantina) and they know something big is happening. Lady Constantina actually came out and said that the Traladarans would be back in charge soon, and the players should be on the winning side. (She is an ardent Marilenev supporter).
After the events of Night of the Vampire, I know the players will go to Specularum - they need a new ship! Vandevic will give them a letter of credit to draw on House Torenescu (keeping them plugged into Traladaran politics and possibly the Aleksander vs Boris storyline).
More importantly, since they'll pass through the Estate of Marilenev, he'll ask them to deliver a sealed letter to Lady Marilenev. (The letter will actually be a polite refusal to participate in her rebellion). I plan on the character's arriving a day or two before the Harvest Festival in Specularum, which is also a day or two before the Open Court day.
All Lady Marilenev's men-at-arms and bannermen and neighboring lords will be at the castle, staging formations in the courtyard, and disguising themselves as farmers and merchants, hiding weapons in their carts, etc. She plans on infiltrating a small army into the city during the festival, disguised as peasants. Lord Radu will be there making last minute plans with her.
She'll entertain the player's graciously enough (she's assuming Lord Vandevic has sent help), but when she privately reads that Lord Vandevic is declining her offer, she'll either have the player's taken prisoner outright, or drugged during the feast. Either way, they'll awaken in the Marilenev dungeons, after everyone has gone to the city.
It'll be a race against time for them to escape the dungeon and get to the city, to warn someone important!
Anyway, getting back to Lady Magda - yeah, the players will have beaten Lord Andru in "Night of the Vampire", and they'll encounter Lord Sulescu going through his territory on the way east... I won't throw another vampire at them, too. I've got some good ideas on how I'm going to stage Castle Marilenev though. And Sulescu - I love the idea of the old Thyatian Ruins there.
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So - anyone know which entropic being was the Patron of the Beast-Men? (Not the Hollow World Beast-Men, the old Traladarn Gnoll-like Beast Men).
IMC, I had Hel as the patron of the gnoll Beast-Men, making it a connection to original Beast-Men that she unleashed on ancient Mystara. Cannon-wise, either a gnollish Immortal or Thanatos makes the most sense, as Thanatos was responsible for the destruction of Nithia (and weren't the hutakaans created by the Nithians?)
The Thanatos/Nithia connection might be good for the corruption of Lady Marilenev, since Nithia stretched from Ylarum to the Savage Coast there could be some ruins in Karameikos. Digging into the history of the corruption could lead the PCs to the Lost Valley, or the Hollow World, or other interesting places to explore.
Maybe Lady Marilenev has been exploring below her castle and descovered the old temple. Then she shacked up with some demonic-gnoll-thing servant of the Gnoll-God and is trying to summon some sort of Undead-Gnoll army to lay waste to Karameikos. Of course, the rise of, and then subsequent defeat of, a Gnoll army might fulfill some prophesies regarding the return of Halav and the Golden Age...
R.A.
That's exactly right. There ARE in fact ancient Nithian ruins beneath the crumbling Castle Marilenev... and through a forgotten shrine deep below her dungeons, Lady Marilenev has become in league with a foe from the ancient world.
I'll look into the idea of Ranivorous, that sounds familiar. Thanatos will be a big enough villain down the road, when we do WOTI, I'd like to use more of a 'niche' immortal like Ranivorous.
I also like the idea that Lady M (who I plan on being a recurring villain) could be somehow involved in bringing the beast men back - when the Marilenev Rebellion fails, I plan on having her involved with a kidnap attempt on Valen, and perhaps her visions could lead her to discovering ancient undead gnolls either in Krakatos or the Village of Lavv (I think that's another Gazetteer plot-hook - beast-men undead underneath Kelvin).
thanks for the ideas, fellas!
I do remember that Gnoll shamans are into ritual scarring and near-death experiences. They think that coming back from severe injuries endows one with the ability to cheat death. The nickname of their immortal is "He Who Always Rises", referring to his tendency to come back after his enemies think he's been beaten.
Don't remember to what extent they're detailed in WotI.
R.A.
Ranivorus (Yeenoghu) would be the most likely choice. He was himself a gnoll, but achieved immortality before the destruction of Nithia, so prior to the invasions of Traladara aswell. IMC I have Orcus taking over much of Ranivorus' job in the traladara region after the demon ruler became immortal though.
"He who always rises" is Yagrai, who was probably an orc or hobgoblin, though nobody knows what he was.
As for ancient civilizations in the Traladara region (for fiendish scrolls and such), I recommend Taymora, the Kingdom of the Necromancer kings. Traladara made up the northern borderlands of that country.
There is a bunch of stuff on Taymora in the Vaults.
Havard
(and weren't the hutakaans created by the Nithians?)
If I recall correctly (I am at work and away from my Mystara library), the Hutaakans were created by Pflaar, who was a member of the Nithian pantheon.
The gnolls were created by the Nithians in an attempt to duplicate Pflaar's efforts.
At least, that's how I remember it.
Originally posted by katana_one
If I recall correctly (I am at work and away from my Mystara library), the Hutaakans were created by Pflaar, who was a member of the Nithian pantheon.
The gnolls were created by the Nithians in an attempt to duplicate Pflaar's efforts.
Yep, that is correct.
IMC, Pflarr used Kobolds and modified them into becoming the Hutaakans (Mystaran Kobolds being somewhat doglike). Nithians experimented on other humanoids and eventually produced the Gnoll. The original version says Gnolls are a mix of Gnomes and Trolls, but I always found that kinda silly. The HWA-series also suggest that the Gnolls were in fact modified Goblins, with Thanatos working behind the scenes inspiring the Nithian Wizards.
I have also been thinking about having the Bugbears be a result of a similar experiment occurring at the same time. Thus the Gnoll invasions of Traladara were in fact Gnoll/Bugbear invasions. this explains why the Traladarans usually refer to these events as the Beastman invasions. It also helps explain the origins of the Bugbear population in the southern Radlebb Woods.
Havard
Kheldren
Do we get to see a revised write-up of Lady Marilenev with demonic connections and all?
Havard
Updated Background for Lady Marilenev:
Basically, I liked the idea of an ancient shrine somewhere below Castle Marilenev. So I reworked the backstory of Lady Marilenev slightly (from what I have above). Previously, I said she grew depressed and withdrawn after the death of her family, and only later regained her strength and sought ways to grow powerful and plot revenge against the Duke, seeking out magical learning through books.
Instead - in the new way - she went slowly insane in her castle, locked up with her grief, until she began to hear the voices... quiet, animal-like grunting whispers, creeping into the back of her consciousness. They came from beneath the floor, drawing her down into the dungeons, whispering to her how they would help her create her revenge.
Excavations were begun, and a cavern discovered, and there beneath Castle Marilenev was found a grotto that held an ancient beast-man shrine and burial pool where the skeletons of various beast men were submerged in the muck of a watery grave. Rising out of the muck to greet her was the animated remains of the Beast King, still wearing its symbol of office, the Iron Crown (actually the Iron Crown of Ranivorous...)
Since that dark meeting, Lady Marilenev has become the unwitting follower of the demon, and wielder of the Iron Crown. She still hears the voices, and is completely mad, but the voices tell her how to act and masquerade in public, such that she rejoined Karameikan society and learned the political lay of the land.
Now, Castle Marilenev is mostly deserted. She keeps a skeleton crew of guards (no pun intended) to man the gate and the outer towers. The inner keep is dusty and unused; when she returns, the Lady only uses one of the towers for her temporary quarters. Her servant lives on the lower floor, she lives in the middle floor, and the upper floor is locked. There on the upper floor is the evidence of her madness; a wrecked room that seems more like an animal den than human quarters, with its torn bedding, discarded bones and animal carcasses. The walls have been filled with tribal-paintings of stick figures - child-like drawings, etched in chalk - drawings of weird, animal-headed creatures, and a bigger one, with a strange jagged crown on its head, and then in some of the pictures is a stick-figure woman, and the woman has the jagged crown too, and she's holding hands with some of the beast pictures. And above them all, a picture of a weird misshapen head with squiggly lines pouring out of its mouth...
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Creepy stuff, eh? Actually, the characters made it to Castle Marilenev last game session, and were taken prisoner - I'll try and get an update written this week. I've been posting my Mystara campaign journal over on Dragonsfoot (URL in my sig) since they had a section for campaign write-ups.
Also, I liked the concept of the Taymorans, but felt they worked better in the background of Lord Sulescu. The Taymoran references were in the last game session too, since they started the game at Sulescu village.
Borrowing heavily from White Wolf lore, I'm assuming ancient vampires and nosferatu have powers far beyond the standard write-ups in the game (OD&D) and have weaknesses like 'torpor'. The Traladaran people of centuries past knew the woods were haunted by a powerful being, a hunter they called 'The Ancient', but for as long as they could remember, The Ancient looked after them and they came to associate The Ancient with the myth-figure Zirchev the Hunter and thought of it as some kind of protector.
In the distant past, Young Lord Sulescu went alone into the woods seeking the assistance of The Ancient for one reason or another, and came out of the woods quite different indeed... tasked to take up The Ancient's mantle and become a protector of the land and the people in the region - to protect them, both to sustain himself and retain a 'herd' for The Ancient whenever it should awaken. To this day Lord Sulescu fears when that will occur.
The Ancient itself dates back to ancient Taymora, as the various remnants of the Taymoran Vampires and Nosferatu continue their struggles across the millenia (guided by Thanatos and Nyx respectively...)
I just have one question:
IMC (currently AC 1001) the Black Eagle is still a powerful factor in Karameikos. Assuming he is still around when Lady M starts her rebellion, how would he act? Declare independence? Join the fight against his cousin? Act true to his Hattian nature and help crush the inferior Traladarans' rebellion? (Only then to betray the Duke afterwards?)
Looking forward to more info on Lady M
:-) Jesper
Dunno if you've seen my campaign journals on Dragonsfoot, but the current update ends with the player's arriving at the Tower of Lord Sulescu. The most recent game covered the events at Sulescu's Tower, the journey from Sulescu to Castle Marilenev, getting captured by Lady Marilenev, awaking in her dungeons, and escaping their cells. Exciting stuff! I'll probably get the update done in a day or two.
The basic plot I'm following is this (so you know ahead of the update).
It is time for the Festival of Lucor (from B6), which coincides with the harvest. In addition, part of my campaign backstory is that there is a charismatic street preacher from Kelvin named "Davinios" who has a burgeoning following (from Davinios' Complaint in GAZ 1). Davinios has been preaching Thyatian and Traladaran unity, and has radical ideas regarding how to seal the rifts between the two peoples via reparations. (Note: My Davinios is also a firm believer in the Cult of Halav - not to upset any Christians out there, but I see him as a Messianic character, maybe a John the Baptist type 'voice in the wilderness' preaching the Duke's destiny - an evangelist).
Anyway, its been well publicized around the countryside that Davinios will lead his followers to the capital (the prophet going to Jerusalem...) to make an appeal to the Duke during Open Court regarding his ideas.
The various revolutionaries know that there will be a lot of chaos in the capital city during the festival, and are using that time to smuggle in lots of soldiers to cause trouble during the festival. (Secretly, Lady Marilenev and Anton Radu have hatched the plot to have Davinios murdered, and use their influence to create open riots in the city). I'm merging the Marilenev storyline with Davinios' complaint and elements from B6 The Veiled Society to create Specularum-riot-soup.
Anyway, when the players were captured last game, all of Lady Marilenev's allies were at the castle, busy hiding weapons in wagons, turning in their armor and coats of arms for farmer's clothing, etc. Going in, the player's knew Lady Magda was planning a revolt, and it wasn't hard to tell what the basic plan was once the player's entered the castle courtyard. Now when the player's conclude their escape, all of Lady Marilenev's now-disguised soldiers and henchmen will already be long gone. It'll be a race against time for the player's to get to the city and alert the right people about the suspected plot to undermine the Duke and identify the various nobles and their henchmen who have gone 'disguised'.
I anticipate they'll be able to forestall a total rebellion, as outlined in "Davinios' Complaint". Lady Magda will be exposed as a villain, but with the power of the Iron Crown, she will elude capture. Anton Radu will squiggle through as well and be a recurring bad guy.
So the Black Eagle Barony won't really be involved. However, I am planning a later campaign arc during the "Holy War" storyline in Karameikos where the Baron stages his revolt right when the Order of the Griffon and the Church of Traladara go to war - ever the opportunist, that vile Von Hendriks. It'll be a rousing good Companion-level civil war.
I like the idea about the Iron Crown of Ranivorus. He doesn't get used as much as he should. As a matter of fact I am thinking about incorporating him as part of the Unholy Trinity, with Orcus and Demogorgon instead of Arik. The Trio will still be interested in freeing Arik, but he will not be part of the Trinity as such.
I also like your ideas of having ancients from Taymora hang around, possibly explaining the origin of Sulescu. Are there any official dates to when Sulescu was turned into a Vampire?
Your ideas for incluidng religious themes into the Karameikos campaign are also interesting. I agree that something needs to be done with the Cult of Halav and your idea is not bad. IMC I am thinking about having the Cult be taken over by the forces of Entropy, producing their own Halav reborn and making the Cult turn away from the idea that King Stefan is the true Halav. Instead they will turn to this new Prophet who claims to be a living Saint under the name of Halavin, in actuality a priest of one of the patrons of the Unholy Trinity. They will then use the Cult to increase the tention between the Church of Traladara and the Church of Karameikos.
Havard
Originally posted by crash_beedo
So the Black Eagle Barony won't really be involved. However, I am planning a later campaign arc during the "Holy War" storyline in Karameikos where the Baron stages his revolt right when the Order of the Griffon and the Church of Traladara go to war - ever the opportunist, that vile Von Hendriks. It'll be a rousing good Companion-level civil war.
Cool plotline! I was thinking about the Holy War scenario also but have decided to save Hendrik's treason to the war with the Master where he sides with Hosadus' forces.
The players' should be itching to get him at that point since he once laughing sent them downstream towards a waterfall tied on hands and feet on a crude raft. :D (Wulfgar the Ostland barbarian went into a "rage" and burst his ropes, untied the others and then the Ierendi druid/sorceress Eveil cast Jump on the groups' members to get them off the raft. Made for an interesting Robinson Crusoe-like trek back to the city, where the Iron Ring was still hanging around).
:-) Jesper
Spellweaver: I plan on running the Karameikan group through Master of the Desert Nomads as well - based on how I've outlined the campaign arc going, I'm beginning to think your idea of integrating the Baron's revolt AND the Holy War in there at the same time is the way to go.
It'll go down something like this:
Baron Kelvin gets commissioned by the Duke to lead an expeditionary force to the frontier of Darokin and support his ally; I expect the players to get pulled along as 'knights'.
The KEF (Karameikan Expeditionary Force) ends up being the 'reserve force' that the PCs are a part of at the beginning of MOTDN and that's how they get picked to be the irregulars and scouts.
Now, unbeknownst to those off on this long campaign, back in Karameikos, the Patriarch will pass away, and there will be a power struggle between Patriarch Sherlane and Alfric Oderby for control of the Church. In Kelvin's absence, Oderby seizes the Order of the Griffon and isolates Patriarch Sherlane, allowing Oderby to begin attacking the Church of Traladara.
The Baron seizes the opportunity to revolt, perhaps attempting to conquer Radlebb or Riverfork Keeps.
When the PC's conclude Temple of Death and head home, news begins reaching them of the turmoil in Karameikos. It'll be a mess! Holy War, the Duke has depleted military forces because of the KEF, and the Baron goes on a land-grab spree. I'll need to add this to my campaign outline, for sure.