The Secrets from the Lost Valley of Hutaaka - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

The Secrets from the Lost Valley of Hutaaka

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
Jul 08, 2004 11:44:24 Hello All,

My campaign is moving in a direction that I did not anticipate; however, I believe that this new direction could offer a tremendous amount of quality role playing.

The campaign is set in the Grand Duchy of Karameikos in the year 1000 AC. While exploring the Lost Valley of the Hutaaka, the party has pieced together the true history of Karameikos. Also, they have collected rubbings from engravings and scrolls that could be used as evidence to convince others of the validity of their claims. The party is planning to leave the Valley soon and share their findings with anyone and everyone who will listen. I suspect that they will attempt to convince one or more Hutakaa to travel with them.

The neat thing about all of this is that all of the players have been very true to their characters. The party leader is a middle aged Cleric of Petra. He lost his wife and home when his small fishing village of Halag was destroyed 30 years ago. He watched with dismay as Duke Stephan failed to dig deeper and uncover the truth about the reports coming out of the Black Eagle Barony.
This explains why he is so passionate about his need to tell the truth about the "falsehoods" that are present in the Song of Halav.

Assuming that the party does not do anything unduly stupid, they should be able to convince a good many people of the validity of their claims. They have all worked very hard to put together a very solid case. For example, the Dwarf of the party has studied the stone work of the valley and has been able to confirm that much of it was constructed during the period in which the events of the song of Halav take place. The Thief of the party, who has translated a good number of ancient Nithian texts, has carefully prepared copies of the heiroglyphs that he has translated. Where possible, the party has secured the original texts.

Once the party starts telling others about the true origin of the Song of Halav, the impact will be tremendous. A real world comparison would be when Galileo Galilei puplished his small book, The Starry Messenger, in which he proposed that the Earth orbited around the Sun.

To be certain, a schism will form in the Church of Traldara. Many will claim that the party has simply created an elaborate hoax. Others will agree with the party's findings, but would be unwilling to disrupt the status quo. Still others will embrace the new truth with a zeal that borders on the fanatical.

It is not hard to imagine that some of the more dogmatic members of the Church of Traldara would seek to silence this heresay by whatever means required. After all, the Church of Traldara has already been divided once by the Cult of Halav.

Currently, I am trying to create some specific events that will take place in Karameikos as a result of the players actions. The outcome of some of these events will be beyond the players control. Other events will be modified or changed based on how the players conduct themselves. Here is what I've got so far.

With the permission of the Duke, Lord Alexius Korrigan will send an expedition to the Lost Valley of the Hutakaa in order to either confirm or deny its existance. It will not be until after the expedition is well on its way that Minister Zogrev Yarol will express a concern to the Duke. Basically, Yarol will point out to Duke Stefen that he is placing himself in a position where he will be required to rule on the validity of the Church of Traldaran. Should he rule against the Church's precepts, then he would loose a good deal of support from the Traldaran people.

The Duke is not the only one who will send a party to the Lost Valley. In secret, Patriarch Aleksyev Nikelnevich will send is own group to gather information from the Lost Valley. Unknown to him, one member of this party will seek to destroy whatever evidence may remain in the Lost Valley. Basically, this fanatic is of the opinion that the the Immortal's of the Beast-Men must have created this false history.

While all this is transpiring, a passionate Paladin of Halav will travel about the lands of Karameikos. Basically, he is seeking to gather together a small army to go with him to the Lost Valley. He believes that this is the last outpost of the evil Beast-Men. He intends to go there and exterminate all of the Hutakaa.

To be certain, someone is going to attack the party. This will happen sooner if the players actually convince a Hutakaa to join them.

Well, that's what I have come up with so far. What do you think will happen? I'm open to ideas and suggestions.

Regards and Best Wishes,

Donald Eric Kesler
#2
zombiegleemax
Jul 13, 2004 0:10:05 Hello,

I'm also mulling over the idea that some individuals from both Thyatian and Traldaran backgrounds might decide to give some serious attention to the teachings of Pflarr. While Pflarr is a stange and non-human Immortal, it seems reasonable that he might attempt to support a small group of followers in Karameikos.

This could create further friction and division in the campaign setting. While this would be bad for the Grand Duchy, it would be great for role playing.

What do all of you think?

Regards and Best Wishes,

Donald Eric Kesler
#3
spellweaver
Jul 17, 2004 12:27:54
Originally posted by Lucus_Boneburner
While exploring the Lost Valley of the Hutaaka, the party has pieced together the true history of Karameikos. Also, they have collected rubbings from engravings and scrolls that could be used as evidence to convince others of the validity of their claims. The party is planning to leave the Valley soon and share their findings with anyone and everyone who will listen. I suspect that they will attempt to convince one or more Hutakaa to travel with them.

They have all worked very hard to put together a very solid case. For example, the Dwarf of the party has studied the stone work of the valley and has been able to confirm that much of it was constructed during the period in which the events of the song of Halav take place. The Thief of the party, who has translated a good number of ancient Nithian texts, has carefully prepared copies of the heiroglyphs that he has translated. Where possible, the party has secured the original texts.

Once the party starts telling others about the true origin of the Song of Halav, the impact will be tremendous. A real world comparison would be when Galileo Galilei puplished his small book, The Starry Messenger, in which he proposed that the Earth orbited around the Sun.

Wow! I am impressed! A true Indiana Jones-archaeologists-kind of mini-campaign. I am going to have to steal this idea some day *LOL* I really like it.

Well, that's what I have come up with so far. What do you think will happen? I'm open to ideas and suggestions.

Hmm. All of what you wrote would make sense and it is sure to stir up a lot of things within Karameikos. I doubt that the surrounding nations would take much notice of it, however, unless it comes to open civil (religious) war.

The Hutaaka will probably be quite upset if suddenly hundreds of Karameikan explorers and soldiers come searching through their Valley and the immortal Ka might even take steps to preserve their isolation? (rock slides, avalanches, illusions etc.)

The actions of Thyatis and the Black Eagle depend on their long-term goals in your campaign and whether they need to watch their back against someone else such as the Shires or Alphatia.

Have you given any thought to how Lady Marilnev and the Radu, Torenescu and Vorloi clans are going to react to the news?

You might even be able to incorporate some of the ideas in the "Who is Lady Marilnevs DEMONIC LOVER" thread, which was posted a while back.

Looking forward to reading more about your campaign!! :D

:-) Jesper
#4
sbwilson
Aug 05, 2004 0:00:31 Sorry if I'm picking up on this thread a little late...

Something that came up in a campaign I ran years ago was the presence of the Death Head gnolls in the Foamfire Valley. In addition to trying to open communications with the "Lost" valley, the gnolls who lived practically in the doorway to the valley caused quite a bit of problems. Should they be exterminated? Recruited? The players tried several different ideas - all of which had severe political ramifications.

...and that was just with the stupid gnolls - it's not even considering the possibilities brought up by this thread.
#5
spellweaver
Feb 11, 2005 15:09:40 It's too bad this thread ended. I am going over a few campaign ideas and would love to know what eventually happened...

:-) Jesper

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Jul 08, 2004 11:44:24	Hello All, My campaign is moving in a direction that I did not anticipate; however, I believe that this new direction could offer a tremendous amount of quality role playing. The campaign is set in the Grand Duchy of Karameikos in the year 1000 AC. While exploring the Lost Valley of the Hutaaka, the party has pieced together the true history of Karameikos. Also, they have collected rubbings from engravings and scrolls that could be used as evidence to convince others of the validity of their claims. The party is planning to leave the Valley soon and share their findings with anyone and everyone who will listen. I suspect that they will attempt to convince one or more Hutakaa to travel with them. The neat thing about all of this is that all of the players have been very true to their characters. The party leader is a middle aged Cleric of Petra. He lost his wife and home when his small fishing village of Halag was destroyed 30 years ago. He watched with dismay as Duke Stephan failed to dig deeper and uncover the truth about the reports coming out of the Black Eagle Barony. This explains why he is so passionate about his need to tell the truth about the "falsehoods" that are present in the Song of Halav. Assuming that the party does not do anything unduly stupid, they should be able to convince a good many people of the validity of their claims. They have all worked very hard to put together a very solid case. For example, the Dwarf of the party has studied the stone work of the valley and has been able to confirm that much of it was constructed during the period in which the events of the song of Halav take place. The Thief of the party, who has translated a good number of ancient Nithian texts, has carefully prepared copies of the heiroglyphs that he has translated. Where possible, the party has secured the original texts. Once the party starts telling others about the true origin of the Song of Halav, the impact will be tremendous. A real world comparison would be when Galileo Galilei puplished his small book, The Starry Messenger, in which he proposed that the Earth orbited around the Sun. To be certain, a schism will form in the Church of Traldara. Many will claim that the party has simply created an elaborate hoax. Others will agree with the party's findings, but would be unwilling to disrupt the status quo. Still others will embrace the new truth with a zeal that borders on the fanatical. It is not hard to imagine that some of the more dogmatic members of the Church of Traldara would seek to silence this heresay by whatever means required. After all, the Church of Traldara has already been divided once by the Cult of Halav. Currently, I am trying to create some specific events that will take place in Karameikos as a result of the players actions. The outcome of some of these events will be beyond the players control. Other events will be modified or changed based on how the players conduct themselves. Here is what I've got so far. With the permission of the Duke, Lord Alexius Korrigan will send an expedition to the Lost Valley of the Hutakaa in order to either confirm or deny its existance. It will not be until after the expedition is well on its way that Minister Zogrev Yarol will express a concern to the Duke. Basically, Yarol will point out to Duke Stefen that he is placing himself in a position where he will be required to rule on the validity of the Church of Traldaran. Should he rule against the Church's precepts, then he would loose a good deal of support from the Traldaran people. The Duke is not the only one who will send a party to the Lost Valley. In secret, Patriarch Aleksyev Nikelnevich will send is own group to gather information from the Lost Valley. Unknown to him, one member of this party will seek to destroy whatever evidence may remain in the Lost Valley. Basically, this fanatic is of the opinion that the the Immortal's of the Beast-Men must have created this false history. While all this is transpiring, a passionate Paladin of Halav will travel about the lands of Karameikos. Basically, he is seeking to gather together a small army to go with him to the Lost Valley. He believes that this is the last outpost of the evil Beast-Men. He intends to go there and exterminate all of the Hutakaa. To be certain, someone is going to attack the party. This will happen sooner if the players actually convince a Hutakaa to join them. Well, that's what I have come up with so far. What do you think will happen? I'm open to ideas and suggestions. Regards and Best Wishes, Donald Eric Kesler
#2 zombiegleemax Jul 13, 2004 0:10:05	Hello, I'm also mulling over the idea that some individuals from both Thyatian and Traldaran backgrounds might decide to give some serious attention to the teachings of Pflarr. While Pflarr is a stange and non-human Immortal, it seems reasonable that he might attempt to support a small group of followers in Karameikos. This could create further friction and division in the campaign setting. While this would be bad for the Grand Duchy, it would be great for role playing. What do all of you think? Regards and Best Wishes, Donald Eric Kesler
#3 spellweaver Jul 17, 2004 12:27:54	Originally posted by Lucus_Boneburner While exploring the Lost Valley of the Hutaaka, the party has pieced together the true history of Karameikos. Also, they have collected rubbings from engravings and scrolls that could be used as evidence to convince others of the validity of their claims. The party is planning to leave the Valley soon and share their findings with anyone and everyone who will listen. I suspect that they will attempt to convince one or more Hutakaa to travel with them. They have all worked very hard to put together a very solid case. For example, the Dwarf of the party has studied the stone work of the valley and has been able to confirm that much of it was constructed during the period in which the events of the song of Halav take place. The Thief of the party, who has translated a good number of ancient Nithian texts, has carefully prepared copies of the heiroglyphs that he has translated. Where possible, the party has secured the original texts. Once the party starts telling others about the true origin of the Song of Halav, the impact will be tremendous. A real world comparison would be when Galileo Galilei puplished his small book, The Starry Messenger, in which he proposed that the Earth orbited around the Sun. Wow! I am impressed! A true Indiana Jones-archaeologists-kind of mini-campaign. I am going to have to steal this idea some day LOL I really like it. Well, that's what I have come up with so far. What do you think will happen? I'm open to ideas and suggestions. Hmm. All of what you wrote would make sense and it is sure to stir up a lot of things within Karameikos. I doubt that the surrounding nations would take much notice of it, however, unless it comes to open civil (religious) war. The Hutaaka will probably be quite upset if suddenly hundreds of Karameikan explorers and soldiers come searching through their Valley and the immortal Ka might even take steps to preserve their isolation? (rock slides, avalanches, illusions etc.) The actions of Thyatis and the Black Eagle depend on their long-term goals in your campaign and whether they need to watch their back against someone else such as the Shires or Alphatia. Have you given any thought to how Lady Marilnev and the Radu, Torenescu and Vorloi clans are going to react to the news? You might even be able to incorporate some of the ideas in the "Who is Lady Marilnevs DEMONIC LOVER" thread, which was posted a while back. Looking forward to reading more about your campaign!! :D :-) Jesper
#4 sbwilson Aug 05, 2004 0:00:31	Sorry if I'm picking up on this thread a little late... Something that came up in a campaign I ran years ago was the presence of the Death Head gnolls in the Foamfire Valley. In addition to trying to open communications with the "Lost" valley, the gnolls who lived practically in the doorway to the valley caused quite a bit of problems. Should they be exterminated? Recruited? The players tried several different ideas - all of which had severe political ramifications. ...and that was just with the stupid gnolls - it's not even considering the possibilities brought up by this thread.
#5 spellweaver Feb 11, 2005 15:09:40	It's too bad this thread ended. I am going over a few campaign ideas and would love to know what eventually happened... :-) Jesper