What to do with some Clueless Berks - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

What to do with some Clueless Berks

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
sildatorak
Nov 02, 2004 11:09:28 Firstly: Chad, Nate, Jon, Stephen, and the Bens, if you read this your characters will all die of testicular torsion and then Riddle will shoot all of your Shadowrun characters…twice.

With that taken care of:

I've just taken a party of 6 from their "prime" world (actually an ethereal demiplane) to Sigil at the bequest of a good power because they just unwittingly participated in a series of events that led to the destruction of a seal that maintained the typical prime rules about fiends entering unbidden, eladrin being forced to maintain the veil, etc.

Now I'm faced with a group of Clueless (with one exception, these players are pretty Clueless as well) who are trying to save their world from destruction as it turns into a bloodwar battleground over the next decade or century. Planar folk are probably going to be pretty unimpressed by this, but I think they will eventually deal a telling blow to the fiends when I run Squaring the Circle for them ;)

In the plotline, the other 3 adventures from Hellbound have already been completed (we've always been big on intercampaign continuity, so that is a matter of principle). "In the Abyss" has been done, and it ended with the SoC getting blown up. The first adventure out of Tales from the Infinite Staircase has been run as well. A character who was involved in all of these will probably get NPC'ed so there can be a little bit of information flow that could lead to the rest of Staircase and will eventually lead into Squaring.

The trouble I'm facing is where they should go between where they are now and where they will be when I think they're ready for Squaring. I want them to face the harsh reality that their world is just a drop in the pond, but I don't want to shatter their resolve that they can save it. A good portion of this campaign will probably be spent on gaining allies who can help with their situation (lots of favors equals lots of quests that aren't inextricably embedded in the overarching plot), and I want them to figure out where they stand philosophically in the meantime.

What suggestions do you have for adventures (published and your own ideas) that could lead to them gaining allies and enemies and actually managing to convince some jaded planars that it might be worth helping these green primes to save their world from fiends? The flip side of those adventures is also something that you should feel free to voice your opinions about. Who would actually find it worth his or her or its time to make these primes fail.
#2
voldenuit
Nov 03, 2004 2:12:49 I've always liked the idea of giving the players the option of signing up with morally questionable allies.

Races/groups that might be willing to see a certain Prime freed of the Blood War:

1) The illithids - the mind flayers might be interested in slaves and/or humanoid bodies to be used for ceremorphosis. With Ilsensine having eyes and ears everywhere, the illithids may not provide the most firepower, but may be the perfect strategic advantage. The question is: is it worth the cost?

2) The githyanki - if your world was previously isolated from the Planes, the githyanki might be interested in using it as a nursery to raise their young. Githyanki are not known for negotiating with non-gith, however. They may be just as bad as the demons and devils.

3) The Psurlons - as with the githyanki, the Psurlons use Prime worlds to grow their young. Their motivations may be too alien to comprehend and deal with, however.

4) The 'loths - a virgin Prime battlefield poses problems for the yugoloths. Without an established presence, informants or bases of power, the 'loths might find it hard to influence the course of the War there. It might be in the 'loths' best interests that the fiends "relocate" their war...at least, until the 'loths get their hooks into the world first (and believe me, they'll be trying).

5) The Harmonium. A world that has never heard of the glory of the Harmonium? One in imminent danger from the depravity of the fiends? A prime opportunity (if you'll pardon the pun) for the Harmonium to save the day and possibly induct an entire world into their vision of Good and Order. Of course, the threat of the war will allow the Hardheads to execute any protestors - they're obviously fiend collaborators.

6) The Celestials - the Celestials are as fragmented a lot as the fiends, but split along ideological rather than racial lines. Some see the Blood War invasion as a horror that must be fought, others may see the carnage as a "cleansing" or mortal souls not pure enough, and others still are looking for a way to turn the situation to the advantage of the "greater good". Perhaps if they could convince the fiends on both sides to mount a significant force on the Prime, they could then cut the crystal sphere off from the rest of the Planes (much as Athas is cut off), weakening the forces of Evil across the multiverse. Any mortal lives lost might be just "acceptable losses".

7) The Rilmani - dealing with the Rilmani is always dangerous, since their idea of Balance is unlikely to coincide with your desires or even welfare. They might decide that the best way to maintain said Balance is for the Blood War to wage endlessly on your Prime.

8) The Powers - it's not common for the Powers to intervene directly in affairs. Part of this may be because a delicate balance had been maintained across the eons between the gods. If one god starts exerting influence in mortal affairs, all the others might be forced to do the same, possibly eventuating in an all-out war between the powers for dominance and survival. This might be just as bad or worse than the Blood War.

Well, this has been all off the top of my head. If you think they are a little too bleak, blame recent events :P
#3
voldenuit
Nov 03, 2004 2:24:29 Addendum to the mind flayer option:

For aeons, the mind flayers have been preying on the humanoid races. Unfortunately, this means that the thrall-races have evolved immunological defences against the mind-flayers: fully 15% of ceremorphosis attempts fail, killing both the host and the tadpole along with it*.

A Prime that had previously been cut off from the Planes (being more of a demiplane, as you say) and not exposed to the illithid threat or the ancient Planes-spanning Illithid Empire, might be a choice source of slaves and host bodies. Without any selective pressure in their evolution, the humanoids of your Prime have not evolved any resistance to the mind flayers, making them prime hosts for future mind flayers.

* this is pure license and not in line with any published product. If you wish, you could replace this with a game mechanic in the form of Fortitude saves to avoid ceremorphosis, and apply a negative modifier to races from your Prime.
#4
judicator_shekar
Nov 06, 2004 14:31:05 A good idea might be to drop them off in a border town. A place like this does not have the sheer magnitude of options (that can overwhelm clueless, as I know from my campaigns) like Sigil and is a managable version of the multiverse. After introducing them to, say, Curst, and then allowing them to become familiar with the planes (to a certain extent), they may very well cease to be clueless and will join the ranks of hard-core planescapers.
#5
objulen
Nov 07, 2004 1:50:16
A good idea might be to drop them off in a border town. A place like this does not have the sheer magnitude of options (that can overwhelm clueless, as I know from my campaigns) like Sigil and is a managable version of the multiverse. After introducing them to, say, Curst, and then allowing them to become familiar with the planes (to a certain extent), they may very well cease to be clueless and will join the ranks of hard-core planescapers.

This is also a good idea due to the fact that the different "flavors" of the various border towns gives you greater control over the general tenor of the environment, given the massive variants in the different border towns.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 sildatorak Nov 02, 2004 11:09:28	Firstly: Chad, Nate, Jon, Stephen, and the Bens, if you read this your characters will all die of testicular torsion and then Riddle will shoot all of your Shadowrun characters…twice. With that taken care of: I've just taken a party of 6 from their "prime" world (actually an ethereal demiplane) to Sigil at the bequest of a good power because they just unwittingly participated in a series of events that led to the destruction of a seal that maintained the typical prime rules about fiends entering unbidden, eladrin being forced to maintain the veil, etc. Now I'm faced with a group of Clueless (with one exception, these players are pretty Clueless as well) who are trying to save their world from destruction as it turns into a bloodwar battleground over the next decade or century. Planar folk are probably going to be pretty unimpressed by this, but I think they will eventually deal a telling blow to the fiends when I run Squaring the Circle for them ;) In the plotline, the other 3 adventures from Hellbound have already been completed (we've always been big on intercampaign continuity, so that is a matter of principle). "In the Abyss" has been done, and it ended with the SoC getting blown up. The first adventure out of Tales from the Infinite Staircase has been run as well. A character who was involved in all of these will probably get NPC'ed so there can be a little bit of information flow that could lead to the rest of Staircase and will eventually lead into Squaring. The trouble I'm facing is where they should go between where they are now and where they will be when I think they're ready for Squaring. I want them to face the harsh reality that their world is just a drop in the pond, but I don't want to shatter their resolve that they can save it. A good portion of this campaign will probably be spent on gaining allies who can help with their situation (lots of favors equals lots of quests that aren't inextricably embedded in the overarching plot), and I want them to figure out where they stand philosophically in the meantime. What suggestions do you have for adventures (published and your own ideas) that could lead to them gaining allies and enemies and actually managing to convince some jaded planars that it might be worth helping these green primes to save their world from fiends? The flip side of those adventures is also something that you should feel free to voice your opinions about. Who would actually find it worth his or her or its time to make these primes fail.
#2 voldenuit Nov 03, 2004 2:12:49	I've always liked the idea of giving the players the option of signing up with morally questionable allies. Races/groups that might be willing to see a certain Prime freed of the Blood War: 1) The illithids - the mind flayers might be interested in slaves and/or humanoid bodies to be used for ceremorphosis. With Ilsensine having eyes and ears everywhere, the illithids may not provide the most firepower, but may be the perfect strategic advantage. The question is: is it worth the cost? 2) The githyanki - if your world was previously isolated from the Planes, the githyanki might be interested in using it as a nursery to raise their young. Githyanki are not known for negotiating with non-gith, however. They may be just as bad as the demons and devils. 3) The Psurlons - as with the githyanki, the Psurlons use Prime worlds to grow their young. Their motivations may be too alien to comprehend and deal with, however. 4) The 'loths - a virgin Prime battlefield poses problems for the yugoloths. Without an established presence, informants or bases of power, the 'loths might find it hard to influence the course of the War there. It might be in the 'loths' best interests that the fiends "relocate" their war...at least, until the 'loths get their hooks into the world first (and believe me, they'll be trying). 5) The Harmonium. A world that has never heard of the glory of the Harmonium? One in imminent danger from the depravity of the fiends? A prime opportunity (if you'll pardon the pun) for the Harmonium to save the day and possibly induct an entire world into their vision of Good and Order. Of course, the threat of the war will allow the Hardheads to execute any protestors - they're obviously fiend collaborators. 6) The Celestials - the Celestials are as fragmented a lot as the fiends, but split along ideological rather than racial lines. Some see the Blood War invasion as a horror that must be fought, others may see the carnage as a "cleansing" or mortal souls not pure enough, and others still are looking for a way to turn the situation to the advantage of the "greater good". Perhaps if they could convince the fiends on both sides to mount a significant force on the Prime, they could then cut the crystal sphere off from the rest of the Planes (much as Athas is cut off), weakening the forces of Evil across the multiverse. Any mortal lives lost might be just "acceptable losses". 7) The Rilmani - dealing with the Rilmani is always dangerous, since their idea of Balance is unlikely to coincide with your desires or even welfare. They might decide that the best way to maintain said Balance is for the Blood War to wage endlessly on your Prime. 8) The Powers - it's not common for the Powers to intervene directly in affairs. Part of this may be because a delicate balance had been maintained across the eons between the gods. If one god starts exerting influence in mortal affairs, all the others might be forced to do the same, possibly eventuating in an all-out war between the powers for dominance and survival. This might be just as bad or worse than the Blood War. Well, this has been all off the top of my head. If you think they are a little too bleak, blame recent events :P
#3 voldenuit Nov 03, 2004 2:24:29	Addendum to the mind flayer option: For aeons, the mind flayers have been preying on the humanoid races. Unfortunately, this means that the thrall-races have evolved immunological defences against the mind-flayers: fully 15% of ceremorphosis attempts fail, killing both the host and the tadpole along with it. A Prime that had previously been cut off from the Planes (being more of a demiplane, as you say) and not exposed to the illithid threat or the ancient Planes-spanning Illithid Empire, might be a choice source of slaves and host bodies. Without any selective pressure in their evolution, the humanoids of your Prime have not evolved any resistance to the mind flayers, making them prime hosts for future mind flayers. this is pure license and not in line with any published product. If you wish, you could replace this with a game mechanic in the form of Fortitude saves to avoid ceremorphosis, and apply a negative modifier to races from your Prime.
#4 judicator_shekar Nov 06, 2004 14:31:05	A good idea might be to drop them off in a border town. A place like this does not have the sheer magnitude of options (that can overwhelm clueless, as I know from my campaigns) like Sigil and is a managable version of the multiverse. After introducing them to, say, Curst, and then allowing them to become familiar with the planes (to a certain extent), they may very well cease to be clueless and will join the ranks of hard-core planescapers.
#5 objulen Nov 07, 2004 1:50:16	A good idea might be to drop them off in a border town. A place like this does not have the sheer magnitude of options (that can overwhelm clueless, as I know from my campaigns) like Sigil and is a managable version of the multiverse. After introducing them to, say, Curst, and then allowing them to become familiar with the planes (to a certain extent), they may very well cease to be clueless and will join the ranks of hard-core planescapers. This is also a good idea due to the fact that the different "flavors" of the various border towns gives you greater control over the general tenor of the environment, given the massive variants in the different border towns.