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View Full Version : 3 Faces of Evil is underwhelming



urkthegurk
2013-10-01, 12:03 PM
Its basically a hack-and-slash, but with none of the really compelling reasons to get people to hack and/or slash!

Ok, so I'm planning on running the Age of Worms, with some modifications to make it my own little campaign. My problem: The cult in the second module isn't doing anything. They may as well not exist. They're not part of a larger plan, really, and they're aren't up to anything evil... so what can I have them get up to, and how can I get the players to care?


Whispering Cairn was stellar, and Diamond Lake is a great setting. I'll definitely make some modifications, emphasize the politics going on in the town, force some desperation on the PCs, so when they do get to the dungeon crawl, they have every motivation to be ruthless tomb robbers. Because really, only someone really desperate would try to rob a tomb that's stood for seven thousand years and hundreds of attempts to break it. And for good reason. I doubt all of the PCs will make it out of that crawl alive. So the town and the dungeon work together well in that way.

But the cult? They're really not doing anything wrong. Sure they're capital-E Evil, but that's not against the law. Neither is living underground. ANd while I'm not convinced the PCs will be moral enough, necessarily, to give a damn, they may very well be cautious, especially since the cult has such established ties to both Dourstone and Smenk, who I plan on playing as just the most conniving, treacherous, tactically-savvy antagonists ever. And I can't see Smenk sending them down into the mine knowing they might find evidence to use against him, and furthermore that he's abetting large-scale slaughter which, if it comes back to him, will damn him to the gallows. Its mass murder, plain and simple.

As long as the cult is just down there, not doing anything cult-y, I can't see my players waltzing in there and just killing them all. Sure, if they had something to gain, but loot isn't gonna cut it. So what can the cult get up to that affects the politics of the town? What can they do that they're just begging to get wiped out, and the PCs are the ones that have to do it?

Slipperychicken
2013-10-01, 01:38 PM
I haven't read the modules (so this might not be usable), but based on your post, here's an idea.


Maybe someone influential in town is secretly using the prison system to "disappear" unwanted prisoners (and/or other undesirables) down to the cultists (for use in their humanoid sacrifices or other perverse rituals?) in exchange for cash and occasional favors like staying out of sight, not scaring people, and disposing of important bodies.

So the cops won't touch them because the official won't order an investigation, and the PCs might want to find explicit evidence linking them to the town official.

Rama
2013-10-01, 02:37 PM
Likewise I am not familiar with the module, but a few potential ideas:

1. Maybe a mining company wants to reopen the mines, but workers are disappearing?

2. The cult could be "recruiting" some of the town's youngfolk to replenish their ranks - either persuasively or by kidnapping and forced indoctrination.

3. Tainted water supply. Whether deliberate or accidental, the cult's activities could be leeching into the underground water source and fouling the town's river.

4. Depending on the PC's actions to date, the cult could see them as a threat and act first; whether by political means (maybe a town politician is a hidden member and sets the constabulary on the PCs) or by violence.

urkthegurk
2013-10-01, 05:02 PM
Solid ideas.



2. The cult could be "recruiting" some of the town's youngfolk to replenish their ranks - either persuasively or by kidnapping and forced indoctrination.

This could work. There's a pretty fanatical cult of St. Cuthbert in town, and most of the local militia worship Heronious. The cult is a heretical three-part cult dedicated to Erythnul, Vecna and Hextor, so if the Hextorites go recruiting they could step on the toes of the more mainstream faiths. Additionally, the evil cult (the Triad) might be wanting to increase its membership and influence, to prepare for events happening much further down the road.



3. Tainted water supply. Whether deliberate or accidental, the cult's activities could be leeching into the underground water source and fouling the town's river.


Interesting. The water supply from the lake is pretty messed already, but that's due to industry from all the mining. However, there's no reason that the cult couldn't be blamed, especially if additional water supplies have recently been contaminated, either by the cult of by the devious Smenk. And ties in nicely to the later encounter with the Lizardfolk, who are upset about contamination of the nearby marsh, and the loss of a clutch of eggs to necromantic energy...

EDIT: I might end up running the adventure 'Swamp Stomp' from Dungeon 93, if the PCs pursue this avenue.



Maybe someone influential in town is secretly using the prison system to "disappear" unwanted prisoners (and/or other undesirables) down to the cultists (for use in their humanoid sacrifices or other perverse rituals?) in exchange for cash and occasional favors like staying out of sight, not scaring people, and disposing of important bodies.

So the cops won't touch them because the official won't order an investigation, and the PCs might want to find explicit evidence linking them to the town official.

This is an excellent reason as to why the cops won't get involved. In fact, if the PCs are really in the way, they might end up in that prison system!

killem2
2013-10-02, 03:11 PM
I agree it depends A LOT of having tons of info about diamond lake, why balabar is a bad dude, why the part should give a crap.

urkthegurk
2013-10-02, 05:48 PM
Yeah, it helps if you've read the module, fer sher

I'm thinking that Balabar Smenk is into this plan to drain the nearby swampland, which he's bought under the table through the corrupt mayor of a nearby town. Once the swamp is drained, the new farmland will produce a fortune, more people will move from the city to colonize the area, and he can sell the water from the resevoir (or tax it), when previously the farmers got it for free.

This is having the unfortunate effect of disturbing the sediment in and around Diamond lake, which is contaminated with poison runoff from the mines, as well as necromantic energy from the cults activities. One of the lizardfolk tribes has been affected by the lowering water table, and the other lost a clutch off eggs to the undead infection.

As for Smenk, the cult is a problem. He's colluding with them, but he can't control them or cheat them, and they're fanatical, so they can't be reasoned with. He certainly doesn't want them causing the 'age of worms' or whatever, but its obvious to him that they're in no position to do that- they're just some heretics with delusions of grandeur. But they're unstable enough that if they try some sort of nonsense, they might implicate him-- even though he was coerced into aiding them! But the law might not take such a reasonable view about aiding cultists of an outlawed sect. Surely the player characters will understand?

So its with Balabar's manipulating that the cult gets put out of the way-- once he's finished dealing with them, he can secure his hold over the region with no one to stand in his way. Except maybe the PCs, he should have something on them, or some plan to get them out of the way in case they become a problem. They obviously can't be muscled out, he's tried to intimidate them already, and they're likely to just take a bribe and then turn around and backstab him anyway. Still, keeping them around could be useful, so it would be best if he could just get some dirt on them. He'll need to use them to deal with the lizardfolk problem for him, amoung other things.

I envision him as either a manipulative antagonist, or a untrustworthy patron for the PCs, or maybe a little of both. He certainly has only his interests at heart, but he won't backstab them as long as they're useful and he has nothing to gain from it. And his pragmatic outlook could be the perfect counterbalance to any overly-heroic PCs. After all, there's no use in smiting evil willy-nilly without some sort of plan to profit off it, eh? One thing a real avaricious power-hungry type needs is those to profit off of, and he can't do that if some wormgod has them all for lunch.

So, what dirt can he get on the PCs? I mean, it'll depend on the characters, but any ideas?