sumkidy
2013-10-10, 10:00 AM
To whomever is reading,
this is my first post on Giant in the Playground, so forgive me if I miss out on any necessary decorum.
I am currently running a D&D 3.5 game in a world I have (partially to say the least) designed. I am approaching a part where the plot is to thicken, and I need some advice (crossing my fingers and hoping none of my players find this post).:smallsmile:
The story thus far:
The campaign is set on the peninsula of Moradran on the East side of the continent. This peninsula is a dwarf kingdom, and connects on its Western border to the human province of Angfar.
The peninsula is basically a massive caldera, surrounded by mountains on all sides and dominated by a black mountain thrusting from the centre, Moradran, first hold of the dwarves, after which the land is named.
Picture taken by one of my players of an old map they discovered:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/r270/944443_10151555624831700_1923191387_n.jpg
History:
Angfar (human) had been an independent kingdom, and got along well with the dwarves (Moradran), until some centuries ago when the On Empire (human) attacked and turned Angfar into a province of their own. The Ons in their own homeland had been enemies with the dwarves north of them since time immemorial, and attacked Moradran (which in fact was the oldest known Dwarf kingdom) after taking over the Angfar lands.
The dwarves were driven back from the territory they had beyond their mountains, and fought to defend the peninsula itself. They had a few victories, but were slowly pushed further back, only able to hold their mountain passes through Thermopylae-style battles. Then the main force of the Ons arrived. The resilient dwarves fought on, losing more and more ground, some small bands of humans even breaking through to the peninsula itself.
It seemed a losing battle, until the Duergar arrived. The duergar, long enemies of the dwarves, appeared in the night seemingly out of thin air, for no word of their coming had been heralded, and proposed to the dwarves to aid them in their battle against the humans... for a price.
They were immediately rejected before terms could even be agreed upon, until the heir to the dwarf throne was killed in a slaughter the following day. In haste, one king made an alliance with the other; that if the dwarves and duergar together would win against the humans, then the Duergar could indeed enter the black mountain, sacred to all dwarves and duergar alike.
The two armies now fought together, freeing the mountains from humans, who retreated back into Angfar. Prior to any alliances, messages had been sent to the other dwarf kingdoms, who immediately proceeded to offer aid. However their liason, finding out about this unspeakable alliance with the duergar, withdrew all aid, disowning the kingdom of Moradran and striking its and the names of all dwarves from there from the Dwarf Books - effectively from existence in the eyes of all other dwarves.
The humans, who had retreated, regrouped into a mighty host, a hoard which would crush the dwarves in its wake and the sound of whose march would shake the doors from the black mountain itself. Or they would have, if the dwarf and duergar divide their forces, half to take a last stand only to give time to the other half who would seal off all entrances to the peninsula... forever.
Thus was Moradran sealed from the world.
Following the sealing, the dwarf mages (I use this as a general term to refer to magic-users) planted a forest (which dominates the Western half of the country) and filled it with Guardians (which are something between golems and constructs I suppose, powered by crystals imbued with energy), who were meant to last for a limited amount of time. The king then focused his attention on restabilising the country, and eliminating all contact with the outside world.
The duergar who survived were outnumbered by the dwarves, but were still a considerable force, and were thus granted the easternmost side of the country, and the two races having been living alongside one another, though not without a great deal abrasion.
Other info (feel free to ask questions):
- Dwarves live in what I refer to as a Guildocracy. Dwarves join guilds and are divided into Chapters around the country.
- Dwarves use hand-held objects called "runes" (a magic they have derived from touchstone magic) in order to use magic. They cannot use any other kind of magic
- Dwarves worship their ancestors, and preserve the greatest ones inside Crystals. Also, each dwarf in his lifetime visits the black mountain to commune with the great crystal there, to impart and obtain knowledge.
Campaign Background:
3 of the PCs met up at a Merchant's Manor. 1 was a guest (Human Paladin of Lugh, the Sun god of the On Empire), and 2 (Half-orc barbarian & an old alcoholic sorcerer) were sent there to deliver a Dwarven artifact (they being in the employment of a seller of such things). The Merchant (a minor noble) had had a run in with the sorcerer in the past and despised him. He had the 2 arrested, and the Paladin was sent with the soldiers to guard them on their way to the trial. However, the Merchant had other plans, and planned to slaughter the 2 at a sacrificial totem pole out in the wilderness to the East. The paladin upon finding out aided their escape and joined them on the run.
In their flight they ended up meeting a Raptoran Druid (PC number 4) who had just attempted a flight of his own and crash landed there. Sheltering from the storms - weather, wolves (including one the size of Huge size), and soldiers - they hid in a cave, which they discovered to be a Dwarven ruin.
Long story short, a storm washed them down on to the East side of the mountains they were on, into the peninsula of Moradran. They began to search for a way out, entering the forest to try and walk to a river they spied from a high up crag.
They journeyed North, discovering bizarre old ruins that have been used by the Guardians (who should have been long dead, but something has allowed them to keep going, though they did not retain any sanity). Now they have discovered a "rebel guild" of Dwarves who have formed their own resistance against the authorities.
This is because of the huge amount of restrictions the old king has put on the country, which is literally choking the life out of the people. All is slowing to what they believe can only result in disaster.
The party they met form part of the Rebel Guild, and come from various walks of life, be they scholars, tradesmen, craftsmen, labourers, warriors, etc. They took them North to the abandoned city of Irikul, a complex of giant stalagmites, stalactites, and pillars that were worked and carved. Having had a dungeon crawl (of which I am very proud) there, it is time to move on with the story, and this is the part where I need help.
The dwarf society has been bred to fear and distrust humans, and thus most dwarves, if they knew the thing they were looking at was a human, would be far from friendly.
I need a way to integrate them into the dwarf society, or at least make it so they are legally untouchable - that is there needs to be a way/reason for them not to be immediately murdered, and then a way for them to be able to be accepted to some point in the dwarf society, to the point where they are employed for quests, etc.
I am open to ANY IDEAS HERE!!!
I have had a couple of ideas so far:
How to be accepted by the Dwarf citizens?
They save them from attacks (faked/created by rebel dwarves)
There is a rebel village?
Disguised as dwarves?
Using old laws?
Guest right (similar to the Guest Right in ASOIAF, where guests cannot be harmed)
Church "sanctuary" right
Naval law – shipwrecked/lost they must be sheltered
Trade law – if they are trading they cannot be harmed (trader rights)
Employment law – if they are employed for specific tasks they cannot be harmed
Slaves? (I have my doubts about the idea of dwarves taking slaves though, but if you can think of an innovative way of explaining this I'd sure think about it)
Gifts? (Players are in possession of a lot of gold, magic items, as well as a massive emerald [about the size of a coffee table])
Fulfilling a prophecy? (eg: One of the rebels says "they are here… to kill the dragon!")
this is my first post on Giant in the Playground, so forgive me if I miss out on any necessary decorum.
I am currently running a D&D 3.5 game in a world I have (partially to say the least) designed. I am approaching a part where the plot is to thicken, and I need some advice (crossing my fingers and hoping none of my players find this post).:smallsmile:
The story thus far:
The campaign is set on the peninsula of Moradran on the East side of the continent. This peninsula is a dwarf kingdom, and connects on its Western border to the human province of Angfar.
The peninsula is basically a massive caldera, surrounded by mountains on all sides and dominated by a black mountain thrusting from the centre, Moradran, first hold of the dwarves, after which the land is named.
Picture taken by one of my players of an old map they discovered:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/r270/944443_10151555624831700_1923191387_n.jpg
History:
Angfar (human) had been an independent kingdom, and got along well with the dwarves (Moradran), until some centuries ago when the On Empire (human) attacked and turned Angfar into a province of their own. The Ons in their own homeland had been enemies with the dwarves north of them since time immemorial, and attacked Moradran (which in fact was the oldest known Dwarf kingdom) after taking over the Angfar lands.
The dwarves were driven back from the territory they had beyond their mountains, and fought to defend the peninsula itself. They had a few victories, but were slowly pushed further back, only able to hold their mountain passes through Thermopylae-style battles. Then the main force of the Ons arrived. The resilient dwarves fought on, losing more and more ground, some small bands of humans even breaking through to the peninsula itself.
It seemed a losing battle, until the Duergar arrived. The duergar, long enemies of the dwarves, appeared in the night seemingly out of thin air, for no word of their coming had been heralded, and proposed to the dwarves to aid them in their battle against the humans... for a price.
They were immediately rejected before terms could even be agreed upon, until the heir to the dwarf throne was killed in a slaughter the following day. In haste, one king made an alliance with the other; that if the dwarves and duergar together would win against the humans, then the Duergar could indeed enter the black mountain, sacred to all dwarves and duergar alike.
The two armies now fought together, freeing the mountains from humans, who retreated back into Angfar. Prior to any alliances, messages had been sent to the other dwarf kingdoms, who immediately proceeded to offer aid. However their liason, finding out about this unspeakable alliance with the duergar, withdrew all aid, disowning the kingdom of Moradran and striking its and the names of all dwarves from there from the Dwarf Books - effectively from existence in the eyes of all other dwarves.
The humans, who had retreated, regrouped into a mighty host, a hoard which would crush the dwarves in its wake and the sound of whose march would shake the doors from the black mountain itself. Or they would have, if the dwarf and duergar divide their forces, half to take a last stand only to give time to the other half who would seal off all entrances to the peninsula... forever.
Thus was Moradran sealed from the world.
Following the sealing, the dwarf mages (I use this as a general term to refer to magic-users) planted a forest (which dominates the Western half of the country) and filled it with Guardians (which are something between golems and constructs I suppose, powered by crystals imbued with energy), who were meant to last for a limited amount of time. The king then focused his attention on restabilising the country, and eliminating all contact with the outside world.
The duergar who survived were outnumbered by the dwarves, but were still a considerable force, and were thus granted the easternmost side of the country, and the two races having been living alongside one another, though not without a great deal abrasion.
Other info (feel free to ask questions):
- Dwarves live in what I refer to as a Guildocracy. Dwarves join guilds and are divided into Chapters around the country.
- Dwarves use hand-held objects called "runes" (a magic they have derived from touchstone magic) in order to use magic. They cannot use any other kind of magic
- Dwarves worship their ancestors, and preserve the greatest ones inside Crystals. Also, each dwarf in his lifetime visits the black mountain to commune with the great crystal there, to impart and obtain knowledge.
Campaign Background:
3 of the PCs met up at a Merchant's Manor. 1 was a guest (Human Paladin of Lugh, the Sun god of the On Empire), and 2 (Half-orc barbarian & an old alcoholic sorcerer) were sent there to deliver a Dwarven artifact (they being in the employment of a seller of such things). The Merchant (a minor noble) had had a run in with the sorcerer in the past and despised him. He had the 2 arrested, and the Paladin was sent with the soldiers to guard them on their way to the trial. However, the Merchant had other plans, and planned to slaughter the 2 at a sacrificial totem pole out in the wilderness to the East. The paladin upon finding out aided their escape and joined them on the run.
In their flight they ended up meeting a Raptoran Druid (PC number 4) who had just attempted a flight of his own and crash landed there. Sheltering from the storms - weather, wolves (including one the size of Huge size), and soldiers - they hid in a cave, which they discovered to be a Dwarven ruin.
Long story short, a storm washed them down on to the East side of the mountains they were on, into the peninsula of Moradran. They began to search for a way out, entering the forest to try and walk to a river they spied from a high up crag.
They journeyed North, discovering bizarre old ruins that have been used by the Guardians (who should have been long dead, but something has allowed them to keep going, though they did not retain any sanity). Now they have discovered a "rebel guild" of Dwarves who have formed their own resistance against the authorities.
This is because of the huge amount of restrictions the old king has put on the country, which is literally choking the life out of the people. All is slowing to what they believe can only result in disaster.
The party they met form part of the Rebel Guild, and come from various walks of life, be they scholars, tradesmen, craftsmen, labourers, warriors, etc. They took them North to the abandoned city of Irikul, a complex of giant stalagmites, stalactites, and pillars that were worked and carved. Having had a dungeon crawl (of which I am very proud) there, it is time to move on with the story, and this is the part where I need help.
The dwarf society has been bred to fear and distrust humans, and thus most dwarves, if they knew the thing they were looking at was a human, would be far from friendly.
I need a way to integrate them into the dwarf society, or at least make it so they are legally untouchable - that is there needs to be a way/reason for them not to be immediately murdered, and then a way for them to be able to be accepted to some point in the dwarf society, to the point where they are employed for quests, etc.
I am open to ANY IDEAS HERE!!!
I have had a couple of ideas so far:
How to be accepted by the Dwarf citizens?
They save them from attacks (faked/created by rebel dwarves)
There is a rebel village?
Disguised as dwarves?
Using old laws?
Guest right (similar to the Guest Right in ASOIAF, where guests cannot be harmed)
Church "sanctuary" right
Naval law – shipwrecked/lost they must be sheltered
Trade law – if they are trading they cannot be harmed (trader rights)
Employment law – if they are employed for specific tasks they cannot be harmed
Slaves? (I have my doubts about the idea of dwarves taking slaves though, but if you can think of an innovative way of explaining this I'd sure think about it)
Gifts? (Players are in possession of a lot of gold, magic items, as well as a massive emerald [about the size of a coffee table])
Fulfilling a prophecy? (eg: One of the rebels says "they are here… to kill the dragon!")