Hyrael
2007-02-12, 09:56 PM
I'm working on writing up a eberron campaign, and I'm stuck on this one scenario, and I thought perhaps I could ask the community for creative ideas. the setup is as follows:
Party Level: 2nd-3rd
Location: a small villaige in thrane and surround area
Enemies: a 3rd level Favored Soul Huecuva* (*undead divine caster, FF), and an array of zombified villaigers (possibly using variant zombies from libris mortis)
Events: The party comes across a seemingly deserted thranish villiage. The party is attacked by undead villiagers, but archers hidden in the buildings come to their aid. The surviving villiagers are holed up in their homes, and are under nightly attack by their former local preist. those who the preist kills rise as zombies a few hours after. The local palladins went out to smite the horror, but only the rookie (2nd lvl) came back, and is now traumatized, but is willing to help the party kill the thing. The party's task is to, well, kill the huecuva.
My problem is this: I want a tragic story that leads to the conditions of the adventure, but I cant seem to make it fit together, and there are lots of blank places. Here's what I have so far:
The villiage was visited by a group of Silver Torch hatemongers, who started preaching about the non-humans of thrane working to destroy the country, changelings and shifters in league with the surviving lycanthropes who are apparently everywhere, yadah yadah yadah, usual moronic bile. they whip the townsfolk up into a frenzy, and they wind up buring alive the local changeling family in their own home, including the local preist's sweetheart. The Local preist is a young, open-minded NG favored soul who, after the war, requested quiet pastoral duty. Somehow, the Favored Soul walks in on all this and goes into a greif-stricken frenzy, attacking the instigators. In the ensuing battle, both he and the torchers are killed. the townsfolk come to their senses, and set about to cleaning up. However, the next morning, just as they are about to cremate the fallen, the Favored Soul's corpse's flesh melt's off it's bones, and the blackened skeleton gets up and starts killing people.
The whole thing is actually tied to a Lords of Dust plot to weaken thrane through encouraging insane zealotry.
My problems are these:
Why didnt the favored soul interven before things got to the burning stage? where was he? did he know that the torchers were in town?
Why cant the townsfolk leave, or send messengers for help?
What should the landscape around the town be like? how can I make it isolated or cut off?
Can I make this story better? Should I revise the whole scenario? (I just want a tragic story tied to the Silver Torch and involving the party fighting a powerful Huecuva) Can I come up with a better reason for the favored soul to rise as an undead horror?
Any Advice would be most welcome.
Party Level: 2nd-3rd
Location: a small villaige in thrane and surround area
Enemies: a 3rd level Favored Soul Huecuva* (*undead divine caster, FF), and an array of zombified villaigers (possibly using variant zombies from libris mortis)
Events: The party comes across a seemingly deserted thranish villiage. The party is attacked by undead villiagers, but archers hidden in the buildings come to their aid. The surviving villiagers are holed up in their homes, and are under nightly attack by their former local preist. those who the preist kills rise as zombies a few hours after. The local palladins went out to smite the horror, but only the rookie (2nd lvl) came back, and is now traumatized, but is willing to help the party kill the thing. The party's task is to, well, kill the huecuva.
My problem is this: I want a tragic story that leads to the conditions of the adventure, but I cant seem to make it fit together, and there are lots of blank places. Here's what I have so far:
The villiage was visited by a group of Silver Torch hatemongers, who started preaching about the non-humans of thrane working to destroy the country, changelings and shifters in league with the surviving lycanthropes who are apparently everywhere, yadah yadah yadah, usual moronic bile. they whip the townsfolk up into a frenzy, and they wind up buring alive the local changeling family in their own home, including the local preist's sweetheart. The Local preist is a young, open-minded NG favored soul who, after the war, requested quiet pastoral duty. Somehow, the Favored Soul walks in on all this and goes into a greif-stricken frenzy, attacking the instigators. In the ensuing battle, both he and the torchers are killed. the townsfolk come to their senses, and set about to cleaning up. However, the next morning, just as they are about to cremate the fallen, the Favored Soul's corpse's flesh melt's off it's bones, and the blackened skeleton gets up and starts killing people.
The whole thing is actually tied to a Lords of Dust plot to weaken thrane through encouraging insane zealotry.
My problems are these:
Why didnt the favored soul interven before things got to the burning stage? where was he? did he know that the torchers were in town?
Why cant the townsfolk leave, or send messengers for help?
What should the landscape around the town be like? how can I make it isolated or cut off?
Can I make this story better? Should I revise the whole scenario? (I just want a tragic story tied to the Silver Torch and involving the party fighting a powerful Huecuva) Can I come up with a better reason for the favored soul to rise as an undead horror?
Any Advice would be most welcome.