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View Full Version : DM Help Events, that would affect a powerful elven village within timespan of 100 years?



HoboKnight
2020-12-09, 07:59 AM
Hey guys,

so, we have this elven village of about 150 inhabitants, living in a forest (High Forest in this case). In the village, there are several high level casters (up to lvl 15) and a group of lvl 6 rangers, all of them guarding the village. With such "firepower", they are pretty much guarded vs any low-level threats, that they may encounter.

Yet, a lot happens in 100 years.

I'm looking for ideas, that may be an actual threat to such a settlement, or at least shake their comfy residence on Material plane a bit. Perhaps there is something in FR lore for past 100 years, that I could use?

Any suggestions are very welcome.

Wraith
2020-12-09, 11:23 AM
They're Elves - at any given moment, a tunnel to the Underdark could split open and an equivalent force of Drow would come pouring out and kill them all. Even a rumour about such a thing happening nearby should cause immense tension in the village, creating a political rift between those who insist its nothing to worry about, those who want to find out and put a stop to it, and those who just want to move away and hide. :smalltongue:

Assuming that you're in the 'current year' of 1489DR, the biggest thing to have happened is probably the end of the Era of Upheaval (https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/1489_DR).
Various Gods have died, domains have changed hands, etc and now the Gods have started to talk to their followers again, albeit subtly. I would expect that this would mean a rise in the influence and boldness of the various religious factions throughout the area as Clerics start to get emboldened and have to compete with new up-and-comers who have established themselves and are trying to muscle in on the available space.

Depending on the Gods that your Elves follow this could directly influence them if its one of their Pantheon who have died or changed, or at the very least they could be caught in between a bunch of high level Clerics and Paladins who have experienced the same thing and are looking to re-establish themselves.

denthor
2020-12-09, 12:43 PM
Giant slugs. You laugh but look at them. 3 of them are a real threat.

Giant Ants.

Batcathat
2020-12-09, 01:29 PM
A nation of humans (or some other populous race) want to expand into the village's territory (maybe there's some valuable resources there, maybe it's sacred to some human religion, maybe they just want more land). They probably won't have as many high level characters as the village but there are a lot of them and even if the elves can beat them in a straight fight (a couple of high level casters might be able to handle a nation's worth of mooks) the invaders could probably do considerable damage to the surrounding forest.

Industrious humans versus nature loving elves might be a bit of cliché but it could be done well and with some original twists, I think. If you want to add some moral ambiguity to it, have the humans (or whatever) fleeing from something and not having any options besides pushing into the village's territory.

Mastikator
2020-12-09, 02:13 PM
5e benefits from bounded accuracy, which means that low levels noobs can still pose a threat to high level elites if they come in large numbers and attack relentlessly.

So uh... humans? Just a nearby human network of villages overseen by a count that conscripted the humans. Very easily the humans will overwhelm the elves and even though the elves win the first battle, each battle happens so fast that the elves have no chance to recover, meanwhile the humans recover and get on with entire generations. Humans are scary.

HoboKnight
2020-12-10, 02:13 AM
Allrighty, these are all great ideas, and I intend to use them. I do however, want to expand them a bit/work on them.

@Wraith
Dark elves. Dark elves are a serious threat and as mentioned, can popup anywhere at any time. Still, here I'm wondering, why would dark elves hit such an elven village? Let's say dark elves are very well aware on defences of such villages (they all have a few mid-level casters (lvl 10 -15) and an assembly of low level rangers (lvl 5-8)), so my question is - why would they hit such a "hard" target? They need slaves that see in the dark, so humans, for an example are pretty useless(except perhaps for mass sacrifice?), but there is a number of underground-dwelling creatures that see in the dark and they can enslave them much easier then these elves.

Era of Upheaval is another GREAT idea. How would this affect these elves? They are mostly connected to Corellon and Silvanus. Would this mean that Clerics of Corellon and Druids of Silvanus would lose all their powers? How does this affec the land/forest? There is a lot written on gods changing portfolios, etc, but how can I reflect consequences on this very community (also in relation to network of other elven villages in the High forest and perhaps beyond)? Arcane casters may not pray to Mystra, but her being messed up, might affect them too. How?

@denthor
Invasion fo giant slugs or giant ants ... I don't see this as something, local druids could not handle. I'd appreciate any expansion on this idea/challenge.

@Batcathat
In 5e, mooks can be a threat, yes. But I see this could be easily handled by our super-competent elves by just infiltrating human settlements and politically destabilizing them. Popping on a hat of disguise, do a ful analysys of humans weakpoints (perhaps you kill a count and cause his three sons to go to war, or you implant a disease in human community, that wipes them out. Or you give "a hint" to an adult green dragon, there is A REALLY BIG pile of gold in human settlement(s) and dragon ravages them).

Slugs and humans are interesting. I see drow as a super-scary threat as well as Era of Upheaval. I'd really like to use them.

thanks to all contributors!

Wraith
2020-12-10, 02:37 PM
Still, here I'm wondering, why would dark elves hit such an elven village? Let's say dark elves are very well aware on defences of such villages (they all have a few mid-level casters (lvl 10 -15) and an assembly of low level rangers (lvl 5-8)), so my question is - why would they hit such a "hard" target?

On the one hand, "because they're there" is a perfectly reasonable explanation, the enmity between Drow and surface Elves is so bitter and vicious that they don't really need a specific reason.

A specific reason though, could be religious turmoil. Lolth having enjoyed over a century as the dominant deity of the Drow, following the end of the Upheavel saw the return of Eilistraee and Vhaeraun as powerful rivals. The Lolth-loyal Drow would be very, very keen to expand their borders and take valuable prisoners for sacrifice - the more powerful and valuable, the better to appease their Goddess. In a similar vein, Eilistraee and Vhaeraun-loyal Drow might seek to flee from Lolth and it could be believed that such heretics would escape to the surface world. Killing surface Elves is reason enough, but doing it to take sacrificial prisoners and to hunt down the followers of rival Gods? It's virtually a crusade, of sorts.


Era of Upheaval is another GREAT idea. How would this affect these elves? They are mostly connected to Corellon and Silvanus. Would this mean that Clerics of Corellon and Druids of Silvanus would lose all their powers? How does this affect the land/forest? There is a lot written on gods changing portfolios, etc, but how can I reflect consequences on this very community (also in relation to network of other elven villages in the High forest and perhaps beyond)? Arcane casters may not pray to Mystra, but her being messed up, might affect them too. How?

There's two ways I can think of that would answer your questions, and you could do either/or depending on how it fit into your world.

Yes, everyone would be cut off from communicating with their Gods, however Clerics and Druids would still receive the powers anyway - for whatever reason during the Upheaval, magic continued to work albeit erratically in some places. What this would mean would be the various Priesthoods would have no divine guidance and thus have to rely on making decisions at a secular level, which in turn could lead to factions arising as the various groups argued over who was correctly interpreting the will of their absent Gods. It might not spill over into violence, but it absolutely could and at the same time, political alliances and offshoot sects of alternative interpretations would arise.

Essentially, if one person or factions could not quickly and decisively establish order according to their own terms, everyone could start a civil war as various sides argued over who was 'right' in the absence of a tie-breaker. It happened a lot among the Drow and the human civilisations, and while less common the surface Elves weren't immune to it.

The forest itself would react accordingly. As Druids and Forest Clerics became more fractured and insular, the forest itself would change to represent that - different areas divided into different factions, reflected by their philosophies. It might even become more dangerous as the plants and animals, guided by the Elves with the power to do so, started to defend their territory to discourage invasion or open warfare.

And then the Gods return, albeit in limited capacity. Some factions are going to be vindicated as their actions were proven correct - others humiliated or even criminalised when they discover they were in the wrong. Worse yet, just enough of the vague and subtle message are understood in order to cause more argument, disagreement and confusion even among the prospering factions. Potentially the Elves endure two religious schisms in one lifetime and are left dealing with the after effects.

Meanwhile, the Spellplague comes to an end and the Wizards find themselves invigorated. For the first time in over a century, their powers are on the increase and become ever more reliable, while the Divine magic users are confused and fighting amongst themselves. What is to stop the Mages from pushing for political power and influence of their own, looking to fill the gap left by the absence of the deities' direction? Are they going to be benevolent and just, or are they going to be cunning, paranoid and succumb to temptation of more secular power to go with their mystical power? Either way, everyone else is going to be watching and wondering just how much more powerful they're going to get, and what they're going to do with it.....

Long story short: The absence of the Gods causes political strife and turmoil as everyone tries to establish order and their own interpretation of the 'right' way to go about using their Divine magic, and then the Wizards start to show off how much more dangerous they are than everyone else. What usually happens when two groups of powerful spellcasters start to become envious and wary of each other? :smalltongue:

Gizmogidget
2020-12-11, 03:53 PM
Generally I'd say the following:

Discovery - The elves discovered another peoples, resource, or new lands. Or they were discovered.
War - The elves got involved in some form of conflict.
Change of Leadership - All the way from the King died and now the son is the new king, to the kingdom fell and was replaced by a hostile power.
Plague/Curse/Disaster - Some non-sentient disaster has struck the elven peoples.

denthor
2020-12-12, 11:40 AM
Giant slugs may a clutch of 100 eggs at a time. Druids do kill things to kill things. They allow nature to exist in harmony. Your looking for something to be a threat to the village. Druids may not even notice a single female slug that attacked say 5 miles away in the opposite direction. Wizard cantrip salt is the most effective spell against them.

Over 100 slugs that spit acid at 60 feet could very well do damage to tree structures. Arrows are ineffective,we are talking elves damage to arrow first 10 points are gone.

Ants are also 100 to 300 per nest. A low level threat but the druids won't exterminate. You have 6th level party this is just a challenge to overcome that is different from the norm.

These are both memorable challenges.

ngilop
2020-12-12, 01:23 PM
Allrighty, these are all great ideas, and I intend to use them. I do however, want to expand them a bit/work on them.

@Wraith
Dark elves. Dark elves are a serious threat and as mentioned, can popup anywhere at any time. Still, here I'm wondering, why would dark elves hit such an elven village? Let's say dark elves are very well aware on defences of such villages (they all have a few mid-level casters (lvl 10 -15) and an assembly of low level rangers (lvl 5-8)), so my question is - why would they hit such a "hard" target? They need slaves that see in the dark, so humans, for an example are pretty useless(except perhaps for mass sacrifice?), but there is a number of underground-dwelling creatures that see in the dark and they can enslave them much easier then these elves.

Era of Upheaval is another GREAT idea. How would this affect these elves? They are mostly connected to Corellon and Silvanus. Would this mean that Clerics of Corellon and Druids of Silvanus would lose all their powers? How does this affec the land/forest? There is a lot written on gods changing portfolios, etc, but how can I reflect consequences on this very community (also in relation to network of other elven villages in the High forest and perhaps beyond)? Arcane casters may not pray to Mystra, but her being messed up, might affect them too. How?

@denthor
Invasion fo giant slugs or giant ants ... I don't see this as something, local druids could not handle. I'd appreciate any expansion on this idea/challenge.

@Batcathat
In 5e, mooks can be a threat, yes. But I see this could be easily handled by our super-competent elves by just infiltrating human settlements and politically destabilizing them. Popping on a hat of disguise, do a ful analysys of humans weakpoints (perhaps you kill a count and cause his three sons to go to war, or you implant a disease in human community, that wipes them out. Or you give "a hint" to an adult green dragon, there is A REALLY BIG pile of gold in human settlement(s) and dragon ravages them).

Slugs and humans are interesting. I see drow as a super-scary threat as well as Era of Upheaval. I'd really like to use them.

thanks to all contributors!

Bolded for emphasis.. why are such powerful individuals in that hamlet and what are they guarding. Them being there 'cuz' is no better a reason for the drow wanting to attack that same hamlet.

denthor
2020-12-12, 01:54 PM
Bolded for emphasis.. why are such powerful individuals in that hamlet and what are they guarding. Them being there 'cuz' is no better a reason for the drow wanting to attack that same hamlet.

This another question I had adventures are rare. How many druids are there? Several 15th levels. So there are place without leveled people. It seem his world is saturated with adventure types.

Several implied 3 to 10 for a village of 150. In a hamlet of 50 of of them may be 4th level the 3rd level priest shows up once a year maybe huge deal.

Then on top of high level people you have group of 6th level (3 to 6 a group), these are 2 primarily attacks per round. They are not shabby as protection either.

Appears that druids could take care of slugs? I think I would have the drow riding the slugs.

His world is overflowing with power.

Lo'Tek
2020-12-12, 03:03 PM
Still, here I'm wondering, why would dark elves hit such an elven village? Let's say dark elves are very well aware on defences of such villages ... why would they hit such a "hard" target? Petty reasons: this particular elven village became "a thing" in their city. They attack because of indoctrinated hate against elves (wrath), to gain status in their society (pride), to plunder magic secrets and riches (envy, greed). They made promises to each other and the spider queen (vanity) and that made it a dea vult thing, too. The spider queen has no real interest, so if a priestess is part of the attack, she is not a favorite in the political struggle, but believes she needs to proof herself (despair) and is willing to whip anyone who calls it a pointless suicide missions into obedience. Lastly some joined the crusade to avoid trouble (fear) or got recruited into walking to the surface and back for month and just don't care (acedia).

The downside of such motivations is, that it is hard for the heroes to learn of them, short of praying for divine insight, because even the attackers are unaware of the big picture and barely understand their own motivation, which they may lie about. And there is even less the heroes can do about any of it. It is not a solvable problem.

From the elven villages perspective the situation slowly escalated. Animals talking about dark elves that behave strange. Rangers tracking those reports but coming up empty. A small attack on the outskirts by young drows who believed it an easy target for ritual slaughter as part of a coming of age ceremony, but got repelled by high end magic. Someone vanished and was later confirmed kidnapped, tortured and killed. Increased evil creature activity orchestrated by drow scouts testing the defenses. Someone teleported to a place of worship, brought an offering and got the divine insight about why it is happening.

Now Drow are chaotic, maybe their interest will fade, maybe they will attack in force. Not even the goods know. But after multiple events in the last century that got people killed the village is very worried.

Moving the whole village is considered the best option by some, but many don't want to evacuate with only the bare necessities and literally moving the village is above what their magic can do.

Others believe they should stand their ground, even push back: the path to the underdark must be found, trapped with silent alarms and caved in by summoned earth elementals. If the heroes do that they later get contacted because the alarm triggered.

The elite casters of the village is of course not going on any lengthy expeditions

GeoffWatson
2020-12-13, 07:04 AM
Internal troubles.
Politics, personality clashes, jealousy, arguments, etc.
Having high-level defenders won't help much, and may make things worse (they each think they are the best elf to be in charge).

FR: What's the current year in your campaign?
The Forgotten Realms wiki has a list of events by date.

Quertus
2020-12-13, 05:28 PM
If it's FR, maybe they got "taken off the map", quite literally, and we're only recently put back on. :smalltongue:

Berenger
2020-12-14, 03:22 AM
@Wraith
Dark elves. Dark elves are a serious threat and as mentioned, can popup anywhere at any time. Still, here I'm wondering, why would dark elves hit such an elven village? Let's say dark elves are very well aware on defences of such villages (they all have a few mid-level casters (lvl 10 -15) and an assembly of low level rangers (lvl 5-8)), so my question is - why would they hit such a "hard" target?

For glory. They try to kill or capture those elves not despite but because of them being high level threats. It‘s a way to please the Spider Queen, impress a potential mate, prove your cunning and battle prowess and to spread terror among lesser enemies.

KineticDiplomat
2020-12-19, 05:12 PM
Rift/civil war. Over...anything really. Love triangle gone wrong. The color of the Nature God’s pajamas. New generation wants to old guard to finally get out of the way.

You have a bunch of ennui filled powerful people with not much to occupy them. The reasons for them to start hating each other are endlessly human.

FabulousFizban
2020-12-25, 03:30 AM
climate change?

Tanarii
2020-12-25, 12:18 PM
The Time of Troubles / Avatar crisis (140 years ago). The spellplague (100 years ago). The second sundering (within the last few years).

A quick scan or recent high forest lore online and pulling from memory of SCAG:
- most of the elves left the High Forest in 1344 DR, so that'd be a hugely significant date.
- There was also a general invasion of the north by the Many-Arrows Orcs in the last few years.
- The local uthgardt tribes are probably their biggest competitors for territory, and one of them are werewolves.
- an adventure paths that might be in the future or past of your world includes giants invading the north.

All that assumes you want to grab broad strokes of FR lore and paste them into your campaign. If not, werewolves (and vampires) are always a good go-to. Maybe a green dragon in the background manipulating them? Or even a clan of green dragons.