Quests for three paladins(Kelemvor, Liira, Tempus)

[HoboKnight]

Hey guys,
so in my game, I have 3 paladins(Kelemvor (https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Kelemvor), Liira (https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Lliira), Tempus (https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Tempus)) and they got to lvl12.
Now, here is an idea I have on how things work in this realm(not MUCH different then generic D&D realm, I think):
- god has followers
- some are not powerful, some really powerful
- not-powerful follower is in a bind, real dark stuff is happening, prays to god (God, help me)
- god sends a ping to another follower of his, who has THE DAKKA to deal with thing
- strong followed is contacted by divine messenger, asked to do a quest and make the world better
- hopefully, strong follower responds

With this in mind, I need to shape 3 quests for three mentioned paladins. I have SOME ideas, but upgrades are really appreciated. Here is what I have so far:
- Liira: we do this in feywild. There is A place of Joy, series of meadows with satyrs and nymphs, musical elves, some partying and drinking, perhaps even wilder stuff, I dunno, suggestions welcome. Then Tyranny comes in. Not Order, mind you, but Tyranny that feeds of sapping these creatures and entire setting of their joy and freedom. Creatures get chained in several ways and Joy is sucked out of them
Paladin of Liira must destroy this force
What do you think of this idea? What would a good antagonist be?

- Kelemvor:
This one is simple. Necromancer. I just wonder what I could add beyong a necromancer raising a ton of undead who spread into nerby settlements. Perhaps necromancer is a demilich? What are his plans? But killing undead and necromancers... seems rather straightforward

- Tempus
I dunno. Party is in combat a lot, so this is pretty much covered, but if you guys happen to have an idea for a quest, I'd really appreciate it.

thanks!

[Kol Korran]

Some ideas:
# First of all, I'd find a way to either:
- Tie their quests as side quests, that coincide with their main quest/ mission.
- Combine the 3 quests into one.
Why? So while the party pursues one paladin's goal, the other players aren't bored.

# An idea combining the 3 quests:
An evil entity has penetrated the court of one of the feywild realms (since we need to place this in the Feywild, as to your post). This entity corrupts/ dominates/ otherwise influence the local ruler, thus affecting/ corrupting their entire realm (Perhaps slowly, perhaps quickly). This has 3 effects, that tie to the quests:
1- The corrupting influence saps the joy, life, happiness of the realm. Creatures whose essence are tied to this (Satires, pixies and such) become ill/ cursed, and slowly lose power/ fade. Someone must find way to fight this desperation and loss of mirth. I'm not just talking about fighting the antagonist, but the cursed disease effect. A paladin of Liira is called forth! But why is this important to the antagonist? Because of...

2- The realm residents try to resist the corrupted ruler, and a sort of a chaotic (Fey after all) civil war erupts, but the resistance forces become more and more ill by the happiness sucking cursed disease. Someone must rise to the challenge, unite the losing resistance, and organize it to fight an asymmetric war. Again- A paladin of Tempus, the god not only of battle, but of WAR! But again, why is this important to the antagonist? Because of...

3- The main reason behind the corruption of the fey realm, is to gather and use the special corrupted energies/ essence of the fey, to create some extremely rare and powerful undead abominations, who will wreak havoc upon this realm, and perhaps some others as well. A paladin of Kelemvore is called, to both learn and research these new undead dangers, to confront and destroy them and their source!,

As a specific antagonist? I'd imagine some fallen fey, who was long banished to some horrible realm, yet haa returned with forbidden powerful magic and knowledge, to extract revenge and destroy all that is happy, hopeful, pretty and living. The idea is that they have some sort of protection at first (perhaps some of the ruling Fey Lord's own power protecting them)

So, the 3 paladins cannot directly confront the antagonist, but need to first deal with the various influences of it's plan on the realm, as means to weaken/ destabilize the power of protection (Perhaps supporting a lower fey lord resisting the current one? "An heir to the throne rising to the nation's dire need due to a corrupted leader" kind of scenario?) Before being able to confront the antagonist directly.

The paladin of Liira must find a way to counter the life sucking cursed disease. The paladin of Tempus must rally forces and direct the war of resistance as a commander/ general, not just as a fighter. The paladin of Kelemvore must learn, understand, and counter the emerging new undead abominations, which get stronger and more powerful, as the experiments get more successful as the war rages on.

# If you go with the idea of Side Quests tied to a main quest, how about these:
- For Tempus: A fey lord arranges a grand festival! And as part of this- gladiatorial matches, to enthrall the audience with the spectacle of bloodshed and violence! But there are more reasons and complications for this competition:
- The prize is unique indeed! I imagine either a minor artifact/ relic of Tempus, that was obtained by trickery, a ruse or an outright theft, that the god seeks to return. Or... it can be an artifact/ small relic of an opposing entity to Tempus, which he sends tha paladin to obtain and destroy, so it won't fall into the wrong hands...
- Not all competitors are willing ones... some are enslaved, some are forced by debt/ other leverage on them. How will the paladin of Tempus deal with them? Those who were forced to fight? (Especially if the criteria for ascending to the next match is to kill the opponent)
- While it is advertised that the matches are equal, and that all is fair, actually some contestants are favored by some outside support, who use their influence to cheat and tip the chances in their favor (Sudden arena or rule changes, sudden equipment upgrades, poisoning/ cursing or otherwise debilitating the competition)

# For the Kelemvore paladin, if you are are set on a Necromancer, how about an unusual one? Do you know of the creature Avolakia? I am not sure which D&D edition are you playing, but these weird aberrations have a strong affinity and connection to necromancy (Heck, they can digest enemies and spit out skeletons!), and can be some weird, unusual necromancers.

# For the paladin of Liira- The theatre of despair: A famous traveling theatre group is traversing the feywild, acting out their grandmaster piece show. And though the show is indeed of exquisite superb quality and performance, it is also one that showcase the futility of existence desperation and it's conclusion is grim and hopeless. Though the people are find the show extremely good, its messages penetrate and a widespread depression is spreading.

When the paladin investigates however, things get more complicated- There is no magic in the show. No compulsion, mind altering enchantment or such. And the acting group itself does not come out as sinister/ manipulating or scheming. The play is based upon the composer own experience, one of immense tragedy, and of the failing of hope and succumbing to depression. It appears that the Paladin of the goddess of joy needs to find a way to actually change and lift the spirits of this talented composer.

Or... so it seems at first. As the paladin investigates the composer memories of the tragedy, there are some hints that do suggest some malign intention, but not of the composer's making. The composer was manipulated/ duped. Some possible antagonist:
- A sort of a brain parasite (material or entirely magical) that lives and thrives on the emotions of depression, and may subtly influence the ones he resides in (the phrase "I keep hearing these voices in my head" is quite literal this time!). The parasite both feeds on these emotions, but it also enables it's hatchlings/ eggs/ larvae to more easily spread to other "better prepared" brains. Perhaps the larvae are kept in special wine caskets the group unknowingly carries with them? And perhap as part of the show the audience members are each given a toast for a special salute as part of the show.

- Or perhaps the entire tragedy was itself staged? By some entity that sought this composer specifically, the orchestrated the tragedy to crush his spirit, and then advised and guided him to put his thoughts and emotions into script, to spread their own hidden agenda of despair? A cruel joke of a fey? An intervention of a messenger/ follower of gods whose purpose is to spread despair? The paladin finds the hints that this was conducted by someone sinister, and investigates to find the culprit, who may still be with the acting group (disguised as one of the stage hands? The manager? The maker of costumes?) Or shadow them (A wealthy patron who is "An absolute fan of the group and show!" who comes to every performance and ends up clapping hands and shouting "Bravo! Bravo!" Though cynically the adoration is all to itself, and the success of their plan...

Hmmmm... in fact? You can join the 3 ideas to one as well! The festival has the gladiatorial competition, but also the theatrical show (perhaps referring to the gladiatorial matches as well?), While the avolakia uses the bodies of many strong dead competitors to create... something awful.

Damn, I just realized part of the source for my inspiration (At least of the latter ideas): In the 3.5ed Adventure path The Age of Worms there is a module called The Champion's Belt, that basically takes place in a grand festival, where the PCs enter a gladiatorial match, where they battle in the arena by day, and investigate the sinister and hidden secrets behind the festival at night. And it features an Avolakia as a major suprise opponent. You may want to read upon it for inspiration.

Good luck!