4ed- Once again asking for help

[incubus5075]

Been running a 4ed game for several months (party of 4 is now lvl 13) and I have been on here several times looking for ideas. The party is looking for a world famous assassin who romur has it has taken out a contract for a noble they are trying to help. Party has a gith..whatever archer ranger, a teifling artificer, a eladrin wizard, and a genasi shielding swordmage (who prevents 19 dmg with his shield)

They are in Luskan (city of thieves, pirates, and murferers) looking for this legendary assassin and more importantly the group/person who hired him. There are three main groups that couls have done the hiring the 5 High Captains, who are pirate lords. The Arcane Brothrhood, who I plan on being REALLY evil. Ant the Faces, a thieves guils who no one knows anything about, they are always under disguise mundane or magical.

The artificer was almost killed by a hitman at night in his tavern and during the fight the party ripped off a mask of disguise and it was an illithid assassin!

I myself (the DM) haven't decided the ending but I want it to tie in with the Underdark, my next planned adventure campaign for the group. I like twist endings, suspense, and about 50/50 RP and combat. Help?

[rayne_dragon]

If you have Lords of Madness from 3.5 it provides a lot of insight or ideas into the workings of various aberrations, including the mindflayers. It could be that the mindflayers have infiltrated the Faces (or the Faces are all mindflayers) or any or all of the other organizations as part of their own diabolical plot to bring about their own evolution (or whatever plot they have going). This would lead the players down to the underdark to take out the mindflayer's elder brain leader, perhaps only to discover that the Arcane Brotherhood was somehow manipulating the elder brain to control the mindflayers for their own diabolical ends.

[dsmiles]

If you have Lords of Madness from 3.5 it provides a lot of insight or ideas into the workings of various aberrations, including the mindflayers. It could be that the mindflayers have infiltrated the Faces (or the Faces are all mindflayers) or any or all of the other organizations as part of their own diabolical plot to bring about their own evolution (or whatever plot they have going). This would lead the players down to the underdark to take out the mindflayer's elder brain leader, perhaps only to discover that the Arcane Brotherhood was somehow manipulating the elder brain to control the mindflayers for their own diabolical ends.

oooooooo.....nice twist, there.

[Asbestos]

How many levels do you expect this to go on for?
Maybe the Illithids are the good guys and the PCs are working for the bad guys! What a tweest!

[Gralamin]

Right now would be a tottaly awesome time to convert Mind Flayers of Thoon from 3.5 to 4e, and use them. They are in MMV, and have enough fluff to surely get you going.

Or you could go with Rayne_dragon's way, I guess.

[incubus5075]

Here is a maybe plan I have. The three head wizards of the Arcane Brotherhood are really Mindflayers and the wizards under them are all thralls. The Faces thieves guild are actually drow with multiple ways have hiding their identites. They are using Luskan as a means of surface to Underdark trade and the two sects (Arcane brotherhod and the Faces) are at odds with each other. Luskan is caught in a power struggle they do not even know is happening. The Swordmage in our group had a very nice backgroud to his character that he is in search of The Marked Man who killed everyone in his Monastary. So maybe the assassin isn't trying to kill the noble but instead was hired by the masked man to take out the party....And let the rumors out to make them come to him, so he would have "home field advantage"... I plan on the Marked Man as being a spell scared drow and that is why i want them to go to the Underdark.....Any suggestions? Ideas?

[Mando Knight]

What's the Purple Dragon's spot in the plot.

What do you mean, what Purple Dragon? If there's treasure to be had and Underdark villains to slay, there's always a Purple Dragon ready to strike. Especially if you're Merlin and in the middle of a Wizard's Duel.