
Clarification: These posts actually relate to two different but related plots. The plots will be played on the 12th and 13th of October (the last plot is the opening of the third and final "Prophecies" campaign.
Plot # 1: "The Ghost Cabal of Muir" This scenario is basically a wild goose chase; the result of a mistake made by the Elven Council of Elders - As their decision to send the PCs there was based on too little and too poor information. It will remove the PCs from the sanctuary during the initial stages of the Devourer attack, but it will also give the PCs access to otherworldy information and the First Law of Hiding. The Ghost Cabal itself will be somewhat unnerving.
Scenario Type: Otherworldly Wonder and Horror
Plot # 2: "Unkaralth Undone" The PCs return to the Unkaralth Citadel, the Sanctuary of the Last Elves, only to discover it in total chaos. Explosions erupt and towers fall, the once beautiful UnderGardens are aflame and there is street to street fighting, humans and elves versus Devourer teams. The most intense fighting will be in the Citadel Keep, where Camhol and the Elder Council are under siege. When the PCs arrive Camhol has been slain and his eyes are being dug out. Only an Elven ArchMage still lives, encased in a protective sphere and surrounded by 4 Devourers that unravel the sphere layer by layer with their magic.(The Arch Mage is a former PC: The Conjurer Mabulon from "The Prophecies of Redemption").
After the PCs rescue Mabulon, the Oracle hiding within the flesh of the PC Elven Priest will tell them of the Shrine of Sanctpurii and that they must carry the soul of Camhol there. At this stage the PCs will hear the deep bass sounds of several Devourer Squads approaching.
Other info: There are pockets of resistance remaining. While more than 120 elves and 50 humans have been slain (nearly half the colony), large groups have organized and are fighting in the streets, while a major group has barricaded inside the Cethelion Tower (The Citadel Armoury) and have actually made the Devourer squads retreat from that part of the citadel.
Mood: Fires and smoke. Explosions and ruins. Corpses of friends and loved ones in the streets (Nearly all the PCs have friends, kids and wives here. Possible loss of sanity points and temporary madness such as berserker rage).
Scenario Type: Part 1: Creepy street to street fighting against daunting adversaries. Part 2: Revelations inside the Citadel. Part 3: Decision making and travel (must have some handy locations ready).
Continuing beyond the rescue of Camhol: 1. The PCs and the Oracle have NO idea where the Shrine of Sanctpurii is. There are some groups that may have some knowledge though (list 7 groups; covens, knighthoods, temples and libraries that might have some intel).
2. The PCs will know that they need two more Laws of Hiding (A law of hiding is two things: A Magic Ritual and an actual location or effect).
3. While the Devourers will retreat as mysteriously as they arrived (They have an unknown critical weakness and always retreat before it is exposed), there is no doubt that they will return for the soul of Camhol. The Sanctuary is not a safe place anymore, with the Elder Council slain and the fortifications in ruin.
4. There are other ways in which to survive. The Shrine of Sanctpurii is one option, but it will only resurrect Camhol, not bring an end to their problems. Other options include:
A) Staying on the run
B) Taking up residence in the Ghost Cabal's River Island Mansion. (The nature of the pocket dimension, Muir, makes it immune to detection by magic means). This is a temporary solution, as the Devourers will find them even there. (They have time on their side, so they will eventually come and flush out the PCs). The Mansion should prove a nice location for resting and recuperating for short periods however. The Mansion is also where the two remaining rituals can be found... once the PCs learn how to locate them. (Separate methods for the two remaining Laws of Hiding).
C) Flee with the refugees of the Unkaralth Citadel (This will bring danger upon the survivors)
D) Head down into the lowlands and start the quest for knowledge about the Shrine.
E) Head farther into the mountains and seek out the Karakaral Dwarves in their Hidden Temple of Stone and Iron. Perhaps they can help.
F) Throw the soul into a deep well and hope it isn't found
Complications:
- The Father of Camhol, the very Eternal that got Marion pregnant, slumbers in his Sepulchre not far from the Unkaralth Citadel. His presence will be picked up by the Devourers and, as he is a far more important prey than Camhol, he might prove a diversion as they spend some time trying to imprison him. This will be revealed by the Oracle to the PCs.
- The Oracle has an agenda of its own.
- Marion will go permanently insane as she discovers that Camhol has been slain.
- Two new factions join in on the party: 1) The Empire has sent their Rat Sorceror and his cadre of Shadow Acolytes to find and kill the "Saviour" (Which would be Camhol, but in the visions of the Emperor's Seer Concubines he is revealed as the Bringer of Doom) and discover the reason behind the new and powerful rift in the northlands (created by the Devourers). 2) The Hexenjeagers have sent detachments to the region as the patients in their asylums have begun muttering and droning about "the doom from the mountains". They would normally not have bothered, but the frequency and intensity of these madman rambles have caught their attention. That several different asylums report the exact same ramblings has only helped in their decision to send the Hexenjaegers to the mountains.