The Deterrent
The two great continents of the world are bitterly at war and they have been busy creating the ultimate weapon. But the Chromatic Council of Colour Dragons are aware...
The cool darkness that lies over the shores sighs in its sleep and only rarely breaks a wave in its peaceful dreams.
The houses on the hills know, though. They are awake, fearful, trembling, rooms full of sleepless watchers, waiting, watching for something they don't understand, and which doesn't understand them or even care for their existences. Which is why it doesn't mind putting them to an abrupt end.
They were two continents, separated by sea and by a vast void of thought and ideology. Two utterly opposed titanic forces, each bent on the destruction of the other.
And they have been breeding dragons.
In the epic mountain castles of each continent, the finest dragonriders of the land are assembled by their steeds, and in the castles' chthonic reaches the greatest beasts mate and spawn their greater offspring.
The dragons used are the huge dumb beasts which were not exiled after the expulsion of the Chromatic Council and the Coloured Dragons. But even so, they are dragons, and kin looks after kin.
The Chromatic Council know what is being created in the dungeons of these lands, how the once noble species is being soiled and mass produced in the interest of warfare. But in exile there is nothing these mighty and wise dragons can do but ask for the help of mortals...
The PCs are summoned to the Land of Icy Exile by the Council where they are informed of the secretive 'deterrent weapons' being developed in the dungeons of the two continents. Of course the ordinary people have wind of this already, but only as the vaguest of unsettling rumours.
The Council know that only one continent can prevail, the other must surely perish be it in this war or another, and the quickest way to do this and avoid a bloodbath is to remove its dragons. Without its dragons it is powerless and the stronger continent will have dominion without having further war.
But the Council are unwilling to say which continent will win. It is up to the PCs to decide that. They must go under the pretence of a diplomatic mission and free the dragons from the hidden castles. Of course that's going to be hard to reconcile with keeping a diplomatic face. And how should the dragons be freed? How will they react? Unless this situation is handled really carefully there could be an unforeseen problem on the PCs' hands. Unless of course the dragons are nothing more than rumour and gossip...
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? Responses (3)
I like this. It is really more of a campaign idea than a single scenario, since it requires a very specific game world to make it possible. The GM who runs this will need to create said world and have the players encounter both sides, so they can make this campaign altering decision.
It works well if the players are from another sphere, teleported/ travelling here for some reason.
Great stuff! I am working with a similar idea for the overall plot of my steampunk campaign world, though at first they don't know the secret weapon is dragons.
I'm going to keep my players thinking that dragons don't exist in this realm, so the shock of seeing a huge one with a rider and multiple gun barrels on its back is even better.