Looking for some Advice

[EZ_Heartsong Steelsoul]

Well, I've asked all the people not IN this game, so why not try here....

A friend of mine is a long-time D&D player. He has a character that has been converted through all editions, and he would like, for his birthday, to convert him to third finally and play a high level (17th) game.

I have volunteered to run this, but I have a problem. I've never really designed a game before, just run other people's.

My thought at the moment for a plot. Aging Evil Dragon is adding magic items like mad to his hoard. In fact, he doesn't care about the boring coinage and all, so he is paying wizards to summon people with magic items for him to add to his hoard, and they get all the non-magical loot.

Enter our adventurers, who wake up in various cells, having been summoned in this fashion. After they break out and take out the guards, they will eventually find a cache of items that hasn't been catelogued and sent to the lair.

Currently, I'm wanting to set this in Forgotten Realms, so I'm considering making this a Brown Dragon, which is a desert dwelling dragon, typically with a lair about 1000 feet below the ground. In this case, I'm going to have a keyed teleporter in his lair, plus a spiral staircase as means of getting out.

Questions:

1) Does this sound like a good plan?
2) What do you think would be appropriate hirelings for him? I'm thinking that for the summoning there would be at least a half dozen wizards, plus there would be some less arcane sorts for keeping an eye on prisoners. Oh, and some collection of pets who would be eating any adventurers the dragon didn't. I'm also considering including a half dragon daughter.
3) Another idea, is having a delegation from the Cult of the Dracoliche there, trying to persuade him, but only have them run into that group if they have to run up the stairs.



Phew. Hope no one minds the big post, and thank you in advance.

Heartsong

[DarthEnder]

It's called the Cult of The Dragon I believe.

And Dragonkin always make badass minions.

And Brown Dragons are lame. Always.

[EZ_Orcmauler]

Sounds good so far.
Depending on your time frame of forgotten realms the cult of dragon idea can lead to some further campaigning.

Also think about a possible branch out to the underdark (i love the underdark

The wizards helping the dragon can be the red wizards (forgot their name-sorry) that are based in the s.e i think of Forgotten Realms.

Possible tie ins with Zhentil Keep are there too-maybe one of the beholders gets wind of this and decides to take the hoard for himself (ie 3 or 4 elder orbs vs. dragon and minions)

And finally, can always have the dragon summon in elminster or Blackstaff and make things really interesting :P

[Jhani Vandolay]

The only problem with this basic plot for 3E is that now magic items are so easy to make, just about anyone in a pointy hat can whip them off. Maybe add something particular about the type he's collecting? Something to make it more worth the while of the wizards to go through the capture procedure instead of just huddling in the back pumping out items.

The red wizards mentioned are the wizards of Thay, aka Thayans or Thayvians (that's always a fun argument). But they're much less likely to be helping a dragon, particularly to be payed in cash only. Again, 3E turned something around: They've sort of thrown in the towel when it comes to straight up world domination, and are now "the Realms' leading magic merchants". Yes, they discovered being evil capitalists works better than just plain evil. Zhentil Keep and/or the Cult of the Dragon seem much more suitable.

Also, any dragons that are not red or black kick ass. Not to claim the status of a "real professional" in any one endeavor has been a small price to pay for the many benefits and pleasures of trespassing. ~Leo Lionni

[EZ_Heartsong Steelsoul]

Well, it could always be turned into a Deep Dragon, which tend to ally with Dark Elves...

Regarding Thayvians (how it's always spelled in my living city modules, though before that _I_ always thought it was Thayan), tell the ones who keep attacking the city of Raven's Bluff to knock it off then.

Anyway, Red Wizards always seem cliched these days, so I think I need to investigate the Dragon Cultists more. And I'll ponder the magic item question. One point regarding creating items would be that with the experience costs, it wouldn't be too long before, depending on how one runs it, the wizards would either be at the start of their level (if you don't allow level loss through item creation) or level one and unable to make anything. I'll keep thinking though.


And thank you all very much!

Heartsong Steelsoul

[ShadowCross]

If you are REALLY evil, use Shadow Dragons.

Breath Weapon: Energy Drain = Negative levels
Starts at -1 level (DC 14) and goes up to -8 levels (DC 39).

Nothing is more fun like seeing a PC fail his save and suddenly lose a few levels - making him much less efficient against the dragon than he was before... casters losing spell levels, warriors losing HPs and attacks, etc....

Fun fun fun. Baron ShadowCross Bladesong
-Teir'dal Assassin, Antonious Bayle


- Vaes Bladesong, Briton Tracker, Albion, Guinevere


Safehouse Moderator
The Most Holy One, ShadowCross, First Saviour of the Muffins
Lord Dominar and High Priest of the html help Inquisition

[Jhani Vandolay]

"in my living city modules"

Who's your char! Spill spill!!

[EZ_Heartsong Steelsoul]

Yes, shadow dragons are VERY nasty.... heck, I was even considering using one of the gem dragons (redone in a web supplement for the psionics book), but I wanted an evil dragon, not just a chaotic neutral...

Well, reworked plot to bounce off you. Currently with it changed to a deep dragon, but I'll consider a shadow dragon, though the connection is slightly less there.

Firstly, I failed to mention that this is an aging dragon. A bit senile. A dragon who keeps inventories to make sure his hoard is all there... and, well, a dragon who wants to make sure everything turns out all right when he dies. So, he is doing this job for his god, essentially (if it's a deep dragon, it could be Lloth, otherwise Tiamat is always a good choice. Details). He needs to find this specific rare magical item. This idea of summoning people is how he decided to do it, at least to start. I'll make sure that each PC has an item of a similiar type to make that work out better, as well.

Certain types of dragon make keeping the PC's on a dragon-killing track easier... if all the allies are drow, they won't need a staircase to the surface... just a tunnel toward their homes. That way I can just have some keyed teleport thing for the dragon to get out if he wants. He's the only one with the key, of course. Guess they'll just have to get it somehow...


Heartsong

[Dragynphyre]

I like it so far...

I would think that an aging dragon might be seeking immortality... Perhaps he's having all these magic items (and their owners) summoned to him because he's seeking the one item that could grant him immortality.

The Cult of the Dragon cultists could be trying to persuade him that lichdom is the way to acheive this end...

And as was mentioned, make it a deep dragon and you get to tie in the drow and the Underdark... maybe throw in a few Illithids as well as some drow wizards as the dragon's minions, and you get to have all sorts of interesting monsters hiding in the side tunnels.

Maybe the dragon's drow minions are trying to get rid of the Cultists, so the heroes have to make a shaky alliance with the Cult of the Dragon...

Ooooh, makes me wanna write my OWN module now | Delissandra Splitshadow, Wielder of the Rapier Wit
Aileena Brellious, Kegmistress of Brell
Yinka Din`Kadoo
Arzza Mojomama

[EZ_Heartsong Steelsoul]

And all of it for a group of written-from-scratch-level 17's!

Once I get it completely figured out I need to find my campaign cartographer dungeon planning thing... and I'd be happy to share my results when I'm all done.

The immortality is probably a better than getting-in-good for the afterlife plot...

<watches her mind scurry around and around>

Heartsong

[Dragynphyre]

Now think about it if the HEROES were to identify and find that item of draconic immortality, before the dragon was able to inventory the 'latest shipment' in his search for that item...

If the dragon has secretly accepted the Cult's offer, if you killed the dragon it would only make the dragon be able to become a dracoliche that much sooner...

If you were to take the item with you or were to try to destroy the item, the dragon would likely accept the Cult's offer to become a dracoliche and remain upon the world, in lieu of life immortal...

If you allow the dragon to use the item, the dragon becomes immortal...

Heh, my imagination is running away with me now! Now if you have a good gaming group, it would be very interesting to see what sort of solution they might come up with.

My solution would probably be something like #3, and then find some way of making sure he never left his lair again. Perhaps the dragon has a critical character flaw...like obsessive vanity... and you put up a big mirror and all the dragon does for the rest of eternity is to stare at itself...ooh, that opens itself up to putting some sort of love charm on the dragon and have the first thing it sees be its own reflection...

[DarthEnder]

Yeah! A deep dragon with drow minions would be cool.

Shadow dragon would be cooler, but, well shadow dragons kill everyone really fast-like.

[Caowyth]

Deep Dragons would be deeper than he has planned, and they wouldn't have a staircase to the surface.

If you want a desert dwelling evil dragon that isn't lame use a Blue.

And no self respecting Dragon would ever let adventurers walk out of his lair with gold. He'd kill them, or have them killed before they left (If he's a Lawful Evil type). Even if he isn't interested in gold anymore there's a principal involved. And they might come back. =)

Cao