Plot Advance
Mechanics
The
seven factions described below all have their own objectives, assets,
and plans. They interact with each other, and with minor groups or
factions in the setting, depending on various factors. Some factions
might ally or oppose each other depending on circumstances; other
might be antithetical to each other in all cases.
A
way you could “simulate” this is in the form of what is called
here “Plot Advances”. The below tables map this to when
characters level up; you might alternatively advance events based on
time passed or other plot triggers. It's important to note that these
map what key NPCs will do over time, NOT what your players need to
do. Player agency requires freedom of decision, and an ability to
affect the world (or to be terminally affected by it...). Nimthur,
Torrynton, and the rest all have plans, and with no interference from
adventurers they will each advance to a conclusion. However, as
adventurers are hired by or choose to oppose a faction, their plans
will change, be advanced, or be curtailed. Exactly how things change
will require your judgement.
Each
faction's first three Plot Advances are linked to character level in
the below matrix, with two spreading over a level boundary (the Level
3-4 and Level 4-5 Advances). This gives you some space to allow your
characters to interact with the events, rather than being stuck a
long way away as interesting things happen; however, you may prefer
to reinforce the consequences of player decision by allowing that, in
which case a tighter timetable (based on days passed, for instance)
is better.
The
Plot Advance Finale is not directly tied to character level, and can
be triggered at your discretion – probably at a point where most of
the party are level 5 or just hitting level 6. It will probably be
the case that multiple factions will reach their Plot Advance
Finales. You must decide in which order they trigger, or whether they
occur simultaneously.
There is one more thing that should be noted, both in
relation to the general concept of Plot Advances, but also when
reading the specific faction overviews that follow. Some factions are
more proactive, whilst some are more reactive. Broadly speaking,
Torrynton, Nimthur, Dehazar, and the Prince are more proactive, in
the sense that they are seeking to upset or alter the current order
in some way; Lady Jana and the Labyrinthine Council are more
reactive, seeking to maintain the current order; King Targyn is
somewhere between the two, seeking to defend what his people already
have, but in doing so he is stepping into what other factions already
believe to be their own.
Nimthur
the Dragon
Objectives
Nimthur perceives
himself as the most worthy ruler of the region, and is angered by the
refusal of weaker creatures to obey him. He intends to force the
whole of Talon's Height into his service – he wants to preserve
most of the inhabitants, but is willing to punish those who defy his
authority. Foremost of those he perceives as rivals are Lady Jana
Trueheart and Targyn the Kobold. If he comes across the plans of the
Torrynton Compact or Osswald Dehazar, he will add them to his list of
lawbreakers.
Nimthur is haughty, arrogant, and territorial. He will
negotiate with those who show respect, and will use his proxies to
approach potential mercenary allies. He will honour any agreements he
makes, but is swift to punish perceived slights.
Starting
Assets
*Quarry Lair – Nimthur has a multi-level lair in the
caves around a disused sandstone quarry. Aside from living quarters
for his minions, it also includes a Great Forge used by his Duergar
allies to make him weapons of war.
*Rakigorn – NE Dragonborn Illusionist,
Nimthur's trusted lieutenant. Masquerades
as a richly-dressed human called “Robert”, representing “business
interests” when hiring unknown adventurers.
*Rupprecht the Golden – N Human Conjurer,
a contractor paid to retrieve magic items for Nimthur. Known
for keeping his contracts. Hired by Rakigorn with no illusions, so he
does know a little about Nimthur.
*Clan of the Feathered Axe – A clan of Lizardmen who
guarded Nimthur's egg whilst it hatched, and have travelled with him
to Talon's Height to establish his rule. They live above ground outside the quarry.
*Tribe of Blue Lightning – A tribe of Kobolds who have
made a pilgrimage over some distance to join him. They guard the
quarry itself live in the “level” of the lair beyond the
entrance.
*Broken Pot Gang – Nimthur has effective suzerainty
over the Broken Pot Gang of Goblins; most of their able-bodied males
have travelled south from the Long Moor to serve him, and there are
detachments both at the quarry and ranging through the Brightwood and
Cabbage Country.
*Kingdom of Karrowzar – Nimthur has an alliance with
this Duergar Kingdom, which is opposed to Glimmerdwell. He sells them
magic items and has promised to assist against the Deep Janeen in the
future, whilst a group of Duergar smiths and Orc slaves work the
Great Forge at the bottom of the lair building him weapons of war.
Plot
Advances
Characters Reach: Plot Advance:
Level
2 Nimthur's
lieutenant, Rakigorn, disguises himself as a human called Robert
and approaches adventurers to try to recruit them to Nimthur's
cause. He will initially claim to represent business interests
who require assistance protecting their investments in the
region and exploiting new opportunities. He initially seeks to
hire adventurers to clear out the Dragon's Tooth, assist another
contractor in retrieving the Shattered Tower's hoard, and
gathering information about elemental activity. If things turn
south, Rakigorn will use Invisibility. He offers 25gp per
adventurer per week, plus assistance with building a Stronghold.
Rakigorn also approaches some of the brigands (not the White
Feathers) in the Brightwood to offer them gifts from Nimthur in
return for their future assistance.
Level
3/4 Nimthur
decides to deal with Palisar himself; if the half-elf is still
besieged, in a fiery battle Nimthur is badly wounded but kills
the Druid. If not, then Palisar escapes to Talon's Height.
Either way, Nimthur then raids the cattle-herds of the Lordship,
carrying off many cattle to
his Lair to feed upon as he rapidly rebuilds his physical
strength, claiming the rights of a liege over the region. He
sends a letter to Lady Jana to demand her obedience, which is of
course refused.
Level
4/5 In
preparation for his final moves, Nimthur leads his Kobolds to take
over the Dragon's Tooth, if it is still independent. He sends
another force, consisting of Broken Pot Goblins and Brightwood
brigands, to thoroughly raid and ravage Puddleton and Cabbage
Country (potentially clashing with Dehazar). Success in either
of these will prevent reinforcement to Talon's Height from that
direction in Nimthur's Plot Advance Finale.
Plot Advance Finale:
Adventurers opposing
Nimthur may hear rumours from any relevant allies that Nimthur is
about to make his move and secure absolute control. They can either
journey to Nimthur's Lair to defeat him there, or await the storm. If
no intervention is staged Nimthur, with his united forces, will
attack the Lordship's capital (which may be ruled by Lady Jana or
Moritz Torrynton, dependent on other events). He intends to teach his
new subjects a hard lesson about refusing to obey him via the
wholesale destruction of the town's buildings and the public
slaughter of its leaders – though he will happily let most
civilians escape.
In the aftermath of
these events, if Nimthur is victorious, he will first rest, before
turning to deal with the Prince Most Magnificent and Glimmerdwell. He
will lead a force himself against the Prince whilst Robert (or
another suitable lieutenant) leads troops to attack Glimmerdwell via
the surface in support for a Karrowzarr thrust from the Underdark.
Interactions
with Other Factions
*Nimthur considers the
Prince Most Magnificent a direct threat, as the nearest creature
similar to his power level. The dragon will ally with those seeking
to keep the Prince imprisoned (including the White Silence), and will
pay to have the Prince banished if he has already escaped.
*Nimthur wants the
Dragon's Tooth sorted out. He is happy for it either to be cleared
out entirely or subverted to his service – the Scale Sorcerer at
the Dragon's Tooth, Krizz, is seeking to achieve the latter but will
fail without assistance.
*Nimthur is unaware of
Torrynton and Dehazar and initially unclear about what to do with
them. Neither of them is interested in an alliance, and so Nimthur
will eventually decide to eliminate them in the course of his attacks
on the Lordship.
*Nimthur will
eventually, when he feels strong enough, seek to overthrow Lady Jana
and replace her, and isn't overly worried about collateral damage
(though he wants something to rule afterwards). He will give her a
chance to offer homage first, however.
*Nimthur is indifferent to the Labyrinthine Council,
though his alliance with the Kingdom of Karrowzar does mean that when
he is stronger he will use his strength to assist in unseating them.
King Targyn
Objectives
Targyn is a remarkable Kobold. He sees his people are
endlessly downtrodden, whether by dragons or by “civilized races”,
and seeks to build his people a home free from the lordship of anyone
else. He has accepted the “civilized” concept of colonization,
and so has declared lordship over an area he considers lawless. He
taxes the Trade Road on the same basis – no-one lives on it, so why
shouldn't he collect dues? (This, of course, is perceived as
banditry.)
He personally is forthright, physically brave, and
fanatically loyal to his people.
Starting
Assets
*Dragon's Tooth Kobolds – Targyn rules over a couple
dozen adult Kobolds including an inventor and a sorcerer, a blue
guard drake, and a pseudodragon. His sorcerer, however, is secretly
in league with Nimthur.
*Weaverfolk – The Kobolds of the Dragon's Tooth have a
trading relationship with the Weaverfolk at the High Lake.
Plot
Advances
Characters Reach: Plot Advance:
Level
2 The
Kobolds open an iron mine near the Dragon's Tooth. Local
foresters report “the little red men” have spread out and a
number of minor (nonlethal) skirmishes occur.
Level
3/4 Krizz
attempts a coup against Targyn at Nimthur's command, leading to a
running battle through the Brightwood near the Dragon's Tooth;
Krizz, his Winged Kobold ally, and three other Kobolds are
killed, but as the story filters out that Targyn has successfully
defied Nimthur, two Kobolds desert from Nimthur to join him, and
the local foresters begin to trade with him if adventurers have
brokered some sort of armistice.
Level
4/5 In
lieu of outside intervention, tensions with foresters flare up and
Targyn begins to forcibly remove all humans in the central
Brightwood – killing them if they resist. Alternatively, if
there has been an armistice brokered between Targyn and Lady
Jana, Ligzazz is sent to make a treaty with her (before Nimthur's
Level 4/5 Plot Advance, if relevant).
Plot Advance Finale:
This depends on a few
factors – particularly whether there is an armistice with Lady Jana
and whether Nimthur has conquered the Dragon's Tooth in the dragon's
Level 4/5 Plot Advance.
If the Dragon's Tooth
remains under Targyn's control but there is no armistice, Targyn will
wait til the next batch of eggs grows to maturity (in just a few
months) and then push militarily against either Nimthur or Lady Jana,
depending upon which seems to present the most threat.
If the Dragon's Tooth
remains under Targyn control but there is an armistice, Targyn will
ally formally with Lady Jana against any obvious opponents,
especially Nimthur.
If the Dragon's Tooth
is conquered without an armistice in place, the few survivors who do
not surrender will be hunted down in the Brightwood.
If the Dragon's Tooth
is conquered with an armistice in place, the survivors, led by
Ligzazz, will flee to Talon's Height and be permitted to settle by
Lady Jana.
Interactions
with Other Factions
*Targyn
opposes Nimthur wholeheartedly, having rejected demands from Rakigorn
to submit to the blue dragon. He will ally with those who want to
take Nimthur down, to point of sending his bravest Kobolds with them
to fight if requested.
*Targyn
is unaware of Torrynton and Dehazar, and will remain largely
indifferent to them unless they directly threaten him and his people.
*Targyn is unaware of the Prince Most Magnificent, but
will recognize some sort of purpose behind fire elemental activity in
the Brightwood. He will naturally oppose this expansionism
vigorously.
*Targyn is unaware of the Labyrinthine Council, and
would consider them too far away to worry too much about.
*Targyn sees Lady Jana as a potential threat, but does
not desire direct conflict (though his actions on the Trade Road and
Brightwood might precipitate it). He will fight her tooth and nail to
protect what he sees as his people's rights, but will equally
consider any reasonable deal or alliance with her.
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