Homebrewed adventures in Clusters or Islands?

[Solan]

So I'm curious: Who here has devised and run an adventure which took place in a Cluster or Island of Terror? What was the basic outline of that adventure, how did it go, and how did the players like it?

[IanFordam]

I have run adventures set on Liffe (which is not technically an Island of Terror, but it is an island, at least) and in Souragne. I prefer campaigns which are decidedly non-epic, so most of these adventures were little mysteries. Who shipped a crate full of body parts from Graben Island? Why is the dead girl hanging around her best friend's house?

To get a more detailed taste of the sorts of adventures I create, see Quoth the Raven 29 and 30. "The Return of Diosamblet" is set upon Markovia. "Red Like Copper" takes place in Sanguinia. Pharazia is the setting for "Sand and Stone".

As far as official adventures go, I have also run a heavily modified version of Circle of Darkness. Initially my players struggled with the utter grimness of G'Henna, but they engaged with the setting as they learned that decency can still survive there.

[Solan]

Thanks, Fordam; I was afraid no one was going to respond! What were your modifications to "Circle of Darkness"? And did your adventure have you fighting Pharzia's Dark Lord?

[Rock of the Fraternity]

I ran an adventure in Souragne, once. I ... failed to keep it going, but for a while it was pretty fun. I introduced elements from the Wheel of Time to a scenario where Souragne was in the grip of an unnatural drought, which threatened to release plague from the swamps, and both a new and an old Loa were making themselves known.

[IanFordam]

Thanks, Fordam; I was afraid no one was going to respond! What were your modifications to "Circle of Darkness"? And did your adventure have you fighting Pharzia's Dark Lord?

I expanded the Jackal's Run, Dervich, and the Fertile Valley based upon some of the juicy tidbits mentioned in Circle of Darkness, and then I created a lengthy side quest to encourage the party to go encounter what I had developed. The most important result of this side quest was introducing the party to various NPCs who would recur during the showdown with Malistroi at the end.

As for my Pharazian adventure, Diamabel doesn't even make an appearance. For any given domain my personal preference is to focus upon events which are not directly related to the darklord. If the PCs hang around the domain long enough, then of course they will have to deal with the darklord (or perhaps the darklord will have to deal with them), but I prefer not to start there.

Others' mileage may vary.

[Solan]

Fordam, I've always admired the structure of the "Circle of Darkness" adventure; how did it go in practice? Which ending did you use?

Also, I agree with you that PC's should usually concern themselves with lesser matters than the Dark Lord, which makes it all the more exciting and suspenseful on those rare occasions where they do come up directly against a Dark Lord's plot.

[IanFordam]

Fordam, I've always admired the structure of the "Circle of Darkness" adventure; how did it go in practice? Which ending did you use?

I decided that the ending would depend upon who held the Talisman. If Malistroi acquired it, then the fiend would emerge triumphant. If the party gave the Talisman to Yagno Petrovna, then he would remain the darklord (assuming that the party and their allies were able to defeat Malistroi in combat). However, if the party yielded the Talisman to neither Malistroi nor Petrovna, then there was the opportunity to destroy both fiend and darklord alike, thus releasing G'Henna from the Land of Mists.

Unfortunately I pushed too hard for the party to choose between Malistroi and Petrovna, and they never realized that there was a third possibility. At least they recognized that the people of G'Henna would suffer even worse under Malistroi, and they gave the Talisman to Petrovna.

Also, I agree with you that PC's should usually concern themselves with lesser matters than the Dark Lord, which makes it all the more exciting and suspenseful on those rare occasions where they do come up directly against a Dark Lord's plot.

Exactly!

[Solan]

Fordam, I've always admired the structure of the "Circle of Darkness" adventure; how did it go in practice? Which ending did you use?

I decided that the ending would depend upon who held the Talisman. If Malistroi acquired it, then the fiend would emerge triumphant. If the party gave the Talisman to Yagno Petrovna, then he would remain the darklord (assuming that the party and their allies were able to defeat Malistroi in combat). However, if the party yielded the Talisman to neither Malistroi nor Petrovna, then there was the opportunity to destroy both fiend and darklord alike, thus releasing G'Henna from the Land of Mists.

Unfortunately I pushed too hard for the party to choose between Malistroi and Petrovna, and they never realized that there was a third possibility. At least they recognized that the people of G'Henna would suffer even worse under Malistroi, and they gave the Talisman to Petrovna.

Also, I agree with you that PC's should usually concern themselves with lesser matters than the Dark Lord, which makes it all the more exciting and suspenseful on those rare occasions where they do come up directly against a Dark Lord's plot.

Exactly!

Yes, players are deeply mystifying; sometimes they do things you'd never expect, while other times they don't seem to see what you're putting right in front of them!

[IanFordam]

Yes, players are deeply mystifying; sometimes they do things you'd never expect, while other times they don't seem to see what you're putting right in front of them!

To be fair to my players, in this case the fault is at least as much my fault as theirs. I made the choice seem binary, not open-ended.

In most cases, though, yes, players are deeply mystifying.