My layout so far is to start with the Treasure Hunt module (N4). 0-level characters; 6 + Con bonus starting hp (-1d3 for "incidental damage" at the hands of the slavers); abilities determined by rolls, points buy, or background/story-backed. Players choose rules edition but I am hoping either Basic or 1E. Setting is going to be piecemeal, as I'll explain a little later on.
My first mission (that I just started yesterday) is to take Treasure Hunt and essentially re-write it (for a fresh old feel), leaving just the skeleton of its plot intact. My players are all older and grizzled veterans (game and life) so it'll have an R-rating. I'll tone my ideas down here out of respect for the all ages aspect of this site. Quick example: Melisana will be raped before the PC's eyes while they are shackled and en-route to an unnamed pirate stronghold in the Korinn Archipelago. This will be for plot purposes as she will, hopefully, become a major NPC for the PCs in their future adventures. Instead of being the daughter of the merchant guildmaster Melkeras of Ventris, she is now the daughter of a yet-to-be-determined member of the Captain's Council of Freeport. And her rape will lead to a pregnancy, which will lead to thunderous outrage and perhaps even outright war of retaliation (should she be returned to her doting and extremely grateful father/mother). In other words an opportunity for the PCs to become privateers, bounty hunters, fledgling politicians, body guards, Solomon Kanes, etc...there is a lot of pull to be had by a member of the Captain's Council! It's a potential reason to keep visiting Melisana/Freeport (and possibly make it their new home/source of adventure). Two decades later (the loose outline I have of the campaign itself) the son/daughter could act as anchor for a next generation party of adventurers. Etc. Plus, it better paints the slavers for what they really are, and what they really do. I'm secretly hoping for a love interest to throw into the mix too. That'd be a nice layer to help paint and watch grow..
Some other changes that I'm working on are:
- Keestake will still be a treacherous old bastard, but now he is also a very faithful servant to the "Goddess", who herself is going to be changed to the daughter of Set (or a Set-like god). She will manipulate the PCs (come off as the Goddess as originally presented in the module, for the most part) in wiping the island clean of taint, essentially desecrating it, as Viledel is a former paladin whose will was great enough to survive Death itself (that was dealt to him by Keestake 60 years prior) and his presence (and that of his wife) is just enough to keep the cult followers of Lady Set (Robert E. Howard's Serpent Men) from establishing a foothold on the generally forgotten island (that is sacred to the ancient world of Serpent Men). The destruction of which will be an extremely powerful illusion to throw off the PCs, slavers, orc and goblin raiders, etc. The Serpent Men, under illusion of Man, have already been hard at work systematically removing all references to the island from the pages of history...
- Prince Horedel's small galley will be changed to a small sailing ship, and will be the PC's ticket to adventure. Hopefully. And on board that ship is the ship's log that will reveal the incomplete map of the Isle of Dread and the legend surrounding it...module #2. Now whether the PCs sail straight there or bring a presumably alive Melisana to her family and home in Freeport before resupplying the ship is, of course and as always, up to the PCs.
- Misfortune at sea, at a later date, will strand them in Vorostokov for a spell (the module Dark of the Moon)...
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Back to Treasure Hunt.
- The Manor of the Sea King and its barracks won't be the only other locations to explore on the island outside of the Temple of the Goddess. I want to build then deconstruct a proper small city (known as "the Old City" in the module), whose now long-fouled well leads to "catacombs" below that will hint at a very ancient and alien civilisation (and obviously contain some wicked encounters for the PCs). Thinking about either having the town turn into a literal ghost town at night (scenes and inhabitants depicted at various points throughout its short history), a town of ghouls (Keestake's attempt at keeping unwanted visitors away and the original home of the ghoul hanging out in the Temple's chimney; Viledel and his wife have slain those that had strayed onto the manor grounds), or something in-between. I'm definitely open to ideas...
Before I go any further with the changes I am planning on making to the module, is anybody here familiar with it? Do you have any cool twists that I could borrow? I've provided the basics of my changes (Snake Man cult worshippers of the daughter of Set that are planning on infiltrating humanity for purposes of rule/control being the overarching campaign), so do you have any plays off that? What changes would YOU like to see the module (any of the three that I've mentioned above)?
Other ideas I have brewing:
- The construction of seven giant "Hell's Bells" towers, scattered at key points throughout the world, whose silent tolling (vibration) is both a calling to Serpent Men and, once complete, a synchronised global incantation for the summoning of Set's Daughter to physically enter and rule/reclaim the world (a gift from her father). This should be, essentially, a race against the clock (from a bird's eye view of the campaign) for the PCs. Failure to stop the construction of the towers or the worldly summoning of Set's Daughter will not be the end of the campaign, but it will turn almost post apocalyptic as the world magically accelerates into a Dark Sun/Athas sort of environment/decay...
- Key Quest/Legendary Items/Gifts from the Gods of Light:
They're barebones right now and not all of them. I would like six or seven with a few that I plan on destroying as I demoralise the players/PCs haha
1. A magical staff that doubles the magical abilities of its wielder and acts as a grimoire/library of spells, accessible through mindlink, and capable of granting access to any spell that it has already absorbed and kept powered-up/recharged; as long as its wielder has access to the spell level then they can cast ALL of that level's spells. Once. Not decided on how far I want to push this but its meant to combat the gods themselves, when in the "right" hands. It absorbs the magic potential from foes slain in wizard duels, and uses this energy to recharge its spellbanks/slots (leeches spells its defeated foe knew in life and replaces any vacancies within itself). Excess spells absorbed this way heals the wielder/conduit. Possibly constructed from a piece of Yggdrasill (!).
2. A javelin of Ice (returning). Vaporises Serpent Men. Possibly a bone (femur, humerus?) of Ymir himself.
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