After a lot of time to think (we do not play in summer), here’s my plan so far, talking many of you guys (Rotifer, shadehawk, Deepshadow, Garudos mainly, and the others) ideas and adding of course my twists.
Recap of the campaign so far:
December 5th, 747 The heroes decide to destroy Nathan because he infected two PCs. VR sends a message to George Weathermay in Nova Vaasa:
Dear George,
We plan to go after N’s groom soon. We’ll be with some adventurers who have good reasons to get him out of the way - the moon. They think they saw N too. Meet us at the Golden Field Inn in Karina around December 22nd, or send us a message if you can’t be there.
Regards,
RVR
The next ten days are spent quietly learning spells.
December 18th, 747 - The heroes leave Mordentshire, and arrive in Karina December 23rd.
What are my plans: (a summary only of this killer scenario (IMHO), got other details to thrown in it)
Day of their arrival in Karina: mandatory Maloccio and Invidia update post Evil Eye
2 days after their arrival : They get a message from GWF in Mordent
Dear Friends,
L has vanished! I think she was kidnapped in the garden behind our house, the morning after the day your departure. I will continue my inquiry here and wait for eventual instructions. I am very worrying.
GWF
DM info : werewolves (or their agents) intercepted and devoured the messenger sent for George W.
First, It means George won’t be there to help.
Second, Natalia had plenty of time to send four werewolves to kidnap GWF. But they kidnapped Laurie instead! The werewolves brought her to Karina as a bargain chip against VR and the heroes.
3 days after their arrival in Karina. They get another message, this time unsigned (it’s from Natalia). There is a finger joined to it (it’s from a cadaver, not LWF).
Quit this city or you will never see your sweet and tender Gennifer again.
VR and/or the PCs will then surely note the confusion between Laurie and Gennifer, and then choose to find Laurie and rescue her. “we can’t trust this message and they will kill her after we leave Karina. who did it?”
Gather info to find Laurie – open possibilities: Scar Tabor, Keith Delalune, or Matton (but Matton isn’t there, Evil Eye just finished a few weeks ago and his is still nurturing Gabrielle).
This night, when a PC is alone (if not, then it’s VR who will get kidnapped)!
Gather info again. Their sources (whoever) will tell them “important prisoners are held by Falkovnians in Karina. But they are not held in the Falkovnian prison, but in a butcherhouse near the Falkovnian enclave. They are not official prisoners. It seems like the Falkovnians are helping some of their underground friends.” Players will guess it’s probably them.
The butcherhouse has only one access, in a shadowy back alley. There is light inside, with people moving. And one guard at the door outside.
The trouble is to get to the guard and silence him before he alarms the others inside.
Then they might get surprising help. The Midnight Slasher (that the heroes met recently in Evil Eye), will silently take care of that guard, from the roof! (a garot or whatever)
She will wave at the players to approach the butcherhouse. “The girl was moved from here an hour ago, but your friend is still held captive here. She was put on the Virago, and the boat left for the western direction an hour ago.” Then the MS leave the place.
The heroes attack the butcher house, to find 4 guards inside, one of them being a werewolf. Their friend is kept in one of the coldroom.
Battle – (one werewolf, One F officer, two soldier)/ possible alarm / rescue…
Their friend (be it a hero or VR) can say the following:
- Laurie seemed fine, and was here until an hour ago when she was taken away by three guards.
- Her jailors think she is Gennifer! She never said otherwise.
- What is worse is that a few hours ago, Natalia Vorishkova came to the butcherhouse and teased “Gennifer”. While they were in their cell, Natalia taunts the captive players and “Gennifer” with the knowledge of Gennifer’s infection and says that she will trigger Gennifer's transformation that night!
At this point, they run into the real Gennifer in Karina. She is armed and angry and prepared to save her sister.
They take a boat and follow it west. After half a day, they see the Virago on the shore, empty. They are now in Verbrek. They follow traces to a ruined monastery located near the half of a 200’ steep mountain side.
Only three buildings are standing. None of them have doors, and they are near crumbling.
Observing the area, they will see a large number of werewolves (two werewolves per hero). After half a day, all the werewolves except 3 leave for the woods (possibly to hunt or whatever) – it’s now or never to attack!
Laurie is kept chained inside an abandoned house.
Battle / Rescue attempt.
Then after a few round of battle, Natalia appear with “Gennifer”. She let her go and “Gennifer” runs toward the heroes. Natalia then threatens the heroes: “And I make your sweet Gennifer turn to a werewolf under my control, what will you do?”
Rotipher’ idea, but with Deepshadow's identity twist:
Ever since I re-read VRGtWerebeasts a few years ago, I've thought it'd be the perfect irony if Gennifer -- in the course of her own monster-hunts, and unbeknownst to Natalia -- had actually gotten herself re-infected by some other breed of lycanthrope ... preferably, one that can rip Natalia's were-form to shreds. According to Van Richten's theories, this means she'd retain her original trigger, yet express the phenotype of her second lycanthropic progenitor.
I just can't get the picture out of my head: Natalia, mocking and laughing at her hapless human foes, cruelly reveals she can smell the were-taint in Gennifer, and gives the Weathermays one minute to choose before their dear Genny transforms into a monster under Natalia's control. The PCs are caught up in the dilemma, along with the aghast NPC heroes. Just as Gennifer is about to settle the issue by forcing her family to kill her, that twisted b**ch Natalia chirps, "Time's up!", and triggers Gennifer's curse, at long last. Borne down by the agony of her transformation, Gennifer falls behind some furniture, out of view in the shadows, while Natalia laughs at what's coming...
...only to have a freakin' tiger -- several times her own weight, ticked off, and entirely exempt from her (lupine) Progeny Control's influence -- pounce on her out of the darkness.
What could offer more poetic justice than to see the werewolf who'd targeted Van Richten for his blabbing of werebeasts' secrets taken down, because she'd never actually bothered to read what his books have to say? Sure, it still leaves Gennifer in a bind ... but it wouldn't hurt to let her remind a few uppity werewolves that wolves aren't always the uncontested archpredators of their ecosystems, the Wolf God's rantings to the contrary.
So Natalia makes her control progeny ability in action, but it’s not “Gennifer” who changes, it’s the real Gennifer! And she changes to a weretiger, as per Rotifer’s genius idea, running after Natalia in the woods!
But before they leaves, here’s Nathan back and angry! Now’s the heroes chance to get his fur on a pike.
And then, since they are in Verbrek, they could be hunted by Alfred’s guys until they are safe in the boat?
Aftermath: I’d probably manage to have Natalia able to flee (in game reason: may be Nathan gets in the middle at this moment to protect Natalia?; DM reason: I’d like to make her a recurrent villain).
But that would probably mean an exile for Gennifer? Or she would join uncle George in Natalia’s hunt?
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Still time to comment / suggest / criticize!
Joël
Come on, imagine this whole giant massacre with countless Werewolves bashing about, and you just see the bard sitting up on a high rock clapping his hands at the show.