It's The Jump-Off...!

[Garnet FalconDance]

Millcreek Village (in the Tradeway) has been deserted - or decimated - except for the chickens. It fairly begs to be investigated and perhaps vengeance wrought.

The beach-contact home at the edge of the Village, if properly searched by a worthy adventurer, might yield a surprise, as well.

Since the Trollbark Trolls population seems to be increasing nearer and nearer to Waterdeep itself, something obviously has occured the good citizens should be warned about...... and heros sent out questing to bring an end to the abomination!

(Notice I'm not offering any concrete suggestions since Z may very well have the area completely worked out already.)

[Mozenwrathe]

Title:

And That's Where I Left It... (part of the Undead Isles series of events)


Author(s):

Garnet FalconDance and Mozenwrathe


Region Located:

The Undead Isles, The Yawning Portal Inn, one of the new taverns opening up


Concept:

Typical "call and response" quest, where you get the quest, you find the object, you bring it back for points on your "Undermountain Express Card." Of course, part of the problem is where the item is located. Another problem is what the object is supposed to be. And third problem is... where the blasted trinket is located. I mean, how does a CLERIC lose an artifact of that nature in the middle of a bunch of undead?! Secondly, what the heck was Miltiades doing outside of the inn anyway? Didn't he just pop into existence when Durnan built the inn? As well, what in the name of Mystra is stopping the old guy from getting it himself? Or sending some other follower of Tyr in to pick it up. It's not as if there's something waiting just for him, right? Oh, snap, there IS something there waiting for him, specificially. Okay, forget what I said - just go in and get the dang thing for him. Try not to mention his name when you do it...

As for the OTHER person involved, somehow you suspect something is up with them. I mean, what are the chances that two people could have lost something powerful to the same creature outside of the Undermountain? Okay, aside from dragons, powerful wizards, and the local constibulary. But why that creature? And what is it really that this second person wants with the item if and when you get it back for them?


Storyline:

When talking to Miltiades, you notice he has a certain wistful look in his eye. Being an adventurer, you inquire about what is wrong. He goes into a tale of when he was much younger (probably before the birth of Waterdeep at HIS age) how he was attempting to clear the Undead Isles of the Damned and the Doomed. A valiant attempt, he and his allies were mostly successful until they went out to one of the southern penninsulas of the Isle itself. Finding what they thought was merely an abandoned caravan wagon, they went inside to investigate. What they found, however, almost drove the majority of them completely insane. His best friend was just shy of slain, and the remainder of them beat a hasty retreat. The creature that they faced was not only powerful, but could drag the memories from their heads and use it against them. Still, Miltiades did the one thing he could to save them all - hurled his Blessed Holy Symbol Of Tyr coated in holy water at the abominable creation in order to buy them time. And buy them time it did, but at a terrible cost: the creature now waits for Miltiades' return in order to finish the job it started. Now Miltiades wishes for you to get the item back for him. For any cleric that does it, he has something extra for them as a reward.

If you roam around Waterdeep a little more, there are a few other inns and taverns you can go into. One of them will feature a rather comely young woman drinking herself into oblivion. Upon approach, you'll see despite her youth she has a rather battle hardened look to her. If you enquire as to "her story" from the bartender, he'll tell you about how her friends went questing in the Undead Isles (Mistake #1) without a cleric amongst them (Mistake #2) and tried to break into an abandoned gypsy caravan (Mistakes #3, #4, AND #5). They returned somehow, but were not the same since. In order to leave (which is where you get very suspicious) they were told to leave behind something important to each of them. The first of the five companions left behind a powerful sword which he had saved for years to purchase. The second and third of the companions left behind their spellbooks, based on over a decade of research. The fourth of the five abandoned his circlet, custom-made for him by his patrons. And the fifth... left behind the young woman's violin. How he had it in his possession is another tale, but they were allowed to go free. That was less than two weeks ago. All of them have vanished from the streets of Waterdeep since then, and it's strongly suspected they were all lured back to the Undead Isle. What is more disturbing is that no seafaring merchant recalls giving them passage back to the Isle to begin with. Perhaps if the adventurers could go to the Isle (a risky venture indeed) and find out for the woman the fate of her friends and her violin?


Level Requirements:

something epic would be highly advised. a party going there successfully would have at least one of each of the following: a bard, a rogue, and a cleric.


Alignment Kicks:

Success would send the party members towards Lawful Good (for Miltiades' quest) and Good (for the second quest). Evil characters can always do certain other quests to snap them back to the land of wickedness. If scripted in a certain way, you could give one response upon completion to get the good or lawful good kicks, and demand a cash reward instead in order to remain neutral. Evil quests will be coming from my brain sooner or later, don't worry.


Creatures Involved:

- all the variant skeletal creatures on the Undead Isles
- more vampires, awakened vampires, vampire mages, vampire priests
- all the variant zombie creatures on the Undead Isles
- awakened vampire mages, awakened vampire priests, awakened vampire assassins (yes, brand NEW!)
- braineater troll zombies, fleshrender ogre zombies, howling orc horde undead
- new revenant types more powerful than before


Boss Creatures Involved:

Can't actually mention here, but I can tell you I would be visiting a few websites in order to get the right information for them. By the way, if you haven't guessed yet, the gypsy caravan wagon is "larger within" than on the outside. I can't mention why that is, either, but most with a lot of AD&D experience will realize what's happened within minutes of facing against their new foes.


Items To Be Acquired:

- two new [ set ] items lurking somewhere within the caravan wagon...
- three magical keys, two of which shall be on the creatures you have to face
- Miltiades' Blessed Holy Symbol Of Tyr and Wondrous Violin Of The Mistress Of Song
- two spellbooks, one circlet, one magical greatsword
- (at least) four very unlucky and foolish adventurers if they are still alive
- one very interesting ring...


Notes On This Jump-Off:

Not the best idea I have had, but I really like this one. It would be incorporating a few different concepts I have had in my head. One of them will be revisited in another Jump-Off idea. This was borne while on the Undead Isle with Garnet FalconDance. The four items of the friends I am not sure if they'd be useable or not. I'd prefer if they weren't if there was no way to gain evil points on this quest. If it was possible to earn evil points (not giving items back, slaying the companions, doing profane things to the Holy Symbol, swearing allegiance to whatever is within the caravan wagon, et cetera) then it'd be fine for all those items to be useable by the player characters. It would be important for the players to note how all those who went into this caravan wagon were MALE, so it would give them some idea of what they would have to do or face.

[Garnet FalconDance]

I cannot take credit for (and do not wish to detract from) the brilliance of Moz's ideas . All I do is say, "this would be a good spot for ....." and he goes off into Creative Mode to dream up all sorts of diabolically delicious quest ideas .

I must say, I like this last one even more than the others!

Poor Z, at this rate, he'll either have to gather a stable of coders or stop sleeping that single hour he manages to get now when he's not working on EfU and real life!

[Mozenwrathe]

Garnet FalconDance said something very nice about me recently. It was touching in a sweet and completely non-lecherous fashion... I cannot take credit for (and do not wish to detract from) the brilliance of Moz's ideas . All I do is say, "this would be a good spot for ....." and he goes off into Creative Mode to dream up all sorts of diabolically delicious quest ideas . I must say, I like this last one even more than the others! Poor Z, at this rate, he'll either have to gather a stable of coders or stop sleeping that single hour he manages to get now when he's not working on EfU and real life!

*blushes quite a bit*
thank you for the compliment, but if it wasn't for you, for RTB, for everyone who points out these locales, I wouldn't even consider them half of the time. I tend to look for the glaringly obvious, and manage to overlook perfectly good spot. Now, I have to thank toot033 for sending me some absolutely AWESOME concepts. I'll start posting them out starting with this message. Please remember the main idea for this one is all theirs. I never come up with fantastic and yet subtle ideas like this one. Unlike the other setups, however, I will need to post some haardcore details with some of the creatures. (In short, you'd know what was coming... sort of.) What few embellishments I put on here are all thanks to toot033.


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Concept For A Jump-Off #2, by toot033 (embellishments by yours truly.)

Title: I'm Lost


Region Located: Level Nine (The Underground Caverns)


Storyline Involved:

At the exit to Level Nine going to Level Ten, you must save the lone baby bronze dragon from death from the other dragons. After healing the wyrmling bronze, he will say he is lost and if you take him back to his family his Mommy will give you a nice reward. The truth is this is all a deception. The baby dragon is an undead mind flayer (alhoon) who is trying to take over the level. You will eventually have to take him back to the upper left section of the map. There will be a few new encounters which will happen on the way back, so be prepared. He will say you are so good and powerful, et cetera. (Yes, that wyrmling knows how to stroke an ego, don't he?)

Eventually, you will get to his lair. In a transition area, he will drop his illusion and say look my brethren more additions to our army. Between four and ten more alhoons will show up, along with suitable "shock troops." During this debacle, you will notice a singular bronze dragon trapped within a crystal. (It is the source of light within the area.) If the players are smart and break the crystal first, a real baby bronze dragon will pop up, wailing piteously for its parents. A pair of a greater bronze dragons (who would be a match for the singular force of the red dragon on the level already) come to even the odds leaving the main mind flayer to you. Once defeating him and any stragglers (he should be tough enough to engage multiple characters) there will be some nice rewards from him (sorcerer stuff would be nice) and some nice things from the parents for saving their little Woobie and some chatter of getting him a drow balloon etc. This quest will shift you towards Good.


Creatures Involved:

- undead duergar cleric, rogues, and fighters
- undead derro sorcerers, mages, and assassins
- undead drow assassins, mages, clerics, and fighters
- "regular" alhoons (undead illithids with high wizard/sorcerer levels)
- "blasphemer" alhoons (undead illithids with high cleric levels)


Boss Creature:

- greater alhoon archmage

[toot033]

Thanks Moz.. Blushes

[Mozenwrathe]

This is another idea sent to me by toot033 and afterwards embellished upon. This one I am going to try to fill in a few more details on, as it seems a highly plausible Jump-Off point, and unlike most of my concepts, it is a mutliregional quest.

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Title:

Lost In Translation


Author:

toot033 (embellished upon by Mozenwrathe)


Regions Located:

Skullport, Level Four (The Crypts), and Level Six (The Undersewers)


Concepts Involved:

Well, we all know how Ben Sisko wanted you to take out Lester for him. Now that you have, what do you do next?


Storyline To Get You Going:

After slaying Lester for Ben Sisko's quest inside of Skullport, you normally have the option of giving Lester's book of recruitment to Ben as well. As Ben tries to open the book, he realizes that the entire tome is in code. In order to read it, he is going to need that "mouth" rumoured about a few times over. The problem for Ben is that he figures Lester or one of his henchmen stashed it somewhere on Level Six. As all of Ben's faction are dead (thanks to your efforts), you'll have to go and hunt this "mouth" down the hard way. Now Ben's not a stupid man - he's already figured that this "mouth" is actually a person. Maybe a mage, maybe a sorcerer, perhaps just some number running mule Lester suckered into working for him? Who knows, and who really cares. You just have to drag their sorry carcass back to Ben - alive.

Yes, you heard that right folks. Alive.

No killing them and lugging their body around, either. That just won't cut it this time. You'll have to go down to Level Six, find this stoolie, and "escort" them back to Skullport without getting them killed - or killing them yourselves. Ben, being one to prepare for all sorts of things, has a way around this. He'll give you an item (One shot usage, only for this quest) which will turn this "mouth" into doll-size so you can stash them in your backpack (which I hope isn't too crowded) to get them back up to his office. How he's prepared for such an event you don't really want to get into. (If possible, this event should be timed so that the character's can't lolligag through the level in order to gain extra XP for facing other creatures. If the server resets, the "doll" will be removed from your backpack and you'll have to start again.) If you run out of time, the "mouth" will return to normal size and will be fairly upset. You'll have to find some way to convince them to come with you, and scaring them might be a little difficult...

Now, it gets better. You see, the "mouth" is well guarded. They'll have plenty of Guild Thieves, Assassins, and Bullies around them to keep them safe from harm or kidnapping. What's worse is that if enough of the Guild Members are slain, the remaining ones WILL try to kill the "mouth" in order to protect the Guild's secrets. (Not good, REALLY not good.) Meaning you'll need to get to as close to the "mouth" as possible and slay the guards going away from them. You should also have quite a few healing packages handy, in case you screw up. If you play your cards right, they may walk with you willingly. And to be honest, they aren't that bad in combat. Still, you want them alive and well, not dead and stinking. Dead and stinking equals no rewards from Ben. Heck, he may even throw you out of Skullport if you do THAT bad of a job...


Creatures Trying To Eat Your Face:

- everything normally found on Levels Four and Six


Levels Of Capability Recommended:

- I'd strongly suggest just under pre-epic to epic levels for your characters. They won't be needed, but if you are going to attempt it solo, then you'd want the extra fire power. Best suited to those in a party, as one person may want to do all the talking while the rest do all the fighting. Skills will not be required, but they will reap you better rewards.


Really Angry And Powerful Creatures Looking To Roast Your Rear For Dinner:

-just the small army of Guild Members on Level Six looking to skin you alive. Oh, ignore the three half-orc Guild Bullies with the Clubs Of Terrible Beaning. They won't hurt you. Oh wait a second, yes they will. And they'll enjoy it immensely.

[Mozenwrathe]

Title:

The Collection Agency Awaits Thee


Authors:

Garnet FalconDance, Dace De'Briago, roddybug, RobertTheBard, T-D-C, and Mozenwrathe


Level Requirements:

Any and all, just try not to perish while doing the jobs. Epic levels may be recommended to retrieve certain items, but not always necessary. Some enemies may be a lot freakin' harder than they appear, so be warned ahead of time. Dragons don't count. Relatives of dragon's don't count either.


Concept:

Well, with all those various sets located around the module, there has to be SOMEONE looking for them, right? Not all of them are especially powerful, but there must be a person (or organization) somewhere that has invested interest in them. This has been a concept in my mind for a long while, but seeing a few players actively theme characters around various items and sets kicked this concept back into high gear. Now these are more quests than Jump-Off points, but new areas may be arriving very soon (such as stores and taverns) which would give PCs more places to sell, trade, or give these away.

Now, some of these ideas within the main concept might be a little harder to implement than others. I realize that. I just have this insane need to be creative and if I don't more often I'll hate myself more than I do. So bear with me for a while and see if some of these possible plotlines appeal to you.

Please note, for you to complete ANY of these quests you would have to have the complete set. Does it matter when you have these items? Not really - just have them all at the same place at the same time. Each of these would be once per server reset. It makes it more believable if naught else. The scripts would be set to remove all the copies of the item from your inventory. That is for both believability and to make players think seriously about what they are losing out on. Yes, there would be brand new items coming out of SOME of these. The prizes would depend purely on the quest you were finishing.


Areas Located:

As you might have guessed, this particular series takes you all over the (current) map of the module. I won't go any farther than this at the moment, however. Quite a few of these would take you into the (currently unstocked) taverns and saloons within Waterdeep and Skullport. As well, one of these quest ideas would take you all the way down to The Drow City first before it even began.


Storyline(s) Available:

1) Moander's True Champion -

This quest would start off in a brand new section of Level Ten. Unlike the Lizardman Army Deserter within the Trollbark Dungeons, this lizardman you would be meeting would be of a far different mindset. Sure, he doesn't want you dead, but he isn't pleading to you either. This one (in the same vein as a drow highborn lady) demands you to return to him the items of Moander. Saying he is "no common lizardman, but a true descendent of the saurials of ancient times," he'll state his case using gold and the promise of a powerful item. Items you would need to retrieve (I know of so far) would be these: Armour of Moander, Rod Of Moander, Holy Symbol of Moander, Bastard Sword of Moander, Boots of Moander, and the Helm of Moander. Upon completion of the quest, the lizardman would transform into a more powerful looking lizardman. Bowing to you solemnly, he would give you your rewards without question and disappear.

Completing this quest pushes you towards Neutral Evil. He would also give you a token which if shown to the right person (found on another level) would gain you a brand new henchman. Taking on the henchman would ALSO push you towards Neutral Evil, so be warned.

2) It Takes A Thief (Or A Few Of Them) -

Technically this is an easier quest than the first. The problems would be first finding the person (or in this case, "representative of a free-market society") who wants this collection, then bringing them all back to said person (who would be in a completely different location inside of Waterdeep) without the City Watch finding out about this. Oh, did I mention there'll be two different organizations looking for these? No? Oh dear, I should also tell you that if you sell it to the "wrong" group of people, the other association will send assassins to kill you. (Complete with Disarming Attacks, Knockdowns, and Hiding In Plain Sight.) The items you'll be needing this time around are the Ring of the Hidden, the Shadow Dagger, the Bracers of Darkness, the Boots of Shadow, and the Armor of Shadows, not to mention the Shadow Lockpick Tools.

Completing this quest pushes you towards Chaotic Evil if you sell it to the wrong people, and doesn't move you at all if you sell it to the right people. There'll be clues as to whom you should actually cough up the goods to throughout the conversations you can have with both parties. I would advise people with high skills in Bluff, Persuade, and Intimidation do all the talking. Really and truly I would... And for goodness sakes, DON'T SEND THE PALADIN!

3) A CATastrophy In The Making -

One of the new vendors inside of Waterdeep is looking for the items created by Choc and Charly. You have no idea where he's coming up with the cash for this treasure hunt, but who cares? With the amounts he's offering, does it really matter that this guy reminds you of... well... a mountain lion? This one will need to be filled in by Ziroc, as I've only seen one item from each set for Choc and Charly, and there's supposed to be more for each.

4) Keeping The Faith -

Okay, one of the new temples within Waterdeep wants to have certain items in their protective care. Some of it is due to the awesome power of those items. Other items bear wickedness within the steel and leather used to create them. Either way, the temple's head clergy wish for any courageous adventurers to bring back to the light what was lost in the darkness. The alignment of the bold souls matters not to the clerics as they believe everyone will be won around to their line of thinking in due time.

Some of the items they would like to see back in their careful hands are Umberlee's Trident of Pain and her Armor of Ice, Tymora's Armour of Luck and Longsword of Luck +7, not to mention anything by Bhodi and Muriel. Each of those sets will have it's own separate "bounty" in place, especially the one for Muriel. They know it may take you a while to find everything, but they have the patience of saints. (They make watching grass grow look like a contact sport.)

Completion of each of these quests will send you a little farther towards Lawful Neutral. Depending on what you are handing in, the step may be a little farther than you think. As far as I know, nobody has found all the items in each of those sets, so once more Ziroc will need to fill us in on what each of those collections DOES in fact entail.

5) All's Well That Ends In The Well -

A young sage (with a lot of gold behind her apparently) would like to bring back a few choice items stolen from a private collection over fifty years ago. She is certain that you will be able to recover these items for her. A few of these items are Shawsaw Rimstym's Shortsword, the Waterdhavian Flail and the Waterdeep Helm of the Ages. A suitable reward will follow for anyone able to find all of what she needs.

6) A Rage Of Mages (Prime Time Edition) -

Remeber Veltsmotisi? Or Mordok? Perhaps the little lady Muriel? Well, there are THREE rival groups of wizards searching for their powerful "left-behinds," one of them being spearheaded by a former student of Khelben Arunsen himself. Only one of these alliances will succeed in acquiring all of these items, and each of them is willing to "loan" some assistance in getting these items back. The moment you get in contact with one of the groups, you will learn immediately of the other two. It is up to the PC to choose which way their conscience will guide them. There are a few unique and rare items each of these groups wants as well, and they'll spare no time telling you this. They also won't spare any expense in getting them back.

Be warned once more: wizards are not a truly sociable subdivision of sentient life. Crossing their paths is dangerous business, but crossing them in a business sense is even more hazardous to one's health. You are guaranteed to have at least one group trying to slay you the moment you finish one of the three subquests, and keeping your new employers alive will be part of the requirements to finish the other two subquests. (id est: kill the fireball-throwin' bastiches before they kill your bread and butter.)

7) The Lady Is Not A Tramp -

This one is a quest that would get you a brand new high level female monk into your party. All you would have to do is get her all the items by Suni and you'd be good to go. Oh, she would need to keep the items with her in order to be part of your entourage. (id est: once she has the items, she keeps them on her person. they cannot be removed from her if you wish her to remain a henchman.) First you would have to meet up with her... inside of The Drow City. Not exactly a place you'd expect to find help, but whatever works. (Yes, she too needs for the player to have a Ring Of Translation on them, but she WON'T be a dark elf.) You'd have to have a very good Persuade or Lore skill in order to convince her to join you. If you don't, she'll simply take the items, give you something to make up for it, and take her leave of you. (At that point and time, she would be hireable as long as she had all the Suni items on her person.)


Monsters And Other Foes To Consider Before Taking These Commisions:

Anything and everything within the Undermountain. As usual. What, you thought that would change because you were on a mission for the church or something? Give it up, already. Hope is dead, here, if what you were dreaming about was a utopia within the Undermountain.


Brand New Things Out For Your Gizzard And Gallstones:

- angry mages of all sorts and specialties
- brand new assassins and shadowdancers
- estate guards
- certain religious zealots who think you need a permanent cleansing...
- brand new trolls (who want Moander's items for themselves... not a good sign)


And What Do You Get Out Of All This Pain And Torment:

Experience points? Yes. Gold? You know it. Brand new items? Only in the case of very generous individuals who want to make sure you don't try to stab them in the back. A knife to the gut? Well, I never said you could trust all the people you are working for here, now did I? A lightning bolt straight through the nostrils? There's a reason they say that dragons and wizards should be left alone to sleep as long as they want.


Notes For The Unwise And Unwary:

- none yet.

[ 01-25-2007, 10:04 PM: Message edited by: Mozenwrathe ]

[Garnet FalconDance]

Level 6 sewers fairly screams out to be a jump-off for something. Roman was exploring a couple of days ago and found a couple places that would be excellent questing or entrance/egress spots.

[toot033]

I had a few more fun ideas for lvl 11 and Murial's area. When you go to the ice cave, and you search the sacrifice any and all priestess you kill will be resurrected BUT will be 2 levels higher ( and there will be a VERY nice item on the body maybe using a lesser script from the proving grounds.. How much will power do you have). In Murial's area how about having to smash the statues and the chair to weaken the lich. ( granted they won't break easily and will not go down with out a fight ( IGM, Weird etc) but when all are broken he will be a mere shell of himself).

[Mozenwrathe]

Originally posted by Garnet FalconDance, whom I thank for many of the ideas I have posted in this thread: Level 6 sewers fairly screams out to be a jump-off for something. Roman was exploring a couple of days ago and found a couple places that would be excellent questing or entrance/egress spots. And thank you very much for spending the time to show them to me! *grins*

Okay, this is where I get out of the car and start walking. You see, I originally had a post on January 10th where I had come up with this great set of ideas for the Waterdeep Sewers. Since that is impossible due to Ziroc already sharpening his pencils and drawing in Brand New Goodness(tm) for those areas, I posted that I would move the idea down to Levels Six and Seven. The way those two levels are designed, Jump-Off points and quest areas are more than bountiful. One of my issues was that one of my concepts was so large it would require yet another sublevel of sewers just to hold it. So, I have moved the entire post from where it was before to here because of massive renaming, revisions, and additions. I hope you like what new ideas have come to mind because of this.


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Title:

More To See Than You Actually See


Creative Director and Main Writer:

Mozenwrathe


Authors and Contributors:

Garnet FalconDance, toot033, T-D-C, Roddybug, Unglaublich Verwustung, StigTC, StormShadow, RobertTheBard, Garnet FalconDance, Dace De'Briago, and Wellard.


Region Located:

Levels Six and Seven within the Undermountain itself.


Concept:

This is a compilation of quite a few ideas, postulations, and previously listed dreams and desires. If naught else, some of the ideas originally focusing on the Waterdeep sewers have found there way here. As well, there are a few things within Levels Six and Seven which I have no concrete answer for. If there is already something on the way, I welcome it. If there isn't, Ziroc might find some inspiration here and make something cool and creative. Either way, it never hurts to get some creativity out in a good way.

There were a few ideas I listed in here before, but as more filled out versions have been posted up since then, I will just list references to them in here rather than write them out in completion a second time. Quite a few things have been pointed out to me by Garnet FalconDance, or suggested to me by toot033 and Unglaublich Verwustung. Quite a bit of which I never would have looked into myself. With those ideas in mind, I sought to redo what I had already come up with and fill them out somewhat better. Some of these storylines WILL have song names as I enjoy listening to music while writing. If something in this listing doesn't strike you as appropriate, let me know either here or while I am online within the game. If you (the general public) have other ideas that would fit in well into the grand sewer systems, don't be afraid to post them! Ziroc welcomes participation from all the people who enjoy his module.


Storylines:

0) Level Six II -

Exactly as it sounds like. A new subdivision level that would have even more waterways and perhaps even some flooded sewers to walk through. (Something similar to the Trollmoor Swamps.) There are a few regions within Levels Six and Seven which would lend itself to an actual Jump-Off point for such a region to exist. The name of it would be The Sunken Abandoned Sewers, and there would be more than few Very Good Reasons(R) for that area to have been abandoned by anything human or relatively humanoid. There would be no signs of the Xanather Thieves Guild within that area. No dragons that you know of would be down there, but that could easily change. After all, it's not as if you really know what WOULD be the "top dog" within a sewer system...

1) And Its Names Were Pestilence And Torment -

Within the sewers, you have notices there are elements for the sewers itself. Obviously corrupted spirits of air, water, and earth are some of them. However, the farther along you go, the more powerful you find these elementals. And quite a few of them seem to be summoned right from the mire and morass. Not a good sign, especially when some of them are just about immune to various types of weapons. Not to mention the foulness they excrete. You need to find who or what is summoning or creating these things, and end them. (If you are evil, you might want to just torture them and get the information for yourself. Who knows?) And you are hoping that whatever it is can be found rather quickly, as the less time you spend in the sewers ("What WAS that you just heard squeak underneath your boots?") the better. The stench is becoming unbearable...

2) By The Will Of The People/ Rescue Me (part one) -

You are approached by a member of the City Watch. Taken aside, you are requested by them to go into the sewers and find someone very important to them. They won't tell you whom it is, just that they are easily recognizable and will do as you ask them as long as you have a certain token with you. Giving you a coin with two symbols on it (one of Selûne, the other of Shar), she tells you to find the person as fast as possible. The longer they are down there, she explains, the more unlikely it is for them to be found alive. The two-faced coin should tip people off that this isn't going to be a nice and easy trip into the muck and mire, but you ARE adventurers...

This quest would allow you to go one or more steps towards Good. As it stands, assisting the City Watch is a Lawful action, but when you find out exactly whom it is you have to bring back to the surface, you'll begin to question the motives of your current employer. Yes, in this case you will gain the person as an NPC henchman who you can control and heal. However, they will leave you the moment the quest is over. And to remind you, they aren't as powerful as the adventurers are. (Perhaps ten to fifteen levels, but with additional HP as it IS a difficult journey back to the surface.)

3) The Alliance/ Disputed Rulers Of The Sewers (part one) -

Within one room inside of Level Six, there is a gathering of gypsies and members of the Xanather Thieves Guild. What is going on here, exactly? Recruitment? Training? Something even more dangerous to yourself (and perhaps to Waterdeep if you REALLY want to consider them) perhaps? They seem rather chummy chummy with each other, and you know you've seen some of this band of gypsies (if they are even real members of "The Wandering Nation") on upper levels of the Undermountain alongside the Xanather Thieves Guild. Something is going on here, and you are going to put a stop to it. Of course, that's only if their numbers don't put a stop to you first.

You'll see the collaboration of criminal creativity later on within the sewers, but you'll get past your admiration for their hard work the moment the arrows start flying in your direction. Whatever they are working so hard to hide from the Kraken Society and the Shadow Thieves Guild must be important, and probably worth money to someone. Whether it be an agent from another Guild (earning you Evil points if you sell it) or members of Waterdeep's Finest (earning you points in Lawful if you give it to them), someone must be interested in whatever is within those tomes.

4) Lost In Translation -

this idea was put forth by toot033 and can be found earlier on within this thread.

5) Echoes Of The Soul Never Heard -

There is a tale told by bards about a powerful set of instruments stolen one night by agents of the Kraken Society. It is unknown what they had in store for the instruments, as the agents were slain by members of the Xanather's Thieves Guild. The instruments were never found again, but one of the members of the local Musical Academie has expressed interest in finding them. Of course, she is not adventuring material by any means. At around the age of fifty-eight, she's only seen action in plays and if a cart got away from its owners. By no means could she survive the journey down into the sewers, let alone the creatures that would look at her as a quick snack. If someone could hunt down the instruments for her, however, she would pay them most generously.

There IS a catch however: the Kraken Society has made it a point to send its own adventurers down into the sewers to find these items, and they won't take no for an answer if you find them first in terms of taking the items from you. In fact, you are pretty sure they won't take an answer from you at all, unless it is the sounds of your blood gurgling from your throat.

This quest will send you a few points towards Neutral Good. If you negotiate a deal between yourselves and the members of the Kraken Society, you will go a few MORE points towards Neutral Evil. It would be up to Ziroc to allow for double-cross potential, though if you succeed in such a wicked thing you'll gain more points towards Evil and the bard may question why the instruments are a little tainted in colour and aura. (A VERY good Bluff or Persuade would help you at this point.) This quest/ Jump-Off is recommended for parties given the wide range of skills required for it.

6) The Menagerie/ Rescue Me (part two) -

This happens specifically on Level Seven. There is a huge prison containing a myriad of creatures within its cells. Why is this there? What are the Xanather Thieves Guild hoping to accomplish by keeping them in there? If nothing else, why would ANYONE want to keep a hook horror alive and well close to anything sentient? Beyond that, there is an androsphinx there, and it seems friendly enough to the adventurers that there might be a chance of luring it with some food to join your party. Of course, keeping it alive might be a bit of a task at first.

7) Burn The Ground And Salt The Earth -

Simple. You heard rumours that something is in the sewers and it's eating people. Anyone who has been in the sewers before can tell you about the spiders roaming around down there, and things even nastier than those. Still, something about these rumours is getting under your skin, and you intend to squash it. After all, if it's only giant spiders and goblins, what the heck do you have to worry about, right? Then again, if it ISN'T only giant spiders and goblins, all you really want to ask is this: what in the name of Cyric IS down there?

This is a completely separate quest and Jump-Off from the sewer elementals. The creatures involved here will more than likely be a lot more solid. Not that you'll appreciate that fact when you see fangs and talons lunging at you from the darkness.

8) Call Of The Wild/ Disputed Rulers Of The Sewers (part two) -

Ever seen a dogfight? Ever participate in one? Ever wonder what would happen if you threw cats into the ring with the dogs? Ever wonder what would happen if the cats were sentient and had opposable thumbs and had some serious padfoot backup? Well, you poor unfortunate fools, you've just stumbled into what looks like some kind of pitched battle between members of the Kraken Society and an organization you've never heard of before (and you were happier then, too). Good luck, as it looks like they've all noticed YOU now.

Words of advice: take out the new guys first. Always side with the devils you know than the demons you don't. Familiarity may breed contempt, but at least you know that the Kraken Society needs to breathe. (Well, some of their members do at least.)

9) Shake The Disease/ Rescue Me (part three) -

There are nymphs in the sewers. No joke. There are seriously nymphs in the sewers. Find them, find out what they are doing down there, and help them get back to nature. More than likely this will be a FedEx-style quest, only finishable once per server (like all the other quests in this line-up). The difference being the items you may need to assist them might not all be found on the one level. In fact, you may even have to travel all the way through Level Eight and Level Five in order to hunt down the various pieces of the puzzle. There is no time limit to this quest, but you'll want to lock the doors behind you to insure nothing comes after you into that room. After all, if you get back and the nymphs are dead then you've obviously failed the quest. (Right now I think the nymphs are set to "cannot be killed." That would be perfectly fine to ensure the quest can be completed after it has been taken.) The nymphs will give you an item which will help you "tame" the androsphinx and bring it to your side later on in the module.


Levels Recommended:

1) between fifteen and twenty levels at least.
2) anyone can run in, find the items, and leave. you might want to have something to back up your sword though before venturing through the sewers though.
3) epic levels would be highly advisable. not necessary, but advisable. you'll get enough XP to push you into epic levels by the time you are done, however.


Creatures Involved (old and new):

- everything ALREADY found on Levels Six and Seven
- revised and more powerful slimes, oozes, jellies, and gelatinous cubes
- revised and more powerful elementals (sewer, sludge, corruption, decay)
- skeletons, skeleton warriors, skeleton priests, skeleton warriors, skeleton mages
- drowned warriors, greater zombie pirates, zombie knaves, greater zombies
- all sorts of Plague creatures (vermin, arachnids, stirges, undead, oozes, serpents, trolls)
- Kraken Society Skullcleavers, Bodystealers, Heartrippers, and Thoughtreavers
- greater versions of fenhounds, Hounds Of Xvim, hellhounds, shadow mastiffs, worgs)
- rakshasha slavers, slayers, dark mystics, and Throatbleeders
- revised displacer beasts, dire tigers, lions, crag cats, and greater tigers


New NPCs/henchmen To Deal With:

- captain of the local guard
- City Watch members
- Red Sash member
- the androsphinx on Level Seven
- the nymphs on Level Seven (or is it Level Six?)
- members of the Kraken Society


New Boss Creatures/NPCs:

- Kraken Society Giver Of Endless Peace
- Kraken Society Hymnsinger
- Kraken Society Thirster For Ochre Fountains
- higher level members of the Xanather Thieves Guild
- insane Druid Of The Poison Stone Rivers
- acolytes of the insane druid
- various high level creatures (unwilling to name them yet)
- rakshasha leader of her faction
- immediate subordinates of the rakshasha


Notes Required For This Jump-Off:

Cthulhu will not be featured today. He/It is busy campaigning for President Of The United States in 2008. (Why vote for the lesser evil? Vote CTHULHU!)

A new aboleth MIGHT make its appearance during the course of these possibilities, but I refuse to say. I happen to like the idea, but it's up to Ziroc with that. As well, some of these would require whole new sections, such as an ampitheatre style staging area for some of the larger battles. (Jump-Off point: top-left corner of Level Six) The Slayers Only Store idea would (naturally) have to be moved, more than likely to an obscure area within Level Nine. For revisions to the slimes and other "muck monsters," I was thinking increases in strength, speed, and resistences - not to mention hit points. More than a few creatures would find themselves suddenly with spells they previously didn't carry. And yes, this would require a massive change to the levels as now there would be two to four factions for the PCs to deal with: NPCs needing rescue, Kraken Society members, "the unknown faction," and everything else (which would include the currently places Xanather Thieves Guild).