Icons of the Ashen Coast: The Devil and The Elven Baron

The Elven Baron believes the cults of The Devil are responsible for the death of his family members. The Devil is in no position to deny anything. 

The Devil was the main villain in the second part of my last D&D campaign. He had corrupted a respected dwarven merchant and had him unwittingly working for the hated enemy of the dwarves, the duergar! The players eventually tracked the devil down to where he was attempting apotheosis and, rather than simply banishing him, cleverly trapped him within a statue of his own master. It made sense that he would want to escape, and I had a couple of players mention they'd like to see him return as an Icon! 

THE DEVIL

Trapped within a stone statue of his lord Mammon, the arch-devil of avarice, the Devil Vikair now plots his return and apotheosis. Secret cults work in the shadows, determined that this will pass and that they will know untold riches. 

Quote

'In gold and gem we trust. The blood price is such a small one to pay for such riches.'

Usual Location

The location of the vessel statue is ghostly Cutter's Isle. There it is guarded by the powerful wraiths that call it their home. Combined with the magical mists that protect the isle, the statue is safe from the hands of the cults that would release the Devil... for now. 

Unfortunately, the cults are everywhere. That rich merchant you just traded with could be a member, so could that nobleman suddenly come into his position through a vast wealth. Or they could simply be lucky with money. Perhaps it is the down and out, the one who has lost it all, that you should suspect? The members of the Cult of Mammon are everywhere, and are taken from all walks of life. It is easy to be paranoid. 

Common Knowledge

Some years ago adventurers defeated the Devil's plan to transform himself from a mere vizier devil into something much more terrible. The Cult of Mammon believe that this plan was merely stalled, rather than defeated, and that even now the Devil is metamorphosing within his prison. If they can recover the statue, they can help complete this transformation and be justly rewarded. 

The Cult is everywhere, but the cities of the duergar underneath the Coast are its strongholds. Some believe that every town has at least one coven that meets in secret within its walls. Most terrifying of all are the hellish servants of the Devil himself, many of which have secretly worked their way into positions of counsel for some of the Coast's most influential figures. 

Adventurers and the Icon

Many adventurers work for the Cult without even realising it, performing seemingly innocent acts that ultimately favour the Cult's goals. Others, particularly wizards and rogues seeking a quick route to wealth and power, are members themselves. None would risk stating it openly, however. 

Allies

The Red Dragon's followers will often work with the Cult of Mammon, although their shared love of greed means this usually ends in conflict. There are also rumours that at least one of the Wizards of Thrinn is a member of the Cult; whether the others are are aware of this, or if this is even true, is another matter entirely.

Enemies

The duergar elements of the Cult strive to conquer the lands of the High Thane of the Dwarves and take the vast riches that lie there. Before he was imprisoned, the Devil was working directly against the High Priestess. 

History

A vizier devil in service to Mammon, the Devil Vikair worked to corrupt dwarven trading from within, seeking to turn the greedy dwarves. This was just a small part of a greater conspiracy that involved replacing several high ranking politicians across the Coast with undead replicas so that he could secret their real counterparts away and, where possible, turn them too to the worship of his dark master. Yet even this was just the beginning of his plan to ascend to a greater form of devil and dominate the coast himself. He was defeated during his ascension by an intrepid group of adventurers and trapped within a stone statue of Mammon. 

The True Danger

Everything will be alright as long as the Devil's statue remains hidden and guarded. 

The Elven Baron was part of one of my players background in my 4e D&D game. The Elven Baron was his characters brother, and he was tasked with finding him so that he might return and rule the Barony. Evidently, he has succeeded - but things have perhaps not turned out how he might have wanted. 

THE ELVEN BARON

The Elven Baron rules over the Elven Barony of Carrodale, a loose collection of wood elf communities in the eastern forest. He struggles to balance the needs of his people with his desire for revenge.

Quote

'This is not a responsibility I take gladly, but I will not question the will of the gods. I am their instrument and I will defeat this hidden evil; for the Barony, and for my family.'

Usual Location

The small elven settlement of Belrath Revar, the seat of the barony, deep within the Forest of Carrodale.  

Common Knowledge

The Elven Baron is a former paladin of Carriellana, the goddess of elves, music, and freedom. It is said it must pain him greatly to be constrained to a single place, even though it is amongst his own people. Far from being a free spirit, full of life, he has become reclusive, and is rarely seen outside the barony council chambers or his ancestral manor. 

He seeks the killers of his mother and sister, but is keenly invested in forging Carrodale into a great regional power. The elves, he says, have watched the Ashen Coast idly for too long. Enemies move against them, and they must be rooted out and destroyed before it is too late. 

Adventurers and the Icon

High and wood elves both live in harmony in Carrodale, although most settlements are predominated by the sylvan kin. Many are keen to see their Baron's ambitions fulfilled. A smattering of gnomes and halflings live within the forest, and are likewise called into the Barony's service. Paladins, elven and otherwise, are often in the service of the Baron, seeing it as an honour to aid him in his quest for justice.

Allies

The Barony is allied with the Kingdom of Thun and maintains close ties with The Lady of the Woods. The Paladins of the Order of the Platinum Shield would like to see the Baron as an ally, but many are unsure of his motives.

Enemies

Rightly or wrongly, the Elven Baron believes the followers of The Devil are responsible for the deaths of his mother and sister, and he pursues them with a vengeance. As followers of the evil gods, the Tenebrae Council is also a target of the Baron's wrath. 

History

Tragedy has haunted the noble family of Belrath Revar for so long many claim they are cursed. First his father was killed in a goblin raid, then his mother was murdered in mysterious circumstances, and his sister shortly thereafter. There is a dark shadow that hangs over the family.

Before reclaiming the Barony he was a paladin of Cariellana, wandering the world, bringing light and music wherever he could. 

The True Danger

Everything will be okay as long as Baron continues to place the needs of his people above his need for justice - or rather, revenge. 

So, what would your icon relationships be with the Devil or the Elven Baron? 

Drama Cards

These Drama Cards were thrown my way by the awesome folks at Penny-Arcade's Critical Failures Forum  some months ago now and I've been using them with great success in my 4e D&D game.

A Quick Note on 'Fortune Cards'

I know Wizards of the Coast has their official 'Fortune Cards' and these follow some of the same ideas. However, WotC's idea doesn't grab me half as much for a couple of reasons. Firstly, WotC's cards are about increasing player power. Secondly, they're put in the hands of the player. Those two facts combined are fine in themselves but not what I want, even if I took the control of them back from the player via houserules.

The Power to Change the Story

What I love about the Drama Cards is the fact they give the player the power to change the story. I don't run a totally open sandbox. I try not to railroad either but there is a story the players are working their way through. These cards let the players shake that up a bit more than the usual player/DM relationship might normally allow. Last week an encounter happened that really got me thinking about these cards and how they change the player's influence on the game.

My players were walking through the treetops of a Feywildian forest, taking part in a treasure hunt set up by an eccentric Eladrin noble. They were a little bit lost. One player smiles and hands me a card. It was the 'Strangers in a Strange Land' card. The card called for me to come up with a group of strangers that were also in the area, with the one caveat that they must be 'from a far-away place'.

Taking a minute to think, I eventually decided on a group of drow. Honestly, it wasn't the most original idea I've ever had. The players came to my rescue though, discussing where they came from in the Feywild and whether or not they may be 'good' drow. All those elements together created a great little encounter; the players were suspicious but forced to concede that they needed the drow's help to find their way. In return the drow needed help tracking the eladrin noble in the search of a lost artefact. Unwilling to betray someone that hasn't been at all hostile to them to a group of drow, the players gave the drow false information.

Now I've got hooks to work with I might otherwise not have considered. The drow, their artefact, their relationship with the eladrin and their relationship with the party. I know this is going to enrich the story and add layers of intrigue that simply wouldn't have been there before.It got them involved in building the story and in a way that went beyond the reach of their characters.

Using Drama Cards as Rewards

I wasn't able to print out the (very) large amount of cards suggested by creator but I did get four decks made - Copper, Silver, Gold and Platinum. To simulate rarity I've been having my players roll a d10. 1-4 for a copper, 5-7 for a silver, 8-9 for a gold and 10 for a platinum.

How and why you hand them out is up to you. I decided against using them as a reward in-character actions, or even for something like 'good roleplay'. The in-character rewards already exist within the game-world (treasure, XP, renown), mechanically or otherwise and 'good roleplay' is such a difficult thing to define I wasn't convinced I could judge on that basis and remain fair.

What I have done is use them to reward helpful Out-of-Character behaviour. I give cards out for running companion characters, for writing up a page on the wiki and for writing up the diary entry for the week and for anything else that makes my life, as a DM, a little easier.

To say it's worked would be an understatement - I'm not sure I could stop some of my players writing on the wiki even if I wanted to and now, in a total reversal of what used to happen, the players now dice off to see who gets to write the diary!

Not everything has gone perfectly though. Whilst I've got my players keen to get cards, getting them to use them has been a different matter. I have a horrid feeling they're just saving them all up for the final encounter! I'm thinking of setting a limit to how many they can have at once. Around 3 or 4 sounds about right but we'll see - that's something I'll discuss with them.

Put Some Drama in Your Game

If you're looking for a great reward system, or want to give your players a way to influence events in a different way, I say give these cards a shot. Just be careful not to let your players hoard them!