Editing Structure of the Campaign

__NoTOC__
Back to [[DM Notes]]

As part of their individual histories, the party will hear about various things that have been happening in the wider world.  News of things happening elsewhere - important people having been assassinated, failure of crops that have never failed before and extreme weather conditions (Climate Change! LOL). In [[Barrenford]] however, they will start to experience some of these weird things happening directly and gain the first inkling that there is something bigger going on. 

The players’ journey to halt Durnstang’s plans will involve a rich tapestry of encounters, intrigue, moral dilemmas, and discoveries that gradually reveal the scale of the threat. Rather than simply fighting their way through a series of bosses, the party can interact with multiple layers of Durnstang’s scheme, slowly uncovering clues and piecing together his ultimate goal.

*[[Module One]] (PC Levels 1-3) - Where the party arrive in Barrenford and stumble over the [[Cult of the Eternal Covenant]] as well as first encountering some low level members of the [[Web of Knives]], but don't understand what their motives are or how they might be related.  The local members of the Cult of the Eternal Covenant are mostly exposed and the individual assassins dealt with.  The PCs make a name for themselves with the locals of Barrenford.  Evidence that both the Cult of the Eternal Covenant and the Web of Knives are much larger organisations operating elsewhere is found. News of unnatural phenomona and political upheaval happening elsewhere starts to filter through.  
*[[Module Two]] - where the party do their best to expose the Cult of the Eternal Covenant to the authorities, chasing down clues about both the Web of Knives and the Cult of the Eternal Covenant.  They find themselves now actively targetted by both, having both intelligent undead sent against them as well as more assassins.  The party gain their first major ally - an organisation called the 


===Ideas for low- to mid-level adventures within the campaign framework===

#Unraveling Necromantic Zones (Maltherion’s Influence)
#:At lower levels, the party could be tasked with investigating areas where death no longer functions as it should. Villages or small towns may be suffering from unnatural states where the dead do not stay dead, but instead become trapped between life and death—neither fully undead nor fully passed on.
#*Encounters: The players could deal with haunting spirits, restless corpses, and confused villagers who cannot lay their loved ones to rest. There could also be cultists working to maintain these zones or performing rituals to expand them.
#*Clues: As they investigate these areas, they discover the presence of ancient necromantic sigils or “Weave tears” that disrupt the natural flow of souls. They might uncover notes or journals from Maltherion’s lesser agents that hint at a greater purpose: destabilizing the boundary between life and death.
#*Non-combat encounters: Local priests and scholars may seek the party’s help in performing rites to cleanse or heal these areas, leading to a discovery of how deeply the Weave is fraying.
#Infiltrating a Cult (Ivelka’s Forces)
#:Early on, the party could encounter a death cult rising to power in a small region, openly opposing clerics and temples that seek to preserve the sanctity of life. These cultists are led by fanatical priests and warriors, motivated by Ivelka’s twisted philosophy that death and destruction will free souls.
#*Encounters: The party may need to investigate the cult through espionage, infiltrating gatherings or attending forbidden rituals where sacrifices are made. They could also be hired by local authorities to investigate the sudden collapse of noble families or leaders who have mysteriously died.
#*Moral Dilemma: Some cultists may have legitimate grievances with how society uses magic to prolong life (such as over-reliance on resurrection magic or immortality). The party must decide whether to completely destroy the cult or seek a way to address these grievances without allowing Durnstang’s influence to take root.
#*Clues: Documents and correspondences between cult leaders and Ivelka’s agents could hint at her broader campaign to tear down societal structures linked to life and death, showing that this local uprising is part of a far larger conspiracy.
#Dealing with Demonic Contracts (Sarkathus’s Influence)
#:Sarkathus’s goal of trapping mortal souls in infernal contracts can lead to early-level missions where the party is hired to resolve disputes over cursed contracts or missing persons who have vanished after dealing with mysterious figures. These contracts are designed to steal souls or bind them to Sarkathus’s demonic legions.
#*Encounters: Players might confront demons and devils in disguise who are manipulating townsfolk into making deadly pacts. The party may have to track down a powerful contract broker or destroy a set of infernal documents in order to free the victims.
#*Clues: Over time, the party uncovers evidence that these contracts are feeding a larger ritual designed to pull entire sections of the Material Plane into Hell. They may also discover that some of these contracts have been forged not by common devils but by Sarkathus himself, hinting at the involvement of a powerful demonic entity.
#*Non-combat encounters: Negotiating with trickster demons to find loopholes in contracts, freeing souls without resorting to violence, or gathering information from individuals who narrowly escaped such deals.
#Corruption of Nature (The Viridescent One’s Influence)
#:At early levels, the party may investigate areas of wilderness where nature has become perverted or tainted. Forests may be growing uncontrollably, choking out towns and spreading bizarre diseases. Rivers might run black with rot, and animals may turn feral or mutate.
#*Encounters: The players could face corrupted fey, twisted plant creatures, or strange fae constructs. As they explore these areas, they might find that the Viridescent One’s agents are deliberately spreading this corruption to create weak points in the Weave.
#*Clues: The players could discover the Viridescent One’s fey cultists experimenting with primal magic in secluded groves, perhaps growing a strange “Life Tree” that actually saps life from the surrounding area.
#*Environmental hazards: Navigating through dangerous, overgrown forests where the very plants and weather are against them. Finding the right balance between fighting corruption and preserving the natural order could also lead to interactions with non-hostile nature spirits or druids.
#Tracking Ancient Relics (Orralax’s Search for Power)
#:The players may find themselves on a treasure hunt, tasked with recovering lost magical relics or artifacts. Unbeknownst to them, these relics are pieces of primordial power that Orralax needs to unravel the fabric of reality. The players could be tricked into finding and retrieving these relics for Orralax’s agents, only realizing their mistake later.
#*Encounters: Dungeon crawls into forgotten temples, ruined cities, or planar rifts to retrieve artifacts that could be used for either good or ill. Perhaps some of these relics have guardians—powerful ancient beings who once fought to maintain the Weave.
#*Clues: Each relic recovered could whisper secrets about the true nature of the universe, giving players cryptic insights into the Weave. Ancient tomes and prophecies found along the way might hint at Orralax’s ultimate goal, and the players might encounter rival factions also searching for these artifacts.
#Political Intrigue and Assassinations (Kyros’s Web of Knives)
#:At lower levels, the party could be caught in a web of political assassinations and subterfuge. They may be hired to protect an important figure whose life is in danger, or perhaps they stumble across an assassination attempt in progress. The Web of Knives, Kyros’s mercenary organisation, is behind these moves, working to destabilize key regions that hold the natural order intact.
#*Encounters: The players could foil assassination attempts, investigate political corruption, or be framed for murders they didn’t commit. Assassins from the Web of Knives will work behind the scenes to destabilize cities, leading to urban chases, espionage, and interrogations.
#*Clues: The players might uncover coded messages or secret meetings that point to Kyros’s involvement. Further investigation reveals that the assassination of certain key figures is designed to trigger wars or societal collapse, paving the way for larger disruptions in the Weave.
#*Social encounters: The party may need to navigate complex political situations, convincing nobles or guildmasters of the threat posed by Kyros’s assassins without exposing their hand too early. They may also have to choose sides in a larger conflict.
#Rifts in Reality (Orralax and Durnstang’s Greater Plan)
#:As the players grow more powerful, they may begin to encounter subtle rifts in the fabric of reality. Perhaps they enter an area where time flows differently, or where parts of the world seem to flicker between different states of existence. These anomalies are the result of Durnstang’s ongoing effort to weaken the Weave itself.
#*Encounters: These rifts could introduce strange, otherworldly creatures or allow for glimpses into alternate realities where Durnstang’s plan has already succeeded. Navigating through these rifts might require intelligence and cunning, as the players work to stabilize reality and stop the further unraveling.
#*Clues: Magical scholars and sages could help the players decipher these anomalies, piecing together the connection between Durnstang’s influence and the weakening of the Weave. The players might even receive guidance from benevolent gods or extraplanar entities who are beginning to take notice of Durnstang’s plan.

===Progression to Mid/High Levels===

As they level up, the players would eventually discover more about Durnstang’s identity and his larger plan to break the Weave. This could culminate in larger-scale conflicts—perhaps protecting key Weave anchors (like sacred sites or ancient ley lines) from the Cabal’s assaults, or even venturing into other planes to repair damage caused by Durnstang’s minions.

By intertwining exploration, investigation, moral choices, and a wide variety of encounters, you can create a rich and dynamic campaign where the players slowly peel back the layers of Durnstang’s grand design while feeling like their actions are having a real impact on the world.

The endgame of a campaign involving Durnstang’s plot to unravel the Weave should feel like the culmination of the players’ growing understanding of the cosmic stakes, as well as the rising threat posed by the Cabal and their actions. The players’ choices and actions will significantly influence how the endgame plays out, whether they succeed in stopping Durnstang, partially mitigate the damage, or fail, leading to dire consequences for Orsein.

===Endgame Stages

====1. The Realization of Durnstang’s True Intent====

Throughout the campaign, the players will likely believe they’re fighting against necromancers, cultists, and monsters with diverse personal goals. Slowly, they will come to realise that all the chaos and destruction caused by the Cabal is part of a larger, unified purpose.

=====Key Moment:=====
After facing several key members of the Cabal, the players might recover critical information—possibly from the Whispering Lich Maltherion or Orralax—that ties the unraveling events back to Durnstang and his grand plan to break the Weave. At this point, they’ll realize the danger isn’t just destruction, but the potential collapse of reality itself.

=====Player Choices:=====
* Do they focus on preventing the next catastrophe, or begin investigating how to stop Durnstang himself? This may involve tough choices about whether to pursue leads regarding Durnstang’s ultimate location or halt smaller events that risk tearing the Weave in different regions.

====Disrupting the Cabal’s Final Moves====

At this stage, the Cabal is actively accelerating their efforts to break the Weave. The PCs must travel to multiple, carefully selected locations where the Weave is weak—these could be ancient, magical nexuses tied to life, death, or the balance of the planes (e.g., an ancient Elven grove, a forgotten dwarven tomb deep in the Silverprong Mountains, a pyramid built during the Mage Age in Al’Shekeim).

Each of the Cabal members could be preparing specific rituals or unleashing their full might at these locations.

=====Key Encounters:=====
*Sarkathus may lead a demonic invasion, binding mortal souls to fuel the rift between the material plane and the Abyss. Stopping him requires the players to enter Hellish dimensions or sever demonic contracts.
*Ivelka might lead a massive army of fanatics and cultists, attempting a large-scale blood sacrifice at a battlefield, while Kyros assassinates key figures to prevent reinforcements.
*Orralax may have unearthed an ancient artifact tied to the primordial forces, warping reality itself in an attempt to collapse planar boundaries.
*The Viridescent One might be poisoning a primeval forest with deadly plagues, decimating life forces tied to nature’s rebirth.

In each encounter, the party needs to stop the specific action while managing localised damage to the Weave.

Player Choices:
*Which threats do they prioritise? Saving one area might leave another vulnerable.
*Do they focus on slaying key members of the Cabal or halting their destructive rituals first?
*How do they handle the consequences of failing to stop certain actions in time?

====Facing Durnstang: The Final Confrontation====

As the players disrupt the Cabal’s efforts, they uncover the location of Durnstang’s final ritual, where he plans to fully sever the Weave and release Oblivion. This site could be in a place of immense necromantic power—an ancient burial ground, a ruined temple, or a plane that Durnstang has shaped into a reflection of the Abyss.

=====The Setting:=====
*The players may find themselves in an extra-planar location, perhaps somewhere between life and death, where the very fabric of reality is unstable. Time, magic, and death might behave in unexpected ways—creating an environment that reflects Durnstang’s vision of breaking the Weave.
*Souls of the dead might walk in this place, either as allies or enemies depending on what the players have done up to this point.

=====The Conflict:=====
*Durnstang could be in the process of performing the final ritual, perhaps requiring him to sacrifice an ancient artifact or even himself to fully sever the connection between life, death, and the Weave. Stopping the ritual won’t be easy—it may involve destroying powerful magical conduits or severing Durnstang’s connection to Oblivion itself.
*He will likely be surrounded by his most loyal lieutenants, perhaps including Maltherion, Sarkathus, or Ivelka—some of whom may even turn against him if the players have successfully manipulated them to see Durnstang’s true goal.

=====Final Battle:=====
*Durnstang himself should be an incredibly powerful figure, not just a god of death, but someone who has transcended his former role. He could wield powers over undeath, reality distortion, and entropy itself. Magic may behave chaotically during this battle, with spells potentially backfiring or altering their effects as the Weave unravels.
*The players may have to contend with the environment itself shifting as Oblivion seeps in, causing planar rifts, time distortions, and twisted versions of dead souls attacking them.

=====Multiple Outcomes:=====
*Victory: The players destroy Durnstang or disrupt his final ritual, stabilizing the Weave. While they may have saved reality from collapse, the Weave is likely permanently scarred. Some areas might still be heavily damaged, with weak points between the planes allowing for incursions from other forces in the future. This could lead to ongoing consequences for future campaigns or the need to rebuild the world’s balance.
*Partial Victory: The players stop Durnstang from fully severing the Weave, but Oblivion has already partially entered the world. The balance between life, death, and rebirth is permanently altered. Undeath may become more prevalent, or magic might become unstable, leading to an age of uncertainty. The gods may withdraw or become more distant, their power diminished as the Weave is weaker. The players might be hailed as heroes, but they must contend with a world reshaped by their partial failure.
*Failure: Durnstang succeeds in breaking the Weave, unleashing Oblivion. The gods are weakened or vanish entirely, their power severed. Souls are no longer bound to the cycle of life and death, causing widespread chaos. Reality itself begins to unravel—mortals experience strange, horrifying changes as the world slowly returns to the Primordial Abyss. This could set the stage for a future apocalyptic campaign, where the players (or future PCs) must find a way to restore balance—or accept that reality as they know it is doomed.

=====Themes in the Endgame=====
*Moral Complexity: By the end, the players should have realized that Durnstang’s plan, while catastrophic, is rooted in a desire for freedom from the endless cycle of suffering and death. This might cause them to question their own motivations: are they defending a flawed system just because it’s all they’ve ever known?
*The Cost of Victory: Whether or not the players succeed, the Weave is damaged, and life will never return to what it was. Heroes must live with the consequences of their choices, and some of the Cabal’s actions may have irreversible effects.
*Divine Detachment: Even if the players win, the gods may become more distant, their influence waning due to the instability of the Weave. Mortals may have to adapt to a world where divine intervention is rare or nonexistent, leading to new power struggles among mages, rulers, and factions.

=====Endgame Hook for Future Campaigns=====
Regardless of the ending, the unraveling of the Weave creates new stories:

*A Weakened Reality: Planar boundaries are thinner, leading to more incursions from fey, fiends, and other-dimensional entities. The players might have to defend the world from these external threats.
*A New Magical Order: Magic could become unstable or take on a new form, requiring future adventurers to explore how it works. The floating city of Skylon might fall, or the ancient Live Ships of the Alfaen may lose their power.