Adventures & Adventure Hooks

Here is Freedom's first full-length adventure "The Hunt"

The Hunt (part 1, 2 & 3)

The Hunt (part 4, 5 and NPC/Psionics appendix)

"The Hunt" is loosely based on "Wild Seed" by Octavia Butler. It can be tailored to a variety of levels and DMing-styles and can be played at all stages of the Athasian timeline (even the Blue Age, if that's what you fancy…)

The PCs come across the small, fairly isolated village of Taamak. The village's inhabitants are terrified because of a series of mysterious deaths and the abduction of a girl which was supposed to be delivered to the Villichi next summer. Of course the villagers fear the wrath of the Villichi as well as the return of the deadly "spirit". If the PCs agree to hunt the kidnapper they soon realise that many strange things are going on in the place called Athas…

ADVENTURE HOOKS

Here some adventure ideas. Some are just written down in note form. Others are a bit more illustrated or will be "illustrated" in the future.

Adventures for high level characters

  • Somebody is manipulating VA preservers so that they use destructive magical powers in public spaces. Usually the charm wears off so that the preservers can escape, but the damage is done. The PCs are asked to find out who is manipulating those people and why. This could be a defiler who wants to ruin the reputation of the VA and in addition enjoys to see how the preservers suffer from his abuse.

  • The PCs are woken up by the cries of a baby. Somebody has placed an elven baby in the midst (of their tent) and left a magical (spoken) note: Defend the child by all means or you shall be cursed!

    Option 1: The child has special powers and several parties are after it. The mother is an elven preserver who is quite powerful, but not powerful to fend off the pursuers alone. Instead she plans to distract them - giving the PCs a chance to head off into another direction with the baby.
    Option 2: The Shadow elves always face internal quarrels with one clan leader plotting against the other. The current leader Elkhar has forced the leader of a minor clan to have his baby. Since it was an involuntary pregnancy the Khali, the mother of the child, is full of hatred against Elkhar and would rather give her son to non-elves then hand him over to the tribe leader. If Khali is caught by the Shadows she will be tortured to reveal the location of the child. Then, no matter if she has confessed or not, she will be tortured to death for her betrayal of the tribe. The PCs could be involved in the hunt for Khali and maybe find her before her fellow tribe members do...

  • The PCs dicover that there is another city beneath Undertyr. Alternatively they could discover an undercity under one of the other city states, e. g. Raam. (As far as we know Urik has one, too...)
    Plot idea: The undercity is used by a guild of assassins who see their secret headquarters in danger of being discovered. The reason is a bunch of street kids who have taken residence near their hide-away. The assassins are afraid that they are drawing too much attention on the entrances and the undercity. the guild decides to "remove" them.

    Meanwhile, the kids have discovered a secret passage to another undercity. When the assassins attack (in whatever form. e.g. they could try to scare them away or kill them off...) the kids flee to this older undercity. Form then on you have several options:

    - The kids are attacked by a monster or most of the kids suddenly find themselves trapped in a room, because the building structure is unstable - and one kid gets help from the PCs.
    - Or: the assassins go after them (the PCs are connected to the assassin guild).
    - The kids sell the secret to the PCs or want to guide them.

  • Oronis the avagnion asks the PCs for help. He intends to send them as his "missionaries" to Eldaarich where they have to revive the Veiled Alliance almost single-handedly.

  • "Psionicist War": Apart from the Order (and the brotherhood) two other factions have formed on Athas: - The Circle, an association of powerfull lawful evil psionicists and - the Resistance, an association of highh level lawful good psionicists.
    Both organisations have in common that they do not agree with the code of the Order. Naturally, the order seeks to destroy both organisations and weaves a net of intrigue so that the two groups first go against each other.

  • PCs have to retrieve an artefact from Yaramuke for the Veiled Alliance. Several people try to hinder them.

  • The Villichi discover a spy who not only looks like a Villichi, but also has the special gifts. She was indeed born a Villichi, but raised by Nibenay the Shadowking.

    - The Villichi find out and take offense. They want revenge.
    - Girl/woman helped Nibenay retrieve the Keys of Wisdom and other psionic secrets to help him with his metamorphosis. At the moment she is still on the way to the Shadowking and might encounter the PCs. Or the PCs neet encounter the Villichi chasing her. In this case they would question the PCs etc.
    - The spy wants to stay with the Villichi, but Nibenay puts pressure on her/ manipulates her. The PCs watch her and a templar contact. Will they tell the Villichi? They might believe she isn't a Villichi at all. Do they want to help her once they find out. The last thing that the PCs want is getting into trouble with Nibenay even if a charismatic Villichi asks them for help...or maybe...
    - The Villichi discover that she is sent by Nibenay in a settlement where the PCs are lodging. Because she is afraid what her sisters would do to her, she takes the PCs as hostages.


  • The PCs are asked to install, hide and protect a new Veiled Alliance headquarter.

  • The PCs are sent to cartograph part of the Rhulisti caverns.
    They find treasure/historic facts/people/ghosts there.

  • The Swamp: The PCs are collecting information about the Curse/mutated flora and fauna/ the terrain for a 1:defiler posing as a pyreen 2:preserver 3:psionicist 4:dragon king druid 6:other on Rajaat, his experiments and the Wars

  • The PCs are asked to escort a high-level member of the Alliance. This could be a test if the Veil is not sure about their loyalty or intentions.

  • A PC is to persuade the concubine of a powerful noble/defiler/templar etc. to win her for Veiled Alliance

  • Saraghar: The PCs have to smuggle people in/out, maybe because they owe somebody a favour.

  • Campaign: The Mind Lords are looking for successors, because they feel their sanity is leaving them. The PCs get caught up in their efforts.

  • Campaign: The PCs are asked to help the Alliance in Raam to gain control over the city. (The NPC Rhayad could be a fellow "agent".) The goal is to establish a similar form of government as it was done in Tyr.

  • Jagged Cliffs: Lifeshaper intrigues (see campaign ideas)

  • Swamp adventure (the PCs discover that Rajaat has done experiments on different Green Age races. Some of these experiments escaped such as the Regglid-Elves and the Bvanen. The PCs find out that there are more...

  • A God or pantheon takes interest in Athas. The people fear the gods and try everything to prevent them from setting foot on Athas.

  • A new exiled race wants to settle on Athas (via portal).

  • A powerful shaman has manipulated/manipulates powerful people (maybe even the Sourcererkings). He has many secret/influential followers and is therefore a dangerous opponent.

    • Adventures for low level characters

  • The PCs come across a new settlement that none of the PCs has ever heard of. This settlement could be real, an illusion, a time shift or the home of a secret cult.

    Plot ideas (cult): The cult is occasionally abducting people for sacrifices.
    - The cult needs children to be raised as members.
    - Members of the cult raid caravans for provisions.
    - The village needs protection from a (powerful?) good-aligned foe. The PCs would be told that, in fact, HE/SHE is the bad one...
    This enemy could have a grudge for various reasons: 1- the foe grew up in the village and suddenly disapproved what the cult was doing. 2- The foe lost a loved one to the cult. 3 - The foe is a cleric who is fighting against false or evil beliefs.

  • The PCs have to find traitor in a Veiled Alliance section (in a different city than their own?).
    The traitor might be a shaman or an off-worlder with unknown of uncommon techniques. Or an Athasian with a rare Wild Talent. Also, he might actually be the person giving the PCs the order to look for a "mole".

  • The PCs are asked to test an aristocrat's loyalties, and try to win him for the Veiled Alliance.
    First they must observe him and make something of strange things happening in his home (meets suspicious people or has strange habits etc.). Later they have to pose as different people. Each PC might have been assigned a role.
  • The PCs must find the thief who stole a Veiled Alliance artefact.

  • A dangerous disease is spreading very quickly. The Pcs have to find the birdmen, the lizard men or a specific isolated tribe or people for a remedy. Alternatively, the survivor races could be infected and are desperately looking for a remedy.

  • Campaign: The Druid Army (see Earth, Air, Fire and Water - and our NPCs section)
    The PCs are either druids themselves or are "hired" by a "scout" of the Druid Army to perform certain task in urban areas. For this the PCs need to be friends with a druid or must have earned the respect of the druid community.

  • The PCs are sent out to find a trail for a new trade route.
    - They could discover a new/forgotten part of Athas
    - or discover new (things in old) ruins
    - encounter a new tribe of elves/a different (survivor) race etc.

  • A psionicist disguised as prostitute stole a magic item from a respectable man/woman. The victim needs capable people to track down the prostitue and the item - everything has to be kept secret. The victim is embarrassed about his/her stupidity and does not want it to become public.

    The victim plans to look out for people and have them arrested. In exchange for their freedom they have to retrieve the item. (Added difficulty: The psionicist is the leader of the Veiled Alliance of this city).