Because of his background as an aquatic creature showing uo here in this remote subterranean environment, I'm hoping ro have Baron be a sort of PC NPC, dropping some local info and insight here and there.
<With permission from @rippedrhinovikings, who has been sick recently, the following:>
Baron Longstride, a native to the Underdark, notes that this is unusual behavior for the Kuo-toa who normally offer transportation services across the Dark Lake, a vast intertwining system of subterranean waterways. He knows of many things in the Underdark if you wish to ask anything of him.
Put your spoiler here<as I mentioned, this area is off the map. I threw a pushover encounter at you to set the stage for political intrigue in the city and you can go on a free form adventure with demons and such, (which are not overly present in the lair, itself, of the woman who wrote the Demonomicon and the mother of a demigod cambion with a Demon Lord). So, ultimately if you choose to go back up the waterfall, mechanically yoi can do it just with the boat, as I see it, or you can see some cool stuff down here, whether you visit the Kuo-toa city or not, and meander your way back to the Caverns of Tsojcanth afterwards. That's what all this was about.>.
Sparhawk thinks for a moment. "Well Longstride, if normally the Kuo-toa don't act like this, perhaps there is something wrong with them or they are under distress. I can't help but think the circumstances that have brought us all together have impacted the natural inhabitants in these places." He looks at the group, "Although time is at a premium here, I believe we should try to help these people if we can. They may be able to aid us in return with knowledge of the caverns above. However, a rest would be warranted before we go on.(Short rest)
<Point of order: that 1 short rest reateixrion onky applies back in tbe caverns, so yeah, you coukd definitely take that short rest with the hour you've got to reach shore. No rowing either, the boat moves itself.>
(Ooc fair enough, short rest it is). “let’s heal up a bit while we move toward the village. Baron, Anything we should know before we encounter more of these people?”
_I think my typography errors and word choice may have made things less clear. I mean there is no limit to rests in the underdark, only in the caverns above, so feel free to take one.>
As you come near the shores of the city, a small boat approaches slowly. Eight kuo-toa aboard sit patiently, their expressions inscrutable, while one stands and slowly waves hailing you from afar. If you allow the boat to come close enough to exchange words, he calls to you in Undercommon “I am Ploopploopeen, archpriest of the Sea Mother Blibdoolvpoolp. She answers my prayers by delivering you. Help us, and you will be rewarded for your service.”
(if there's some mechanic that lets you understand him, we can assume you deploy that, otherwise he can cast tongues. )
Kos waves back to them and after they explain that they want us to help them for a reward, "What do you think guys, we're already down here we might as well help?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"A rightful place awaits you in the Realms Above, in the Land of the Great Light. Come in peace, and live beneath the sun again, where trees and flowers grow."
— The message of Eilistraee to all decent drow.
"Run thy sword across my chains, Silver Lady, that I may join your dance.”
Baron is suspicious, since he has just been attacked. But he's willing to listen to the archpriest. He doesn't understand the kua toa yet, however, he can if they both submerge themselves in water - something he figures the fish won't object to.
Ploopploopeen, the archpriest explains his intentions as the kuo-toa escort the party to Sloobludop (the city). Ploopploopeen explains that the inhabitants of Sloobludop have lived in harmonious service to the will of the Sea Mother for some time. Oh, there were occasional “visionaries” who stirred up trouble (at this, he might cast a walleyed glance at Shuushar) but nothing of any great concern. A few weeks ago, Bloppblippodd, Ploopploopeen’s own daughter, experienced a powerful vision of “Leemooggoogoon the Deep Father,” proclaiming him the new god of her people. She has backed up her claims with a great increase in her magical power, and new followers have flocked to her.
“We are split in two,” Ploopploopeen explains, “fighting among ourselves.” The followers of the Deep Father have been making an increasing number of offerings on his altar — killing blood sacrifices then casting bloody chum into the waters of the Darklake, where it is consumed by … something.
When Baron translates the archpriests words, Sparhawk says in common: "We were attacked by followers of the deep father. Interesting. How does the archpriest think that a group of outsiders can help with this split?"
"Can your great city of Sloobludop not support more than one god?"
Kos is puzzled my a desire for monotheism when most all gnomes have a pantheon.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"A rightful place awaits you in the Realms Above, in the Land of the Great Light. Come in peace, and live beneath the sun again, where trees and flowers grow."
— The message of Eilistraee to all decent drow.
"Run thy sword across my chains, Silver Lady, that I may join your dance.”
Baron is intrigued by the story, though he wasn't ready to accept it all yet. "Surely a god this powerful wouldn't need such sacrifices? Why are they doing this?"
"Can your great city of Sloobludop not support more than one god?"
Kos is puzzled my a desire for monotheism when most all gnomes have a pantheon.
This question confuses the priest, knowing as he does that the Kuo-toa are theocratic but not monotheistic, rather they know all too well that if enough kuo-toa discover some ancient god, it will appear aming thwm and in all likelihood it will attempt to slay the priests of other gods. So it has always been.
The ruling archpriests of a kuo-toa community decided which gods the lower kuo-toa had to exclusively worship.
Initially, the archpriest of Blibdoolpoolp tolerated this — but then his own daughter declared herself an archpriest of Leemooggoogoon, and the cult began to grow.
Sacrifices are seen as quite normal and one wonders what sort of god demands so little from those it rewards for the paltry words they offer.
The archpriest of the Sea Mother tells you he wants to use you as bait. The archpriest of the Deep Father needs humanoid sacrifices, and the party represents a prize collection in that regard. Ploopploopeen will offer the characters as a “token of peace and reconciliation” to get closer to the archpriest of the Deep Father — except the adventurers will not be helpless prisoners, but infiltrators. Ploopploopeen wants you to disrupt the upstart faction’s rituals, allowing his true believers of the Sea Mother to cut off the head of the cult. The archpriest promises that you will be well rewarded for your aid.
"It seems quite dangerous, what you're asking us to do. The Sea Mother and the Deep Father... kinda seems like they might get along, if you gave them a chance! Maybe if you allow the two super powerful deities to talk to each other, you'll get a better result."
Fyi
Because of his background as an aquatic creature showing uo here in this remote subterranean environment, I'm hoping ro have Baron be a sort of PC NPC, dropping some local info and insight here and there.
(Ooc, very helpful!!!)
{{OOC: Almost ready, Post currently WIP}}
[A paper drops out of a flash of light and drifts to the ground at your feet] -(extended sig)-
<With permission from @rippedrhinovikings, who has been sick recently, the following:>
Baron Longstride, a native to the Underdark, notes that this is unusual behavior for the Kuo-toa who normally offer transportation services across the Dark Lake, a vast intertwining system of subterranean waterways. He knows of many things in the Underdark if you wish to ask anything of him.
Put your spoiler here<as I mentioned, this area is off the map. I threw a pushover encounter at you to set the stage for political intrigue in the city and you can go on a free form adventure with demons and such, (which are not overly present in the lair, itself, of the woman who wrote the Demonomicon and the mother of a demigod cambion with a Demon Lord). So, ultimately if you choose to go back up the waterfall, mechanically yoi can do it just with the boat, as I see it, or you can see some cool stuff down here, whether you visit the Kuo-toa city or not, and meander your way back to the Caverns of Tsojcanth afterwards. That's what all this was about.>.
I vote to explore down here. We can always go back up
Sparhawk thinks for a moment. "Well Longstride, if normally the Kuo-toa don't act like this, perhaps there is something wrong with them or they are under distress. I can't help but think the circumstances that have brought us all together have impacted the natural inhabitants in these places." He looks at the group, "Although time is at a premium here, I believe we should try to help these people if we can. They may be able to aid us in return with knowledge of the caverns above. However, a rest would be warranted before we go on. (Short rest)
<Point of order: that 1 short rest reateixrion onky applies back in tbe caverns, so yeah, you coukd definitely take that short rest with the hour you've got to reach shore. No rowing either, the boat moves itself.>
(Ooc fair enough, short rest it is).
“let’s heal up a bit while we move toward the village. Baron, Anything we should know before we encounter more of these people?”
"Don't eat their food. They may offer it - don't eat it."
[A paper drops out of a flash of light and drifts to the ground at your feet] -(extended sig)-
_I think my typography errors and word choice may have made things less clear. I mean there is no limit to rests in the underdark, only in the caverns above, so feel free to take one.>
As you come near the shores of the city, a small boat approaches slowly. Eight kuo-toa aboard sit patiently, their expressions inscrutable, while one stands and slowly waves hailing you from afar. If you allow the boat to come close enough to exchange words, he calls to you in Undercommon “I am Ploopploopeen, archpriest of the Sea Mother Blibdoolvpoolp. She answers my prayers by delivering you. Help us, and you will be rewarded for your service.”
(if there's some mechanic that lets you understand him, we can assume you deploy that, otherwise he can cast tongues. )
Kos waves back to them and after they explain that they want us to help them for a reward, "What do you think guys, we're already down here we might as well help?"
“Indeed, I agree.” The captain seems rested and healed. He is in better spirits as well.
Baron is suspicious, since he has just been attacked. But he's willing to listen to the archpriest. He doesn't understand the kua toa yet, however, he can if they both submerge themselves in water - something he figures the fish won't object to.
[A paper drops out of a flash of light and drifts to the ground at your feet] -(extended sig)-
Ploopploopeen, the archpriest explains his intentions as the kuo-toa escort the party to Sloobludop (the city). Ploopploopeen explains that the inhabitants of Sloobludop have lived in harmonious service to the will of the Sea Mother for some time. Oh, there were occasional “visionaries” who stirred up trouble (at this, he might cast a walleyed glance at Shuushar) but nothing of any great concern. A few weeks ago, Bloppblippodd, Ploopploopeen’s own daughter, experienced a powerful vision of “Leemooggoogoon the Deep Father,” proclaiming him the new god of her people. She has backed up her claims with a great increase in her magical power, and new followers have flocked to her.
“We are split in two,” Ploopploopeen explains, “fighting among ourselves.” The followers of the Deep Father have been making an increasing number of offerings on his altar — killing blood sacrifices then casting bloody chum into the waters of the Darklake, where it is consumed by … something.
When Baron translates the archpriests words, Sparhawk says in common: "We were attacked by followers of the deep father. Interesting. How does the archpriest think that a group of outsiders can help with this split?"
"Can your great city of Sloobludop not support more than one god?"
Kos is puzzled my a desire for monotheism when most all gnomes have a pantheon.
Baron is intrigued by the story, though he wasn't ready to accept it all yet. "Surely a god this powerful wouldn't need such sacrifices? Why are they doing this?"
[A paper drops out of a flash of light and drifts to the ground at your feet] -(extended sig)-
This question confuses the priest, knowing as he does that the Kuo-toa are theocratic but not monotheistic, rather they know all too well that if enough kuo-toa discover some ancient god, it will appear aming thwm and in all likelihood it will attempt to slay the priests of other gods. So it has always been.
The ruling archpriests of a kuo-toa community decided which gods the lower kuo-toa had to exclusively worship.
Initially, the archpriest of Blibdoolpoolp tolerated this — but then his own daughter declared herself an archpriest of Leemooggoogoon, and the cult began to grow.
Sacrifices are seen as quite normal and one wonders what sort of god demands so little from those it rewards for the paltry words they offer.
The archpriest of the Sea Mother tells you he wants to use you as bait. The archpriest of the Deep Father needs humanoid sacrifices, and the party represents a prize collection in that regard. Ploopploopeen will offer the characters as a “token of peace and reconciliation” to get closer to the archpriest of the Deep Father — except the adventurers will not be helpless prisoners, but infiltrators. Ploopploopeen wants you to disrupt the upstart faction’s rituals, allowing his true believers of the Sea Mother to cut off the head of the cult. The archpriest promises that you will be well rewarded for your aid.
"It seems quite dangerous, what you're asking us to do. The Sea Mother and the Deep Father... kinda seems like they might get along, if you gave them a chance! Maybe if you allow the two super powerful deities to talk to each other, you'll get a better result."
[A paper drops out of a flash of light and drifts to the ground at your feet] -(extended sig)-