Plot Hooks

Separate from the rest of the wiki pages, here are a list of suggested plot hooks in the various locations around the Empire of Aarden.

As Xulthraxis is still in very early stages of development, I don't yet have anything really usable for that space - but I'll put them here when I do.

A Note on Fadebeasts, spellcasters, and the Breach

Hastus Vos (spoiler) was a worshiper of the ancient god Morphaeos, an entity associated with Dreams, Inspiration, Darkness, and Art. Attempting to open a portal to a realm he believed to be associated with Morphaeos, he accidentally tore a hole between Kemetus Major (the planet Aarden is located on) and the Ether, a space between spaces, a realm that exists and does not exist all at once. The fog / mist known as "The Fade" pours from this hole, from the Ether itself, and as a result is endless and infinite in supply. Fadebeasts are monsters or animals from other worlds who have in one way or another wound up in the ether, and left through the breach into KM.

Fadebeasts and magic users should be rare, extremely rare. The primary antagonist in Aarden is ultimately meant to be mankinds misinterpretation, or invention, or religion or otherworldy messages. The concept of Lovecraftian "old gods" with no regard for, or desire to interact with, human life allows for a multitude of interpretations by humans covering a wide array of possibilities. Several of the villains I've used have just been people trying in vain to attain magic powers through worship, strange behavior, or even blood sacrifice. People are awful and do awful things.

Magic users should be limited to a bare fraction of the NPCs you introduce - and keep in mind that with no instruction, schools, or solid information to learn their craft, many of these spellcasters should be inexperienced and improvising.

Fadebeasts themselves are extra-dimensional beings, Aberrations in 5e terms, however they are not inherently malevolent. These could be simple animals, predators or prey, from a variety of different worlds or universes that were ultimately deposited somehow through the Breach into Aarden. The neutrality of these animals is important, because humans misunderstanding, and therefore fearing them, is equally important.

That being said, throw in some evil as hell bastards if you want.

In addition, with the exception of the Solace Massacre and animals typically associated with packs, fadebeasts should almost never work together. Keep in mind any two fadebeasts could be just as alien to each other as they are to the people in Aarden.

One final thing to bear in mind is that not Aarden is not located on Earth and the world associated with Aarden isn't meant to replicate or be Earth in any way. Strange creatures are sure to exist, native to Aarden, within reason. I've used giant spiders and centipedes, hinted at owlbears, and introduced a flying dog that are all supposedly native to Aarden. (The flying dog is not.)

Aarden

Solace

Solace was placed within the woods and directly next to the Fade, with the explanation that it's proximity to the stronghold monastery of Nostor's Keep made it a first-stop and high priority for the maintenance of the Fade Collector network.

With that in mind, I also used the town for fodder to jumpstart a campaign. It's isolation and the boldness of having a town in a location that obviously risky make it an easy target for destruction.

I had a dark knight leading a small group of monsters attack the town during a festival, causing the players to have to run away. I used a death knight and wyvern stat blocks for this so that it would very clearly be something the players could not defeat at their level - giving them a much larger payoff down the road when they finally beat the bad guy they had to run from in the beginning.

The Solace Massacre factors into many of the other plot hooks available in other cities, as increased fear regarding the concept of organized fadebeast attacks, or the introduction of refugees from the forest town could upset the balance in other places.

Three Bridges

Three Bridges is a goof name, as there are only two bridges. The people behind the town's name had intended on a third bridge, crossing the Istun Inlet south of the town, but it was never built.

• The Miller is ripping off the refugees

Following the massacre of Solace, Jakub Gondwright been asked to provide his services to the Solace Refugees free of charge and that he'll be reimbursed by the town's coffers once the crisis is over. He chooses to disregard this, and instead has jacked his prices for grain and flour up - not believing the town has enough to cover the cost that would be incurred. His mill is old, clunky, and the grain he keeps in exchange for his services to farmers takes time to mill and sell. On the party's arrival in town, there will be a clerk, or perhaps even the mayor herself, positioned near the gatehouse taking in refugees from Solace, stressed at the influx of people and trying to keep track. They'll request the party's help with convincing Jakub, although insist they do so peacefully.

Jakub is a coward, but knows the guards will intervene if he's at risk for violence. He's also a bit of a scumbag, so appealing to his sense of decency will be difficult. As a result, I set the DC's for my players to intimidate and persuade him in these ways a bit higher, around 18 for their level 3 characters. Jakub is not especially bright, however, and a deception attempt to do something like make him think the guards wouldn't intervene, that the mayor had sent you to issue a threat, or that you can guarantee the coffers can cover his fees - these all would have been easier, around a 12 or 14.

Additionally, a player skilled in masonry, carpentry, tinkers tools, engineering, etc - could offer to increase the productivity of his aging, clunky windmill. A successful DC15 check in any of these skills to do so, along with committing to working on the Mill over the course of a day - will convince him that he'll be able to make up any losses with the increased production.

• The West Empire Company

Immediately to the left of the entrance to the town will be a large walled-in storage yard with a building behind it, marked with the emblem of the WEC - a well known caravan company that ironically operates mostly on the eastern side of the Empire, maintaining freight routes where boats and trains cannot go. There are a few notes for this building:

1. Colton Smythe will be standing outside the building, attending to horses or smoking. He does the hiring for the caravan company and will approach anyone who enters the yard to see what they need, or if they're in search of employment. He's a gruff, pragmatic man. He is also a relic dealer - the term used in Aarden for black-market magical or enchanted items, however the party will need to earn his trust in order to find this out. The DM can decide on what he has and how much it costs, depending on your own loot tables and how much money you're dolling out.
2. The WEC will be hiring people to investigate a missing caravan headed towards the town from the east. Should they choose to pursue this, they'll find the caravan only a few hours east from town - it had been stopped by the Hand of the Creator, and witch-hunters had hauled it's drivers away for questioning. The caravan was known to have been moving a few crates of illegal materials including Bloodstone Dust, Dried Bat Wings and Newt Eyes, and runes made from bone - all materials associated with spell components, particularly for necromancy. The Witch-Hunters still investigating the caravan will have no questions for the party - but will give them the above information to take back to Smythe.
3. If they did not take the job from Smythe, there is a woman waiting inside the office for the shipment from the missing Caravan named Susanna Grimsby, because I name things like a child. She'll claim to know nothing about the spell components, and that she was just waiting for a gift of spices from her sister. As a warlock, Grimsby is skilled in deception, set an insight check DC high for this one.