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 and the Breach

Hastus Vos (spoiler) was a worshiper of the ancient god

Fadebeasts 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.

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.

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.