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View Full Version : [DND] Burnination: Demonic Contracts and Haunted Dwarven Ruins



LoopyZebra
2009-06-08, 01:32 PM
What cool/interesting hidden clauses can be in a fiendish contract? Additionally, what cool/interesting things can be in a haunted Dwarven mine? Background/situational details below.

This is a fluff question more than anything, but we are playing 4th Ed. in a homebrew world/cosmology, should it come up.

Also, if you should happen to be named Jon, Richard, Josh, or Kevin, stay out. I know where you live. :smallsmile:

So, my players were exploring the haunted Dwarven ruins of Del-Nubek when an angry and pursuing outside army followed them into the ruins. Players being players, instead of running and hiding in the vast ruins as a normal person would have done, decided to negotiate with a demon for safety. The negotiating player in question had wanted to change classes for a while, so he negotiated that he traded in his holy powers (he was an Avenger – now a Fighter). Seeing as this wasn’t really a time to read the fine print and consult lawyers, the player signed the contract while on the run. The ground opened up under the PCs feet, and the session ended.

Obviously, this gives me a lot of leeway with what was actually in the contract. While I’ve decided where they were taken (a distant part of the ruins, the mines underneath – this is technically safety and lets me get back to the adventure), there’s a lot of potential for cool plot arcs here.

The demon that made the contract, Azazel, has a cunning and patience unlike most of his demonic brethren. He has been building a power base in the country the players are operating in (Vladkimir). He plans to use this base to keep himself alive in the brutal and shifting demonic hierarchy. Like other demons, he delights in making mortals indulge in their darker sides. Behind the scenes, he was responsible for the creation of a major villain in the campaign (now defeated) and will soon be reaching out to another villain with promises of vengeance against the PCs (players are unaware of this). The cornerstone of his power base is creating a dark entity known as the Chosen One (better name possibly needed), who he believed to be the previously defeated villain. He has plans to bring her back to the mortal world as the second villian’s tool of vengeance.

The negotiating PC, Illican, was a holy warrior – of sorts. Recently, partially through necessity, he has been angling away from the lofty ideals he subscribed to and more towards “Rorschach-esque” methods, if not ideology (from Watchmen). He has a number of “good” and “evil” actions under his belt.

So what do you think? What kinds of things would Azazel have attached to Illican’s contract? Any cool ideas would be welcome.

Additionally, they’ve been dropped into the underground mines of this Dwarven ruin. While I was here, I figured I’d ask for any ideas for this place too. The ruin is thousands of years old and was abandoned when the greed of the dwarves living there caused them to build a demonic shrine. While they gained great wealth from the shrine, the Dwarf fortress (:smallsmile:) descended into murder and anarchy. The demonic presence lingers, as do the damned souls of the dwarves themselves. The mines are where much of the ancient Dwarves’ wealth was found. Rivers of magma run through parts of the lower mines. I was planning on having the players fight/run from the pursuing army in these mines. An army from their side will appear in three days and inadvertently lend a hand in saving the PCs. But I’m at a loss for what kinds of things should be in the mine (aside from the obvious ghosts and magma monsters) and what kinds of encounters the players should run into over the next three days. Any cool ideas are again welcome.

I’d appreciate anything you guys can come up with as regards the contract or mine. So, thanks!