Settlement: Felstar's Faltering, A village overshadowed.
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The wizard Felstar was a mighty mage, with a vast army at his command, pride beyond imagining, and power enough to strike fear into the hearts of all. That was before a questing hero happened by , handed the wizard his ass, and for good measure brought his towering spire crashing down to earth. In the centuries since, the remnants of the wizard's servants and soldiers have built a village for themselves in the ruins of their master's fortress, transforming it from arcane edifice to orcish clanhold
The folk of Faltering tend to keep to themselves, as many have not forgiven them for their forebear's actions under the wizard's command, despite the fact most of those same forebears allied with the hero to oust the mage that had enslaved them.
Still, if you're looking for a haven in the wilderness, or perhaps a chance to scavenge through old Felstar's secrets, there's no better destination.
Adventure Hooks:
Somewhat of an outcast among her people, the mage Zharga Zagrinnsdotter has dedicated herself to reclaiming as much of the dead mage's research as possible, piecing over ruins and exploring the sites of power Felstar established throughout the region. Though many suspect her motives, she follows the teachings of the sage-god Boccob and seeks to understand the wizard's magic so that her people will never be subjugated by it again. She's a good ally to have if the party need an expert on the arcane, and she's willing to pay them for an escort through the more dangerous ruins in the region. She may even take one of them as her apprentice, if they can put up with a belligerent old woman half way on her way to being a mad hermit.
Tensions are running high when one of the village's traders disappears while travelling in nearby human lands, with some fearing that he's been murdered by those who hold to the old grudges. The village elders are split between petitioning the local authorities (which may come to nothing) or sending out their own to investigate ( which may exacerbate tensions). The party provides a convenient third option, able to move unhindered while tracking the merchant's trail. An investigation will win them Faltering's favour, and take them to the market of the local human capital where furs from the forest around the village and old arcane relics are being sold by a number of shady dealers.
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It is strange (especially for those who view their relationship with the gods as transactional) that one might offer up prayers to a figure known widely by the epithet " The Uncaring". Why perform oath and ritual for a being that will not intercede on your behalf? Or grant you good favour in exchange for your sacrifices? Those that study the words of Boccob understand they have no need to beg for miracles when they have magic at their command.
Known to commoners as a god of magic, foresight, and balance, Boccob is not so much a deity as he was a great teacher, a philosopher-sage who's now ancient treatise on magic and council on it's use are as much an object of faith for many as a more ordinary god's scripture. In instructing his students how to be wizards, Boccob taught his students how to be good wizards, and these lessons form the ironshod foundations of innumerable magical traditions practised to this day.
Central to Boccob's teachings was the idea that magic was a path that must be walked to gain greater understanding, and that an adherent of this path should study, experience, and witness as much of its wonders as possible in order to become better arcanists, leading to the adoption of the open and unjudging eye as his symbol. Boccob himself followed this path to the outer planes and beyond, never to be seen again, leading many to credit Boccob with being the first mortal to climb the fabled infinite staircase, or perhaps even its architect.
Adventure Hooks:
Millennia after his (literal or figurative) ascension, a scroll containing hitherto unseen passages of Boccob's writings have been discovered in a crumbling library, setting off a disastrous chain of events as jealous archmages scrabble for the text like seagulls after a frenchfry. Their clashes are frequent, leaving the surrounding area scattered with hastily summoned servitors and all manner of misfired magic. Perhaps if the party is quick and clever they could sneak in and take the text for themselves, learning its wisdom or using it as a bargaining chip with one of these powerful spellslingers.
If it’s one thing Boccob’s Acolytes like almost as much as uncovering the arcane secrets of the universe, it’s proving their intellectual superiority by hiding their findings behind inscrutable riddles and logic games, the way The Uncaring did for his first pupils. Ledoran’s Labynthical Libram is an infamous example of this practice, a spellbook containing all manner of useful rituals and genuinely brilliant insights hidden behind a gauntlet of ciphers, mazes, and "gotcha" enchantments. Any self styled master of the arcane is likely to have a copy on their shelves, meaning that' it's only a quick looting spree away from ending up in the party's possession.
If "a wizard did it" is the answer to the age old question of "how?", "because they were listening to Boccob?" is the answer to the inevitable follow up of "why". Arcane crossbreeds, inexplicable puzzle dungeons, magical items amounting to bad jokes with bodycounts, all of these are created by The Uncaring's followers as a means of testing and expanding their abilities.
More of my adventures involving Boccob and his followers can be found HERE
Lets get into some philosophy...
While Ioun promotes the study of arcana for the sake of furthering knowledge, Mystra maintains and obscures the secrets of the weave, and Corellon glories in the wonders spellcraft might create , Boccob focuses on the pursuit of magical ability as a means and end of its own.
To Boccob, " I want to learn magic so I can be great/help people/make life easier" is a false start, because it ties the acquisition and understanding of magic to an external metric, encouraging the practitioner to take shortcuts with the magic to achieve their worldly desires.
Greatness, beneficence, and ease of living are but some of the infinite virtues that follow from being a great mage. Indeed, a reoccuring theme in Boccobian writing (especially in the ensuing literature made by his followers) is the idea of the Panexplicatic endstate of magic, where the perfect mage (and the body of wisdom they represent) has an answer for all things, specifically a magical awnser.
While some followers have taken this to mean that a mage's pursuit should always be towards omnipotence (Vecna's grasping eye motif can be seen as a direct response to Boccob's unjudging one) the largely more accepted thought is that arcanists should specifically dream small, creating a self sufficient life for themselves withdrawn from the world while focusing on the inward path towards enlightenment. That's why you'll so often find wizards at the top of spires in remote areas, interacting only with their apprentices or whatever travellers have gone far afield to seek them out for magical guidance.
This leads into one of the main critiques of Boccobian thought, which is that it alienates the practitioner from the world at large, not only focusing on magic to the exclusion of all else but also contextualizing magic as something that exists only to help the practitioner along their individual path, other people and consequences be damned. A hedgemage living a simple life in the forest may seem like they're hurting no one when they create a tree that grows a full crop of apples every day so they don't need to worry about stocking their larder... but what happens to the local ecosystem when these everladen trees start cross pollinating with others, to say nothing of the drain/disruption to nearby laylines and how such magic might have downstream consequences. To take a completely different tack with the same problem, the poor in the village nearby might LOVE to have a bottomless supply of apples, but the Boccobian adherent would say that because they haven't devoted the years of study required to create the tree, they're not entitled to its fruits.
Titles: The Uncaring, the Master of all Magics, Archmage of the Infinite
Symbols: An eye in a pentagram, often crowned with a crescent arc.
Signs: Light through a cracked open door, stars that seem longer than they should be, the appearance of inexplicable magical text.
Worshippers: Sorcerers, wizards, and any with an access to magic innate or otherwise. Adherents usually worship in private practice but occasionally band together into temples or schools.
Lets see those new-money halfwits downriver keep up with THIS
Setup: Once the lakeside keep of an exorbitantly wealthy noble house, the ruin now known as Saargael’s loft is a looming reminder of the impracticalities of magic intruding into daily life. As the stories tell it, generations ago the Voldora family hired themselves a wizard in a show of excess, paying for the famed magician’s every need and funding his arcane research in exchange for the performance of whimsical feats.
Saargael was this wizard’s name, and through his noble patronage he was able to assemble a library the envy of wizards across the continent, paying for it with enchantments and whimsical boons until such time as the Voldoras were entertaining the the royal court sorcerer. This prestigious prestidigitator shamed Saargael’s work as mere party-tricks inciting the wizened old coot to perform a great work of magic out of pure spite. Saargael levitated the Voldora keep by power of his will alone, ripping the fortress from its earthly foundations and setting the magic so deep that none could hope to (safely) undo it.
After that, the stories say that the Voldoras tried to make use of their new lofty living space, using more of Saargael’s sorcery to transport servants and supplies to and fro... but eventually it all became to much. The Voldoras and their household tricked out to one of their many other estates, leaving their home, their wizard, and his grand library to gather dust.
Adventure Hooks:
A low level party might begin their quest in the lakeside town that once serviced the Voldora keep, hearing stories of the wizard and getting to explore the now wild forest that was once the noble house’s hunting grounds as the fortress looms overhead. Its said that arcane treasures occasionally fall from the loft, which is to say nothing of the magical wonders Saargael built for his patrons which now sit derelict across the region.
A retired and eccentric goblin military officer has a scheme to breach the floating ruin involving a custom catapult and a giant grappling hook. All she needs is the party’s buyin and a few weeks to have the damn thing built. Approaching them as they’re flush with cash from their last job, the party will need to decide whether they trust this distressingly enthusiastic siege engineer, or whether plundering a trove of arcane knowledge is worth trusting their lives to a cable hundreds of feet in the air and a stockpile of featherfall potions
A party with access to flying magic may think that the loft is easy plunder, but they’ll have to be careful of the flocks of mechanical birds that Saargael animated for the defense of the keep. Teleportation is also hazardous, as the wards placed on the loft ensure that any attempts at arcane entry that didn't go through the wizard’s private runic circle deposit the trespasser in the castle dungeons. The surviving Voldora family may have countermeasures to these defenses (a seal that shows the birds that the party that are guests, records of the runic circle) but acquiring them will either require cutting one of nobles in on the deal, or heisting it out from under their noses.
Challenges & Complications:
One of the younger Voldaras had a great fondness for cuddly creatures and Saargael amused them by transmuting all manner of playmate for them over the years. Several of these eidolons survived, becoming arcane mutants lurking in the castle or dwelling in the lands below. While most have gone feral and borderline predatory, they still respond to challenges for childish games such as hide and seek or “Saargael-says”, which the party can use to avoid becoming a meal at teatime.
A flight of gargoyles has taken up residence within the tower, hunting in the valley each night and returning to the castle during the day. Mostly content to prey on deer and comb the banks for polished river stones, the locals regard these rocky creatures as a threat like most others would wolves. Far more intelligent than your average night creature, one might be able to negotiate passage up to the loft provided you speak the language of stone and have something significantly shiny to trade.
As the Voldoras and their servants filed out of the castle, Saargael became increasingly more hermitlike, being forced to rely more and more on his magic to sustain his aging body. To this end, the castle is filled with animated objects, as well as illusions of guest and servants to keep a dottering old man company. Many halls are also overgrown with fruiting vines or converted into wild gardens, most of which have been left to rot on the vine or become infused with wild magic.
Jealous as any mage with a large enough book collection, the wizard protected his library well, installing wards and arcane guardians as any of his colleagues might, but also creating a number of false libraries once he had the run of the castle. Such decoys include: “ The one where the books try to eat you”, “the one that pulls you into an infinite realm of books”, and “ the one with the book so interesting that you stop to read it while a big snake tries to eat you”. The partially senile old wizard never quite finished the last one, and still stands there decades later gazing into the ensnaring pages of an illuminated manuscript. Should the party close the book, they’ll shake the wizard from his reverie, possibly gaining a new ally but also possibly having to return all the stuff they’ve just stolen.
So one of my players got sent to a different plane, and is pretty much stuck there, so the rest of the party will have to try and rescue her; I figure they somehow will have to get their hands on a Gate scroll. Any ideas for where they could find such a scroll, and even more importantly, where would they hear about it? Or maybe what favour would they have to do for the city's resident high level wizard? Thanks so much in advance!
Ally: The Index
" My oh my you don't belong here, which is to say that I don't think I have a spot for you in the catalog, not that you are unwelcome, oh has anyone told you that you are welcome yet? I'd do it but I'm not sure I'm authorized, then again I'm not sure I've not been authorized to welcome you, in which case I extend to you a conditional welcoming and/or unwelcoming depending on privileges pending. If you could find yourself a seat, I'm five eights of the way through constructing an itemized list of the moths I've found in the library over the past year. It should only take another two days, then I'll fetch you some tea.
Setup: Seeking help from a powerful arcanist, the party is pointed towards the home of one Minerva Motteheaper, an archmage famed among the locals for never turning away anyone with a problem. When the party reaches her manor however, they find the place in shabby disrepair, exterior overgrown with moss and ivy and interior thick with dust. Following some of the only signs of habitation, they are drawn to a haphazardly sorted magical library, governed over by an eidetic but scatterbrained construct that calls itself "The Index". Left in charge of the house and mentally overburdened by the sheer number of things that need "sorting", the party will either need to seek help further afield or make themselves useful in crossing a few things off the construct's hastily scrawled to-do list.
Adventure Hooks:
Other tasks on the to-do list include "deal with greenhouse infestation" which will see the party dealing with a foul-tempered fey and it's giant insectoid pets, and "Check on Pinky, basement?" which involves rescuing The Index's pintsized mechanical sibling form a pile of barrels that've pinned it down in the cellar for months. The More tasks they clear off the list, the more clearheaded The Index becomes, allowing it to field their questions and even propose solutions given enough research time.
One section of the List is " Dust the Garnet landing, 3rd floor, CAUTION". Investigating finds the players infront of a fancy mahogany door that doesne't seem to make sense with the surrounding architecture, a bowl of eternally fresh fruit, and a small placard that translates itself into their native tongue that says " You have stumbled upon a landing of the infinite Staircase, if you wish to return home, enter the door and retrace your steps. If you seek something more precious than home, return to the stair and begin walking in the direction you set out in. Rest here if you must, walking the stair is dangerous, you will tire but you will not be able to sleep." Evidently Archmage Motteheaper's home intersects with some kind of "world between worlds", which may lead the party out into the greater cosmos later on.
After The Index's mind is cleared and Pinky is Recovered, the two will ask the party a favor: Neither of them know where their creator currently is, an their other siblings are scattered all about. If the party could help reunite them, perhaps together they'd be able to figure out where the Archmage has ended up.
Background: Like many powerful arcanists, archmage Minerva Motteheaper juggled many responsibilities, from advising the town elders on matters of state, to defending the region against arcane anomalies, to solving the problems of those who'd come to knock on the door of her stately manor. Eventually it all became too much for one person to handle, so Minerva built a series of constructs to help her with the day to day tasks so that she could focus on the things important to her. Several years ago however, the duty-burdened archmage said "fuck it" and teleported away, leaving her mechanical servitors to keep things up in her absence.
Future Adventures:
Thumper the Groundskeeper is actually still on the property. Years ago the stocky, stubborn bot worked itself to exhaustion one winter and ended up falling into the frogpond, in which it has rusted in ever since. The party will need a proper arcane crafter to fix the machine, whether that be from among their own number or seeking one out.
Tall and Spindly Medius was built to provide wisdom to the local authorities, and now occupies a seat on the town council, advising whos ever in charge. Unsupervised, the construct has taken its role a bit too far, and now masterminds local politics through a web of puppets, spies, and blackmail. It has no qualms about helping the party to recover its creator, but it may turn out to be an adversary somewhere down the road.
Battle-ready Ringer was made to be Minerva's personal assistant and bodguyard, but with no BODY to actually guard, the construct has become proactive in hunting down threats in the locality in case they ever become a problem to the archmage after her return. The only way the party will be able to find it is by figuring out which of the bounty missions from the local guild it's recently taken and catching up with it in the field.
For the Asker: Getting just one of your party stuck requires some creativity, especially if that player is still about and able to play while their character remains in the cosmic penalty box. My advice is to let them play AS Pinky ( A small sized Warforged Rogue at level with the party) while they climb the astral staircase, moving through a series of planear themed challenges before they get to whatever dimension their original party member was stranded in. THEN have some fun dropping some exposition about what happened to the stranded character and what strange things might've befallen them in their time away.
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This guy is Agosto. a cleric of boccob, yhes a cleric with a repeat heavy crossbow. in him, i try to recreate the tipical 40´s detective. he moves through shadows and its a very good lier as a diplomatic...
Well not sure what exactly you want (feats, PrCs, monsters, there are a lot of options) but I went ahead and built a pseudo-theurge PrC for clerics of Boccob.
Instead of making a giant post which would require me to understand tumblr’s ui better and figure out how to answer in html instead of rich text I posted it on the forums I post most all of my homebrew and it can be found here: Devotee of Pure Magic.
