REBECCA STAY OUT!!!
Ok so I've done some good thinking about this adventure and I've come up with two main plot threads. I'm going to post them here (and not on the plot/adventure idea thread) so that any who wish to comment can (with the exception of Rebecca who...wait a sec WHAT ARE YOU DOING STILL READING THIS?!?!)
Now, the first thread, and focus of the story is a convoluted time travel plot involving a long lost member of the Bianco family. Sent to spy on the Explorer's Society for the Caligari, he learns (along with the heroes) about a Syrneth ‘blueprint' found at a dig site. It will help design an artifact of such supreme power that it can actually stop time.
Our villain (a Tinkerer) figures that if it can stop time, he can figure out how to make it reverse time. The plan is to go to Vodacce and open a portal back to 1400 to allow the Biancos to escape the flames of retribution into the future. I will, of course, have the item malfunction and instead cause the conflagration that kills his ancestors.
The adventures in this thread are essentially, learn of the item, figure out what it does, race against the ‘Caligaris' to collect all the parts in order to keep it out of their hands, have it stolen, race to stop Villain from completing his sinister plot.
The second thread revolves around The Iron Queen, Margaret of Avalon. History records that her reign saw a lot of persecution of Objectionists and Traditionalists, lots of burnings at the stake, etc.
Well, never one to like history as written, I asked myself how this turn of events could have happened besides the simple ‘Margaret was a devout Vatacine' answer. Then it occurred to me, Die Kreutzritter. What if, unwritten in the history books, Margaret (in disguise) witnessed her younger sister being carted off to Bryn Brysail by several inhumanly beautiful and terrifying people and their lapdog, Derwyddon? What if she looked into the old legends of the Sidhe and the unspoken history of the Glamor Isles, becoming so obsessed that she read old heretical texts and Cymric scrolls? What if she found out not only are the Sidhe real but that they are related to the Syrneth?
She'd certainly not be happy if these otherworldly monsters intended to return to enslave her precious Avalon. But what could she do? As far as she could tell, there was no way to stop them. At that point, the DK showed up. Their research had dovetailed with Margaret's and, given their knowledge of the dark paths, they'd come to an interesting conclusion. Elaine's abduction portended the return of the Sidhe. Worse, many of the so-called traditionalists would become mages once they did return. What this meant about the return of the other Syrneth races, the DK couldn't speculate, but as far as they were concerned, all the Syrneth are equally dangerous.
So, armed with the knowledge that eradicating the traditionalists and other mages would weaken the Sidhe and Syrneth, Margaret set to work.
Now the problem with this particular thread is where exactly to go with this. What I have so far is a plot involving Margaret's attempts to secretly get rid of some of the more powerful (influential, rich, noble) traditionalists. The heroes meet the son of one of these couples, a youth named Jeremy (who has designs on becoming a sailor of all things). They befriend him over the course of a couple of adventures. Then stealing a page from the Frenzy, Avalon nobles roam the streets capturing and abducting several traditionalist nobles. Ostensibly they are seeking Margaret's favor, but in truth, they are following orders. The rest I'm not real sure about.
So let's hear it. Questions, comments, suggestions. I'm all ears.
Mark
