The Ideal Ending
I’m not sure if you all are viewing this site anymore or if you’ve all moved on, but I thought that you deserved to hear the ideal series of events and ending for the campaign which was started some time ago.
Arc 3.5: Numengard
Following the last recorded entry (found in the Dunkerk section), the party discovered evidence of treachery in Dunkerk, the King of Almaren was captured and most of his army destroyed, the party was nearly killed by Bog Tooth, and was then framed for the murder of Baroness Araemita Pegason. For this, Astrid, Sarcenn, and Vorlexian were taken to the great Almaren prison of Numengard. Later on, they were joined by Cameron and Bog Tooth and freed from their cells. This led to an extended battle within the prison complex which ended with them standing before General Thoaver Crutumaul while in possession of a letter of mark. There were no game sessions past this point, leaving the campaign incomplete.
Arc 4: Karrac
Ideally, the party would have ended up in Karrac following a massive assault on the prison by a warforged army (Terry’s first character, a warforged, would have been created as part of this army). The evil witch, Maleficent, being the one who drew and bound Sarcenn to this plane, had created the warforged army and planned to use it to overwhelm the City of Karrac after destroying the prison of Numengard.
Through interactions within the city, the Arcane Academy, and with members of the Cult of the Raven Queen (of which Astrid was a part), the party would have helped to defend the city from the initial warforged onslaught and foiled the plot by the evil wizard Maleficent. The party would likely end up taking control of the creation forge which constructed the warforged army. The party would then decided whether or not to destroy the forge or turn it over to the king’s men.
In this arc, further development of Sarcenn’s and Astrid’s story would hopefully have occurred. Vorlexian’s story would be further developed through dreams and visions.
Arc 5: Berylingard
Following this, the party would ideally be drawn to Exmoor, where the Queen would implore the party to travel to Berylingard (a nearby dwarf/human metropolis) in order to protect her son and solve a mystery involving the murder of the heir of the dwarf nation of Morduruk. The dwarven heir was on an “heir exchange program” in Exmoor when he was murdered. This would put significant strain on the already strained relations between the two neighboring countries.
While in Berylingard, the party would interact with the locals, dwarven nobility, and the city’s leaders. The party would eventually repair relations or making them worse. As the sessions passed, an attempt would be made on the life of the Almaren heir and the party would foil the attack. The assassination attempt was made by the Black Hand, a radical sect of the Cult of the Raven Queen. Ideally, proof would be discovered to prove the Black Hand’s culpability and relations between Almaren and Morduruk could start to heal.
Astrid’s story and perhaps some of Cameron’s and Bog Tooth's story would be further developed in this arc. Vorlexian’s story would be further developed through dreams and visions.
Arc 6: Exmoor/Begnion
The party would now be officially recognized as heroes of Almaren at a grand ceremony which coincided with the investiture of the Queen as Regent of Almaren until either the King was found or her son reached his 18th birthday. The party would be given property within Exmoor. Following this, a change would suddenly come over Almaren. The party would be asked to perform questionable tasks and witness actions by the Queen’s lieutenants that would be downright evil. Repression and the enforcement of martial law would become the norm in Exmoor and most of Almaren. However, through all this, the Queen’s behavior would not degenerate…implying that the problem lay with her advisors and the other nobility, rather than the queen.
Eventually, the party would be asked to visit the City of Begnion to investigate the Earl of Begnion on charges of sedition. Upon arriving in Begnion, the party would be incapacitated and imprisoned within the city. They would be freed by the Earl of Begnion, who would prove his innocence in the matter and point towards the Queen’s direct hand in the matter. The Queen apparently planned to take down the Earl and the party in one swift stroke. Driven either by revenge or a desire for justice, the party would venture back to Exmoor, infiltrate the Imperial Palace, and confront the Queen. After a fight in the throne room, it would become apparent that the Queen had been overshadowed by an aspect of Tiamat and that Tiamat was behind everything that had happened in Almaren up to that point.
Arc 7: Endgame
The City of Salusa was conquered by Tiamat’s agents. Devonshire, the focus of the empire’s military power, was besieged by her allies. The Baron of Dunkerk and the leader of the Almaren Trade Authority were subverted by Tiamat’s promises of wealth and power. The witch Maleficent was aided by Tiamat in the discovery and creation of the warforged army to conquer Karrac and secure the northern half of Almaren. The Black Hand was twisted by Tiamat, initially with the consent of the Raven Queen, to sow discord between Almaren and Morduruk and eventually ignite a war which would further weaken the empire. The Earl of Begnion was corrupted first and desecrated the Cathedral of Bahamut for the worship Tiamat and he worked to spread her influence. The King was captured by the Earl of Begnion and imprisoned deep within the city.
The party’s discovery prompts the Queen to swift action. The full might of Exmoor is unleashed against Tiamat’s besiegers and, with the help of the party, the siege of Devonshire is broken. The Duke of Devonshire takes command of the united army and immediately marches for Begnion or Salusa. When approaching Begnion, a large ground battle would commence and the party members would command separate divisions in an almost Risk-like or Stratego-style combat. Depending on the party’s previous actions, the party’s army or the enemy forces would receive additional reinforcements. These reinforcements could include a warforged army, a dwarven army, wizards and magical devices from Karrac, hunters from Salusa, or psychic enforcers from Dunkerk.
Ideally, the military forces of Begnion would be destroyed, as they would receive few reinforcements. The Duke would then lay siege to the City of Begnion. The party would then be directed to infiltrate the city with the task of opening the gates of the city to limit friendly losses. They would enter the city via a portal spell learned by Vorlexian early in the campaign. After succeeding at their task, they would assist the army in conquering the city. However, the conquest is abruptly halted as Tiamat has begun to break through the planar barriers and will conquer all of Almaren if she succeeds. A climatic battle would occur in and around the Cathedral of Bahamut. Old enemies from earlier in the campaign would be fought in almost duel-like settings as Tiamat uses her abilities to divide the party. At last, the party would succeed in entering the Cathedral and confronting the Earl in the main chamber.
A battle between the Earl and several Aspects of Tiamat would commence. Eventually, a party member would need to make the ultimate sacrifice to prevent Tiamat from entering Almaren. This would finally end the fight and allow the King to be rescued and the reconstruction of Almaren to begin.
Epilogue
The party would be honored for their efforts in various ways based on the paths of their individual stories and their own motivations. A human or elf character would have the option of gaining a noble title and possibly rulership of a city. A dwarf would have a similar option in Berylingard. A dragonborn, changling, etc., would have an option of being placed highly in the military or intelligence arms of the empire. Sarcenn would finally be free to leave Almaren and the character who sacrificed would be forever remembered in the histories of Almaren.