...just want to ramble a bit about where it's at and where it might be going.

My PCs are a bunch of "specialists" in the employ of the Baron of Geda in Chybisa. Originally they had relatively mundane positions and they still have those as day jobs (two of them were private tutors to the children of the local nobility, and their education and esoteric "philosophical" talents eventually made them natural choices to throw at "unusual" problems). In the course of their adventures they have made favorable impressions upon not only the Baron and his heir Bjan but also upon Prince Balesir himself (they've even had some small part in helping save the Prince from mysterious assassins). They are currently in Kaldor as part of the Prince's entourage on a lengthy mission of diplomacy/partying that also included the famous royal tourney at Olokand, but will shortly be returning. The PCs themselves have largely ignored the diplomatic goings-on as "not our business to meddle in the affairs of our betters" which is fair enough. I've dropped a few subtle hints that the Prince may not be 100% functional in the head but so far nobody's thought much about this, which suits my purposes very well indeed.

The last couple of sessions were played out against a backdrop of natural disaster. The Gods (i.e. yours truly) saw fit to hit eastern Hârn with the worst summer rain in living memory; a full tenday of hard southerly winds and wide open skies drenching everything. And washing out the remaining snows in the mountains (it was an uncommonly cold and snowy winter). And causing major flooding of all the rivers, with all the damage you'd expect from that (villages inundated, crops ruined, etc). And then, just to add to the hurt, a number of the gargûn tribes of the eastern hills and mountains swarmed down because their food stores were disrupted (and after several good years their populations were already high). Which led to a bit of military action and a few overrun or at least damaged manors (but of course a simple unorganized gargûn swarm by itself is no real threat to a feudal kingdom as a whole, just a bloody nuisance and a further drain on resources).

Now, I figure that the area most badly affected by the gargûn swarm would be none other than the PCs home: Geda. Because most or all of the mines in the Anadel highlands would be overrun, with severe consequences for the local and national economy. A lot of dead miners and a lot of foulspawn squatting in the mines. Getting them out will be difficult and expensive but it is something that needs to be done as soon as possible. But IMC the crown of Chybisa is actually rather strapped for cash (not only is the King still paying interest on the loans drawn up by his father but the Prince has been running up new debts) and they don't have the native manpower to clean out the highland mines without help. So Baron Kjal of Geda will push his idea of inviting hundreds of landless Ivinians from Orbaal and elsewhere and offer them the right to settle on the north bank of the river across from Geda. Which will probably cause all kinds of friction with the Laranian church and fighting order. Which again will let me play up divided loyalties (several of the PCs being devout Laranians). Not to mention the developing problems with the Prince's mental health (he's growing increasingly paranoid and is already in bed with the Church of Naveh after hiring their assassins to dispose of several people he's perceived as threats; the mainstream church of Naveh is planning to use his power against the heretical Augur cult, etc.)

Thanks! I love the Naveh angle you've worked in there.

I agree. I am getting ready to start a campaign in Chybisa myself. I may "borrow" this idea from you for my own pHarn.

Cool set-up.

Those Naveh agents are everywhere in Chybisa...

Not just in Chybisa ...

W-what are you saying?!?

:painting:

Nothing. We are a hedge. Please move along.

Another really neat thing: During the course of one of their earliest adventures they acquired a Big Black Book of Unholy Navehan Lore that Man Was Not Meant To Know. Written in an unfamiliar alphabet and language, of course, and the players knew they were going to have to turn it in to their superiors (the two "private tutors" are also a priest of Save-K'nor and a Savoryan mage, respectively, which is why they're so good at figuring out solutions to weird problems, which is why they have become the people to call when weird problems arise). But curiosity (specifically the desire to learn what the Big Black Book said) drove them to take rather absurd measures: The Savorya guy finally created a spell that allows him to make photographic memories of things he sees, so now he's carrying around a perfect copy of the book in his mind, and is slowly copying out the pages and learning the script and language...

This, of course, is something they've kept secret from everyone.

Oh what a tangled web we weave......

_________________
Hawk

Harn Website: http://www.boiseharn.us/

"Oh bother," said the Borg, "We've assimilated Pooh."

hmmm ... first the Savoryan magically implants the contents of the Navehan book into his mind, and now he is secretly copying it down while he learns its secrets and power.

How do you handle mental corruption and domination in your campaign?

For some reason I can see the sudden need to perform a long lost and forbidden Navehan ritual in his future.



I really like it.