Beginnings

Our heroes start in a tavern - why not? Everyone has to say why they are in the town. The hot topic of conversation in the tavern that night is the recent disappearance of some local kids. Six or seven kids were kidnapped last night, and the townsfolk are looking for a group of people to go rescue them. Hopefully, the PCs step up. Otherwise, more kids are taken the next night, and the situation deteriorates.



The PCs track a crowd of small footprints to a local forest known to have fey connections. After a couple of possible encounters, they arrive a small cave opening in a hillside. (Possible forest encounters could be a fey creature, or perhaps they get lost and find an escaped kid who can show them the way). The cave is a warren of "night goblins", which are goblins with additional powers from the Feywild Denizen template in the DM2. The PCs fight through a couple of areas, 3-4 encounters maybe, until they find the back room where the kids are located. Perhaps clues are found that indicate the goblins are slavers, and indicate a place and time for "delivery" (sunrise tomorrow at a nearby menhir in the forest).



Then things get tricky. When they open the door, the room is full of kids, playing and having a good time. Some appear to be the missing children, but there are more kids here than the village lost. The truth is, the other "kids" are goblins with the Change Shape power, and they are polymorphed into children. They stole the children as slaves for "higher ups", under the guise of being friends. They are mischievous and cruel though, and are keeping the kids happy and distracted in order to make the betrayal worse.



The goblin-kids don't immediately attack. They let the PCs explain why they are there, and let them try and collect the missing kids. Then the mind-games begin. Depending on how the PCs handle it, things could go a couple of ways. If the PCs ask if Billy is here, they answer "no", and try to confuse any kid who says yes. If the PCs "call roll" and ask Billy to come forward, one of them changes to look like Billy and steps forward along with the real one, prompting a "You're not Billy, I'm Billy" episode. A good perception check on a second or third kid lets a PC notice the change take place, and gives them a clue what's going on.



Eventually a fight will break out, probably. Perhaps a quiet, shy boy walks up to one of the PCs and says "I have a secret for you," then ganks him. This could be tricky though, as you don't want to kill the kids. Do the goblins keep up the pretense, or drop it for the fight? Do the kids participate or not? This scene might be easier to manage if a shape-changer goblin was previously encountered, leaving the PCs wary.



Theoretically, the PCs might also take all the "kids" back to town, and will have to figure out what to do with the extras. If they are left alone for the night anywhere, they escape into the woods in the early morning and make for the meeting place.



The "Night Goblins" could be a recurring force through the levels 1-3 or so, though anything past that would need bigger baddies. Perhaps their patron gets upset with the PCs interference, which leads to later challenges. If the PCs decide to meet at the portal for the delivery they can aim to be there before sunrise and hide to see what happens. Any remaining goblins show up right before sunrise, and the PCs can decide what to do with them. At some point during the fight (+ or - depending on the PCs) the portal in the menhir opens. A beautiful and richly attired eladrin woman stands on the other side, with another man and woman standing behind and to the side of her. She briefly takes in the scene, and responds as appropriate. If there's a fight, she says to the PCs something like "Oh, now you've gone and ruined it. I think you owe me for this, and don't worry - I always collect my debts" and closes the portal on her next turn. Any surviving goblins can make a break for it, if possible. If the PCs are alone when it opens, the eladrin might talk for a few rounds before leaving. She'll at least ask what became of the goblins, and will likely conclude with a statement similar to above if she learns the truth. She does not reveal her name, and does not cross the portal. If any PCs move toward or attack her, she closes the portal immediately.


The PCs can return to town, likely having earned an enemy. However, the townspeople celebrate their success, at least until the next day when the local forest elves start to go nuts, leading to the "Elves in the Forest" adventure. Between these two the PCs should reach level 2, at which point the town is so impressed with them that they send them on the Icy Spire adventure.

Story Ideas

Epic arcs have to begin somewhere, right?

Level 1-2: The PCs are local folk in a town (Loudwater?), and the adventure starts with local kids being kidnapped one night. Tracks lead to a nearby forest known ot have fey connections (Dire Wood). Kids are rescued from night goblins/gnomes/other mischeivious fey. Tone is a cross between light-hearted and malicious. Can draw inspiration from "Rescue at Rivenroar", Dun 155, if needed.
Level 1: "Elves of the Valley", Dun 178 (delve). Local elves are corrupted by a dark creature and turn to banditry. Destroying the creature and restoring the elves earns their friendship.
Level 2-3: The heroes are sent to investigate, "Menace of the Icy Spire", Dun 159. Breaking the ice ward on the tower earns a visit from the winter fey, who claim a debt from the PCs to be repaid later.
Level 4: "Stormcrow Tor", Dun 169 (delve, perhaps to obtain the Wrathstone artifact).

Level 7ish: "Treed", Dun 171. Very short encounter to help desparate elves, and meet a gnome arcanist who might be useful later. Maybe elves from Level 1.
Level 7ish: "Danger at the White Lotus Academy", Dun 165 (filler delve). Perhaps tied to an errand leading to the "House of Pain" adventure later on.
Level 8-9: "Last Breath of Ashenport", Dun 157? (Filler)
Level 9ish: "House of Pain", Dun163. Two encounters, short conclusion. A Shadar-kai witch is turning fey to shadow against their will. Recovering the ritual from the temple in the module could be a favor called in by some fey liege. Would need to get the story to the point where the PCs end up at an Underdark portal to the Shadowfell. Could introduce a shadow nemesis for later.
Level 10-11: "Dark Heart of Mithrendain", Dun 157 (Intro to Feywild)
Level 12: "Worse Than Death", Dun 164. Possible side-trek, or a trick from the Gloaming fey to see test the PCs character. A rich lord has been kidnapped, and the PCs are hired by his mistress to rescue him. Only the lord turns out to be a succubus, who has faked the kidnapping and lures the PCs to an insane eladrin's lair.
Level 13: "Clash of Steel", Dun 172 - A triple-cross gang war between disguised dragons (filler).

Level 15: "Caves of Menace", DD pg 96 - short delve to rescue kidnapped eladrin nobles and prevent a fomorian/eladrin war.
Level 15-17: "Throne of the Stone-Skinned King", Dun 166. Story would have to be adjusted, but the heart of it is bargaining with a Fomorian king, using a winter relic, to establish an alliance/truce.
Level 18: "Summer's End", DD pg 114. Can be expanded to provide an intro to the Wild Hunt.

Level 22-almost 24: "Winter of the Witch", Dun 162, pits the PCs against a powerful winter fey. Can be tied to the Level 2 module. The PCs are definitely against the Winter Court now, which will lead to a direct confrontation with the Prince of Frost.

Other random story arcs:
- Once in the feywild, the PCs are recruited to negotiate a cease-fire between two archfey, the Cat Lord and the Wolf King. They have both claimed a section of forest near an eladrin city as their demesne, and are fighting over it, well, like cats and dogs. The eladrin need it to stop.
- Rip off "the Phantom Tollbooth": The PCs visit a town that is shabby and dismal, and random things just happen - there's no rhyme or reason to it. After speaking with the local lord, the PCs find out it is literally true - the princesses Rhyme and Reason have been imprisoned by their two brothers, who didn't agree over a decision they had made. The first king wants them back, but the brother (who is king somewhere else) must agree. When the PCs visit him, they must work around the fact that the brothers won't ever agree; proving the point that they have agreed to disagree earns the brother's blessing and entrance to the dungeon holding the princesses.
- Purge a tower claimed by a mad goblin lord. It is covered with twitching vines of unnatural hue, and the crazy alchemist is making a nuisance of himself. It's a classic dungeon-tower crawl, with as many odd and absurd thing as possible. The whole place should illicite a three letter response - "wtf?"
- Remember some fey are kind and compassionate, others are ruthless. Some are fascinated by mortals, and want to keep them as pets.
- The PCs are engaged to fight in an arena under false pretenses - they are told it is team vs team, but then they are the only ones who show up and the rules are changed that they must fight each other because only one person can leave the arena. If they refuse to fight, the response is "well, someone has to leave alone, so here's someone who will kill all of you" and a solo beasty is introduced.
- The PCs are caught by firbolgs, who live only for the hunt. They are told "we can either kill you now, or you can let us hunt you. Make it entertaining, and you might even live." They are given a headstart defined by a timer - an hourglass who's speed changes relative to something (distance, efforts to escape, etc). This would be an event early in the PCs feywild career, when they can't hope to win their freedom, and the threat of being hunted should hang over their heads for a few levels so they are always looking over their shoulders waiting for it.
- Save the Maiden of the Moon (archfey) from a plot by the alliance of the Harrowhame fomorians and the Brokenstone Vale lycanthropes.

Creature Levels

A spread of Fey creatures from the Monster Manuals, with levels shown:

Elves - Level 2-5
Gnomes - Level 2-15
Drow - Level 3-18
Myconid - Level 3-5
Faerie Dragon - Level 4
Fey Panther - Level 4
Harpy - Level 4-6
Eladrin - Level 5+
Spriggan - Level 6-9
Satyr - Level 7-9
Owlbear - Level 8
Displacer Beast - Level 9
Dryad - Level 9-13
Unicorn - Level 9
Quickling - Level 9-11
Bog Hag - Level 10
Will-o-Wisp - Level 10
Banshrae - Level 11-13
Blightborn - Level 11
Lamia - Level 12
Centaur - Level 12-14
Firbolg - Level 12+
Fomorian - Level 14+
Cyclops - Level 14+
Baelnorn Lich - Level 15
Drider - Level 15
Treant - Level 16
Lingerer - Level 16-19
Eldritch Giant - Level 18
Death Hag - Level 18
Exarch of Lolth - Level 19
Fomorian King - Level 20
Wild Hunt - Level 21-22
Mournwind/SoulSorrow - Level 24
Koliada, Winter Witch - Level 26
Prince of Frost - Level 31

Starting Hooks

Copied directly from a post at "Necromancers of the Northwest" website, some ways to kick off adventures (The first is great for an early start, with The Deal maybe mid to late heroic tier to get things pointed towards the Feywild):

The Deal
In popular literature fey are often depicted as liking to strike deals and bargains with mortal beings in exchange for aid in some form or another. Fey often demand future favors from those desperate or foolish enough to bargain with them. To set this one up, you have two options depending on the time available and your preference. Your first option is to have a fey creature approach the PCs early in their career, particularly if they seem in over their heads, and offer to solve their problems for them in exchange for a later favor. There are three major advantages to doing things this way: first, negotiating deals with otherworldly entities can be a great roleplay experience; second, when you call in the favor later your players will appreciate the consistency of your campaign and will they will probably feel more committed to the adventure that follows; third, you can abuse this set up several times, each time adding more and more debt, giving you an interesting campaign feature and a whole ton of readymade plot hooks. The other way to go about the set-up is to say that one or more of the PCs have inherited a debt owed to the fey in question. This approach really only has one advantage: speed. It’s quick and lets you use the plot hook without a lot of planning or set-up.

However you choose to do the set-up, the hooks goes like this: out of thin air appears a tall, lithe and hauntingly beautiful woman with skin the color of moonlight and eyes like polished jade. She has an almost musical tone to her voice as she addresses your group (the PCs), “Greeting mortals, my name is Suri’aria. I have purchased your debt from a dear friend of mine and I’m afraid that I have need of your services.” The woman pauses briefly to close her eyes and draw in a deep breath before continuing. “The diadem of Vernus Siltre has been stolen and I would ask that you recover it before it’s too late.”

Okay, from here it’s up to you what you want to do with this one. You should first decide who stole the diadem. Personally, I like rival fey since the creatures are well known for being treacherous little buggers, but if you have a better candidate in mind use them instead. Next on your to-do list should be figuring out if Suri’aria knows who took the diadem. If you’re just looking for a little dungeon crawl, have her tell the PCs what’s up and where they need to go; but if you want to add a more investigatory element to the adventure make sure you have plenty of clues scattered around so that the PCs can figure out what’s going on. Finally, you need to pick an end-game. Consider Suri’aria’s motives – perhaps she wants the diadem for reasons the PCs don’t want anything to do with, or maybe “stolen” may be a loose interpretation of what happened. Perhaps the person who stole the diadem is planning a ritual to destroy the world or some such and the PCs are now on a ticking clock. PCs who try to ignore this adventure should be punished for breaking their deals with the fey; geas/quest is a good place to start, but feel free to get creative.

The Child

Another common portrayal for the fey is as dangerous and feral thieves who are liable to up and snatch village children out playing past their bedtime. This is exactly what happened in this hook. Jon and Ellie have just had their child snatched in the night by a gang of pixies, and are at a loss as to what to do. So of course they hire the PCs to confront the monsters, smash them, and bring little Jon, Jr. back home. In case the PCs aren’t moved by the plight of this family in trouble, they’re offering up one of their family heirlooms as a reward: a magic amulet of natural armor (whatever bonus strikes your fancy). As it turns out the pixies aren’t hard to find and the PCs meet up with them and the child. The pixies claim that the child is theirs, because the parents made a deal with the family a long time ago that in exchange for some fey power they would take their firstborn son; the fey have only made good on their deal. While the devolvement from here is more in the hands of your players, the details are all down to you. Are the pixies in the right? Does it matter? Or are they lying to the PCs? Where is the child happier? And what happens if the PCs do decide to smash the pixies - do they just stand there and take it or do they use their prodigious abilities to evade detection and flee? For added fun remember that pixies have memory loss arrows and that those things can have a real fun effect on your game.

Locales

The MotP details this more closely, but some places of interest to note:

- Astrazalian, City of Starlight: An eladrin city which exists in the mortal world during the Spring and Summer, and spends the Fall and Winter in the Feywild. While in the mortal world, it is locally well known and commercially available. In the Feywild, it is under constant attack from fomorians and other evil fey who could use it as a stronghold for raids in the mortal world. The leader of the city is a relative to Tiandra of the Summer Fey, and service to Astrazalian is looked on favorably in her court.

- Brokenstone Vale: Home of lycanthropes in the Feywild, visiting here could be related to a side trek for the Maiden of the Moon. Perhaps she wishes to purge it, or the PCs learn of a plot between fomorians/lycanthropes to ambush and slay the Maiden; defending her would earn her trust.

- Cendriane: Eladrin city ruin, haunted by undead and holding ancient secrets.

- The Feydark: Fey equivalent of the Underdark, home to various fomorian and goblin kingdoms, etc. One of these is Harrowhame, ruled by a bipolar fomorian king with ties to Brokenstone Vale. A variety of adventures await here, as the dark fey seek to take advantage of the faction war to claim as much power and territory for themselves as possible. The center of power in the Feydark lies with the insane(?) lord of Mag Tureah. This underground realm has unstable ties to the mortal realm and possibly the Far Realm, and the fomorian king may not be as mad as everyone thinks he is. If he was able to unite the underground tribes, he'd be virtually unstoppable.

- Maze of Fathaghn: A dryad wood protecting the Mother Tree, this might be the location of something important. Perhaps the wood of the Mother Tree is necessary to heal Oran or something.

- Mithrendain, the Autumn City: Detailed further in Dragon #366, this timeless eladrin city sits atop a carefully guarded sealed portal to the feydark. The adventure "The Dark Heart of Mithrendain" in Dungeon #157 (Aug '08) is a 10th level adventure for PCs just stumbling into the Feywild - maybe a great transition to the feywild portion of the campaign.

- The Murkendraw: The darkest swamp of the feywild, and the life that fills it is just "wrong." It is home to various fey beasts and monstrosities, most notably hags, the greatest of whom is Baba Yaga, keeper of secrets. She is evil but can be bargained with, though her deals are treacherous - "Few are wise enough to outwit her, and the truly wise don't even try." (MotP)

- Nachtur, the Goblin Kingdom: Ruled by a goblin wizard chief trying to establish some semblance/credibility of civility, Nachtur might have a mercenary part to play in the faction war. Or perhaps a courier or something was kidnapped/stolen by them and must be liberated.

- Senaliesse: Home of the Summer Fey and the Court of Stars. Likely not visitable until late paragon tier.

- Shinaelestra, the Fading City: An eladrin city of rangers, which worldfalls into a savage area of the mortal realm between midnight and dawn every day. It is also threatened by the fomorian kingdom of Vor Thamil, ruled by a mad queen trying to emulate her insane idea of a "civil and formal royal court" (I'm envisioning something like Alice in Wonderland's the Queen of Hearts, only crazier). PCs captured by her must bow to her whims or be horrifically killed; perhaps this is a result of some PC action gone wrong and they must formulate an escape.

Other Fey Courts

More from the MotP:

"Merfolk and other aquatic fey collectively assemble in the Court of Coral. The fey of the rivers and oceans bow to the will of the eladrin archfey known as the Sea Lords. Elias and Siobhan Alastai are brother and sister, eladrin who only a few centuries ago achieved a level of power elevating them to the archfey. Because of their recent elevation, they are less emotionally detached than many of the archfey. They are, if not approachable, at least not as terrifying as
many of the other great nobles of the Court of Stars. Strangely, few eladrin manifest the aspect of nature related to the waters of the world, and the Sea Lords rule a council made up primarily of powerful noneladrin races native to the deep lakes and oceans.

Elias claims as his domain the shallows—the rivers, the lakes, even the shoreline reefs of the Feywild. His rulership of this domain brings him in constant contact with races who live along the strands. He considers their welfare a testimony to his mastery of the sea elements, and he is quick to aid his subjects if he senses unnatural dangers approaching. Elias is quick to laugh and loves music.

Siobhan is the more melancholy of the two. She rules the deep oceans and rarely leaves her underwater city, preferring to let Elias act as their ambassador to the Court of Stars when necessary. She considers herself the guardian of the ocean and all the deep places beneath it. Like the ocean waters she roams, Siobhan is slow to anger, but when she does, her wrath drowns entire lands. She can summon hurricanes, waterspouts, and tidal waves when her interests are threatened. Although Tiandra, Oran, and the Prince of Frost are considered the most powerful of the archfey, none of them has yet tested Siobhan at her full strength."

The Sea Lords could be helpful allies for the PCs to make. This could include some underwater adventures, which would be fun. Perhaps one of the fallouts of the faction war is that the Sea Lords decide to claim a higher place in the Court of Stars, and decide to test their real strength against the other Courts.

"Sparked by the arcane influence within the Feywild, some archfey manifest more abstract qualities than seasons or living nature. Many are associated with dreams, darkness, stars, twilight, dusk, and other such nocturnal phenomena, and so they are collectively known as the Gloaming Fey. Although equal in power to the other courts, these archfey keep their own
counsel. They are composed of a loose league, rather than a proper faction, but when the Court of Stars is in session, they band together during court intrigues.

The most well known of the Gloaming Fey is the Maiden of the Moon. She is a formidable hunter who carries a silver sword said to be able to cut through nightmares. The Maiden of the Moon wages a private war against lycanthropes and other savage killers, and she is considered benevolent toward mortals. Although she has many hunting camps in the Feywild, one in particular is a portal to her own private sanctuary on the shining moon above.

The Prince of Hearts is an eladrin archfey dedicated to the principles of beauty, gallantry, and love. One cannot be too careful around the Prince of Hearts. He has been known to grant boons to any who aid him in uniting true lovers separated by circumstance. At other times, the fire of unrequited love best suits his aspect. The Prince of Hearts sometimes meddles in the lives of mortals he believes should be in love, attempting to drive them together. If the unlucky pair dislike each other to begin with, he finds the attempt even more delightful."

The Gloaming Fey would be the wild card in the faction war, seeking any opportunity to cause strife and mischief just for the fun of it. The Maiden of the Moon and the Prince of Hearts could be useful allies, but could just as easily be detractors and always tempting the characters off on side treks. Other Gloaming Fey might be more sinister, seeking to mire the PCs in the swamps, mists, dreams, and twilight they embody. Some of these could be characters the PCs must seek out for help or clues, i.e., Baba Yaga who knows the Prince of Frost's real name, etc. Such assistance only comes with a steep price.

Green Fey

From the MotP:

"Oran, the Green Lord, is the greatest of the archfey of nature. He could be mistaken for an elf, albeit one a head taller and far more muscular than any other elf in existence. Oran’s wild eyes are jet black and set in a rugged face the color of oak. His thatched hair is a mess of brambles and long braids. As a hunter and woodland warrior he is unrivaled. It is said even the god Corellon regards him with a cautious respect. Oran is attuned to every branch and bough, every stream in every forest of the Feywild. In addition to elves who dwell in the Feywild, he has the loyalty of many treants, dryads, and satyrs. Those fey who pledge fealty to Lord Oran are known as the Green Fey.

If Oran has one weakness, it is the wild nature of his heart. He can fall sway to mood swings as violent as thunderstorms. His relationship with Tiandra, for example, is legendary. It was Oran who sculpted Tiandra’s palace of Senaliesse. Over the centuries, they have been lovers, they have been deadly rivals — and once, for two hundred years or so, they managed to be both at the same time. The fey of the Court often try to win favor by supporting one regent or the other in these times of romantic turbulence. At the present, the relationship of Oran and Tiandra is that of passionate friendship. Lord Oran is aware of his impetuous nature, and he values Tiandra’s cool intellect to temper his decisions. They often act in tandem when the Court of Stars is in session, particularly on matters of security and warfare.

Although Lord Oran is the most powerful of the Green Fey, many other perilous archfey also belong to this faction."

One of these is the Eochaid, detailed in Dragon #381 (Nov/09). He is nature and magic made manifest, and seeks to protect artifacts and expand the power of fey magic. Capricious and amoral, he considers the mortal world "mundane" and will protect the sanctity of the feywild at all costs.

As mentioned in the Summer Fey entry, driving a wedge between the Green and Summer Fey would be the keystone in any plan to upset the balance of power in the Court of Stars. Inflaming Oran and Tiandra's relationship would be the first step, and division will follow. Perhaps she has taken yet another mortal lover, and he finally grows tired of her fickleness. With a traitor in his camp, this could be stoked into violent hatred. If the PCs decide to support the status quo, exposing this traitor and reuniting Oran and Tiandra would be paramount.

A possible complication would be earning the enmity of one or both sides. Perhaps the PCs are held responsible for some terrible wrong done to the Feywild, and correcting this wrong would be the first step towards returning to Oran's good graces. Wild and tempestuous, anything could set the Green Fey off, severely hindering the PCs.