[Age of Id] The Quest for the Seven Stargems

[Havard]

Picking up on something I dropped passingly in the Blackmoor Year 500 thread:

This is the age when the Dog Duke rules Blackmoor. The alliance between Men and Elves are being tested as many elves urge the Elf-King to withdraw into the woods, leaving man to fend against the growing shadows on his own. This is an ancient and wild time, when castles are far between and the wilderness covers most of the land. Beyond the few strongholds the Thonian Empire has built in this part of the world, the North is unmapped territory. The Duke of Blackmoor now needs adventurers who are brave enough to risk their way into the unknown. Into the dark places of the wild where even the enigmatic elvenfolk do not dare to venture.

• In this world you can:
  
• Investigate why the elves are becoming more reclusive, and why their sylvan allies are disappearing.
  
• Help the newly arriving race of dwarves to find a new home in The North
  
• In a world without Orcs, Goblins or Beastmen; fight ancient foes like the Gakkarak, Malfera, Garl, Fell-Brutes, Displacer Beasts, Athach, Chokers, Nucalavee, Necrozon, Ropers, Nightshades, Savage Valemen and Undead Peshwa.
  
• Quest for the Seven Stargems, relics said to be recovered from the Blackmoor Dungeon in the Age of Giants and perhaps the only hope of protecting Blackmoor from a horrible evil.
  
• Discover the nefarious plots of the Order of Id
  
• And more...

So what are these "Seven Stargems" all about? Actually I just made them up for this campaign outline. However, we already know that the Jewel of Sunlight is connected to the destruction of the Temple of Id. This campaign outline probably fits best around the Thonian Year 490. This is roughly a century before Kargas makes his first discovery about the magic of the North which later leads to Skelfer's crystal based magic. Whether the Stargems are connecfted to the Jewel of Sunlight or not is not so important. I do see these Stargems as major Spell Crystals though, more powerful than the ones Cabal Wizards use in the 1030s setting.

The main point for adding them here was to provide a sense of hope in this campaign, which is otherwise centered around alot of darkness. It makes sense that the Stargems were originally mined out of the Blackmoor Dungeon, especially since the rock that Blackmoor Castle is built upon is the most magical of the entire North. It also allowed me to sneak in a reference to the Age of Giants, creating a connection between the Age of Id and the Age of Giants.

Other than the fact that there will be no Orcs, Goblins or Beastmen around, I see the actual Quest for the Seven Stargems as a pretty standard adventure though. It will give the PCs a reason to venture into the wilderness that will some day become the domains of Blackmoor.

Perhaps I will write up this adventure for the Crossroads Series.

Any suggestions or ideas?

-Havard