Dolmenwood Factions: The Nag-Lord
Ever since my post about Faction Turns, I've been eager to showcase how I implemented this concept in my Dolmenwood game. In this post, I will delve into the Nag-Lord's goals, resources, and actions, offering a comprehensive view of how to integrate this menacing faction into your campaign. More factions will be covered in future posts.
Goals
I like to differentiate the goals using the Landmark, Hidden, Secret principle. Some goals might be pretty obvious to most other people and factions, while some require more knowledge about the faction's inner workings.
- Become Ruler of All Dolmenwood (Landmark): The Nag-Lord's primary goal is to dominate Dolmenwood. This military objective poses a direct threat to most other factions, driving the expansion and aggression of the Crookhorns across the land.
- Collect the Bones of Holy People (Hidden): This goal positions the Nag-Lord against the Church, highlighting its chaotic and sacrilegious nature.
- Marriage With Gheillough (Secret): This is a potentially game-changing goal. The alliance with Gheillough represents a dire threat, only revealed through significant investigation or unfolding events.
Resources
Usually, I tend to favor only three resources per faction. Although I didn't include the last item in my game, I've added it here to show you can mix it up if you want to. I also included some prompts for when the particular resource might find usage.
- Corrupted Minions: Creatures and beings transformed by the Nag-Lord's dark magic, serving as soldiers, enforcers, and advisors. This includes Crookhorns, Harpies, Ogres, Bestial Centaurs, Harridans, and Corrupt Unicorns.
- Enforce the will of the Nag-Lord.
- Defend territories.
- Spread fear and chaos.
- Blighted Environments: Areas corrupted by the Nag-Lord's magic, serving as defenses and sources of power, with the Sargstone being the most prominent.
- Hinders intruders.
- Boost the Nag-Lord's magical rituals.
- Spread the factions corruption and influence across Dolmenwood.
- Loyal Cultists: Devout followers who worship the Nag-Lord and carry out its bidding with fanatical zeal.
- Infiltrate communities.
- Conduct espionage and spread chaos.
- Perform rituals to empower the Nag-Lord's influence.
- Chaotic Artifacts: Magical items imbued with chaotic energy, gifted to loyal servants.
- Empower followers in battle.
- Assist in dark rituals.
- Serve as symbols of favor.
Actions
Here are some ideas to get you started. Remember, these plans will adapt based on your campaign narrative and the players' actions. Flexibility is key, so feel free to adjust or abandon tasks as needed. Typically, three active missions at a time work well, but adjust to your preference.
- ๐ Sire a new Atacorn and send it to Fairy
- ๐ Raise and corrupt the Atacorn properly.
- ๐ Find and prepare a suitable passage to Fairy.
- ๐ Deploy it to spread woe and discord.
- ๐ Kidnap a prominent Church Official
- ๐ Identify a suitable target. The higher their rank, the better.
- ๐ Gather intelligence on the target and trail their movements.
- ๐ Execute the kidnap.
- ๐ Disrupt the northern trade routes
- ๐ Ambush merchants on Fort Road.
- ๐ Actively blockade the trade route.
- ๐ Transform the blockade into a permanent outpost with access to Lake Longmere.
- ๐ Campaign against Prigwort
- ๐ Deploy Crookhorns in Hag's Addle to surround Prigwort.
- ๐ Cause discord among the citizens of Prigwort.
- ๐ Release a plague.
โ REMINDER
You should only have about three active actions, so pick and choose what sounds interesting. You can either pick the Mission ๐ or the Task ๐ to be active. You also need to add a progress clock to each action you choose. Tasks should have 1-2 segments, and Missions should have at least 4 or more.See this previous post for a more detailed explanation.
Additional ideas could involve mustering more dark forces, dealing with the Drune and capturing the Tenkystone, fortifying the Valley of Wise Beast by constructing a fortress overlooking the valley, isolating and destroying Fort Vulgar, or spreading terror and increasing influence in other settlements.
Additional Notes
Potential Alliances
Few factions would willingly ally with the Nag-Lord, but the Hag is the most likely candidate. She can offer another stronghold for the Crookhorns in Hag's Addle and extend their reach to the Duchy. Additionally, she can provide a passage to Fairy and would likely desire the corruption of her sister's realm. In return, the Nag-Lord might help her expand her swampy domain or even free her from it.
Furthermore, the possibility exists to corrupt one or more of the Breggle Lords. This chance increases significantly if the Nag-Lord successfully deals with Prigwort and shifts focus southward.
I hope this helps you to flesh out the Nag-Lord faction a bit more in your game. If you have other implementations or interpretations of the goals, resources, and actions, please share!