The adventure starts at the end of the second age in middle earth. The party, a group of elves, are in transit from the havens to Valinor when Arpharazon the Golden steps on the shores of Valinor and the Valar ask Eru to take over, Who then sperates the heavens from the middle earth and makes the world a globe. Our intrepid adventures are sailing to Valinor when the seperation occurs. Suddenly finding themselves on a sea of violent esseance, several passengers are tossed from the ship, including our party members (both nobility and scions of very old elves or bastards of).
There will be meaningless rolls of dice as the elven lords sing themselves to safety. Upon arrival in a strange land they first discover three of their freinds are missing. I'm assuming the two royal guards, a fighter and a mage who are going to go through considerable trouble to save the young ones from rampaging minions of Sauron lost in the wilds of Eregion bfore arriving in the Havens, will pursue the lost ones.
They will be found, their remains in an ancient vault buried deed in the mountains. Their frozen bodies were the subject of many experiments long ago by Althan corperate scientist. From these experiments came medical advances that resulted in the race eventually becoming immortal. The corperate owners however, saved the best of the genetic alterations for themselves, and thus the KitaViir family rose to dominace socially and politacally in the Empire.
Our intrepid adventures will brave the complex, discover the remains and information, then meet several sleeping KitaViir on site. After a brief battle, I plan on the Essence Lords fleeing from the obnoxiously powerful Noldor Lords.
Or not...what I am debating right now is what age to start the adventures at. This could be in the 1st age of Kulthea, at the hight of the Althan Empire. Kadeana is currently poisitioning herself to seize control of the Empire but lacks the Shadow Stone, though she quest for it. The KitaViir have superior mastery of magic due to their genetic traits, yet a schism will form when Utha sees the full depths of his wifes depravity.
This age seems ripest for play. Discovery of the nature of the unlife would to the elves be Morgoth attempting to return from the void, with Kadeana as his Priest. The split in the KItaViir family and ensuing fight for control provides allies for the PC's. The current emporer will first be presented as benign, but I think I will have him a demonologist, with Sith and Maliskari as his secret patrons.
So, a stranded group of second age elf lords who discover Morgoth has assumed a new form and means to overthrow his banishment to the void caught in the middle of a brewing civil war while they themselves seek justice for the deaths of the comrades and, perhaps, a way to sail the esseance safely back to the higher planes and the Undying Lands.
We all know how the first age ends; badly for every body. The eyes phase the world out of normal time space, creating a barrier that protects it from the worst of the esseance flows effects and keeps the unlife at bay. Getting there should be fun.
Of course, all I have done so far is the initial middle earth adventures, the fall of Ost En Edhil, the fleeing from Erigion and two small adventures stopping/destroying some of Saurons forces and rescuing the elven relatives. Actual hard copy work for the adventure ends at the vualt on Kulthea.
I have so much MORE material to run an adventure in 3rd age Kulthea, but I lack a good adventure hook the way the 1st age Kulthea plays out. My initial idea was for three KitaViir to awaken in the vault, open hostilities with the elven PC's, flee, and then...what?
I think I'll go with the first age setting. More work, but a blank canvas is always more fun for me.
