The Well of Great Despair
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This is an encounter. But not a generic random encounter. This is an encounter with depth¸ with substance¸ with meaning¸ and repercussion. It is as simple¸ or as complex as you wish it to be.
Encounters of this nature are designed to provide depth and meaning to a battle. They can be run as a one-shot adventure where players are hungry for battle or added to any existing campaign or adventure. These encounters provide extra dynamic layers of motivation behind why a creature¸ or creatures¸ suddenly emerge and cause destruction. Players may wish to defeat the creatures and leave it at that¸ or pursue a line of enquiry that leads them eventually to the antagonist described herein.
This encounter provides detail on the antagonist's motives¸ behaviours¸ and characteristics¸ giving Game Masters (GM's) sufficient ammunition to add them to an existing campaign as a story arc. The encounter back-stories¸ such as this one¸ are for the benefit of the GM and should not be shared with players. Each story contains clues and ideas for how to play out the characters described. As a GM read through everything here and when your players come upon the setting described below prepare to unleash the encounter.
Regardless of character level the story behind the encounter unfolds in largely the same way. The creatures that emerge to face the characters will suit their level and each can be varied simply by increasing or decreasing the number of variable creatures as described.