The more they foil the cult's efforts, the more the char-
acters themselves become targets of both ridicule and
violent action.
At the campaign's climax, the adventurers might have
to interrupt a ritual performed in Rakdos's lair in order
to prevent him from rampaging through the city-or if
they are too late to do that, they might have w fight the
ancient demon lord himself.RAKDOS CHA RACTER GOALS
Characters who are members of the Cult of Rakdos are
expected to be self-motivated and rarely take orders
from anyone other than Rakdos himself. The Rakdos
Assignments table includes some suggestions for adven-
tures or side quests that Rakdos characters might un-
dertake on their own initiative, or perhaps at the request
of a ringmaste r or a fellow performer.
RAKDOS ASSIGNMENTS
d6 Assignment23Acquire a flashy magic item to use as a prop in a
performance.
Try out a new performance routine in the midst of
actual life-or-death combat.
Sow distrust of an important person through satire
or slander.
4 Make sure a specific person is in the front row for a
certain performance.
5 Capture a deadly monster for use in a spectacular
show.
6 Interrupt a solemn ceremony or ritual being
performed by another guild.OTHE R ADVENTURE HOOKS
The Rakdos Adventure Hooks table presents ideas
for additional adventures themed around the Cult
ofRakdos.RAKDOS ADVENTURE HOOKS
d6 Adventure Hook
Wild-eyed people attending a popular new club
seem unwilling or unable to go home after several
days of nonstop merriment.
2 One morning, everyone who has seen a Rakdos
performance in the past week suddenly transforms
into a minor demon.
3 An apparently spontaneous Rakdos-led riot has
spread to take over an entire neighborhood.
4 People who die in Rakdos-inspired violence stand
back up as zombies and keep fighting.
5 Ordinary knives and chains in homes across the
neighborhood seem to come to life in advance of
the start of a Rakdos show.
6 After several mausoleums are burst open from the
inside, people see their undead family members
cavorting on a Rakdos stage.Selesnya Conclave
The Selesnya Conclave is most likely to be involved in
adventures as a force for good, since many of its mem-
bers are healers, diplomats, and mediators. It is a nat-
ural home for player characters-especially clerics and
druids-so it might serve as a patron. Nonetheless, the
guild has a militaristic bent, and like nature itself it isn't
beyond corruption.VERNADI CENTER
The basic unit of the Conclave's organization is the ver-
nadi- a community centered on a large tree and led by
the voda of the enclave, a dryad whose spirit is linked to
that tree. From the outside, a vernadi might resemble a
peace ful commune, and thus seem to be an easy target
for theft or assault. But its temple gardens a re protected
by sold ie rs and archers, and eve n the seemingly serene
initiates have som e military training.VERN A DI CENTER A DVENTURES
Though a vernadi lacks the defensive fortifications of,
for example, a Boros garrison, it is still a difficult place
to attack or infiltrate. Because of the sheer numbers of
initiates that might be inside, stealth is probably a better
tactic than frontal assault. The Vernadi Center Adven-
tures table offers some suggestions.VERNADI CENTER ADVENTURES
d l 2 Adventure Goal
Ascertain the numbers of the military forces
housed in and around the vernadi.
2 Find the source of pollen that is drifting through
the neighborhood and making people placid and
compliant.
3 4 5 6 7 8 910
11
12Find the source of wind-borne seeds that are drift·
ing through the neighborhood and quickly growing
into hostile awakened shrubs.
Retrieve an initiate who was supposedly forced to
join the guild through mind-affecting magic.
Stop the vernadi, whose tree has awakened and
escaped the control of its dryad, from trampling
through the neighborhood.
Find a way to tap into the mind, will, and knowl·
edge of Mat' Selesnya through the vernadi's central
tree or its dryad.
Introduce a contagion into Mat'Selesnya through
the vernadi's tree or its dryad.
Capture an equenaut who has been accused of a
crime and who has taken refuge at the vernadi.
Convince or coerce a healer to tend to a sick or
wounded person who would normally be an enemy
of the conclave.
Find a spy embedded in the vernadi community.
Blend into the community to avoid pursuers.
Retrieve an item that was donated to the commu-
nity by a new initiate, but without the permission of
the item's owner.C IJAl"I F.R 4 C:RPATI ~G AOv E:\1URES^153