I've been kicking around ideas for RoD chapter 4, but before we get into it, let's first do a summary of chapters 1-3
Chapter 1: How does the new empire deal with internal problems? What is life like on the ground for the lowest of the units? What is the interplay of duty, honor, and personal opinion?
Chapter 2: How does the empire reclaim lost territory? How does conflicting claims on territory with rival empires play out? How do we treat those who have collaborated with enemies after being conquered? Chapter 3: What does the individual citizen owe to the empire? How does the empire treat those who have escaped service but have specialized skills? How hungry is the empire for new territory? How does the empire respond to chaotic environments, high magic threats, and potential rivals? How easily corruptible are the individuals of the empire?
These chapters started in Arcadia and quickly moved onto other regions, but for our 4th chapter, we're going to return to Arcadia and take a look at that recently depopulated area that was once home to the elves. That's right, we're gonna get our first look into the forest around Feywull, Lothrin, and/or Sylden!
We've been playing in Arcadia for ~10 years (IRL) and have only very lightly glanced at this area. Up until now, the forest of the elves has been relegated to the background, hidden from view, and excluded to non-elves. At the end of Tombs of Scoria though, the elves "left".
But what does "the elves left" mean? Did they pull back from their borders and stop communicating? Did they actually leave the whole forest? Did they leave Arcadia all together? And why? Why would they take off and abandon their ancestral homeland that they've been jealously guarding for milenia?
Who, What, Where, When?
I've been kicking around a few different formatting ideas:
A small team is sent to scout out the area (Feels a little too much like RoD 3)
A single, higher level leader sends patrols/scouts into the forest and responds to their findings. These scout groups are either done offscreen by me, or maybe even as a separate team/party. That could get pretty complicated with scheduling and sharing of information, and I do hate complication.
The chapter is told from the PoV of the locals who live on the edge of the forest, and their response to the Drekissian scouts. Maybe a fun outsider look at the new empire, but that might not be the story we wanna tell.
A high level caster goes in by themselves (doesn't fit very well with the "man on the street" POV we've been taking, high level games are tough to do right, and they don't feel quite right when someone is just given a high level character instead of building it over countless sessions)
"Independent Scavengers" seek the abandoned elven woods, looking for things to sell to the empire. Classic 2-5 player game.
Half elves might be favored agents, as whatever fey trickery is left they would be resistant to. Same could be said for dwarves, gnomes, and halflings though. In 2e they get bonuses to various saving throws.
Maybe just dwarves, gnomes, and halflings because there is a concern that whatever happened to the elves might happen to half-elves.
Perhaps a race between Drekis and Akuba to "get the treasures of the elves" whatever those may be. Sounds a lot like how the War for Arcadia got started when Drekis and Mistrya both raided Eridon for its treasures... oh no... history repeating itself!?
So there's a lot of options on the table, and the final decision on what the formatting is going to be will be come from the substories I think are best. Then we'll pick players based on campaign objectives. Then we'll pick showtimes based on player availability.
Finally, all plans are subject to cancellations and radical changes as always. :)
gl hfNeal