The Order of Tarnished Silver

Where are they now?

ACTIVE

• Ygrax, the Master of Cruelties -- held by the human archmage Robilar Archonne, former member of the Circle of Eight who has survived for thousands of years. Having betrayed the Circle, he escaped into the Shadowfell where he regrouped before returning to the Prime Material Plane to gather allies. The human and fiendish minds work in harmony to control the rest of his faction, as well as the army of devout followers he has collected. He hates normal demons and devils alike, for he is not of either plane.

• Moroz, the Barlgura -- held by the goblin Vyrt, Robilar's assistant and bodyguard. Though neither Moroz nor Vyrt is particularly intelligent, both creatures are staunchly loyal to their respective halves of Ygrax/Robilar. Note: Vyrt may or may not be the twin brother of Tark, the leader of the Grimoire Foundation, at your option.

• Lrsenzanoth, the Chasme -- held by the human shadow monk Deora Archonne, who blends effortlessly between forms as she fights for her father Robilar. Lyrsenzanoth has reservations about Ygrax's plan, but is willing to go along with it. Due to the Chasme's powerful drone, she serves as Robilar's main infiltrator, capable of incapacitating high-priority targets and carrying them away before anyone is any wiser.

• Myzziri, the Drider -- held by the drow warlock Sylphine, once married to Robilar and mother of Deora. Currently separate from her husband and gathering power in the Underdark. Almost always in Drider form, she believes she serves Lolth's wishes more strongly than anybody else.

SECURED

• Ndula, the Tanarukk -- Ndura's brash, aggressive personality and form has completely overtaken the halfling who once possessed it. Currently, this creature is held in the fabled Demonreach Prison among many other maximum-security targets from this plane and beyond.

• Shothotugg, the Howler -- this untouched coin is locked in the vault at the center of Magehaven, Shothotugg is more beast than intelligent creature.

• Bilharun, the Banderhobb, Zaxis the Hezrou and Nersus Dul the Draegloth -- held by the Order of the Platinum Dragon, who actively seek out more of the coins to sequester them away.

COINS WITH UNKNOWN LOCATIONS

• Asteriav, the Shadow Demon -- Asteriav never played well with the other demons, though he has his own ends in mind. As a relatively low-powered creature compared to his brethren, he was forced to be smarter and stealthier than the rest. Should a player find his coin, he will attempt to use them to his own ends while serving as a backseat driver, rather than directly overtaking the wielder. He hopes to kill Robilar and retrieve Ygrax's coin, if possible, but also collect the other coins and powerful magic items.

• Lasciel the Succubus/Incubus -- Good for an intrigue arc, Lasciel's goals are their own. Temptation is the name of the game, and Lasciel prefers to completely overtake their host so that they can walk about the world. Born with a love of the Material Plane, Lasciel is willing to see Ygrax succeed unless they can strike up a better deal with a mortal. Perhaps the most dangerous of the thirteen, should they fall into the players' hands.

• Phalse the Kruthik -- A horrifying creature, Phalse has always been one of Ygrax's staunchest allies, before it was killed and his coin retrieved. Now it may be in the hands of a BBEG somewhere, or perhaps one of these groups

• Bey-Shapal, the Vrock -- I mean, he's a giant vulture-man. I like to imagine this one as a sheer personification of chaotic evil that may or may not become available to the player.

Interactions with your campaign

To preface: obviously, these work best if you're blessed enough to have players willing to take up these coins. Although they offer immense amounts of power, the RP drawbacks and story possibilities are endless. The ideal situation is to have one or more PCs touch a coin, then be faced with the constant choice of whether or not to utilize it and face the penalties.

There are a few ways the Tarnished Silver can appear in your campaign.

• Perhaps most obviously, the PCs could come across a lone coin through the course of adventuring. Maybe one is lost in an ancient dungeon they happen to be delving into. Alternatively, a BBEG or minor villain could use a coin as a trump card when things go poorly--an evil mage is bad enough on his own before he starts Polymorphing into a demonic vulture-man. Upon defeating the host, the coin remains, ready for the first PC who loots the body. A single coin could fuel an entire arc for a character, before bringing in factions like Ygrax or the Order of the Platinum Dragon.

• The PCs are tasked with retrieving an ancient artifact from a vault or ruin for a faction like the Order of the Platinum Dragon or a private collector, but is ordered not to touch it. Almost invariably, someone will touch it.

• Ygrax/Robilar as BBEG. With the combined genius of an archmage and a demon, along with his demonic allies and his devoted cultists, any plot involving the Tarnished Silver will either start or end with this guy. Could be a neat way to work some history into your world--whether or not you use the Circle of Eight lore, this guy has seen some things, and has goals that could relate to other hooks in your world.