Having established the cult, its members, how it works, and what it does, the final step is to get players interacting with the Song Undying. Below are some ideas for potential hooks for adventures of 1st–9th level.
Levels 1–3
- Explorers in the high mountains recently found a body partially frozen in melting ice. Well-preserved, the human is dressed in furs and carrying stone tools. He could be thousands of years old. The body was taken to the city of Zobeck—there to be examined by scholars at the Arcane Collegium—packed in ice and snow and temporarily stored in a warehouse in the Market District until the proper paperwork could be filed. Soon thereafter though, the crate containing the body was stolen. The PCs are hired to help track it down. It was stolen by members of the Song Undying in a crime of opportunity. Salamondre has been distraught over the difficulty of reviving the long-dead and speculated aloud that better preserved bodies would be easier to revive. The leader of an evangelical group of the cultists overheard gossip of the discovery and wished to earn favor by providing such a well-preserved specimen to the cult leader.
- Sounds of a fight and cries for help attract the PCs to a small, public courtyard. A group of armed individuals are attacking another group that have formed a small circle to defend themselves. The defenders are garbed in what look like clerical vestments, white with gold trim. The attackers are masked and hooded and outnumber their victims. The defenders are a group from the Song Undying. The attackers are guards from a local temple, sent by a priest who wished to send a message to the cult. He sees them as interlopers and heretics who spurn the gods, and he wants them to stay out of the city. However, he is not so bold as to move against them publicly.
Levels 4–6
- A brother and sister from a prominent merchant house are feuding. The brother is enamored with the Song Undying while the sister is still a firm believer in the family’s chosen religion. Their mother recently passed, and the brother wants to take her body to Salamondre’s sanctuary to be reborn. His sister is steadfastly against it, going so far as to place guards around their mother’s crypt. The PCs could be said hired guards and must defend the remains against grave-robbing mercenaries hired by the brother. Or perhaps, he hires the PCs to help him “save” his mother.
- A terrible crime has been committed. A high-profile citizen has been charged with the violent murder of their spouse and the assault on the couple’s adult daughter. The city is in shock, for this person was considered incapable of such violence, especially this, for the two had been in a loving relationship for decades, and this person has never shown themselves capable of such horrible actions. The daughter reveals that her parents have secretly been part of the Song Undying cult for months after being excommunicated from the temple to which they belonged. What she does not know is that her parent became a reborn after undergoing the ritual to remove a virulent disease. The cult thought them under control, but the violent nature of such undead reared during an argument. The PCs are hired to bring the murderer to justice. However, the cult has no desire for their members to come under greater scrutiny by the government and seek to shield the murderer lest their true nature be uncovered.
Levels 7–9
- A recurring nemesis finally meets their end at the hands of vengeful PCs, only to have him return and then return again! Each time, no matter what state he is left in, he returns seemingly whole and unaffected by his repeated deaths. They may or may not realize at this point that their nemesis is now undead (a reborn). The PCs discover (whether through magic, informants, or clues on the antagonist’s body) that their nemesis was a patron of a cult known as the Song Undying. The PCs must find a way to sever the link between the cult and their nemesis, or they may never be rid of the villain. Perhaps they attempt to claim the body only to have agents of the cult ambush them to take the villain’s body for themselves so that Salamondre can restore the villain to (un)life once again.
- A local bard of renown has gone missing. Reports suggest they were last seen in the company of members of the Song Undying a week or two ago. The bard is supposed to be putting on a performance for a prominent citizen or organization in the near future, who fears the bard may not show. The PCs are asked to track them down. While the patron may be treating this as a kidnapping, the bard in fact has left of their own free will. They planned on returning for the event, but they have become fascinated with the Song Undying and cannot escape the lure of its melody. Also, Salamondre has promised the bard a position in the Greater Choir during the cult’s next ritual, held on the same day as the scheduled event back in the city.
