Recruited for Blood War

I have a number of ideas, but they are in some ways dependant upon the average party level of your PCs. (Quid pro quo)

Duckluck did an excellent job in detailing the different facets of Retaphis.

As a personal note, I would add/alter to Dusckluck's name appendage:

His name should be Retaphis, the Nine-fold Tongue. Such a name is more descriptive -it has a reference to his infernal nature (Hell's numerical ascociation to 9), and it also implies that he is a beguiler through words instead of physical force. It also implies his dubious or duplicitious words -he uses the words/contracts (tongue) to bind (fold) the mortal souls to Baator (Nine).
On a last note, it also refers to his scourge like weapon -a vicious Cat-tails (like a spike chain, but having nine scourge whips/tails -which not only refers to the Nine (Hell) lives of a cat, but is also a Nine Lives Stealer -trapping the souls of those he fights as well).

Retaphis the Nine-Fold Tongue should not be alone in Sigil (though his "servants" should be relatively small). Retaphis reports to his superior a Pit Fiend in the Ministry of Mortal Relations under Furcas. This Pit Fiend is Zaraphon, St. of Perdition's Embrace, an ancient devil dedicated to not only increasing the ranks of the Baatezu's forces in the Blood War, but also in the corruption of those souls, so that when they die (for they surely will), they become petitioners in Hell. Though "loyal" to Furcas, she also lists to Bel's Court, hoping one day to gain entrance as a Duchess in Avernus.

To this end, she uses Retaphis as a pawn in her Byzantine web -his small mortal "conscripts" only being a piece in her much larger scheme: her true plan is too have Retaphis lure enough mortal souls to attract the attention of servants of the Upper Planes. In this dangerous game, she believes she can manipulate the Celestials to attempt a rescue mission for the tricked mortals. Along with her other spies and agents, she plans to have the Celestials arrive just as Hell's forces meet a strategically important Abyssal army in Carceri. At that point, Zaeraphon (who will "miraculously" warn Hell of the impending attack), will have Bell's forces pull out completely -and of course leave the mortals to their doom. In the impending slaughter of the mortals by the Tanar'ii, Zaeraphon predicts the Celestials will attack the Abyssal forces -with Baator's forces hidden and safely watching from far away. And naturally, when they have nearly destroyed each other, Zaeraphon plans on then commanding her fresh diabolic forces to anihilate the remaining demons and celestials alike. With such a devisive victory, she believes she will be promoted to Duchess of Strategy under Bel, First Lord of Baator.

And of course, for all this to happen, Retaphis's deceptions must be uncovered... enter the PCs.

Retaphis is "served" by a trio of Erinyes. A common ploy of Retaphis is to first smooze the Clueless "recruit" -eating, dinning, and lounging, all the while being attended by one of his stunningly beautiful "courtesans" (who of course disguise their true devilish nature). Seduced and cuddled into a false sense of security, the mortals are often easy prey for Retaphis to convince them to finish the deal and "sign the dotted line". At which point, they are transported to Avernus ("the glorious homeland which you will defend") by a Narzugon named Arthax -who is introduced as a "Knight" of his Duke (which he is, but of Abigor's service in the Court of Bell).

Once passing through the portal to Avernus (the portal being located in the cellar of Retaphis' manor, and the port-key being a small cold iron chain -"a symbol of our unbreaking resolve"), the deception adruptly ends, the conscripts driven like cattle into a mass army, and proceeds to march across the Lower Planes, constantly under the eyes of their vigilant taskmasters.

Jezebel, one of Retaphis' servants is in fact, really a spy for Zaeraphon. She in turn follows her orders and steers Retaphis to recruit an Elven fop by the name of Lorrelle Amakiir, who is the nephew of Telya Amakiir -Matron of House Amakiir, a prominient noble house with ties to a prime world, Sigil, and Arborea. Concerned at her nephews disappearance, she hires the PCs to investigate (she has hired other servants as well since she has no clue to his disappearance, other than in Sigil). After some investigating, the PCs discover a rumor that links Lorrelle to Retaphis (or course, this fortunate tip comes from a magically disguised Jezreal, under orders from her secret master, Zaeraphon).

Eventually, the PCs should confront Retaphis -perhaps with some evidence (if necessary, being subtley left by Jezreal). Or one of the foolish PCs might actually "sign up". Either way, the PCs will face a very sticky predicament -Retaphis hasn't lied or done anything illegal (the courts will be of no help, and he is far to connected to even be arrested for such a non-offense). Of course, defeating him with force is impossible due to his tremendous power -however, he does not knowledge of his nature and activities to be spread, so he will make them a "deal". He tells them he will release Lorrelle of his contract if the PCs do a favor in return.
(He is once again telling the truth -but not telling the whole truth -he will release Lorelle, but Lorelle will still be stranded in Carceri unless saved by external help).

(If the PCs refuse, Retaphis makes it easier to say yes -either complete the mission or he kills them now to make sure his secret is safe -he prefers not to due this, since this is breaking the law and he might get caught).

Assuming the PCs agree, Retaphis will tell them that he needs them to pick up a package in Excelsior (the Gate-Town to Celestia). If pressed as to what is in the package, Retaphis will inform them that it is a series of letters from Maranatha Mithralstar, a rogue member of the Son's of Mercy, who has been corresponding with someone in Hell. (Of course, what Retaphis does not reveal is that is that someone is Andromedus, a fallen Warden Archon, who wishes to atone, and has been feeding Maranatha secrets of Hell -Retaphis desires the letter as proof in order to forever doom the fallen-celestial).
Naturally, Retaphis says that he is not permitted inside Excelsior (being a fiend and all), and hence his need for the PCs -and he promises that no harm will come to the Paladin (and once again is keeping his word).

Of course, randomn encounters can ensure anytime along the way. Once in the gate-town, the PCs will have to retrieve the letter (Retaphis informs them to tell Maranatha that they are servants of Baator come to retrieve the letter -which is all true, just that they aren't Andromedus' servants). Lady Mithralstar will go to give them the letters, but before handing them over, will ask them for a password (a secret saying used by Maranatha and the Fallen Archon -something that Retaphis is not aware of).
Consequntly the PCs will need to do some quick talking to not wind up imprisoned in Lady Mithralstar's Flying Castle. She is merciful, and eventually, the PCs will reveal who they are and the truth about Retaphis and Lorelle. Pledging aid to help them, she gives them the package, but replaces the letters with blanks, and sends them back to Sigil, while she consults with her allies.

Arriving back in Sigil, the PCs give the package to Retaphis (who overjoyed does not open it -or if he does, is still bound to keep his word, since he only told them to bring the sealed package). When then confronted to keep his end of the deal, Retaphis gleefully informs them that Lorrelle is now free, the contract annulled, but that nowhere in the bargain was it said that he would be returned to his family. Sadistically, Retaphis informs them that just now, Lorrelle should be arriving in Carceri. It should be obvious to the PCs that unless Lorrelle recieves help, he is doomed. The PCs may return to Lady Amakiir, to recieve pay for finding her nephew -if they do so, feel free to end the adventure -Telya grimly paying the PCs -Lorrelle dies before she can send out a rescue party and Zaeraphon's plan suceeds -the PCs just unknowing pawns in the game.

However, you could continue the adventure if the PCs accept Lady Amakiir's offer for payment to rescue her nephew from Carceri.

As they head to Carceri from Curst, they are contacted (probably magically) from Lady Mithralstar, who has done some investigation of her own, and determined the location of the Baatezu army and their "conscripts" -she says she will meet them their with celestial reinforcements, but for them to make haste so that she can pinpoint the location by tracking the PCs.

Adventuring through Carceri (with all its attendant challenges), the PCs are approached by an unusual ally -an Arcanaloth, Yrsinus ibn Pershauln. Yrsinus is a rival of Retaphis as both compete for mortal soul-contracts. Yrsinus represents his masters in Gehenna who wish to see that no decisive victory is achieved between the warring fiends. He instructs the PCs that their is an ancient shrine to Uranus, the Tempest Titan, which holds the Pearl of Scarlet Storms. Yrsinus tells the PCs that the Pearl has the ability to summon a scarlet rainstorm, and whoever is touched by its rain loses their ability to use innate teleportation for a whole day. The Arcanaloth tells the PCs to get Pearl and summon the storm upon the Baatezu, thus preventing their escape.

If asked, Yrsinus tells the PCs that he and his Yugoloths are barred from the shrine by powerful wards by their rivals the Gehreleths (but wards which will not affect the PCs). Once obtaining the Pearl, the PCs can rush to summon the magical storm upon the two fiendish armies. The PCs must survive long enough (hiding or fighting) till Maranatha and her Celestial Army arrive -they will have to fight their way to Lorrelle, who is wounded severly, but still alive. They will then have to rush to escape from the muderous fiends on both sides, the paladin and her soldiers of good holding them at bay to save the few surviving mortal conscripts.

Depending on their level, this could be a climatic battle against a vengeful Zaeraphon, or if not, the PCs return to Sigil, delivering Lorrelle to Lady Amakiir and recieving their reward.

However, as the PCs settle and begin to spend their hard earned reward, they recieve a mysterious box. Inside is the head of Retaphis, slain by a furious Zaeraphon (who only barely escaped with her life, and her chances of becoming Duchess of Strategy crushed). And though disgraced and out of favor in Baator, Zaeraphon is still very powerful and the PCs have made a powerful enemy...

How does that sound?

Well everyone, thank you for the compliments.

Calmar, besides being an entertaining read perhaps, I hope the suggestion was helpful.

As for a campaign, yes, such could be vastly stretched out -or could remain relatively stream-lined as well. That choice would be up to you.
(and as nominal encounters number around 11-13 for a standard group of PCs to level up, the shorter version would fit nicely as a 1-2 level boost).

(Along with Duckluck's comments):

Yes, you'll have to forgive me that the adventure proposal is rather vague and undeveloped -because Calmar did not give me any specifics on the PCs (alignmnets, levels, classes, affiliations, etc), I had to generalize a lot of the adventure.

For instance, as written the adventure could easily be adapted to be more of a mystery (i.e. finding Retaphis in Sigil could be a multifaceted investigation) or streamlined to having them be "directed" by Jezebel, the Erinyes (as per Zaeraphon's order). The spectrum and flexibility of the outline means that it can be specifically tailored to a DM's wants/needs (incorporating the playing style of the player's as well). I don't know what Calmar's campaign style is like.

As an example of the "accordion-style" nature of the adventure, you can easily insert lesser encounters along the way (which help to make the development seem less linear and add potential side-plots). For example:

When the PCs are first given the commission by Lady Telya Amakiir (the last name meaning "Gem-blossom" in Elven), the PCs in their search on the Streets of Sigil could meet a local Hive Tout (a member of Kylie"s guild, but also still retaining old (and secret) allegiances/debts to Autochron the Bellringer, named Lazlo "Dark-Eyes" Jerrenkis't.

Lazlo appears to be a simple halfling (though in reality is a Wispling -a Halfling with demonic blood) tout and messenger -PCs making Gather Information checks for Lorrelle, will garner attention form several sources and Lazlo is one of them. Besides a tout, Lazlo is an informer for the Bellringer and his "allies". Specifically, he has been told to keep an eye out by his mysterious masters for Retaphis and all those persons whom he talks with. Lazlo saw Lorrelle wining and dining at the Fortune's wheel with one of Retaphis' "girls" -the Erinyes Jezebel, though then in the disguise of the courtesan "Lady" Anastria.

Hearing the PCs' asking about Lorrelle, he follows orders and tells the PCs that he might be able to "point them in the right direction" -claiming he saw Lorrelle. (Lazlo's fiendish red eyes are covered by a pair of large Goggles of Night -which are part of the reason for his name, as well as being from his nature as a spy -discerning the "darks" of the truth, or being a spy for the dark forces, etc).
PCs who follow Lazlo will led into the Hive, to a maze-like ruin of fallen buildings and such. Once the PCs are completely lost in the twisting labyrinth, Lazlo will split from the party and stealthy creep to the his masters -an Alu-Fiend named Se'zera, and her three Minotaur minions -all four being servant-thralls of Baphomet. As part of their service to their twisted Demon Lord of Mazes and Lost Souls, they not only were part of the deal that the Bellringer made to secure protection for his messengers, but alsp have a partial alliance with the Temple of the Abyss and Baphomet's envy over Retaphis' success at trapping and misleading mortal souls. As such they have orders to interogate, kill, etc, all those asking about Retaphis (though sometimes they eat their victims first, and so interrogations are moot).

Thus, as the PCs struggle to find Lazlo or to find their way out -the Thralls of Baphomet attack -the Minotaurs attacking cunningly -trying to draw off and seperate the PCs in the maze-ruins (only appearing one at a time, but making it appear there is only one, since all three look the same -though a PC with a goo Spot could detect the ruse). Lazlo will help the three thralls, but only to flank and sneak attack any PCs who fight the Minotaurs. Meanwhile, Se'zera will fly invisibly and make sure that any PCs trying to fly above the ruins are assulted by magic (such as confusion or summoned monsters, etc). In addition, she will attempt to charm PCs and have them fight against each other making the battle all the more confusing and deadly.

(Assuming the PCs survive) Canny PCs might be able to capture and interrogate one of the demonic servants. The Minotaurs know nothing really, whereas the Alu-Fiend knows of the Bellringer's pact with Baphomet and will subtly ply the PCs for her release -threatening retribution if not, but also promising aid if they release her (the aid will entail them being told of Retaphis -though not all the truth).
Lazlo if interrogated is the most helpful (coward that he is) -as he can relate Lorrelle being seen with both Retaphis and Jezebel and the festhall that they frequent regularly).

Either way, the PCs will have earned the emnity of not only the Bellringer, but also a Lord of the Abyss. (For instance, a Baphitaur could be sent to track down the PCs and meet them in the Shrine to Uranus, attacking them after they retrieve the Pearl of Scarlet Storms).

This is just one example of how the adventure could be expanded/developed depending on a DM's inclination.

As for Duckluck's distaste for Mithralstar -that is fine by me -the given names are really place holders -feel free to switch or change according to your desire.

And as for figuring out the Zaeraphon's real plot, such is definately feasible (though such extends the mission/adventure, and is another way of expanding the campaign if a DM wants). Along the way, hints could be obtained.

However, I would not have the PCs be able to stand against the Abyssal army -even with the mortal conscripts (delaying the inevitable defeat till the Celestials come would still be catastrophic -since the battle is supposed to be decisive, the sheer numbers of the Demons would be overwhelming). Hence, the necessity of the Yugoloth intervention/manipultations (canny PCs will discover the true power of the Pearl and find a way to warn off the Celestials till the storm abates -the 'loths not telling the PCs the whole truth, hoping to entrap the forces of good as well).

Hence the opportunities to expand the adventure are myriad -the framework of the plot-line was designed as such. As said before, I hope this was helpful.

If you have any other questions, I'd be glad to help out.

Thanks for the equally awesome compliment -especially coming from you Azriael.

Would there really be interest? Perhaps better said -if a PW module was done, would their be interest among the PW site -especially in its execution?

If there is a geniune interest/need/want, then I would be willing to help flesh it out (but would love to make a consensual project, versus just a one person show -synthesis is the Sigilian mantra, they say).

I guess this question is directed to not only those interested in working on such a project, but more so those who be interested in using such a module, and also to those "higher ups" of PW (Clueless?).

Had any more thoughts about developing this into a full module?

If there are time issues, it might work nicely as a series of individual mini-adventures dealing with Retaphis as he crossed the PCs - like a series of linked side-treks you can throw in at whatever level is appropriate; then you'd only need the full rules writeup for each seperate encounter, and could take your time in the development

Effectively, you'd have individual mini-adventures for each encounter with the Nine Fold Tongue that would form a recurring sub-plot in the game.

Of course it is!