In the official SCAP Hard Cover the Cagewrights are a collection of mostly faceless villains. When the party finally confront them during the Thirteen Cages and Strike on Shatterhorn adventures, the battles end up of being just a collection of meaningless encounters, not the exciting conclusion to a long campaign as they really should be. 

The two biggest problems I see with the Cagewrights are that they are not known individually to the party and that there are just too many of them to remember. Presently the Cagewrights consist of 13 Cagewrights and 5 Apprentices.  In the Path many of the most memorable villains are not Cagewrights such as Vhalantru (Beholder), Jil (LL assassin), Blue Duke (Ogre-Mage commander of the half-orcs), Ike Iverson (Wee Jas cleric) and Fetor (Lore master from SotSP). This also seems like a double up to me – too many villains overall.  Finally the Cagewrights and Adimarchus should be connected. If Adimarchus is the ultimate villain of the path then his evil will should drive the overall plot and this includes the Cagewrights. So …..

I am removing all of the Cagewrights I feel that are forgettable and unimportant to the overall plot. So of the 18 Cagewrights included in the official SCAP Hard Cover I have removed or replaced 11 of them with other interesting ‘bad guys’ so as to try and reduce the overall villains in the Path, leaving only the most important of these.   I'm changing the whole make up of the Thirteen to include only 6 Masters, 6 Apprentices and 1 leader.

The Cagewrights are a Cult of Madness, determined to spread insanity and release Adimarchus - the Lord of Madness, onto the world. More on that later though.

Here are my ‘Thirteen’

The Apprentices

All Cagewight Apprentices wear a silver chained necklace with a small birdcage pendant, amulet or necklace.   The Cagewright Masters of the Apprentices are written up in bracket next to each.

1. Zarn Kyass (Blue Duke - apprentice of Gau Kleeoch) - Used in the Chapter 2, 5 and the Seige of Redgorge

2. Fetor Abradius (Loremaster - Apprentice of Shebeleth)

3. Khyron Bonesworn (Leader of evil Adventurers - apprentice of Alurad Sozizan) - Foreshadowed here

4. Ike Iverson (Wee Yas 2nd in command - apprentice of Embril)

5. Jil (2nd in charge of the Last Laugh - apprentice of Nulin 'Fish' Wiejeron) - Foreshadowed here and Chapter 1 & 2.

6. Lady Thifirane (Cauldron Noble - Apprentice to Vhalantru)

Cagewright Masters

All Cagewright Masters wear a dark ring known as the Ring of the Thirteen. Each of these rings appear to be made of admantite depicting a white skull with a smoking eye within a stylized cage.

1. Vhalantru (Beholder – Cauldron’s self appointed 'Mayor')

2. Nulin 'Fish' Wiejeron (Assassin & Last Laugh Jester/Guildmaster)

3. Shebeleth Regiden (Spiritual Leader of Adimarchus) - Foreshadowed here and here

4. Embril Aloustinai (High cleric of Wee Yas)

5. Gau Kleeoch (Minotaur General/Body Guard of Dyr’ryd) - Foreshadowed here and possibly through Zarik Dhor in the additional ideas section in Chapter 7

6. Alurad Sozizan (Blackguard/cleric, Adventurer Hunter) - Foreshadowed here

Cagewright Leader

Dyr'ryd (Demodand Cagewright Mastermind)

Clarifications

Number One -    Unless one escapes, it is very likely that by the end of the Party at House Rhiavadi all of the Cagewright Apprentices will be killed.

Ike - Defeated during SotSP  (Church of Wee Yas) 

Fetor  - SotSP  (Spellweaver Ruins)

Jil – LoO (Last Laugh Safehouse)

Thifirane, Khyron & Zarn – LoO (Party at House Rhiavadi)                                                                                                                                           

Number Two -    I am converting Nulin 'Fish' Wiejeron into the Guildmaster of the Last Laugh and the only Jester.

To avoid confusion later I intend to only refer to Nulin as the ‘Jester’ unless the party are researching him specifically.  I realize the HC states that there is more than one leader but they are never written up anywhere so, as much to tie up loose ends as anything else, I will make 'Fish' (the Cagewright assassin) the ultimate leader and have Jil his second in command.  The party may attack the Last laugh headquarter before the latter chapters so 'Fish', and therefore one of the Thirteen, may be killed early. Otherwise they will face him during 'Thirteen Cages'. The party will hear of Fish and may even see him earlier in the path to help foreshadow this villain.

The original document uploaded to RPGenius by Delvesdeep is here