Keep on The Shadowfell (Heroic-Paragon)

GUIDELINES
Game will feature survival, strategy, and test your ability to roleplay yourself to victory, rather than punching numbers! Date and time are not set, please see the Applicant Thread!
-Requires in-game Voice chat (We won't use Skype unless everyone has it)
-House Rules added, also more freedom with core rules (emphasis on logical planning and creativity)
-Modified the original module, so I frankly don't care if you "cheat", but I'll know if you're using OOC knowledge. Bad form, depend on your roleplaying ability.
-Games can become weekly if I see willingness in everyone to show up. Time and Day are not Set in stone, but I need everyone's availability. Probably weekend games North American EST-zoning.

CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW: (UPDATED 04/07)

Realms, both wondrous and dire, border the world of Toril. One such realm is the Shadowfell. Although not inherently evil, the Shadowfell is fraught with dangers, and the barrier between worlds can be thin. Sometimes the darkness breaks into the light.

Long before the arrival of the dracolich Aurgloroasa (known to some as the Sibilant Shade), in the Thunder Peaks, another dragon prowled the mountains. The great wyrm, Shadraxil, was the shadow dragon sire of Aurgloroasa’s mother, Shhuusshuru. At the birth of Cormyr in 26 DR, Shadraxil was already a great wyrm and sire to many other dragons, including Shhuusshuru.
As Cormyr extended its power, the nation built fortresses along its frontier, including in the Thunder Peaks. At that time, Shadraxil laired there, and in the year 236 DR, the great wyrm began attacking Cormyr’s outposts. Among these forts was the place that was to become the Keep.
In response to the wyrm's onslaughts, Cormyr sent a contingent of brave soldiers led by the knight Sir Jerold Keegan. Keegan devised a plan to lure the beast into an arcane trap, where Cormyr’s War Wizards managed to bind the wyrm in a prison within the Plane of Shadow. Shadraxil has been trapped in the prison for twelve centuries, forgotten by most and assumed dead by the few who recall his name. Eventually, the great fort that housed the seal fell into ruins and its grand purpose forgotten. Today, it is seen as a harmless tumble of stone and wood.

After centuries of imprisonment, Shadraxil believed he would never escape. However, when Shar folded the Plane of Shadow into the Shadowfell following the Spellplague, the dragon awoke and saw his chance. The Spellplague weakened the protective seal keeping the dragon imprisoned, and so Shadraxil struck a deal with Shar, offering his services in her dark purpose if she could use her agents to free him. After years of excavation and preparation, Shar’s servants are finally poised to free Shadraxil, a beast mighty enough to upset the balance of power in the region. Shadraxil’s liberation could be the opportunity Netheril and Sembia have coveted in hopes of delivering a killing blow to Cormyr and the Dalelands.

Marla of the Great Church, an earnest young priest, had contacted the PCs before the start of their journey. She has been studying the history and activity of various demon and death cults. According to Marla’s research, witnesses saw a small group of cultists traveling toward Winterhaven about a year ago. She has since learned that the head of this group is a dangerous and twisted priest named Kalarel. Marla fears that Kalarel has set up a secret cult in the area and is conducting unholy ceremonies. She asks the PCs to travel towards Winterhaven, determine if there is any death cult activity in the area, and, if so, to stamp it out.

As the adventure begins, the player characters find themselves traveling down a road that hasn’t been maintained in nearly a hundred years.

NOTES FROM THE DM:

"Arrhemm..., yes it's 'Heroic adventure #1' time again!

Accepting any moderately experienced ACTIVE players, to join this adventure to save the world!! Unlike the base campaign's usual turn of events, this KotS campaign will be heavily modified, as the material is freely available and has been vigorously discussed all over the Net, so to not spoil the fun, I'll leave it at that! Please only post in the Applicants Thread, as I'll be deleting any other created threads. This is a sort of test to gauge your ability for basic instruction, and to be honest, if you can do that much, we'll probably get along just fine.

Plot will NOT be railroading, and I offer to all players the chance to divert the course of events in a direction of their choice, but I will offer ample side-quests and distractions, so don't worry about getting bored.