Earlier this week, some researchers claim to have identified Phillip of Macedon’s bones, that is, the father of Alexander the Great.
There is some pretty impressive results, but there seems to be a war of opinion between those who say these bones, and another who say those bones.
This gives me two ideas. First, what wounds would adventurers find on the body of a warrior? Would they be the broken skull of the final fight that killed him, or some major wound from which he recovered? In the presence of magic or advanced technology, such massive injuries might not be seen. Where magic is not so plentiful, or technology not so advanced, this gives us a good idea.
Second, if the ruins nearby are of interest to more than one sage or groups of sages, mighty they resort to means other than logic and reason to make their point? I can see one sage hiring players to “take back” something another sage “stole” from him, in order to destroy it, or modify it to strengthen his argument. Perhaps, it might go beyond mere theft to outright murder and destruction.
War of the Sages makes for an interesting historical event, or perhaps and adventure, or even a series of adventures in a campaign. Interesting what might happen when the agents of the sages interfere with the agents of the big bad. Or one of the sages IS the big bad!
I have an interesting and quirky sage in my campaign, but so far, he does not have a “nemesis”. I can see how it might be very interesting for players in my campaign if he had one. At least I would be entertained by their reactions to what might occur.