Dark Continent [Archive] - Wizards Community

Dark Continent [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
milo1047
05-16-07, 09:00 PM Hey peoples,

I'm working up a new campaign based in a world that my friends and I have played in previously, but is set on an entirely new continent open for exploration and adventure. This continent is something like Africa, as it has a northern coast with mountians and deserts, then becomes lush jungle to the south.

It is populated by native humans, as well as many scattered tribes of lizard folk, who live along the coast and trade with passing ships for steel tools and weapons, as well as cloth, beads, fishing wire, etc. They differ slightly in coloration, but for some reason speak dialectes of the same language, despite being spread across the continent. What interest many is that some few wear small gold trinkets or posses some gold items. All that they can say is that they were passed down in their families, who at one point came from the interior, deep in the jungle.

(Un)fortunately for our heroes, no one has explored the interior and returned to tell about it, and any one that has doesn't speak about it or only mutters odd things about "the jewel" and other such nonsense.

The jewel, of course, is the entire point of this campaign. There are rumors of a tribe of lizard folk deep in the interior of the continent that worship a certain dark god. On the altar of this god is perhaps the largest ruby ever known, facted and shaped, the almost the size of a man's liver.

Information following that the PCs shouldn't see.... That means don't read, Jon and Stef.

Of course, what they don't know is that this jewel contains the spirit of a powerful demon that was locked away by the lizard folk priests, ages and ages ago. And as the memory of the demon and the jewel's purpose faded into legend, the demon slowly began regaining some little power, reaching out and corrupting the priests of this tribe. What followed was the collapse of the mighty civilisation that they had built. A civil war raged as the corrupted, evil priests and their followers ruthlessly crushed anyone who opposed them. The empire split, and many of the stone cities and magnificent temples were abandoned as the survivors fled. Scattering, only the priests and their loyalists remained, worshipping not some god, but the demon trapped within the jewel itself! The demon has slowly grown in power, awaiting the time when it may escape and once again terrorise the material plane.

So I figure I cna throw lizard folk, dinosaurs, and other native things of the continent at my PCs, as well as pirates on their journey south, all sorts of stuff.

The heroes initial objective will be to find riches and glory, perhaps even retrieve this magnificent jewel. Only one player out of a potential five has rolled a character yet (the Lizard Folk ranger who will act as "trusty native guide"), and I am planning on holding a meeting so we can throw character ideas and what not around.

The heroes will start in the northern coastal city of Majara, the main port and trade hub so far on this continent. Here can be found youngest sons of lords from the "Two Kingdoms" of Castille and Breton, adventurers from the Free Cities, dwarves from the mountains ot the west of Castille, elves from their eastern home, and occasionally others from a land even further to the east, the mysterious Orient. Anyone who wishes to find fortune and adventure can be found here. Anyone, that is, who is willing to brave the uncharted depths of the jungles and ancient stone cities there in.

What do you think? Any advice, ideas, hints for a budding DM?
milo1047
05-17-07, 09:15 PM Ba-bump? :bump:
Darth Sephiroth
05-17-07, 09:18 PM Watch Jurassic Park, The Lost World, and Congo. You could get some pretty fun ideas from them.
drunkonduty
05-18-07, 01:47 AM Rivals for the jewel. They don't even need to be well defined at first, let them take shape as the party's own characters do. Maybe a few mentions of mysterious people asking questions that step on the PC's toes. Play it out a bit at first.

And of course later on the PC's and their rivals (who don't have to be evil) can be forced into unhappy alliances in the face of the terrible dangers faced within the Dark Continent.

In terms of dangers there's always lost kingdoms ('She' is a good movie here.) Anything by H Rider Haggard is good.

Invading empires causing all sorts of trouble (thinking of 'Tales of the Gold Monkey' here.)

And don't forget a Lord of the Apes! They're great.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
milo1047 05-16-07, 09:00 PM	Hey peoples, I'm working up a new campaign based in a world that my friends and I have played in previously, but is set on an entirely new continent open for exploration and adventure. This continent is something like Africa, as it has a northern coast with mountians and deserts, then becomes lush jungle to the south. It is populated by native humans, as well as many scattered tribes of lizard folk, who live along the coast and trade with passing ships for steel tools and weapons, as well as cloth, beads, fishing wire, etc. They differ slightly in coloration, but for some reason speak dialectes of the same language, despite being spread across the continent. What interest many is that some few wear small gold trinkets or posses some gold items. All that they can say is that they were passed down in their families, who at one point came from the interior, deep in the jungle. (Un)fortunately for our heroes, no one has explored the interior and returned to tell about it, and any one that has doesn't speak about it or only mutters odd things about "the jewel" and other such nonsense. The jewel, of course, is the entire point of this campaign. There are rumors of a tribe of lizard folk deep in the interior of the continent that worship a certain dark god. On the altar of this god is perhaps the largest ruby ever known, facted and shaped, the almost the size of a man's liver. Information following that the PCs shouldn't see.... That means don't read, Jon and Stef. Of course, what they don't know is that this jewel contains the spirit of a powerful demon that was locked away by the lizard folk priests, ages and ages ago. And as the memory of the demon and the jewel's purpose faded into legend, the demon slowly began regaining some little power, reaching out and corrupting the priests of this tribe. What followed was the collapse of the mighty civilisation that they had built. A civil war raged as the corrupted, evil priests and their followers ruthlessly crushed anyone who opposed them. The empire split, and many of the stone cities and magnificent temples were abandoned as the survivors fled. Scattering, only the priests and their loyalists remained, worshipping not some god, but the demon trapped within the jewel itself! The demon has slowly grown in power, awaiting the time when it may escape and once again terrorise the material plane. So I figure I cna throw lizard folk, dinosaurs, and other native things of the continent at my PCs, as well as pirates on their journey south, all sorts of stuff. The heroes initial objective will be to find riches and glory, perhaps even retrieve this magnificent jewel. Only one player out of a potential five has rolled a character yet (the Lizard Folk ranger who will act as "trusty native guide"), and I am planning on holding a meeting so we can throw character ideas and what not around. The heroes will start in the northern coastal city of Majara, the main port and trade hub so far on this continent. Here can be found youngest sons of lords from the "Two Kingdoms" of Castille and Breton, adventurers from the Free Cities, dwarves from the mountains ot the west of Castille, elves from their eastern home, and occasionally others from a land even further to the east, the mysterious Orient. Anyone who wishes to find fortune and adventure can be found here. Anyone, that is, who is willing to brave the uncharted depths of the jungles and ancient stone cities there in. What do you think? Any advice, ideas, hints for a budding DM?
milo1047 05-17-07, 09:15 PM	Ba-bump? :bump:
Darth Sephiroth 05-17-07, 09:18 PM	Watch Jurassic Park, The Lost World, and Congo. You could get some pretty fun ideas from them.
drunkonduty 05-18-07, 01:47 AM	Rivals for the jewel. They don't even need to be well defined at first, let them take shape as the party's own characters do. Maybe a few mentions of mysterious people asking questions that step on the PC's toes. Play it out a bit at first. And of course later on the PC's and their rivals (who don't have to be evil) can be forced into unhappy alliances in the face of the terrible dangers faced within the Dark Continent. In terms of dangers there's always lost kingdoms ('She' is a good movie here.) Anything by H Rider Haggard is good. Invading empires causing all sorts of trouble (thinking of 'Tales of the Gold Monkey' here.) And don't forget a Lord of the Apes! They're great.