survival horror campaign [Archive] - Wizards Community

survival horror campaign [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
APuppy
09-04-07, 06:43 AM G'day,

It'll be for the better if I explain what's going on, so here goes nothing...

One day a select group of adventurers and scholars found this old rusty book buried deep beneath the earth. the book was covered in chains and ancient auras of magic, in an attempt to keep it sealed. The scholars failed to recognize this as a potential danger and brought it to the surface.

No divination spell could penetrate the cover of this book, no distinct evil aura could be felt, but when gazing upon the bloodstained cover, you knew there was something uncanny inside.

After weeks of pondering, thousands of gems squandered and nearly depleted resources they finally succeeded in opening the accursed book. A wave of mist poured out of the book and engulfed the city and the surrounding forests.
The first few days nothing much changed, everything - or should I say everyone became more.... unique though. the elves became more nimble, their limbs became longer and stretched to freakish proportions and they felt closer to the forest, etc ... the dwarves' skin changed and the became more and more like the earth they had always lived in, swords and axes shattered on their rocklike skin and it seemed as though they could manipulate the earth itself. etc....

so that's pretty much the basic gist of the story. the trick is that, anyone who enters the town can't seem to find a way out AND every race starts changing more and more to a 'primevil' shape and starts waging war against every other race.. including the pc's, if they can't find a way out OR destroy/close the book they'll lose their mind and join the rest of the citizens and eventually fight their former party-members...

If you guys have any remarks, please enlighten me, I'd like to make this a fun adventure.
I'd also like to know what changes you guys would have in mind for every race; the transformation takes about 10 days, and after those ten days, they're mostly mindless, freakish creatures who only slightly resemble their former race.

excuse my poor english :)

greetings
Unknowable
09-04-07, 02:47 PM I strongly suggest filling the cursed area with lots of clowns who are very religious but use lots of profanity. Maybe have a church in the village where all the priests dress like clowns and during services, scream things at the congregation like, "If you don't start praising [enter god's name here], I'm personally going to come down there and beat the **** out of you."
GoriceXII
09-04-07, 04:45 PM I would make use of DM's tricks that you'd use for charmed characters and the like. Simply describe to the characters odd, relatively harmless but disturbing things they catch themselves doing, like:

1. Discovering their tracking ability has increased a bit by enhanced senses (hearing, smell, etc)

2. That they find themselves about to casually relieve themselves in full view of the others

3. Eating foods raw you wouldn't normally if you had a choice--and really wanting to

4. Grunting incomprehensibly--have one player THINK he spoke rationally and describe what the others actually hear and see him do

5. Very gradual bestial features--increased hairiness, thicker longer nails, clothing becoming intensely uncomfortable
Heros_Backpack
09-06-07, 02:01 PM This is how I see the different races being altered. Each race has an increasing affinity for one kind of terrain and as the curse takes hold of them, they become more and more uncomfortable at being out of it.

Dwarves have an affinity with stone of all kinds and prefer to be either in stone caves or among stone walled alleys/narrow buildings. Their skin turns thicker, greyer and craggier, giving them DR and they become able to smash stone and shape it barehanded, forsaking their metal tools/axes/weapons etc in favour of stone maces/hammers or simply hurled stones.

Elves have an affinity with the forests and prefer to be close to trees whenever possible. Their limbs become longer, thinner and more supple, making them faster and more nimble, and they gain the ability to move through undergrowth more easily. They attack singly, waiting for other races to become tangled among the undergrowth before leaping out of their trees with wooden spears, darts and staffs.

Gnomes have an affinity with the underground and earth (dirt rather than stone) and prefer to be below ground, or at the very least in well shuttered ground floor rooms. Their bodies become narrow and sinewy, while their hands and feet widen, toughen and grow short strong claws, giving them the ability to burrow through the ground, while short sensitive hairs grow over their body and they begin to sense the world through the hair. They attack by burrowing out of the ground, grabbing the nearest non-gnome and dragging it back down into their tunnels, preferring claws and teeth to made weapons.

Half-elves are torn between their human and elven sides, drawn to both the forest and the open air and usually ending up uncomfortably compromising by living among smaller shrubs. Their limbs are longer than usual but bent and twisted so that the length is not immediately noticeable. They attack in small groups, stabbing with spears and daggers.

Halflings have an affinity with the fields and the animals that live in them. They become shorter and rounder with boosted sight and hearing. Always hungry, they eat whatever comes to hand and prefer to hide and run rather than attack directly. When they must attack, they fight from range by hurling whatever they can and then dashing away to another position.

Half-orcs have an affinity with darkness and the predators that hunt at night. Their backs hunch and their legs grow stubbier to bring them closer to the ground, and they often use their clenched hands to boost their running speed. Noses grow wider and they become able to track by scent. In combat, they tend to chase down creatures, spring at them, slash out with swords and axes, before snatching at and tearing it away without worrying whether the creature is dead or not.

Humans have an affinity with the open air and heights and generally take to the rooftops or, at a pinch, the topmost floor of any well-windowed building. Their limbs become bent but stronger and springier, allowing them to jump higher and climb faster and better. They are the most vocal of the affected races, and any creature trying to attack them generally finds a screaming mob leaping down on it, wielding daggers and other small sharp weapons.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
APuppy 09-04-07, 06:43 AM	G'day, It'll be for the better if I explain what's going on, so here goes nothing... One day a select group of adventurers and scholars found this old rusty book buried deep beneath the earth. the book was covered in chains and ancient auras of magic, in an attempt to keep it sealed. The scholars failed to recognize this as a potential danger and brought it to the surface. No divination spell could penetrate the cover of this book, no distinct evil aura could be felt, but when gazing upon the bloodstained cover, you knew there was something uncanny inside. After weeks of pondering, thousands of gems squandered and nearly depleted resources they finally succeeded in opening the accursed book. A wave of mist poured out of the book and engulfed the city and the surrounding forests. The first few days nothing much changed, everything - or should I say everyone became more.... unique though. the elves became more nimble, their limbs became longer and stretched to freakish proportions and they felt closer to the forest, etc ... the dwarves' skin changed and the became more and more like the earth they had always lived in, swords and axes shattered on their rocklike skin and it seemed as though they could manipulate the earth itself. etc.... so that's pretty much the basic gist of the story. the trick is that, anyone who enters the town can't seem to find a way out AND every race starts changing more and more to a 'primevil' shape and starts waging war against every other race.. including the pc's, if they can't find a way out OR destroy/close the book they'll lose their mind and join the rest of the citizens and eventually fight their former party-members... If you guys have any remarks, please enlighten me, I'd like to make this a fun adventure. I'd also like to know what changes you guys would have in mind for every race; the transformation takes about 10 days, and after those ten days, they're mostly mindless, freakish creatures who only slightly resemble their former race. excuse my poor english :) greetings
Unknowable 09-04-07, 02:47 PM	I strongly suggest filling the cursed area with lots of clowns who are very religious but use lots of profanity. Maybe have a church in the village where all the priests dress like clowns and during services, scream things at the congregation like, "If you don't start praising [enter god's name here], I'm personally going to come down there and beat the **** out of you."
GoriceXII 09-04-07, 04:45 PM	I would make use of DM's tricks that you'd use for charmed characters and the like. Simply describe to the characters odd, relatively harmless but disturbing things they catch themselves doing, like: 1. Discovering their tracking ability has increased a bit by enhanced senses (hearing, smell, etc) 2. That they find themselves about to casually relieve themselves in full view of the others 3. Eating foods raw you wouldn't normally if you had a choice--and really wanting to 4. Grunting incomprehensibly--have one player THINK he spoke rationally and describe what the others actually hear and see him do 5. Very gradual bestial features--increased hairiness, thicker longer nails, clothing becoming intensely uncomfortable
Heros_Backpack 09-06-07, 02:01 PM	This is how I see the different races being altered. Each race has an increasing affinity for one kind of terrain and as the curse takes hold of them, they become more and more uncomfortable at being out of it. Dwarves have an affinity with stone of all kinds and prefer to be either in stone caves or among stone walled alleys/narrow buildings. Their skin turns thicker, greyer and craggier, giving them DR and they become able to smash stone and shape it barehanded, forsaking their metal tools/axes/weapons etc in favour of stone maces/hammers or simply hurled stones. Elves have an affinity with the forests and prefer to be close to trees whenever possible. Their limbs become longer, thinner and more supple, making them faster and more nimble, and they gain the ability to move through undergrowth more easily. They attack singly, waiting for other races to become tangled among the undergrowth before leaping out of their trees with wooden spears, darts and staffs. Gnomes have an affinity with the underground and earth (dirt rather than stone) and prefer to be below ground, or at the very least in well shuttered ground floor rooms. Their bodies become narrow and sinewy, while their hands and feet widen, toughen and grow short strong claws, giving them the ability to burrow through the ground, while short sensitive hairs grow over their body and they begin to sense the world through the hair. They attack by burrowing out of the ground, grabbing the nearest non-gnome and dragging it back down into their tunnels, preferring claws and teeth to made weapons. Half-elves are torn between their human and elven sides, drawn to both the forest and the open air and usually ending up uncomfortably compromising by living among smaller shrubs. Their limbs are longer than usual but bent and twisted so that the length is not immediately noticeable. They attack in small groups, stabbing with spears and daggers. Halflings have an affinity with the fields and the animals that live in them. They become shorter and rounder with boosted sight and hearing. Always hungry, they eat whatever comes to hand and prefer to hide and run rather than attack directly. When they must attack, they fight from range by hurling whatever they can and then dashing away to another position. Half-orcs have an affinity with darkness and the predators that hunt at night. Their backs hunch and their legs grow stubbier to bring them closer to the ground, and they often use their clenched hands to boost their running speed. Noses grow wider and they become able to track by scent. In combat, they tend to chase down creatures, spring at them, slash out with swords and axes, before snatching at and tearing it away without worrying whether the creature is dead or not. Humans have an affinity with the open air and heights and generally take to the rooftops or, at a pinch, the topmost floor of any well-windowed building. Their limbs become bent but stronger and springier, allowing them to jump higher and climb faster and better. They are the most vocal of the affected races, and any creature trying to attack them generally finds a screaming mob leaping down on it, wielding daggers and other small sharp weapons.