Brainstorming- Warning...long read. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Brainstorming- Warning...long read. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Aelii
12-17-07, 04:37 AM Anywho....

I had posted a thread earlier regarding my players taking off in a strange direction with the plotline, and that has actually gone very well.

The group has managed to capture a Xeph in the process of turning to a Raiker. (though they do not actually believe he is a Raiker...the fact that he is still sentient and that he is of a psionic race leads them to believe he is something new and different)

Explanations. (lots of em...grab some snacks, fellas)
The Raikers are undead created by an imbalance of positive and negative energy in the world. The world is cut off entirely from the rest of the multiverse with the exception of two portals to the positive and negative energy planes, respectively. These are maintained by the collective psionic power of the "global conciousness", as it were. (natural bent towards good and evil) The psychic sun (the good portal) has been destroyed. The result being that the "mindblind" (those without psionic ability) are turning to undead (zombies, for now) this is due to the natural ability of psionic beings to divert or make use of the excess energy. The problem is becoming bad enough in psionically active areas, however, that non-mindblind are beginning to turn. (the xeph, for example) The city is built inside a former Dromite megatropolis that due to the influence of the psychic moon (the evil one) is slowly crystallizing. (the crystal is psionically active and the place is amazing for psionics)

Hrm...more details.
Dromites are essentially in the same boat with the Xephs...but they outnumber the rest of the races by a LOT. A great many of their number are not particularly gifted psionicists, that is. (uber lot of commoners, for example)

The humans and other "mindblind" races were forcefully removed from the city when they began to turn. (they didn't resist much...being that they wanted to get out) The problem being that the temperatures outside the city hover around 30-45 at all times. (the world is tidally locked and this area is kind of a perpetual twilight) The only things growing out there are some low-light ferns and the ilk...and some highly evolved fungus...big-arse mushrooms and the ilk. The humans will likely die before they make it anywhere. (there are too many of them concentrated into one meandering horde...they cannot eat enough...they will become desperate and begin raiding, methinks)

Anywho...back to the dromites.
The dromites in this city do not recognize a queen or cohort. (this is incredibly abnormal...as they are androgynous and need them to reproduce...they treat the pair as gods) Furthermore (as made evident by a dromite knight investigating the matter in the city) the other "royal pairs" do not share an empathic link with this group of dromites. (who are sill reproducing somehow...obviously) This is because the elan council has dominated the two of them. (no need to control the rest...the dromites are naturally subservient, almost) They are essentially there for breeding purposes...the dromites in the city are too loyal to say anything. They all feign ignorance. (they are unaware of the domination, for reference)

The Elan (it is its own plural, yes?).... ^^; (I apologize...this has become a campaign exposition hasn't it?)
The Elan were created by the seven hidden houses. (took an idea from the comp-psi and modified it to my purpose) They were to be the perfect rulers for their civilization. (they forget their past upon becoming Elan...and are hence rulers without bias with only the good of their people in mind over morals or anything else) The general idea is that the deities did not particularly like the idea of a race playing God to itself and shut them off from all extraplanar power. (magic and divine magic...as well as connections to other planes) (the psychic sun and moon are exceptions that the deities could not control) I thought the self-imposed uber-exile idea was rather cool. ^^;

The Elan drove the dromites from their ancient megatropolis mostly due to the sheer psionic awesomeness of the place. ^^; However, they refused to delve deeper than the outer caverns due to the influence of the newly formed psychic moon (which has some rather nasty effects on the world around it) The sheer amount of psionic crystal in the area and the concentration of negative energy (caused by negative thoughts in the global consciousness) have caused the areas that are completely crystallized to develop a form of limited conciousness in their own right. It is not so much sentient as a form of DEEPLY compelling evil suggestion. It functions in defense of the moon...causing those that enter to be driven insane and causing extreme pain in attempting to explain what they have seen to others...they are often held there until they die either of starvation or are converted to undead by the overwhelming concentration of negative energy. In a few extreme cases, psionic creatures are turned to functional sentient undead to defend the moon...quite evil and terrifying. (I fully intend to have the players face a spectral savant at some point, to illustrate that psionics can be maintained in undeath)

Anywho...the Xeph was deeply affected by the moon. He was quite insane and in the process of becoming a Raiker. (slang for zombie in this world) The players are hauling him back to the academy in the city.

Now....
Depending on whether or not the players keep their mouths shut until they get there I see two options.

1.) The players tell everyone they meet that a psionic character is turning undead (they can tell because positive energy hurt the thing...to clarify such powers still work because they are links to the positive energy plane forged on a personal level on the short term) in which case...I believe a general riot would erupt. The dromites vastly outnumber the remaining populous and are not effectively a threat. (as are all less powerful psionic characters) The populous would riot and flee...real doomsday scenario for the city.

2.) The players make it to the academy without spilling the beans. The headmaster would likely immediately recognize that the information needs to stay off the streets and do something to prevent it. If so...what? Lock the players away or send them back into the deeps for more answers? (the deeps being the rest of the mega-hive...the moon's area...sealed off by a one-way ectoplasmic wall that requires the seal of a ranking elan to return through) The headmaster is actually a member of the senate that sits below the council. (The government is headed by a council of six Elan...below them is a senate that proposes ideas and solutions as well as acting to break ties in the council by majority vote)

I also wanted to gather ideas for a sidequest whilst they are in the academy. (the players are itching for some real combat) My thought is that those doing research in the library have fallen asleep and their dreams are becoming real. These dreams are...bad...to say the least. This is due to the fact that so many are researching the Raikers and possible causes and solutions since the outbreak. They are essentially in there using autohypnosis to the utmost to memorize long passages about very bad things. ^^; I would like possible ideas for what put them to sleep and why their dreams are becoming real. It would just allow for some combat for the players. *shrugs*

Thanks for reading!
Let me know what you think of the world too, if you like...I would love opinions and questions if you have any.
Eldritch_Id
12-17-07, 07:15 AM I also wanted to gather ideas for a sidequest whilst they are in the academy. (the players are itching for some real combat) My thought is that those doing research in the library have fallen asleep and their dreams are becoming real. These dreams are...bad...to say the least. This is due to the fact that so many are researching the Raikers and possible causes and solutions since the outbreak. They are essentially in there using autohypnosis to the utmost to memorize long passages about very bad things. ^^; I would like possible ideas for what put them to sleep and why their dreams are becoming real. It would just allow for some combat for the players. *shrugs*

Great world - reminds me of Mike's Hard Shivering Isles if you follow me (& if you do, for your own sake, stop).

Sorry I don't have have many suggestions, though. Here's what I got: The dreams made the researchers fall asleep - they were willful prior to being released by the researchers loss of consciousness; I imagine another type of defense for the moon. They could even grow to be a much larger problem in the scheme of your world.

Hope this helps!
Darth_Serenous
12-17-07, 07:33 AM I realy like your world. Its deep and very Psionic orriented. Im currently DMing a campaign set in a Open-Eberron. Thats mean I changed almost everything of the world. And you just give me some ideas on psionics I could use. I didn't included Psionics in my game before but the Elan council sounds niec to me.

Your story looks complex and Im asking myself : How can he make sure his players are fealing this? Because, now in my campaign Im preparing a crusade from the silverflame againts Aiundair and I have prepared lot of plots and events, but I dont know how make my players feal that is something wrong. So how are you creating this fealing?
Aelii
12-17-07, 12:14 PM Thanks for the compliments. ^^;

I am attempting to show them what is wrong by means of confronting them with relevant information is vaguely applicable ways. (Xeph is hurt by healing...must be undead...still sentient...this means what?...that sort of reasoning)

I am slowly going to add descriptions of the growing madness to the players actions as they progress into the deeps.... The way they perceive things will be altered in a deeply grotesque way. (primal joys at evil things, etc)

The Dromite knight, Kato is from another hive and does a magnificent job of being a walking plot-hook. The party's bard (modified to use psionics, mind you) has taken the poor guy all to himself though. (by offering a falsely sympathetic ear and hording him away from the rest of the party...he is essentially keeping the story away from the other players...which is a problem, but they have a false lead to follow anyway, which will go well enough for them, if they handle it well)

I love the ideas! Keep them coming and I will try to let you guys know when I decide on something. *nods*
Aelii
12-17-07, 11:31 PM :bump:

I will need to do this tomorrow, any ideas before then are greatly appreciated. ^^;

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Aelii 12-17-07, 04:37 AM	Anywho.... I had posted a thread earlier regarding my players taking off in a strange direction with the plotline, and that has actually gone very well. The group has managed to capture a Xeph in the process of turning to a Raiker. (though they do not actually believe he is a Raiker...the fact that he is still sentient and that he is of a psionic race leads them to believe he is something new and different) Explanations. (lots of em...grab some snacks, fellas) The Raikers are undead created by an imbalance of positive and negative energy in the world. The world is cut off entirely from the rest of the multiverse with the exception of two portals to the positive and negative energy planes, respectively. These are maintained by the collective psionic power of the "global conciousness", as it were. (natural bent towards good and evil) The psychic sun (the good portal) has been destroyed. The result being that the "mindblind" (those without psionic ability) are turning to undead (zombies, for now) this is due to the natural ability of psionic beings to divert or make use of the excess energy. The problem is becoming bad enough in psionically active areas, however, that non-mindblind are beginning to turn. (the xeph, for example) The city is built inside a former Dromite megatropolis that due to the influence of the psychic moon (the evil one) is slowly crystallizing. (the crystal is psionically active and the place is amazing for psionics) Hrm...more details. Dromites are essentially in the same boat with the Xephs...but they outnumber the rest of the races by a LOT. A great many of their number are not particularly gifted psionicists, that is. (uber lot of commoners, for example) The humans and other "mindblind" races were forcefully removed from the city when they began to turn. (they didn't resist much...being that they wanted to get out) The problem being that the temperatures outside the city hover around 30-45 at all times. (the world is tidally locked and this area is kind of a perpetual twilight) The only things growing out there are some low-light ferns and the ilk...and some highly evolved fungus...big-arse mushrooms and the ilk. The humans will likely die before they make it anywhere. (there are too many of them concentrated into one meandering horde...they cannot eat enough...they will become desperate and begin raiding, methinks) Anywho...back to the dromites. The dromites in this city do not recognize a queen or cohort. (this is incredibly abnormal...as they are androgynous and need them to reproduce...they treat the pair as gods) Furthermore (as made evident by a dromite knight investigating the matter in the city) the other "royal pairs" do not share an empathic link with this group of dromites. (who are sill reproducing somehow...obviously) This is because the elan council has dominated the two of them. (no need to control the rest...the dromites are naturally subservient, almost) They are essentially there for breeding purposes...the dromites in the city are too loyal to say anything. They all feign ignorance. (they are unaware of the domination, for reference) The Elan (it is its own plural, yes?).... ^^; (I apologize...this has become a campaign exposition hasn't it?) The Elan were created by the seven hidden houses. (took an idea from the comp-psi and modified it to my purpose) They were to be the perfect rulers for their civilization. (they forget their past upon becoming Elan...and are hence rulers without bias with only the good of their people in mind over morals or anything else) The general idea is that the deities did not particularly like the idea of a race playing God to itself and shut them off from all extraplanar power. (magic and divine magic...as well as connections to other planes) (the psychic sun and moon are exceptions that the deities could not control) I thought the self-imposed uber-exile idea was rather cool. ^^; The Elan drove the dromites from their ancient megatropolis mostly due to the sheer psionic awesomeness of the place. ^^; However, they refused to delve deeper than the outer caverns due to the influence of the newly formed psychic moon (which has some rather nasty effects on the world around it) The sheer amount of psionic crystal in the area and the concentration of negative energy (caused by negative thoughts in the global consciousness) have caused the areas that are completely crystallized to develop a form of limited conciousness in their own right. It is not so much sentient as a form of DEEPLY compelling evil suggestion. It functions in defense of the moon...causing those that enter to be driven insane and causing extreme pain in attempting to explain what they have seen to others...they are often held there until they die either of starvation or are converted to undead by the overwhelming concentration of negative energy. In a few extreme cases, psionic creatures are turned to functional sentient undead to defend the moon...quite evil and terrifying. (I fully intend to have the players face a spectral savant at some point, to illustrate that psionics can be maintained in undeath) Anywho...the Xeph was deeply affected by the moon. He was quite insane and in the process of becoming a Raiker. (slang for zombie in this world) The players are hauling him back to the academy in the city. Now.... Depending on whether or not the players keep their mouths shut until they get there I see two options. 1.) The players tell everyone they meet that a psionic character is turning undead (they can tell because positive energy hurt the thing...to clarify such powers still work because they are links to the positive energy plane forged on a personal level on the short term) in which case...I believe a general riot would erupt. The dromites vastly outnumber the remaining populous and are not effectively a threat. (as are all less powerful psionic characters) The populous would riot and flee...real doomsday scenario for the city. 2.) The players make it to the academy without spilling the beans. The headmaster would likely immediately recognize that the information needs to stay off the streets and do something to prevent it. If so...what? Lock the players away or send them back into the deeps for more answers? (the deeps being the rest of the mega-hive...the moon's area...sealed off by a one-way ectoplasmic wall that requires the seal of a ranking elan to return through) The headmaster is actually a member of the senate that sits below the council. (The government is headed by a council of six Elan...below them is a senate that proposes ideas and solutions as well as acting to break ties in the council by majority vote) I also wanted to gather ideas for a sidequest whilst they are in the academy. (the players are itching for some real combat) My thought is that those doing research in the library have fallen asleep and their dreams are becoming real. These dreams are...bad...to say the least. This is due to the fact that so many are researching the Raikers and possible causes and solutions since the outbreak. They are essentially in there using autohypnosis to the utmost to memorize long passages about very bad things. ^^; I would like possible ideas for what put them to sleep and why their dreams are becoming real. It would just allow for some combat for the players. shrugs Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think of the world too, if you like...I would love opinions and questions if you have any.
Eldritch_Id 12-17-07, 07:15 AM	I also wanted to gather ideas for a sidequest whilst they are in the academy. (the players are itching for some real combat) My thought is that those doing research in the library have fallen asleep and their dreams are becoming real. These dreams are...bad...to say the least. This is due to the fact that so many are researching the Raikers and possible causes and solutions since the outbreak. They are essentially in there using autohypnosis to the utmost to memorize long passages about very bad things. ^^; I would like possible ideas for what put them to sleep and why their dreams are becoming real. It would just allow for some combat for the players. shrugs Great world - reminds me of Mike's Hard Shivering Isles if you follow me (& if you do, for your own sake, stop). Sorry I don't have have many suggestions, though. Here's what I got: The dreams made the researchers fall asleep - they were willful prior to being released by the researchers loss of consciousness; I imagine another type of defense for the moon. They could even grow to be a much larger problem in the scheme of your world. Hope this helps!
Darth_Serenous 12-17-07, 07:33 AM	I realy like your world. Its deep and very Psionic orriented. Im currently DMing a campaign set in a Open-Eberron. Thats mean I changed almost everything of the world. And you just give me some ideas on psionics I could use. I didn't included Psionics in my game before but the Elan council sounds niec to me. Your story looks complex and Im asking myself : How can he make sure his players are fealing this? Because, now in my campaign Im preparing a crusade from the silverflame againts Aiundair and I have prepared lot of plots and events, but I dont know how make my players feal that is something wrong. So how are you creating this fealing?
Aelii 12-17-07, 12:14 PM	Thanks for the compliments. ^^; I am attempting to show them what is wrong by means of confronting them with relevant information is vaguely applicable ways. (Xeph is hurt by healing...must be undead...still sentient...this means what?...that sort of reasoning) I am slowly going to add descriptions of the growing madness to the players actions as they progress into the deeps.... The way they perceive things will be altered in a deeply grotesque way. (primal joys at evil things, etc) The Dromite knight, Kato is from another hive and does a magnificent job of being a walking plot-hook. The party's bard (modified to use psionics, mind you) has taken the poor guy all to himself though. (by offering a falsely sympathetic ear and hording him away from the rest of the party...he is essentially keeping the story away from the other players...which is a problem, but they have a false lead to follow anyway, which will go well enough for them, if they handle it well) I love the ideas! Keep them coming and I will try to let you guys know when I decide on something. nods
Aelii 12-17-07, 11:31 PM	:bump: I will need to do this tomorrow, any ideas before then are greatly appreciated. ^^;