Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 TheLyons Jan 23, 2015 17:02:56	The Forgotten Forest   It’s a small patch of forest that on most maps is unnamed. The only people who talk about this forest end up looking like conspiracy theorists so most pay it no mind. Those who end up traveling to this forest usually forget about their idea, and those who have actually made it there always turn back for some reason that they can’t quite remember.   Almost no information about this place exists as no one has explored there and mapped it, which itself isn’t terribly noteworthy since not every explored place is mapped. However, this place IS noteworthy in that almost no one has actually been there and of those who have, almost no one remembers anything that happened there. I will get to what is there in a moment, but first, what happens to the PCs.   I have my players expect to start at level 1. I tell everyone they need to plan their character to level 3. The adventure starts and the first adventure they go to the Forgotten Forest. They enter. Now they are walking out of it and no one remembers anything.   They can tell supplies are gone, and they have new abilities and powers somehow as they are level 3. No one remembers any of this. They all also have an item that’s associated with their character concept (not magical at first, becomes magical, and items that “grow”, another part of my story but beyond the scope of this post).   If anyone gets the idea to go back, they forget what they are doing. They can’t enter at all. I understand this part may annoy my players but I will remind them I won’t be railroading them much and when I do, it’s for a damn good reason. And they are being railroaded into NOT going back in the forest, but that’s it at this point. They can do anything but that, their characters forget the idea. If they ever have the idea to talk about this forest in front of people who were not present in this first adventure, they forget the idea. Again, I’m not a railroader but this part HAS to be.   While this is Forgotten Realms and they are starting on this world, my campaign will be Planescape and they will be traversing the planes as well as other worlds. Deities/powers will often be trying to these, which is a large part of the Forgotten Forest too. Also, Forgotten Forests will have portals to other Forgotten Forests on other worlds as well as Sigil although no portals exist from Sigil to a Forgotten Forest.   Once they are near the end of the campaign, they will return to the Forgotten Forest and realize what it is. They will do so by playing through their level 1 and level 2 sessions in the forest. In this forest are beings that, much like the Lady of Pain, no one knows what or who they are. They are in almost every material world, as each world has its own Forgotten Forest. They can practice a magic that is even higher than Elven High Magic and even stronger than the mythals, as it can affect the entire world. They have a mythal over their forests that obviously affect memory and forgetting about the place. The use their world affecting magic to try to prevent deities from entering. They are all linked and they are somehow linked to the Lady of Pain. In Forgotten Realms, Mystara and Elminster would know about them but that’s about it. They are really that secretive and it took Elminster centuries to figure this out, as he kept forgetting. Even High Magic practitioners are in the dark.   I really like this idea because it plants seeds of mystery at the beginning that will have my players wondering the entire campaign WTF happened there? If new players join the session the players will wonder “Haven’t I met you before” but not be able to remember why. So much fun! And eventually the mystery gets explained, and it’s to help save the multiverse from a mass plot of deity invasion, and resurrecting Aoskar so these evil deities can use Sigil to invade the multiverse.   On a story level, I think a lot about the Lady of Pain has to do with her intrigue. If we know her backstory, she immediately becomes less interesting. Even knowing what she is makes her less intriguing. I want the same to be true with these guys/gals. They will appear as different humanoid races, especially elves but they aren’t elves. It will NEVER be explained who or what they are. I don’t even know, because it will make them less interesting to me and I’m the DM.
#2 BRJN Jan 23, 2015 19:51:10	Anybody who wants to can go into the Forest.  But you (as DM) just narrate the way out the other side; PCs eat a few meals and nothing interesting happens.  Even if they map the place to the last square inch, whatever the effect is can move around.  It has Pass Without Trace -like abilities.  Like the 48-Toed Hidebehind (wish I could remember the childrens' book I read that in), it is always just out of sight.   If you want the campaign to start with a trip through the Forest and come out at L3, just have the players create an L3 character and narrate the rest.  As you describe it, you are going to make the rest of the group expend good time on creating an L1 character ... which you aren't going to let them play.
#3 Nevvur Jan 25, 2015 8:56:05	I didn't see any questions in the OP, so I assume you were just posting to share your idea? Maybe court criticism?   In any case, this is a very cool setup. The concept of an amnesia level that you go back to play later is totally sweet, wish I'd thought of it myself. I also like the prefab motivation for new characters to join the party, that vague sense of familiarity. Question though, how will you deal with a player who wants a character who has nothing to do with the forest?
(Reply to #3) TheLyons	BRJN wrote:
#5 BRJN Jan 26, 2015 14:56:02	If you want the PCs to go into the forest and they are reluctant, give them a rumor that something they want is in the forest.  (Merlin's tower?  Old cache of supplies?  Grave of ancient famous person?  Spell component grows only there?  Easiest bridge over troubled waters?)  Or have them meet a lore expert / folk story teller / librarian / retired adventurer who explains what's REALLY going on (she thinks), so the forest is not so creepy any more.