So, I was thinking about running a 4th ed campaign, inspired by the Open Grave sourcebook. In this campaign, the players will suddenly and surprisingly turned into undead abominations!
In this campaign, the players will have to visit the Tree of Life, in the southern continent of Elia. They are drawn to the tree so they can help it (actually, its a druid who, in an attempt to achieve a longer life and help the beauty of nature survive, transformed himself into a treant-like creature) to fight the excess of death and negative magical energies beginning to surge in their world. After a handful of adventures, the players are finally (hopefully) able to get to the Tree of Life.
The druids who helped protect the tree tell the players that the tree's leaves are not as brilliantly green as they once were, and it is wilting, and starting to grow weak. Apparently, the negative energies have been spreading across the globe, into the ground itself, and its beginning to affect it.
The tree sent for the PCs (not sure as to why those specific people, but that's not important right now), and when they get there, a swarm of evil, dark creatures overtakes the grove and the druids. The tree is able to fight them off or something (not important right now), and in the process, the players die, as they are in a situation impossible to escape without dying.
The tree is able to defeat the first wave, and hold them off for a while. It uses it's supreme healing magics to revive the players, bu Lo! the evil magics corrupting that sacred grove have infected their bodies! Now, the PCs must see the world from an entirely new perspective!
They are undead, they crave warm flesh, and all the other wackiness that comes from being undead. They aren't evil, but the rest of everybody doesn't know that.
And did I mention that the Tree of Life, in its final breaths, needs them to plant a new seedling elsewhere, still bright and green and radiant in its purity, to take it to a place free of the rampant excess of death and negativity.
And thus, the players enter the world anew, striving to bring life back to their world while their bodies slowly die, kept ever so slightly from rotting by the satiation of their hunger, the close proximity of that seedling, and so on. The seedling, too, begins to die as it gives up parts of itself to keep its' transporters alive, and thus the players must somehow recieve aid from a cleric or druid who can channel the positive energies neccessary to keep the hope alive...
*Continued in next post*
So, I suppose gameplay-wise, the characters could suffer from body part loss during battle; if they lose a quarter of their max health in one blow, lets say, they suffer major damage to one of their body parts. They can spend a healing surge to negate penalties until the end of the battle, but afterwards must find a way to replace the part or deal with it somehow.
A Damage Placement Chart, perhaps, roll a d20 to randomly choose which part is damaged?
Anyways, they will be able, later on, to recieve undead grafts, as from the Open Grave sourcebook, once they find a necromancer, or if one of the players has some necromancy rituals.
(Minor whining point - no schools of magic in 4th ed! 
)
Anyways, the players also have to resist urges to go insane and murder innocent NPCs, because of their hunger for flesh...a Will Defense attack every few days or whenever they see something that sparks their hunger.
Perhaps an Urge Point table or something?
I was also thinking that, while the sapling was in possession of the undead group, the PCs within a 3 square radius would get a +5 on their Will Defense.
Or something...
Any ideas or thoughts?
Well, see what your group thinks. If they think it would be fun, go for it. I think it's a unique idea. I think the undead grafts could be really fun for players to mess around with. But finding towns that will trade with them rather than go all torch'n'pitchfork on them will be tough. Do you plan on using a campaign setting like Forgotten Realms or Eberron, or is it a custom gig? I think it would probably be easier to attach the whole 'losing body parts' thing to getting a crit scored on you. It'll be really fun depending on the composition of your group.
Well, see what your group thinks. If they think it would be fun, go for it. I think it's a unique idea. I think the undead grafts could be really fun for players to mess around with. But finding towns that will trade with them rather than go all torch'n'pitchfork on them will be tough. Do you plan on using a campaign setting like Forgotten Realms or Eberron, or is it a custom gig? I think it would probably be easier to attach the whole 'losing body parts' thing to getting a crit scored on you. It'll be really fun depending on the composition of your group.
I'm not entirely sure on the setting, at the moment I don't think it's all that important...if I have enough time, I plan on creating my own world, but if it comes down to it, then I will more than likely use the Forgotten Realms setting.
I like the Critical Hits idea, its more solid than the one I proposed, and much less...horrifying for the players to live through, especially because of the fact that half of them are entirely new to 4th edition, and one of them has never really tabletop roleplayed before. It's not really an issue for me, though, as they are my friends, and I plan to take them through a "trial by fire" kind of game, where I just throw things at them without consideration of how they feel, and then find out in the aftermath their reactions and opinions.
But, I do think they'll like the game, though.
And as for the "torch'n'pitchfork" aspect of it...*insert evil laughter*
THAT will be the most fun for Me...I mean, Them.