Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 aztok Aug 04, 2010 22:49:56	I'm going to DM for my regular players at some point, and I'm trying to design a campaign that starts out really open, allowing the players their choice of actions, and then later on the campaign becomes more and more apparent. At the beginning, the players are working for a patron wizard who hires them to do odd jobs, retrieve items for him, and occasionally going to aid his brother, up north. In-between jobs, they can go on separate adventures, llike fighting goblins or exploring ruins.  In between, they will hear of unexplained homicides, all done by dwarves. A random dwarf will wake up one morning, strangle his wife next to him, and then go on a rampage of destruction. it is especially prevalent in mainly dwarven cities, almost all up north. In fact, the players might even run into a dwarf that has gone mad, and although a commoner affected by rage isn't going to be something dangerous, its still going to be unnerving, especially because one of the PCs is going to play a dwarf barbarian. Even he will have no clue what is going on. Eventually a dwarf murders their patron's brother, and their patron sends them to go find the cause.  Now from here I have a couple different ideas, which I would like input on: Using inspiration from the 3.5e book Elder Evils, it is caused by some horrible creature, possibly the progenitor of dwarves, starting to awaken and regain control over the dwarves, which in the time since this creature's slumber, lost their evil and brutal history and discovered religion, smithing, and mining. An ancient device, possibly the one that created the first dwarves, is rediscovered and is being used by an evil wizard to create an army of dwarves. Unfortunately (for him and everyone else), he hasn't gotten the hang of it, and its causing mental breakdowns in the dwarves it affects, sending them into a mindless rage. When he starts figuring it out, small numbers of dwarves will have their will overridden and will begin forming groups to head north, pillaging and burning everything in their path. A strange parasite, which only affects dwarves, has started to spread through rivers, heading south from the northern mountains. This parasite can be caused by a terrible beast, demonic tampering, or something. The parasite sends the dwarves into a mindless rage as it burrows into the brain. If the dwarf is still alive after three days, (not often, a raging dwarf is likely to be killed when it picks a fight with something stronger than it, like the city watch or a troll) then the parasite assumes complete control of the brain, and begins working on a massive, overarching plot to aquire the magical means to alter the parasite to affect every race. Any input on these ideas would be wonderful, thanks!
#2 mellored Aug 05, 2010 9:54:51	Not bad.  It's good to start simple before weaving any complex stuff.  Simple "fetch the item" quests work out pretty well and give you time to iron out any DM kinks you might have, before delving into the actual mystery.
#3 Dreamstryder Aug 05, 2010 23:09:15	I'd start by coming up with a handful of events, each with a different clue about what's going on (dwarven prehistory,  activities spreading from the North, only dwarves are effected, a wizard is tampering with an artifact, etc), but only detailing the 2-3 events the players will likely first decide among. By the end of one game session, they should decide which event to pursue next session (so you have time to detail that one). From the PCs' point of view, the party's investigating murders, encountering racial quarantining inspired by events, and perhaps digging through the archives of a dwarven city gone silent (sent to investigate by a nearby town).
#4 David Aug 07, 2010 11:42:44	I have nothing to add right now. You're campaign sounds awesome. May I join your group? Please?
#5 ingestiblebulk Aug 07, 2010 12:28:14	personally, i'd go with the elder evil.  it seems like the most interesting idea.
#6 David Aug 07, 2010 13:28:22	Yeah, the first one is the best by far.
#7 Tovec Aug 07, 2010 23:57:57	Personally I'd go more direct and less by hapenstance, basically make it someone or a group of people who are causing the dwarves to go all crazy instead of infected water or a strange artifact. I mean you could still use either of the other implements in conjunction but in my experience it usually works out best if there is a visual villain to attack, regardless if that person/people are truly responsible. That's just my two cents.
#8 Grimbus Aug 08, 2010 18:54:36	I'd combine options 1 & 3. Run with option three to start with. The parasite was released by a small cult of dwarves attatched to the old god, who want to bring the elder back. Once the players have defeated this cabal of Dwarven cultists, found the cure to the parasite and stopped the Elven nations from declaring war upon the dwarves because of the actions of the members, they will have reached level 12 or thereabouts. Then they discover that the Elder God/being has been released from his prison and will be seeking world domination (he doesn't need the parasite to control minds after he has been released). So the second part of the campaign is spent attempting to destroy the elder god and his horde of beasties from other dimensions.
#9 aztok Aug 09, 2010 1:51:59	Thanks, Im glad to see that people like the idea. I have a few more questions: One of my players is a dwarven barbarian, so how can I effectively give the idea that this infection can happen to any dwarf, but it isnt going to happen to OUR dwarf? I'm considering that they have a couple close dwarven accomplices, allies, what have you, and a couple go mad. Hopefully this will reinforce the "It could be you next" idea. Lastly, Where can I go to find other people in my local area to play dnd with? I feel kinda stupid asking, but I looked through but I didn't see a forum that had the specifics I wanted. My group can't meet every week, so it would be nice to have others to play with. Thanks for the input, keep it coming!
#10 Grimbus Aug 09, 2010 12:34:13	Perhaps the dwarf has been exposed to the parasite, but due to a rare genetic trait, some dwarves are immune. Alternatively the dwarf gets infected and the party have to find a druid to brew a potion that washed out the parasite. The druid gets assasinated shortly after brewing the potion, to prevent general cure being found. Or just leave things as they are and let the players feel a little paranoid about the whole thing. They don;'t need to know that the dwarven barbarian won't get infected. It might spur them on a bit.
#11 admiral_lourve Aug 09, 2010 13:57:20	Why not let it happen to your player's dwarf? Let him in on the plot towards the end and have him attack the party. Could be really memorable! You could have this happen quite close to getting the cure/defeating the villian, so he can be saved.
#12 David Aug 09, 2010 14:18:15	Infect his family. That would give him at least some incentive. He might even feel a bit guilty because his family gets infected while he was away on some mission.
#13 calm Aug 09, 2010 17:41:17	Why not just go with it all. A mind flayer is experimenting on the dwarves with an ancient artifact it discovered. The device implants a suggestion within the mind of a dwarf (like a parasite, sort of). Basically, the flayer decided to start with the dwarves, known for their strong-willed nature. If he can break them, he can break any race. He's testing it by having the dwarves do something totally against their nature/will (killing loved ones, community members). Perhaps the flayer is disguised and within the dwarven society. He probably has minions (dopplegangers?) helping him select individuals. The PCs can first encounter these lackeys (perhaps a dwarf PC is being scouted), before coming to grips with the illithid.
#14 mcbraggart Aug 11, 2010 15:30:43	Thanks, Im glad to see that people like the idea. I have a few more questions: ...how can I effectively give the idea that this infection can happen to any dwarf, but it isnt going to happen to OUR dwarf? ... Thanks for the input, keep it coming! Ask him on random occassions what his fort or Will save/defense is randomly then roll a dice.  As he starts to act paranoid, ask for perception checks from his friends then send them a note saying the dwarf looks like he is acting funny.  When he would miss an attack, flavor it with him seeing double-vision or hearing voices. Instigating some paranoia should work.
#15 pacoelmexico Aug 13, 2010 22:39:00	On the player Dwarf i would say that you should go with the device make it where the people that went crazy where all miners that had came in contact with it but do to the device they forgot even seeing it... so then you wont have to make him die but he can still be terrified through unknowning this is how it works... In all this campaign sounds like a blast to do... i wish i was in your group
#16 soulshatterer Aug 13, 2010 23:14:50	It might just be from my normal GM running "Dead Is Dead, And Anyone Can Die" style campaigns, but I say you should make it so that the Dwarf in the party CAN get "Infected" or such. For this, I suggest the "Secret Odds Roll" method. Every couple turns, or even at the beginning of each session, if you meet weekly, roll 3 D6's, and start with say...3 or Above. If the roll comes up to at least 3, he's safe. Each time you do one of these rolls, raise the number by one or two, to simulate the increasing prevalency of this "Disease". Don't tell ANY of the players about the roll so long as the dwarf is safe, so that if, by any chance he does end up getting "infected" it will come as a total shock to the players.