Help with campaign ideas, long-term. - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Help with campaign ideas, long-term.

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
ramatheson
May 21, 2008 18:06:18 Two players, a dwarf and an elf, starting as new characters.

They've come together, after finding that the other has another part of a split token. Together, they make up 2/3 of the token. They have no idea where the last piece is. It is a good way to get them together, and leaves some tension between them while forcing them to journey together. Their families have been searching to complete the token for thousands of years, and it is the most important thing to the families.

I'm thinking that this token was a special, powerful item of some sort that was the possession of some powerful necromancer during and ancient elf/dwarf war almost 5,000 years previous in my game world. This necromancer used the war to cause havoc on a locale important to both the elves and dwarves.

The only way to stop him was to come together somehow, and so two families (one elf, one dwarf) united and sought to slay this necromancer. However, he was incredibly powerful. In order to do so, the families had to find the item that fueled the arch-necromancer's immortality and power. This item was the amulet. The families defeated the necromancer long enough to steal his amulet and destroy it. As it was destroyed, the necromancer returned and stole a piece of it away. Diminished in power still, he was forced to flee, leaving the impression that he was destroyed forever.

Over the thousands of years since this, he has sought the amulet. He knows it is split into two pieces. The only way he's been able to influence events is by knowing the names of the families. Of course, the name is power. He has been able to influence dreams and memories for these two families subtly and slowly over the millennia, until instead of the families believing they had to keep the amulet in pieces, they began to believe they needed to FIND the other pieces and complete the amulet. Of course, this will be the constant back story and driver to the campaign, culminating in the PCs finding the necromancer and the truth. They will have walked right into the web he's spun over many years.
#2
consul_vido
May 22, 2008 8:58:51 If this were my campaign, I think I would make the token in actuality be the fragments of a Lich's phylactery. Since they could not completely destroy it, they seperated the pieces to disperse the Lich's power.

The remaining piece I would put in the hands of the cabal that served the Lich. They are able to communicate with the fragmented spirit of the Lich through their fragment, and he guides them in their efforts, having little actual power left in the physical world. But should the pieces be combined, they would fuse together and restore the Lich's power and physical form.

Of course, now that I've typed this, it reminds me of that Jackie Chan cartoon that I used to watch with the dragon villain who was trapped in a statue until he regained all the zodiac animal tokens. Each token granted the holder a different part of the dragon's power. So perhaps the characters will discover their fragments each have their own power?

The more I think about it, the more my idea sounds kind of like a cheesy fantasy flick. But maybe you can use something from it.
#3
bleedingstar
May 22, 2008 14:01:18 I like the litch Idea, or even to take it a step further a red dragon draco litch? either way this is good.
#4
mistress_of_mockery
May 22, 2008 14:31:44
I like the litch Idea, or even to take it a step further a red dragon draco litch? either way this is good.

Why stop there?
Great Wyrm Celestial Half-fiend Gelatinous Pseudonatural Mummified Vampiric Red Dracolich FTW!
#5
bleedingstar
May 22, 2008 14:37:23 lol!
#6
ramatheson
May 22, 2008 19:59:27
If this were my campaign, I think I would make the token in actuality be the fragments of a Lich's phylactery. Since they could not completely destroy it, they seperated the pieces to disperse the Lich's power.

The remaining piece I would put in the hands of the cabal that served the Lich. They are able to communicate with the fragmented spirit of the Lich through their fragment, and he guides them in their efforts, having little actual power left in the physical world. But should the pieces be combined, they would fuse together and restore the Lich's power and physical form.

Of course, now that I've typed this, it reminds me of that Jackie Chan cartoon that I used to watch with the dragon villain who was trapped in a statue until he regained all the zodiac animal tokens. Each token granted the holder a different part of the dragon's power. So perhaps the characters will discover their fragments each have their own power?

The more I think about it, the more my idea sounds kind of like a cheesy fantasy flick. But maybe you can use something from it.

Interesting, more the first half than second. The parts having powers seems a little, as you said, "cheesy fantasy flick"-ish, to me. The idea of them, near the end of the campaign, or climax, having the tokens stolen (!) and then tracking them down again, and getting there JUST as the three are put together, summoning the Litch, and then having to battle him (in a much weakened, newly risen form).

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 ramatheson May 21, 2008 18:06:18	Two players, a dwarf and an elf, starting as new characters. They've come together, after finding that the other has another part of a split token. Together, they make up 2/3 of the token. They have no idea where the last piece is. It is a good way to get them together, and leaves some tension between them while forcing them to journey together. Their families have been searching to complete the token for thousands of years, and it is the most important thing to the families. I'm thinking that this token was a special, powerful item of some sort that was the possession of some powerful necromancer during and ancient elf/dwarf war almost 5,000 years previous in my game world. This necromancer used the war to cause havoc on a locale important to both the elves and dwarves. The only way to stop him was to come together somehow, and so two families (one elf, one dwarf) united and sought to slay this necromancer. However, he was incredibly powerful. In order to do so, the families had to find the item that fueled the arch-necromancer's immortality and power. This item was the amulet. The families defeated the necromancer long enough to steal his amulet and destroy it. As it was destroyed, the necromancer returned and stole a piece of it away. Diminished in power still, he was forced to flee, leaving the impression that he was destroyed forever. Over the thousands of years since this, he has sought the amulet. He knows it is split into two pieces. The only way he's been able to influence events is by knowing the names of the families. Of course, the name is power. He has been able to influence dreams and memories for these two families subtly and slowly over the millennia, until instead of the families believing they had to keep the amulet in pieces, they began to believe they needed to FIND the other pieces and complete the amulet. Of course, this will be the constant back story and driver to the campaign, culminating in the PCs finding the necromancer and the truth. They will have walked right into the web he's spun over many years.
#2 consul_vido May 22, 2008 8:58:51	If this were my campaign, I think I would make the token in actuality be the fragments of a Lich's phylactery. Since they could not completely destroy it, they seperated the pieces to disperse the Lich's power. The remaining piece I would put in the hands of the cabal that served the Lich. They are able to communicate with the fragmented spirit of the Lich through their fragment, and he guides them in their efforts, having little actual power left in the physical world. But should the pieces be combined, they would fuse together and restore the Lich's power and physical form. Of course, now that I've typed this, it reminds me of that Jackie Chan cartoon that I used to watch with the dragon villain who was trapped in a statue until he regained all the zodiac animal tokens. Each token granted the holder a different part of the dragon's power. So perhaps the characters will discover their fragments each have their own power? The more I think about it, the more my idea sounds kind of like a cheesy fantasy flick. But maybe you can use something from it.
#3 bleedingstar May 22, 2008 14:01:18	I like the litch Idea, or even to take it a step further a red dragon draco litch? either way this is good.
#4 mistress_of_mockery May 22, 2008 14:31:44	I like the litch Idea, or even to take it a step further a red dragon draco litch? either way this is good. Why stop there? Great Wyrm Celestial Half-fiend Gelatinous Pseudonatural Mummified Vampiric Red Dracolich FTW!
#5 bleedingstar May 22, 2008 14:37:23	lol!
#6 ramatheson May 22, 2008 19:59:27	If this were my campaign, I think I would make the token in actuality be the fragments of a Lich's phylactery. Since they could not completely destroy it, they seperated the pieces to disperse the Lich's power. The remaining piece I would put in the hands of the cabal that served the Lich. They are able to communicate with the fragmented spirit of the Lich through their fragment, and he guides them in their efforts, having little actual power left in the physical world. But should the pieces be combined, they would fuse together and restore the Lich's power and physical form. Of course, now that I've typed this, it reminds me of that Jackie Chan cartoon that I used to watch with the dragon villain who was trapped in a statue until he regained all the zodiac animal tokens. Each token granted the holder a different part of the dragon's power. So perhaps the characters will discover their fragments each have their own power? The more I think about it, the more my idea sounds kind of like a cheesy fantasy flick. But maybe you can use something from it. Interesting, more the first half than second. The parts having powers seems a little, as you said, "cheesy fantasy flick"-ish, to me. The idea of them, near the end of the campaign, or climax, having the tokens stolen (!) and then tracking them down again, and getting there JUST as the three are put together, summoning the Litch, and then having to battle him (in a much weakened, newly risen form).