For the beginning, I was thinking of a swarm of bugs invade a small town and the players happen to be in the town before the invation starts. Here is the wording I was thinking of giving them.
You have reseaved an Invitation to the Kings Palace to descuse something that he is unwilling to talk about on this note. All the roads are closed of because several partys of the kings best men went in, and when they came out, there were strucken with an unknown illness and disappered onely days later. There is only one safe path into the city in which the king is located.
After a days travle, it is nearly night and when you come appon the city. Many of the locals say that you should not leave this place until day brake, because there are many unseen forces at work and it is not safe to travle at night, even if this is the safes route. (PC's now have time to travle around and talk to NPC's acout what is going on, romurs and other things on there mind. If they try to leave the city, the guards will stop them, saying that they are not alowed to travle outside the city a night, strikt orders. If the PC tries to resist, they are sent to the prison, but don't miss out on the first battle.)
After the PC's deside to take a rest, there are interupted in the middle of the night by a wild fire within the town and screams from the towns people. If they are in the prison, they here screams from the nabering cell (all the PC's in the prison are togeather, if only one is in, they are acompanied by a cleric who says he was framed for his crime. Doesn't battle much, but will heal the PC if he takes to much damage.) They head out to see a swarm of bettles (most likly a combination of fire and some others.) setting fire to the town, and seem any people running around on fire. If they are in the cell, they see the door burst into flames as the insects rush into the cell and attack the the nearest prisoner whome bursts into flames after a couple goes from the insects. The RPC's meet in the street were a horde of insects gose after them and some in the cell.
BATLLE BEGIN!!
After the battle is won, the prisoner is alowed to leave, to see what is becomeing of the town, and must preform a diplomacy 15 to convince the guard to help them controle the chaos. The insects have been taken care of, and now that remanes is the clean up. They can do one of these things.
Save People from burning buildings - Endurence Skill Challange
Get water from the nearest lake to put out fires - Athletics Skill Challange
Calm the croud from the insect invation - Diplomacy/Bluff/Streetwise Skill Challanges
Heal the Injured from the invation - Heal Skill Challange
or Gather Hurbs for the burn medication - Nature Skill Challange
Thats all I got so far, advice?
What it sounds like you've planned so far (with the insect invasion) sounds like something that would be good for the Heroic tier. Possibly low-leveled heroic tier, but definitely mid-level Heroic tier would be nice.
If you're unsure about where to start, talk to your group. It's better to know for sure how much time they want to invest in your campaign then to just take a guess. Also, they may not want to start at the Paragon tier; they may want to start the Heroic tier or even possibly the Epic-level tier. Just sit them down and ask them what they're interested in doing, and then start building your game around that.
Best of luck.
So how is it so far? I would imagen that you guys being here would have a good Idea on how to build encounters, and I know I am no were good at make them. Think you could help me out with the first one?
From what I can see with this I'd say this would enough to start a small campaign from, I know you wanted to have the players go from Heroic to Epic but you can always add more to the campaign later and introduce a BBEG later on when the party is probably low-mid Paragon a level where your Evil guy would consider the party a potential threat. Now back to your bug attack. After they save the town and help the survivors clean up you can have the captain of the gaurd or some other city official nominate the PCs party to go on an expidition to find out who or what was behind this attack and to eliminate it so as to protect the town from further attacks.
I don't know how much you planed out the outlaying area around your town, but since you plan on using bugs I immediatly think forests, so I'm going to suggest something like a massive forests that locals say is not far from the town. Your party can learn about it's location and maybe even hear from local hunters/rangers that they've notice an increase in insect activity recently with the proper application of a streetwise/diplomacy check. From there you can have periodic encounters with increasingly big bugs, as to say to the party 'you're getting closer' or 'this is the right way'. From there it's all up to you with what you want to put as the source of these bug invasions. A crazed druid who wants to cull humanity as they believe man and other humanoid races are polluting the world, bug men reclaiming the world and using giant bugs as their foot soldiers, and so on.
GOOD LUCK!!! = D
Also, some extrodenary people have the ability to repell the mutation, it will be introdused at Paragon, and I was thinking of adding a councle of deities, that gather the Players and make them go on this quest once they desisde they are worth. Just an Idea, but it is a far off one right now, so I dont have to put to much thought into it.
I might as well add this part, to make the BBEG and other major baddies abilties understandable. There is a very small chance that the spore CAN infect the hoste, while there will be no apparent change to the persons physical apperence, unless they will it. (At-Will, Palymorph. The person/thing turns into it's infected form, granting the Strength, Dextarity, and Constitution by 4, while Will and Charisma is decreased to 3. They also gain a Claim speed = to there speed or Fly speed = to 1/2 there speed. This form can be reverted as a standard action.)
I might add that the BBEG is a little girl, now more the age of 9, at which, there first enconter is seeing her in the forest, were it looks like she is being attacked by insects, all to get the trust of the PC's (I am thinking a successful insight or maybe 30-40 gives a bad feeling about her. Like a chill down there spine, and the insight is every time they meet her.) And Until mid paragon (thanks for the sugestion) or until the PC's expose her, she gives them false information. Then I was thinking they find her, and it turned out that something isn't right.
She has seen that you have "the glimmer of gods on them." knowing that they have talked to the gods about this, she knows that she was exposed, tranceforming into her insect form, and telling them they are not worth her time, and leaves, sending her dog compainion to fight them, who also has an insect forum. Thats what I got so far for the BBEG. One of her servants is also the right hand man of the king and there are a few major people infected with it as well.
Really, I got this Idea looking at Insect Night yugioh card. It seemed like a good Idea, think you could ad some twists? Also, the Councle of the Gods was somthing I though that all the Nutrale and up deitys combined in one grand hall, if you've seen legends of crystania, you know what I am talking about. They know this, and even the Raven Queen dislike is, saying that it traps the dead souls inside the bodies, tormenting them with the mutations and claiming they are unnatural deaths.
So, what you think so far? Please give me help with makeing this seem good. It just seems to be a good idea to me, give me your oppinion on it and how I might make it a bit more interesting.
Oh, one last thing, for the lat fight, I was thinking of makeing it a special way to kill her, giving them clues through out the campain. The main point of me makeing this is... well, a game Idea for my final project in my class ^^;;; They said they were ok with it, but it seemed like a good Idea, and it might get me an A on the project.
Will someone PLEASE COMMENT AND HELP?!
Thanks to Faulten and Pass the Remote for helping with this, but honostly, this can't be all that is wrong with it, will no one help?
oh, one more thing.