LV1: Tropical Rainforest Campaign (Ideas?)

[DJ_draken07]

Hey Guys,

I started from The beginning once again. I Decided to start off in A Tropical Rainforest and I Want to see what you guys think about the idea I have Below. If you got any addition ideas then please tell me..or Even your Opinions about it too.

Idea:

A powerful Leader hired a Scientist to do some work for him in the jungles where a Unexplored Ruins called Mazitha. The scientist believes that this may be a dangerous mission so he posted information around the country for Some Adventures come to These Jungles by Airship (Free Of Charge)

Once there , The Scientist will lead the jungle trying to find these Ruins. The Reward will be a share of the treasure Once he Examined it.

(Stuff players wont know) - They will encounter strange beast , Diseases , Tribes and Even Indiana Jones Trap Moments lol.

Any Suggestions?

[aco175]

I remember going to Panama for training and having classes the first day where the instructor showed us everything that would kill us. He was like, "See that caterpiller, do not touch it, it'll kill you." Same for that frog, that ant ,that spider, etc...

Not to mention in a fantasy setting you can have all sorts of giant varieties of insects, snales, lizards, crocs, and dinosaurs.

[Gilladian]

Sounds like a nice setting, but have you decided what lives out there?

Are you going to choose a classic jungle foe like yuan ti and have the PCs slowly discover the overwhelming nature of evil that lurks in the shadows?

Or maybe you prefer the tarzan-style canniballistic natives, cult-dominating evil high priests, and eventual gateway to a lost world?

Or, maybe you want to do something slightly different, and instead of emphasising something "OF" the jungle, something has "intruded on" the jungle. Maybe (in keeping with your reference to a scientist), the ruins are actually the site of an ancient crash-landing of a spaceship. Inside, the survivors have recently awakened from stasis...

Or pull elements from all three possibilities; evil yuan-ti emerging from caverns deep beneath the earth stumble across an ancient crashed ship, and begin awakening the tentacled crew from stasis, while an evil priest of a tribe that was once a noble people (crushed when a bolt of lightning fell from the heavens) strives to re-enslave another tribe and return his people to greatness.

[Aramax]

les see...
swarms are nice opponents.
Serpent Men from CoC make nice psudo-Aztek ruins owners.
The recent movie 'The Ruins' would make a great game or 2.
I think the whole Blow-gun armed natives make for good nasties.
A leopard or jaguar that is nearly sentiant and stalks the group would be cool.
In the ruins how about a sentient magic chrystal that gives nightmares(you actually fight in leaving the pc's exhausted)mind control(turning the brick against his companions)hallucenations.

just a few thoughts ,hope they help!

[Dannyalcatraz]

What you're doing sounds either D20 Modern or Steampunky, so I'm starting off with stuff from 3.5Ed. Magical creatures could just as easily be mutants.

For those areas dealing with the wetter parts, check out the Aquatic Database in my sig.

There are all kinds of giant or sentient amphibians (from grippli to slaad), insects, reptiles/dinos, birds etc. over the Monster Manuals, and that doesn't even take into account the Anthropomorphic Animals (Savage Species) and Templates. Dire, Legendary, Celestial, Infernal, Feral, Multiheaded, Spellwarped...the list goes on and on. Remember, the classic Island of Dr. Moreau was set on a tropical island- an environment with many ecological and storytelling parallels to a tropical rain forest.

In addition, don't forget the carniverous, giant or sentient plants. MM3 has the Woodling template that's pretty cool, and check out Dragonstar for additional species.

Protohumans- or proto-halflings, Elves, Fey, etc. could also do well.

On top of that, some species could survive quite well in a tropical rain forest, even if you wouldn't expect them to be there. A roper would be virtually invisible and its tentacles would be nearly indistinguishable from the various vines.

Soldiers who are still fighting a war that was over decades ago could also be a factor...as could their children.

Then there is the possibility of biotech. As I've posted elsewhere:

Originally Posted by Dannyalcatraz

<snip>
For instance, S.M. Stirling's sword & planet novel, In the Courts of the Crimson Kings, the Martians are masters of biotechnology, having had no interruptions in their culture in tens of thousands of years, but also having no access to fossil fuels or nuclear materials.

Their biotech extends to all kinds of things we use for tech, like living engines...and even guns. The martian gun-creatures fire needle-like projectiles by using exploding methane as the propellant. Yes, they need to be fed; yes, they can only fire as fast as they can refill their gas chambers; yes, shooting them results in a burning fart smell.

(BTW, I'm yoinking this for the martians in my Supers 1912 campaign.)

I bring that all up because...you can have Druids doing the same doggone thing. A little Druidic magic, alchemy and animal/plant lore, combined with...lets say...Craft Wand?...and your mundane Wand of Magic Missiles becomes a living Druidic poison dart flinger. OK...you wouldn't let that have the autohit...