Give me random ideas for my campaign!

dave_o · Jul 17, 2004

If anyone remembers my short-lived (sorry!) Manifest Destiny PbP, I'm finally running it live! Unfortunately, it's been around a year or so since I've gotten the opportunity to run a game live, so I've gotten a tad rusty. The game is D&D3E, set in 1840s America. The Spanish are in control of the US west of the Mississippi, and the US (east of the Mississippi) is still in civil war. It's kinda like Deadlands and Tank Girl meet. Oh yeah, the Asian races are elves, and halflings are just a common off-shoot of humanity.

The Players!
So far, it's Totonka (Male Human Barbarian 5), a famed Indian tracker and active member in the Ghost Dance. Then we have Pepper Blanca (Female Half-Elf Sorcerer 5), a half-Japanese, half-Spanish orphan attempting to hide her sorcereressness by carrying around a huge, honkin' electric six-shooter (think Lina Inverse, if you've seen the Slayers anime). Next is, well, yet to be named, but I'm guessing he'll be some sort of Rogue or Fighter, and he'll be a cockney trick-shooter from England. And finally, a fourth that I have completely no idea as to the concept of.

What Little I've Come Up With!
I'm beginning the campaign with the PCs doing a task for the "Mad" Professor Medley. He's basically my world's equivalent to a tinker Gnome, only quite a bit more nefarious. Their first task will be to retrieve a literal piece of the Elemenal Plane of Fire, having bled through the bottom of the Grand Canyon. I plan on having them beset by some bandits along the way (of course), and maybe having to deal with some baby elementals or something while they're there, but my live-game-radar is so far off from disuse that I'm dry! This piece is going to be part of something called a 'Tonic Bomb, which Medley plans to use to detonate the innards of a cave which contains a planar leak to the Far Realm, something very baaaad that Medley has been dabbling in. Yeah, he's gonna get the psuedonatural template soon (and end up in the Gatecracher PrC). I've entertained notions of having some towns from the Outlands fade into the US in a very western themed way, but I'm just so drained for ideas. This is where the "help" is desperately asked for.

Neat Meta Things I'm Dong!
I'm also not above suggestions for cool meta stuff to do. I'm already using the swashbuckling cards of Barsoom design (barsoomcore is a GOD), and plan on using the widespread pay-the-pig (where you put some change in a jar when you get too off-topic) method. Only, I'm using a cowboy hat as the jar.

ANY OTHER IDEAS GLADLY APRECIATED! Anything from interesting NPCs ideas, to plot ideas, to gadets, to whatever. Any help will be appreciated (and duly noted, and paid back).

Dannyalcatraz · Jul 17, 2004

I once ran a Champions campaign set in 1900, with the source material being culled from the game Space 1899, H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, the Wild, Wild West and Adventures of Briscoe County, Jr. TV shows. Given your setting, I'd take a look at those sources.

You might also wish to familiarize yourself with the alternative history stories of Harry Turtledove, S.M. Stirling, and others. Leigh Brackett's Skaith trilogy, the Doc Savage and Conan books would probably help as well.

All of those will refresh your wellspring of ideas.

In my campaign, I had the advantage of being able to have my PCs visit Mars & Venus via Cavorite or Liftwood Aetherships. Over time, you may try similar adventures. Perhaps you can uses Burroughs' Barsoom even more...

I also used things like actual working Babbage Engines, which allowed at least one NPC to design a steam-powered suit of power armor, equipped with dual flamethrowers.

Babbage Engines also allowed a certain villain to control a large field of mirrors on his island, allowing him to focus the rays of the sun into an intense beam of heat and light. This allowed him and his minions to engage in piracy quite easily. In case you don't recognize it, its a portion of the plot from the James Bond movie, Man With The Golden Gun. Those movies are an INVALUABLE source of plots & subplots.

Possible names for your sharpshooter: Dirk "Dead-Eye" MacDougal, "Gentleman" Jack Bloodstone, Shamus "Lucky" O'Reilly

Frostmarrow · Jul 17, 2004

You don't strike me as dry of good ideas. Far from it!

* Weather. Don't forget to add weather effects. Perhaps all that dabbling with planar leaks affects the rain, making it blood red.

* Snakes. Sidewinders may end up in your gear while camping.

* Longhorn. Longhorn skulls makes for great head ornaments.

* Rapids. While at the Grand Canyon they might jst as well need to get their feet wet.

* Reanimated dinosaurs. Heh. There are loads of bones buried in the sand - what a waste.

Turanil · Jul 17, 2004

Does it have a really Western feel (with Gunslingers and else)?

- If so I would first recommend to read Stephen King's Dark Tower serie, or at least the first book. It's set in a strange Western world, it would give ideas for your setting.

- I wouldn't have the Spanish control the western half of the US. Better they control just California, and between the east and California, it is the great unknown wilderness full of dangers and mysteries. If it has benn already settled by some civilization, it loses much of its appeal IMO.

- When you send your PCs seek elemental stuff, don't call it that name. Don't call it "elemental fire". Just say that nobody knows what the whole thing is about. As such, the mad scientist speaks (and believes) of "spirits". It's funnier if the mad scientist doesn't understand at all with what he is trying to deal with.

dave_o · Jul 17, 2004

Dannyalcatraz said:
Cool stuff.

Thanks for the imput -- I'm not familiar with a lot of what you talked about, so I'll definately check it out. I'm guessing that the homebrew Barsoom setting around here is based on Burrough's Barsoom, so I'll absolutely have to check it out.

Frostmarrow said:
You don't strike me as dry of good ideas. Far from it!

* Weather. Don't forget to add weather effects. Perhaps all that dabbling with planar leaks affects the rain, making it blood red.

* Snakes. Sidewinders may end up in your gear while camping.

* Longhorn. Longhorn skulls makes for great head ornaments.

* Rapids. While at the Grand Canyon they might jst as well need to get their feet wet.

* Reanimated dinosaurs. Heh. There are loads of bones buried in the sand - what a waste.

Extremely good ideas.

I'm thinking of having it rain some disgusting critters near the cave containing the Far Realm bleed-through. Maybe some big, gnarly clinging bugs. Snakes are good, too -- though I'm terrified of them. And reanimated dinosaurs?! MUHAHAHA.

Turanil said:
Does it have a really Western feel (with Gunslingers and else)?

- If so I would first recommend to read Stephen King's Dark Tower serie, or at least the first book. It's set in a strange Western world, it would give ideas for your setting.

- I wouldn't have the Spanish control the western half of the US. Better they control just California, and between the east and California, it is the great unknown wilderness full of dangers and mysteries. If it has benn already settled by some civilization, it loses much of its appeal IMO.

- When you send your PCs seek elemental stuff, don't call it that name. Don't call it "elemental fire". Just say that nobody knows what the whole thing is about. As such, the mad scientist speaks (and believes) of "spirits". It's funnier if the mad scientist doesn't understand at all with what he is trying to deal with.

I'm actually reading Wizard and Glass right now.

So, yeah, a lot of my ideas are coming from there (and there are gunslingers, etc. -- it's just like the American wild west, only with a lot more armor-wearin' conquestadors wandering around, but Spain hasn't put any ban in immigration, so a lot of Americans have decided to go west into Spanish territory to escape the civil war going on in the east). The idea about Mad Professor Medley calling it "burnin' spirit" or something is way good, though.

These are helping! MORE!

(And muchos gracias to everyone who has put in thus far.)

dave_o · Jul 17, 2004

Current Ideas!
Okay, I've heeded a lot of what you said, and here's how it's going down for the first session -- but, y'know, imput is still nice. Won't it give you a warm feeling to know a piece of what you said is in my game?

The game will begin with whoever shows up to the first session getting a job from the Mad Professor Medley, after having been sent letters requesting their work. This'll be a one-time deal, though if the PCs wish, other jobs will be available from the good Professor. Even if they don't take 'em, he's gonna continue on his nefarous schemes alone.

Our PCs' first job will be to retrieve a bit of the "burnin' spirit rock" from the Grand Canyon. The trip there will be rather arduous, containing a bandit raid (teehee!), some animated dinosaurs (muhahaha, who could be doing it?! plot hook, anyone?!), and random checks to find various vermin in their gear (until they learn to take precautions against it, of course). Once they get there, it's a nice struggle with the rapids to get to vague point Medley made on a map (our Indian tracker character might hold some reverence for this place, so that might be an issue, as well). Once they manage to find what will be a lava protrusion which happens to be a bleed-through into the Elemental Plane of Fire, they'll have to use a special rig Medley made for them to get some of the stuff. First-off, it won't work, and secondly, it's going to disturb a nest of Thoqqua (spelling?). Maybe some fire elementals, too. From there, it's up to them, but I think tramping back to Medley's to demand payment and restitution may be in order.

HELP!
Anyone have ideas for what else can be going down in the world, or things for the PCs to run into/piss off, etc.? I have some of my own, but ENWorld has always been a wellspring of good stuff. TANKS.

Ravilah · Jul 17, 2004

Well, since it is Dungeons and DRAGONS after all, it would be cool to try and work one in there somewhere.

Maybe a tribe (or whole nation) of Native American Indians worship a great "spirit being" in the desert, which is really a Blue Dragon, using its mimicry and illusion abilities to deceive their shamans and chieftans into paying tribute (making sacrifices, attacking travelers, etc). The native americans could fill the role of druids in the game, since they have a strong tie to nature, and would typically dislike the encroachment of the "civilzed" (ha!) Spanish and Americans.

A lonely ghost town (with ghosts!) could have a roadhouse managed by vampires (Dusk till Dawn anyone?).

The Mayor of Mummy Gultch is really a lich wearing a ten gallon hat of disguise.

A gnome inventor needs a wand of lightning (or a blue dragon's eye, or a bundle of live shocker lizards) to make his new electric contraption work (it could be a modified Apparatus of Kwalish). Once it's "plugged in" the machine could go berserk and try to tear the town apart.

The old west has a large tradition of ghost stories and such, so including creepy cemeteries with ghouls, ancient burial grounds with chieftan-wraiths, and the ghosts of dead Spanish explores could all work.

Maybe the fountain of youth is real, and somewhere in present day Nevada?

Oh! And, of course, the Sheriff of Tinkertown is really a doppleganger.

This is fun!

dave_o · Jul 18, 2004

Ravilah said:
Damn fine ideas.

Thanks for the help, too! I'll definately be using most, if not all of those ideas. And I should note before anyone else comes up with anything: dwarves, gnomes, and half-orcs don't exist in Manifest Destiny.

dave_o · Jul 18, 2004

Bump?

Dannyalcatraz · Jul 18, 2004

And I should note before anyone else comes up with anything: dwarves, gnomes, and half-orcs don't exist in Manifest Destiny.

What about Thri-Kreen? Psionic Thri-Kreen. (Note: not as a normal race, but as scorpions mutated by exposure to raw magic energy.)

Also, instead of normal minotaur, try half-human half-bison (Buffotaur?) living the Native American tribal life. Size L creatures with proportionate longbows and tomohawks (axes & clubs) who can track by scent...UGH! Since the buffalo were described as mystic beings (esp. white ones) in NA belief systems, perhaps they are as in tune with magic as elves.

Ever see Westworld? Yul Brynner's merciless robotic Gunslinger in Black could easily be replaced by a revenant or other undead monster. So could Clint Eastwood's Gunslinger with No Name.

Dances with Werewolves?

As for dinosaurs, they don't have to be reanimated. There are a couple of movies out there that deal with dinosaurs and giant monsters in hidden valleys, like the cult-classic, Ray Harryhausen stop-motion film Valley of Gwangi.

Check out this site:http://www.silverspoonandpaperplate.com/dlmovies.html