Crafting a new campaign where nature tries to kick civilization's butt

[RUMBLETiGER]

Inspired by the lastest story ark of Skullkickers "5 Funerals And A Bucket Of Blood", where Fay try to distroy the city of Urbana and return the land to nature with political intrigue, chaos and a giant plant, I'm toying with a campaign idea in which a cult is trying to overthrow the "Illusion of Civilization" and return the world to nature.

This will become more of a Law vs. Chaos axis storyline, and the PC's will start on the side of civilization because that's where they'll originate from, but ultimately have the choice of joining the other side.

I'm thinking of having the deity Urbanus, god of cities and civilization (Races of Destiny) aiding the PC's to stop the rising threat, while having the deity Karaan, god of bestal nature and lycanthropes (Book of Vile Darkness) working to ruin civilization.

My first question to you, my dear Enworlders, is what deity would be a patient, stratigic ally of the bestal Karaan? I need another deity that would support the cause but would be able to see the big picture, subtle steps. Thinking someone Chaotic Neutral, or Neutral Evil, scheming, possibly with an alterior motive or not. When crafting a good cult, you gotta have the right gods backing it up or it just gets messy.

I'm not looking to include the "big" deities, this will be more of the smaller scale guys. The campaign will likely be a regional threat, and not world-wide, at least at first. I figure the cult will have ties to the Beastland Outer plane, and have CN and NE Druids, Anarchists, Lycanthropes, Humanoids, Monstrous Humanoids, Awakened creatures, Magical Beasts and Fay as members.

 

[Jacob Marley]

There are a few ways you can go with this scenario. Obviously, Obad-Hai works, or, at least, a subset of his followers. Nerull would be interested as it results in large amounts of death. Erythnul as well do to the slaughter that could occur.

However, you want something more obscure... Look to Beltar (Complete Divine, Living Greyhawk Gazetteer). She was a former deity of Earth, but has since been supplanted by other deities (including Moradin). I could envision her supporting this cause not because she backs beastial nature -- she probably doesn't -- but out of a sense of spite and malice against the civilization Urbanus and Moradin have built. This would also set up the possibility for the PCs to exploit a potential fissure in the "chaotic" faction. There are a lot of lines of play here for a good, reactionary DM.

Additionally (if your party tends to be largely human), you could look to introduce a third front to this scenario with Wastri's (Living Greyhawk Gazetteer) followers as questionable allies of Urbanus.

Plus, Beltar can appears as a marilith and in that form has inspired a snake cult. And we all know that the best cultists are snake cultists.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

There are a few ways you can go with this scenario. Obviously, Obad-Hai works, or, at least, a subset of his followers. Nerull would be interested as it results in large amounts of death. Erythnul as well do to the slaughter that could occur.

However, you want something more obscure... Look to Beltar (Complete Divine, Living Greyhawk Gazetteer). She was a former deity of Earth, but has since been supplanted by other deities (including Moradin). I could envision her supporting this cause not because she backs beastial nature -- she probably doesn't -- but out of a sense of spite and malice against the civilization Urbanus and Moradin have built. This would also set up the possibility for the PCs to exploit a potential fissure in the "chaotic" faction. There are a lot of lines of play here for a good, reactionary DM.

Additionally (if your party tends to be largely human), you could look to introduce a third front to this scenario with Wastri's (Living Greyhawk Gazetteer) followers as questionable allies of Urbanus.

Plus, Beltar can appears as a marilith and in that form has inspired a snake cult. And we all know that the best cultists are snake cultists.

I really like your suggestions.

Betlar is perfect for being spiteful, helping for her own agenda. Added bonus when reading the Wiki is that she has offspring, tying in a child of a god could make a fantastic NPC for good or ill.

Wastri is also great, encouraging the supremacist mentality that the back-to-nature cultists would be fighting against. They'd have a platform to stand on by saying "civilization" leads to corruption.

I like how this is forming.

I'm thinking of stringing together a number of premade campaigns together using this as the overarching plot. I want to start with Mark Selinker's Tinderbox level 1 adventure and build from there.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'm not looking to include the "big" deities, this will be more of the smaller scale guys. The campaign will likely be a regional threat, and not world-wide, at least at first. I figure the cult will have ties to the Beastland Outer plane, and have CN and NE Druids, Anarchists, Lycanthropes, Humanoids, Monstrous Humanoids, Awakened creatures, Magical Beasts and Fay as members.

Given that and Jacob Marley's suggestion, consider this:

Here's an interesting fact: Aspen Trees are a clonal species- they can spread by runners. One of the largest organisms on Earth is an Aspen grove in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains that has 41,000+ trunks.

That inspired this:

No Man's Land:

5000 years ago, a druid (whose name is lost to humanity...) of great power picked a large and remote island devoid of human life as his home, choosing a grove of aspen trees his most sacred space. At some point, he chose to cast Awaken upon one of the aspen...and the entire grove came to life! He had forgotten that Aspen spread by runners...the entire grove was actually one plant- and now it had a mind equal to his own. He trained it in the ways of the druids.

Eventually, death found the druid, but his greatest student lived on. Eventually, the Aspen grew enough in power that it began to experiment with Awaken itself. First, it made other Aspen and a few other mighty trees as self aware as it was, forming the Green Council, each a druid, cleric or mage in its own right. They, in time and in turn, granted awareness to some of the animals of the forest...bringing them into a society ruled by the Green Council, each day's food created by powerful magics.

As decades passed, the island became a great druidic haven, but still unknown to man.

1000 years ago, Man came...and he was not ready for what he found. The animals and trees welcomed those who resembled the one who had made their haven possible, but the ignorant sailors who found the island hunted for food for their journeys, and were driven back by the island inhabitants. The sailors returned to civilization to tell tales of the mysterious island to the East, where both animals and trees thought and fought as if men.

The Counci's research of the civilized world (directly and through its awakened, shapechanged agents) has brought them much information about the destructiveness of man...and also solutions as to how to fight back. Those shapechanged agents often lived lives among the so called civilized men, bringing their children, natural shapeshifters, back to the island. The Council did much the same.

Now, the island is inhabited by more than trees and awakened animals. Alongside them now live natural shapechangers and other curious hybrids of man and beast or beast and plant...all members of an insular society on the island.

And they are leery of Mankind's intent.

(In game terms, the island is inhabited by Awakened Trees of the Green Council (each with 20 levels of some combination of Druid, Cleric, Wizard or Sorcerer, some with Epic levels); Awakened animals (any class, Rangers and Druids most common); Anthropomorphic Animals (see WOTC's Savage Species); Shapeshifters (see WOTC's Eberron, but instead of being linked to Lycanthropes, they are linked to Druids); and Woodlings (see WOTC's Monster Manual III).

 

[Grogg of the North]

My first question to you, my dear Enworlders, is what deity would be a patient, stratigic ally of the bestal Karaan? I need another deity that would support the cause but would be able to see the big picture, subtle steps. Thinking someone Chaotic Neutral, or Neutral Evil, scheming, possibly with an alterior motive or not. When crafting a good cult, you gotta have the right gods backing it up or it just gets messy.

Make your own nature trickster deity. Nature, Chaos and Trickery as domains and you're good to go.

And if you're looking for inspiration I would HIGHLY recommend you take a look at the game Thief: The Dark Project (currently on sale on Steam). It's basically what you described. Nature vs. Technology and Law vs. Chaos. I frequently lift the concept of The Trickster and The Master Builder as deities for my campaigns.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYOeHevFUKI

 

[Sekhmet]

Make your own nature trickster deity. Nature, Chaos and Trickery as domains and you're good to go.

And if you're looking for inspiration I would HIGHLY recommend you take a look at the game Thief: The Dark Project (currently on sale on Steam). It's basically what you described. Nature vs. Technology and Law vs. Chaos. I frequently lift the concept of The Trickster and The Master Builder as deities for my campaigns.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYOeHevFUKI

Garrett as a D&D deity?
Yeah. I'm okay with this.

/sekhmetout

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

@Dannyalcatraz, I remember seeing you post about that before. A massive awakened forest could be really, really cool. I'll keep the idea in mind.

 

[Evilhalfling]

why would the PCs ever join a snake cult and werewolf led crusade?
You need to bring balance to your forces. perhaps even give the PCs the option of starting on the other side.

There could be some True neutral Diety running everything,and the evil cults are merely opportunists. There should be some specific cause, like a wounding of the earth that caused the conflict, which the PCs can perhaps fix at the end of the campaign.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

This will likely be a regional conflict with minor deities behind the scenes.

Civilization truely has benefits, and harmful effects. Urbanus will represent what is good, and Wastri will represent what is opportunistic, Cruel and domineering about Civilization.

It will be the objection to the portfolio of Wastri that the Evil Nature side will use as a front and a justification for their movement. The real reasons are savage power or vengeful maliciousness, but that's not how the Cult will appear or use to appeal.

There should be some specific cause, like a wounding of the earth that caused the conflict, which the PCs can perhaps fix at the end of the campaign.

Now.... that's something. Beltar could go so far as to have her agents secretly "wound the earth" and frame the city for doing the damage, to further the cause. Perhaps Charm civic leaders and Suggest they start a process that leads to their condemnation.

Nature Side: "Civilization has lead to death, oppression and destruction of nature. This must be stopped, at any cost, and reversed, at any cost". The PC's might just get on board with this, to some degree. My players tend to be across the map in alignmnet, I don't allow them to be Evil but I've had some interesting Chaotic Neutrals in past campaigns.

A buddy has recommended I add an Elvish faction as a neutral voice of reason that attempts to smoothly marry Nature and Civilization, I'm toying with the idea.

 

[Teacher Man]

Elves are more forest orientated than city orientated. Maybe Gnomes or Halflings would be a better go between.

And there was a Celtic God of the forest from the original Deities and Demigods that might work as well. He is true neutral and the ultimate tree hugger.

Or if you really want to have some fun make the PCs the go-between's in the war between the two/three factions, complete with betrayals, ambushes, intrigue etc...