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Looking for ideas - the "Mad Architect"
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<blockquote data-quote="Psion" data-source="post: 6874027" data-attributes="member: 172"><p>As is often the case when I start planning out adventures, I am finding that planning too far in advance turns out to be a waste.</p><p></p><p>I was planning on having the players explore a ruined temple on their way to <em>other cities</em> for <em>other reasons</em>. I pictured a temple that fell during the Godswar, infested with Burned Ones and Huecuvas (um, undead creatures made from clerics who lost their way.) Looking for maps, I stumbled on this:</p><p><a href="https://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/2016/03/18/the-lost-ossuary/" target="_blank">https://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/2016/03/18/the-lost-ossuary/</a></p><p></p><p>Then I am considering how an extradimensional ossuary came to be below a cathedral. I started to consider the idea that a "mad architect" was responsible, and his crazy lair happened without the priests' knowledge. I was considering making him into an end-boss and started to consider what he would be...</p><p></p><p>... and as per normal, my mind is sabotaging me. I am now thinking of making the Mad Architect into a <a href="http://www.diablowiki.net/Dark_Wanderer" target="_blank">Dark Wanderer</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sephiroth_(Final_Fantasy)" target="_blank">Sephiroth</a> type campaign-central villain. Which sort of takes a bowling ball to most of the ideas I had already thought up for the game. My intent was, over the course of the game, to have the players:</p><p>1) Deal with the cult of <a href="http://scarn.wikia.com/wiki/Belsameth" target="_blank">Belsameth</a>, a goddess of assassins, lycanthropes, death, madness, and magic.</p><p>2) Contend with Asaatthi (snake-men) and other followers of Mormo, a snake-themed titan.</p><p>3) Explore ruins looking for remnants of the Slarecians (psionic ancient race)</p><p>4) Free an elven tower from a bottled up demon-infested land of their own making (made to contain the demons)</p><p></p><p>Now this works into #3, but I don't think I can fit #4 into the scope of the campaign if I go this direaction. I still very much want to do #1 and #2, but if I introduce the Mad Architect this early, it may consume the focus of the game. On the bright side, I think this could be an interesting substrate for the game, but I want to keep several elements I already had alive.</p><p></p><p>And I have not figured out exactly what the Mad Architect is yet. Any bright ideas? For the moment, I'm thinking a <a href="http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/templates/lich-psychic-cr-2" target="_blank">Psychic Lich</a>, but I'm not sure whether or not that's the right thing. I am thinking something with some other form of serial immortality would work, but that comes close. But I am also thinking it may need to be something more bizarre.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Psion, post: 6874027, member: 172"] As is often the case when I start planning out adventures, I am finding that planning too far in advance turns out to be a waste. I was planning on having the players explore a ruined temple on their way to [I]other cities[/I] for [I]other reasons[/I]. I pictured a temple that fell during the Godswar, infested with Burned Ones and Huecuvas (um, undead creatures made from clerics who lost their way.) Looking for maps, I stumbled on this: [url]https://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/2016/03/18/the-lost-ossuary/[/url] Then I am considering how an extradimensional ossuary came to be below a cathedral. I started to consider the idea that a "mad architect" was responsible, and his crazy lair happened without the priests' knowledge. I was considering making him into an end-boss and started to consider what he would be... ... and as per normal, my mind is sabotaging me. I am now thinking of making the Mad Architect into a [URL="http://www.diablowiki.net/Dark_Wanderer"]Dark Wanderer[/URL] or [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sephiroth_(Final_Fantasy)"]Sephiroth[/URL] type campaign-central villain. Which sort of takes a bowling ball to most of the ideas I had already thought up for the game. My intent was, over the course of the game, to have the players: 1) Deal with the cult of [URL="http://scarn.wikia.com/wiki/Belsameth"]Belsameth[/URL], a goddess of assassins, lycanthropes, death, madness, and magic. 2) Contend with Asaatthi (snake-men) and other followers of Mormo, a snake-themed titan. 3) Explore ruins looking for remnants of the Slarecians (psionic ancient race) 4) Free an elven tower from a bottled up demon-infested land of their own making (made to contain the demons) Now this works into #3, but I don't think I can fit #4 into the scope of the campaign if I go this direaction. I still very much want to do #1 and #2, but if I introduce the Mad Architect this early, it may consume the focus of the game. On the bright side, I think this could be an interesting substrate for the game, but I want to keep several elements I already had alive. And I have not figured out exactly what the Mad Architect is yet. Any bright ideas? For the moment, I'm thinking a [URL="http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/templates/lich-psychic-cr-2"]Psychic Lich[/URL], but I'm not sure whether or not that's the right thing. I am thinking something with some other form of serial immortality would work, but that comes close. But I am also thinking it may need to be something more bizarre. [/QUOTE]
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