Ending the Campaign

Cmarco · Mar 27, 2008

Hello all,
So, here's my situation: I'm looking to finish out my campaign so I can start fresh when 4e comes out. I am looking to work out an adventure somewhat like "Die, Vecna, Die!" or "The Apocalypse Stone"... stuff that will allow me to transition between editions. I want the campaign to go out with a bang, and I was hoping to get some suggestions.

Here's what we know for sure:

- This campaign's slipperiest villain is still at large. He's a very powerful wizard, and has been evading most direct confrontation with the PCs since 2nd Edition, but is a major string-puller within the setting. I figure it would be a good idea to finally allow them to confront him.

- The setting's Gandalf/Elminster/Merlin is going to be removed from active circulation throughout the course of the adventure. He might not be killed, but he'll out for the count. This requires the heroes to be proactive, rather than waiting for the cavalry to do their thing.

So, anyone have any thoughts here?

Shayuri · Mar 27, 2008

How about Evil Wizard Steals Gandalf's Stuff?

That is, the slippery bad guy figures out a way to steal the good wizard's power! Now, armed with the inestimable, quasi-divine power of Ganelmerlin as WELL as his own mystic might, NOTHING CAN STOP HIM!

MWAHAHAHA!!

Clearly he's got to make a shot at godhood...or if Ganelmerlin really IS quasidivine (as most of his named inspirations are)...perhaps he already HAS it. Sort of. The PC's might have to find a McGuffin that can kill the semidivine. A fun twist would be to make that McGuffin totally and abjectly evil...since it can kill a god, or at least a shiny good demigod... Then the PC's not only have to find it and use it (which might involve nastiness), but also have to figure out a way to keep it from falling into evil hands afterwards! Or even from being corrupted by it!

Alternatively, he may be wanting to use his newfound power to SLAY a god. Perhaps a meddling good-aligned god of magic...or maybe some patron power of the PC's.

Or he means to travel to the orrery at the center of all the planes, where the Book of Everything is kept safe. By reading the book backwards, he can uncreate the multiverse...then rewrite it to suit his own mad desires! In this case, Ganelmerlin is the Keeper of Secrets, the only living soul who knows how to reach the orrery. Evil wizard beats him up and plucks the secret from his mind.

Cmarco · Mar 27, 2008

Well, Ganelmerlin (cool merger name, by the way) is practically immortal at this point. When he was still a PC (yeah, that was a LONG time ago), he found a magical item which rendered him ageless (at about age 50), and due to his goodly nature and efforts to keep peace and compassion in the world, a few archangels have blessed him with immunity to poison and disease. He can be killed, but really only through outright violence.

Shayuri · Mar 27, 2008

Yar, that works. So evil wizard beats him...through treachery no doubt...and steals the helm and perhaps siphons his essence somehow...to take his divine gifts and his magical power?

That sets you up for any number of apocalyptic events, builds up your main villain nicely for an epic finish, and takes your superNPC out of the picture all in one fell stroke.

Cmarco · Mar 27, 2008

True enough... and I do like the "take a run at godhood" idea. The villain is the Jon Irenicus/Manshoon/Doctor Doom/Raistlin/Vecna/Azalin type. Obsessed with power, trying for more, arrogant to the hilt, and armed with enough magical prowess to back it all up.

Robbs · Mar 27, 2008

Piggybacking on the combining powers and draining the Gandelmerlin (or Elmergand or whatever) you could have your big baddie find some way to drain him at a distance and over time. So the PCs first become aware when said Gandelguy summons them and they notice he seems to have aged a bit, and has trouble focusing for very long, etc. Sprinkle a few clues as to the source behind this and you have a race against time to save Elmindude. You get the added pressure that the longer they take to solve the puzzle and track down the baddie, the more powerful he will become. His ultimate goal still can be the god killing or divine ascension concept (gives him a good motivation to make a move against such powerful wizard, with godhood hanging in the balance) and still allows you to introduce your bad magic item that enables this. You can even have it sentient so when the PCs finally confront the baddie it can start whispering to various (maybe all depending upon their alignments!) PCs that it can do the same for them. It can even hint that it will help the first that takes it up, generating a little PC on PC action depending upon how your players handle things. Just some thoughts.

theskyfullofdust · Mar 27, 2008

You could go with the idea of the evil wizard wanting more power and discovering an acient ritual that should give him demigodhood; but it is actually a trick ritual, left by some dubious devils, which actually brings down hell-on-earth, altering the landscape, flooding the land with demons and foul monsters, causing earthquakes and whatnot.

The good wizard is busy trying to stem the tide of this, sending the PCs in to seal the rift that the ritual has opened.

Or something like that.

Cmarco · Mar 28, 2008

Great responses, folks! Keep 'em coming. I'd like to hear what everyone has to say!

Vaslov · Apr 1, 2008

Lets say the big bad guy is actually holding back some sort of “ultimate evil”. While he had never been a good man, this is actually the reason he has become so twisted himself. His time is nearing an end and he needs to find a successor. Though proxies he hires the PC’s to learn of his true nature and then approaches them to take on the task of holding back this evil knowing it may turn them evil as well. “I knew you all would be the ones.” as he passes into a final sleep.

Sounds like a confrontation where the party finally gets a good shot at the big bad guy would be quite cathartic though so this may not be the best option for your group.

Have fun how ever it goes.

Cmarco · Apr 2, 2008

Vaslov said:
Lets say the big bad guy is actually holding back some sort of “ultimate evil”. While he had never been a good man, this is actually the reason he has become so twisted himself. His time is nearing an end and he needs to find a successor. Though proxies he hires the PC’s to learn of his true nature and then approaches them to take on the task of holding back this evil knowing it may turn them evil as well. “I knew you all would be the ones.” as he passes into a final sleep.

Sounds like a confrontation where the party finally gets a good shot at the big bad guy would be quite cathartic though so this may not be the best option for your group.

Have fun how ever it goes.

Yeah, the final chunk will kick off in about a month, as soon as university lets out.

And yeah, catharsis of beating the living hell out of this villain will probably have to happen. He's always been two steps ahead of the PCs since I put together the first parts of this setting in 1998, and as his power has grown, so has the animosity the players have felt toward him. In the several campaigns I've run since then, he's always been pulling strings, but was either out of reach of the PCs, indirectly connected to the events, actually getting the PCs to work for him, or causing such subtle ripples that the PCs are unaware of his presence in the campaign.

Lots of great ideas here, folks! You've all given me a lot to think about. Keep 'em coming!