Help with Oathbound campaign

[TheForgottenOne]

Hi everyone!
Im a relatively new DM and i want to start an Oathbound campaign for my friends, but i don't really have the plot down right.
All i have thus far is the PCs spot Colopitiron, the Dark Master, in their world and are then attacked by black birds that he has summoned as a test for the PCs. When they defeat the birds, they are swarmed by more birds which start to swirl around them, and eventually cover everything until the PCs cannot see the world around them. Colopitiron appears before them and offers them to let him bring them to the forge. He obviously wants to have them accomplish a task for him.
That's all I got thus far, and I really want to follow through with this idea.
Any suggestions??

 

[Derulbaskul]

Hi everyone!
Im a relatively new DM and i want to start an Oathbound campaign for my friends, but i don't really have the plot down right.
All i have thus far is the PCs spot Colopitiron, the Dark Master, in their world and are then attacked by black birds that he has summoned as a test for the PCs. When they defeat the birds, they are swarmed by more birds which start to swirl around them, and eventually cover everything until the PCs cannot see the world around them. Colopitiron appears before them and offers them to let him bring them to the forge. He obviously wants to have them accomplish a task for him.
That's all I got thus far, and I really want to follow through with this idea.
Any suggestions??

One quick question: what if your group says no?

Depending on your group, it might be easier to trap them in the Oathbound world and then the campaign becomes one where they try to escape.

As a new DM sometimes it's easiest to go with one of the old tropes for an extended campaign: the search for a multi-part McGuffin. In this case, I would suggest that the King of Thieves is on the trail of the Ultimate Key. The Ultimate Key is in three or four or more pieces and it promises freedom, even from the world of Oathbound.

Perhaps the vampires of Stygia have one piece and the party are snatched as part of a plan to recover it? That said, I would tailor the specific opponents to better suit the party: maybe vampires aren't appropriate for your group.

In due course, the party may find that the other Feathered Fowl have a similar interest in recovering the Ultimate Key. Also, maybe you need a piece of the UK to find the other pieces.

Anyway, with a multi-part item it doesn't take long to throw something reasonably coherent together. It's an old trope but often one of the most effective (especially for a new DM/new group).