Best large-scale fantasy campaign plot

[R_J_K75]

I sadly do not have it either, but it exists as a homebrew version of it if the PCs pursue it in our sandbox game. Close to 30-year anniversary, they can definitely update the original for a 5e AP.

I read its entry in the Encyclopedia of Magica Vol 3 when I bought the book and gave the party a piece of it in a random pile of treasure. They never looked into it enough to figure out what it was and got rid of it. It was one of those potential campaign hooks that never panned out.

 

[AnotherGuy]

I read its entry in the Encyclopedia of Magica Vol 3 when I bought the book and gave the party a piece of it in a random pile of treasure. They never looked into it enough to figure out what it was and got rid of it. It was one of those potential campaign hooks that never panned out.

My table lost the only piece they had in a miscommunication with Frost Giants. They know where it is as well as another piece, but they have not figured out yet what it is. One of the PCs does intend to retrieve it - we will see.

 

[R_J_K75]

One of the PCs does intend to retrieve it - we will see.

What their motivation of retrieving it if they don't know what it is?

 

[AnotherGuy]

What their motivation of retrieving it if they don't know what it is?

The original party, a party made up predominantly of ex-militia, is from Mystara, the Republic of Darokin.

Spoiler: Shard Backstory

The backstory being there was a massive explosion/event which scattered the shards to various corners of the multiverse/realities and one of those shards landed in Mystara.
That shard was the infamous blue knife the humanoids found and lost in the history section of the Orcs of Thar. It was later found brought to Glantri by the Alphatian General Halzunthram, the man who initiated the Forty Years War, a bloody period before the nation of Gantri formed its Principalities.
Needless to say, this item found its way to a select group of Glantrian wizards, and due to its unique alien properties, these wizards were encouraged to form the Society of Dimensionalists. They began exploring wild and strange theories about a multiverse, different realities ...etc which upset certain powerful and influential individuals within the Great School of Magic. This eventually led to some of them being hunted down and imprisoned...etc
Two of the members, a couple, fled to an obscure town within Darokin to escape, raising their children as Darokinians.
One of these children is the PC who views the item as an heirloom, his family's legacy.

The motivation to retrieve the item is both sentimental (and mechanical).

Spoiler: More Recent Events

The above PC died in Toril (long story) against the greater mummy Diderius (Tyranny of Dragons), and ended up in the Fugue Plane, City of Judgement before Kelemvor and his attendees, possibly facing a fate of being imprisoned into the Wall of the Faithless unless someone present petitioned for his soul. And there was one that did, his old party leader (a deceased player's character who had become a Mystaran Immortal in their last adventure with us).

The PC was given the option by Kelemvor to either to let his soul be taken back to the Mystaraverse to be laid to rest by the petitioner (the Immortal) or let his divine spark be reforged in Toril, cutting his ties to Mystara. There were actual implications for the latter, but it meant that his character would be resurrected.
Reclaiming the shard would alleviate or slow down some of those implications.

The shard, along with a second piece of the Rod is being worn as a hairpin by an Everlasting One in Svardborg (Storm Kings Thunder). The Frost Giant too has no idea what she possesses.

 

[R_J_K75]

The original party, a party made up predominantly of ex-militia, is from Mystara, the Republic of Darokin.

Spoiler: Shard Backstory

The backstory being there was a massive explosion/event which scattered the shards to various corners of the multiverse/realities and one of those shards landed in Mystara.
That shard was the infamous blue knife the humanoids found and lost in the history section of the Orcs of Thar. It was later found brought to Glantri by the Alphatian General Halzunthram, the man who initiated the Forty Years War, a bloody period before the nation of Gantri formed its Principalities.
Needless to say, this item found its way to a select group of Glantrian wizards, and due to its unique alien properties, these wizards were encouraged to form the Society of Dimensionalists. They began exploring wild and strange theories about a multiverse, different realities ...etc which upset certain powerful and influential individuals within the Great School of Magic. This eventually led to some of them being hunted down and imprisoned...etc
Two of the members, a couple, fled to an obscure town within Darokin to escape, raising their children as Darokinians.
One of these children is the PC who views the item as an heirloom, his family's legacy.

The motivation to retrieve the item is both sentimental (and mechanical).

Spoiler: More Recent Events

That PC died in Toril (long story) against the greater mummy Diderius (Tyranny of Dragons), and ended up in the Fugue Plane, City of Judgement before Kelemvor and his attendees, possibly facing a fate of being imprisoned into the Wall of the Faithless unless someone present petitioned for his soul. And there was one that did, his old party leader (a deceased player's character who had become a Mystaran Immortal in their last adventure with us).

The PC was given the option by Kelemvor to either to let his soul be taken back to the Mystaraverse to be laid to rest by the petitioner (the Immortal) or let his divine spark be reforged in Toril, cutting his ties to Mystara. There were actual implications for the latter, but it meant that his character would be resurrected.
Reclaiming the shard would alleviate or slow down some of those implications.

The shard, along with a second piece of the Rod is being worn as a hairpin by an Everlasting One in Svardborg (Storm Kings Thunder).

Cool multiple player PC's over multiple game worlds

 

[AnotherGuy]

Cool multiple player PC's over multiple game worlds

Yeah.
Player 1: The party leader of the ex-militia was a chaplain. He found himself Banished from Toril back to Mystara. In his quest to try get back to the party, he attained Immortality.

Player 2: The dude who's parents passed down a shard, died in Toril and was reforged as a Toril native suffering some backstory consequences, instead of letting his soul be carried back to Mystara by Player 1's character.

 

[Voadam]

I really liked the six-part Pathfinder 1e Adventure Path Reign of Winter. The Baba Yaga theme is really up my alley and the sort of Narnia White Witch ruler is a cool BBEG.

I was disappointed my group TPK'd in Module 3 as AP modules 1-3 had been a blast with great elements to riff off of and springboard from while also working well just straight for me. Module 4 was kind of weird (Pern themed?) and I was considering alternatives, but 5, "Rasputin Must Die!" looked fantastically amazing.

Paizo did a bunch of great fantasy adventure paths. I had great fun running the beginning of Carrion Crown (Gothic Horror) and Iron Gods (Thundar the barbarian themed) as well and consider all three fairly fantastic.

As a player I really enjoyed Wrath of the Righteous, Paizo's crusade against demons and become mythic adventure path, although I was not that taken with the mass battles system.

 

[Distracted DM]

Eberron might qualify for this, I'm not sure what adventures would fit but the land has just ended a massive war with a magisplosion going off. So either adventures pre-ceasefire or skirmishes etc afterwards.

 

[Tonguez]

The Enemy Within for Warhammer still holds up really well

most of the Pathfinder Adventure paths are good - Rise of the Runelords and Kingmaker are suitably epic

Birthright setting seems large scale by its very nature.

Birthright was let down by having mostly terrible modules, but the setting was indeed epic and the King of the Giant Downs campaign was fun though

 

[CandyLaser]

For published campaign-length adventures, I've always been a big fan of the Night Below boxed set for AD&D 2e. It goes from the PCs doing standard adventurer stuff on the surface to a massive delve into the Underdark, culminating in the characters raiding and sacking a aboleth city. I also have a soft spot for the 3.5 Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil. It, too, includes a long dungeon crawl, but like Night Below it is more than an endless series of fights in tight corridors; both games have multiple factions present and support the PCs in efforts to form alliances and play off various inter-faction rivalries.