Campaigns in a nutshell. Adventures in a sentence.

[Dannyalcatraz]

For Urban Arcana or other Modern Fantasy setting, a reverse version of Dream Park or Westworld:

A "20th Century Waterdeep" setting, in which adventuring would be the new televised sports or reality shows- "Survivor: Myth Drannor," "The Great Race: Dragonspine Mountains," "Monday Night Dungeon-delving," "The Graveyard 500" and so forth. PCs would either be pros or amateurs, depending upon the setting. Think "Rollerball" on magical steroids.

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

The Animus War
A thousand years ago, the divine weapons - invincible holy mecha - fell to earth and gave primitive men the tools they needed to defeat the pre-human giants, the nephilim. The descendents of the legendary heroes of that age rule over three mechaneer-monarchies, their weapons patterned on the sacred weapons of their ancestors. Now populist rebels, backed by a powerful nation across the ocean, intend to bring down this ancient order. But is their goal liberty for the common man... or for the alien titans slumbering in the depths of the earth? An unsuspecting squad of young mechaneers is about to discover the answer!

 

[Simm]

Not mine but...

The Orc and The Pie: The PCs kill the Orc and take his pie.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Borrowed Glory : An adventure/campaign.

A BBEG is confronted by a group of mighty heroes and their sidekicks in his lair. The resolution of the conflict will determine whether the BBEG's hostages live or die...

In a mighty battle, the BBEG is defeated and near death...but so are many of the heroes. And unfortunately, the BBEG's last act as a living being is to transfer his consciousness into a Cybernetic body (or an automaton, or becomes a lich) and make good his escape.

Under the tutelage of the surviving (but crippled) leader of the team of heroes, the group of hostages & sidekicks take up the mantles of the the fallen heroes in order to complete the defeat of the BBEG.

In the proceess of the hunt, they evolve beyond mere usurpers or shadows, and become greater than the heroes they replaced.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Crusade of the Converts

The PCs are recruited by a prominent citizen & war hero to become couriers for his merchant house. The journeys are long, and occasionally hard, but the money is ridiculously good...

Over time, the PCs notice the increasing power of the brigands attacking the caravans...and the unsavory NPCs who both join the caravan and purchase some of the goods they protect. And though the goods they buy are overpriced, but they always sell out.

Eventually, the PCs realize the war hero is a drug lord- and they're his hired muscle!

Do they continue to work for the war hero, or do they bring down his growing drug empire?

 

[Brimshack]

2 of my favorites:

An orc village is located just 4 miles North of a human village. To the south of the human village lies human controlled lands, dominated by a foreign invader. Locals and foreign military leaders are not friendly, but there is little chance of outright war. Leadership of the dominating military force would like to eliminate the orc threat which would mean war. To the North of the orc village is a mountainous region dominated by monsters, many of which wish to go to war with the humans to the South. Some wish to eliminate the occupation force, and some just want to eat any human they can find (local or foreign). Even the smallest of raids risks massive retaliation from the human occupation force to teh South.

There is also a drug smuggling trade from the monsters through human territory to ports in the South.

The leadership of both villages knows that in the event of war, their own homes will be destroyed and most will not survive. Both work to keep the peace against pressure from their own kind.

The Police: A Human police force located in the human village. It is charged with keeping the peace in the local township and surrounding region as well as preventing any incursions from orcs. They are also instructed to stop drug smugglers who are moving product through the human village. They ally themselves occassionally with a group of local monsters and eventually get enough tips to begin cutting down on the local drug trade.

The Monsters: A group of orcs and related monsters is charged with protecting the pass North against human incursions. They are also charged by orc leaders with eliminating bounty hunters paid by the occupation force for each left ear of a monster. They are told to keep the peace and prepare for war. In other words, set up to win, and make sure no other orcs start things unless such an advantage is in place. In time they enter the drug trade, and pass on information on competitors to the Police force with which they are occassionally allied. After leiminatig the competition, they begin to make immense profits.

 

[Aeric]

Armored Legend World: The aelven empire once ruled the entire world, but is now a pale shadow of its former glory. In their search for a way to replace their depleted natural resources, aelven explorers discoved the bones of titans buried in the earth near the shadowlands. The Imperial warmasters, inspired by agents of the shadow, used these skeletons to create the first Armored Legends: towering warmachines powered by arcane energies, capable of wiping out entire regiments single-handedly.

As the aelven empire begins a whirlwind campaign of reconquista, a small band of heroes discovers the true nature of the Armored Legends, and their terrible purpose: the Legends themselves are sentient, and devoted to the destruction of the sunlit lands as commanded by their true master, the shadow. Once the time is right, the aelven war machines will turn against their masters, claiming all in the name of shadow. That is, unless our heroes can stop them.

And as if all this weren't bad enough, agents of the shadow seek an even more powerful weapon from ancient times: a spear created by the first children of the Overgod to use in combat against their younger siblings, the gods themselves. A spear powerful enough to extinguish the sun and destroy the gods who live there.

 

[paradox42]

For Urban Arcana or other Modern Fantasy setting, a reverse version of Dream Park or Westworld:

A "20th Century Waterdeep" setting, in which adventuring would be the new televised sports or reality shows- "Survivor: Myth Drannor," "The Great Race: Dragonspine Mountains," "Monday Night Dungeon-delving," "The Graveyard 500" and so forth. PCs would either be pros or amateurs, depending upon the setting. Think "Rollerball" on magical steroids.

Just wanted to drop in and say that this is almost exactly the premise of the XCrawl series of products. It's set on what amounts to an alternate-history Earth of the 20th century, where magic is real along with the standard "demihuman" races such as elves, dwarves, halflings, goblinoids and so on, and with the aid of magic the Roman Empire never fell- instead spreading its cultural trappings across the globe. Even newly founded nations use the imperial system for their government.

In the modern day, Emperor Reagan took advantage of stories of the Elder Days told by a sentient short sword (recently found in an archaeological dig), to come up with the idea of a radical new bloodsport to keep the masses happy: professional, televised dungeon-delving...

 

[paradox42]

And, for my contribution,

Legacy of the Ice Elves: An archaeological expedition to the ancient ruin now known as the City of Death is slowly disrupted from within. One of its patrons, Frostfolk scion of a powerful merchant house, uses the trip to pursue an agenda of her own. She acquires an artifact called the Key of Ice, a tiny statue of one of the emperors of the hated, feared, and fortunately long-dead Ice Elves. The Key is supposed to unlock a vault in the City, holding the greatest treasure of the Ice Elves, which the merchant feels (since her people were once the slaves of the dead race) rightfully belongs to her people- which she can thus claim by extension when she finds it.

Meanwhile, in the vault wait two more Keys of Ice, secretly sentient (and conspiring) components of the ritual which will free their true master, Xixecal III, last emperor of the Ice Elves, from his eternal prison of black ice far in the north... and through the Keys, the mind of Xixecal reaches out and begins to manipulate the members of the expedition towards his own ends.

 

[Dykstrav]

Drow in the Hood

The characters are drow adventurers based in Waterdeep. A drow bard is tearing up the Waterdhavian music scene with his hit single, Paladin Killa. The Lords of Waterdeep concoct a variety of trumped-up charges to have drow in the city arrested, as they fear what strong drow elves can do. Capitalizing on these events, the Xanathar's agents go on a crime spree targeting the drow.

The characters must travel to Faerun's east side, where they can recruit the beholder known as the Notorious E.Y.E. (He's always wanted to move into the west side and take over the Xanathar's operation.) The characters return to Waterdeep, and by taking over the criminal enterprises there, manage to bring a halt to the persecution of the drow.

Nothing really changes in the grand scheme of things and no one learns a lesson in the end, but life goes on day by day.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Just wanted to drop in and say that this is almost exactly the premise of the XCrawl series of products.

Yeah, it is, but I wanted to expand it a little, and introduce the concepts to those unfamiliar with the game. (Big time Dream Park/Westworld fan)

In a similar vein (for hack-n-slashers of classic or modern FRPGs):

Big Game Hunters

The PCs are hired as hunters of difficult to acquire spell components by a big Magic Supplies Company. They not only gather what they were sent out to get, but also get special bonuses for discovering new spell components, or new uses for old ones.

Of course, if they find anything nifty in that old, lost temple, its probably theirs to keep...as long as Corporate doesn't find out...
_________

PS- loved the Drow in the Hood!

Lots of possibilities for a rap/gang war in a modern FRPG setting! Ghost-face Killah is really a Ghost...Bloods are vampires...nobody needs a special effects budget for their martial arts infused videos.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

"And now, for something completely different..."

Gray "Elves": The Zeelee Court of Underhill

Zeelee, a.k.a. "Grays," a race of extraterrestrial beings, roam the galaxy on missions of exploration and occasionally war.

Many thousands of years ago, one of their warships crash-landed upon insert name of your fantasy campaign world here, and the survivors were forced to make the best of things.

First, Commander Orbron and his First officer Titahija decreed that they build themselves a sanctuary, and followed that up with exploration of the world that was to be their new home...only to find it inhabited by strange and powerful beings.

Using their advanced technologies, they shifted their sanctuary out of phase with the world behind a barrier rendering it invisible and intangible in another dimension, where time ran more slowly. They hoped that they would be able to survive behind that barrier until help could arrive to rescue them.

Then they developed a technology that allowed them to move about the world freely, disguised as idealized versions of the creatures they saw around them. Legends accumulated around the strange beings...

Some told tales of rooms bigger inside than out, or how they appeared out of nowhere, and then dissapeared without a trace save for circles in the grass or dirt...some even told tales of how they spent a day enjoying the hospitality of the "Seelie Court" only to leave and find that years had passed...

Their slender builds, the slanted eyes, their aloofness, their great "magics"...and their vulnerability to cold iron and silver...

Mankind called them Elves...

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Inspired by the Retrieval Artist novels of Kristine Kathryn Rusch:

In a future where humanity occasionally runs afoul of the laws of alien empires while trying to expand their own, some so-called criminals opt to run and hide rather than face harsh justice under unfamiliar stars. They do whatever it takes to dissapear, and agencies have sprung up to accomidate them.

And of course, there are Trackers who are paid to track them down and bring them to justice.

But there are also those who track them down for other reasons...to bring them news of their families left behind, or an inheritance they're due, or in the best cases, to tell them they're no longer wanted by the law.

Some even work to counteract the efforts of the Trackers.

(PCs can be people running from the law, enforcing the law, or helping the runners.)

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

The Quixotic Campaign: The PCs are the servants of an older, powerful NPC (both in terms of personal abilities and politically) who has gone a bit senile.

As a result of his mental infirmity, he is often much less competent than he used to be. His combat skills, if he had any, are greatly deteriorated. If he is capable of spellcasting or manifesting psionics, he memorizes or casts incorrect/radically suboptimal spells and powers. And he gets worse after sundown.

He does, however, show occasional flashes of his past competence. Some of his political speeches are simply brilliant. If he's a martial NPC, there are days when he fights like he did in his 20's. If he's a spellcaster or psionic manifester, he can be roused to use his powers to great effect. But those days are becoming rarer and rarer...

Still, he is such a great man of such great accomplishments that most people don't realize he's deteriorated (or how much) unless they spend a lot of time around him. As a result, he has lost none of his pull in society, and is still tapped for important missions for the kingdom. Negotiate a treaty. Kill a fearsome beast. Explore a new overland traderoute. Deliver a diplomatic package.

Worst of all, he's not always aware of his disability. He can become angry with those around him and lash out- sometimes quite dangerously- at his servants. Fortunately, his anger passes as quickly as a summer storm, and only remembers the slights of his actual foes.

The PC's mission- however they justify it with their particular backgrounds- is to maintain the NPC's reputation by assisting him in those missions he chooses to accept. This means they'll have to be the mind behind his voice, the sword and shield before his will.

They have to keep him alive. They have to slay the dragons. They must blaze the trails. They must find the leverage that will make the treaties work.

If they succeed, their power will wax as his wanes, and eventually, they will inherit his estate.

 

[Shades of Green]

Mithril Age: Mithril is common, but with a catch: it is horribly rare on land, but found in large quantities deep below the sea (in the rocks of ocean-floor ridges). Once an expedition to the sea-floor (using Water Breathing spells/potions) discovered rich Mithril deposits in the deep ocean, the Dwarves moved in to mine them. At first they were able to mine Mithril only in the underwater roots of island, where it was of smaller quantities (digging tunnels from the island's surface until it reaches the Mithril deposits. Later on, using this Mithril to construct strong, large and light hulls, they've begun using steampunk submarines to build underwater colonies (sealed under-seafloor caverns with alchemically-recycled air) and to transport the precious material back to the surface.

Viva La Resistance!: A sleepy farmland inhabitated by Halflings and Humans is conquered by a steamtech-wielding army of monsters led by Kobold sorcerers. The heroes are guerillas fighting for the liberation of their homeland from the opressive Kobolds and their monstreus minions, and must learn to utilize their enemies' technology against them.

Black Island Rising: In a world where small islands are the only landmasses, an Aboleth Lord slowly raises a dark island from the ocean's floor; if it reaches the surface, it will release a plauge of mostrosities upon the world. can the heroes stop the Aboleth Lord and destroy is Black Island?

Spartacus Reloaded: PCs are Orcish slaves exploited and opressed by Elven masters. The campaign revoves around their escape and their eventual insurrection against the Elves, or, if they prefer, their escape to the Wildlands where their people are still free.

 

[kroh]

Mithril Age: Mithril is common, but with a catch: it is horribly rare on land, but found in large quantities deep below the sea (in the rocks of ocean-floor ridges). Once an expedition to the sea-floor (using Water Breathing spells/potions) discovered rich Mithril deposits in the deep ocean, the Dwarves moved in to mine them. At first they were able to mine Mithril only in the underwater roots of island, where it was of smaller quantities (digging tunnels from the island's surface until it reaches the Mithril deposits. Later on, using this Mithril to construct strong, large and light hulls, they've begun using steampunk submarines to build underwater colonies (sealed under-seafloor caverns with alchemically-recycled air) and to transport the precious material back to the surface.

Viva La Resistance!: A sleepy farmland inhabitated by Halflings and Humans is conquered by a steamtech-wielding army of monsters led by Kobold sorcerers. The heroes are guerillas fighting for the liberation of their homeland from the opressive Kobolds and their monstreus minions, and must learn to utilize their enemies' technology against them.

Black Island Rising: In a world where small islands are the only landmasses, an Aboleth Lord slowly raises a dark island from the ocean's floor; if it reaches the surface, it will release a plauge of mostrosities upon the world. can the heroes stop the Aboleth Lord and destroy is Black Island?

Spartacus Reloaded: PCs are Orcish slaves exploited and opressed by Elven masters. The campaign revoves around their escape and their eventual insurrection against the Elves, or, if they prefer, their escape to the Wildlands where their people are still free.

Wow Shades... These are Great!
Regards,
Walt

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

One place you can find plotlines and/or good gossip & rumors for your game is in the lyrics of music artists who prefer ballads- usually 80s rock bands or baladeers from rennaisance fests who record their stuff. This is especially good if your players don't listen to the same stuff you do.

Example: (exerpt of "The Temple Of The King" by Rainbow

"One day in the year of the fox
Came a time remembered well
When the strong young man of the rising sun
Heard the tolling of the great black bell

One day in the year of the fox
When the bell began to ring
Meant the time had cometh
For one to go
To the temple of the king"

That could be the cryptic prophecy of an old holy man begging for coins...

I'm thinking bands like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden could be particularly rich veins to mine.

 

[The Cardinal]

Transhuman Space: Guardians of the D&Dead

inspired by this thread: http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=219100


In this version of TS in 2100 AD many virtual "Kingdoms" (think: WoW meets Second Life turned to 11) have become permanent havens for (legally) xoxed spirits (=software-based copies of a human consciousness) of the deceased: effectively immortal they're now roaming incredibly realistic fantasy realms - as heroes, princes, or simple priests or peasants.

Some Kingdoms are exclusive to "formerly biologically active" members, some also have "normal" (i.e. still living in a physical body) clients, who enter via special neuro-interfaces.
Recently, however, some of the largest "spirits-only" Kingdoms have experienced a severe problem: the appearance of virtual entities which are actually capable of *killing* the resident spirits, permanently destroying their data, and generally causing havoc in the system. Thus the companies behind those Kingdoms have begun hiring specialists - the PCs: You will enter those "infected" Kingdoms, provided with an in-game persona of a powerful hero, and find and destroy the "evil" forces at work there.

System: GURPS4e in the "real" world, D&D3.5 - with all options *on* and heavy meta-gaming (think Order of the Stick meets The Matrix) *expected* from the players - in the virtual reality of the Kingdoms (and some Kingdoms may use different "engines", thus requiring the use of C&C, Exalted, Anima, etc.)

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Just as a further example of what I posted last time...paraphrasing from Queensryche:

Scene: a tavern, 2 weary dockworkers wander in from the storm, shake off their sodden coats and head to the bar:

Man #1 & Man #2 (in unison): "Wot's the news, 'keep?"

Bartender: "Last night the word came down - 10 dead in Shadowtown..."

Man #2: "Yeh? Innocent?"

Bartender (shaking head): "Their only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Man #1 & Man #2 (alternating): "Too bad." "Too bad."

Man #2: "What’s wrong with the kids today?"

Bartender: "Tell you right now they’ve got nothing to lose...(looking around furtively) They’re building empires!"

Etc.

 

[NCSUCodeMonkey]

Deus ex Machina: An ancient cabal of mortals who have been denied godhood at every turn begin construction of a machine that, powered by the souls of countless innocents, will destroy the multiverse and recreate it with them as the masters. A Planescape game (loosely) based on Tad William's Otherland.

The Masters: A hero of legend, famous for his defeat of 10,000 orcs with only a 1,000 men, has emerges from magical suspension with an army of angelic beings. In an Aurthur-esque "returning at the time of greatest need" fashion, an army of orcs invades simultaneously from the west. Unfortunately, the returned hero is a fervent believer in humans as the master race. If he wins the war, he will begin to push deeper into the orc territory, killing every orc that he can find. Eventually his hatred will spread to other races, including elves, dwarves, gnomes, etc. When will the morality of the heroes force them to turn on the "great hero" and can they stop the orcs without his army? And, since his angles are made using positive energy infused in the bodies of his fallen foes, will they be able to stop his army if they try?

Power Corrupts: On an extremely low magic island loosely based on post-roman britain, shortly after an apocolypse that resulted in the occupation of Scotland by a massive undead host that constantly assaults Hadrian's Wall, a new power begins to rise. A small rift opens to a power of infinite evil and the heroes must race against multiple foes, each more powerful than the last, to seal the rift before its power can be used to conquer the world. However, when they arrive at the rift they discover that they have two options: (1) seal it for the next thousand years or (2) bond with its infinite power and use it for good to defeat evil forever. In a world where few can afford to eat, let alone forge magical items, which do the adventurers choose? Power or peace? And remember...power corrupts.*

* Bonus plot: If they choose to bond, the next campaign is to overthrow the evil overlords of the island who are bonded with a rift that grants them infinite power .