Im sending my pc's all over the place, please help

[SuperFlyTNT]

Ok, so here is the story, the players start in water deep. They all know each other, Im thinking I'll make them all play human or something. Anyway one of the players uncle has a relic called a plane splinter (working title) so this splinter is a gem, and it can rip holes in the fabrics of the planes. By themselves they are fairly safe, allthough due the nature of the item it is illegal to possess one in waterdeep. So it gets stolen from Uncle Hal and the players have to retrieve it because he cant alert the guards with out incriminating himself. Now if all these splinters are brought together they can combine to form this crazy item that will destroy the world (maybe). So Im gonna send them all over the place to retrieve these splinters before Nefarious Darius the dark paladin can get them and destroy existance. So, this is where I need some help...

1. I need some very interesting places for them to visit.

2. I need some activites that are very original, seeing as the story is pretty basic design IE: Go here, get this, repeat... In later levels I want a chase scene where they are persueing Darius's henchman through an elemental plane, like on a giant worm or similiar titanic creature.

3. I need to figure out why the villian wants these artifiacts, I know he's evil but "to destroy existance" is fairly hokey.

4. I suck at puzzles, any suggestions? Im good at describing my world but I just have a hard time coming up with puzzles that arent to difficult or to easy.

5. Any other suggestions you might have that I didnt ask for are apreciated.

 

[Crothian]

1) See the planscape suppliments. There are some great places in these books. Also, see Book of Planes and Edge of Infinity; both have great places as well. Are you lookingh for just wiuerd places or liike what? You could have truely fantasitical places like a city where all the buildings fly and are kept together by a series of rope ladders.

2) You could just have it be exploration. Get them hired by an ecxplores guild to report back with maps and descriptions of places.

3) Black mail the world, figure out how to destroy only parts of everything, he's actuially trying to keep it out of the hands of someone who wants it all destroyed...

4) By puzzles do you mean traps, riddles, multi part things? If you want puzzles your local library should have some good books of them; riddles to.

 

[VirgilCaine]

1. Search the 'net for "100 unusual demiplanes" --lots of weird places here.

2. Have them hidden or guarded creatively. Riddles, diplomacy/bluff, the hiding place as a puzzle can be used instead of a creature in front of the chest. Also, taking a page from Buffy, have one hidden inside or in the form of a creature--or type of creature unique to a plane.

3. Only a truly insane person wants to destroy existence--so everone, evil and good alike, must team up to stop this being!

The "villain" looks just like a usual villain (demon prince, evil god--Hextor for example), but he has gathered some of the splinters and has allies (Good, Evil, and Neutral) looking for more. all in order, to secure and hide them in the farthest reaches of the planes, scattered in the most innocuous places.

I like this idea.

 

[SuperFlyTNT]

Wow you both have really cool ideas thanks, by puzzles I mean riddles mostly. I come up with very interesting traps and love to spring them on people.

Why would my villian want to scatter the splinters across the planes? I mean if thats what he wanted to do why would anyone want to stop him? They can destroy the fabrics of existance, mend the planes to the will of the man who controls all the splinters.

 

[Crothian]

Riddles are easy to get at libraries. If you want some really hard one Mensa has a series of books with some brain puzzles that are damn tough.

Have you thought of using something that moves around the planes that they can attach themselves to? For instance an Inn devoted to the god of travleing. So the inn magically travels from random plane to random plane. The PCs could be patrons there and use it to travel. It allows for some semi permenant NPCs (inn keeper and preists and workers) as well as other tenants.

 

[SuperFlyTNT]

Ok, you've inspired me, what do you think of this? Darius the dark paladin is trying to stop Hal from collecting the shards because he knows the truth! Hal has gone mad due to his debilitating disiese and plans to destroy the world with the splinters. Later on in the campaign they can work with him to thwart the players mad uncle. What do you think of that?

 

[SuperFlyTNT]

Riddles are easy to get at libraries. If you want some really hard one Mensa has a series of books with some brain puzzles that are damn tough.

Have you thought of using something that moves around the planes that they can attach themselves to? For instance an Inn devoted to the god of travleing. So the inn magically travels from random plane to random plane. The PCs could be patrons there and use it to travel. It allows for some semi permenant NPCs (inn keeper and preists and workers) as well as other tenants.

This sounds awsome, Im totally gonna do that.

 

[Darren]

Ok, you've inspired me, what do you think of this? Darius the dark paladin is trying to stop Hal from collecting the shards because he knows the truth! Hal has gone mad due to his debilitating disiese and plans to destroy the world with the splinters. Later on in the campaign they can work with him to thwart the players mad uncle. What do you think of that?

Holes to be patched:
1) How did uncle Hal end up with such a powerful item and apparently hold on to it for so long without knowing what it was or without attracting the attentions of a powerful being before now?
2) How did uncle Hal find out what the shard does?
3) What is the nature of this disease? How did he get it? Is it incurable? I would want to save uncle Hal if I could...


How about instead of simply destroying the world, let the shards have certain "creative" powers. The shards would be leftover fragments of creation itself, material manifestations of the essential planar essences. You could have a fire shard, earth shard, water shard, etc.

When brought together, one of their "creative" powers is to fuse the spirit of their wielder to the fabric of whatever plane he happens to be on at the time, thus allowing him to morph it into whatever twisted vision he desires? Thus, from a certain (insane) point of view, he is not destroying existance, but creating a new one, and uncle Hal becomes something of a nonphysical motivating spirit that stirs the hearts of his followers (kind of like Sauron in LoTR).

After this, the shards are scattered across the multiverse again. To set things right, they must be collected again and a new power exercised... this one manifests the essential spirit of the plane in physical form. Thus uncle Hal (or whoever used the shards last time) is given physical form and powers suitable for one of the stronger demon lords, or possibly a demigod. If he is defeated, the plane reverts back to its original form.

So, if you fail to prevent the shards from being collected the first time, you still have a second chance to set things right. Also, both good and evil forces (at least the lawful aspects of evil) would not want such "creative" power exercised, and could conceivably work together to prevent it from happening. One other interesting dilemma happens if uncle Hal succeeds: do you recollect the shards (thus granting him physical form and new powers) in order to try to destroy him and set things right, or leave well enough alone and learn to live with his vision? I think his mad cultists and followers would definitely try to collect the shards to give uncle Hal physical form... not everyday you have the chance to be in on an apotheosis.

Just my 2 cp.

 

[green slime]

Instead of just "destroying the world" the splinters are in fact the very artefact used to Create Existence!

The possessor of the recombined shards will have the ability to undo all of Creation, and remake it as he sees fit! In other words, they can make themselves a god!

The shards themselves can have smaller or greater effects, as you see fit.

 

[kigmatzomat]

Go with a multi-layer plot. So Darius is an anti-paladin who serves a dark god collecting the shards. Some say the shards have the ability to destroy reality but deep digging shows that it more likely has the ability to turn the weilder into a god. The Truth is that the shards are the fragmented prison/corpse of an elder evil diety (EED) that will possess the goober that reassembles the shards.
Darius, contrary to opinion, actually wants to safeguard the shards because his god deposed the EED. It's possible the other gods weren't aware of the EED's status and might try to reinstate him. Alternately they are trying to assist Darius. Maybe both, with a division between the Gods.
This gives you a heckuva setup to confuse the players. Occassionally Darius will be assisted by good temples and others opposed by demons. There's no easy way of telling who is really helping the party and who has a hidden agenda. Given the uncertain information the gods may have about the EED, some groups may change their opinions during the course of the campaign.
Furthermore Darius has to keep acquiring weird items (A stone of Elemental Command, a bowl of elemental summoning, the Well of Worlds, etc.) to help dispose of the items when he visits some of the most inhospitable locations possible (Hearts of volcanoes, midoceanic subduction zones, etc). He sets traps for ethereal filchers so they acquire the gem and wander off. etc, etc.