Lost the Epic Feeling (not ELH)

[Taloras]

This is EXACTLY what im planning in the campaign im creating. Its a homebrew Norse world, and the characters are going to start out as people arriving through a Stargate. They are put on "probation", mostly doing odd jobs for the ruling Priests of the Pantheon. Mainly harming the priesthoods for Surtur and Thrym, and fighting giants. In the end, if the characters make it to epic levels, they might go up against either of the afforementioned Giant Dieties. During Ragnarok, of course. (fighting your way through an army of giants to destroy the evil giant gods is quite a vision....especially seeing gods dying around you.....but thats another story).

Thats just my way of doing it. Definitely a long term campaign idea. No just randomness, everything is at the behest of the ruling Priesthood.

 

[Mercule]

In the game I'm planning right now, I know where I want the PCs to end up. There's an evil empire that has served as an insurmountable foe in most of the games I've run in the last 15 years. Usually, the PCs just thwarted one scheme (albeit a major scheme) in each game. Now I want to bring the whole thing down.

The whole thing is, unbeknownst to even most deities, ruled my a mortal risen as a god. The empire uses psionics to great effect, with elite strike teams of psychic warriors (in 2E in was wild talent fighters) trained to teleport (yes, a bent rule) into places, do what the need to, and teleport out. The commander of the military is a psionic Death Knight. The central citadel has outer walls of pure adamantite. Etc. etc.

I want the PCs to hit about 30th level, maybe more, before they finish. Ultimately, that includes taking out a god. I _don't_ want the final assult to be just another adventure, no matter how cool. I want it to be a culmination of what's gone before. The aria of the campaign, and possibly the world as a game setting.

So, how do I have a constant draw in that direction without either:

a) Overwhelming the characters too early. "C'mon, we gotta go get the emperor. Who cares if we're 1st level."

b) Running the group through an obvious set of hoops. "You need the key to open the vault, which contains the piece of the sun, which can be forged into a sword to slay the dragon, who guards the portal to the netherworld, where you can find the throne of Death, who holds a blade that can kill even a god with a single touch."

b1) Running the PCs through said hoops without giving them a chance to breathe. I want there to be some sense of time and the characters not being pressed constantly. I also want to add in plenty of opportunity for side quests.

c) Letting the players feel like they are just practicing until the day they are strong enough to face the emperor.

d) Stringing together a bunch of unrelated stories and throwing in the final assault as just an epic level last hurrah.

I suspect the answer lies next door to b), while avoiding b1). I'm just not sure how to go about it.

 

[Aeris Winterood]

Campaign...

I am starting a new campaign (next Tuesday) in a home brew world. The basis for the world is that the world is actually a dead god, the first and prime god who spawned the multiverse and all other beings (unknown to the PC's at the start) and that this world is the very first prime location and spawning ground for the races.

Part of hell has been magically planted on the world and is slowly growing in size. What the Pc's have to discover is that a power in hell has recognized this world as the real source of all power in the multiverse and plans on taking it over and being able to use the lingering dead god's power to destroy the heavens in a final battle.

The Pc's will end up finding out this information and have to deal with it accordingly. Two things happen.. they stop the Duke of Hell or die in a final battle of the Lords of Heaven versus the Lords of Hell....