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Message: <blockquote data-quote="fba827" data-source="post: 8114624" data-attributes="member: 807">Side effects make for side questsbefore investigating the cause ( or maybe in tandem) dealing with things around the town that are caused by shortage of able bodied persons.start of campaign: only a couple people have been getting weak, not enough for anyone to really take notice and assume just a couple people have weakness onset from the flu.the PCs can do some side quests and in doing so keep finding more and more people that are dealing with ‘the weakness’ example...  someone has gone missing while hunting nearby woods.  PCs are asked to go help find him ( for extra connection if the PCs are from the town itself maybe one of them knows or is related to the missing person).PCs go looking for the person.   Turns out he slid down a hole in the forest and due to onset of weakness has been unable to climb out.    Maybe he was then also captured or dealing with drow/duegar.But this builds up the sick population for the PCs to see as illness level increases rather than just start with ‘people are sick’another side quest could be some ‘clerics’ that come through town to help heal and have their ‘fetch quest’ of ingredients that they need to help.So PCs being one of the few ablest bodies not yet sick are asked to go collect the items ( venom from a Medusa, tail feather of a dodo bird,  whatever) so it gives PCs a chance to go far and wide to collect these thingsOnce they collect them, maybe the clerics realize they can’t help (or at best they can slow it )Or once the PCs return they find the clerics were killed/missing(because of the kelvmor’clerics’ not wanting the interference)Or maybe once the PCs bring back the stuff, the clerics take it and disappear the next day ( they were charlatans that just wanted the ingredients for something else)and then there is a wizard that comes to town and just starts blowing stuff up.  Truth is, his divination told him if a powerful power source in this area and believes it must be someone in town so he’s blowing stuff up to draw that person out and best him in hopes of obtaining the power.  He’s so obstinate that he won’t listen to reason and trusts his own magic that told him a major power was here and he must have it.    The PCs being the ones still strong enough to help defend the town, the wizard might believe that the PCs are connected to the power source , giving the PCs an enemy wizard that will be back if he escapeAs an aside though this is one plot line.   It is a strong plot line but you’ll be forcing yourself to make 20 levels out of it.  You may want to reconsider centering a whole campaign around it ( instead have a mini campaign and isolate yourself to some specific 5 levels for this).ORthink of another 3-4 major plot lines.   Start weaving different adventures out of them.    Some of these plot lines might overlap, some of them might conflict. What do the power groups of each of these plot lines do (if anything) in reaction to things done in other plot ( I’m tired, apologies for the rambling response. But hope it helps in some way)</blockquote>

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