weem
First Post
Ok, game just ended, whew.
It went great, everyone had a lot of fun.
So, I ended up coming up with an idea 5 hours before the game and almost finishing by the time we started (so there was lots of winging it).
The basic idea was that the players (there were 4) were previous reincarnations of one being (currently the 5th reincarnation). These lives were called "cycles" and the players had all come to death in various ways.
So the story was that the current being, called "The Traveler" (host of the 5th reincarnation) was facing a struggle with a terrible creature called the "Morgawr" (name borrowed from Terry Brooks series, but that's it). It had the power not only to kill the Traveler, but also end the "cycles" of reincarnation, which would end the "existence" of the previous ones (the players). They were not alive in our sense of the word, but they existed within the Traveler... in his memories, in his soul (It was a one-off, I didn't need to explain further, hehe).
A creature (what was the inner voice of their being) summoned them to help as The Traveler was being killed by the Morgawr. The Traveler was near death and was losing hope and in this state his recollections of his past lives were closer to him than ever. His body attempted to draw on those past experiences to pull him through.
The players faced encounters that represented each of their deaths. Should they overcome them (win), the Traveler would be energized... would be pushed to fight on and survive. Should they be defeated (lose), the Traveler would succumb, or slip a little closer to death.
My basic notes looked like this...
ENCOUNTER 1
Voice: “In the 34th year… before the first cycle, Zil (rogue) found himself in the heart of the Murabashi Jungle, deep within the temple of Az’Halad. The gaze of Az’Halad was upon him, threatening to claim his life, much as this new threat hunts for the traveler. As the darkened panthers closed in on him, he felt despair…”
WIN ENCOUNTER – Voice: “Your cunningness has given the traveler an edge… his fate may not yet be sealed”.
(They see the traveler hunched in the shadows as a dark figure with glowing eyes passes his gaze over and beyond the traveler, unable to detect him... for now).
LOSE ENCOUNTER – Voice: “Your attempt was not enough to aid the Traveler entirely. The creature that stalks him, has found him once again… it haunts his every move… his every attempt to recover… he senses that his death could be moments away”
(They see the Traveler scrambling through various corridors and hallways, looking back towards a following light in despair).
The encounter required Zil to move about a small maze, in the center of which was a tall obelisk with a firey eye perched atop (yes, think LoTR). Eahc round it would move it's gaze. In the maze there was cover (shadows) to avoid the light - if it fell on you it had various things it could do. So, Zil made his way to the middle and worked to disarm/disable the obelisk. Meanwhile, the other players were fending off a custom panther mob I made. I called them Ashen Panthers - they were fire based and had various powers.
Anyway, they succeeded at disabling the eye and defeating the panthers, though it became apparent that Zil had in reality died in this encounter many years ago.
And so, the voice came to them again, explained the next scenario (one that focused on the fighter) and they went at that one.
There were more encounters after that as well, but I think you get the point. The players succeeded to complete them all and after each saw how their smal victories helped him push on, and eventually defeat the Morgawr.
Anyway, I hope that makes sense - I'm really tired right now and am falling asleep at the keys, hehe.
Thanks again for the ideas and feedback everyone, I really appreciate it!
It went great, everyone had a lot of fun.
So, I ended up coming up with an idea 5 hours before the game and almost finishing by the time we started (so there was lots of winging it).
The basic idea was that the players (there were 4) were previous reincarnations of one being (currently the 5th reincarnation). These lives were called "cycles" and the players had all come to death in various ways.
So the story was that the current being, called "The Traveler" (host of the 5th reincarnation) was facing a struggle with a terrible creature called the "Morgawr" (name borrowed from Terry Brooks series, but that's it). It had the power not only to kill the Traveler, but also end the "cycles" of reincarnation, which would end the "existence" of the previous ones (the players). They were not alive in our sense of the word, but they existed within the Traveler... in his memories, in his soul (It was a one-off, I didn't need to explain further, hehe).
A creature (what was the inner voice of their being) summoned them to help as The Traveler was being killed by the Morgawr. The Traveler was near death and was losing hope and in this state his recollections of his past lives were closer to him than ever. His body attempted to draw on those past experiences to pull him through.
The players faced encounters that represented each of their deaths. Should they overcome them (win), the Traveler would be energized... would be pushed to fight on and survive. Should they be defeated (lose), the Traveler would succumb, or slip a little closer to death.
My basic notes looked like this...
ENCOUNTER 1
Voice: “In the 34th year… before the first cycle, Zil (rogue) found himself in the heart of the Murabashi Jungle, deep within the temple of Az’Halad. The gaze of Az’Halad was upon him, threatening to claim his life, much as this new threat hunts for the traveler. As the darkened panthers closed in on him, he felt despair…”
WIN ENCOUNTER – Voice: “Your cunningness has given the traveler an edge… his fate may not yet be sealed”.
(They see the traveler hunched in the shadows as a dark figure with glowing eyes passes his gaze over and beyond the traveler, unable to detect him... for now).
LOSE ENCOUNTER – Voice: “Your attempt was not enough to aid the Traveler entirely. The creature that stalks him, has found him once again… it haunts his every move… his every attempt to recover… he senses that his death could be moments away”
(They see the Traveler scrambling through various corridors and hallways, looking back towards a following light in despair).
The encounter required Zil to move about a small maze, in the center of which was a tall obelisk with a firey eye perched atop (yes, think LoTR). Eahc round it would move it's gaze. In the maze there was cover (shadows) to avoid the light - if it fell on you it had various things it could do. So, Zil made his way to the middle and worked to disarm/disable the obelisk. Meanwhile, the other players were fending off a custom panther mob I made. I called them Ashen Panthers - they were fire based and had various powers.
Anyway, they succeeded at disabling the eye and defeating the panthers, though it became apparent that Zil had in reality died in this encounter many years ago.
And so, the voice came to them again, explained the next scenario (one that focused on the fighter) and they went at that one.
There were more encounters after that as well, but I think you get the point. The players succeeded to complete them all and after each saw how their smal victories helped him push on, and eventually defeat the Morgawr.
Anyway, I hope that makes sense - I'm really tired right now and am falling asleep at the keys, hehe.
Thanks again for the ideas and feedback everyone, I really appreciate it!
