New Campaign Framework- Help!

[Waylander the Slayer]

Hi Everyone,

I am working on a new campaign based on a vague premise:

- The PCs are children of the former Emperor/Retinue/Allies who royally screwed up and semi destroyed the world. He and his retinue fled into a safe location where the next generation has grown up, ignorant of the broader world and goings on.

- I want the main focus to be the PCs setting off to explore the devastated world, with the opportunity to "set things right," if they so choose to.

Some open considerations:

• How the Emperor screwed up and some "keys" to potentially fixing it that could be part of the larger objective
• How long and how many generations it has been since the Emperor fked naughty word up
• Why the players would even consider leaving the safe haven
• The Potential Safe Location (is it a hidden town? living in plain sight? underground cavern location?)
• Some mentors and such within the Location (how the society at the location might have evolved

I would love all of your great thoughts! Thanks for your insight and help.

 

[The Green Hermit]

Instead of having them be his children, what about having them be several generations removed? Their families went into hiding at first, but now are amongst the general population. Maybe they have family tales that have been passed down. Maybe somebody is searching for them (good or bad). Maybe another heir finds them and drags them into the quest.

 

[aco175]

A bit of advice, stop swearing on the boards, I don't mind, but others may.

I like the idea. I think that any secret place would still need merchants bringing in goods and with that news of the outside. I would think the PCs would know what has happened, but may not know that their families were part of it. You should have an idea of the event to determine how the PCs can correct it.

4e had the war between the dragonborn and tieflings where the tieflings called in devil support and did not think the devils would destroy everything, including them. Is the problem in the kingdom or the whole world? If it is the local kingdom or region, then the PCs can be hiding in some neutral ground or other kingdom, like in Game of Thrones where the girl was sent to the southern kingdom and grew to like that place since it took so long.

Like most campaigns, I would start with a smaller location. Maybe a coastal town that is considered neutral ground among the region. It may have pirates, but not be a "pirate" town, just some minor stuff unless you want the PCs to be more evil. You have levels 1-3 to introduce the themes and feel of the campaign. Up to level 5 to deal with the local threat and unveil the Emperor behind Vader larger threat. Maybe the local BBEG gets to kill the old lords and revels how they screwed things up before the PCs defeat them.

 

[R_J_K75]

Just have the safe haven be invaded by whatever it was that fked naughty word up. The PCs will have no choice but to venture into the greater world when the World Turd comes home to roost.

 

[Shiroiken]

How the Emperor screwed up and some "keys" to potentially fixing it that could be part of the larger objective

Depending on what kind of campaign you have, the easiest would be to have him open a portal to another realm of existence. Another possibility would be to have magic go awry, causing havoc across the world.

How long and how many generations it has been since the Emperor screwed up

I'd have the emperor be the eldest of whatever longest living race you have in your campaign. This way almost nobody would actually know what was before. It also allows you to have various races within the campaign easily.

Why the players would even consider leaving the safe haven

Have the dying emperor beseech the party to fix what he could not. Until the mistake is corrected, the remnants of society are in reality prisoners of the sanctuary they live in.

The Potential Safe Location (is it a hidden town? living in plain sight? underground cavern location?)

Depends on what the screw up was. Underground is probably the most likely, but a city hidden in a mountain valley might work as well.

Some mentors and such within the Location (how the society at the location might have evolved

As the PCs are meant to be the descendants of nobility, I'd have them have an old advisor to the dying emperor lament how society has deteriorated. Depending on how you want to lay it out, likely the lesser nobility would be forced to do labor merely for survival. Because of the remote location, supplies would be limited, and population control would be essential. All of this would make for high tensions within the sanctuary, and lead the emperor to make his request to the PCs.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

I would love all of your great thoughts! Thanks for your insight and help.

I'm not sure how helpful this is, but the set up you described made me think of a show I watched when I was a kid...

 

[Benjamin Olson]

How long and how many generations it has been since the Emperor fked naughty word up

I'd have it be relatively recently if they are going to be in some sort of hidden refuge. If the evildoers are not their semi-immediate family members, or someone they have personal relationships with then the whole having a kin relationship thing isn't terribly relevant unless it is a "only the blood of X line can..." situation. If the Emperor and his colleagues in world destruction are still alive, still ruling the refuge, and the parents, grandparents, uncles, or whatever of our heroes than their own personal responsibility is actually meaningful and their personal relationships with their community have been dramatically effected. If they find out someone in their family did something bad 12 generations back then they probably don't feel much guilt for that, it's just history. Maybe people outside the refuge hate them, but that is just geo-politics if it is some ancient thing, whereas if they have a living association with "the villains" they are grouped with by the outside world that is a lot more interesting.

He destroyed the world when he was fairly young, he is now alive and very old (age depends on race). It has to be just long enough ago that the players' generation could be raised without knowing the outside world.

• Why the players would even consider leaving the safe haven

I would say there is a cataclysm facing the safe haven, or at least this is what they are told. They are sent to get the legendary Macguffin of Plot Contrivance to save it. This isn't actually the main quest, it is just the getting them out in the world quest. It is a simple mission, suitable for first level adventurers, but the elders don't want to do it because they would all be captured or killed on sight for their crimes. They could give the PCs some other reason why it should be them or just offer an extraordinary reward and let the PCs decide to do it, but I like having a cataclysm because then even if a player or two decides their characters are uninterested in the quest for some reason they still have incentive to get out of Dodge.

They should be sent out with very specific instructions meant to keep them from discovering the truth, but they should be of the type that a party (at least as a whole) would never follow. For example they could be told by the high priest not to touch or look at any coins whatsoever lest they be corrupted by the greed of the world. When they get some loot and break this command they notice that all the coins have grandpa's face on them wearing an elaborate crown with "Emperor Da-da-da IV" written around him.

The idea being, fundamentally, that they go out on an errand, and then get swept into a grand quest to save the world and make up for the sins of their forebears.

The Potential Safe Location (is it a hidden town? living in plain sight? underground cavern location?)

I think any Emperor worth his salt who isn't a vampire or something else requiring specific facilities probably picked some place idyllic as his place of exile. Think hidden mountain vale of eternal Spring and/or some sort of vast palace complex. In Xanadu did Kubla Khan/ A stately pleasure-dome decree.

I go two opposite directions on "living in plain sight". On the one hand if they are supposed to not know much about the world or who destroyed it and how then it probably doesn't make sense. Also if we are talking evil emperor and his hench-nobles such characters are probably not willing to just live in obscurity, they would be happier creating some sort of hidden colony to rule over.

However it may make the most sense if you want to give players background creation agency since they could be from different places living ordinary (or extraordinary) lives and just not know who they really are. This would lend itself to some sort of "questgiver who knows the truth summons them all together from disparate places" scenario where mysterious notes direct them to the place where they meet for the first time. You can always just make the Emperor someone who sired a lot of bastards in every corner of the world.

Once again though, I think an actual personal relationship with the Emperor makes it more interesting. Having them be from all over probably doesn't work so well for that.

 

[Waylander the Slayer]

I'm not sure how helpful this is, but the set up you described made me think of a show I watched when I was a kid...

I have never seen this cartoon! Looks interesting and definitely gives me some ideas. Thanks for all the great feedback so far.

I like the direct relationship with the Emperor. My initial thoughts based on all of the above are:
The Emperor and his retinue includes princely allies and such (Gives a broad swath of player options)

His actions lead to cataclysmic event he couldn’t control (demonic alliance? Vampires? Mind flayers?) who now rule the lands

it is 2 generations down the line (all the old retinues are the nice grandparents) for the player characters, so about 50 years down the line.

The hideout is a large cavern system or valley protected by magical wards which are now failing; the solution is “out there,” but there are traitors amongst the survivors (who and why?).

The hideout town is ruled by a council of elders from the Alliance.

unknowns to be defined further:

- The gods are dead or silent, killed or pissed off by the cataclysm. Any characters who are priests are the first of their kind in 3 generations.

- what is the place in the world for races and classes? How has it changed?

- the world has significantly transformed, the wardings prevent all scrying etc both ways (how has it transformed? E.g., a world ruled by mindflayers might be in perpetual twilight, all magic banned, same w organizations and learning) any additional ideas that would be evocative?

- the traitors- who are they? Organization and hierarchy?

- the resistance (what does that look like? Who are the potential friends? What moral quandaries can be added)

- Define BBEG and organizations

- Potential for solutions (prophecies, legendary artifacts, awakened allies?)

 

[Eltab]

The Emperor's refuge from his monumental mistake is on an island. The mistake may be vampires who cannot cross water. His ex-empire had no Navy and not much shipping. The threat that makes the PCs leave is (pick one) ...
(a) vikings / pirates - outside forces travel by water to raid coastal villages, temples, vineyards, &c
(b) explorers, refugees, merchants, or Navy Captains from the mainland
(c) Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry (IRL: commanded the US Navy squadron that visited and opened Japan) arrived
(d) until now the island Coast Guard and Shore Patrol have always slain all intruders and burned their ships, but now one ship got away to tell others that the island is here and who we are living here.