Hey all,
I'm plotting the long-term plans for my game, and thought I'd pick the collective brain of ENWorld. Here's what I have so far.
The characters begin in a wilderness called Toladia. This was once a kingdom, then joined in with the Twelve Kingdoms of Man at its height, site of a vital trade route. They grew rich and prosperous. However, as wars in the north rearranged the political landscape the trade lines shifted and Toladia began its eventual decline. When the Twelve Kingdoms were conquered by Krall (romanesque empire), there weren't even enough troops to offer resistance. Since then the decline into barbarity continued - while technically still a part of the Empire, they haven't even bothered to send a governer for over fifty years.
Here's the dark secret. At their height the Toladians had discovered a way to make Power Nexuses at thier cities and important outposts. By harnessing the Amerlite gems (these make magical items possible IMC), they allowed not only for enhanced magical defense but instant travel from location to location. In the capital, the mages formed a bold plan - to open a portal off the earth itself, and travel to the moon. By sensing the mystic ley lines, they knew there was a powerful source of magic there. They built the largest portal ever concieved, and used it to open a gate to the lunar surface. They quickly had a small colony in this strange place, and started tracking the ley lines.
They found a huge deposit of Amberlite, a single gem still in the living earth (er, moon) weighing several tons. Now they would ensure Toladia's dominance and power for all time. By building an entire gateway out of living amberlite, they would be able to instantly move mass amounts of troops, goods, or what-have you from any place on earth to any other place. Armies would appear on their enemies doorsteps. Enemy armies could be tossed into the wilderness, or the sea. But of course, it didn't work out that way.
When they activated the portal, it opened a rift to the Far Realms. Infused with this alien energy, the mages became Katorai (see Fiend Folio) and began converting the colony into a cyst. They began sending raids down into the capital, sucking the life from all who would oppose them. To stop this, the king(a capable wizard himself) consulted the darkest tomes. To render their weapons useless, he crafted a spell to shroud the city in negative energy. It worked, a little too well. It made him and the entire population into undead. He was a lich, with the townsfolk various other types. They were forbidden to leave the city, but it was undeniably theirs.
How does all this relate to our heros? Well, they stumbled upon one of the outposts and reactivated one of the portals. They are in the process of uncovering more of them with the eventual plan of re-settling Toladia.
Now eventually I want to bring them into conflict with this lich-king. Likely they'll go against him for quite awhile because he's undead and he's going to try and stop them from reactivating the network. He is the only thing stopping the Katorai from storming down into the valley. But the long years of lichdom have made him bitter and twisted, he'll likely not be all soft and cuddly about it. The orc tribes in the area pay tribute to him, merely because he's powerful.
Any ideas for how this could play out? Or extra complications? Any comments would be welcomed.
I'm plotting the long-term plans for my game, and thought I'd pick the collective brain of ENWorld. Here's what I have so far.
The characters begin in a wilderness called Toladia. This was once a kingdom, then joined in with the Twelve Kingdoms of Man at its height, site of a vital trade route. They grew rich and prosperous. However, as wars in the north rearranged the political landscape the trade lines shifted and Toladia began its eventual decline. When the Twelve Kingdoms were conquered by Krall (romanesque empire), there weren't even enough troops to offer resistance. Since then the decline into barbarity continued - while technically still a part of the Empire, they haven't even bothered to send a governer for over fifty years.
Here's the dark secret. At their height the Toladians had discovered a way to make Power Nexuses at thier cities and important outposts. By harnessing the Amerlite gems (these make magical items possible IMC), they allowed not only for enhanced magical defense but instant travel from location to location. In the capital, the mages formed a bold plan - to open a portal off the earth itself, and travel to the moon. By sensing the mystic ley lines, they knew there was a powerful source of magic there. They built the largest portal ever concieved, and used it to open a gate to the lunar surface. They quickly had a small colony in this strange place, and started tracking the ley lines.
They found a huge deposit of Amberlite, a single gem still in the living earth (er, moon) weighing several tons. Now they would ensure Toladia's dominance and power for all time. By building an entire gateway out of living amberlite, they would be able to instantly move mass amounts of troops, goods, or what-have you from any place on earth to any other place. Armies would appear on their enemies doorsteps. Enemy armies could be tossed into the wilderness, or the sea. But of course, it didn't work out that way.
When they activated the portal, it opened a rift to the Far Realms. Infused with this alien energy, the mages became Katorai (see Fiend Folio) and began converting the colony into a cyst. They began sending raids down into the capital, sucking the life from all who would oppose them. To stop this, the king(a capable wizard himself) consulted the darkest tomes. To render their weapons useless, he crafted a spell to shroud the city in negative energy. It worked, a little too well. It made him and the entire population into undead. He was a lich, with the townsfolk various other types. They were forbidden to leave the city, but it was undeniably theirs.
How does all this relate to our heros? Well, they stumbled upon one of the outposts and reactivated one of the portals. They are in the process of uncovering more of them with the eventual plan of re-settling Toladia.
Now eventually I want to bring them into conflict with this lich-king. Likely they'll go against him for quite awhile because he's undead and he's going to try and stop them from reactivating the network. He is the only thing stopping the Katorai from storming down into the valley. But the long years of lichdom have made him bitter and twisted, he'll likely not be all soft and cuddly about it. The orc tribes in the area pay tribute to him, merely because he's powerful.
Any ideas for how this could play out? Or extra complications? Any comments would be welcomed.
