I'm kicking around an idea for a new adventure or two based on the new Shadowfell boxed set. Since my players are in the wrong universe for it, I figured I'd write something up in the style of published adventures and post it here.
But first, I wanted to get a sanity-check from other DMs and Players, because my players tend towards uncommon, from what I've gathered.
Since this adventure has somewhat of an... extreme hook, I can see it being used for two things. First, a TPK-recovery method. I think every DM has been in this situation at least once. Good group, good PCs, fun world... then they go and die. And everyone is sad, but it’s hard to sort a narrative way out of it. Well, here you go.
Second is more of a campaign arc setting or fitting kind. So, instead of this being a one time thing, this is the impetus for them to discover they can’t actually die. Which opens up a whole other deck of possibilities. (And means you’d need to change things a little to show them as an actual threat... But that’s a bit more fun and flavorful.)
Essentially, the hook is a TPK. The party dies, for whatever reason, and instead of shuffling off to the great beyond, they wake up in the Shadowfell (1d4~ days later), at Dead Man’s Cross, completely confused. They’re not ghosts, or spirits, they’re alive... but they can’t leave the shadowfell, yet.
Now, depending on which path you take, either this is a one-time-thing, an artifact of the lattice of souls being subtly broken, throw Heroes into the mix, and there you go. Or, if this is how they discover that they’re immortal, how they handle and sort that.
The main adventure is getting themselves un-hooked from the ties binding them to the shadowfell so they can leave. In the TPK-recovery one-time mode, this will fix the immortality issue, as well. (In the longer run, that’s not the source of their immortality, just an imperfect application of it that they now have sorted, and it’s up to you to decide how/if you’ll address the PC’s lack of mortality.
I have used a similar hook/arc in the past, and it went over aces. I went with the long-form immortality, and it added a very interesting dimension to the game. Funnily enough, they were a lot more careful with NPCs, with the PCs being the incredibly durable ones, and there was a lot more emphasis on world consequences as opposed to player ones. Also, dealing with the Inevitable of Death until they could convince them all of them not specifically avoiding death. Fun trip to Mechanus.
What I'm looking for is if you'd be interested in reading/using it, any potential sticking points you find, anything you think I should address in writing it up, so on. Or just tell me it's a crap idea, but I would like to know why you think so.
But first, I wanted to get a sanity-check from other DMs and Players, because my players tend towards uncommon, from what I've gathered.
Since this adventure has somewhat of an... extreme hook, I can see it being used for two things. First, a TPK-recovery method. I think every DM has been in this situation at least once. Good group, good PCs, fun world... then they go and die. And everyone is sad, but it’s hard to sort a narrative way out of it. Well, here you go.
Second is more of a campaign arc setting or fitting kind. So, instead of this being a one time thing, this is the impetus for them to discover they can’t actually die. Which opens up a whole other deck of possibilities. (And means you’d need to change things a little to show them as an actual threat... But that’s a bit more fun and flavorful.)
Essentially, the hook is a TPK. The party dies, for whatever reason, and instead of shuffling off to the great beyond, they wake up in the Shadowfell (1d4~ days later), at Dead Man’s Cross, completely confused. They’re not ghosts, or spirits, they’re alive... but they can’t leave the shadowfell, yet.
Now, depending on which path you take, either this is a one-time-thing, an artifact of the lattice of souls being subtly broken, throw Heroes into the mix, and there you go. Or, if this is how they discover that they’re immortal, how they handle and sort that.
The main adventure is getting themselves un-hooked from the ties binding them to the shadowfell so they can leave. In the TPK-recovery one-time mode, this will fix the immortality issue, as well. (In the longer run, that’s not the source of their immortality, just an imperfect application of it that they now have sorted, and it’s up to you to decide how/if you’ll address the PC’s lack of mortality.
I have used a similar hook/arc in the past, and it went over aces. I went with the long-form immortality, and it added a very interesting dimension to the game. Funnily enough, they were a lot more careful with NPCs, with the PCs being the incredibly durable ones, and there was a lot more emphasis on world consequences as opposed to player ones. Also, dealing with the Inevitable of Death until they could convince them all of them not specifically avoiding death. Fun trip to Mechanus.
What I'm looking for is if you'd be interested in reading/using it, any potential sticking points you find, anything you think I should address in writing it up, so on. Or just tell me it's a crap idea, but I would like to know why you think so.
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