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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Novem5er" data-source="post: 3928911" data-attributes="member: 57859">Here's something I've been working on. I wont put all the details (for the sake of not forcing everyone to read endless paragraphs!), but I think you can get the gist.A NEW LIFEThe Dwarven city-state has existed for a thousand years, deep in the heart of the mountain. It is a metropolis of trade, as surface dwellers travel far to exchange goods with their Dwarven hosts. All is well, until death rises from below.Half the population is killed or scattered and it takes all the Dwarves' military might just to hold off the invasion and let the survivors flee down ancient tunnels. Drow? Dragons? Demons? It doesn't matter at this point in the story. It only matters that the Dwarves, and any visitors they hosted, are now refugees, fleeing for their lives.The attacking army has cut off the connection to other Dwarven cities, so the survivors must flee into the darkness, into the unknown. Following an ancient highway, not used for generations, the survivors emerge to the surface, on a mountainside overlooking a river valley, with endless trees all around.The pursuing army has chased them, though, and the eldest of Dwarven engineers remains behind to collapse the tunnel over his head, saving his people. The survivors are safe, but they are cut off from all known civilization and they face the hard reality of an unfamiliar world.A NEW HOMEThe river valley hugs the mountains and provides a barrier from the dark forest that spreads in every direction. The basics are there: water, wood, land; but the Dwarves have no experience with such things on the surface. Fortunately, they are not alone.A lone Eladrin watch tower stands above the valley. The Eladrin come here from the Feywild to track the stars of this world. They promise to aid the Dwarves with the gift of knowledge. With Eladrin help, the Dwarves will plant crops and survive through the coming winter.Human and Halfling traders are among the survivors, caught up in the onslaught and separated from their families. They pledge to aid the Dwarves until they can find their way homes, and with their help, the dwarves build homes of wood.A NEW ENEMYThe dark woods do not welcome their new patrons. The bite of steel into woody flesh echoes out of the valley. Dark things stir; timeless creatures who only exist to cruelly play with lesser beings. The fey have drawn court and revel at the prospect of punishing the mortal interlopers. Goblins run through the shadows beneath the trees and wolves howl through the night. And, somewhere, a scaly nightmare stalks the last remnants of an elven tribe.THE PCsPlayers have many choices. They can be Dwarven survivors, determined to keep their brethern safe long enough to take back the mountain. They can be Eladrin, sworn to help the newcomers. They can be Elves, seeking allies against the dark forest. Any other race or class would have a place within the Dwarven city, as traders, mercenaries, academics, etc.The players have many quests to choose from. They can hold off attacking monsters (I love the idea of the new Dryads taking tree-from and descending into the valley to slaughter mortals). They can delve into the forest, looking for an end to the trees, monsters to slay, or sites to explore. They can take off down the river with hopes to make contact with civilzation again (hah! Good luck... those tree branches hand pretty low!). Or they could crack open the mountain again and go searching for revenge.I liked the idea of running a "survival" type of game, where a community has to work together to make it. Putting Dwarves against forest creatures makes for an interesting conflict and the 4e previews of darker fey inspired this. Since the forest isn't host to an army of Hobgoblins, and the chaotic nature of the Fey prevents any massive attack, the Dwarves won't be wiped out immediately... but there is enough here to make PCs neccessary.If the whole "Dwarves in the Woods" shtick wears thin, you could open up the river route and have sudden contact with a Halfling village. Or the campaign could go back underground to retake the Dwarven city. Lots of options, with an interesting starting point . . . a point of light <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue    :p"  data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" /></blockquote>

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