GamerRay
Explorer
Hey all, my group and I have been playing off and on since 4e's release. I was running the WOTC campaigns, but everyone got burnt out on it. It's been months since our last game, and I'm wanting to start this summer with a fresh campaign. Here's what I have so far, please let me know what you think (or similar campaigns I could read through).
The Setting: A world that was once similar to our own.
What Happened: [sblock]Years ago, the sky was sundered by a small band of fleeing gods. Their own world had been all but destroyed by a demon prince (Orcus with a new name, as they were chasing him down last time) hellbent on the destruction of all life.
The gods escaped by tearing a seam in their reality and passing through into another; yours. With them, each god brought what remained of their followers. With the arrival of the gods came the gift of magic. The gods imbued the ground itself with magic, and taught humans how to wield it for good.
Humans being humans, however, soon led to corruption. While everyone knew and feared the power of the benevolent gods, many also sensed a greater power resting on the other side of the sundered sky. Over the years, the tavern-talk of a bitter wizard soon let to the formation of thousands of humans seeking to gain power. Despite the guardians set to protect the site, the sheer mass of a magic-crazed army quickly overwhelmed them.
The remains of the attacking humans set to work attempting to harness the raw magic leaking out of the rip. While they were successful in drawing more power in to themselves, they caused two unexpected results.
First, the raw essence of the magic drove them mad. They had their power, but their minds had to be shattered to make room for it.
More horrifically, vacuum of power caught the attention of the demon prince's general, who had stayed behind to search for the missing gods while the prince searched elsewhere.
The general and his army passed through, and soon the benevolent gods, weakened outside of their realm, tried to finish a fight they knew they would lose. Many innocents were killed, including gods. Many evil being were vanquished, including the spellcasters who immediately sided with the invading army. In the end, however, the gods were sent to an airy grave, or forced to hide in this once-peaceful world.
The general, with his own dreams of power, decided to set up his own reign in this new world. He set his trusted leaders to rule over the greatest cities, and allowed the remaining human casters to rule over lesser cities of his choosing.
Four hundred years have passed since the general's claim to power. Despite their shared misery, many races hold the others in contempt. The humans are most hated for what they caused, while other races have hostility dating back to their home world. Many of the great cities were initially overrun with protest, and those who survived overthrowing their tyrant splintered into various directions.
The world as you know it is a hostile place, full of ancient magic and eternal danger. Bands of raiders are everywhere, pillaging cities and fighting for control of territory. Growing racial resentments also cause violent eruptions between even the smallest of neighboring settlements. Despite this, there are those who have tried to see the good in all races. As such, small communities have emerged, residing in caves, forests, or settlements of the past. As expected, these communities are hated by all mortal races. One such town is your home, the quiet village of Nestia.[/sblock]
How the characters meet: [sblock]I only have 3 people, so what I'm going to do is play a small solo game with each of them. They will each wake to screams and explosions, as their small town is being attacked. The town is surrounded by a wall of fire, with only one main gate that is filled with enemies. However, the townspeople know of a certain place on the opposite side of town where the wall will open with the right keyword. Each player will fight their way to this point, using force and skills, and flee to a nearby farm (or something else? I'm stuck on that one) to recover.[/sblock]
Here is another problem:
[sblock]I'm stuck. I'm wanting to make this story very engaging for my players, and I want their main goal to be to get into the rift by level 25(ish), visit what cities remain of the gods' homeworld (not sure if they'd liberate the inhabitants or fight demons and undead), and end with a final showdown.
In order to access the rift, they need to do some things that will (hopefully) make them feel something for the campaign, and I'm trying to model it off of what reviews I've read about Shadow of the Collosus. What I'm thinking is that the gods set up protectors to maintain a shield over the rift, but it is either a) slowly becoming ineffective, b) draining the world slowly to protect it from being destroyed quickly, or c) the shield seems fine, but the PCs happen across information that an invasion is coming. Thus if the players kill these protectors (I'm thinking dragons or elementals), it will greatly impact the world and the people's view of the players.
Here are the things I'm having trouble with:
-What sort of role should these protectors/behemoths/whatever play in the story? Should they be a crucial part of sealing the rift? Or should the players need a part of their "essence" to get to/through the rift?
-Why should the PCs want to get to the rift? Obviously to get to the other side, but what threat should this demon prince be that they'd need to? Is the world aware of this threat, or will they be a minority trying to save the world from an unknown threat?
-How should the world react to their actions? Do the protectors serve some purpose in maintaining the seasons? Will the weakening of the shield unleash lesser horrors the world has never seen?
-Are there any stories/campaigns in this same vein that I could look to for inspiration?
[/sblock]
What do you guys think of this? My group isn't huge into role-playing, but I'm hoping this will spark their imaginations. Does the story make sense? Is it reasonable? I would love to get input and suggestions.
The Setting: A world that was once similar to our own.
What Happened: [sblock]Years ago, the sky was sundered by a small band of fleeing gods. Their own world had been all but destroyed by a demon prince (Orcus with a new name, as they were chasing him down last time) hellbent on the destruction of all life.
The gods escaped by tearing a seam in their reality and passing through into another; yours. With them, each god brought what remained of their followers. With the arrival of the gods came the gift of magic. The gods imbued the ground itself with magic, and taught humans how to wield it for good.
Humans being humans, however, soon led to corruption. While everyone knew and feared the power of the benevolent gods, many also sensed a greater power resting on the other side of the sundered sky. Over the years, the tavern-talk of a bitter wizard soon let to the formation of thousands of humans seeking to gain power. Despite the guardians set to protect the site, the sheer mass of a magic-crazed army quickly overwhelmed them.
The remains of the attacking humans set to work attempting to harness the raw magic leaking out of the rip. While they were successful in drawing more power in to themselves, they caused two unexpected results.
First, the raw essence of the magic drove them mad. They had their power, but their minds had to be shattered to make room for it.
More horrifically, vacuum of power caught the attention of the demon prince's general, who had stayed behind to search for the missing gods while the prince searched elsewhere.
The general and his army passed through, and soon the benevolent gods, weakened outside of their realm, tried to finish a fight they knew they would lose. Many innocents were killed, including gods. Many evil being were vanquished, including the spellcasters who immediately sided with the invading army. In the end, however, the gods were sent to an airy grave, or forced to hide in this once-peaceful world.
The general, with his own dreams of power, decided to set up his own reign in this new world. He set his trusted leaders to rule over the greatest cities, and allowed the remaining human casters to rule over lesser cities of his choosing.
Four hundred years have passed since the general's claim to power. Despite their shared misery, many races hold the others in contempt. The humans are most hated for what they caused, while other races have hostility dating back to their home world. Many of the great cities were initially overrun with protest, and those who survived overthrowing their tyrant splintered into various directions.
The world as you know it is a hostile place, full of ancient magic and eternal danger. Bands of raiders are everywhere, pillaging cities and fighting for control of territory. Growing racial resentments also cause violent eruptions between even the smallest of neighboring settlements. Despite this, there are those who have tried to see the good in all races. As such, small communities have emerged, residing in caves, forests, or settlements of the past. As expected, these communities are hated by all mortal races. One such town is your home, the quiet village of Nestia.[/sblock]
How the characters meet: [sblock]I only have 3 people, so what I'm going to do is play a small solo game with each of them. They will each wake to screams and explosions, as their small town is being attacked. The town is surrounded by a wall of fire, with only one main gate that is filled with enemies. However, the townspeople know of a certain place on the opposite side of town where the wall will open with the right keyword. Each player will fight their way to this point, using force and skills, and flee to a nearby farm (or something else? I'm stuck on that one) to recover.[/sblock]
Here is another problem:
[sblock]I'm stuck. I'm wanting to make this story very engaging for my players, and I want their main goal to be to get into the rift by level 25(ish), visit what cities remain of the gods' homeworld (not sure if they'd liberate the inhabitants or fight demons and undead), and end with a final showdown.
In order to access the rift, they need to do some things that will (hopefully) make them feel something for the campaign, and I'm trying to model it off of what reviews I've read about Shadow of the Collosus. What I'm thinking is that the gods set up protectors to maintain a shield over the rift, but it is either a) slowly becoming ineffective, b) draining the world slowly to protect it from being destroyed quickly, or c) the shield seems fine, but the PCs happen across information that an invasion is coming. Thus if the players kill these protectors (I'm thinking dragons or elementals), it will greatly impact the world and the people's view of the players.
Here are the things I'm having trouble with:
-What sort of role should these protectors/behemoths/whatever play in the story? Should they be a crucial part of sealing the rift? Or should the players need a part of their "essence" to get to/through the rift?
-Why should the PCs want to get to the rift? Obviously to get to the other side, but what threat should this demon prince be that they'd need to? Is the world aware of this threat, or will they be a minority trying to save the world from an unknown threat?
-How should the world react to their actions? Do the protectors serve some purpose in maintaining the seasons? Will the weakening of the shield unleash lesser horrors the world has never seen?
-Are there any stories/campaigns in this same vein that I could look to for inspiration?
[/sblock]
What do you guys think of this? My group isn't huge into role-playing, but I'm hoping this will spark their imaginations. Does the story make sense? Is it reasonable? I would love to get input and suggestions.
