Vague start for an adventure ...

[kramis]

I just came up with an interesting lead in for an adventure, but I haven't figured out where to take it yet. Thought I'd throw it out and see if anything interesting bounces back.

The PC's wake up one morning to find all humanoids/living thing in their town has disappeared over night. Possibly in the surrounding areas too.

Ok, that's as far as I got ... sounded like a good curiousity starter, now just where do I take it?

Or maybe I should put it on the faile pile with some of my other bust ideas. I had this cool one until i realize the mechanics of playing it would be way too much of a nightmare to even start to deal with - a wizard was doing some arcane experiments when he accidentally turned EVERYTHING within a mile invisible. It turned out this was an irriversible effect, and after many years of being invisible he went mad and has decided to turn the entire world invisible in his madness. The "field of invisiblity" has started spreading, reaching a 10 mile radius when the PC's are finally sent in to try and stop him.

Anyway, it sounded good in the beginning.

 

[fba827]

I'll think about this some more but I did see one question jumping out -

Why are the PCs spared when everyone else is 'gone' ?

finding the answer to that may add the dynamic for which you are looking ....

Anyway, as mentioned above, I'll think about this some more. Will post again if I think of anything worthy of saying

 

[kramis]

good point

That's a good point. Two things come to mind off hand. First, there are actually a random few people left throughout the city including the PC's, so it could be totally random why they were spared. This would also make "adventuring" and looking for the answers more interesting as there could be random things left around to still encounter.

Another option is some item like a talisman they found at the end of their last adventure protected them somehow, either that or it caused it.

To make it even creepier, everyone's clothing could be left draped over chairs, in beds, at bars, etc.

 

[Aeris Winterood]

Hmmmm... Interesting...

If the characters have just gotten there the day before..

The characters unleashed an ancient curse on the town, what saved them were gold coins (minted from the time period the curse was uttered) in thier packs which they found before and that action of taking the coins to the city actually started the curse...

 

[Buttercup]

Perhaps they only *think* they have awakened in the same place, but it is, in fact, another plane--a parallel universe, if you will. As others have said, something they picked up in their last adventure is responsible. But it didn't keep them safe, it transported them to...elsewhere.

They won't realize at first that they're not in the same place. You could throw in odd things here and there as clues, like the sky being a different color, or rainwater tasting sweet, or the landscape outside of town could be completely different from what they remember it being.

This is a cool idea. It's making me think of all sorts of stuff I might want to do in my own campaign. Heh. :evil grin:

 

[Brudewollen]

This opening reminds me of one episode of the classic show "The Prisoner," the episode is called, "Many Happy Returns." It would be hard to describe the show in total, but basically the title character is a former James Bond-like secret agent who, upon his retirement, was kidnapped to a "prison" which is set up like a small village community. In the Village he is only known as #6 (everyone has a #, the higher the #, the higher in society you are...more or less...there are about 300 people there). The various #2's, the leader of the village, who is a different person in every episode, always have new plans to "break" him. They want to find out why he retired because they think he has some sort of important secret. The Prisoner's goal is to escape The Village and he also wants to find out who #1 is.

Anyway, one episode starts with #6 waking up to find The Village entirely deserted. He uses this as his chance to escape and succeeds. He goes back to his former home and meets the woman who now rents it. She's very helpful to him and, as a side note, he notices that his birthday is the next day...she offers to bake him a cake. He meets up with his former bosses who help him try to locate the Village based on his journal from when he escaped. The next day, as he's flying over in a fighter jet on a recon mission he spots the Village. The pilot says something that will clue in viewers that he's working for The Village, he then pulls #6's eject switch, sending #6 back home. When he lands the woman who was renting his apartment walks up to him with a birthday cake and wishes him "Many Happy Returns" - she was the #2 for this episode and we realize that the whole thing was done either as a bit of a present to him, or merely to just try and further break him mentally...proving he can never really escape.

I don't know if this gives you an idea or not for what to do, but it made for a great episode of that show...#6's escape was quite clever, as is usual for him.

There is also a movie called "Quiet Earth," where the progagonist wakes up after some sort of energy experiment goes awry and only he and a handlful of others remain in existance. A really terrific movie that got favorable comparisons to "2001" by critics when it was released.

 

[kramis]

Seen them both

Actually, I've seen every episode of "The Prisoner", including the final episode which caused me to check if someone had slipped hallucinagens in my drink. Great series.

Quiet Earth was also a really good movie.

 

[Wippit Guud]

Was I the only one who thought of The Langoliers?

 

[morrolan]

In a similar vein to the alt plane idea, perhaps it is a magically created "virtual reality" that a wizard has trapped them in. Sort of like a maze spell or something. Lots of reasons why he could do this; revenge, amusement, experimentation, or perhaps he has seen that the pc's play a part in a prophesy he wishes to prevent. The key to their release would be somewhere within this fictional reality. Possibly the fiction could include some artificial intelligences, npc's that appear to be real, but actually are simulcra and can only respond in fixed ways, or begin to repeat their programs after a while. Either way, the PC's should be able to figure that something is not right with the world they are in, that it is a simulation, nothing more.

 

[Black Omega]

Was I the only one who thought of The Langoliers?

Nope. It's a very workable idea, it's a good mystery and the key is "Why are we here and everyone else is gone." How they find this also makes a difference. Are bowls set out with now cold dinners? Or are things neatly put away? Are there any signs of violence, however vague?

And of course, there should be a journely somewhere where someone apparently left off in mid writing on it, providing clues.