Stormborn
Explorer
About to start a new campaign in a homebrewed world. I have spent all my time building the world, and adapting the classes to fit it, that I have had little time to do adventure building. I do have a start, and I do have some long term goals. I would love to hear some input on how things might fit together.
First, the short version of the world: 1600s level technology (some clockwork and the beginings of steampower and flintlock guns)and a quasi-european society in a period set almost 2000 years after a world shattering cataclysm. Setting culture is human dominated, with a much more likable version of goblins playing second string. A few Paragoblins and Half-elves runing around. Elves are a mysterious sea faring culture but with good relations with the human mercantile empire. Dwarves are a distant presence, but are not unknown in the setting. Magic use is low, magic potential is mid-range, and a few artifacts exist that might be considered Wonderous Items. No alignments.
The PCs are a male human urban ranger w/o spell casting abilites, an aristocratic male paragoblin bard w/o spell casting, and an aristocratic tom-boy female human fencer.
The set up: The PCs need money, and at least two of the PCs have reasons to skip town once they do. The other has a crush on the paragoblin. They are lounging around the local Tavern (yes, yes I know) and see a cute street girl obviously out of place. She is harrased by local bullies. Hopefully PCs come to her rescue.
From there 3 things are possible:
1) Someone fires a gun and the watch comes and locks them all up. IF this happens it turns out that someone was watching. The PCs are bailed out in exchange for considering a buisness proposition. He wants them to rescue a dwarf outcast who has knowledge of special magical consturction techniques (mechanomancy a la Uknown Armies) but has been captured by a dreaded Orc Pirate, who doesn't know what he's got. Only that dwarves have money.
2) No one fires a gun, the watch doesn't come and the girl leads the PCs into the sewer. She recruits them to aid her in recovering a package for her. Its being held by a rival group. Her people are secretly wererats (using level Sean K. Renyolds WoC article) and the rival group is a crocodile cult led by a low level werecroc. The package is something her brother acquired for the local spymaster, and it has somethign to do with the aforementioned dwarf, probablly a long lost document of historic import.
3) No one fires a gun but they don't go into the sewer. The spymaster shows up in one of the PCs bedroom asking questions about the girl. He then sends them to find his package.
Long term I want them to hook up with the dwarf who then leads them on a grand tour of the world looking for ancient artifacts, one step ahead of various religious and political factions who all want the ultimate whatsit the dwarf might build. MOre importantly I want the PCs to have a chance to radiacally change who they are and how they see their world and its history.
So, how do the 3 diff. plot hooks above merge? 2 and 3 easily dovetail, but 1 puts them on the long term path more quickly. What is the relationship of the spymaster to the benefactor from 1? Rivals or allies? The various gangs and cults are mostly just background, but can obviously be pawns of bigger powers. The Dwarves are looking for their outcast as well, and he needs to keep a low profile.
Any suggstions for the grand Swashbuckling campaign I have promised my players? Especially looking for short to medium term plotting help.
Thanks.
First, the short version of the world: 1600s level technology (some clockwork and the beginings of steampower and flintlock guns)and a quasi-european society in a period set almost 2000 years after a world shattering cataclysm. Setting culture is human dominated, with a much more likable version of goblins playing second string. A few Paragoblins and Half-elves runing around. Elves are a mysterious sea faring culture but with good relations with the human mercantile empire. Dwarves are a distant presence, but are not unknown in the setting. Magic use is low, magic potential is mid-range, and a few artifacts exist that might be considered Wonderous Items. No alignments.
The PCs are a male human urban ranger w/o spell casting abilites, an aristocratic male paragoblin bard w/o spell casting, and an aristocratic tom-boy female human fencer.
The set up: The PCs need money, and at least two of the PCs have reasons to skip town once they do. The other has a crush on the paragoblin. They are lounging around the local Tavern (yes, yes I know) and see a cute street girl obviously out of place. She is harrased by local bullies. Hopefully PCs come to her rescue.
From there 3 things are possible:
1) Someone fires a gun and the watch comes and locks them all up. IF this happens it turns out that someone was watching. The PCs are bailed out in exchange for considering a buisness proposition. He wants them to rescue a dwarf outcast who has knowledge of special magical consturction techniques (mechanomancy a la Uknown Armies) but has been captured by a dreaded Orc Pirate, who doesn't know what he's got. Only that dwarves have money.
2) No one fires a gun, the watch doesn't come and the girl leads the PCs into the sewer. She recruits them to aid her in recovering a package for her. Its being held by a rival group. Her people are secretly wererats (using level Sean K. Renyolds WoC article) and the rival group is a crocodile cult led by a low level werecroc. The package is something her brother acquired for the local spymaster, and it has somethign to do with the aforementioned dwarf, probablly a long lost document of historic import.
3) No one fires a gun but they don't go into the sewer. The spymaster shows up in one of the PCs bedroom asking questions about the girl. He then sends them to find his package.
Long term I want them to hook up with the dwarf who then leads them on a grand tour of the world looking for ancient artifacts, one step ahead of various religious and political factions who all want the ultimate whatsit the dwarf might build. MOre importantly I want the PCs to have a chance to radiacally change who they are and how they see their world and its history.
So, how do the 3 diff. plot hooks above merge? 2 and 3 easily dovetail, but 1 puts them on the long term path more quickly. What is the relationship of the spymaster to the benefactor from 1? Rivals or allies? The various gangs and cults are mostly just background, but can obviously be pawns of bigger powers. The Dwarves are looking for their outcast as well, and he needs to keep a low profile.
Any suggstions for the grand Swashbuckling campaign I have promised my players? Especially looking for short to medium term plotting help.
Thanks.
