Where is my Campaign going?

[Crothian]

I need a little or a lot of help. I'm running a Freeport 3ed game. We played through all of the Freeport Trilogy and then through Vengeance a nice follow up adventure by Bret Boyd. I love the city based campaigns I can run them for ever. The PCs understandably though want to leave the city and do something else.

In a past campaign that ended 06 we had a great climatic TPK with the god of mind flayers in the Far Realm. They want to find out what happened to that group. I've got an idea on what happened and what the final discovery will be but I'm not sure how to get the PCs to that point.

In that old party was a dwarf with the Axe of the Dwarven Lords. We ran through the module to get it it was awesome. He was the last PC to get killed and with his death the Dwarven god smites the dwarven race. The dwarfs had gone corrupt and were perverting the worship of their god and so he blasted their capital city and cursed his people. The remains of that city is a great glass ruins as the heats he used to destroy it transformed everything to glass and mirror like. In these ruins is the last resting point of that old party.

That is what I decided at the end of that campaign but it never came up since then. I need a good middle that allows the PCs to discovery what happened and I'm at a bit of a loss. It needs to be something a little more involved then just seeing an oracle. So, EN World I come to you for your creative minds and brilliant ideas to spark some creativity in my campaign, thanks!

 

[Umbran]

Okay, a few questions - the players want to find out what happened to the old party (as if "they all died" isn't enough?). I am presuming the new characters, however, don't know the old ones?

One presumably does not smite a capitol city without anyone noticing. Either this happened some time ago, and everyone has learned that the Dwarves have been smitten (?), or news is just now reaching the lands the party inhabits. Either way, getting that point across is easy enough.

The real question is why these characters are heading there. Sightseeing? Are there any dwarves in the new party? Recovering the Axe (or what is left of it, and having it reforged) is an obvious thing - the dwarven god might want that as the basis for reviving his people and worship...

Now, if it has been some time, the dark things that the dwarves were holding at bay have probably had a grand old time, and filled in the space. They (something other than mind-flayers) may have already gained the axe from its resting place, and are trying to use the latent power within it for nefarious reasons. Now we have the party inserting themselves into a battle between dark powers, trying to stop either before it is too late!

 

[Crothian]

Okay, a few questions - the players want to find out what happened to the old party (as if "they all died" isn't enough?). I am presuming the new characters, however, don't know the old ones?

Questions are good

The players want to know what happened. The new PCs don't know them directly but know of them. The old group founded a nation and united a group of small city states and did a lot of amazing things that high level characters do.

One presumably does not smite a capitol city without anyone noticing. Either this happened some time ago, and everyone has learned that the Dwarves have been smitten (?), or news is just now reaching the lands the party inhabits. Either way, getting that point across is easy enough.[p/quote]

It is not common news but it is a story people have heard of. The event just happened about 50 years ago in the world's history The dwarfs don't talk about it because it is a great failure of their people. People know the city has been destroyed but no one living witnessed it and it is not an easy place to get to now.

The real question is why these characters are heading there. Sightseeing? Are there any dwarves in the new party? Recovering the Axe (or what is left of it, and having it reforged) is an obvious thing - the dwarven god might want that as the basis for reviving his people and worship...

We have no dwarfs in the party. One player made a kobold and decided this kobold was going to search out his last character (a human wizard) because the kobold believes the other character was really a dragon. The other players think this is a fun place to take the campaign so I'm trying to figure out the best way to do that.

Now, if it has been some time, the dark things that the dwarves were holding at bay have probably had a grand old time, and filled in the space. They (something other than mind-flayers) may have already gained the axe from its resting place, and are trying to use the latent power within it for nefarious reasons. Now we have the party inserting themselves into a battle between dark powers, trying to stop either before it is too late!

I like that. I guess I need a way for them to start connecting the dots. They need to realize that the destruction of the dwarven city is related to the fall of the last group. And they need to hear about evil somethings in the place that used to be the dwarven capital.

 

[Aramax]

The pc's are starting to sleep for long periods,feeling tired and not remembering dreams when they wake up.then a couple of them are waking w/bruises and sprained limbs.And to cap it all off they sleep for a week.this time they wake w/1/2 hp and not all thier spells.

Consulting wise men they are told that the Spirit Seeker(a moderatly dangerous journy away)will be able to come into the dreams and find out what is wrong.

along the way they will awaken to some minor threat beating the crap out of them and their stuff is spread over the landscape-fight ensuses.

When they arrive at the Spirit Seeker,he will take them on a paote trip that finds them reliving the mind flayer god fight.He will send them on a vision quest to determine what is wrong.It is at this point their dreams become more livid and they realize that they are being attacked in thier sleep.The dreams have a theme of the pc's besieging a library.

During the vision quest,the pc's will realize that they are partially reincarnated from the dead pc's and they must free the trapped souls
of the dead pc's in order to fully reincarnate.

insert ending

a little trippy ,I know, it's how I think.........

 

[Crothian]

Trippy yes but interesting. If I had thought of something like that at the onset of the campaign I could have used it but I'm not sure I want to do that here in the middle. Thanks though.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Crothian,

I assume that the old PCs were good guys in this whole shebang?

(1) The old dwarven city had tunnels beneath it that are still in use, and have been expanded, by the twisted progeny of the old dwarves....now even more vile and evil, and fearful of open ground.

(2) The dwarven god did not forget the good done by the PC party, and although they died, there are 100-foot-tall statues of the party in a place known as the Fane of the Destroyers by the evil dwarves (the dwarven runes, though, read "Fane of the Saviours" because the deity would not allow them to be defaced, or the evil dwarves to enter). In this series of chambers, each statue allows a direct conduit to the old PC, which can advise and allow player knowledge to be passed on. Let each player take on the role of his old character, if possible, for this purpose. Essentially, the old PCs have become very minor gods in the setting.

If the PCs were evil, their twisted, undead remains still haunt the region, but are confined to the Sea (or Lake) of Glass.

RC

 

[Crothian]

I'm looking for less on what is going on there and more with some things to get the poarty to that point. Something to fill the middle of the campaign.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Well, then:

(1) Creatures seeking the Axe give clues as to where it is now. Some of these are evil; if they get the Axe, badness will ensue.

(2) A black dragon with glass-glossy scales roosts near the halfway point to the city. In her lair is the Gizmo of PC Desire.

(3) A treasure map found in a hoard refers to the old city as a starting point.

(4) Evil gnoll raiders live on the outskirts of the city, sending forays abroad (which the PCs encounter in the late middle as they near the city ruins).



RC

 

[Crothian]

It all feels generic though. I don't know what I want but I think I'm just looking for something with a bit of flare to launch the next leg of the campaign.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Then we need more info. Who are they now? Where are they going? What do they know about? More importantly, tell us about the campaign where the other PCs died. How could you tie events/NPCs from that campaign into this?