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View Full Version : Plot Brainstorm, help wanted! [4e]



XiaoTie
2010-04-22, 10:17 AM
Heya guys!

It has been a while since I had a chance to actually DM a game; sometimes work, college, work, schedule conflicts, other important stuff can really drain away your gaming time. But now, my fiancée (who already played under me a few times) asked me to DM a game to her favorite character.

I was able to create a quick overal "plot", but then <blank>...:smalleek:

So, here is some background on her character:

The character is a male half-orc ranger, which the guys at the table where we played (I was a player too) nicknamed "Blender of Doom!"™. Needless to say that it packs an absurd amount of punch fueled by some outlandish luck on attack and damage rolls. Halu and his brother, Talin (a male half-elf paladin, and my character back then), were raised on a temple dedicated to Moradin, and uphold Moradin's ideals during their adventures.

(This part might have some spoilers from "Thunderspire Mountain" module)
We were playing the "Thunderspire Mountain" module, and Halu had just rescued the Dire Boar, and some awesome rolls later the Boar pretty much loved the half-orc and was as a loyal dog/bodyguard would be. But since we were about to do some dangerous stuff, Halu decided to let it go back to its dwarven master back in the Seven Pillared Hall.

And this was when we had to leave the group, since we (my fiancée and I) couldn't play at the time the group met. It sucked, but oh well.

The other day we were talking and she told that she'd like to play that character again, and, if possible, to have the Dire Boar as her pet. I quickly came up with the following:

After parting ways with their former group, Halu and Talin decided it was time to return to their home. They headed to the dwarven mining company hq, only to find the last dwarf (an NPC on the "Thunderspire Module") dead, with the boar seriously hurt but still alive.

They took both the dwarf and the boar out of the Halls, and headed to the their temple on the mountains, healing the boar on their way there. The dwarf, due to the way he was killed (some sort of magic/cursed/poisoned knife, which they found on his back) could not be brought back. It seems that the knife has some connection with cultists of <insert minor evil deity here>, and the brothers head out to avenge their friend and kick some evil cultist behind.

Master Dwarf Beardeston told them he had some reports of cultists rising in <big city>, and that it would be a good place to start looking. And…this is as far as I got :thog:

The game will be a Solo one, but I already have some ideas on how to adjust the system to that (two NPCs, a Defender/Leader and another Defender/Striker), so, that part is covered.

So, could you guys help out with some plot-hooks, ideas, enemies, anything, really.

Artanis
2010-04-22, 11:45 AM
Take a look at Dwarf Fortress (http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/). You can get all kinds of ideas for stuff related to, well, dwarf fortresses, which the dwarven mining company HQ you mentioned could certainly count as. Even if you only end up getting some minor things like names and historical events, it's still worth at least a look.

Also, double points if you use the legendary Boatmurdered (http://lparchive.org/LetsPlay/Boatmurdered/) for inspiration.

XiaoTie
2010-04-23, 05:43 AM
Thats a good one, but I was thinking something more akin to adventuring outside, not inside a dwarven fortress. Well, at least not at first. But that reading indeed provided some good ideas (cultists enraging elephants and some other huge beasts to attack the PC).

Moar plot-hooks? :elan:

SpikeFightwicky
2010-04-23, 07:20 AM
1) A 'well-dressed gentleman/woman' is interested in hiring someone to get an ancient relic for him/her. It's a small (1 foot tall, .5 feet at the base) conically cut chunk of onyx. A knowledge history roll (if applicable) will let them know that it was used in an old ritual to remove a powerful curse. The stone is being kept (in a castle/keep/dungeon/etc.. or in the private collection <famous person>).

Behind the scenes: <Well dressed individual> is working for the cultists. The onyx stone is currently holding an cursed old ritual knife, similar to the one found by Halu and Talin but far more deadly. The onyx stone is literally sealing the cursed knife. However, in the hands of the cult, they can use it for great evil once they free the knife from the onyx (which is enchanted to prevent casual breaking).

2) The cultists in <big city> are using a portion of the trapped spirit of <party members'> dead dwarf friend to do their bidding. Starting just before they get to <big city>, Halu begins seeing the disembodied spirit of <dead dwarf> every night at the same time (which coincides with the time the cultists use the spirit for whatever reason). In the short time he appears, <dead dwarf> pleads with Halu to free his soul from his captors. It will require that the cultist cell using the body be dealt with, and a crystal shard containing a portion of <dead dwarf>'s essence (taken when he was killed) be shattered. <Dead Dwarf> still can't be rezzed, but his spirit is more at ease.

Behind the scenes: The cultist cell is led by a necromancer who can provide clues to finding the ones originally responsible for the death of <dead dwarf>. The necromancer has a sort of contingency placed on him where if he's killed, he will return as a willed ghost and can continue working for the cult in this manner. As such, he fears capture more than death.

3) On the way to <Big City>, Halu has to go through <Small Town> (and gets there just after dusk). The townsfolk seem jittery and worried by the newcomers, and few are seen at night. The next morning, a body is found in the town square, killed in the exact same way as <dead dwarf>. This 'should' peek Halu's curiosity (as a link to the killed of <dead dwarf>. The villagers themselves refuse to come out during the day. With a little prodding, the town's sheriff analogue reveals that this is the fourth such death in the same month.

Clues in the town (possibly including grave robber cultists and a butcher that's secretly working with the cultists, or an investigation of preivous murder sites - revealing that the location of the bodies shows a patter -> a Religion roll will reveal that they seem ritualistic) eventually leads the PC to an old orchard in a small mist-filled valley on the outskirts of town. A couple of lights show the location of the farmhouse through the mist. As the PC walks through the orchard, they're ambushed by (cultists, or weird monsters fitting to the setting). After clearing the ruined house of a few undead (in a clever trap for would-be snoopers), they find a hidden trap door in an old dilapitated barn leading to some old, underground tunnels. The cultists' lair is in the tunnel system. There's an ancient symbol in a plaque on the altar (a successful Religion roll reveals it to be from an ancient god of the harvest. However, it was an unaligned death god with disturbing rituals, such as sprinkling human blood on a crop after it's seeded to ensure its growth). If the plaque is removed, the mist lifts from the valley. It's a magic item of strange power.

I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but it might give you something to work on.

XiaoTie
2010-04-23, 08:39 AM
SpikeFightwicky, mah boy, you saved my life and provided enough plot-hooks for damn near an entire campaign arch!

Those are some awesome ideas! Add all those awesome ideas, to a final battle inside an <evil fortress of DOOM!> similar to a dwarven fortress and I've got an awesome arch! Thanks guys!

SpikeFightwicky
2010-04-23, 10:32 AM
Happy to be of service! I'd like to know how it goes, too, if that's alright.

Forever Curious
2010-04-23, 10:36 AM
...permission to "borrow" some of the ideas mentioned? I too will be running a game in short notice, and plot hooks are always welcome.

XiaoTie
2010-04-23, 10:58 AM
...permission to "borrow" some of the ideas mentioned? I too will be running a game in short notice, and plot hooks are always welcome.

Awesome ideas like these are always free to use :D At least imo


Happy to be of service! I'd like to know how it goes, too, if that's alright.

Oh, I will!

I think I'll organize them as:

[Hook 1] Get to <BIG CITY> and kill some evil cultists.
[Hook 2] A while after leaving their temple, Halu starts seeing the spirit every now and then;
[Hook 3] Strange <SMALL TOWN> with cultists and evil butchers;
[Hook 4] Strange <SMALL TOWN 2>, Fighting strange ankhegs driven mad by different set of evil cutists, set out to attack Pelorites. Ankhegs were driven mad by to evil Pelorites (introducing second arch's enemies);
[Back to Hook 2] Killing evil necromancers;
[Hook 5] Get a Piece-of-the-MacGuffin and find out the evil cults are now working together.

Enter arch 2!

KillianHawkeye
2010-04-23, 12:34 PM
Well as long as you're going to have two evil cults, have each one worshipping each of the two heads of Demogorgon. Since each of Demogorgon's heads have their own personalities, and each one is trying to kill the other so that they can become the true and singular Prince of Demons, it makes sense that they'd have their own cults (who are at war with each other). It's Chaotic!

The cultists are dupes, or course. None of them realize they're worshipping an aspect of Demogorgon. They just think it's some minor demon that people haven't heard much about. At most, maybe the cult leaders know the truth, but of course they have their own reasons for hiding it, at least until the PCs find out!

I've always wanted to run a story like this. :smallbiggrin: