Brainstorming for a post-apocolyptic world

[WarKitty]

So here's my plot set-up:

What my players know:
The players were all mystically summoned to a place in the mountains. Sheltering under a giant stone arch, they watch as a storm unlike anything else the have seen wreaks havoc on the land. After venturing out, the land seems to be in chaos. There are random patches of land that seem to have their own climate, like a patch of snow in the middle of a green valley. Many living things are dead; many more are somehow mutated. Magic items that they find often function erratically or in strange ways (stuff they already had is fine). Certain mundane items now have magic powers.

What they don't know yet:
They previously went on a quest to return a set of artifacts to the Keeper of Fate. What happens, is once in every seven years the Chaos Void approaches the Material Universe.* These artifacts allow the Keeper to hold the Void back, but are scattered across the Material Universe. So every 7 years a set of adventurers must return these items to the keeper. The last set failed. The Material Universe suffered the effects as the Chaos Void comes into conjunction, creating a storm of pure chaos that ravages the land for 3 days.

*Homemade cosmology; the Material Universe is the set of demi-planes in which matter, energy, magic, etc., work as normal. Essentially each demi-plane is a Material Plane in the normal D&D sense.

This has been established as a generally high-magic universe. My players are high enough level (10-11) that your standard bandit lord won't survive long enough to get a turn. I need some ideas for how to make this post-apocalyptic world come alive.

[Marnath]

Send a Chaos Ooze or whatever it's called after them. The one that is in, I think, the epic handbook. If they don't run away from the giant blob warping reality around it they deserve to die. ^.^

Also, mutant survivors wandering a ruined hamlet, all with Pseudo-natural template(this time, the not-broken version)?

[Kaww]

I guess that the story isn't modern era?

If not then think more about cities and villages. Should the houses now be animated and should some pseudo mimics be all over the place? I'd go with it, just because I'd be able to say: 'The neighbor's house is attacking you.'

What would humans mutate with? I'd make were (rats, cats, dogs, horses...) as standard mutants. They would be in hybrid form nonstop. Also were template could be applied to other things. The only limit is your imagination...

How about weird patches of land actually moving since they are alive? They don't attack, but are attracted to living creatures since they are sapient and lonely. Your PCs go to sleep in the middle of a warm, midsummer night. When they wake up there is snow around them...

If you want more ideas tell me to PM you. These are just my 2c.

[WarKitty]

I guess that the story isn't modern era?

If not then think more about cities and villages. Should the houses now be animated and should some pseudo mimics be all over the place? I'd go with it, just because I'd be able to say: 'The neighbor's house is attacking you.'

What would humans mutate with? I'd make were (rats, cats, dogs, horses...) as standard mutants. They would be in hybrid form nonstop. Also were template could be applied to other things. The only limit is your imagination...

How about weird patches of land actually moving since they are alive? They don't attack, but are attracted to living creatures since they are sapient and lonely. Your PCs go to sleep in the middle of a warm, midsummer night. When they wake up and there is snow around them...

If you want more ideas tell me to PM you. These are just my 2c.

You are correct, it's set in the standard early-ren era of D&D. I'm not sure what you mean by "mutated with" - I wasn't really thinking of combining creatures, although that could be one mode. I like the idea of the land patches that move.

I want most of the changes to be not directly threatening to the PC's. Some of course will be, but most won't. I've had good luck with ambiance before with unnatural forms clearly retaining untouched minds. (The ghost-child from last campaign that kept asking why things were so strange and shadowy now and why he couldn't pick up his teddy anymore - that was priceless.) Hmmm...maybe a spellwarped orphan puppy?

[endoperez]

Have you read Girl Genius, the steampunk comic that's readable free online?

The main plot is about mad geniuses, and about the mystery behind a zombie-controlling big bad called The Other that has already been defeated once. Sometimes the story tells about the Europe between the major cities, the badlands where old steampunk robots ("clanks") lie forgotten and escaped experiments prey on the travelers.

Here's a bit about the main protagonist, Agatha, after she joined a circus (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050223). You can freely read until at least the beginning of the next chapter, and nothing too much will be spoilered. There are some very alien things going on.

If you like that I suggest reading the whole of it. It will take a while, but it's about mad science - the world is chaotic by default. Take some cues from it and you'll be fine. If you don't like it, I'll link you to another point much later in the story. It's the circus again, because it's a familiar-but-slightly-weird scene that's very easy to turn into totally-alien-please-help-us scene. Please do note that this is VERY spoileriffic, so definitely don't go read it if you DO like the story.

Spoileriffic circus merry-go-round fight (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061222)

[SilverLeaf167]

These artifacts allow the Keeper to hold the Void back, but are scattered across the Material Universe. So every 7 years a set of adventurers must return these items to the keeper.
The number 7 and the scattering reminds me of Dragonball... just make the number of artifacts 7 to complete the (possibly accidental) reference :smalltongue:

[dsmiles]

Here's a classic set-up you could use for post-apocalyptic resources, Expedition to the Barrier Peaks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedition_to_the_Barrier_Peaks).

[WarKitty]

Here's a classic set-up you could use for post-apocalyptic resources, Expedition to the Barrier Peaks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedition_to_the_Barrier_Peaks).

Not bad, but that is waaaaaaaaaay too advanced and techy for my universe. I don't want to bring sci-fi elements into the game.


The number 7 and the scattering reminds me of Dragonball... just make the number of artifacts 7 to complete the (possibly accidental) reference :smalltongue:

I have never even seen Dragonball. Wasn't allowed stuff like that growing up. Anyways here's what the artifacts look like:

http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00dCItmrGSlPoA/Polyhedral-7-Die-Opaque-Dice-Set-Black-with-Red.jpg

[Marnath]

That's awesome, warkitty. :smallbiggrin:

[dsmiles]

This number 7 thing reminds me of The Rod of Seven Parts (http://dnd.wikia.com/wiki/Rod_of_Seven_Parts). But maybe that's just because I'm old enough to remember the 1980s as something more than a blur.

[Lysander]

Here's an idea: the chaos storm swapped areas of the material plane for areas on chaotic planes. These areas temporarily retain the planar traits of the area they're from. For example, a place taken from pandemonium would consist of bleak stone and strong winds. An area taken from Ysgard might consist of snow covered hills and giant trees, even though its summer outside and the surrounding landscape is grassland.

All the creatures that were in those areas have been brought to the material plane. So a lot of demons came over, but there are also chaotic neutral and chaotic good creatures trapped here too. Some of them are happy to be here, others just want to go home.

This lets you throw all kinds of chaotic outsiders at the party, but also lets you add chaotic-good/neutral outsiders as potential NPC allies.