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View Full Version : I need a hand pushing the plot forward.



SlaadLord
2011-02-21, 11:10 AM
So here it is.

This campaign is set on a continent that is dimensionally unstable. Five magical locks hold the continent to the rest of the world. Without them, the continent drifts out of existence and gets replaced with sections of outer planes.

To stop this from happening, the PCs are collecting keys to these locks. Each key can either close the lock permanently or open it permanently. The PCs are also being opposed by a cult whose goal is to undo the continent, protesting against its "unnatural" nature.

Unfortunately, the plot is beginning to feel like a series of advanced fetchquests (see LoZ for reference). Ideas on making the last two locks more complex affairs? So far they've retrieved keys from an elderly dwarf who was holding onto it for an old friend, the hand of a dead explorer in the dungeon built to protect the second lock, and as a prize in a riddling with a sphinx. The situations following have more or less been unilaterally "get to lock, fight off cultists, lock forever." Wondering where to place the last keys that would present a more interesting challenge than hack & slash.

Thoughts? The more detailed the better.

Land Outcast
2011-02-21, 11:20 AM
Oooook:

The next key is embedded into the crown of an important ruler of the land. (Scepter or crown). How's your diplomatic skills? (no, not your Diplomacy skill)

Or, the next key is kept as a sacred relic by the official religion, not to be touched by any mortal. ("but it's for the greater good!" "There are things greater than that, and as long as it is in the sacred vault it will be safe")

Or, the next key is in the desolate depths of the ruined city... just that the ruined city is not anymore where it was supposed to be, how can a city just disappear? go hunting for the city gathering information and sages from town to town, from plane to plane.

Or, the next key was eaten by the terrasque (yes, I said it), and of course, a way to find the terrasque, get inside him, survive his bowels and get the key must be devised... without waking him up. Time to get out of that armor and shine! Skills sure help, but creativity is the star here.

Or, the next key is in the youngest heir-to-a-humble-family's dreams, it's been carried in the dreamspace for generations. Perfect for a surreal adventure with no combat at all.

/2cp

EDIT: in case it is getting far too tiresome, you could group the next keys together... perhaps they are two pieces of a sacrificial dagger.

faceroll
2011-02-21, 11:29 AM
Pull a fifth element and have some creature actually BE the key, and they have to keep that creature alive, despite the cultists trying to kill it. Or maybe have them believe that if they kill this innocent, they can close the gate. Have both solutions work, just that once they kill this creature (a unicorn or an angel or something), they have a dark stain on their souls, and things get weird.

What if they were to outmaneuver the cult? Have them cut shady deals with Neogi, Illithids, or Fiends to push the cult out. Maybe an elemental lord that doesn't wish to see some opposing plane show up in the prime is willing to lend support. Like, a fire lord says hey if you permanently get a fire plane established, I'll help you close the water and earth planes. Or something like that.

Greenish
2011-02-21, 11:35 AM
Or, the next key was eaten by the terrasque (yes, I said it), and of course, a way to find the terrasque, get inside him, survive his bowels and get the key must be devised...Tarrasque's stomachs have continuous disjunction & disintegrates in them.

Tyndmyr
2011-02-21, 11:40 AM
The key to avoiding things feeling like fetchquests from the MMO of choice is to make the plot logical, reasonable, and meshed with the world. Why are there five locks? What signs manifest when some are locked and some are not? What is the motivations of this evil cult, and do the players know them?

What is the history of these locks and their creation? What was the world like before this point in time?

Arrange the story such that the players need to learn these things. Say...the locations of one or more of them are unknown, and players need to do a little research.

RndmNumGen
2011-02-21, 11:46 AM
Tarrasque's stomachs have continuous disjunction & disintegrates in them.

Where does it say that?:smallconfused:

dsmiles
2011-02-21, 11:47 AM
Perhaps the cult already has one of the keys, and are ready to unlock one of the locks. They must infiltrate the cult (because when infiltrating the headquarters fighting would result in a TPK), obtain the key (before the cult can unlock the gate), escape the clutches of the cult, make it to the gate (before the cult), and lock it. Still a fetchquest, but make it time dependent. Plus, it's not like any of the other quests.

Land Outcast
2011-02-21, 11:53 AM
Where does it say that?:smallconfused:
In the "wasn't-so-easy-to-kill-the-tarrasque-hu?" handbook... I belive it also showcases the ability to suck flying people inside him via a violent inhalation. :smalltongue:

RndmNumGen
2011-02-21, 11:56 AM
In the "wasn't-so-easy-to-kill-the-tarrasque-hu?" handbook... I belive it also showcases the ability to suck flying people inside him via a violent inhalation. :smalltongue:

:smallannoyed: Is that a valid source, especially when dealing with your normal, run-of-the-mill tarrasque?

druid91
2011-02-21, 12:02 PM
Perhaps one was entombed within a shrine, that will only open for someone who shows his proficiency in battle.

Fortunately they have those handy cultists there to help them prove to the guardian that they are worthy.


Massive battle ensues. They retrieve the key. Enact the ritual.


Possibly have one of the key's be purely magical. No physical form entirely, Perhaps because of some accident long ago.

They have to figure out this and how to summon it to lock it away in a physical replica of the key.

Land Outcast
2011-02-21, 12:13 PM
:smallannoyed: Is that a valid source, especially when dealing with your normal, run-of-the-mill tarrasque?
Each tarrasque is unique, very special in its own way, and should know he's not an "average T", he should not think he is a grinding monster, nor an hp-nut. No matter what other mean CR 20s tell him. [/silly]

No, I guess it ain't a valid source, which would mean my idea of having the key inside a slumbering tarrasque is still valid. Yey!

Greenish
2011-02-21, 12:33 PM
Where does it say that?:smallconfused:The Ecology of the Tarrasque, if I'm not confusing things. It's in one of the Dragon Magazines.

dsmiles
2011-02-21, 12:35 PM
The Ecology of the Tarrasque, if I'm not confusing things. It's in one of the Dragon Magazines.And yet, most people discount Dragon Magazine as being one of the most broken sources on the planet. :smallwink:

Greenish
2011-02-21, 12:53 PM
And yet, most people discount Dragon Magazine as being one of the most broken sources on the planet. :smallwink:If you discount things for having broken content, you'll have to start with PHB.

dsmiles
2011-02-21, 12:54 PM
If you discount things for having broken content, you'll have to start with PHB.No kidding, right? Just take a look at core wizards.

The Big Dice
2011-02-21, 01:03 PM
And yet, most people discount Dragon Magazine as being one of the most broken sources on the planet. :smallwink:

The Ecology articles are from the TSR years, iirc.

dsmiles
2011-02-21, 01:04 PM
The Ecology articles are from the TSR years, iirc.Not entirely. There were a bunch during the Paizo years, too. But sadly, no Bazaar of the Bizarre. :smallfrown:

grimbold
2011-02-21, 01:11 PM
is it just me or is this very oots like?
otherwise its a good idea you probs could have an underground cty dedicated to protecting a key

Epsilon Rose
2011-02-21, 01:15 PM
Why not have one of the keys get destroyed (by an Umbral blot or something) and have the cultist actually succeed in using the last key. So now rather than having a fetch quest the pc's have to 1)figure out what to do with a key less lock (and if they even still care about it) and 2) figure out what to do about an open lock (pick it? reforge it? tie it to a few others?).

Also on a related note, if these keys lock or unlock the locks permanently why didn't they just use them when they where first made (perhaps these effects aren't as permanent as people believe?)?

SlaadLord
2011-02-21, 03:05 PM
Ah. Also, the keys are rods of a precious metal approximately a foot in length. Universally. They are near-impossible to destroy, but who's to say they aren't somewhere impractically difficult to acquire...

Keep the ideas coming, I'm sure to get inspired at some point!

dsmiles
2011-02-21, 03:10 PM
I stand by my time-sensitive plot idea.
What are the repercussions should the characters fail?
Are there any, or will they always have another chance?
The element of failure should factor in here. The good guys don't always have to win. That's the gritty realism of it.

PetterTomBos
2011-02-21, 03:36 PM
Get another front!

Go get hordes of fiends and demons that want the two last keys for using the continent as a battlefield!

Will the players fight the demons or the cult? both? Wait it out? run for the keys, hoping nobody notices?

The New Bruceski
2011-02-21, 05:37 PM
The key is held by a powerful dragon, and the players need to talk it into giving the thing up. Of course, the Cult is there as well offering power and their own bribes. One or both sides could also use the negotiations as cover for a heist.

The key was split in half as a magically binding symbol of peace between two cities, and each side worries that if they give up their piece first the other side would attack. Perhaps the PCs and the Cultists could each end up with half the key, resulting in some tense negotiations (assuming leaving the lock untouched is worse than either side accessing it) and then backstabbing.

Safety Sword
2011-02-21, 05:50 PM
What if the forth key is actually found to be the "Master" key? It talks, gives you cool powers and generally you want to keep it.

Sure you use it in the forth lock, but then discover that the cult has the fifth key and it's a race to get to the fifth lock and be able to hold it long enough to perform the ritual of <XYZ lockingness completion> (which the key will teach you, for a price).

Oh and then you have to take the key and throw it into the fires of Mt. Doom.. I mean... Mt. Reallyhotmeltykeys. Or you try and hold it for just a little too long and find out (as said above) that the whole lock thing isn't quite as permanent as you think.

Eh, need more coffee.

Xiander
2011-02-21, 06:32 PM
What happens to the keys when they have been used to lock the locks?

If the players are carrying them around, having some one steal them to hold the world hostage might shake things up a bit :smallbiggrin: