DM Running out of steam...

[Elvencloud]

My party just ran through a dungeon crawl classic that fits the overall theme of the campaign (the lost vault of tsathzar rho). The Elder Gods are now aware of the party, and are trying to enter the world.

I'm not sure where to send the party next. Ideas currently include- a formerly abandoned island, where savages are gaining powers, or the mountains to an ancient human city (the city is ruins now).

The idea is that artifacts of the elder gods are trying to come together, and cultists are finding them. The normal gods are slowly losing influence on the world, as their magic is fueling the elder gods' return.

TLDR: Level Three party wants to continue it's quest to stop the return of Cthulhu like gods from entering the world. What now?

[Fenryr]

Well, why not ask them? Sometimes my DM asks us "Want a snow field, a desert, a forest or a city?".

You may also apply small sidequests in several spots if you don't choose a particular place. If you're not convinced you may even pick a module and play it.

[Eugenides]

Why not just come up with an overall plot line, and then let your characters decide where to go in the world. Have some overland adventures that you can use to stall them wherever they choose, and then make one for where they end up.

[Rama]

I'd suggest going about it backwards.

You know they want to pursue this story arc. Okay, so decide now where all the artifacts are. Go ahead and outline the basics of environment, defenses, and so on. Then throw together some basic clues and let them discover/decide where to go next.

Takes a fair bit more prep time now, but you'll be set for a fair number of game sessions with only minor adjustments likely.

[Kol Korran]

I also think you had better prepare for the future, at least partially. I don't think you need to set up every detail, but a few major issues to think about:
- Where are the other artifacts? general dangers on route, and in their local.

- The opposing cult: what are their capabilities? What is their PLAN? (this is kind of crucial if you want the race to be halfway believable). The plan can change later on. I suggest you start thinking of terms of resources and limitations- It might explain why they don't just wipe out a 3rd level party, and give you a better view of what to face the party against.

- The dark gods involvement- What do they do to affect the situation? Again- capabilities and limitations

- Potential allies.

- Potential complications and twists. (Please don't just make it a "get all the items" quest. Kidnaps, ambushes, the cult already got some and more)

Again- you don't need the details yet, but they will help you think of things to come.

Currently though I think the party is best to do a little "information gathering quest"- They need to go seek some special character/ monster/ person in a distant local and get info from them. Getting there would be half the battle, trading for the information would be the other. I suggest a sort of "dealing with a lesser evil" might fit. Some suggestions:
- The party need to find a hag (or trio of hags?) in the Bloody Swamp. (known for it's thousands of stirges and more) Look at my signature for "The Monster Compendium..." for suggestions on both.

- They need to go to the Sunken fortress which ages ago revered the dark ones. They will need to get some way to navigate the water filled rooms and corridors (unless you want to keep it dry), and deal with all manners of aberrations and possibly undead. At the end they need to deal with the ghost of a priest or the fortress commander who worshiped the dark lords.

- The party's best bet is to visit "a hive of scum and villainy"- A reputed "evil" town where all kind of dark and shady things happen. There they might look for demon summoners, binders and the like, people who "know about this stuff", but they will provide the knowledge for a price, a heavy price, and a betrayal. Going around in this town might call for more subterfuge than direct combat, though some combat should be felt.

- Some ancient ruins in giant infest mountains. This is a forbidden zone for the smaller races, they are not allowed. The Party needs to find a way to sneak in/ persuade the giants to let them talk with the "sacred naga" (Again, see my signature for both races).

I hope this helps!

[hoverfrog]

How about:


Have a high level mage\royal ugly dude\vizier\high priest\someone important send the party on a quest to collect some items that they'll need to locate these artifacts.
Perhaps the royal wizard is researching a special divination spell that requires the egg shells of a roc.
The high priest needs to party to travel to the monastery of the silent brothers in the valley of the dead witch and return with the skull of Saint Rufus the Finder. This skull has great powers of divination and will lead the bearer to the artifacts.
The cultists have attacked the Reader, the legendary home of sages, and are demanding ships and gold. Each week they slaughter one of the sages until their demands are met.
The son of the armourer of the party's paladin has run off and joined the cultists. Can the paladin help and rescue the boy before he takes the oaths and loses himself to the power of the Elder Gods?
The voices of the everyone in Bardholme have been stolen by some kind of walking skeleton with gems for eyes. Could this be a side effect of one of the artifacts or a monster that must be defeated?
The Small Council have all been stricken with a wasting illness. Normal medicine does not work and magical cures help only for a day before they become ill again. Divinations reveal that this curse is the work of one Rotjin the Warped, a theurge and cultist known for his sadistic experiments on people. Can they stop him before the vurse grows stronger?
An entire kobold tribe has walked to the town where the party is staying and demand sanctuary from the monster who has driven them out of their home. In exchange or if the party can remove the monster the kobold sorcerer will share the secret prophecy that relates to the Elder Gods emergence.
Earthquakes wrack the land for a week. The tomb of Lord Antioch of the Bells has opened and reveal a submerged temple. Lord Antioch of the Bells was said to have bound a powerful Efreeti in a magical bell. Could this be a message from the gods? Could the Efreeti have knowledge of the artifacts or of the Elder gods? Who is brave enough to explore it?
Mind flayers are revealed as servants of the Elder gods and one has been seen boarding the Lightning's Kiss, an airship bound for the Lonely Mountains, can the party catch the airship, defeat the mind flayer and rescue the crew from it's domination before it reached it's destination?
A pack of all female ghouls is plaguing the Hill of the Betrothed, a holy site where women about to be married spend a week in contemplation. A legend of the Elder gods tells how his servants will "tear the heart from love itself". Could this be what the legend refers to? Can the party do anything to stop it and keep the holy site sanctified?
Old Bear the druid has returned to the Royal Court for the first time in 80 years. He tells tales of animals transforming into monstrous shapes, of owlbears, displacer beasts, and worse suddenly emerging and attacking animals and travellers. This is clearly a sign of the Elder gods returning. Can the party keep it under control and stop the beasts from forming a vast wild army intent on destroying the nation? Can they find the Huntsman who commands these wild creatures and slay him in time?


That kind of stuff?