"A Dirge for the Future"

[Duboris]

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8385/8675515693_4631719177_h.jpg
So, for anyone that actually clicks the link first before reading this, what you're looking at is the to-scale version of "The Nexus" otherwise known as the font of souls.

This is the starting area for my next play-by-post campaign that I personally can't wait to start, but I'm still making areas that look very similar to this (In makeup, but, not rigidness.)

So let me pitch the idea to you, for the most part. The players awake from, surprisingly, their recent demise. These demises take place in any of the areas, and I plan on writing out the stories of every area respectively.

All of the PC's have died within the last 3 weeks, and resurrect inside of the Nexus in 3d6 days after said incident as a level 2.


The players aren't aware of anything upon being resurrected, and are pretty much blind. All of these places that they could potentially come from are aware of each other's existence, but they've been cut off by a supernatural black mist that drains the life out of everything it enshrouds.

Suggestions?

[Gildedragon]

Suggestions on...
What are the themes, plot?
The image looks kinda cool...

[Duboris]

The generic plot that the players are asked to go through with is to drive back the black mist. "Rulers" of every single place have an object of sorts that allows them to govern over an area, but drives them slowly to horrifically evil acts, while being undeterred by the fog's progress.

One option with these objects is to purify them and purge the fog in the area, but, another option is to take the object (They're powerful magical artifacts) but that would steep the entire area in the darkness of the fog.

There's a bazillion character story lines going all at once, including, but not restricted to, the list given. Some want the artifacts, some want to protect them, some are seeking other NPC's in other areas, and some are content with their new lives in the nexus, and don't want to do anything except help the players and the other NPC's.

One such example is Rodrick, a rogue that's a pathological liar, and damned good at it. While he does have wonderful information on the various domains, as he's snuck through half of them quite deep, he doesn't give them without a price. A price he doesn't care to set, actually. If a player doesn't pay him enough gold, Rodrick will lie, and his bluff check is rather high for his level.

Sometimes he'll bluff just for the fun, anyway. Especially if the players get on his bad side. However, if you neglect him long enough, he'll realize that you're his only real form of revenue, and try to bargain with you by giving free, true information.

Another wildly different NPC is Barbatos, a fighter who simply enjoys the thrill of combat and honor among friends. He's died plenty of times assisting the nexus's needs, but, he enjoys it all the same. He's extremely privy toward information on the Dukedom of Gibraltar.

The Areas

The Forgotten Marsh, Agristrad: Is a giant bog, all of which is rather vile and terrible. It's the home of a massive cult who worships the all-saint's mother Ciebel. While the cult isn't the whole population, it makes up most of it, and those that aren't in the cult are actually hunted down and converted. If not converted, they're strung up and killed rather grizzly by the cultists. Blood-sucking creatures, vile poisonous oozes, mad cultists, and abominations of unlife are frequent enemies. The cultists and non-cultists alike live on wooden floorboards, all of which is for the most part dry-rotted and unsafe, but it works.

The Kingdom of Exodus: Is a mountainous ravine, known primarily for it's ungodly cliffs. The mountains almost climb directly straight into the air, but the mines are rich in gemstones. Inside the mountains are mindless Dwarfs, still hammering away at the prospect of gemstones. There's a rather dark prescence in the place, however, and no one's sure where the "ruler" of the area is even at, or if there is even one. Treachorous falls, impossible climbs, mindless dwarves, angry earth elementals and later, red dragons and volcanic creatures are what to expect. The lower area of the mountains house the remains of the dwarven race, and they're barely getting by.

Hazrit, the Principality of dragons, didn't make the cut, but simply got merged with Exodus.

The Chilling Pass of Argosal: In the far north, in the coldest mountains known to anyone, is a passage. Once used as the most dangerous trade route in the world, it was the fastest, and coldest, and claimed more lives and luggage than any other. A castle, made of ice, is among the mountains. The castle is huge, easily making up an entire mountain, as if carved from it itself.
Argosal is a lich, though no one's sure if he's the reason for the unnatural cold, or the murders of the transports, or both. He's very capable, and since his ascension into the Castle and lichhood long, long ago, the undead and ravenous creatures of cold plague the pass and the nearby ice flows. Ice elementals, Cold constructs, spirits, and icy abominations are what you'll see here. Any number of races lives nearby in the icey village of Windigo Sanctuary.

The Fallen Fortifications of Nibreltar: Roughly 300 years ago, a hideous chasm erupted apart not 100 miles near the neighboring kingdom of Nibreltar. A font of daemons, and devils alike both erupted from it, and if they weren't fighting each other, they were fighting the kingdom's troops who attempted to stave them off. Recently, the entire kingdom was purged of life as demons and devils alike drowned the kingdom in their ranks, killing everyone. Very little is known about the kingdom beyond it's history, which it only now, is. A fallen Metropolis.

The Black Prison of Zeltos: Far to the west of the neighboring city of Barbaranaka lies the prison of Zeltos. An enigma, but the undisputable warden of a prison with the worst criminals to ever exist. As suddle as cannon fire, Zeltos rules the prison with an immaculate, twisted personality. Experiments on prisoners is a common thing, and necromantic abominations and enigmas are common sights. Strange, cloaked creatures lurk the expanse of the rather cumbersome prison, making sure that everyone stays in their respective cells. Most of the cells aren't even locked, yet, no one tries to escape.
The nearby City of Barbaranaka lives in fear of the prison and it's warden, as envoys frequently come to steal people away in the night.

The Font of Souls, Velltelka: (Had to change the name because I subconsciously made it an area from Legend of Dragoon) The other, much larger, abandoned Nexus. Very little is known, or told about the other nexus by the keepers, and the stone portal to it has been cracked, allowing no passage into it. It's a mystery.

The Dukedom of Gibraltar, the Mad: Plenty of people in the Nexus are from the Dukedom, as of late. In his recently acquired and unexpected madness, Gibraltar has been sending people into the fog to die for unknown reasons. Not exactly sending them, so much as it is throwing them into the occasional abyss here and there. The dukedom was, and still really is, the only (kind of) safe haven in the known world at the moment. It is the only place where plenty of living, loving people reside, although not happily. The guards of the Dukedom have become eerie, and dark. New constructs in the military are massive, part biological weapons of destruction. Mere infractions of the law are death sentences for the commoners that starve in the outskirts while the nobles grow fat on whatever it is they've got their hands on.

What do you guys think, as all of the NPC's already have their "Where they're from" and "Why they're doing their thing."

Plus, I've got the first 5 maps of each area constructed already, which is nice.