Help with campaign fluff

[malmblad]

I've hit a creative block and I'm running a game tomorrow night. :smalleek:

Here's the crux of it: hive-minded zombies are taking over the world (think borg). The players successfully quested to find information on how to ultimately destroy the hive zombies and that's where our last game ended. Problem is I haven't figured out what that information is.

A little background on the the hive zombies. They were created by Devils to create a cohesive fighting force to use in the blood wars (the wars are running theme in the backdrop of the campaign) using the bodies of people who were losing their souls from pacts anyway. The devils had control over them.

The players knowingly managed to destroy the device that was controlling the zombies not understanding/caring about the ramifications. *face palm*

The past several sessions have been them fending off a zombie hoard, and the devils they pissed off all the while trying to figure out how to end the zombie menace. Which brings me to the above dilemma.

So any ideas on how to destroy the hive mind without having to hunt down every last zombie? That's a little too tedious for my and my players' tastes. As the title states, I'm looking for fluff mostly. I can fill in the specifics.

[Irk]

I mean, you could quite simply have them destroy the hive mind. Make it like a monolith on some hellish plane that they have to destroy. Essentially, the information would be the location of the 'hive mind'.

[Fax Celestis]

Illithid elder brain? Fiendish illithids? Fiendish illithid elder brains?

Or maybe just use an advanced one of these dudes (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/iw/20041015b&page=2). (if you're too lazy to advance one, here's one (https://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fc/20070803a) done free of charge!)

[John Longarrow]

You could have a very specific, but unobvious spell that needs to be cast on any single zombie.

Say "OK, if you cast protection from Evil on one, it loses contact with the rest. If you then cast <<SPELL>>, the zombie will destroy the hive mind once the protection from evil wears off. Dispel your protection from evil and ***POOF***... Hive mind down.

Hard part is keeping the zombie from being smoked prior to getting rid of the hive mind.

[Captnq]

The zombie Hive mind is a Giant Undead Brain.

It can only be killed if it is eaten. I suggest ooze, or a fork.

[Afool]

Hmmm, well the zombie hive is profane in origin, so you could say that they need to find a large source of divine or positive energy, concentrate it and detonate it at some sort of physical or symbolic center point to destroy the linked zombies. The obvious (and previously safer) point to do so would be the original control point, but they destroyed that so that's a bust :smalltongue:

I'd say that they've dedused the HOW but not the WHERE which can be the focus of the next session e.g. finding someone who can discurn(sp?) the location of the target center. This can also buy you a bit of time to figure various narrative things that have been effected by the PCs actions.

[malmblad]

Thanks everyone you got my gears moving again! I like the positive energy idea. It works with other things going on in the game.