The Great Skenardo
2007-03-17, 11:12 AM
This is a thread wherein I request some input for the central plot (as I envision it occuring) of a RL campaign I'm running soon.
The Grand Idea:
A continent with mountains to the north and plains to the south in which elves and fey are mere legend, and two kingdoms stand in an uneasy standoff. This world has had a long and bloody history, now largely forgotten as the result of some near cataclysm. But now natural disasters are on the rise, as earthquakes, tornadoes and blizzards ravage the land seemingly at random. The old gods, once only a memory and a nightmare, begin to stir again as mortals would call on their power to end the world.
The PCs
Starting at 2nd level, the PCs are helped out of a sticky outset situation (i.e. jailed, dragon'ed, etc.) and are assisted out of their predicament by a quite powerful personage. (It's a little cliche, but the mysterious masked man with awesome powers is a good way to garner PC respect) This man's larger motives are opaque, but it's made quite clear that he rescued the PCs so they could temporarily act as flunkies in his stead. The end result of this is that the PCs end up investigating a subterranian temple only recently revealed by an earthquake.
The temple is a disturbing site, and extremely inhospitable. Sharp obsibian spikes line the walls, ceilings and floors of the strangely-rounded purple stone tunnels that lead through the temple, and observant PCs might note that despite being buried underground, the temple always has a weak breeze blowing through it. And that the breeze reverses direction every couple of minutes. After some hazards, the PCs find a hatch that leads to a secondary set of tunnels down below, these ones deathly quiet, and carpeted with a thick layer of corrosive purple sand that stings bare skin.
The PCs end up finding a set of thirteen stone teeth marked with golden runes set into a mosaic of a set of gaping jaws, which they then take (triggering a trap, of course).
They make it out (presumably) and meet with the masked man again. He insists on taking most of (if not all) the teeth, and pays them.
You can probably guess that these teeth are mighty, and indeed they are relics of a church of ancient amorphous beings not unlike sentient oozes that worshipped an ancient god of teeth and devouring (now gone). They can confer great power to the right kinds of creatures.
These teeth being out in the world will attract the attention of a group of BBEG (or rather, the leader of a sect of something like entropomancers). This causes them to seek out the ancient temples of the defunct nightmare gods and begin gathering relics that together might give the impetus to end the world.
Obviously, the PCs are kept away from this world-ending stuff for a while with smaller quests and sideplots, (and some relics will change hands (or claws)) but the natural disasters in the world will grow more and more frequent, and eventually I envision the PCs having a faceoff with the avatar of a newly-made gargantuan conglomerate avatar with more than a few striking resemblances to Shiva of Hindu fame. The difference being that each arm will wield powerful relics gathered by the BBEG (less those that the PCs manage to keep out of their hands) which cap out into the Staff of Nightmares and the Staff of Storms.
the staff of nightmares is a twisted, black rod made from polished black bone and studded with the black teeth of the devouring god that pulses with unsentient evil and mindless savagery. Exact powers TBD.
the staff of storms is unique in that it doesn't store spells; rather, on command , and actual tornado forms at both ends of the staff, whipping up twin cones of spiraling gray air that may be directed as the staff moves.
Dramatis Personae
I'm also putting together an ancient and largely unpleasant pantheon of gods that are now defunct. Names are not so important as what they represent. Examples so far:
God of Teeth and Devouring
God of Nightmares and Insanity
God of Decay and Entropy
God of Shadows and Fear
The Baleful God
So now, gentle readers, I'm looking for input, ideas and criticisms.
The Grand Idea:
A continent with mountains to the north and plains to the south in which elves and fey are mere legend, and two kingdoms stand in an uneasy standoff. This world has had a long and bloody history, now largely forgotten as the result of some near cataclysm. But now natural disasters are on the rise, as earthquakes, tornadoes and blizzards ravage the land seemingly at random. The old gods, once only a memory and a nightmare, begin to stir again as mortals would call on their power to end the world.
The PCs
Starting at 2nd level, the PCs are helped out of a sticky outset situation (i.e. jailed, dragon'ed, etc.) and are assisted out of their predicament by a quite powerful personage. (It's a little cliche, but the mysterious masked man with awesome powers is a good way to garner PC respect) This man's larger motives are opaque, but it's made quite clear that he rescued the PCs so they could temporarily act as flunkies in his stead. The end result of this is that the PCs end up investigating a subterranian temple only recently revealed by an earthquake.
The temple is a disturbing site, and extremely inhospitable. Sharp obsibian spikes line the walls, ceilings and floors of the strangely-rounded purple stone tunnels that lead through the temple, and observant PCs might note that despite being buried underground, the temple always has a weak breeze blowing through it. And that the breeze reverses direction every couple of minutes. After some hazards, the PCs find a hatch that leads to a secondary set of tunnels down below, these ones deathly quiet, and carpeted with a thick layer of corrosive purple sand that stings bare skin.
The PCs end up finding a set of thirteen stone teeth marked with golden runes set into a mosaic of a set of gaping jaws, which they then take (triggering a trap, of course).
They make it out (presumably) and meet with the masked man again. He insists on taking most of (if not all) the teeth, and pays them.
You can probably guess that these teeth are mighty, and indeed they are relics of a church of ancient amorphous beings not unlike sentient oozes that worshipped an ancient god of teeth and devouring (now gone). They can confer great power to the right kinds of creatures.
These teeth being out in the world will attract the attention of a group of BBEG (or rather, the leader of a sect of something like entropomancers). This causes them to seek out the ancient temples of the defunct nightmare gods and begin gathering relics that together might give the impetus to end the world.
Obviously, the PCs are kept away from this world-ending stuff for a while with smaller quests and sideplots, (and some relics will change hands (or claws)) but the natural disasters in the world will grow more and more frequent, and eventually I envision the PCs having a faceoff with the avatar of a newly-made gargantuan conglomerate avatar with more than a few striking resemblances to Shiva of Hindu fame. The difference being that each arm will wield powerful relics gathered by the BBEG (less those that the PCs manage to keep out of their hands) which cap out into the Staff of Nightmares and the Staff of Storms.
the staff of nightmares is a twisted, black rod made from polished black bone and studded with the black teeth of the devouring god that pulses with unsentient evil and mindless savagery. Exact powers TBD.
the staff of storms is unique in that it doesn't store spells; rather, on command , and actual tornado forms at both ends of the staff, whipping up twin cones of spiraling gray air that may be directed as the staff moves.
Dramatis Personae
I'm also putting together an ancient and largely unpleasant pantheon of gods that are now defunct. Names are not so important as what they represent. Examples so far:
God of Teeth and Devouring
God of Nightmares and Insanity
God of Decay and Entropy
God of Shadows and Fear
The Baleful God
So now, gentle readers, I'm looking for input, ideas and criticisms.