Epic level campaign hooks

[montoya]

After about 9 years of playing 3.5 everyone decided they wanted to do an epic campaign since we never did it before. This would take place in the Forgotten Realms since we have all the FR books and I am more familiar with the lore than anyone else so I will be DMing. My issue is coming up with a worthy campaign, the idea of adventuring for gold fame and status is beyond an epic PCs goal I would think. Obviously it will have to include direct intervention of the gods of Faerun. Does anyone have any campaign ideas for epic games in Faerun? I'd like to include Bane, Kelemvor, Velsharoon, Cyric and of course the House of the Triad.

[LTwerewolf]

Kill Bane again. It's been done a couple times, no reason you can't have them do it again. Get Cyric to help (since he loathes him), then have them betray Cyric with the help of Kelemvor (who hates him very much) and Velsharoon because he's a serious douche. Then have them turn on Velsharoon with the help of the House of the Triad because they could get behind killing that guy. You've now offed 3 of the 6 most hated gods.

Why do they want to kill bane? Eh maybe he decided now was the time to try to enslave Abeir-Toril and keep it under his iron-fisted rule. Tiamat and Malar are likely to help Bane, so you might have to include them. The entire time Lolth can be having a grand old time causing chaos everywhere and can be involved too. Now you've got 5/6 of the most hated gods. Toss Gruumsh in there and you're all set for cleansing the pantheon.

[montoya]

Kill Bane again. It's been done a couple times, no reason you can't have them do it again. Get Cyric to help (since he loathes him), then have them betray Cyric with the help of Kelemvor (who hates him very much) and Velsharoon because he's a serious douche. Then have them turn on Velsharoon with the help of the House of the Triad because they could get behind killing that guy. You've now offed 3 of the 6 most hated gods.

Why do they want to kill bane? Eh maybe he decided now was the time to try to enslave Abeir-Toril and keep it under his iron-fisted rule. Tiamat and Malar are likely to help Bane, so you might have to include them. The entire time Lolth can be having a grand old time causing chaos everywhere and can be involved too. Now you've got 5/6 of the most hated gods. Toss Gruumsh in there and you're all set for cleansing the pantheon.

Actually, that is a wonderful idea! Bane is always good for being the big baddie.

[LTwerewolf]

Actually, that is a wonderful idea! Bane is always good for being the big baddie.

If you want to get more convoluted, remember that Asmodeus was an ally of bane, not because they liked each other but because they worked together so well, so your evil army can be devils on loan.

[Bullet06320]

Travel to the astral plane, find the body of one of the dead gods, and bring them back
depending on alignment and make up of the party, would make a difference of course(as well as the timeline for your realms)

liera killed by cyric and mask, any reason to mess them is good enuf for me, help her get revenge on them two

resurrect Karsus to bring Mystra down

Chronos, fun with time travel


stop spellplague, in our game spellplague didn't happen, we tracked down all the pieces of Hallaster's soul and put it back together. we had to create a new spell, locate soul shard, it was a higher level version of locate person to get all the pieces and stored them in gems, with a modified version of trap the soul. then an epic spell to put it all back together and bring him back. then another epic spell to move the entire crystal sphere forward in time to miss the spellplague. there was qwite a few unhappy dieties with us for that one, they got cut off from all their worshipers while the crystal sphere was missing, LOL

[prufock]

Orc and pie. On the table is a pie. In front of the pie is an orc. Kill the orc to get the pie.

The orc is Gruumsh, and it's an ambrosia pie, granting immortality/demigod status.

1. A low-ish level spellcaster has accidentally started the Wightocalypse, and you must stop it before the entire world is nothing but wights.

2. Word is getting around the Abyss that Pazuzu is bragging about corrupting a kobold paladin. Things get out of hand, but a time-traveling artificer has an idea.

3. A first level spellcaster rolls poorly on his summons percentile and accidentally brings Orcus to the material plane, and he is pissed.

1. A meteor impacts in the desert or wherever, killing most of the population within miles. Wait, that's no meteor, that's a spaceship. And contains an elder evil, or something.

2. A vestige has found a way back through the veil.

3. Some of the gods are holding a tournament of sorts for control over some domain, portfolio, aspect, area of a plane, or whatever. Each god gets to choose one test, and each god gets to choose one champion (guess who).

4. Tiamat's heads have had a disagreement, and are splitting up into 5 individual evil gods.

[montoya]

I like the Asmodeus idea never thought about that. And preventing the spellplague is always welcome.

[atemu1234]

To Kill A God is a plot hook that works in any setting. If you're starting at epic levels, good for you, but I really prefer to play from the beginning up until epic+, usually stopping (if I get that far) around level 30.

[LTwerewolf]

To Kill A God is a plot hook that works in any setting. If you're starting at epic levels, good for you, but I really prefer to play from the beginning up until epic+, usually stopping (if I get that far) around level 30.

Note that with a god war, you can easily bring characters from 1 to 30 in the same ultimate questline.

[Bonzai]

Here were some epic plot hooks that I worked on. Note all are pre-spell plague nonsense.

1. During the Year of Rogue Dragons, a powerful and ambitious Necromancer from the Cult of the Dragon collected a treasure trove of dragon corpses. Now he is capturing lost Dracolitch phylacteries so that he can raise a Rage of dracolitches under his control, with plenty of spare corpses for them to inhabit should they fall. He intends to fulfill Maglas's prophecy in this way.

2. A young Narfellian man stumbles across a treasure trove of Narfellian relics, and ends up mastering the lost demon binding arts of his ancestors. From there he finds more ruins and lore. When he is ready he goes out and begins to conquer and unite the Narfellian tribes. He does so, and declares himself Nentyarch. However his rule is not universally accepted, and there are many challenges to his right to rule. To cement his claim, he decides that he must restore the Crown of Narfell, which means an out right war with Impiltur. So he rallies his Barbarian horde and Demonic allies for the invasion.

3. After the time of troubles, Unther was in turmoil. Mulholond, Banites, and worshippers of Tiamat have all overrun the country. Hoar, last of the Unthiric pantheon decides that his people are suffering, and to aid them he will take his rightful place as their god king and provide vengeance to their enemies. To do this he needs mortal catspaws. 1st, he sends them to find Shuruppak and convince him to become Hoar's chosen, in exchange for vengeance for his former master. 2. Send Shuruppak after Tchazzar for his revenge, and to liberate Chessenta. 3. Finish purging the followers of Tiamat and bane, and then drive off the Mulhondi army with possible divine aid working against you.

[montoya]

Here were some epic plot hooks that I worked on. Note all are pre-spell plague nonsense.

1. During the Year of Rogue Dragons, a powerful and ambitious Necromancer from the Cult of the Dragon collected a treasure trove of dragon corpses. Now he is capturing lost Dracolitch phylacteries so that he can raise a Rage of dracolitches under his control, with plenty of spare corpses for them to inhabit should they fall. He intends to fulfill Maglas's prophecy in this way.

2. A young Narfellian man stumbles across a treasure trove of Narfellian relics, and ends up mastering the lost demon binding arts of his ancestors. From there he finds more ruins and lore. When he is ready he goes out and begins to conquer and unite the Narfellian tribes. He does so, and declares himself Nentyarch. However his rule is not universally accepted, and there are many challenges to his right to rule. To cement his claim, he decides that he must restore the Crown of Narfell, which means an out right war with Impiltur. So he rallies his Barbarian horde and Demonic allies for the invasion.

3. After the time of troubles, Unther was in turmoil. Mulholond, Banites, and worshippers of Tiamat have all overrun the country. Hoar, last of the Unthiric pantheon decides that his people are suffering, and to aid them he will take his rightful place as their god king and provide vengeance to their enemies. To do this he needs mortal catspaws. 1st, he sends them to find Shuruppak and convince him to become Hoar's chosen, in exchange for vengeance for his former master. 2. Send Shuruppak after Tchazzar for his revenge, and to liberate Chessenta. 3. Finish purging the followers of Tiamat and bane, and then drive off the Mulhondi army with possible divine aid working against you.

Very good ideas. I am noting them now!

[Melcar]

A couble of mentions.

Deities in FR cannot be killed by mortals alone. The final blow/coup de grass must be somehow done by another divine/primordial or the characters should be immortals somehow, possibly infusd with divine power...

One idea could be to actively stop the spell-plague. Since that have already played out, it might not be fun, but there could be a second comming.

The blood war could be spilling onto the material plane!

Stop the drow summoning Dendar.

I must admit that the ideas that came before mine were very good... these blow. Sorry!

[Phelix-Mu]

1.) Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun

Dreams of horror and mind-warping nature have spread across the Prime, starting with shamans and other mystics, spreading to the mentally infirm, and now finally plaguing some of the greatest minds in the Realm (throw in one of Mystra's Chosen or a zulkir or something). Everyone is dumbfounded as to the cause, or how to stop the dreams, which basically cause depravity (Heroes of Horror), culminating in a suicide-bound insanity. While the nature of the dreams vary, the all seem to share some disturbing elements [insert Lovecraftian imagery or w/e theme seems appropriate].

The trauma is beginning to effect things on a societal scale; orc hordes are in chaos as the strong and weak alike fall victim to the madness, and they predictably respond by launching invasions of whatever is at hand. The elves, normally immune to sleepy-time stuff, experience a sense of being hunted by unseen things in their peripheral vision as they trance; their archmages are befuddled. And the humans are all up in arms, revolting against old regimes, rioting in the streets, and otherwise acting out their subliminal trauma in living color. A dwarven high priest, clearly mad but long ignored, has unleashed a horde of high-level constructs on [insert vulnerable party of interest to the characters...this would be a good entry hook, or early troubleshooting encounter].

The investigation is tedious and all of the normal avenues pan out; commune reveals that even the gods are suffering the dreams, and the thoughts of contagious divine madness has even the more balanced members of the pantheon troubled.

And so the quest: consult Dendar, the Night Serpent, who lives deep in the core of Dreamheart, growing fat on the nightmares of all who exist. Dendar, who has been having a bit of an all-you-can-eat buffet lately, must know something, right? Maybe the characters decide to fight it, lol. That would be awesome, but that's not even the point!

Lo and behold, Dendar has given birth to a child made of this one nightmare that everyone is having; let's call it Shesha for purposes of this post. Shesha is a small snake at first, but grows and grows before the eyes of the party, until it's size begins to outstrip its monstrous parent. Dendar has gone back to sleep for the moment, but Shesha is wide awake, and apparently knows something.

Yes, now they must lead this baby world serpent through a series of perils, guarding it all the way, for only it knows where it is going (and it doesn't even "know," it's just following its instincts). [Insert some filler combat and plane-hopping...this would be a good place for Asmodeus/Lolth/Cyric to have a go at stopping the party via high-level minions.] The serpent itself is very naive, and while it's quite tough, it is vulnerable to high-level threats. Baby-sitting is tough!

Finally, they arrive at the Astral, in uncharted expanses. They find the massive, nation-sized corpse of a long-dead god, maybe some lost Mulhorandi or foreign god that didn't quite get integrated into the FR pantheon (hehe, family feud). After some research and talking to Shesha, the party learns that they must pilot the massive hulk of the god into the Far Realm, and crash it into some nascent Elder Evil that has been slowly opening its world-sized maw for centuries, and is just now readying itself to swallow Torilspace whole.

Final battle either in the Far Realm, or in the space around Toril, spelljammers, illithids (wait, when did they show up?), and far-spawn templated non-undead flame of the voids, the cast-offs of the elder evil as it goes through its death throes.

Final scene, a guy, a pair of shiny droids, a furry beast, and Harrison Ford receive medals from a lady with weird hair. Applause. Roll credits.

[Max Caysey]

1.) Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun

Dreams of horror and mind-warping nature have spread across the Prime, starting with shamans and other mystics, spreading to the mentally infirm, and now finally plaguing some of the greatest minds in the Realm (throw in one of Mystra's Chosen or a zulkir or something). Everyone is dumbfounded as to the cause, or how to stop the dreams, which basically cause depravity (Heroes of Horror), culminating in a suicide-bound insanity. While the nature of the dreams vary, the all seem to share some disturbing elements [insert Lovecraftian imagery or w/e theme seems appropriate].

The trauma is beginning to effect things on a societal scale; orc hordes are in chaos as the strong and weak alike fall victim to the madness, and they predictably respond by launching invasions of whatever is at hand. The elves, normally immune to sleepy-time stuff, experience a sense of being hunted by unseen things in their peripheral vision as they trance; their archmages are befuddled. And the humans are all up in arms, revolting against old regimes, rioting in the streets, and otherwise acting out their subliminal trauma in living color. A dwarven high priest, clearly mad but long ignored, has unleashed a horde of high-level constructs on [insert vulnerable party of interest to the characters...this would be a good entry hook, or early troubleshooting encounter].

The investigation is tedious and all of the normal avenues pan out; commune reveals that even the gods are suffering the dreams, and the thoughts of contagious divine madness has even the more balanced members of the pantheon troubled.

And so the quest: consult Dendar, the Night Serpent, who lives deep in the core of Dreamheart, growing fat on the nightmares of all who exist. Dendar, who has been having a bit of an all-you-can-eat buffet lately, must know something, right? Maybe the characters decide to fight it, lol. That would be awesome, but that's not even the point!

Lo and behold, Dendar has given birth to a child made of this one nightmare that everyone is having; let's call it Shesha for purposes of this post. Shesha is a small snake at first, but grows and grows before the eyes of the party, until it's size begins to outstrip its monstrous parent. Dendar has gone back to sleep for the moment, but Shesha is wide awake, and apparently knows something.

Yes, now they must lead this baby world serpent through a series of perils, guarding it all the way, for only it knows where it is going (and it doesn't even "know," it's just following its instincts). [Insert some filler combat and plane-hopping...this would be a good place for Asmodeus/Lolth/Cyric to have a go at stopping the party via high-level minions.] The serpent itself is very naive, and while it's quite tough, it is vulnerable to high-level threats. Baby-sitting is tough!

Finally, they arrive at the Astral, in uncharted expanses. They find the massive, nation-sized corpse of a long-dead god, maybe some lost Mulhorandi or foreign god that didn't quite get integrated into the FR pantheon (hehe, family feud). After some research and talking to Shesha, the party learns that they must pilot the massive hulk of the god into the Far Realm, and crash it into some nascent Elder Evil that has been slowly opening its world-sized maw for centuries, and is just now readying itself to swallow Torilspace whole.

Final battle either in the Far Realm, or in the space around Toril, spelljammers, illithids (wait, when did they show up?), and far-spawn templated non-undead flame of the voids, the cast-offs of the elder evil as it goes through its death throes.

Final scene, a guy, a pair of shiny droids, a furry beast, and Harrison Ford receive medals from a lady with weird hair. Applause. Roll credits.

This is sweet... Possibly an idea could be to have The pcs attend a meeting at The dancing place... Where They are sent forth on their quest?

[Phelix-Mu]

This is sweet... Possibly an idea could be to have The pcs attend a meeting at The dancing place... Where They are sent forth on their quest?

Whatever works. I was just spit-balling after waking up waaaaaaay too early. (Totally not a morning person.)

It was a decent idea, though.

[montoya]

All good ideas so far. My notepad is growing!

[Inevitability]

Do you ever notice how alignment-focused campaigns tend to be Evil Vs. Good or Good Vs. Evil? Why not make a Law Vs. Chaos campaign?

Basically, the planes of chaos are growing in power and starting to influence the material plane. Monsters like Slaadi, Titans and Demons enter the material plane through rifts, and several areas have become so tainted with chaos they are basically weak versions of Limbo.

The PC's are some of the strongest beings in the universe. Some may be heroes, some may be villains, but all have a single goal; the restoration of Cosmic Balance.

No matter how it works out, a campaign where both Asmodeus and Moradin are the players' allies should at least be interesting.

[Phelix-Mu]

Do you ever notice how alignment-focused campaigns tend to be Evil Vs. Good or Good Vs. Evil? Why not make a Law Vs. Chaos campaign?

Basically, the planes of chaos are growing in power and starting to influence the material plane. Monsters like Slaadi, Titans and Demons enter the material plane through rifts, and several areas have become so tainted with chaos they are basically weak versions of Limbo.

The PC's are some of the strongest beings in the universe. Some may be heroes, some may be villains, but all have a single goal; the restoration of Cosmic Balance.

I like this. WotC really dropped the ball by not publishing stats for more any of the Slaad Lords, and likewise for the powers of law that aren't somehow diabolic. A shame, really, as the Slaad Lords are some of the more inscrutable and mind-warping beings out there, while the powers of law can be both a boon and a bane to the interests of those that live on the Prime.