obstructor
2017-02-06, 07:32 PM
http://i.imgur.com/IcX6dlt.png
I have been working on creating a new campaign for a few days and realized I was running short on ideas, so I decided to appeal to the brilliance of the giantitp community. This seemed like more of a general roleplaying idea than specifically 3.5/pathfinder so I posted it here.
The basic idea of the campaign is that the party is a group of artifact hunters, each ideally seeking a different artifact (to create some sort of party conflict/dynamic). Why they came on the expedition to the "Isle of Bahamtol" is up to them. The campaign is a Pathfinder E6 campaign (max level of 6) so a decanter of endless water or invisibility cloak could be the artifact.
History:
The kingdom of bahamtol is brought down from within by some malevolent force roughly a thousand years ago, my first idea was to have an ex-advisor to the king swear revenge (he would have been denounced for some mistake) perhaps forming a cult. The players could discover all sorts of cultist symbols and such.
Artifacts and Relics:
Artifacts are the things the players are on the island for, relics are used to magically seal the artifacts. Not all the artifacts have to be sealed. My guideline is: "Relics have at least three clues and can be found with one clue, artifacts require multiple clues to find and should probably have at least 7 clues."
Relic example:
Chalice of the dragon king:
location: in the dining hall of the castle
clues: a note in the dragon shrine specifying it was returned to the king after the shrine was attacked, the king's agenda had a feast the day of the fall, record of the king arriving at the hall of damocles with nothing but his chariot and some guards.
Artifact example:
Invisibility amulet:
location: the king's invisible corpse in the hills
clues: a cultist note that the king fled to the southeast of the hall of damocles after being attacked by a cultist disguised as a priest, the kings robes existing within a secret room in the mines of mory, and his royal boat still being docked in the bulwark.
Golden orb of dragonkind:
location: sealed within the dragon shrine
relics: chalice of the dragon king, tooth of bahamut (steel tooth), eye of bahamut (diamond), wings of bahamut (cloak). Once returned to the dragon statue in the shrine the seal can be broken by using a ritual.
The orbs of dragonkind: each of these allows one to dominate the dragon of that color
Map Regions:
The map has no scale, everything is a days travel back and forth from the dragon shrine.
The castle: I have been calling it Caer Cuadui for now, the kings castle.
The city of Bahamtol: A large overgrown ruin with many places to find random encounters or buildings with clues and history in them.
The preserver: The fortress built to protect the north end of the island.
The silent library: An old still standing library that is home to a lich who is apathetic to the expedition unless threatened.
Hall of Damocles: The cathedral of Bahamut, with expansive catacombs.
Mory: The mines for the island, the deeper mines and tunnels now connect to the catacombs and the bulwark
Mt. Ember: Volcano with a shrine in the center
Dead Marshes: Home to a black dragon.
Bulwark: The first line of defense and fortress defending the harbor, the players will have to fight its current inhabitants while their boat enters the harbor.
Teremas Tower: The ancient home of the archmage Teremas creator of the philosopher's stone.
Wastes: Inhospitable desert with a few caves, home to a blue dragon.
Dungeons of Akasha: anciently used to imprison the enemies of Bahamtol, the deepest dungeons housed dragons and many anti dragon weapons exist within.
Dragon Shrine: Anciently used to house the orbs of dragonkind, all of them lost during the fall except the golden orb.
The camps: Coming with the player is going to be a group of magi, a small crusade, and some historians; they will reside within camps near the shrine and the landing of the ship.
Forces
Allied: The crusaders trying to retake the island, the magi trying to study the ancient magic, and the historians to figure out exactly what happened.
Enemy: Undead of the silent library, kobolds, goblins, a criminal group who fled to the island.
Dragons: Blue dragon (wastes), Black dragon (Dead Marshes), White dragon (Mt. Ember), Red dragon (Bahamtol Keep), Green Dragon (Ruins of Bahamtol). The dragons are 'ancient' but around CR 10, tolkien-esque the age of dragons is long over they can't get any larger than adult size.
I have thought about having a gold dragon sealed in the dragon shrine to perhaps give clues if the players get lost. It would want to be free, but to protect the golden orb of dragonkind first and foremost; trying to keep the players from getting it.
So far I have:
The map.
A couple artifacts worth finding. Class specific would be cool.
Relics for breaking the seals around artifacts.
What I need
Ideas for set pieces: places to find, battle in, or hide things.
Ideas for Relics and artifacts: Clues to find them, ideally a lot of subtle clues and one really obvious one like a journal entry if the players get lost.
Ideas for the history: How did bahamtol fall? Was it demons, undead, rebellion, a mixture? Who has moved in since?
Ideas for enemies: How to take down monsters that exceed the party level. Who rules what?
End goal: Should the island be on a time limit? (e.g. the island will sink into the depths of the sea after a month, the dragons run the players off the island, etc.) or should I write it so the artifacts are always one step out of the player's reach, should it end after one player gets an artifact or should every player get their artifact?
I have been working on creating a new campaign for a few days and realized I was running short on ideas, so I decided to appeal to the brilliance of the giantitp community. This seemed like more of a general roleplaying idea than specifically 3.5/pathfinder so I posted it here.
The basic idea of the campaign is that the party is a group of artifact hunters, each ideally seeking a different artifact (to create some sort of party conflict/dynamic). Why they came on the expedition to the "Isle of Bahamtol" is up to them. The campaign is a Pathfinder E6 campaign (max level of 6) so a decanter of endless water or invisibility cloak could be the artifact.
History:
The kingdom of bahamtol is brought down from within by some malevolent force roughly a thousand years ago, my first idea was to have an ex-advisor to the king swear revenge (he would have been denounced for some mistake) perhaps forming a cult. The players could discover all sorts of cultist symbols and such.
Artifacts and Relics:
Artifacts are the things the players are on the island for, relics are used to magically seal the artifacts. Not all the artifacts have to be sealed. My guideline is: "Relics have at least three clues and can be found with one clue, artifacts require multiple clues to find and should probably have at least 7 clues."
Relic example:
Chalice of the dragon king:
location: in the dining hall of the castle
clues: a note in the dragon shrine specifying it was returned to the king after the shrine was attacked, the king's agenda had a feast the day of the fall, record of the king arriving at the hall of damocles with nothing but his chariot and some guards.
Artifact example:
Invisibility amulet:
location: the king's invisible corpse in the hills
clues: a cultist note that the king fled to the southeast of the hall of damocles after being attacked by a cultist disguised as a priest, the kings robes existing within a secret room in the mines of mory, and his royal boat still being docked in the bulwark.
Golden orb of dragonkind:
location: sealed within the dragon shrine
relics: chalice of the dragon king, tooth of bahamut (steel tooth), eye of bahamut (diamond), wings of bahamut (cloak). Once returned to the dragon statue in the shrine the seal can be broken by using a ritual.
The orbs of dragonkind: each of these allows one to dominate the dragon of that color
Map Regions:
The map has no scale, everything is a days travel back and forth from the dragon shrine.
The castle: I have been calling it Caer Cuadui for now, the kings castle.
The city of Bahamtol: A large overgrown ruin with many places to find random encounters or buildings with clues and history in them.
The preserver: The fortress built to protect the north end of the island.
The silent library: An old still standing library that is home to a lich who is apathetic to the expedition unless threatened.
Hall of Damocles: The cathedral of Bahamut, with expansive catacombs.
Mory: The mines for the island, the deeper mines and tunnels now connect to the catacombs and the bulwark
Mt. Ember: Volcano with a shrine in the center
Dead Marshes: Home to a black dragon.
Bulwark: The first line of defense and fortress defending the harbor, the players will have to fight its current inhabitants while their boat enters the harbor.
Teremas Tower: The ancient home of the archmage Teremas creator of the philosopher's stone.
Wastes: Inhospitable desert with a few caves, home to a blue dragon.
Dungeons of Akasha: anciently used to imprison the enemies of Bahamtol, the deepest dungeons housed dragons and many anti dragon weapons exist within.
Dragon Shrine: Anciently used to house the orbs of dragonkind, all of them lost during the fall except the golden orb.
The camps: Coming with the player is going to be a group of magi, a small crusade, and some historians; they will reside within camps near the shrine and the landing of the ship.
Forces
Allied: The crusaders trying to retake the island, the magi trying to study the ancient magic, and the historians to figure out exactly what happened.
Enemy: Undead of the silent library, kobolds, goblins, a criminal group who fled to the island.
Dragons: Blue dragon (wastes), Black dragon (Dead Marshes), White dragon (Mt. Ember), Red dragon (Bahamtol Keep), Green Dragon (Ruins of Bahamtol). The dragons are 'ancient' but around CR 10, tolkien-esque the age of dragons is long over they can't get any larger than adult size.
I have thought about having a gold dragon sealed in the dragon shrine to perhaps give clues if the players get lost. It would want to be free, but to protect the golden orb of dragonkind first and foremost; trying to keep the players from getting it.
So far I have:
The map.
A couple artifacts worth finding. Class specific would be cool.
Relics for breaking the seals around artifacts.
What I need
Ideas for set pieces: places to find, battle in, or hide things.
Ideas for Relics and artifacts: Clues to find them, ideally a lot of subtle clues and one really obvious one like a journal entry if the players get lost.
Ideas for the history: How did bahamtol fall? Was it demons, undead, rebellion, a mixture? Who has moved in since?
Ideas for enemies: How to take down monsters that exceed the party level. Who rules what?
End goal: Should the island be on a time limit? (e.g. the island will sink into the depths of the sea after a month, the dragons run the players off the island, etc.) or should I write it so the artifacts are always one step out of the player's reach, should it end after one player gets an artifact or should every player get their artifact?