Where too next?

[VisionsOfGlory]

So I've started writing a campaign that's supposed to be a 1-20 about an Evil God/Demon/Devil/Being (I'm yet to decide) stealing power from Gods, evil and good alike, and obviously the God's aren't too pleased.

Many adventuring groups, sponsored by the Gods, have gone in search of artefacts that are yet to be stolen, have been stolen or to find out more about this mysterious being. Not even it's followers know who he/she is.

So in the first half of the session it's the PCs escaping their prison. They used to be a rather successful group, having saved many artefacts but they found themselves captured and all their work now for nothing. To add salt to the wounds, I've asked my player's to write poweful backstories but the jail drained them all the way back to level 1.

So they've escaped, found out various information like the followers of this god/being/whatever has been killing adventuring groups and raising them to send them into various dungeons to retrieve the artefacts or powerful items for them. The PCs should be level 2 by this point.

I know what I want later, at maybe level 5 but I can't think of a way to take them to there. I can expand if needed, and sorry about all the writing.

[Unoriginal]

Well, my first questions would be:

How did this jail manage to make them so weak?

How did they manage to escape if they are so weak, since the prison could contain them at their most powerful?


It would make more sense to me if they had been imprisoned by the gods for having challenged them one too many time, and that they're being released in exchange of going after this evil being.

[Sir cryosin]

Do you have a location you want them to go to? So you have a lot of interfering from the gods. You could give your players visions in there dreams of locations then have small to mid encounters at these locations. Having them move from location to location to getting information about a hidden dungeon were a powerful item is held.

[VisionsOfGlory]

Well, my first questions would be:

How did this jail manage to make them so weak?

How did they manage to escape if they are so weak, since the prison could contain them at their most powerful?
.

Okay, sorry. Should have expanded on that more.

The jail drains their vitality, it's supposed to be a slow death where they go mad inside their own minds. Such is the way of super powerful beings who you oppose. The vitality is stored, for when they die and would be returned to them so they're like monstrous super-powered undead. Who would be used as tools to go into Dungeons and collect various items.

They managed to escape because a God busted them out, one of my PCs is a massive worshipper of Tempus so I had his exarch Valkur bust them out. And then he may or may not have died... because the being didn't take kindly to his prize prisoners being busted out and a God being in one of his many... many evil sancturies. There's a quest that Tempus specifically will give them at level 5 to bring him back. Hopefully they'll do it, I felt bad killing him.


Do you have a location you want them to go to? So you have a lot of interfering from the gods. You could give your players visions in there dreams of locations then have small to mid encounters at these locations. Having them move from location to location to getting information about a hidden dungeon were a powerful item is held.

I do like this, there is a powerful sage in another adventure I could use. My group likes camoes from other adventurers. He could send them visions leading them to him, and he is a chosen mortal of Amaunator/Lathander. Which means the being would want to kill him, since he has been 'blessed' with some of Lathander's power. So said sage would have had to gone into hiding, and he could lead them, like you said, to locations with encounters but also maybe keys(?) which unlock the door to the sage.

Thanks so much :)

[Malifice]

How did this jail manage to make them so weak?

Because 'magic'.

Im more intrested in why the DM decided to make this happen.

Why couldnt they just be fluffed as powerful adventurers (and also 1st level)?

[Arkhios]

Why couldnt they just be fluffed as powerful adventurers (and also 1st level)?

Yeah, granting boons etc (DMG's equivalent of "epic level rewards") doesn't exactly mean the characters had to be at 20th level before gaining any. In fact, it might even make for an interesting adventure where PC's would be empowered by legendary beings by these boons etc from the very beginning of their careers.

...for example Pathfinder Adventure Path: 'Wrath of the Righteous' does that.

[Nidgit]

I think a good direction to go would be to have the supporting cast of NPCs struggle to deal with the PCs new weakness. They're supposed to be important and powerful figures, but they're "suddenly" only Level 1-2.

Perhaps they're sent on a side quest or two in order to assess their new weakened states, especially if it's in search of an item to restore lost vitality (aka something that gives them a big chunk of XP). If an exarch just died and these leading PCs are weak, now's also a good time to explore potential power struggles within their allies. Maybe someone's got bad history with them and is looking to have them out of power, or maybe they just have a different plan/vision for the future. Lots of good RP possibilities there.

[Malifice]

Yeah, granting boons etc (DMG's equivalent of "epic level rewards") doesn't exactly mean the characters had to be at 20th level before gaining any. In fact, it might even make for an interesting adventure where PC's would be empowered by legendary beings by these boons etc from the very beginning of their careers.

...for example Pathfinder Adventure Path: 'Wrath of the Righteous' does that.

Guess I was more saying if a PC in my campaign described his 1st level PC as being akin to 'Achillies Van der Awesome' I would just run with it.

I dont see the need to arbitrarily insert a plot device to strip him of that awesomeness.

'The Campain starts with a bunch of amazing uber dudes working for the Gods... your PCs are those Uber dudes [mighty 1st level PCs]'

[Arkhios]

Guess I was more saying if a PC in my campaign described his 1st level PC as being akin to 'Achillies Van der Awesome' I would just run with it.

I dont see the need to arbitrarily insert a plot device to strip him of that awesomeness.

'The Campain starts with a bunch of amazing uber dudes working for the Gods... your PCs are those Uber dudes [mighty 1st level PCs]'

I'm sorry, but I don't really see how or why would "inserting a plot device" be either arbitrary or strip him/her of awesomeness. Imho, it would only add to it. Not take anything away.

Why is it that stories can't be epic to begin with? Why isn't it worth considering that maybe sometimes players want their characters to be 'larger than life' (even more so than usual, that is). Obviously, please assume that the theoretical campaign calls for such heroes who are "extra heroic". Not every epic story has to have meager beginnings, such as low-lives crawling out of squalor to become kings and/or even gods.