Get in my Game

[Regitnui]

I have a "one-shot" sandbox adventure involving island kingdoms with a Japanese/Asian flavour. What I'm humbly asking for is a few suggestions for islands, their totem, and a quest or two there to "ally" the island to the player characters. Example in spoiler;

Kodama Clan
The primary shipbuilders, the Kodama Clan are blessed with an abundance of forests on their island. Through alliances and tributes to the Kodama of these forests, the clan is ensured forests that provide all their needs. Kodama ships are said to have their own intelligence, and it is true that they're never caught in doldrums and hardly ever sink.
Quest: The forests turned dark a month ago, with loggers and explorers disappearing. When the Daimyo went in, his entire entourage disappeared with him, and trees have begun to attack the villages. Can someone venture into the forest, placate the spirits and rescue the daimyo?

The hope is that the players sandbox through a hex grid and build up a majority of 5/9 kingdoms to have their patron declared emperor. I don't know how many players I'll have or what they're playing as of yet. This is why I'm asking for general ideas.

[Lombra]

Building a kingdom in a one-shot? Are you sure you are not overshooting? In my experience a single session lasts for about two hard encounters, conquering islands feels a little more complicated than that.

Are you using kamigawa's set from mtg as a font of inspiration?

[Ninja_Prawn]

The forests turned dark a month ago, with loggers and explorers disappearing. When the Daimyo went in, his entire entourage disappeared with him, and trees have begun to attack the villages.

Classic plot hook! Reminds me of the Lost Woods in Zelda games and the Black Forest in Shadow Hearts. The latter features flowers that either lie or tell the truth depending on which colours you talk to, which could be a cool thing to steal.


I don't know how many players I'll have or what they're playing as of yet.

That makes things a bit tougher. One thing you'll definitely need is a kingdom based around a holy mountain. I think you can afford multiple kingdoms with a 'coastal' theme, too, if you're drawing inspiration from East Asian archipelagoes. Like, you could have a super-mercantile one that relies on its wealth as a golden shield, and a tropical one famous for its mighty barbarians and shark-taming rangers. What about a Malay/Filipino-inspired rainforest kingdom? There's a lot of interesting mythology there you could draw on.

[Regitnui]

Building a kingdom in a one-shot? Are you sure you are not overshooting? In my experience a single session lasts for about two hard encounters, conquering islands feels a little more conplicated than that.

Are you using kamigawa's set from mtg as a font of inspiration?

I was asked for a mini-campaign type thing, and that's what I'm doing.

Not a bad idea. Perhaps a yuan-ti kingdom...


Classic plot hook! Reminds me of the Lost Woods in Zelda games and the Black Forest in Shadow Hearts. The latter features flowers that either lie or tell the truth depending on which colours you talk to, which could be a cool thing to steal.



That makes things a bit tougher. One thing you'll definitely need is a kingdom based around a holy mountain. I think you can afford multiple kingdoms with a 'coastal' theme, too, if you're drawing inspiration from East Asian archipelagoes. Like, you could have a super-mercantile one that relies on its wealth as a golden shield, and a tropical one famous for its mighty barbarians and shark-taming rangers. What about a Malay/Filipino-inspired rainforest kingdom? There's a lot of interesting mythology there you could draw on.

That's a couple of good ideas. Thanks!

[KillingAScarab]

What about a Malay/Filipino-inspired rainforest kingdom? There's a lot of interesting mythology there you could draw on.One Filipino myth I remember is that caves found on the islands are claimed to have been created by giants, and that they actually connect the islands together. Interesting caves include Monfort Bat Sanctuary (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monfort_Bat_Sanctuary) on Samal (http://www.samalguide.com/activities/monfort-bat-cave/), Sumaguing Cave (https://blaineislost.com/2017/07/20/exploring-sumaguing-cave-sagada/) on Luzon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_Province), Puerto Princessa Subterranean River (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/652) on Palawan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palawan).

[Asmotherion]

A Mazoku (Reflufed Tieflings) island kingdom, favoring the Mao (A Rakshasa or Cambion would fit idealy) as the Daimyo (Daimao).

Ideal for a Warlock player or a Tiefling.

"The Mao's daughter has been kidnaped, and the Mao offers her hand in marriage or half his treasure to whoever can bring her home safelly. That said, there are some scarse rumors that the young lady eloped instead of being kidnaped. The Mao won't be appeased untill his daughter is safelly back with him, and has made up his mind to start a crusade in a month searching for her if no news are brought to him."

(Sorry, it's the best adventure hook I could come up with on my 30th hour of sleep-deprivation :P)

[Requilac]

What could be interesting is having an island that is going through something like the Haitian revolution. If you are not familiar with that war, then the Haitian revolution was basically a country wide slave uprising that succeeeded. It could be interesting to have an island which is experiencing a slave revolt, a volatile conflict where the players could easily find a way to take control of that area. It could provide some good characterization if you are okay with some more ambiguity (which seems likely considering that your players are conquerors). They could decide to assist the current government, aid the slaves or even just come in after either side wins and take over while they are weakened. That could definitely be a deciding factor on the strategies employed by the players which they are likely going to implement in the future. If they help the reigning government, you can expect them to become a heavy handed tyranny. If they help the slaves, you can expect them to be a more idealistic empire that seeks to raise up the downtrodden. If they just wait for the war to end and conquer the island after the fact, than you could expect them to be sly and cunning tricksters that take every advantage they can get. It would definitely be a good indicator of what the players may be interested in doing for the rest of the game.



"The Mao's daughter has been kidnaped, and the Mao offers her hand in marriage or half his treasure to whoever can bring her home safelly. That said, there are some scarse rumors that the young lady eloped instead of being kidnaped. The Mao won't be appeased untill his daughter is safelly back with him, and has made up his mind to start a crusade in a month searching for her if no news are brought to him."


So, we essentially steal the plot of The Iliad?

[Khrysaes]

Classic plot hook! Reminds me of the Lost Woods in Zelda games and the Black Forest in Shadow Hearts. The latter features flowers that either lie or tell the truth depending on which colours you talk to, which could be a cool thing to steal.

The flowers remind me of Tomba!, which has mushrooms that will either make you laugh or cry.

I think an Island of Arracokra (I hope that is spelt right) would be interesting. I am thinking of the Rito Island from Zelda: Windwaker.

[Unoriginal]

The Warlord's Island

Fifty years ago, the Warlord Odana Nezumi tried to wrestle control of the islands, and get herself declared empress. And despite coming closer than anyone in recent memories, she failed. Now she lives alone on an island, in what was once a monastery.

However, one of the nobles the PCs require the support of is adamant: they will only agree to it if the PCs bring them Odana's corpse (or at least her head), as revenge for their father, killed during the Warlord's conquests.

Neither age nor isolation have slowed anything in Nezumi, be it her blade, her bow, her feet or her cunning mind. And she has spent the last fifty years learning everything about surviving on her island, as well as trapping it. But eh, what could an old halfling woman all alone could do against a group of adventurers, right?



So, we essentially steal the plot of The Iliad?

The plot of the Iliad is nothing like that, unless the girl did really elope, in which case the plot is basically nothing like that.

[Requilac]

The plot of the Iliad is nothing like that, unless the girl did really elope, in which case the plot is basically nothing like that.

Unoriginal, I am well aware that Asmotherion’s suggestion is not exactly the same plot as The Iliad. There is a lot of minutia involved in an epic of biblical length, I just thought that there were some parallels between them. Of course there would be major differences, but if you replace the Mao’s daughter with Helens of Troy and the Mao with king Agamemnon, than almost all of those statements would still be accurate. You know, aside from the fact that the crusade actually occurred in the Iliad. Do not mistaken me, I know that the plot of the Iliad is much more complex than that. It was a joke Unoriginal, I was trying to be humorous, I did not mean to troll you into an argument.

[Naanomi]

A Tibet-analog would be good... a extremely high and treacherous mountain with Monks/enlightened type folk living on it (gold dragon or Kirin even?) but isolationistic... can you convince them to get involved at all?

Another idea: a ‘lotus-eater’ island nation; semi-Micronesian in character... everyone seems peaceful and happy and content, but (as usual) something is artificial about it all. Something living under the island; or perhaps in the surrounding sea; using the people as ‘feeding stock’ of some kind while also manipulating the ‘everything is OK, sadness is forbidden!’ Jingoistic government. The villain could be something supernatural (demonic, or lovecraftian) or a bit more ‘mundane’ (an illithid nautilus ship crashed and submerged in the bay)

Heck, just having one of your ‘kingdoms’ be aquatic in nature (samurai tritons) is good for some variety

[Nidgit]

You need some sort of ninja drama. It's obvious but absolutely required.

As a follow-up to that slave revolt idea, what of one of the islands is actually a democracy post-revolt? The deposed ruler offers to support the players' patron of they can restore his seat but that means eliminating a functioning democracy. The people won't vote to support an emperor without some serious convincing.

One island could have a number of shrines that help to create a thriving culture based on cooperation with spirits (mephits, pseudodragons re-fluffed as Kitsune, and so on). Some dark corrupting force is turning the spirits from helpful companions into devious pranksters, and those pranks grow more dangerous by the day. Can the players uncover the source of this devilry and stop it before someone gets hurt?

[Toofey]

I'm wondering if there's a way of making use of free resources to make the kingdom building stuff go faster. Maybe maps with custom uploaded tokens using Roll20, so that it's a matter of them just sitting down for a few minutes instead of a long drawn out process.

Basically keep the flavor and customization as much as possible while streamlining the process a lot. You will lose some fun in RPing dealing with contractors etc... but it'll help you to your plot faster.

[Ninja_Prawn]

You need some sort of ninja drama. It's obvious but absolutely required.

I'd love to see someone fight these guys:

http://i64.tinypic.com/2ptz5w5.png
http://i65.tinypic.com/2d1r4hx.png
http://i64.tinypic.com/eah57a.png
http://i65.tinypic.com/2wolkw7.png
http://i66.tinypic.com/mlknd4.png

[Regitnui]

I'd love to see someone fight these guys:

http://i64.tinypic.com/2ptz5w5.png
http://i65.tinypic.com/2d1r4hx.png
http://i64.tinypic.com/eah57a.png
http://i65.tinypic.com/2wolkw7.png
http://i66.tinypic.com/mlknd4.png

Well, I can use them, but I'm unsure of the guns. Perhaps I'll offer them as the "new innovation" the enemy emperor wannabe is using.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Well, I can use them, but I'm unsure of the guns. Perhaps I'll offer them as the "new innovation" the enemy emperor wannabe is using.

Emperor Wannabe? As in "I wannabe the very best, like no one ever was"? :smalltongue:

Fair point though. They're from a game set in the Edo period, by which point firearms were widespread. Simply replacing the guns with hand crossbows (and a heavy crossbow for Takuma. He'll also need something like the bonus action shot from Crossbow Expert) shouldn't be too much of a problem though.

[Regitnui]

Emperor Wannabe? As in "I wannabe the very best, like no one every was"? :smalltongue:

Fair point though. They're from a game set in the Edo period, by which point firearms were widespread. Simply replacing the guns with hand crossbows (and a heavy crossbow for Takuma) shouldn't be too much of a problem though.

"Rival Emperor candidate" may be a politer way of referring to him.

I'll do that. Have them as recurring bad guys. Thanks.

[Callin]

Sick and tired of all the wars for conquest the elders of each Kingdom was given a directive from the Ancestors. 1 Emperial Candidate will be put forth to face the Trials. Now each Candidate does not have to actually perform said trial. Champions can and at times should be used for each trial will be difficult alone.

No holds bar winner take the Islands.

Suggested trials.

A lotus blossom from the highest mountain.
Quell the rebel uprising
Meditate at 1 of the high temples and fast for 1 week

[Ninja_Prawn]

Meditate at 1 of the high temples and fast for 1 week

DM: You complete your first day of fasting. Make a Constitution saving throw.
Player: 19
DM: Okay, looks like that all that weight you put on at the sushi eating contest was actually a good thing. Now make a Wisdom saving throw.
Player: 4
DM: Unfortunately, those cookies that your kōhai baked for you are just too enticing. Your willpower breaks and you can't help but stuff your face with sweet, sweet biscuits!

[Callin]

Haha or rival adventuring party attacks. Defend your master

[Mjolnirbear]

Avatar! Base the tribes on benders. You could add a wood tribe for a more eastern-authentic Elemental flavour.

[Temperjoke]

It gets pretty weird at times, but the Manga/Anime One Piece is set in a world where the world is made up of islands. There are various sizes, but nothing too big. All the islands are different, with their own weather systems that are independent of each other. So one will have snowstorms, while another nearby has desert weather. And many of them have weird things going on, such as one that has constant lightning storms, or a chain that were actually fly-trap plants the size of islands. Might be worth looking through for inspiration. (http://onepiece.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Locations)

Another thought is alternate transportation, like a clan that uses giant birds of some sort to fly between islands instead of sailing. The MM has Giant Eagles, Owls, and Vultures for example. A "lost" island of various dinosaurs (regardless of whether they actually would have existed together or not) might be a fun adventure spot. Or an island filled with giant beasts and hill giants.

[Asmotherion]

What could be interesting is having an island that is going through something like the Haitian revolution. If you are not familiar with that war, then the Haitian revolution was basically a country wide slave uprising that succeeeded. It could be interesting to have an island which is experiencing a slave revolt, a volatile conflict where the players could easily find a way to take control of that area. It could provide some good characterization if you are okay with some more ambiguity (which seems likely considering that your players are conquerors). They could decide to assist the current government, aid the slaves or even just come in after either side wins and take over while they are weakened. That could definitely be a deciding factor on the strategies employed by the players which they are likely going to implement in the future. If they help the reigning government, you can expect them to become a heavy handed tyranny. If they help the slaves, you can expect them to be a more idealistic empire that seeks to raise up the downtrodden. If they just wait for the war to end and conquer the island after the fact, than you could expect them to be sly and cunning tricksters that take every advantage they can get. It would definitely be a good indicator of what the players may be interested in doing for the rest of the game.



So, we essentially steal the plot of The Iliad?
As I said, 30th hour... Also, I'm half Greek, so an indirect Mythological referance from my origin was the first thing I could come up with :P Still, I did alter a few things, like making it his Daughter instead of Wife, and leaving an oppen end as to weather she was actually abducted or not.

End of the day, even something with clasic value can be apreciated once in a wile.

[Requilac]

As I said, 30th hour... Also, I'm half Greek, so an indirect Mythological referance from my origin was the first thing I could come up with :P Still, I did alter a few things, like making it his Daughter instead of Wife, and leaving an oppen end as to weather she was actually abducted or not.

End of the day, even something with clasic value can be apreciated once in a wile.

I am sorry, I was not criticizing you, I just wanted to point out some similarities for the sake of conversation. Your plot is perfectly fine and I have no issues with it. I did not mean to offend you and I totally agree with your last statement. You seemed like you were offended by what I said, but it is very hard to tell over text.

[Regitnui]

I am sorry, I was not criticizing you, I just wanted to point out some similarities for the sake of conversation. Your plot is perfectly fine and I have no issues with it. I did not mean to offend you and I totally agree with your last statement. You seemed like you were offended by what I said, but it is very hard to tell over text.

I'm using it. Makes a nice reason for there to be a conflict with the peaceful Tibet-analogues.