The Underdark is overrun, but by who...or what?

[Whiskeyjack8044]

The city of Petrasus has always been shared by the Rock Gnomes on the surface of the Mesa and the Svirfneblin beneath, but for the last 40 years it has been a Haven for many peoples of the Underdark. Drow, Svirfneblin, and Duergar live adjacent to Humans, Halflings, and other "Surfacers". They have been force to adapt ever since they lost their home in the Underdark, ever since it was over ran.

Ok, so the here is where I need your help: I like the idea of forcing a mass migration out of the Underdark due to some huge threat. The Grey dwarves offering to help defend the kingdoms of other dwarves in exchange for sanctuary; roaming bands of desperate Dark elves, mad with fear and newfound freedom, conducting midnight raids and becoming a nuisance for everyone. Imagine the Drow priestesses, desperate in their last stronghold in the Underdark, making a pact with the fleeing Illithid, sacrificing their men to the mindflayers who act as commanders in an enthralled Drow army under Siege!

Sorry, got carried away world-building again...

Anyway, what would be such a threat to cause a migration of the magnitude, but not scare the surface into action? I was thinking of demons, but I don't think the surface (or the devils, or the gods for that matter) would brush it off as a "Underdark problem" or a "Dwarf problem".

Tl;Dr What could take over the whole Underdark, but not cause the armies of Heaven and Hell to show up?

[Millstone85]

I would suggest an abolethic sovereignty, from the deepest depths of the Underdark, finally making its move after centuries of preparation. Its army includes chuuls, kuo-toa, sentient oozes, drow cultists of That Which Lurks, and of course lots and lots of thralls.

[JackPhoenix]

Does the threat need to be sapient? Simply something that makes Underdark uninhabitable would be good reason to move away. Earthquakes and the whole thing collapsing, perhaps someone (or something) made a hole at the bottom of the sea and now the whole place gets flooded, magic stops working (pretty much everything in the Underdark is dependant on magic) or or starts acting weirdly, ecological collapse... not something you can solve with an army.

[Millstone85]

Earthquakes and the whole thing collapsing, perhaps someone (or something) made a hole at the bottom of the sea and now the whole place gets floodedFor something more fantastical, the earthquake or flood could be caused by a particular alignment with the elemental plane of earth or water. Similarly, the elemental plane of fire could be filling the place with lava.

Ooh... It could be part of a very ancient cycle, forgotten by all but the gods. The Underdark had been in an Air phase, but now it is another element's turn.

[MarkVIIIMarc]

Sometimes a simple combination. To borrow from a couple ideas above.

A tunnel opened letting the sea into part of the underdark forcing a migration. This migration has caused some peoples to displace thers, some famine, some wars.

Have the party find out a purple worm did it accidentally or something like an angry Kraken did it on onpurpose because this or that underdark lord angered it.

Of all non interesting stat blocks, the Quaggoth interest me because of their back story.

[Naanomi]

On most Prime worlds, the Underdark is large... hard to have a threat against the whole place.

Planar threats seem the most likely... elementals (potentially genie races)... demons/devils are a bit overdone, as are Far-Realm stuffs... Slaad? Modrons? The Negative-Energy plane filling the place to overflowing with incorporeal undead?

[Yora]

My fiirst thought was also aboleths. They flooded the various cities and there's really nothing the inhabitants can do after that point.

Since you can't drown cities on the surface, the surface people don't feel any pressing need to drive them out of the flooded caverns.

[Whiskeyjack8044]

I realized today that want I wanted was to recreate the darkspawn in the deeproads from Dragon Age. Not very original I guess.

I like y'alls suggestion of a natural disaster coinciding with this invasion, but I'd definitely still like there to be an army to be held back.

I'm into the aboleth idea, but do you think the Ilithid would be inclined to follow them rather than fight them? I really like the idea of Drow desperately capturing more and more slaves to give to the Illithid as fodder. The threat is so big, and their resources so short, that only an elder brain can hope to coordinate a defense.

[Millstone85]

I'm into the aboleth idea, but do you think the Ilithid would be inclined to follow them rather than fight them?I don't remember if it has been mentioned in this edition, but aboleths and illithids can't stand each other.

[LibraryOgre]

Yellow Musk Creepers and their zombies. Maybe with Myconids helping them.

[Tvtyrant]

I like an elemental plane convergence. The elemental plane of slime is in retrograde with the planet, and deep in the Underdark the rock is becoming mud. Caverns can't survive the transformation, the inhabitants homes are literally melting and sealing them in.

If you want it to be more supernatural/have a boss Zargon the Returner is awakening in the bowels of the planet. Do the same thing with rock to mud applying randomly all over the Underdark, but also creatures' skin can randomly melt off their bodies and become carnivorous oozes. You can include Aboleths among his followers, who have patiently chipped away at his prison for eons.

A crusade might be able to reach the deepest caverns of the Underdark and reseal Zargon in lava, but it will take tremendous political will and powerful adventurers.

[Coffee_Dragon]

Tribbles.

hidden text is hidden

[Whiskeyjack8044]

Ok so a rough campaign outline:
*At low level the PCs are dealing with the effects of the migrants themselves (fighting Underdark brigands, protecting Underdark migrants from hate crimes and persecution).

**at mid level the PC are dealing with more Geo-poltical/economic problems due to the upheaval caused by mass migration (Chasing Drow terrorists, or breaking up large Duergar militias)

***At later levels a powerful Mordenkainen type, frustrated with the various surface-dwelling leaders' short-sightedness, recruits the party to further investigate what's going on down there.

**** campaign ends with the party fighting along side Ilithid and Drow to protect the last Bastion of the underdark. The party then must travel through the Underdark, chasing the legend of the Tarrasque, whom they hope to awake and set loose upon the Aboleth Cabal....

Next campaign takes place a decade later, and a surface under constant threat of the Tarrasque's attack.

What do you guys think?

[MaxWilson]

Ok so a rough campaign outline:
*At low level the PCs are dealing with the effects of the migrants themselves (fighting Underdark brigands, protecting Underdark migrants from hate crimes and persecution).

**at mid level the PC are dealing with more Geo-poltical/economic problems due to the upheaval caused by mass migration (Chasing Drow terrorists, or breaking up large Duergar militias)

***At later levels a powerful Mordenkainen type, frustrated with the various surface-dwelling leaders' short-sightedness, recruits the party to further investigate what's going on down there.

**** campaign ends with the party fighting along side Ilithid and Drow to protect the last Bastion of the underdark. The party then must travel through the Underdark, chasing the legend of the Tarrasque, whom they hope to awake and set loose upon the Aboleth Cabal....

Next campaign takes place a decade later, and a surface under constant threat of the Tarrasque's attack.

What do you guys think?

It all sounds good except that you'll need to write your own Tarrasque stats--the MM version isn't usable as an apocalyptic threat. Also be prepared for the possibility the players will pursue a completely current solution involving zero Tarrasques, especially if they anticipate exactly the problem you're setting up for the next campaign. Likewise they could try your mid-level stuff immediately, in which case they'd have some tough fights until they leveled up enough to be ready. Don't get to attached to the outline, that's all I'm saying. But I like the variety of scenarios you're preparing for.

P.S. I like your screen name. The High King says hi and he won't do it again.

[Misterwhisper]

I am currently rewriting the mad mage dungeon module to be about halister accidentally opening a portal and allow xenomorphs loose who start spreading like crazy and setting up a hive with xeno versions of the normal races.

[Millstone85]

Also be prepared for the possibility the players will pursue a completely current solution involving zero Tarrasques, especially if they anticipate exactly the problem you're setting up for the next campaign.Personally, I would be less than happy to find myself set up for a "Whoopsy, party done goofed".

Otherwise, I like that campaign.

[ImproperJustice]

Lawyers!


From the infernal realms. Enacting zoning and EPA legislations from the repeal of universal freedoms act passed in 0005, according to provisions 14b subsection A of the Celestial/ Underworld accords.

Probelem is, Each of the Celestial good aligned deities thought someone else was supposed to cover the legal arguments back in 05, and incredibly no one showed up.

So it’s all legit. PCs are gonna have to find some ancient legal sage, or engage time travel and go back to argue on the behalf of the UnderDark’s inhabitants.

[Tvtyrant]

Ok so a rough campaign outline:
*At low level the PCs are dealing with the effects of the migrants themselves (fighting Underdark brigands, protecting Underdark migrants from hate crimes and persecution).

**at mid level the PC are dealing with more Geo-poltical/economic problems due to the upheaval caused by mass migration (Chasing Drow terrorists, or breaking up large Duergar militias)

***At later levels a powerful Mordenkainen type, frustrated with the various surface-dwelling leaders' short-sightedness, recruits the party to further investigate what's going on down there.

**** campaign ends with the party fighting along side Ilithid and Drow to protect the last Bastion of the underdark. The party then must travel through the Underdark, chasing the legend of the Tarrasque, whom they hope to awake and set loose upon the Aboleth Cabal....

Next campaign takes place a decade later, and a surface under constant threat of the Tarrasque's attack.

What do you guys think?
I would be pissed to play a 1-20 campaign and find out I am expected to lose it. Not just can, but actively expected to or forced to? Yeah no thanks.

[Cicciograna]

If even the illithids are fleeing, the cause can be only the aboleth.

[Naanomi]

I don't remember if it has been mentioned in this edition, but aboleths and illithids can't stand each other.
Aboleth hate illithid anyways... one they don’t ‘remember’ their empire rising (it didn’t, it appeared out of no where from the future); and because their empire dominated the Prime for a while on a way that was threatening to the Aboleth (who once dominated it themselves)

[Laserlight]

Well, you see, me and Brother Jebediah got us some of them magic jugs of water, that don't never empty, they just keep pouring and pouring. This was back some year ago, mind, when "endless" meant "it don't stop at the end of your turn". We carried them down into the Underdark and tipped them over and just let the water flow. Reckon they'll flood the whole Underdark, in a while.

[Whiskeyjack8044]

I would be pissed to play a 1-20 campaign and find out I am expected to lose it. Not just can, but actively expected to or forced to? Yeah no thanks.
Well obviously there is no planning ahead for what direction the players take, but I wouldn't say they are forced to lose. I didn't mean to imply that they would be killed by the tarrasque, they would wake it up and make their escape. My homebrew stat-less tarrasque would then lay waste to the entire Underdark, resetting the board so to speak.

If my players are interested in a follow up campaign, then their former characters will probably be NPCs who are researching ways to make the tarrasque "mortal" (turn it into the MM tarrasque basicly). I imagen they will be Outlaws, working in secret to finish what they started, since most of the world is going to be pretty sore about them unleashing the apocalypse.

Side question: is taking over a players character and making them an NPC weird? I would need their consent of course.

Oh, and just because I haven't said it yet, thank y'all so much for the feedback!

[opaopajr]

The Great Flumph Revolution! :smallmad:

[Millstone85]

Aboleth hate illithid anyways... one they don’t ‘remember’ their empire rising (it didn’t, it appeared out of no where from the future); and because their empire dominated the Prime for a while on a way that was threatening to the Aboleth (who once dominated it themselves)Which is exactly where 5e lore gets muddy. VGtM suggests that the illithids might have sent most of their stuff and population forward in time to preserve those from the gith revolution. That's a complete 180 on previous editions' narrative regarding the illithids travelling back in time to flee some future multiverse-wide disaster. Of course, both could have happened, making illithid history even more timey wimey. Aboleth history sure is simpler: they are living fossils.


If my players are interested in a follow up campaign, then their former characters will probably be NPCs who are researching ways to make the tarrasque "mortal" (turn it into the MM tarrasque basicly). I imagen they will be Outlaws, working in secret to finish what they started, since most of the world is going to be pretty sore about them unleashing the apocalypse.See, that's the pickle. Are you sure your players will be fine with their characters becoming scorned by all after trying to save the world (and yes, failing)? Sure, it makes for a tragic story, and you might think your players mature enough to just-a-game it. But in their place, I would still feel like the DM played a cruel joke on the table (edited for politeness).


The Great Flumph Revolution! :smallmad:No, don't villainize the flumphs! :smalleek:

[Nidgit]

It could be cool if it were a 'good' force causing more problems than solutions. Maybe a massive Triton invasion or a band of Empyreans is uncompromising in its intentions to wipe out the evil of the Underdark but threatens to destroy the more peaceful peoples too through social upheaval or for association with Drow, illithids, etc.