Planning out some Dark Fantasy with maybe some Cosmic Horror

[Blackhawk748]

As the title says I'm working on planning out a long campaign (ideally 1-20) which is more Dark Fantasy. Right now it's nothing more than a series of ideas, so it's pretty malleable.

The basic idea I have is that the world has fallen to the Forces of Evil (Mind Flayers, probably a Portal or 3 to the lower planes, maybe some more stuff) and the PCs start in, what they believe, to be the last free city state. It's held that way by a party of near Epic level adventurers, who also rule it.

I have some ideas about the PCs going out and helping to push back against the FoE and probably eventually beating at least one of the factions.

It's pretty vague tight now so any suggestions to be made would be helpful. Also, I'll be running it as 3.PF, so even more options are on the table

[unseenmage]

You take inspiration from about the only decent thing about the Goblin Slayer anime, that the leader, the saint was not the villain but a victim.

Perhaps the epic leader has a vicious phobia from old trauma that makes them more manipulative than necessary. Not evilly so, just insultingly so.

The idea that even the perfect leaders have darkness in their hearts that they cannot cleanse can strongly reinforce a grim dark theme if used well. (not that Gonlin Slayer used it well, it's just what came to mind)

[Bapsplingo]

I think a curveball would fit in well. That Last Free City? Throw in hints about disappearances, inverted architecture that sometimes feels like the walls do a better job of keeping people in than out, on adventures out and about make sure to have a conspicuous lack of or trove of info on these epic level adventurers. They say they're busy with big threats and administration, but really? Evil won. Now your players have just been members of a Illithid/Yith/etc herd being manipulated into fighting the factional rivalries of powers too horrible to give a damn about much else. Then maybe make it a quest of vengeance (the world is gone but we'll avenge it) or resurrection or saving the people of the city.

[Efrate]

Elder evils help this with things getting progressively harder as time passes, and forcing a sort of clock.

Take a long hard look at spells and magic items. Especially healing (hp, disease, poison, and curses), removal or immunity to fear, insanity and mind effecting things.

You can cherry pick effects and whatnot to allow or not as a dm, but discuss the tone and such with your players so they know what to not go out of their way to do.

As a dm, expect to challenge your players, not as much their characters, and appeal to their worries, fears, etc. Again discuss and get this okayed in session 0. Also get the limits of what they are comfortable dealing with. Things like rape, child murder or torture described in fairly graphic detail may be too much for your players, so get their limits and know where to stop. Also consider a brief wrap up after or between each session (1 on 1 if need be so there is not social preasure to say its ok because everyone else seemed ok) to make sure everyone is still on the same page and ok with the direction things are going.

Be indirect with your challenges, do not put monster of the week in front of them and expect to maintain tension. Creative use of lighting, music and sound effects can help.

[unseenmage]

Remember too that the goal.off horror is to.sow confusion in the subject, and through it fear.

The one rule is that The Supernatural Will Get You.
Keep to that with a group that's okay with it and you're golden.

If however however goal is heroic fantasy overcoming gothic horror.. first the one, then the other works best.

[Blackhawk748]

You take inspiration from about the only decent thing about the Goblin Slayer anime, that the leader, the saint was not the villain but a victim.

Perhaps the epic leader has a vicious phobia from old trauma that makes them more manipulative than necessary. Not evilly so, just insultingly so.

The idea that even the perfect leaders have darkness in their hearts that they cannot cleanse can strongly reinforce a grim dark theme if used well. (not that Gonlin Slayer used it well, it's just what came to mind)

I rather like Goblin Slayer, so I like this idea. Plays rather well with another idea I just came up with.


I think a curveball would fit in well. That Last Free City? Throw in hints about disappearances, inverted architecture that sometimes feels like the walls do a better job of keeping people in than out, on adventures out and about make sure to have a conspicuous lack of or trove of info on these epic level adventurers. They say they're busy with big threats and administration, but really? Evil won. Now your players have just been members of a Illithid/Yith/etc herd being manipulated into fighting the factional rivalries of powers too horrible to give a damn about much else. Then maybe make it a quest of vengeance (the world is gone but we'll avenge it) or resurrection or saving the people of the city.

I like this, but to make it better would be if they actually are still free, but they have the city that way because they're paranoid about people who shouldn't be leaving doing so. Sow A bit of info from the enemies in there and the PCs will be tightly concerned.

I also had an idea about the PCs being sent on a quest to go wake up the Tarrasque so it can do it's job and just wreck everything

[Bapsplingo]

I rather like Goblin Slayer, so I like this idea. Plays rather well with another idea I just came up with.



I like this, but to make it better would be if they actually are still free, but they have the city that way because they're paranoid about people who shouldn't be leaving doing so. Sow A bit of info from the enemies in there and the PCs will be tightly concerned.

I also had an idea about the PCs being sent on a quest to go wake up the Tarrasque so it can do it's job and just wreck everything

Oho! Mind games! I love that, giving your players the chance to possibly mess up real hard by making the wrong interpretations? Now that's some good dark fantasy.

[curious-puzzle]

If the Forces of EvilTM have conquered the world, what's happened to said world? I think that could be a major factor in pushing things to the darker end of fantasy.

Illithids / undead : Did they blot out the sun (or are trying to do so)? Are there "farm" cities full of mind-whammied victims, happily going about their lives until they get harvested? Are the gith planning on invading en masse and putting the entire world to the sword in order to snuff out another illithid menace?

Fiends: Is the path to any afterlife other than the lower planes in peril/blocked? Are said portals growing/consuming/transforming? Or are the borders of reality softening due to such manifest evil, allowing more and more incursions from other planes as time passes? Are said high-level/epic NPCs in danger of being corrupted/subverted from protectors to rulers?

I also agree that Elder evils could have some cool ideas.

[Blackhawk748]

If the Forces of EvilTM have conquered the world, what's happened to said world? I think that could be a major factor in pushing things to the darker end of fantasy.

Illithids / undead : Did they blot out the sun (or are trying to do so)? Are there "farm" cities full of mind-whammied victims, happily going about their lives until they get harvested? Are the gith planning on invading en masse and putting the entire world to the sword in order to snuff out another illithid menace?

Fiends: Is the path to any afterlife other than the lower planes in peril/blocked? Are said portals growing/consuming/transforming? Or are the borders of reality softening due to such manifest evil, allowing more and more incursions from other planes as time passes? Are said high-level/epic NPCs in danger of being corrupted/subverted from protectors to rulers?

I also agree that Elder evils could have some cool ideas.

Right now, my idea is that the various Evil factions have each claimed their own little chunk of the world. The residents of the Lower Planes have done a partial meld with the material plane, so its sort of,but not really, a part of the Lower Planes now. The Illithids run their own city states, the undead are running about doing undead stuff and the wilds are full of just general nastiness.

Also I may swipe an Elder Evil or two.

[Eldan]

Illithids are already cosmic horror. Their backstory is straight out of Lovecraft. Not that they have tentacles. That's the superficial part. It's the part where Mindflayers are humans. From the distant future. At some point in the future, humanity will turn into monsters and the players won't really be able to stop it.

So, if you want to play up the horror? Have a background thread of people everywhere becoming more mindflayer-like as time goes on. Random people devleoping psionic power. Some researcher working on a way to access memories by brain-extraction. That could have all kinds of useful applications in an adventure. Have a criminal kidnap someone important to the people in power. He refuses to tell where they are. Out with his brain. Some other researcher trying to store memories of the dead in giant artificial brains. Have it slowly dawn on the players that the entire city is turning into mindflayers themselves.

[Kalkra]

You could throw in the Far Realms for even more Lovecratian wilderness.

[DrMotives]

Aboleth are heavily Lovecraft influenced creatures. In LoM, they follow a set of Old Ones specifically called out as re-branded Mythos Old Ones. Feel free to use those, or swap back to the originals, or your own versions. While the body shape doesn't match, an aboleth is somewhat like the Great Race of Yith, in that they have memories from before creation, before the gods came along. They will be here long after this creation ends too, most likely.

If you like older stuff, a changeling is very much in keeping with Great God Pan, which I think Lovecraft said inspired him.

[GloatingSwine]

The idea that even the perfect leaders have darkness in their hearts that they cannot cleanse can strongly reinforce a grim dark theme if used well. (not that Gonlin Slayer used it well, it's just what came to mind)

So basically, we're building Falconia from Berserk.

Falconia is basically exactly what the OP is talking about, a last bastion for humanity in a world increasingly overrun by supernatural horror, open to all and ruled benevolently by a mighty king and his retinue of epic fighters.

Of course, that mighty king is Griffith, the official worst, and so he's doing the whole thing because his ego and ambition will accept nothing less than to have all of humanity beholden to and loving him for his rule.

[Blackhawk748]

Illithids are already cosmic horror. Their backstory is straight out of Lovecraft. Not that they have tentacles. That's the superficial part. It's the part where Mindflayers are humans. From the distant future. At some point in the future, humanity will turn into monsters and the players won't really be able to stop it.

So, if you want to play up the horror? Have a background thread of people everywhere becoming more mindflayer-like as time goes on. Random people devleoping psionic power. Some researcher working on a way to access memories by brain-extraction. That could have all kinds of useful applications in an adventure. Have a criminal kidnap someone important to the people in power. He refuses to tell where they are. Out with his brain. Some other researcher trying to store memories of the dead in giant artificial brains. Have it slowly dawn on the players that the entire city is turning into mindflayers themselves.

Oooh I like that. May have them find another city that is doing that.


Aboleth are heavily Lovecraft influenced creatures. In LoM, they follow a set of Old Ones specifically called out as re-branded Mythos Old Ones. Feel free to use those, or swap back to the originals, or your own versions. While the body shape doesn't match, an aboleth is somewhat like the Great Race of Yith, in that they have memories from before creation, before the gods came along. They will be here long after this creation ends too, most likely.

If you like older stuff, a changeling is very much in keeping with Great God Pan, which I think Lovecraft said inspired him.

Aboleths were totally gonna be included. Cuz Aboleths are sweet


So basically, we're building Falconia from Berserk.

Falconia is basically exactly what the OP is talking about, a last bastion for humanity in a world increasingly overrun by supernatural horror, open to all and ruled benevolently by a mighty king and his retinue of epic fighters.

Of course, that mighty king is Griffith, the official worst, and so he's doing the whole thing because his ego and ambition will accept nothing less than to have all of humanity beholden to and loving him for his rule.

I would be lying if I said that I wasn't at least a bit inspired by Berserk. Except that the leaders aren't Griffith.

[daremetoidareyo]

Twist, you're not a free State because the adventurer Kings are so epic, but because mindflayers want to keep original breeding stock due to some...unfortunate selective breeding mistakes from before.

Imagine the illithid states having a PETA like movement, demanding that free range humanoids are 1. More nutritious, 2. More delicious, and 3. Necessary for an effective society of parasitoids.

The disappearances? Thems be Poachers.

Imagine if your pcs argued for more wild free human nurseries with the illithid. That would be a hoot.

[Eldan]

If you have both Aboleths and Illithids in the same campaign, you have a great pretext for them waging a giant, incomprehensible war across time and space. Aboleths are from a past so distant, it's incomprehensible. Depending on your source, they were either created just after the creation of the world, when everything was dark and dense and wet, or they came to our universe from an even older one with entirely different physical laws that was destroyed. They remember everything through their racial memories. Everything except the Illithids, who are from a different timeline, or the distant future. So the two hate each other, deeply, and instinctually, because they both think they know everything, but can't understand each other.

[daremetoidareyo]

If you have both Aboleths and Illithids in the same campaign, you have a great pretext for them waging a giant, incomprehensible war across time and space. Aboleths are from a past so distant, it's incomprehensible. Depending on your source, they were either created just after the creation of the world, when everything was dark and dense and wet, or they came to our universe from an even older one with entirely different physical laws that was destroyed. They remember everything through their racial memories. Everything except the Illithids, who are from a different timeline, or the distant future. So the two hate each other, deeply, and instinctually, because they both think they know everything, but can't understand each other.

Until an Elder brain gets the idea to make an abollethid.

[Eldan]

Until an Elder brain gets the idea to make an abollethid.

Of course. Or some mindflayer tries to eat an Aboleth brain to get at their genetic memory.

[unseenmage]

So basically, we're building Falconia from Berserk.

Falconia is basically exactly what the OP is talking about, a last bastion for humanity in a world increasingly overrun by supernatural horror, open to all and ruled benevolently by a mighty king and his retinue of epic fighters.

Of course, that mighty king is Griffith, the official worst, and so he's doing the whole thing because his ego and ambition will accept nothing less than to have all of humanity beholden to and loving him for his rule.

Never watched Berserk so good catch. Sounds like just what the OP ordered too.