Tormsskull
2008-07-07, 12:49 PM
Hi all,
Well, it is that time again, where I am putting together a new 4e campaign for some players. I've had a few ideas rolling around my head for the type of campaign I want to run, and I thought that I would see if anyone had some suggestions on my ideas, or had some ideas of their own they wanted to share.
Here goes:
Location:
The PCs home base is a small city named Cliffsdale set near the northern border of a human former-kingdom. The borders of the old kingdom used to be strictly enforced by the local army, the Ceralon Centurians, over a hundred years ago. When the last king of Ceralon fell to a mysterious sickness, his son took his place but was never able to win over the nobles or the peasants, and small battles broke out over the country.
As of the current date, there are few resources worth taking in the former kingdom of Ceralon, and as such it sees few battles. Most city and townsfolk in the country refer to themselves by their respective city or town, not considering themselves part of the kingdom anymore. The successor to the most recent king, Lord Elgin, has been trying to centralize power but has had little success outside of the capital, Ceralon City, which is far south of Cliffsdale.
North of the old borders of Ceralon lies the realm of the Medusa Queen. She appeared out of nowhere around 30 years ago, killing off the chiefs of the local humanoid populations and bringing them under her banner. She rules her land, which is about three times the size of Ceralon, with an iron fist, slaughtering all that dare to oppose her. It is said that her throne room is littered with the statues of those that have angered her.
East of Ceralon lies the Dread Forest, named as such because those who enter the forest rarely find their way out. Its trees are older than any can remember, and their dark and gnarled bark seem to take on tortured or anguished expressions. A group of shadow elves make their home in the forest, though they keep to themselves for the most part, only venturing into the land of Ceralon to trade goods when they choose to. For the most part, the people of Ceralon treat these elves with caution, though they are loathe to cross them, for it is said that the last cityfolk that crossed the shadow elves saw their entire city vanish before their very eyes.
South of Ceralon is a fertile land of many rivers that travel a short distance before ending in the Great Sea. This land seems ripe for expansion, though it is often subject to torrential rain, tornadoes, and a lack of sunshine.
West of Ceralon lies the remnants of the Ancient Empire. It was from the Ancient Empire that Ceralon sprung, founded by human slaves of the Dragonborn who ruled the Ancient Empire. That empire lasted for over a thousand years according to recorded history, and though it has been over five-hundred years since its collapse, many ruined castles and towers have forstood the test of time. What lies in those ruins...
First Adventure:
The PCs have been sent from Cliffsdale into the heart of the Medusa Queen's territory baring the flag of negotiation. They have been sent by the elders of the town to discuss an agreement between the Medusa Queen's minions and the town of Cliffsdale, which the elders hope will spare the town any further intrusions (thus far their caravan wagons headed for other towns in the northern areas of Ceralon have come under attack).
The PCs will meet with a few hostile groups of humanoids who won't respect the flag of negotiation, and will meet a few that will. Once the PCs make it into the heart of the Medusa Queen's kingdom they will see human/elf/dwarf/etc slaves, harsh treatment as expected from an Evil ruler, and many other horrors. They will be met by an intelligent and well-educated hobgoblin female who acts as one of the Medusa Queen's diplomats.
They will be escorted inside of the Medusa Queen's castle, where they will face a skill challenge to convince the diplomat that their mission has meaning. Should they fail, the diplomat will tell them to wait in the audience room for the Medusa Queen herself, but in truth she will simply dispatch a group of hobgoblin soldiers to kill the PCs. The PCs will have a chance to notice her deceit with an Insight check prior to her leaving, and again have a chance to hear her giving the orders outside of the door with a Perception check.
This will cause the PCs to battle a group of hobgoblins, which they will be able to defeat, but they will know that more are on their way. They will then have the option of fleeing the way they came, or if they think to search the audience room, they will find a grate that can be picked or bashed open. The grate will lead them through the sewers and a few encounters with the denizens down there. If they try to make it the way they came in they will face greater opposition from the organized forces of the Medusa Queen, though will have other chances to escape.
Should they succeed at the skill challenge with the hobgoblin diplomat, she will leave and come back with the Medusa Queen and 4 of the Medusa Queen's elite bodyguards. From there the Medusa Queen will look over the PCs, and then turn her diplomat into stone for wasting her time. She will be very condescending to the PCs, telling them she takes what she wants when she wants.
Just as things will look very grim for the PCs, a second diplomat will rush into the audience chamber with an urgent message for the Medua Queen. While irritated by the intrusion, when the diplomat mentions the sharpshooters who have begun assaulting the castle she will exit quickly with her bodyguards, and send a group of hobgoblin soldiers into deal with the PCs.
Thoughts/suggestions?
Also feel free to post your own campaign ideas and maybe we can all help each other.
Well, it is that time again, where I am putting together a new 4e campaign for some players. I've had a few ideas rolling around my head for the type of campaign I want to run, and I thought that I would see if anyone had some suggestions on my ideas, or had some ideas of their own they wanted to share.
Here goes:
Location:
The PCs home base is a small city named Cliffsdale set near the northern border of a human former-kingdom. The borders of the old kingdom used to be strictly enforced by the local army, the Ceralon Centurians, over a hundred years ago. When the last king of Ceralon fell to a mysterious sickness, his son took his place but was never able to win over the nobles or the peasants, and small battles broke out over the country.
As of the current date, there are few resources worth taking in the former kingdom of Ceralon, and as such it sees few battles. Most city and townsfolk in the country refer to themselves by their respective city or town, not considering themselves part of the kingdom anymore. The successor to the most recent king, Lord Elgin, has been trying to centralize power but has had little success outside of the capital, Ceralon City, which is far south of Cliffsdale.
North of the old borders of Ceralon lies the realm of the Medusa Queen. She appeared out of nowhere around 30 years ago, killing off the chiefs of the local humanoid populations and bringing them under her banner. She rules her land, which is about three times the size of Ceralon, with an iron fist, slaughtering all that dare to oppose her. It is said that her throne room is littered with the statues of those that have angered her.
East of Ceralon lies the Dread Forest, named as such because those who enter the forest rarely find their way out. Its trees are older than any can remember, and their dark and gnarled bark seem to take on tortured or anguished expressions. A group of shadow elves make their home in the forest, though they keep to themselves for the most part, only venturing into the land of Ceralon to trade goods when they choose to. For the most part, the people of Ceralon treat these elves with caution, though they are loathe to cross them, for it is said that the last cityfolk that crossed the shadow elves saw their entire city vanish before their very eyes.
South of Ceralon is a fertile land of many rivers that travel a short distance before ending in the Great Sea. This land seems ripe for expansion, though it is often subject to torrential rain, tornadoes, and a lack of sunshine.
West of Ceralon lies the remnants of the Ancient Empire. It was from the Ancient Empire that Ceralon sprung, founded by human slaves of the Dragonborn who ruled the Ancient Empire. That empire lasted for over a thousand years according to recorded history, and though it has been over five-hundred years since its collapse, many ruined castles and towers have forstood the test of time. What lies in those ruins...
First Adventure:
The PCs have been sent from Cliffsdale into the heart of the Medusa Queen's territory baring the flag of negotiation. They have been sent by the elders of the town to discuss an agreement between the Medusa Queen's minions and the town of Cliffsdale, which the elders hope will spare the town any further intrusions (thus far their caravan wagons headed for other towns in the northern areas of Ceralon have come under attack).
The PCs will meet with a few hostile groups of humanoids who won't respect the flag of negotiation, and will meet a few that will. Once the PCs make it into the heart of the Medusa Queen's kingdom they will see human/elf/dwarf/etc slaves, harsh treatment as expected from an Evil ruler, and many other horrors. They will be met by an intelligent and well-educated hobgoblin female who acts as one of the Medusa Queen's diplomats.
They will be escorted inside of the Medusa Queen's castle, where they will face a skill challenge to convince the diplomat that their mission has meaning. Should they fail, the diplomat will tell them to wait in the audience room for the Medusa Queen herself, but in truth she will simply dispatch a group of hobgoblin soldiers to kill the PCs. The PCs will have a chance to notice her deceit with an Insight check prior to her leaving, and again have a chance to hear her giving the orders outside of the door with a Perception check.
This will cause the PCs to battle a group of hobgoblins, which they will be able to defeat, but they will know that more are on their way. They will then have the option of fleeing the way they came, or if they think to search the audience room, they will find a grate that can be picked or bashed open. The grate will lead them through the sewers and a few encounters with the denizens down there. If they try to make it the way they came in they will face greater opposition from the organized forces of the Medusa Queen, though will have other chances to escape.
Should they succeed at the skill challenge with the hobgoblin diplomat, she will leave and come back with the Medusa Queen and 4 of the Medusa Queen's elite bodyguards. From there the Medusa Queen will look over the PCs, and then turn her diplomat into stone for wasting her time. She will be very condescending to the PCs, telling them she takes what she wants when she wants.
Just as things will look very grim for the PCs, a second diplomat will rush into the audience chamber with an urgent message for the Medua Queen. While irritated by the intrusion, when the diplomat mentions the sharpshooters who have begun assaulting the castle she will exit quickly with her bodyguards, and send a group of hobgoblin soldiers into deal with the PCs.
Thoughts/suggestions?
Also feel free to post your own campaign ideas and maybe we can all help each other.