Ok so I have posted before that my overarching campaign plot is the Dragons making their move to rule over all lesser races. Then I had a thought and amended it because I was thinking how do they do this? Brute strength and desolation seems kind of on the nose, so I decided they are manipulating kingdoms and the like to put supporters in position of influence and power but their ultimate goal is to turn the most worthless of the races into dragon kin. But how? Magic obviously, so I decided there is an ancient Dragon Temple underground with the power to do it. But they need to rebuild the key to unlock it (party will unwittingly aid in gathering the pieces).
So right now I have
Act 1 - Dragons rebuild the Key
Act 2 - Temple is unlocked and opened (I'm thinking of having it actually rise up out of the ground and serve as the conduit to transform the races in one massive shot eventually and also serve as the seat of Grauglathor, the BBEG in charge.
I figure there is quite a bit of game play in those two acts, also considering the party being derailed, side quests, and etc. But I am stuck now because I feel the plot should have two more acts and that is where I am getting writers block.
I'm thinking Act 3 would probably start with a demonstration of this power and plan by turning a whole city, or smaller kingdom into dragon kin slaves, but I'm not sure how to run with that or where to go to bring the story to Act 4 and a climactic conclusion. Maybe I can break up the plot differently?
well, just an idea, but if you think to the movie Dragonheart ( I get it is not a take over the world type story) he gave apart of his heart to the prince/ king, and continued to live because the king lived... imagine if the knight never killed the king off... imagine if the dragon was also evil and worked with that king to rule the lands... there is possibilities within that. hope it helps!
You could have multiple smaller temples/shrines that act as points on a magic circle (i.e. if they connect the lines it makes a star pentagram or whatever) they have to clean them out of "evil dragons" who are trying to keep the dragons from taking over the world.
I'm kind of doing the king thing. The original king will be murdered, his personal guard will be framed and on the run so his 8 year old son takes the throne but his step sister is actually a dragon in disguise pulling the strings and ruling by default.
Basically every major kindgom could have a dragon pulling the strings.
I like the idea of the multiple temples and having the party think they are working against the dragons by raising the temples, maybe have them think they will be putting the dragons in another plane or something
Although my general idea is there aren't alot of dragons because all the ferrous dragons killed the ones who wouldn't fall in line and then put all the eggs in stasis and stashed them in a private plane so they can be indoctrinated when they hatch them.
It sounds like you have everything you need to start the adventure - You have your tentpoles:
dragons are secretly trying to take over the world by rebuilding a key that will unlock an ancient temple
dragons need to enter the temple and likely perform some type of ritual or do something to get it up and running again
bunch of creatures get turned into dragons
Grauglathor rises and sits upon his throne, ruling over everyone
You have you're driving dramatic issue, you have motivations, and you have your background players pulling the strings. Stick with that, play out what those dragons would be doing in the background while the campaign is running, and see where the players take it.
For example, the players may decide not to take on the quests that contribute to building the key. In that case, the dragons are going to have to find some other way to get it put together. Maybe they enlist some other group to do, maybe a group of rivals the players make. If the players learn about this, they my start actively trying to stop that from happening.
See how things play out and you'll likely be surprised. You may find your final act is the players at the temple doing everything they can to stop Grauglathor from sitting on the throne and nuking the world, or them having to travel to another plane to find a mcguffin that will undo all the transformations if they place it in the temple, or may maybe it turns out to be that they lead a group of survivors from the mass transformation in an assault on the temple. Then you have the seeds for your next campaign - decades later when the world is ruled by dragons and the remaining people who weren't transformed struggle to stay alive.
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Ok so I have posted before that my overarching campaign plot is the Dragons making their move to rule over all lesser races. Then I had a thought and amended it because I was thinking how do they do this? Brute strength and desolation seems kind of on the nose, so I decided they are manipulating kingdoms and the like to put supporters in position of influence and power but their ultimate goal is to turn the most worthless of the races into dragon kin. But how? Magic obviously, so I decided there is an ancient Dragon Temple underground with the power to do it. But they need to rebuild the key to unlock it (party will unwittingly aid in gathering the pieces).
So right now I have
Act 1 - Dragons rebuild the Key
Act 2 - Temple is unlocked and opened (I'm thinking of having it actually rise up out of the ground and serve as the conduit to transform the races in one massive shot eventually and also serve as the seat of Grauglathor, the BBEG in charge.
I figure there is quite a bit of game play in those two acts, also considering the party being derailed, side quests, and etc. But I am stuck now because I feel the plot should have two more acts and that is where I am getting writers block.
I'm thinking Act 3 would probably start with a demonstration of this power and plan by turning a whole city, or smaller kingdom into dragon kin slaves, but I'm not sure how to run with that or where to go to bring the story to Act 4 and a climactic conclusion. Maybe I can break up the plot differently?
So as always, any and all input is most welcome.
well, just an idea, but if you think to the movie Dragonheart ( I get it is not a take over the world type story) he gave apart of his heart to the prince/ king, and continued to live because the king lived... imagine if the knight never killed the king off... imagine if the dragon was also evil and worked with that king to rule the lands... there is possibilities within that. hope it helps!
You could have multiple smaller temples/shrines that act as points on a magic circle (i.e. if they connect the lines it makes a star pentagram or whatever) they have to clean them out of "evil dragons" who are trying to keep the dragons from taking over the world.
I'm kind of doing the king thing. The original king will be murdered, his personal guard will be framed and on the run so his 8 year old son takes the throne but his step sister is actually a dragon in disguise pulling the strings and ruling by default.
Basically every major kindgom could have a dragon pulling the strings.
I like the idea of the multiple temples and having the party think they are working against the dragons by raising the temples, maybe have them think they will be putting the dragons in another plane or something
Good stuff
Although my general idea is there aren't alot of dragons because all the ferrous dragons killed the ones who wouldn't fall in line and then put all the eggs in stasis and stashed them in a private plane so they can be indoctrinated when they hatch them.
Maybe i think too much lol
It sounds like you have everything you need to start the adventure - You have your tentpoles:
You have you're driving dramatic issue, you have motivations, and you have your background players pulling the strings. Stick with that, play out what those dragons would be doing in the background while the campaign is running, and see where the players take it.
For example, the players may decide not to take on the quests that contribute to building the key. In that case, the dragons are going to have to find some other way to get it put together. Maybe they enlist some other group to do, maybe a group of rivals the players make. If the players learn about this, they my start actively trying to stop that from happening.
See how things play out and you'll likely be surprised. You may find your final act is the players at the temple doing everything they can to stop Grauglathor from sitting on the throne and nuking the world, or them having to travel to another plane to find a mcguffin that will undo all the transformations if they place it in the temple, or may maybe it turns out to be that they lead a group of survivors from the mass transformation in an assault on the temple. Then you have the seeds for your next campaign - decades later when the world is ruled by dragons and the remaining people who weren't transformed struggle to stay alive.