Hey all! Looking for some help fleshing out a story aspect.
I will be sending the party into a sort of Silent Hill-esque open world town with a sandbox sort of feel to it. Before the party enters the town they will encounter a strange powerful psychic woman wearing the pendant they are after. When they engage her she will knock them back (that much is story necessary) and she will escape. They won't know is that from the point of being knocked down onward they are trapped within a sort of dream realm of the psychic woman's making (with the aid of the amulet which can tap into/create other realms.)
The town will be full of horrifying illusions, and encounters where they will be able to learn more of the town (and the woman's) past. I was thinking the entire town is trapped in this void world as well. The town manor in the center of the town square will be an obvious place to look first and where the woman's projected consciousness is. Obviously I'll need some kind of gate keeper, or mechanic to keep them from just walking in until they've learned something important or triggered an event.
WHICH LEADS ME TO MY QUESTIONS:
-What is the backstory of this town? -Where did the woman get the amulet? -Why is so intent on keeping people out? -Why has she trapped the town in the amulet world? -How can I make it so they don't just walk in the front door of the manor?
SOME POSSIBLE IDEAS I'VE TOSSED AROUND:
-There was a plague and trapping the town has put the infected in a sort of stasis? - The townspeople grew too greedy and industrious and nearly tore themselves apart until she intervened -Everyone who isn't a townsperson represents an aspect of the woman's psyche?
How about a version of Carrie? The woman grew up in a backward isolated small town, far from anywhere important. Her father and mother where the lord and lady of the manor, ruling over the town and area around it. Stern, fanatical and members of a evil cult they raised their daughter in the worst way. While trying to gain power for themselves, none of the parents or cultists realized that the girl ha tremendous abilities. Tormented by her parent and ill treated by the townspeople - who where all cultist or at least supporters - her powers more or less exploded when she turned a woman.
The (now) woman twists reality so that the town and its inhabitants are caught in her vision of what the town and its people are. It’s horrid, all manner of foul beasts that go about their business, snarling, yipping, oozing or whatever. She knows she has them trapped and they know as well that they are both in a nightmare but also in a reality. They live some strange unlife, hating the woman but also like puppets under her command. The parents are the worst monsters of the lot, by just as controlled as the rest. Their manor is guarded by their most loyal cultists, who are a pin or two above the rest of the town as monsters (higher CR).
The beast townspeople hate everything living, but the woman the most. They wish to kill the. PCs but want to enlist them against the woman. Then it will be the PCs turn.
The woman has aged since it happened and many years have gone by. She is twisted and bitter but in many ways also a thirteen year old girl that is frightened and scared.
In the manor her old diary tells the sad story, and can give a reader an insight into her tormented mind. She could be persuaded to release them all, but if she does they will turn in her and the PCs at once. That will let the town out if the warped bubble, but everyone in it are still a beast. Her magic has left them more akin to their true nature.
The amulet she wears she took from her father. It’s an evil artifact the cult tried to control and now somebody else wants. She has it just because it was dear to her father and he, and the rest, are tormented by her having it.
While the townspeople are monsters, as they are willing to talk to the PCs, they could keep them from finding out the truth and have them act to kill the woman for them. The townspeople can try to fight the woman’s will, which will call her forth in a horrible and powerful physical form in the “bubble”, giving the PCs a chance to fight her. Finding her journal or so can also trigger her coming. Any meeting can start with a chance to talk, if the PCs are willing.
When this woman was young and magic was still new to this world she began to show signs of her power, people were scared because this was something they had never seen before. as she grew older her powers grew as well as the animosity the townsfolk had towards her until they eventually ran her out of town. after years of isolation honing her skills and sharpening her hatred she came back to that town and laid waste to it, trapping people in their own minds forcing them to confront all of their own insecurities and fears made manifest in the twisted and contorted forms of the nightmarish monsters that plague them, all the while their bodies are put into a state of magical hibernation where she could feed off the psychic horror like an all you can eat buffet. Until finally one of the first wizards came along and battled the witch sacrificing himself to seal her mind into this nightmare realm with all of her victims hoping that one day someone powerful enough would be able to destroy her and free this town. now after centuries in this state she has begun to erode the magical boundaries of her psychic prison and her nightmare realm is beginning to leak into reality causing any travelers passing by the ancient town to be sucked into this world their bodies trapped in hibernation, each person trapped adding to the growing horde of monsters and adding more power to the psychic witch.(the necklace is what binds her to the nightmare realm)
as far as keeping the player away from the villains lair there's all kinds of ways, my favorite being the sanctuary spell, I alter it a little bit but basically I set up a barrier and if anyone wants to pass that barrier they have to make a wisdom save or lose the will to move closer. a gate keeper is a little more obvious but also effective, it could even be her fear that is the gate keeper, representing the isolation that drove her insane keeping anyone from reaching her until it is dispelled or defeated. plus deadly traps always work. but that being said if you show the players the bad guys at the beginning of the story they should be able to go straight there so long as the rolls allow them to, IMO never tell someone they cant TRY something just set the DC appropriately.
Make the door/building she hides herself in illusory. Anytime the party interacts with it they simply hit a solid wall or simply pass through the building. If they pass through the building all they would see is a thick grey mist obscuring all of their senses.
The key to entering could be a matching amulet to the one the woman wears. Place the amulet near the end of the main story thread. Could be an amulet of a lost lover whose death caused her such dispair that her powers twisted reality/manifest a pocket dimension.
Maybe have the players experience in some way the lives of these two. All the good and bad of any long lasting relationship. Have these manifest regularly as a result of her remembering their lives together as she is seeming to be deeply and endlessly mourning.
When the players eventually come to the memory of the death of this lover have them find the amulet. Perhaps you can have the lover manifest in some way (an spectral image or an undead monster of you want to throw in a fight). Have them plead to the party to help the woman as best they can.
With the amulet in hand the woman's hiding place becomes fully corporial and grants protection to some of the more game breaking abilities the woman has (such as the mass knockback and vanish the players encountered at the start. Or the reality manipulation and the dimension shifting). Final fight could be any mixture of combat and/or social checks. Maybe let the players decide how they want mercy they want show a magically powerful woman who is, in the end, just deeply grieving.
Hey all! Looking for some help fleshing out a story aspect.
I will be sending the party into a sort of Silent Hill-esque open world town with a sandbox sort of feel to it. Before the party enters the town they will encounter a strange powerful psychic woman wearing the pendant they are after. When they engage her she will knock them back (that much is story necessary) and she will escape. They won't know is that from the point of being knocked down onward they are trapped within a sort of dream realm of the psychic woman's making (with the aid of the amulet which can tap into/create other realms.)
The town will be full of horrifying illusions, and encounters where they will be able to learn more of the town (and the woman's) past. I was thinking the entire town is trapped in this void world as well. The town manor in the center of the town square will be an obvious place to look first and where the woman's projected consciousness is. Obviously I'll need some kind of gate keeper, or mechanic to keep them from just walking in until they've learned something important or triggered an event.
WHICH LEADS ME TO MY QUESTIONS:
-What is the backstory of this town?
-Where did the woman get the amulet?
-Why is so intent on keeping people out?
-Why has she trapped the town in the amulet world?
-How can I make it so they don't just walk in the front door of the manor?
SOME POSSIBLE IDEAS I'VE TOSSED AROUND:
-There was a plague and trapping the town has put the infected in a sort of stasis?
- The townspeople grew too greedy and industrious and nearly tore themselves apart until she intervened
-Everyone who isn't a townsperson represents an aspect of the woman's psyche?
Any other ideas or suggestions?
How about a version of Carrie? The woman grew up in a backward isolated small town, far from anywhere important. Her father and mother where the lord and lady of the manor, ruling over the town and area around it. Stern, fanatical and members of a evil cult they raised their daughter in the worst way. While trying to gain power for themselves, none of the parents or cultists realized that the girl ha tremendous abilities. Tormented by her parent and ill treated by the townspeople - who where all cultist or at least supporters - her powers more or less exploded when she turned a woman.
The (now) woman twists reality so that the town and its inhabitants are caught in her vision of what the town and its people are. It’s horrid, all manner of foul beasts that go about their business, snarling, yipping, oozing or whatever. She knows she has them trapped and they know as well that they are both in a nightmare but also in a reality. They live some strange unlife, hating the woman but also like puppets under her command. The parents are the worst monsters of the lot, by just as controlled as the rest. Their manor is guarded by their most loyal cultists, who are a pin or two above the rest of the town as monsters (higher CR).
The beast townspeople hate everything living, but the woman the most. They wish to kill the. PCs but want to enlist them against the woman. Then it will be the PCs turn.
The woman has aged since it happened and many years have gone by. She is twisted and bitter but in many ways also a thirteen year old girl that is frightened and scared.
In the manor her old diary tells the sad story, and can give a reader an insight into her tormented mind. She could be persuaded to release them all, but if she does they will turn in her and the PCs at once. That will let the town out if the warped bubble, but everyone in it are still a beast. Her magic has left them more akin to their true nature.
The amulet she wears she took from her father. It’s an evil artifact the cult tried to control and now somebody else wants. She has it just because it was dear to her father and he, and the rest, are tormented by her having it.
While the townspeople are monsters, as they are willing to talk to the PCs, they could keep them from finding out the truth and have them act to kill the woman for them. The townspeople can try to fight the woman’s will, which will call her forth in a horrible and powerful physical form in the “bubble”, giving the PCs a chance to fight her. Finding her journal or so can also trigger her coming. Any meeting can start with a chance to talk, if the PCs are willing.
This is beautifully thought out, thank you! Any other ideas?
When this woman was young and magic was still new to this world she began to show signs of her power, people were scared because this was something they had never seen before. as she grew older her powers grew as well as the animosity the townsfolk had towards her until they eventually ran her out of town. after years of isolation honing her skills and sharpening her hatred she came back to that town and laid waste to it, trapping people in their own minds forcing them to confront all of their own insecurities and fears made manifest in the twisted and contorted forms of the nightmarish monsters that plague them, all the while their bodies are put into a state of magical hibernation where she could feed off the psychic horror like an all you can eat buffet. Until finally one of the first wizards came along and battled the witch sacrificing himself to seal her mind into this nightmare realm with all of her victims hoping that one day someone powerful enough would be able to destroy her and free this town. now after centuries in this state she has begun to erode the magical boundaries of her psychic prison and her nightmare realm is beginning to leak into reality causing any travelers passing by the ancient town to be sucked into this world their bodies trapped in hibernation, each person trapped adding to the growing horde of monsters and adding more power to the psychic witch.(the necklace is what binds her to the nightmare realm)
as far as keeping the player away from the villains lair there's all kinds of ways, my favorite being the sanctuary spell, I alter it a little bit but basically I set up a barrier and if anyone wants to pass that barrier they have to make a wisdom save or lose the will to move closer. a gate keeper is a little more obvious but also effective, it could even be her fear that is the gate keeper, representing the isolation that drove her insane keeping anyone from reaching her until it is dispelled or defeated. plus deadly traps always work. but that being said if you show the players the bad guys at the beginning of the story they should be able to go straight there so long as the rolls allow them to, IMO never tell someone they cant TRY something just set the DC appropriately.
hope any of this helps
An idea for a gatekeeper.
Make the door/building she hides herself in illusory. Anytime the party interacts with it they simply hit a solid wall or simply pass through the building. If they pass through the building all they would see is a thick grey mist obscuring all of their senses.
The key to entering could be a matching amulet to the one the woman wears. Place the amulet near the end of the main story thread. Could be an amulet of a lost lover whose death caused her such dispair that her powers twisted reality/manifest a pocket dimension.
Maybe have the players experience in some way the lives of these two. All the good and bad of any long lasting relationship. Have these manifest regularly as a result of her remembering their lives together as she is seeming to be deeply and endlessly mourning.
When the players eventually come to the memory of the death of this lover have them find the amulet. Perhaps you can have the lover manifest in some way (an spectral image or an undead monster of you want to throw in a fight). Have them plead to the party to help the woman as best they can.
With the amulet in hand the woman's hiding place becomes fully corporial and grants protection to some of the more game breaking abilities the woman has (such as the mass knockback and vanish the players encountered at the start. Or the reality manipulation and the dimension shifting). Final fight could be any mixture of combat and/or social checks. Maybe let the players decide how they want mercy they want show a magically powerful woman who is, in the end, just deeply grieving.
I love it thank you!
I really enjoyed this, and I think I can incorporate a lot in here