Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
Sign in- Marketplace
Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
Sign in
I’m running a pirate campaign that’s open world and need a bit of a way to make the story work.
So the two routes I have a plan for are:
the warlock is a Fathomless (patron is kraken). Party have to stop people from sealing away the kraken.
or clan of pirates start hunting down other clans party paid to help eradicate them.
I have a map btw so they can see routes.
if you have any ideas please let me know or ways to tie it together
or clan of pirates start hunting down other clans party paid to help eradicate them.
The above is a simple, lowish level but ambitious BBEG is trying to take over everything. The BBEG starts mini wars among groups so they mutually weaken each other, then absorbs what is left of both clans.
I'd be cautious with your first idea because it sounds like the warlock would inevitably become the main character since the main conflict of the campaign directly ties into their backstory and objectives. I'd consider making that plot point a subplot or one of many different avenues the characters are pursuing.
Honestly, if it's open world, why not just make it a sandbox? Let all the different conflicts be happening, and the characters can choose where they want to go and what they want to deal with first.
I’d also stay away from the first one. As the above poster says, it could end up making the warlock a main character.
But to me the bigger issue is what happens if the character dies or the player leaves the game. It’s generally a bad idea to have the main plot hinge on a PC. You don’t want to give them plot armor. And players are unreliable. Even if they stay the whole campaign, what if they need to miss some climactic session where their character is instrumental.
Starting with the second one I really like. It can give the party enough of a reason to be moving around and interacting with the world, and it also leaves it open to invent some BBEG somewhere along the way. Just kind of roll with it for a bit, and often a plot will reveal itself.
As the pirates fight, the opposing pirate leader takes a pact with the same kraken and creates tension with the patron as its two tools fight against each other.
He doesn't have much besides the skin on his bones. Me: I'll take the skin on his bones, then.
"You see a gigantic, monstrous praying mantis burst from out of the ground. It sprays a stream of acid from it's mouth at one soldier, dissolving him instantly, then it turns and chomps another soldier in half with it's- "
"When are we gonna take a snack break?"
Thanks for the advice
I really like your idea, and I just ran with it a bit, let my imagination take it further...
Suggestion:
Long ago, there existed an ancient kraken, not merely a monster, but a god of the sea, a force that maintained balance.
When its power grew too great, pirate clans and sea-witches formed an alliance and bound it deep beneath the ocean.
But now, everything is changing:
The prison is weakening.
Factions are beginning to move.
And the sea itself is shifting…
1. The Fathomless Warlock (First Hook)
The warlock’s patron is not simply asking for freedom… it is desperate.
At first, it communicates subtly:
through dreams of drowning cities
whispers carried within raging storms
visions of chains cracking in the depths
The twist:
The kraken does not only seek freedo, it warns that something far worse will awaken if it remains imprisoned.
2. The Pirate War (Second Hook)
The conflict between the pirate clans is no accident, it is being orchestrated from the shadows.
Each faction serves a different hidden purpose:
Pirate Group 1
Seeks to free the kraken, believing it will grant them dominion over the seas.
Pirate Group 2
Wants to keep the kraken sealed, backed by merchants and nobles who fear the chaos it would bring.
Pirate Group 3
Cultists who hear the kraken’s voice and believe its release will usher in “the final tide.”
Pirate Group 4
Assassins and spies who hunt down anyone who knows the true history.
How It All Connects
The pirate war is, in truth, a proxy war over the fate of the kraken.
Every job the party takes, whether raiding ships, escorting cargo, or hunting pirates, is secretly tied to:
artifacts that maintain the kraken’s prison
maps leading to ancient, sunken temples
keys required to either break the seal… or reinforce it
The kraken is not the ultimate terror of the deep.
It is a ward, a living lock forged to hold back something far older, far darker.
Beneath the crushing depths slumbers: an abyssal horror older than the seas themselves or a drowned god whose whispers can unmake world
Should the kraken remain sealed forever, its chains will crumble and what lies beneath will rise, hungering for all life.
Should the kraken be unleashed recklessly, it may not spare friend or foe.
The choice is no longer about freedom or chains. It is about trust:
Can the players place their faith in a being of unimaginable power… knowing it might be the key to salvation or the harbinger of annihilation?
Have fun!
I am so using most of this (adding more pirate groups that get removed or anexed)
Warlocks have daddy issues.
If warlock daddy is either the key to saving or destroying the universe, its going to make the warlocks decisions be much more important, and likely make them the defacto party leader even if it should be more of a democracy as far as whay the party does.