I’m going to be running a sequel campaign, in which the players must escape their minds -where they were banished- due to a number of unfortunate in the initial campaign. Any ideas? I’m coming up with nothing.
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“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbithole, and that means comfort.”
How’s it supposed to work? Wouldn’t they each be in their own mind and therefore unable to interact with each other? Or were they placed into some kind of collective hive mind or dream state? I’d really urge the second option, unless you want to run a series of 1-shots for each player.
They wake up in a grey/pink squishy dungeon. They have to find their way out and find out exactly where they are.
The twist is they are inside of an elder brain. Their consciousnesses have been removed from their bodies and deposited as data (think San Junipero from the TV show Black Mirror) into an infinitely massive brain prison (the TV show Super Jail, or the 5e adventure Dead in Thay). Their bodies are in stasis outside of the brain.
The clues that they are no longer fully themselves should be things like random disadvantages and difficulties. The longer they spend away from their bodies the weaker they become. If they die, they don't really go away. Can they even die if they're just data?
Have fun with it!
Ooh! The longer they spend away from their bodies, you could have them level down instead of up!
I would open with picking one character with the highest Wisdom and having them start alone. Present them with comparably quick challenges (more narrative than challenge) to free the others into the dreamworld they were imprisoned within.
I found that the TPK in my game was a grand opportunity to introduce a long-lost character from the lore as an assistant. In this case, the father of one of the characters, who was sacrificed 200 years ago in a ritual to Dagon. He made a sanctuary, and then saved them when they died in the same way in the TPK. Cue him trying to save their souls in a final quest, in which I made it clear - there are no death saving throws here!
So i nthis case, is there a plot point you want to expand on - for example, having a powerful arcane magic user who knows how the "trapped in a mind" thing works and how it was done, and who needed more people to escape. He helps them and explains on the way where the eveil >whatever< that imprisoned them gets their power, so they can fight it in the future. Then, if they succeed in escaping, they can perhaps encounter him in the future - maybe even as a Lich, as his soul would appear normal in the mind-prison, and not reflect his physical form!
For the challenges of escaping a mind, I would ask for major details about backstories and regrets, fears, etc. The adventure should be very personal, and may be revealing to the other characters.
One puzzle I created was the Museum of Misdeeds, in which the statues were of the greatest regrets in the character's pasts. They each had to find a unique route through the maze, as if they passed within reach of one of their statues, the statue would grab them and drag them into itself, to be imprsoned forever as a statue of themselves performing the deeds they most regret. The statues are faceless and notably lacking identifying features, but the actions they are performing are obvious. This makes it a great way to keep mystery (whose statue is it?) whilst revealing backstory articles. You may lift ideas from there if you wish!
Combining this puzzle with one phobia or haunted-past encounter apiece may be a good "dungeon" to navigate to get free of the prison!
Watch the movie and base the campaign around the depths of the dreams they are involved in. This should allow you to structure an escape path for them. Think of it like trying to escape Legends of Grimrock or another dungeon like the one in Diablo 1. They are crawling in reverse.
Depends on how you want to do it. The Elder Brain idea works, but if you want more of a horror vibe, go with some sort of entity has forced them into a twisted version for their mind or something like that. If you want a different, more fantasy vibe, you can try their in the midst of the mind flayer metamorphosis (I'm not sure if i'm using that word right) or the duergar have captured them in a mind trap.
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I’m going to be running a sequel campaign, in which the players must escape their minds -where they were banished- due to a number of unfortunate in the initial campaign. Any ideas? I’m coming up with nothing.
“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbithole, and that means comfort.”
Ever see the John Cusack film Identity? I won’t spoil it for you if you haven’t but check it out, might give you some ideas
How’s it supposed to work? Wouldn’t they each be in their own mind and therefore unable to interact with each other? Or were they placed into some kind of collective hive mind or dream state? I’d really urge the second option, unless you want to run a series of 1-shots for each player.
They wake up in a grey/pink squishy dungeon. They have to find their way out and find out exactly where they are.
The twist is they are inside of an elder brain. Their consciousnesses have been removed from their bodies and deposited as data (think San Junipero from the TV show Black Mirror) into an infinitely massive brain prison (the TV show Super Jail, or the 5e adventure Dead in Thay). Their bodies are in stasis outside of the brain.
The clues that they are no longer fully themselves should be things like random disadvantages and difficulties. The longer they spend away from their bodies the weaker they become. If they die, they don't really go away. Can they even die if they're just data?
Have fun with it!
Ooh! The longer they spend away from their bodies, you could have them level down instead of up!
Thanks,
- Brad (he/him)
Player Since 2020, DM Since 2022, Nerd Since Way Back
I would open with picking one character with the highest Wisdom and having them start alone. Present them with comparably quick challenges (more narrative than challenge) to free the others into the dreamworld they were imprisoned within.
I found that the TPK in my game was a grand opportunity to introduce a long-lost character from the lore as an assistant. In this case, the father of one of the characters, who was sacrificed 200 years ago in a ritual to Dagon. He made a sanctuary, and then saved them when they died in the same way in the TPK. Cue him trying to save their souls in a final quest, in which I made it clear - there are no death saving throws here!
So i nthis case, is there a plot point you want to expand on - for example, having a powerful arcane magic user who knows how the "trapped in a mind" thing works and how it was done, and who needed more people to escape. He helps them and explains on the way where the eveil >whatever< that imprisoned them gets their power, so they can fight it in the future. Then, if they succeed in escaping, they can perhaps encounter him in the future - maybe even as a Lich, as his soul would appear normal in the mind-prison, and not reflect his physical form!
For the challenges of escaping a mind, I would ask for major details about backstories and regrets, fears, etc. The adventure should be very personal, and may be revealing to the other characters.
One puzzle I created was the Museum of Misdeeds, in which the statues were of the greatest regrets in the character's pasts. They each had to find a unique route through the maze, as if they passed within reach of one of their statues, the statue would grab them and drag them into itself, to be imprsoned forever as a statue of themselves performing the deeds they most regret. The statues are faceless and notably lacking identifying features, but the actions they are performing are obvious. This makes it a great way to keep mystery (whose statue is it?) whilst revealing backstory articles. You may lift ideas from there if you wish!
Combining this puzzle with one phobia or haunted-past encounter apiece may be a good "dungeon" to navigate to get free of the prison!
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Watch the movie and base the campaign around the depths of the dreams they are involved in. This should allow you to structure an escape path for them. Think of it like trying to escape Legends of Grimrock or another dungeon like the one in Diablo 1. They are crawling in reverse.
Depends on how you want to do it. The Elder Brain idea works, but if you want more of a horror vibe, go with some sort of entity has forced them into a twisted version for their mind or something like that. If you want a different, more fantasy vibe, you can try their in the midst of the mind flayer metamorphosis (I'm not sure if i'm using that word right) or the duergar have captured them in a mind trap.