I hope that one or more of you might be able to help me out here. I have an idea for a long campaign (at least 12 months long with 1 five hour session per week).
My idea is that demons have somehow either been let into the material plane or they have broken into the material plane and are in the process of spreading chaos, resulting in death and destruction.
Faced with the destruction of the entire material plane - which they all have a vested interest in - celestials and devils have called a temporary truce and have come to fight the demons in the hopes of driving them back into the abyss and once again sealing them there.
Although they have called a temporary truce to.deal with this demon threat, neither side trusts the other and even amongst their own ranks, there are different opinions of how to best deal with the situation.
Against this backdrop of an epic battle between demons, celestials and devils, the mortal races have put aside their own differences and called truces of their own and banded together to defend themselves against the marauding hordes of chaos.
Aided by a demon unlike any other (a demon that can control its chaotic nature), a celestial and a devil - a small band of mortals (elves, humans, dwarves, orcs) accompanied by a Tiefling scorcerer and a Dragonborn warlock (who joins them as NPCs) (so 7 players and 2 NPCs played by me) make their way into the deepest part of the underdark, where they must defeat an ancient drow wizard (now driven mad) and close the portal/tare to prevent any more demons coming through.
Then as the final battle, they make their way back out of the underdark and join up with the armies of celestials and devils to defeat the remaining demons.
At the end of it all a new world is created. With new aliences forged, and filled with mortals that have taken a giant step towards becoming truly powerful beings in their own right.
The campaign leaves of with 6 great empires being created from the ashes of the old world. Each empire would represent one of the races that took part. So, human, elf, dwarf, orc, Tiefling and Dragonborn - with all the other races sort of gathering around those empires and living in small cities/towns/villages on the outskirts.
Each of the 6 main races also contribute soldiers to a new institution - the inquisition. The inquisition would be controlled by a high inquisitor who is empowered to seek out an destroy any remaining means by which demons could enter the material plane.
Then in that world, is where I will hold my future campaigns.
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A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
So, just so I know where to administer my aid....what things do you actually need help with in this? You seem to have a sort of overarching storyline in order. What finer points do you need assistance fleshing out exactly?
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
That's true, I do have the overarching story (or plot) down but I'm struggling with story elements. Like substories if you will that will feed into the bigger overarching story.
Like I need smaller stories so my players wouldn't get lost or bored of the whole thing.
That's where I have the problem, I'm struggling to up with smaller stories to weave into the main story.
Basically I need stuff for my players to do so they don't suffer burnout because of all the battling.
Well you've got a beginning and a planned ending along with a story that involves finding a mad drow in the underdark. Sounds like you just run the party through a mostly traditional underdark adventure with the end-point being a big fight in front of a demon portal. Maybe some of the smaller adventures have a slightly higher demon count to show off that the place is being flooded with demons from the portal?
I'm still not really clear about what you need. Are you looking for adventure ideas, or some sort of locations of interest, or side quests that your group could go on? Because I think you'd find a lot of good information and ideas in the Out of the Abyss adventure that Wizards put out. It's underdark themed and also has a lot of demons.
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
Yeah that is. I was calling them substories because I wanted them to lead back into the main story arc but I suppose what I was looking for is ideas for side quests that could act as a sort oo mini adventure.
Stuff to make my world feel like it's not just a linear progression of journey to the underdark, find mad wizard, close portal, big ending fight.
If that's all that happenes the world will feel rather small. In reality, the world is filled with people who are suffering because of what's happening and I am struggling to.come.up with substories/side quests/mini adventures for them.
Stuff that makes the campaign feel like it's happening on world scale to everyone, everywhere.
I'll have a look at your suggested reading for sure though.
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A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
I like your idea, it's succinct and well thought out. The idea of substories and such is not going to be as difficult as one would think, it requires not focusing on the story as a whole, but the story in parts. You have tons of fodder for the quest mill, you just need to ask the right questions. Tie the plots together, tie in the motives and machinations to different places, people and things.
---
What drove this drow mad and why did he open the portal? Could you make figuring that out into a journey in itself?
The different 'factions' Celestials, Demons and Devils are all of their own mind on how to proceed, how can you use that? Do the Celestials need the player's help? Do the Devils try to use the players to set up their own plots when this is finished? Do the different races need a push in the right direction to join forces?
What tools, spells, and devices are the players going to need to shut down this portal?
Who is guarding this wizard? What alliances do the players need to interfere with to weaken the wizard?
What turmoil do the players need to fix, help with, stop while the demons are rampaging around the world?
---
In my campaign world I have something like 8 different stories happening all around the world. Each and every one of them is somehow tied to at least 2 other stories giving them some depth. This makes the world feel more alive, it gives the players the ability to make choices on what they feel are the priorities and it gives the progression of these stories a more organic flow. Then you add in the players, they have their backstories, there's more grist to use and expand on. You also have their discussions about what they think is going on or going to happen. There's even more fuel to the fire, players always give the DM stuff to work with whether they like it or not.
While wandering the Underdark, the party encounters a small family (20 or so) of mycanoid refugees hoping to find a new home after theirs was overrun by demonic forces. There is a safe space nearby, but there may be difficulties getting there. If the party assists the mushrooms find their new home, maybe the party can take part in a sort of psychedelic celebration that offers some guidance or visions for them.
Fish Out of Water:
While exploring near an underground river, the part finds a group of dead Kou-toa being preyed on by a few imps. Chasing off the imps the party finds one Kou-toa is still alive. Maybe helping it get back to its people will yield some sort of treasure?
The Dark Market:
While traversing the Underdark, the party stumbles upon a strange sight; a small city built upon a large stone that floats over a boiling lake. The stone the city is on bobs and turns freely in the waters allowing it to occasionally connect to strange bridges of black stone that span the chasm. It turns out the city is the home of a group of intelligent cloakers that effectively run some sort of underdark merchant city where various races mix and trade goods. Maybe the party meets some interesting folks? Maybe they cross paths with some unsavory characters that stalk them after they leave. Maybe rumors of demon troubles can be found here?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
If I were you I would let the characters set up the new government. It would make them feel more in invested in the campaign world and make them feel more in charge.
You have a well thought out plot for this story and I had much the same problem at first. I found that letting go and letting the players run loose in the world helped fill in the holes a lot. Just give them enough to make them curious and they'll do the heavy lifting to a degree. There are so many odd jobs they could be hired for by towns, churches, governments, and criminal organizations that could drive them toward your plot hooks without feeling railroady. So many creatures that need aid. So many factions between warring nations and the conspirators that drive them.
SocialFoxes, sounds like you have some inspiration or plot lines to the Warhammer End times. There might be some ideas in that storyline for your needs.
Reading through this, I was captivated at the major plot hook in my mind, here it goes:
The players all meet and have an idea that something has gone wrong. They perform a mini dungeon quest to find one of three artifacts that will close the portal. Along the way they meet your two NPC's that will join them for the campaign.
The group should be joined together now and a very linear path should be established. The second dungeon will be set up to get the second artifact and should be 60% through your campaign. Upon completion the second dungeon there should be a boss fight that introduces the main antagonist (Drow Wizard). One of the NPC's was really infiltrating the group to assist the master in getting the artifacts so no one could close the tear. This boss fight should be unique as there is no way the party can defeat the wizard and everyone is knocked on unconscious (taking a note from old video games). The master and pupil go through a portal transporting them to the underway.
Beaten and broken, there should be a time where the party questions their commitment and ability to complete the task. A Vision Quest (Thank you Metamongoose) can occur to find the final artifact as it has been lost to time. A great version of this is from the Sword of Truth Series (mud people), where they would have to take time to become a member of the tribe and evoke the spirits of the ancestors.
The ancestors tell them that 1000 years ago the people joined together to defeat the tear via the artifact and the final one was hidden...
Other small adventures to get this through the campaign would be:
A Pair of adventurers get kidnapped early on introducing a section of the map, this is easily done when everyone has been drinking and celebrating.
Depending on how the group is setup they could have a crypt style dungeon to give the member a unique high powered artifact (or could be the secret to defeat the wizard).
I really enjoy having an actual house in the story line. I would have the adventurers look in the main town and give them two options, have them save their money. Then to actually buy the house have a non combat task to complete. Perhaps the female seduces the other buyer, or they find black mail following the other buyer around. The place could be haunted and they need to befriend a cleric who has PTSD.
Last, is there a non-combat story line that would align the demons and celestial to work together?
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Hi other DMs
I hope that one or more of you might be able to help me out here. I have an idea for a long campaign (at least 12 months long with 1 five hour session per week).
My idea is that demons have somehow either been let into the material plane or they have broken into the material plane and are in the process of spreading chaos, resulting in death and destruction.
Faced with the destruction of the entire material plane - which they all have a vested interest in - celestials and devils have called a temporary truce and have come to fight the demons in the hopes of driving them back into the abyss and once again sealing them there.
Although they have called a temporary truce to.deal with this demon threat, neither side trusts the other and even amongst their own ranks, there are different opinions of how to best deal with the situation.
Against this backdrop of an epic battle between demons, celestials and devils, the mortal races have put aside their own differences and called truces of their own and banded together to defend themselves against the marauding hordes of chaos.
Aided by a demon unlike any other (a demon that can control its chaotic nature), a celestial and a devil - a small band of mortals (elves, humans, dwarves, orcs) accompanied by a Tiefling scorcerer and a Dragonborn warlock (who joins them as NPCs) (so 7 players and 2 NPCs played by me) make their way into the deepest part of the underdark, where they must defeat an ancient drow wizard (now driven mad) and close the portal/tare to prevent any more demons coming through.
Then as the final battle, they make their way back out of the underdark and join up with the armies of celestials and devils to defeat the remaining demons.
At the end of it all a new world is created. With new aliences forged, and filled with mortals that have taken a giant step towards becoming truly powerful beings in their own right.
The campaign leaves of with 6 great empires being created from the ashes of the old world. Each empire would represent one of the races that took part. So, human, elf, dwarf, orc, Tiefling and Dragonborn - with all the other races sort of gathering around those empires and living in small cities/towns/villages on the outskirts.
Each of the 6 main races also contribute soldiers to a new institution - the inquisition. The inquisition would be controlled by a high inquisitor who is empowered to seek out an destroy any remaining means by which demons could enter the material plane.
Then in that world, is where I will hold my future campaigns.
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
So, just so I know where to administer my aid....what things do you actually need help with in this? You seem to have a sort of overarching storyline in order. What finer points do you need assistance fleshing out exactly?
That's true, I do have the overarching story (or plot) down but I'm struggling with story elements. Like substories if you will that will feed into the bigger overarching story.
Like I need smaller stories so my players wouldn't get lost or bored of the whole thing.
That's where I have the problem, I'm struggling to up with smaller stories to weave into the main story.
Basically I need stuff for my players to do so they don't suffer burnout because of all the battling.
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
Well you've got a beginning and a planned ending along with a story that involves finding a mad drow in the underdark. Sounds like you just run the party through a mostly traditional underdark adventure with the end-point being a big fight in front of a demon portal. Maybe some of the smaller adventures have a slightly higher demon count to show off that the place is being flooded with demons from the portal?
I'm still not really clear about what you need. Are you looking for adventure ideas, or some sort of locations of interest, or side quests that your group could go on? Because I think you'd find a lot of good information and ideas in the Out of the Abyss adventure that Wizards put out. It's underdark themed and also has a lot of demons.
Yeah that is. I was calling them substories because I wanted them to lead back into the main story arc but I suppose what I was looking for is ideas for side quests that could act as a sort oo mini adventure.
Stuff to make my world feel like it's not just a linear progression of journey to the underdark, find mad wizard, close portal, big ending fight.
If that's all that happenes the world will feel rather small. In reality, the world is filled with people who are suffering because of what's happening and I am struggling to.come.up with substories/side quests/mini adventures for them.
Stuff that makes the campaign feel like it's happening on world scale to everyone, everywhere.
I'll have a look at your suggested reading for sure though.
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
I like your idea, it's succinct and well thought out. The idea of substories and such is not going to be as difficult as one would think, it requires not focusing on the story as a whole, but the story in parts. You have tons of fodder for the quest mill, you just need to ask the right questions. Tie the plots together, tie in the motives and machinations to different places, people and things.
---
What drove this drow mad and why did he open the portal? Could you make figuring that out into a journey in itself?
The different 'factions' Celestials, Demons and Devils are all of their own mind on how to proceed, how can you use that? Do the Celestials need the player's help? Do the Devils try to use the players to set up their own plots when this is finished? Do the different races need a push in the right direction to join forces?
What tools, spells, and devices are the players going to need to shut down this portal?
Who is guarding this wizard? What alliances do the players need to interfere with to weaken the wizard?
What turmoil do the players need to fix, help with, stop while the demons are rampaging around the world?
---
In my campaign world I have something like 8 different stories happening all around the world. Each and every one of them is somehow tied to at least 2 other stories giving them some depth. This makes the world feel more alive, it gives the players the ability to make choices on what they feel are the priorities and it gives the progression of these stories a more organic flow. Then you add in the players, they have their backstories, there's more grist to use and expand on. You also have their discussions about what they think is going on or going to happen. There's even more fuel to the fire, players always give the DM stuff to work with whether they like it or not.
Hope this gave you a bit to work with!
Here are some short side-quest ideas:
Entreat the Shrooms:
While wandering the Underdark, the party encounters a small family (20 or so) of mycanoid refugees hoping to find a new home after theirs was overrun by demonic forces. There is a safe space nearby, but there may be difficulties getting there. If the party assists the mushrooms find their new home, maybe the party can take part in a sort of psychedelic celebration that offers some guidance or visions for them.
Fish Out of Water:
While exploring near an underground river, the part finds a group of dead Kou-toa being preyed on by a few imps. Chasing off the imps the party finds one Kou-toa is still alive. Maybe helping it get back to its people will yield some sort of treasure?
The Dark Market:
While traversing the Underdark, the party stumbles upon a strange sight; a small city built upon a large stone that floats over a boiling lake. The stone the city is on bobs and turns freely in the waters allowing it to occasionally connect to strange bridges of black stone that span the chasm. It turns out the city is the home of a group of intelligent cloakers that effectively run some sort of underdark merchant city where various races mix and trade goods. Maybe the party meets some interesting folks? Maybe they cross paths with some unsavory characters that stalk them after they leave. Maybe rumors of demon troubles can be found here?
Hey thanks for that. Do you mind I use those in my game - expanded out a bit of course.
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
If I were you I would let the characters set up the new government. It would make them feel more in invested in the campaign world and make them feel more in charge.
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You have a well thought out plot for this story and I had much the same problem at first. I found that letting go and letting the players run loose in the world helped fill in the holes a lot. Just give them enough to make them curious and they'll do the heavy lifting to a degree. There are so many odd jobs they could be hired for by towns, churches, governments, and criminal organizations that could drive them toward your plot hooks without feeling railroady. So many creatures that need aid. So many factions between warring nations and the conspirators that drive them.
And you can always dig through here too. https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen/comments/3fe4x1/lets_make_10000_plot_hooks/
SocialFoxes, sounds like you have some inspiration or plot lines to the Warhammer End times. There might be some ideas in that storyline for your needs.
Reading through this, I was captivated at the major plot hook in my mind, here it goes:
The players all meet and have an idea that something has gone wrong. They perform a mini dungeon quest to find one of three artifacts that will close the portal. Along the way they meet your two NPC's that will join them for the campaign.
The group should be joined together now and a very linear path should be established. The second dungeon will be set up to get the second artifact and should be 60% through your campaign. Upon completion the second dungeon there should be a boss fight that introduces the main antagonist (Drow Wizard). One of the NPC's was really infiltrating the group to assist the master in getting the artifacts so no one could close the tear. This boss fight should be unique as there is no way the party can defeat the wizard and everyone is knocked on unconscious (taking a note from old video games). The master and pupil go through a portal transporting them to the underway.
Beaten and broken, there should be a time where the party questions their commitment and ability to complete the task. A Vision Quest (Thank you Metamongoose) can occur to find the final artifact as it has been lost to time. A great version of this is from the Sword of Truth Series (mud people), where they would have to take time to become a member of the tribe and evoke the spirits of the ancestors.
The ancestors tell them that 1000 years ago the people joined together to defeat the tear via the artifact and the final one was hidden...
Other small adventures to get this through the campaign would be:
A Pair of adventurers get kidnapped early on introducing a section of the map, this is easily done when everyone has been drinking and celebrating.
Depending on how the group is setup they could have a crypt style dungeon to give the member a unique high powered artifact (or could be the secret to defeat the wizard).
I really enjoy having an actual house in the story line. I would have the adventurers look in the main town and give them two options, have them save their money. Then to actually buy the house have a non combat task to complete. Perhaps the female seduces the other buyer, or they find black mail following the other buyer around. The place could be haunted and they need to befriend a cleric who has PTSD.
Last, is there a non-combat story line that would align the demons and celestial to work together?