I've had an idea bumping around in my noodle for a while for a bit of a homebrew campaign I want to do with my party once they've completed Storm Kings Thunder, which will take them up to level 10 (although I'm possibly going to take them slightly higher than that). We've been having a great time and they're a really great group who gel well together, so obviously I want to keep that going once the official campaign is over.
I have a very vague idea, and would appreciate thoughts on whether this sounds engaging, fun, and feasible. Also, any additions you would make!
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The Day The Music Died
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Rumours are circulating that across the Sword Coast, Bards are being assassinated. Singers, writers, dancers, all of them are potential targets. The party might have their interest piqued and investigate, or they might go to a tavern to find a local bard to talk to. The bard jokes with them that some bards might be playing a particular song that is rumoured to be cursed, 'The Moonlight Verses' - the suspicion among bards is that the song can cause parties to get so wild that someone always ends up dying.
What is actually happening is that bards are indeed being assassinated, and it's actually related to The Moonlight Verses. An organisation has heard of the curse and believe that the souls of those who die as a result of hearing it are being used to feed a powerful lich-being. The way they've chosen to deal with the issue is to kill enough bards to spook them out of playing the song. The problem is, the song is hella catchy, and bards thrive on the intrigue around a 'cursed' song. Plus, it's very difficult to prove that the song has directly led to the deaths, it could all be coincidental...
But of course, it's not...
(here's where my notes get a bit patchy)
Thousands of years ago, stories and songs weren’t shared, they existed only in small pockets and were guarded closely. Books were written and then hidden away, covetously and greedily by the wealthy and elite. Culture was actively being repressed by BIG BAD, who benefitted from secrecy and ignorance of common folk in order to maintain power, which they share with those corrupt enough to maintain the status-quo. There was a small band of heroes - including a bard, although at this point in history bardic magic doesn't exist - and they uncover the corruption and follow it to its source. They try to spread the word, but no one believes them - mistrust has been thoroughly sown throughout the land, and BIG BAD is now aware of their exploits. BIG BAD starts to outright outlaw music and writing, books are being burned. Also magically represses the exchange of knowledge, people become dull and drone-like. Bard makes a deal with Selune to be granted powers to help defeat BIG BAD. Through a powerful ritual, they create a song that creates infectious joy and curiosity, and knowledge of the song is implanted in the mind of a few hundred beings through dreams. Bardic powers become accessible to common folk, the magical repression is broken. BIG BAD attempts to corrupt the song so that all who sing it or even think about it instantly die, and almost succeeds... Bard absorbs the corruption and changes the outcome - her soul is now dependent on the song’s continued existence and she must expend endless energy to maintain it and the world’s bardic magics. She dies and becomes a bard lich in order to watch over the song forever. BIG BAD is held at bay by the continued existence of the song There is still a trickle of the corruption in the song, and a 10% chance that someone who listens to the song will die that night (hence in the present the idea of the song being 'cursed') If the song stops, the BIG BAD returns. Song is stopped either by the elimination of bards/growth of fear around the song, or through the death of Bard-prime BIG BAD is still influencing some minds - has a group convinced that the song is cursed and must be stopped through the assassination of all bards. Evidence pointed to in the untimely deaths that occur around the song. These people might be well-meaning but have been misled. The souls of any who die as a result of the song are brought to the Bard-prime, who cares for them in the afterlife with a never ending party.
Bard-prime is physically stuck where the original ritual took place, and can only project images and dreams to the outside world. She appears to adventurers as an avatar of Selune to try to win their trust, not wishing to reveal her lich-status.
Adventurers may wish to stop the bard assassinations, which would mean finding out more about the group conducting them. Through that, they will find an elite network of powerful and wealthy individuals who have discovered the old power of BIG BAD and intend to release them back into the world.
At the same time, this song is definitely killing people, and if they discover that Bard-prime is a lich (which they probably would do eventually), that looks bad for her. She describes to them how essential it is to keep the song going, although she has grown weary, and behind the classically charismatic bard exterior, she is quite sad (she's watched everyone she's ever known die, and lives with the guilt that her song does still result in death)
If the song starts to die out, towns become grey and lifeless, the people unable to express feeling or original thought.
The adventurers must seek out instruments that have been blessed by various gods, and return them to Bard-prime. There, they play a powerful, magical symphony that eliminates BIG BAD for good, and breaks Bard-prime's bond to the song, who finally dies, happily
---
So it's still missing a lot of detail. I was thinking maybe some sort of allegiance with mind-flayers for the BIG BAD? The ending is also a little flat :/ anyway, up for discussion!
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Hi all!
I've had an idea bumping around in my noodle for a while for a bit of a homebrew campaign I want to do with my party once they've completed Storm Kings Thunder, which will take them up to level 10 (although I'm possibly going to take them slightly higher than that). We've been having a great time and they're a really great group who gel well together, so obviously I want to keep that going once the official campaign is over.
I have a very vague idea, and would appreciate thoughts on whether this sounds engaging, fun, and feasible. Also, any additions you would make!
---
The Day The Music Died
---
Rumours are circulating that across the Sword Coast, Bards are being assassinated. Singers, writers, dancers, all of them are potential targets. The party might have their interest piqued and investigate, or they might go to a tavern to find a local bard to talk to. The bard jokes with them that some bards might be playing a particular song that is rumoured to be cursed, 'The Moonlight Verses' - the suspicion among bards is that the song can cause parties to get so wild that someone always ends up dying.
What is actually happening is that bards are indeed being assassinated, and it's actually related to The Moonlight Verses. An organisation has heard of the curse and believe that the souls of those who die as a result of hearing it are being used to feed a powerful lich-being. The way they've chosen to deal with the issue is to kill enough bards to spook them out of playing the song. The problem is, the song is hella catchy, and bards thrive on the intrigue around a 'cursed' song. Plus, it's very difficult to prove that the song has directly led to the deaths, it could all be coincidental...
But of course, it's not...
(here's where my notes get a bit patchy)
Thousands of years ago, stories and songs weren’t shared, they existed only in small pockets and were guarded closely. Books were written and then hidden away, covetously and greedily by the wealthy and elite. Culture was actively being repressed by BIG BAD, who benefitted from secrecy and ignorance of common folk in order to maintain power, which they share with those corrupt enough to maintain the status-quo.
There was a small band of heroes - including a bard, although at this point in history bardic magic doesn't exist - and they uncover the corruption and follow it to its source.
They try to spread the word, but no one believes them - mistrust has been thoroughly sown throughout the land, and BIG BAD is now aware of their exploits.
BIG BAD starts to outright outlaw music and writing, books are being burned. Also magically represses the exchange of knowledge, people become dull and drone-like.
Bard makes a deal with Selune to be granted powers to help defeat BIG BAD.
Through a powerful ritual, they create a song that creates infectious joy and curiosity, and knowledge of the song is implanted in the mind of a few hundred beings through dreams.
Bardic powers become accessible to common folk, the magical repression is broken.
BIG BAD attempts to corrupt the song so that all who sing it or even think about it instantly die, and almost succeeds...
Bard absorbs the corruption and changes the outcome - her soul is now dependent on the song’s continued existence and she must expend endless energy to maintain it and the world’s bardic magics. She dies and becomes a bard lich in order to watch over the song forever.
BIG BAD is held at bay by the continued existence of the song
There is still a trickle of the corruption in the song, and a 10% chance that someone who listens to the song will die that night (hence in the present the idea of the song being 'cursed')
If the song stops, the BIG BAD returns.
Song is stopped either by the elimination of bards/growth of fear around the song, or through the death of Bard-prime
BIG BAD is still influencing some minds - has a group convinced that the song is cursed and must be stopped through the assassination of all bards. Evidence pointed to in the untimely deaths that occur around the song. These people might be well-meaning but have been misled.
The souls of any who die as a result of the song are brought to the Bard-prime, who cares for them in the afterlife with a never ending party.
Bard-prime is physically stuck where the original ritual took place, and can only project images and dreams to the outside world. She appears to adventurers as an avatar of Selune to try to win their trust, not wishing to reveal her lich-status.
Adventurers may wish to stop the bard assassinations, which would mean finding out more about the group conducting them. Through that, they will find an elite network of powerful and wealthy individuals who have discovered the old power of BIG BAD and intend to release them back into the world.
At the same time, this song is definitely killing people, and if they discover that Bard-prime is a lich (which they probably would do eventually), that looks bad for her. She describes to them how essential it is to keep the song going, although she has grown weary, and behind the classically charismatic bard exterior, she is quite sad (she's watched everyone she's ever known die, and lives with the guilt that her song does still result in death)
If the song starts to die out, towns become grey and lifeless, the people unable to express feeling or original thought.
The adventurers must seek out instruments that have been blessed by various gods, and return them to Bard-prime. There, they play a powerful, magical symphony that eliminates BIG BAD for good, and breaks Bard-prime's bond to the song, who finally dies, happily
---
So it's still missing a lot of detail. I was thinking maybe some sort of allegiance with mind-flayers for the BIG BAD? The ending is also a little flat :/ anyway, up for discussion!