You find yourself in a small tavern outside the gates of the port city of Garroon. The largest and only true city of the coastal region of Raelor, other points of civilization are mostly small fishing villages along the coast and some mining and logging towns in the mostly untouched forests and mountains of the area. If Garroon wasn't such a ideal port for several trade routes it would never have gotten so big in such an empty place. Instead it flourished, and due to the prize it became has constantly changed hands between the two nations of Yannille and Kyntan. The most recent war, started by Kyntan under the excuse of 'justice' for the Mad King Jerodus who was slain in a coup by his niece, newly crowned King Lynnanne, has just come to a close and Garroon has managed to remain in Yannillean hands though Kyntan territory remains uncomfortably close. Thus when you arrived at the tall city walls after sunset you were refused entrance and had no choice but to stay the night in the Tottering Ass which is built outside the walls to profit on exactly the travelers who arrive too late to enter the city.
The drinks are watery and the food ... edible. The less than pleasant experience though is brightened by a colorful figure stepping up clearly to perform in some manner. You watch the man who calls himself Opera Bo perform his special art of mask changing, with every turn of head and flick of his hands and feet it seems a new colorful and expressive mask appears on his face like magic to match the tale he sings. The story is of a band of travelers who run afoul evil men that capture them and turn them into monsters. The interesting performance is not met well though as he is booed away by off duty military men, who exist in surplus in the city thanks to the war. They complain they are sick of hearing about disappearances and monsters, people are always coming to them with such stories expecting them to do something about it. Indeed the region of Raelor is long known to have a history of mysterious stories and legends and considered a land full of mysterious tall tales.
---
The campaign is intended to be kicked off by the party going to Opera Bo to ask him more details and he will confess the story is his own and reveal under his masks his face is actually gone. He and his traveling circus, the Night Parade, were captured and experimented on and turned into monsters. He managed to escape when they thought he had died since he does not breathe or eat in his state but his friends have all become terrors who have lost their sanity. He asks the party to either save them and restore them to who they once were, or to at least stop them from hurting others as they would never have wanted that by killing them. There's a bit of a renegade/paragon mechanic which depending on the choice to save or kill will change events down the road for the party. So the party now needs to investigate and look into mysterious disappearances and events which could be clues to the locations and monsterous natures of N. Opera Bo's fellows. Works best for an either chaotic good leaning party or one who naturally is inclined to wishing to solve mysteries and investigate strange stories.
The circus members are all based off Japanese Yokai as the group overall is inspired by the Hyakki Yagyo (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, thus the campaign being named as it is). Like our quest giving NPC is an noppera bo - a faceless man. (Nathan "Opera" Bo = N. Opera Bo = Noppera Bo. Singer and circus ringmaster.) Other bosses include for example: the strong man Gashad O'Curoh who becomes a giant skeleton based off the Japanese yokai Gashadokuro. Each boss fight is not just a simple encounter but often has a special mechanic or type of fight both to provide refreshing new ways to handle boss fights but also to reward players who can investigate into each boss before confronting them and realize certain clues to help defeat them based either on how the monsters have been killing people, where they are staying, what they are doing, or what the circumstances were of the person before becoming a monster. Gashad is due to his size a form of platforming boss, think Shadow of the Colossus, where party members will have to climb to certain points to access weak points on his body. The first can be made easier if you realize through insight checks the groaning noises are ones of hunger and offer the skeleton food. This is because Gashad who always had a big appetite was starved during the experiments which can be found out through investigating the location before the fight and finding records of the different experiments. Since his kills were all biting people's heads off and drinking their blood but he only got stronger and more violent, feeding him blood is bad. This also could be a way to if a player has particular tool proficiencies or chef feat giving them a moment to shine as they try to have meals which will appease the gargantuan skeleton.
While looking into this the party can also find out more about the people who are turning others into monsters and what their goals and methods are and how to stop them. There is also a complex political/social scene as you have a newly assigned lord taking over the region from the military commander who was in charge after the initial fief lord of the region died in the war. Over flow of military mixed with the darker side of a bustling port town with organized crime groups of smugglers and such mean the city is ripe for conflict and none of this is helped by the influence of potential spies from Kyntan looking to stir the pot further. Pirates off the coast use nearby islands are a stronghold and have been known in classic pirate fashion to work for specific nations to hurt another meaning that despite the ceasefire being signed clashes between unofficial Kyntan and Yannillean forces still happen.
Yannille and Kyntan are at odds due to sharply contrasting cultures. Kyntan is a strictly class based society which allows for the existence of slaves, but other than their slave class have a flourishing democracy and very high social benefits. Sexism though is very prevalent with women being considered unable to hold any positions of importance and should be only wives and mothers, part of the reason they especially hate King Lynnanne. (Yes king, it is the title in Yannille representing the leader. Just like you wouldn't call a female president the first lady, she is not called a queen.) Yannille has no sexism, man, woman, or other they care not. As long as you are human. It is law that only humans may hold high positions in government and the feudal system nation's nobility all are strictly human, not even half breeds are allowed to inherit any kind of title. Social welfare isn't high on the list of their priorities. Each nation points fingers at the other claiming the moral high ground. Kyntan says to look at them letting the sick and the poor starve in the streets and denying people of ability due merely to race. Yannille shouts injustice at the slave plantations of Kyntan and the women forced not to have any say in their 'equal society'. The two are in a constant cycle of war until unable to support the effort, signing a cease fire or truce as they garner back their strength, then declaring war again once they find some excuse to break the agreed peace.
On the less human side the ancient forests hold various monsters and the waters off the coast their own dangers. Ancient forces preceding both nations lurk in the land resulting in its long history as a land of ghost stories and strange tales. As the party gets drawn out by their investigations to outside the port city they will likely end up clashing or maybe even helping such entities depending on their stances and choices.
Posting the idea to see what people think. Interesting, boring, too political, too weeb, etc. There's a lot of lore, and the other bosses of the campaign, which I kept quiet about cause it would become ridiculous amount to read. Also because depending on what the players do with characters, since I want to interweave backstories as much as possible with the story and lore, things could change. Certainly if the party is more 'investigate mysteries' they could completely avoid the politics and tensions of the setting. If they instead focus purely on that side may not touch at all some aspects of the local history and supernatural elements. I do hope the party would stay in the region itself and not just get on a ship and head straight to the capital of Kyntan to start a slave revolt... but I'm sure I could think of something if that is really what they wanted to do. ... That something may be a storm shipwrecking them on an island off the coast while I write practically a whole other campaign based off that...
One of the things I actually am the most worried about is the racism/sexism aspects of the two nations. Some people don't want to deal with that in a fantasy game because they already see so much of it in real life and I respect and understand that. Part of the reason I have Port Garroon occupied by Yannille and not Kyntan is to avoid portrayals of sexism frustrating players playing a female character and being on the outer edge of the nation of Yannille with low noble influence the racism won't pop up too much. So it's softened, but still may frustrate or displease players so not sure if it is an aspect I should keep. I do though know that sometimes players like to have characters who are victims of slavery, racism, sexist ideals, etc so I feel this gives a good chance to provide clear opportunities for these kinds of backstories.
So yeah just curious to see what others think so present this humble offering of a campaign idea for the review of the community.
Night Parade
You find yourself in a small tavern outside the gates of the port city of Garroon. The largest and only true city of the coastal region of Raelor, other points of civilization are mostly small fishing villages along the coast and some mining and logging towns in the mostly untouched forests and mountains of the area. If Garroon wasn't such a ideal port for several trade routes it would never have gotten so big in such an empty place. Instead it flourished, and due to the prize it became has constantly changed hands between the two nations of Yannille and Kyntan. The most recent war, started by Kyntan under the excuse of 'justice' for the Mad King Jerodus who was slain in a coup by his niece, newly crowned King Lynnanne, has just come to a close and Garroon has managed to remain in Yannillean hands though Kyntan territory remains uncomfortably close. Thus when you arrived at the tall city walls after sunset you were refused entrance and had no choice but to stay the night in the Tottering Ass which is built outside the walls to profit on exactly the travelers who arrive too late to enter the city.
The drinks are watery and the food ... edible. The less than pleasant experience though is brightened by a colorful figure stepping up clearly to perform in some manner. You watch the man who calls himself Opera Bo perform his special art of mask changing, with every turn of head and flick of his hands and feet it seems a new colorful and expressive mask appears on his face like magic to match the tale he sings. The story is of a band of travelers who run afoul evil men that capture them and turn them into monsters. The interesting performance is not met well though as he is booed away by off duty military men, who exist in surplus in the city thanks to the war. They complain they are sick of hearing about disappearances and monsters, people are always coming to them with such stories expecting them to do something about it. Indeed the region of Raelor is long known to have a history of mysterious stories and legends and considered a land full of mysterious tall tales.
---
The campaign is intended to be kicked off by the party going to Opera Bo to ask him more details and he will confess the story is his own and reveal under his masks his face is actually gone. He and his traveling circus, the Night Parade, were captured and experimented on and turned into monsters. He managed to escape when they thought he had died since he does not breathe or eat in his state but his friends have all become terrors who have lost their sanity. He asks the party to either save them and restore them to who they once were, or to at least stop them from hurting others as they would never have wanted that by killing them. There's a bit of a renegade/paragon mechanic which depending on the choice to save or kill will change events down the road for the party. So the party now needs to investigate and look into mysterious disappearances and events which could be clues to the locations and monsterous natures of N. Opera Bo's fellows. Works best for an either chaotic good leaning party or one who naturally is inclined to wishing to solve mysteries and investigate strange stories.
The circus members are all based off Japanese Yokai as the group overall is inspired by the Hyakki Yagyo (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, thus the campaign being named as it is). Like our quest giving NPC is an noppera bo - a faceless man. (Nathan "Opera" Bo = N. Opera Bo = Noppera Bo. Singer and circus ringmaster.) Other bosses include for example: the strong man Gashad O'Curoh who becomes a giant skeleton based off the Japanese yokai Gashadokuro. Each boss fight is not just a simple encounter but often has a special mechanic or type of fight both to provide refreshing new ways to handle boss fights but also to reward players who can investigate into each boss before confronting them and realize certain clues to help defeat them based either on how the monsters have been killing people, where they are staying, what they are doing, or what the circumstances were of the person before becoming a monster. Gashad is due to his size a form of platforming boss, think Shadow of the Colossus, where party members will have to climb to certain points to access weak points on his body. The first can be made easier if you realize through insight checks the groaning noises are ones of hunger and offer the skeleton food. This is because Gashad who always had a big appetite was starved during the experiments which can be found out through investigating the location before the fight and finding records of the different experiments. Since his kills were all biting people's heads off and drinking their blood but he only got stronger and more violent, feeding him blood is bad. This also could be a way to if a player has particular tool proficiencies or chef feat giving them a moment to shine as they try to have meals which will appease the gargantuan skeleton.
While looking into this the party can also find out more about the people who are turning others into monsters and what their goals and methods are and how to stop them. There is also a complex political/social scene as you have a newly assigned lord taking over the region from the military commander who was in charge after the initial fief lord of the region died in the war. Over flow of military mixed with the darker side of a bustling port town with organized crime groups of smugglers and such mean the city is ripe for conflict and none of this is helped by the influence of potential spies from Kyntan looking to stir the pot further. Pirates off the coast use nearby islands are a stronghold and have been known in classic pirate fashion to work for specific nations to hurt another meaning that despite the ceasefire being signed clashes between unofficial Kyntan and Yannillean forces still happen.
Yannille and Kyntan are at odds due to sharply contrasting cultures. Kyntan is a strictly class based society which allows for the existence of slaves, but other than their slave class have a flourishing democracy and very high social benefits. Sexism though is very prevalent with women being considered unable to hold any positions of importance and should be only wives and mothers, part of the reason they especially hate King Lynnanne. (Yes king, it is the title in Yannille representing the leader. Just like you wouldn't call a female president the first lady, she is not called a queen.) Yannille has no sexism, man, woman, or other they care not. As long as you are human. It is law that only humans may hold high positions in government and the feudal system nation's nobility all are strictly human, not even half breeds are allowed to inherit any kind of title. Social welfare isn't high on the list of their priorities. Each nation points fingers at the other claiming the moral high ground. Kyntan says to look at them letting the sick and the poor starve in the streets and denying people of ability due merely to race. Yannille shouts injustice at the slave plantations of Kyntan and the women forced not to have any say in their 'equal society'. The two are in a constant cycle of war until unable to support the effort, signing a cease fire or truce as they garner back their strength, then declaring war again once they find some excuse to break the agreed peace.
On the less human side the ancient forests hold various monsters and the waters off the coast their own dangers. Ancient forces preceding both nations lurk in the land resulting in its long history as a land of ghost stories and strange tales. As the party gets drawn out by their investigations to outside the port city they will likely end up clashing or maybe even helping such entities depending on their stances and choices.
Posting the idea to see what people think. Interesting, boring, too political, too weeb, etc. There's a lot of lore, and the other bosses of the campaign, which I kept quiet about cause it would become ridiculous amount to read. Also because depending on what the players do with characters, since I want to interweave backstories as much as possible with the story and lore, things could change. Certainly if the party is more 'investigate mysteries' they could completely avoid the politics and tensions of the setting. If they instead focus purely on that side may not touch at all some aspects of the local history and supernatural elements. I do hope the party would stay in the region itself and not just get on a ship and head straight to the capital of Kyntan to start a slave revolt... but I'm sure I could think of something if that is really what they wanted to do. ... That something may be a storm shipwrecking them on an island off the coast while I write practically a whole other campaign based off that...
One of the things I actually am the most worried about is the racism/sexism aspects of the two nations. Some people don't want to deal with that in a fantasy game because they already see so much of it in real life and I respect and understand that. Part of the reason I have Port Garroon occupied by Yannille and not Kyntan is to avoid portrayals of sexism frustrating players playing a female character and being on the outer edge of the nation of Yannille with low noble influence the racism won't pop up too much. So it's softened, but still may frustrate or displease players so not sure if it is an aspect I should keep. I do though know that sometimes players like to have characters who are victims of slavery, racism, sexist ideals, etc so I feel this gives a good chance to provide clear opportunities for these kinds of backstories.
So yeah just curious to see what others think so present this humble offering of a campaign idea for the review of the community.
i love it. sounds like the makings of a good novel or movie series.
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