I have been toying with a "Backwards Lord of the Rings" Evil campaign which I would love to run one day.
Basic premise is that Sauron has discovered that Gandalf & co are planning to destroy the one ring in the fires of mount doom - he doesn't know where it is, but he knows it's out there and how it can be destroyed. He summons the party, who are all evil characters high in Sauron's regards, and sends them on a quest to take the Fires of Mount Doom (now in a handy, travel-sized magic red lidded bucket with "FIRE" stencilled on the side) to a magical spring which is the only thing in middle earth which is capable of quenching the flames - a spring which causes everything and everyone around it to become calm and peaceful. It resides in a cave system beneath a place called "The Shire".
So commences a journey across middle earth to drop the fires of mount doom into the spring under the shire!
This may be the most original twist on existing material I've ever heard!
The party started off as the typical 'hired by the local Lord to do the thing and just stayed together' sort of sandbox game but then the traveling show came to town. The party was thinking of traveling to the next city at about the time the show was moving on so they were hired as guards. They liked the idea so much they stayed with the show for a good portion of the campaign. One of them even joined the act as a juggler and knife-thrower.
Everyone makes up their character 1st level and then they all die! They awaken as Revenants intent on finding out who murdered them all and seeking revenge. I gave them enough agency that if they wanted to do side stuff they could but they would normally get the pull to get back on track before too long. As a switch, they were healed with Necromantic magic (one of the party members was a Necromancer) and while they could die, it simply meant that the party had to find out which body their spirit had inhabited next. This was a GREAT vehicle (and made for some laughs) if someone couldn't play for a session because they would let me know ahead of time and I'd arrange the most ridiculous death I could. Like falling pianos or something. Then the party would spend the next session looking for their missing comrade and asking strangers 'Are you...HIM?' and receiving funny looks.
I think the best campaign I was ever in, or the most fun at least, was when we were all different schools of Cleric. We would be walking or riding down the road having long debates about the pros and cons of this god or that...trying to defend some slight our deity had made centuries before as 'but that was provoked' or 'this is what happens when every follower forgets their prayers on the same day!' As players we really got into it and it was lots of fun. Then the combat would start and we would roll through stuff because having a whole party of buffers gets a bit nuts!
It's not fleshed out at all, but I always liked the idea of a FR high elven "Third Reich" type movement seeking to restore elven superiority and dominate Faerun. The party would essentially be playing high fantasy Wolfenstein.
I also love the idea of an all arcane caster party. Has anyone pulled this off? I picture two wizards, a sorcerer, and a warlock who always gets tons of sh*t from the rest of the party.
The kingdom Elves are actually barbaric, hidden behind politeness and grace, and they love carnage either invoked directly or indirectly, but the Orcs are misunderstood with their blunt, indelicate mannerisms and ready to fight if threatened but honorable and even kind if one gets past all that and not attack first.
Player Elves are not allowed to be kingdom Elves unless they're exiled for a different way of thinking. Kingdom Elves are any Elf such as Wood, Dark, High, etc. but with a singular elegant society instead of the usual distinct heritage of each sect of Elf.
The players must expose the kingdom Elves and bring back tolerance to the realms. Players can try to uncover believable evidence and nobody should stop them, but that will never work since the campaign accepts exiled kingdom Elves who could have means to gather evidence. With the kingdom at war with the Orc nation that didn't want a war, the people aren't interested in sympathizers. The only real way to solve the campaign is to get the kingdom Elves to expose themselves and show their own true colors and their own part they played in antagonizing the Orcs.
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Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
Not fleshed out in any way; but I've had the idea in the past to run a campaign in which the world consists of a Niven Ring, for those unfamiliar with the term/concep: think a Halo ring from the Halo game series, but the size of Earth's orbit with a sun at the centre. The thing that sort of fascinates me is the idea that there would inherently be some dissonance between the players and their characters: given that, being people from a fantasy-medieval-aged society, chances are; the characters wouldn't necessarily have the comprehension to realize the thing they were standing on couldn't possibly be natural; while the players upon getting enough information to put teh pieces together would instantly become aware there was some seriously powerful stuff at work, at least; in the past of this world for this thing to exist at all.
A campaign set in a future where dinosaurs still roam the world and coexist with other species. I imagined all of these cybernetically enhanced dinosaurs being psychically linked to the players.
A campaign set in a future where dinosaurs still roam the world and coexist with other species. I imagined all of these cybernetically enhanced dinosaurs being psychically linked to the players.
Here's another one:
A What If? inspired campaign set in the forgotten realms. My concept for one of the adventures was that Asmodeus became a demon lord and conquered the world!
I want to play a campaign where each character is based on their players favorite hobby. You pick skills and spells and such based on how they would enhance your hobby. Like to drink, play a Druid who grows and makes their own wine. I sew and knit so have my girl would duel wield knitting needles like daggers.
So people who spend way too much time surfing the internet would be barbarian [forum rage] trolls who fight with flails [corded mouse] and shields [keyboard]? And if somebody is way too obsessive about their dog they'd be a beastmaster ranger but the crazy cat man/lady would be a Circle of the Shepherd druid. Stoners would be pacifist druids...party animals drunken master monks...
Of course this would only satisfy everyone except...everyone...if the other members of the group decide on what each person played.
I'm not sure if this is creative or weird, but I would love to run a adventure in rural north america. The campaign would take place in a small town where strange occurences have begun to arise. The party would be swept into seeking answers to these strange events, but never able to retrieve proof of the existence of the supernatural.
Honestly it's inspired by gravity falls and adventure zone amnesty but I would love to see this done with 5e rules :p
I'm not sure if this is creative or weird, but I would love to run a adventure in rural north america. The campaign would take place in a small town where strange occurences have begun to arise. The party would be swept into seeking answers to these strange events, but never able to retrieve proof of the existence of the supernatural.
Honestly it's inspired by gravity falls and adventure zone amnesty but I would love to see this done with 5e rules :p
I wrote a short story about a weary traveler arriving at a town for a rest, not too small of a town and was well known, except the town was a place where the walls between worlds are thin, evidenced by things that are shrugged off as quirks of the area. The traveler slipped through to the other side to find a town that was operating normally but trapped. The townspeople also had slipped through, mostly travelers. Some thing kept them there. Ghostly images often appeared and things would shift around as a result of people in the real world affecting objects there. Anyone who managed to affect objects in the real world from this other dimension had to keep it secret or whatever was keeping them there would remove them somehow. Whatever it was, it kept the population at a strict number, allowing people to slip through as necessary and demanded people lived as normal as they could.
It was inspired by this town where I live with a long history of occasional weirdness - likely created by a few famous authors who also wrote about this place - but with a persistent weirdness that the surrounding weather, economy, and social habits misalign with this place. It's not what one would expect coming here given the well-earned reputation of the rest of the state. I like the idea that this place partially exists in a misaligned dimension. A small set of ordinary coincidences set the place apart from the rest of the state; University accounting for nearly (if not more than) 50% of the population with its constantly rotating attendance from around the world, a strong presence of "Old Blood" who dampen rampant changes, nearby geologic features that interrupt weather patterns...
In the story, a Great Old One with some unknown (possibly unknowable) purpose was responsible. The new traveler starts to inspire hope but is "removed" before any kind of rebellion could wind up. Another traveler then arrives. Fín.
If I were to turn it into a campaign, it would be a place of feigned existence underscored by hopelessness. The players would likely try to escape from an unknown Great Old One patron. People would likely try to stop them. How the players handle that situation would be up to them. I would transfer the consequences of their actions there into the real world as the place exists in two Planes at once (to place it in D&D lore), each side affecting the other. I know the Feywild is all the rage right now, but I wouldn't place it there nor in Shadowfell. It would be a far more accurate representation of the Material Plane than either of those two places because it still is on the Material Plane but also not.
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Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
That sounds so good, it's almost like the other existence is like a future memory of the other, and manipulating one has consequences for the other! I may be off base on that but that's so cool!
The following is an idea I had for converting a certain film franchise into a d&d campaign, I've not worked out any particular adventures at present just a little overview of the campaign from the BBEG's point of view, it probably won't take long to realise which film franchise it is, here's the prologue and chapter 1 overview:
(Prologue)
A long, long time ago, in a Prime Material Plane not currently published.......
A young Noble, we'll call Sheev, became the student of a Wizard, who we don't need to name because Sheev is the important one here after all. Sheev studied and became a Wizard who specialised with the School of Enchantment and soon left his mentor and got involved in politics. He was successful but realised he would need to hone his magical abilities to be really good at politics.
With practice (getting to lvl 14 Wizard) he was able to charm his way into political office and found his way into the diplomatic branch. This kept him happy for a short time but he soon turned his gaze to other political ambitions and set making those ambitions a reality. Eventually he realised he had found the limits of magical power (he got to lvl 20 Wizard) and cast a powerful spell and made a Wish. This Wish was fairly simple, he desired to be able to concentrate on more than one spell at a time. The spell was successful but at a cost, he could no longer cast the Wish spell. Realising this spell was no longer available to him Sheev started to put the pieces in place to accomplish his goals.
(In game terms this Wish would function as follows: Concentration checks for one spell are as normal, if concentrating on 2+ spells cause all Concentration checks to be made at disadvantage, if combined with Warcaster then these become normal rolls. This si completely irrelevant at this stage as it is not liekly the PC's will encounter Sheev in nay cobative way early in the campaign).
He took his own apprentice and trained them in secret as, thanks to an Amulet of Proof against detection and location that he found or made early in his career, he had so far managed to keep his magical side hidden. His plan was simple, he would start a war to destabilise a country and then use his "diplomatic powers" to resolve the situation which would then elevate him in the sight of the populace and his political peers.
(Chapter 1)
Sheev allows some anti government forces in a neighbouring country to locate an ancient and long forgotten foundry which allows them to produce seemingly unlimited numbers of golem like creations which easily overrun local militia and city guards. This plan was nearly thwarted when a group of adventurers (the PC's) blundered into the war zone and killed his apprentice that was working covertly in the area. Sheev was able to turn this to his advantage and remain hidden as the instigator of the war and keeps the war going. This also had a side effect that Sheev had not foreseen, an artefact fell into his possession that granted him the knowledge and spells required to become a Lich. He performed this ritual and achieved Lichdom and used his magical powers to keep the world from seeing his decayed, Lich appearance.
(In game terms as a level 20 Wizard he has access to the Spell Mastery ability and has Charm Person and Alter Self spells available at will these enabled him to hide his Lich appearance and also to manipulate others, being a school of enchantment specialist prevented anyone from realising their we're being subjected to his charm spells and his amulet of proof against detection and location mean he is immune to divination magic so people cannot detect his magic. Additionally, the Golems referenced are actually Warforged not true golems)
Potential adventurers throughout chapter 1:
Escaping a attack from Warforged, rallying a cities defences, building alliances with other factions, infiltrating occupied cities, locate the foundry the warforged are being created at and build to a confrontation with Sheev's apprentice.
Chapter 2-9, each chapter reflects another film from the franchise and follows a similar line of adventures as the films.
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* Need a character idea? Search for "Rob76's Unused" in the Story and Lore section.
a Dragon whose hoard is unappreciated wives. The “heroes go to town to find only men. They are told a dragon has kidnapped them. Later they find all the women in a massive dungeon being very well taken care of with the dragon in human form saying they are all his pet (none creepy way, just wants to protect them)
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This may be the most original twist on existing material I've ever heard!
I've run a couple of good ones in the past:
The party started off as the typical 'hired by the local Lord to do the thing and just stayed together' sort of sandbox game but then the traveling show came to town. The party was thinking of traveling to the next city at about the time the show was moving on so they were hired as guards. They liked the idea so much they stayed with the show for a good portion of the campaign. One of them even joined the act as a juggler and knife-thrower.
Everyone makes up their character 1st level and then they all die! They awaken as Revenants intent on finding out who murdered them all and seeking revenge. I gave them enough agency that if they wanted to do side stuff they could but they would normally get the pull to get back on track before too long. As a switch, they were healed with Necromantic magic (one of the party members was a Necromancer) and while they could die, it simply meant that the party had to find out which body their spirit had inhabited next. This was a GREAT vehicle (and made for some laughs) if someone couldn't play for a session because they would let me know ahead of time and I'd arrange the most ridiculous death I could. Like falling pianos or something. Then the party would spend the next session looking for their missing comrade and asking strangers 'Are you...HIM?' and receiving funny looks.
I think the best campaign I was ever in, or the most fun at least, was when we were all different schools of Cleric. We would be walking or riding down the road having long debates about the pros and cons of this god or that...trying to defend some slight our deity had made centuries before as 'but that was provoked' or 'this is what happens when every follower forgets their prayers on the same day!' As players we really got into it and it was lots of fun. Then the combat would start and we would roll through stuff because having a whole party of buffers gets a bit nuts!
It's not fleshed out at all, but I always liked the idea of a FR high elven "Third Reich" type movement seeking to restore elven superiority and dominate Faerun. The party would essentially be playing high fantasy Wolfenstein.
I also love the idea of an all arcane caster party. Has anyone pulled this off? I picture two wizards, a sorcerer, and a warlock who always gets tons of sh*t from the rest of the party.
The kingdom Elves are actually barbaric, hidden behind politeness and grace, and they love carnage either invoked directly or indirectly, but the Orcs are misunderstood with their blunt, indelicate mannerisms and ready to fight if threatened but honorable and even kind if one gets past all that and not attack first.
Player Elves are not allowed to be kingdom Elves unless they're exiled for a different way of thinking. Kingdom Elves are any Elf such as Wood, Dark, High, etc. but with a singular elegant society instead of the usual distinct heritage of each sect of Elf.
The players must expose the kingdom Elves and bring back tolerance to the realms. Players can try to uncover believable evidence and nobody should stop them, but that will never work since the campaign accepts exiled kingdom Elves who could have means to gather evidence. With the kingdom at war with the Orc nation that didn't want a war, the people aren't interested in sympathizers. The only real way to solve the campaign is to get the kingdom Elves to expose themselves and show their own true colors and their own part they played in antagonizing the Orcs.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
Not fleshed out in any way; but I've had the idea in the past to run a campaign in which the world consists of a Niven Ring, for those unfamiliar with the term/concep: think a Halo ring from the Halo game series, but the size of Earth's orbit with a sun at the centre. The thing that sort of fascinates me is the idea that there would inherently be some dissonance between the players and their characters: given that, being people from a fantasy-medieval-aged society, chances are; the characters wouldn't necessarily have the comprehension to realize the thing they were standing on couldn't possibly be natural; while the players upon getting enough information to put teh pieces together would instantly become aware there was some seriously powerful stuff at work, at least; in the past of this world for this thing to exist at all.
A campaign set in a future where dinosaurs still roam the world and coexist with other species. I imagined all of these cybernetically enhanced dinosaurs being psychically linked to the players.
Supreme Cat-lover Of The First Grade
I AM A CAT PERSON. /\_____/\
She/her pronouns please. (=^.^=)
Here's another one:
A What If? inspired campaign set in the forgotten realms. My concept for one of the adventures was that Asmodeus became a demon lord and conquered the world!
Supreme Cat-lover Of The First Grade
I AM A CAT PERSON. /\_____/\
She/her pronouns please. (=^.^=)
*Cough Cough*
Supreme Cat-lover Of The First Grade
I AM A CAT PERSON. /\_____/\
She/her pronouns please. (=^.^=)
I'm not sure if this is creative or weird, but I would love to run a adventure in rural north america. The campaign would take place in a small town where strange occurences have begun to arise. The party would be swept into seeking answers to these strange events, but never able to retrieve proof of the existence of the supernatural.
Honestly it's inspired by gravity falls and adventure zone amnesty but I would love to see this done with 5e rules :p
I wrote a short story about a weary traveler arriving at a town for a rest, not too small of a town and was well known, except the town was a place where the walls between worlds are thin, evidenced by things that are shrugged off as quirks of the area. The traveler slipped through to the other side to find a town that was operating normally but trapped. The townspeople also had slipped through, mostly travelers. Some thing kept them there. Ghostly images often appeared and things would shift around as a result of people in the real world affecting objects there. Anyone who managed to affect objects in the real world from this other dimension had to keep it secret or whatever was keeping them there would remove them somehow. Whatever it was, it kept the population at a strict number, allowing people to slip through as necessary and demanded people lived as normal as they could.
It was inspired by this town where I live with a long history of occasional weirdness - likely created by a few famous authors who also wrote about this place - but with a persistent weirdness that the surrounding weather, economy, and social habits misalign with this place. It's not what one would expect coming here given the well-earned reputation of the rest of the state. I like the idea that this place partially exists in a misaligned dimension. A small set of ordinary coincidences set the place apart from the rest of the state; University accounting for nearly (if not more than) 50% of the population with its constantly rotating attendance from around the world, a strong presence of "Old Blood" who dampen rampant changes, nearby geologic features that interrupt weather patterns...
In the story, a Great Old One with some unknown (possibly unknowable) purpose was responsible. The new traveler starts to inspire hope but is "removed" before any kind of rebellion could wind up. Another traveler then arrives. Fín.
If I were to turn it into a campaign, it would be a place of feigned existence underscored by hopelessness. The players would likely try to escape from an unknown Great Old One patron. People would likely try to stop them. How the players handle that situation would be up to them. I would transfer the consequences of their actions there into the real world as the place exists in two Planes at once (to place it in D&D lore), each side affecting the other. I know the Feywild is all the rage right now, but I wouldn't place it there nor in Shadowfell. It would be a far more accurate representation of the Material Plane than either of those two places because it still is on the Material Plane but also not.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
That sounds so good, it's almost like the other existence is like a future memory of the other, and manipulating one has consequences for the other! I may be off base on that but that's so cool!
The following is an idea I had for converting a certain film franchise into a d&d campaign, I've not worked out any particular adventures at present just a little overview of the campaign from the BBEG's point of view, it probably won't take long to realise which film franchise it is, here's the prologue and chapter 1 overview:
(Prologue)
A long, long time ago, in a Prime Material Plane not currently published.......
A young Noble, we'll call Sheev, became the student of a Wizard, who we don't need to name because Sheev is the important one here after all. Sheev studied and became a Wizard who specialised with the School of Enchantment and soon left his mentor and got involved in politics. He was successful but realised he would need to hone his magical abilities to be really good at politics.
With practice (getting to lvl 14 Wizard) he was able to charm his way into political office and found his way into the diplomatic branch. This kept him happy for a short time but he soon turned his gaze to other political ambitions and set making those ambitions a reality. Eventually he realised he had found the limits of magical power (he got to lvl 20 Wizard) and cast a powerful spell and made a Wish. This Wish was fairly simple, he desired to be able to concentrate on more than one spell at a time. The spell was successful but at a cost, he could no longer cast the Wish spell. Realising this spell was no longer available to him Sheev started to put the pieces in place to accomplish his goals.
(In game terms this Wish would function as follows: Concentration checks for one spell are as normal, if concentrating on 2+ spells cause all Concentration checks to be made at disadvantage, if combined with Warcaster then these become normal rolls. This si completely irrelevant at this stage as it is not liekly the PC's will encounter Sheev in nay cobative way early in the campaign).
He took his own apprentice and trained them in secret as, thanks to an Amulet of Proof against detection and location that he found or made early in his career, he had so far managed to keep his magical side hidden. His plan was simple, he would start a war to destabilise a country and then use his "diplomatic powers" to resolve the situation which would then elevate him in the sight of the populace and his political peers.
(Chapter 1)
Sheev allows some anti government forces in a neighbouring country to locate an ancient and long forgotten foundry which allows them to produce seemingly unlimited numbers of golem like creations which easily overrun local militia and city guards. This plan was nearly thwarted when a group of adventurers (the PC's) blundered into the war zone and killed his apprentice that was working covertly in the area. Sheev was able to turn this to his advantage and remain hidden as the instigator of the war and keeps the war going. This also had a side effect that Sheev had not foreseen, an artefact fell into his possession that granted him the knowledge and spells required to become a Lich. He performed this ritual and achieved Lichdom and used his magical powers to keep the world from seeing his decayed, Lich appearance.
(In game terms as a level 20 Wizard he has access to the Spell Mastery ability and has Charm Person and Alter Self spells available at will these enabled him to hide his Lich appearance and also to manipulate others, being a school of enchantment specialist prevented anyone from realising their we're being subjected to his charm spells and his amulet of proof against detection and location mean he is immune to divination magic so people cannot detect his magic. Additionally, the Golems referenced are actually Warforged not true golems)
Potential adventurers throughout chapter 1:
Escaping a attack from Warforged, rallying a cities defences, building alliances with other factions, infiltrating occupied cities, locate the foundry the warforged are being created at and build to a confrontation with Sheev's apprentice.
Chapter 2-9, each chapter reflects another film from the franchise and follows a similar line of adventures as the films.
Thought up by the work wife:
a Dragon whose hoard is unappreciated wives. The “heroes go to town to find only men. They are told a dragon has kidnapped them. Later they find all the women in a massive dungeon being very well taken care of with the dragon in human form saying they are all his pet (none creepy way, just wants to protect them)