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Post by Bison204 on Apr 14, 2016 20:05:45 GMT
I'm DMing my first campaign ever (homebrew) and I've concocted this giant story where one of the PCs family is being killed off (their blood is needed to open a rift to another plane). Long story short, worshippers of an ancient Runelord are trying to bring him back from another plane by combining 5 staves & opening a rift to the plane he is on. The rift requires noble blood to be shed using an amulet with a small spike on it. The last remaining noble is one of my PCs (he doesn't know this yet). They also don't know that they are carrying said amulet; it was given to them as a gift from a standing holographic spell when they bluffed high enough and pledged allegiance to this runelord. The amulet gives +1 to AC, so they keep wearing it, but it is also cursed in the sense that is allows the runelord to track the noble PC . Anyhow, they aren't leveled up enough to beat this high level wizard of a runelord so I'm coming up with ideas for side missions to help them level up meanwhile. What I'm working on now is that they've gone into mines to recover the beloved axe of a dwarf PCs brother who is ailing: they want to bury him with it. As they go into the mines, the mines are no longer inhabited by dwarves but drow instead. What I'm really hoping to get from you guys are ideas about what could come next. I'm thinking the Drow could express interest in the staves they are carrying. I'm also thinking that the drow might have a request of the PCs, a task to do in exchange for the axe. Any ideas are welcome and thanks everyone for your input!!! J.
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Post by joatmoniac on Apr 15, 2016 6:36:34 GMT
I think it plausible for the drow to be turned onto the presence of the party because of those staves, and fighting them off will likely be a trying experience that should garner a decent amount of XP. My first thought about the drow needing something from the party would be something outside of the mine, and far enough away that they would have to travel in the sunlight. Some potential inspirational modules are: Old School: Gygax, Gary (1978). Descent into the Depths of the Earth Sargent, Carl (1995). Night Below: An Underdark Campaign Sutherland III, David C; Gygax, Gary (1980). Queen of the Demonweb Pits Gygax, Gary (1978). Vault of the Drow New school would be going with Out of the Abyss and seeing what pieces and parts could be custom fitted into your homebrew campaign.
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Post by bison204 on Apr 17, 2016 17:19:41 GMT
I think it plausible for the drow to be turned onto the presence of the party because of those staves, and fighting them off will likely be a trying experience that should garner a decent amount of XP. My first thought about the drow needing something from the party would be something outside of the mine, and far enough away that they would have to travel in the sunlight. Some potential inspirational modules are: Old School: Gygax, Gary (1978). Descent into the Depths of the Earth Sargent, Carl (1995). Night Below: An Underdark Campaign Sutherland III, David C; Gygax, Gary (1980). Queen of the Demonweb Pits Gygax, Gary (1978). Vault of the Drow New school would be going with Out of the Abyss and seeing what pieces and parts could be custom fitted into your homebrew campaign. Thanks for the ideas and also for the referrals to modules I could use to gather ideas. I will definitely look into those. I will post when I come up with the final plan.
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Post by ino on Apr 23, 2016 3:19:58 GMT
What level are they? I have always enjoyed the idea of lolth often testing and cursing the drow. U can put the party between a rock and a hard place, trying to find the lesser of two evils.
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Post by janewalksfar on Apr 23, 2016 16:09:27 GMT
Here are some questions that might help develop some ideas:
How long have the drow dwelt in the mine? In other words, is this a developed drow community or an outpost? Who lives here? Slavers who post up for easy access to the surface, the exiled survivors of a fallen house, a band of low-ranking sons attempting to strike out on their own, etc.
I find that once I start answering questions about who the PCs are dealing with, I'm able to create quests and encounters more organically. For example, if this is a slaver's outpost then the PCs may have to fight-off-capture or do some nosing around to learn that the axe was shipped off with a spider-drawn caravan hauling slaves and treasures to another location. If you're dealing with exiles, then maybe the drow NPCs want help sabotaging their enemies or maybe they see the PCs staves as an opportunity to claim powerful magical artifacts for their own, thereby giving them some clout in their attempts to win their way back into drow society.
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Post by bison204 on Apr 26, 2016 16:10:32 GMT
Here are some questions that might help develop some ideas: How long have the drow dwelt in the mine? In other words, is this a developed drow community or an outpost? Who lives here? Slavers who post up for easy access to the surface, the exiled survivors of a fallen house, a band of low-ranking sons attempting to strike out on their own, etc. I find that once I start answering questions about who the PCs are dealing with, I'm able to create quests and encounters more organically. For example, if this is a slaver's outpost then the PCs may have to fight-off-capture or do some nosing around to learn that the axe was shipped off with a spider-drawn caravan hauling slaves and treasures to another location. If you're dealing with exiles, then maybe the drow NPCs want help sabotaging their enemies or maybe they see the PCs staves as an opportunity to claim powerful magical artifacts for their own, thereby giving them some clout in their attempts to win their way back into drow society. Thanks for the advice! You're right, once I started thinking about whether or not it was an outpost or a full community, I started getting inspired again. I really like the idea that it is not a main settlement but rather that they be outcasts or exiles. I'm running the campaign this thursday and I finally feel like the creative juices are going again!!! I'll let you all know what happens! Again, thanks for the help everyone!
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keemara
Commoner
same game since 1978!
Posts: 2
Favorite D&D Class: Mage
Favorite D&D Race: dragons
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Post by keemara on Jun 23, 2016 18:48:15 GMT
a flooded mine - or some pool of very dark water. a series of long caverns that have a very fast wind that rushes through it - so fast in places that boats could 'float' on the top of it
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