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Post by joatmoniac on Jan 15, 2018 22:49:44 GMT
It's time to stack some gunpowder! For this one rorrik and I knocked our heads around and decided to merge two ideas together. There will be pictured below that can be the catalyst for asking and answering more questions about what gunpowder is stacked and how. From there, you can also choose to help stack the gunpowder on someone else's post if you see fit to do so! All the gunpowder shall be stacked in this one! There a lot of different ways that tension can be built inside of your world, and each has a fairly unique way of having its gunpowder stacked. Here are a few potential categories that things could be placed in. - Power (succession, artifacts)
- Religion
- Racial Hatred/Cultural Conflict/National Opposition
- Resources (food, metals, etc)
- Magic and monsters
Also, I must give credit where credit is definitely due, and the name for this one was all rorrik and it is glorious! Grab a picture or someone else post and start stacking some glorious gunpowder! 1.  2.  3.  4.  5.  6.  7.  8.  9.  As always grab one of these or find whatever inspires you the most on the internet and bring it to share! |
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Rudolph
Squire
Posts: 39
Favorite D&D Class: Ranger
Favorite D&D Race: Firbolg
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Post by Rudolph on Jan 16, 2018 11:07:01 GMT
Not sure if this fits or not, but i'll give it a shot for 1.
The gnomish and human city of Kanta has fallen under drow control. The citizens of Kanta are forced to pay their tithes to Menzoberranzan in slave labor. Having run out of the slaves Kantans had already kept, they were forced to give up their own citizens to the drow slave ships. In picture 1 a human teen sends a signal to her peers, all of whom have had their parents captured and are willing to die to save their family from a ship about to take an elemental water portal to the drow capital.
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Post by rorrik on Jan 17, 2018 2:28:39 GMT
8. I'm going to get in quick to snag 8 before someone else does: When the lost cathedral of Emon-Vel was discovered by adventurers last summer, word of their exploits in clearing it spread quickly. Soon, pilgrims from as far as the word reached flocked into the area. The local king was forced to let the masses pass his borders to visit the religious site. By spring of the following year, the temple was well on its way to restoration, but not all of the so-called pilgrims to the cathedral had pure intentions. Among the unvetted arrivals in the kingdom were treasure hunters drawn by the tales of wealth within the cathedral, spies from neighboring nations, cultists hoping to find power in forgotten dogmas. Who can know what other groups have entered the kingdom under the guise of religious travelers? |
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Post by tigrannosaurus on Jan 22, 2018 23:25:04 GMT
2. PACT OF THE LONG LIVED TLDR: Elves, Dwarves and Gnomes (Plus any other races in your setting with multi hundred year lifespans) still remember the continent before the human population explosion. And some of them still want their land back. Now that someone has stolen one of the last remaning maps of the borders before humankind and sent it to the humans the sect is in motion. Moar Deetails: 2018 years ago the 9 Realms were rocked by an unknown cataclysm that struck without warning and blackened the sky for a full year. Populations everywhere where decimated. Many elven forests died completely, many dwarf mines collapsed, many human cities were fell to famine. But in the 2000 years since the humans and other short lived races bounced back much much MUCH faster than the longer lived. The elves have only had one and a bit generations since then, the dwarves and gnomes only 5 or 6 - but the humans have had hundreds. Now they are everywhere. In the millenia that followed a new equilibrium has found. Albeit one where the bulk of the surface land is occupied by the 'short lives' as the elder races call them. To a human this is ancient ancient history - disconnected from them and their lives. However there are elves still alive who recall the cataclysm. This is still real and present to them. There are a subset of ultra stand offish elves and dwarves who still want the old lands back and are prepared to do it by any means necessary. Over 1500 years of subterfuge they have placed key elven advisors in every major court in the land and plan to kick off a war. One that will pit the various short lives against each other. (Think Vizzini et al from Princess Bride - we're going to start a war, it's a prestigious line of work, one with a long and glorious tradition) Their plan is that in the chaos afterwards they will be able to once more raise their standards and reclaim dominion of their ancestral kingdoms. Thus the order as it was shall return. I think this would just be a small but dedicated sub sect in the political castes of the long lived, that most of the folk of those races are okay with the emergent equilibrium. However the PC's may come into possession of one of the original elven or dwarven maps - perhaps it is marked up with the compromised courts? With locations of the 'spark it off'attacks? Who knows? Questions arising: How do the elves in the party react? How do the short lives in the party react? What happens to trust? Who do they tell - the 'good elves' who respect the new peace or the short lived kings who are at risk? How can they stop it? And of course.... Who is coming for the map? |
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Post by rorrik on Jan 25, 2018 4:40:37 GMT
TLDR: Elves, Dwarves and Gnomes (Plus any other races in your setting with multi hundred year lifespans) still remember the continent before the human population explosion. And some of them still want their land back. Now that someone has stolen one of the last remaning maps of the borders before humankind and sent it to the humans the sect is in motion. Moar Deetails: 2018 years ago the 9 Realms were rocked by an unknown cataclysm that struck without warning and blackened the sky for a full year. Populations everywhere where decimated. Many elven forests died completely, many dwarf mines collapsed, many human cities were fell to famine. But in the 2000 years since the humans and other short lived races bounced back much much MUCH faster than the longer lived. The elves have only had one and a bit generations since then, the dwarves and gnomes only 5 or 6 - but the humans have had hundreds. Now they are everywhere. In the millenia that followed a new equilibrium has found. Albeit one where the bulk of the surface land is occupied by the 'short lives' as the elder races call them. To a human this is ancient ancient history - disconnected from them and their lives. However there are elves still alive who recall the cataclysm. This is still real and present to them. There are a subset of ultra stand offish elves and dwarves who still want the old lands back and are prepared to do it by any means necessary. Over 1500 years of subterfuge they have placed key eleven advisors in every major court in the land and plan to kick off a war. One that will pit the various short lives against each other. Their plan is that in the chaos afterwards they will raise their standards once more over their ancestral kingdoms and the order as it was shall return. I think this is just a small but dedicated sub sect in the political caste of the long lived but that the PC's may come into possession of one of the original elven or dwarven maps - perhaps it marks the compromised courts? How do the elves in the party react? What happens to trust? Who do they tell - the 'good elves' who respect the new peace or the short lived kings who are at risk? How can they stop it? Who is coming for the map? Beneath the long conspiracy to touch off a war between the human nations, a secret society of conniving elves aims to use the occasion of the massive war to raise armies of the undead and set themselves up as rulers over the elder races, including the elves. Knowledge of this kind of betrayal within the conspiracy might sow enough conflict to prevent the elves starting the great war at all, provided that knowledge can be delivered to the right ears. |
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Post by lasersniper on Jan 26, 2018 2:31:57 GMT
After the Annihilation Campaign led by the former god destruction Rovagus, the mighty Draconic Empire was brought low. Many of the dragon warlords of the world were slain fighting in defense it and legions of dragonborn warriors were massacred. Even though all the peoples of the world stood together for survival, the Draconic Empire the brunt of the losses, and other kingdoms took notice. Seeing a chance to be free of the dragon warlords which had subjugated the lands, the other kingdoms and nations of the world stuck out against the Empire. In the years that followed, dozens of dragons were slain in the purge. And the dragonborn homelands were pillage and burned. Eventually all of dragonkind fled back to the Draconic Isles, but even their they were not safe. The peoples of the world took their armies and followed them across the sea and decimated their homelands. The dragonborn were dejected from their homelands, the handful of surviving dragons were enslaved, and the Draconic Isles became home to the World Council. Their, in the cavernous halls of the Draconic capital, the worlds kingdoms formed relationships of peace with eachother. Peace, signed draconic blood. Hundreds of years later, the surviving, now nomadic, dragonborn refuges have stumbled upon a startling discovering in the north. Amongst the frozen peaks and icy canyons, a dead dragon within a cave. And curled safety in a loving embrace, is a clutch of dragon eggs. Still alive and dormant, just waiting for the warmth needed to hatch. The dragonborn were just handed a way to gain their lost honor, glory, and revenge. |
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dmk
Commoner
Posts: 8 
Favorite D&D Class: Fighter
Favorite D&D Race: Human
Gender: Male
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Post by dmk on Jan 28, 2018 15:54:49 GMT
8. Many centuries ago, the priests of {Pelor} called the faithful to crusade against the twilight city of Leth to recover the legendary Sunblade from the Lich King Kaszce (Kahsha). Thousands marched through the Gate of Teeth, few returned. The blade was carried years before the crusade by the famous adventurer and paladin of Pelor, Roaldo Varrus, into the twilight city on a mission to recover his sister from the clutches of the monarch of undeath. After watching every member of his party die gruesome deaths at the hands of the fell wardens of Leth, and fighting alone through the darkness for weeks, Varrus fell to his wounds. As he slipped from consciousness, a figure in rags, with a crown of diamonds and ivory picked him up and carried him to an ancient temple. Kaszce nursed him back to health and asked him a simple question, "Would you like to see your sister, Varrus?". Confused, but hopeful, Varrus assented. A queen of darkness, bedecked in diamond and Ivory entered the chamber to sit beside him. She was already lost. Varrus decided to stay, to slowly convert her back to the light. But to do so, he must become the very thing he fought. He knelt before Kascze, pledged himself to lead his armies, to protect his sister, and to crush the oncoming crusade to recover the sunblade. He fought furiously against his former brethren, some claiming he was the only combatant against the many thousands. As the last clerics and paladins retreated through the Gate of Teeth, they saw Varrus, bloody and triumphant, making as if to weep while his slain rose from death to pledge their fealty. Willing agent of Darkness, Varrus still visits the sunblade. He must stay back, only partially protected by a brilliant purple amulet gifted to him by Kascze, but still he weekly prays to a god that is no longer there for him. He lingers around the brilliant daylight radiance of his former weapon and tries to awaken the good that has fled his still heart and rotting mind. Now, amidst the tattered banners of his devotion, IN the brilliant radiance of HIS blade are a group of adventurers, warily looking out into the darkness. |
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Post by finallyfoundahobby on Feb 12, 2018 19:52:15 GMT
50 years ago, terrible war and famine swept over the coastal city of Azurai. Its citazens perished by the thousands until a small group of clerics of various gods banded together under the uniting banner of "Mercy for all!" They pledged to make whatever difference they could to save their people, no matter how small the impact. Their impact was small at first, however, the word quickly spread of the tireless work of "The Merciful Ones" to heal whomever they could, purify drinking water, and create sustaining meals for the suffering city. It was at the peak of the bloodshed that the work of Ther Merciful Ones turned the tides in Azurai. Their leader, Odif the Hobbled, near death with exhaustion from his work, chose to heal a wounded soldier from the attacking army rather than rest himself. The magic expended was too much for Odif and his life left him even as he returned it to the wounded soldier. The word of this great sacrifice spread throughout the city and out into the battlefields to the warring kings. Humbled by the actions of this one cleric, a peace was struck and Azurai was saved. In the months and early years to come, The Merciful Ones became an official religious order in the city. Azurai's gratitude was so great that everyone was converted to their ideals. The king committed his life to their teachings, that all peoples are deserving of mercy, and so the influence of the order spread to every soul within its walls. Eventually the king abdicated his throne to devote himself wholly as an acolyte to the Order of the Merciful Ones. The priests formed a ruling council to govern the city in the king's absence, and decades of peace followed for Azurai. Crime decreased, commerce increased, and the entire region rang with praise of the utopia of Azurai. There were of course the occasional violent crimes that still occured in the city and The Order dealt with those through their stated creed of Mercy For All. Criminals were rehabilitated at monsteries built in the city, and those wronged were encouraged to forgive and show mercy to them in return. This continued for first time offenders, while those committing crimes for the second and then third time were quietly executed. The Order determined that these individuals must be without mercy in their souls themselves and so were no longer deserving of having it granted to them, in accord with the tenet Mercy for All Who Show Mercy. This logic was accepted without notice by the public as they continued to enjoy their peace and safety. Soon, The Order decided to further secure peace in the city by determing that, in such a utopia, that anyone who committed a crime was devoid of mercy in his soul and should be purged from the city at the first offense, lest the good and merciful citazens of Azurai be harmed by him in the future. The monasteries of rehabilitation seamlessly transitioned to gallows and guillotines, and the population remained at peace for a time in their near crimeless state. It is now the 50th anniversay of Odif the Hallowed's sacrifice and the rise of The Order. Crime has remained near zero within the walls of Azurai, thanks to the new construction of Confession Stalls throughout the city. Clerics of The Order stand ready at these stalls at all times, day and night, to receive confessions from the populace of crimes being committed by their neighbors, doubtless wihout mercy in their souls. Those who make these confessions are given bread and meat for their families as a thanks for their piety. Statues have also been erected in the likness of Odif the Hallowed to remind Azurai that the eyes of The Merciful Ones are always watching over them, keeping them safe from those who would harm them. The streets of Azurai have grown quieter and quieter under the eyes of Odif and The Order. Its citazens speak in whispers behind closed doors and the air is now fragrant with the spice of rebellion. |
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Post by DMdanielsan on Feb 20, 2018 4:07:24 GMT
#4
It has only been a year since the sacking of the great city of Lusina Tirion, and the execution of the Lord Lusario by the Usurper, Kane Maelstrom. In the invasion, the Lusario family was hunted down in their manor and killed off by Kane and his troop. During the havoc, one of the servants of the house, a young man by the name of Adrian Till, in the midst of his escape, found the youngest Lusario boy, Sydney, hiding with tears running down his face and clutching his dog Bear. Adrian saved the two from instinct, and fled the city to a far away land. The trio find themselves assuming alter egos, and are currently in a town along the outskirts of Shelsharres. Whether through coincidence or by seeking them out, your party runs into the fugitives. Is the party acting on behalf of Kane as bounty hunters? Was the party looking for them in order to offer their support? If the party runs into them, do the learn immediately of their background or do they become NPCs and this information reveals itself over time? If the players meet them on accident but learn of their true identities, how do they react?
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dmk
Commoner
Posts: 8
Favorite D&D Class: Fighter
Favorite D&D Race: Human
Gender: Male
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Post by dmk on Feb 20, 2018 19:41:16 GMT
Going back in... 3. The City of Qeth has existed for hundreds of years among the ruins of an ancient nameless city that crowds the shores of Qethar bay. The ruins slowly slip into the rifts and chasms created by the long forgotten cataclysm that shattered the silent metropolis. Each crash raising the sea level of the sheltered Qethar bay, driving the inhabitants higher in the rehabilitated ruins, or onto floating homes haphazardly fashioned to the tottering edifices. Notable features: The Markers of Safe run the city, they are an eclectic group of architects, engineers, wizards, and associates that certify whether or not a building can be occupied, and to what purpose it can be used. Otherwise, Qethi justice is metered out by the Ailtri family on the shoreside, and the Qutroni family on the bay side. The two families are enamored with one another, and frequently marry their sons and daughters. The Markers of Safe give the Ailtri and Qutroni a share of new "marking fees" to use their private armies to keep the peace. The Rahu Colony of Cyrsos produces wildly popular hallucinogenic drugs that drive the black market in the broken road barrio and draws many disreputable smugglers and brigands to the famous Kurivaim Carnivale a sprawling entertainment complex with brothels, drug dens, inns and less savory establishments that ring the mouth of a dry sinkhole. A group calling themselves the Hand of Hanuma claims that a fallen god lives among the ruins and searches for pieces of his mask that will allow them to finally view his glorious form. The Mechanic Society has begun building pumps to empty the lower sections of the ruins and colonize below the waterline. They constantly seek adventurers to clear the nasty aquatic creatures and traps they encounter. Kobreq the Collapser is the city's unofficial mascot. He is a very oddly humored stone giant that gets paid in "washups" (the bodies of the unfortunate) to tear down buildings at the behest of the highest bidder. He has been bribed in the past to tear down occupied buildings, but his recent benefactor Alrubius, a very strange gnome tinkerer, has taken personal responsibility for the lumbering brute and serves as his agent. Kobreq sports a strange helmet ever since Alrubius showed up on the scene, and many believe the gnome has somehow charmed the hulk. |
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Post by 00dlez on Apr 5, 2018 20:25:27 GMT
The Cabal of Shadow
In the waning years of the Demon King Uozuemon's war of terror on the world, an alliance of powerful mortals believed that not only would they survive the war, but could assume great power in the vacuum to follow Uozuemon's destruction. They recovered a terrible artifact in one of their battles with Uozuemon's forces - The Screaming Scepter of Alvarez. Like so many other things in the world, the Scepter bestowed upon them great destructive power, but over time they found they could not control the weapon, and indeed, it had begun to control them. The Screaming Scepter of Alvarez corrupted them mind, body and soul and when their bodies had nothing left to twist and mutate, they slowly transformed into terrible shadow beings above. Their transformation did not stymie their lust for power, and indeed emboldened it. Their bondage to The Screaming Scepter of Alvarez and their appearance to the given name of the Cabal of Shadow. Left to right (originally): Ishmael The Ponderer - Human Askali Ushtaeden - Half Elf Ourok Shieldsplit - Half Orc Lill'ek Siden'atner "Firewind" - Elf Yit'eeri Eskalla'andri - Elf - Female, now called "The Forgotten One" Alvarez is a Demon Lord - Pg. 60 "Faces of Evil: The Fiends" Alvarez, known as the Purging Duke, Alvarez is a master of torture who searches the ranks of the tanar'ri incessantly for signs of the taint of Law. Alvarez is famous for the brutalities he inflicts upon his own troops. Even demons fear his inventive torments.
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dmdrowenforcer
Squire
Posts: 25
Favorite D&D Class: Wizard
Favorite D&D Race: Drow
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Post by dmdrowenforcer on Apr 19, 2018 19:05:33 GMT
In my world to of the most powerful nations simultaneously discovered that the other had been fomenting sedition in its colonies.
Diplomatic tension mounts as the two nations attempt diplomacy.
Spoiler alert, war breaks out.
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Post by tigrannosaurus on Apr 23, 2018 9:10:42 GMT
Awesome DMNastics pod on this with Wolfgang B himself! Huge shoutout to Rorrik but to Rudolph in particular. The Kobold In Chief clearly L.O.V.E.D. your gunpowder pile! I hope you felt a thrill when he went off on his impromtu Midgardian conversion of your idea. So, very, cool. Half expecting to see something inspired by you in some upcoming Midgard releases =]
This community rocks. The highest of fives to you all!
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Post by letterlost on Nov 17, 2020 23:21:29 GMT
All of the pictures have already been done, so I will add my own.  This is from a game I ran; it got off coarse really fast, but here’s the gun powder for Lava and Ice Cream: Lord Business is having a birthday party. As he was preparing to give his speech, the cake and ice cream were also being prepared. The PC’s (hungry for cake and ice cream) were nearby when the waiters discovered that the ice cream had been stolen by NPC’s. Their ship was perceived leaving the harbor. Lord Business had said that the ice cream is the most important thing at the party (establishing ice cream’s importance); the waiters beg the PC’s to go and save it. The group chased down the thieves and confronted them on a small island nearby at the foot of a volcano. Here they were told a crazy story about the ice cream needing to be sacrificed to the volcano to stop an eruption. The party reclaimed the ice cream and returned it to the birthday festivities. If they hadn’t eaten all the ice cream, what was supposed to happen was:When they arrived Lord Business gave a very uncharacteristic speech about taking everyone’s ice cream and building a frozen land of cream. As everyone is handed out cake without ice cream the volcano erupts; Lord Business disappears, as does the ice cream. The real Lord Business is found tied up under the table. The volcano continues to pour hot lava into the surrounding ocean, as it gets closer everyone must depart the island. Lord Business’s ship has been stolen; he would like to ride with the party. On the way back home, he would tell how his father told stories about the volcano’s erupting every summer. Senior Business claimed he stopped them by pouring ice cream into them every summer. Last winter he mysteriously disappeared. As it was, they were sent off on ice cream procuring missions, all of which they returned from with empty hands and full stomachs. The imposter Lord Business did the only thing that made sense, he attacked them. He was defeated and his plan foiled. The volcanos were never appeased.Thus I learned a valuable lesson: Never put gunpowder on ice cream. |
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