I finally got back to playing after a long hiatus by GMing for my girlfriend fiance. Due to being alone, she has some rather epic stats. We might be able to get more players, but for now, it's just her.
She's a horror fan, so I gave her a world of the undead to work with. Here's what we've got.
Empires. Kingdoms. City-states. Kings and Queens, High Priests and Priestesses, Presidents and Prime Ministers, Sorcerers Supreme. These words used to define your world.
Some people called it The End Times. Others, the apocalypse. Sorcerers, wizards and the followers of dark gods animated armies of the dead and swept over the land. The war was so devastating that the gods themselves manifested and battled side by side with their followers. In the end, the living were overwhelmed. Civilizations that had stood for ten thousand years collapsed almost overnight.
The few that survived fled into the last remaining refuges for their people. You come from a population of elves and humans that fled together to a mountain valley. With so few people left, half-elves have become the dominant race.
It is 450 years After The Fall. Only the most venerable of elves remember life before the dead. You are a young cleric, eager to help and protect her people. What challenges will you face? What dangers will you have to overcome? Will you help your people live on, or will you make too many mistakes and watch as everything you know falls and everyone you love dies? Or worse; is turned into an undead abomination.
The Valley
A large central lake, fed by underground springs and drained by an underground river, is surrounded by the city. The blessings of Erastil keep the lake stocked with fish and edible weeds. Farms add to the bounty and a relatively balanced diet is achieved, though other than the occasional mountain goat wandering over the mountains, there is little in the way of wildlife. There is only one way in and out of the valley, all smaller paths blocked by landslides by the first generation to retreat to the valley. The only entrance is heavily fortified, blocked by a massive, enchanted wall and adamantine gates. The oppression of the death magic surrounding the valley is so powerful that not even the valley’s most powerful wizards can see beyond it. As far as the people of The Valley know, they are the last living people left in the world. With so few left, the whole of the populace is militarized. Everyone is either a capable soldier or a mage. Only two kinds of people leave the protection of The Valley. The first are the hunters that bring back wild game and animals skins. The second are the Freeswords, the guild of adventurers that are free to explore the world as they see fit or take missions posted by the council, guild leaders, or any others that have a request for something beyond the wall.
Neutral Good
Population: ~8000 (Small City, +1)
Half-elves, humans and elves.
Magical (Priests and Priestesses of good and neutral deities, except Pharasma, as well as the Master Wizard and Sorcerer Supreme. Lore +2, Corruption and Society -2, +1 Spellcasting)Modifiers
Corruption: -2
Crime: +1
Economy: +1
Law: +2
Lore: +4
Society: 0Qualities
Holy Site of Erastil (Corruption -2, +2 Spellcasting)
Insular (Law +1, Crime -1)Danger: 5
Disadvantages
Impoverished (Corruption and Crime +1; base value, purchase limit -50%; half magic items)Notable NPCS
Base Value: 2000GP
Purchase Limit: 12,500GPSpellcasting: 9th level
Minor Items: 2d4
Medium Items: 3d4/2
Major Items: 1d6/2
I gave her an introductory mission to give her an idea of how to play, but now she's a member of the Freeswords. She's playing a cleric and will be level 2 on her next adventure.
Also, the epic boss battle in the first game never happened because she seduced the boss (level 3 half-orc cleric), got him drunk and murdered him in his sleep. (Her deity is Calistria.)
The general idea is to give her and any other players some level of freedom. That includes a few missions available that are obvious no-goes, and if she takes them, her character will likely die. Her father is either dead or undead (human) and her mother (elf) is the high priestess of Calistria on the council. Her mother has cut off most ties (and all financial aid) for 1) trying to get out of military service by trying to seduce her superiors, 2) failing to seduce her superior.
I'm figuring I'll simulate the city in the background as she plays. That will instigate a few missions.
Other info that could help:
1) The council is opening up a route through the mines to the Darklands in hopes of finding dwarves or any other sapient life that has no love for the undead (when vampires run out of good aligned creatures to eat...).
2) A few hours to the East on the edge of the great plains lies the city of The Valley's ancestors, now a city of the undead. This is the direction that the walls and gate face.
3) The underground river comes out beyond the wall, the ancestral city having been built on the river.
4) Standard, high fantasy setting. Firearms may be introduced later as lost technology.
I haven't yet built an expanded continent, but at this time I'm fairly set on the mountains being on the West coast, much like the Rockies in North America. I'm thinking I'll use North America as model for the continent.
Just throw ideas at me. I'll build the adventures (though go into any level of detail you desire). Thanks in advance.
Addendum: There are SOME that still live in the world of the undead; those that instigated the undead apocalypse and their descendants. Followers of Pharasma and the evil deities will still have places that they control.
hunters that bring back wild game and animals skins.It's interesting that in the Undead Apocalypse, there is still game to hunt. Why haven't the Animals been overwhelmed by the Undead, too?
What do the Undead want? What did those Sorcerers and Wizards who brought up the Undead Hordes want? What happened to those apocalyptic necromancers?
Is there an undead agenda, or are they just the poison remains of forgotten wars? Are they aware of the existence of this humanoid enclave and are trying to destroy it? Are they unknowingly the property of community of Vampires who herd the townsfolk like cattle?
Digging waaaay too deep there. I don't see how anything you're asking is relevant, especially at low levels, but I'll go into further detail.
Undead are largely creatures of cities, graveyards and battlefields. Even today in our world most of the planet is wilderness and only 4% of the land surface is urban. Undead largely the product of magic aren't just going to magically spread into every single last corner of the wilderness and every remote area. That's just ridiculous. Just take one look at a satellite image of Canada or Brazil.
I haven't delved into the details of the conquest, political alliances, etc., but the real world answers all of your questions on the second line. What do they want? Power. What happened? Just like the Germans and Soviets started with an alliance and turned on each other, conquest-minded people won't maintain alliances for long. Does anyone think that Japan and Germany would have been peaceful with each other had they won?
Some will obviously be aware of the existence of enclaves, but between power struggles, the blessings of deities (something I specifically stated) and the sealing of the enclaves behind powerful barriers, no one has the inclination to try to break through. Why bother when you could be flanked while trying to destroy a population of only a few thousand?
Well, that's a disappointing number of responses. I expected far more from this community, but I guess the level of creativity has plummeted recently.
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1. Have a powerful necromancer in the city of the undead to the east sends a horde of burrowing undead to attack the Valley, circumventing the adamantine gate.
2. A powerful Lich poses an imminent threat, but a scouting party of the Freeswords found an old journal/map/etc in ruins outside the city that could point toward the phylactery location. (This could be a multi-level quest chain of sorts. At level 3 you find a book. At level 6 it's deciphered and you find a clue to a map somewhere in a crypt. At level 9 the map is fully read and leads you to a dead end, but another clue. At level 12 you find the Phylactery, but have no way of destroying it. At level 15 the lich discovers you have the Phylactery and sets siege to the city - massive battle.)
3. There's evidence of another living civilization across the mountains. Investigate?
4. A living wanderer shows up at the gates to the valley. Where did they come from? Are they friend or foe?
5. Necromantic cult activity has started up somewhere in the Valley. Find and destroy the perpetrators
6. A large party of hunters left to gather food and skins but is three days overdue on returning. Search and rescue mission.
7. A plague/sickness is spreading through the city. The clerics can treat the ill but the cause remains a mystery and the sickness continues to spread. Find the source.
8. A string of murders has broken out in one of the poorer districts. With the official military force spread thin looking for dwarves and missing hunters, the Freeswords are asked to look into it.
9. A high-ranking noble has been killed/kidnapped and is being impersonated by a master of disguise.
10. A radical and arrogant sub-group of the Freeswords is forming around the idea of pushing out to the east and purging the undead from the city. They attempt to recruit the Cleric.
11. Something is wrong with the lake water, threatening the livelihood of the city.
12. A wealthy patron hires daring adventurers to bring him/her a rare gemstone said to be obtainable deep in the mountains.
1. Have a powerful necromancer in the city of the undead to the east sends a horde of burrowing undead to attack the Valley, circumventing the adamantine gate.
2. A powerful Lich poses an imminent threat, but a scouting party of the Freeswords found an old journal/map/etc in ruins outside the city that could point toward the phylactery location. (This could be a multi-level quest chain of sorts. At level 3 you find a book. At level 6 it's deciphered and you find a clue to a map somewhere in a crypt. At level 9 the map is fully read and leads you to a dead end, but another clue. At level 12 you find the Phylactery, but have no way of destroying it. At level 15 the lich discovers you have the Phylactery and sets siege to the city - massive battle.)
3. There's evidence of another living civilization across the mountains. Investigate?
4. A living wanderer shows up at the gates to the valley. Where did they come from? Are they friend or foe?
5. Necromantic cult activity has started up somewhere in the Valley. Find and destroy the perpetrators
6. A large party of hunters left to gather food and skins but is three days overdue on returning. Search and rescue mission.
7. A plague/sickness is spreading through the city. The clerics can treat the ill but the cause remains a mystery and the sickness continues to spread. Find the source.
8. A string of murders has broken out in one of the poorer districts. With the official military force spread thin looking for dwarves and missing hunters, the Freeswords are asked to look into it.
9. A high-ranking noble has been killed/kidnapped and is being impersonated by a master of disguise.
10. A radical and arrogant sub-group of the Freeswords is forming around the idea of pushing out to the east and purging the undead from the city. They attempt to recruit the Cleric.
11. Something is wrong with the lake water, threatening the livelihood of the city.
12. A wealthy patron hires daring adventurers to bring him/her a rare gemstone said to be...
Excellent! Thank you very much!
Well, that's a disappointing number of responses. I expected far more from this community, but I guess the level of creativity has plummeted recently.Hard to believe, since you treat your respondents so graciously.
I merely stated that I didn't see the relevance, then I gave you the details that you asked for. That isn't confrontational or rude, unless your mindset is already set up for confrontation and you are applying it to my text when none exists. There's a good Key and Peel skit about this, where two friends have a text conversation see it completely differently; one as about a fight and the other as about going out for drinks.
I don't see how anything you're asking is relevant, especially at low levels, but I'll go into further detail.It's relevant if you you actually plan out an adventuring world and events to happen instead of just pulling ideas out of a hat. When I design a campaign world, I design an ecology, thinking at least a little bit about where the monsters get their food and live their lives.
...
My storyline there doesn't particularly match yours. It's just an example of why you might actually give some thought into your adventure hooks before you troll them in front of your wife. Good villains have motivations, and you don't always see them coming. Monsters have reasons for being there in a good adventure arc....
That level of detail can be added by me at any time as I go and build the world. It isn't necessary for her character at this time as she won't be going far, anyway. I specifically asked for generic ideas and stated that I would fill in the details. I don't need anything specific to tailor it to the world as I build it, nor do I need to prebuild an entire planet just for characters to adventure in a small area; that can be added as I go. Makknus provided pretty much everything I need, and I thanked him accordingly.
Yehudi wrote:
Undead are largely creatures of cities, graveyards and battlefields.
You mean yours are. Fine. Your undead are not haunting the moors. Your undead are not pinned to the bottom of the ocean in their sunken ships. Your undead have not swept over the world in some kind of zombie apocalypse.
So we can definitely say that you're getting confrontational and appear to be looking for a confrontation at this point. You're simply denying that my description of the world is a description of the world.
First, I said "largely." Second, I included "battlefields." Third, that still doesn't cover massive areas of wilderness where people haven't gone to, which would preclude Undead for the most part unless another reason is given. That doesn't negate apocalypse.
As a real world example, if every nuclear weapon on Earth were launched, the actual land area destroyed would only total about 4% of the global land surface; so, every urban area. Nuclear winter is effectively a myth due to its extreme unlikelihood and radiation from most nuclear weapons actually dissipates extremely quickly, usually within a few days. This means that in an apocalypse on Earth, most of our land area would still be usable. In an undead apocalypse in a fantasy setting, plenty of land can be left untouched without inviting suspension of disbelief; it's a perfectly likely scenario that an apocalypse instigated by necromancers stuck largely to inhabited areas.
Yehudi wrote:
The war was so devastating that the gods themselves manifested and battled side by side with their followers. In the end, the living were overwhelmed. Civilizations that had stood for ten thousand years collapsed almost overnight.
The few that survived fled into the last remaining refuges
Oh, waitaminute, that is what your undead did, except you say they didn't.Whatever. I'm sure it makes perfect sense to you. Let's move on.
Okay, so, your statement here actually makes zero sense in the English language. The few remaining good and neutral aligned peoples built and fled into refuges. Their old nations are now occupied by necromancers and the undead. None of that is contradictory, and again, this is just needless confrontation.
Yehudi wrote:
I haven't delved into the details of the conquest, political alliances, etc., but the real world answers all of your questions on the second line.
Well, no. Undead do not exist in the real world. They do not necessarily have realistic goals, and they do not necessarily obey the rules of the real world. They are fantasy monsters. They are motivated by what you say they are motivated by. They mean what you say they mean.
So did you just ignore the examples that I gave of real world nations that turned on or would turn on each other? I stated that the leaders of the conquest were wizards, sorcerers and (indirectly) clerics of evil deities. Necromancers looking to conquer the world are motivated by power, which the real world does provide examples of; people motivated by power and greed to expand through conquest. The only fantastical part is the setting, the motives are all too real.
What do they want? Power.
Who are "they," and what do they want power over?
Since you apparently have difficulty with the English language (yes, at this point, I'm being rude, as I'm responding to your childish snipes, but I digress), I will put it simply.
NECROMANCERS CONQUERING THE WORLD.
I pretty much specifically stated that several times, especially with comparisons to nations in the real world that attempted to outright conquer it, but I guess you need to be spoken to slowly.
Now please, take your confrontational attitude and leave. I asked a simple question and gave enough detail for it to be answered. You had no need to come in trying to force your beliefs of how someone should GM onto me. I gave you the details you asked for and you responded childishly. I was going to apologize for accidentally coming off as rude over text, but at this point it seems to me like you were deliberately looking for a fight, so I feel no apology is warranted.
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Are the majority of the undead intelligent or mindless?
Is The Valley in communication with other bastions of humanity?
If not:
A body is discovered outside the city walls. A human body with no signs of having ever been undead. Not recognized by anyone in the city, it is decided that someone (or a group of someones) must try and make contact with the man's former town. Using clues found on the body, it is known what major area he/she was from, but since no living civilization was known to be there, it is up to our intrepid young hero(es) to make first contact.
And for my comment about creativity, to anyone that was offended, my apologies. I was legitimately surprised that I got so few responses.
Are the majority of the undead intelligent or mindless?
Is The Valley in communication with other bastions of humanity?If not:
A body is discovered outside the city walls. A human body with no signs of having ever been undead. Not recognized by anyone in the city, it is decided that someone (or a group of someones) must try and make contact with the man's former town. Using clues found on the body, it is known what major area he/she was from, but since no living civilization was known to be there, it is up to our intrepid young hero(es) to make first contact.
I'm planning on a mix. In the cities, largely intelligent with unintelligent servants. Battlefields and shipwrecks, mostly unintelligent, but with spirits/wraiths/ghosts/etc. mixed in.
That being said, I'm still going to use your idea, though with a high elf instead of a human. That should fit the setting better; it isn't likely that there's a giant, evil nation of high elves somewhere.