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I'm sending my players on an interdimensional dungeon crawl, and the next "level" is on the aforementioned "Plane Where Lost Things Go". But what lurks between the mountains of keys and stray socks? I had the idea of them stumbling across various cryptids like chupacabras and yetis, and mimics fit in anywhere, but what else might my players run into?
517. Apocalypse, Sunny-Side Up It turns out that the Moon is an egg, and it's starting to hatch. Gods and Demon Lords alike consider this to be a serious problem, and the PCs are ordered to do something about it. 518. Rise of the God-Eaters A primeval wendigo is infecting people with a curse/plague through their dreams that turns them into cannibalistic man-beasts. Some people , including the PCs, manage to resist it and gain a measure of the wendigo's power. This enables them to "devour" and absorb power from anything they kill, which quickly turns into a path to godhood. 519. Let the Games Begin! The PCs challenge Death to a game of its choosing to retrieve the souls of several thousand people killed in a natural disaster. Surprisingly, Death accepts. However, since the souls of these people fall under the jurisdiction of many different deities, the situation escalates into the first ever Interplanar Olympics.
Need to allow Skalds too. Of course! Kind of forgot they were their own thing, since my bards are always skalds in-character, Inspiring Courage with a little Manowar and Sabaton.
I've got a few doozies. Brace yourselves. (1) The players join an international coalition lead by a mysterious and charismatic benefactor to oust a brutal expansionist seafaring empire from their home continent. They distinguish themselves in a major battle, earning the favor of the coalition's leader, who showers them with treasures including, wait for it, Magic Rings. I want to see if I can get them to Numenor before they realize that they are Nazgul. The players will then spend the next few thousand years trying to sabotage Sauron's plans without letting him or the other, much more loyal Nazgul catch on. For so long as no one claims The One Ring, they keep their free will. (2) A Wendigo, a powerful Oni, a Rakshasa prince, a Serpentfolk Lich, and a Pit Fiend have joined forces. The PCs are ridiculously outclassed. But, thanks to an ancient and obscure tradition dug up by their divine sponsor, there is one way their plans can be stopped. By beating them in an Olympics-style team-sports tournament! The tournament should culminate in Basketball On The Moon (so I can play the Space Jam theme and make the Serpentfolk Lich do a slam dunk). An Aeon and a Yamaraj psychopomp will referee to prevent cheating and ensure both teams compete on equal footing. (3) The party is comprised entirely of bards. They are invited/coerced to represent the Prime Material in an interplanar Battle of the Bands. Possible rivals may include an orchestra from Axis, a boyband from Hell, rappers from Limbo, and a power metal band from Elysium (because where ELSE would it come from!?). .........I'm not sorry.
The settting isn't the problem, it's the game itself. Pathfinder has a wargaming style of magic which isn't a good match for the nuanced style that Tolkien depicts. I don't see any spellcasting on that class list of his. Scarce-magic campaigns are a thing, even in Pathfinder. And on the off-chance players crossed paths with an intrepid Maia or another source of "magic", then it would not be impossible to modify or trim down the spell-lists to keep things thematically appropriate. This is viable.
YES, please! Dotting.
While I can't think of any particular minions of the sun, an interesting 'ally' or perhaps object to be summoned to combat the sun could be the Tzitzimitl. Normally it's obviously an enemy sort of monster but maybe the PCs could summon it as a sort of "lesser of two evils" situation to help? I can see my players riding in this thing like some sort of horrifying undead mecha and engaging in Pacific Rim-esque battles with solar dragons and demonic phoenixes. SOLD!
You could probably use Troth of the Forgotten Pharaoh to decent effect on some low-level minions. It's not particularly powerful, but it can quite succinctly drive home the "the sun is hot and wants you dead" angle. Oh, YES please! Thanks for pointing out this little gem.
I'm preparing a campaign in which the sun is sentient, evil and actively trying to kill everyone. So as not to be limited to typical shenanigans like droughts, wildfires and mass heatstroke and skin cancer, the sun needs minions. Shining Children are awesome and a natural fit, and Lurkers in Light (with numerous variants) could be anywhere. But where do we go from there? Slapping an elemental (fire) template on existing creatures is easy, but I'm not sure it feels quite right for the flavor. Does anyone have any ideas for the servants and spawn of an axe-crazy, nihilistic sun diety? Who does Nergal hang out with?
I'm very much interested. Considering an Ulfen Bard or possibly a Shoanti Barbarian. I shall go ahead and write them both up.
I'd certainly be interested, depending on the time when it would take place. I've never played by post before, but I'm a strong believer of roleplaying over 'rollplaying', and I love trying to energize the GM and other players through my character. As a newer GM myself, I can tell you that you've made an excellent choice, running a campaign is just as fun, if not a little more so, as playing in one. Let me know if you need someone for your roster!
Howdy, I'm planning to run "Haunting of Harrowstone" in a few months, but after hearing mixed feelings about its sequel "Trial of the Beast", I'm thinking about "The Skinsaw Murders" afterwards instead, as that seems well recieved and seems thematically compatible, with the Skinsaw cultists substituting the Whispering Way where needed and homebrewing out geographical differences. However, I haven't purchased either module yet and would like to get some advice on how well they might work together before doing so. Thoughts? |
