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An arrogant young captain of a small outpost fell in love with a dryad (or nymph), although she did not reciprocate. When she would not relent his love turned bitter and he captured her, with the aid of an evil witch, and imprisoned her in the dungeon below the outpost. There he allowed her to be used by his men for sport. Eventually the curse of the Fey Queen put an end to him and his men, but due to the precautions of the witch she could not rescue the dryad.

Imprisoned, tortured, anchored by an evil artifact made from her tree, she went crazy and became....what?

Homebrew setting, first or second level party, the PCs investigation of bandits leads them to the old keep. They discover that the bandits are slowly falling to the curse of the Queen of Ravens - turning into tengu-like beings who unwittingly defend the dryad still imprisoned. A few other things - raven swarms, a bear turned young owlbear, a mountain lion turned young raven-themed griffon, a few haunts, maybe some undead versions of the long dead soldiers, or the ghost of the captain who killed himself rather than succumb to the curse - but I need help with what the dryad(or nymph) has become.

Any suggestions?

How about something related to the Seas of the Darklands?

I can build a "our world but with the mythos in the wings" with things already available. If I were to be in the market for a new setting I would want the Mythos to be very present and very much effecting the world at large. Actually I would probably buy that whether or not I needed it.

- Attack on Pearl Harbor due to Japanese magi summoning swarms of deep ones and a few mutated giant ones. US makes recovery of Hawaiian islands a priority.

-Death Camps giant sacrificial altars to bring attract monstrous creatures to our world, which are then harnessed by the Nazis and unleashed against London in a terrible Helkrieg.

-Stalin steals the idea and calls forth ancient spirits of winter through the deaths of thousands of Ukranians. Marches against Germany in the East.

-Mi-go help US war effort by nudging development of diesel punk technology. Philadelphia Experiment gives antigravity and cloaking technology.

-Read Manhattan Projects Comic by Hickman. US unwilling to go the route of the death camps, but searches the world for artifacts to use as weapons against the Axis.

-Silver Shirts in the US open a gateway in Chicago to bring Nazi forces to the US, but get it wrong and now Chicago is rules by the Denizens of Leng - who are willing to deal with the US, or anyone else, for the right price.

I like the idea of inevitables. How about this: In the dawn of history the sentient races were plagued by an unstoppable horror. They got together and made a deal with a powerful Neutral force, a primordial god thing. The deal was 70 millennium of peace in exchange for the god-thing devouring their world when the time was up. Of course, things being as they are, a group of adventurers destroyed the artifact that was the means of the god-thing re-entering the material plane. The world is saved.

BUT...

This is a MAJOR contract between the sentient races of the world and a primal being. Destruction of the artifact constitutes breach of contract. The inevitables come to destroy every descendant of the sentient races that made the deal (which might lead to some interesting exceptions - for example maybe they leave gnomes alone unless attacked but give fair warning "You should leave this world.") which is, of course most of the planet.

Enter the CG gods. Their stance is that the contract was illegal to begin with, as no one can offer as payment their descendants in a good contact. The cannot directly oppose the inevitables, they are covered by a contract of their own, but they can free their servants to aid the mortal races as they see fit.

Makes things a little more personal for the PCs. They loose and they loose their world.

Seems easy enough to mod. Oracle, lose medium armor and shields and gain a Domain, appropriate to the mystery. Silken ceremonial armor, quarter staff. Done.

If my human unarmed fighter dies I am going to roll up a gnome paladin or cavalier just because of this thread.

Absalom, or any fantasy city, is a great place with lots of hooks. Here is a thread for us to share some for others to use.

-A millenniums old sentient construct plans on taking the test of the Starstone and creating a free-willed construct race.

-The Corpse Rose is a high CHA NE ghoul bard who can pass for human with a little bit of makeup and the right clothes. She has a secret contract with the city to dispose of unclaimed bodies and also runs the Ostuary,a kind of undead thinktank/library where mages and others can consult with undead about the past on neutral ground. She too is ancient and may be among the first ghouls of ancient Osirion.

-The Garden is a high priced and very exclusive restaurant that caters to those who want to eat the flesh of sentient races.

-One of the siege towers holds a bound celestial, who sits on a throne at the top listening to all of the secrets the winds bring him.

-A group of lycanthrope hunters has recently arrived in town looking for a notorious witch werewolf known as the Pack Mother. What no one outside the group knows is the Paladin who leads them is also a werewolf with a magic silver collar that allows him to control his bestial form and remain LG. What no one other the Paladin and the Pack Mother know is that they were once lovers, both bitten by the same beast, and he has a second collar he wants to put on her to return her to him.

-Tengu guard numerous neglected shrines through out the city. They are led by an albino oracle with a rune carved beak. They secretly search for something they call the Hidden Clutch.

-A crank walks the streets shouting about the destruction of the city in fire and smoke. He is really a red dragon polymorphed into a gnome and made to forget his true nature. His dreams of fire are his true self trying to re-emerge.

-The denizens of leng are gathering the poor down by the docks with the tacit approval of the district's authorities.

70. Have the low level party face skeletons - which are actually animated objects and not undead and watch their frustration as the usual trick do not work.

Part of the inherent problem in this discussion is: what is "Low Magic"?

I intend to run a 'low magic' campaign next. The level cap is going to be 10, slow XP progression, low treasure. However the PCs can be spellcasters (but for the most part only spontaneous casters) and can make magic items - but they are some of the only people in the world who can. If they want a magic sword and don't have anyone who can make then they can go talk to a bard or someone who can tell them "The Sword of Rezznek the Rascal was last seen when its wielder took it into the eastern plague lands...." and they can go look for it if they want it. Masterwork items will be the norm, with special materials available in case they deal with lycanthropes or fey.

By 2nd or 3rd level they are going to be attracting a lot of attention from the powers that be in the world. By 10th they might be running and empire.

Oh lets do something really different:

The last ice age is a few degrees warmer. Clovis man and the megafauna of North America do not die out to the same degree, with populations in the south surviving to refill the continent.

Nothing is the same.

A little closer in:

Zheng He discovers North America almost 80 years before Columbus. Ming colonies built around what is San Francisco Bay in our reality. Trade alliances made with Aztec and Incas. Early 1500s brings war with Spain. Losses in the south, but the Chinese retain control of colonies on Pacific coast.