I have come up with 10 hooks for a new Pathfinder campaign, but I can't decide which one is the best. I want you guys (and gals) to vote for the best one. I will leave this open for a few weeks, and then the Hook with the most votes wins, and then I will set up a Round 2, and so on, until the campaign is finished.
Here we go:
1. It is after the end of the world; the final battle between Light and Darkness has taken place and those that have survived struggle to remake a new world.
2. A fantasy world of wild magic, mad gods, broken nations, savage monsters, and lost treasures.
3. A world based on Arthur C. Clarke’s third law of prediction which states: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. All magic has some kind of technological origin.
4. A fantasy-like world with no true shape, where the dreams and nightmares from Earth become real.
5. It is a world dominated by giants, and the characters are part of the resistance who seek to free their world from their tyranny.
6. A primal world shortly after the creation when the Gods still walked the world and the characters set out to create civilization.
7. A world where the characters are part of guilds, and political intrigue replaces exploring dungeons.
8. A world where the characters wake up deep within a dark dungeon, with no memory of who they are or how they got there.
9. A world that is literally inside a Story. Currency is based on stories (so copper, silver, gold, and platinum are worthless as money) and the characters travel the world looking for lost knowledge.
10. A world that is composed of vast, infinite Tiers; it is in the shape of a vast tower that stretches upwards and downwards to infinity.
2. A fantasy world of wild magic, mad gods, broken nations, savage monsters, and lost treasures.5. It is a world dominated by giants, and the characters are part of the resistance who seek to free their world from their tyranny.
8. A world where the characters wake up deep within a dark dungeon, with no memory of who they are or how they got there.
If I were a potential player, I'd consider any of the three above, but with these comments: #2 is a pretty general description, compared to the specifics offered by #5; and #8 doesn't describe a "world" at all, only a situation. The "world" is what they confront upon exploring and/or exiting the dungeon.
If I were a potential player, I'd consider any of the three above, but with these comments: #2 is a pretty general description, compared to the specifics offered by #5; and #8 doesn't describe a "world" at all, only a situation. The "world" is what they confront upon exploring and/or exiting the dungeon.
2. A fantasy world of wild magic, mad gods, broken nations, savage monsters, and lost treasures.5. It is a world dominated by giants, and the characters are part of the resistance who seek to free their world from their tyranny.
8. A world where the characters wake up deep within a dark dungeon, with no memory of who they are or how they got there.
You are right about #8; if anyone wants to pick it, then for now you must assume that the "world" is the dungeon itself.
This is tough for me, because I'm biased. I can't say if I would play in a campaign made from number 4, but it would be the most interesting (for me) to see done... partly because I'm a budding psychologist who loves dream study, and also because its incredibly difficult to do well.
I have a campaign world thats basically a sleeping being that dreams everyone into existence. It's too long to explain here, but it's a delicate balance of making it identifiably dream-like while keeping it "real" enough that it's a stable setting players will want to play in.
But, if I were to choose the "safer" choice, I would definitely go with number 2 (because I'm a sucker for Zendikar and Eberron), but I would like for it to have a lighter, almost Pirates of the Caribbean feel to it (but this is just my opinion).
PS: I really would like to see number 9 as well, it's right up there with number 4.
I personally dislike politics and try to keep it out of my games if at all possible so I would rule out #7, however that's me and mine and your players might be more open to that idea.
I love #1. Absolute favorite on the list. May steal it when I finish my current campaign. Plus, you can blend it with a good majority of the others.
1+2: After the End no one is in control, the surviving gods are weakened or insane, and reconstruction is just beginning.
1+4: The Apocalypse left existence mutable, with most of the gods slain or weakened they cannot "hold" reality in the "normal" state.
1+5: Anti-Ragnarok. The gods and the giants - their eternal enemies - warred and slew one another, but the few remaining survivors were not the children of the gods to forge a new pantheon but rather the scions of the giants, who now reign supreme over mortals.
1+6: Gotterdammerung destroyed everything, and the world has only recently been recreated.
1+9: Following the destruction of the world, civilization has crumbled; money is worthless. The lost lore of the past, however, holds the potential for the power that existed before the End came, and adventurers now seek the remnants of their old world to rebuild the strength mortal-kind once had.
1+10: Yggdrasil, but on a grander scale. The Apocalypse broke away some kind of massive universal Veil and revealed to the world that they were not the only Prime but rather one rung in an endless ladder. Now, thanks to the destruction wrought by the Last Battle, mortals can access the World Tree (or whatever its equivalent in this case is) and reach those other tiers when they couldn't before.
Thanks for your votes and comments. Keep them coming! It's really expanding the original 10 ideas I had. I never considered combining them. Thanks for the feedback. I will keep the voting open as long as the votes keep coming in.
Do you plan to make it high-magic or low-magic or dependent upon the winning idea?
Honestly, I'd mix 8 and 1 together. Once they exit the dungeon, after leveling several times, they come across the blasted landscape, littered with weapons (both normal and magical). Eventually they locate the equipment of the gods that died, and begin to assume the leftover divine power.
Of course, there are other souls who have been drawn into this vacuum and they also are eeking out a living and slowly becoming the new gods, the world recycling and rebuilding again.
6. A primal world shortly after the creation when the Gods still walked the world and the characters set out to create civilization.
That's my vote.
Do you plan to make it high-magic or low-magic or dependent upon the winning idea?
That will be "dependent upon the winning idea". Once I have the winning hook I will know, or I will move that question to a future round.
I have come up with 10 hooks for a new Pathfinder campaign, but I can't decide which one is the best. I want you guys (and gals) to vote for the best one. I will leave this open for a few weeks, and then the Hook with the most votes wins, and then I will set up a Round 2, and so on, until the campaign is finished.
My vote: #1
As a stand-alone answer, I like #1 the most. But I could see a lot of fun in fusing 1, 2, and 6: a world after the Narnaeth Naernaead, where all the remains are blasted and twisted landscapes and mad gods that try to build a whole new world...
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1. It is after the end of the world; the final battle between Light and Darkness has taken place and those that have survived struggle to remake a new world.
2. A fantasy world of wild magic, mad gods, broken nations, savage monsters, and lost treasures.
5. It is a world dominated by giants, and the characters are part of the resistance who seek to free their world from their tyranny.
6. A primal world shortly after the creation when the Gods still walked the world and the characters set out to create civilization.
These four seem like potential subsets of the same idea. Whether it's post-Ragnarok or 10-seconds-after-Creation, the party ends up in the world-building / First People role.
5 is a bit of an outlier, but if the 'end of the world' (or birth of the new world, or whatever) involved an actual Ragnarok, with armies of giants fighting the gods, the surviving giants, having toppled the gods themselves, might have been blasted by their pyrrhic victory, turned into deformed Formorian beasties, all warped and bestial, losing their civilizations and reason in the process of 'freeing themselves from the tyranny of the gods.'
The dregs of the divine might be gods who escaped the giant-led pogram of deicide, either through being too small to notice, or too craven to get involved.
7. A world where the characters are part of guilds, and political intrigue replaces exploring dungeons.
This could easily be tweaked into a D&D variation of Shadowrun, with the party being the freelancers working for some large Guild to undermine other local Guilds (or Government entities, etc.).
Three!
1. It is after the end of the world; the final battle between Light and Darkness has taken place and those that have survived struggle to remake a new world.
That's pretty much the 4th Edition setting. ;) If you're willing to close large sections of the book to the players, though: do this, and disallow clerics and paladins because the gods are dead (or at least inaccessible). Losing easy access to healing changes the whole feel of the game and really creates that sense of desperation bordering on despair that I think this sort of setting deserves.
4. A fantasy-like world with no true shape, where the dreams and nightmares from Earth become real.
This one will let you have crazy fun from your side of the table and it's probably my favorite on the list, but you'll have to be careful to prevent a sense of sheer futility for the players. For instance: inject some sort of bizarre consistency for them to discover, investigate and follow or build upon, which will ultimately allow them to calm the dreamer(s) and create a stable world.
6. A primal world shortly after the creation when the Gods still walked the world and the characters set out to create civilization.
I actually played in one of these. The world was young enough that no elves had died of age yet. The dwarves were only just discovering metal (which had implications for melee classes) and the only arcane casters were bards.
7. A world where the characters are part of guilds, and political intrigue replaces exploring dungeons.
Definitely run this one by your players first. Such games can be fantastic if the players enjoy that style, but those who do often gravitate toward other game systems.
8. A world where the characters wake up deep within a dark dungeon, with no memory of who they are or how they got there.
I've run one of these. Enormous fun, but lots of work, especially in preparation... the best way to pull it off is to build the characters yourself (above first level so you can use crazy feat selection and multiclassing to prevent obvious class identification), assign them at random and keep the sheets hidden until there's a good roleplay reason for the character to remember or become aware of their full capabilities. Mine was "naked in the woods," but in a dungeon you'll probably have to supply them with gear.
Don't even give them names! It's much more fun to see what they come up with to call each other. My party consisted of Boa (woke up with a snake wrapped around him), Hoofprint (tried to milk a cow), Weddingblade (took a sword and a dress from an abandoned farmhouse) and Hey You (refused to answer to any of the names the others tried to assign).
For extra points, make total amnesia not an accident or the work of some malevolent force, but essential to their mission, such as being the side effect of an advanced form of nondetection without which the BBEG would immediately notice them, read their minds to find out who sent them, and turn them into mindless servants. (There should be lots of mindless servants.)
Ooh... this could have interesting ties with the dream setting...
1 and 6.
The old world is no more. The gods or new gods if you wish have created new races. These "new" races can be the same old races again or actual new races. Maybe this new world as been around long enough to settle a few villages, but no real cities, people are afraid to wander to far out. Maybe they are the first adventurers. I would have the world just getting to the point where weapons are made, or they can find the treasure of the ancient ones.
So many possibilities.
Voting So Far...
#1: 11
#2: 7
#3: 1
#4: 3
#5: 4
#6: 7
#7: 3
#8: 3
#9: 2
#10: 2
Keep the votes coming, and the comments. I am leaning towards picking the top 2, or top 3 if a tie, due to all of the mixing of hooks. That was something I didn't consider when I started this. For example, right now the top vote getter is #1 with 11, but there is a tie for 2nd place with #2 and #6 getting 7 votes each.
As long as the you Pathfinders keep voting, I will keep adding them up, but I think about 2 weeks is long enough for Round 1. Thank you all again...
I'd say go with #7 personally.
Another vote for #7
I'll put in a vote for #6. The trope of "more advanced civilizations have come before, go explore the ruins" is beginning to grate on me.
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5. It is a world dominated by giants, and the characters are part of the resistance who seek to free their world from their tyranny.
6. A primal world shortly after the creation when the Gods still walked the world and the characters set out to create civilization.
8. A world where the characters wake up deep within a dark dungeon, with no memory of who they are or how they got there.
10. A world that is composed of vast, infinite Tiers; it is in the shape of a vast tower that stretches upwards and downwards to infinity.
These are the ones I vote for. If I had to choose, I'd say go for 10 as the best.
Voting So Far:
#1: 11
#2: 8
#3: 2
#4: 3
#5: 5
#6: 9
#7: 4
#8: 4
#9: 2
#10: 3
So far #1 is in the lead with 11 votes, and #6 is next with 9 votes. I have decided to mix the top two vote getters, and if we have a tie it could be the top three. Keep the votes and comments coming!
Voting So Far:
#1: 11
#2: 8
#3: 2
#4: 3
#5: 5
#6: 9
#7: 4
#8: 4
#9: 2
#10: 3So far #1 is in the lead with 11 votes, and #6 is next with 9 votes. I have decided to mix the top two vote getters, and if we have a tie it could be the top three. Keep the votes and comments coming!
Hypothetically speaking, assuming #1 and #6 are chosen due to the highest votes, wouldn't they contradict each other with one being the end of the world and the other being the creation? My assumption would be that you would make them better coincide with each other, but I'm curious as to how.
Hypothetically speaking, assuming #1 and #6 are chosen due to the highest votes, wouldn't they contradict each other with one being the end of the world and the other being the creation? My assumption would be that you would make them better coincide with each other, but I'm curious as to how.Voting So Far:
#1: 11
#2: 8
#3: 2
#4: 3
#5: 5
#6: 9
#7: 4
#8: 4
#9: 2
#10: 3So far #1 is in the lead with 11 votes, and #6 is next with 9 votes. I have decided to mix the top two vote getters, and if we have a tie it could be the top three. Keep the votes and comments coming!
If #1 and #6 end up winning, then after the "final battle" the world would have to start over. It's also possible that 3 could end winning if there is a tie. It would make it really interesting, which is what I wanted.
If you end up going with a cmbination of 1 and 2 I suggest getting a hold of a copy of Uresia: The Grave of Heaven for BESM. It is an interesting, and often funny take on that very style of world.
I looked at that before. It sounded very interesting. Isn't the premise that Heaven falls down on their world? Doesn't it use the Rises system? I think that would be fun to play for a game with zero preparation.
Right now the voting is very close. Of course, in the next week it could all change. #1, #2, and #6 are very popular.
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If you end up going with a cmbination of 1 and 2 I suggest getting a hold of a copy of Uresia: The Grave of Heaven for BESM. It is an interesting, and often funny take on that very style of world.I looked at that before. It sounded very interesting. Isn't the premise that Heaven falls down on their world? Doesn't it use the Rises system? I think that would be fun to play for a game with zero preparation.
You can use it with Risus. It was first written for Big Eyes Small Mouth and S. John Ross either has or is in the process of publishing a system neutral version of the setting. And yes, the world background is that there was a great war in heaven, all the gods died, and heaven crashed into the world and the people live in and around the ruins of heaven, and hell. There are some interesting realms and ideas in the setting.
I guess I should officially vote for 4 and 8. Not that this will put either in the running. ;)
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I vote for 4, 6, and 8.
I did something similar with 4, where the world was the dream of a particularly powerful psionic boy in a coma. It existed in the Realm of Dreams, but had a life all its own. Most of the adventuring types (basically characters with strong free wills) were also coma victims that the boy had brought to his world so he could protect them. The rest of the population were dream creations. This world was known to some people in the multiverse and they sought to conquer it.
6 sounds similar to what Monte Cook did with his first incarnation of Praemal. I have always liked this idea, a mythic age when the races are just beginning to move out into the world. Perhaps something similar to the early chapters of the Silmarillion. The world is a wild and unexplored place while the first evils are just beginning to grow in the darkness. The characters become the first extremely powerful heroes and go down in legend for their achievements. Very cool sounding in my mind.
8 is something I have always wanted to do as well. There was a setting released towards the beginning of 3e called Dungeon World. Unfortunately it was created by Fast Forward Entertainment so I am not sure how good it was. But the core idea is a cool one. In Dungeon World characters would "die" and find themselves in the dungeon, sort of like Phillip Jose Farmer's Riverworld .
Right now I am intrigued by the "old school" notion of exploration. The game world and attendant adventure sites are there for the sake of exploration and nothing else. That is the motivating reason for the campaign. No "save the world" storylines. Just a "the party roams the area looking for fame, wealth, and power" type situation where player actions create the story.
By placing such a "sandbox" campaign in a dungeon you have a built-in limit. These boundaries will help you focus, even if the dungeon is this massive complex the size of a world. It could also fit the Dungeon as Mythic Underworld motif. Here is another example of that idea: Dungeon of Myth.
So if I have to choose between those three, I would go with 8. There is a lot you can do to make the traditional dungeon an interesting place full of wonder, terror, beauty, and metaphor. It can include combat, role playing, and everything in between. It has puzzles, traps, and all sorts of nifty tricks. It can lead to other demiplanes using portals. And, let's face it, a world that consists entirely of a dungeon can be creepy. Who would live there and why? What kind of cultures would you find? What would the "safe areas" look like?
Like I said, I have been exploring this idea more and more so I am a bit biased. My current campaign features a mythic megadungeon but I haven't gone so far as making the entire dungeon the world. It is on my list of experiments. I like the idea of "going back to the roots" but exploring new ways to tackle it.
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I guess I should officially vote for 4 and 8. Not that this will put either in the running. ;)Don't feel bad tejón, I'm the only guy who voted for number 10, and there hasn't even been any discussion on it. (What, did the particular show I referenced scare everybody off? Lol)
[threadjack] Wait a second... I voted 10! [/threadjack]
And, let's face it, a world that consists entirely of a dungeon can be creepy. Who would live there and why? What kind of cultures would you find? What would the "safe areas" look like?
Man... now I want to play Ultima Underworld again.
Voting So Far...
#1: 11
#2: 8
#3: 2
#4: 5
#5: 5
#6: 10
#7: 4
#8: 6
#9: 2
#10: 3
Each time someone votes I go back and recount them all. When I see that everyone who wants to vote has voted, then I will move on to Round 2. Remember, I want to pick the top two hooks and mix them. Keep voting!
8. A world where the characters wake up deep within a dark dungeon, with no memory of who they are or how they got there.
I almost did a cross-genre game like this in D20 Modern. Consider a variant where the characters DO remember who they are but not how they got there, and that they are all from different places and have never heard of each other's homelands. Each could be affixed with an amulet allowing Comprehend Languages permanently.
As a DM, you could go almost any direction with what this actually is and why they are there.
Voting So Far (from Rando1000)
#1: 12
#2: 9
#3: 1
#4: 6
#5: 5
#6: 11
#7: 4
#8: 7
#9: 2
#10: 3
I went back and added them all again, so #3 has one less vote. So far it's a tight race between #1 and #6 for 1st place, and #2 for 2nd place.
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Honestly, I'd mix 8 and 1 together. Once they exit the dungeon, after leveling several times, they come across the blasted landscape, littered with weapons (both normal and magical). Eventually they locate the equipment of the gods that died, and begin to assume the leftover divine power.
Of course, there are other souls who have been drawn into this vacuum and they also are eeking out a living and slowly becoming the new gods, the world recycling and rebuilding again.
This is the world I would choose as well... I would have the characters slowly become aware that they are actually splinters of divine powers (likely from the loosing side) and that they must now work to restore thier God.
This is the world I would choose as well... I would have the characters slowly become aware that they are actually splinters of divine powers (likely from the loosing side) and that they must now work to restore thier God.Honestly, I'd mix 8 and 1 together. Once they exit the dungeon, after leveling several times, they come across the blasted landscape, littered with weapons (both normal and magical). Eventually they locate the equipment of the gods that died, and begin to assume the leftover divine power.
Of course, there are other souls who have been drawn into this vacuum and they also are eeking out a living and slowly becoming the new gods, the world recycling and rebuilding again.
Or, better yet, they are splinters of divine powers and the only thing that will keep the world from utterly self destructing is if they can bind up enough of the scattered divine power and return to god-hood to restore the world.
Have the world slowly dieing around them, plants warping and twisting, monsters, hybrids, the ground shattering, rivers flowing in the wrong direction as physical laws break down.
Then, as they gain more power, the world 'stabilizes' around them, but only around them. They would attract a following of survivors to become the first worshipers of the new god.
Voting So Far (from mdt)
#1: 14
#2: 9
#3: 1
#4: 6
#5: 5
#6: 11
#7: 4
#8: 9
#9: 2
#10: 3
#1 remains in the lead, followed by #6, and then there is a tie for 3rd place, #2 and #8. What I am loving about this are the comments, and the mixing of hooks. I am definately going to pick the top 2 hooks and mix them. I may even throw in the top 3 if there is a tie, and it makes sense. Your comments have revealed to me situations I didn't even consider...the voting is still open until EVERYONE who wants to vote has a chance to. Thanks again!
Or, better yet, they are splinters of divine powers and the only thing that will keep the world from utterly self destructing is if they can bind up enough of the scattered divine power and return to god-hood to restore the world.
Have the world slowly dieing around them, plants warping and twisting, monsters, hybrids, the ground shattering, rivers flowing in the wrong direction as physical laws break down.
Then, as they gain more power, the world 'stabilizes' around them, but only around them. They would attract a following of survivors to become the first worshipers of the new god.
...damn, and I just started Council of Thieves. Maybe I can start up a second group and alternate weekends...
Okay Guys (and Gals) I think I will give Round 1 two more days, so lets say by Sunday night the voting will end. If you haven't voted, get it in. I can pretty much tell where this will go, but I can't ever be sure. You have given me incredible ideas, and I have come up with a sort of reward for those who have contributed.
Trust me, it ain't money, because I have none! However, it is a way of becoming part of this campaign, and a sort of "immortality". You have to wait for Round 2 to see what I am talking about. Again, thanks for the votes and comments. Your feedback has been invaluable.
Happy to help Lefear, ask me any time.
(And if your making an NPC out of me, do you think I could have some input on him pretty please? lol)
If you want to become an NPC in this campaign, you will have all of the input that you want, but you will see that in Round 2 next week. I think alot of the people who gave me ideas will want to get in on this...