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I am surprised that there is not a thread like this already, but maybe I missed it.
This morning I was thinking of sentences which could serve as the beginning of an epic campaign or world building and I offer them to you all as inspiration.
1. In the deepest dungeon, guarded by the Angels of the Iron Citadel lies the destroyer of worlds; chained until the end of time.
2. As prophesied, Raleven, the first city, which has wandered the planes for a thousand years, returns to the Material Plane.
3. The ancient demon gods, once devoured by the Sword of Tenios, seek a way to return to the mortal world.
Enjoy and feel free to add to these if the inspiration strikes.
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6. Thick, congealed strands of necrotic energy start leaking in to the Material Plane causing anything the tar touches to wither, die, and reanimate. Brave heroes must find the source of the spill of negative energy and plug it before [the main world of your campaign] completely plunges into the Negative Energy Plane.
7. A council of high-ranking officials from cults of each of the evil gods have plans to take over the country (or even...THE WORLD!).
10. In a world were magic is a thing of the past and legends and magicians perform mostly parlor tricks the first dragons reawake and magic returns just in time to face the armies of the long forgotten enemy. [Think Dragonlance or A Song of Ice and Fire)
I would totally want to play the campaign about the dragons going extinct and magic dying too. On a vaguely related note, Valyria is the best part of the Song of Ice and Fire lore.
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12. The world is about to end in 10 years time if something is not done to stop an evil power that is destroying the six energy crystals that power the world.
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13. The gods have gathered to hold a tournament between their most powerful followers. Whichever god's followers win shall determine which god gains ascendancy over the world for the next thousand years.
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14. Ancient, magical weapons being used by heroes of the land actually feed on the life force of the creatures they are used to slay, and direct that energy to revitalize and awaken a sleeping god buried in the earth.
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15. The king, to his great dismay, found that the local elves did not like the new farming communities near their forests.
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16. You are shocked to learn that your idyllic valley home is actually a demiplane created by a magnificent gold dragon in order to rescue a handful of survivors from the apocalypse. The dragon now believes the devastation is over and needs a few scouts to return to the world to find out what's left.
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20.You all wake up in the brig of a transport bound to the new imperial penal colony.
21. Never in all of history have the waters flooded so high, and yet they rise still and show no sigh of ceasing.
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22. A small force of goblins have gotten their hands on advanced firearms and have been raiding caravans. You must stop them (perhaps non-lethally) as they are almost a greater danger to themselves than others.
23. You must travel the world looking for 7 magical spheres that when gathered will summon an immortal dragon god to grant wishes
23. You must travel the world looking for 7 magical spheres that when gathered will summon an immortal dragon god to grant wishes
HA! Took me a second to figure out the reference (facepalm).
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@ wildbob: I like that one!!!
24. An exquisitely crafted ship docks in the harbour. No sailor or dock worker has heard of *insert ship name here*. Later in the day, rumours abound that all inns and taverns are now fully stocked ((with any beverage, wine or spirit available in the campiagn world)). By the end of the week the population of beggars has significantly decreased and the ship is no longer in the harbour. Additionally, some of the best prostitutes from The Happy Slapper brothel have also disappeard. ((All the prostitutes had regular customers who were part of the city government))
This is a plot thread to begin a Spelljammer Campaign.
25. An orc cheiftain approaches the city wishing to speak the person in charge. Days later orcs, male, female and children, flood into the city and begin work as dock hands, labourers, militia or farmhands. The orcs refuse to speak about why they have decided to leave their lands and 'join' civil society. The mayor asks the party to investigate.
26. A thousand years ago Evil forces rose up to destroy the world. They were eventually defeated but they achieved a partial victory. Now the world has been slowly entering an Ice Age, which will only end when someone can fix the ancient damage.
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30. Seeking shelter from the horrific storm outside you enter what appears to be a dilapidated castle. Upon waking the next morning you realize that you and the castle have been transported a distant realm.
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31. You seemingly randomly visit a magic curios shop, where you play around with several items of unknown purpose and power, and damage a snow globe by accident. After a night that brings the winter's first snow, you awake in a strange place - which of course turns out to be inside the snow globe.
32. A remote colony hasn't sent message for a while. When you get there to investigate, instead of the colony, you only find a vast, deep, smoking crater of unknown origin.
33. Some northwestern regions of the land seem to get struck by terror, plague and madness. Some people claim they had seen a dark wanderer in these very regions, always shortly before it started, always travelling eastwards (or, in case of Golarion, southwards).
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35. You and your party of adventurers have just returned to the city of Glimmermoat after completing a small quest for the mayor. Upon arriving at the city gates you are told by the captain of the guards that the mayor does not have your promised reward but instead wishes to discuss an alternate form of payment. Arriving at the mayor's home you find him and his family dead savagely mutilated. Moments later the city guard arrives and you must flee the city as they blame your party for the mayors murder. Now the city has hired teams of adventurers to to bring you back to the city "dead or alive". Can you stay alive long enough to prove your innocence?
36. An ancient evil threatens to return to the realms and only the descendents of the heroes that banished it eons ago can stop it. Can you find the 5 artifacts needed to defeat this foe before he returns to bring about the apocalypse.
37. The PCs enter a town populated only by children. After investigation they learn the adults will return shortly; they always leave the valley at times of the full moon... The children claim that it is because in the light of the full moon the demons come and slay the adults. Wouldn't you know it the Full moon is tonight.
38. The local thieves guild hears that an experienced thief has come to town who has not checked in with them. They send a few associates to visit the party rogue to remind him of the guild’s fees and rules, and, of course, penalties for failing to abide by them.
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A few I've used, some I haven't:
39. The PCs awake in all too familiar tavern, they are hungover again, and have dim memories of agreeing to go on some kind of adventure the previous evening. What they don't know is: They've only just been born. The tavern is a covert cloning factory designed by mindflayers to mimic what adventurers expect of their clichéd lives. The town, and all its cardboard cut-out environs are just a way of farming the hapless sods. Mimicking their expected experiences, so that their brains might one day reach a high enough level to be suitably delicious. The end of the world actually happened a very long time ago, but the Mind Flayers got bored/hungry.
40. (I sorta stole this from somewhere, can't remember where). The Tarrasque has been captured. Yes, that's right, CAPTURED. It is forced to live bound in magical irons. The heroes who caught it are praised as saviours, and people come from all corners of the world to see this great beast. Gradually a town has been built up around the poor creature. People carve off souvenirs with magical weapons. The blood of the tarrasque is found to have certain healing properties, and business is booming. The tarrasque once slept for hundreds of years, but now it is tormented, kept awake and above ground. The PCs are forced to question if this is the right order of things. What impact will it have on the natural world? What if it escapes? Perhaps a cult intends to release it? What if the Tarrasque did not really sleep underground? What was it doing down there? What if the peaceful sound of the tarrasque's snoring slumber was the only thing keeping the Aboleth from surfacing?
41. The PCs fight a war they cannot win. In a desperate attempt to escape, they stumble on an ancient shrine and a peculiar scroll of Mass Petrification. With their infinite enemies snarling outside, their last resort is to use the scroll on themselves in the hope that the marauding army will mistake them for statues. They may, of course, choose whichever pose they want to stand in, but they may not know for how long they will be frozen solid. 100 years later, they awake to find themselves worshipped as gods (probably according to how they were standing). Worshipped, that is, by an enslaved human race, surprised to find the statues of their gods finally come to life. How will they react to this resurrected fame? Will they have to fulfill some kind of bizarre prophecy they know to be false? Can they fight a guerilla war against their oppressors, and gradually free mankind from enslavement, town by town? I imagine this would fit well with those King Maker rules.
42. The world is a sphere, much like ours. But, unlike ours, each hemisphere rotates in opposite directions. The northern hemisphere is populated largely by the humans, elves, and dwarves, or 'pinks', while the Southern is inhabited by the 'greens', orcs, goblins, kobolds, bugbears, etc. Once every 100 years the continents get close enough to launch boats of war, each remembering the bitter, bloody war of the previous generation. This time, something is different. This time, a small volcanic island stands between them. Perhaps, whichever side controls this island, will finally turn the tide of the war. I originally ran this campaign with two seperate groups on alternating weeks, one playing greenskins, the other playing pinkskins. Neither was aware of the other's movements, but each fought against the armies of the other side according to whichever parts of the island each side chose to capture. It would've ended up quite strategic, if not for the entire party of pinksins being utterly useless and getting themselves killed in the first session.
I'm sure I had more, but I can't remember them right now.
In case you hadn't noticed, my campaigns tend to be a little apocalyptic and gloomy in theme.
41. The PCs fight a war they cannot win. In a desperate attempt to escape, they stumble on an ancient shrine and a peculiar scroll of Mass Petrification. With their infinite enemies snarling outside, their last resort is to use the scroll on themselves in the hope that the marauding army will mistake them for statues. They may, of course, choose whichever pose they want to...
I would have this happen a few sessions into the campaign, just to stress the "before and after" aspect of the history.
I would have this happen a few sessions into the campaign, just to stress the "before and after" aspect of the history.
41. The PCs fight a war they cannot win. In a desperate attempt to escape, they stumble on an ancient shrine and a peculiar scroll of Mass Petrification. With their infinite enemies snarling outside, their last resort is to use the scroll on themselves in the hope that the marauding army will mistake them for statues. They may, of course, choose whichever pose they want to...
Yeah, I did exactly that. The first few sessions were dealing with a nation preparing for war, with a lot of foreshadowing uncertainty over whether the war should happen at all. The players were conscientious objectors at first, until they were caught smuggling arms and given the option; go to prison, or take arms and join the march to the front lines.
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44. You awaken to a bright spring morning, but the inn seems deserted. The tavern beneath is empty, the door hanging wide open. A commotion outside draws your attention to the crowded town square, where a plain, wooden door magically hovers just inches above the cobblestones.
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45. 4-6 young, inexperienced, and immature masters from very wealthy noble families, who grew up together, have a mind for adventure and heroism, and dreams of glory, in the metropolitan city of (X). Some shadowy figures have plans to overthrow the nobility and turn the city over to a widespread organization of brigands, thieves, and monsters. (Ignore WBL, giving the PCs access to level-appropriate magic gear as they go (perhaps they need to prove themselves to gain access to the magic item shops with their nigh unlimited funds), and any mundane gear they like to start, and maybe give them a weekly allowance).
The campaign would be centred around the group as they swagger through life causing messes and getting themselves out of them, and slowly deal with them maturing into real adventurers, who would eventually have to try to save their city.
Also, feel free to restrict classes, and require archetypes that work in a city. You could make an all Melee party, for example.
Note: It would be good to exclude divine types, and make them go to the temple, or use potions and wands for healing.
G!!-d#%n. That sounds like alot of fun. I might just have to run it next. I'd like to play in it even more though. Hey TOZ or Kirth. You wanna come to ontario and run a game for me? :P
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46. A storm has appeared out of nowhere. While trying to locate shelter, you come accross two indistinct figures battling furiously. When one of them falls, the other disappears and the storm abaits. You and your companions rush to see if you can aid the fallen combatant. Upon reaching him (or her), you find the individual wounded severely. After some healing you note the strange armor, gear, and.........his holy symbol. You now realize that you just saved a newly fallen god.
(It could use a little more flare, but you get the idea.)
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47. In (insert date), a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum-security stockade to the (insert city) underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem...if no one else can help...and if you can find them...maybe you can hire...The (insert name of group).
Cue A-team Music...
30. Seeking shelter from the horrific storm outside you enter what appears to be a dilapidated castle. Upon waking the next morning you realize that you and the castle have been transported a distant realm.
I ran this substituting "college dorm" for "dilapidated castle". PCs were quite shocked to find out they weren't in kansas (well, illinois) any more.
48.An Archeological Dig finds a huge crystal with someone trapped inside (I´ve used amethyst). After some probbing a few mages manage to crack the crystal open to find a dead, long lost hero. This hero suposedly defeated a great evil long time ago, however evidence suggests that he lost the battle and was trapped into the crystal...
This Evil, is now a (God/King/etc)
(Orignially i was thinking leaving the hero alive, and in shock, when faced with the facts.)
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I ran this substituting "college dorm" for "dilapidated castle". PCs were quite shocked to find out they weren't in kansas (well, illinois) any more.30. Seeking shelter from the horrific storm outside you enter what appears to be a dilapidated castle. Upon waking the next morning you realize that you and the castle have been transported a distant realm.
I did this in a d20 Modern game subbing in 'space craft'. And I sent them to RIFTS. They loved it.
I did this in a d20 Modern game subbing in 'space craft'. And I sent them to RIFTS. They loved it.I ran this substituting "college dorm" for "dilapidated castle". PCs were quite shocked to find out they weren't in kansas (well, illinois) any more.30. Seeking shelter from the horrific storm outside you enter what appears to be a dilapidated castle. Upon waking the next morning you realize that you and the castle have been transported a distant realm.
That might be the greatest thing I've read all day.
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50. The characters wake to find themselves within an abandoned laboratory, each confined to a cell. The door to each cell wide open, they step outside and face one another. With no recollection of their pasts, they must piece together what has happened to them--beginning with their names. To identify themselves, each character bears a tattoo of a roman numeral (between I and VIII; there need not be thirteen players, though there are thirteen cells).
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51. after the falling of a great evil god, the church that calmed responsibly begins making sure it will never rise a second time they take man steps and doing this most notably hunting and killing all arcane casters, saying they are feeding the the evil with there powers.
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52.
The Quest for Sky continues...
Dwarves throughout the world receive the same dream. Abadar, Cayden Cailean, Gorum, and another figure who is obviously dwarven but with features obscured, are on a balcony above yet clearly visible. All living dwarves surround the dreamer in a massive assembly. The other gods bow as Torag walks to a mighty podium and in a booming voice shouts "The Quest for Sky was only the beginning. The time has come to seek the Heartstone and reclaim our glorious birthright!"
All dreamers receive an image of a faceless dwarf reaching into the Starstone in Absalom to withdraw a rune covered metallic gem, ascending to divinity in the process.
The Heartstone is a mythical artifact from Dwarven Antiquity and legend which is thought among other powers to provide renewed vitality and fertility to the Dwarven race, heralding a new dawn for the failing race.
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46. A storm has appeared out of nowhere. While trying to locate shelter, you come accross two indistinct figures battling furiously. When one of them falls, the other disappears and the storm abaits. You and your companions rush to see if you can aid the fallen combatant. Upon reaching him (or her), you find the individual wounded severely. After some healing you note the strange armor, gear, and.........his holy symbol. You now realize that you just saved a newly fallen god.
(It could use a little more flare, but you get the idea.)
My favorite so far
A few ideas. (give me a break,lol I just woke up not too long ago)
53.The pc's find themselves in a land full of zombies. The only towns are heavily barricaded and far apart.
The pc's get jobs as delivery/porters for valuable supplies and medicine and must survive to get to the other town uninfected.
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54.A giant fish is terrorizing sea-goers. The players must (With the aid of a breathing device) go under the water to fight it.
Finding out, that its not a fish at all..but a device.
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55.A mad dwarf is chopping down trees and felling them on houses and important businesses.
Nature-terrorist Fargellen Dopeltorp and his band of hippie-love-terrorists bent on returning the world to nature. Thick/Heavy Scottish accent a plus.
The pc's are hired to bring him in to justice from his trap filled forest lair.
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56.Elves attack. Pissed about something.
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57.Everyone starts getting all hairy. Noone knows why.
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58. The PCs have grown up knowing each other, and are old friends... which isn't hard considering there's only a couple dozen people in their one-horse logging/farming/mining/insert industry here town. None of them want to die being crushed by falling timber/of old age all too early/from the blacklung/insert hard way to die here. And then one day an adventuring company passes through the village, dripping gold coins and tales of adventure everywhere they go. A few weeks after the adventurers have left, one of the PCs gets a great idea: adventuring can't be any harder than logging/farming/mining/insert town's industry here, can it?
59. A black-painted galley from an unknown land, with black sails and oars, bearing strange sigils on its sails and disturbing decoration on its woodwork, and manned by a hundred dead-eyed, strangely dressed slaves, captain by cruel-looking, equally strangely dressed, deathly pale officers, pulls into the city's harbor. The Captain of the vessel and his lieutenant visit each merchant in the city, buying resupply and cargo for their journey to where the gods only know. They pay for everything they purchase with gold coins the side of tea-saucers and rubies the size of a hen's egg. Thieves who attempt to raid the ship while it is tied to the docks are found the next day skinned and hanging from the rooftops of nearby buildings.
And then the galley is gone. But various important personages want the thing tracked back to the land of its origin, for trade or possible conquest. Your party has been hired to undertake this task...
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60. The PCs represent their kingdom or tribe at accords to end hostilities with the people-across-the-river. They are strange, often thought savage, but suddenly express willingness to seek peace. A pact is signed, and a great feast held. At the feast, the PCs discover that the people-across-the-river possess a savage custom: the meat is the meat of a saint/god/holy beast. The PCs eat a slain divinity of the people-across-the-river, while the king and lords of the People ingests the flesh of a saint/god/holy beast of the PC's land. It is a diplomatic outrage. It also fills the PCs with new strength (hence why they can gain levels so fast relative to the rest of the world ... in this campaign, play up how strange it is to have spent a lifetime learning swordplay or second level spells, only dwarf those accomplishments in less than a year).
61. An Antipaladin of tremendous strength walks the land. He draws people to his banner, appealing to their base natures, and calls himself the end of an era. His god has granted him a boon, and the maimed survivors of defeat tell all that will hear them that the Antipaladin is indestructible. Thwart his army or assassinate him before your village or the whole of your kingdom are put to sword and flame. (In this campaign, start the antipaladin in a neighboring kingdom, preferably a rival land to the PCs, to build some ambiguity. When he is slaughtering people you don't like, he doesn't seem so dread or bad.)
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62. This one is a campaign changer designed to mix it up....
A black flying citadel appears over the capitol of the most powerful nation in your established game-world. It immediately starts vomitting out aberrations which carry crystals which can warp mortal races into humanoid aberrations - by driving the crystals into their foreheads. This 'Aberrant Scourge' spreads - and as it establishes 'aberrant sorcerers'and 'invulnerable rager barbarians' start appearing - both with the tentacles and warped flesh trope explanations for their abilities. Seemingly unstoppable, the various factions of the world have to join forces or die fighting them.
Think Skyline but there is a chance to fight back and no starships....
dot
