So I love high level play, though I don't get to do so often. ;-( Anyway I had an idea for a far reaching planes hopping game.
The party is involved in a war across the planes (or planets would actually be better, but then you have to get all scifi-ish). The party are generals and also special commando units of some power (could be a country or just one side of opposing factions). I was thinking level 14+.
I actually got the idea from Star wars The clone wars cartoon. Just replace the scifi elements with Pathfinder fluff and it's be a good story.
So as a creative exercise I was hoping the community could offer ideas for battles/missions/story line/twists etc.
Alright Community. Whaddya got?
What are the sides exactly? Level 14 seems great for something like this.
What are the sides exactly? Level 14 seems great for something like this.
I haven't created them. LIke I said it's a creative exercise. Present anything you think might be cool. Perhaps it's just two groups who both want military superiority, or whatever. In other words present something.
For planar based conflicts, I've always been a big fan of including members of one plane capturing members of a diametrically opposed plane for some reason.
For instance, an entity of law is captured by the denizens of chaos. Why? What are they hoping to do with it? Can it be rescued? these are all things PCs should start asking themselves.
The default option here is usually that the entity is captured for the purposes of being subsumed into the ranks of the other planes' denizens, but there are all sorts of other options that are available.
For instance, what if one creature in the plane of law represents a bargain which allows them to return home rather than dying when summoned? Chaos doesn't need to turn it, they might merely be holding it while they figure out how it can be destroyed.
Beyond that, there's the fun option of having something be punching a hole through the planes. Great use for a Well of the Worlds.
I like that. Perhaps if the PC's arent part of one of those groups they get wind that the enemy nation is involved and seeks to investiage.
I just thought of a good premise. Two nations (A&B until I can think of better names), both on the prime have come to a standstill. They are both ridiculously fortified (though the party can learn this first hand if it's more fun). As such the nations travel the planes looking for something to tip the balance.
Sound good so far? I may have to build this campaign. ;-)
For planet/planar war likes this my suggestion is that the one side(side the players are on) is being attacked by the other side for no apparent reason.
The attacking side showed up one day out of the blue and just began attacking everything and anything in there way. They never make contact just kill everything before moving on. The players mission is to try to find out why they are doing this before they attackers get everyone.
For the planet view attackers would go from planet to planet blowing the planet up as they go. For planar view they do the same thing but go from plane to plane. This way you can have players be almost anything they wish to be since if the attackers are not stopped everyone is doomed.
Edit: Tiny Coffee Golem got any idea up while I was writing. Planar traveling to tip scales cool. Better than my idea.
For planet/planar war likes this my suggestion is that the one side(side the players are on) is being attacked by the other side for no apparent reason.
The attacking side showed up one day out of the blue and just began attacking everything and anything in there way. They never make contact just kill everything before moving on. The players mission is to try to find out why they are doing this before they attackers get everyone.
For the planet view attackers would go from planet to planet blowing the planet up as they go. For planar view they do the same thing but go from plane to plane. This way you can have players be almost anything they wish to be since if the attackers are not stopped everyone is doomed.
Edit: Tiny Coffee Golem got any idea up while I was writing. Planar traveling to tip scales cool. Better than my idea.
I like any of that except the blowing up planet thing. If they occupy then their is resistance for the PC's to help. Though if they blew up one or two that could be a good setup for a future "Stop the doomsday device before the planet explodes" timed adventure.
Also this thread would be useful for throwing in some unique monsters.
I like any of that except the blowing up planet thing. If they occupy then their is resistance for the PC's to help. Though if they blew up one or two that could be a good setup for a future "Stop the doomsday device before the planet explodes" timed adventure.For planet/planar war likes this my suggestion is that the one side(side the players are on) is being attacked by the other side for no apparent reason.
The attacking side showed up one day out of the blue and just began attacking everything and anything in there way. They never make contact just kill everything before moving on. The players mission is to try to find out why they are doing this before they attackers get everyone.
For the planet view attackers would go from planet to planet blowing the planet up as they go. For planar view they do the same thing but go from plane to plane. This way you can have players be almost anything they wish to be since if the attackers are not stopped everyone is doomed.
Edit: Tiny Coffee Golem got any idea up while I was writing. Planar traveling to tip scales cool. Better than my idea.
Sorry I worded that wrong I meant they would get rid of everything on the planet. Doomsday device sounds cool though instead of an device make it a creature that the players have to find? Goes away from the find the enemy stronghold get inside and disarm device since the players have to figure out how to stop the creature from doing it's thing instead of just killing it.
Sorry I worded that wrong I meant they would get rid of everything on the planet. Doomsday device sounds cool though instead of an device make it a creature that the players have to find? Goes away from the find the enemy stronghold get inside and disarm device since the players have to figure out how to stop the creature from doing it's thing instead of just killing it.I like any of that except the blowing up planet thing. If they occupy then their is resistance for the PC's to help. Though if they blew up one or two that could be a good setup for a future "Stop the doomsday device before the planet explodes" timed adventure.For planet/planar war likes this my suggestion is that the one side(side the players are on) is being attacked by the other side for no apparent reason.
The attacking side showed up one day out of the blue and just began attacking everything and anything in there way. They never make contact just kill everything before moving on. The players mission is to try to find out why they are doing this before they attackers get everyone.
For the planet view attackers would go from planet to planet blowing the planet up as they go. For planar view they do the same thing but go from plane to plane. This way you can have players be almost anything they wish to be since if the attackers are not stopped everyone is doomed.
Edit: Tiny Coffee Golem got any idea up while I was writing. Planar traveling to tip scales cool. Better than my idea.
Maybe instead of exploding it converts all the sentient creatures to something else. Like whatever they are, for example.
Wait, T.C.G. Don't be so quick to dismiss the notion of planets rather than planes. Battles on other planes are such a staple that they border on a cliche, whereas "interplanetary" stuff hasn't been done in a long time. (Spelljammer? I'm aware of it. I don't think it was ever really used to its full potential.)
Draw your inspiration from old, old sci-fi (look at stuff from the 40s, when Mars had canals, Venus had jungles, and both had natives) for some inspiration, as well as a few other sources like Jack Vance's Rhialto the Marvellous (which answered the question "How many archmages does it take to get to the center of a black dwarf star?")
One meme that deserves examination for high-level play is a battle between two other inhabited worlds that have always been visible in your main campaign world's sky. (For extra freakiness, perhaps one of those worlds at war is your campaign world's moon... or sun.) There are a few plot points you'll need to settle in your own mind - how long has space travel existed? Do they use ships, or flying towers, or something more like teleportation circles? What interaction have the creatures of those other worlds had with the main campaign world - and if they've never landed here, why not? Why are those other two worlds fighting? And are they united planetary governments, or does each world have just as many cultures as the one the PCs came from, with a few trying to expand into space due to inability to expand on their own world?
Also worth noting is why these expansionist space powers are attacking each other rather than your 'Earth'. One fun option would be to make both planets scorchingly hot or eternally frigid, and really pull out the stops re-skinning various monsters, adding (Fire) and (Cold) templates and whatever other modifications you think would fit the world.
I know such a far-out option can jump the shark if it's not done well. On the other hand, it could be a flavor of awesome that's ideal for high-level PCs if you do it...
Oh, I like planets. It really would just depend on how the players want to play. Planeshift is 5th level interplanetary teleport is 9th.
I like planet, but like you said it would have to be done Juuuussssttt right.
Edit: I WOULD LOVE to find a DM who can pull off this idea. I would reward with cookies.
I like any of that except the blowing up planet thing. If they occupy then their is resistance for the PC's to help. Though if they blew up one or two that could be a good setup for a future "Stop the doomsday device before the planet explodes" timed adventure.Sorry I worded that wrong I meant they would get rid of everything on the planet. Doomsday device sounds cool though instead of an device make it a creature that the players have to find? Goes away from the find the enemy stronghold get inside and disarm device since the players have to figure out how to stop the creature from doing it's thing instead of just killing it.
Maybe instead of exploding it converts all the sentient creatures to something else. Like whatever they are, for example.
That could work, so no matter how many losses they have they always have more troops.
That could work, so no matter how many losses they have they always have more troops.
I like any of that except the blowing up planet thing. If they occupy then their is resistance for the PC's to help. Though if they blew up one or two that could be a good setup for a future "Stop the doomsday device before the planet explodes" timed adventure.Sorry I worded that wrong I meant they would get rid of everything on the planet. Doomsday device sounds cool though instead of an device make it a creature that the players have to find? Goes away from the find the enemy stronghold get inside and disarm device since the players have to figure out how to stop the creature from doing it's thing instead of just killing it.
Maybe instead of exploding it converts all the sentient creatures to something else. Like whatever they are, for example.
Undead are an easy example. Plus their troops can survive in space. ;-)
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I'm doing a little jaunt through Asgard in my pbp.
The gang might work for the efreeti at a future date;
I'm thinking up little quests/grabs for them based on that.
Another is yak men (admittedly a 3.5e monster, but wtf....) They're always hassling geniekind.
They originally were going to Sigil, but.....when I threw a sidequest at them working for the efreeti, I think the City of Brass kinda sold itsself.
I'm doing a little jaunt through Asgard in my pbp.
The gang might work for the efreeti at a future date;
I'm thinking up little quests/grabs for them based on that.** spoiler omitted **
What is the level of that game? Do you have a thread link I can read?
It's "Heathy's Isle of Dread Thread." It's long. Click my name up there, and go to my campaigns.
They're 13th, near to 14th level.
THAT particular thread is the third one of the whole pbp, which is 20,000+ posts long.....
I think they went to Asgard about a year ago or so.
It's "Heathy's Isle of Dread Thread." It's long. Click my name up there, and go to my campaigns.
They're 13th, near to 14th level.
THAT particular thread is the third one of the whole pbp, which is 20,000+ posts long.....
I think they went to Asgard about a year ago or so.
If you need a conjurer let me know. I have a 15th level built for a PBP that appears to be about to die out.
Right on; I'll think about it.
I'm kinda blitzed and in the midst at the moment.
Right on; I'll think about it.
I'm kinda blitzed and in the midst at the moment.
No worries. Just throwing it out there.
But back on topic;
The thread I posted earlier has a homebrew Zerg-like race. That could be cool for a long term factor in this kind of game. Needs some tweaks, but pretty good for a guy that never actually played Starcraft. ;-)
dot
If it were me, and this is just a rough idea from what I have thought of in few minutes, but I would do: Rulers of the First 8 layers of hell, vs Asmodius. The PCs would be on the anti-Asmodius side, and would be either affiliated with one of the other leaders (I probably would let the PCs affiliate individually) or if the idea of there being potential Evil party members in the group, could be commandos of some good force trying to take advantage of the Chaos running am-muck in Hell. Each of the Arch-Dukes (I think that is what they are called) would have his own ambitions and schemes along with the overall conflict to see who will rule Hell next.
Oh man you could go all out with this. A couple of the Dukes appear to be siding with Asmodius (or against him) and then flip sides. Demons from the abyss see a chance to cause some real havoc and run an their own attack in the middle of a decisive battle. Angels and archons have to work together to try to stop all the evil outsiders destroying everything with their war. The PC's could be on any side they chose and it just goes nuts. Something like this would take extraordinary planning (I'm counting at least 4 or 5 sides here...) but if you could pull it off it would be incredible.
It's "Heathy's Isle of Dread Thread." It's long. Click my name up there, and go to my campaigns.
They're 13th, near to 14th level.
THAT particular thread is the third one of the whole pbp, which is 20,000+ posts long.....
I think they went to Asgard about a year ago or so.If you need a conjurer let me know. I have a 15th level built for a PBP that appears to be about to die out.
He looks cool;
however, my game is really seized up at the moment, IRL yaddayadda on many peoples' home fronts, so I don't think I feel like inviting more people aboard a ship that's listing in the horse latitudes.
I'm sorry, but the Bloodwar / CE vs LE thing is SO overdone in D&D it' s not even funny. Want something REALLY interesting? Go for LG vs CG.
Agreed, it would be more interesting to see what happens when CG and LG don't get along properly but you run into major motivation issues. Even if LG and CG fundamentally disagree on one axis, their good nature keeps them from harming each other. What could possibly lead to that kind of conflict? (I'm not trying to be a pain here either, if you can give a decent idea for a hook I'd be interested.)
...
I can think of reasons for LG societies to go to war with CG societies, but I am very hard pressed to find a reason for the Heavens to go to war with each other. The Good/Evil axis always seems to trump the Law/Chaos one....
LN vs CN could be pretty interesting however, as they are not tethered by Good in not destroying the Universe in their conflicts.
And there is your answer.... depending on the scope of the adventure your planning on running.
DON'T start it off as a full fledged CG vs LG thing. Have the war kick of as Absolute Law vs Absolute Chaos. From there the heavens (and hells) get dragged in for other reasons.
Eg. Primordial Chaos of the abyss goes and joins the Chaos side for the opportunity to do whatever takes their fancy on a given microsecond. This forces LG planes into alignment against the chaos to oppose them. Messengers were sent to the other planes as a courtesy, but didn't get to the CG heavens for one reason or another. One of these ends up with the infernals who say "Bloodwar PLUS I get to watch angels bleed for it as well? Where to I sign?"
Ahem..... Rather, the Infernals join the side of order thanks to the bloodwar and their underlying hatred of chaos (or so they say, anyway). They know that if chaos wins, it's all over for them anyway. They may not be at the forefront of every battle, BUT they are on the side of Law. After un-necessary and wasteful loss of resources between the Angels and Infernals (someone didn't read the memo about NOT killing eachother) and them losing some important staging points, they both agree to be bound into a bargain (of about 8 billion pages) to ensure that such incidents don't happen again... It also binds the angels and the infernals into a joint command structure with the other 'Lawful' forces.
At this point the heavenly host is a little perturbed about working next to infernals, and they still haven't heard back from CG, further messengers are sent, and this time answered. High ranking CG officials walking in just to watch the LG commander put pen to paper on what looks like an 8 billion page infernal contract.
Ooops. Things are explained, but still not a good look. The thought of being in contract to an infernal isn't something that CG can bear. Rule -1, just so it trumps even rule 0, You NEVER EVER EVER bargain with an infernal.
CG, can't bring themselves to ally with any group that is running with infernals, no matter what the rest of the host says. The Iinfernals also do not believe that they can be trusted to stay out of a war that is developing along law / chaos boundaries and will not enter into bindings NOT to engage with infernal forces (They are happy to say it, just not BIND to it). As such, they are framed in a suitable epic manner, with planted evidence of them planning an assault against infernal forces, showing several weaknesses blah blah blah... a few legions of the damned are destroyed by previously captured weapons etc etc. This is ensured to happen somewhere where it will be discovered by LN forces.
From the infernal perspective, driving CG into the enemy is better happening now, because it means that at least it's known that they are on the other side. Their concern is that some muppet on the Angel side of the town is going to invite in a whole host of CG in for tea and biscuits, only to be butchered by their guests and the gates of <<insert local of major importance here>> flung open. To avoid that situation, they are willing and (after careful reading of Page 7.5 billion, sub-section B, articles 3 - 854) able to sacrifice a couple of lesser legions to do it.
At that point CG is shunted into the category of 'enemy' with a majority vote, as they were warned that any assault or their allies would be regarded as a declaration of war on the alliance as a whole. CG at this point are faced with a choice of obliteration (they know many of the weaknesses of the other angelic forces so they are give a high priority before that information spreads), or joining the Chaotic forces in the hopes of holding off the tide long enough to work out what happened (or to get everyone to the table to declare a truce). As CG starts to fight back, the infernals feel completely vindicated that they are showing their true colors, and commence driving a wedge between the two angelic hosts (you know... for later... when this is all over). It doesn't take too many dead inevitables though to convince the forces of the host that CG is on the Chaos side to stay.
There are undoubtedly plot holes, but it's late, and this was 20 minutes.
Coffee, the game I am playing in currently I came up with the idea for and pitched it to the gm. We are far from starting it but this is the gist.
In our second chapter, we find different pieces to basically create some type of portal. When we pass through it, we are transported to heaven (which even though we play in Golarion, the spiritual planes cannot be accessed by individuals unless they are spirits). While in heaven, it gets attacked by.....something.
At first the players would think "maybe demons/devils." You know? The classic good vs evil. But when the party investigates, we find that its not that, the group is actually a third party. A race that lives on a planet that floats through limbo. The planet was actually the first god of that race, but sacrficed himself to restore their planet because the race was about to destroy their original planet and annihilate themselves. After this, 3 individuals stepped up to try and unite the race (who are war like to the core). These prophets are kind of like the prophets from Halo, but they represent Truth, War, and and something else, Sacrifice I think. These prophets became the new gods of the race and thus they started to try to conquer other planes.
I got the idea for the race from the yuzong vong from star wars. In game terms, they have the spellweaving ability from spellweavers in 3.5 (they can only cast up to 6 level spells) and the magic immunity like the golem ability (this can be bypassed by taking a piece of earth from their home planet). They travel through the planes on giant worms, who were once members of this race but chose to become a worm to advance the race's "obvious destiny to rule all things."
This part of the story won't start until 15th level and end round 20th or so.
good input all
Can't... help... self.
And yet...
So I love high level play, though I don't get to do so often. ;-( Anyway I had an idea for a far reaching planes hopping game.
The party is involved in a war across the planes (or planets would actually be better, but then you have to get all scifi-ish). The party are generals and also special commando units of some power (could be a country or just one side of opposing factions). I was thinking level 14+.
I actually got the idea from Star wars The clone wars cartoon. Just replace the scifi elements with Pathfinder fluff and it's be a good story.
So as a creative exercise I was hoping the community could offer ideas for battles/missions/story line/twists etc.
Alright Community. Whaddya got?
Can't... help... self.
And yet...
So I love high level play, though I don't get to do so often. ;-( Anyway I had an idea for a far reaching planes hopping game.
The party is involved in a war across the planes (or planets would actually be better, but then you have to get all scifi-ish). The party are generals and also special commando units of some power (could be a country or just one side of opposing factions). I was thinking level 14+.
I actually got the idea from Star wars The clone wars cartoon. Just replace the scifi elements with Pathfinder fluff and it's be a good story.
So as a creative exercise I was hoping the community could offer ideas for battles/missions/story line/twists etc.
Alright Community. Whaddya got?
Perhaps I'm dim, but I don't see what you've done other than bold some words. Care to elaborate?
Perhaps I'm dim, but I don't see what you've done other than bold some words. Care to elaborate?
Sorry, you just lucked into being the seventeenth person yesterday that I found who'd added a random apostrophe when pluralizing a word. Pedantic, yes. Again, sorry. My only excuse is that I have a finite and limited capacity to ignore "free kitten's" signs. It just blows my mind. People know how to pluralize in English. Add a flipping "s" unless it already ends in "s" in which case add "es". Other than "geese" and a tiny handful of other freaks, that's basically it. But if you look around you, you'll see too many examples of spurious apostrophes. Keep your eye open. Once you start noticing them, there's no going back. They're everywhere. We're surrounded.
Again, sorry.
Perhaps I'm dim, but I don't see what you've done other than bold some words. Care to elaborate?Sorry, you just lucked into being the seventeenth person yesterday that I found who'd added a random apostrophe when pluralizing a word. Pedantic, yes. Again, sorry. My only excuse is that I have a finite and limited capacity to ignore "free kitten's" signs. It just blows my mind. People know how to pluralize in English. Add a flipping "s" unless it already ends in "s" in which case add "es". Other than "geese" and a tiny handful of other freaks, that's basically it. But if you look around you, you'll see too many examples of spurious apostrophes. Keep your eye open. Once you start noticing them, there's no going back. They're everywhere. We're surrounded.
Again, sorry.
Lol. Do what you gotta do.
A couple of ideas, TCG:
1. What about using the Denizens of Leng. You already have some sort of conflict going on between the Leng Spiders (who remember are highly intelligent) and the Denizens themselves. What if their war spills over into the prime material plane somehow, where large staging grounds for their conflict displace populations and whole cities for the sake of their war? Perhaps finding some solution to this would require your high level PCs to travel to Leng, or some other plane to find a way to seal the planar connection between the prime material and Leng, or send the spiders and denizens back?
2. Also if you're using Golarion (or not, as its all easily transferrable) you do have the other planets in the Golarion system, many of them populated. What would happen if the ways and portals between these worlds were suddenly opened up full bore ... causing havoc not only on Golarion but the others worlds as well. Maybe the inhabitants of the Dark Tapestry have finally "drifted" into the star system and are starting an all out assault on all the planets, forcing them to suddenly work together. The planets are ripe with possibilities ... Eox the Dead is totally inhabited by the Undead ... what if they started a planetary invasion ... or the Dark Tapestry situation above the PCs would have to help form an alliance with them? Aucturn the Stranger could be used as the staging ground for the Dark Tapestry's invasion of the other planets. Look at page 209 of the Inner Sea World Guide. I think there is lots of potential material there, not to mention the Distant Worlds book.
Anywho, just some ideas for ya.
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The great thing about space fantasy or planewalking is the use of portals as plot devices. You don't absolutely need access to the spells, just magic devices that do the same thing! Stargate & Doctor Who are perfect examples of plot devices used to move the adventure to where it needs to be.
I second the denizens of leng. Many have said they'd be good stand ins for githyanki-like invaders
--Vrocketship