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Heyo all. It's 3am and I woke up and started writing things down on note cards, and then got up and started typing and this is the mess I came up with.
Exploration of the underground will us a hex grid, allowing to track the travel of the PC's as they go through caverns, tunnels and so forth. Finding new things, forming new paths, etc.
City of Glowthorn, most prosperous of the present towns that are left underground. Connected to Gaslight, a violet lit den of sin and temptation, and like three other towns with some theme to them.
Glowthron is light b a massive crystal called the sunstone. It glows and has a day/night cycle. Actually a large focusing lens that goes up to surface. There are 5 districts in the town, each one focusing on an elemental stone that also is housed there. One of the few places with trees, apples a large export. Lights are usually small glowing rocks or fire beetles supplied by the Lamp Guild.
Beetles are smaller more docile versions of larger monsters the Lamp Guild is proud of developing.
Many other guilds exists, some in town, others larger organizations. The PC's are members of The Delvers Guild! "The Delvers Delve Deeply." Most other guild crafting or political, goldsmiths, forge workers, etc.
PC's members of the guild, but not a job they always need to attend to. Presently have access to 3 dorms in Glowthorn. Simple furnishings.
There are guns, easy to use but not terrifically reliable due to ammo shortages. No one there makes bullets.
The Delvers get more tech stuff, but it's also more controlled by the guildmaster. Things are checked out and returned. PC's must purchase own gear and pay for lost things.
Stirgecats, helpful felines that are useful of warning of roaming monsters and keeping rats out of food supplies. Bit bigger then a house cat.
Moles of unusual size used for pack animals and food like cattle. Tasty. May need a new name. Seloms? Too obvious.
First missions is to maintain the tunnel leading to Gaslight. Tunnel is mostly in tact, should be about 5 days to get there and back while working. Need to bring supplies with, only so much being allowed. 1 pack mole will be supplied. Water and food cost electrium from the other towns. It's freely supplies within reason for official delver missions from Glowthorn.
Things that happen on first adventure.
Goblin gang run into at least twice. First time abroad and 2nd time in their den. Den contains enough supplies for 2 days and a few nice trinkets. Goblins are the Snivvelslicers, rough and rag-tag, good opponents for brand new PC's. Not too bright and very cowardly.
Cave in and strange metal door. The door opens to reveal a high class automaton that greets the party and invites them to partake of the food and watch the movie. It's The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, staring Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison. It's in black and white and about 1/2 done when they show up. Most of the rest of the theater has caved in and once the film is over the systems will rest and start playing the movie again and the half-way point. The systems could be very valuable if recovered properly but will take at least 3-5 days to properly dig out and sift through. This may make the Pc's short on food and water. Recovery will also allow for viewing of the full film and possible discovery of other movies. Can be used to increase tourism to Glowthorn, or inspire a director who wants to film something new.
At higher levels:
The PC's are brought into the know that something seems odd with the sunstone. It's dimming a bit more every few days and not getting as bright. This is normal for the time of year but not for the amount that's happening. This leads to the first trip above ground into the wastelands and deserts above ground. Cause is simple, the mirrors that feed sunlight into the crystal are wearing out. Actually relatively easy to fix. Some radiation dangers.
While on the surface the players run into a piece of paper bearing one of the most dreadful things one could imagine seeing. A flyer that reads, "Robot Carnival, Coming Soon."
So how do I make sense of this mess, and anyone have any suggestions, feedback, useful comments or the like? I could use more lower level adventure/encounter ideas. Or perhaps I should have just gone back to bed?
So you have a post-apocalytpic world where magic exist? or maybe not.
I don't know if my suggestions could be useful but:
- you can explain goblin and other monsters by mutation (yeah so cliché!)
- you can make the PCs encounter many modern wonders (a subway, electrical lamps, cash, modern guns, etc)
- at the surface maybe a panel with your city's name on it
- some gate to other worlds (think Stargate, Interplanetary Teleport)
- use aberrations (very good for this setting), ooze
- psionics? Some strange mutants with inhuman powers…
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Yeah, magic is fun in those situations. Just do regular magic instead of psionics. Could change the name.
Good idea on the use of Aberrations too. I'll have to hunt for low CR scary monsters.
I'm thinking mostly underground adventures until around like 5th level. That seems like a good time to start expanding the world known. Not sure if I want to start a migration storyline eventually or not.
Would it be too much to have some kind of sliding scale between magic and technology, so that too much emphasis on one hurts the other?
Sounds quirky - in a fun way. At first I was worried about over-troping it, but I think it's fine when taking in the totality. After all, the presence of a few tropes makes a setting approachable, even if the presence of too many makes it unpalatable. Just be careful around players who are big fans of Fallout, Stephen King's Dark Tower, or the old school AD&D D1-3 modules, as those folks might project their preconceptions onto the campaign setting.
When looking for adventure hooks, keep in mind that life underground is a constant struggle for resources. Glowthorn's access to natural sunlight is a huge advantage, and will have to be defended from time to time. You could easily turn the setting very gritty - but if you don't wish to, specialized magic / magical creatures can ease the competition somewhat.
I must say, I love the sliding scale of magic vs. technology idea. I think it would be even better if you emphasize that, while magic and technology can often accomplish the same goals, they are more efficient in different areas. Technology is great for long-distance communication (cell phones are essentially use-activated items allowing sending at will) and moving objects (telekinesis caps at 375 lb). On the other hand, magic allows faster-than-light (or at least relativistic) travel and the rapid fabrication of objects (or more generally, anything dealing with time) - which technology has problems with.
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Yeah, I don't think I want really a fallout vibe from things, hehe. I'll have to be careful not to get too much in that direction.
Mmmm, a few skirmishes to protect thier recourse isn't a bad idea.. Maybe exploring into one or two failed cities could be a lot of fun too. Having trouble coming up with another odd underground town of some type.
Yeah, the tech/magic idea does sound interesting. Wondering what kind of effects might come from pushing too much one way or the other.