GM seeking help in continuing story for his group.

[PanzerPanda]

Hi, im a relatively experienced GM (Ive been playing D&D for about 10 years), but im kind of stuck on how to continue my campaign, and I was hoping to get some good ideas or some inspiration from some of the kind people here.

The campaign takes place in the Inner Sea, but its mostly used to have a world to create my adventures from.

The story so far.
The PCs started their adventure being held in a dungeon cell, each having no recollection of who attacked them before being brought unconscious the day before. They have now been stripped of their gear and they have a strange rune etched into their arm.
They soon discover they are held in a Temple of Zon-Kuthon. The PCs overhear a conversation between the high cleric of the temple and her master. From this conversation they understand they are special people chosen by Zon-Kuthon himself to be sacrifices for his return to this world.
The PCs manage to escape the temple after a fierce battle with the high cleric and her minions.

This is where I was hoping you guys could help me with some ideas on how the story could continue.
Im leaving it pretty open because im very interested in what ideas you guys have.

[Bart Vervaet]

well obviously they will have to try and stop the return of Zon-Kuthon.
ways to do this could be:
rescue other similar prisoners
stop agents from capturing new prisoners
find some kind of artifact/high power magic item needed to defeat the high priests who are preparing the ritual, or stop said high priests from obtaining some crucial item

If you have it available, check out the carrion crown adventure path, because it has a similar storyline

[GreatEscapist]

Okay so I'm a new player and a never gm, but I am a long time aspiring novelist. I assume the cleric isn't dead? As an immediate continuation the group should be pursued by some minions, and you might even have the minions try to herd or chase the pcs into another zon kuthon related trap. Or they happen upon a place that seems safe to regroup, with hidden cultists or the lone zealot lying in wait.

Or if they're meant to be free of this for now, they could bump into another religious group dedicated to stopping exactly this sacrifice, the party can either choose to accompany them in to get rid of the cult forever, or continue on their merry way.

If the pcs escaped by being badass and killing all, why not being pursued by a ghost or two from the sacrificial halls?

All I got for now, would need a better idea of what inspires you to continue.

[blackbloodtroll]

First, I suggest introducing followers of Shelyn, both as allies, and a tool to move the story in the desired direction.

I suggest taking a look at Shelyn, and Zon-Kuthon, in detail, as the two gods have an interesting relationship, that will add to the story.

The group could be approached by followers of Shelyn, who may at first, see the group as followers of Zon-Kuthon, but learn quickly, that is not true.

First, the church, and the party, will likely want to know why they are the chosen sacrifices.

This will force them to interrogate members of Zon-Kuthon faith.

They may find that the party became chosen, when they accidentally activated a powerful artifact, created to bring about the rise of Zon-Kuthon.

This is also why they lost their memory.

The artifact was taken away, and the party was actually held captive, to be met with the artifact later, and sacrificed.

Now, the only way they can stop themselves from being a sacrifice, to awaken a dark god, is to find, and destroy, the artifact.

Then again, how does one destroy such an artifact?

[Fizzygoo]

I say feed upon the desires of your players. Look at their backgrounds, see what their motivations are, etc.

So they escape the temple, but where to they end up, where did they leave off? Just outside in the wilderness? At a farmstead? At a village inn? A Town? City? If they inform the people where they currently are that they escaped and defeated in battle the clergy of that temple, will it matter to those people? Have they heard of the temple and are then thankful for the PCs dealing a blow or are they now fearful that the temple will send servants out for revenge on the PCs and all who give them succor?

Either way, if the PCs to tell their tale, some NPCs might think, "oh, these guys should go and do-good at the ruins/temple/swamp/cave/etc. of the nasty-evil-thing that's been giving our settlement, or nearby settlements, grief." If the PCs turn down the quest then then NPCs can respond with, "well, those Zon-Kuthon were wrong in thinking you were special, now weren't they." And if they agree to the quest then "Well, it's clear why those cultists thought you were special enough to fear and needing to be sacrificed."

Do the players want revenge on all who serve Zon-Kuthon or are they interested in making their own way in the world, just leaving the temple experience as a bad memory?

Also, since they were kidnapped, will their friends and family be worried? Will they want to head back to hearth and home to let them know they are okay?

One way to go about it is ebb-and-flow with the Zon-Kuthon. Now that they've escaped, give them an unrelated quest/adventure; save the village from the goblins, rescue the farmer's horses from the ogre, protect the young noble on his/her diplomatic travel to the next village/city.

After that, give them another unrelated-to-the-Zon-Kuthon-cultists quest but have Zon-Kuthon elements show up; rumors of assassins looking for the PCs in the city, slain NPCs that resemble one or more of the PCs with a Zon-Kuthon calling card at the scene, etc.

Then at the end, or near the end, of that adventure have the assassins show up and, if defeated, with signs of which temple they're working for (a rival to the one they escaped, a subordinate cult to the one they escaped from, etc.?).

All in all, depending on exactly where the last session left off, it seems like a good point to go over PC histories, motivations, and what they said (in character) during the "opening" adventure to help craft the next adventure to be one that all the players will be interested in.

Either that or just attack them with a host of great wyrm red dragons with the advanced and fiendish templates and 20 levels of barbarian each. ;)

[Kalridian]

You said they had strange runes on their arms. Maybe those don't come off and keep informing followers of Zon-Kuthon about their location and they have to find a way to get rid of them while fleeing from/ defending against more cultists.

[blackbloodtroll]

I like the finding/destroying the artifact, as a main focus.

Other twists, and turns along the way, but having that goal, even if distant at times, keeps the group focused, on track, and motivated.

You can even introduce other rival groups along the way, such as those who want to hold the PCs captive as a powerplay, and those who believe the artifact can be used for good.

You could even have a rival church/organization that simply wants to slay the party, to prevent the ritual from being completed, and serve the greater good. Maybe even a group of followers of Iomedae.

You could even have members of an evil group, who want nothing but to destroy the artifact, being rivals of Zon-Kuthon, as uneasy allies.

Dodging groups from both sides, unlocking the mystery of the artifact, and finding allies from the strangest of places, make for an action packed adventure, with situations calling for RP solvable encounters, and fantastic combats.

[Mark Hoover]

As you can see, you've kicked off a campaign focused strongly on Zon-Kuthon and the faith's connection to the PCs. As a result nearly all suggestions of continuation will be concentrated on that. If you need help figuring your next move story wise your easiest option is that.

Of course, depending on what characters/players you have, this might not be what your audience wants. If this is the case then you'll have to put the feelers out and see what they do want. If your party consists of wilderness survivalists and dungeoneers who were looking for a beer-and-pretzels kind of game, you might perhaps have a band of crusading Iomedaen knights arrive and say: "We'll take it from here!" and have the party disappear into the wilds. Then again if your PCs were prepped and ready for a game of destroying Zon-Kuthon then many good answers have already been given.

Tell us what your PCs and players want and that will help streamline your responses.

[Mark Hoover]

Some suggestions:

If you want to go dark you might consider making the tatoos harmful in multiple ways. Like Arcane Marks they serve to aid scrying, but why stop there? Maybe the tattoos are alive and killing the party? Could be a disease, maybe a creature dealing stat damage or whatever. If you're nice maybe it also boosts them in some profane way: secondary natural attack, poison, Rage or whatever. But again, if you're going dark you'll want to remove PC agency and limit/hinder their control. By this I mean the bonus the tattoo gives is intermittent determined by you while the penalty is constant.

If on the other hand you want mere grittiness, have them emerge from the dungeon into a badlands. there are no civilizations around for miles so the PCs have to scrounge and forage, outfitting themselves along the way. Have them meet intelligent humanoids (goblins, fey, etc) that are hostile but don't necessarily attack on sight and give the players a chance to skill their way out of this.

Considering high fantasy? Perhaps the PCs emerge from the dungeon to find...a grand city! This cult is woven seamlessly into a grand metropolis. The party has the chance to catch their breath and figure what happened to them. However they begin to learn that the Kuthites have slithered into key positions around town, so the PCs must hide, take small missions out of the city and build up slowly while unraveling the conspiracy.

[Peasant]

The cultists' understanding of divine design is somewhat lacking. The PCs have been caught up in a sweeping wager between Zon-Kuthon and Abadar. Should they be carved up like so much cattle in the (insert place of destiny), Abadar will venture into exile until the sky falls, leaving Zon-Kuthon in command of all the treasures of the First Vault. Should they instead succeed in carrying an icon of the First Shadow to (insert another place of destiny) and destroy it, Zon-Kuthon shall be stripped of his greatest powers and resume his own exile.

Zon-Kuthon has of course cheated, depriving the PCs of their memories even as they stood on the cusp of victory. His minions could not however, relieve them of the icon, for it has been woven into the flesh of the party in an intricate rune sealed by Shelyn (the arbiter of the wager). The runes themselves form a map to (2nd place of destiny), and the journey there will be one of rediscovery, for the party has already gone this way before. Clues to their past (and forgotten allies) litter the road ahead, but as they put the pieces together it will be clear that they are heading into a trap that has bested them once before. And... having seen the runic map, the cultists know where they're going, so this trip will be harder than the last unless they try to find a new path to the goal (thereby exploring more of the Inner Sea region).

[Franko a]

As part of the story, they may also be persued by other religous groups as a way to make sure the return does not happen. Lots of medelsome priests....

[PanzerPanda]

Hey guys. Thx for all the answers.
This has definitely helped me.

I know the PCs well enough to know that they will try and investigate a means to get rid of the rune etched into their arms.
(note here, I should probably have said it was located in a place which can not just be chopped off, like the chest)

I like the idea of them still being chased, and possible having to either find or liberate an artifact in order to get rid of the runes.
So I will try to implement these in the future story.

Anyways Thank you again for all the great answers you wrote :).

[jwes55]

I may be a little late to this party & there are some great suggestions in this thread to carry on your campaign. Here's my 2 cents:

1) Amnesia Element - how deep does it go, and how far do you want to pursue this depends on party buy-in. If there's a player that's really digging the memory loss element then I'd start a back story for him stat and include the other players in it but give him a couple of extra elements.

2) You've established the meta-plot of Zon Kuthon's return, so either one of the current party or an upcoming NPC should be a cleric of Shelyn, definitely. An NPC cleric of Shelyn with the Love Subdomain would be a hoot to run. The cool thing here is not only can you get some good information on each deity, I'd encourage you to build on it.

3) Maybe the ritual WAS successful, and the runes are a sign of that success. Could be for every BBEG they take down - notable boss-types - they come back in the form of tougher bosses later on when the true secret of the runes becomes known or as part of a mechanism where the very first cleric they killed reveals this to them through bouts of crying and self-mutilation. You have a ton of different ways to do with it. I'd map out a couple of different ways to go with it but don't decide fully until you get a better read on your players. Let them decide for you in a sense.

4) I'd treat alot of the Zon Kuthon stuff in a similar theme to the PC game Outlast - if you haven't played the game I encourage research! You can check out streams of it on You Tube. If not that, then the "mutant persians" depicted in the 300 and no doubt the upcoming sequel would be a good theme. They seem to take beauty and like to pervert it in some way. Good fodder for a campaign if done correctly.

5) Caravan. Have the players hook up with a caravan, it'll give them a great smattering of NPC contacts to choose from as well as a great starting board with tons of possibilities. Give it a little bit of a "Carnivale" feel if you want to really go with it and make it more of a travelling circus. Mix in intrigue, stir well.