Feedback for a Homebrew Campaign

[Apollo Randasian]

Hey all,

I've been working on a homebrew campaign and have finished writing out the first chapter, but just wanted to get some feedback really.

The campaign will start out with the PC's all receiving a letter from someone unknown asking for their aid.

Their objective is to retrieve an ancient artefact (I know it's a little clichéd) that has been stolen from the one asking for their aid. Only when they retrieve it, it unleashes a terrible evil upon the world and this evil passes through each PC before escaping into the world.

Two mysterious figures appear and do try to stop this, but fail to do so and so, the start of the campaign has the PC's somewhat vilified and their mission will be to right the wrong they accidentally caused by helping the wrong guy.

I've planned a lot of cool things for this and not everyone will hate them, but the PC's will quickly discover they messed up and here's the kicker - Depending on their actions, one of them by the end of the campaign will likely become the embodiment of the evil that escaped into the world, while the rest of the party use their resources they've acquired over the course of the campaign to stop this.

If it goes down this way, the PC's will inevitably have to fight one of their own as the end boss. As the GM I wouldn't take control away from the player who may become the great evil, but it does mean the campaign will then have two endings. The first being the evil guy wins and the world is likely doomed (though it won't be black and white. The world will still likely function, only under the rule of a new evil - One of the PC's who slowly became corrupt and all powerful) and then the second is the party have to kill one of their own, are regretful of the outcome but ultimately save the world from a time of darkness.

As a GM, I don't like to be unfair on the players, don't get high on my ruling power and am fully aware for a campaign to run the players need to be alive, but this is where I'm wanting to take the story and just wanted some feedback, opinions and anything else you may want to contribute towards the idea.

I'd like to pick your roleplaying and GM'ing brains here please!

Thankyou! :)

[GM 1990]

I had something along this lines in a 1E game, a magic item the individual picked up slowly affecting him as it gave him more powers. But I'd run the group a couple years of college and I knew the personalities - so I knew when I started hinting that the weapon's ego was starting to want him to do worse things when the party wasn't around that he'd love the idea of eventually becoming a villain. And the rest of the group kind of started to see it coming, but did a good job not meta-gaming until things started to culminate - which they did very fast. There wasn't any hurt feelings over the PvP deaths that culminated the campaign, and the good guys won...but it wasn't pre-destined.

So my advice is if you know your group, this kind of story arc can work and be a lot of fun. If you don't there is a danger of the player in question feeling like you took control of their destiny by pitting them against the rest of the PCs. Additionally, inter-party betrayal is a touchy area if the group doesn't know each other and personalities are wrong.

I think its a fine long-con, campaign encompassing story arc. Probably the kind of thing that could take them somewhere north of 15th or end around that level. That being said - there is a lot of play between start-ex and 15th level to flesh meat on to the bones. I personally like to run something big like this as the main framework of a campaign, with plenty of side-treks in the middle (which sometimes link back to the main arc in interesting ways based purely on speculative table talk by the players that I turn into actual links).

[Indagare]

I'm going to second GM 1990's advice. Be sure this sort of thing is going to work for your players. Maybe one of them will enjoy it. But you should also give non-lethal options if one of the PCs does want to become the BBEG. After all, if the evil was sealed once, it could be again. If those two mysterious figures aren't killed they could explain what's going on. If none of your PCs want to be the BBEG make plans for it to be some NPC instead. And, again, while the death thing is dramatic allowing for more options might help the PCs feel more like heroes.