REBECCA STAY OUT OF THIS ONE
I had this idea for a new thread (forgive me if this has already been done, I did a quick search and couldn't find exactly the same thing) in which we all give a rough outline (or 6) of a campaign/ adventure hook/ random cool idea that has been rumbling around in your head. That way, we might have potentially hundreds more ideas than we currently do. I personally know that there is no way I will get to writing all the ideas I have. I figure someone else may want to make use of them. So in keeping with this ideal, here are a couple of my ideas.
1. Explorer's Society Part I: players can make characters based on any idea they have, however, they must all be members of ES and know each other. One of the heroes or an NPC has researched a new dig site and off they go. Perhaps they have a few adventures on the high seas or maybe even on the docks prior to leaving. In any case, they make it to the site, fight off 6 second bugs and other weirdness, get into the site, do lots of spelunking and eventually come up with some, as yet unseen, new bit of eq. Perhaps it appears to be a combination of multiple Syrneth technologies, whatever. Anyway, it's really cool. Here's where the fun part comes in, one of the heroes, whom you've spoken with the player beforehand, decides that selling the item is more lucrative than sharing with ES. That character turns rogue, murders a few ES members (including the person who originally brought them on the adventure (this is important as that will ensure that all the heroes are unfamiliar with what the whoziwhatsis REALLY does)), and absconds with the item. Now the chase is on. It could lead to a hundred random NPC's who might want it, the (now) rogue villain might make use of it themselves, or perhaps even to Vincenzo...I might also add the important thing here is to make sure the player(s) who will be killing other heroes/being killed are aware of this eventuality prior to actually killing the player. My thought was to have the involved players make up a second character who appears as one of your NPCs aboard ship. Once the nastiness has occurred, the NPCs can "step up."
2. Razors: players make characters of any nationality, with the stipulation being that their swordsman's school MUST be one of the officially recognized by swordsman's guild. Once characters have been made, they are elevated to the status of master of their particular school, and become members of the Razors. Their stated mission of course, being to bring rogue SG members back into the fold. This can have the effect of bringing the heroes all over Theah (and allowing them to get into adventures based on secret societies, backgrounds, etc.) all while dispensing justice where they are ordered. Over time, however, they begin to notice certain patterns, certain facts that just don't seem to fit what they thought the Razors (and Swordsman's Guild) stood for. Worse, the facts seem to point towards the three originators of SG. Perhaps this leads to a direct confrontation, perhaps the heroes go "rogue" themselves as the try to figure out what is going on, and why they have been duped into murdering the wrong people (or the right people, depending on who you ask). Eventually, they find it's not the originators, rather the leader of the Razors who's pulling the strings...
3. Knights of the Rose and Cross: This time, characters must be members of KRC. One of the heroes will be the grizzled old sergeant while the rest of the heroes (and a few NPCs) are younger members. Their stated mission, bring some of the enlightenment of KRC to the Crescent lands. Because of the difficulty with getting permission to sail, the heroes have decided to travel overland. Could be a short journey or, with enough adventurers, quite a lone one. In any case, once they make it far from anything familiar, and as they are crossing the desert, a sandstorm erupts. Being far from a natural storm, it fairly attacks the heroes, and when all looks bleakest and the heroes have been beaten, the grizzled old sergeant gives his/her life that the others might live and carry on the quest. Now lost and alone, what do the heroes do?
4. Invisible College: all heroes members of IC. A message is sent out, we have an emergency. A young naturalist has been out in the Midnight Archipelago cataloguing the various flora and fauna. His observations lead him to have a revelation. He wrote his ideas down in his journal and also sent letters to a "friend". In his missives, he referred to something he called "natural selection". Unfortunately for him, his "friend" was a bit overzealous in his interpretation of the word heresy, and turned the information over to The Inquisition. Can the heroes get to this naturalist and his journal before the flames of The Inquisition? And more importantly, where on Theah can they hide him that The Inquisition won't come looking?
5. Explorer's Society Part II: While it would help if all heroes were ES on this one, I am working with heroes here where there are only a few members. While out tooling around, the heroes or one of their love interests, NPCs etc. come upon a small shop that has various odds and ends for sale. One of the items is a wonderfully rendered painting of a group of ES members standing around a small camp fire on a small island just as the sun is setting. Depicted within the painting, one of the members has a map. Naturally the heroes might be curious but this map (assuming they can make use of a magnifying glass) however, it is a ruse (it leads to a non-existent island SW of Castille). This may get them on trail of the history of the painting. Turns out that the artist was a young ES member in the very early days. While he showed great promise, he died tragically after completing only 3.5 paintings. All of the adventures he went on are known, however, this painting does not depict any of them. A more thorough search reveals that the painting is called "Tears of Theus" it is thought that the name refers to the collection of stars which are visible in the background. However, there is a more obscure legend about the tears that Theus supposedly shed after the world was created. These joyful tears are said to grant eternal life to any who possess them. When the heroes realize this, they also realize that there is a certain Vodacce prince who would dearly love to get ahold of these tears. To ensure that they do not fall into the wrong hands, the heroes will have to figure out how to get to the tears before Vencenzo does. Turns out that the painting really is a map. The shape of the island appears to be the western coast of Theah, while the smoke rising from the fire takes the shape of the Avalonian Isles. With these as the perspective, the brightest star in the sky reveals the location of a blasted hunk of rock which, at one time was an island and now only reveals itself once a month for 6 hours at extreme low tide. The heroes will go to rescue it, and reveal in the process that one of the ES members pictured in the painting has survived, although now, he is insane. After defeating the insane ES member, and coming out triumphant, the heroes face the Crimson Rogers who have been waiting for them. Seems Vincenzo was the one that sold the picture all in the hopes he could lure the heroes into getting the tears for him. As the heroes fight for their lives, the insane ES member comes to his senses and attacks Reis. This allows the heroes to escape with their lives if not the tears. Now the heroes will have to somehow have to get the tears back. (My idea, however, also added that, for the tears to work, you had to have faith, how's that a bonus for taking an advantage you don't know what it does?)
6. If you're still hungry for more of my ideas, check out my thread,
http://www.aimoo.com/forum/postview.cfm?id=318938&CategoryID=251084&startcat=26&ThreadID=1954357
Hope this starts some thinking, and inspires others to add to this...
Mark
(Message edited by Black Jack Rackham on
07/08/2008 20:11:00)
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"At times one remains faithful to a cause only because its opponents do not cease to be insipid."
Friedrich Nietzsche
to her GM Mark). I think it would make an interesting bit of exploring.