The Campaign Builder's Guild

In the campaign I'm designing the central storyline is about Gruumsh.  I have an event between he and Corellon having happened about 7000 years in the past.  The event occurred during a battle between their avatars.  Corellon wounded Gruumsh to the point that he dies.  In his death throws, he falls from the sky and devastates a large portion of an elven nation (he fell like a comet essentially).  The wound resulted in a piece of Gruumsh's divinity being severed from him.  This missing piece of divinity has been a handicap Gruumsh has had to deal with over the eons.  It has been the main reason why his orcs have been unable to come together and create any kind of kingdom.

This piece of Gruumsh formed into an actual item, a gem.  The elves have been hiding it ever since it was created.  They've hidden it so well that they had even lost it in the past. =)

A small group of elves know of the item now, and keep it guarded.

So that's the background......


The foreground is that the Gruumsh is after the item again... and this time with the PCs help, they will be able to obtain the item.

The problem I'm having is that I don't want the campaign to result in a simple smash and grab session.  I want the PCs to be involved in the search for the ceremony/spell... process of how this item is to be restored as part of Gruumsh.

Other than saying... well a ceremony happens... and we're done.. =)

I'm generally looking to have the process developed with the PCs help.  They shouldn't know what they're doing, they'd be sent after obscure items or knowledge, which would ultimately be used within the ceremony.

What would be a cool way for the item to be rejoined with Gruumsh?

Personally, I would combine the plot of National Treasure with the last half of the plot of the Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.

It sounds like exactly what you need.

I've seen National Treasure, but I've never completed the Morrowind game. =)  What was the last half of the plot?

If the PC's "don't know what they're doing," they should at least think that they're doing something else. It would be extremely unsatisfying to go on a series of fetch-quests for seemingly arbitrary items.

On the other hand, it might be cooler if the PCs do know what they're doing. Their motivation could be some terrible, drawn-out civil war between orc factions as a result of Gruumsh's inability to create a unified orc nation. Even if the PCs don't want to be orcs themselves, peace between orcs could still be in their best interest. For whatever reason, their only hope is to find this mythical artifact (does it represent the eye that Corellon severed from Gruumsh?) that's been steeped in myths and misinformation on both sides for milennia. They'd have to sort out all the false information from those leads that have a shred of truth to them.

Working out how to reuinite the artifact with Gruumsh isn't as interesting as going out and getting the artifact in the first place. Why not make the process relatively simple? It can still be difficult, but there needn't be more than one step to it (a la throwing the One Ring into Mt. Doom.) The players are going to expect the answer to be out there for them to find, so they're going to brace themselves for a guessing game with the DM even if you're trying to get them to be creative about it.

Exactly.  The ceremony is just the macguffin.  It doesn't matter what it is until you describe it to the PCs at the end of the game.

However, I do have an idea.

The PCs must travel the world (or however far you need them to travel) collecting certain relics in order to perform the final ceremony.  Essentially, the relics all end up being peices of a Gruumsh recreation.

For example, the PCs might have to travel to a temple of Erythnul or Nerull and steal a sacred relic, an unholy helmet in this case, for the ceremony.  During the actual ceremony, the helmet would represent Gruumsh's head.  Perhaps all these relics were imbued with part of the power of the gem when it crashed (entirely accidental of course) and the gem grows brighter as the PCs go in the right direction to the nearest relic.  This would assume that the PCs get the gem first, which might be a good idea.  They think they've finished the quest by retrieving the gem, only to find out that they have to collect other relics across the land in order to actually make the ceremony work.

Anyway, if this post seems rambling keep in mind that it is nearly 5 in the morning where I am.

Quote from: WeninI've seen National Treasure, but I've never completed the Morrowind game. =)  What was the last half of the plot?

You needed to get three items which would, when used correctly, take down the big baddie. Once you had them you needed to go and make them so that they were useful to you, then figure out how to use them correctly.

I'd start off with a total red herring but an interesting one. For instance: some unpleasant but not overpowering creature or person obtains a part of the relic and is using it to gather power. The players don't know this, they only know that they are involved in a quest to stop some local villainy. It is only when in the process they discover a sinister but unidentifiable magical item that they start to get on the track of what might be going on.

Let's say then that they do try to find out what it is and come to the attention of someone who appears to be a wealthy collector. The collector requests that they visit a place that has scrolls or something that explain the origins (possibly) of such items and offers to pay well for the service. However they arrive to find that a mysterious and sinister cult have gotten there first, and must deal with them before they can get the information.

Following this it is revealed that it is say a fragment of a larger piece, a gemstone that is hidden away in a secret place.

I will maybe think more on this but what I'd suggest is this kind of thread, where you go from one clue to the next but the motives initially are creditable.

Quote from: Jack Sparrow

Quote from: WeninI've seen National Treasure, but I've never completed the Morrowind game. =)  What was the last half of the plot?

You needed to get three items which would, when used correctly, take down the big baddie. Once you had them you needed to go and make them so that they were useful to you, then figure out how to use them correctly.

Sounds too Final Fantasy-ish.  What I would do is say "You need these X number of items to defeat the Big Bad.  Once you have these items, you'll be able to take them and combine them and slay the Big Bad."  However, what the PCs don't know is that the Big Bad is actually the person that let out the rumor about those special items, and instead of them being the source of his power, they're a way to increase his power.  Of course, to make things fair, you've got to have "clues" to this answer that the PCs could find (if they actually pay attention) and that they could put together (if they use any sort of cognizant reasoning).  But most likely, they won't! ;)

Quote from: Bill Volkdoes it represent the eye that Corellon severed from Gruumsh?

I avoided it being his eye, as I treat that as a sacred cow of sorts.  The gem was actually from just a hunk of flesh that was taken during the battle.  The elves have given the gem the name of "Gruumsh's Black Heart".  For after the loss of this piece of his divinity, he paid his orcs far less attention.


To answer questions about PC motivations:
The Campaign is taking place in the Forgotten Realms, in the year 1369.  Zhentil Keep was just sacked, and they are attempting to recover.  There are rumors of a growing orc horde in nearby Thar.  The PCs are from Zhentil Keep, and are sent on a mission to check out the rumors and if they are true to be emissaries of Zhentil Keep.

Depending on how it all unfolds, Zhentil Keep can't stop the horde from gathering, but they certainly want to prevent them from paying the fallen city a visit.  So they will be wanting to direct the horde against their enemies.

Anyway, when the PCs start off, they will just know that this is a typical orc horde that is gathering.  The horde's leader is being assisted by a "Red Wizard", who isn't really an official "Red Wizard".  (Nice side story to this)  This wizard came to the orcs, with the knowledge of what happened 7000 years ago.  He is looking to restore Gruumsh's power, in order to then gain favor from Gruumsh and become powerful in his own right.

So it will be the orcs, and this wizard that would be getting the PCs to go on "missions", to prove Zhentil Keep's alliegence to the future orc "king".  So my general idea is that at first the PCs won't know the over all purpose of these missions.  It would be cool that if over time, they put the pieces together themselves and begin to understand the magnitude of the situation they've found themselves within.

They'll be left navigating the fine line of helping the orcs in order to prevent Zhentil Keep from being sacked again, but hindering them enough so that they aren't a huge threat. =)

So the PCs are evil?

Yes the PCs are to be evil or neutral alignments.  Most are to be native Zhents.

Ahh, then we're dealing with a whole different kettle of fish...