I'd like to start on a prime - Kalamar, perhaps. It's pretty tame.
I'll run the players through some basic "old school" adventures - probably the "Slavers" series.
Once they're done with that I'm going to take them to the Planes.
I'd *like* to come up with a big over-all plot.
I'd like to tie in some ideas from "Dead Gods." I'd also like to throw in a bit of "Paladin in Hell" and "Fires or Dis" if I can.
Most of all, I'd like to have it come to fruition in "Return to the Tomb of Horrors."
Ambitous? Sure, but I've got time to plan.
How would YOU tie these together? Any ideas?
So that said, there's a link between the both of them there. You could always work into it Orcus perhaps having killed one of the Lords of the Nine when, as Tenebrous, he commanded the power of The Last Word.
Just a random idea
For my own campaign for example I took a ton of seemingly disparate ideas and merged them into a single overarching plot. So it can be done certainly regardless of the ties, or lack thereof, on the surface between the things you're pulling plot ideas from.
Good luck with it, and let us know how it goes!
Originally posted by Shemeska the Marauder
Well, both 'Tomb of Horrors' and 'Dead Gods' have a tie in with the return of Orcus. There was hints in 'Dead Gods' that the return of Orcus as Tenebrous was connected to the pulse of negative energy that resulted from the efforts of the Lich Acercerek (sp?) in 'Tomb of Horrors'.
Yes, I noticed that.
However, if at all possible, I'd like to have Tomb come later. It's designed and set up for a much higher level PC group. Also, I'd like to follow the "rule of threes." Part one - the Prime setup. Part two, the campaign against Orcus. Part three, the *supposed* return to the Prime, which turns into the extended Tomb campaign.
Maybe there's a way to intermingle the two...?
So that said, there's a link between the both of them there. You could always work into it Orcus perhaps having killed one of the Lords of the Nine when, as Tenebrous, he commanded the power of The Last Word.
Perhaps. One other thing - I'm deliberately leaving out Modron March, as I don't have it - I figure I can just drop a bunch of hints instead.
Also, I'd really like to have a lot of foreshadowing, if possible, in the Prime stage of the campaign. Any ideas?
For my own campaign for example I took a ton of seemingly disparate ideas and merged them into a single overarching plot. So it can be done certainly regardless of the ties, or lack thereof, on the surface between the things you're pulling plot ideas from.
Exactly what I'm trying to do. I'd like to draw in a lot of disparate ideas here, if possible. Any thoughts...?
So, Melfas went about the Planes trying to figure out how to resurrect a God (specifically Orcus) so he could finally have everlasting peace in death. He got in touch with that Half-Orc Priest from Dead Gods who is Orcus' last little disciple guy, and so on.
Basically, I just ignored the first few parts of the book in terms of getting the players involved, and just ran a whole campaign that led up to the events of Dead Gods.
That said, my only advice is this: the more you create on your own that only borrows from the premade stuff, the better things seem to come out. IMHO, most premade adventures railroad things one way or another, so don't feel compelled to work along their lines of reason--come up with better reasons for why what happens and why something is where it is....or just change it completely.
Hope this helps!
P.S. I didn't use a single thing from Modron March, though that was more by circumstance. It's a great product!
Originally posted by Cessna182
Perhaps. One other thing - I'm deliberately leaving out Modron March, as I don't have it - I figure I can just drop a bunch of hints instead.
Also, I'd really like to have a lot of foreshadowing, if possible, in the Prime stage of the campaign. Any ideas?
Modron March isn't at all neccessary. It's interesting in its own right, but as an element of Dead Gods it's easily dropped. Besides, you might not even have room for it - your campaign seems pretty busy already.
As for some foreshadowing on the prime, that's easy enough. Orcus killed more than a few gods, so why wouldn't some of them be from your prime world? Gods of secrets and knowledge would, of course, be the most likely targets.
Another option might be to have Quah-Namog be from the same prime world as your PCs. Maybe they could cross his path, or simply hear about him. You might also try mentioning Kiaransalee somewhere.
Originally posted by overtrick
Modron March isn't at all neccessary. It's interesting in its own right, but as an element of Dead Gods it's easily dropped. Besides, you might not even have room for it - your campaign seems pretty busy already.
True. I must admit, I DO like tangled campaigns. Keeps the players on their toes...
As for some foreshadowing on the prime, that's easy enough. Orcus killed more than a few gods, so why wouldn't some of them be from your prime world? Gods of secrets and knowledge would, of course, be the most likely targets.
Oh, now there's an idea! Maybe a low-level PC cleric could have his/her gawd killed by Orcus - talk about a crisis of faith!!
Another option might be to have Quah-Namog be from the same prime world as your PCs. Maybe they could cross his path, or simply hear about him. You might also try mentioning Kiaransalee somewhere.
Absolutely - good idea!
Any more thoughts...?
If you are using the Vault of the Drow section of Dead Gods, throw as much into it as possible. The section is amazing, yet lacks details if you don't have other products, which I didn't when I used Dead Gods.
If you're into Drow, make this an integral part of the campaign. To establish more of a presence (and precedent) for that section, have Drow agents who may be on the trail of any one tied to these events, or who are investigating matters...whether they know Orcus is behind this or not is an important choice, but either way they have reason to be snooping around: 1. They are Drow, and 2. Any possibility of this being tied to Orcus is reason enough to investigate.
Of course, if you hate Drow, ignore this!