A New Beginning (very different campaign idea) - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

A New Beginning (very different campaign idea)

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
Dec 17, 2004 23:01:07 I had an idea for a plane-hopping campaign. So you have your prime nobodies doing stuff on the prime. Eventually, let's say some disaster occurs on their world and they're forced to leave, using some artifact that supposedly opens a doorway to a "new world."

They evacuate their people from certain death (anyone remember that movie where the people of the future kidnap people about to die in plane crashes, in order to send them even farther into the future so that humanity has a second chance?), not knowing what's on the other side of the great portal.

They step through, to find thmselves in an odd vity that appears to defy physics, built on the inside of a torus. They find themselves in Sigil. Except this isn't the sigil you know and love. It's deserted.

In fact, the entire Great Wheel is deserted. There is no prime pressence. Something happened, wiping the great wheel clean. All portals shut down, primes disappeared, and the entire great wheel went into a sort of hibernation. outsiders sank into a deep fugue from which they would never awaken until the city of doors opened again.

Once the heroes people have settled into sigil, of course the exploration begins. But with exploration comes the awakening of the planes. Outsiders everywhere, once their planes and levels have been entered by the intrepid primes, wake up, not knowing what has happened. Portals to prime worlds everywhere begin to open, starting a new influx. The Great Wheel, once stopped, is beginning o turn once more, this time with the heroes at the center, in Sigil.

And despite beings of divine nature being unable to enter the city, there's no Lady of Pain. Either she's gone for good and something in Sigil itself keeps the divine at bay, or she has chosen to conceal herself completely.

I guess the premise is based a little on Stargate Atlantis. You have the colonists fleeing a dying world occupying a deserted city which just happens to be extra super mega impoortant, and their actions have woken up an entire cosmology that, for some reason, had ground to a metaphysical halt an unknown number or cycles before. Adventure ideas would involve exploration, solving the mysteries of the planes, dealing with outsiders (let's say that only powers remember the Time Before, and the others simply have no memory before they wake up this time. And the powers aren't talking), fending off invasion (baatezu trying to conquer sigil, etc). The repercusions of the Blood War not even being a memory (unless the Powers that be decide to start it up again).

I thought it was a really awesome idea, and should my group of people ever go Planar, I think it's what I'm gonna go with.

Thoughts, comments, critiques, ideas?

nic
#2
zombiegleemax
Dec 17, 2004 23:13:54 Another part of this that I liked was that all the factions and sects and everything don't exist. At least not yet. At first you have a single nation/group running Sigil, likely on their original governmental form. You know, all drawn together because of the tragedy they survived. But then as the nature of the Great Wheel becomes clear, you have different philosophies getting seperatist ideas, in essence creating factions and sects.

Further, with the new influx of belief and ideas flooding the Great Wheel once it gets turning again, you have the very natures of the planes themselves altering (kind of like the old discusions about D20 modern changing some planes, like a rusty mechanus and stuff).

One possibility is having the survivors being from a sorta modern earth. That gives you access to all the huge range of philosophies we have here. No magic at first, though technology gives an ever so slight edge at first (until it gets mostly swept on the way-side in the face of magic and belief). Figure all these people are those who managed to survive something and were sent through an experimental interdimensional gateway or something. I don't know.

There's always of course just the fantasy world option, where maybe soothsayers have been fortelling great disaster like the sun blowing up or something. There would be no gods (as all divine beings have been sleeping), but healing through animistic mysticism or something.
#3
zombiegleemax
Dec 17, 2004 23:58:26 What kind of disaster could be great enough to cause such a "freeze"?
#4
zombiegleemax
Dec 18, 2004 0:45:21 It seems to me that you build tension, but then let the party go to a warm rejuvenation. Why not have the party walk through a strangely deserted Sigil (if you want inspiration from movies, consider The Omega Man), and then be ambushed by something nasty hiding in one of the wards, assuming that no one makes a roll to sense the greeting party. An apparently deserted Sigil would make an excellent plethora of creepiness for several battles, as well as a great mystery. I'm not sure why Sigil would suddenly be deserted, unless there's something like you describe.
#5
zombiegleemax
Dec 18, 2004 6:40:20 Figuring out what caused such a freeze in the first part would be a huge part of the campaign. As far as being ambushed by thingies, the entrance of prime creatures (the pcs) into the planes "awakens" the natives. So they all start out in Sigil, which is all deserted and pretty empty; nothing there. But they inadvertantly activate a portal that leads to . . . say, Baator. They wind up in Baator, on the 1st layer. The 1st layer is then activated. The denizens awaken, the powers are cognizant again. Later, they move on to the Outlands (after fleeing Baator perhaps). The Outlands then awaken as well. It's an issue of, the "world" (the great wheel) has ended, and this is after that, as it begins to start over. Some apocalypse or something stopped th great wheel from turning, all primes in the planes disappeared, petitioners became one with their planes, outsiders fell into comas, powers fell int deep sleeps as well, the outer planes were utterly closed off from all else. Then this one prime world manages to get back in, and the pressence of these prime refugees in sigil causes the great wheel to slowly start up again, and the pcs/heroes/whatever get to be at the groundwork dealing with a clean slate of the great wheel.
#6
zombiegleemax
Dec 20, 2004 8:01:07 ...that movie where the people of the future kidnap people about to die in plane crashes, in order to send them even farther into the future so that humanity has a second chance?)...
It was called Millenium.
Unless your players are familiar with Planescape there's really no need to explain why the Wheel stopped turning it just did. Much like there is no real explanation for the Lady, she just is. Unless you really want to you wouldn't necessarily have to keep deities out of Sigil. Due to their long slumber it would be feasible that their powers are greatly diminished. They're still powerful bloods but not the 'All-Powerful-All-Knowing' entities they were before, I still wouldn't go to their house looking to kick ass and chew bubble gum w/o any bubble gum.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Dec 17, 2004 23:01:07	I had an idea for a plane-hopping campaign. So you have your prime nobodies doing stuff on the prime. Eventually, let's say some disaster occurs on their world and they're forced to leave, using some artifact that supposedly opens a doorway to a "new world." They evacuate their people from certain death (anyone remember that movie where the people of the future kidnap people about to die in plane crashes, in order to send them even farther into the future so that humanity has a second chance?), not knowing what's on the other side of the great portal. They step through, to find thmselves in an odd vity that appears to defy physics, built on the inside of a torus. They find themselves in Sigil. Except this isn't the sigil you know and love. It's deserted. In fact, the entire Great Wheel is deserted. There is no prime pressence. Something happened, wiping the great wheel clean. All portals shut down, primes disappeared, and the entire great wheel went into a sort of hibernation. outsiders sank into a deep fugue from which they would never awaken until the city of doors opened again. Once the heroes people have settled into sigil, of course the exploration begins. But with exploration comes the awakening of the planes. Outsiders everywhere, once their planes and levels have been entered by the intrepid primes, wake up, not knowing what has happened. Portals to prime worlds everywhere begin to open, starting a new influx. The Great Wheel, once stopped, is beginning o turn once more, this time with the heroes at the center, in Sigil. And despite beings of divine nature being unable to enter the city, there's no Lady of Pain. Either she's gone for good and something in Sigil itself keeps the divine at bay, or she has chosen to conceal herself completely. I guess the premise is based a little on Stargate Atlantis. You have the colonists fleeing a dying world occupying a deserted city which just happens to be extra super mega impoortant, and their actions have woken up an entire cosmology that, for some reason, had ground to a metaphysical halt an unknown number or cycles before. Adventure ideas would involve exploration, solving the mysteries of the planes, dealing with outsiders (let's say that only powers remember the Time Before, and the others simply have no memory before they wake up this time. And the powers aren't talking), fending off invasion (baatezu trying to conquer sigil, etc). The repercusions of the Blood War not even being a memory (unless the Powers that be decide to start it up again). I thought it was a really awesome idea, and should my group of people ever go Planar, I think it's what I'm gonna go with. Thoughts, comments, critiques, ideas? nic
#2 zombiegleemax Dec 17, 2004 23:13:54	Another part of this that I liked was that all the factions and sects and everything don't exist. At least not yet. At first you have a single nation/group running Sigil, likely on their original governmental form. You know, all drawn together because of the tragedy they survived. But then as the nature of the Great Wheel becomes clear, you have different philosophies getting seperatist ideas, in essence creating factions and sects. Further, with the new influx of belief and ideas flooding the Great Wheel once it gets turning again, you have the very natures of the planes themselves altering (kind of like the old discusions about D20 modern changing some planes, like a rusty mechanus and stuff). One possibility is having the survivors being from a sorta modern earth. That gives you access to all the huge range of philosophies we have here. No magic at first, though technology gives an ever so slight edge at first (until it gets mostly swept on the way-side in the face of magic and belief). Figure all these people are those who managed to survive something and were sent through an experimental interdimensional gateway or something. I don't know. There's always of course just the fantasy world option, where maybe soothsayers have been fortelling great disaster like the sun blowing up or something. There would be no gods (as all divine beings have been sleeping), but healing through animistic mysticism or something.
#3 zombiegleemax Dec 17, 2004 23:58:26	What kind of disaster could be great enough to cause such a "freeze"?
#4 zombiegleemax Dec 18, 2004 0:45:21	It seems to me that you build tension, but then let the party go to a warm rejuvenation. Why not have the party walk through a strangely deserted Sigil (if you want inspiration from movies, consider The Omega Man), and then be ambushed by something nasty hiding in one of the wards, assuming that no one makes a roll to sense the greeting party. An apparently deserted Sigil would make an excellent plethora of creepiness for several battles, as well as a great mystery. I'm not sure why Sigil would suddenly be deserted, unless there's something like you describe.
#5 zombiegleemax Dec 18, 2004 6:40:20	Figuring out what caused such a freeze in the first part would be a huge part of the campaign. As far as being ambushed by thingies, the entrance of prime creatures (the pcs) into the planes "awakens" the natives. So they all start out in Sigil, which is all deserted and pretty empty; nothing there. But they inadvertantly activate a portal that leads to . . . say, Baator. They wind up in Baator, on the 1st layer. The 1st layer is then activated. The denizens awaken, the powers are cognizant again. Later, they move on to the Outlands (after fleeing Baator perhaps). The Outlands then awaken as well. It's an issue of, the "world" (the great wheel) has ended, and this is after that, as it begins to start over. Some apocalypse or something stopped th great wheel from turning, all primes in the planes disappeared, petitioners became one with their planes, outsiders fell into comas, powers fell int deep sleeps as well, the outer planes were utterly closed off from all else. Then this one prime world manages to get back in, and the pressence of these prime refugees in sigil causes the great wheel to slowly start up again, and the pcs/heroes/whatever get to be at the groundwork dealing with a clean slate of the great wheel.
#6 zombiegleemax Dec 20, 2004 8:01:07	...that movie where the people of the future kidnap people about to die in plane crashes, in order to send them even farther into the future so that humanity has a second chance?)... It was called Millenium. Unless your players are familiar with Planescape there's really no need to explain why the Wheel stopped turning it just did. Much like there is no real explanation for the Lady, she just is. Unless you really want to you wouldn't necessarily have to keep deities out of Sigil. Due to their long slumber it would be feasible that their powers are greatly diminished. They're still powerful bloods but not the 'All-Powerful-All-Knowing' entities they were before, I still wouldn't go to their house looking to kick ass and chew bubble gum w/o any bubble gum.