Things to build a campaign around

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I've got three factions planned out with three different plans to destroy the world - but all of them are vying for the same mcguffin. They've each got a plan for how they're going to use it - but the reality is that the thing has its own course that it's going to set upon once activated.

That's how everything's going to interact, ideally. Right now I'm thinking it's a.... time portal, or some shit. Is this the kind of thing that I have to decide now, or can it become clarified and decided upon (in my own head) as the campaign progresses?

>>54473794
Well, what kind of feeling do you want the campaign to invoke? Brutal political struggles or eldritch nightmare artifacts won't fit well in a game of comfy adventure, and conversely helping a village talk a spirit into getting a good harvest is going to be out of place in a game about grimdark politicking.

Really in the end what kind of campaign do you want to make?

A musical record that causes the reality around to be distorted into becoming a music video where everyone commits suicide at the end

>>54473861
https://vimeo.com/48868030

>>54473794
Invent a macguffin and give it a cool backstory.

When the last kingdom of the elves was conquered, the elven king split the Crown of the Wild in two, and sent his two greatest warriors to take each half to opposite ends of the Earth. The crown allows the wearer to become the avatar of Gaia, and control night and day and the four seasons.

After centuries, many began to believe it was just a myth. But now the Hierarch of Hai'esh has discovered one of the two parts, and has embarked on a crusade to obtain the other half, trampling kingdoms in his path. The other greedy great powers now see the balance of power upset by such a brash act and plot to expand their domain... and also covet the artifact for themselves, the ultimate prize.

>>54473794
Make it a person. Thus your mcguffin is able to be interacted with. Also your factions need them alive until after they achieve their goals.
Now the players have someone to play off of. Interact with. Hate/love.
Also give your vi-npc a few quirks. They are blind, or are unable to sleek. They can communicate with animals or see spirits/visions.

Go wild annon!

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>>54473844
I want them to gradually come to an understanding that what is going on is on a scale much larger than any of their treasure-hunting asses initially assumed.

I want them to feel like information is precious, that trust is scant, and that they are never safe as they pursue this secret.

I want them to feel like a career detective gradually uncovering traces of the supernatural as he pursues one particularly difficult case, until he cracks it and realizes his entire understanding of reality has been a lie.

>>54473839
You can keep it vague, but be ready for the PCs to want specifics. If you're going to stymie their investigations into the item's nature, have /good/ excuses for why NPCs don't know specifics about it.

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>>54473972
So the way I want to manage that is to have three different interpretations of the item's effects - each prioritized and pushed by a given faction.

One faction worships the process of breaking down the brain's faculties: they basically want to wipe everyone's minds, turn everyone feral

One faction worships the colossal corpse of a giant living miles below the surface: they want to resurrect it, let it devour the earth

One faction worships angelic perfection: they want to scorch the earth, glassing it over for all eternity

I'm working on trying to think of an object that can bring about an aspect of all three, such that the faction's followers would perceive it as their Holy Grail. I'm open to modifying each faction as is needed, based on recommendations, to get this kind of setup.

>>54474051
The first and third are pretty compatible; "angelic perfection" and "the elimination of sentient fallibility via reversion to animalism" can easily be reconciled by invoking multiple interpretations of history. Glassing and animalistic reversion both result in the same thing: the elimination of sentient life. The ends are the same, and it could very well be that the only writings about this artifact currently known refer only to the end results of its usage and not the mechanisms via which that end comes about. The two factions, as fanatical organizations are wont to do, could simply have spun a tale of means by which the purported ends might be reached.]

The second works as well, now that I think about it; at first I thought it was a bit incongruous, but it works well enough if you're willing to play fast and loose with your mythos.

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>>54474051
Self-replying because I'm a dickbag.

Brain faction is satisfied by something that erodes mental faculties. Colossal faction is satisfied by something that facilitates revival (maybe some particular object). Angelic faction is satisfied by something that exudes perfection.

So what if it's an object that saps souls/personalities and that physically grows in a crystalline fashion? And the base form that it crystallizes around represents some type of symbol on the Colossal's body?

Issue is, while a rampant and uncontrolled action of this object might satisfy the 1st and 3rd criterion while still pushing for a 4th criterion of it's own, it kind of leaves the 2nd criterion by the wayside. Hrmph.

I know I'm devoting too much time to this, especially since the players won't give a shit, but for some reason I really wanna get a good centerpiece for this thing.

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>>54474205
Do tell how the 2nd one might fit in! I'm kind of struggling with that as you can tell from >>54474218 and would really appreciate any hints you might be able to come up with.

And thank you so much for the thought you've already put into this! <3

>>54473839
sounds like the plot to pokemon to pokemon r/s/e with team aqua and magma lol

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>>54474218
If I change the McGuffin from being an object to being a location - namely, where the heart or skull of this colossus underground is - then we can keep this crystalline intellect devouring growth thing going.

The growth will fill up this cavernous region, start to spill out of the Golem's chest and make its way up to the surface. This still kind of makes the Golem irrelevant, but that seems a little more okay?

Issue is, this concentrates all of my action underground and within a single chamber. Which means the whole campaign is going to have to center around ferreting out the location of this underground sanctum... but I guess that's okay? (btw I've recently read through Lost Mine of Phandelver so it's definitely heavily influencing me, as you can see... not sure that's a good thing, lol)

I guess then the question becomes: how do I keep the pursuit of clues as to the location of this sanctum interesting? Do I need to invent a surface-level conflict to keep the player's distracted while these factions vie for control? Am I vastly overestimating how much these things will show up in my player's gameplay - and hence how much these things I'm working on will matter? Am I a lame?

>>54474257
I think the connecting thread here is that one way or another, civilization as it currently exists will be destroyed. The content is different, but the form is the same: it's Armageddon.

One angle to take might be to simply make this artifact into an object capable of doing whatever the wielder wants it to do so long as the wielder truly, absolutely, unwaveringly believes that the thing they want is the object's true function/purpose. The followers of a cult believe that this object will make their god manifest in the material plane? Done, so long as they truly believe it. A king believes this object grants unending riches? Same deal.

But on the flip side, investigating too deeply into this object's true, contradictory history ensures that you will never be able to actually use it; you'll very literally know too much.

>>54474274
SHIT

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>>54474377
>>54474377
Oh shit. That kind of works on another level as well...

I've introduced my players to the setting - telling them a series of rumors about a "place of power" led them to this island. I then asked each of my players to PM me privately, explaining why their characters were seeking out this "power", whatever it may be.

So, if it's something that adapts to whatever the wielder's unwavering desires as to its effects are... it already fits into what I've told them. AND it gives the opportunity to throw red herrings whenever I feel like they're appropriate...

My only single issue is that by making it something that has limitless power, it kind of... I guess makes it feel a little bland? I like the idea of "fundamentally misunderstood power wrecks everyone's shit" - but I also feel like this interpretation opens up a lot of possibilities for me.... Hrm.

Lots to think about.

>>54474466
>>54474377
This also prevents me from playing "Komm Susser Todd" as the crystal structure begins to overflow and surge towards the surface... lol

>>54474466
Okay, three self-replies deep, but what if: breaking off a portion of the crystal structure under the ground temporarily allowed it to assume the properties discussed? As in, break off a chunk of this intellect-devouring-crytalline-substance and temporarily have it grant whatever you sincerely believe it is meant to do.

How can I wrangle that up into the crystal not having any effect for our heroes once they finally secure it - after preventing the overflow/cataclysm in the climax of the campaign? Maybe have it go inert once the source is destroyed?

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ALRIGHT GO TEAM WE'RE COOKING WITH GAS NOW HIT THE SHOWERS /TG/

>>54474537
I think you're onto something with that. It could be either that the crystal loses its powers once some crucial core is destroyed, or the heroes' investigation into the nature of this thing could render them unable to believe in the way required for the crystal's power to manifest. Effect is the same; just depends on the tone of the campaign you're going for and if you think your players could understand and accept the second line of reasoning.

>>54474594
Hey - all of these factions have faith underlying their beliefs, yeah? Maybe faith, and not knowledge, is the key.

OH AND THE COLOSSUS WORSHIPPERS CAN BE NECROMANCERS TRYING TO RESURRECT THE MOULDERING CORPSE OF THE GIANT PERFECT

Wait, but if everyone's waving a piece of this crystal around willy-nilly it'll get found out pretty quickly.... how many sessions can I throw up red herrings for before my players start to get frustrated?

>>54474618
Oh absolutely, that's what I've been trying to get at. Faith is the key, and in this scenario, 'knowledge' as such detracts from one's ability to have the sort of sincere faith required. I'm sure there's a better term for the sort of thing I'm invoking here, but I'm a bit tipsy and can't for the life of me come up with it.

>>54474686
Nonsense lad, you've been fucking brilliant!! Thanks for your help.

>>54474686
>>54474686
Fear and Trembling by Kierkegaard kind of gets into this.

He basically lays out that, in the story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac in the Bible, that:

1) Abe can't have done this with the expectation that God would spare his son from the knife,

2) Abe can't have done this with the expectation that God would let his son die,

3) Abe still did it, and therefore must simultaneously have accepted his son would die by all signs of reality, and yet retained an absolute faith that God would defy reality and intercede impossibly on his behalf while stil-

You know what, I don't actually understand this as well as I thought I did. Really fucking interesting book though - Kierkegaard has this analytical style that is super captivating. Though clearly over my head. Not sure how it relates to the original point. I'm going to sleep. Thanks again!

>>54474910

It is Abraham's willful ignorance of that contradiction in an act of faith towards the Absolute (God) that really illustrates the Absurd depicted there.

Put another way, it is taking that Absolute as the scope and utterly disregarding that which doesn't fit it, rather than trying to fit that Absolute in one's ethic and aesthetic framework.

>>54473861
http://readordie.wikia.com/wiki/Suicide_Symphony

reminds me of Read or Die