Ideas Are Easy

[ericthered]

Caravan to Hades

Even if the natural resources of Hell are unpleasant, Hell's resources are quite abundant: raw sulfur, natural caustic acids just lying around, and spare and discarded souls. An ambitious prince has bartered who knows what for the rights to a plot of land in Hell, and hopes to set up a city there, doing a roaring trade in all sorts of supernatural substances.

To do that, he needs to set up a gate. And that involves transporting an insanely powerful magical Gem across 600 miles of Hell, only some of which is ruled by the relevant demon lord. Besides the demons would love to get their hands on the gem to further their own power, the caravan must worry about hostile wildlife, bored demons, and formidable natural obstacles.

And there may be some fine print and foul play with the demon prince you're supposedly working with.

This is basically an excuse to pull out the DF Monsters 5: Demons book and give it a real work out in a high-magic setting.

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Caravan to Hades

Even if the natural resources of Hell are unpleasant, Hell's resources are quite abundant: raw sulfur, natural caustic acids just lying around, and spare and discarded souls. An ambitious prince has bartered who knows what for the rights to a plot of land in Hell, and hopes to set up a city there, doing a roaring trade in all sorts of supernatural substances.

Bonus points: your city will have a steady supply of asylum seekers who would happily trade eternal torment for a steady job.

Plot twist: the demon lord that made the deal is perfectly aware of this and it's part of his plan to increase his own power within (or even take control of) the demonic hierarchy.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by RyanW

Bonus points: your city will have a steady supply of asylum seekers who would happily trade eternal torment for a steady job.

Plot twist: the demon lord that made the deal is perfectly aware of this and it's part of his plan to increase his own power within (or even take control of) the demonic hierarchy.

There's no way the demon lord doesn't anticipate this. The question is, what exactly is his plan?


Point this out to a group of players and they should have half a dozen schemes in the next two sessions.

[ericthered]

They ideas are just flowing this morning!

Marooned with Guests

A fierce space battle near a vibrant and unspoiled world inhabited by low-tech aliens flings dozens of survival pods out of burning and destroyed ships. It is hoped that the survivors will eventually be picked up, but first they must survive exposure to the environment, the vicious and unknown wildlife, the locals, and worst of all... each other.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by ericthered

They ideas are just flowing this morning!

Marooned with Guests

A fierce space battle near a vibrant and unspoiled world inhabited by low-tech aliens flings dozens of survival pods out of burning and destroyed ships. It is hoped that the survivors will eventually be picked up, but first they must survive exposure to the environment, the vicious and unknown wildlife, the locals, and worst of all... each other.

Is this an ideological war or is it a "kings fighting over real estate" one. Because if the troops just signed for a job they are more likely to call it off and cooperate.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Is this an ideological war or is it a "kings fighting over real estate" one. Because if the troops just signed for a job they are more likely to call it off and cooperate.

You can run it either way. I'd be inclined to run it as an ideological war.


But if its just mercenaries, you can get some fun dynamics.

[ericthered]

The Mines of Astoria


The Astorian Wyrm is a deadly beast endowed with pisonic powers, formidable physical prowess, and an appetite for life force of sentient beings. Yet they are tolerated and even cultivated, for the egg of the Astorian wyrm can be converted into one of the fastest hyperdrives known.

Approaching an egg via violence to its parents usually ends with the egg teleporting away, so slaves are used to collect the eggs via stealth and good luck. Living in terrible conditions on the barely habitable world of Astoria, they are offered their freedom if they can collect a single egg, which is worth millions. If the slave crew goes too long without any of their number finding one, a suitable number of its members are stunned and fed to the wyrms intentionally. If the slaves get themselves eaten looking for the eggs, hey, the wyrms need food.

The players are trapped in this terrible dilemma, between the prison gangs, the demands of the guards, and the wyrms. But a life of freedom and even fortune awaits if they can return with a single egg...

[dcarson]

Originally Posted by ericthered

They ideas are just flowing this morning!

Marooned with Guests

A fierce space battle near a vibrant and unspoiled world inhabited by low-tech aliens flings dozens of survival pods out of burning and destroyed ships. It is hoped that the survivors will eventually be picked up, but first they must survive exposure to the environment, the vicious and unknown wildlife, the locals, and worst of all... each other.

A friend of mine many years ago ran a Chivalry & Sorcery game where aliens had discovered Earth. Mashed up lots of written SF from the 70s and earlier (many years ago) So the Kzinti had built a base in Australia and then a allied fleet found it. When it was all over you had the Great Australian Sheet of Glass and lifepods all over the planet. Kzin, Tran, Dilbians, Thranx, number of others scattered around. The PCs only encountered Kzin and lizardmen but we knew that more was out there.

[ericthered]

The Phase War

Someone has discovered a technology that lets them shift matter out of phase with the universe, into a realm very nearly adjacent to it, where they can float and maneuver without obstacle, before re-entering at whatever location they find convenient. And they've found a lot of very convenient locations! Able to penetrate the most secure industrial, military, and political facilities, they have spun a web of threats and blackmail they believe will allow them to rule the world.

But conspiracies leave traces, and a small band of intrepid PC's has noticed something is off. The Investigators will need one eye on the trail, another eye on their backs, quick trigger fingers, and a good dose of luck if they are to track down and take down who-ever it is that commands the soldiers in the phase suits and free the world!
**************************
Yes, a lot of this is wanting to run combat with that gimmick!

Originally Posted by dcarson

A friend of mine many years ago ran a Chivalry & Sorcery game where aliens had discovered Earth. Mashed up lots of written SF from the 70s and earlier (many years ago) So the Kzinti had built a base in Australia and then a allied fleet found it. When it was all over you had the Great Australian Sheet of Glass and lifepods all over the planet. Kzin, Tran, Dilbians, Thranx, number of others scattered around. The PCs only encountered Kzin and lizardmen but we knew that more was out there.

Yeah, its a fun scenario with a lot of variations! Mentally, I keep on coming back to it. I'm not 100% sure that I've got a good group for it, but maybe.

[ericthered]

This is more of a gimmic than a full setting, but a DF style setting where a world-altering calamity from somewhere else occurs about once a month. Demon invasions, all the dead rise from the ground, the sun is blotted out from the sky, wells of magic rise up in various places, the geography gets scrambled, most of the world burns... various world-ending disasters that never seem to actually get the job done, but keep the world stocked with monsters and ever-changing danger.