Master Campaign Plot
Overview
I should note from the top that plot is the wrong word. I am attempting to craft NPCs (and related organizations) that have plans and goals that the PCs should want to thwart. Most of these NPC plans will have time tables that they must or should occur on. It is up to me to feed the PCs with hints and knowledge of these plans so that they know:
- That the plans exist
- What the consequences of not countering them might be
- When they likely need to counter them by
The Sentence
Yeenoghu, the Demon Lord of Azurythos, wants to capture the planet for the Abyss before the other demon princes replace him for failing to do so in a timely manner.
General Ideas for PC Tiers
Tier 1 (Levels 1-4)
The PCs will begin to explore the world around them. They will figure out how magic, skills, and the system work. They will solve hyper-local problems around the area where they arrived.
Plot Hooks:
- The Failing Sky: Strange weather patterns plague the starting region, hinting at ancient draconic magic tied to the Dragons' Barrier.
- Relics of the Ancients: PCs uncover an artifact linked to the Dragons' Barrier, drawing interest from rival factions and scholars.
Tier 2 (Levels 5-10)
The PCs move to their closest metropolis and become involved in issues there. Here they will first learn about Last Light and the demon hordes. They will also encounter their first other Earthlings.
Plot Hooks:
- The Scorching Fields: A fertile region suffers from devastating heat waves linked to a failing section of the Dragons' Barrier.
- Gnolls on the Rise: Corrupted Gnolls attack trade routes, revealing connections to Yeenoghu and the weakening barrier.
Tier 3 (Levels 11-16)
This is when the PCs should begin to counter Yeenoghu's plans in their region and begin to investigate Last Light.
Plot Hooks:
- The Fragmented Barrier: A critical section of the Dragons' Barrier fails, leading to demonic incursions and extreme weather. PCs uncover a draconic artifact that could stabilize it.
- Echoes of the Slumbering: PCs discover a dragon sanctuary linked to the barrier and must decide whether to risk awakening its guardians to restore balance.
Tier 4 (Levels 17-20)
The PCs assault the Abyssal forces and confront Yeenoghu.
Plot Hooks:
- The Abyssal Breach: Yeenoghu’s forces exploit the collapsing barrier to launch a massive assault, threatening global stability.
- The Final Pillar: PCs race to secure the last intact pillar of the barrier, facing Yeenoghu’s army and the moral dilemma of awakening slumbering dragons.
Specific NPC and Factions for Tier Play
Yeenoghu's Plans (The BBEG)
Yeenoghu is the ultimate BBEG of the world/campaign. His ultimate goal is the total takeover of the planet. The other Demon Princes have grown weary of how long it has taken him to do this and have thus set him a time limit to complete his plans after which they will either replace him or force the Abyss’ full resources through to just get it done.
To capture the planet for the Abyss, Yeenoghu has several objectives:
- Initial Conquest Failed: His original plan of outright conquest was defeated. The resources of the demonic horde are now kept firmly in check by the Kingdom of Last Light on his border.
- Corrupting the World Seed: Yeenoghu seeks to find and corrupt the world seed, the artifact the dead gods used to create the planet. Corrupting it would allow him to instantly exert his will over all sapient beings. Packs of corrupted Gnolls and Tiefling operatives hunt for the seed across Azurythos.
- Preventing New Gods: Without the gods, Yeenoghu must ensure no cult amasses more than 100,000 followers, which would create a new divine spark capable of banishing him.
- Corrupting Gnolls: Yeenoghu corrupts native Gnolls by tricking them into eating the meat of his kills, binding them to his will. He fails to see how corrupting the world seed would render this step unnecessary.
The Kingdom of Last Light
- Founded on the shores of the demonic continent at the southern pole, Last Light receives dwindling support from other nations, often reduced to unwanted prisoners.
- The desperate king has authorized two mass teleportation summoning rituals to bring heroes from other worlds.
- The first summoned scientists from Earth’s McMurdo Science Base, who provided limited aid through scientific knowledge.
- The second ritual brought special forces from various Earth nations, including the PCs. These rituals required the mass sacrifice of innocent children, a secret known only to the king, his advisors, and the mages who cast the spells.
- The king contemplates a third ritual but is weighing its necessity based on the effectiveness of the Earth forces.
Human Lord in the North
One of the Human Lords in the North has an extreme hatred of the Dragonborn and their chokehold on trade. He is planning a daring attack on the city that straddles the isthmus to blow it up and create a canal wide and deep enough for human navies to bypass Dragonborn tolls.
Goblins
- Goblins across Azurythos are cursed Elves. They avoid violence with other species but fight amongst themselves for food and power.
- A Goblin King who establishes a permanent, defended home for a year and a day would end the curse and restore their Elven heritage.
Gnolls
- Gnolls are aware of a corrupting force but don’t know it is Yeenoghu. They resist external help and require immense trust to share their plight.
Kobolds
- Kobolds keep to themselves but viciously defend sites tied to dragons, such as dungeons with treasure they believe a dragon may want.
Guard Captains
- Most guard captains are biased in favor of their dominant species, affecting how they interact with outsiders, including the PCs.
Themes
The theme for this campaign is that power corrupts and leads to insatiable hunger for more.
Plot points/Scenes
Specific NPC and Factions for Tier play
Tier 4
Yeenoghu's plans (The BBEG)
Yeenoghu is the ultimate BBEG of the world/campaign. His ultimate goal is the total take over of the planet. The other Demon Princes have grown weary of how long it has taken him to do this and have thus set him a time limit to complete his plans after which they will either replace him or just force the entire resources of the Abys through to just get it done.
In order to capture the planet for the Abyss, Yeenoghu has several things he either needs and or wants to accomplish:
- His initial plan of outright conquest was already defeated. His ability to accomplish his goals through this method is no longer viable as the resources of the demonic hoard are now kept firmly in check by the new kingdom on his boarder.
- Therefore he now he seeks to find the world seed and corrupt it to his will. This is the seed the dead gods used to initially create the planet. By corrupting it he will be able to exert his will across the face of the world instantly corrupting all sapients to his whims. Currently he has packs of corrupted gnolls and Tiefling operatives hunting the world for the seed.
- In addition to finding and corrupting the world seed, he has to juggle two other concerns:
- With the gods being dead he must prevent any cults from amassing more than 100,000 followers as this will allow a new divine spark to emerge creating a new god capable of banishing him along with all of his abyssal hoards.
- Upon first arriving in Azurythos and encountering it's native Gnoll population he new he needed to corrupt and posses them all. To this end he sends out operatives to trick or convince Gnolls in to eating meat from his kills thus corrupting them to his will. The fact corrupting the world seed would do this automatically is lost on him.
The Kingdom of Last Light
Last Light is the kingdom founded on the shores of the demonic continent at the southern pole. Since it's establishment the support they receive from the other countries of the world has slowly dwindled and now they are lucky if they receive the prisoners the other countries don't want.
Growing desperate the King has funded and authorized two mass teleportation summoning rituals to bring heroes from other worlds. On the first attempt he got some nerdy scientists from McMurdo Science base on earth (More came spread across the globe but he is unaware of this).
While these scientists were able to give him some assistance in the form of science and engineering information that he could use to bolster the kingdoms defenses he was left unsatisfied so he funded a second larger summoning attempt. This time getting a large number of special forces from various earth countries that were investigating the disappearance of the first group of scientists. It was this second ritual that brought the PCs over.
What no one outside of the king, his closest advisors and the mages who cast the ritual know is that the summoning required the mass killings of innocent children to provide the power to the ritual.
The king is currently seeing how much help the earth special forces can provide to his war effort before he decides if another ritual is needed.
Tier 3
I don't know what goes here yet. I will begin to fill this part out further once the PCs wrap up in Tier 1.
Tier 2
A brief note here that for most sapients on Azurythos this is considered the peak. Only strong warriors and mages hit level 5 by the time of their passing. Some city rulers and most world level leaders will make it to level 9 or 10. So once they hit this tier the PCs will begin to affect world affairs starting with regional events that have effects that ripple out to eventually making huge splashes by the end of this tier.
Human Lord in the North
One of the Human Lords in the North has an extreme hatred of the Dragonborn and their choke hold on trade. He is planning a daring attack on the City that straddles the isthmus to blow it up and make a canal wide and deep enough for the human navies to traverse in order to stop having to pay the taxes the Dragonborn levy to transport goods across it.
Tier 1
Earthlings
The PCs may attract unwanted attention depending on how much of their earth based origins they reveal and who they reveal it to. This information should be tracked and used to further plot development as the PCs advance through the adventuring tiers.
Goblins
Goblins can be found across the planet. They steal food when necessary to survive but they never initiate violence. They will run away and survive before they fight. Unless it's other Goblins then they will start fights both for food and to gain control of the other tribe. If any goblin chief amasses a tribe size of 1000+ then they will be come a warlord. If they get 10,000+ they become a goblin lord, if they get 100,000+ a Goblin King. Once a King emerges then the Goblins could potentially become a Tier 2 threat. However they will continue to avoid fights with other species, instead they will be trying to to find a place to call home. If a Goblin King can find a permanent home for his budding nation and place permanent structures on it and defend it for a year and a day then the curse on the goblins will finally end and they will regain their Elven form.
Gnolls
Gnolls are aware that something is trying to corrupt them but they don't know what. They are trying to handle the matter internally and would require the PCs massively gaining their trust in order to share this information
Kobolds
Kobolds will general keep to themselves however they will viciously defend any site of significant importance to Dragons. This includes dungeons that have a hoard of treasure they think a dragon may want.
Guard Captains
No matter the dominate species of a given town and it's geographical location on the planet, just about every guard captain is going to be mildly to extremely speciest in favor of the local dominate sapient species. This should be factored in to any role play opportunities between the PCs and town guards.
Themes
The theme for this campaign is that power corrupts then hungers for more.
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