Count Dravda
2010-09-09, 03:34 PM
A while ago, I saw a genius idea (and I believe it was on these forums) for a campaign in which the PCs aren't the heroes at all. The hero is a mighty, epic-level wizard who has to go out and save the world. As he defends reality from cosmic evils, he requires somebody to keep an eye on his home and tend to things while he's away. Enter the PCs.
I'm planning on running this pretty soon for my own group, so I'm looking for help. The campaign will take a lighthearted tone, and I'm going to set it at 8th level. The tasks the PCs face won't be overtly hostile: they must simply survive an epic-level wizard's home, and keep it running smoothly.
If anyone knows of the original thread, I'd love to take a look at it, since I've lost it and can't find it for the life of me. I'm also looking for suggestions for possible challenges the PCs could face in keeping the mansion/castle running properly.
Here's a list of the ideas I have so far (some remembered from the old thread, some cribbed from Harry Potter, some genuinely original):
FEATURES OF THE CASTLE
-A horde of unseen servants sweeps the PCs out of bed every morning at dawn exactly.
-Some doors are just walls, pretending.
-Some rooms don't exist on some days.
-Some doors lead to different places depending on the day, or your mood.
-Paintings are aware, and can speak to passerby.
-The suits of armor lining the walls are actually inert guardian constructs, who remain silent except to laugh at people who fall prey to a trick stair or poltergeist. If asked, they will give silent directions, which have a 75% chance of being accurate.
-The kitchen is self-aware and quite insane, attacking anyone except the staff.
NPCs
-A surly, backtalking warforged butler, created by the wizard.
-An ancient, ex-ranged groundskeeper who keeps to himself and lives in a small cottage on the grounds.
-A herd of jolly satyrs living on the grounds.
-A 20-year-old version of the wizard, actually a simulacrum he made when he was young.
-A slightly manic homunculus who tends the kitchen. He's territorial, the only one the kitchen doesn't murder on sight, and more than a little paranoid. He has been known to poison people's meals if he doesn't like them, but cooks a delicious meal for anyone he likes.
-An ancient gold dragon who comes around to play chess once per month.
-The kitchen ghost, who doesn't remember his own name, but impotently resents the living for everything.
-A crazed prankster of a poltergeist.
-Two fetches who act as butlers.
CHALLENGES
-Taking Fluffles and Snuffles (two fiendish basilisks) for a walk.
-Clearing up a guttersnype infestation.
-Finding out where all the spare rags keep disappearing to. (The warforged butler is stealing them and sewing them into teddy bears).
-Exercising the 'horses'. The horses range from mundane equines to unicorns to constructs.
-Defeat an ancient gold dragon in a game of chess for a hefty wager.
I'm planning on running this pretty soon for my own group, so I'm looking for help. The campaign will take a lighthearted tone, and I'm going to set it at 8th level. The tasks the PCs face won't be overtly hostile: they must simply survive an epic-level wizard's home, and keep it running smoothly.
If anyone knows of the original thread, I'd love to take a look at it, since I've lost it and can't find it for the life of me. I'm also looking for suggestions for possible challenges the PCs could face in keeping the mansion/castle running properly.
Here's a list of the ideas I have so far (some remembered from the old thread, some cribbed from Harry Potter, some genuinely original):
FEATURES OF THE CASTLE
-A horde of unseen servants sweeps the PCs out of bed every morning at dawn exactly.
-Some doors are just walls, pretending.
-Some rooms don't exist on some days.
-Some doors lead to different places depending on the day, or your mood.
-Paintings are aware, and can speak to passerby.
-The suits of armor lining the walls are actually inert guardian constructs, who remain silent except to laugh at people who fall prey to a trick stair or poltergeist. If asked, they will give silent directions, which have a 75% chance of being accurate.
-The kitchen is self-aware and quite insane, attacking anyone except the staff.
NPCs
-A surly, backtalking warforged butler, created by the wizard.
-An ancient, ex-ranged groundskeeper who keeps to himself and lives in a small cottage on the grounds.
-A herd of jolly satyrs living on the grounds.
-A 20-year-old version of the wizard, actually a simulacrum he made when he was young.
-A slightly manic homunculus who tends the kitchen. He's territorial, the only one the kitchen doesn't murder on sight, and more than a little paranoid. He has been known to poison people's meals if he doesn't like them, but cooks a delicious meal for anyone he likes.
-An ancient gold dragon who comes around to play chess once per month.
-The kitchen ghost, who doesn't remember his own name, but impotently resents the living for everything.
-A crazed prankster of a poltergeist.
-Two fetches who act as butlers.
CHALLENGES
-Taking Fluffles and Snuffles (two fiendish basilisks) for a walk.
-Clearing up a guttersnype infestation.
-Finding out where all the spare rags keep disappearing to. (The warforged butler is stealing them and sewing them into teddy bears).
-Exercising the 'horses'. The horses range from mundane equines to unicorns to constructs.
-Defeat an ancient gold dragon in a game of chess for a hefty wager.