Inspired by the "Hotel California" thread
I heard the men saying something
The captains tell they pay you well
And they say they need sailing men to
Show the way and leave today
Was it you that said, how long?
How long?
Clearly this is nautical domain and the pay to get there is terrific. I would say 3 times the normal rate for sailing men is advertised. You have to figure out a reason why the PC's are on board. Most likely it pays so well is that there are rumors of some really valuable goods. Maybe a huge gold or silver mine or rare spices.
They say the sea turns so dark that
You know it's time, you see the sign
They say the point demons guard is
An ocean grave for all the brave
Was it you that said, how long, how long
How long to the point of know return?
The domain is very stormy and guarded by demons. I would recommend hezrou as they look like toads and toads are amphibians and so fit with a nautical theme. The hezrou are there to guard so they never venture farther than 100 yards from the rock they are on. Being demons they will attack on sight. If they are destroyed another hezrou is summoned out of the abyss in 2 hours.
Your father, he said he needs you
Your mother, she said she loves you
Your brothers, they echo your words
How far to the point of know return?
To the point of know returnO
How long, how long?
You might want to involve the PC's families in some way. You can have phantasms of them show up in the middle of the night delivering a message. The message should be some sort of warning as the parents words seem to things they would say to dissuade you from doing something dangerous. The PCs might well suspect that their parents are dead but they don't have to be. They easily could be images sent by the Dark Powers that resemble their parents.
Today I found a message floating
In the sea from you to me
You wrote that when you could see it
You cried with fear, the point was near
Was it you that said
How long, how long, how long to the point of know return?
How long, how long to the point of know return
No return
A classic message out of the bottle comes to the PC's from the sea from someone they care about. It should be some kind of warning again.
The way I see it go is this. The PC's are hired at a fantastic wage to board the ship. If they have no sailing skills they can be hired by other people than the captain. In any case the crew should be shown spending lots of money. It is clear by their actions they have a lot of money to spend.
The domain is practically in the middle of nowhere, far from the core. As you get closer and closer to the domain the weather gets more and more stormy. The liferafts were lost the first night on the voyage "due to the storms" so there is no escaped. Every night a crew member disappears and by the time the PCs get to the domain there is no one left but themselves.
The domain itself is a small island. There is a village made up by fellow castaways. They say that any time anyone leaves a storm brews up and they are driven back . It is literally the "point of no return". Obviously there must be some loophole there for the PCs to discover that allow them to escape. Any ideas to develop this further?
A song inspired domain: The point of no return by Kansas
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brilliantlight
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brilliantlight
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- Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2009 8:02 pm
Re: A song inspired domain: The point of no return by Kansas
How about a non-seafarer darklord which would be a surprise in this scenario? Instead of a sea captain make him a miner that was after the gold that was rumored to be on the island. He could even have no political power but just a random miner on the island.
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brilliantlight
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Re: A song inspired domain: The point of no return by Kansas
Neretourner
Island domain 25 miles long 15 miles wide. Settlement ne espoir hɑrbər population 500
Resources : Gold, silver, wood
The only way to the island is a cursed ship. It docks and its ghostly crew tries to hire sailors and spread rumors of an island of incredible wealth. The crew is corporeal and so look human and not ghostly at all.
The island is hilly with lots of goats, grapes and rye. Unlike most seashore communities the population eat little fish. If you go more than 100 yards out you get attacked by the hezrou demons guarding the island which drastically cuts down on fishing opportunities. The locals eat mostly cheese and rye bread, along with carrots , lettuce and other vegtables easily grown. They also eat goat meat but that is for special occasions and very expensive. Wine is plentiful and cheap, if of mostly poor quality. There is only one in The Inn of No Hope.
The populace is morose , practical and hard working. Surprisingly there is little xenophobia as the populace is starving for news from outside. Players can expect be asked questions constantly about things going on in the mists. Due to the proximity of the gold and silver mines prices are high. All prices are triple. All the building are at least a 200 yards from the shore and sturdily built as the storms here are fierce. The populace are mostly worshipers of Ezra from the Borca branch. As such the population is mostly lawful neutral. The poverty of the area requires people to strongly follow rules if the populace is to survive. Sooner or later the PCs will find out about the two abandoned mines , one of gold and one of silver. The locals abandoned them not because there is no longer precious metals ther but because both are said to be haunted and cut off from trade gold and silver are not much of a lure. They will warn the PC's about the mines but won't try to stop them from going after all its their funeral if they meet the ghosts.
The mines are indeed haunted and the ghosts are controlled by the Dark Lord but he can control only 8 of them at any one time. Generally they are all his lieutenants who are all rank 3.They are of ranks 1-3 and most have a number of expert levels in mining. They can not be destroyed permanently until the dark lord himself is destroyed.
There are two ways of leaving the islands 1) laying to rest the Dark Lord by digging up at least 1000 GP worth of gold or silver ore using his personal pickaxe which is lying beside his skelaton or 2) and more likely meet his ghost and agree to work for him for a fortnight mining without pay. If you do son he keeps his word and allows you to leave.
Island domain 25 miles long 15 miles wide. Settlement ne espoir hɑrbər population 500
Resources : Gold, silver, wood
The only way to the island is a cursed ship. It docks and its ghostly crew tries to hire sailors and spread rumors of an island of incredible wealth. The crew is corporeal and so look human and not ghostly at all.
The island is hilly with lots of goats, grapes and rye. Unlike most seashore communities the population eat little fish. If you go more than 100 yards out you get attacked by the hezrou demons guarding the island which drastically cuts down on fishing opportunities. The locals eat mostly cheese and rye bread, along with carrots , lettuce and other vegtables easily grown. They also eat goat meat but that is for special occasions and very expensive. Wine is plentiful and cheap, if of mostly poor quality. There is only one in The Inn of No Hope.
The populace is morose , practical and hard working. Surprisingly there is little xenophobia as the populace is starving for news from outside. Players can expect be asked questions constantly about things going on in the mists. Due to the proximity of the gold and silver mines prices are high. All prices are triple. All the building are at least a 200 yards from the shore and sturdily built as the storms here are fierce. The populace are mostly worshipers of Ezra from the Borca branch. As such the population is mostly lawful neutral. The poverty of the area requires people to strongly follow rules if the populace is to survive. Sooner or later the PCs will find out about the two abandoned mines , one of gold and one of silver. The locals abandoned them not because there is no longer precious metals ther but because both are said to be haunted and cut off from trade gold and silver are not much of a lure. They will warn the PC's about the mines but won't try to stop them from going after all its their funeral if they meet the ghosts.
The mines are indeed haunted and the ghosts are controlled by the Dark Lord but he can control only 8 of them at any one time. Generally they are all his lieutenants who are all rank 3.They are of ranks 1-3 and most have a number of expert levels in mining. They can not be destroyed permanently until the dark lord himself is destroyed.
There are two ways of leaving the islands 1) laying to rest the Dark Lord by digging up at least 1000 GP worth of gold or silver ore using his personal pickaxe which is lying beside his skelaton or 2) and more likely meet his ghost and agree to work for him for a fortnight mining without pay. If you do son he keeps his word and allows you to leave.
Last edited by brilliantlight on Thu Sep 22, 2016 8:58 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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brilliantlight
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Re: A song inspired domain: The point of no return by Kansas
Pieter Gascone Dark Lord of Neretourner
Pieter was a boy growing up in Gothic Earth France in the 17th century who heard of the gold and silver mines in the Americas. His family was a very poor mining family who mined iron for their local lord. It was a very meager living indeed. Pieter managed to get himself hired by a French captain whose ship was sailing to the New World. The trip was far worse than Pieter imagined as the rules were harsh and punishment was brutal. The conditions aboard ship hardened the boy. By the time they landed he was a brutal man. Trying to find gold he tortured some natives who babbled something about "islands of gold and silver" just to get the pain to stop. He set out with 8 brutal men as hard hearted as he was now and they took along 24 slaves they conned into coming with them and later putting a gun to their head. They searched island after island without luck killing their slaves and replacing them with new abductees. At the last island he finally snapped and went on a killing spree after the natives told him there was no gold there, they retaliated and killed him. As he lay dying one of the women whose son was killed cursed him pay for his crimes and to dig for gold until the last day. His ghost wound up in the mists where he is compelled to dig for gold . Due to his treachery in life he is compelled to be honest in death. He is unable to break any bargains he makes.
Anyone have further ideas?
Pieter Gascone Rank 3 ghost 5th lvl expert miner
AC 15 HP 45 Align: LE
Str 14
Int 12
Wis 10
Dex 10
Con -
Chr 20
Appraise +10
Climb +11
Craft Mining +10
Handle Animal +14
Listen +16
Spot +16
Jump +11
Dreamwalk
Phantom Shift
Mindgames
Ghostwriting
Pieter will try to use his Dreamwalk ability to send dreams of wealth to the PCs. He will display the wealth of the mines. If necessary he will send nightmares to threaten the PCs. Anything he can think of to lure the PCs into the mine so they can dig some gold for him. Even in death he is greedy without end. Although he no longer has any use for gold the curse compels him anyways. A story of his life can be found at the Church of Ezra as he is used as an example of greed. All of the villagers can tell them his background as well as a result of it. Any have any ideas?
Pieter was a boy growing up in Gothic Earth France in the 17th century who heard of the gold and silver mines in the Americas. His family was a very poor mining family who mined iron for their local lord. It was a very meager living indeed. Pieter managed to get himself hired by a French captain whose ship was sailing to the New World. The trip was far worse than Pieter imagined as the rules were harsh and punishment was brutal. The conditions aboard ship hardened the boy. By the time they landed he was a brutal man. Trying to find gold he tortured some natives who babbled something about "islands of gold and silver" just to get the pain to stop. He set out with 8 brutal men as hard hearted as he was now and they took along 24 slaves they conned into coming with them and later putting a gun to their head. They searched island after island without luck killing their slaves and replacing them with new abductees. At the last island he finally snapped and went on a killing spree after the natives told him there was no gold there, they retaliated and killed him. As he lay dying one of the women whose son was killed cursed him pay for his crimes and to dig for gold until the last day. His ghost wound up in the mists where he is compelled to dig for gold . Due to his treachery in life he is compelled to be honest in death. He is unable to break any bargains he makes.
Anyone have further ideas?
Pieter Gascone Rank 3 ghost 5th lvl expert miner
AC 15 HP 45 Align: LE
Str 14
Int 12
Wis 10
Dex 10
Con -
Chr 20
Appraise +10
Climb +11
Craft Mining +10
Handle Animal +14
Listen +16
Spot +16
Jump +11
Dreamwalk
Phantom Shift
Mindgames
Ghostwriting
Pieter will try to use his Dreamwalk ability to send dreams of wealth to the PCs. He will display the wealth of the mines. If necessary he will send nightmares to threaten the PCs. Anything he can think of to lure the PCs into the mine so they can dig some gold for him. Even in death he is greedy without end. Although he no longer has any use for gold the curse compels him anyways. A story of his life can be found at the Church of Ezra as he is used as an example of greed. All of the villagers can tell them his background as well as a result of it. Any have any ideas?