AMIA ARCHIVE • View topic

So we have all had those ideas kicking around for interesting plots to have in amia and for various reasons never enacted, be it time, unwillingness to play the role, or maybe you were roadblocked by a question of application and execution . I would like to see what sort of plots yall have half baked so we can improve and implement for greater life

I haven't completely given up hope on this one! Wiltun has my PC busy enough as it is and I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to actually committing time to it, but I really would love to do this in a limited fashion:

My PC plot ambition would be to form a schooling, mastery house, whatever you want to call it, for weapon masters. A means of roleplay to pursue a school of mastery, not unlike a monk would, but with the flavor geared towards weapon masters and their Ki bonds and development. - Too often we just play the WM as a typical fighter class, but there is a lot more going on behind the scenes, implied by the use of Ki in their ability to effectively defend themselves and attack and use their weapons as an extension of their person.

Practically, I've been able to personally develop pc abilities that are derivative of my pc's personal style, strengths and experiences, but it would be so awesome to me to have a master/student dynamic to help develop role play and development that could eventually turn into unique requests for others weapon masters too.

In my head? Could be a cool dynamic for this unique group of warriors.

That is definitely the feeling I got with the weapon master class, kind of like jedi even? And the fact that their supernatural aspect is ki, unbound to a single weapon (more a conceptual broad stroke application) it wouldn't be unfeasible to have a longsword wm training a scimitar or rapier. Or a halberd to spear, etc. There is also a facet of wms that I think could be fostered in a school like this. The aspect of dedication and mastery that would push a person to sublime plateaus of accomplishment, understanding and debatably peace entwined with their deadly practice. The thought that gives me would be along the lines of ronin and samurai, but certainly its not exclusive.

While i understand dev work is at a standstill currently the fleshing out of the woefully bland wm (ig, mechanically) is a class that could easily reach the unified autonomy of the shadowdancer guild

OpenTheRift wrote:

While i understand dev work is at a standstill currently the fleshing out of the woefully bland wm (ig, mechanically) is a class that could easily reach the unified autonomy of the shadowdancer guild

Yeah, that was my take on it too. An avenue to really have pc's come together to explore the intricacies of their prestige class and build a certain lore of study behind it.

If Ki is an energy that flows through all things, then why couldn't there be a school to help others master it? Regardless of weapon. - Mastery of that energy and even training in a certain fighting style could apply.

Is this just related specifically to our PCs, or...?

I bet it would include PC or DM driven plots? - That's my guess anyways.

I have a black guard who wants to become Asmodeus' right hand but I do not know or understand how to initiate this plot or rp.

Start from the bottom as nothing at all, suffer through each steps of invoking the fiend, display the hardships and the change of the PC as it falls deeper and deeper into the grasp of the dark will and power. Gradually reaching the result you want as you rise to power and prove your worth more than just another lost soul.

If the journey along the way grows boring or you lose interest, then perhaps such a PC was not really meant for you.

That is my best advice for a many number of plots and PCs. Enjoy the journey and milk it for all it is worth.

gorgometh wrote:

I haven't completely given up hope on this one! Wiltun has my PC busy enough as it is and I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to actually committing time to it, but I really would love to do this in a limited fashion:

My PC plot ambition would be to form a schooling, mastery house, whatever you want to call it, for weapon masters. A means of roleplay to pursue a school of mastery, not unlike a monk would, but with the flavor geared towards weapon masters and their Ki bonds and development. - Too often we just play the WM as a typical fighter class, but there is a lot more going on behind the scenes, implied by the use of Ki in their ability to effectively defend themselves and attack and use their weapons as an extension of their person.

Practically, I've been able to personally develop pc abilities that are derivative of my pc's personal style, strengths and experiences, but it would be so awesome to me to have a master/student dynamic to help develop role play and development that could eventually turn into unique requests for others weapon masters too.

In my head? Could be a cool dynamic for this unique group of warriors.

Gorgy and I share a plot ambition on this one. Shame our WM PCs have that nasty grudge :lol:

One of them has gotten over it! The other? coughwomancough Not so much.

i fite u say it to my face

Really, though, there are great PC initiatives out there I'd love to support as a DM, I just need to see that equal persistent effort to earn it.

I would like to move efforts forwards and build on an island with one character.

Yossarin wrote:

Is this just related specifically to our PCs, or...?

Either works. Some ideas make better pc plots and some require dm tools/liberties to occur fluidly

Mahtan Tasadur wrote:

Start from the bottom as nothing at all, suffer through each steps of invoking the fiend, display the hardships and the change of the PC as it falls deeper and deeper into the grasp of the dark will and power. Gradually reaching the result you want as you rise to power and prove your worth more than just another lost soul.

If the journey along the way grows boring or you lose interest, then perhaps such a PC was not really meant for you.

That is my best advice for a many number of plots and PCs. Enjoy the journey and milk it for all it is worth.

As an addition to this the story of someone trying something only to learn it wasnt their path has a vast array of options and outlets to foster development.

I made a guard character a few months back with a story that he would essentially be a noir cop investigating a string of grissly homicides where some of the victims would have a latticework of roots and leaves encasing their skin, and a hollow alcove in their forehead where flowers bloomed. These "woodwights" would become lumbering and mindless engines of destruction, and after their butchery occured they would head into the forest, or be dispatched.

The idea was an evil druid shunning society had developed a spell, curse
curse or what have you that morphed these people, and then returned them to nature in one way or another. Never did pursue it because I wasnt interested in the character i made, but i still love the idea and want to see it.

I have had several ideas I would have loved to realize. Each of these usually include a number of PC's to come true. However, while I as a player have these dreams for my PC, my PC tends to get things screwed up one way or another.

Even the last trip made kind of exploded to her face even for extensive preparations. I personally don't mind it, it is actually kind of funny to see that all she starts tends not to work out, while things that she is not so interested to succeed in, tend to work out.

I still dream of building a solid mage circle. For the first time it seems my character might be so close with it... I am expecting something to happen.

And I am sure someone of the DM team will have their hands in it, in a good way ofc! At one time I planned to have a project to build a room with doors that each lead to different plane, enabling planar traveling. I've dreamed of building a ship, only to realize that the city my main operates in, does not have a harbor

I planned, with another player, kind of mini-faction within Winya Ravana, but it did not start up so much. I just seem to have this brainstorms and then when it comes to actual work.. Errr.. Maybe someone else could do it?

My other dream for my main has been to have her permadead. In all honesty, while she is a great character, to me that is, somehow I want to see her death and what it will be like. What is the way she goes, what is it that leads to her death. Her ambitions, her desire to protect, simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time or some other reason? Each time I feel like I could be close of permadeath, she somehow manages out of it.

One of the many, many stories I wanted to tell involved Jarl Arsant Wiltun swinging into a fit of mania and depression so severe that he could not even be seen in public, let alone perform his duties. Parrico would arrange for him to be sequestered somewhere, but in the meantime, judgments would have to be rendered in his name. Since my Arsant Wiltun was lacking in foresight, he never exactly arranged for anyone to perform those duties in his absence, save for Parrico, who has his hands full with about a thousand other matters. So with Arsant out of the picture for an undetermined amount of time, Parrico would have to quietly rally a group of notable PCs of position in Wiltun and have them serve as judges over a variety of cases. It would be arranged that they would judge the cases by committee rather than individually in order to keep up with this image that "only Wiltun himself has the power to make judgments over the life and death of others alone."

I had intended for there to be a series of minor cases like cattle theft, duel refusal, infidelity, etc., to let the PCs cut their teeth on the process and get to know a little of one another. They could get used to certain norms of punishment - my intent was that law had never been adequately codified and had always been up to Wiltun's whim, leaving them the freedom to hear a case and then just decide how lenient or severe they wanted to be with the adquate repercussions. Judgment and sentencing would be rendered in the same hearing, and if they opted for death, they got the "fun" of getting to choose the manner of execution (though I intended for the executioner to always be trying to cut in and offer his own inventive methods if the players or PCs lacked the creativity to fabricate some truly fitting, ironic, or gruesome methods of execution.)

Then they would start handling a series of cases related to Luskan spies operating in Wiltun, to the point that they uncover intelligence that a spy network is operating within the jarldom. Of course, it isn't their duty to root out the network, but merely to judge the cases. Whether they acted or not, the spy network would eventually become so frustrated with their prominence (especially if they kept putting the captive spies to death) that they would target one PC in particular (either the most vocal, or the most easily mistrusted) for a frame up as being involved with the spy network. At that point, said PC would be arrested and brought before the very PCs he or she had been rendering judgments alongside, and at that point the relationships that these PCs had developed (if any) would suddenly become very, very relevant.

If the PCs didn't come upon it themselves, Parrico, to try to evade a scandal, might suggest that they render a judgment of imprisonment or exile if they believed the person to be innocent and recognized a frame up. That way, the spies believe the verdict is rendered, but then the PC can be surreptitiously freed from jail or invited back into the city under the dead of night to follow up on all the leads that became apparent during their series of cases to root out the Luskan spy network.

One that I've kicked around in one way or another was the plot behind the Weaveborn concept I created. The main idea would be a player driven fight over individual PCs, their actual lives and futures largely within the hands of other PC's and their actions. Additionally, adding some more conflict and intrigue to Mystranism and secular magical groups on the Isle, showcasing factions like the Magehounds, the Guardians of the Weave, and the Knights of the Weave. For my own character and the Knights of the Weave he has trained, I figured it would be somewhat reminiscent of the Great Crusade from WH40K, except the odds are stacked against them. Skirting through the world, loosely organized, bumping up against monolithic and longstanding facets of the major magical churches and amassing a small following to help them towards their goal. The Church of Mystra in general to me always seemed weird in that it is so huge and so wide-reaching, but the divides in its body are never really featured. No sects that worship a particular aspect, no staunch refusers or deniers of the relatively new Midnight over the old Mystra, no groups explicitly venerating the Sisters as intermediates to their mother. While that sort of divide seems absent in the NPC aspect of the world, it seemed to me that it could be the source of good intra-PC conflict and a plot like this might bring it to the forefront.

Somewhat related, I would love to see some sort of revolution in Tarkuul. Something dealing with the increased number of non-necro types who came over during the war with the Arcanum, the strain between the city and Shade with the extermination of most Shadovar, and the city attempting to reform its image even further. It would be difficult to have it be PC driven, with so many factors in the city relying on NPCs and DM interaction, but I always thought it would be neat if cults of ideals, personality, and philosophy sprung up there. It's a city full of scholars and inventors not bound by morals, so it's always seemed like it could be similar to Bioshock's Rapture, pre-1958.

Lastly, and this was just for fun, I wanted to see a Mortal Kombat inspired monk tournament held on the island. There's an old ruin underground on the west coast of Amia that has this long hallway full of candles that looks like something out of Ed Boon's wetdreams and would be the perfect spot for some brutal Kumite bloodsports. That, and I wanna dust off my old dev-monk. >_>

I've secretly wished that some DM would pick up my hard-studied request about an Angel that lost a form of its Glory and goes seeking to recover it, both physically and what that physicality represented. And realizing the manifestation of Goodliness in the outer sense...

I also had this big dream for a fey or a dragon or someone with magical lineage would come swooping down upon the isles to find one of their ancestors, or to watch them, to see what their blood has begotten- there have to be dragons and fey and Outsiders that watch what happens to those that were created because of them- those puny, foolish mortals. Did my blood mean anything?

The one I dreamed up the most was one I may still request for if a DM sees this and is interested.. but.. yeah.

I had some good ones around Changelings and doppelgangers that I talked out with Yossarin, Bobo and Burning but I was informed they weren't allowed- and then- the DM informed me they were actually allowed now, but I had already moved on! I'm glad to see someone did a doppelganger something. I love the stuff that starts off secretive, or the stuff that has someone questioning who they are as the crisis/impetus of the plot.

gorgometh wrote:

I haven't completely given up hope on this one! Wiltun has my PC busy enough as it is and I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to actually committing time to it, but I really would love to do this in a limited fashion:

My PC plot ambition would be to form a schooling, mastery house, whatever you want to call it, for weapon masters. A means of roleplay to pursue a school of mastery, not unlike a monk would, but with the flavor geared towards weapon masters and their Ki bonds and development. - Too often we just play the WM as a typical fighter class, but there is a lot more going on behind the scenes, implied by the use of Ki in their ability to effectively defend themselves and attack and use their weapons as an extension of their person.

Practically, I've been able to personally develop pc abilities that are derivative of my pc's personal style, strengths and experiences, but it would be so awesome to me to have a master/student dynamic to help develop role play and development that could eventually turn into unique requests for others weapon masters too.

In my head? Could be a cool dynamic for this unique group of warriors.

WANT. I know one WM who'd be into that.

Now for an actual contribution, many sourcebooks have campaigns at the back, some of which are creative and intricate enough in writing, but adding an Amian twist could make them more lively, or gruesomely epic.

It's also been something of a miniature fantasy of mine to see those campaigns played out <.<

I might enlist all the plot hooks in Tarkuul soon. People are not even aware of them, and there is around 40 that are in plain view. Keep your eyes on Tarkuul public forum.

Publicizing them a bit more in game would help, word of mouth is a wild fire. And lots of people dint read the forums add Mitch as we do.

bobofwestoregonusa wrote:

Publicizing them a bit more in game would help, word of mouth is a wild fire. And lots of people dint read the forums add Mitch as we do.

Research RP is mostly about reading/writing. If you are not into reading, research RP may not be the best thing for you. But I am intending to give IG plot-hook-tours to those who want them.

So this piece of awesome was shown to me and reignited my desire to do that serial plot http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Uluu_Thalongh

Any dms want to discuss and assist for lady sorken's grim adventure

An introduction to the many plots of Tarkuul.

Tarkuul and plots - an overview

I ran it by some players earlier (all of whom were super lame about it, except one! jk). But the idea is essentially an intra-school mage competition between places like the Tower of Mystra, the Delta school, and Tarkuul. But here's the kicker.

The PC's aren't competing. The PC's are the teachers to lowbie NPC mages and the success of their school is based off of how well they are able to lead and teach their students. It's a nice change to the dynamic of normal magical folk conflict. Who cares how well you can spam IGMS or hit Timestop, or how many Mantle scrolls you have. It'll mean squat here if you can't teach, lead, or inspire worth a damn. Your rolls will play a part, but the true determinant to your success will be your RP.

Additionally, it could be the opportunity for another Alternate Beginnings, where a few of the participants are low-level PC mages. It ties into another thread or two I want to do soon, but we sometimes forget that our PC's often had mentors of some kind, in some shape or form. This facilitates the unique opportunity of having the mentor in your PC's story be someone tangible on the isle, adding to both their RP and yours.

I'm sure there are a few players that would enjoy the feel of something like the Triwizard Tournament from Harry Potter, or any number of classic(sappy) anime dramas set in a superhero/ninja/wizard academy.

I've continually wanted to do something with Winya's mythal. Mythalcraft and high magic have such crazy potential for great rp. Despite this want and for reasons unknown to me, I've never made a Winyan mage. In fact, I've only ever made one mage. And he was...definitely not a high mage.

A Slayer's Society

Link inception, go!

Somewhat related to Serbiris's idea of a Witcher group(in turn related my idea of a FR-Witcher) is an idea born out of my love of the Darksouls and Bloodborne series. The plot idea would deal with monsters, perhaps lycanthropes, perhaps a few things less.... nice... that begin cropping up in Shadowscape. The constant night and shadowy elements of the settlement feed these dark beasts and makes it a veritable playground for any creature looking to get its fill of flesh, blood, and other precious bodily fluids. The guards for the most part are only able to react to these attacks as they happen, cutting down monsters in the streets who appeared all too human just a few seconds before. More mysteriously, the Nightwings and the benevolent shadows that usually aid them have gone missing, putting further strain on the guard to maintain order, lest the public begin to panic. Political tensions are stressed to an all-time high between Shadowscape and Tarkuul, many suspecting the Enclave of Tark for being responsible for this newfound plague. Some citizens have accused Tarkuul of allowing their experiments to run wild, or worse, purposefully unleashing them into the City to test them; to this end, many have called for the portal between the two cities to be sealed. The Shadowbornes, with their political and financial clout, have been able to keep it open thus far, however, stating that the portal's closure would significantly hinder their business.

With the guards unprepared to repel such an insurgency and the public in unrest, a whispered call goes out for detectives, trackers, and hunters. Groups, some PC, some NPC, quietly descend upon the town with their own goals and agendas at play. Longstanding feuds between houses and even planes play out in proxy through the city, individuals and organizations alike seeing opportunity in the crisis at hand. The city is alive with the bloody echoes of intrigue and there is more at stake than any might realize.

I'd like to gauge interest in the plot idea I had a while back about the mage academy. Would there be anyone interested in an Alternate Beginnings wizard/witch/sorc school sort of deal? It would focus on the lower levels, because I feel like a lot of cool and worthwhile RP can get missed(especially by casters) when you fly through your levels. Finally learning your first "real" spells. Getting your first wand, rod, or staff. Binding your first summon or finding and bonding with a Familiar. Figuring out your paradigm and/or magical ancestor. That sort of thing. By the time you're maxed, Wails and epic spells are thrown around like beads at Mardi Gras, and everyone basically knows all the spells in the base game. Not to disparage our endgame for casters, it is what it is. But I feel like as with plots in general, zeroing in and maybe even slowing down a little bit allows you to build much more of a story. There's usually more at stake, more time to build a reputation, and you can even be the big man or woman on campus for a while until you're thrown out into a world of eldritch horrors and bored demigods.

While of course it'd have lowbie PC's, either created new for this event or already made ones, there'd be room for higher level and epic PC's to come in as teachers, prefects, professors, coaches, etc. In terms of tone, I'd imagine it would be relatively light and adventure oriented, like a magical highschool anime thing or one of those Shadows over Mystara beat 'em up games arcades used to have. It's not gonna be (completely) grimdark or focus around a hidden world-ending plot(hopefully). But it could certainly have darker elements and overtones, and in any case the RP could be as intensive and detail oriented as the participants wanted it to be. Classes, assignments, homework, sneaking off campus to get into trouble, learning an academic Job, solving mysteries, and maybe even field trips to a well known magical location or two if it can get the DM help. So if this sounds like something interesting to you, either as a student or a teacher or some other thing, let me know or post here.

Dark Immolation wrote:

words

Yes, and as long as we drop the anime, I'd be happy to help with this.

I only used the anime comparison because I can't really think of another fiction thing with a magical school sort of deal. Besides Harry Potter.

And I really wouldn't want this to be Harry Potter in the Realms. No hate to the Potterheads out there, just isn't my thing.

Dark Immolation wrote:

I only used the anime comparison because I can't really think of another fiction thing with a magical school sort of deal. Besides Harry Potter.

Candlekeep?

I meant an out-of-universe comparison.

As in, if someone where not familiar with the numerous types of mage schools and bardic colleges in the realms, something like this would be similar enough for them to get the idea. Saying Hogwarts probably would have gotten the idea cross too, but again, I really wouldn't have my heart in this if it'd turned out to be that, so I didn't even mention it.

The Unseen University?

Had to look that up. Unfortunately, I'm not that familiar with Discworld!

But you people get the idea already.

Dark Immolation wrote:

Had to look that up. Unfortunately, I'm not that familiar with Discworld!

But you people get the idea already.

You can be schoolmaster.

Did the magic school thing back with Ulrik at the Monolith years ago. In most cases, it never really worked. One week an apprentice mage would arrive, just having mastered their second circle spells. The following week they were throwing hellballs and summoning dragons. Very rare would a mage take their time and enjoy the apprentice-master mage dynamic. But when they did, it was rather enjoyable, and can really help flesh out a character and their paradigm. Also, ironically, Ulrik had more sorcerer students than wizards.

Either way, take this post as an expressed interest.

I'm doing the slow progression thing with my necromancer - it's super rewarding, and you can really flesh out your character's knowledge. Real, earned IG knowledge.
I'm 100% with Nivo and Dead that master/apprentice and exploring magic in general is the best way to play a mage. I believe Beldor did a whole host of study into mythal shards too... So, yeah. I'm super interested in this sort of thing.

( Also WM Dojo? Yes! The Samurai characters attempted it in the Cliff Village for a while - I think a 100% politically neutral sword school is very merited on Amia. )

Strom wrote:

( Also WM Dojo? Yes! The Samurai characters attempted it in the Cliff Village for a while - I think a 100% politically neutral sword school is very merited on Amia. )

Actually working on this, though not a dojo exactly. Still need a crappy but edgy name.

I have a lowbie slow burner mage.. been looking about for mentors for him but its hard to come by in my timezone. Would up interested in the school concept for him for sure.

serbiris wrote:

Strom wrote:

( Also WM Dojo? Yes! The Samurai characters attempted it in the Cliff Village for a while - I think a 100% politically neutral sword school is very merited on Amia. )

Actually working on this, though not a dojo exactly. Still need a crappy but edgy name.

All of the yes. All of it.

:arrow:

Could go with something monastic, or quasi-monastic; Bladedge Shrine or Chapel of the Sword.

:arrow:

Likewise a 'way of the sword' thing could just be like, your WM makes up a name for his style and wishes to pass on it's merits; Relentless Storm School.

I personally think the more pretentious the better. :lol:

If someone thinks to prod Valerius about wizard stuff I'll bite.

Somewhat related to my last post, and something that may or may not be in the works already...

But who here could see the Delta becoming a place similar to the Great Swamp or Majula? By that, I mean kind of a rustic, coastal shanty town surrounded by swamp, with significant witchy, shamany undertones. It might be a place to finally put a non-grove Druid shop that's asked about every so often. Anyone who's been there recently knows it's just a big, empty area right now except for the mage school, with so much room for activities and potential. The cart even still runs to it, gods know why. It could totally have disillusioned knights, mercenaries, and witches sitting around campfires, speaking of the horrors of war and years past and...

You know what, I'm not even gonna front. I totally just want this to happen.

Kinda joking. Kinda not.

If anyone has or would want to play a Solid Snake, Big Boss, or Revolver Ocelot-styled character, hit me up, I wanna build a Mother Base.

In case there happens to be an influx of new warlock PC's from our new class announcement, I'd be willing to shift my school idea to include them.

To give more detail on what I have in mind, it would be a regular event either nightly for those who could make it, or maybe just certain nights for a week or two tops. The idea would be similar to an alternate beginnings. There would be classes, events, activities and competitions to take the place of spanking goblins for a couple of levels. The reason I say a week or two weeks tops and somewhat nightly is so you can get the feel of getting a new start on Amia, but it doesn't drag on forever and we end up with people advancing levels above other people between classes.

I'd really want to run it for levels 2-12 or so. The starting levels I'd look for would be between 2-5. If you show up casting much more than Fireballs, it doesn't really give the impression of a school where people, possibly some just getting into adulthood, are learning to control magical powers they've yet to fully understand. It also makes leveling up and getting a new spell more impactful. No one cares that you've learned a new spell once you're into the full adventuring world. But for a while here, you can be the big fish in a small pond because you discovered your bloodline technique as Lightning Bolt and now the ladies(and men) won't stop swooning over you.

Also, if anyone wanted to test out the new spell changes from the bottom up, this is a perfect time to roll a newbie mage and see how they fare.

It's more inspiration than plot fodder, but I saw this video and from title and thumbnail alone, I immediately bookmarked it. And I wasn't wrong in doing so, in addition to being cool ass spellsword-ish(though there needs to be a better cooler word for the troupe by now) stuff, Dark Souls 3 environments totally look like some old ruins you might find on the Shadow Plane. It makes me want to pick up my idea for a Guest Plot again.

A sort of Dynasty Warriors or Fire Emblem plot event would be cool. By that, I mean one where PCs are leading the conquest or defense on a battlefield. It wouldn't have to happen on Amia proper(it is probably best that it didn't, actually), but could be some far off local or even on another plane.

It would work sort of similar to the Amian War Games thing years ago, but in-person. It wouldn't just be about how good you are at PvM or PvP, but your grasp of planning and strategy. If it comes down to it, maybe you and a group of PCs can hold off a siege for a while by yourself, but it means nothing if you never actually get any NPC backup to hold your position. And if you try to do it long by yourself, it will end up looking like the end scene of The One, until you retreat or fall to exhaustion. If it happens off-plane, then there's the benefit of handwaving away the exact numbers of people/creatures that are dying along with not having to restructure long-established settlements. Whether the complaint of "invincible cities" is valid or not, it's a lot of work to do full-scale war in those places and not run the risk of screwing up quests, shops, and other things.

That's about as far as the idea went. It's not directly related, but a plot like this could be used to introduce a dungeon idea that I've sent to DMs before and will probably post publicly in a bit as well.

Plot fodder

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