4. HQ25 - Story Arc discussion

[Sjeng]

So, the monster factions and types have been chosen and voted upon, and now it is time to formulate a story arc.

The idea is to create 25 quests. Some ideas were already made:

Hmm, multiple quest paths might be just what we need here...

Q1: village raided bij lesser evil, heroes only survivors, must work together. At the end contacted by Mentor.
Q2-Q3: followup quests where our heroes find out that the lesser evil is commanded by greater evil.
At the end of Q3 the party must choose what path to follow:

Q4-Q8: path 1: follow the dragonkin lead
Q9-Q13: path 2: follow the chaos lead
Q14-Q18: path 3: follow the greenskins lead

Undead mixed in everywhere, as the greater evil surely will have necromancers.
Players can choose to take just 1 path, or simply play all three.
After they find out the greater scheme of things, Mentor tells them there are artefacts that can defeat the greater Evil.

Q19: Go find artefact A (greenskin caves/mines? dwarf artefact)
Q20: Go find artefact B (dragonkin swamps? wizard artefact)
Q21: Go find artefact C (chaos beastmen woods? elf artefact)
Q22: Go find artefact D (undead crypts? barbarian artefact)
Q23: Find forgotten dwarven forge in chaos dwarven territory to combine artefacts into superweapon
Q24: Find secret lair of greater Evil
Q25: Defeat greater Evil

An approach idea:

So this is going a direction - or rather, a myriad of directions - where there's a need for me to say this:

1. Maybe everyone interested should at the very beginning WRITE A PLOT with subplots (a table of contents with outlined story), post that, and then let there be a poll to decide on the best story. Then ONE author - or a team of authors, for that matter, writes the outline, detailed into subplots/sub-quest packs and single quests with rough A->B plots. This cannot be something every single forum member squirts their juice into after everyone has made their entry and a poll has decided. Do not get me wrong there.

2. THEN, the quests have to be roughly assigned to different people, but only in subplot stages to put the different subbosses and artifacts in succession in there. Subplot after subplot. That is crucial. Special rules should be sparse, and left alone for wording for someone who's good at it (chaoticprime or Daedalus, e.g). Again, this will probably take the brunt of the time, and there's gonna be deadlines to meet. We have a year, but the subplots cannot be worked on simultaneously, but one after the other.
The questmaking at this stage is just a HeroScribe map with pretty much unformatted word-documents.

3. THEN, everyone who's still interested, can post WHAT THEY CAN/WANT TO WORK ON. Wording the cards, choosing images, writing special rules, writing the texts for spells, artefacts, equipment... That would be commission work for others having written quests and come up with spells for NPCs and stuff like that.

4. THEN, edit it. Community service here. Wording, coherence, grammar, everything. As few people as possible good at language should re-word all quest texts, almost simultaneously another person or two can edit and format the quests into pdf's.

5. THEN, layout. Finishing cards, adjusting stats, wording as many quests as possible by as few people as possible, for coherence. Making print-ready pdf sheets. Deciding if rule and quest book should be seperated, things like these. Editing again and again until December 2014. That is still the 25th anniversary. Then put it online.

So, write a plot, post it here, keep things clean here. Don't discuss each other's plots please, just post you own here. Make edits if you need by editing your own post!
After we've all had a chance to put something down, I will make a poll, so we can choose which plot is the most popular. If need be, we can even combine some plots into one ultimate awesome cool plot before I make the poll. Remember, you can edit you own post, so if you see something cool in someone else's plot, and you want to steal borrow the idea, go right ahead. It's ok to use ideas from others. The point is to create a plot YOU like, and perfect it in YOUR vision.

At the end we all should have plots we personally feel is perfect, and after that, we let the community vot on the most popular one.

Obviously, keep in mind that we can only use the monsters we decided upon, with minor deviations such as alternate weapons or slightly modded stats (orcish archers, beastmen with a spear, goblins with a bow/spear, a chaos warrior with a shield +1DD, minor things like that). Mini bosses such as sorcerers/shamans/chiefs can be added and given stats per quest, so don't worry too much about all that now. Just think of a plot which can fit the chosen monster factions and monster types.

[Jump to: Sotiris' arc, Sjeng's arcs, some Goblin-King chapters, Gootchute's arcs, MrBigB's chapter, arc, and chapter, Goldbearer's chapter -edit]

[knightkrawler]

My ideas revolve around Kobold Dragonpriests and Dragonshields flooding the swamps and convincing the Fimir that the Great Wyrm is supposed to be awakened somewhere deeper in the bog where even the Fimir who worship dragons in general and the Great Wyrm in particular didn't think it is.

Of course, the two factions work together grudgingly to find the resting place, all under the eye of Morcar who wants the body of the Great Wyrm as a vassal all for himself (his essence), sending his chaos henchmen to steal the surprisingly young and little dragon thingie.

Morcar finds out it fell mystically asleep as a mere hatchling (or was "convinced" to do so) and abducts it into the chaos wastes for the beastmen and chaos dwarfs who have been called from their own industrious purposes in their own bloody brass city to watch over it and for their practitioners of magic and science to find ways to accomplish Morcar's plan.

[Gold Bearer]

Artefacts
Barbarian: Ancient Runesword - A4, A5 against chaos.

Dwarf: Dwarven Kings Armour - D5, +2BP, use the highest of the two dice for movement unless a double is rolled (the dwarf really should be slower and tougher than the others.)

Elf: Elvin Power Bow - Like crossbow but can fire twice. (Could say it has to be twice in succession or could allow it to be more flexible and say it can be shot before and after moving as well. Maybe move with one dice when firing twice.)

Wizard: Elemental Storm Wand: Can combine spells...

Genie + Sleep = Lullaby: Cast Sleep individually on everybody in any room or corridor on the board.

Tempest + Pass Through Rock = Cyclone: Cast Tempest on everybody in any room or corridor on the board.

Swift Wind + Fire Of Wraith = Backdraft: Fills any room or corridor on the board with intense flames causing a Fire Of Wraith attack on everybody individually, attack twice for targets vulnerable to fire.

Ball Of Flame + Vail Of Mist = Fire Spray: Fills any room or corridor in sight with flaming hot liquid vapour causing a Ball Of Flame attack on everybody individually, attack twice for targets vulnerable to fire.

Courage + Rock Skin = Invigoration: Raises A and D by three each until the end of the targets next turn.

Water Of Healing + Heal Body = Restoration: Fully restores BP and MP.


Ordinary bow exactly the same as elvin bow but A2 (can't be used by the dwarf).


This could be good as a one off, not every quest should follow a story arc. http://forum.yeoldeinn.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=2140&p=32665#p32665


This idea is basically a shortened version of WOM. When the heroes get to the dungeon they find themselves teleported (one in each corner of the board.) Each 'block' of the board contains a different faction with a boss magician. Chaos dwarves lead by a sorcerer (or whatever you want to call it) with fire spells, lizardmen lead by a whatever with water spells, beastmen and ogres and a few other things lead by a beastman shaman with earth spells and other chaos stuff including chaos warriors and cultists lead by a chaos sorcerer/warlock with air spells. They all have chaos spells. When the bosses are defeated they teleport to the centre room rather than dying. This room has four doors for the four different routes.

[Sotiris]

Decayed Empire, corrupted Dwarfs and Elven tribes traveling to other lands is the world which our story takes place.
Chaos forces rule everywhere, especially after Mentor's fall. During the last battle, Morcar managed to steal Lortom by casting a powerful spell that knocked Mentor unconscious. That book cannot be opened by another master than Mentor, unless its protection spell is broken. That requires extremely high mental power which only Morcar owns. Fortunately, the battle cost him a lot of his power so now he isn't able to do that and he retired for a while to recover his power.
That gives some space to heroes for action:

1. The awakening of Mentor (4 quests): Heroes have to find some ingredients & herbs hidden in dangerous places to bring Mentor back.

2. The lost artifacts (16 quests): Mentor awakes and describes the Dark Tower to the heroes. This place keeps Lortom until Morcar's recovery. Its top is higher than the clouds and everyone who gets inside becomes a chaos servant forever. Then, Mentor informs heroes about the existence of 4 ancient artifacts that protect the wearer from chaos (+some abilities maybe). Those artifacts are hidden inside ancient catacombs, forgotten temples, buried cities and haunted forests that now are held by chaos forces (each stage is represented by the monsters we voted).

3. Inside the tower (5 quests): After the collection of the artifacts, heroes can enter the tower unharmed from chaos influence. They must find Lortom before Morcar's recovery otherwise Morcar breaks the spell and the game is over immediately. That happens when the full-rounds of players reach number 150 inside the tower.

[knightkrawler]

That is a solid storyline, Sotiris. Good chunks of it could even be combined with mine.
The main difference being that in my plot it's Morcar who is awakened/restrengthened, in yours it's Mentor.

[Sjeng]

I like that story a lot as well. We could split the 16 artefact quests in pieces like in my suggestion: 2 quests following a lead to the whereabouts of the artefact and 1 quest getting there, and 1 quest retrieving it
I think there might also be room for a village quest in there, something many have suggested ^^

So far, there are some good ideas, that could combine into the perfect story. I'm quite happy!

[Gold Bearer]

Those artifacts are hidden inside ancient catacombs (Ancient Runesword), forgotten temples (Storm Wand), buried cities (Dwarven Kings Armour) and haunted forests (Elvin Power Bow)

[knightkrawler]

Just bumping. Only 10 months left, don't be sloppy.

[Sjeng]

First parts fleshed out a bit:

Q1: village raided bij lesser evil, heroes are only survivors, must work together. At the end contacted by Mentor.
Q2-Q3: followup quests where our heroes find out that the lesser evil is commanded by greater evil.
At the end of Q3 the party must choose what path to follow:

Q4-Q8: path 1: follow the dragonkin lead
Q9-Q13: path 2: follow the chaos lead
Q14-Q18: path 3: follow the greenskins lead

Undead mixed in everywhere, as the greater evil surely will have necromancers.
Players can choose to take just 1 path, or simply play all three.
After they find out the greater scheme of things, Mentor tells them there are artefacts that can defeat the greater Evil.

Q19: Go find artefact A (greenskin caves/mines? dwarf artefact)
Q20: Go find artefact B (dragonkin swamps? wizard artefact)
Q21: Go find artefact C (chaos beastmen woods? elf artefact)
Q22: Go find artefact D (undead crypts? barbarian artefact)
Q23: Find forgotten dwarven forge in chaos dwarven territory to combine artefacts into superweapon
Q24: Find secret lair of greater Evil
Q25: Defeat greater Evil


25 years after the first recorded heroic adventures took place, the Empire has fallen into decay. Elven tribes have travelled to other lands, and corrupted dwarves who have fallen for the lure of chaos are manifesting in the north. Monsters run rampant, and many villages are being raided. During the last battle, Morcar managed to steal Loretome by casting a powerful spell that knocked Mentor unconscious. Loretome cannot be opened by another master than Mentor, unless its protection spell is broken. This requires extremely high mental power which only Morcar owns. Fortunately, the battle cost him a lot of his power so he will not be able to open it immediately and he retired for a while to recover his power.

Q1: Our story begins in one of the smaller villages in the Empire, which is currently being raided by forces of chaos. Four adventurers are staying at the local tavern called Ye Olde Inn. As Kobolds, Goblins and even Orcs run rampant through the streets, the Innkeeper pleas for anyone to help fend off the attack. You, the heroes, will need to work together, and quickly, to save the people of this town.

This is a starter quest for new heroes. The board is a town with a town square and many small houses around it. One of the quarters of the board has the Olde Inn overlay piece. During the quest they find a secret door in a house, leading to a small room where an old man is hiding. He tells the heroes he saw the monsters coming from the mountains, heading south towards the marshlands, straight through this village. He says this has never happened before. Usually, raiding parties were smaller and went back the way they came. There must be something bigger at play than a simple raid here.

Q2: The Emperor has gotten word that more towns have had similar incidents, and sends a courier to all villages and cities, asking able-bodied men and women to join the Emperors forces in helping do discern the source of these sudden raids. And so our heroes answer the call, and are instructed to help find a cure for the illness that has befallen Mentor, the Empire's most powerfull mage. The Emperor's priests have been tending him for weeks, to no avail. The only thing that can help him is a potion made from rare herbs, only found in dangerous places. The first of these ingredients is Ashleaf, a weed that grows only in the deep crypts of Ashen Hollow. Beware the undead that lurk within these crypts!

Q3: The second ingredient you will need to acquire is Bloodbark. This is the bark of the trees that grow in the ruins of Kamak-Tor, a lost dwarven city, where long ago raged a battle so fierce, that entire armies of dwarves and orcs and goblins were slain there. The blood of thousands flowed into the city's lake, and has coloured it red. Nothing lives in it anymore, and only the most resilient of trees draw water from the lake, turning their leaves and bark into a dark red. It is rumoured some orcs dwell there still, so beware!

Q4: The last ingredient is not a plant, but something far more difficult to obtain: the poison of a gorgon. In a dark forest to the east, within the ruins of an ancient temple, snakemen and dragonkin are said to dwell. According to local folklore, their matriarch is a gorgon. It has never been confirmed though, as nobody who ever ventured near the temple has ever returned. You must find the gorgon, if she exists, and take the poison from her snakelike hair.

Q5: Now that you have found all the ingredients to brew the potion that will awaken Mentor, you must return to the Emperor. On your way back, you come across a tower at the edge of a lake. You hope to find shelter there for the coming night, so you decide to enter. Unfortunately, a band of beastmen has come out of the forest, and follows you in!

[Sjeng]

Just bumping. Only 10 months left, don't be sloppy.

Only 5 months left? Let me copy what we've discussed before. Can't really remember what we agreed on, if we agreed on anything I'll just post the 2 story arcs I found, that were most talked about if I recall correctly.

ARC I
Group one (2 people)
Q1: village raided bij lesser evil, heroes are only survivors, must work together. At the end contacted by Mentor. (kobolds, goblins, monsters we agreed on in the other topic)
Q2-Q3: followup quests where our heroes find out that the lesser evil is commanded by greater evil.
At the end of Q3 the party must choose what path to follow:

Group 2 (2 people)
Q4-Q8: path 1: follow the dragonkin lead,

Group 3 (2 people)
Q9-Q13: path 2: follow the chaos lead

Group 4 (2 people)
Q14-Q18: path 3: follow the greenskins lead

Undead mixed in everywhere, as the greater evil surely will have necromancers.
Players can choose to take just 1 path, or simply play all three.
After they find out the greater scheme of things, Mentor tells them there are artefacts that can defeat the greater Evil.

Group 5 (2 people)
Q19: Go find artefact A (greenskin caves/mines? dwarf artefact)
Q20: Go find artefact B (dragonkin swamps? wizard artefact)
Q21: Go find artefact C (chaos beastmen woods? elf artefact)
Q22: Go find artefact D (undead crypts? barbarian artefact)

Group 6 (2 people)
Q23: Find forgotten dwarven forge in chaos dwarven territory to combine artefacts into superweapon
Q24: Find secret lair of greater Evil
Q25: Defeat greater Evil

OR ARC II

Q1 * Village is raided by EVIL. Only four (heroes) escape - rest is killed or kidnapped. Heroes are contacted by Mentor. Basic orc/goblin/fimir/dragonkin enemies.
Q2-Q3 * Raid seems too well coordinated - too accurate for sandpeople. Something's wrong. Heroes sent to investigate EVIL lair. Maybe free villagers? (2 part quest, upper level and lower level lair) Basic enemies.
Q4-Q5 * Discovers that SUPER EVIL seems to be guiding EVIL. * Travel to AREA. (a trip through a dangerous area, maybe two) Basic orc/goblin/fimir enemies plus chaos enemies.
Q6-Q7 * Investigate SUPER EVIL LAIR. (multi level) * SUPER EVIL are gathering slaves from all over the surrounding lands to be sacrificed at the SUPER EVIL temple in EVIL AREA - In order to awaken/summon SUPER AVATAR OF EVIL Basic orc/goblin/fimir enemies plus chaos enemies, perhaps some undead here and there.
Q8-Q9 * Must travel to temple. (another voyage through a cave or crypt or something. Undead enemies.) On the way nearby town is destroyed! Oh noes! SUPER AVATAR OF EVIL has already been summoned. ("town map" quest)
Q10-Q19* Abort and instead gather X,Y and Z and Q to unsommon. Go on crazy adventures. Perhaps 2 maps per item, and a final quest to combine the artifacts, which leaves 1 quest to improvise something. I would suggest these 4 artifacts to be hero-boosting items, such as the amulet of the north. Something specific for each hero. Anything allowed per quest set.
Then, at the end, they can combine the items into an artifact that can destroy the Avatar by forging them together in a lost Dwarven forge, now controlled by Chaos Dwarves.
Q20-Q25* Travel to Temple to finally kill all SUPER EVIL and unsummon SUPER AVATAR OF EVIL. Any sort of enemy in the list.

We can include a variety of environments. Think crypts, swamps, deserts, cities, caves, dungeons, castles, towers, sewers... Nice looking tiles can be made to put on the HQ board.

I think the first arc is the one that was most recent, and personally, I think will work best.