I have several ideas for plots that I think might be interesting, but I'm not really wanting to devote the time it takes to actually DM them. Figured I'd toss them up here and make them available to anyone who might be interested. A lot of these are -not- Valucre canon specific, meaning you would probably have to host them in the Alternative section. Most of the ideas I had that were Valucre specific are now available as Iselyr quests. Some of the plots can be fitted into Valucre's canon if a few tweaks here and there are made. If you're unsure, shoot me a PM.
Anywho, if you find yourself interested in any of these plots, feel free to shoot me a PM to let me know. (I may want to join and I may even have more information on the plots than what's listed.) These plots can not be done solo, so you might wanna grab a few friends to join you.
A small township, Bliss is what most Americans would consider an old-fashioned, all-American town. All the residents are members of the same Church, the children attend the same school, neighbors call each other by their first names, and every Friday night the men gather in the hunting lodge to spend a weekend of "good times and good laughs". While the men are off hunting and fishing, the women tend to their children and gather in the community center to exchange family recipes and old wives tales. There have been no recordings of violent crimes for the past twenty years within this seemingly peaceful community, and Bliss is extremely proud of this.
Another source of their pride is the town's outlying hunting and fishing grounds. The beautiful lands are rich with small and large game while the lakes are filled with scores of fish, attracting campers, hikers, and hunters. Enjoying the solitude of their community, Bliss employs a strict application process and waiting list. Only small groups of six to nine people can be on the hunting grounds at any one time and these people must undergo a complete background check before they are accepted.
Not all is as it seems in the quiet town of Bliss, though. The application process isn't used to shuffle out those they think would draw trouble to the community, but instead, to find those whose past history is riddled with trouble, those with a criminal history. The inhabitants of Bliss believe that America's justice system has failed them. At one time or another, each of the families had lived in sprawling cities strife with turmoil and crimes. Each family had lost someone dear to them in a horrendous act of violence. In their own twisted view, they seek not vengeance, but to make the world a better place to liveone criminal at a time. Applicants need not to have been found guilty of their crime, a simple accusation is all that is needed for the Bliss Hunter's Lodge to approve membership.
Once approved, these applicants are notified and they quickly, joyfully, appear in Bliss, their gear in tow. The women of Bliss seem extremely friendly, serving the tourists steaming bowls of home-cooked stew. The first night, the tourists are allowed to stay at the Hunter's Lodge, their belongings stowed safely away while they sleep. Or so they think. When they wake up, their supplies have been removed from the room. Cell phones, laptops, car keys, anything that could be used to contact the outside world has been taken. Supplies and weapons have been taken as well. A letter has been placed on each of their nightstands. The Hunter's Lodge doesn't open its doors to tourists. Oh, no. Its doors are opened to the hunted. Scrawled across the paper in bold strokes are the words, "You have been accused of committing heinous acts against the American population. There is only one punishment for such treason, your existence will no longer be tolerated. You have been judged. You have been found guilty. You have been sentenced. Your punishment isDeath."
Several characters have been kidnapped, drugged and placed in an "observation tank". Any racial perks and magic/psionic abilities have been removed.
This observation tank is actually a facility composed of eleven floors. The layout of each floor is a maze that characters need to navigate in order to find the stairs leading to the floor above them and, eventually, out of the compound.
Each floor is different, both in its layout and the "inhabitants" that it contains. Mutated creatures roam the halls, varying in size and ferocity. These creatures are part of an on-going military experiment.
On each floor, there is a "safe" room and an "armory" room. The door frame and floor leading in to the safe rooms have been sprayed with a compound that prevents these creatures from entering. A minimal amount of food and/or water may be found here as well, but not always. If fortune favors you, a medical kit containing various items such as alcohol swabs, gauze, purified cotton, penicillin or acetaminophen tablets, and tweezers can be found.
The entrances to the armory rooms are not coated with this compound and thus, are not always safe. However, a supply of weapons may sometimes be found here, though they may be primitive or may not even work. (ie small dagger or a pistol with no trigger or very little ammo)
Upon awakening, each individual finds him/herself in a safe room either alone or with another player. There are two cots and a table. On each table, there is one small dagger, a compass whose rose is marked with "N" in all four directions, a box of water-proof matches, a pen, and a composition book. (For each player.) Various pages have been torn from the composition book and some parts have been blotted out with what seems to be a black, permanent marker but the previous owner has left behind a few tidbits of information that can still be read. The composition books are nearly identical in information, though hand-writing varies which would lead one to believe that he/she is definitely -not- the first to find themselves in this position.
If you want to live, you must quickly (and carefully) make your way through each floor until you reach the surface where, hopefully, you will find your freedom.
Good luck.
Spoiler:
I do have maps available for this, as well as a list of the creatures that are on each floor. PM me if you're interested. (If there's enough interest, I may even DM this one myself.
The ancient Maya deemed this day as the end of days for humanity, at least, as we now know it to be. It is said that every twenty-six thousand years, the Earth lines up with the exact center of the galaxy. Twenty six thousand years ago, on the cusp of the Great Year, Cro-Magnon man inexplicably began creating great artworks in the caves of southern France.
Since then, each Age, or period of the Great Year, has seen an event that has had a major impact on mankind. During the Age of Leo, the Earth experienced a global warming to such a massive extent that it led to the deglaciation of what is now most of the habitable world. During the Age of Cancer, nomadic tribes began to settle, bringing about civilization and the domestication of farm animals. The Age of Gemini saw the development of writing and an increase in trade. The building of the great Egyptian pyramids occurred in the Age of Taurus. The expansion of great nations such as China, Persia, Greece and Rome, their military achievements, development of weapons and many wars were attributed to the Age of Aries. The Age of Pisces is marked by the rise in many different religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism and technological advancements such as computers, the internet, cell phones, satellites, etc.
Many researchers and theologians believe we live on the cusp of a new age, that time period between two astrological ages where one period slowly dies to give birth to the new age. The Maya calendar stops on December 12, 2012, the day that is thought to be the beginning of the Age of Aquarius. A few religious zealots believe this day to be the end of all days, the emergence of Armageddon, or the Rapture, for some. Many researchers, however, believe that this day will mark the dawn of a new realization for mankind and that the secret of eternal life will be revealed.
The Carlasian Foundation is one of the most prominent and influential pharmaceutical companies in the world. Headed by Dr. Roman d'Arbano, the Carlasian Foundation has branches located in every major city of every major country. They are one of many research communities that believe mankind will see eternal life in the Age of Aquarius. Ongoing medical research is funded by major contributions received from large corporations and political parties upon the promise of wealth, not if, but when their research finally reaches fruition. Their goal? Eternal life.
Deep in the jungles of Guatemala, a group of archaeologists working for the Carlasian Foundation have just uncovered what they believe to be a civilization created not by man, but by an ancient alien race. Ancient texts and markings found within the top layer of the ancient city have been interpreted and their meanings are undeniable. Somewhere within the bowels of the buried temple lies the legendary Fountain of Youth.
Locals believe the ancient ruins not to be a city, but in fact, to be the burial grounds of an ancient deity, Vucub Caquix. Fearful of incurring the wrath of the murdered God and causing his resurrection, the locals attacked the archaeological team. The few who survived retreated into the ancient city where the locals would not follow them. Contact between the survivors and the Carlasian Foundation was re-established briefly but was then inexplicably severed once more, the final transmission a jumble of garbled words and fearful cries.
Unwilling to give up this huge development, the Carlasian Foundation has hired a group of mercenaries to venture to this archaeological dig. Their mission is to retrieve and protect the surviving members of the archaeological team and subdue the locals to allow the team to complete their work.
In 20XX, the United States, as we know it, no longer exists. A civil uproar, for political reasons, erupted causing the country to break off into several factions. Taking advantage of the U.S.'s turmoil, other world leaders decided to launch attacks on the warring country in hopes of claiming a piece of the former country. Unable or unwilling to communicate with each other, each of the different factions launched nuclear weapons of their own in retaliation.
Someone, perhaps a former President, with enough forethought (and testicular fortitude) had plans implemented to gather the top scientists, writers, physicians, musicians, engineers, and any other humans with high enough intellect that could foster new generations of humanity onto a spaceship? of some sort that had been secretly circling the Earth, a safety measure for such an apocalyptic event.
Now, it is the year 20XX. Bionautics Research has enlisted the help of a special operations and tactics unit known as BioForce. This team specializes in the acquisition and retrieval of hazardous materials and/or lifeforms.
Their mission: To locate, activate, and return a genetically bio-engineered robot located somewhere within the abandoned research facility located on the now desolate, uninhabitable planet Earth. Research received from probes recently returning from the planet has suggested that the atmosphere is still unsuitable for supporting carbon based life-forms.
When the apocalypse occurred, the building's defensive system was raised. Unfortunately, the entire building is solar powered, meaning, the defense system is still activated.
I was hoping for various mutated lifeforms to populate this version of Earth. Of course, the lifeforms would appear to be alien-like to the special ops team that confronts them, but I'm sure we can work it so that they discover that the lifeforms are, in fact, the mutated descendants of carbon-based lifeforms (including humans) that populated Earth before the apocalypse occurred.
Last edited by Disco Lemonade; 10-15-2011 at 12:26 AM.
Ultima Cumaei venit iam carminis ætas; Magnus ab integro sæclorum nascitur ordo. Iam redit et Virgo, redeunt Saturnia regna, iam nova progenies cælo demittitur alto.
It has been four years since the mass disappearance of thousands of people. The disappearances occurred not only in large, metropolitan areas such as New York City, London, Tokyo, and Beijing, but small, rural areas across the world, as well.
Family members and friends of those missing say that they literally 'vanished' into thin air. Their claims have been supported by events that immediately followed the disappearances. Subway collisions, airplane crashes, major automobile accidents and the collapse of major electrical and other utility companies occurred as a direct result of these disappearances.
Some claim extra-terrestrial involvement; Christian activists claim the occurrence was of a Biblical nature, calling it the prophesied 'Rapture'. Conspiracy theorists claim the disappearances were a direct cause of the economic, financial, and military amalgamation of the world's most powerful nations and the sudden emergence of the People's Government which now rules all of the world's nations under one authoritarian world government.
NEW YORK
Since the Great Disappearances of 2020, the city has been divided into twelve sectors. Each fish-bowl community is a self-contained, miniature town that is under constant military supervision.
All residents within these sectors are required to adhere to a specific Code of Conduct set forth within their sector's by-laws in accordance to the People's Government ruling. Under the Populace Identification Act of 2022, all citizens are required to receive a Populace Identification Nanotat; a tattoo that contains dormant nanites within the tattoo ink. These nanites become active at the moment a violation of the resident's by-laws and are released into the resident's bloodstream. Punishment is dependent on the level of the infraction.
Each tattoo contains identifying information such as the person's name, date of birth, sector of birth, and sector of residence. The tattoos also allow the resident to purchase or sell approved items and services (via an electronic credit system) within their sector of residence and identifies the resident's assigned occupation.
Any form of communication between sectors is illegal and nearly impossible without proper permissions, though it is rumored that a few underground revolutionary groups have managed to not only establish communication between the sectors but to maintain an effective trading system, as well. This trading system allows those residents who have managed to avoid receiving the Nanotat the ability to barter for the necessities of living, IE food, water, clothing.
Methods such as sterilization and procreation via artificial means have been well under way as a form of population control sanctioned by the People's Government. Children born from these artificial means are assigned to and raised by licensed couples. Most residents over the age of fifteen have been sterilized. Those who have not, seek shelter within one of the revolutionary groups.
Most noted of these revolutionary groups is Sanctuary. Created by a religious zealot known only as Teacher, Sanctuary has become a safe haven for those who refuse or are unable (such as children born to unlicensed couples and their parents) to receive the PIN enforced on residents by the People's Government and those who have managed to have their PIN successfully removed.
Sanctuary was the first group to successfully establish communication between the twelve separate sectors. The only group to offer not only food, water and shelter, but weapons, ammunition, and medical supplies, as well. It is because of this that Sanctuary has become an integral and well-balanced machine operating within the trading system.
It is not uncommon for skirmishes to break out between the People's Forces (a branch of the military under control by the People's Government) and Sanctuary. These skirmishes provide a distraction for Sanctuary to conduct various missions sanctioned by Teacher and often times recruits new PIN-enabled supporters of Teacher's cause. Some of these supporters are able to help in ways in which no others are capable because their PIN gives them access to many resources that would otherwise be unavailable.
The risk that PIN-enabled supporters take is extremely high and often times fatal. The nanites that are embedded within their tattoos can become active when a violation of the People's Code of Conduct is recognized. Once activated, the nanites are released into the resident's blood stream and, based upon the level of infraction, punishment is administered until a member of the People's Forces can arrive. A PIN scanner is used to revert the nanites to their dormant stage.
Violations of the People's Code of Conduct are divided into three levels:
Level III - These violations are considered minor infractions. Equivalent to what would be considered petty misdemeanors today, these violations can include, but are not limited to, activities such as curfew violations, unauthorized leave of absence from assigned occupation, and vandalism of People's Property. Upon recognition of a Level III infraction, the activated nanites released into the resident's bloodstream causes the resident to experience a disrupt of voluntary control of muscles, much like the electrical current emitted by a taser.
Level II - Examples of these infractions can include, but are not limited to, unauthorized media distribution or possession of such media, unauthorized gathering, refusal to allow a PIN scan and willfully interfering with an ongoing investigation conducted by the People's Forces. Upon recognition of a Level II infraction, the activated nanites causes the resident to experience a disrupt of voluntary control of muscles, painful seizures, and a loss of consciousness.
Level I - Examples of Level I infractions can include, but are not limited to, aiding and abetting known members of any revolutionary groups, unlicensed procreation, attempting to remove a PIN, and physical or verbal assault against a member of the People's Government. Upon recognition of a Level I infraction, the activated nanites causes the resident to experience a disrupt of voluntary and involuntary muscles, painful seizures, and finally, death. The nanites embedded within residents surrounding (50 yard range) a Level I offender are immediately activated, released and a Level II infraction is incurred.
It should be noted that repeat offenders of Level II and Level III infractions are arrested by the People's Forces. It is unsure of where they are sent or what happens to them as they are not released into the population.
Spoiler:
I've already started this role play with my daughter. You can find the thread here. If you're interested in joining, shoot me a PM.
In the year 20XX, the AIDS epidemic, as we know it, has been wiped off the face of the Earth. However, a new viral threat, a mutated strain of the AIDS virus, looms on the horizon of human existence. This new threat has many characteristics of the AIDS virus in that it kills off the afflicted person's immune system, but more violent in that it mutates the cells in the patient's heart, liver, pancreas, lungs, and finally the brain. Kill rate is one hundred percent.
The Center for Disease Control has dubbed the new viral strain the "Pale Horse" since the victims of this disease undergo a change in appearance. Their hair becomes a snowy white while their eyes become a bright yellowish hue. The patients undergo a personality change and become much much more aggressive. A slight drop in the patients' intelligence levels occur while the patients' basic survival instincts increases substantially. The ability to communicate is left intact. In the final stages of the disease, patients also seem to have an insatiable craving for human flesh. There is no known time line for when the final change will occur. One thing is known for certain, a person infected with Pale Horse will inevitably reach the final stage.
Doctor Victor Hurley, a biological research scientist working for the CDC, was researching a cure for the disease. He linked the Pale Horse patients' drive for human flesh to be related to the human body's basal need for a certain amino acid that they could no longer produce. Using this research, he developed a serum which he called Xinab-01. In 2015, without the approval of the FDA, he secretly began a series of test trials on forty patients. Unfortunately, the serum had caused the virus to progress at a more rapid pace, supposedly killing the test subjects within minutes of injection.
A special tactics unit was deployed to the research facility where Dr. Hurley was conducting the experiments after a frantic and confusing 911 call from a nurse trapped within the locked compound was received. A stand-off lasting more than two weeks occurred before Dr. Hurley was detained. No information related to the incidents that happened within the compound were released to the public and the recording of the purported 911 call has mysteriously vanished. Although no evidence was shown, he had been indicted and convicted of over forty counts of manslaughter. Dr. Hurley is now serving several life sentences with no hopes of parole in a federal prison. He will never finish his research.
However, his protege, Doctor Linda Burke has continued his research into a cure for Pale Horse. With the creation of Xinab-02, a modified version of Xinab-01, Dr.Burke hopes to have perfected the serum. Test subjects began with small lab rats and then progressed to Rhesus monkeys. Three to four hours after injection, no traces of Pale Horse have been found in any of the test subjects. The side effects are unknown, though testing in these animals have shown an increase in strength and a quickening of muscular reflexes. None of the test subjects injected with the serum have died.
With the approval of the FDA and the cooperation of the CDC, Doctor Burke is able to begin experiments of Xinab-02 on human subjects. The testing of Xinab-02 would be in a controlled environment; half the subjects would receive the actual Xinab-02 serum while the other half would receive a placebo. A sleeping aid would be given to both groups prior to injection to help keep the patients calm and relaxed.
Human subjects were chosen at random from all walks of life. Names of infected persons were received from the data banks controlled by the CDC. Letters, E-mails, and phone calls were used to contact potential test subjects.
This is where our story begins.
You were contacted and agreed to join the test trial. After a series of tests, your clothes were exchanged for hospital gowns and you were taken to your room where you were administered an injection containing either Xinab-02 or a placebo, as well as an anesthetic. When you wake, you are unsure of how much time has passed and you begin to realize that the medical staff seems to be nowhere around and the electricity seems to have gone out. The good news? You were given Xinab-02, it works and you've been cured of Pale Horse! Celebrate? Well... The bad news? The others were not so lucky...and now...they're hungry.
OR
You have been employed by Doctor Linda Burke for awhile now. Someone, we're not sure who, made a mistake in their acquisition of the anesthetic. (They ordered the wrong one!) Unaware of the volatile reaction Pale Horse has with the anesthetic, you help administer the doses of Xinab-02 or placebo to the different test subjects. You are tasked with recording any changes as they transpire. Unfortunately, the Pale Horse virus mutated because of the anesthetic and the disease progressed before test subjects could be eradicated. Control was lost and the integrity of the compound was compromised. A full lock-down was commenced, leaving you, other surviving staff members and the newly cured test subjects within to fend for your lives until help can arrive....if it ever arrives.
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