Starting Adventure

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Joshua
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Starting Adventure

Post by Joshua »

It occurs to me that a lot of people have no idea what kind of plots you might have. So, some thoughts...

Murders:
The police deal with these a lot. To the point where a lot of them are "whoops, this guy was poor. No one cares." Assuming a 'normal' assailant, you are looking at all the typical murder reasons (jealousy, money, rivals, lust...) and add on the occasional cultist and serial killer to muddle the waters.

Cultists usually have specific reasons for killing. Sometimes it's to keep something a secret, often it's robbery of unearth artifact, and if you're really lucky, it's a blood ritual to summon a monster.

Killers, like Jack-the-Ripper, are sometimes pure humans, but occasionally, they'll be some broken man trying to make the pain from a mi-go abduction go away. Occasionally, they'll be pushed by darker things, whispers form outer gods, or what-not.

Plus, someone eaten in the shadows by fungus or a night gaunt... well, the police can't stop that even if they want to.

Robbery:
Mad Science is bad, m-kay. But it makes some wonderful macguffins. In addition, there's rules for magic relics in the gothic horror book. And, well, horror tomes are also fairly common. Rites and rituals have to be learned, and a book with the correct rites, or mad-science formula are very valuable. Also, the police, don't like dealing with the mystic, so... often the constables won't do much. That being said, many wealthy patrons will look into getting an inspector on the case. Occasionally, the mi-go will have use a front to get something dangerous to them destroyed or retrieved.

Valuables, are less useful, but someone powerful might want something back for purely sentimental reasons.

Also, stealing from a merchant will almost always get some kind of response.

Last, municipal services and food distribution are a major thing. Prevent food from reaching an area of the city, and you'll have food riots and people fleeing to other sectors.

Kidnapping:
Sometimes thought of as pre-murder. A lot of times, especially when cults are involved, this is about holding people until they can be properly sacrificed. Occasionally, there's a political reason behind it. Constable response depends largely on importance of kidnapee.

Illness:
Plague is deadly. While that might be enough, it's useful to note that experiments are what the mi-go do. They might inflict a specific illness in an area, start a plague to see how people react, maybe even spread something that will force the humans to evolve. The sorta-good news is that they rarely do this without a method of control. As repopulating Lastfell would take too long.

Scandal:
Let's not forget this is a victorian-ish London expy. High society is based a lot on gossip and whispers. Even trade and merchants in this closed environment are subject to needing to keep good names and clear records. Rumors that a merchant is secretly being supplied by the mi-go can ruin a business.

On the lower side of things, accusations that a person is mi-go (be it an infiltrator, or sympathizer) will likely get them burned at the stake. Lynching went out of style when people realized mi-go infiltrators don't need to breathe. Or at least, don't breathe like humans do.

Accusations of magic use or occultism or doing human sacrifice in a cult, can also ruin your day.

Of note, there's a small percentage of those who have scars and direct visible reminders they were experimented on by the mi-go. That's a definite social flaw, as one can never truly be sure how much of the original is left. Still, someone like Carl (from the random characters, with a fungus growing into his brain) can find some sort of acceptance in small groups in the slums. Of course, trying to go to a rich party, or even go shopping at a nice store, is another story.
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Joshua
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Re: Starting Adventure

Post by Joshua »

Big Plots:

Beyond what people deal with on a day-to-day basis, are the world ending potential issues.

Summoning:
Monsters. Horrific beings from beyond. These things are bad news, and cults love to summon them. The (relatively) sane ones do so to strike at a rival or the mi-go. The insane ones just want to let the old ones in and let them wipe out the mi-go and all of Yuggoth. Only slightly more rational than doing it on Earth.

These are usually big things, involving kidnapping, theft of tomes, and making sure the cult leader undergoes the right lessons and trials to be able to perform it. Plus, it helps to make sure the stars align.

If it's just a single assassin-type monster, that's more of a supernatural murder, as per the mini-plot above.

Experiments:
The mi-go do a lot of sweeping experiments. Take almost anything and turn it up to 11. From zombies, to body-swapping a small area, to turning off the force-field that holds the air in. Usually, there's plenty of warning that something is up, and small mini-test runs to make sure the experiment will happen properly when they let it run.

Fighting the Mi-Go:
Well, they're in charge. and while the world is physical, this is their 'matrix'. So, how much damage can you inflict before the mi-go wipe everything out and start over? On the plus side, infiltrators allow pcs to deal with this threat on a smaller scale, even if they're merely going to scratch the surface.

As a mid-term goal, acquiring strange powers and magics aren't bad. And perhaps, there will be other ways to deal lasting consequences. On the plus side, Lastfell is the longest running experiment that mi-go seem to have, so, there's a lot of sunk cost there. right?
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Joshua
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Re: Starting Adventure

Post by Joshua »

So, how do PCs get involved?

Murders:
  • The PC knows the victim.
  • The PC knows the perpetrator. Perhaps it's the same one who made you an orphan.
  • The PC is a suspect. while one might think this has to be a high profile case, so long as someone important to the pc thinks it's possible, then it doesn't matter if it's being formally investigated. Does it?
  • The PC witnessed it, but while doing something they can't talk to the police about.
  • The perpetrator is similar to a PCs specialty. Useful for weird science or the semi-monster pc.
Robbery:
  • All of the above apply here.
  • The PC wants said macguffin.
  • Only the PC understands why the macguffin is so important. OR what ritual is being planned.
  • The PCs have a skill that makes a rich patron use them instead of the police.
  • The PC is the victim.
Kidnapping:
  • Replace macguffin with victim, and all of the above apply.
  • I'll likely avoid a pc being kidnapped, but it can happen. Maybe they kidnapped 4 people, and the PC is the one who got away?
Illness:
  • So, the obvious one is the PC has a lot of medicine, or biology. Oldie but goodie.
  • Tangentially, crowd control and riot suppression are a thing.
  • Making sure medicine and supply lines stay open.
  • If the origin isn't mundane, tracking the ritual or device being used to create it.
  • Stopping bad people from taking advantage of the death or making it worse. (Plagues are great ways to conceal assassinations. Even if the plague wasn't your idea.)
Scandal:
  • I don't have anything specific beyond knowing the people involved, but it it's your landlord, the scandal might fall on you as a co-conspirator.
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Joshua
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Re: Starting Adventure

Post by Joshua »

Summoning:
Maybe not as starting characters, but eventually, you'll be the ones best able to take these things on. You'll certainly be more willing than the average constable.

Experiments:
This is the kind of things the PCs start to notice after a few small adventures that seem unconnected. This is useful in a forum game, where different groups can be following different threads. IT would require the groups to talk to each other or mix things up... but... hey, that's pert of the goal.

Fighting the Mi-Go:
Perhaps the ultimate goal of the game. We'll see how far things get?
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