Thursday, July 25, 2013

Location: Monument Valley

Shoot. So I realized yesterday that I completely forgot to update on Tuesday...and them promptly also forgot yesterday. I am kicking myself so hard, so I decided to get these posts up first thing in the morning. I do apologize for this. This post is more of a specific idea I had for an adventure revolving around this area, though it can be modified in any number of ways. I'm still experimenting with how exactly I want to make the posts here. Credit for the image to Reddit user Errorless Gnome.


                                                                     Description:
Three mountains rise from an otherwise flat plain, each having a gigantic altar carved into the top of it. The stone looks worn and ancient. The slopes are steep and treacherous, but you're not sure if these were ever meant for someone of your own size.

Associated Knowledges:
History:
  • These monuments have been here since the earliest humans came to settle.
  • You have heard that titans used to come here.
  • Long ago, titans and giants would hold their moots in this valley.

Geography:
  • These plains are massive and flat.
  • Mountains are unusual around here.
  • The "mountains" are artificial, not formed through natural means.

Info:
The mountains in Monument Valley were formed a long time ago by titans and giants. The altars are shrines to the ancient Titans, whom they revere as deities. The valley between the mountains was used to hold their moots. For the last several hundred years, these creatures have not been been there, as there have not been any moot-worthy events to happen. Humans have set up a small town between the mountains, in the center of the valley in the meantime, completely oblivious to the place's purpose.
The obvious intent here is that the Titans and giants all return suddenly and begin terrorizing the humans that are desecrating their sacred place. The reasons for their sudden moot can vary depending on what has happened in the campaign. Ideas I have so far:
  • Celestial alignment. Titans and giants live for a long time, it could be several centuries before the stars are right.
  • A great beast was slain. Perhaps even the party was involved.
  • A new king must be chosen.

All of these can have different ramifications for the PCs, should they choose to intervene. However, they should all at some point have the party need to scale at least one of the great mountain-shrines. These are supposed to be fairly standard dungeon-crawl areas, only with a gentle crawl to the top rather than the bottom. This can be done either to appease the Titans of old during the moot (and thus make the giants like the PCs) or to further desecrate the holy ground to antagonize the giants away from attacking the town. 
Getting the giants to stop killing people should be the priority, and there are a number of ways to go about it.
  • Confrontation. The PCs can attempt to slay all of the attackers, though this will be very difficult.
  • Persuasion. The giants may be convinced that the townspeople should be allowed to simply leave, provided the PCs are capable of doing so.
  • Appeasement. If the PCs help the giants perform their moot by ascending the shrines, the town may become an actual addition to the valley and, therefore, be sacred along with everything else.

Should the PCs choose to attack the giants, they'll soon see that they are heavily outmatched. Scaling the shrines would attract attention and, potentially, make the whole valley become desecrated by their actions. This could cause the giants to leave out of shame that they were unable to defend it, provided that the PCs choose to spin it that way. There are, as always, an infinite number of options and it is impossible to plan for them all.

No comments:

Post a Comment