Campaign Challenge!

[CandidGamera]

I've got time to kill at work today, so I thought I might initiate a little game. Maybe it'll catch on, maybe not.

The idea : Present three campaign elements. Could be a type of creature, could be a genre or subgenre, could be a time period, could be almost anything. The next poster has to present a short campaign outline incorporating those elements, and then give three elements for the next person.

I expect this to go quickly nonlinear, as people will respond to the same post more than once, but that's fine.

I'll kick it off.

Time Travel + Australia + Horror.

[teh bunneh]

The world has been invaded by -- for lack of a better term -- demons, who devour people's bodies and souls. Humanity is doomed, for there is no way to fight back against these creatures. Our one hope: a research station in the heart of the Australian outback -- far enough from civilization to have escaped the attention of the demons -- has created a method of time travel. It is unreliable at best, but it is our last and best chance: to go back in time before the demons arrive, and either warn humanity or (preferably) figure out what caused the invasion and put a stop to it. God save us all.

Mine:
An enormous underground chamber
An ancient manuscript
Three cats

[Supreme Serpent]

Mine:
An enormous underground chamber
An ancient manuscript
Three cats

Not reading the fine print on their tour contract (actually a reworded version of the contract made by Faust), Josie, Melody and Val (Josie and the Pussycats) find themselves having to perform in Hell's massive concert hall (normally reserved for Yoko Ono concerts) with no easy way back home after the gig. Can the band save their souls and rock n' roll at the same time?

New elements:
TV Cooking show
A submarine
Minotaurs

[Super Squirrel]

Mine:
An enormous underground chamber
An ancient manuscript
Three cats

Pulp heroes seek after the Tablakan, a text said to have been written by an ancient Egyptian Pharoah. While tracking down the manuscript, the heroes discover an ancient trap reputed to have killed thousands of victims. Will the heroes figure out the trap of the three cats or will they find themselves added to the countless dead?

[CandidGamera]

Not bad at all. I must confess, I came up with an answer to my own three, in case the thread needed more feeding :

The Dreamtime. A plane of existence that touches Earth at all times, simultaneously. Strange creatures with sentience, but minds totally alien to man, have begun to emerge from the Dreamtime onto the Earthly plane - devastating all that they can. Assisted by the Aborigines, our heroes must pass through the Dreamtime and battle these demonic invaders, whenever and wherever they emerge.

Enormous Underground Chamber + Ancient Manuscript + Three Cats.

The old gods are real, and one man knows it. A student of the occult arts, he came across a true rarity - a volume that seemed to have been housed in the legendary library of Alexandria. It detailed ancient, unspeakable rituals - spells of power that could touch the gods themselves. He was inspired, then, and sought out an ancient temple, long buried in the sands of Egypt. There he called out to the Gods, intent on stealing the soul of an immortal deity and assuming its powers unto himself. Bast heard him first, and stricken with curiosity, responded to the summons she had not heard for millennia. He struck, then, with his spells to bind and trap her soul - but cats are nothing if not contrary and stubborn creatures. Bast divided her own essence into three parts - sending each piece to one of her children - denying him his prize temporarily. Can the PCs save the three souls of the Queen of Cats before the occultist can recover them and assume her power?

Elements:
A Magic Urn
Political Intrigue
Elvis Presley

(I see, on preview, Supreme Serpent has joined us too.. yay! I'll have to give his some thought.)

[Super Squirrel]

New elements:
TV Cooking show
A submarine
Minotaurs
An ancient greek prophecy comes true when Emeril performs his show live aboard a US Nuclear Submarine. Now minotaurs are invading Tokyo! Can the heroes rescue Emeril from the powers of Zeus so that he can stop the invading army before they turn Tokyo Tower into a giant moon destroying canon?

New Elements:
President Hillary Clinton
The Worlds Largest Supply of Peanut Butter
A Fake 1972 American Quarter

[CandidGamera]

New elements:
TV Cooking show
A submarine
Minotaurs

The crew of a US Navy sub finds their instruments befouled - a strange electromagnetic field has enveloped them fully. The ship hits some rocks that seem to appear out of nowhere, damaging the boat.. When they surface to get their bearings and make repairs, they find themselves on a parallel Earth - an Earth where Greek culture is alive and well in the Information Age. One military surplus dealer can get them what they need to repair their hull, if they can get his attention away from his favorite show long enough. It's the Iron Chef, and today's secret ingredient is Minotaur meat, and that's no bull!



New Elements:
President Hillary Clinton
The Worlds Largest Supply of Peanut Butter
A Fake 1972 American Quarter

It all started very innocently. The quarter was never meant to hurt anyone - just to win a few bar bets now and then. But it didn't just defy probability - it could control it. Making decisions on investments and elections based on the flip of a phony coin seemed harmless enough, but all the creamy, delicious peanut butter in the world isn't enough to salve a man's conscience when he's responsible for electing the first female president of the US - who may also be the last president we ever have.


New Elements :
The World's Richest Person
A Scruffy but Lovable Dog
Vampires

[Hermit]

I just can't keep up :)


A Magic Urn
Political Intrigue
Elvis Presley


A group of bored college kids (Our PCs and heroes) find an offer on Ebay that they KNOW must be a hoax. An egyptian style urn said to carry the internal organs of none other than Elvis Presley. Being bored, and since the urn looks like it might be worth something, they make a bid.

It arrives the next day, with no record on Ebay of any such sale taking place. Naturally, one of them has to open it. A swirling of the ashes of time and they find themselves in New Memphis, a fantasy kingdom in the style of ancient Egypt ruled by once rock star now turned living god Elvis Presley, or as he's known here, Pharoah Bubba Ho Tep. As the morning and the evening star, and the ever lovin teddy bear, Elvis has ruled wisely and well, but he fears a new conspiracy has arisen against him in his own court. Many of his most trusted advisors before had vanished, and he was not sure who to trust. Instead, he turned to his old world, and sent an urn to fetch him new champions. The PCs are informed that they will be granted blue suede shoes to show their authority, and become members of his court... with various seemingly meaningless titles ("First minister of Hound Dogs" etc) Their REAL mission is to uncover the threats to their Pharoah and foil them.


New Elements:
A woman in white
Four Swords
A ruined city

[bigdamnhero]

A woman in white
Four Swords
A ruined city
A mysterious, beautiful woman dressed in flowing white, presents our heroes with an ancient map purporting to show the location of the lost city of Kahenjur, where the Four Swords of the Apocalypse and said to be buried. Shortly thereafter, the Bad Guys steal the map; if they get their hands on the swords it could be the End Of Days. Fortunately one Hero has Eidetic Memory, and can recreate the map. Can our Heroes reach the city and find the swords before the Bad Guys do? And can they trust their mysterious benefactor? (Could be pulp, could be fantasy.)

Next:
An isolated farmhouse
Mysterious visitors who may or may not be human
An architexture textbook

[CandidGamera]

Next:
An isolated farmhouse
Mysterious visitors who may or may not be human
An architexture textbook

An enormous farmhouse, out in the countryside, operating as a bed and breakfast stopover for weary travellers on the long road. The PCs have taken refuge there, befriending the old man who owns the building, but there not the only ones - soon after they show up, three strangers in dark coats arrived. They're less sociable, talking only amongst themselves in a strange, unidentifiable language. They bring with them a book - seemingly on farmhouses and architectural styles thereof, but they seem to be searching for something in the house..

Next (if no one wants to use the last three I provided) :
A Chainsaw
Science Fiction
Twinkies.

[bigdamnhero]

Felt like trying my hand at this one, too.

An enormous underground chamber
An ancient manuscript
Three cats
Coming this fall to the WB, The New Magi:
While exploring an abandoned building, a group of teenagers finds a passageway to an enormous underground chamber, hundreds of years old. In the center of the chamber an enormous bronze pedestal holds the diary of an ancient magician. The guardians of the book are three cats -- a tabby, a calico, and a siamese -- who seem normal except for the fact that they talk; if the cats decide the teenagers are worthy, they will teach the kids how to use the diary to grant themselves mystical powers. But the diary also hints at the location of other books, and there are other forces after them. And of course, cats never tell anyone the whole truth...

[Hermit]

A Chainsaw
Science Fiction
Twinkies.

You are a Mnch'Kinian warrior, super strong, nigh invulnerable. The emporer of your planet has given your conquest squad a mission. It turns out this pathetic planet, whose name loosely translates to 'dirt', produces a delicacy that his wife wants. Of course, the Empire COULD trade with the savages, but what's the fun in that? no, you are Mnch'Kinian warriors! You conquer! To make it sporting, you go in armed only with your Bzz'spluts... ancient weapons of honor and gorey... err... glory. The human sheep call them 'chainsaws'...whatever. Now, go forth and collect the golden treasures of earth with cream centers, and let none stand in your way!


New Elements:
A smiley face
Music
A really impressive cloak

[CandidGamera]

New Elements:
A smiley face
Music
A really impressive cloak

Supernatural songs, humming with ancient evil power, have begun to affect the students of the local college campus - making them think they are superheroes. Their ringleader, believing himself to be Dr. Strange and wearing ornate curtains as a cloak, and an embellished 'Have a Nice Day' button as his 'Amulet of Whassamatto', must be stopped before someone manages to hurt themselves.

[CandidGamera]

Oops! Representing my new elements form before, then :

New Elements :
The World's Richest Person
A Scruffy but Lovable Dog
Vampires

[bigdamnhero]

The World's Richest Person
A Scruffy but Lovable Dog
Vampires
Well, my first thought was simply...


The world's richest person hunts vampires with the aid of a scruffy but lovable dog.

...but I'd be afraid some Hollywood hack screenwriter might see that and turn it into a Van Helsing sequel. :D

OK, try this:


A scruffy but loveable dog is turned into a vampire-dog by a clan of vamps. They then arrange for the dog to be presented to the notoriously reclusive gazillionaire Hugh Howards. The dog bites Howards, turning him into a vampire under the clan's control. Using Howard's fortune, the clan will expand it's power unchecked unless our heroes can figure out what they're doing and stop them.

Not sure that's enough for a full campaign, but ought to be good for a couple adventures. And frankly, it's no less ludicrous than a lot of Vampire WOD plots I've heard. ;)


OK, try:
a map of equatorial Africa
an extensive comic book collection
the world's hottest chicken vindaloo

[Curufea]

a map of equatorial Africa
an extensive comic book collection
the world's hottest chicken vindaloo

Four Desperate Chef-adventurers, Chef Alphonse, Chef Greta, Chef Nathan, Chef Toulouse and his kid brother Pierre who never goes anywhere without his extensive comic book collection must race around the world to achieve ultimate victory in a curry cooking contest. But, having engine trouble over Egypt, they crash in Africa. But fear not, they have a map of equatorial Africa, and the local villagers have heard rumours about the secret chicken recipe of a hidden tribe of forgotten Indians far into the interior.
How can they get there? And more imporantly, how can they stop the dry deserts and damp jungles - not to mention the wild animals, from ruining the near-mint quality of Pierre's world famous collection?

Genre: Scifi
Location: Middle Earth
Prop: A banana

[Hermit]

Genre: Scifi
Location: Middle Earth
Prop: A banana

That last one throws me :)

The Age of Men has been a long one, and the story of the ring is considered mere myth. The other races have been engulfed by humanity to such a degree that they are considered merely subspecies. When Dr. Fillo Took gets the oppurtunity to explore a now dead volcano, he finds rare metalic trace elements. As a true scientist, he decides to reconstruct it.

Big mistake.

The one Ring is whole again, and with it, the return of the Dark Lord. Races, old and new, shed off their human guises (think shadowrun) and draw sides each seeking to claim the ring for their own. Orcs use laser axes, and Elves fly in great silver fighters while Dwarves use their constructed tunnel digging death bots. It's pure chaos!

On the run, Dr. fillo, the only man... err, now hobbit, with some knowledge of what's going on (The Dark Lord gloatingly told him) runs past our PCs... and slips on a banana peel hurting himself.

Our player's characters have found the man who can give them answers, and he will, but in return, he begs them for help in learning a new way to destroy the one ring, and then making it so!

New elements:
Cowboys
A strange light
Sinister men in dark robes

[bigdamnhero]

That last one throws me :)
Let's see, heavy metals can concentrate in fruits...

..Dr Took learns that over the millenia the components of the One Ring have worked their way through the water table and reached a fruit orchard located near what used to be Osgiliath. The remants of the Dark Lord's consciousness have brought those molecules together and forged them into... THE BANANA OF POWER!
Now the Dark Lord has begun growing other bio-engineered fruits and giving them as gifts to the races of Middle Earth: 3 kiwis to the Elves, 7 avocados to the Dwarf Lords, and 9 coconuts to the Rulers of Men. Can our heroes help Dr. Took in warning the free peoples of Middle Earth before their bowel movements become enslaved to the Dark Lord's will?

:D

(Bananas aside, Tolkein 2000 isn't a half-bad campaign idea!)

[CandidGamera]

New elements:
Cowboys
A strange light
Sinister men in dark robes

The town of Superior, Kansas had seen better days. Barely a handful of years into statehood, there weren't a lot of resources that the boys in Topeka could bring to bear on such an ill-defined problem - strange lights frightening the cattle, and unusally tall men, wearing what appeared to be dark robes, lurking around the cattle at night - leaving some horribly mutilated. The local sheriff could handle rustlers ready enough, but there was somethin' different about this problem. But a group of bounty hunters, men who face down death for a few dollars and all they can drink - that might be the answer.

New Elements:
A Junkyard
A Dragon
the Holy Roman Empire