This is a campaign idea I am starting to develop and suggestions for filling out the background are appreciated.
On 12/21/12 at midnight GMT, every population center on Earth with 500,000 or more people within a 20 mile radius had a massive structure suddenly appear, a round, gothic, spired tower taller than any skyscraper then in existence. The structures were massive at their base, almost half a mile across. Any attempts to fly or parachute within a mile of them caused any vehicles involved to vanish and any persons present to suddenly appear unharmed on the ground at exactly one mile's distance from the base. This included rockets and missiles aimed at the Towers. Any buildings in existence where the towers appeared simply vanished, clearing an area a quarter mile around every tower and replacing it with soft grass, but any people present were safely transported away. No weapons known to mankind have ever been able to damage the towers since that day.
At the same moment the Towers appeared, every ounce of fissionable material approaching weapons-grade quality vanished from the Earth, no matter how well hidden. Since then, any attempts to create anything close to weapons-grade materials results in those materials simply vanishing into thin air. Even more surprising, the same sort of vanishing happened to any biological or chemical weapons of mass destruction.
Exactly twenty-four hours after their initial appearance, a telepathic, for lack of a better term, message was heard in their native language by every human sixteen biological years of age or older.
"Peoples of Earth, rejoice. The Towers of Fortune are open and ready for your exploration efforts. Instructions for exploring them are being provided to your national leaders. Have fun!"
Every government on Earth received the same instructions for what was allowed. There were two main rules.
1) Only humans between the ages of 16 and 26 may enter the Towers. That range began right on their 16th birthday and expired the day preceding their 26th birthday. Anyone outside that range would experience the teleport effect mentioned above.
2) Only muscle-powered weaponry may be brought within the Towers. Any firearms or explosives brought within a mile of them simply vanished, no matter how well concealed. Personal electronics and recording devices were not forbidden.
In addition to the general message, world leaders were also instructed telepathically that any attempts to prevent entry to the Towers by anyone would result in negative consequences. The mildest form was a brief fugue state, a warning to cease. Persisting in attempts to restrict access would result in more and more severe consequences, leading eventually to sudden death if attempts persisted. More than one totalitarian regime with a Tower present within its borders experienced significant losses of personnel.
That was the stick.
The carrot was that any individuals exploring the Towers and dealing with the denizens within would receive treasures. This could range from precious metals and gemstones to rarer items. Those rarer items were often items of technology, such as a broadcast power receiver that looked like a battery and never wore out. Cures for diseases were also found now and then by intrepid Explorers.
Extraordinary abilities were also available to individuals within the Towers, based on traditional RPG themes, including clerics and mages. But those abilities only worked within the Towers.
Yes, the Towers were essentially vast dungeons with monsters and treasure.
I'm not sure whether to set the campaign within the first year of the arrival of the Towers or a decade or two later.
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Originally Posted by mallet
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