Primeval

That is a good question - I planned to just use whatever my predecessors did for the most part but hadn't considered this.

Just got back here to catch up - looks like the progression/campaign mechanics are well in hand; I will offer any input I can but frankly you guys are more experienced with this kind of thing. Working on the scenario - going to throw an Outer Dark Demon in there, it will be how the Idol is transported to Thoth if the Overlord wins.

Working on mine - first draft of the intro text that explains the scenario, I think this makes it more clear than my previous ramblings. "Having fled Khitai, the heroes are heading west, informed by Yogah that in days past, via foul rituals he is loathe to recall, Yara constructed (as a failsafe should his control over Yogah wane) an idol in Yogah's likeness and of his essence that can be used to control him. He thought the idol long lost but has sensed it exists still. Thoth-Amon knows of this too, and wants the idol to compel Yogah to either reveal unto him arcane secrets or to actually fight for him - perhaps both. The idol must be found and destroyed, by Yogah. Doing so will send him back to the realm he has come from to aid Hadrathus, but will allow him to offer aid of his own free will before he goes. Should Thoth-Amon get the idol.... Yogah will once more find himself in sorcerous shackles and aiding a vile practicioner of the dark arts. The idol, when destroyed, will also yield fragments that can be used to forge a weapon to harm the Dark Demon that is in thrall to Thoth-Amon. Knowing all this, Hadrathus, Yogah, Ikhmet and Shentu prepare to enter a ruined fortress near the eastern shores of the Vilayet Sea. It was once a Turanian outpost, but is now named accursed - overtaken and befouled by Yara and his minions in years past, feared by any who even know of its existence and the tales of those who have dared try to explore it. Here, Yogah has divined, may be found the idol." Also, are the hero cards for our group of heroes online and available? I know the tiles for everything are on the editor so that is a huge help. I will have heroes equipped as they were in the first 2 scenarios; if there is some kind of carryover or bonus let me know.

By Crom that Overlord box is genius - please tell us more about how you made that!

This looks good Matt - I will start working on mine soon. I suggest for now we focus solely on and get this "main scenario" framework done, and only then look at side/optional scenarios and fitting them into the existing framework.

Sounds good - do your thing with that idea, I will pitch mine as the 3rd scenario between yours as the 2nd and then possible 4th - just be aware that if mine is accepted Yogah will probably be gone and will need replacing before Matt has Niord join in. It sounds like we have a solid set up for the first 5 scenarios and the finale, or perhaps the finale is #6, but it seems there would be room for one more between Nordheim and Stygia for the finale. Of course Matt will have the final say on that, just observing what we have so far

My scenario is about the idol and control of Yogah. If the heroes win Yogah destroys the idol and he offers some boon to the heroes. If Thoth wins then he can compel Yogah to obey. I also put forth the idea that this would enrage Conan so much that we would get some kind of bonus for that final battle. I like your idea for the scenario above! Your other could be the one if the heroes succeed and the idol is destroyed maybe?

@Neil Amswych- are you working on a sea scenario? We can shift mine to being at sea- the idol could be crossing the Vilayet and the heroes catch up to the ship to stop it. Same victory outcomes and is one less travelling scenario, this would go after yours in the third slot, with Matt's to follow. Or we can just put your sea scenario after mine in the 4th slot, depending on how many scenarios we want.

No worries; Dan's is the first one and starts it all so should get precedence. Given what I have read from you, Dan and Ken I think I can still create a similar scenario using the established heroes and placing my scenario 3rd. However, if there as already the evil amulet idea in there I think the idol would be redundant perhaps. I was thinking though that the idol, when destroyed, could also yield fragments that could be used to forge a weapon that can harm the Dark Demon. Sounds like having Yogah in the final battle won't fit with Ken's pitch, so perhaps there is some other benefit Thoth gets if he wins and gets the idol. Destroying it would still negate that bonus and allow Yogah to offer whatever aid he can, of his own free will, to the heroes. The idol could also affect Yogah's status/usage - when the idol is destroyed it breaks the magic that allowed him to be summoned and he goes back the realm he came from, but the heroes have the shards and have kept Thoth from enslaving him. If Thoth's assassins get the idol and win, then it still breaks the magic and now Thoth controls Yogah - whether he actually shows up in another scenario or Thoth simply forces some secret from Yogah that aids him we can discuss. This then could allow for the Nordheim scenario to follow and get Niord replacing Yogah. How we fill that gap between locations I am not sure. Maybe mine should be located closer to Aquilonia and therefore Nordheim so we can transition to Niord and Conan getting involved. If the heroes are heading from Khitai toward Stygia, then I would place mine along the way, using the fortress as a ruined outpost, wherever we decide to place it and using the same heroes as scenarios 1 and 2. Sorry for any rambling, kind of thinking out loud as it were. I will have a more fleshed out pitch by Tuesday, but I think we are starting to make a little progress.

I am sketching out a reworking of mine to fit into what is already being proposed by others. The idol will still be the main objective, with a couple of outcomes attached to it. Should be ready by Tuesday.

Actually I would prefer to use my ideas to tell the story I intended with my scenario; no problem if it doesn't fit the campaign but please don;t use any of the specifics I posted for other scenarios as I will be writing mine as a kind of "return to the tower of the elephant" standalone. If it does fit into the campaign, great. Probably won't have time to come up with another idea before tomorrow but will post if I can.

Whatever is best for the campaign is fine with me. But there are a couple of narrative questions that spring to mind here: Why is Conan in Khitai? At the point this campaign takes place he is King of Aquilonia, correct? Not that it couldn't happen, but it needs clarifying unless I missed something (with my old man brain that is distinctly possible). The idol as I have it was designed by Yara, why would it be in Khitai? I know there would certainly be such things there, since Yogah spent much time there, but it seems that such a thing should be closer to Yara's tower where he held Yogah. If these narrative issues make sense then I am all for whatever works best for the campaign.

I will be working the whole weekend so am going to throw my pitch in here now. My original idea was that the scenario started with Hadrathus having just summoned up Yogah, and along with Conan and a Taurus impostor (in name but skilled the same) who has led them to the location they are at (fortress). Hadrathus would start a little lower with gems having just spent major energy on the ritual to summon Yogah. The goal is to find and destroy an idol in the likeness of Yogah that was made by Yara and stashed here - used in the proper foul ritual it can be used to compel Yogah to obey; kind of a failsafe that Yara had when he lived and held Yogah in thrall. Success for the heroes means the idol is recovered and destroyed, Yogah aids them of his own free will in gratitude for Conan's past aid, and for hatred of those like Yara. Failure means that Thoth has the idol and will force Yogah to fight for him in the final battle. An unforeseen effect of this will be in the favor of the heroes - Conan seeing Yogah enslaved again will go into a battle rage (recalling his reaction of shame and guilt when he (not sure how that will translate into game bonus exactly, open to discussion or for the writer of the final scenario to work out). The stygian assassins are also involved - they will be an event that the overlord can use, or they simply pop into the scenario when the idol is found, their job is to steal it and take it back to Thoth, after the heroes are led there and do the hard work to get it. If they overcome the heroes, they are simply laid low via poison, and they recover from it to carry on. Given the recent ideas, the scenario might be need to either be reworked with different heroes, or perhaps its an optional one, but the results of it seem pretty major. I can certainly change the heroes, but wanted this to feel like a return to the tower of the elephant. Let me know if this should be a side quest or reworled for the main storyline and I will do so.

That is fine and sounds appropriate for the framework, mine could really go anywhere given that Yogah is going to be there from the start. I will simply pitch it and it can be put wherever it seems best, if at all.

What heroes do you plan to use Dan? Depending on what you do with the first one I may pitch mine as the second. Yogah figures in mine but could either be in it or simply a reason for it (that'll make more sense later I hope!).

Are you sure? The Kickstarter shows Skuthus as one of the 4 basic leaders in the core box. In looking to make sure I see for sure also Taurus was a stretch goal, so need to rethink my scenario a bit but the main idea should still work and fit into the storyline of Yag being involved. EDIT: Nevermind - I see what you mean about the hero sheet; my bad!

They wouldn't, I was referring to stretch goals like Pelias and Taurus - not sure why Skuthus was mentioned earlier as needing a proxy.

Skuthus is a core box hero, Pelias was a stretch goal though. I would kind of like to use a "not-Taurus" for mine but if we decide to not allow those figures I'll figure something else out.

So how do we handle death in terms of the narrative of a campaign, especially if we are using pretty much the same heroes for most of it and attaching points or terms to victories and losses. My scenario is going to have a bonus for the Overlord in the final scenario if he wins, and that bonus is thwarted if the heroes win (even of the Overlord wins I have a narrative point to include that will also give a small bonus to Conan in the final scenario) - but if the Overlord wins it will mean the heroes die. Do we simply write death as being overwhelmed or something of that nature? As long as its not like the main character in that Age of Conan trilogy about the Aquilonian knight/Black Dragon who gets knocked out every 2 pages :)

I have an idea for bringing Yogah in, woke up with a head filled with scenario ideas and he would fit in perfectly. The scenario would probably fit in the early middle of the campaign, so he could be used subsequently if wanted/needed. Looking forward to sharing it later in the week! Edit: starting to sketch things on the scenario editor page....Amra Conan is a KS exclusive from King Pledge, correct? I think he makes the most sense to use but want to be clear he is really usable given the materials we are trying to stick to. Also, I think its a good idea to choose one Conan and stick with him through the campaign.

Hey guys, 3 days off coming up so I will be buckling down on this and hopefully have a pretty clear pitch for my scenario! I am going to try and use some rarely used heroes and a base pledge board, an adventure that Conan or Hadrathus have sent word to local heroes to intervene to disrupt a ritual or something of that nature. I like using the campaign point system already in place for the sake of uniformity between such projects and of course its already there, so easier for us. I dont have that book so maybe someone could scan the appropriate page for me to peruse so I can try to keep my wording in line with that when I write that part of the scenario. Or Matt could tell Monolith to send me one.... I know, potential abuse of power :)

Home and have read more thoroughly and responsibly - here are my initial thoughts given that: Love the idea of the maps for the finale, could be fun to be able to use the ballistae from the ships to either slay foes or destroy walls and hiding places of foes or items needed. The local heroes idea that Neil had I think is also appealling, widens the scope of things and gets more into the game. The scenario I am seeing in my head would involve this idea. I think #7 would be ideal for me, using the same general idea as Neil's proposal but some different specifics. I also had the same idea that I read here about the middle scenarios setting up the end through empowering one side or the other, this will create different dynamics and also offer replayability. I will work on my pitch and await what is decided on who writes what and how the sequencing will work.

After rereading I see the intent is to use the expansions- my bad. Might also drive interest in purchasing the expansions, which is good for the game. I'll read more thoroughly before I post next.

Certainly an interesting campaign - lots of expansion and add on material though, will this turn off too many people? Nothing wrong with aiming this at the crowd that has those but just wanted to make sure that is considered. Having said that, none of these look like scenarios for me to write, as I don't have the expansions or those materials and they are mostly claimed already it seems, so I should probably bow out and cheer you on from afar.

We often play 3-4 player scenarios with 1 or 2 players and an Overlord and just play multiple heroes per player - I think its easier to do that and allow for more people to play the scenarios than to limit it to less heroes and therefore less players. Some other ideas after a very cursory glance through the thread: I like the idea of a recurring villain and agree the Dark Demon makes a lot of sense as it seems to clearly be the demon summoned by Thoth-Amon in "The Phoenix on the Sword"; so it could be another of the same ilk. Doesn't mean we can't have others recur as well. Matt mentioned wanting the threat or idea of Thoth looming in every scenario, which I like - how about some kind of special rule or event even, that is connected to Thoth through one of the Overlord villains. It could be something like Thoth being connected to the Dark Demon through the ritual by which he summoned it, and can somehow reach out through it or effect it in a way to give a bonus or some special effect. Just a first thought - this would have to be worked out much more.