scenario: crowns of the empyreans
a 5e thing where you steal class features from monsters.
not that long ago, the heroes of the realm had their powers scattered across the land in the form of IOUN crowns. When you wear one of these crowns you get the powers within it. You can wear lots of them. Maybe they have memories in them. Take off the crown, lose the powers.
monsters picked up the crowns. (Or did they become monsters after they put on the crowns?) The monster who wears the crown gets all its powers. Other monsters of his kind each get one power. (This is also how it worked for the old heroes, and it's how it works for the player characters, too.) (Is it based on blood, or on fealty?)
the GM should communicate the relative danger of the monster factions. This is important for the players to be able to make informed decisions about which factions to target and in which order. I suggest name-dropping the leaders and thinking about what the factions might have been up to lately. Each one should have a chunk of the map to themselves, that way the players can go confront them on purpose, or be forced to sneak or talk past them to get to the other ones.
every faction wants to expand out into nearby faction territory and steal their crowns. That's two distinct desires.
i wrote a system for randomizing all of this. I'll post it eventually. This is a semi-curated randomized result, onto which I wrote some ideas.
TIER 1 FACTIONS
- Blood of Ghaunadar, a gang of oozes worshipping the slime god. Martial Arts, Spellcasting (Message, Detect Magic, Invisibility), Spellcasting (Guidance, Command, Warding Bond), Ability Score Improvement.
- Grinning Skulls, merry skeletons with pet hounds. They will guide you through the forest for a price. They will guide anyone. Spellcasting (Light, Hideous Laughter, Suggestion), Armor of Shadows + Book of Ancient Secrets, Minor Conjuration, Spellcasting (Cure Wounds, Beast Sense).
- Hidden Knife, a cabal of cultists whose priorities shifted from religion to recreational murder. Spellcasting (Poison Spray, Fog Cloud, Darkvision), Assassinate, 3 Skill Proficiencies, Spellcasting (Light, Ray of Sickness, Continual Flame).
- Fangs of Karthax, a brood of territorial kobolds who will capture you to feed their great beast, and offer to let you go if you manage, from within their cave, to lure in three others to take your place. Draconic Resilience, Hypnotic Gaze, Spellcasting (Searing Smite, Magic Weapon), Improved Minor Illusion. Karthax the Kobold King: Bracers of Defense, Weapon +1, Cloak of Displacement, Ioun Stone of Agility.
- Fool's Gold, trading company of orcs, mostly dealing in stolen goods. Minor Alchemy, Hypnotic Gaze, Reckless Attack, Second-Story Work.
- Gormgall's Riders, cowardly goblins. Danger Sense, Ranger's Companion, Spellcasting (Poison Spray, Fog Cloud, Darkvision), Shadow Step. One who calls himself Gormgall the king of goblins: Pipes of Haunting, Stone of Good Luck, Cloak of Protection, Boots of Springing and Striding.
- Cult of Hadar, classic cultists this time. Jack of All Trades, Reliable Talent, Pact Boon, Spellcasting (Blade Ward, Arms of Hadar, Hold Person).
- Axe-Men of Borothar, lycanthropes who turn into axe-beaks. They will guide you through the mountains. Wild Shape CR 1/4, Jack of All Trades, Combat Superiority, ASI.
- Knights of Ni, awakened shrub knights with a herring insignia. They follow a strict code of honor, and many of them bear fruit that can serve as rations. Hunter's Prey, ASI, Wild Shape CR 1/2, Slow Fall. Blackberry Knight: Boots of Elvenkind, Cape of the Mountebank, Ammunition +1, Spellguard Shield.
- Fated Death, secret society of assassins following some master plan. ASI, Portent, Channel Divinity: Vow of Enmity, Tides of Chaos. Certainty, elite killer: Javelin of Lightning, Gem of Brightness, Alchemy Jug, Eyes of Charming.
TIER 2 FACTIONS
- The Squall, elementals sworn to chaos. Spellcasting (Tongues, Confusion, Hold Monster), Favored Enemy, Aura of Protection, Thunderbolt Strike. Stormlord Eya: Demon Armor, Dancing Sword, Mace of Terror, Wand +2.
- Grand Guardians, religious [???] who protect a temple. Spellcasting (Revivify, Staggering Smite, Raise Dead), Land's Stride, Intimidating Presence, Improved Divine Smite.
- Sisterhood of Thorns, a hag coven who provide valuable potions to nearby settlements, for dark prices. Land's Stride, Spellcasting (Water Walk, Banishment, Geas), Shapechanger, Beguiling Defenses. The Four Sisters, who each have one item: Frost Brand, Wand of Binding, Armor +2, Boots of Speed.
- Gug's Thugs, a gang of ogres. Thought Shield, Divine Strike: Cold/Fire/Lightning, Thirsting Blade + Eyes of the Rune Keeper, Spellcasting (Daylight, Conjure Woodland Beings, Commune With Nature). Gug the Lug: Ring of Free Action, Nolzur's Marvelous Pigments, Oathbow, Sword of Wounding.
- Shining Steel Legion, animated armors who, by their nature, can't use half of their crown powers. Expertise, Dark Delirium, ASI, Shapechanger.
- Gormgall's Pokers, sadistic hobgoblins. ASI, Illusory Self, Song of Rest d10, Spellcasting (Hunger of Hadar, Banishment, Hold Monster). Another who calls himself Gormgall, the king of goblins: Ioun Stone of Leadership, Cloak of Invisibility, Rod of Rulership, Belt of Dwarvenkind.
- Striders on the Lake, mysterious giant spiders with political plans. Spellcasting (Sending, Confusion, Greater Restoration), Bardic Inspiration d10, Spellcasting (Water Walk, Banishment, Geas), Fiendish Resilience.
- Striders on the Sea, phase spiders. Spellcasting (Revivify, Staggering Smite, Raise Dead), Mystic Arcanum 6th, Spellcasting (Animate Dead, Polymorph, Animate Objects), Expertise.
TIER 3 FACTIONS
- Witch-Knights of Hell, an order of revenants bent on destroying all life. Combat Superiority, Hurl Through Hell, Spellcasting (Irresistible Dance), Spellcasting (Eyebite).
- Roxfahl's Berserkers, stone golems that look identical to mysterious statues placed throughout the land. Vanish, Retaliation, Rage +4, Word of Recall. Roxfahl, Builder of Fury's Temple: Weapon +3, Wand of Binding, Candle of Invocation, Ioun Stone of Mastery.
- Shade-Walkers, animated trees which thirst for blood. ASI, Survivor, Cleansing Touch, Death Strike.
- Big X Mining Company, guild of xorns who use ghouls to mine for gems. Has several underground paths to other territories. Spellcasting (Command Undead), Mystic Arcanum 7th, Song of Rest d10, Stroke of Luck. Foreman X: Scarab of Protection, Staff of Thunder and Lightning, Whelm, Ioun Stone of Regeneration.
- Choggrugger's Grog-chuggers, band of warlords who would prefer to arm-wrestle than fight. Tongue of the Sun and Moon, Spellcasting (Irresistible Dance), Opportunist, Indomitable Might. Choggrugger, famed hero: Armor of Etherealness, Moonblade, Cube of Force, Sword of Answering.
- Leap of Faith, froghemoths who got hold of some religious texts. Holy Nimbus, Avatar of Battle, Bardic Inspiration d12, Action Surge.
i started to run this as a play-by-post, but it only drew two players and then one of them stopped posting. Maybe you can use it for something, now.
:)