Hello all.
I'm starting a new campaign for the Dresden Files RPG and I thought I would post some information here to see if anyone had and ideas and/or advice that could be helpful. I've run a Dresden Campaign before, although due to issues with players and uncomfortability with the system, the game sort of fell apart. I've run several other campaigns before, and I'm pretty used to GMing on the whole, but I figured since I haven't touched the system since then, I would see if you veterans might be able to offer any aid.
The campaign (named Echoes of the Leviathan), is set in the Mid 1940s to the early 1950s in Brooklyn, New York. It's a Horror/Noir game, meaning that the focus will be on atmosphere, and the game should definitely have a mysterious and creepy air about it. The players are playing with 9 Refresh to start (so that they can play whichever template they like), but advancing will be a slow process for them. One of my major concerns is that I have 8 players.
(I must have gone insane for a few days to invite 8 people to play my game.)
The campaign's main villain is going to be an Outsider God who was partially summoned through to our world between 1000-2000 years ago, who has a Cult serving him, attempting to complete his summoning to this world. The Cult has a lot of Native American influences (as it was a group of Native Americans who originally summoned them) and Wendigo are going to essentially be the lieutenant bosses to the cult. A Naagloshi will end up being one of the last major bosses before they have to face the Outsider God itself. The Outsider God's bailiwicks are Terror, Corruption and Decay, as well as being a creature of the Deep Oceans (as far as we can understand it)
Any ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated.
In our Montreal-themed game, Wendigo are members of Winter Court, including Changelings, that have been touched by Outsiders/Chaos and gives them a Hunger track that can only be satisfied by eating the flesh of sentients.
Some ideas:
Former Nazi scientist who was working with Outsider magic tries to spring a ritual on the city (could tie in to your horror/noir theme if you were thinking of Call of Cthulu-esque escapades). This could also give your PCs a hint as to who the real Big Bad is.
House Malvora tries to orchestrate a second Great Depression following the war to generate more Despair, feed, and increase their power while making a move on House Raith for supremacy.
Also how do you plan on incorporating the Native American aspects into it? Naagloshi tend to only roam on sacred ceremonial ground and NYC doesn't seem to have a lot of that. Are the Wendigo going to be conscious or just mindless eating machines? I think if you're going the Wendigo route working in some Ghouls into the cult would make perfect sense. Maybe at some point a Ghoul clan makes an assault on the city to spread Terror (one of the Gods bailiwicks) while the cult does something to progress the ritual.
If you're trying to make a mystery/noir game then working in "mysterious disappearances" seems to be a safe way to get the mystery going and make the PCs get invested in figuring out What Lies Beneath. Maybe the cult is kidnapping people? Maybe ghouls are kidnapping people? Maybe a rift is opening up/being opened up in the NeverNever that is close to The Outside.
Well if it's going to be late 1940's-1950's then maybe you could tie in the aftermath of WWII in some way. Are your PCs going to potentially be globe-trotting or are they going to be locked into New York?
Some ideas:
Former Nazi scientist who was working with Outsider magic tries to spring a ritual on the city (could tie in to your horror/noir theme if you were thinking of Call of Cthulu-esque escapades). This could also give your PCs a hint as to who the real Big Bad is.
House Malvora tries to orchestrate a second Great Depression following the war to generate more Despair, feed, and increase their power while making a move on House Raith for supremacy.
Also how do you plan on incorporating the Native American aspects into it? Naagloshi tend to only roam on sacred ceremonial ground and NYC doesn't seem to have a lot of that. Are the Wendigo going to be conscious or just mindless eating machines? I think if you're going the Wendigo route working in some Ghouls into the cult would make perfect sense. Maybe at some point a Ghoul clan makes an assault on the city to spread Terror (one of the Gods bailiwicks) while the cult does something to progress the ritual.
If you're trying to make a mystery/noir game then working in "mysterious disappearances" seems to be a safe way to get the mystery going and make the PCs get invested in figuring out What Lies Beneath. Maybe the cult is kidnapping people? Maybe ghouls are kidnapping people? Maybe a rift is opening up/being opened up in the NeverNever that is close to The Outside.
Wow these are all really great ideas, thank you. I'll probably incorporate the idea of Nazi's tapping into Outsider power, because that is just a great image in my head. And the idea for House Malvora is great too, because I wasn't sure how I was going to work them in (as one of my players is going to be playing a member of House Malvora).
As for working WW2 in, I've been trying to find ways to do so without it overtaking the tone of my game, but first section of the campaign is set during late WW2. It'll give the city this sort of tense and almost abandoned feel, because all the mortals are distracted by a war an ocean away. The monsters are left far more unchecked than before. But I figure it'll be a mixture of the game is set primary in New York, but they might have the occasional adventure outside the city.
As for the Native American aspects, the Outsider God was initially summoned by the local tribe (whom the other tribe eventually exterminated and pretty much erased because they were playing with *very* dark forces), but a few of the last surviving members form that tribe are still around. The Daughter of the Outsider God (conceived off of a specific line of Medicine women as one of the most horrific acts of the Outsider God's Cult), is the immortal leader of the cult and has essentially kept a small portion of "sacred" land to her cult in New York that the Naagloshi who follow this Outsider God and his Daughter live on.
The idea of Ghouls in the cult as well is really great, actually.