I could use some help. Assume your are an intelligent undead magician who has just woken up from a couple hundred years of sleep. Your old kingdom has been destroyed and is now occupied in its place by a human settlement next to a very large forest. There is basically the town, a few farms and lumberjack camps.. and probably a few tombs dating from your epoch sprinkled across the wilds.
How do you go about conquering the world… and make it interesting for the players ?
“I am weak in this form. I must once again feed the well spring with my corruption and bring these pitiful mortals under my thrall. My acolytes will spread my name, spread my will, and bring others under my power. I will gorge on the most powerful among them and their power will be my power. Soon they will know my name again, and I will be pleased.”
I initially read that as “intelligent undead MUSICIAN” which was much more amusing…
Jarrah James Haha, he will introduce rock to them and they will call him a god!
In fuzzy steps:
1. Find a good foothold in the area – an existing fortification, like a cave or ruins
2. Begin creating minions, possibly from local graveyards, but dead animals are also okay too
3. Construct a new impenetrable fortress to rule from
4. Ramp up minion production and include powerful minions
I’d bring the players in around step 3 – he’s working out of a cave or sinkhole in the forest and is slowly stealing local stone to build his fortress deep in the forest. He may have created a powerful guardian to protect it, too.
The town sounds ripe for the thralling. Maybe mind control a couple people, start funneling some resources in, then move up to controlling the whole thing, turn the settlement into something that can rebuild the old kingdom. The lumberjacks can just raze the forest for material, why would they care about sustainability or the animals that live there? The farmers and maybe some merchants who trade with people in other towns can start spreading the glorious word, maybe there’s something in the grain that draws more people in.
Maybe there’s a small resistance still left in the settlement, how would they have escaped?
First I master a spell to cloak my undeadness and negate the terrible smell. Then, I join the circus and become the world’s most amazing magician! People everywhere will cheer my name when I enter town! And honestly, what more could a crazy old lich ask for?
I made a dungeon starter with a similar concept for a one shot I ran a while back (he didn’t run an empire, but instead was the powerful, narcissistic head of the mages guild). The players said they wanted comedy, but the questions as to how the litch was planning to take over the world were the same regardless.
The litch’s grim portents looked like this:
Takes control from his necromancer ‘friend’. (a shunned wizard necromancer who runs a death cult, complete with pamplets and all!)
Unleashes his nightwings on the local populace.
Sends out raiders to the land of the living.
Fuels his armies with the freshly dead.
Attacks the wizards college.
Covers the land in darkness.
You can see the full starter here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OeSwZsq8x4sY9ykkO4L_t9m8_kyD6OL6jflclJKFV2A/edit?usp=sharing
Hope that gives you a few ideas at least!
Maybe you wake up and don’t want to rebuild your empire. Empire building is a lot of work. You just want to learn about the world, maybe buddy up with some adventurers. It’s only later that you will suddenly and inevitably betray them.
He starts with a small, out of the way, but strategic city.
When all else fails: Steal from old Star Trek TOS episodes!
(in this case, “And the Children Shall Lead”)
Transform yourself to look like a “friendly angel”.
Kill all the adults and corrupt the local children to begin your creepy reign of terror. They will summon you with this nifty jingle:
“Hail, hail, fire and snow
Call the angel we will go
Far away, for to see
Friendly Angel, come to me!”
Hook up with the “Children of the Corn” and take this cult global, baby!
The tombs across the wilds are actually tanks and huge planes!
1. Assemble minions…
2. Retrieve artifacts of immeasurable power buried in tombs, catacombs, and ruins across the Old Kingdom…
3 Deal with meddling kids…
4 Profit
Ooh, I really like that one! Recover the ancient artifacts that granted power, and then each one can have devastating consequences. The staff that controls weather. The gloves that raise the dead. The brooch that controls minds.
Thank you very much for all those brilliant ideas. Let me submit what I think I ‘ll do.
First, my necromancer will be a lady.
Her ethos will be “I have woken up from my slumber only to discover how uncivilised and lawless my people have become. In a world full of danger, I need to restore at all cost my kingdom to the height of its greatness so as I may better protect it from the terrible and long forgotten dangers that roam the land.”
Step 1. Take control of the local orphan house built in the outskirt of the town. I am a Mother to my children and my children are my eyes and my mouth.
Step 2. Start discreetly restoring my ancient seat of power. Gather the long lost artefacts that I know are buried in the region.
Step 3. Gather materials, whether it is flesh and bones for my minions or steel and stone for my seat of power.
Step 4. Launch an overwhelming attack on both the Town and the Lumber camp with my minions. Have my children throw open the Town’s door.
Step 5. Use the prisoners gathered in the attack as the unfortunate sacrifice required to revive my fellow peers.