Post by grinch on Sept 22, 2019 20:08:59 GMT
NOTE: Before I go further, I must say I took this from a reddit post from a user by the name of u/aftermeasure. Thought it could be used here but if this is some way contravenes the rules on here then I will immediately delete this and make my apologies.
The Microcosm floats in the air before you: a palm-sized cube of unbreakable crystal containing a multitude of swirling galaxies and nebulae. No sooner do you reach out to touch it with your bare hand but you feel a sudden sense of vertigo and an uncanny shift of perspective. You fall through the void, suns and planets rushing past in an ever-accelerating blur until suddenly you come to a stop. You stand on the strange soil of another world, the light of an alien sun shining down on you. Even the air smells different. You're not in Kansas anymore, kid.
The Microcosm can be added to almost any setting to allow plots separate from the main continuity and a very different genre experience. In general if the primary universe is high magic, then the Microcosm will be low magic, and if the primary universe is sci-fi, then the Microcosm will be fantasy (i.e. sword and sorcery.) Time also moves differently inside the Microcosm. The exchange rate varies, but generally one minute passes outside the cube for every hour spent inside. However, if the cube has just been created when the PCs enter for the first time, assume that at least a thousand years have already elapsed inside the cube (to give Microcosmic civilizations a chance to get going).
Whether through magic or technology, when the PCs are in the Microcosm they are at a much higher power level than outside the cube--but at the same time, they must face proportionally more powerful opponents. Not only that, but it turns out the PCs are well-known inside the Microcosm: they are the heroes of legend and prophecy, guardians from another world who always arrive when and where they are needed most.
Plot Hooks
The Microcosm floats in the air before you: a palm-sized cube of unbreakable crystal containing a multitude of swirling galaxies and nebulae. No sooner do you reach out to touch it with your bare hand but you feel a sudden sense of vertigo and an uncanny shift of perspective. You fall through the void, suns and planets rushing past in an ever-accelerating blur until suddenly you come to a stop. You stand on the strange soil of another world, the light of an alien sun shining down on you. Even the air smells different. You're not in Kansas anymore, kid.
The Microcosm can be added to almost any setting to allow plots separate from the main continuity and a very different genre experience. In general if the primary universe is high magic, then the Microcosm will be low magic, and if the primary universe is sci-fi, then the Microcosm will be fantasy (i.e. sword and sorcery.) Time also moves differently inside the Microcosm. The exchange rate varies, but generally one minute passes outside the cube for every hour spent inside. However, if the cube has just been created when the PCs enter for the first time, assume that at least a thousand years have already elapsed inside the cube (to give Microcosmic civilizations a chance to get going).
Whether through magic or technology, when the PCs are in the Microcosm they are at a much higher power level than outside the cube--but at the same time, they must face proportionally more powerful opponents. Not only that, but it turns out the PCs are well-known inside the Microcosm: they are the heroes of legend and prophecy, guardians from another world who always arrive when and where they are needed most.
Plot Hooks
- The PCs have arrived in the nick of time and saved the day. Now that their mission is complete, they must find a way to return home. Will they be able to find a mage or scientist who can help them get back? More importantly, how will they pay this individual for their services?
- While the PCs were adventuring in the Microcosm, the forces of the enemy have followed them through. The party exits, not knowing that their enemies have established a beachhead in their pocket world. Due to the different flow of time, the enemies could have had years or even decades to take over the world inside and lay traps for the next time the PCs enter.
- The cube contains a massive amount of energy/magic which can be harvested in the outside world. However, doing so causes the stars in the Microcosm to go out one by one.
- A dangerous criminal from the Microcosm with a hatred of the PCs has escaped into the primary universe. Now, everyone the PCs care about is in danger!
- There may be other ways in and out of the cube that the PCs don't know about, but someone else does. The party finds this out when goods unique to the Microcosm appear in a market outside of it (or vice versa).
- The cube is seized by enemies while the PCs are inside. They'll end up captives unless they can find some way to bring reinforcements/weapons from inside the cube itself.
- Technology/magic in the Microcosm advances much more rapidly, both because of the setting's lack of magic/technology and because of the accelerated timeframe. This could bring some balance to the PCs magical/technological abilities, as well as giving something that can be smuggled out to their advantage.
- There's a rumor that the Microcosm contains another cube. Furthermore, some believe that this cube contains the universe the PCs are from. Maybe an inhabitant of the Microcosm intends to destroy it and everything the PCs hold dear.
- An artifact outside of the cube provides another way in. However, it takes you to a time in the remote past or distant future (relative to when you would have arrived through the cube itself).
- A BBEG inside the cube has discovered the nature of their world, and now seeks to drain power from the outside universe to establish the Microcosm as the new Primary Reality.
