There are a couple variants on this campaign, and I have planned out material to run it using Pathfinder 2 and Daggerheart. I could also run it using a number of other systems, such as Warhammer Fantasy, Fabula Ultima (or Fabula Obscura, when it comes out), etc. It would fit very nicely with Shadow of the Demon Lord, particularly Variant 1.

Concept: A fantasy world dealing with the consequences of two different wars against the undead.

Variant 1: No More Room This variant is an active undead apocalypse in a world where the dead have suddenly stopped staying that way. At the beginning of the campaign, the funeral of a beloved local hero (connected to your characters) is interrupted when the guest of honor decides to hit the buffet – namely, the mourners! With this incident, the world is upended as more and more of the dead begin to rise – good people, normal people, returning as hungry, twisted mockeries of themselves. Seeking a solution to this, the heroes must help deal with the short term crisis, but also with the longer term question. What is happening? Why does the church of the Mother Goddess lock itself away rather than marching forth to crusade against the dead? What has thrown open the gates to the underworld? Only those willing to delve into the afterlife itself can answer these questions – and find a way to fix things before the line between life and death is blurred to meaninglessness.

Variant 2: More Than the Sum This variant can be thought of as “the sequel to the game.” So many campaigns have an undead overlord, an evil necromancer, or somebody else who raises armies of the living dead to conquer the world. Then some plucky up-and-coming heroes figure out the secret to the overlord’s success, and it all comes falling apart. Well, that happened about six months ago in this campaign, and people are finally getting back to normal… for a certain value of normal. Everybody has been touched by the battle on one level or another, and that leaves scars. More importantly, there are those who want to go back to the old way, mostly those whose lives were thrown into chaos by (or who were collaborators before) recent events. Strange lights have begun to flicker and flash within a local stronghold, and the people are wondering if some of those who once served the Dead Lord are trying to find a way to resurrect him. And if there’s any way to truly be sure he’s gone for good.

Systems: Ready to run for Daggerheart, easy to set up for Pathfinder 1, Pathfinder 2, and Fabula Ultima