*Inspired by Txerren
Just thinking out loud here...
It's nothing very original but playable...
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The barroque Alegrķa Palace was purchased by the regional government of Vizcaya in 1982 to house the Museo Euskal Herria (the Basque Country Museum). It's in Gernika, 33km from Bilbao, and in it you'll find paintings from the 19th and 20th centuries, etchings and maps from the 16th to the 20th centuries, as well as drawings, furniture, models and documents.
Characters become involved when a
map at the Museum is nearly stolen.
They can be connected to the investigation
in some way. The News Media picks up
the story and an old woman
comes forward she is having dreams
about the robbery and the characters
in danger... she will seem senile and non-
credible but she will be very persistant.
The Map in question is very old maybe
from the 16th century but is considered
more art then navigational. Things on the
map don't make sense. Carbon dating
is non-determinable because of some
radiological contamination. It is not
dangerous but it was exposed to a massive
energy burst at one time. It has language
marks and symbols from various cultures...
but appears to be non-sense or
a very elaborate code to specialists.
The map is not art but a map of an area
in Metropolis. It shows the way to a
forgotten gods hidden tomb. He has
gone mad now after being imprisoned
long ago.
The old woman is actually a desendent
of the forgotten god and senses his
stirring.
The thieves are working for a millionaire
looking for a way to cheat death. He is
suffering from a Terminal Illness and his
family donated the map to the museum
years ago. He wants it back after finding
an old family diary describing the map
and that his family were once heralds
of this forgotten god who could spread
illness or cure it, possibly restoring youth.
From a secret temple in his wine cellar
he has begun to worship and call to the
godling, awakening him from his slumber.
Maybe he has been sacrificing locals to
the God to give him strength...
In fact the diary speaks of a cult that
once thrived in the area but was crushed
by a Lictor who governed at the time. The
map was lost to history until discovered
in his ancestral home behind a mirror.
The mirror can be used as passage to
Metropolis with the Gods help and the
Map that has instructions to free him.
Maybe these descendents of the cult can
be used against the PCs... like sleep
walker assasins... or something.
The museum has changed hands since
the donation and is not interested in
selling off the map. Maybe it has increased
in value and would break the old man.
The millionaire hired some henchmen
to retrieve it. The thugs can be traced
back to him somehow. Maybe they can
threaten PCs who trace back the map
to the Millionaires family, to stay away.
The old woman is picking up vibes of
the Gods plans... to spread a massive
plaque upon humanity which he feels
in his madness turned there backs on
him and left him imprisoned in Metropolis.
Add some little details in like in the house
they see paintings from the past of very
bazaar things and places or the guys lies
about the map and they find out... maybe
they see a page in the diary with a clue.
In the end maybe the old woman is
instrumental in stopping the god from
attacking Humanity. It can be proven
Genealogically she is a relative of the
old man who is not actually a blood relative
of the forgotten god.
I think the climactic battle should be in
Metropolis.
In the end if they stop the God or
destroy him in some fashion maybe
the woman inherits his power and
grows youthful and awakens...
returns PCs to the Illusion and takes off