The Emperor & Empress terrorise Court, and every month they feed their demons noble blood. Required final lifepath: Hostage.
Ten years back the Duke marched you far over the mountains with his Olyphants. Now he’s dead, and this land will not stay conquered. Required lifepath: Conscript.
Soon the stars will dance again at the top of the world — to plot that is to know Truth. Truth enough to kill for. Required skill: Astrology.
I think this could be improved on, but here’s one I came up with:
You are tavern regulars, a wounded notable person who you have no cause to love stumbles in and says “save me or the Scarlet lord will rule”
Frank
Your village sits in the path of a conquering army. But not to worry. The local priest claims to have been told by the gods that if the citizens remain strong in their faith, they will be granted the power to repel the invaders. Never mind the lack of weapons, provisions and training. The gods will provide.
Rifts to other planes are opening and releasing demons into our world. Find and slay the demons and close these portals before it is too late.
Your party of adventurers was hired to collect a rare, mystical component for a wealthy benefactor. Thirty minutes ago that component was used to assassinate the king in a very visible way.
Everyone knew there was a war, but life went on. Then the Imperial Elites killed everyone in the village. The only people left are a few of you kids.
A prophet of a forgotten and terrible deity come to town heralding the coming doom. Those less faithful have started to convert and listen to his dark portents.
The Sun God is dying and only a cold flickering ball hangs in the sky. How do you survive the rise of nights minions in the cold dying world.
When the Captain fell & split her head open, you few of the Royal Guard discovered for sure that puppetmasters have indeed infested Court.
The once popular, highly visible count has become reclusive, his newest dictates seem contrary to all that he has done before and his advisor has become his official representative in all matters. Civil unrest is quickly and fatally dealt with by the new guard. All roads leading out of town are patrolled so that none may leave or enter unchallenged.
At midnight on All Hallow’s Eve a new star, as large and bright as the full moon, appears in the sky over the City-State of _________. The gods cease to speak in the temples and the everyday sorcery that is the foundation of city-life fails. Throughout the days to come neither the position nor the intensity of the Novus Solus change. A new Emperor-Prelate is to be sworn to duty in a fortnight. The factions grow restless.
A tsunami hits your coastal village leaving death and destruction in its wake. Those who made it through the storm must somehow band together for survival, even those who are sworn enemies!
The Three Witch Queens have begun stirring in their mountain prison, soon they may awaken again.
Fourty years ago, the gods saw fit to strip technology from the world. Now, you embark on a dangerous mission to the ruins of Los Angeles to recover treasures from a world gone by.
A catastrophic mudslide in a lumber outpost supplying the capital has revealed what appears to be the ruins of an ancient and massive temple. Its outer walls, exposed in the mudslide are covered in carvings rendered in a mysterious pictographic language. You are a member of a research team sent by the Papacy to discover the origins and nature of the site.
The Thane’s host — your kin — have taken your food, burnt your homes, & sealed the gates of the Dwarven Halls. Swear your oaths accordingly.
The Raftman outside of town ferries tormented souls to the afterlife, but refuses to help one vengeful ghost who is now terrorizing the locals. Can you discover the nature of their grudge and help both the spirit and the Raftman find peace?
One day, completely out of the blue, an entire tribe of horrified gnomes sets up a refugee camp in the wheat-fields outside of your quite little hamlet. While their strange language is difficult to parse, it seems they have been forced out of their woodland dwelling by a mysterious and growing darkness that has taken hold in the roots of an ancient white oak.
A mysterious, wealthy aristocrat has just passed away naming you among others his or her heir. In order to claim your stake you must pass a series of tests and trials at their remote estate.
For ten years the ruins of Blackmoore Castle have remained desolate and dark, looming over your village. But tonight, an eerie light shines mysteriously from within. And the people wonder, has the dreaded Lord Blackmoore returned from the dead?