'Inception' TTRPG Campaign
Inspired by a recent video I saw, I came up with an idea for a D&D campaign that I'll probably never get to use. It centers around changing the setting and history of the characters at certain levels, and carries an undercurrent of the feeling of 'Inception's dreams within dreams.
Level 1-5: Your standard fantasy setting with typical adventurers and adventuring. At the end of the story arc of this first set of levels, the party frees a god of sleep and dreams from a cult that believes said god will end the world. He informs the group that they are dreaming, and with a snap of his fingers...
Level 6-10: The players wake up in a contemporary setting. They are the same race & class as before, but now their personal history is completely different to fit the setting (or simply changed slightly to better fit the setting). They can either search for each other, or be nearby from the start. A new adventure ensues, navigating the politics and corruption of the setting while learning more of the gods of this world (some of which they probably heard of in the first setting). At the end, they meet the god of dreams again. He smiles, informs the PCs that they are still dreaming, and they wake again.
Level 11-15: A sci-fi setting where the PCs are either mid-to-high ranking galactic military or a well-known independent space-faring crew. Their personal history changes again, and again they'll find out as they play. There is little distinction between magic and science at this point in history (at the DM's discretion). The conflict can either be an intergalactic war, or a war waged against the gods themselves. They learn that the gods have their own agenda, and are looking for people loyal to them. In any case, at the end of the arc, they meet the dream god again, who tells them they are still dreaming. Another snap, and...
Level 16-20: The war is now on a cosmic scale. Gods, demons, and mortals battle for the fate of all of creation. Each god has recruited an army of high-level adventurers to their cause. The party may fight for the god of dreams, or ally themselves with the god of their choice. High level spells are as common as Fireball, and masters of the martial arts bring destruction with every blow. At the end of it all, the god of dreams offers the players a choice: they may return to one of the previous dreams and remain there, or they can finally wake up and see the true nature of the world.
Alternatively: Level 1-5 is the same. Level 6-10 is a steampunk/pirate/Victorian/wild west/samurai period setting. Whichever flavor your table likes, so long as it's a setting between fantasy and modern. Level 11-15 is the modern setting, and level 16-20 is a combination of the sci-fi and cosmic wars.
Alternatively alternatively: if your table doesn't mind shorter adventures, you can cram all five settings into the campaign.
At the end, if the players accept the offer to wake up, tell them to close their eyes, take a breath, then open them. Make sure you smile as you say, "Welcome to the waking world. The dream may have only been a fantasy, but you will remember it forever. Where you go from here is up to you."
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