Alright, so I'm working on a premise for a world for a Dungeons and Dragons game when I graduate in a couple quarters. I'd like it to have rules based around 3.5 with a hint of Pathfinder, and probably a few of my own sprinkled gently in there.
There will be a TL;DR version at the bottom.
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You awaken, your vision blurry. You are moving, but you know not where to. Before you can fully regain consciousness, you are tossed by an unknown force into blackness. The jolt as you land snaps you out of your daze briefly, staring above as undead thralls close the grating to the pit to which you've been discarded. It is not long before you recall the End War, where the living viciously battled the hordes of the undead. As you gather yourself, you realize now your landing was softened by the corpses of hundreds of your own comrades, some of which you recognize, some you do not, and some of which are beyond recognition.
The war has been lost, and you have been mistaken for dead by the unwitting thralls.
But, you are not alone. Nearby, you hear the grumbling of others who are slowly coming to as well. Their wounds are as severe, if not moreso than your own.
You gather materials off the bodies, scavenging potions and first aid for all who remain among the living.
An exit is not difficult to locate; this place was not meant to imprison, but to stockpile bodies for the ever-growing legions of undead. You and your newfound allies arm themselves, and make their way up, into the very Spire they were originally protecting from the hordes. Their forces severely weakened from the battle, you cut a swath through them, one floor after another, hoping to find any more prisoners, gold, resources... the reasons matter little, the top of the Spire will hold the vantage point and information you need to make it out alive, lest you challenge the endless scattered armies outside the safety of the walls.
You reach the top floor of the tower to find the mages humanity had gambled on dead, along with charred and scattered bits of undead abominations strewn about. You climb further still, and feel a strong wind brush your hair back as you step onto the roof of the tower. In the center lies an artifact - the very tool with which humanity invested their hopes, though no man but the mages knew exactly why. A lich hovers about it, wounded. He draws power from it, attempting to restore himself.
A lengthy battle ensues, and the armies of undead react violently. You hear bones clanking against brick as they rush up the Spire to stop you. With a final, magnificent blow, the lich lay dead - once and for all - at your feet. The undead hordes begin to stumble about aimlessly without a lich to guide them, and the artifact remains intact.
Your party gathers, unsure of how to activate it. Though, with a simple touch, and a will... it shines brightly. The gray skies above clear, and for the first time in their lifetimes, the party can see the blue skies their elders told them of. The undead begin to burn, and the land begins to heal. Grass wiggles its way through the crags in the ground. Soon, trees sprout from nothingness, their roots wrapping around the bodies of the dead, creating a vast forest that seems to hide the scars of battle beneath their greenery. Though the sun shines brightly, cleansing rain pours from the clouds, and it is not long before rivers lovingly caress the landscape below the Spire.
It is like nothing any of you have seen in your entire lives, and you soon discover your wounds have been healed in entirety - no hunger, no pain, no disease or sickness - a complete rejuvenation of all living things.
As you look on at the magnificent beauty before you, this safe haven... you cannot help but notice that it stops in entirety several miles out. There is a small tinge of disappointment as you realize this is but a drop in the bucket, and will soon die as the rest of the world surely has.
A party member taps your shoulder excitedly, and points to something off in the distance... it is faint, and difficult to see until the rain clears, but after a moment, you are certain...
There it is: another Spire.
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TL;DR version:
-You start out in a dungeon, thought to be dead. The world is barren and dead.
-You conquer a dungeon, a "Spire."
-Upon activating an artifact, the Spire casts a healing spell on the landscape the likes of which you've never seen.
-After the land heals from the magic of the Spire, you gaze off into the distance to see another Spire.
Essentially, I wanted something where the players were of paramount importance without giving them "fate" tropes, and wanted them to feel as if they were directly effecting the very landscape of the world as they play. I also wanted to try something different from the typical, "You're at a tavern, you talk to a dude/lady, a dude/lady hires you for stuff" (even though I love that) just to mix things up a bit.
Thoughts?
EDIT: I would also like to add that the artifacts can come in many forms, and may not always be so obvious. I already have one scenario planned out where the magic is within a child's toy at one point, and a group of demons are raiding a village looking for it, forcing the party to find out what exactly it is before they do. Detect Magic spells will not work in these instances.
