Hai Everyone! i know i haven't been around much BUT! I had a pretty interesting story arc idea in mind and instead of just having it closed to me and one other i was hoping to see if people would be interested and if necessary we could do multiple threads to accommodate everyone who is interested. SO! this is what i have!

I Drew this awhile back, I am thinking they are a subterranean species forced upwards from the lava of the super volcano flooding their tunnels and homes. Their primary diet consist of protein rich bugs, without their food source on the surface they have to find other means to supply themselves with protein. The nearby villages are complaining that the wildlife in the area is dwindling and becoming exceptionally difficult to find. some hunters haven't returned. a few of the towns got together and piled resources to pay adventurers to go investigate what is going on. Upon looking into the disappearances the players will get Ambushed by the species.

The interesting part is, the subterranean species is actually controlled by a symbiote 'network'. (There is a queen, and a hive mind, and all symbiotes are connected telepathically.) they connect at the base of the skull. a small parasitic life form that burrows under the skin and attaches to the spinal cord. once the host is rendered useless it tries to find a new host. either telepathically commanding a nearby 'ghoul' (for lack of a better name at the moment) to come close enough for it to attach to it so it can survive and/or keep fighting.

The Symbiotes are just struggling to survive and require a host to consume a lot of protein or it starts to eat the host's body to get the protein it needs. at the end of the first thread, i was thinking an npc or a player can get infected by the symbiote and we get 'first contact'. The species would retreat at daybreak, so we could have the fight last all night. they are HEAVILY sensitive to light, and even struggle on full moons to function.

From there, the second thread can go 1 of 2 ways. either we eradicate every single symbiote, or we go for a more peaceful method and start 'talking' to see if we can help. If no one gets infected, we can have the symbiote try to 'command' a PC, which leads us to believe they are telepathic and we need someone to 'talk' back to them. and then the third thread at the moment would depend on what path the second takes. but i am thinking a 'rebel fation' of the 'grunts' that can speak and look a lot more human like. and they are wanting to rid their friends and family of the symbiotes that are destroying their brains and forcing them to be primitive animals.

If anyone is interested or has any ideas they want to add, feel free to post here or Pm/DM me.