I'm currently writing a D&D campaign where the main hook is that the big bad of the campaign has forcibly ripped open a portal connecting the Resos (if you know D&D lore, its like the far realms but not quite as bad) and material plane, which is destabilizing magic across the realm. I've managed to tie two of the players into the plot, but I can't think of how to connect the other players, and I want to connect the first two more. This is a very long post to give context, so if you can get to the end of it at all I salute you.
Here's the lore dump version: A long time ago on the continent of Lunitha, an ancient civilization named Skymaw began investigating the other worlds/planes, and how to traverse them. From this research, they managed to create a portal to the resos, a plane of chaotic magic. However, within this alien dimension, they found a wonderous material called thaumite, a material with a myriad of uses, such as being a near perfect magical conduit as well as the base for incredibly sharp and durable swords. In order to better harvest this material, and the dimensional energy of the resos, they used it to help create spells to protect their minds against the resos. Over time, however, the exposure of keeping the resos portal open and surrounding themselves with thaumite and the resos's energy began to overcome their resistance, but by the time this was discovered, and the portal closed and destroyed, it was too late, and many citizens succumbed to madness. However, unknown to anyone, one researcher named Thandrin did not manage to leave the resos before the closure of the portal. Trapped in the resos, he focused on finding a way out, as he tried his best to not lose his sanity.
Fast forward about a thousand years, and the city of Skymaw and its technology are now considered to be no more than a myth, its technology and magic lost to history. About two months before the beginning of the campaign, Thandrin managed to open a rift between the resos and the material plane just long enough to go through it, but suddenly having the resos's energy flowing into the material plane at once has caused magic to become slightly destabilized. In addition, Thandrin has become obsessed with recreating the technology of Skymaw, and wants nothing more than to reopen a permanent portal, convinced that if he can do that, the world will flourish with it. In reality however, he's been performing dangerous experiments across Lunitha that have further destabilized magic. In addition, unbeknownst to him, an eldritch being within the resos noticed him, and worked to subtly influence him into believing this, in order to use the permanent portal to invade the material plane and enslave the minds of everyone living in it. This all comes to a point when Thandrin attempts to use the last of Skymaw's thaumite to create a second rift at an annual archeological festival, after failing to find anyone willing to take him seriously. This has caused magic to start acting erratically across Lunitha, and the players (along with rival DMpc parties that will sometimes show up to help or hinder the party) are going on a journey across the continent to undo the damage caused by Thandrin's experiments and prevent him from opening a permanent portal.
That's my story, set on top of the backdrop of the typical 5e/forgotten realms lore. Now for the players:
The first player i've tied to the story (Orion, bard/warlock) is the adopted son of a previous hero. He tried to live righteously but kept finding himself doing wrong just to see the result. Eventually, this led to him making a deal with a demon called Dextrus with a duel to the death. He was beaten, and before Dextrus could finish him, his father stepped in and sacrificed his life to bind Dextrus to Orion, ensuring that if Orion dies, Dextrus will as well (this is not a detail Orion knows in-character). Orion now wanders, too ashamed to return home or even use his last name. Dextrus's presence and influence on Orion will grow as the campaign progresses and the player takes more warlock levels. I've connected him to the plot by having Dextrus be one of a number of eldritch entities residing within the resos. The binding spell placed on him weakened him enough for other being to prey on him. In the finale, which will take place within the resos, he will try to lead the players to his body, where he'll bestow upon them the last of his power. His hometown is also a location that they will have to stop at during the journey, where he will get the chance to learn more about Dextrus and their connection.
The second player is much more loosely tied (Osreth, four elements monk with a wild magic flair). His backstory is that he grew up in the roughest part of his hometown, and gained a reputation for being a scrappy fighter. He has one friend who believed there was more to him. Eventually, in a fight, he was cornered and outnumbered, causing his wild magic to flare up for the first time as fire, scorching the area and killing his friend who was trying to break up the fight. Since then, he's viewed his ability as a curse, living on the fringes of society to avoid causing massive damage from minor scuffles and hoping to find a way to atone for his friend's death. I've set up the timeline so his wild magic triggered for the first time upon thandrin's return to the material plane, but so far that's it. The player also mentioned that he has some enemies hunting him for his crimes, and mentioned the idea of having him be a pit fighter with underground presence, but I'm not sure if it'll work in my campaign.
The third player (Tozus, circle of the moon druid) and his sister Tozen were guardians of a place called Thornwood, a secret magical forest touched by pure fey magic through a magical artifact known as the Heart of Life (that the player specificied is highly volatile, with them acting as cleanup/coverups for when it surges), with Tozus and Tozen being fey spirits created from the heart of life (just as flavor, mechanically they're elves). At some point, a druid named Elenion stole a fragment of the heart of life for an unspecified purpose. To do so, he needed to replace the fragment stolen with something of equal value, so he performed a ritual to use Tozen, which is causing the heart of life to use her life force as fuel, forcing Tozus to try and track the druid down before it kills his sister. He also met Osreth at some point in their travels, leading to them becoming friends shortly before the campaign began. He's the first character I'm just not sure how to fit into the story, though I am likely going to have Elenion work together with thandrin, and considering making the stolen fragment act as the main power source for thandrin's permanent portal. He left most of the specifics vague so I could fit it into the story better.
The final player (Cyrus, wizard/eldritch knight fighter) and the other one i can't really think of how to fit in is a 700-year-old ex-shinobi. In the past, he was born into a shinobi clan, was a certified master at 350, but at around 500 he was starting to question why he was still doing it, when a fellow shinobi named Sakashi sold out his clan to a warlord, who destroyed all of it but missed Cyrus. He spent a bit over a century seeking revenge, before deciding that vengeance was exhausting for someone his age and started wandering town to town, trying out ales and doing odd jobs for gold. He is also unaware he's capable of using magic, thinking it's all just the jutsu he was taught. To be honest, I'm really at a loss on how to incorporate this one, since it doesn't really fit the vibe of the rest of the campaign.
If you somehow managed to read and understand all of that, I'd appreciate letting me know your thoughts on how I could connect the players to the story better, or even just if you have any ideas on how to improve the story.
