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Post by halfacreoffun on Jun 15, 2016 1:37:23 GMT
How do i get info about the main "boss" of my campaign across to my players with out having him monologue? I'm talking his history, his intentions, why he hates them and why they should hate him.
My party will be meeting him the 1st night as his appearance/return to the world is the catalyst that starts the campaign.
Should I do his through another NPC who knows the history? Maybe through a history book?
He will appear through out the campaign as both an enemy and an unlikely but necessary ally (think the way Satan is used in the show "The Messengers". There is a greater evil, or is there?) So they will learn more and more about him as they go but I want to create a solid base.
Any ideas and help from the rest of the congregation would be much appreciated.
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Post by dmsam on Jun 15, 2016 2:14:22 GMT
The main boss doesn't usually show up till the third arc of the story. Throw some terrible henchmen types the PC's way and they'll learn. . .in time. Leave hints before and after the encounters to edge the players on, but never reveal the whole truth until the climax.
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Post by halfacreoffun on Jun 15, 2016 2:39:40 GMT
The main boss doesn't usually show up till the third arc of the story. Throw some terrible henchmen types the PC's way and they'll learn. . .in time. Leave hints before and after the encounters to edge the players on, but never reveal the whole truth until the climax. I hear the whole don't reveal the main evil to early thing all the time. In this instance it's pivotal to how this age in the world begins. Also he isn't revealed as the main evil of the world to start. To the character knowledge of the world they would think that tiamat is the highest evil of the campaign. |
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Post by lasersniper on Jun 15, 2016 10:12:44 GMT
Don't know much about your campaign, but if this guy has an ancient history, maybe historical carvings depicting him before they meet up?
Would it be something thier characters would know growing up in the area? If so then you can just slip it in with a rundown along with other info they would know of the area.
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Post by halfacreoffun on Jun 15, 2016 14:47:22 GMT
OK so a history for my realm. 500 years ago came then end of the dragon wars which had been wreaking havoc on the world for over a 100 years. With the help of several of the gods and Bahamut a group of adventures are able to seal off the dragons from the mortal plain. An off shoot of the dragon cult called the Awakened Shadow help a powerful black dragon escape the sealing by hiding away in the shadow realm.
It doesn't save him from the sealing but does allow them to create a rift from the shadow plain allowing the dragon to return by using a mortal body who is of the bloodline of the cult member sacrificed during the ritual that sent him to the shadow realm as a vessel.
At the start of the campaign the party doesn't know that they are ancestors of the original party that created the sealing.
The dragons return and the energy it releases is what awakens the essence of their ancestors and also allows Bahamut to return through the blood of the king, who are called the Platinum Vessel.
Before this happens the party is just in town for a festival held every 100 years to celebrate the Great Sealing and the party of adventurers that lost their lives that day. Festival of the Fallen.
So to make a long story short the party meeting him is a catalyst and the only reason they begin to adventure into the world. Sorry I struggle with being concise.
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Post by lasersniper on Jun 16, 2016 7:54:12 GMT
Well first off, I am a little confused who the big bad they will be meeting is. Is it that black dragon in a host body? Other then that though, if they are going to a festival then a creepy fortune teller might be the way to go. Or perhaps a play depicting events. OH OH OH if the big bad is revealing himself at the festival then how about him and some goons crashing the play and him fill in or explain how things "really happened" mid way through the performance. Still close to monologueing but I think it might be a cool twist to it.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2016 19:10:16 GMT
I would use a friendly NPC. The main advantage over other constructs is the degree to which you can control the information. If it's in a book or something, you kind of have to give the PCs all the (relevant) information at once. If the reveal comes from a villain monologue, the PCs might interrupt or disregard it, and not have a second chance at collecting the info. A friendly NPC keeps the knowledge in play, and can probably provide a little more motivation than a book.
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Post by halfacreoffun on Jun 17, 2016 20:11:38 GMT
I'm going to use a combination of all these suggestions over the course of the campaign. I'm going to use the initial contact as quick example of his power and sadistic nature. A short introduction. Some info from the king amd the some from a journal they will aquire from a cult leader early in 1 of the 1st couple sessions. The rest they will gain through role play as the campaign goes on.
The campaign is semi sandbox with definitive convergence points. Eh we'll see how it goes. It my 1st rodeo I'm bound to get bucked off a few times but that will only ly make later campaigns stronger.
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Your1 Nightmare
Commoner
Posts: 17 
Favorite D&D Class: Bard
Favorite D&D Race: Teifling
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Post by Your1 Nightmare on Jun 27, 2016 20:47:59 GMT
I know this is a bit later but in the campaign I have they are aware there is a big bad but know nothing about him. They have caught bits and pieces from individuals and letters that they find/interrogate throughout the story. We are 7 months in and they know what he is called and his goal, but have no idea what he looks like. They have only run into his minions and people he is working with.
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Post by DM Stretch on Jul 3, 2016 20:58:08 GMT
You can always reveal characters in bits and pieces throughout your story. Perhaps it's the apotheosis of one's ideals that brings conflict to a head with the party's goals.
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