Post by insightfulhedgehog on May 26, 2015 1:59:23 GMT
To say that I am unsure of what I want to do would be an understatement. My previous campaign has lost half its members due to transfers or co-ops (college student). I decided that perhaps it was a opportunity after the summer to start a new campaign in my world and to just tell my players what happened in the previous campaign. The reasoning for this is because we only really got a few sessions in so no one really is all that invested other then me and it seems I may have gone a bit cliche with my plot and everyone has already figured out the plot twists I had planned. Therefore, I am looking for a cool campaign idea which I can work on during the summer leading up to our next semester. That said let me tell you some of the ideas I've had.
1. A group of rouges or thieves who are members of a guild or gang
I like this idea a lot but I'm afraid it will be difficult or impossible to pull off the way I would like. Essentially I want to do it with more of a stealth mindset and reward the players for solving problems in a sneaky or creative way. However, I can not think of a way that this would end up feeling repetitive or balancing the difficulty between too easy and impossible. Plus I'm not sure how to do this without restricting their classes.
This idea could take several forms, but primarily I see four main ideas. One is that the players are new recruits of a thieves guild and must work their way up through the ranks by completing jobs from pickpocketing in the streets to breaking into the royal vaults.
Two is that the players are all members of a gang which is trying to become renowned and feared around the nation. In order to do this they must lie, cheat, and steal their way into notoriety.
Three is that the group are a heist crew which works on their own and moved about the nation going after big hauls, of course they would start off just robbing small and work their way up to big heists.
Four is probably the most different of my ideas. Essentially, the players are all running as a group from guards who have caught them in the middle of stealing something and run down the wrong alley. At the end of the alley is a small shack with the word library barely visible above the door. They hear the guards coming around the corner and are forced to step inside. Upon entering they find that the small shacks door actually leads to a pocket dimension which is home to leagues upon leagues of bookshelves filled with books. The caretaker of the place offers them all jobs as archivists. Basically, he would send them on missions to retrieve dangerous books, scrolls, and spell books so that he can hide them away from those who would use them for evil. I was also thinking that he has some either clockwork assistants(myr perhaps) or spirits which aid him in maintaining the library.
2. The Organization
This idea is essentially that the party are starting members in some kind of elite organization. (This sounded a lot less vague in my head) The organizations purpose could be a multitude of things(which I will detail shortly) but there are a few details which would remain the same. One thing I love about fantasy organizations is when the names of the most elite officers are code names with some archetype. Some examples would be: They all are named after knights of the round table(The Order 1886 video game or Kingsman), famous authors, colors, emotions, or even animals. However, I've yet to think of one that would work in a DnD setting. Also, in any of the organizations there would likely be a military like chain of command. Now, on to the ideas.
My first idea is essentially that the organization serve as defenders of a kingdom or region. This could either be a mercenary or military type thing.
The second idea I thought of was that the organization are questers. In other words people ask the organization for aid and offer a reward. If the reward offered outweighs the risk they send a team in to complete the quest. This would be a very serialized campaign most likely, which I'm unsure if I like a lot or dislike a lot.
The third and final idea I had was that the organization are monster hunters of some sort. This would mean they are all experts at fighting supernatural beings. I literally just thought if this idea as I was writing this post but I actually really like it. It could play out kind of like the movie Seventh Son or the show Supernatural where the party would go around exorcising demons, killing beasts, and rooting out evil.
3. Search for Immortality
This idea came to me while listening the the most recent episode of the podcast. Essentially, the campaign would be based around the party trying to achieve immortality. However, I can not think of a way to start this story off without it just being me saying "you guys all want to be immortal... okay, you are in a tavern." It just seems lazy, so I'm definitely open to suggestions on ways to do this. Also, I can't decide why they would want immortality other then selfish ambitions(which I doubt would really build any form of trust or connection between the characters). Here are some ideas I've had on how they might achieve immortality(not invulnerable just unaging and a bit harder to kill).
One is the most obvious to me which is for them to become minor gods. This could be accomplished by completing favors or something similar for a major deity.
Two is to make a potion similar to the one discussed in the podcast. This would require them to find the recipe for it as well as the ingredients.
Three is the classic fountain of life.
Four is for them to have to find some magical item or something which has been long lost or even destroyed(and must be restored) which will give them immortality.
At the moment the primary campaign that I have thought about most is the thieves guild one. However, I am not sure how it would play out or how to give it interest. Any questions, compliments, ideas, or criticisms are more then welcome. I plan to use the world I previously have created and continue to develop its lore. If you are interested in learning about my lore check out my thread titled "Audilos"
in the world building sub-forum. If nothing else please let me know which campaign ideas you like most. Looking forward to your input, thanks ahead of time.
1. A group of rouges or thieves who are members of a guild or gang
I like this idea a lot but I'm afraid it will be difficult or impossible to pull off the way I would like. Essentially I want to do it with more of a stealth mindset and reward the players for solving problems in a sneaky or creative way. However, I can not think of a way that this would end up feeling repetitive or balancing the difficulty between too easy and impossible. Plus I'm not sure how to do this without restricting their classes.
This idea could take several forms, but primarily I see four main ideas. One is that the players are new recruits of a thieves guild and must work their way up through the ranks by completing jobs from pickpocketing in the streets to breaking into the royal vaults.
Two is that the players are all members of a gang which is trying to become renowned and feared around the nation. In order to do this they must lie, cheat, and steal their way into notoriety.
Three is that the group are a heist crew which works on their own and moved about the nation going after big hauls, of course they would start off just robbing small and work their way up to big heists.
Four is probably the most different of my ideas. Essentially, the players are all running as a group from guards who have caught them in the middle of stealing something and run down the wrong alley. At the end of the alley is a small shack with the word library barely visible above the door. They hear the guards coming around the corner and are forced to step inside. Upon entering they find that the small shacks door actually leads to a pocket dimension which is home to leagues upon leagues of bookshelves filled with books. The caretaker of the place offers them all jobs as archivists. Basically, he would send them on missions to retrieve dangerous books, scrolls, and spell books so that he can hide them away from those who would use them for evil. I was also thinking that he has some either clockwork assistants(myr perhaps) or spirits which aid him in maintaining the library.
2. The Organization
This idea is essentially that the party are starting members in some kind of elite organization. (This sounded a lot less vague in my head) The organizations purpose could be a multitude of things(which I will detail shortly) but there are a few details which would remain the same. One thing I love about fantasy organizations is when the names of the most elite officers are code names with some archetype. Some examples would be: They all are named after knights of the round table(The Order 1886 video game or Kingsman), famous authors, colors, emotions, or even animals. However, I've yet to think of one that would work in a DnD setting. Also, in any of the organizations there would likely be a military like chain of command. Now, on to the ideas.
My first idea is essentially that the organization serve as defenders of a kingdom or region. This could either be a mercenary or military type thing.
The second idea I thought of was that the organization are questers. In other words people ask the organization for aid and offer a reward. If the reward offered outweighs the risk they send a team in to complete the quest. This would be a very serialized campaign most likely, which I'm unsure if I like a lot or dislike a lot.
The third and final idea I had was that the organization are monster hunters of some sort. This would mean they are all experts at fighting supernatural beings. I literally just thought if this idea as I was writing this post but I actually really like it. It could play out kind of like the movie Seventh Son or the show Supernatural where the party would go around exorcising demons, killing beasts, and rooting out evil.
3. Search for Immortality
This idea came to me while listening the the most recent episode of the podcast. Essentially, the campaign would be based around the party trying to achieve immortality. However, I can not think of a way to start this story off without it just being me saying "you guys all want to be immortal... okay, you are in a tavern." It just seems lazy, so I'm definitely open to suggestions on ways to do this. Also, I can't decide why they would want immortality other then selfish ambitions(which I doubt would really build any form of trust or connection between the characters). Here are some ideas I've had on how they might achieve immortality(not invulnerable just unaging and a bit harder to kill).
One is the most obvious to me which is for them to become minor gods. This could be accomplished by completing favors or something similar for a major deity.
Two is to make a potion similar to the one discussed in the podcast. This would require them to find the recipe for it as well as the ingredients.
Three is the classic fountain of life.
Four is for them to have to find some magical item or something which has been long lost or even destroyed(and must be restored) which will give them immortality.
At the moment the primary campaign that I have thought about most is the thieves guild one. However, I am not sure how it would play out or how to give it interest. Any questions, compliments, ideas, or criticisms are more then welcome. I plan to use the world I previously have created and continue to develop its lore. If you are interested in learning about my lore check out my thread titled "Audilos"
in the world building sub-forum. If nothing else please let me know which campaign ideas you like most. Looking forward to your input, thanks ahead of time.
