Help with campaign building... :( [Archive] - Wizards Community

Help with campaign building... :( [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
vactus
02-20-07, 04:26 PM Ok, I'm a almost brand new to the DM side of the table. I just wrapped up a campaign, and it was my first ever to DM. It was a Faerun based game that centered around the Waterdeep area. It was also pretty freakin broken and overpowered. I.E. a 13th lvl char went 1-on-1 with a CR 16 devil and won.

Anyways, so I finished running it this past Sunday and I want to move onto a lower level, less powerful game. I'm calling it "The Frozen Wastes" and using a lot of the Frostburn stuff for reference. I kind of want to keep it based in Faerun so I can do some minor cross-over stuff from my previous game, but I'm not sure how to work that out without letting them run around Faerun and leaving the ice covered lands they start out in.

Wow... all this blabbering and no question yet. Sorry bout that. I ramble easy.

Basically I need help creating a custom game world. Like giving them a reason to do anything at all. It's five players and they are using Frostburn races, but the classes are more open and I have final decision on what they play. I prefer more role-playing based games than hack-n-slash types, but both are fun.

I'd love to have an overall story arc, but I can't come up with any good ideas, so I was hoping for some ideas that I could modify from you guys. I can create BBEG from that and paste a world on top of it... I'm just stuck on some kind of story line. *sigh*

If this is too broad, or you need more info, I'll gladly attempt to get you the info you ask for. Thanks in advance and I apologize again for the long windedness of this post.
Gilgalad
02-20-07, 05:09 PM I have the perfect suggestion for you- do a google search for the Black Isle computer RPG called "Heart of Winter." This was an AWESOME computer RPG centered in Faerun north of the Spine of the World Mountains in the region of the Ten Towns. There was also a sequel called "Heart of Winter II." Sadly, Black Isle is no more.

In anycase, the game establishes a complete story arc for you (assuming none of your players know about the game). Your party starts out in the small fishing village in the far north (the name escapes me) and the town is in desparate straights. The regular supply caravans have not been making it and your party is hired by the town elder to investigate. The trail leads to the peaks of the frozen mountains to a druidic stronghold followed by a yuan-ti temple, a haunted elf ruin and a dwarf mine.

Check it out!
vactus
02-20-07, 05:25 PM Thank you thank you thank you.

I'll do that as soon as I get home. Also found a link within these boards to some pretty nifty DM tools... one of which I love because I use my laptop for referencing a lot of the material... (I have all my books downloaded there) when I DM.

So again... THANK YOU!!!
GoriceXII
02-21-07, 10:35 AM First of all I'd suggest making the journey really difficult. Have it start approaching winter so that any ports will be frozen over soon.

Secondly: what kind of theme interests you most? Exploration? War? Intrigue? Mystery?
vactus
02-21-07, 03:14 PM Did some brainstorming last night using the Heart of Winters as a baseline template and trying to go from there.

To answer you question GoriceXII, I like war/mystery. I just suck at the mystery story-telling. Exploring is fun too, but not sure if I could put in enough to let them run free.

Think I will go for a building up of a Intrigue/War theme with some mystery thrown in... :cool:
vactus
02-24-07, 10:38 PM Ok. The game has begun. :)

I started with the HoW storyline and branched it out from there as the PCs went about discovering stuff. Since this isn't a game and I can't just limit them from doing certain things, I went ahead and added background and fleshed out some of the NPCs that were already given.

I also started a semi-background story/added elements that I already wanted to do via our forums. (The city I live in has a local gaming website and forum that we use to schedule games and stuff.)

So, thanks a lot for the ideas and if I have more questions I'll be certain to ask them. :D
krichaiushii
02-24-07, 10:47 PM Since you seem to be running an intrigue based adventure, plan for the use of divination magic. Actually, REQUIRE the use of divination magic to solve certain aspects of the adventure.

Same goes for Gather Info, Bardic Knowledge, and the assorted social skills.

You may already be doing this. If so, ignore me and carry on. ;)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
vactus 02-20-07, 04:26 PM	Ok, I'm a almost brand new to the DM side of the table. I just wrapped up a campaign, and it was my first ever to DM. It was a Faerun based game that centered around the Waterdeep area. It was also pretty freakin broken and overpowered. I.E. a 13th lvl char went 1-on-1 with a CR 16 devil and won. Anyways, so I finished running it this past Sunday and I want to move onto a lower level, less powerful game. I'm calling it "The Frozen Wastes" and using a lot of the Frostburn stuff for reference. I kind of want to keep it based in Faerun so I can do some minor cross-over stuff from my previous game, but I'm not sure how to work that out without letting them run around Faerun and leaving the ice covered lands they start out in. Wow... all this blabbering and no question yet. Sorry bout that. I ramble easy. Basically I need help creating a custom game world. Like giving them a reason to do anything at all. It's five players and they are using Frostburn races, but the classes are more open and I have final decision on what they play. I prefer more role-playing based games than hack-n-slash types, but both are fun. I'd love to have an overall story arc, but I can't come up with any good ideas, so I was hoping for some ideas that I could modify from you guys. I can create BBEG from that and paste a world on top of it... I'm just stuck on some kind of story line. sigh If this is too broad, or you need more info, I'll gladly attempt to get you the info you ask for. Thanks in advance and I apologize again for the long windedness of this post.
Gilgalad 02-20-07, 05:09 PM	I have the perfect suggestion for you- do a google search for the Black Isle computer RPG called "Heart of Winter." This was an AWESOME computer RPG centered in Faerun north of the Spine of the World Mountains in the region of the Ten Towns. There was also a sequel called "Heart of Winter II." Sadly, Black Isle is no more. In anycase, the game establishes a complete story arc for you (assuming none of your players know about the game). Your party starts out in the small fishing village in the far north (the name escapes me) and the town is in desparate straights. The regular supply caravans have not been making it and your party is hired by the town elder to investigate. The trail leads to the peaks of the frozen mountains to a druidic stronghold followed by a yuan-ti temple, a haunted elf ruin and a dwarf mine. Check it out!
vactus 02-20-07, 05:25 PM	Thank you thank you thank you. I'll do that as soon as I get home. Also found a link within these boards to some pretty nifty DM tools... one of which I love because I use my laptop for referencing a lot of the material... (I have all my books downloaded there) when I DM. So again... THANK YOU!!!
GoriceXII 02-21-07, 10:35 AM	First of all I'd suggest making the journey really difficult. Have it start approaching winter so that any ports will be frozen over soon. Secondly: what kind of theme interests you most? Exploration? War? Intrigue? Mystery?
vactus 02-21-07, 03:14 PM	Did some brainstorming last night using the Heart of Winters as a baseline template and trying to go from there. To answer you question GoriceXII, I like war/mystery. I just suck at the mystery story-telling. Exploring is fun too, but not sure if I could put in enough to let them run free. Think I will go for a building up of a Intrigue/War theme with some mystery thrown in... :cool:
vactus 02-24-07, 10:38 PM	Ok. The game has begun. :) I started with the HoW storyline and branched it out from there as the PCs went about discovering stuff. Since this isn't a game and I can't just limit them from doing certain things, I went ahead and added background and fleshed out some of the NPCs that were already given. I also started a semi-background story/added elements that I already wanted to do via our forums. (The city I live in has a local gaming website and forum that we use to schedule games and stuff.) So, thanks a lot for the ideas and if I have more questions I'll be certain to ask them. :D
krichaiushii 02-24-07, 10:47 PM	Since you seem to be running an intrigue based adventure, plan for the use of divination magic. Actually, REQUIRE the use of divination magic to solve certain aspects of the adventure. Same goes for Gather Info, Bardic Knowledge, and the assorted social skills. You may already be doing this. If so, ignore me and carry on. ;)