New Campaign builder...help? [Archive] - Wizards Community

New Campaign builder...help? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
darthobi_wan99
08-09-07, 04:20 PM Hello all.

I am a fairly new DM, but I do understand how to run an adventure.

I have always wanted to create my own campaign, however...
I have the general synopsis formulated in my head, but I have no idea how to even begin to put this on paper.

Here is the general synopsis of the campaign:

In an empire famous for it's war campaigns and brutality in battle (so far nameless), a King named Jevoraeon (filler name) is causing unrest throughout the kingdom. His old age is affecting his ability to lead his vast empire, most of which consists of conquered lands of the elves and dwarves, where martial law rules. His people do not know of what happens outside of the wall of their capital city (still nameless), nor do they care. All they care about is that all other races (this is a human city) be annihalated, as, in their eyes, humans are the superior race. What isn't widely known is the power behind the throne; a small group of aliens (These aliens cannot survive long on this plane without a corpse as a host, humanoid or otherwise) from an alternate dimension/plane have been controlling past [and present] kings of this empire (Not sure how the king is going to be controlled yet, whether through a spell, or what...), therefore controlling the entire empire as well as it's vast military forces. Their eventual plan is to enslave all beings, including humans, to eventually bring the rest of their race through the portal they have opened up to our world, living off of our resources and eventually wiping out our entire population.

Enter party of heroes.

They are summoned to the king, who has figured out what has been going on to him, his ancestors and his kingdom. He has repeatedly told his nobles and military officials of th situation, but is looked upon as a 'crazy old man'. He turns to the heroes, with nowhere else to turn, offers rewards beyond their wildest dreams for their assistance. Of course, this would not be an easy task for any kind of hero, therefore he offers them lodging and hospitality whilst they make their decision. Meanwhile, in the apparant privacy of their conversation, the King's plans were overheard by a spy controlled by one of these aliens, and hte King is assassinated that night. An alien then uses his corpse to turn the heroes attention away from the King's apparant plans to take down his controllers, and to the outskirts of the kingdom, where small villages are being attacked by monsters unseen before to anyone (brought over through the portal by the aliens). The heroes go on various conquests throughout the empire, while the aliens use their absence to make their attack on the capital city.

When the heroes do return, the capital city is in ruins, and it's people enslaved by their 'king'. They must travel into the alternate plane to find the key to defeating this seemably invincible enemy.

That's all I got so far.

Can anyone shed a light on how I would begin to piece this together to form a campaign?

EDIT: I just transferred the stuff from the wrong one to this one because it got replies. :P
elondir
08-09-07, 04:45 PM Your synopsis is rather short. :D

Start with the coastlines and try to make them fit together like a big jigsaw puzzle that has been sandblasted. Put volcanic mountains on the leading edges of the continents, folded mountains where previous continents collided, and low mountains whereever you want them. Put mountains in chains.

Now add water. Desert areas occur when the wind currents blow south in the northern hemisphere and north in the southern hemisphere. Ocean wind currents follow a clockwise direction in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern hemishere. There is a separate set of currents in the tropics. Polar winds go east to west, as do the winds along the equator (in a counter current to the winds close by just to the north and the south).

The wet side of mountain ranges are typically forested and the dry side plain or steppe. Plains have wet winters and dry summers while forests have wet summers. Deserts get less than 10 cm of rain per year.

The snow line is roughly 10000 feet but it varies with latitude and moisture. Your mountain ranges will typically have a forested band in a certain temperature range.

Add rivers through forests, following the path of least resistance into the sea.

Now add major cities. They will likely be along riverbends, the mouths of rivers, and in sheltered bays. Draw roads between them. Where roads intersect will be smaller cities. Cities with both roads and rivers will be larger than ones without rivers.

Now add your farmland. Figure on a population density of 30-70 people per square mile, with 1 square mile of farmland supporting 180 people. Clearcut forests and double the farmland needed for desert areas.

Now figure out what is being traded. Fish? Ore? Rice? Fur? Who are they trading with?

Next assign a language to each broad region of humanity. Figure out the language borders, they will also represent the cultural borders, and will follow the expansion of the kingdoms. Also assign racial demographics to each region. Typically the borders are large bodies of water, rivers, and high mountains. Use the languages to figure out the names for your cities.

Now that we have nations, with trade, populations, language, and ethnic diversity, we need to determine the type of government for each nation, its rulers, and its major players.

Assuming that NPCs gain xp the way players do, your leveled NPCs with PC classes will have the bulk at third to sixth level, with a few exceptional NPCs in the 9th to 12th range. A legendary NPC from the past century will be 15th level.

Within 25 miles of a large or larger town is civilized, and within 50 miles is borderlands.

Note the names of each distinct region. This is your set of local knowledge skills.

Now choose your cosmology. The Great Wheel is simpler to use, but Eberron has some interesting traits.

Finally you need a pantheon. I'll leave that to you to figure out.

That ought to do it, one world, ready for plot devices.

I can't help you with those.
Delfedd
08-09-07, 06:38 PM Rich Burtlew is, as always, a valuable resource in matters of gaming.

http://www.giantitp.com/Gaming.html
darthobi_wan99
08-09-07, 09:42 PM Fixes first post, synopsis now added.

:)

btw, I'm trying to create a campaign, not a full-fledged campaign setting. :P
Delfedd
08-11-07, 03:10 PM Sometimes there's very little difference.

If you're creating a campaign, always have a map on you, so in this way when you throw a tavern on a road that the players have been down ten times, you won't have to explain it. Start with the first town and the surrounding area. Get up to... twenty miles away in each direction, then stop, Figure out the name of the country they're in, who's ruling it, and what kind of government it is. Figure out two nations, one ally and one enemy, as well as who the bandits are in the area.

From there just expand. When the players go 10 miles east, draw another 10 miles on your map in an eastwardly direction. Only put the roads that are traveled in. If a town is mentioned as near a geographical feature, put it on the map.
darthobi_wan99
08-12-07, 02:06 PM I could use the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. It's my favorite...
Delfedd
08-12-07, 07:57 PM well then I see no reason not to do that. :D

The only reason I suggested tmaking your own campaign setting was so that it meshes with your campaign.
darthobi_wan99
08-15-07, 01:00 PM ALright. Forgotten Realms it is.

Does anyone have an idea where I can begin?

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
darthobi_wan99 08-09-07, 04:20 PM	Hello all. I am a fairly new DM, but I do understand how to run an adventure. I have always wanted to create my own campaign, however... I have the general synopsis formulated in my head, but I have no idea how to even begin to put this on paper. Here is the general synopsis of the campaign: In an empire famous for it's war campaigns and brutality in battle (so far nameless), a King named Jevoraeon (filler name) is causing unrest throughout the kingdom. His old age is affecting his ability to lead his vast empire, most of which consists of conquered lands of the elves and dwarves, where martial law rules. His people do not know of what happens outside of the wall of their capital city (still nameless), nor do they care. All they care about is that all other races (this is a human city) be annihalated, as, in their eyes, humans are the superior race. What isn't widely known is the power behind the throne; a small group of aliens (These aliens cannot survive long on this plane without a corpse as a host, humanoid or otherwise) from an alternate dimension/plane have been controlling past [and present] kings of this empire (Not sure how the king is going to be controlled yet, whether through a spell, or what...), therefore controlling the entire empire as well as it's vast military forces. Their eventual plan is to enslave all beings, including humans, to eventually bring the rest of their race through the portal they have opened up to our world, living off of our resources and eventually wiping out our entire population. Enter party of heroes. They are summoned to the king, who has figured out what has been going on to him, his ancestors and his kingdom. He has repeatedly told his nobles and military officials of th situation, but is looked upon as a 'crazy old man'. He turns to the heroes, with nowhere else to turn, offers rewards beyond their wildest dreams for their assistance. Of course, this would not be an easy task for any kind of hero, therefore he offers them lodging and hospitality whilst they make their decision. Meanwhile, in the apparant privacy of their conversation, the King's plans were overheard by a spy controlled by one of these aliens, and hte King is assassinated that night. An alien then uses his corpse to turn the heroes attention away from the King's apparant plans to take down his controllers, and to the outskirts of the kingdom, where small villages are being attacked by monsters unseen before to anyone (brought over through the portal by the aliens). The heroes go on various conquests throughout the empire, while the aliens use their absence to make their attack on the capital city. When the heroes do return, the capital city is in ruins, and it's people enslaved by their 'king'. They must travel into the alternate plane to find the key to defeating this seemably invincible enemy. That's all I got so far. Can anyone shed a light on how I would begin to piece this together to form a campaign? EDIT: I just transferred the stuff from the wrong one to this one because it got replies. :P
elondir 08-09-07, 04:45 PM	Your synopsis is rather short. :D Start with the coastlines and try to make them fit together like a big jigsaw puzzle that has been sandblasted. Put volcanic mountains on the leading edges of the continents, folded mountains where previous continents collided, and low mountains whereever you want them. Put mountains in chains. Now add water. Desert areas occur when the wind currents blow south in the northern hemisphere and north in the southern hemisphere. Ocean wind currents follow a clockwise direction in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern hemishere. There is a separate set of currents in the tropics. Polar winds go east to west, as do the winds along the equator (in a counter current to the winds close by just to the north and the south). The wet side of mountain ranges are typically forested and the dry side plain or steppe. Plains have wet winters and dry summers while forests have wet summers. Deserts get less than 10 cm of rain per year. The snow line is roughly 10000 feet but it varies with latitude and moisture. Your mountain ranges will typically have a forested band in a certain temperature range. Add rivers through forests, following the path of least resistance into the sea. Now add major cities. They will likely be along riverbends, the mouths of rivers, and in sheltered bays. Draw roads between them. Where roads intersect will be smaller cities. Cities with both roads and rivers will be larger than ones without rivers. Now add your farmland. Figure on a population density of 30-70 people per square mile, with 1 square mile of farmland supporting 180 people. Clearcut forests and double the farmland needed for desert areas. Now figure out what is being traded. Fish? Ore? Rice? Fur? Who are they trading with? Next assign a language to each broad region of humanity. Figure out the language borders, they will also represent the cultural borders, and will follow the expansion of the kingdoms. Also assign racial demographics to each region. Typically the borders are large bodies of water, rivers, and high mountains. Use the languages to figure out the names for your cities. Now that we have nations, with trade, populations, language, and ethnic diversity, we need to determine the type of government for each nation, its rulers, and its major players. Assuming that NPCs gain xp the way players do, your leveled NPCs with PC classes will have the bulk at third to sixth level, with a few exceptional NPCs in the 9th to 12th range. A legendary NPC from the past century will be 15th level. Within 25 miles of a large or larger town is civilized, and within 50 miles is borderlands. Note the names of each distinct region. This is your set of local knowledge skills. Now choose your cosmology. The Great Wheel is simpler to use, but Eberron has some interesting traits. Finally you need a pantheon. I'll leave that to you to figure out. That ought to do it, one world, ready for plot devices. I can't help you with those.
Delfedd 08-09-07, 06:38 PM	Rich Burtlew is, as always, a valuable resource in matters of gaming. http://www.giantitp.com/Gaming.html
darthobi_wan99 08-09-07, 09:42 PM	Fixes first post, synopsis now added. :) btw, I'm trying to create a campaign, not a full-fledged campaign setting. :P
Delfedd 08-11-07, 03:10 PM	Sometimes there's very little difference. If you're creating a campaign, always have a map on you, so in this way when you throw a tavern on a road that the players have been down ten times, you won't have to explain it. Start with the first town and the surrounding area. Get up to... twenty miles away in each direction, then stop, Figure out the name of the country they're in, who's ruling it, and what kind of government it is. Figure out two nations, one ally and one enemy, as well as who the bandits are in the area. From there just expand. When the players go 10 miles east, draw another 10 miles on your map in an eastwardly direction. Only put the roads that are traveled in. If a town is mentioned as near a geographical feature, put it on the map.
darthobi_wan99 08-12-07, 02:06 PM	I could use the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. It's my favorite...
Delfedd 08-12-07, 07:57 PM	well then I see no reason not to do that. :D The only reason I suggested tmaking your own campaign setting was so that it meshes with your campaign.
darthobi_wan99 08-15-07, 01:00 PM	ALright. Forgotten Realms it is. Does anyone have an idea where I can begin?