Other Campaigns [Archive] - Wizards Community

Other Campaigns [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
freyja
07-01-04, 01:21 AM I saw pseudopod's question about other people's campaigns in the magic grouping of threads and I couldn't find it in this one, so I thought I'd ask, seeing as I could also use the information.

I am just about to start an Eberron campaign and am wondering not only how everyone else's games are going, but what they're doing. I am new to this GMing thing, being a devout player up to this point. I think I have a good beginning figured out, but I'm horrible about endings and tying everything together. I think that if I can check out more of what you guys are doing, I can form my ideas more thoroughly.

Thanks to anyone who replies!
Ezekiel
07-01-04, 07:30 AM I'm new to GMing myself, so I couldn't exactly give you insightful advise, but I'm just surprised noone has replied yet.

As for my campaign, I'm gonna start by spinning alot of intrigue, not really putting much thought into how to put it all together. Then, based on how it turns out and what my players do, I'll start working on bringing it all together in one grand Scheme. It will most likely include the possible destruction of civilization by something like bringing Dal Quor back into orbit and coterminous, or just a giant Doomsday Device.

Also, an important part of my campaign will be the antagonists of the party. Not the actual villains, but competitors. The people that turn up almost everywhere the party goes, and always seem to be in the way of their plans fruition. When they've finally found the Ancient Ruin housing the Great Artifact, and are spying on the entrance... they notice some people. On closer inspection, they seem to be a human, an elf, a dwarf and a gnome. With rather familiar-looking clothes... oh no! Not them again! That sort of thing. Recurring villains and antagonists are, IMO, pivotal to a good pulp/noir story like this. Preferably, the players should meet their antagonists early on, and I like them to meet the Bid Bad Evil Guy early too, just that they have no idea what he is. And maybe he's not yet become the BBEG. Either way, they'll be really surprised when they, right at the end, after all the struggle, all the adventures, everything they've been through, find that guy sitting on the Throne of Ultimate Dark Power.

Another thing I will try to bring into the game is the mysterious power of happenstance. Little things that happen and things you notice all coming together in an amazing way, almost impossible to believe. Much like movies such as Pulp Fiction (and Tokyo Godfathers, if anyone else has seen that). I think such movies are great, and I'd like my players to be able to laugh hysterically when they find out everything they've been doing is taking one giant circle of actions only to end up back where they started. Or something like that.
SCMrks
07-01-04, 12:50 PM Well my campaign is going to start around Vathirond in Breland. I have a large poster map of the village of Hommlet (from Temple of Elemental Evil) and will use this as the village near Vathirond that the players can operate from.
The first adventure will be about a local teen age girl who is possed by a demon. The demon's goal is to develope her magic potential in summoning magic so eventually she'll be able to summon demons out of their captivity. Practicing her magical spells has lead to fiendish rats and dogs in the area. The party gets involved because the rats cause a disease in the village and the party should discover the huge rats leading them to the girl. So will the party kill the teenage girl or try to free her from her possession. Since I'm hoping they will try to help her and she will reoccur in the campaign the big bad guy to fight will be her imp familar.
Then the party will face aberrations from the mournlands. For this I will use the classic Keep on the Borderland and place it south east of Vathirond. I will restock the Caves of Chaos with less humaniods and undead and more aberrations like dolgaunts, chockers, rust monsters, and those 2 goblins in one body things. The aberrations have made the caves their lair and have been maurading from the Mournlands so the party will have to clean them out.
Then from the forest north of Vathirond which is actually in Thrane's border the party will have problems connected with the shadow plane. The shadar-kai allied with some shades are trying to claim the woods for themselves and I'll use the Shadow Glade adventures from the website as part of the adventure. This will take the party into Thrane and also helping druids in the forest.
Then their will be problems with the hobgoblins and the party will help the forts of Kennrun and Sterngate against goblinoids harassing the borders.
This should have the party up to 6th level or so.
kuoshu
07-01-04, 05:43 PM I like the above ideas, my start is an attempt to start the campaign with the adventure movie style flavour, I am looking at incorporating things from Indiana Jones, Goonies, and The Mummy.

The Characters...

Dwarven Fighter (Tork) looking to get out into the world against his fathers wishes. He wants adventure his father wants him to follow his footsteps in the Aurum. He wants to get out and fight some "monsters, you know, LIVE life!" He convinced his father to allow him to attend a warriors "acadamy" near Sharn. He just graduated and is in the tourniment of champions. A place where the school shows of its recent graduates.

Halfling Urban Ranger (Marty) has been promised a boon by a friend of Tork's father if he will keep tabs on... "The boy, but let him have some fun, I'll handle his father, you just keep reports coming to me, and don't let anything happen to him."

Human Wizard (Thomas) was just forcefully released from his apprenticeship. His master stayed out of the big war, but was assassinated after the treaty for not "backing the right side". He is not sure what he will do yet. He really doesn't see himself as a mage, more as a glorified cook and butler (fun apprentice type tasks).

Gnome (Namryllin) is a priest for a minor Cult of Magic worshippers who believe that the reason behind the destruction of Cyre is that mortals can not be trusted to wield powerful magics, it is their goal to gather all great magics to themselves to be used properly or destroyed. For they are the only ones who can do so without another Mournland debacle.

Half-elf Artificer (Ella) is an aspiring artificer who is trying to find the people who abducted her half-sister almost a week ago. She has tracked them to one of the towers of Sharn.

The first two game sessions...

Marty tracked down Tork at the tourney (not hard as Tork was competing), and struck up a friendship with him.

Namryllin has a lead on some powerful magical items in a forgotten tower in Breland, but knows that he can't get at them without help. He attended the tourniment to scout out a group of like minded individuals and has gathered Tork and Thomas. Marty is along now by default. Unfortunately he has also learned that he can not finance the trip now. He is making up stories and telling lies to keep the group together while he figures out what he is going to do.

Tork was cornered by one of his instructors and blackmailed. If Tork will find the recently abducted daughter of a certain Lord of House Cannith, the instructor will send Tork's fathers men on a wild goose chase allowing Tork to travel a bit before being dragged back to learn the exiting life of an aristocrat.

Tork, through the liberal use of lies, half truths and artful censorship, has managed to cajole the rest of the group into helping him find the girl.

The coming up session...

The main group will be tracking down the daughter of the Lord of House Cannith, and will track them to a specific tower. Once they enter they will hear a scuffle in which Ella has been captured by the enemy (followers of the Dragon Below). This will finalize the group becoming a group and start the campaign in earnest.

The CoDB members they are in direct conflict with, have an eldritch device which they can use to destroy the link between Sharn and Syrania causing mass chaos and destruction as the flying/floaty things will not operate any longer and come tumbling down, and the towers will not be able to stand either. They need to sacrifice the two young maidens for the power in their blood, both are dragon marked, and there blood will allow the followers to control the magic.

Once the device is started it can not be stopped, there will be a short time while the followers are away in which the artificer can attempt to sabotage the device (remove a dragon shard which will result in the device destroying only the vault they are hiding in), and the rest of the party can rescue the two tied down maidens.

I forsee this as a very seat of the pants, Indiana Jones-ish, chase type mission. You know the type, they sneak up into an alcove where they overhear the plans of the bad guys. The bad guys start the machine which can not be stopped once it is started, then go to finish their final preparations. The good guys sneak down, knock out the guard, untie the girls and sabotage the eldritch device. Then a big chase scene through some tunnles which will result in a Goonies style sewer tube ride.

In the end, no one but they know what has happened, the group will have a story which no one will believe. They will at least foil the plans of the bad guys (gain persistant enemies), save the half-sister (gain an artificer named Ella), and save the Cannith Lord's daughter(gain a rich sponser).

From there we shall see....

What do you think?
freyja
07-02-04, 01:04 AM Ezekiel:
Thanks for the ideas--I really like the concept of the party antagonists, and will probably be using it. I was wondering whether you're going to be planning out all of your happenstance ahead of time, or, like you talked about with the intrigue, just finding ways for things to fit together later on.

SCMrks:
I like the moral dilemma presented by the demon-possessed girl. I'd love to see how your players deal with it once they encounter it.

kuoshu:
Indiana Jones is my favorite character ever. I always wanted to be a female version of him. I think that's what appeals to me about Eberron. So your campaign looks like loads of fun, and makes me want to create a character of my own.

Okay, so my plans for my campaign so far are based very loosely off of Temple of Doom, except a little darker. A refugee camp had developed just outside the city of X, incorporating a cave system into itself for improved shelter. The refugee camp has been slaughtered, people drained of their blood and trails leading into the cave. If the players notice (I will try to make them notice it), there are signs of children, but no bodies.

That's the basic beginning, leading into the concept that a cult of the Dragon Below has taken the children into the caves with them to help dig deeper (trying to reach the Dragon) and to be easy sacrificial victims whenever blood sacrifice is needed for cleansing. My adventurers will of course save the children, after a nice, traditional dungeon crawl.

The thing is, I think I want this to lead to something bigger, so I'm going to have to figure out what other goals or what else the cult could be leading to. So, I'm working on it, but I wanted to bounce what I have off of someone.

Suggestions or comments would receive warm welcomes.
Lady Morn
07-02-04, 09:54 AM Our campaign background: The mysterious wizard Zegarra (think Sheelba or Ningauble from the Grey Mouser series) puts out a call to all the adventurers of Eberron. Should anyone pass a series of on-the-spot tests, he will accept them into his service for 20 years. The terms of the service is that once a year, for the 20 years, they must return to Zegarra with a something that is unique, wondrous and something no ruler possesses. At the end of the 20 years, Zegarra will grant each person a single request. Of course, the four members of our group are the only ones to pass the tests.

Our First Adventure: A merchant ship, carrying not only merchants but representatives of a few of the Dragonmarked Houses, is sent to attempt to establish trade any anyone living along the northern coast of Xen'drik. After meeting with failure the ship returns to Sharn. It is discovered the next day that all on board have been brutally murdered overnight, including the Dragonmarked representatives, and the captain missing. With the news of our hire by Zegarra the Mysterious still fresh, House Lysander hires us to investigate the murders and locate the missing captain. After searching the ship, we discover the captain's log hidden beneath some garbage. Turns out during the return trip, the vessel found a man floating unconscious out in the middle of the ocean. Once rescued and revived, the man recounted to the captain a story about a time when demons ruled the world and that those demons were working to restore their rule once again. After this, the log descends into mad ravings but it can be determined that the captain murdered his crew...
At this point, we have not found the captain yet. We are following a number of leads, all the while dodging attacks by the Church of the Silver Flame who apparently want to assassinate my Tiefling and my friend's Shifter...

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
freyja 07-01-04, 01:21 AM	I saw pseudopod's question about other people's campaigns in the magic grouping of threads and I couldn't find it in this one, so I thought I'd ask, seeing as I could also use the information. I am just about to start an Eberron campaign and am wondering not only how everyone else's games are going, but what they're doing. I am new to this GMing thing, being a devout player up to this point. I think I have a good beginning figured out, but I'm horrible about endings and tying everything together. I think that if I can check out more of what you guys are doing, I can form my ideas more thoroughly. Thanks to anyone who replies!
Ezekiel 07-01-04, 07:30 AM	I'm new to GMing myself, so I couldn't exactly give you insightful advise, but I'm just surprised noone has replied yet. As for my campaign, I'm gonna start by spinning alot of intrigue, not really putting much thought into how to put it all together. Then, based on how it turns out and what my players do, I'll start working on bringing it all together in one grand Scheme. It will most likely include the possible destruction of civilization by something like bringing Dal Quor back into orbit and coterminous, or just a giant Doomsday Device. Also, an important part of my campaign will be the antagonists of the party. Not the actual villains, but competitors. The people that turn up almost everywhere the party goes, and always seem to be in the way of their plans fruition. When they've finally found the Ancient Ruin housing the Great Artifact, and are spying on the entrance... they notice some people. On closer inspection, they seem to be a human, an elf, a dwarf and a gnome. With rather familiar-looking clothes... oh no! Not them again! That sort of thing. Recurring villains and antagonists are, IMO, pivotal to a good pulp/noir story like this. Preferably, the players should meet their antagonists early on, and I like them to meet the Bid Bad Evil Guy early too, just that they have no idea what he is. And maybe he's not yet become the BBEG. Either way, they'll be really surprised when they, right at the end, after all the struggle, all the adventures, everything they've been through, find that guy sitting on the Throne of Ultimate Dark Power. Another thing I will try to bring into the game is the mysterious power of happenstance. Little things that happen and things you notice all coming together in an amazing way, almost impossible to believe. Much like movies such as Pulp Fiction (and Tokyo Godfathers, if anyone else has seen that). I think such movies are great, and I'd like my players to be able to laugh hysterically when they find out everything they've been doing is taking one giant circle of actions only to end up back where they started. Or something like that.
SCMrks 07-01-04, 12:50 PM	Well my campaign is going to start around Vathirond in Breland. I have a large poster map of the village of Hommlet (from Temple of Elemental Evil) and will use this as the village near Vathirond that the players can operate from. The first adventure will be about a local teen age girl who is possed by a demon. The demon's goal is to develope her magic potential in summoning magic so eventually she'll be able to summon demons out of their captivity. Practicing her magical spells has lead to fiendish rats and dogs in the area. The party gets involved because the rats cause a disease in the village and the party should discover the huge rats leading them to the girl. So will the party kill the teenage girl or try to free her from her possession. Since I'm hoping they will try to help her and she will reoccur in the campaign the big bad guy to fight will be her imp familar. Then the party will face aberrations from the mournlands. For this I will use the classic Keep on the Borderland and place it south east of Vathirond. I will restock the Caves of Chaos with less humaniods and undead and more aberrations like dolgaunts, chockers, rust monsters, and those 2 goblins in one body things. The aberrations have made the caves their lair and have been maurading from the Mournlands so the party will have to clean them out. Then from the forest north of Vathirond which is actually in Thrane's border the party will have problems connected with the shadow plane. The shadar-kai allied with some shades are trying to claim the woods for themselves and I'll use the Shadow Glade adventures from the website as part of the adventure. This will take the party into Thrane and also helping druids in the forest. Then their will be problems with the hobgoblins and the party will help the forts of Kennrun and Sterngate against goblinoids harassing the borders. This should have the party up to 6th level or so.
kuoshu 07-01-04, 05:43 PM	I like the above ideas, my start is an attempt to start the campaign with the adventure movie style flavour, I am looking at incorporating things from Indiana Jones, Goonies, and The Mummy. The Characters... Dwarven Fighter (Tork) looking to get out into the world against his fathers wishes. He wants adventure his father wants him to follow his footsteps in the Aurum. He wants to get out and fight some "monsters, you know, LIVE life!" He convinced his father to allow him to attend a warriors "acadamy" near Sharn. He just graduated and is in the tourniment of champions. A place where the school shows of its recent graduates. Halfling Urban Ranger (Marty) has been promised a boon by a friend of Tork's father if he will keep tabs on... "The boy, but let him have some fun, I'll handle his father, you just keep reports coming to me, and don't let anything happen to him." Human Wizard (Thomas) was just forcefully released from his apprenticeship. His master stayed out of the big war, but was assassinated after the treaty for not "backing the right side". He is not sure what he will do yet. He really doesn't see himself as a mage, more as a glorified cook and butler (fun apprentice type tasks). Gnome (Namryllin) is a priest for a minor Cult of Magic worshippers who believe that the reason behind the destruction of Cyre is that mortals can not be trusted to wield powerful magics, it is their goal to gather all great magics to themselves to be used properly or destroyed. For they are the only ones who can do so without another Mournland debacle. Half-elf Artificer (Ella) is an aspiring artificer who is trying to find the people who abducted her half-sister almost a week ago. She has tracked them to one of the towers of Sharn. The first two game sessions... Marty tracked down Tork at the tourney (not hard as Tork was competing), and struck up a friendship with him. Namryllin has a lead on some powerful magical items in a forgotten tower in Breland, but knows that he can't get at them without help. He attended the tourniment to scout out a group of like minded individuals and has gathered Tork and Thomas. Marty is along now by default. Unfortunately he has also learned that he can not finance the trip now. He is making up stories and telling lies to keep the group together while he figures out what he is going to do. Tork was cornered by one of his instructors and blackmailed. If Tork will find the recently abducted daughter of a certain Lord of House Cannith, the instructor will send Tork's fathers men on a wild goose chase allowing Tork to travel a bit before being dragged back to learn the exiting life of an aristocrat. Tork, through the liberal use of lies, half truths and artful censorship, has managed to cajole the rest of the group into helping him find the girl. The coming up session... The main group will be tracking down the daughter of the Lord of House Cannith, and will track them to a specific tower. Once they enter they will hear a scuffle in which Ella has been captured by the enemy (followers of the Dragon Below). This will finalize the group becoming a group and start the campaign in earnest. The CoDB members they are in direct conflict with, have an eldritch device which they can use to destroy the link between Sharn and Syrania causing mass chaos and destruction as the flying/floaty things will not operate any longer and come tumbling down, and the towers will not be able to stand either. They need to sacrifice the two young maidens for the power in their blood, both are dragon marked, and there blood will allow the followers to control the magic. Once the device is started it can not be stopped, there will be a short time while the followers are away in which the artificer can attempt to sabotage the device (remove a dragon shard which will result in the device destroying only the vault they are hiding in), and the rest of the party can rescue the two tied down maidens. I forsee this as a very seat of the pants, Indiana Jones-ish, chase type mission. You know the type, they sneak up into an alcove where they overhear the plans of the bad guys. The bad guys start the machine which can not be stopped once it is started, then go to finish their final preparations. The good guys sneak down, knock out the guard, untie the girls and sabotage the eldritch device. Then a big chase scene through some tunnles which will result in a Goonies style sewer tube ride. In the end, no one but they know what has happened, the group will have a story which no one will believe. They will at least foil the plans of the bad guys (gain persistant enemies), save the half-sister (gain an artificer named Ella), and save the Cannith Lord's daughter(gain a rich sponser). From there we shall see.... What do you think?
freyja 07-02-04, 01:04 AM	Ezekiel: Thanks for the ideas--I really like the concept of the party antagonists, and will probably be using it. I was wondering whether you're going to be planning out all of your happenstance ahead of time, or, like you talked about with the intrigue, just finding ways for things to fit together later on. SCMrks: I like the moral dilemma presented by the demon-possessed girl. I'd love to see how your players deal with it once they encounter it. kuoshu: Indiana Jones is my favorite character ever. I always wanted to be a female version of him. I think that's what appeals to me about Eberron. So your campaign looks like loads of fun, and makes me want to create a character of my own. Okay, so my plans for my campaign so far are based very loosely off of Temple of Doom, except a little darker. A refugee camp had developed just outside the city of X, incorporating a cave system into itself for improved shelter. The refugee camp has been slaughtered, people drained of their blood and trails leading into the cave. If the players notice (I will try to make them notice it), there are signs of children, but no bodies. That's the basic beginning, leading into the concept that a cult of the Dragon Below has taken the children into the caves with them to help dig deeper (trying to reach the Dragon) and to be easy sacrificial victims whenever blood sacrifice is needed for cleansing. My adventurers will of course save the children, after a nice, traditional dungeon crawl. The thing is, I think I want this to lead to something bigger, so I'm going to have to figure out what other goals or what else the cult could be leading to. So, I'm working on it, but I wanted to bounce what I have off of someone. Suggestions or comments would receive warm welcomes.
Lady Morn 07-02-04, 09:54 AM	Our campaign background: The mysterious wizard Zegarra (think Sheelba or Ningauble from the Grey Mouser series) puts out a call to all the adventurers of Eberron. Should anyone pass a series of on-the-spot tests, he will accept them into his service for 20 years. The terms of the service is that once a year, for the 20 years, they must return to Zegarra with a something that is unique, wondrous and something no ruler possesses. At the end of the 20 years, Zegarra will grant each person a single request. Of course, the four members of our group are the only ones to pass the tests. Our First Adventure: A merchant ship, carrying not only merchants but representatives of a few of the Dragonmarked Houses, is sent to attempt to establish trade any anyone living along the northern coast of Xen'drik. After meeting with failure the ship returns to Sharn. It is discovered the next day that all on board have been brutally murdered overnight, including the Dragonmarked representatives, and the captain missing. With the news of our hire by Zegarra the Mysterious still fresh, House Lysander hires us to investigate the murders and locate the missing captain. After searching the ship, we discover the captain's log hidden beneath some garbage. Turns out during the return trip, the vessel found a man floating unconscious out in the middle of the ocean. Once rescued and revived, the man recounted to the captain a story about a time when demons ruled the world and that those demons were working to restore their rule once again. After this, the log descends into mad ravings but it can be determined that the captain murdered his crew... At this point, we have not found the captain yet. We are following a number of leads, all the while dodging attacks by the Church of the Silver Flame who apparently want to assassinate my Tiefling and my friend's Shifter...