Campaign Help [Archive] - Wizards Community

Campaign Help [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
FroMagnum
01-02-07, 05:14 PM Alright, I'm about ready to get my campaign under-way, only one problem: I need some ideas on where I should set my campaign and how I should do it, as in the background, plot, and style.

I've tried a quick 'practice' adventure for my party (the 1st and 2nd level character adventure in the FRCS). And my party isn't really good at RPing... at all. So what I'm looking for is a campaign with just a little more RPing so my party can develop the actual RP style. But I don't want the campaign overflowed with RP because that will lead to boredom with my PCs and me.

In case this is any help the party consists of a half-orc barbarian, elf rouge, half-elf druid, and a human ranger all 1st level. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks...
kelcimer
01-02-07, 11:04 PM What you're asking for is straight DM advice, not Realms advice. Adventures for rollplaying (as opposed to roleplaying) can occur anywhere. It doesn't matter much where you start, just so long as you reuse an area, reuse NPCs, and otherwise make it a living world for the players. Faerun is a setting where every land is a frontier region, so just pick one you like.
Melblen_Cairn
01-03-07, 11:02 AM You have the FRCS, in each locations description their are campaign/adventure hook ideas. My best suggestion is pick a paticular area you like and fits into whatever limited backstory the players have come up with. Then flesh out the adventure idea based on this.

If they are the same characters you ran through the "practice run" then you might want to use the same location you ran that in as a start off point. Gives them a bit more suspension of disbeleif rather then just dropping them into a new region unexplained.

As for encounters if getting a new level takes an average of 13 encounters, then tailoring to your players likes you might nly make 1 or 2 of those RP encounters and the rest combat or skill oriented. If you are looking to increase their Roleplaying in the game then give them a small bonus in exp if they resolve an encounter with talking rather then steel and spells. Make sure they know your giving them that additional reward and they might add talking their way out of an encounter to their list of options when playing.

Based on their party dynamic which is almost all outdoorsy types you might want to run them almost exclusively in more wild lands perhaps only hitting up smaller settlements to repair and restock. With a Druid, Ranger, and a Barbarian their survival skills alone should be able to supply the party with most of what they need to get by.

Have fun =)
MerrikCale
01-03-07, 11:30 AM It might not be a bad idea to set your campaign in an area covered by a specific sourcebook, like the Silver Marches. You can get a lot from those books
Silverpanther
01-04-07, 02:43 AM and make sure your rogue knows the wilderness rogue class variant in the unearthed arcana supplement, so he will fit much better into the rest of these "masters of the wild" :rimshot:

and is there any reason, why he isn`t playing a scout anyway?
wesleytj
01-04-07, 03:06 PM Wow, you're about to START the campaign, and you're asking these questions? You really should have at least a decent idea of the basics of what you're doing weeks or even MONTHS before you actually sit to play, if you're going to do it right.
MarkusTay63
01-06-07, 02:45 AM Give him a break, we all had to start somewhere. ;)

I remember when I had to teach my bro-in-law and his friends how to play. He was attempting to DM after reading the core books, but never having actually played. They had already been playing a few weeks before he asked me for help, because he thought something might be wrong.

WOW! :bigeyes:

His players were telling HIM what was going on! Took me almost a month to straighten that mess out; I would rather they had known nothing.

Getting back on topic, you should run some urban adventures first; unfortunately for you, they take more planning to do right. Urban (city) adventures tend to have WAY more character interaction and therefore more RP opportunities. Rural (wilderness) adventures are primarily hack-N-Slash (though not neccessarily), and afford far fewer chances for RPing.

I started my Bro-in-laws group in Shadowdale when I took over. Not nearly as hard to run as a city, but still plenty of good RP opportunities. You don't have to make-up as much, and it is right near rural settings so you will be able to do 'little' outings at first and go back to town to heal and re-supply.

PS - just make sure Elminster is away, otherwise everyone will want to visit him.
MerrikCale
01-06-07, 02:38 PM PS - just make sure Elminster is away, otherwise everyone will want to visit him.

why? he'll just hit on the female PCs

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
FroMagnum 01-02-07, 05:14 PM	Alright, I'm about ready to get my campaign under-way, only one problem: I need some ideas on where I should set my campaign and how I should do it, as in the background, plot, and style. I've tried a quick 'practice' adventure for my party (the 1st and 2nd level character adventure in the FRCS). And my party isn't really good at RPing... at all. So what I'm looking for is a campaign with just a little more RPing so my party can develop the actual RP style. But I don't want the campaign overflowed with RP because that will lead to boredom with my PCs and me. In case this is any help the party consists of a half-orc barbarian, elf rouge, half-elf druid, and a human ranger all 1st level. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks...
kelcimer 01-02-07, 11:04 PM	What you're asking for is straight DM advice, not Realms advice. Adventures for rollplaying (as opposed to roleplaying) can occur anywhere. It doesn't matter much where you start, just so long as you reuse an area, reuse NPCs, and otherwise make it a living world for the players. Faerun is a setting where every land is a frontier region, so just pick one you like.
Melblen_Cairn 01-03-07, 11:02 AM	You have the FRCS, in each locations description their are campaign/adventure hook ideas. My best suggestion is pick a paticular area you like and fits into whatever limited backstory the players have come up with. Then flesh out the adventure idea based on this. If they are the same characters you ran through the "practice run" then you might want to use the same location you ran that in as a start off point. Gives them a bit more suspension of disbeleif rather then just dropping them into a new region unexplained. As for encounters if getting a new level takes an average of 13 encounters, then tailoring to your players likes you might nly make 1 or 2 of those RP encounters and the rest combat or skill oriented. If you are looking to increase their Roleplaying in the game then give them a small bonus in exp if they resolve an encounter with talking rather then steel and spells. Make sure they know your giving them that additional reward and they might add talking their way out of an encounter to their list of options when playing. Based on their party dynamic which is almost all outdoorsy types you might want to run them almost exclusively in more wild lands perhaps only hitting up smaller settlements to repair and restock. With a Druid, Ranger, and a Barbarian their survival skills alone should be able to supply the party with most of what they need to get by. Have fun =)
MerrikCale 01-03-07, 11:30 AM	It might not be a bad idea to set your campaign in an area covered by a specific sourcebook, like the Silver Marches. You can get a lot from those books
Silverpanther 01-04-07, 02:43 AM	and make sure your rogue knows the wilderness rogue class variant in the unearthed arcana supplement, so he will fit much better into the rest of these "masters of the wild" :rimshot: and is there any reason, why he isn`t playing a scout anyway?
wesleytj 01-04-07, 03:06 PM	Wow, you're about to START the campaign, and you're asking these questions? You really should have at least a decent idea of the basics of what you're doing weeks or even MONTHS before you actually sit to play, if you're going to do it right.
MarkusTay63 01-06-07, 02:45 AM	Give him a break, we all had to start somewhere. ;) I remember when I had to teach my bro-in-law and his friends how to play. He was attempting to DM after reading the core books, but never having actually played. They had already been playing a few weeks before he asked me for help, because he thought something might be wrong. WOW! :bigeyes: His players were telling HIM what was going on! Took me almost a month to straighten that mess out; I would rather they had known nothing. Getting back on topic, you should run some urban adventures first; unfortunately for you, they take more planning to do right. Urban (city) adventures tend to have WAY more character interaction and therefore more RP opportunities. Rural (wilderness) adventures are primarily hack-N-Slash (though not neccessarily), and afford far fewer chances for RPing. I started my Bro-in-laws group in Shadowdale when I took over. Not nearly as hard to run as a city, but still plenty of good RP opportunities. You don't have to make-up as much, and it is right near rural settings so you will be able to do 'little' outings at first and go back to town to heal and re-supply. PS - just make sure Elminster is away, otherwise everyone will want to visit him.
MerrikCale 01-06-07, 02:38 PM	PS - just make sure Elminster is away, otherwise everyone will want to visit him. why? he'll just hit on the female PCs