Post/Author/DateTime	Post
SilasleCake 01-15-06, 07:31 AM	My players have decided together that they want an evil campaign, and although I don't usually do that, I figure it could be an interesting thing to try out. We decided that they would be cultists of the Church of Bane, spreading the Black Hand's will and destroying good. Unfortunately, having never run a campaign of this type, I am at loss of what to really do. They are starting at 3rd level, and as we are all teens, we aren't really looking towards deep political intrigue. A substantial level of roleplaying is good, but also is action-packed dungeon crawls and a bit of hack 'n' slash playing. So what I want to know is if someone could give me an idea for a first adventure, or better yet, a pre-created adventure for 3rd level PCs (I'm not too good at writing them, as I am not a veteran gamer). I also would like to know what region it would be good to start in - that is, somewhere where they would not be ceaselessly persecuted. I'm open to all of your ideas. Also: are there any sourcebooks I should consider getting before beginning this? If so, what do they contain, ie what is the point in getting them?
Old Sparky 01-15-06, 10:14 AM	Here's what I did when I ran an evil campaign... give the players someone to answer to (for the time being) and a mission. In my case, an aging king with a grudge put out the word that he was looking for some special agents... one of whom would eventually be his successor as he had no heirs. Many evil beings attended along with the players, but the PCs got the jobs (of course). The king had a deep hatred for the Harpers, and tasked his new agents with bringing about the downfall of this organization. The players were all like "WHAT??" because they were only level 3. But, this wasn't a matter of go out and kill every Harper they could find... they were to come up with their own plans and enact them to find and hinder Harper activity. Each would take a turn coming up with a plan and leading the others through it, but I asked for a week's time to plan before they undertook such a mission. Between these planned missions, they would also be perform special tasks for the king (usually secret police type activity within the kingdom, or acquiring something for the king from some dungeon or other nation's government). And, occasionally, we'd just do a little freeform exploration with the intent to cause mayhem and destruction... and survive the consequences. Now, what the players weren't aware of was that their aging king was actually a lich in disguise. The lich had little time to maintain the affairs of state, but he did not wish to lose the political power that came with it (because all power is valuable). So he chose to allow his mortal servants to believe whatever they needed to make them loyal and gave them a nigh impossible goal that, if somehow achieved, would be all the better for him. When sending the PCs to fetch items or people for him, it was actually to further his spell research. As official agents of the crown, they were allowed to bend the rules (to an extent) within the kingdom... though because the government was corrupt on so many levels, they also had to deal with uppity soldiers and beauracrats looking to make a name for themselves in the king's eyes. This gave them a line to cross, but it was still a line that they knew they shouldn't push too far.
Link182 01-15-06, 07:23 PM	My two longest running campaigns were composed of 90% evil characters. I honestly havn't changed any goals, they just act differently in given situations and have plotted against each other. (one of the best and worst features of an evil campaign. Great to see the PCs plotting but it can get ugly and ruin the ultimate ending of an adventure.) I think I started with a low level adventure to have the PCs retrieve a Duke's kidnapped son. A few plot twists later and the evil campaign was on. That was like 4 years ago. THe PCs are now 22nd level.
«hõ†šÞïkê18» 01-16-06, 01:34 AM	I'd certainly reccommend the Lords of Darkness Supplement, lot's of evil prestige class and plenty of information about the evil organizations of Faerun. Since Bane is allied with the Zhentarim, you could certainly use one of the Zhent bases for a safe haven, they would be welcomed. For some conflicts you could use the church of Cyric, who share a mutual hatred with the Zhents. Both go out of the way to fight eachother. And of course there are always the classic do-gooder clerics and paladins getting in the way. I have heard, though cannot guarantee, that there is an order of Anti-Zhent Knights that exists in the Champions of Valor Book, I think that's the right name anyway. Good luck!
Link182 01-16-06, 01:37 AM	Champions of Ruin is a great resource too.