Need some ideas... [Archive] - Wizards Community

Need some ideas... [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Gorrath
03-27-06, 12:19 AM Hi

I'm about to start a new campaign in the forgotten realms, but I can't find any original ideas for some quests for a group of 1st level characters...

I want to play in "The North" area, somwhere around Silverymoon...

I would like to find something else than orc or goblin killing...

got any cool ideas?

Thank you
Lord Karsus
03-27-06, 01:12 AM -Well, be a little more specific as to what the players are going to play as. I mean, if you are going to have a group of evil clerics, you could have a campaign where the characters go travelling around, defiling and destroying benevolent deities' shrines and temples that are dotted all over the area. If you have a group of rogues, you could have them form their own thieves guild, or something similar. So, what kinds of characters are you going to be dealing with here?
louhas
03-27-06, 01:30 AM Well, the north is a wonderful area to start a campaign. Especially so if your players love wilderness adventures, as mine do. My first campaign was set in the North. Unfortunately, my first several adventures did focus on orc slaying. But, fortunately, there are a lot stories that could start here. Some ideas off the top of my head...

-Dwarven Ruins discovered (there are plenty of old ruined citadels around this region). I think this has more potential to higher level characters, but at low levels there could be dwarven zombies or skeletons guarding something down there.
-The drow always have a potential to strike at places around the North. Perhaps a settlement is under attack for drow raids. Unfortunately, drow may have a CR that is suited for a couple levels up.
-There could always be an evil organization running around messing with things. In my first game, a big part of the plot revolved around the characters coming into Everlund in a caravan, and on the journey they were waylaid by bandits. They found connections to these groups, and a string of merchant murders, kidnappings and blackmail and found the culprits to be a group of Cyricists that were trying to corner trade through a corrupt influencial merchant. You could very easily swap around motives and organizations in this situation. Cultists are very open ended. Some good organizations for this include: Banites, Cyricists, Red Wizards (slaving bands works well here), a thieves guild or mob, Talonites plotting to spread a disease, or simply a greedy merchant who wants to take over.
-The High Forest presents lots of opportunities. Perhaps creatures are coming out of it. Bestial humanoids makes sense here, but not necessarily orcs or goblins. Gnolls would fit well.
-Someone could need an errand run. Perhaps a message delivery somewhere, or the characters find a dead body and find themselves in a deep plot. Maybe that character won't do it themselves, because they know an enemy is trying to prevent the message from being spread. This can help set up an ally or an enemy for later on. Perhaps a good recurring villain or an ally to call on, maybe someone to give them information or adventure hooks.

I hope this helps. Be sure to throw in a lot of nature encounters as well. As the characters progress, they will find that the North provides an amazing abundance of wilderness to set things in. People of the Black Blood make for good mid-level villains, grand-scale ruins of either elves or dwarves of long ago provide for many sessions worth of plundering, and all sorts of threats can rear their ugly head. Perhaps even dragons will show up in the characters futures.
louhas
03-27-06, 03:17 AM One more thing, I find Silver Marches to be very helpful in this sort of situation. It has a lot of information on exactly what the flavor of things are in that region, and it really puts the area into detail. I like it because it focuses on a single country where a ton is happening, while the other books focus on regions and flesh out several countries, but with less detail. It was really helpful to have this sort of completeness when I was running the campaign. So, yeah, I recommend this book. Plus, it has sample adventures in the back, including a mini-setting for characters of about level 5 or so set in a little frontier town that provides some good information and some pretty neat little adventure hooks.
Tergiver
03-27-06, 09:34 AM What I would suggest is to try to find some side-effect or cleanup related to part of the North, and use that to establish depth and context. Of course, once the players are involved, things always get out of hand.

Some ideas:

A higher-level party wants someone to bring a wagonload of copper pieces to a money-changer (last dribs of a dragon hoard?)
The party is hired as an honor guard for a body destined for a cemetery (I played in a planar game where this was the first party quest, and it was fun and challenging to defend the body).
Dealing with a "natural" problem that may not be natural (works best if the party has druids or rangers, I sent players to deal with "wild dogs" that were actually kobolds).
The players are performing a background check (for a guild, noble, adventurer, or government) by asking background questions in a small town. Who knows what secrets they'll uncover?

Basically, just find some job that realistically someone needs to do, and get them to do it.
Gorrath
03-27-06, 09:54 AM -Well, be a little more specific as to what the players are going to play as. I mean, if you are going to have a group of evil clerics, you could have a campaign where the characters go travelling around, defiling and destroying benevolent deities' shrines and temples that are dotted all over the area. If you have a group of rogues, you could have them form their own thieves guild, or something similar. So, what kinds of characters are you going to be dealing with here?

My group consists of

-A female Half-Elf Druid from Evermeet
-A male Human Fighter from Westgate
-A Rogue (didn't make his sheet yet)
-A Human Bard from Waterdeep or Silverymoon, he's not sure yet

All are good or neutral
Gorrath
03-27-06, 09:55 AM One more thing, I find Silver Marches to be very helpful in this sort of situation. It has a lot of information on exactly what the flavor of things are in that region, and it really puts the area into detail. I like it because it focuses on a single country where a ton is happening, while the other books focus on regions and flesh out several countries, but with less detail. It was really helpful to have this sort of completeness when I was running the campaign. So, yeah, I recommend this book. Plus, it has sample adventures in the back, including a mini-setting for characters of about level 5 or so set in a little frontier town that provides some good information and some pretty neat little adventure hooks.

Yeah, I have this book, it's a great sourcebook, I just finished reading most of it :)
Gorrath
03-27-06, 10:04 AM -Dwarven Ruins discovered (there are plenty of old ruined citadels around this region). I think this has more potential to higher level characters, but at low levels there could be dwarven zombies or skeletons guarding something down there.
-The drow always have a potential to strike at places around the North. Perhaps a settlement is under attack for drow raids. Unfortunately, drow may have a CR that is suited for a couple levels up.

Yeah...I have plenty of idea, but as you said, they all fits for PCs of some levels higher hehe

-There could always be an evil organization running around messing with things. In my first game, a big part of the plot revolved around the characters coming into Everlund in a caravan, and on the journey they were waylaid by bandits. They found connections to these groups, and a string of merchant murders, kidnappings and blackmail and found the culprits to be a group of Cyricists that were trying to corner trade through a corrupt influencial merchant. You could very easily swap around motives and organizations in this situation. Cultists are very open ended. Some good organizations for this include: Banites, Cyricists, Red Wizards (slaving bands works well here), a thieves guild or mob, Talonites plotting to spread a disease, or simply a greedy merchant who wants to take over.

LOL
The caravan thing to Everlund was one of the idea I was considering..

I was also thinking of including an evil organization, I was thinking about the Zhents, but had't come up with anything they could be doing...It says in the silver mashes book that the black network is slowly planning to expand in the north..

Your disease idea sounds pretty good, maybe I could use this :)

-Someone could need an errand run. Perhaps a message delivery somewhere, or the characters find a dead body and find themselves in a deep plot. Maybe that character won't do it themselves, because they know an enemy is trying to prevent the message from being spread. This can help set up an ally or an enemy for later on. Perhaps a good recurring villain or an ally to call on, maybe someone to give them information or adventure hooks.

cool, againa nice idea :)

I hope this helps. Be sure to throw in a lot of nature encounters as well. As the characters progress, they will find that the North provides an amazing abundance of wilderness to set things in. People of the Black Blood make for good mid-level villains, grand-scale ruins of either elves or dwarves of long ago provide for many sessions worth of plundering, and all sorts of threats can rear their ugly head. Perhaps even dragons will show up in the characters futures.

yeah this helps a lot!

thank you!!
Mecha_Pope
03-31-06, 10:44 AM You can always fight against the church of Auril, nobody likes them...

Efreet and fire elementals messing up the environment and causing floods and mudslides?...

An all out battle to posess a metiorite containing rare magical meatle that landed in the tundra?...

The possibilities...

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Gorrath 03-27-06, 12:19 AM	Hi I'm about to start a new campaign in the forgotten realms, but I can't find any original ideas for some quests for a group of 1st level characters... I want to play in "The North" area, somwhere around Silverymoon... I would like to find something else than orc or goblin killing... got any cool ideas? Thank you
Lord Karsus 03-27-06, 01:12 AM	-Well, be a little more specific as to what the players are going to play as. I mean, if you are going to have a group of evil clerics, you could have a campaign where the characters go travelling around, defiling and destroying benevolent deities' shrines and temples that are dotted all over the area. If you have a group of rogues, you could have them form their own thieves guild, or something similar. So, what kinds of characters are you going to be dealing with here?
louhas 03-27-06, 01:30 AM	Well, the north is a wonderful area to start a campaign. Especially so if your players love wilderness adventures, as mine do. My first campaign was set in the North. Unfortunately, my first several adventures did focus on orc slaying. But, fortunately, there are a lot stories that could start here. Some ideas off the top of my head... -Dwarven Ruins discovered (there are plenty of old ruined citadels around this region). I think this has more potential to higher level characters, but at low levels there could be dwarven zombies or skeletons guarding something down there. -The drow always have a potential to strike at places around the North. Perhaps a settlement is under attack for drow raids. Unfortunately, drow may have a CR that is suited for a couple levels up. -There could always be an evil organization running around messing with things. In my first game, a big part of the plot revolved around the characters coming into Everlund in a caravan, and on the journey they were waylaid by bandits. They found connections to these groups, and a string of merchant murders, kidnappings and blackmail and found the culprits to be a group of Cyricists that were trying to corner trade through a corrupt influencial merchant. You could very easily swap around motives and organizations in this situation. Cultists are very open ended. Some good organizations for this include: Banites, Cyricists, Red Wizards (slaving bands works well here), a thieves guild or mob, Talonites plotting to spread a disease, or simply a greedy merchant who wants to take over. -The High Forest presents lots of opportunities. Perhaps creatures are coming out of it. Bestial humanoids makes sense here, but not necessarily orcs or goblins. Gnolls would fit well. -Someone could need an errand run. Perhaps a message delivery somewhere, or the characters find a dead body and find themselves in a deep plot. Maybe that character won't do it themselves, because they know an enemy is trying to prevent the message from being spread. This can help set up an ally or an enemy for later on. Perhaps a good recurring villain or an ally to call on, maybe someone to give them information or adventure hooks. I hope this helps. Be sure to throw in a lot of nature encounters as well. As the characters progress, they will find that the North provides an amazing abundance of wilderness to set things in. People of the Black Blood make for good mid-level villains, grand-scale ruins of either elves or dwarves of long ago provide for many sessions worth of plundering, and all sorts of threats can rear their ugly head. Perhaps even dragons will show up in the characters futures.
louhas 03-27-06, 03:17 AM	One more thing, I find Silver Marches to be very helpful in this sort of situation. It has a lot of information on exactly what the flavor of things are in that region, and it really puts the area into detail. I like it because it focuses on a single country where a ton is happening, while the other books focus on regions and flesh out several countries, but with less detail. It was really helpful to have this sort of completeness when I was running the campaign. So, yeah, I recommend this book. Plus, it has sample adventures in the back, including a mini-setting for characters of about level 5 or so set in a little frontier town that provides some good information and some pretty neat little adventure hooks.
Tergiver 03-27-06, 09:34 AM	What I would suggest is to try to find some side-effect or cleanup related to part of the North, and use that to establish depth and context. Of course, once the players are involved, things always get out of hand. Some ideas: A higher-level party wants someone to bring a wagonload of copper pieces to a money-changer (last dribs of a dragon hoard?) The party is hired as an honor guard for a body destined for a cemetery (I played in a planar game where this was the first party quest, and it was fun and challenging to defend the body). Dealing with a "natural" problem that may not be natural (works best if the party has druids or rangers, I sent players to deal with "wild dogs" that were actually kobolds). The players are performing a background check (for a guild, noble, adventurer, or government) by asking background questions in a small town. Who knows what secrets they'll uncover? Basically, just find some job that realistically someone needs to do, and get them to do it.
Gorrath 03-27-06, 09:54 AM	-Well, be a little more specific as to what the players are going to play as. I mean, if you are going to have a group of evil clerics, you could have a campaign where the characters go travelling around, defiling and destroying benevolent deities' shrines and temples that are dotted all over the area. If you have a group of rogues, you could have them form their own thieves guild, or something similar. So, what kinds of characters are you going to be dealing with here? My group consists of -A female Half-Elf Druid from Evermeet -A male Human Fighter from Westgate -A Rogue (didn't make his sheet yet) -A Human Bard from Waterdeep or Silverymoon, he's not sure yet All are good or neutral
Gorrath 03-27-06, 09:55 AM	One more thing, I find Silver Marches to be very helpful in this sort of situation. It has a lot of information on exactly what the flavor of things are in that region, and it really puts the area into detail. I like it because it focuses on a single country where a ton is happening, while the other books focus on regions and flesh out several countries, but with less detail. It was really helpful to have this sort of completeness when I was running the campaign. So, yeah, I recommend this book. Plus, it has sample adventures in the back, including a mini-setting for characters of about level 5 or so set in a little frontier town that provides some good information and some pretty neat little adventure hooks. Yeah, I have this book, it's a great sourcebook, I just finished reading most of it :)
Gorrath 03-27-06, 10:04 AM	-Dwarven Ruins discovered (there are plenty of old ruined citadels around this region). I think this has more potential to higher level characters, but at low levels there could be dwarven zombies or skeletons guarding something down there. -The drow always have a potential to strike at places around the North. Perhaps a settlement is under attack for drow raids. Unfortunately, drow may have a CR that is suited for a couple levels up. Yeah...I have plenty of idea, but as you said, they all fits for PCs of some levels higher hehe -There could always be an evil organization running around messing with things. In my first game, a big part of the plot revolved around the characters coming into Everlund in a caravan, and on the journey they were waylaid by bandits. They found connections to these groups, and a string of merchant murders, kidnappings and blackmail and found the culprits to be a group of Cyricists that were trying to corner trade through a corrupt influencial merchant. You could very easily swap around motives and organizations in this situation. Cultists are very open ended. Some good organizations for this include: Banites, Cyricists, Red Wizards (slaving bands works well here), a thieves guild or mob, Talonites plotting to spread a disease, or simply a greedy merchant who wants to take over. LOL The caravan thing to Everlund was one of the idea I was considering.. I was also thinking of including an evil organization, I was thinking about the Zhents, but had't come up with anything they could be doing...It says in the silver mashes book that the black network is slowly planning to expand in the north.. Your disease idea sounds pretty good, maybe I could use this :) -Someone could need an errand run. Perhaps a message delivery somewhere, or the characters find a dead body and find themselves in a deep plot. Maybe that character won't do it themselves, because they know an enemy is trying to prevent the message from being spread. This can help set up an ally or an enemy for later on. Perhaps a good recurring villain or an ally to call on, maybe someone to give them information or adventure hooks. cool, againa nice idea :) I hope this helps. Be sure to throw in a lot of nature encounters as well. As the characters progress, they will find that the North provides an amazing abundance of wilderness to set things in. People of the Black Blood make for good mid-level villains, grand-scale ruins of either elves or dwarves of long ago provide for many sessions worth of plundering, and all sorts of threats can rear their ugly head. Perhaps even dragons will show up in the characters futures. yeah this helps a lot! thank you!!
Mecha_Pope 03-31-06, 10:44 AM	You can always fight against the church of Auril, nobody likes them... Efreet and fire elementals messing up the environment and causing floods and mudslides?... An all out battle to posess a metiorite containing rare magical meatle that landed in the tundra?... The possibilities...