Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 FriendlyBiscuit Dec 09, 2010 16:22:49	To avoid several potential common pitfalls, I'm coming up with a handful of "themes" that help nudge the players (as well as me!) to focus our efforts toward a certain flavor of campaign. I don't want to the be DM who comes up with a massive, pre-determined plot and then beats the players over the head with it if they stray. At the same time, I've tried a totally-open sandbox before, and it got to feeling... aimless and lacking in purpose, though they did initially enjoy it a lot. This approach, hopefully, marries the concept of player freedom of choice with a compelling metaplot that the game is driving towards. Please give me any feedback you might have about these "themes" that I'm about to be using; I think they cover a fairly wide gamut of game tones, but if I'm missing a couple of obvious options, please let me know. I want their substance to be pretty readily grasped; the intro sentence is hopefully strong and clear. Finally, I was thinking something about the elemental forces of Athas would be cool, but I couldn't think of a concept worthy of its own "theme" - I might just roll it into theme #1 as part of paragon or epic play. _____________________________________ 4) What is the game’s theme? What is the impetus that will drive your characters to rise beyond guarding caravans and defeating monsters, and incite them to change the world?3/2/1 ___ “The wilds are the enemy of civilization!” Monsters and nomadic tribes disrupt the proper flow of caravans, the Dragon destroys life and land, and barbarians of the ringing mountains observe disturbing practices and deny the fruits of their land to traders. This is a campaign where you attempt to tame Athas and make the cities and communities a place to live, instead of just a place to survive. Relatively uncomplicated compared to other options. ___ “Tyranny is the enemy of justice!” Templars and nobility occupy a corrupt hierarchy. Sorcerer Kings observe few or no checks and balances. Merchant houses literally get away with murder, not to mention extortion and blackmail due to their diplomatic immunities. A direct confrontation against all the power structures of the world is, of course, suicide. However, if you can win the hearts of the people and the backing of the nobility, you may have the chance to lead them to freedom. (Whereas just killing dudes causes the communities of said corrupt dudes to replenish them.) This is a campaign where you attempt to depose the corrupt and extend equality to all, even slaves. ___ “Covetous personal gain is the enemy of stability!” The people must be kept in line, or they will destroy the very society that they depend on. Athas is a world teetering on the edge of oblivion. The parasitic multitudes, selfish as they are, would happily grab up every resource in sight, leaving nothing standing as they jealously fill up their homes. The party must eradicate criminal elements, humiliate dissidents, keep the rabble in check, and establish smoother relations between the city-states, or else society will surely devour itself and leave nothing but dunes for the future. ___ “Irresponsible arcane magic is the enemy of life!” Even as Athas burns to death, reckless defilers rapaciously consume the few remaining traces of life for personal power. Every single defiler on Athas, whatever his sphere of influence, is a destructive Sorcerer-King unto himself and has declared war on all living things whether he intended to or not. Those with a talent for the arcane must be found out and shipped to academies where they can be trained to do no harm, or bent instead to train in the Way. This is a campaign where defilers, sorcerer-kings, and the undead & abominations they spawn, are punished for their crimes and, maybe, you try to make Athas verdant again. ___ “City-state X is the enemy of our city-state!” Good old fashioned war. Blood on the sands. A team of spies wrecking things, fomenting dissent, aiding factions and cults in city-state X. Command an army and lead it against the enemy. Make allies, gain power over them, turn the screws and use them as tools to your ends. This would be a very sandboxy sort of game, wherein the party is handed some objectives to accomplish, but has near-total autonomy in achieving them, can set additional objectives of their own, and is encouraged to change plans entirely when in the field if Plan A doesn’t look like success. Social and thief skills highly encouraged, as well as avoiding capture/death. Edit: Maybe I posted in the wrong place; I'll repost to the DM forum.
#2 Bera Dec 10, 2010 1:04:57	These are probably good starting points for a discussion, but you should work with the players to choose characters that work as a team, with goals they want to explore, and stories they want to tell. I'd say use what you got, see how you can bring your own ideas and fit them to what the players want, and you should also consider what everyone's vision of the setting is. DS purists aren't likely to be keen on Devas or divine characters, but if you're all new to the setting or flexible you can have a great time with gnolls and shardminds and the last deva in the world. I really think the most important thing to starting a new campaign right is to discuss with the players the sort of game you want to run, an find a way to merge those ideas with the type of game they want to play.
#3 tavitin Dec 10, 2010 5:29:11	Since it is Darksun i must warn you:  it will bring the worst from your players. Players will bully eachother, steal and betray. And that's fine considering Athas. But you must clear this with every player so there are no hard feelings. The last darksun i've played back in 3E in a party of 12 players (varying levels from 8 to 11) the dungeon master has given us 8 steel longswords, during the first camp the players started slaugthering each other. The Thri-kreens wanted the swords all for themselves so they blinded the half-giants jumping up and landing with spears in their eyes (they were sleeping). I was one of the half-giants, but i was blinded in one eye only. A general PVP started, there were two 'sides': the half-giants and the kreens. The elves backed the half-giants and the humans backed the kreens (the only halfling, a wilder, got away and rained psionic death on both sides from afar). Me and the other half-giant were the only left alive, we talked and he asked me to kill him because his blindness will surely kill them both in the middle of the Tablelands, i buried him with the 8 steel longswords. In my simple mind the swords were cursed, we took them from an ancient mausoleum so clearly the swords are for the dead alone, and that was the end of the campaign. Me, the other half-giant and the kreens continued to be long-term friends and still game together from time to time. But the elves and the humans took it a little personal on the kreens for betraying us and personal with me for abandoning the treasures we were fighting for. If you're not planning to get them into a huge plot, be prepared for some backstabs because if they're not heroes, they are the common Athasian folk. Being the common athasian folk, they will be backstabbing mother****ers.