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Brand new world...

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Ramien
Jun 15, 2008 20:49:42 Okay, this will be my first campaign I've run in quite a few years, and I'm taking advantage of fourth edition's release to start up a campaign I've had in mind for a while.

The story from the PCs' side is fairly simple. The gods have decided to try and create a world free of the primordials' influence, and the PCs are some of the first souls drafted into service to populate the new world. The campaign is going to be generational in nature, both for mechanical and story purposes. The first generation is going to consist of all the heroes as 'new arrivals' and will take them through the heroic tier as they help stabilize the new world, while either contributing to the growth of the central city or founding new settlements on their travels. The purpose of keeping the first generation heroic tier only reflects both that it's a new world with few real dangers yet, and to give the players and myself a chance to learn the rules and roles a bit better (and give WotC time to come out with a few more classes).

The second generation will go up through Paragon levels, and will take place 50-100 years after the events of the first generation. Characters can be either new arrivals, or natives to the world. The arc will likely revolve around thwarting an influx of demons and other elementals attempting to destroy the world.

The third generation... will be epic, and I'm not going to say more yet. Right now, what I'm looking for is any suggestions to make the first generation interesting for the players, especially if they decide to make their way in the wilderness, creating new settlements.
#2
idabrius
Jun 15, 2008 21:58:05 I once ran a protomythical setting with d20 modern rules that focused around a tribe's emergence from paradise in something akin to the Jewish expulsion from Eden myth.

The thing was a generational game, with each generation being leaders of the Tribes of Man, far from the Father and deeper and deeper into the blasted wildernesses of Mother Night and her abominations that dwelled in the House of Mists.

My point here is this: Each generation of leaders influenced the society in which they lived, eventually creating complex social structures and warring kingdoms and such. I'm a big fan of the idea that player decisions create whole social and cultural structures. It's a very interesting exercise in social theory.
#3
Ramien
Jun 15, 2008 22:12:16 The players will definitely see changes from generation to generation based on what their characters do (with enough time between generations to allow things to be not quite as they remember). If they stay in the starting city, they'll see the city grew quicker, coming quickly to rival someplace like Waterdeep or another large fantasy city. If they choose to wander, the city will grow more slowly, with various races leaving and founding their own settlements.
#4
Tovec
Jun 16, 2008 13:09:30 It sounds interesting but I'm not sure how you would do it, especially with actual characters and levels. I think its going to be nearly impossible to budget, create and maintain cities and empires in such a way. The PCs are mortals who will be adventuring for 100s of years while only getting 30 levels? Why would the PCs being in one place really matter to a cities' development. Wouldn't its location, trading power, resources, politics and normal worldly factors influence such a growth?
#5
Ramien
Jun 16, 2008 14:34:04 It's going to be the same set of players, but a different set of PCs per generation, both to give people a chance to play different character types and to give new materials time to come out to give more options.

The city will grow faster if the PCs are around because their actions will be both steadying the fabric of the new world, making it easier for people to live there, and the presence of heroic characters will make people more likely to stay closer, just in case something happens.
#6
thinkhard
Jun 16, 2008 18:11:35 sounds like you need a geographic version of a McGuffin. Perhaps there are things that are of great value for any budding society—say crystals of magic power, rumored eternal springs, etc. Basically, adventuring for the sake of surveying fantastic locations to build new cities. Depending on what kind of locations they seek, there will be extremely different problems and benefits in the later generations.
#7
Ramien
Jun 17, 2008 15:40:21 I'm planning on having a lot of fantastic locations if the PCs decide to wander the world, although there's not likely to be too many rumors yet given the sparse nature of the setting - the PCs will be creating many of the points of light for the setting if they choose to.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Ramien Jun 15, 2008 20:49:42	Okay, this will be my first campaign I've run in quite a few years, and I'm taking advantage of fourth edition's release to start up a campaign I've had in mind for a while. The story from the PCs' side is fairly simple. The gods have decided to try and create a world free of the primordials' influence, and the PCs are some of the first souls drafted into service to populate the new world. The campaign is going to be generational in nature, both for mechanical and story purposes. The first generation is going to consist of all the heroes as 'new arrivals' and will take them through the heroic tier as they help stabilize the new world, while either contributing to the growth of the central city or founding new settlements on their travels. The purpose of keeping the first generation heroic tier only reflects both that it's a new world with few real dangers yet, and to give the players and myself a chance to learn the rules and roles a bit better (and give WotC time to come out with a few more classes). The second generation will go up through Paragon levels, and will take place 50-100 years after the events of the first generation. Characters can be either new arrivals, or natives to the world. The arc will likely revolve around thwarting an influx of demons and other elementals attempting to destroy the world. The third generation... will be epic, and I'm not going to say more yet. Right now, what I'm looking for is any suggestions to make the first generation interesting for the players, especially if they decide to make their way in the wilderness, creating new settlements.
#2 idabrius Jun 15, 2008 21:58:05	I once ran a protomythical setting with d20 modern rules that focused around a tribe's emergence from paradise in something akin to the Jewish expulsion from Eden myth. The thing was a generational game, with each generation being leaders of the Tribes of Man, far from the Father and deeper and deeper into the blasted wildernesses of Mother Night and her abominations that dwelled in the House of Mists. My point here is this: Each generation of leaders influenced the society in which they lived, eventually creating complex social structures and warring kingdoms and such. I'm a big fan of the idea that player decisions create whole social and cultural structures. It's a very interesting exercise in social theory.
#3 Ramien Jun 15, 2008 22:12:16	The players will definitely see changes from generation to generation based on what their characters do (with enough time between generations to allow things to be not quite as they remember). If they stay in the starting city, they'll see the city grew quicker, coming quickly to rival someplace like Waterdeep or another large fantasy city. If they choose to wander, the city will grow more slowly, with various races leaving and founding their own settlements.
#4 Tovec Jun 16, 2008 13:09:30	It sounds interesting but I'm not sure how you would do it, especially with actual characters and levels. I think its going to be nearly impossible to budget, create and maintain cities and empires in such a way. The PCs are mortals who will be adventuring for 100s of years while only getting 30 levels? Why would the PCs being in one place really matter to a cities' development. Wouldn't its location, trading power, resources, politics and normal worldly factors influence such a growth?
#5 Ramien Jun 16, 2008 14:34:04	It's going to be the same set of players, but a different set of PCs per generation, both to give people a chance to play different character types and to give new materials time to come out to give more options. The city will grow faster if the PCs are around because their actions will be both steadying the fabric of the new world, making it easier for people to live there, and the presence of heroic characters will make people more likely to stay closer, just in case something happens.
#6 thinkhard Jun 16, 2008 18:11:35	sounds like you need a geographic version of a McGuffin. Perhaps there are things that are of great value for any budding society—say crystals of magic power, rumored eternal springs, etc. Basically, adventuring for the sake of surveying fantastic locations to build new cities. Depending on what kind of locations they seek, there will be extremely different problems and benefits in the later generations.
#7 Ramien Jun 17, 2008 15:40:21	I'm planning on having a lot of fantastic locations if the PCs decide to wander the world, although there's not likely to be too many rumors yet given the sparse nature of the setting - the PCs will be creating many of the points of light for the setting if they choose to.