Campaign creation gripes... tropical island theme - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Campaign creation gripes... tropical island theme

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
gosjims
Mar 25, 2009 19:28:43 I'm starting a new campaign soon, and I'm having the same trouble I have every time I start one. I am trying to think of an overarching story to tell during the duration of the campaign. A long-term campaign goal, if you will. Things like "The necromancer rises to power over the course of the campaign and begins to spread his influence across the land, it's up to the players to stop it". Something that the players can maybe start finding out about and lead up to in heroic tier, begin to confront in paragon, and work to overcome in epic tier.

It just seems to make sense to me that this should be how a campaign goes. I don't think just having random disjointed quests every couple levels would be as fun I guess. But it's coming up with that main idea that seems to give me trouble every time. I think the difficulty has been increased with 4th edition drawing it out over 30 levels, where 21+ or so is supposed to be "epic world-spanning adventure". I never really cared for world-spanning adventure, world-wide adventure is about as epic as I care to go. But I feel like I'd be cheating the players if I planned a conclusion at level 20 now, when they start to get really powerful.

Am I going about it all wrong? How do you guys begin new campaigns? Do you just brainstorm a bunch of ideas, then try to find a way to connect them?

My other problem right now is this:

I'm thinking of trying something a little different from my usual, by making the next campaign I run based in a tropical archipelago. Problem is, I don't really have much experience with these types of settings. I don't really know anything about tropical myths or legends, economy, etc.

That stuff I can all figure out with some googling I guess. But my main reason for making this thread, is I am trying to think of a long-term campaign goal and having trouble coming up with one. It's just especially bad here because I'm trying to think of something that isn't just a typical D&D theme, something that would only be able to really take place in this type of setting so it doesn't feel like "normal D&D... with islands". There's also the added complexity of trying to figure out how I can have all the different races be present and have it make sense, without giving each race their own separate island.

I want to try to stay away from pirates as the MAIN theme... I don't mind having some pirate action in there, but I'd rather it not be the focus. Does anyone have any interesting ideas for an overarching plot that the players could work through over 30 levels? Or just interesting adventure/encounter ideas for stuff that could happen on a set of islands and the surrounding ocean? Is this even how you do things? I'd love to hear things from all sides.
#2
sprydle
Mar 25, 2009 21:35:55 Just brainstorming here... Maybe there are headhunters on one of the islands, ala Gilligan's Island. Maybe there are strange statues that appear at different places and at different intervals on the island and the PCs need to figure out what is behind it. Maybe undersea earthquakes/volcanos is causing tidal waves and all manner of underwater beasties to come ashore. Who or what is causing the sudden increase in undersea activity? Make the PCs natives of the island and they have to struggle with other tribes, invaders from other lands, etc. There is some natural resource of great value on the islands that the PCs must harvest/protect/destroy. I like the tropical idea though, could be very interesting.

I hope this helps.
#3
space_dragon
Mar 25, 2009 22:34:10 There's a primordial sleeping in an island volcano. The date is approaching for him to wake up, and nature is going crazy as a result.

At the heroic tier, the PC's have to fight off the derranged wildlife (including strange sea creatures that have been attracted by the commotion), keep any peaceful inhabitants safe, and learn about strange cults at work.

At paragon tier, they go on the offensive against the cult (which includes both land and sea dwelling races) and have to fight summoned archons and elementals as well. Ogres, humans, sahuagan, and others can be part of the cult.

Epic tier, they've learned that there's a primordial, and they have a fairly good idea of where it is; now they just need to make sure they can defeat the beast when it inevitably wakes up. To do so, they'll need to use ancient, long-dormant portals near the volcano to invade the Elemental Chaos, where they must learn the secrets of their adversary and discover the rituals that can weaken him sufficiently to be defeated by mortals.

Good?
#4
Pinwarp
Mar 25, 2009 23:32:01 I have some suggestions. First, I think your perspective is off a bit when comparing 3.5 to 4th, in terms of levels.

In 3.5, you went from 1 to 20, and then 20+ was "Epic", or pretty much beyond the scope of the rules (epic handbook was pretty badly done, IMO). Most characters the default rules assumed would retire at 20, having faced the BBEG, saved the world, wrapped it all up, etc.

In 4th, the default assumption is 1-30. 20+ is still "epic", but it is withing the scope of the rules, as default. Think of the scope as the same as 3.5's, but the intervals are chopped finer. So, for example, if you wanted to break them down, in tiers:

In 3.5, "heroic" is roughly levels 1-7. "paragon" is roughly levels 8-14. "Epic" is roughly 15-20. 20+ is really beyond the scope of the default game.

The types of stories, villains, and threats, and everything in the tiers is the same. In 4th however, you get to level up more, get cooler abilities, and spend more time in each tier.

Hopefully I explained that right.

Now, onto your campaign:

I think it would be cool if the Archepeligo was the sundered remains of an ancient land mass, broken and scattered hundreds (thousands?) of years ago by a great cataclysm. This would explain why each island has multiple different races, even tho it wouldn't seem to make sense at first glance. This setup also allows you to have ancient ruins and structures that are related to each other, part of the "old world", but scattered into the jungles and environs of the various isles. You can even have ancient cities that are broken up onto multiple islands, or even have portions sunken into the waters in the surrounding seas.

Now, as for storylines:

Heroic tier: Adventures on the seas, exploring ancient ruins, dealing with natives of the islands. Threats include perhaps Sahaguin raiding parties, tribes of hostile humanoids (orcs, gnolls, humans, whatever), perhaps strange beasts or leftover undead haunt the ruins. PC's learn a bit about the area, and begin to piece together, through clues found in various ruins on various isles, that the cataclysm happened. Introduce some villains here, to build towards paragon.

Paragon tier: learn more about the history, perhaps delving undersea, or into more dangerous islands. It turns out the Cataclysm was caused by something terrible (details up to you...perhaps a sleeping primordial, perhaps the Tarrasque sundered the civilization and is stirring, perhaps an ancient ritual by a doomsday cult that was supposed to have destroyed the world, perhaps a great war, etc). Maybe cultists or ancient beings are trying to harness the same powers? threats are more dangerous, recurring villains, perhaps there are temples on various islands that contain either clues or items that could help combat the threat, or perhaps the PC's must race to stop their enemies from finding something first!

Epic tier: Maybe the ancient magic awakens, and evil forces start bleeding into the world, or organizing, or whatever. I imagine a massive battle over multiple islands, or fleets of ships clashing amidst storms and rocks. All sorts of nasties and villains, confrontations in ancient ruins and lush islands, on wave crashed rocks etc... Maybe culminating in fighting a primordial! (Maultar would be a good villain...perhaps if he is awakening, the sea conditions get worse as violent storms wrack the islands and his followers gain power...perhaps the items are ancient seals holding him in his prison?)

Anyhow, just some ideas.
#5
ViolenceJack
Mar 25, 2009 23:53:09 Space Dragon has some good ideas for sure. The one that occurred to me before reading his (much better) post was having to do with the ocean, but not pirates. My idea is also compatible as a sub-plot with Space Dragon's.

Some one (or something) is attempting to reclaim the land in the world, raising the sea level and flooding everything. This could be connected with the cult trying to raise the primordial, or it could just be a side-treck near the end of Paragon Tier.

The other thing to keep in mind is: things are as epic as you make them, not as written in front of what tier you're in. The very last 3.5 campaign I ran ended with the PCs forever changing the pantheon of the world, nudging it from animists to a more consolidated and traditional D&D approach. They were 6th level or so. What made them capable of doing so? The narrative. I told them that they were the best around, and POOF! They were! Even at level 1.

In other words, don't feel compelled to take a campaign through all 30 levels if you don't want to. Do what fits the story.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 gosjims Mar 25, 2009 19:28:43	I'm starting a new campaign soon, and I'm having the same trouble I have every time I start one. I am trying to think of an overarching story to tell during the duration of the campaign. A long-term campaign goal, if you will. Things like "The necromancer rises to power over the course of the campaign and begins to spread his influence across the land, it's up to the players to stop it". Something that the players can maybe start finding out about and lead up to in heroic tier, begin to confront in paragon, and work to overcome in epic tier. It just seems to make sense to me that this should be how a campaign goes. I don't think just having random disjointed quests every couple levels would be as fun I guess. But it's coming up with that main idea that seems to give me trouble every time. I think the difficulty has been increased with 4th edition drawing it out over 30 levels, where 21+ or so is supposed to be "epic world-spanning adventure". I never really cared for world-spanning adventure, world-wide adventure is about as epic as I care to go. But I feel like I'd be cheating the players if I planned a conclusion at level 20 now, when they start to get really powerful. Am I going about it all wrong? How do you guys begin new campaigns? Do you just brainstorm a bunch of ideas, then try to find a way to connect them? My other problem right now is this: I'm thinking of trying something a little different from my usual, by making the next campaign I run based in a tropical archipelago. Problem is, I don't really have much experience with these types of settings. I don't really know anything about tropical myths or legends, economy, etc. That stuff I can all figure out with some googling I guess. But my main reason for making this thread, is I am trying to think of a long-term campaign goal and having trouble coming up with one. It's just especially bad here because I'm trying to think of something that isn't just a typical D&D theme, something that would only be able to really take place in this type of setting so it doesn't feel like "normal D&D... with islands". There's also the added complexity of trying to figure out how I can have all the different races be present and have it make sense, without giving each race their own separate island. I want to try to stay away from pirates as the MAIN theme... I don't mind having some pirate action in there, but I'd rather it not be the focus. Does anyone have any interesting ideas for an overarching plot that the players could work through over 30 levels? Or just interesting adventure/encounter ideas for stuff that could happen on a set of islands and the surrounding ocean? Is this even how you do things? I'd love to hear things from all sides.
#2 sprydle Mar 25, 2009 21:35:55	Just brainstorming here... Maybe there are headhunters on one of the islands, ala Gilligan's Island. Maybe there are strange statues that appear at different places and at different intervals on the island and the PCs need to figure out what is behind it. Maybe undersea earthquakes/volcanos is causing tidal waves and all manner of underwater beasties to come ashore. Who or what is causing the sudden increase in undersea activity? Make the PCs natives of the island and they have to struggle with other tribes, invaders from other lands, etc. There is some natural resource of great value on the islands that the PCs must harvest/protect/destroy. I like the tropical idea though, could be very interesting. I hope this helps.
#3 space_dragon Mar 25, 2009 22:34:10	There's a primordial sleeping in an island volcano. The date is approaching for him to wake up, and nature is going crazy as a result. At the heroic tier, the PC's have to fight off the derranged wildlife (including strange sea creatures that have been attracted by the commotion), keep any peaceful inhabitants safe, and learn about strange cults at work. At paragon tier, they go on the offensive against the cult (which includes both land and sea dwelling races) and have to fight summoned archons and elementals as well. Ogres, humans, sahuagan, and others can be part of the cult. Epic tier, they've learned that there's a primordial, and they have a fairly good idea of where it is; now they just need to make sure they can defeat the beast when it inevitably wakes up. To do so, they'll need to use ancient, long-dormant portals near the volcano to invade the Elemental Chaos, where they must learn the secrets of their adversary and discover the rituals that can weaken him sufficiently to be defeated by mortals. Good?
#4 Pinwarp Mar 25, 2009 23:32:01	I have some suggestions. First, I think your perspective is off a bit when comparing 3.5 to 4th, in terms of levels. In 3.5, you went from 1 to 20, and then 20+ was "Epic", or pretty much beyond the scope of the rules (epic handbook was pretty badly done, IMO). Most characters the default rules assumed would retire at 20, having faced the BBEG, saved the world, wrapped it all up, etc. In 4th, the default assumption is 1-30. 20+ is still "epic", but it is withing the scope of the rules, as default. Think of the scope as the same as 3.5's, but the intervals are chopped finer. So, for example, if you wanted to break them down, in tiers: In 3.5, "heroic" is roughly levels 1-7. "paragon" is roughly levels 8-14. "Epic" is roughly 15-20. 20+ is really beyond the scope of the default game. The types of stories, villains, and threats, and everything in the tiers is the same. In 4th however, you get to level up more, get cooler abilities, and spend more time in each tier. Hopefully I explained that right. Now, onto your campaign: I think it would be cool if the Archepeligo was the sundered remains of an ancient land mass, broken and scattered hundreds (thousands?) of years ago by a great cataclysm. This would explain why each island has multiple different races, even tho it wouldn't seem to make sense at first glance. This setup also allows you to have ancient ruins and structures that are related to each other, part of the "old world", but scattered into the jungles and environs of the various isles. You can even have ancient cities that are broken up onto multiple islands, or even have portions sunken into the waters in the surrounding seas. Now, as for storylines: Heroic tier: Adventures on the seas, exploring ancient ruins, dealing with natives of the islands. Threats include perhaps Sahaguin raiding parties, tribes of hostile humanoids (orcs, gnolls, humans, whatever), perhaps strange beasts or leftover undead haunt the ruins. PC's learn a bit about the area, and begin to piece together, through clues found in various ruins on various isles, that the cataclysm happened. Introduce some villains here, to build towards paragon. Paragon tier: learn more about the history, perhaps delving undersea, or into more dangerous islands. It turns out the Cataclysm was caused by something terrible (details up to you...perhaps a sleeping primordial, perhaps the Tarrasque sundered the civilization and is stirring, perhaps an ancient ritual by a doomsday cult that was supposed to have destroyed the world, perhaps a great war, etc). Maybe cultists or ancient beings are trying to harness the same powers? threats are more dangerous, recurring villains, perhaps there are temples on various islands that contain either clues or items that could help combat the threat, or perhaps the PC's must race to stop their enemies from finding something first! Epic tier: Maybe the ancient magic awakens, and evil forces start bleeding into the world, or organizing, or whatever. I imagine a massive battle over multiple islands, or fleets of ships clashing amidst storms and rocks. All sorts of nasties and villains, confrontations in ancient ruins and lush islands, on wave crashed rocks etc... Maybe culminating in fighting a primordial! (Maultar would be a good villain...perhaps if he is awakening, the sea conditions get worse as violent storms wrack the islands and his followers gain power...perhaps the items are ancient seals holding him in his prison?) Anyhow, just some ideas.
#5 ViolenceJack Mar 25, 2009 23:53:09	Space Dragon has some good ideas for sure. The one that occurred to me before reading his (much better) post was having to do with the ocean, but not pirates. My idea is also compatible as a sub-plot with Space Dragon's. Some one (or something) is attempting to reclaim the land in the world, raising the sea level and flooding everything. This could be connected with the cult trying to raise the primordial, or it could just be a side-treck near the end of Paragon Tier. The other thing to keep in mind is: things are as epic as you make them, not as written in front of what tier you're in. The very last 3.5 campaign I ran ended with the PCs forever changing the pantheon of the world, nudging it from animists to a more consolidated and traditional D&D approach. They were 6th level or so. What made them capable of doing so? The narrative. I told them that they were the best around, and POOF! They were! Even at level 1. In other words, don't feel compelled to take a campaign through all 30 levels if you don't want to. Do what fits the story.