First time DM: Ambitious Campaign (please read and comment please??) - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

First time DM: Ambitious Campaign (please read and comment please??)

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
drewswizard
Aug 13, 2009 0:39:33 IN THE BEGINNING, I decided to run the Pdf for Keep on the Shadowfell, but most of most players have a prodigious Forgotten Realms Background, so i also downloaded the forgotten realms conversion pdf.

Within this Pdf, for those who haven't seen it, it replaces the general impending zombie horde to take over winterhaven and Cormyr (some other nation in other settings) with unleashing an age-old Shadow Dragon named Shadraxl (in the campaign pcs find out his history through history and arcana checks; he was against Cormyr 1000 years ago but Cormyr War Wizards bound him inside a portal to the Shadowfell underneath the aforementioned keep) and the cult of Shar (in other settings Orcus) are trying to summon him to wreak havoc and all that jazz.

My library network has many books and before i knew the difference between 3.5 and 4.0 i had read many faerun guides and class guides and i think i took the organization of people who like to make dracoliches to take over the world and lumped them together with the cult of shar (Seemed like a good idea at the time). This i think will only help my campaign; i sent the books back.

So, i twisted the ending of KotS to having Kalarel to summoning Shadraxl and starting to turn him into a Dracolich. Mid-ritual, the PCs bust in, and somehow delay the ritual.(help needed... [: ) Then there's an encounter and in the end the pc's either kill kalarel (plot: terminated) and the semi-dracolich torches the town or kalarel hops on Shadraxl, and flies away in search help from a higher power in the form of 'The Witch Of The Waste' (boss to a delveplot i have yet to write and revolve around this Shadraxl/Dracolich/Cult of Shar plot) Through a few encounters the Pc's are lead into the level 4 Stormcrow dungeon. the background would be changed so that Kalarel's tip on the witch would lead them to find another region that was plagued by a stronghold who ended up being remotely controlled by the witch of the waste. After this dungeon, they eventually find the witch of the waste in a quick delve (last encounter would be a long boss fight with the witch herself) and the Pc's killing the witch would trump Kalarel's hopes of SHadraxl-Lichdom.

So he hops on Shadraxl again and flies to where he was tutored in the cultings of shar, a walled city that is embedded on the inside of a mountain.
it's kind of like a class pyramid diagram, in most ways. the city map even looks like one.(side quests ensue.) the pcs need to find a way into the social top all the way to the lord of the city to tell him about the upcoming tragedy dracolich burning everything. Eventually it turns out that the cult ends up running the city (cliche i know), and Shadraxl is finally entering the maturity of his dracolichdom. (Another thing; i read in those old 3.5 books that the dracolich ritual can take a very short amount of time, like hours, or if the ritual is incompleted the dracolich is in a weakened state for a few days. What's an easy way to patch this time paradox up?)

SO, then FINALLY the pcs fight shadraxl (i think by this time the pcs will be around level 16?) and they either vanquish him or die, along with most of the region shadraxl is living in. Afterwards the pcs uproot the cult of shar in the city's base base (theres a whole civilization of sharrites underneath the mountain: living in the ruins of the city underneath [again,Reckless Cliche]) and then they obtain a cool artifact or something.

So, as the campaign deals with mostly undead and necromancery npcs,
my questions are;
-Does an undead theme throughout the campaign make it dull for around the 16th level?
-What 'fun' monsters and npcs can break this dullness, and how often should i sprinkle them in, so as to not break the theme?
-Is this plot too outlined/controlling/'computer-esque'?
-If so, what other options should i weave into the campaign?
-Because i'm running these preset dungeons, should i add in encounters or delves between them to string them together more beleivably?
-Any tips for creating original places, dungeons and settings?
-Again with the dracolich ritual; any way to make that a longer, grueling, 16 level process?
-How often should i give Pcs' magical items or artifacts after encounters or dungeons?
-Any advice and Peaching welcome

Thanks for reading even if you don't post, but thanks again if you do.
#2
moondoggy
Aug 13, 2009 2:00:15 I have a few suggestions, from one DM to another.

Throw some shadow kobolds in there. Kobolds that are serving Shadraxl and are trying to thwart the party. Swarms of 'em. Just picture small kobold shadowscales raising human skeletons to fight for them, or kobold archers riding on dire bats. Loads of fun. Perhaps they're serving an evil dragonborn necromancer who is working alongside Shadraxl. You could have the party fight this dragonborn necromancer along with a whole platoon of shadow kobolds before they get to Shadraxl. OR this dragonborn could be "the Witch of the Wastes" the big bads are looking for. And the kobolds are her followers, learning the shadow magics from her and using them to expand their influence outside the marsh or wasteland they live in.
#3
drewswizard
Aug 13, 2009 2:08:10 thanks man
#4
drewswizard
Aug 13, 2009 10:07:45 help me out?
#5
garner_adam
Aug 13, 2009 10:10:11 I'd consider taking a point within the campaign to invest the characters in the defeat of the Dracolich. As it stands right now the story focuses largely on his eventual demise but if the player's ever feel like "well somebody will take him down" then they might not feel as inclined to rise to the challenge (though certainly not saying they won't).

The key here is you want the players at the table to even feel like that Dracolich has got to go. Maybe one of the players is a part of a guild that Kalarel really hates and would go out of his way to burn down. When that player learns this they know that their guild (some thing they are invested in) is in danger unless they do some thing about it.
#6
drewswizard
Aug 13, 2009 10:18:19
I'd consider taking a point within the campaign to invest the characters in the defeat of the Dracolich. As it stands right now the story focuses largely on his eventual demise but if the player's ever feel like "well somebody will take him down" then they might not feel as inclined to rise to the challenge (though certainly not saying they won't).

The key here is you want the players at the table to even feel like that Dracolich has got to go. Maybe one of the players is a part of a guild that Kalarel really hates and would go out of his way to burn down. When that player learns this they know that their guild (some thing they are invested in) is in danger unless they do some thing about it.

okay, so i should establish something along the lines that the dracoliches' presence and the danger that comes with it and use that along with personal character ties as inciting forces. Thanks
#7
drewswizard
Aug 13, 2009 10:24:35 Also, what level would the party be at at the end of the adventure if when they started the Stormcrow Tor adventure they were level 4 or 5?
#8
JadawinParr
Sep 18, 2009 20:09:03
Probably STILL level 4 or 5 because there's no doors on half the rooms! They'd walk in to the first encounter, and then have no idea how to get to the second encouter, so they'd just leave. Much like I'm ready to do with Wizards.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 drewswizard Aug 13, 2009 0:39:33	IN THE BEGINNING, I decided to run the Pdf for Keep on the Shadowfell, but most of most players have a prodigious Forgotten Realms Background, so i also downloaded the forgotten realms conversion pdf. Within this Pdf, for those who haven't seen it, it replaces the general impending zombie horde to take over winterhaven and Cormyr (some other nation in other settings) with unleashing an age-old Shadow Dragon named Shadraxl (in the campaign pcs find out his history through history and arcana checks; he was against Cormyr 1000 years ago but Cormyr War Wizards bound him inside a portal to the Shadowfell underneath the aforementioned keep) and the cult of Shar (in other settings Orcus) are trying to summon him to wreak havoc and all that jazz. My library network has many books and before i knew the difference between 3.5 and 4.0 i had read many faerun guides and class guides and i think i took the organization of people who like to make dracoliches to take over the world and lumped them together with the cult of shar (Seemed like a good idea at the time). This i think will only help my campaign; i sent the books back. So, i twisted the ending of KotS to having Kalarel to summoning Shadraxl and starting to turn him into a Dracolich. Mid-ritual, the PCs bust in, and somehow delay the ritual.(help needed... [: ) Then there's an encounter and in the end the pc's either kill kalarel (plot: terminated) and the semi-dracolich torches the town or kalarel hops on Shadraxl, and flies away in search help from a higher power in the form of 'The Witch Of The Waste' (boss to a delveplot i have yet to write and revolve around this Shadraxl/Dracolich/Cult of Shar plot) Through a few encounters the Pc's are lead into the level 4 Stormcrow dungeon. the background would be changed so that Kalarel's tip on the witch would lead them to find another region that was plagued by a stronghold who ended up being remotely controlled by the witch of the waste. After this dungeon, they eventually find the witch of the waste in a quick delve (last encounter would be a long boss fight with the witch herself) and the Pc's killing the witch would trump Kalarel's hopes of SHadraxl-Lichdom. So he hops on Shadraxl again and flies to where he was tutored in the cultings of shar, a walled city that is embedded on the inside of a mountain. it's kind of like a class pyramid diagram, in most ways. the city map even looks like one.(side quests ensue.) the pcs need to find a way into the social top all the way to the lord of the city to tell him about the upcoming tragedy dracolich burning everything. Eventually it turns out that the cult ends up running the city (cliche i know), and Shadraxl is finally entering the maturity of his dracolichdom. (Another thing; i read in those old 3.5 books that the dracolich ritual can take a very short amount of time, like hours, or if the ritual is incompleted the dracolich is in a weakened state for a few days. What's an easy way to patch this time paradox up?) SO, then FINALLY the pcs fight shadraxl (i think by this time the pcs will be around level 16?) and they either vanquish him or die, along with most of the region shadraxl is living in. Afterwards the pcs uproot the cult of shar in the city's base base (theres a whole civilization of sharrites underneath the mountain: living in the ruins of the city underneath [again,Reckless Cliche]) and then they obtain a cool artifact or something. So, as the campaign deals with mostly undead and necromancery npcs, my questions are; -Does an undead theme throughout the campaign make it dull for around the 16th level? -What 'fun' monsters and npcs can break this dullness, and how often should i sprinkle them in, so as to not break the theme? -Is this plot too outlined/controlling/'computer-esque'? -If so, what other options should i weave into the campaign? -Because i'm running these preset dungeons, should i add in encounters or delves between them to string them together more beleivably? -Any tips for creating original places, dungeons and settings? -Again with the dracolich ritual; any way to make that a longer, grueling, 16 level process? -How often should i give Pcs' magical items or artifacts after encounters or dungeons? -Any advice and Peaching welcome Thanks for reading even if you don't post, but thanks again if you do.
#2 moondoggy Aug 13, 2009 2:00:15	I have a few suggestions, from one DM to another. Throw some shadow kobolds in there. Kobolds that are serving Shadraxl and are trying to thwart the party. Swarms of 'em. Just picture small kobold shadowscales raising human skeletons to fight for them, or kobold archers riding on dire bats. Loads of fun. Perhaps they're serving an evil dragonborn necromancer who is working alongside Shadraxl. You could have the party fight this dragonborn necromancer along with a whole platoon of shadow kobolds before they get to Shadraxl. OR this dragonborn could be "the Witch of the Wastes" the big bads are looking for. And the kobolds are her followers, learning the shadow magics from her and using them to expand their influence outside the marsh or wasteland they live in.
#3 drewswizard Aug 13, 2009 2:08:10	thanks man
#4 drewswizard Aug 13, 2009 10:07:45	help me out?
#5 garner_adam Aug 13, 2009 10:10:11	I'd consider taking a point within the campaign to invest the characters in the defeat of the Dracolich. As it stands right now the story focuses largely on his eventual demise but if the player's ever feel like "well somebody will take him down" then they might not feel as inclined to rise to the challenge (though certainly not saying they won't). The key here is you want the players at the table to even feel like that Dracolich has got to go. Maybe one of the players is a part of a guild that Kalarel really hates and would go out of his way to burn down. When that player learns this they know that their guild (some thing they are invested in) is in danger unless they do some thing about it.
#6 drewswizard Aug 13, 2009 10:18:19	I'd consider taking a point within the campaign to invest the characters in the defeat of the Dracolich. As it stands right now the story focuses largely on his eventual demise but if the player's ever feel like "well somebody will take him down" then they might not feel as inclined to rise to the challenge (though certainly not saying they won't). The key here is you want the players at the table to even feel like that Dracolich has got to go. Maybe one of the players is a part of a guild that Kalarel really hates and would go out of his way to burn down. When that player learns this they know that their guild (some thing they are invested in) is in danger unless they do some thing about it. okay, so i should establish something along the lines that the dracoliches' presence and the danger that comes with it and use that along with personal character ties as inciting forces. Thanks
#7 drewswizard Aug 13, 2009 10:24:35	Also, what level would the party be at at the end of the adventure if when they started the Stormcrow Tor adventure they were level 4 or 5?
#8 JadawinParr Sep 18, 2009 20:09:03	Probably STILL level 4 or 5 because there's no doors on half the rooms! They'd walk in to the first encounter, and then have no idea how to get to the second encouter, so they'd just leave. Much like I'm ready to do with Wizards.