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Moon Cycle related Campaign

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
darkbane235
Mar 08, 2009 22:30:13 I am designing a campaign for when PHB2 comes out. I had the idea to make the moon cycle affect the world drastically. My first idea was to do a lycanthrope based adventure, however, I felt that this might get repetitive. The plan was also to have more than one moon (something like 3 or 4) and each moon would have a different rotation. For example, one moon would be full every 7 days, while the other every 15.

The moon cycles could then affect the following things:

Full moon(s):
-increase DC of stealth checks
-certain types of creatures attack (maybe each moon represents a different creature type - an immortal moon, a aberrant moon, ect.)
-items that activate/deactivate based on moon

The campaign will begin with the full moons of all the moons which is rare, which will cause an series of bad things to happen which the PCs are to fix.

Any ideas? Note that I will have a calendar prepared ahead of time.

Thanks in advance.
#2
SteelMirror
Mar 08, 2009 22:48:25 To draw dramatic attention to the moons without having to necessarily make every adventure focus on them, have something about them change in the first session. Maybe an entirely new moon appears, with mysterious and unnown future consequences. Or perhaps in the past the moon was full every 30 days, but has accelerated recently to a 7 day cycle and no one knows why.

Posing these questions at 1st level without revealing the answers will ensure that these things stay at the back of your players' minds, even when they aren't actively investigating it.

As for plots that involve moon cycles without endlessly recycling werewolves, maybe the full moon empowers magic of all kinds, so that magical creatures run amok. Or maybe the unusual confluence of many moons weakens the barriers between the material plane and the feywild (or any other plane of your choice) so that some of the more dangerous denizens can cross over.

I'll post more ideas if any come to me!
#3
winterstar
Mar 09, 2009 11:52:32 Personaly instead of Creature Types, I'd have the moons empower the different Power Sources instead, that way it matters more to the characters.
#4
darkbane235
Mar 09, 2009 19:31:55 Thats a good idea!
Especially since there are 6 creature types and 4 power sources. 6 moons would have been too many.

So...

What kind of bonus should I use?

One moon per power source. Hmm, if i did this, then the moons would have to be full in equally as often to keep it fair.

Quick ideas:
- +1 to atk rolls during full moon
-Bonuses to certain skills during each moon, ie (Primal/Martial = physical, Arcane/Divine = knowledge)
- +1-5 dmg to dmg rolls

Let me know what you think!
#5
winterstar
Mar 10, 2009 0:36:11 Well, it depends on exactly how much you want the moon cycles to matter, at the high end you could go as extreme as giving each power a "recharge chance", although that might not work well in play.

Personally I'd steer away from big bonuses to either attack or damage, a +1 or +2 sounds reasonable though.
#6
islington42
Mar 13, 2009 11:50:23 My suggestion would be to focus more on additional skill bonuses, with specific damage for the different types being smaller. This is only because if the moon cycles are different, then some will feel underpowered in comparison.

You could possibly keep track of each moon's phase and have them overlap. Don't have just one moon pop in and out all the time, have multiple moons going. Perhaps when certain moon phases align, it has effect A, but a slightly different phase could have an entirely different effect.

Also, while this may seem like a bad idea...negative effects? This might be a bad idea, but small things. Stealth could be better during some phases, but worse during others? It might make players think outside the box in terms of what to do. I enjoy scenarios where a player who relies on an ability or spell suddenly doesn't have it and has to be creative. And if this backfires, DM interference is simple by saying that the moon alignment oddly changed before it was supposed to...

Just some ideas. I'd love to hear more from the community about this.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 darkbane235 Mar 08, 2009 22:30:13	I am designing a campaign for when PHB2 comes out. I had the idea to make the moon cycle affect the world drastically. My first idea was to do a lycanthrope based adventure, however, I felt that this might get repetitive. The plan was also to have more than one moon (something like 3 or 4) and each moon would have a different rotation. For example, one moon would be full every 7 days, while the other every 15. The moon cycles could then affect the following things: Full moon(s): -increase DC of stealth checks -certain types of creatures attack (maybe each moon represents a different creature type - an immortal moon, a aberrant moon, ect.) -items that activate/deactivate based on moon The campaign will begin with the full moons of all the moons which is rare, which will cause an series of bad things to happen which the PCs are to fix. Any ideas? Note that I will have a calendar prepared ahead of time. Thanks in advance.
#2 SteelMirror Mar 08, 2009 22:48:25	To draw dramatic attention to the moons without having to necessarily make every adventure focus on them, have something about them change in the first session. Maybe an entirely new moon appears, with mysterious and unnown future consequences. Or perhaps in the past the moon was full every 30 days, but has accelerated recently to a 7 day cycle and no one knows why. Posing these questions at 1st level without revealing the answers will ensure that these things stay at the back of your players' minds, even when they aren't actively investigating it. As for plots that involve moon cycles without endlessly recycling werewolves, maybe the full moon empowers magic of all kinds, so that magical creatures run amok. Or maybe the unusual confluence of many moons weakens the barriers between the material plane and the feywild (or any other plane of your choice) so that some of the more dangerous denizens can cross over. I'll post more ideas if any come to me!
#3 winterstar Mar 09, 2009 11:52:32	Personaly instead of Creature Types, I'd have the moons empower the different Power Sources instead, that way it matters more to the characters.
#4 darkbane235 Mar 09, 2009 19:31:55	Thats a good idea! Especially since there are 6 creature types and 4 power sources. 6 moons would have been too many. So... What kind of bonus should I use? One moon per power source. Hmm, if i did this, then the moons would have to be full in equally as often to keep it fair. Quick ideas: - +1 to atk rolls during full moon -Bonuses to certain skills during each moon, ie (Primal/Martial = physical, Arcane/Divine = knowledge) - +1-5 dmg to dmg rolls Let me know what you think!
#5 winterstar Mar 10, 2009 0:36:11	Well, it depends on exactly how much you want the moon cycles to matter, at the high end you could go as extreme as giving each power a "recharge chance", although that might not work well in play. Personally I'd steer away from big bonuses to either attack or damage, a +1 or +2 sounds reasonable though.
#6 islington42 Mar 13, 2009 11:50:23	My suggestion would be to focus more on additional skill bonuses, with specific damage for the different types being smaller. This is only because if the moon cycles are different, then some will feel underpowered in comparison. You could possibly keep track of each moon's phase and have them overlap. Don't have just one moon pop in and out all the time, have multiple moons going. Perhaps when certain moon phases align, it has effect A, but a slightly different phase could have an entirely different effect. Also, while this may seem like a bad idea...negative effects? This might be a bad idea, but small things. Stealth could be better during some phases, but worse during others? It might make players think outside the box in terms of what to do. I enjoy scenarios where a player who relies on an ability or spell suddenly doesn't have it and has to be creative. And if this backfires, DM interference is simple by saying that the moon alignment oddly changed before it was supposed to... Just some ideas. I'd love to hear more from the community about this.