An Epiphany -- My new Fave thing about 4E

[Stormtalon]

I've been tossing around an idea in my head for a 4E campaign for a few days now, and I finally decided to sit down and solidify it a bit on paper. As I started jotting things down, I was struck by something I hadn't consciously realized before.

The tiered level structure of 4E -- Heroic/Paragon/Epic -- makes it insanely easy to come up with a quick, structured outline of an entire campaign (assuming you have a coherent concept to begin with).

It only took me an hour, more or less, to jot down a 3-page outline (one page per tier) for a full 30-level campaign, broken down level-to-level. That's something I was never able to do before. Too many variables perhaps, and too nebulous a progression path to be able to concretely nail down a full outline.

Sure, I've still got to break each section down by encounter, draw maps and design NPCs but that should go quickly enough. Still, now that I know, for instance, that I need a dragon for the level 15-16 period I can plan ahead and set something up that's going to be integral to the overall plot (I actually titled each level range as part of the process -- in this case, my rough title is "A Dragon Named Patsy").

While I do enjoy winging things, it's also nice to know I can effectively set up something coherent FAST and then plug in what's needed to fill it out.

 

[Nymrohd]

I am slowly building an Icewind Dale based campaign to level 30. It is indeed quite easy though I guess we knew that quite some time now (from how easy it is to build nice encounters). I do have an issue with epic level encounters though. Devils, demons, efreet and some solos is what we have right now. I hope MMII helps with this.

 

[Stormtalon]

Aye, Epic might be where I'm going to have to get really creative with Monsters, as it's going to deal with trying to stop and reverse a major attempt by the Far Realm to engulf a significant chunk of the world.

My mid-epic level titles, though (for amusement's sake):

24-25: An Elemental Concept
25-26: The Primordial Bargain
26-27: By Your Powers Combined....

Yes, those titles are just a form of shorthand for what I need to happen in each encounter set. So, at least for that section I'll be able to get by with mostly elementals. It's also going to be perhaps heavier on skill challenges than most, as it's going to revolve around recruiting/awakening/bargaining with a Primordial to gain aid in the fight against the Far Realm. It's going to be one of those, "Yes, we actually are this desperate...."

I did have a bit of an issue with figuring out how to manage the tier transitions, but in the end decided to make the 10-11 & 20-21 encounter sets into "Interludes" in which something big happens which sets up the next tier's worth of adventures. Those I'm definitely going to be putting extra effort into, as the events & NPCs I have planned for those two sets of encounters are what actually inspired the entire campaign.

Ideally, each tier should feel sorta like a trilogy of novels, with a kicker/twist at the end of each tier. This really is such a great structure to work within. Can't wait to start working on each level's encounter sets....

 

[Asmor]

My PCs are in the 12th-14th level range. They're currently working on a ritual to use a spark of deific energy to create a new world in the current world's image, because the current world is being devoured by an entity from the far realms.

I'm kind of at a loss for what to do that's more epic than that when they get to the actual epic tier...

 

[Stormtalon]

My PCs are in the 12th-14th level range. They're currently working on a ritual to use a spark of deific energy to create a new world in the current world's image, because the current world is being devoured by an entity from the far realms.

I'm kind of at a loss for what to do that's more epic than that when they get to the actual epic tier...

This one's going to get a bit ugly for the PCs, I'm afraid. Here's a rough synopsis per tier....

Spoiler

Heroic:

Escort a group of settlers to help found a new town and push the kingdom's borders farther into the wilderness. Protect the new town as well as the previous batches of settlers from various humanoid menaces, culminating with breaking the ambitions of a would-be Hobgoblin Emperor.

Interlude 1:

Party returns to capital to be celebrated as heroes. Assassination attempts on them, skullduggery, and a pitched battle with a dark figure ensue. Upon the return to the settlement they find that it and all the surrounding towns have been utterly wiped out.

Paragon:

Track down the source of the destruction of their friends and comrades. Evidence leads to a tribe of giants where the party exacts a bitter revenge. Another group of settlements suffers a similar fate and the party rushes to find out what happened; this time finding traces of a dragon attack. During the battle the dragon claims not to have done anything to the settlers. Deeper examination finds the path of destruction in both areas resembles the sigils for two of the Raven Queen's 3 ravens of fate. The party realizes that both the giants and dragon were framed and where the 3rd attack will take place, and arrives in time to save the citizens of one outlying town, fleeing with them back to the capital.

Interlude 2:

At the capital, the party finally discovers that the kingdom's greatest hero and the twin sons of the king are behind the ritual they've uncovered. They stop the final portion of the ritual only to discover to their horror that they've doomed the kingdom to a far worse fate. The hero & princes were trying to send the kingdom as a whole to the Shadowfell before their starmetal swords -- in reality seeds of corruption from the Far Realm -- totally transform them and begin the process of devouring the entire world.

Epic:

The party desperately tries to escape the capital as madness and twisted land start spreading from the Far Seed. One of the king's wizards suggests a wild gamble -- to delve into the Elemental Chaos and bargain with one or more of the Primordials themselves for allies and armies with which to fight the alien reality. As the elemental and aberrant armies clash over the rapidly twisting landscape, the party strikes at the heart of the madness, to finally destroy the fallen hero and princes and restore the fabric of the world.

 

[Moon_Goddess]

My PCs are in the 12th-14th level range. They're currently working on a ritual to use a spark of deific energy to create a new world in the current world's image, because the current world is being devoured by an entity from the far realms.

I'm kind of at a loss for what to do that's more epic than that when they get to the actual epic tier...

In epic tier they discover the far realm threat has spread and all universes are risk, the very multiverse itself risks unmaking.... they must travel world to world to the depths of ancient history to uncover a way to end and survive the far realm and destroy this entity on it's home turf.

 

[Quartz]

My PCs are in the 12th-14th level range. They're currently working on a ritual to use a spark of deific energy to create a new world in the current world's image, because the current world is being devoured by an entity from the far realms.

I'm kind of at a loss for what to do that's more epic than that when they get to the actual epic tier...

So don't. You've worked the campaign to a closing point, so close it. Don't be afraid to close a campaign before L30.

 

[Nightson]

My PCs are in the 12th-14th level range. They're currently working on a ritual to use a spark of deific energy to create a new world in the current world's image, because the current world is being devoured by an entity from the far realms.

I'm kind of at a loss for what to do that's more epic than that when they get to the actual epic tier...

At level 30 they lead a coalition of gods against the heart of the far realm itself, destroying the heart of madness and forever sealing the far realm away.

Remember, at level 30 your characters are short of godhood by roughly five levels. Everything they do should be accompanied by Ride of the Valkyries playing in the background.

 

[SpydersWebbing]

My own campaign plot (based in New Forgotten Realms)

Heroic:
A hero (an eladrin swordmage, no name yet) has fallen in battle, and his lover has been convinced by the Church of the Last Hope (based in Balder's Gate) to commit suicide to bring him back. The PC's are going to attempt to stop her, which means the campaign can go one of two ways:

A) She listens to them, and leaves with them.
B) She doesn't listen to them, and commits suicide. The atrocity forces The Hero's body to reanimate as a Death Knight, focused on the destruction of the Church of the Last Hope.

Regardless of outcome you find out that The Hero was the prince of Evermeet, and there's a whole fey party that's been put together to take down the people they think are responsible: the PC's! Once convinced that the Church of the Last Hope is to blame, both parties set up to knock down the Church of the Last Hope.


Paragon:
The Church of the Last Hope has been obliterated, but it's been found that they were a cover organization for the Blue Flame people (can't remember the name of the organization, too lazy to get up and find the book), who have employed the paladins and avengers of the Church of Cyre to get them enough souls to make a doomsday weapon of unimaginable power. Traveling through the Underdark, the PC's must destroy the Sharn's home base. In doing so, they are teleported to another world altogether...


Epic:
With the Sharns defeated their secrets are revealed. The Sharn were trying to re-invigorate their dead alternate world, destroyed by the destructive Tharizdun. They thought that by killing off a massive amount of Toril they could re-enliven Tilithil, their own world. To escape the confines of this alternate world the PC's must first bring Tharizdun back down the level of a god, and then kill him, releasing his grip from Tilithil. In doing so Tilithil will be re-enlivened, and they can then access enough arcane energy to make a portal back to Toril.


You're right, 4th is good at this sorta thing.

Any thoughts?

 

[Stormtalon]

Something else I think I'm going to do as I start building the encounters for each level segment is to take the DMGs encounter budget concept one step further. In the DMG (pp 56-57), it gives the guidelines for setting up an encounter budget one encounter at a time.

What I'm going to do instead is to use an XP budget that spans an entire level. Say I'm aiming at 5 level 1 PCs -- I'm going to work with a total budget of 5000 XP and divvy that up into a series of encounters, some easy, some hard, some middling. I'll use some of it for skill challenges and environmental hazards here and there, of course, but the idea is to try to have a coherent set of related encounters per level's worth of XP.

This might be a bit more railroadish than some people like, but if I work it right, there'll be a feel of natural flow and progression rather than a forced sense. Since I want this to work as an Adventure Path sort of thing, I think this only makes sense.

Heck, if it works out well enough as it plays along, I might just look into the whole .pdf self-publish thing.