A "Campaign Path"

[kaomera]

Was working on the idea of having a bit more structure to "the next campaign I run", and thought it would be neat to share what I've got. Something like an adventure path in structure, although it's pretty sketchy and I've got three specific entry points to work from:

[sblock="Level 1"]

[sblock="Shadtor Keep"]
A caravan approaching a nearby village encountered a party of goblins, but managed to escape with only a few minor injuries. Of concern was the fact that the goblins where laden down with supplies and seemed content to chase off the merchant and his guards. Supposition is that they may have or be establishing a lair nearby; an old fort said to lie atop a hill in the Shade Woods seems a likely location to check.

The goblins have indeed moved into the ruins of old Shadtor Keep, indirectly sent there by the OOAEE to keep pesky adventurers from finding out what's hidden beneath the place... The keep itself is split in two by a crevice that runs down into the hill itself, the result of magic used to breach the fortifications long ago. The goblins have constructed a series of rope bridges and precarious walkways from various debris, connecting the two sides of the structure. The tribe consists of:
6 Goblin Snipers
8 Goblin Cutthroats
5 Goblin Beast Riders riding Level 2 Goblin Spider Mounts (from Deathjump Spider)
1 Goblin Hex Hurler
2 Level 2 Goblin Guards (from Hobgoblin Battle Guard)
1 Level 3 Goblin Chieftain (from Hobgoblin Beast Master)
Chieftain & Guards riding 3 Level 3 Goblin Warspiders (from Deathjump Spider)

The goblins are spread throughout the structure - there's a lot more room than they can occupy. Initial fight is likely to be an encounter with only two or three of them, with more arriving to investigate soon after. The goblins will prefer to ambush the PCs at the crossing between the two sides of the keep, with snipers sniping and beast riders using their mounts to gain a terrain advantage. The hex hurler is cowardly and will stay out of any fight the goblins don't seem to already be winning. He keeps two cutthroats with him as bodyguards at all times (although they would abandon him if given the chance). It's likely he will show up and then retreat a few times before he's cornered - he'll retreat if the fights looks to be even close to fair for the PCs. The guards and chieftain are laired in the top of the structure, and will be passed out drunk when the PCs first arrive. The chieftain has a whistle that will call every goblin in the place to his defense (or at least to get revenge).

Among the "empty" rooms of the keep are:
5 Scurrying Rat Swarms
4 Dire rats

These creatures are mainly interested in food, and will retreat at first if encountered but not immediately attacked. If the PCs attack or pursue them they will fight viciously.

Beneath the ruins of the keep proper there are three levels of crypts and vaults. The sword Redasurc (the "Maiden Sword") can be found in a vault on the lowest level. The guardians of the lower levels are:
4 Green Slimes
6 Hulking Zombies
10 Flesh-Crazed Zombies
2 Blazing Skeletons
1 Wraith (upgraded to a solo)
1 Grasping Dead Trap
1 Gibbet Zombies Trap
1 Elite Forest of Stone Trap
4 Iron Maiden-in-Chains Trap

The place is a gauntlet, and the PCs will do best to lure the undead out of the trap-laden rooms they will otherwise occupy. The entrance is a trick: a short stairway descends south from a long east-west corridor. At the end of the stairs is a large and ornate set of false double-doors with a complex lock and several false traps. Unlocking the false door is the only way to open two secret doors in the hallway above which lead down into the lower level proper - but they also release the two blazing skeletons to catch the PCs in a crossfire when they return to the corridor. The slimes are in a room with a false treasure chest - they drop from the ceiling into the party's midst when the chest is opened. The wraith is found near the vault of Redasurc, and is released only when a golden ring on a desk within the room is handled. The Wraith will pursue and harry the PCs as long as any of them that touched the ring still lives.

The Maiden Sword is a +1 Vigilant Blade (4th level), with the following additional abilities when wielded by a character of good or lawful good alignment:
* Provides a +2 enhancement bonus to fortitude and will
* Allows the wielder to mark a target within 5 squares until the end of her next turn as a free action. This mark counts as a "Divine Challenge" (as per the Paladin power), including punishment damage and effects, but does not supersede any other marks.
[/sblock]
[sblock="Dark Bargain"]
An undead monster has attacked a local noble's residence! The PCs of course become involved. The creature in question is Ghoul (bumped up to elite). It will fight the PCs, but is mainly interested in tearing the place apart (it's looking for a book that isn't actually present - it got it's orders somewhat confused). Everyone else has been evacuated from the place by the time the PCs arive, but the noble himself is still inside. His wife and servants will He will not be as pleased to see the PCs as they might expect, claiming that they will "only make matters worse!"

The noble in question has actually made a deal with a necromancer, who is now hiding in the town's sewers. The noble just wants to find out what he needs to do to put some spirits that are haunting the family crypt to rest, but unfortunately (if not completely unpredictably) the necromancer is quite insane. Either the noble or the ghoul will escape into the sewers, or else the noble will break down and confess and provide the party with information as to where he met the madman (from where they can track him into the sewers). If all else fails, the necromancer's imp familiar will be spotted, and can then be chased down.

Also hiding in the sewers is a band of thieves: 7 Human Goons and a Common Bandit leading the group. They have had a run-in with some zombies and can provide useful information, but they're crude and overconfident and will attack if they think they can get the upper hand.

The necromancer and his forces (aside from the elite ghoul above) are:
12 Decrepit Skeletons
8 Zombie Shamblers
6 Grasping Zombies
6 Flesh-Crazed Zombies
2 Ghouls (these ones are not elites)
1 Blazing Skeleton
1 Imp
1 Necromancer (use Mallora, Emerald Claw Necromancer)

The necromancer is just camped out in a semi-dry side passage, and the bulk of his creations are wandering loose in the sewer. The necromancer is quite nuts, and will be ranting and raving the whole time. The two ghouls are lurking in crawlspaces near the ceiling of the passage, and will drop down when the necromancer is bloodied; they will try and buy him time and room to escape, although he'd have to go through the PCs' lines to do so. At this point if the PCs back off so will the monsters, and they can get a short rest in before they're attacked again, or an extended if they retreat to the surface. In the man time, the necromancer will (somewhat ineffectively - for one thing he will keep trying to command and zombies that have been destroyed by the party and not understand why they aren't responding) fortify his remaining bodies. Also none of the monsters except the imp and the ghouls will heal (and those that will have only 1 surge, of course). Either the PCs will attack the necromancer at this point, or he will come after them...

The necromancer won't be much help - he wasn't a bad guy (and was fairly lucid) when the noble had contacted him, but the power of the OOAEE washing over the area has driven him completely off the deep end. Some of his rantings might be suggestive, of course. The noble, if the PCs keep the townsfolk from just lynching him, can let the party know about the agitated spirits at his family's crypt. The spirits are not hostile (quite the contrary), and the PCs may be able to figure out how to communicate with them. They are a long-dead knight and his family, and they have awakened in response to the resurgence of the OOAEE. The knight, in particular, knows of The Maiden Sword, and can direct the PCs to find Shadtor Keep. (Of course, that name is no longer widely used, so there may be some research required to find it.)
[/sblock]
[sblock="Outriders of the Silver Companies"]
Several knights and non-commissioned officers (quartermasters, mostly) of the Silver Companies have moved into the area ahead of the main forces, to secure supplies etc. They will be holding a recruitment drive, and if the PCs show interest they will be offered a chance to prove themselves in a challenge. The combat will be to bloodied only, anyone fighting beyond that point will be considered to be cheating, as will anyone who strikes to kill. Characters defeated in this way are expected to go to one knee in the square they are in (they still occupy that square and block enemy movement) and take no further part in the fight. The Silver Companies forces are:
2 Dwarf Corporals (use Dwarf Clan Guard)
1 Elf Knight-Sergeant (use Elf Scout)
1 Elf Archer
1 Human Private (use Town Guard)
1 Halfling Quartermaster (use Halfling Trickster)

Regardless of whether the PCs win or lose as long as the PCs did not cheat the soldiers will be impressed. However they will find that the PCs are too independent to serve in the Silver Companies in an official capacity (part of the problem is that the PCs are already competent fighters, while the Companies prefer that new recruits be trained exclusively in their style of combat). They will give the PCs brooches identifying them as allies of the Silver Companies (the same brooches are being given out to merchants that agree to help get supplies to the Companies while they are on campaign).

The soldiers will be in town for two more days before they have to move on, as they have much to do before the main force arrives (about three weeks time). The soldiers will be happy to buy the PCs drinks and have a go at wining money off of them at cards. Have several locals who signed up because of the PCs display in the challenge introduce themselves to the PCs and try to hang out with them. The mother of one of them may also confront the PCs over their "dragging her daughter off to war". Then, later when the young woman dies heroically saving dozens of lives the mother can show up begging the PCs forgiveness for her earlier outburst (assuming the players would be interested in this kind of roleplay, and the PCs are going to be gracious and comforting about it - if they're not, don't bother).

A local knight who is (quietly - he certainly won't say anything bad about them in public and will feign approval) displeased by the presence of the Silver Companies will also take notice of the PCs. Before they leave the Knight-Sergeant from the challenge will approach the PCs and let them know that there is suspicion of evil forces at work in the town, and ask them to stick around and keep an eye out after the soldiers move on. The "evil forces" are in fact headed up by the local knight's sister, who has thrown in with the OOAEE in the hopes of saving her brother what she sees as a pointless death fighting in the campaign. Of course the knight himself has no idea of this, and thinks the idea that the forces of evil will actually attack is kind of preposterous.

Use a Dragonborn Mercenary for the knight and a Poisonscale Needler for his sister (although she's a Dragonborn and her attacks are a dagger and range 5 thrown darts). The first two times the sister is hit she instead teleports 5 squares and becomes invisible until the end of her next turn, and a Lesser Fire Elemental appears in her space and is hit instead. The knight will try and cause trouble for the PCs if he can, questioning their motives for poking around and being nosy, etc. Once the PCs become annoyed (or not), his sister will approach them and play at being on their side. She'll be sure to point out how much of a nice guy her brother really is, it's just that he's fallen in with some political allies that are a bit shady...

If the PCs haven't managed to get themselves in trouble in short order, the sister will show up at night, feigning panic, and say that her brother has apparently sleep-walked out of the town. The PCs will need to find a way out to "follow him" (he's actually asleep in bed), as the town gates are closed for the night. The sister's directions will lead the PCs into an ambush by some of the OOAEE's forces scouting the area, and then the PCs will most likely follow the trail back to their main camp.
10 Hobgoblin Grunts
10 Hobgoblin Battle Guards
4 Hobgoblin Archers
4 Guard Drakes
1 Bugbear Backstabber (changed to a level 3 elite)
2 Hobgoblin Warmongers
1 Hobgoblin Commander

The hobgoblins are fanatics and have no real information anyway. They most definitely do not know anything about the knight, or who his sister is (there has been no direct contact). She knew that sending the PCs this way would lead them into danger, through her link with the OOAEE, but nothing more. The hobgoblins are waiting in ambush on the road simply to keep anyone from finding out about their actual plans.

They have four potions of eladrin shape and some disguises, and are planning on getting in to the town at about dawn. The sister will be convincing the guards to open the gates for the eladrin (and she has no idea they're actually hobgoblins, or that there are more than four of them. Those four will attack the guards while the rest of the hobgoblin forces spring out of hiding and they slaughter everyone in sight (the sister included, although her abilities should grant her a chance to escape). The plan would then be for the hobgoblins to make their way to the town center, spreading fire and panic, and killing off as many of the town's leaders as possible before they are overcome by the town guard.

Of course, the PCs are liable to put a monkeywrench in those plans...
[/sblock]
[/sblock]

 

[aco175]

Are all 3 of the ideas part of level 1, it seems like each could be a level in itself. Good read wit the ideas and how things tie in so far. Do you have ideas for the BBEG yet?

 

[kaomera]

Are all 3 of the ideas part of level 1, it seems like each could be a level in itself. Good read wit the ideas and how things tie in so far. Do you have ideas for the BBEG yet?

Each section (not including the lower levels of the keep) should work out to about 4000 XP. With quests, etc. I'd figure that would get the PCs to second level, probably. And if not they can always pick up one of the other threads. My idea was to do something a bit more "sandbox", in that there are basically three ways the PCs could go, and then some... The next "step" would most likely come up between levels 2 and 3 (depending on if the PCs went on to another one of those listed and/or got down to the vault). But that would be optional as well.

This was kind of just an experiment, and I think I got some interesting results. All of the above took me just slightly longer than it usually takes me to work up an encounter. Now to be fair there's a lot more stuff I would usually do for an encounter - maps, nice pretty stat blocks, etc. But I'm also seeming to find that not spending as much time on encounter design may be giving me better results overall. (Maybe less over-thinking things? idk, I'm trying it out...)

Ideally I would draw maps for this and pick which specific creatures go in which encounters on the fly. I'm a bit concerned with the redundancy among the monsters, but I'm not sure that's entirely a bad thing. It may give the players more reason to pay attention to what they can do (so that they can better handle them the next time they see the same critter?)

As for the Overlord Of All Evil Everywhere I do have some ideas...

[sblock="Some mini-background"]
This first part of the campaign (probably through the end of heroic tier?) deals with an area that was a newly-settled frontier just before the last big incursion of the OOAEE's forces, several hundred years ago. Afterward it was left pretty much to it's own devices, and there has been no big settlement push since. So: Points of Light. You have a lot of wilderness areas still unsettled between various mostly self-contained cities, towns, etc.

So the OOAEE was driven back across the Northern Chaos Wastes several hundred years ago, and several hundred years before that, and several hundred years before that, etc. So, clearly, he isn't coming back any time soon... Or at least that's what the leaders of the Northern Kingdoms (off to the west of the starting area - let's call it the Eastern Frontier...) would like to believe.

Now, about fourty years ago there started to be raids launched across the Chaos Wastes every several years (typically 3 to 4 years apart) by various humanoid tribes, ogres, trolls, miscellaneous giants, and other monsters. At first there was some serious panic, as it was expected this heralded the return of the OOAEE. However, these raids, while not really "small" where nothing on that scale. The leaders of the Northern Kingdoms managed to arrange a suitable defense, rebuilding a series of border forts and making troops available to hunt down any monsters that got through. Things settled down into a routine.

At the same time, smaller groups of humanoids started infiltrating into the eastern reaches of the Eastern Frontier, via a large series of underground tunnels deep beneath a spine of mountains there. These monsters where less well organized and far less numerous than the raids from the north, and so they where left to local militias etc. to deal with. These forces have been able to deal with them, but there is a tendency to chase them off rather than annihilate them which is leading to the establishment of various humanoid populations in the area.

The general consensus among the military and civilian leaders in the Northern Kingdoms is that a real resurgence of the OOAEE would necessarily lead to a significant lull in the raids as he musters his forces; it is generally expected that a period of ten or more years without an attack would be a sign for alarm...

The last raid, three years ago, was one of the largest and fiercest, but also one of the more poorly organized. Soldiers at several of the border forts actually watched from the walls as various humanoid tribes annihilated one another in internecine squabbles. However there was one notable action (notable to the reader, the leaders of the Northern Kingdoms have mostly ignored it)...

A small auxiliary unit encountered a remarkably well-organized and well-equipped force of hobgoblins trying to sneak down into the kingdoms, accompanied by a sizable group of cultists. Fortunately this unit had become a kind of dumping ground for "malcontents" - in this case mainly meaning those soldiers and officers who had argued that their commanders where not taking the threat from the north seriously enough. The engagement was fierce and bloody, but in the end the good guys won (mostly by using dirtier tricks than the bad guys, mind you).

Several Northern leaders who do take the threat a bit more seriously have organized the survivors of this unit, along with various new recruits, etc. into the "Silver Companies". The Silver Companies are to be sent into the Eastern Frontier to deal with this year's crop of infiltrating humanoids (hopefully both more quickly and more thoroughly than the locals could manage) and try and wipe out as many of the humanoid tribes that have taken hold in the area as possible. It is expected that this mission may take a few years, and the leaders behind the formation of the Silver Companies hope to use this time to quietly build them up away from other leaders who might object at what they see as an unnecessary force buildup. There is also the expectation that if the forces of Evil launch a major offensive in the meantime then the Companies can act as a reserve force.

Of course, the OOAEE has other plans...
[/sblock]

 

[aco175]

I like this approach, but I tend to design just as little as I need. I should develop more ideas into a whole concept beforehand, as opposed to after I ran two modules from Wizards and three homebrewed modules to get some sort of overall plot.

I use a lot of monsters over and over again mostly to maintain a sense of realism. Now the party is 15th level and the goblin riding wolves, level7 monster converted to level13 minion, is below them. I now have a goblin riding wyvern minion at level 17, although my other group, the level10 party, can run into the level 12 monster instead of the minion. The party is trying to wrestle the baronny from a death knight and his goblin/ogre allies. Each dungeon has goblin/ogre elements, but also new level appropiate monsters to challenge. Right now they are about to assault his earthmote castle after helping the rebels fight off the hoard of goblins.

I do not know if drawing maps before hand that could have multiple uses would work. I was thinking of a generic map you could use for a few different ideas, depending on where the party went. It would save time, but not be as site specific as you would like. I sometimes make generic ruins like a tower or cave that I can use in a pinch. Lately I have been using premade battlemaps Wizards came out with a few years ago and some from newer modules for encounters. I have a map in mind that I use for designing an encounter and all I worry about are the monsters and and modifying that may be needed. I do not know how many times an encounter has happened on the 'kings Road'.

 

[kaomera]

I like this approach, but I tend to design just as little as I need. I should develop more ideas into a whole concept beforehand, as opposed to after I ran two modules from Wizards and three homebrewed modules to get some sort of overall plot.

I don't usually prep more stuff than I need - I think some times I don't do as much as I should. I do over-work and over-think some of the stuff I do, sometimes... This little project is in part just a time-killer, and it's also been an interesting learning experience, even just what I've done so far. I think I'd like to do something like this "for real" at some point, and I think it would require:

1) Good input from the players. Like, better input before I start than I can usually manage before we're actually at the table for the first session... (But that's a recurring complaint of mine.)

2) Time, and time management. I think I'd want a month or so to work on stuff after getting a good idea of what sort of stuff the players wanted to do, and I'd need to set a strict schedule of what stuff was going to be done by when. And I don't exactly have a great track record of following through on time-management...

3) The expectation of a long-term game. A lot of ideas in this project, and indeed in my work DMing in general, come from my 8+ years of running various groups in my AD&D campaign world in the late 70s through the mid 80s. But I've really rarely had a game last even a year since then. I suppose I could just do the same thing for a single tier, though...

I use a lot of monsters over and over again mostly to maintain a sense of realism. Now the party is 15th level and the goblin riding wolves, level7 monster converted to level13 minion, is below them. I now have a goblin riding wyvern minion at level 17, although my other group, the level10 party, can run into the level 12 monster instead of the minion. The party is trying to wrestle the baronny from a death knight and his goblin/ogre allies. Each dungeon has goblin/ogre elements, but also new level appropiate monsters to challenge. Right now they are about to assault his earthmote castle after helping the rebels fight off the hoard of goblins.

Yeah, it's a concern for me, but I don't know how much of a real issue it would end up being. And I guess that I could always change things if I noticed it was actually a problem.

I do not know if drawing maps before hand that could have multiple uses would work. I was thinking of a generic map you could use for a few different ideas, depending on where the party went. It would save time, but not be as site specific as you would like. I sometimes make generic ruins like a tower or cave that I can use in a pinch. Lately I have been using premade battlemaps Wizards came out with a few years ago and some from newer modules for encounters. I have a map in mind that I use for designing an encounter and all I worry about are the monsters and and modifying that may be needed. I do not know how many times an encounter has happened on the 'kings Road'.

The WotC pre-printed maps (I only have ones from some of the modules) are really great, I kind of wish they'd make more of them as a stand-alone product. Or possibly combined with the dungeon tiles? I know those maps get even more useful when I tack a few tiles on them... The one thing they are less great for (at least the ones I have) is any kind of cave / dungeon setup. Unfortunately those just don't seem to be as generic / multi-use.