Help with 4e Forgotten Realms campaign hook

[Ferdil]

Hi, I'm getting close to start a new 4e campaign in a customized Forgotten Realms setting.

The characters are:

• a former sky-pirate (pirate of skyships) (half elf rogue) who seeks vengeance over his second-in-command for the mutiny of his crew;
• a human bard, son of a noble that, after reading books of adventurers and arcane lore, ran away from home to seek adventure;
• an eladrin swordmage who was banished from his homecity for a failed magic experiment, and learned the ways of the swordmage under a master;
• an eladrin mage, that only wants to protect the weak and poor (backstory not made yet);
• a barbarian whose only goal is to fight (backstory still missing)

The story should be about (at least for the epic tier) some magic crystals that are very rare and have begun to appear in random locations in the world after the spellplague; they are used, between other things, to power skyships (the rogue seeks one to build a skyship and get revenge for the mutiny, and other PCs could find use in one as well).

I was also thinking of some minions of a main villain seeking the crystals as well for their master; defeating them should be the main goal of the first adventure.

I am having some problems with the starting point, that is the hook that brings the character together in the first place. I was thinking about having them all in the same city when something happens that makes them stick together, but all I can think of seems forced and/or railroaded.

I am looking for some input by you, the ENworld crowd, about in-character motivations and hooks, and adventure\campaign ideas.

 

[Derulbaskul]

I would start them on the Pirate Isle in the middle of the Sea of Fallen Stars. That way, you're in the centre of a dozen or so countries so it's a lot easier for coming up with a logical reason for why the PC might be starting there.

Anyway, start with something simple. They're checking out the pirates on the Pirate Isle because of reasons from their backstory... and when they realise that they're all checking out the same pirates, albeit for different reasons, they decide to band together. Presto, the party is formed.

I would invent a few different pirate groups in case your players are clever and like to play one faction off against another. Other than that, they're in the middle of a city/island of pirates so there are lots of adventures that present themselves:

- getting their revenge;
- freeing prisoners and/or slaves;
- collecting bounties on notorious pirates;
- exploring evil temples (I would have temples of Cyric and Umberlee on the Pirate Isle);
- exploring ancient ruins (no pirate isle is complete without ancient ruins: toss in an imprisoned primordial and make it even more fun!) and
- escaping the Pirate Isle with pirates on their tails.

Of course, what I have described is essentially a sandbox. As for a plot, perhaps the key thing is working out why each PC is on the Pirate Isle and then build from there.

Here are some suggestions:

- the former sky-pirate is on the trail of his mutinous crew and has found that some of them have joined the Black Pearl Pirates (yes, the name is deliberately lame but it's just a placeholder)
- the human bard discovered a treasure map leading him to the Black Pearl Pirates base;
- the eladrin swordmage's master was taken by Black Pearl Pirates;
- the eladrin mage is tagging along with the eladrin swordmage because he can't stand the idea of slavery; and
- the barbarian is from Rashemen and he was supposed to protect one of the young witches of Rashemen but she got taken by the Black Pearl Pirates.

Anyway, that fills out the basic backgrounds of the characters a bit more and gives them a reason to be on the Pirate Isle together.

I would then throw together a few locations for the Pirate Isle "sandbox" I have sketched out. Perhaps these would do:

- a nasty pub that allows pit fighting (perhaps the mutinous crew could be challenged to a pit fight to the death?);
- the base of the Black Pearl Pirates (basically some warehouses for booty surrounded by a wall and perhaps a small stone building with a dungeon/prison underneath);
- a basic sewer network for encounters with rats, wererats and various oozes and as a way of using the skill challenge mechanic to sneak into the pirate base;
- some really ancient ruins for your more traditional dungeon experience (and perhaps this is where the bard's treasure really leads, but the second half of the treasure map is with the pirates); and
- a temple of Cyric where the Rashemen witch is currently imprisoned awaiting sacrifice on some Cyricist unholy day that is coming up (and you can drop hints about this).

I would also think of some NPCs that might be helpful. Aquatic elves might come in handy, especially if the party rescues an aquatic elf prisoner and returns him to his family.

Suffice to say I think you could have a lot of fun running a Pirate Isle campaign. If you ever run out of inspiration just grab some of Green Ronin's Freeport products and steal ideas liberally.

 

[TarionzCousin]

Maybe you could have the players develop the reason why they decide to form a group. Have them involve each other's characters in their own character's backstories. Get them involved and invested in the game.

 

[Ferdil]

I would start them on the Pirate Isle in the middle of the Sea of Fallen Stars. That way, you're in the centre of a dozen or so countries so it's a lot easier for coming up with a logical reason for why the PC might be starting there.

Anyway, start with something simple. They're checking out the pirates on the Pirate Isle because of reasons from their backstory... and when they realise that they're all checking out the same pirates, albeit for different reasons, they decide to band together. Presto, the party is formed.

I would invent a few different pirate groups in case your players are clever and like to play one faction off against another. Other than that, they're in the middle of a city/island of pirates so there are lots of adventures that present themselves:

- getting their revenge;
- freeing prisoners and/or slaves;
- collecting bounties on notorious pirates;
- exploring evil temples (I would have temples of Cyric and Umberlee on the Pirate Isle);
- exploring ancient ruins (no pirate isle is complete without ancient ruins: toss in an imprisoned primordial and make it even more fun!) and
- escaping the Pirate Isle with pirates on their tails.

Of course, what I have described is essentially a sandbox. As for a plot, perhaps the key thing is working out why each PC is on the Pirate Isle and then build from there.

Here are some suggestions:

- the former sky-pirate is on the trail of his mutinous crew and has found that some of them have joined the Black Pearl Pirates (yes, the name is deliberately lame but it's just a placeholder)
- the human bard discovered a treasure map leading him to the Black Pearl Pirates base;
- the eladrin swordmage's master was taken by Black Pearl Pirates;
- the eladrin mage is tagging along with the eladrin swordmage because he can't stand the idea of slavery; and
- the barbarian is from Rashemen and he was supposed to protect one of the young witches of Rashemen but she got taken by the Black Pearl Pirates.

Anyway, that fills out the basic backgrounds of the characters a bit more and gives them a reason to be on the Pirate Isle together.

I would then throw together a few locations for the Pirate Isle "sandbox" I have sketched out. Perhaps these would do:

- a nasty pub that allows pit fighting (perhaps the mutinous crew could be challenged to a pit fight to the death?);
- the base of the Black Pearl Pirates (basically some warehouses for booty surrounded by a wall and perhaps a small stone building with a dungeon/prison underneath);
- a basic sewer network for encounters with rats, wererats and various oozes and as a way of using the skill challenge mechanic to sneak into the pirate base;
- some really ancient ruins for your more traditional dungeon experience (and perhaps this is where the bard's treasure really leads, but the second half of the treasure map is with the pirates); and
- a temple of Cyric where the Rashemen witch is currently imprisoned awaiting sacrifice on some Cyricist unholy day that is coming up (and you can drop hints about this).

I would also think of some NPCs that might be helpful. Aquatic elves might come in handy, especially if the party rescues an aquatic elf prisoner and returns him to his family.

Suffice to say I think you could have a lot of fun running a Pirate Isle campaign. If you ever run out of inspiration just grab some of Green Ronin's Freeport products and steal ideas liberally.

OMG i expected only a few tips, this is awesome! XP to you
There is only one problem: the skypirate is afraid of the sea since his mother fell down into it from his father's skyship.
One thing: how would you make them meet? In a pub, or directly on the way of the pirate base?

 

[Derulbaskul]

Glad you guys like it. (Frankly, I think the 4E version of Forgotten Realms really has potential as a campaign setting so I'm just pleased to see a positive thread here.)

You could have them meet:

- when they are thrown into a fighting pit in the vicious pub because they look too clean to belong on the Pirate's Isle. That allows you to start the campaign in medias res.
- as they take passage on a ship bound for the Pirate Isle.
- when they take over a pirate ship. Start them in one of the nations bordering the Sea of Fallen Stars and have them band together to capture a pirate ship.
- as part of a group of spies hired by the Simbarch Council of Aglarond to find out what is happening with the pirates of the Pirate Isle (or the government of any of the other nations whose coasts could be the targets of the pirates).

Anyway, a few ideas for you but a lot will depend on your players and their temperament. What would best suit them? Also, what would give them the best motivation to stick with the campaign long-term (assuming you're planning a long-term game)?

 

[DaveW]

Anyway, a few ideas for you but a lot will depend on your players and their temperament. What would best suit them? Also, what would give them the best motivation to stick with the campaign long-term (assuming you're planning a long-term game)?

This is highly important; long term goal for the players. My campaign started by allowing all the players to make their own independent characters, then I'd force them together with the following plot hook, which you are free to steal assuming you read my warnings.

Hook: "Your characters have never met before, and are all new in town on the day of the planned execution of a famous barbarian. However, the barbarian was busted out seconds before he was due to hang, and the perpetrators looked exactly like you. Someone has framed the 'new guys in town' in order to take the heat off their escape. To make matters worse, there's a bounty on your heads, so you have to work together to clear your name."

This made a lot of sense in the context of my campaign, but once this plot was completed, it became difficult for the players to role play their characters staying together; they have no history or common goal, so i'm having to do post-hoc plot surgery in order to give them a reason to adventure together. I'd recommend trying to work your players into a situation where they agree to some kind of common backstory or goal, as was suggested above. Remember your players have their own aims and goals, and won't agree to team up with a group going in the opposite direction.

-Dave

 

[Andramelech]

How they meet

Don't know if this will help, but I used it to good effect this campaign. I basically told the players, "I need to know places you guys would hang out, and if you all choose something in common, I could have you meet there". The players then went on their own discusssion talking about placess they'd hang out, some players changing there's to match other players. No railroading there. They all decided that they'd probably meet up in some kind of underground fighting match. We then figured out that the fighter of the party was actualy a participant.

Often I let the players be the DM for a sec. It works great.

 

[DaveW]

Often I let the players be the DM for a sec. It works great.

This.

Something I've recently started doing is splitting the storytelling up for a personal quest. I take one player aside and we discuss the upcoming game, and make it a personal plotline. But as DM, I only move the NPC's around and act out their personalities. What I did was let my player, who is 'in on it', tell the story. It's up to him how much he tells the other players, and up to them how much they want to ask/believe. No exposition, much more player involvement.

If you visit the D&D website and listen to the second podcast episode 2, Will Wheaton does this very, very well. They're sitting around drinking and at the mention of "the Ambershards", he roleplays a great reaction. You can tell that the other players are a little surprised, but then there's almost an immediate "Ok, I'm cool with this" reaction. If you haven't heard these podcasts, here's the link; bookmark it, because it's a bitch to find through google for some reason. Listening to them gave me a lot of great ideas.

-Dave