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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 3561842" data-attributes="member: 22779"><p>Before I get started, I have a few disclaimers:</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">1. I am not claiming that this is definitively better than any other approach to campaign design. For me, I think this is better but, certainly, the conventional approach of designing world followed by adventure works. It's worked for years. This is an attempt at creating an alternative approach, not a replacement.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">2. This is a work in progress. The ideas I have in my head have not been tested in play and are not fully formed yet. I will likely contradict myself as time goes on. This does not invalidate my process; it merely reflects a refinement. Also, I will work on this as time permits. Please be patient.</li> </ul><p></p><p>Ok, from the monster thread on <a href="http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=193738&page=1&pp=40" target="_blank">World Building</a> I proposed that instead of the conventional method of designing a campaign of building a world (either top down or bottom up) and then creating adventures to fit in that world, we start with the adventures and then fill in any cracks that need filling later. In that thread I identified what I believe are some salient points.</p><p></p><p>First, to design a 20 level campaign, you need about 8 medium sized adventures plus maybe half a dozen side trek style short adventures. It takes 13 1/3 CR's to gain a level, so, a medium sized adventures, one that takes you 2 levels up, needs at least twice that xp. Note, that doesn't mean twice that many encounters, since many encounters can contain multiple CR's, and encounter doesn't mean combat. The awards can come from combat, role play or whatever. We just need a minimum of 26 2/3 in each. More on this later.</p><p></p><p>Here's the process that I propose:</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Choose a theme.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Begin to work out how that theme will fit into 8 adventures. Very rough, couple of sentences each.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Start creating adventures from the beginning to the end. The process may very well enforce changes in later adventures.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Attempt to create ways for adventures to be recursive. The more able the players are to bounce back and forth between adventures, the better the experience, IMO.</li> </ul><p></p><p>((Note, I know that's really rough, I'll probably add more to that later))</p><p></p><p>Right, so, first off we need a theme. Something that interests you as the DM and you think will interest your players, plus be broad enough that you can carry the theme throughout 20 levels. Recently, I happened to run three encounters with dragons. It was the first time I'd ever really used dragons in 3e and, quite honestly, I hadn't used dragons very much before either. One thing I noticed was that when you drop that dragon mini on the battle map, everyone pays attention. There is a certain cachet of battling the game's namesake that just resonates. </p><p></p><p>For this experiment, I'm going to choose dragons as my theme. Every adventure (or at least most of them) will either feature a dragon or focus on dragons somehow. I could see a side trek adventure being a quest type scenario to grab the Macguffin of Whacking Dragons and that sort of thing. </p><p></p><p>Ok, so, I have my theme. Dragons. Cool. Now I need to sketch out 8 adventures related to my theme. I'm going to save the side adventures for now. They're smaller anyway, so, they don't need to be done right away and, well, I want to give myself some wiggle room later on. Doing a bit of brainstorming, I have come up with these 8 adventures: </p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">((Note, I absolutely suck at giving titles)) 1st. 2 Hatchling dragons (black? Blue?) have recently hatched and are butchering livestock. The PC's are called in to deal with the problem.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">2. The PC's discover that a third hatchling escaped from their hunt and was taken in by a kobold tribe that worships it as a god. The dragon has allowed the kobolds to begin uniting other kobold tribes and they are becoming a serious threat to the area.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">3. After dealing with the third hatchling and his kobold allies, the PC's discover a cabal of druids (?) who collect and protect dragons. This cult sees dragons as the ultimate expression of nature and are experimenting to combine draconic traits with various other species. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">4. The actions of the PC's has attracted the attention of a larger dragon. The dragon sends its assassin minions after the PC's. The PC's must deal with the assassins, and then turn the tables and hunt the dragon down. A possible twist is that the dragon is good? ((Not sure how that would work, but, an idea))</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">5. The PC's discover that the cult is very wide spread. It has fingers in nearly every level of the society. The cultists have begun actively opposing the PC's, attacking their homes while they are away, poisoning attempts, character attacks, etc. The PC's are driven out of their homes and safety nets.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">6. The PC's discover that a triumvirate of dragons control the cult. If they can destroy the three dragons, they can restore their name. The first dragon is a Green hidden in a forest near a large settled area.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">7. After defeating the Green, the PC's move on to a Black whose lair is deep in a swampy area filled with all sorts of nastiness.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">8. The ultimate challenge. Has to be a Red. Preferably near a volcano, because that's just cool. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></li> </ul><p></p><p>There's my campaign. Well, ok, there's the very barest scratch of my campaign. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> Next, I'll actually start working out some of the math needed for the adventure design based on Wolgang Baur's analysis in <a href="http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/arch/ab" target="_blank">the Adventure Builder</a> feature on the WOTC boards. Once I've plotted that out, I'll hopefully actually construct our first adventure.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 3561842, member: 22779"] Before I get started, I have a few disclaimers: [list][*]1. I am not claiming that this is definitively better than any other approach to campaign design. For me, I think this is better but, certainly, the conventional approach of designing world followed by adventure works. It's worked for years. This is an attempt at creating an alternative approach, not a replacement. [*]2. This is a work in progress. The ideas I have in my head have not been tested in play and are not fully formed yet. I will likely contradict myself as time goes on. This does not invalidate my process; it merely reflects a refinement. Also, I will work on this as time permits. Please be patient.[/list] Ok, from the monster thread on [url=http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=193738&page=1&pp=40]World Building[/url] I proposed that instead of the conventional method of designing a campaign of building a world (either top down or bottom up) and then creating adventures to fit in that world, we start with the adventures and then fill in any cracks that need filling later. In that thread I identified what I believe are some salient points. First, to design a 20 level campaign, you need about 8 medium sized adventures plus maybe half a dozen side trek style short adventures. It takes 13 1/3 CR's to gain a level, so, a medium sized adventures, one that takes you 2 levels up, needs at least twice that xp. Note, that doesn't mean twice that many encounters, since many encounters can contain multiple CR's, and encounter doesn't mean combat. The awards can come from combat, role play or whatever. We just need a minimum of 26 2/3 in each. More on this later. Here's the process that I propose: [list][*]Choose a theme. [*]Begin to work out how that theme will fit into 8 adventures. Very rough, couple of sentences each. [*]Start creating adventures from the beginning to the end. The process may very well enforce changes in later adventures. [*]Attempt to create ways for adventures to be recursive. The more able the players are to bounce back and forth between adventures, the better the experience, IMO.[/list] ((Note, I know that's really rough, I'll probably add more to that later)) Right, so, first off we need a theme. Something that interests you as the DM and you think will interest your players, plus be broad enough that you can carry the theme throughout 20 levels. Recently, I happened to run three encounters with dragons. It was the first time I'd ever really used dragons in 3e and, quite honestly, I hadn't used dragons very much before either. One thing I noticed was that when you drop that dragon mini on the battle map, everyone pays attention. There is a certain cachet of battling the game's namesake that just resonates. For this experiment, I'm going to choose dragons as my theme. Every adventure (or at least most of them) will either feature a dragon or focus on dragons somehow. I could see a side trek adventure being a quest type scenario to grab the Macguffin of Whacking Dragons and that sort of thing. Ok, so, I have my theme. Dragons. Cool. Now I need to sketch out 8 adventures related to my theme. I'm going to save the side adventures for now. They're smaller anyway, so, they don't need to be done right away and, well, I want to give myself some wiggle room later on. Doing a bit of brainstorming, I have come up with these 8 adventures: [list][*]((Note, I absolutely suck at giving titles)) 1st. 2 Hatchling dragons (black? Blue?) have recently hatched and are butchering livestock. The PC's are called in to deal with the problem. [*]2. The PC's discover that a third hatchling escaped from their hunt and was taken in by a kobold tribe that worships it as a god. The dragon has allowed the kobolds to begin uniting other kobold tribes and they are becoming a serious threat to the area. [*]3. After dealing with the third hatchling and his kobold allies, the PC's discover a cabal of druids (?) who collect and protect dragons. This cult sees dragons as the ultimate expression of nature and are experimenting to combine draconic traits with various other species. [*]4. The actions of the PC's has attracted the attention of a larger dragon. The dragon sends its assassin minions after the PC's. The PC's must deal with the assassins, and then turn the tables and hunt the dragon down. A possible twist is that the dragon is good? ((Not sure how that would work, but, an idea)) [*]5. The PC's discover that the cult is very wide spread. It has fingers in nearly every level of the society. The cultists have begun actively opposing the PC's, attacking their homes while they are away, poisoning attempts, character attacks, etc. The PC's are driven out of their homes and safety nets. [*]6. The PC's discover that a triumvirate of dragons control the cult. If they can destroy the three dragons, they can restore their name. The first dragon is a Green hidden in a forest near a large settled area. [*]7. After defeating the Green, the PC's move on to a Black whose lair is deep in a swampy area filled with all sorts of nastiness. [*]8. The ultimate challenge. Has to be a Red. Preferably near a volcano, because that's just cool. :)[/list] There's my campaign. Well, ok, there's the very barest scratch of my campaign. :) Next, I'll actually start working out some of the math needed for the adventure design based on Wolgang Baur's analysis in [url=http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/arch/ab]the Adventure Builder[/url] feature on the WOTC boards. Once I've plotted that out, I'll hopefully actually construct our first adventure. [/QUOTE]
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