What Can Be Found In Every One of My D&D Campaigns

[Stormborn]

Constructs, I try not to do it, but inevitably there they are.

Shadowy Conspiracies that draw the players in but they never really fully understand whats going on, sometimes even not after its over.

Angelic or Demonic agents working in the mortal realm. Typically the source of magic, often part of the aforementioned conspiracy, often with tangled bloodlines and unknown mortal decendents.

Detailed religion, its a professional hazard.

 

[Bardsandsages]

There are certain things that will always occur. It's sort of a running joke.

The party at some point will have to get on a ship, and the ship will sink. (I just really like sinking ships, I don't know why. Some sort of a complex, I guess).

There will be a kobold, and he will be adopted by the party. The kobold thing, however, is not really my fault. Sure, I do introduce kobolds as various NPCs, but the party always develops an attachment to one for some reason and decides to keep it (like it's a puppy or something!). Even forcing the party to share XP with the NPC doesn't dissuade them. They've even paid good money to get "their" kobold rezzed when it died.

 

[DestroyYouAlot]

Ooh, I forgot one thing:

Adventures... In the 3rd dimension!!!

Seriously, I have acquired a reputation for large set piece battles that heavily utilize vertical movement and elevation. Usually there are two or three different "views" of the battleground sketched out on battlemats - top-down, and one or two "side-views." The one in particular that everyone remembers was roughly inspired by the Moria chase scene in Fellowship of the Ring, with a large chasm, and a massive free-standing stone stair running from top to bottom. Throw in a group of kobolds (with sorceror) laying in wait in a side cavern (having been chased off by the PCs earlier), a clutch of darkmantles, and a PC sorceror casting spider climb, and it was an extremely memorable battle, resulting in a PC death that was (unanimously) described as "worth it."

Not something for every day, but well worth the time planning and playing it out, once in a while.

 

[Emirikol]

Darfari Cannibal Cults of Yog!!!

see picture

jh

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

Prehistoric beasts as monsters or even "mundane" animals. Not dinosaurs, but usually mammals or therapsid reptiles.

Undead. I love the dead.

Adventures that tie into the over-arching storyline. I'm a sucker for a long campaign (DM'd a 2e campaign for 10 years, played in a DC Heroes campaign that lasted that long).

The Gnomish Mafia.

OH...and the Sandy Jackboot. I can't take credit for it, but this bar/tavern/inn has been in every campaign or game system we've ever run. Most recently in a Star Wars d20 game.

 

[Pbartender]

I have three things that show up not just in D&D, but in every RPG campaign I run...

Crazy Zeke: Crazy Zeke is the guy who always shows up when the PCs need a wilderness guide. He's always a scrawny, grizzled old man who always knows the local area like the back of his hand, and he's always... well... crazy. If you can imagine a shorter, skinner Jack Palance, then you've got a good idea of what Crazy Zeke's like.

The Rotgut Saloon: The Rogut Saloon is my every-setting version of the Mos Eisley Cantina. Despicable patrons, grim bartenders, jangling music and bad booze in dirty glasses.

Roe Beer: Beer made from fish eggs... Salty... Fishy... Beer.

Very often, the PCs end up running across all three at the same time... They need someone to guide them to the Evil Lair, and they're directed to Crazy Zeke drinking Roe Beer in the Rotgut Saloon.

 

[Kid Socrates]

Oh, that's right.

* Trash Talker. Trashy is an homage to a past player of mine who played a surly chain-smoking hateful Nosferatu in a Vampire: The Masquerade game back in high school. Trashy hated everything and everyone but ended up doing the right thing all the time, just yelling and screaming the whole way. He was only in a one-shot, but left a huge impression. Since then I have run some D&D games and a Final Fantasy homebrew, and I've always had Trash Talker as a member of an information network who talks in a scratchy voice, insults the characters, demands exorbitant payment, but never withholds information. His current incarnation is as a moogle.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

War. Nearly every campaign is shaped by an armed conflict that is taking place. It may be purely background, or it may be the central theme of the game. But war is a constant.

Politics. Humans and humanoids are social creatures, and with society comes politics. Sometimes the PCs are directly involved, but more often they hear about it, or talk about it, or are hired by the participants.

Secret Societies. Some are good, some are evil, and others are an excuse for the men folk to get away from home of an evening. Some of the organizations that people think are good are actually the black hats, and some of the obvious black hats are actually only wearing dark grey. And some of the excuses of an evening have members that are not what they seem to be (but are still trying to get away from home once in a while...).

Improving Technology. Not in a big way, but some minor thing will be improved - from the spread of the mild board plow to elevation screws on cannon. And when I can I link the improvements (I really, really liked Burke's Connections series).

Ships. And often sea battles. It seems a common theme for many.

Disasters. Like War disasters happen. The PCs may hear of an earthquake happening far away, or they may be there when the towers tremble to the footsteps of an angry earth. And in a world with magic and active gods there can be some, ummm, interesting disasters...

Religious and Racial Conflict. Sometimes tied to War and sometimes Politics. People are people, and some things are inevitable. Add active gods to the mix and things can get really messy.

Hidden Themes. Not all the driving themes for a campaign, no matter how short a campaign, are out in the open. But the PCs will slowly come to realize that they are there.

The Auld Grump
*EDIT* Oooh, a biggy that I forgot -
Battles in Precarious Areas. Rooftops, ledges, the deck of a tossing ship, where a failed balance roll can spell doom as the character plummets to his death. (And yes, I have had climactic battles where the villain fails his Balance roll... it is not just the PCs who risk death in those circumstances.) I had one where the villain actually caught the falling hero (a PC), and held on to him to keep him from death... then the first PC up the stair decided to backstab the villain before seeing what he was holding onto so desperately. 'AAAaaahhh!' *SPLAT* The villain was redeemable, the backstabbing PC on the other hand....

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Mystery and conspiracies.

 

[The Grackle]

A Prison Break: Either PCs breaking out themselves, or springing NPCs.

Pigs: Giant pigs, pig men, pig monsters, or pig riders. I have no idea why.

Evil Cult:

Temples/Churches:

Backstory/history: Not that the PCs ever bother to look into it, but it's there.

Rivals Nothing spurs a group on like a bunch of conceited jerks to compete with. They can't just kill them, they actually have to outdo them.