D&D 5E Looking for help fleshing out a campaign idea...

[atawag]

Hey, everyone. I'm hoping I can get some help with ideas on how to start a new campaign I want to run for my wife and 3 kids. I'm struggling with the opening (actually, ALL of it, ha), so let me explain to you the basic premise and how I hope to have it open up. I am lacking a LOT of details, however, and so ideas are very welcome.

I want to have the campaign set in a remote area, possibly a small town (but bigger than a village) that is located in a valley surrounded by natural obstacles like dense forests and mountain ranges, which makes it easy to cut off from the rest of the world when forest paths become too dangerous or mountain passes get blocked. My basic idea is that something bad has happened, perhaps even cataclysmic, in the world at large and the natural world is sort of reacting like when Scar takes over in The Lion King. In that movie, it doesn't make much sense, but just because the "bad guy" is in charge, the grass dies and the rivers dry up and it is perpetually overcast. I maybe don't want to go to that extreme, but whatever has happened in the wider world has made it so that the natural world seems to be reacting, that crops don't grow as well, that the sun is constantly obscured by clouds, and what's more, the areas around the town are growing more and more dangerous. Dangerous wild creatures are coming closer and closer to town for unknown reasons. People who attempt to reach the outside world never come back, etc. The whole landscape seems to be growing more evil and malevolent.

And so my thought is that the group of adventurers come together to figure out what is going on and if there's any way they can put a stop to it. Something about this that I like is that this cataclysmic event probably doesn't even have anything to do with this remote town. Perhaps some other adventurers failed in their quest to stop The Big Bad in some other area of the world and now these folks are just trying to handle the fallout from that.

And one thought I had on how to start all this up is that in close proximity to the town is a wizard's mansion. But the town never knew about it because the wizard decided to settle in this remote location as a sort of retirement where he could study the stars and continue his arcane research in peace, and so all his holdings were under some sort of cloaking spell so the townsfolk never knew he was there. But then, by whatever means, he realized that this cataclysmic event was coming and he tried to put some sort of shield around the area of the town, or he tried to do something to protect the himself and the people from the cataclysm. And maybe it sapped so much of his power that he was on the brink of death, and with the last of his strength, he sent out a psychic message calling people to him in the hopes that they can do what it takes to protect the town. And perhaps the 4 adventurers were the only ones naturally attuned enough to receive the message in their dreams to seek him out. But having used the last of his power, the wizard passes away and so his "cloak" spell fizzles and his mansion and all his holdings become visible for the adventurers to find.

Now, these are all just incredibly rough ideas. Nothing is sacred, I am willing to change anything. I think there is something good here, but I'm having such a hard time getting a bead on exactly how to formulate all this.

Because one of the things I was also thinking about is not even having the party create their characters until they make their way to the wizard's mansion and they find his notes, or perhaps his ghost, or a recurring memory that delivers a message, or something.... and somehow the wizard, whether himself or though some artifact he left behind, imbues some power into the adventurers which explains why they are able to level up and gain magical powers and spectacular abilities inherent to DnD adventurers and such.

Again, I realize this is like a cat's hairball of ideas. What do you think of some of these ideas in terms of a basis for a larger story? My basic idea was that in the early stages of the campaign, the party would simply be clearing out and "cleansing" certain areas close to town. I'm not sure in what manner the "cleansing" would happen, but it'd be kind of cool if their progress was noted by brighter skies or the immediate surroundings of the town becoming safer. I want the party to see their exploits having an effect on the people of the town.

Does this inspire any ideas in you that might fill in the massive gaps I have left open? What ideas might you have? If this was your campaign, what direction would you take it? If you were going to play something with this basic premise, as a player, what would you like to see happen?

Thank you for your help!

 

[Oofta]

Let's start with the basics. You're starting fairly small and then expanding out. Cool. You have a patron for the individuals, also good. That patron could still be alive, could be a ghost, could be a mysterious voice for right now. Maybe what appears to be a ghost and has difficulty communicating at first but is really trapped "between worlds" or in the ethereal plane.

The point is to have someone that can nudge them in the right direction, reward them appropriately and so on. That protector could be just about anyone or anything, I'd consider a druid for the role as well for example.

However, I do think maybe you may be getting ahead of yourself a little bit. For the first few levels, do they really need this patron? Have everyone sit down and figure out why they're a group. Are they related? Did they grow up together? It can be as simple as able-bodied people are expected to help protect the town and they're on patrol together when they get wind of something bigger.

So I'd probably introduce the patron slowly. Maybe just cryptic notes and messages at first. A simple "I saw how you rescued widow McClaine from those wolves, good job" Delivered by a mysterious cloaked figure, a go-between or even just a note. Then tease something bigger "Did you notice that those wolves weren't acting normally?"

Personally I like to figure out a setting and then, after a session or two to introduce the setting, just pay attention to what the players like. Try to set up multiple hooks or options and let them decide what direction they want to go.

I wouldn't worry too much about how and why they level up. Yes they're heroes but you don't necessarily need to explain why they're different. It's kind of expected when playing a game that the players are just special, without any justification necessary.

Last, but not least, it's perfectly okay to leave things sketchy at first. I only plan out a session or two myself with a rough outline of things that are happening. I may have an idea of a great dragon laying waste to the lands, but until the dragon has been confirmed it could be just about anything.

Hopefully that helps, good luck!

 

[aco175]

Welcome to the boards, have some XP- i mean likes now.

 

[prabe]

I've found that the campaign opening that works for me is some variant of "get the characters in the same place at the same time and throw stinky brown stuff at a convenient fan." I think other approaches tend to feel too much as though there's just one possible story. I've never set out to prep more than the session I'm about to run.

I always ask the players for some information on how their characters came to be adventurers. I use that information to start tying things in the campaign to the PCs. Of course, depending on how old your kids are, that might not be a viable solution--worse, it might end up with the younger kids' characters being sidekicks to the older kids'.

 

[aco175]

How long have you played and how long has you wife and kids? What are the kids ages? This may help with some of your schemes. Small kids may not be ready for some great ideas if it is over their head or maturity level and new players may need more structure to the game.

There is some good towns that are already made you can use. Phandalin is good and has a lot of what you need. Another one is from the 4e DMG, Fallcrest- if you have that book. The more you can take from something already made is time you save for plot and such.

I would likely start the campaign off slowly. The first level or two is spent looking at why the river is now dry or what is keeping the caravans with food. There can be minor dungeons and such pointing to a witch or something that people think is causing all the problems. Then, like in Star Wars, Darth Vader is just a lackey for the Emperor. This switch comes in around 5th level after the just defeat what they think in the problem. This now opens the rest of the region up to a larger problem and you can introduce more grand plans.

This may not happen for several nights of play and you should focus most of your energy on the first few levels and minor threats like a forest fire or finding the local druid who blesses the crops. Keep a mind on where you plan to go, but prepare for this week.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

Greetings @atawag!

You mentioned that you are developing this campaign for your family, including 3 kids, but didn't elaborate on the ages of your children. I am going to make some assumptions here, so I may be off base for your group.

Assumptions:
1. You have some children middle or grade school age.
2. Your players are not hardened tabletop RPG players.
3. Your children are videogamers.

With those ideas in mind, I would suggest keeping the core idea of your campaign and changing the setup structure a little bit to ease in newer players who are used to videogames.

1. Keep the idea of the closed off valley where the PCs are from.

2. Keep the idea that a powerful wizard retired to the valley, and that he/she (maybe its a married couple???) is protective of the valley as a whole and its residents.

3. I would ditch the idea of the invisibility and hiding and death of the wizard and instead have them be a friendly source of assistance in the area. When the world goes "dark" and the danger sets in from all sides threatening the valley the wizard now turns to the town for help. Since the wizard is a known friendly this should encourage the town (and players) to want to help both the valley and the wizard.

4. I would set up the campaign as a series of adventures, all focused on expanding out from the valley, saving other areas, and ultimately defeating the BBEG. I am picturing the map from Super Mario Brothers, where the valley is connected to two or three other locations via "roads" and by completing that locations adventure they can unlock ties to other locations. This concrete setup of options and goals will serve to keep your players who are videogame friendly focused on the possibilities of what to do next and give them a good sense of how to progress in the campaign from the very beginning. You can also have random "wandering monster" style adventures and/or encounters as they travel on the roads to and from an unsecured location.

In summary, assuming you are playing with RPG beginners and non-adults I would structure your campaign as a Super Mario Brothers series of branching options over with you lay down your unfolding story.

 

[aco175]

I like the Mario Bros idea and can picture the world with small quests that open branches up. You need to figure out why the river ran dry and fix it so the water can open the gates to the pass into the mountains. The side branch of the mountain pass has a tower with goblins that needs to be dealt with before you can take that path. The other path leads to the neighboring town. In town, if you never clear out the rats in the cellar, the hidden door in the basement will never be revealed. Ect...

 

[JiffyPopTart]

I like the Mario Bros idea and can picture the world with small quests that open branches up. You need to figure out why the river ran dry and fix it so the water can open the gates to the pass into the mountains. The side branch of the mountain pass has a tower with goblins that needs to be dealt with before you can take that path. The other path leads to the neighboring town. In town, if you never clear out the rats in the cellar, the hidden door in the basement will never be revealed. Ect...

This here is EXACTLY the type of structure that I am suggesting.

 

[Imaculata]

Maybe the reason the world has suddenly fallen into chaos, is a sudden change of the climate? Summer suddenly turns into the worst winter the town has ever seen. Crops fail, food becomes scarce, and roads get snowed over. Some animals become desperate for food, while others migrate in search of warmer weather.

 

[Dausuul]

First, I love the setting and I want to play in this campaign.

I would not do the "make characters in isolation" approach. I have never found that to produce cohesive parties. (You're not guaranteed a cohesive party anyway, but you do tend to get better results with a Session Zero.)

I quite like the idea of a dead wizard "patron"--making him dead is very convenient because the PCs can't ask the wizard to solve their problems for them with high-level spells.

As far as the gaps go, the only significant one I can see is the nature of the Great Curse. If I were doing it, I'd start with the following:

• There is some kind of organized, or at least semi-organized, force behind it. This is a source of endless adventure hooks; you can have missions to attack its strongholds, thwart its plans, discover its aims.
• There is a Big Bad, who can be fought and killed as the climax of the campaign, but the Big Bad is well hidden and its identity isn't even known in the early stages. This keeps the PCs from rushing off to be smote by an ultra-high-level foe before they're ready to tackle it (a particular danger with novice players who don't yet grasp the steepness of D&D's power curve).
• The organization works through proxies, bringing local monsters and villains under its sway, rather than sending its own forces. This provides for more variety in opponents.
• Local "vassals" of the organization spread the Curse (perhaps unwittingly) from their strongholds. This creates mini-campaigns, where each stronghold and its leader can serve as a Big Bad for several levels, and the defeat of that Big Bad provides a tangible milestone toward ultimate victory.

Personally, I would probably go with a lich as the ultimate Big Bad. Undead are great for this kind of thing; spreading blight is their whole jam, and you can stuff a dungeon full of them and not have to worry about pesky details like "What do all these predatory monsters, you know, eat?" Plus I love undead. Fiends would also work as a variation on the same theme. Or, if you prefer a little less Game of Thrones and a little more Lovecraft, mind flayers could be slowly twisting the world into a reflection of the Far Realm.