Around the World in Eighty Days: A Campaign

[delericho]

It sounds like a fun campaign. It sounds like an even more fun campaign to run with two groups concurrently.

I'd suggest running it for characters of low enough level that magical travel isn't an issue, or at least doesn't totally trivialize the challenge. I'd also suggest it's best run with a setting like Eberron (or with an equivalent level of magic/technology).

 

[Koloth]

One of the reasons the original Verne character was able to pull off the trip was the near universal presence of the British Empire in some fashion almost everywhere along the trip. Or a country(USA) that was at least semi-friendly to the Brits. Unless you are assuming a similar mostly friendly route, very likely the adventurer will wind up dead or captured. Or way behind schedule. Stealth is almost always slow.

Even if the character survives combats, possible any mounts might die. That dragon you paid handsomely to carry you? Too bad random adventuring party 482 shot it out of the sky thinking you were a captured being(Or were just hoping to score some loot). Now your ride is dead and 482 is rather irritated there is no loot. This assumes you survive the attack on the dragon....

A variation would be a race where you have to collect cards to make a hand at predetermined check points. Sort of like a modern poker rally. Less a race where speed is important but more a collection trip.

 

[aco175]

Sounds fun. The need to make 10 places that are different enough with cool things happening can become a set piece. There is a lot of nothing if they are on a ship for many days. This can or cannot be interesting, especially if the rival group is on the same ship and can lead to good roleplay. Having different environments would be cool with a camel race through the desert followed by ice sleds or something.

Movies for inspiration:
Hidalgo- horse racing through the desert.
Call of the Wild- or the other dog one with sled racing through Alaska.
Maverick- The Jodie Foster/Mel Gibson 1994 movie with American West and riverboats and gambling
Maverick Top Gun- In case you feel the need...

 

[jian]

The other thing that made Fogg’s journey possible (or at least much more comfortable and faster than it would have been otherwise) was international banking and the ability to wire himself money regularly along the route.

D&D heroes might have bags of holding stuffed full of cash and items for barter instead. As well as decanters of endless water, magically generated food, and so on.

In the same way as Fogg occasionally found himself unable to access his money, there could be plot points about the PCs’ reliable magical resources being temporarily inaccessible, especially if they’re annoying the GM.

One of the many things I like about the idea is that it takes players out of their fantasy comfort zone of monsters and dungeons and sets them against different challenges such as braving the elements, not speaking local languages or understanding local culture, actually having to navigate (there’s little benefit in turning into a goose if you don’t know where you’re going), and so on. I personally wouldn’t care to monitor their resource management (food, water etc) because that’s not as interesting as them working out how to cross a desert they know nothing about.

 

[GuyBoy]

Back in the late 70s/early 80s, Dragon mag ran a series of articles called "Voyage of the Princess Ark" which told the adventures of an airship navigating/exploring a campaign world (I can't remember which world).
If you can find them anywhere, the series might be useful for ideas.

 

[jian]

Back in the late 70s/early 80s, Dragon mag ran a series of articles called "Voyage of the Princess Ark" which told the adventures of an airship navigating/exploring a campaign world (I can't remember which world).
If you can find them anywhere, the series might be useful for ideas.

That's a very good thought. I'll see if I have the Dragon issues (1990-2, I think) anywhere. I see there's a pdf based on the serial:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/17344/champions-of-mystara-heroes-of-the-princess-ark-basic

Another supplement I might be inclined to use would be Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel (5E) which of course has its own Star-Trek-esque premise but mainly consists of adventures in ersatz versions of Mali, Mexico, Haiti, Thailand, China, the Philippines, Bengal, Sudan, Iran, Venezuela etc., which might be a good structure for the voyage. While there will be lots of "how the heck do we get to X now" type plot, the PCs would probably also be pulled into local adventures a lot ("I'll let you have my guide to get across the desert if you sort out my aurumvorax* problem" type shenanigans).

*Yes, they're eating the local gold mine.