I've been thinking about what an "Adventurer's Day" looks like in the Empty Earth.
In typical D&D, the Adventurer's Day involves going into dungeons, fighting bad guys, getting treasure and magic items, returning to town. The goal of a D&D adventurer is usually to get more cool treasure and defeat bigger bad guys.
I think the main objective in the Bugsploration campaign would be
securing the Empty Earth for Bugkind.
Adventurers will typically:
- Travel to a new location
- Identify either...
- What threatens the Bugs living there
- What prevents Bugs from living there
- Use their abilities to solve the problem
Here would be some typical adventure prompts:
Showdown at Cola Springs
Cola Springs, a frontier town built from soda cans, is being harassed by Tarantula Bandits who want the valuable fresh water for themselves.
Inside the Rust Dungeon
The adventurers explore an old truck, fighting the Oilies that have taken it over, searching for Technobits that could help a local community rebuild their windmills.
Battle of the Bad Bricks
The adventurers fight back the Blugos (little blue building-block people) who have taken over the town of Pebble, trying to find the Puppetmaster who is sending out psychic orders.
Mad God of Puddle Lake
The adventurers secure the shore of Puddle Lake, clearing it of Greenfire-warped creatures, such as Frogogs (Orcs & Ogres), Earthwyrms (Ankhegs), and Minnomites (Kuo Toa) who seem to pull magic power from a strange statue (an old overgrown Chia Pet) at the center of the lake.
In order to focus the campaign on
securing the world for Bugkind, I think there needs to be a mechanical reward based in making communities safe.
Maybe safe communities would unlock sorts of Feats, or magic items, or proficiencies for the characters? Maybe new Downtime Activities?
If we really want to get crazy, securing communities could grant Ability Score Improvements! Now
that would be a real carrot for adventurers to secure the territory!
I could also use some of the Stronghold Feats from Level Up as inspiration.
Another idea could be that safe communities unlock new places to explore. This is a big world full of dangerous animals. Bugs that wander too far from civilization get eaten by birds, bats, and lizards, battered by strong winds, beaten down by rainfall... This campaign could involve a "living map" that grows when communities are secured.
These are some interesting ideas here! I might want to create a little Community Generator that has brief descriptions of the place, its features, and the threats facing it.
Speaking of threats, in my next post I plan to detail the
forces from other realms that threaten the Bugkind of the Empty Earth!