Campaign-Related Questions

[zhouj]

I am in the midst of creating a campaign setting. I have several questions to ask.
1) What kind of shops, buildings, homes, public works, exotic residences, exotic buildings, landmarks, etc. could exist in a city (assume that the city can contain any building you can think of)?

2) Which is better; pre-made plot line with adventures or make an adventure as the campaign progresses?

3) How large should the campaign setting be; i.e. continent, large portion of a planet, an entire planet, etc.?

4) What restrictions do you think I should apply on the availability of items, potions, weapons, goods, and other stuff?

5) Should I determine geographic features, roads, and famous landmarks before I create adventures or as I create them?

6) Should I draw a intricate mapping of the campaign setting?

7) Should I supply the PC's with any information about the campaign setting beyond the basics?

8) Should I make copies of the map and give it to each player?

9) Should I determine any major NPC's that the PC's will eventually encounter before I create the adventure or as I create the adventure?

10) Finally, should the campaign consist of more dungeons and less wandering and searching or vice versa?

Thanks in advance for any help I receive!

 

[Crothian]

All of this is up to the DM. It all depends on what you and your player are comfortible with. There really are no right or wrong answers.

 

[zhouj]

All of this is up to the DM. It all depends on what you and your player are comfortible with. There really are no right or wrong answers.

There is a tangible answer to question 1 and I don't think it really depends on the DM or players.

 

[Nightfall]

I'm with Crothy on this. It's really up to you as the DM to decide if there are a lot of various shops, public and private residences, characters, the size of your world, and so on. What ever you feel the most comfortable with is the best way to work it.

 

[Crothian]

There is a tangible answer to question 1 and I don't think it really depends on the DM or players.

Not really. What setting are you in? What level of technology exists? Take a look at london 1500AD and the buildings there. It is very different from the buildings of Rome in 100BC, which is different from the villages of the Goths. All three of these are fine setting for a fantasy campaign. All are very different.

Perhaps if you need these questions answered it would be better to go with a pre made setting.

 

[zhouj]

While I have compiled a list of answers for most of the questions, I am asking for other people's general opinions on this. My players' only real request is that I keep the campaign from becoming a exclusive "kick in the door" style of play. I am new to the process of creating campaign settings so I would prefer the opinion of others who are more experienced at this.

 

[JDragon]

I agree with Crothian and....

I agreee with Crothian, that these questions are mainly up to the DM. (and players since it is their game too)

Just a couple other thoughts for you as I have been going through this myself recently.

First check out the Dungeon Craft articles from Dragon on Wizard's site. They are not the end all in world building but can give you a good direction to start in and make your life easier.

As for ? # 1, what ever you want.

For #2, it depends on what kind of campaing you want. The primary DM for my group likes to run epic style games. (I've lost count of how many times we've saved the world in the 6+ years I've been part of the group) So to this end he writes (outlines) the final battle/game first and then takes a step back to see what needs to be done to give the party a fighting chance in the final battle. Then he outlines the plot points he needs to cover throughout the campaign and writes each game with the notes in mind prior to each session. (he has the advantage of a world hes developed over 8+ years of gaming)

For my current campaign, I took a basic iead, mapped out the small area (2 towns, a small city and large forest area) it was going to take place in, and had the party start as militia members in one of the towns. THis wayt I have only detailed what I need to know, for the coming game and the normal possible ?'s the players may have about the area.

Beyond that for most of your other ?'s I would just have an idea of what you want to do or who/what the party mind find and detail/change it as needed.

Because remember, no matter what you think of and how well you cover the bases, your players will come up with something to F*&^ up your well planned game. SO if you don't have it writen they can't screw it up.

JDragon

PS. Last thought I promise.... also when you leave it open you can easily encorporate the ideas of your players.

 

[zhouj]

Not really. What setting are you in? What level of technology exists? Take a look at london 1500AD and the buildings there. It is very different from the buildings of Rome in 100BC, which is different from the villages of the Goths. All three of these are fine setting for a fantasy campaign. All are very different.

Perhaps if you need these questions answered it would be better to go with a pre made setting.

You can infer from the D&D weapons and culture and classes that its the pre-gunpowder era medieval era most likely in Western Europe with of course the addition of magic.

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

Re: I agree with Crothian and....

First check out the Dungeon Craft articles from Dragon on Wizard's site. They are not the end all in world building but can give you a good direction to start in and make your life easier.

Eh, they're alright, but I really think they should have shown how to make something a little more useable than a land-of-the-lost dinosaur jurassic park world. But I digress.

If you can find a copy of it, I reccomend the "Campaign Sourcebook and Catacomb Guide" from 2nd edition. I found their world-building tips to be pretty useful.

 

[Crothian]

You can infer from the D&D weapons and culture and classes that its the pre-gunpowder era medieval era most likely in Western Europe with of course the addition of magic.

But not everyone plays in that type of setting. Far be it for me to make assumptions on what you are thinking for a campaign. But to try to help out I'll answer your questions as I see them. This is highly of my opinion so take it with a few grains of salt.

1) What kind of shops, buildings, homes, public works, exotic residences, exotic buildings, landmarks, etc. could exist in a city (assume that the city can contain any building you can think of)?

It depends on the city. Capitals will have a lot of governement building and shop districts, but smaller cities will be much more basic. I havea supplemnt that has a very complete list of the types of shops that can be found and I use it to help fill out cities.

2) Which is better; pre-made plot line with adventures or make an adventure as the campaign progresses?

I use a large uber plot that is the dorection of the campaign. There will be smaller plots that the PCs may or may not follow as they choose. THe uber plot is hard to ignore. I start with a few planeed adventures to allow the PCs to develope their characters and get used to the game. Around 3rd level they really have freedom of choice to do what they want. But I've played long enough to make them think that the choices they make are the ones they want.

3) How large should the campaign setting be; i.e. continent, large portion of a planet, an entire planet, etc.?

I start with a basic city where the PCs start and develope from there. If characters are from other places, then these are the first that get developed to help with character background. Even after 4 campaign in the same world I only have parts of two continetns and some islands mapped out.

4) What restrictions do you think I should apply on the availability of items, potions, weapons, goods, and other stuff?

This depends on the place the PCs are. I know what products are found and made where in my world and then where and how they are shipped and traded through merchants. I have the government regulate certain items like higher end magic and other dangerous items.

5) Should I determine geographic features, roads, and famous landmarks before I create adventures or as I create them?

I get a do a little of both as time permits.

6) Should I draw a intricate mapping of the campaign setting?

I started with a general map of the countries. I don't see the need for many smaller maps.

7) Should I supply the PC's with any information about the campaign setting beyond the basics?

I try to tell them what the PCs would know and then back it up with rumors. I love rumors. Merchants like to talk and tall tales spread like wildfires. I do prepare unique info for each PC so they all don't know the same information.

8) Should I make copies of the map and give it to each player?

That depends on the PCs. In my old game we did that because everyone had a campaign notebook and took notes on places, events, and NPCs. They were all really into the game and spent time away from game thinking and talking about it. However, most groupos seem to think about the game only on game day, so they put a lot less effort and thought into it.

9) Should I determine any major NPC's that the PC's will eventually encounter before I create the adventure or as I create the adventure?

I develope a few key character ideas like Kings, ruler, and other important players. In a world there exists many different people, so I like to have a large NPC list (players literally need a scopre card) to bring the world to life.

10) Finally, should the campaign consist of more dungeons and less wandering and searching or vice versa?

I like a mix. I find too much of any one thing bad. However, I allow the PCs to really deside. I supply rumors of dungeons and crypts to explore. That way they can choose to do what they want to do on their own time table. I like to allow for as much downtime as the PCs think they need.

I hope this in some way helps.