Campaign too boring?

[Imperialus]

Sounds like a really cool campaign. I'm assuming you plan on having it develop along more political/role playing lines than a more traditional combat heavy campaign. If so I should probably warn you that the workload for keeping a political campaign interesting is much heavier than one based on a simpler premise such as dungeon hacking or even war. I wouldn't recommend making such an attempt unless you have already gamed with the group for a while and are able to anticipate how the various players will react to the intrigues surrounding them.

Of course with this being a boarder fort it's possible that if you get stuck when it comes to politiking you could have a huge army of (insert favorite badguys here) come rampaging across the boarder and the player suddenly find themselves on the front lines of a war which can be much more straightforward to DM.

 

[DongShenYin]

When in doubt... send in the orcs!

Actually, I pictured the campaign to be late Dark Ages/early Medieval, with the goblin raiders akin to the Roman Legion. When and if the PCs ever get powerful enough, I'll send them to the front lines. Mwahahahahah

 

[Piratecat]

All set on the user name. Carry on!

 

[DongShenYin]

A bajillion thanks!!!!!!

Oooh and I suddenly had a flash of the pantheon--structured like a decadent royal family, with all the internal squabbling and soap-opera drama. That'll make them diametrically opposed to the Roman Legion goblins, who are highly disciplined and deadly serious. Whoo

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

If you're a new DM and are creating the god(s), then I'd suggest only having a handful so that you and the players won't be overwhelmed. Maybe a trifecta: one good, one neutral, one evil. Then you could introduce lesser deities (or demigods) later on (perhaps children of the main gods).

I run a Dragonlance campaign and there are so many deities (over 20) that most of them rarely see the spotlight. It takes a lot of time to work them all into the campaign in any meaningful manner.

 

[DongShenYin]

Oh, I entirely agree... I'm picturing the campaign as taking place with a late dark ages/ early medieval feel, so the gods and goddesses would be more in tune with aspects of nature and survival. In fact, the idea that solidified this for me was the image of the High King organizing a boar hunt among his kin. He'll eventually create the known world out of the boar's carcass. So that'll mean at least a High King, High Queen, Prince and Princess....Gee, I guess they're royalty because they're inbred?

 

[Lord Pendragon]

There's "and his companions" at the other end of that sentence, but I see where you're coming from.

Yes, I noticed the "and his companions" as well, but as a player, I don't like being one of the "lesser roles" in the campaign drama. I'd prefer the story revolve around the group as a whole. Or if not, that each PC is equally significant, and that the various PC-centered storylines are then intertwined. I simply do not enjoy being relegated to a lesser role in the campaign story, which your sentence seemed to indicate was your intent. Not "the campaign will revolve around a group of young knights freshly inducted into the aristocracy" but rather, "the campaign will revolve around a young knight...and his companions." It may be a fine distinction, but for me as a player, it's an important one.

I'm not saying that such a campaign can't work. With the right players, it could work wonderfully. I'm just suggesting that you discuss your intent with the players honestly and openly, so you can determine whether they're okay with the concept, or whether there might be players in your group like myself.

 

[DongShenYin]

I'm not saying that such a campaign can't work. With the right players, it could work wonderfully. I'm just suggesting that you discuss your intent with the players honestly and openly, so you can determine whether they're okay with the concept, or whether there might be players in your group like myself.

Definitely. That's why I'm writing it all out now... to get a feel of the tone and direction of the campaign, as well as explicitly stating what the players would expect from the game.

I like your rewrite, but I don't want to exclusively focus on the knights either. The wizards and priests will have their own agenda too. Is there a way to word it so that everyone feels like a big part of the story?

 

[DongShenYin]

I'm definietly going to do a deity pagan type family for the PCs' homeland... maybe along the lines of Norse myths combined with pre-christian Celtic. Still working on it.

As for the Goblin Legions, I'm thinking monotheism... Maybe even an ancient evil black dragon who's been nursing a grudge against the wizard dragon for millennia. He poses as a god, encourages the goblins to breed like crazy, then equips them with advanced weapons and tactics. Everyone else has forgotten about him, and now he has enough power to summon a continent against grandpa. And everyone else just happens to be in their way. OOPS!

 

[DongShenYin]

Here's my pantheon. Feel free to critique.

High King Chander (The Stag) : hunting, death, home
High Queen Ammure (The Shieldmaiden) : war, the sun, storms
High Prince Loughlin (The Poet) : livestock, stories, oaths
High Princess Miaell (The Wise) : crops, fertility, the moon
High Prince Ushwin (The Beautiful) : mysteries, magic, destiny
High Princess Eldhei (The Greedy) : love, wealth, rivers
High Prince Durrow (The Balanced) : hospitality, justice, duty