Dungeoncraft - 4th edition style
- Thread starter Delgar
- Start date
Nytmare
David Jose
I think that Hollowfaust was also the place where during a seige where they were horribly outnumbered they figured out how to take one corpse and turn it into three different types of animated undead. A barbed-wire wrapped animated skeleton, a sand and sawdust-filled man-shaped bag of skin, and a lumbering spikes-and-swords-driven-through-its-limbs "meat man."
Part III
Alright so now I that I’ve set the tone for the world in general, I now need to decide on a home base for my players, always keeping in mind Rule #1. Well basically in my mind I’m thinking that there is this one bastion of civilization that is in a rich fertile valley, surrounded by mountains on all sides, with only a single pass in and out of the valley. It makes it a very defensible place, a true bastion of light in the darkness.
I figure that the PC’s will be stationed at the wall, which is basically a stronghold. The wall is what holds the darkness at bay and everyone from the community must give at least 2 years of their life in service. The stronghold itself would be made up of mostly soldiers and support staff (medics, cooks, smiths etc.), which in turn would be supported by the community. The stronghold would be run by a general, appointed by the leader of the community. An interesting feature of the wall is that it has no door or entrance to get to the other side. All movement across the wall is controlled by a pair of large wooden cranes.
The community itself is basically a monarchy. A descendant of one of the heroes that led the people to this safe zone and protected them while the wall was built rules the community. The valley itself has one small town in the center, where much trade and training takes place. However, the valley is dotted with many farming and mining communities. These provide the food and resources needed by the community. The presence of the wall and the strong military force, allows for most of the people to continue on with their day to day lives normally. The community will still use a gold standard, and all taxes are used to support the military. Most people will have very little in terms of luxuries.
Okay at this point I need to come up with a secret based on my stronghold, the wall as well as at a national community level. In addition to that I need to come up with some way or tradition that will make my society seem unique and alive. I’ll leave it here and hope that someone has some good ideas for me. Remember I welcome all comments and suggestions.
Next time I need to tackle these secrets and start thinking about the Religion and what roles that will play in my campaign. Religion is definitely my weak point so any ideas people have for me here will definitely be more than welcome. Let me know what you think of things so far.
Last edited:
Scrollreader
Explorer
Just an aside, and then I'll get back to the main topic of this thread. I highly, highly recommend Hollowfaust if you're interested in making necromancy a bigger part of your game. I don't think it was ever updated to 3.5, and as such, it might be hard to find a copy, but It's worth it. The crunch is unimpressive, and not terribly well edited. The /fluffl/ however, is remarkable. It's an awesome book for necromancy of all kinds, influencing everything from my scary bard (fear effects stack!) performance artist, how I view the Skullstone Archipeligo in Exalted, and much more. It assumes, for the purposes of the book, that Necromancy isn't, necessarily [Evil] by it's very nature, so it may take a bit of tweaking to make it fit with your gameworld (Something as simple as making hollowfaust LE, instead of LN, or something like playing a bit faster and looser with the alignment of spells) Apparently, this will be less of an issue in 4e, anyway.
I wasn't terribly impressed with the Scarred lands setting book, but this book in particular is awesome, and a few of the other more specific setting books (For other major cities in the setting) are well thought out examples of cities built on the ruins of older cities. You might be able to grab them cheap, considering that they're 3.0 books, but even if not, they're worth it.
I wasn't terribly impressed with the Scarred lands setting book, but this book in particular is awesome, and a few of the other more specific setting books (For other major cities in the setting) are well thought out examples of cities built on the ruins of older cities. You might be able to grab them cheap, considering that they're 3.0 books, but even if not, they're worth it.
This is a great thread -- I'm continuously amazed by the creativity of DMs out there. I've undertaken a similar endeavor, constructing a 4E "points of light" campaign following the excellent rules and guidelines found in Ray Winninger's old "Dungeoncraft" articles. I posted it over in the "Plots, Places & Rogues" forums instead of the 4E section. Anyone who is interested can check it out here: 4E Homebrew: Geirwyn.
I plan to follow this thread closely. I suddenly find myself inspired to perhaps pick up the "land of the dead" theme myself once my campaign runs its course. By then the PCs should be halfway through the paragon levels (or perhaps at the doorstep of epic levels). Maybe I can draw some inspiration from the Terminator movies and series in that regard. My campaign is going to feature an invasion of alien monsters at some point. Perhaps in response to this threat, the wizards of a mighty city-state create a powerful army of the dead to guard the city walls. At some point, however, one or more of the dead become sentient. Like the machines in Terminator, the undead create more (and better) undead and wage a war of annihilation on the living races. Of course, these races have already been weakened in their previous battles with alien monsters.
Maybe I could even foreshadow this turn of events, again borrowing from the Terminator world. Because the epic level PCs are turning the tide against the undead armies, a lich lord sends a group of powerful undead back in time to destroy the PCs when they are at a lower level and perceived as helpless. The PCs, still relatively low level and early on in their adventures against the alien-monster threat, are (seemingly randomly) attacked by powerful undead. Only much later in the campaign will they realize the true source of the mysterious "random encounter" with the undead that almost ended in a TPK....
I plan to follow this thread closely. I suddenly find myself inspired to perhaps pick up the "land of the dead" theme myself once my campaign runs its course. By then the PCs should be halfway through the paragon levels (or perhaps at the doorstep of epic levels). Maybe I can draw some inspiration from the Terminator movies and series in that regard. My campaign is going to feature an invasion of alien monsters at some point. Perhaps in response to this threat, the wizards of a mighty city-state create a powerful army of the dead to guard the city walls. At some point, however, one or more of the dead become sentient. Like the machines in Terminator, the undead create more (and better) undead and wage a war of annihilation on the living races. Of course, these races have already been weakened in their previous battles with alien monsters.
Maybe I could even foreshadow this turn of events, again borrowing from the Terminator world. Because the epic level PCs are turning the tide against the undead armies, a lich lord sends a group of powerful undead back in time to destroy the PCs when they are at a lower level and perceived as helpless. The PCs, still relatively low level and early on in their adventures against the alien-monster threat, are (seemingly randomly) attacked by powerful undead. Only much later in the campaign will they realize the true source of the mysterious "random encounter" with the undead that almost ended in a TPK....
Wolv0rine
First Post
Suggestion (National Community Level): In truth, the community it NOT ruled by a descendant of said hero, although nearly everyone thinks their ruler is a descendant of their greatest hero and idol. In truth, the hero who lead them to the valley and played the largest role in the survival of the people who began the community fell to the undead, and rose himself shortly before the wall was finished.Delgar said:
Suggestion (Stronghold): The undead hero is, in fact, kept in a sub-basement dungeon level of the stronghold. After he fell and rose again, those he had saved couldn't bring themselves to kill him. Instead, they concocted the myth of his ruling heir (knowing that the community practically worshiped him, and would all agree to whoever they picked to rule under this falsehood) while secretly building a prison to keep him. They couldn't bring themselves to kill their savior, or release him, and so the descendants of those who took over after he rose have tended the mad undead creature all this time in secret.
Let the players do some of the heavy lifting. No matter the setting or story, there are two things you can do to make your life easier as a DM and at the same bring your players deeper into the story:
1) Hooks
When you talk about hooks, I'd suggest going the personal route. Each character should have a personal tie to what's going on. Something not necessarily known by the other characters (but I recommend staying away from hooks that put the characters at opposition unless you and your players are very skilled, don't take things personally, and are ALL interested in such a campaign). The easiest way to get this going and draw in the player is to have each character write up a back story with one to three elements. Emotional elements (something that ties the character to one or more people, places, or things) and mystery elements (an event that had a true impact on the character that has some kind of unknown to it) are the most useful.
EXAMPLE: "My name is Loric, and I am the son of a local bartender. I grew up in this bar, where my father taught me the trade along with a tolerance for drunken patrons. While my parents fought on occasion, as most couples do, this weekend was different. The shouting rattled the windows and the sounds of splintering wood caused great concern amongst myself and my two sisters. The next morning, everything seemed back to normal, but that evening the strangers came. A man roughly the age of my father came to the bar with his daughter - an unusual thing, even for this sometimes seedy place. The man ordered a Scarlet Nip - no kind of drink I had ever heard of, but father seemed to take something from the words, nodded, and went into the back room. My mother came out and escorted the girl away. Late that evening, there was another argument as loud as the one before. Again, the crashing and shouting came, but this time it stopped all at once and my father snuck into my room. He drug behind him a large two-handed sword - the one he had always kept behind the bar. The one I would sneak out and swing around when he wasn't looking - back when I still wanted to be like him. This evening he handed me the sword, coated in blood.
"Take this," he said to me, "and head to Crystalmir. You must hurry." There was urgency in his voice and tears in his eyes. A noise came from the room behind us. He turned for a quick glance, then his eyes moved straight back to me. "To Crystalmir - the city is about 8 days southwest by horse." He dropped a bag of silver in my hand. "Look for a tavern there called the Swinging Dragon. Find the barkeep and tell him you are Kethirian. If he doubts you, show him the blade." A crash came from outside the window and another from down the hall. "Hurry," he said, "I... we will meet you there soon."
My name is Kethirian. Ten years have past, and I still work in a tavern. This eve, a stranger and his daughter come to the counter. I pull the sword I've kept all these years from under the bar, and I know I may not return. Not without my sisters.
Only three short paragraphs which give the DM several things to play off of. Here are 7, just to name a few:
1. What happened to his parents?
2. Why did he have to flee?
3. Who were the strangers coming to the inn? Are the new strangers the same as the old ones?
4. Who is Kethirian and why did his father hide his original name?
5. He used to look up to his father, but now... he's not so sure what to make of him.
6. He longs to see his family again.
7. The sword is some kind heirloom (possibly magical) and a symbol of his father and his family.
Now when you need a previously unknown NPC leader of the bad guys (the daughter of the man who came to the tavern), a victim of an evil necromancer (Kethirian's twin sisters), and punishment for getting caught and imprisoned (the bbeg, corrupt mayor, etc. takes his father's sword), you can reach into the player-written backgrounds. Not only does it make your job a little easier, but the players will feel much more motivated as they themselves have created some of the cast and the motivations themselves.
2) Plot Twists
Coming up with a good plot is hard enough. Coming up with compelling plot twists is often even more difficult. If you don't have a real gift for such things, or are just going through a dry spell, try tapping into your players again. Take your zombies, humanoids, or whatever and have them do something that otherwise doesn't make much sense. They assault the village, then suddenly stop. Have the players discover something out of the ordinary. They finally make it into the den of the beasts and discover a giant black orb. It is cold to the touch, and gelatinous, though you can't seem to pull any part of it away from the whole. Every 7 minutes it makes a humming noise for 7 seconds. Have them come into contact with mysterious people. As they enter into the temple to pray during the weekly services, they notice a man in white satin robes leaving the priest's chambers. His robes have two crescent moons reflected upon each other on his chest, embroidered in gold. As he leaves, he nods in the direction of one of the player characters (pick one at random or one where this character might fit into their back story), then heads out. When the priest enters the main hall for services, he is visibly sweaty and appears nervous. He will not reveal anything to the players at this time.
So, why did the creatures stop attacking the town? What is that black orb? Who was the man leaving the private rooms in the temple? You don't have to know yet. You can attach some of these things to the character back stories. You can figure it out later as you go. Best yet is that you can listen to your players. If they're into the story, they'll be tossing about their own ideas. Listen carefully and you'll probably hear some really interesting possibilities that you can bend into a real story.
1) Hooks
When you talk about hooks, I'd suggest going the personal route. Each character should have a personal tie to what's going on. Something not necessarily known by the other characters (but I recommend staying away from hooks that put the characters at opposition unless you and your players are very skilled, don't take things personally, and are ALL interested in such a campaign). The easiest way to get this going and draw in the player is to have each character write up a back story with one to three elements. Emotional elements (something that ties the character to one or more people, places, or things) and mystery elements (an event that had a true impact on the character that has some kind of unknown to it) are the most useful.
EXAMPLE: "My name is Loric, and I am the son of a local bartender. I grew up in this bar, where my father taught me the trade along with a tolerance for drunken patrons. While my parents fought on occasion, as most couples do, this weekend was different. The shouting rattled the windows and the sounds of splintering wood caused great concern amongst myself and my two sisters. The next morning, everything seemed back to normal, but that evening the strangers came. A man roughly the age of my father came to the bar with his daughter - an unusual thing, even for this sometimes seedy place. The man ordered a Scarlet Nip - no kind of drink I had ever heard of, but father seemed to take something from the words, nodded, and went into the back room. My mother came out and escorted the girl away. Late that evening, there was another argument as loud as the one before. Again, the crashing and shouting came, but this time it stopped all at once and my father snuck into my room. He drug behind him a large two-handed sword - the one he had always kept behind the bar. The one I would sneak out and swing around when he wasn't looking - back when I still wanted to be like him. This evening he handed me the sword, coated in blood.
"Take this," he said to me, "and head to Crystalmir. You must hurry." There was urgency in his voice and tears in his eyes. A noise came from the room behind us. He turned for a quick glance, then his eyes moved straight back to me. "To Crystalmir - the city is about 8 days southwest by horse." He dropped a bag of silver in my hand. "Look for a tavern there called the Swinging Dragon. Find the barkeep and tell him you are Kethirian. If he doubts you, show him the blade." A crash came from outside the window and another from down the hall. "Hurry," he said, "I... we will meet you there soon."
My name is Kethirian. Ten years have past, and I still work in a tavern. This eve, a stranger and his daughter come to the counter. I pull the sword I've kept all these years from under the bar, and I know I may not return. Not without my sisters.
Only three short paragraphs which give the DM several things to play off of. Here are 7, just to name a few:
1. What happened to his parents?
2. Why did he have to flee?
3. Who were the strangers coming to the inn? Are the new strangers the same as the old ones?
4. Who is Kethirian and why did his father hide his original name?
5. He used to look up to his father, but now... he's not so sure what to make of him.
6. He longs to see his family again.
7. The sword is some kind heirloom (possibly magical) and a symbol of his father and his family.
Now when you need a previously unknown NPC leader of the bad guys (the daughter of the man who came to the tavern), a victim of an evil necromancer (Kethirian's twin sisters), and punishment for getting caught and imprisoned (the bbeg, corrupt mayor, etc. takes his father's sword), you can reach into the player-written backgrounds. Not only does it make your job a little easier, but the players will feel much more motivated as they themselves have created some of the cast and the motivations themselves.
2) Plot Twists
Coming up with a good plot is hard enough. Coming up with compelling plot twists is often even more difficult. If you don't have a real gift for such things, or are just going through a dry spell, try tapping into your players again. Take your zombies, humanoids, or whatever and have them do something that otherwise doesn't make much sense. They assault the village, then suddenly stop. Have the players discover something out of the ordinary. They finally make it into the den of the beasts and discover a giant black orb. It is cold to the touch, and gelatinous, though you can't seem to pull any part of it away from the whole. Every 7 minutes it makes a humming noise for 7 seconds. Have them come into contact with mysterious people. As they enter into the temple to pray during the weekly services, they notice a man in white satin robes leaving the priest's chambers. His robes have two crescent moons reflected upon each other on his chest, embroidered in gold. As he leaves, he nods in the direction of one of the player characters (pick one at random or one where this character might fit into their back story), then heads out. When the priest enters the main hall for services, he is visibly sweaty and appears nervous. He will not reveal anything to the players at this time.
So, why did the creatures stop attacking the town? What is that black orb? Who was the man leaving the private rooms in the temple? You don't have to know yet. You can attach some of these things to the character back stories. You can figure it out later as you go. Best yet is that you can listen to your players. If they're into the story, they'll be tossing about their own ideas. Listen carefully and you'll probably hear some really interesting possibilities that you can bend into a real story.
Ah okay I think you misunderstand what I'm doing here and that's okay because I'm open to all sorts of advice.
What I'm doing right now is just laying down the bare bones framework for my game to begin. I plan on most definately having the players give me hooks to work with as well. I can even work there hooks into stuff I've already created and probably will.
But what I'm doing here is following Ray Winninger's advice on how to come up with a game world for my players to adventure in. Once I'm done designing the bare bones, I'll have several secrets that can be unfolded through their adventures, in addition I'll have enough information to give them a handout that describes the type of world they're living in. That way they have some information to come up with a reasonable begining.
But yes hopefully the players will give me all sorts of juicy hooks that I can scre...err use agains...hmm that will give me more ideas.
What I'm doing right now is just laying down the bare bones framework for my game to begin. I plan on most definately having the players give me hooks to work with as well. I can even work there hooks into stuff I've already created and probably will.
But what I'm doing here is following Ray Winninger's advice on how to come up with a game world for my players to adventure in. Once I'm done designing the bare bones, I'll have several secrets that can be unfolded through their adventures, in addition I'll have enough information to give them a handout that describes the type of world they're living in. That way they have some information to come up with a reasonable begining.
But yes hopefully the players will give me all sorts of juicy hooks that I can scre...err use agains...hmm that will give me more ideas.
DSRilk said:
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