First campaign minimal resources, where to start

[Arbanax]

Hi all

as a result of a great number of helpful posters I got off to a good start planning my first 4e campaign with a new group of players tomorrow.

But if all goes well, this first adventure will be but a start into a longer series maybe a campaign. With limited resources (cash and time) what scenarios are out there that might help form a good basis to a campaign (bearing in mind pre published adventures can be a real headache if they can't be run well straight out of the box) and what resources for battlemaps are there also?

I'm planning on using existing artwork for miniatures, have got a months subscription to DDI and have had a look at some of the dungeon adventures, but the big problem with them seems to be some are just rubbish, or if they do run well, its getting good enough images to print out as battlemaps.

So suggestions and or links would be helpful, if anyone can recommend something for starting characters through to say 10th level.

Thanks

Ab

 

[Aegeri]

I would honestly go with HS1 if you want the basis. It's updated with MM3 stat blocks, so it's super easy to read and figure out what monsters do at a glance. It lacks fiddly monsters anyway, so it's really nice to run and presents several - relatively non-linear problems to be solved by the PCs (like sneaking into a town). It can easily form the backbone of an entire adventure arc as well. On the other hand it is flawed because at most it will take PCs to level 2, because it's not very long.

Most of Wizards first adventures, I have to concede are not very good. Keep on the Shadowfell is another option. It is long though and has quite a lot of combat encounters - then again that's a decent description of most wizard modules.

For the moment though, especially when you're learning and getting to grips with things so it will be a bit slower anyway, HS1 is a good way of starting. Then go from there. You can expand this out with several chaos scar adventures, like the Shattered Spring and similar (or the Pillar of Skulls, which is pretty fun also).

 

[OnlineDM]

Well, you don't have to use pre-made battlemaps. The "traditional" approach is to use something like a Chessex wet-erase map and just draw maps on it as you go. If you want to print your own, you can use something like MapTool to draw the map as you wish, save it as an image file, format it to a one-inch per square scale and then use PosteRazor to print it out on regular paper that you can tape into a poster (that's what I did for my most recent in-person game).

As for particular adventures to recommend, if you're looking for something to go all the way to 10th level you're probably looking for a full campaign like War of the Burning Sky or the H1-H2-H3 adventures from Wizards of the Coast (Keep on the Shadowfell - Thunderspire Labyrinth - Pyramid of Shadows). My advice is to pick something that seems a little interesting to you but then just use it as inspiration, not a program of exactly what the party will do at any given time. I'm doing that with War of the Burning Sky right now, and going my own way has made it way more fun.

Of course, you can also feel free to use some of the Dungeon adventures that look good to you, link a few together, and see what happens. You don't have to have a full campaign planned out from day 1, and I personally think it's better to have an idea of what will happen in the next couple of sessions but to let things develop naturally from there.

Good luck with the new campaign!

 

[mps42]

After this post, I may be your new favorite person...

For a few decent adventures, check out 4eyes.code66.se They have several short adventure paths to get your campaign started. Also, you could try WOTC own Scales of War campaign (what I am running) which has been decent so far.
For maps, you can't beat rpglife.com. They literally have dozens to hundreds of maps you can use all or part of. Also, with a little time and work, you can make your own custom Dungeon Tiles. The Gimp is a decent graphics program (free) or Paint Shop Pro is good as well (what I am using). You can get tile images online from Crooked Staff Productions (nice) or make your own, then either print it onto cardstock (relatively cheap at Walmart or most office stores. You could also print and glue to paperboard (what I am doing) or chipboard sheets. I do recommend something similar to a chessex mat as well for those areas that just don't work with dungeon tiles (like caves).
If you are not adverse to making tokens for monsters (what I am doing) you can get chipboard circles in 1", 2", 3" and 4" diameters at most local craft stores. Using WOTC miniature images and Token tool from rptools.net you can print out a custom token for each monster for about $0.15 each.
For DMing tools and advice, other than the ENworld boards, Check out Dungeonmastering.com

So there you go. Those ideas and resources should give you lots to work with!

GAME ON!

 

[Arbanax]

Thanks guys once again proving why the en world boards are just the best, thank you all

Game on indeed!

Ab.

 

[ourchair]

If you're really on a budget, there are ways around spending. I would know, I live in an economically depressed Third World country!

Since I commute a lot, I always have enough spare coins to represent monsters and I have about 20 minis that may not accurately represent a hero, but suffices for most character configurations. (The Rogue is a 'Mandalorian Warrior' mini, while the Polearm Fighter is a staff-wielding armored Mage Knight soldier) Having about 30 coins is more than enough for most encounters.

For grids, I took a single letter/A4 page and printed out an 8x10 1-inch grid on it (minimal margins) and took it to a copy shop and photocopied it like 50x. I draw my maps on the fly for each encounter, which is easy if you've already thought about what you are going to do.

Sticky notes can be useful for a lot of things. I keep a handy dandy stack to throw around for condition marking, HP tracking and even creating 'tents' on maps.