D&D 3E/3.5 Knightfall's Interactive v.3.5 SH Campaign Concept

[Knightfall]

I have a strange idea.

I've been thinking about writing a new story hour. The story would be based on the plot line of an RPG adventure, but it wouldn't be a PbP. I'd create the protagonists, and I'd write the story based on the roll of dice.

The interactive part would be that people can chime in on a related thread and give suggestions of what the characters might do to resolve scenes. However, I'll actually decide what actually happens.

Therefore, the concept will sort of be like those old adventure books where the reader picks the direction that the story goes. The format isn't written in stone, however, and as the personalities of the characters develop, I'll be less inclined to be influenced as to the characters' actions.

What do people think of this idea?

KF


NOTE: I originally had a thread for this in one of the PbP forums. It wasn't the right place for it, so I decided to replicate that thread here. All the posts up until the point of my reply to Dandu's comment are originally from that thread.

 

[Knightfall]

The Setting
While I have several homebrewed worlds, I'm think that there won't be a set world for this experiment. I might use some of the 4e deities, but the rules system I use won't be 4e. I'll be using D&D v.3.5.

The story will start small. Therefore, there won't be a huge world view. Instead, I'm thinking a wild region with plenty of dark forests, windswept plains, and rugged hills. There will one city in the region and it will be a small city, at best.

For now, it is only known as The City.

There are half a dozen towns in the region but only a few of them will be under the protection of The City. The other towns will be isolated forts surrounded by tiny hamlets. Those that rule the fort towns do so with a heavy hand. Mercy is for the weak.

The towns allied to The City have it a bit better. The sheriffs must answer to the Lord of the City. He has a good heart but is beset on all sides by schemers. Nobility is rarely a virtue in The City or its allied communities. The Lord must appease the Nobles, but he has the right to veto any petition. While the Nobles direct The City's knights, the Lord appoints the town sheriffs and controls the militia.

Beyond the borders of the human lands are the domains of elves, dwarves, gnomes, orcs, goblins, kobolds, etc. These other races are close neighbors, but they are set apart from humanity. Half-elves are rare but not unheard of. Half-orcs are very rare. Halflings, on the other hand, live amongst the human communities.

It into this setting that the heroes are born.

 

[Knightfall]

Here's the first interactive part of the story...

What should I call The City?

1. Cel
2. Maribar
3. Geddy
4. Wrand
5. Foxhaven

Or... suggest a name.

 

[Knightfall]

The Heroes
Here's my first thoughts on the makeup the party...

Two male characters
Two female characters

Two humans
A halfling
A half-elf

Wizard, Fighter, Rogue, Cleric

The characters will start out at 1st-level. One character is noble born. One character grew up on the street. The two other characters grew up together in a rural community.

Two will be good.
Two will be neutral.

 

[Dandu]

I do not wish to discourage you, but I have not seen this sort of thing turn out well, for presumably the same reasons that products designed by a committee are usually rather bad.

Edit: Gosh darn to heck...

 

[Knightfall]

The First Adventure
I've decided to use adventures from DUNGEON Magazine for this little experiment. I'm not concerned about whether or not an adventure is for v.3.5 or not. I'll be able to convert things on the fly. Besides, dice rolls won't be paramount in this process. I'm more concerned with the evolving storyline.

After looking through an online DUNGEON Magazine index, I've decided on the AD&D adventure Ashtar's Temple from issue #81 as my starting point. It seems generic enough for my purposes.

Ashtar is a goddess of healing. The adventure is based around an old, abandoned riverside temple near a village called Ashtartown. I'm going to have to change that name.

The village will be one of the vassal communities of The City. And Ashtar will be the deity of the party's cleric.

 

[Knightfall]

More interactivity...

What should I name the heroes? I need two male names and two female names. Here's my list of possibles.

Female Names
Bethania
Chloe
Esther
Ioanna
Mariam
Phoibe
Routh
Sarra
Tabitha
Zelpha

Male Names
Abenner
Chaleb
Erastos
Loukas
Matthan
Osee
Sem
Silas
Titos
Tobias

 

[Knightfall]

After reading through the first section of the adventure, I think I need at least one more PC so that I don't end up with a TPK. And since the adventure suggests a ranger for the group, I'm going to add a character of that archetype. However, I'm thinking scout instead of ranger. And I'm going to add another halfling to the group.

So I'm going to go with this...

Human fighter [male]
Human cleric [female]
Half-elf rogue [male]
Halfling scout [female]
Halfling wizard [male]

 

[Knightfall]

I do not wish to discourage you, but I have not seen this sort of thing turn out well, for presumably the same reasons that products designed by a committee are usually rather bad.

Edit: Gosh darn to heck...

I understand your reasoning. It could be a fun little project or it could end up being a lame duck. Regardless, I'm interested in running through the process and see where I end up.

 

[kitcik]

I
The interactive part would be that people can chime in on a related thread and give suggestions of what the characters might do to resolve scenes. However, I'll actually decide what actually happens.

I believe the above described could be at least mildly entertaining as long as you accept SOME of the more humorous suggestions that are bound to occur.

However, this does not seem to be what you are actually doing. It seems that you are actually only looking for input on "nouns" - what things are named and what new to bring into the story. This is boring as all hell. I don't give a darn what you name the city and I am not wasting my time voting on it. I don't mean this to be rude in any way - I am just telling you honestly how strongly I feel about it.

If you go back to the original concept - put the party in a situation and ask how they should resolve it - I will happily participate and see if it is enjoyable.