Rusty DM Needs Your Campaign Advice!

[NMatuzic]

Hi all,

I'm after some comments, help and suggestions on an upcoming Dungeons & Dragons 4E campaign I'm about to run, and would really appreciate any and all help that can be rendered. This post is quite long, hopefully you can bear with me...

A while back my regular gaming crew slowly disbanded, and real life also got in the way, and as such I haven't played, let alone DMed, anything for many a year. Recently I managed to have another crack at it and remembered why I enjoy this pasttime so much!

I've had this idea for a fantasy campaign for some time, and am now fleshing it out. There are just a few things that I want to tie up or have a better idea of before I embark. Below is a brief description of the campaign plan.

The setting is my own world design, which is based largely on Medieval Europe, with fantasy elements. The campaign will mostly be based in the equivalent of England.

Part 1 - The Goblin King.
The PCs band together to investigate strange happenings- beginning with the disappearance of town children. Investigating, there are some important points they find out- the local militia and knight (it's a feudal system) have departed, leaving the town open to attack. Goblin populations have become more organised and have been kidnapping children.

Further investigation leads the PCs to discover rumours of strange edicts from a King who people fear is going mad. To top it off, more and more troops are being called away, leaving the countryside open to attack. And attack is imminent, as the PCs uncover a plot about a Goblin King who has united the disparate tribes and is planning an invasion!

Over the course of time I hope the PCs work their way into defeating the Goblin Horde, and thus eliminating the invasion. What is still left to be done is to report the news to the King and find where all the troops have gone. Part 1 ends with a cliffhanger- the PCs are arrested for treason! It is claimed that the Goblin Horde was an ally. And thus the rumours are true, the King has gone mad...

Part 2 - The Mad King
Time has passed and the PCs rot in a dungeon, awaiting their execution. While in prison a new captive is brought in- it is the Crown Prince and heir to the throne. The Mad King has had him arrested for causing an uprising and attempting to usurp authority. The PCs and the Prince work together to escape.

The Prince works with the PCs to quell rebellion, as the Prince believes the King is under some kind of spell and has not actually gone mad at all. After delaying rebellion for a time, the PCs search for a cure or counterspell- I intend for the PCs to search for ancient libraries, seers, oracles and what not, trying to find what is wrong with the King, and how they may save him.

After some time, while the PCs finally find what they are looking for, they return to find the country in a shambles. They make their way to the palace to find the Prince has been recaptured and the King is about to have him executed. The PCs intervene and try to cure the King, but they have been fooled!

The King is indeed under a spell, a spell which makes him appear to be mad. The true villain is the Prince, whose body is inhabited by a demon and is trying to fully enter the mortal realm. It began some time ago, by feeding on children (the Goblins way back when were kidnapping food for him) and now culminates in what the PCs have found- an ancient artifact which has caused the last barrier to fall, allowing the demon to take form!

Part 3 - The Demon Prince
The Demon Prince takes the throne and keeps the true King alive to torture as his plaything. It is my intention that the PCs escape, now fugitives in a land gone haywire.

During this time threats abound for the country- foreign invasion attempting to take advantage of a weakened opponent, civil war as the minor nobility lose their way, and a demon gaining power from all the strife surrounding him.

It is up to the PCs to find a way to defeat the Demon, and set things right.

Possibly More?

After that, I'm not 100% sure where to go. I have a few thoughts and ideas which I'd like to tie into the campaign, but I'm not exactly sure how/if I can/should. Following are the things I'd like to have:

- Have a prophesy which states that a Demon can only be destroyed by a sword that was not forged. My idea is that one of the PCs finds a sword at an opportune moment (sword in the stone or some such). After defeating the demon they end up travelling back in time and the PC realises they have to place the sword where they found it in the first place. My problem here is while I really like the premise, I can't think of a plausable reason for the PCs to travel through time.

- The return of the Elves. During (or after) the conflict, the Pure-Blood Elves return to the continent. Their purpose is unknown and alien- to reclaim their ancestral home? To Cleanse the continent of the evil taint? Either way, conflict breaks out due to some reason, and the PCs must find a way to stop it. I'd like to take a page out of Babylon 5's book and parallel the Earth-Mimbari war, and end it when the PCs prove the Elves' blood isn't as pure as they thought. This thread could fuel a reason for time travel...

- The search for an heir. After the demon has been defeated, the magic sustaining the King also fades. With his last breaths he thanks the PCs and charges them with the quest of finding a true heir to the throne- he tells them that he had two sons, but the other one went missing while still a baby. The PCs must search while trying to establish order and prevent civil war from tearing the nation apart for good. As an aside, I thought perhaps the heir they end up finding is found by travelling back through time to take the son in the first place, knowing that this is the only way to ensure the heir's safety into the present day and keeping him from the clutches of the demon.

- The Red Herring. All through the adventures I was thinking of having the PCs encounter sinister looking people who wear hoods- sometimes individuals, sometimes groups. They sometimes seem to work alongside the PCs, but a lot of the time they don't, sometimes they merely observe. Over time the PCs will come to believe they're a cult of some kind, culminating in finding them in force around the palace at the end of part 2, chanting in some kind of ritual. The PCs stop them, but later discover they were trying to prevent the demon from being fully summoned! Eventually the two groups work together with their depleted resources in part 3.

Conclusion

So there you have it. That's my campaign ideas as briefly as I can explain them. If you have read this far, and are willing to help, I'd like a few things if you would be kind enough:
1) Do you think the main plotline sounds good for a campaign?
2) Do you have any thoughts on "Possibly More?" section?
3) Do you have any other ideas that you think might add or fix something in my outline so far?

Many many thanks in advance to any and all who take the time to read this much and respond.

[FONT=&quot]Cheers![/FONT]

 

[OnlineDM]

I think you have an idea for a cool story - now the question is how to make it into a cool campaign.

Reading through your ideas, I see a plot, but I'm not clear on the role of the players. Specifically, I'm not clear on the action that they'll be participating in. Where do you see encounters cropping up during the story, and what kind of encounters will they be?

Part 1 seems to have a skill challenge sort of encounter to investigate the disappearing children. Okay, that's cool - but how long does that take? Your description makes it sound like a long, ongoing investigation, but a skill challenge would probably be over in an hour or so of game time, even with lots of role playing. Then what?

Whom do the PCs fight - or is this envisioned as more of a no-combat or light-combat campaign? Will there be goblin raids to capture kids here and there, with the PCs either serving as bodyguards to intercept the raiders or forming a posse to chase them down?

If the plan is to start with a brief investigation that leads to the goblins and then an extended series of combat encounters as the party infiltrates the kingdom and wipes out the goblin leaders, cool. I can envision the action there. But on a first read-through I got the feeling that you were focusing more on the investigation and the events occurring AROUND the PCs rather than on the stuff that the PCs cause to happen, which would worry me as a player. The focus has to be on stuff the PCs get to do, including plenty of fighting in most campaigns.

The second part of your campaign seems a little better focused as an actual campaign - the PCs escape prison, then fight rebellion, then go on a quest to a far-off land to find the MacGuffin that can cure the king... THAT leads to adventure, encounters, fights, skill challenges. Now you're talking!

Anyway, it sounds like a fun story to me. Just make sure you allow for plenty of action on the part of your player characters (things to fight in particular) and you'll be in good shape.

 

[NMatuzic]

In part 1, the players would be taking an active role in helping the populace- with local militia and knights called away, the people are turning to whoever they can to help them.

I have the first adventure pretty much set up- they investigate the kidnapping of a town's children, tracking them to a lair and a simple dungeon crawl.

The final battle will be a scene of the Chief of this clan trying to escape with a wagonload of captured children, while his forces try to hold the PCs off. The chief's final words will be a hook, along the (admittedly cliched) lines of "You can't stop him, this is just the beginning..."

Upon returning the children they discover that not all the children are from the starting town, and thus have two options from that point- escort the excess children home, or investigate the reason the local knight has not protected his vassals, and why the local fighting forces have been withdrawn.

News of their help will spread in a local sense, and so they will be taking the role of an unofficial militia or protectors, if you will.

I'm mostly confident of this starting point for a few reasons-
1) I've run a very similar adventure as a one off and the players really enoyed it (though it was around 10 years ago!)
2) As the players are playing "good" characters, they can't really say no to helping poor, defenseless children, can they? =P

I've left things somewhat open after that, and will form more concrete ideas where to go with the inclusion of character driven plotlines and also based on their decisions in the first few sessions.

I'm planning on sessions playing out much like a tv serial- some weeks the adventure will be related to the main plot, and other weeks will be stand alone episodes that occur as part of their travels. Add in character specific things from time to time, and I think it should work out.

I just want to make sure that my rough, overall plot should be able to work. That, and I love it when things from the very beginning of a long story arc, that seem inconspicuous, turn out to be related in ways you could never imagine...

 

[S'mon]

It's too linear, like you're writing a story, not playing a game.

"Part 1 ends with a cliffhanger- the PCs are arrested for treason! It is claimed that the Goblin Horde was an ally. And thus the rumours are true, the King has gone mad..."

This kind of thing (railroaded capture scene) usually results in either a TPK or very frustrated players. Or a dead king, which might be more fun.

I strongly advise you not to think in scenes, as if you were writing a novel or scripting a movie. Think in terms of NPC plots and actions, and a default timeline which occurs if the PCs do nothing, but don't try to script the campaign in advance. I know some professional adventure writers do it, but (a) they are working under many more constraints than you are and (b) It still sucks.

 

[Hella_Tellah]

I think you have some good ideas here, but I agree with S'mon that it's too linear, and assumes too much compliance from the players. If you want to plan out a story, you can, but players tend to want more agency than that. Instead of planning an entire plot, think of 5 or 6 interesting scenarios that prompt the players to action, but don't make assumptions about what they'll do.

I believe in starting the game as close to the interesting bits as possible. You want the players to play in a kingdom fallen into shambles, ruled by a demon prince, right? Have the game start out there. Don't make the players wait for the awesome; start the players out waist-deep in awesome. You want the pure-blood elves to return triumphantly? Start the game with a water landing, and have them storm the demon prince's kingdom Omaha Beach style. You want them to protect the heir to the throne? Choose one player randomly at the beginning of the game, and tell him he's the heir to the throne; the information is his to use or not. Hand every other player an equivalently interesting destiny, and see what they do with it.

Involve the players more deeply, use NPCs less, and start the game waist-deep in awesome.

 

[S'mon]

IYou want them to protect the heir to the throne? Choose one player randomly at the beginning of the game, and tell him he's the heir to the throne; the information is his to use or not. Hand every other player an equivalently interesting destiny, and see what they do with it.

This is good - but don't give any PCs special plot-protection; if the Saviour gets himself killed, run with it and see what happens.

 

[White Tornado]

Here’s my two cents. For starters, I see a lot of interesting and inspiring stuff. This could really be a great campaign!


Regarding the whole plot, I agree with S’mon and Hellah_Tellah – it sounds like a big railroad to me. Or at least it could turn into one. The PC’s will do unexpected things all the time. They will be both smarter and more stupid than you think. They will mess around and mess up. They will ignore big plot hooks you wave in front of their nose, and pick a fight in a tavern. The minute you flesh out an interesing bar fight, they decide to camp outside for no apparent reason. I feel you should rewrite you storyline into a dynamic set of individuals, factions, relations and motivations. If the PC’s don’t act, this and that will happen, but they have complete freedom to mess around. Make it a living world, with which the PC’s can play. Maybe you can add some more complexity – flesh out two or three other kingdoms that have complicated relations with the main kingdom. Flesh out some minor nobility with their agenda’s. Add some minor villains and rivals that travel around and do their own things. Throw in some haunted mines and ruined castles.

Regarding part one, defeating an entire goblin horde may become boring really fast, so include lots of variety. Include monstrous mercenaries, such as trolls, orcs, ogres, hags, medusae, harpies, minotaurs, maybe a giant or two. Include animals and monstrous pets – what about some leather clad, club-wielding goblins specialized in handling rust monsters? That’ll spice things up. Include goblins, hobgoblins and bugbears with templates and class templates – I once had a goblin use eyebite on my feylock PC, which was a great surprise and caused a lot of questions. And of course, use lots of minions to give that “we’re hacking true a large army” feel.

Regarding part two, “time has passed”? The PC’s will want to escape immediately! Why can’t they escape? And why can they, once the prince joins them? Give the PC’s half an hour in-game, before the prince joins them. Or throw the prince in prison first. Or let the prince just walk in and free the PC’s – does he really need to be convicted of treason? Setting the PC’s free is treason enough, isn’t it?

Regarding part three, the PC’s will want to kill the Demon Prince immediately. D&D is a game of killing things and taking their stuff, so they will want to do that. How will you prevent that? Would it be that bad if they defeated him outright? They still have to cure the king, and clean up all the mess the Demon Prince left behind.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

I like the plot as you've outlined it. Disagree with those who say that you start closer to the pay off. Pay offs need to be built up to. Start at the start as you're doing and build up from there. It gives the players an investment they wouldn't get otherwise.

I also like the tv series style you'e planning. I've played in campaigns and run them in that way myself and it works well. Sounds like you've thought it out enough and have left plenty of room to move aroudn in.

As for capturing the PCs at the end of the first arc of the campaign: go for it. Just be careful that your players don't decide to figth to the death. Present them with overwhelming odds. If they fight anyway don't actually kill anyone, fudge damage so that they get taken down no lower than -9 and make them stabilise automatically. Clearly you're going to start the session after that with a quick monologue to set the scene then introduce the prince: start action again. Can't see any problem with that. Some people might whinge a bit but they'll get over it soon enough.

good luck with it all.
cheers,
Glen.

 

[Hella_Tellah]

As for capturing the PCs at the end of the first arc of the campaign: go for it. Just be careful that your players don't decide to figth to the death. Present them with overwhelming odds. If they fight anyway don't actually kill anyone, fudge damage so that they get taken down no lower than -9 and make them stabilise automatically. Clearly you're going to start the session after that with a quick monologue to set the scene then introduce the prince: start action again. Can't see any problem with that.

I can see a problem: it doesn't involve the players making interesting decisions or pursuing their characters' goals. It's a good story element in passive media, but it doesn't play to the strengths of roleplaying games. Roleplaying games allow players to be engaged in the story and alter the course of the narrative more than any form of entertainment I know; curtailing that freedom is a waste of what makes RPGs unique and exciting.

A better choice would be to have a group of NPCs try to capture the PCs using a variety of tactics. They could start by reasoning with them, then threatening, then using non-lethal force. Leave the PCs the option to run away, the possibility of defeating the NPCs, and the freedom to choose their tactics and course of action.

 

[JoeGKushner]

i was going to comment on the capture part too. Players HATE that. HATE it with the passion of a thousand burning suns.

You can have parts that are scripted, but those scripted parts should involve the PC's not at all.

It's too linear, like you're writing a story, not playing a game.

"Part 1 ends with a cliffhanger- the PCs are arrested for treason! It is claimed that the Goblin Horde was an ally. And thus the rumours are true, the King has gone mad..."

This kind of thing (railroaded capture scene) usually results in either a TPK or very frustrated players. Or a dead king, which might be more fun.

I strongly advise you not to think in scenes, as if you were writing a novel or scripting a movie. Think in terms of NPC plots and actions, and a default timeline which occurs if the PCs do nothing, but don't try to script the campaign in advance. I know some professional adventure writers do it, but (a) they are working under many more constraints than you are and (b) It still sucks.