So, how do I start a Neverwinter Campaign?

[S'mon]

Okay, cool. I need to give a caveat at this time: I have not read the Neverwinter book, though I have watched the trailer.



Okay. Think post-apocalyptic. The trailer makes it clear that Neverwinter has suffered badly in the Spellplague and since.

Now, one of the major themes of post-apoc seems to be "community building" - the chance to make things better. So:

1) Identify a smallish starting community for the group. This may be Neverwinter as a whole, or it might be some part of it, depending on just how broken up the city is.

2) Identify the things that the community needs. Food? Fresh water? Security from predators? An end to the magical plague effects? Try to come up with half a dozen things.

3) Identify the factions that prevent access to these things, or that just pose a threat to the community. Maybe the bandits have access to the water supply. Maybe there's a local necromancer who keeps stealing dead bodies.

That should of course populate your sandbox, and also give you some easy starter quests. As for intrigue...



I would suggest starting the group with contacts amongst either (or both) the Church of Torm or the local Druid circle. Have them be the 'go-to' sources for starter quests, or for when the players don't have ideas of their own.

I would also seek to tie the PCs fairly quickly into the local political scene - have them do favours for the local lord/council, or whatever. Preferably have each of these patrons tie in to a different player, perhaps with one or two players 'unaligned'.

And then put the various patrons at odds. Perhaps the Church of Torm has chosen to site their graveyard in a region sacred to the druids. Perhaps the local lord has fallen out with the high priest. And, of course, all of these factions should have some sort of corrupt elements within.

And there it is.

Oh, one more rule of thumb I find useful when creating campaigns of this sort: "The PCs are rock stars." That is, the PCs very quickly become known and loved in the setting (even if they're loved for throwing TVs out of windows, or other outrageous acts). So don't tie them down with mundane nonsense, but do surround them with groupies, venal managers, corrupt would-be agents, and all the like.

Anyway, I hope that helps. Sorry I can't be more specific; as I said, I haven't read the book.

Thanks delericho - post apocalypse/community building is a good idea, as is faction conflict.

I'm starting to think though that I may want to loot the Neverwinter book for stuff I can use in my current Loudwater setting; notably the Factions, several of which aren't particularly Neverwinter related. The Netherese in particular seem to fit in better in Gray Vale than in Neverwinter! Certainly my players & I love Loudwater right now and I wouldn't want to involuntarily uproot them.

 

[Atras]

It looks like your Druid player already has a built-in tie to the Neverwinter factions, in the barbarian allegiance. Loudwater is not too far from Neverwinter, so word of heroes able to deal with the challenges that face a larger town could easily reach Neverwinter, where heroes are needed. Are your heroes up to the challenge?

Neverwinter has only recently begun rebuilding in earnest after the volcanic eruption that all but destroyed it almost 30 years ago. Are the characters 30 years old? They probably remember the weeks of black skies, and the stories of the fall of Neverwinter, the loss of life and treasure that struck that day. Now there is a general call out to come help reclaim and rebuild the city, surely the Heroes of Loudwater are up to the task.

The Uthgardt barbarians are backing one of the factions in the rule of the town, maybe they support the mysteriously appearing Heir of Neverwinter, or they are fighting to prevent yet another monarchy in Faerun. They know that having the voice of a Druid from the East will help their cause, and your group can help keep the more violent dissenters from attacking members of the barbarian horde.

Thayan Wizards are not being shy about claiming power in Neverwinter, and the knowledge that they possess is worth more than all the gold in Mithral Hall. Ashara might not be interested in the necromantic arts that the Thayans are renowned for, but there is a rumor that they have a Tome full of powerful Fire magic, and a Wizard with the ability to impart training with these spells; they don't ask for much in return....

The book is really good about putting out lots of fertile ground, with lots of seeds to plant your story, but it is only a tool for you to come up with your own stories. I am undecided if I like the idea that it be mostly Heroic Tier, but I do like the explanation that it gives you a lot of enemies to kill off (the comic-book movie villain effect vs comic book villain effect).

 

[S'mon]

Thanks for the PC-centred ideas Atras. The Druid PC is a young girl on her Naming Quest, but in time she could become a respected figure. The Fire Wizard is in Loudwater looking for a fire artifact, this could ultimately be tied into Neverwinter & even the eruption of Hotenow, hmm...

Re the Heroic Tier villains, I approve in principle but I think they overdid it a bit. I'd have put them in the 10th-12th range, as Elites; as-is several seem weaker than many of their regular underlings, like the 6th level standard orc chief, or even Dagult Neverember at s-7th.

 

[Rechan]

Are you looking to migrate your PCs from Loudwater to Neverwinter?

 

[Zaukrie]

I'm actually mid-paragon right now, and they just blew away my plans....was trying to figure out what to do next. I think that their next challenge will be about 1 month before the explosion of the mountatin....

That doesn't help you.

I'd probably have a new group start as a new unit in the new Neverwinter guard. Assign them to flesh out the strange reports of the disappearance of a few minor items from shops, with large gnaw marks near the doors. This should lead them toward the wererats, maybe a small part of them. Should be pretty easy to build a short adventure around that.

As they solve a few crimes or other issues as part of the guard, they become part of the special "problem solving" unit in the guard. This gives them a chance to move either toward, or against the new lord, all while coming to the attention of those groups that would prefer the problems not be solved.

 

[S'mon]

Are you looking to migrate your PCs from Loudwater to Neverwinter?

Possibly, in several levels' time. But the way I DM there's no guarantee they will survive that long.

 

[S'mon]

I'm actually mid-paragon right now, and they just blew away my plans....was trying to figure out what to do next. I think that their next challenge will be about 1 month before the explosion of the mountatin....

That doesn't help you.

I'd probably have a new group start as a new unit in the new Neverwinter guard. Assign them to flesh out the strange reports of the disappearance of a few minor items from shops, with large gnaw marks near the doors. This should lead them toward the wererats, maybe a small part of them. Should be pretty easy to build a short adventure around that.

As they solve a few crimes or other issues as part of the guard, they become part of the special "problem solving" unit in the guard. This gives them a chance to move either toward, or against the new lord, all while coming to the attention of those groups that would prefer the problems not be solved.

I like the idea of a street/crime based approach, especially if starting new PCs at 1st level.