The Archetypal D&D Campaign

[Mercurius]

If you were to design and run a campaign that was meant to essentialize and highlight the best and most archetypal aspects of Dungeons & Dragons--any edition--what would it look like? I am not asking for a specific campaign that incorporates your favorite elements of the canon, but something that tries to be a bit more universal. For example, you may hate slimes, cubes, and jellies, but an archetypal D&D campaign has to include them for at least one encounter. The same with dragons, orcs, probably vorpal swords, etc.

Go for it!

 

[Doug McCrae]

For archetypal D&D, the party make-up is the most important thing, imo.

There'd be a grumpy, booze-soaked dwarf who wields a two-handed axe and doesn't get along with the elven archer, repeatedly calling him a "pointy-eared freak". There'd be a light-fingered thief who steals from the party and a fireball-happy wizard who accidentally blows the party up. There'd be a cleric of one of the boring gods, Pelor or something, who just heals and doesn't say anything cause he's an NPC - no one wanted to play the cleric.

The campaign itself would start off with the PCs fighting orcs in caves and bandits/slavers in ruined forts, gradually moving up the D&D monster chain, taking in some undead along the way. One of the PCs acquires a talking magic sword that has an irritating personality. Over time the existence of a Grand Alliance of Monsters is revealed, the cause of the increasing number of raids. It turns out, of course, that the drow are the leaders of the Grand Alliance. The campaign moves to the underdark, the monsters get weirder and more Lovecraftian and the PCs get involved in drow politics. A good-aligned drow PC joins the party. Eventually it becomes clear that an evil god or demon prince or arch-devil is the true BBEG. The PCs undertake a quest for the Macguffin of Many Parts, which is the only means to defeat the big fat bastard. At last the PCs confront and kill Iuz/Orcus/Asmodeus. Then they loot his body.

 

[Mercurius]

Not bad, Doug, although there are no dragons or other planes in your configuration--both seem rather necessary.

What if we went by tiers? What would Heroic, Paragon, and Epic look like? (And yeah, I know those are 4E-specific, but each edition has an equivalent level range...the idea being what those tiers exemplify).

Heroic would involve the PCs making a name for themselves. Adventures would be local, the setting ruined keeps and dungeons as well as wilderness locations. The primary foes would be humanoids, standard minor dungeon denizens, and some undead.

Paragon would involve the Underdark, drow, illithids, giants, etc. A foray into the Astral Sea and other planes might occur towards the second half, with the PCs becoming embroiled in a githyanki war. Some major undead villain would be faced: A vampire, lich, and/or death knight.

Epic would focus on either empire-building and world-saving. First the PCs would carve out their own kingdom, slaying a dragon to do so. Then they would have to save the world from an extra-planar invasion, eventually facing Orcus, Demogorgon, Asmodeus, or Tiamat.

But that is just a rough sketch. In some ways, what I am looking for is what a campaign would look like if it were the only D&D campaign you would ever run again and you wanted to get your fill of everything good about D&D, as well as show someone else the "best of" the game.

 

[Steel_Wind]

Not bad, Doug, although there are no dragons or other planes in your configuration--both seem rather necessary.

A dragon (or two guards) some of the parts to the Many parted Artifact of Arch Devil/Demon Ass' kickin Maguffin. So there's your dragon.

Iuz/Orcus/Asmodeus must ultimately be defeated on his home plane. After the PCs assumble the Maguffin -- off they go. So that's your picnic to the Lower Planes.

I actually think Doug totally nailed this one -- to a tee.

 

[ppaladin123]

A dragon (or two guards) some of the parts to the Many parted Artifact of Arch Devil/Demon Ass' kickin Maguffin. So there's your dragon.

Iuz/Orcus/Asmodeus must ultimately be defeated on his home plane. After the PCs assumble the Maguffin -- off they go. So that's your picnic to the Lower Planes.

I actually think Doug totally nailed this one -- to a tee.

The party should also either meet in a tavern or receive their first mission while drinking in a tavern together.

Also, there should be a rust monster hanging out in one of those orc/bandit caves.

 

[ProfessorCirno]

The D&D arcade game always struck me as being rather archtypical. Save a town from invaders, fight monsters on a flying craft, delve deep into forests and dungeons, kill a dragon and an evil wizard/priestess. The potential characters were a warrior, a thief, a dwarf, an elf, a cleric, and a wizard

 

[Doug McCrae]

Another classic bit I forgot about is 'the enemy within'. Bad guys lurking in the heart of civilisation - thieves' or assassin's guilds, vampires, evil cultists and the like. They probably have a middle management role within the Grand Alliance of Monsters, below the drow, so PCs do the Enemy Within adventure before they do Descent into the Depths of the Earth.

Cultists (lead by Evil High Priests) have been very popular as bad guys throughout the history of D&D so should probably be added to the classic enemies list, along with savage humanoids, bandits and slavers.

Another common bit is the assassination attempt on the PCs. The leaders of the Grand Alliance are worried that the PCs are 'getting too close to the truth' so they send assassins after them. Obviously the attempt fails and the PCs find a useful clue on the bodies of the would be killers.

 

[Doug McCrae]

What if we went by tiers? What would Heroic, Paragon, and Epic look like?

The way I see it, heroic tier locations are dungeons and wilderness. The Enemy Within is probably a mid to high heroic level adventure. Paragon tier is the underdark and globetrotting to exotic regions - jungles, tundra, desert. Monsters include drow, mind flayers and yuan-ti. Epic is other planes. The PCs probably get involved in politics to some extent when they do The Enemy Within but only become powerful movers and shakers at paragon tier. Perhaps that's when they establish strongholds.

One weird thing about 4e is that giants are higher level than drow so GDQ doesn't work any more.

 

[Sammael]

You must spread some Experience Points around before giving it to Doug McCrae again.

You nailed it, Doug.

 

[ReeboKesh]

The party should also either meet in a tavern or receive their first mission while drinking in a tavern together.

My new group met drinking on the side of the road, they didn't even get to the tavern before breaking out the booze!

When they reached the tavern they ended up having to save it from an attack by goblin ninja.