What makes a campaign unique?

[Quasqueton]

I'm looking to start a campaign in a published setting, but I want to make the setting my own -- unique. I don't really want to twist the setting out of all recognizable form, or rewrite it in my preference, but rather just give it a tweak that marks it as seperate from all the other dozens of campaigns in the same setting.

Whatever published setting you play in -- Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Kalamar, Scarred Lands, etc. -- how is it unique? I'm looking for ideas from the grand/epic to the minor. Whether the change is that the moon has collided with the planet, or that the PCs are all goblinoid races. Whatever.

I would like the unique-ness to be such that it is good for multiple campaigns, but ideas from even one-session games can spawn long-term epics.

I'm really in need of some creativity priming here. I'm stumped. Please help.

Thanks.

Quasqueton

 

[Desdichado]

Homebrew! Really, though, I like your idea of doing Forgottern Realms or something like that except that all PCs are goblinoids. That would be unique all right.

Another thing we did once -- all PCs had to have one level of monk -- we had all grown up in a monastery.

Another idea: drop the wandering adventurer paradigm. PCs are all "special agents" for the king and get assignments, salary (instead of treasure), etc.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Buy Delta Green and Delta Green: Countdown and use them as inspiration for your campaign. The world might not look that much changed, but your players will know the difference.

Demonic brain parasites? Check.
Cultists that are into genital mutilation of both sexes and who have a "Wither Limb" spell? Check.
Degenerate Cannibals trying to integrate themselves into Western society? Check.
Ghoul cults living under the biggest cities? Check.
Alien dimensions warping the perceptions of individuals? Check.

Run all these, and your players will never look at the Realms in the same way...

Or you could pick up my suggestion from another thread and simply drop gargantuan alien monstrosities on your world to ravage it until the PCs (a) figure out where they came from and (b) stop them...

Hey, it worked for lots of anime giant robot series, didn't it?

 

[Sanackranib]

unique worlds

check out the" for those who run in the Scarred Lands" thread. we have posted numerous ideas/npc's/and towns etc.

the really big way that it will be differnt is you will run it so you will only focus on those areas of the world that apeal to you and your players and as they are developed by you subtile changes will emerge. good luck with your upcomming game!

 

[nopantsyet]

My current campaign is homebrew and all the characters started out as barbarians.

My previous campaign was in Forgotten Realms, and I really tried to make it more unique and dynamic. Partly because people are so familiar with the Realms that they need to have their expectations dashed on a regular basis. And also I would customize it to meet my needs, but work my customization into what's already there.

For example, I invented a sister city to Myth Drannor that was located in the Arch Wood. It was a city of silver arches, being the basis for much of the naming of the region. Whereas Myth Drannor was the seat of power, this was the seat of learning and art. (It was the descendents in exile who returned to the region to establish the Leaves of Learning with the goal of recreating the vast libraries that were in Myth Mirath.)

This city had utilized its Mythal to move itself underground in order to avoid the fate of Myth Drannor. Unfortunately, the baddies figured it out and approached through the Underdark. Eventually they bored a passage into the underground city. But the Elves learned of this before the could get into the city and made a secret exodus to Evereska. So this city, Myth Mirath, remained largely intact and empty. (This was the thing that was secretly discovered in the Arch Wood that caused them to stop foresting.)

So there were multiple tie-ins to the preexisting setting but I tried to keep it true to the spirit of the Realms.

 

[Nightfall]

Even though I might run my Scarred Lands, by the book as some might see it, I do try to encourage my players to come with characters that challenge many of the conventions. Example I had considered (in my attempt to run a campaign in real life), is the pre-generated characters, many of who were monstrous humans. Most were either human or half elf/half orc. Another way to make the setting your own, introduce psionics. While it's not for everyone, consider that unlike D&D normal, Scarred Lands runs under the assumption, psionics is different. This gives psionic characters, psionic monsters, even psionic items a unique twist, both for your game and for your players. (Whom I'm sure are both pleasantly surprised and slightly fearful. As they should be.)

 

[John Crichton]

I tweaked my FR campaign to make it easier for me to run many years ago (we haven't played it in some time). Basically, there was a huge war and a bunch of major northern cities were sacked and occupied. This twisted everything: balance of power, political ties, etc. As with any published campaign world: Just add chaos and stir = instantly unique.

 

[s/LaSH]

Suggestion: Don't make it about the setting, make it about the characters. And characters includes villains. Get some good villains going, preferably with a nice heirachy, and boom! you're cooking.

Imagine this: Baron Vonstrum killed your family. He's also the father of your best friend and fellow PC. He also holds your oath of fealty. Now, if he lives in Waterdeep, so what? That doesn't change the dilemma. Characters and relationships can coolerise a setting without changing it.

Or, on the other hand, you could make drastic changes. Look at Dragonlance. The world of Krynn is basically a punching bag for various gods and other such forces; if you're up with the history of Ansalon, you can see a huge catalog of drastic setting changes right there. And that's the official setting.

Final suggestion: Lots of plane-hopping. You don't have to change the setting if you don't stay there very long. An adventure in a brass efreet palace, an adventure on the fringes of the Abyss, an adventure in a pocket dimension that could collapse at any moment... the planes are always good for something new.

 

[Umbran]

Whatever published setting you play in -- Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Kalamar, Scarred Lands, etc. -- how is it unique?

Characters.

I echo s/LaSH's sentiment - the thing that makes a game most memorable and unique are the PCs and NPCs. Eventually, the details of the world become a background consideration. No matter if your qworld is a godly punching bag, or your PCs are hopping from one plane to another - the adventures will be remarkably similar unless the PCs and NPCs have life

 

[Drawmack]

I bought Freeport and Bluffside. Then I worked those into a world that has empires for other races as well. This saves me the time and effort of defining the capitals, but leaves the world open to my whim. Now if someone would only come out with a Rivendale book for LotR I'd be all set.