Writer's-Blocked & Needing Advice: How Should I Start This Campaign?

[Jack Daniel]

Several days ago, eager to scratch my gaming itch, I had my girlfriend and another friend of ours roll up a couple of characters. As is common in my circle of gamers, they each picked a class and then set about detailing their characters' backgrounds. So I've wound up with a half-elven technologist named Nalaryn (who hails from the campaign setting's Romania/Transylvania region) specialized in drugs and medicines, who was raised by her human parent and seeks knowledge of her elvish heritage; and a satyr rogue named Lilith (from the setting's Turkey/Arabia analogue) specialized mainly in grifting, who is the daughter of a bedouin sheik and fleeing from an arranged marriage.

Thinking geographically, I've decided to set in the game in a place right in between the two characters' respective homelands, which is naturally enough a fantasy version of Greece. I figure that should provide plenty of plot-fodder, both mythological and historical. It's easy to envision a wilderness haunted by chimeras, manticores, gryphons, etc. And any city adventures can be full of (literally) Byzantine intrigue. Even the old rebels-versus-an-empire chestnut, à la Greece vs. the Ottoman Empire, can provide a tense backdrop. Ruins and dungeons that date back to medieval Byzantium, Alexander's Macedon, or classical Ancient Greece? Easy as pie.

So all I really need is a plot. I have this vague idea of an "Indiana Jones" themed campaign arc. (My girlfriend has even said that she envisions Nalaryn as inspired by Evey O'Connell from The Mummy, which is eminently appropriate to that idea!) But for the life of me, I just can't seem to come up with a gripping hook with which to launch the first adventure. Usually I have more campaign-starting scenarios than I can ever hope to use waiting in reserve, but right now I'm completely brain-drained. What's the best way to get two characters, neither one particularly motivated by greed, to meet up, partner up, and set out together on an epic treasure-hunt?

 

[Doug McCrae]

The grifter rogue isn't motivated by greed?!

A lost text, or elixir, written/created by Galen. Nalaryn has a scholarly interest, perhaps Lilith is motivated by... altruism? Maybe she has a sick friend or relative who can only be cured by the book/elixir. For fun, a secret society of assassins want the book too, as its hermetic anatomical lore can be used to kill as well as cure.

 

[Nifft]

Always, always, always make the players do the hard work. Here's what I'd do:

"How do the two of you know each other? And why have you booked passage on to a disreputable vessel -- possibly even a pirate ship -- headed from Crete to Alexandria? Who or what do you hope to find in Egypt that's worth risking everything?"

 

[Fate Lawson]

Two women?



Rescue the handsome fellow of course.

 

[LostSoul]

But for the life of me, I just can't seem to come up with a gripping hook with which to launch the first adventure.

It seems to me you already have two:

So I've wound up with a half-elven technologist named Nalaryn (who hails from the campaign setting's Romania/Transylvania region) specialized in drugs and medicines, who was raised by her human parent and seeks knowledge of her elvish heritage; and a satyr rogue named Lilith (from the setting's Turkey/Arabia analogue) specialized mainly in grifting, who is the daughter of a bedouin sheik and fleeing from an arranged marriage.

Just do something with those two things and you will have your gripping hook.

Off the top of my head: The PCs come across an elven caravan, and some of the sheik's men are travelling under its banner of peace.

 

[Mark CMG]

A search for Atlantis?

 

[DrunkonDuty]

Travelling Snake Oil Saleswomen. They already know one another and they make their living as a travellig medicine show. And yeah, go with their existing plot hooks. I like the Elven caravan with the sheik's men. They must travel with the caravan to get across the desert safely (fleeing their latest escapade.) Something Nalaryn would be especially keen to do as it's an Elven caravan. Naralyn's inquisitiveness may win friends or irritate people, especially if Elves don't look kindly on half-breeds. The sheik's men try to kidnap Lilith (OH! Just got the satyr/Lilith reference. ) while Naralyn is either learning Elven Lore or trying to disentangle herself from some serious faux pas. And then, just as everythings going to hell, the sheriff (law enforcement type) from the last town shows up with a posse and a couple of lengths of rope.

I really, really hope the grifter is motivated by greed. And the desire to look smarter than the hicks. C'mon, she's a grifter!

 

[JoeGKushner]

Hell, steal the whole thing from Brotherhood of the Wolf. "You hear strange things are about in the night, some cultists activity backed by some monstrous animal..."

 

[arscott]

Several days ago, eager to scratch my gaming itch, I had my girlfriend and another friend of ours roll up a couple of characters. As is common in my circle of gamers, they each picked a class and then set about detailing their characters' backgrounds. So I've wound up with a half-elven technologist named Nalaryn (who hails from the campaign setting's Romania/Transylvania region) specialized in drugs and medicines, who was raised by her human parent and seeks knowledge of her elvish heritage; and a satyr rogue named Lilith (from the setting's Turkey/Arabia analogue) specialized mainly in grifting, who is the daughter of a bedouin sheik and fleeing from an arranged marriage.

Thinking geographically, I've decided to set in the game in a place right in between the two characters' respective homelands, which is naturally enough a fantasy version of Greece. I figure that should provide plenty of plot-fodder, both mythological and historical. It's easy to envision a wilderness haunted by chimeras, manticores, gryphons, etc. And any city adventures can be full of (literally) Byzantine intrigue. Even the old rebels-versus-an-empire chestnut, à la Greece vs. the Ottoman Empire, can provide a tense backdrop. Ruins and dungeons that date back to medieval Byzantium, Alexander's Macedon, or classical Ancient Greece? Easy as pie.

So all I really need is a plot. I have this vague idea of an "Indiana Jones" themed campaign arc. (My girlfriend has even said that she envisions Nalaryn as inspired by Evey O'Connell from The Mummy, which is eminently appropriate to that idea!) But for the life of me, I just can't seem to come up with a gripping hook with which to launch the first adventure. Usually I have more campaign-starting scenarios than I can ever hope to use waiting in reserve, but right now I'm completely brain-drained. What's the best way to get two characters, neither one particularly motivated by greed, to meet up, partner up, and set out together on an epic treasure-hunt?

Fantasy Greece? Treasure hunt? You have to go with the golden fleece.

As for why, Nalaryn is looking for her elven parent, right? Well let's say that the parent left her behind to search for the fleece and never returned. As for Lilith, she finally managed to get in over her head with that grifting. King Pelias recognizes her skill, however, and agrees to pardon her in exchange for finding the fleece.

 

[Celebrim]

I've learned this the hard way over the years but there is only one way and one way only to start a campaign.

BAAAAAAANNNNNNNGGGGGGGGG!!!

You can't start with a 'bang' or even a 'BANG!'. Over the years I've had a couple promising campaigns fail because I started them in some subtle way with alot of exposition and a sand box to play in. The problem is that if you aren't careful, the campaign will wind down before your players find your big hooks and begin to realize the epic scale that is intended for the campaign. They'll start thinking that this small drama and local sandbox is all you have in your hand. So, start your campaign by tipping your hand a little and giving them a taste of what you got.

I actually think I have this problem because I learned it from Tolkien, who starts his stories in the same sort of way and builds to the 'Bang!'. No one I think doubts that the Battle of Pellenor Fields is epic, but he starts out with like 150 pages of small drama, intimate action, and exposition that hints at but doesn't show what is coming. It works ok in a novel, but even then its worth admitting that if a person is turned off by LotR 90% of the time its the opening section that does it. In a campaign, it works even less well and you can't afford anyone in the party getting bored. One or two players losing interest is usually enough to wreck things early on.

So start with something huge and unbelievably over the top.

Personally, I think almost any campaign that features dungeons is 'Indiana Jones' themed so that doesn't give me alot to go on.

My current campaign started with a 30' tidal wave destroying half the town that the PC's were staying in. It's started with an anti-chase scene as the PC's fled in terror from a building eating monster of water moving at the speed of a locomotive. It's probably the first campaign I've ever started 'correctly', and it's that sort of scale that I think you should be seeking in a your campaign start. Currently, my players have no real idea how the tidal wave relates to everything else going on around them, but it gives a sense of scale to the problem.

My suggestions:

1) Have the characters meet a god or four, straight up at 1st level.
2) Have an invasion of giants, dragons, titans, krakens ect. destroy everything around them while they flee helplessly.
3) Have a tremendous earthquake, tsunami, volcanic eruption. Destroy 'Minoan Civilization' or 'Pompeii' or have Atlantic sink under the waves right before their eyes.
4) Have the invading armies of the invincible 'Philosopher King' (read Plato's Republic) show up. The characters must flee with the rest of the refugees to 'Sparta' for protection.
5) Have the 'Seige of Troy' start before their eyes. Have the players flee as unremarkable bystanders through an epic scale battlefield.
6) Do all of the above.

The trick here is to vary this epic scale disempowering stuff with small scale empowering challenges. To much 'Bang!' makes the players feel like bystanders watching a movie (which is why I didn't do this stuff in the past). But if you keep your prologue short it can I think add excitement and tension. Make sure that during the prologue the players encounter challenges scaled to their current abilities, but make sure they also see a glimpse of the big picture. Above all, give the players a big reason to start moving and provide yourself plenty of ideas for hazards and dangers of the journey.

Once you have that to hand, it only remains to figure out why it happened. What is the villains motivation? Why did the volcano erupt? Who are the players? As an Indiana Jones themed campaign, you are going to have facists of some sort in the role of villains whether Spartans or Plato's Republic (both sufficiently Lawful Evil to serve in the role, the choice is really between militarism and magic). You are going to have some sort of race for some artifact that would make the wielder truly invisible. As a Greece themed campaign, you have hyper-active gods showing up, partaking in, and manipulating both sides of the conflict.

Personally, I'd avoid 'Rebels vs. Empire' because its just so done. I'd have the BBEG be an evil version of Athens, create the pretence of Sparta being the 'good guys', then reveal that both sides are just about as bad as the other one and if there are going to be any rebel good guys here its going to have to be the PC's.

On the small scale, you have a character with elven parentage whose parent or grand-parent could have concievably been alive during the prior heroic age (say 300 years prior) which the artifact dates to. This is just low hanging fruit. You've also got a con-artist satyr. Personally, I'd introduce an Odin or Loki character as the partner of this satyr in an con, then reveal after a couple of sessions that the partner is a god. The trick is balancing 'pawn of the gods' with 'hero', which is a very common tension in greek heroic myth.