Hey everyone. So this is my first time DMing and I wanted to get some help with my story. Here's a little background.
Player Characters: Tabaxi druid just searching for knowledge. Genasi sorcerer looking to gain power. Human Bloodhunter seeking vengeance and fighting for the Raven Queen. Dwarf girl, age 22, seeking to resurrect her warforged friend/protector. Human Ranger who wants to kill his father (because of reasons). Aasimar Cleric who grew up fighting in the war and now just wants to be an adventurer under the god Tyr.
Here is what I got so far:
In the beginning, there was sky and dust. Remains from a land long lost floating in an endless abyss. It was from these fragments that the gods formed the land and ocean. (These fragments might play a role in magic artifacts they need to defeat Orcus later on). The current year is 308 p.w. (post the War of Man). The city of Alirannia is the largest metropolis within the Empire. It is ruled by a monarchy who have sat on the throne since the war. There have been both good and bad rulers in the family.
King Aimeri has ruled the Empire peacefully for nearly 7 decades. He ascended the throne after killing the crazed King Vicar, who relied on dark magic to rule his subjects. King Aimeri and King Vicar’s last battle took place in the fields of Trent. It is said that as King Aimeri’s zweihander (sword) pierced the evil king’s heart, the sword shattered into seven pieces. With the fall of King Vicar, Aimeri took the throne as his own and ruled peacefully and wisely. But rumors throughout the kingdom tell of a sickness taking hold in the dear king’s mind. The King’s advisor (and long-term friend) has never left his side. This advisor is Rosalie von Zarovich. Her family has been noble for centuries and she is extremely charismatic. Unknown to the king and the country, the Zarovich's have also been vampires for centuries. (This is where I draw on Fantastic Beasts plot.) Having to live in secret and hide her true powers, Rosalie developed a true hatred of those whose hearts beat. She wishes to not only make a new world where the undead can rule openly but to subject the living to their service. As such, she works for/with Orcus. She firmly believes that those who are living are weak and she would only grant the blessing of undead to her most valued servants. She has quite a large cult following, they call themselves the Order of the Damned. They have been given instructions to raid villages and towns with groups of undead and zombies on the full moon of Uktar. This will be their first demonstration of power. On the full moon of Nightal, they will release a plague on several large cities. There is a cure but it requires the group to find 5 rare ingredients. Meanwhile, Rosalie turns the king into one of her spawn (which explains his strange actions). This is the Age of Treason (340 p.w.)
I am hoping to have at least 3 big end of story fights, but I only have 2 so far. One with Rosalie and her cult/army, and one with Orcus. (This is the final battle. Need special armor/weapons, aid from the gods, and at least a level of 17.) I might have an additional fight with an ancient white dragon turns out to be the resurrected King Vicar and the only way to kill him is to find the seven pieces of King Aimeri’s zweihander and forge them together in a fire of the elemental realm.
I mainly just want to get feedback from some more experienced DMs. I feel like my story is a pretty common undead, vampires, and orcus storyline. It doesn't feel like it has a hook other than the ancient dragon/Vicar deal. I want to weave the Characters backgrounds in but I was wondering if y'all have any suggestions. For example, I may make Rosalie be related or look similar to loved one of the Human Bloodhunter who died in his arms.
So it sounds like your main concern is plot hooks to get the PCs involved. Here's some thoughts from a 5 year DM.
Your setting plot is very high fantasy, we are talking dragons, wizards, orcus, all that pulpy, juicy, high fantasy goodness. The degree to which the PCs can engage with a high fantasy plot is directly related to their level. First level characters have concerns like, where can I get more gold? is that chest trapped? I really need to make this next death saving throw. Orcus and kings and vampires are so far beyond them that these titanic clashes of good and evil are background dressing for their 1st level dungeon delves. If you want them to be engaged in the plot they need to be high enough level that these cosmic issues are actually something they can do something about, but being a new DM (especially if you have new players) I wouldn't recommend just saying "hey guys make 15 level characters and here's my setting bible" it will get out of hand, I know from experience.
I recommend starting out with the PCs perhaps in one of the cities about to be hit by a plague, their first adventure is a harrowing journey of survival and escape in a city rapidly transforming into a post apocalyptic, plague ridden hell hole. The low levels of the camping should be about the PCs dealing with the fallout of the titanic clashes happening in the world, small villages being attacked by low CR undead, plague victims spreading pestilence, that kind of thing. As the PCs grow in power they will gain more and more ability to engage with the cosmic conflicts of the world and hopefully simply living, and surviving in a world falling apart, and seeing the things happing around them will sufficiently hook them into he plot by the time they are high enough level to do something about it.
Great feedback. We are starting with the Phandalin adventure book. I don't love it too much so I was planning on them going to towns and hearing of the zombie raids. And then the plague would strike in the city they go to next. But that might be a few levels away still. I did have one more question about DMing. Where do you buy miniatures? I want to get a cool ancient white dragon and miniatures for other monsters in the game but everything I come up with is preowned or handcrafted. Is there no catalog?
Sounds fun, its good to have a premade adventure on hand, even if you don't run it, its good to have a template for how adventures look that you can reference when thinking about your own adventures. I would definitely recommend riffing off of 7 samurai and featuring some kind of undead take on 7 samurai maybe around 3 level. For minis I highly recommend Troll and Toad. Don't know if they're preowned, but either they've served me well.
That sounds fun. As far as planning/writing the adventure, should I try to break down different encounters and write them out like the adventure books do? If so, how do you best organize all of that information? My mind just starts reeling every time I think about it all. Also, that site looks awesome! They have a lot of minis so I am excited about checking them out. Thank you.
There are several resellers on eBay that have loads of the Icons of the Realms stuff. Miniature Market is also a good place to work, but generally unless if you buy the Monster Menagerie bricks you have to buy them second hand.
your welcome, I love troll and toads random miniature bags, good bang for buck.
you don't have to lay it all out like the book does, as you DM you'll find what works best for you. Here's what works for me. This is how I prep and setup when the campaign is still in the lower levels.
I use a DM screen, they have a lot of useful info, massively reduces time spent looking up rules, or hemming and hawing about encounter distance and that kind of thing (plus it looks imposing and makes the players think you know the rules better than you actually do)
I get a few random encounter tables handy for major regions the PCs could reach in 1-3 days of travel. Xanathar's pg 92 has random encounter tables divided by region and level. That takes care of some prep for us. You might want to modify the tables slightly, adding or removing monsters, easy enough to do. For you maybe slowly adding more and more undead encounters to the table would be a good idea.
I think up 2-3 maps for each region that could have a random encounter, these maps are very basic, I might not even map them out, just have a few sentences describing them like this
- 60f wide, 20f tall, 240f long gulley
- steep sides DC 13 to climb
- scattered dead trees, catch on fire easily, provide full cover
- large boulders on lip of gulley DC 12 to push over, Dex saving throw to avoid boulder, creatures directly below boulder take 2d8+5 Bldg damage on hit
- loud sounds equivalent to the spell thunder wave attract the attention of a nearby owlbear who arrives on the next round, give hints that owlbear is in the area
I put these basic "maps" in my random encounter table pile
at the end of each session I ask the PCs what they're going to do next session and prepare based of that info. If they're doing a dungeon I map it out, have my monsters ready, make sure I read up on relevant rules, right them down so I can reference them. Have major NPCs ready, at least a reskinned NPCs from the MM, know the goals etc of the NPCs so I can roleplay them, know what resources they have, for example
- Lord Konrad
- war like, just, loyal to king,
- lawful neutral
- use the Knight NPC stat block from the MM
- owns silver mine
- has a retinue of 6 knights, 20 soldiers, can call upon a militia of 120 peasants, peasants take 1d8+4 hours to mobilize
Lay all this info out within easy reach and your ready to go, I only plan 1-2 sessions ahead at this stage. keep your long term campaign stuff in mind so you know what's going on in the wider world, and how it effects the PCs! But don't spend a lot of energy detailing that stuff until it becomes relevant.
You were mentioning you were looking for some other large scale big bad type fight to fill out your ongoing adventure. My suggestion would be that the party has to deal with the King who is now some variation of undead creature. Not only would you be fighting him in his undead form but likely have to deal with his knights and servants that may or may not know about his transformation. These are people obligated to protect their monarch NO MATTER WHAT. This could make for an interesting even t of breaking into the castle and dealing with the king (maybe there is a cure who knows) but the party will have to GET to him first. The Zarovich could even still be there assisting only to leave when things go poorly or she has no more need for the king.
This would leave the Zarovich as the next step of what the party has to track down and deal with. All the while she is gathering her power in preparation for the Summoning of Orcus (or ya know whatever) and sending out her minions to deal with the adventurers. Having to fight her in her own 'Lair" can allow you to give her some interesting lair action abilities to make her fight more interesting than just smashing a bunch of undead.
I do agree with what others have stated about leaving most of the nitty gritty til you are closer to an event, spend your time prepping for a couple games as things can go in strange directions by pure happenstance.
Also on the note of the undead, feel free to take creatures that are Aberrations or Monstrosities and reskin them as some awful undead creations. I could totally picture something like a Displacer Beast being a stitched together undead creature. Catoblepas is another kind of undead ish feel to it. What I am trying to get at is don't feel too restricted in what creatures you utilize in the game. Yes most of the story is undead centric, but there should be other abominations of various types like Warcraft 3, undead dragons, spellcasting cultists, death knights and all that jazz. Even using something like a Drider (half spider half humanoid) can be worked into a setting like you are talking about. Also a sprinkling of Demons that are working with the cult is something else to consider.
Good luck and godspeed, DM with confidence even when you feel like you have no idea what you are doing.
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
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Hey everyone. So this is my first time DMing and I wanted to get some help with my story. Here's a little background.
Player Characters: Tabaxi druid just searching for knowledge. Genasi sorcerer looking to gain power. Human Bloodhunter seeking vengeance and fighting for the Raven Queen. Dwarf girl, age 22, seeking to resurrect her warforged friend/protector. Human Ranger who wants to kill his father (because of reasons). Aasimar Cleric who grew up fighting in the war and now just wants to be an adventurer under the god Tyr.
Here is what I got so far:
In the beginning, there was sky and dust. Remains from a land long lost floating in an endless abyss. It was from these fragments that the gods formed the land and ocean. (These fragments might play a role in magic artifacts they need to defeat Orcus later on). The current year is 308 p.w. (post the War of Man). The city of Alirannia is the largest metropolis within the Empire. It is ruled by a monarchy who have sat on the throne since the war. There have been both good and bad rulers in the family.
King Aimeri has ruled the Empire peacefully for nearly 7 decades. He ascended the throne after killing the crazed King Vicar, who relied on dark magic to rule his subjects. King Aimeri and King Vicar’s last battle took place in the fields of Trent. It is said that as King Aimeri’s zweihander (sword) pierced the evil king’s heart, the sword shattered into seven pieces. With the fall of King Vicar, Aimeri took the throne as his own and ruled peacefully and wisely. But rumors throughout the kingdom tell of a sickness taking hold in the dear king’s mind. The King’s advisor (and long-term friend) has never left his side. This advisor is Rosalie von Zarovich. Her family has been noble for centuries and she is extremely charismatic. Unknown to the king and the country, the Zarovich's have also been vampires for centuries. (This is where I draw on Fantastic Beasts plot.) Having to live in secret and hide her true powers, Rosalie developed a true hatred of those whose hearts beat. She wishes to not only make a new world where the undead can rule openly but to subject the living to their service. As such, she works for/with Orcus. She firmly believes that those who are living are weak and she would only grant the blessing of undead to her most valued servants. She has quite a large cult following, they call themselves the Order of the Damned. They have been given instructions to raid villages and towns with groups of undead and zombies on the full moon of Uktar. This will be their first demonstration of power. On the full moon of Nightal, they will release a plague on several large cities. There is a cure but it requires the group to find 5 rare ingredients. Meanwhile, Rosalie turns the king into one of her spawn (which explains his strange actions). This is the Age of Treason (340 p.w.)
I am hoping to have at least 3 big end of story fights, but I only have 2 so far. One with Rosalie and her cult/army, and one with Orcus. (This is the final battle. Need special armor/weapons, aid from the gods, and at least a level of 17.) I might have an additional fight with an ancient white dragon turns out to be the resurrected King Vicar and the only way to kill him is to find the seven pieces of King Aimeri’s zweihander and forge them together in a fire of the elemental realm.
I mainly just want to get feedback from some more experienced DMs. I feel like my story is a pretty common undead, vampires, and orcus storyline. It doesn't feel like it has a hook other than the ancient dragon/Vicar deal. I want to weave the Characters backgrounds in but I was wondering if y'all have any suggestions. For example, I may make Rosalie be related or look similar to loved one of the Human Bloodhunter who died in his arms.
So it sounds like your main concern is plot hooks to get the PCs involved. Here's some thoughts from a 5 year DM.
Your setting plot is very high fantasy, we are talking dragons, wizards, orcus, all that pulpy, juicy, high fantasy goodness. The degree to which the PCs can engage with a high fantasy plot is directly related to their level. First level characters have concerns like, where can I get more gold? is that chest trapped? I really need to make this next death saving throw. Orcus and kings and vampires are so far beyond them that these titanic clashes of good and evil are background dressing for their 1st level dungeon delves. If you want them to be engaged in the plot they need to be high enough level that these cosmic issues are actually something they can do something about, but being a new DM (especially if you have new players) I wouldn't recommend just saying "hey guys make 15 level characters and here's my setting bible" it will get out of hand, I know from experience.
I recommend starting out with the PCs perhaps in one of the cities about to be hit by a plague, their first adventure is a harrowing journey of survival and escape in a city rapidly transforming into a post apocalyptic, plague ridden hell hole. The low levels of the camping should be about the PCs dealing with the fallout of the titanic clashes happening in the world, small villages being attacked by low CR undead, plague victims spreading pestilence, that kind of thing. As the PCs grow in power they will gain more and more ability to engage with the cosmic conflicts of the world and hopefully simply living, and surviving in a world falling apart, and seeing the things happing around them will sufficiently hook them into he plot by the time they are high enough level to do something about it.
Great feedback. We are starting with the Phandalin adventure book. I don't love it too much so I was planning on them going to towns and hearing of the zombie raids. And then the plague would strike in the city they go to next. But that might be a few levels away still. I did have one more question about DMing. Where do you buy miniatures? I want to get a cool ancient white dragon and miniatures for other monsters in the game but everything I come up with is preowned or handcrafted. Is there no catalog?
Sounds fun, its good to have a premade adventure on hand, even if you don't run it, its good to have a template for how adventures look that you can reference when thinking about your own adventures. I would definitely recommend riffing off of 7 samurai and featuring some kind of undead take on 7 samurai maybe around 3 level. For minis I highly recommend Troll and Toad. Don't know if they're preowned, but either they've served me well.
That sounds fun. As far as planning/writing the adventure, should I try to break down different encounters and write them out like the adventure books do? If so, how do you best organize all of that information? My mind just starts reeling every time I think about it all. Also, that site looks awesome! They have a lot of minis so I am excited about checking them out. Thank you.
There are several resellers on eBay that have loads of the Icons of the Realms stuff. Miniature Market is also a good place to work, but generally unless if you buy the Monster Menagerie bricks you have to buy them second hand.
your welcome, I love troll and toads random miniature bags, good bang for buck.
you don't have to lay it all out like the book does, as you DM you'll find what works best for you. Here's what works for me. This is how I prep and setup when the campaign is still in the lower levels.
I use a DM screen, they have a lot of useful info, massively reduces time spent looking up rules, or hemming and hawing about encounter distance and that kind of thing (plus it looks imposing and makes the players think you know the rules better than you actually do)
I get a few random encounter tables handy for major regions the PCs could reach in 1-3 days of travel. Xanathar's pg 92 has random encounter tables divided by region and level. That takes care of some prep for us. You might want to modify the tables slightly, adding or removing monsters, easy enough to do. For you maybe slowly adding more and more undead encounters to the table would be a good idea.
I think up 2-3 maps for each region that could have a random encounter, these maps are very basic, I might not even map them out, just have a few sentences describing them like this
- 60f wide, 20f tall, 240f long gulley
- steep sides DC 13 to climb
- scattered dead trees, catch on fire easily, provide full cover
- large boulders on lip of gulley DC 12 to push over, Dex saving throw to avoid boulder, creatures directly below boulder take 2d8+5 Bldg damage on hit
- loud sounds equivalent to the spell thunder wave attract the attention of a nearby owlbear who arrives on the next round, give hints that owlbear is in the area
I put these basic "maps" in my random encounter table pile
at the end of each session I ask the PCs what they're going to do next session and prepare based of that info. If they're doing a dungeon I map it out, have my monsters ready, make sure I read up on relevant rules, right them down so I can reference them. Have major NPCs ready, at least a reskinned NPCs from the MM, know the goals etc of the NPCs so I can roleplay them, know what resources they have, for example
- Lord Konrad
- war like, just, loyal to king,
- lawful neutral
- use the Knight NPC stat block from the MM
- owns silver mine
- has a retinue of 6 knights, 20 soldiers, can call upon a militia of 120 peasants, peasants take 1d8+4 hours to mobilize
Lay all this info out within easy reach and your ready to go, I only plan 1-2 sessions ahead at this stage. keep your long term campaign stuff in mind so you know what's going on in the wider world, and how it effects the PCs! But don't spend a lot of energy detailing that stuff until it becomes relevant.
You were mentioning you were looking for some other large scale big bad type fight to fill out your ongoing adventure. My suggestion would be that the party has to deal with the King who is now some variation of undead creature. Not only would you be fighting him in his undead form but likely have to deal with his knights and servants that may or may not know about his transformation. These are people obligated to protect their monarch NO MATTER WHAT. This could make for an interesting even t of breaking into the castle and dealing with the king (maybe there is a cure who knows) but the party will have to GET to him first. The Zarovich could even still be there assisting only to leave when things go poorly or she has no more need for the king.
This would leave the Zarovich as the next step of what the party has to track down and deal with. All the while she is gathering her power in preparation for the Summoning of Orcus (or ya know whatever) and sending out her minions to deal with the adventurers. Having to fight her in her own 'Lair" can allow you to give her some interesting lair action abilities to make her fight more interesting than just smashing a bunch of undead.
I do agree with what others have stated about leaving most of the nitty gritty til you are closer to an event, spend your time prepping for a couple games as things can go in strange directions by pure happenstance.
Also on the note of the undead, feel free to take creatures that are Aberrations or Monstrosities and reskin them as some awful undead creations. I could totally picture something like a Displacer Beast being a stitched together undead creature. Catoblepas is another kind of undead ish feel to it. What I am trying to get at is don't feel too restricted in what creatures you utilize in the game. Yes most of the story is undead centric, but there should be other abominations of various types like Warcraft 3, undead dragons, spellcasting cultists, death knights and all that jazz. Even using something like a Drider (half spider half humanoid) can be worked into a setting like you are talking about. Also a sprinkling of Demons that are working with the cult is something else to consider.
Good luck and godspeed, DM with confidence even when you feel like you have no idea what you are doing.
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."