I have been wondering, and have wanted to try. From my limited experience having played D&D 5e, and more from what I have watched on Twitch and Youtube. The players go on and adventure, but, can it be done were the players stay in a city or town for example, and the "adventure" takes place there? For example, Star Trek: Deep Space 9, compared to the other Star Treks?
There are games or adventures that never leave the building. Basically, you can tell any story you like.
Precisely how to do it is another question.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
This could be done - the main design issue is going to be including enough content to fill whatever level range you want your campaign to span. A small town of 100 people is unlikely to provide enough content for levels 1-20, not to mention the players outgrowing small town problems. You could do a shorter campaign set in a town though if you wanted a hyper intimate setting. A city could provide 1-20 content and problems spanning from 1-20, provided you have enough going on to keep the players interested. The easiest way to do that would be lots of conspiracy and intrigue going on, so the players can constantly be finding corruption, cults, etc.
There are two further complications that someone considering this should be made aware of. The first is player interest - to keep the players in one place and not have them feel bored of their environment is going to take an incredible amount of storytelling skill on the DM’s part. Not insurmountable, but also not insignificant. The second is that, by keeping things to a single location, you are somewhat limited in terms of what monsters you can use - some larger sized monsters, for example, might not make as much sense to attack a city where there would be hundreds of town guards swarming them instantly.
If this is something you want to do, I would check out Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica. Even if you are not interested in Magic, the book is a campaign setting set in a single city (more accurately a single mega district inside a world-spanning city, but you could reflavour that district to just being a city). It has location ideas, factions you could reflavour, etc. and would probably be a good jumping off point for homebrewing.
You definitely can, as others have said. I’d add, along the lines of DS9, you can still occasion leave, as they did. Mostly be in the city, but maybe you do a plot arc on another plane or something. Also, one of the more appealing parts of ds9 is that it was a way station, so there were always people passing through. You can use this to bring the adventure to your players, rather than them going out to it. Also, there’s a 3rd party supplement about a place called Ptolus. Which is a big city. It’s by Monte Cook, one of the main writers of 3e. It’s been updated for 5e. I’ve not checked it out in a looong time, so I don’t know how it holds ip, but I remember it being pretty cool in the past.
Don’t forget that on DS9, things weren’t always set on the station, lots of stuff happened on Bajor, Ferengenar, and in the near sections of the Gama Quadrant. If you set your campaign in a major city, then in one district there could be plenty of local problems for the PCs to cut their teeth on that will keep the players interested up through 5th level at least. Then as they start to make a name for themselves, the whole city starts to be their “station.” Make sure the city includes a Magic School and you’ll have an excuse for the occasional outlandish monster to suddenly be terrorizing the city. And don’t forget that most cities are built upon other, older preexisting cities, so under the streets there could be a veritable warren of ruins for them to explore too. The surrounding countryside and satellite settlements can be their equivalent of those other aforementioned locals.
Yes, you can totally set an entire campaign in one central location, I’ve done it. The trick is to start small with 1 or 2 districts and let the PCs grow into the rest of the city so the players always feel like there’s more to explore.
Wasn't the waterdeep dragon heist adventure set just in the city of Waterdeep?
It can certainly be done but I'd make sure to involve 'some' scope to things. Make it a big bustling port city, or include a town and a region around the town. Or have some excursions to neighboring areas.
The video game bloodborne is also an adventure that has a somewhat limited setting. One city and some surrounding forests, with the city changing some as the story progresses and things get worse. Dynamic changes to the city/whatever area you set it in over time due to unfolding events or even the actions of the party could be one way to help keep the setting lively as well.
For me an adventure is a series of encounters, so you can have a series of encounters in a location (being small or large) but it can be tough to keep players interested in a small location (as was said above). How I would work a small'ish location would/might be into to location, a series of social encounters and then the location is reveled to be larger then thought or the players have to repeatedly defend a location vs a number of different threats.
But IMHO it always comes down to how it is done and what does your group expect from the game.
The length of the adventure also factors in. If you're just looking for a few days of adventuring and not several levels worth of adventuring or a full campaign, then that's much easier to do just about anywhere.
I manage to run a campaign for 2 years on an island only 2 miles across, with a town the population of only 500 people. Admittedly there was a lot going on in that little fishing village, but it lasted.
One thing I have seen is a person trying to sell and adventure/campaign and not wanting to pay for maps and art and put forth the OP's question. It can work but as always the devil is in the details.
I manage to run a campaign for 2 years on an island only 2 miles across, with a town the population of only 500 people. Admittedly there was a lot going on in that little fishing village, but it lasted.
That is almost the plot to Gilligan's Island, except often there were not other people or people passing through the island.
While posting another variation came to mind, in the past I have seen a group defend an area vs opposing adventures and enemy troops with limited resources (supplies, troops, reinforcements, etc). At the time we had fun playing against other PC type enemies rather then the standard monsters listed in the MM and I think it was a stat of my "Monsters are People Too" thought process as well as playing another system later.
I manage to run a campaign for 2 years on an island only 2 miles across, with a town the population of only 500 people. Admittedly there was a lot going on in that little fishing village, but it lasted.
That is almost the plot to Gilligan's Island, except often there were not other people or people passing through the island.
If Gilligan’s Island was the nexus for a Cthulhu type entity and his half-human spawn rivaling each other trying to take over the world, then sure.
One thing I have seen is a person trying to sell and adventure/campaign and not wanting to pay for maps and art and put forth the OP's question. It can work but as always the devil is in the details.
Pay for maps & art?!? People pay for that stuff?!?
One thing I have seen is a person trying to sell and adventure/campaign and not wanting to pay for maps and art and put forth the OP's question. It can work but as always the devil is in the details.
I am not sure I understand the relevance to my question, orm Is this something you have encountered in game?
I manage to run a campaign for 2 years on an island only 2 miles across, with a town the population of only 500 people. Admittedly there was a lot going on in that little fishing village, but it lasted.
That is almost the plot to Gilligan's Island, except often there were not other people or people passing through the island.
If Gilligan’s Island was the nexus for a Cthulhu type entity and his half-human spawn rivaling each other trying to take over the world, then sure.
One thing I have seen is a person trying to sell and adventure/campaign and not wanting to pay for maps and art and put forth the OP's question. It can work but as always the devil is in the details.
I am not sure I understand the relevance to my question, orm Is this something you have encountered in game?
The relevance is in the past I used to talk to people who were asking about publishing material one of the most common was "I am not a an artist or a map maker, how can I limit my expenses in this area? What do you think about just one location with a series of adventures in that location? And how would I do that so people would buy it?"
From my experience it really depends on your group and what they enjoy and expect from a game. But also I have found that if I try and skimp in an area then players find that and it can lead to problems.
But again groups are different and expect different things from gaming.
One thing I forgot a great Gm can often make just about anything work but most great GM's are made and do not start out that way. So try stuff out find what works for you and your group and do not be afraid to make mistakes. If you are among friends it is easy to say "I am trying something new here so after a time I may ask if you like it or not and at that time I may change what is happening" My friends would say, can you explain more and often ok lets try it.
I myself made many mistakes when starting (thank god it was a home game with friends and not a net game with strangers) and have learned from them and even then I still make mistakes at times and try and do better. I expect and give slack to my players as they are the same. But I do agree there are times, such as a tournament game, in which things are different and a different standard is required.
Ya, I agree. Experimenting with friends is one of the better ways to do it. It may have already, but I feel like this is one of those this that could be expanded more.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I have been wondering, and have wanted to try. From my limited experience having played D&D 5e, and more from what I have watched on Twitch and Youtube. The players go on and adventure, but, can it be done were the players stay in a city or town for example, and the "adventure" takes place there? For example, Star Trek: Deep Space 9, compared to the other Star Treks?
There are games or adventures that never leave the building. Basically, you can tell any story you like.
Precisely how to do it is another question.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
This could be done - the main design issue is going to be including enough content to fill whatever level range you want your campaign to span. A small town of 100 people is unlikely to provide enough content for levels 1-20, not to mention the players outgrowing small town problems. You could do a shorter campaign set in a town though if you wanted a hyper intimate setting. A city could provide 1-20 content and problems spanning from 1-20, provided you have enough going on to keep the players interested. The easiest way to do that would be lots of conspiracy and intrigue going on, so the players can constantly be finding corruption, cults, etc.
There are two further complications that someone considering this should be made aware of. The first is player interest - to keep the players in one place and not have them feel bored of their environment is going to take an incredible amount of storytelling skill on the DM’s part. Not insurmountable, but also not insignificant. The second is that, by keeping things to a single location, you are somewhat limited in terms of what monsters you can use - some larger sized monsters, for example, might not make as much sense to attack a city where there would be hundreds of town guards swarming them instantly.
If this is something you want to do, I would check out Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica. Even if you are not interested in Magic, the book is a campaign setting set in a single city (more accurately a single mega district inside a world-spanning city, but you could reflavour that district to just being a city). It has location ideas, factions you could reflavour, etc. and would probably be a good jumping off point for homebrewing.
You definitely can, as others have said.
I’d add, along the lines of DS9, you can still occasion leave, as they did. Mostly be in the city, but maybe you do a plot arc on another plane or something. Also, one of the more appealing parts of ds9 is that it was a way station, so there were always people passing through. You can use this to bring the adventure to your players, rather than them going out to it.
Also, there’s a 3rd party supplement about a place called Ptolus. Which is a big city. It’s by Monte Cook, one of the main writers of 3e. It’s been updated for 5e. I’ve not checked it out in a looong time, so I don’t know how it holds ip, but I remember it being pretty cool in the past.
Don’t forget that on DS9, things weren’t always set on the station, lots of stuff happened on Bajor, Ferengenar, and in the near sections of the Gama Quadrant. If you set your campaign in a major city, then in one district there could be plenty of local problems for the PCs to cut their teeth on that will keep the players interested up through 5th level at least. Then as they start to make a name for themselves, the whole city starts to be their “station.” Make sure the city includes a Magic School and you’ll have an excuse for the occasional outlandish monster to suddenly be terrorizing the city. And don’t forget that most cities are built upon other, older preexisting cities, so under the streets there could be a veritable warren of ruins for them to explore too. The surrounding countryside and satellite settlements can be their equivalent of those other aforementioned locals.
Yes, you can totally set an entire campaign in one central location, I’ve done it. The trick is to start small with 1 or 2 districts and let the PCs grow into the rest of the city so the players always feel like there’s more to explore.
Edits: Typos
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
I'm currently in a Ravnica campaign that is a similar idea, since the entire world of Ravnica is covered by one giant city.
Wasn't the waterdeep dragon heist adventure set just in the city of Waterdeep?
It can certainly be done but I'd make sure to involve 'some' scope to things. Make it a big bustling port city, or include a town and a region around the town. Or have some excursions to neighboring areas.
The video game bloodborne is also an adventure that has a somewhat limited setting. One city and some surrounding forests, with the city changing some as the story progresses and things get worse. Dynamic changes to the city/whatever area you set it in over time due to unfolding events or even the actions of the party could be one way to help keep the setting lively as well.
For me an adventure is a series of encounters, so you can have a series of encounters in a location (being small or large) but it can be tough to keep players interested in a small location (as was said above). How I would work a small'ish location would/might be into to location, a series of social encounters and then the location is reveled to be larger then thought or the players have to repeatedly defend a location vs a number of different threats.
But IMHO it always comes down to how it is done and what does your group expect from the game.
The length of the adventure also factors in. If you're just looking for a few days of adventuring and not several levels worth of adventuring or a full campaign, then that's much easier to do just about anywhere.
I manage to run a campaign for 2 years on an island only 2 miles across, with a town the population of only 500 people. Admittedly there was a lot going on in that little fishing village, but it lasted.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
One thing I have seen is a person trying to sell and adventure/campaign and not wanting to pay for maps and art and put forth the OP's question. It can work but as always the devil is in the details.
That is almost the plot to Gilligan's Island, except often there were not other people or people passing through the island.
While posting another variation came to mind, in the past I have seen a group defend an area vs opposing adventures and enemy troops with limited resources (supplies, troops, reinforcements, etc). At the time we had fun playing against other PC type enemies rather then the standard monsters listed in the MM and I think it was a stat of my "Monsters are People Too" thought process as well as playing another system later.
If Gilligan’s Island was the nexus for a Cthulhu type entity and his half-human spawn rivaling each other trying to take over the world, then sure.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Pay for maps & art?!? People pay for that stuff?!?
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Thank you to those answered my question.
I am not sure I understand the relevance to my question, orm Is this something you have encountered in game?
You have seen the show then. Just joking.
The relevance is in the past I used to talk to people who were asking about publishing material one of the most common was "I am not a an artist or a map maker, how can I limit my expenses in this area? What do you think about just one location with a series of adventures in that location? And how would I do that so people would buy it?"
From my experience it really depends on your group and what they enjoy and expect from a game. But also I have found that if I try and skimp in an area then players find that and it can lead to problems.
But again groups are different and expect different things from gaming.
One thing I forgot a great Gm can often make just about anything work but most great GM's are made and do not start out that way. So try stuff out find what works for you and your group and do not be afraid to make mistakes. If you are among friends it is easy to say "I am trying something new here so after a time I may ask if you like it or not and at that time I may change what is happening" My friends would say, can you explain more and often ok lets try it.
I myself made many mistakes when starting (thank god it was a home game with friends and not a net game with strangers) and have learned from them and even then I still make mistakes at times and try and do better. I expect and give slack to my players as they are the same. But I do agree there are times, such as a tournament game, in which things are different and a different standard is required.
Ya, I agree. Experimenting with friends is one of the better ways to do it. It may have already, but I feel like this is one of those this that could be expanded more.