Basically, my players seem to really like the idea of a campaign that will take them to lvl 1-20. For me too the idea seems interesting, buy i'm afraid i simply don't know how to make such campaign. I cannot think of plotlines that can take players from lvls 1-20.
Basically, my players seem to really like the idea of a campaign that will take them to lvl 1-20. For me too the idea seems interesting, buy i'm afraid i simply don't know how to make such campaign. I cannot think of plotlines that can take players from lvls 1-20.
You don’t have to. You only need to think of plot lines that will get them to 5th-7th levels, and then develop new ones based on what they did those first five to seven levels.
It really depends on how much work and forethought you're willing/able to put into a campaign. Making 1-20 campaigns is my preferred way of doing things, and what I often do is think of a rather vague, undetailed storyline that connects multiple, smaller storylines together.
When planning, I don't see a 1-20 campaign as a single, large campaign, but rather a collection of multiple, smaller campaigns. Levels 1-5 they do XYZ, levels 6-10 they do ABC, levels 11-16 this, level 17-20 that.
At the beginning though, I had only the vaguest idea myself about what the players would be doing past level 11. My initial notes for levels 11-16 might literally be "they go to a desert to find some kind of artifact". 17-20 it might be "they find a lost city and defeat the big bad". I only really flesh them out when the players start to get closer to that part of the campaign.
It really depends on how much work and forethought you're willing/able to put into a campaign. Making 1-20 campaigns is my preferred way of doing things, and what I often do is think of a rather vague, undetailed storyline that connects multiple, smaller storylines together.
When planning, I don't see a 1-20 campaign as a single, large campaign, but rather a collection of multiple, smaller campaigns. Levels 1-5 they do XYZ, levels 6-10 they do ABC, levels 11-16 this, level 17-20 that.
At the beginning though, I had only the vaguest idea myself about what the players would be doing past level 11. My initial notes for levels 11-16 might literally be "they go to a desert to find some kind of artifact". 17-20 it might be "they find a lost city and defeat the big bad". I only really flesh them out when the players start to get closer to that part of the campaign.
I don’t even go that far because the choice to go to the desert is up to them. If they choose no to do that, I don’t want to plan for it. Besides, a more interesting plot will probably develop organically before that and I would rather the campy grow organically.
You're also free to be really generous when handing out levels. I played a mini campaign where we went from 1 to 7 in like 8 weeks, with the players advancing in level every session or sometimes two.
Not many campaigns make it from 1 to 20, but if you want to get there you can feel free to turbo-charge it as long as you're still including enough challenges to make it feel earned.
Yeah, I usually turbocharge it until everyone is at least 3rd level and then ease back on the throttle. That way everybody gets their subclass quickly enough to feel like they are actually their character (instead of just generic fighters for example) but then the slower pace after that gives me time to notice the new potential plot points and build on them as the campaign progresses.
A good way is to use an Official module/campaign to start, usually those will take the players from lvl 1 to 8-10 ish.
It will give you plenty of time to see what they do, how they react and interact with the world and their playstyle, and then you can later one throw at them stuff tailored for them, for their interest/playstyle and characters growth.
There isn't much official High lvl modules/campaigns unfortunatly, but there is ways around it.
There is lots of 3rd Party Editors that put up good material that can be used for higher level modules (Kobold Press is a good example of such things).
Or you can use another module, and adapte the CR/Levels to your party.
There exists some online tools/apps that can change the CR of any creatures and adapte the stats etc of it( the one i'm using is still in beta so sometimes things can get crazy numbers..
As you can see the Gob Commander is normaly a CR 0 creature, and using the tool to make it a CR 3 creature adapt the stats quite well, just the number od Dices it uses for its attacks that is completly bonkers..., so you just need to dial them down to a more normal level)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Normality is but an Illusion, Whats normal to the Spider, is only madness for the Fly"
1989-94 I took my team from level 1 to level 27+. I just kept stringing together modules and customized the threats to challenge them.
Basically this. Only I don’t pick the string. I’ll sew the seeds for 2 or 3 modules and whichever one the players choose to pursue becomes the A plot and the others become B or C plots. If they show no interest at all in one of them I’ll let it fade away and redevelop it and reintroduce it again later. But basically let the players decide the direction of the campaign and i more curate the options they are presented with.
Hey guys, i'll get to the point.
Basically, my players seem to really like the idea of a campaign that will take them to lvl 1-20. For me too the idea seems interesting, buy i'm afraid i simply don't know how to make such campaign. I cannot think of plotlines that can take players from lvls 1-20.
You don’t have to. You only need to think of plot lines that will get them to 5th-7th levels, and then develop new ones based on what they did those first five to seven levels.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
It really depends on how much work and forethought you're willing/able to put into a campaign. Making 1-20 campaigns is my preferred way of doing things, and what I often do is think of a rather vague, undetailed storyline that connects multiple, smaller storylines together.
When planning, I don't see a 1-20 campaign as a single, large campaign, but rather a collection of multiple, smaller campaigns. Levels 1-5 they do XYZ, levels 6-10 they do ABC, levels 11-16 this, level 17-20 that.
At the beginning though, I had only the vaguest idea myself about what the players would be doing past level 11. My initial notes for levels 11-16 might literally be "they go to a desert to find some kind of artifact". 17-20 it might be "they find a lost city and defeat the big bad". I only really flesh them out when the players start to get closer to that part of the campaign.
I don’t even go that far because the choice to go to the desert is up to them. If they choose no to do that, I don’t want to plan for it. Besides, a more interesting plot will probably develop organically before that and I would rather the campy grow organically.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
You're also free to be really generous when handing out levels. I played a mini campaign where we went from 1 to 7 in like 8 weeks, with the players advancing in level every session or sometimes two.
Not many campaigns make it from 1 to 20, but if you want to get there you can feel free to turbo-charge it as long as you're still including enough challenges to make it feel earned.
Yeah, I usually turbocharge it until everyone is at least 3rd level and then ease back on the throttle. That way everybody gets their subclass quickly enough to feel like they are actually their character (instead of just generic fighters for example) but then the slower pace after that gives me time to notice the new potential plot points and build on them as the campaign progresses.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
A good way is to use an Official module/campaign to start, usually those will take the players from lvl 1 to 8-10 ish.
It will give you plenty of time to see what they do, how they react and interact with the world and their playstyle, and then you can later one throw at them stuff tailored for them, for their interest/playstyle and characters growth.
There isn't much official High lvl modules/campaigns unfortunatly, but there is ways around it.
There is lots of 3rd Party Editors that put up good material that can be used for higher level modules (Kobold Press is a good example of such things).
Or you can use another module, and adapte the CR/Levels to your party.
There exists some online tools/apps that can change the CR of any creatures and adapte the stats etc of it( the one i'm using is still in beta so sometimes things can get crazy numbers..
As you can see the Gob Commander is normaly a CR 0 creature, and using the tool to make it a CR 3 creature adapt the stats quite well, just the number od Dices it uses for its attacks that is completly bonkers..., so you just need to dial them down to a more normal level)
"Normality is but an Illusion, Whats normal to the Spider, is only madness for the Fly"
Kain de Frostberg- Dark Knight - (Vengeance Pal3/ Hexblade 9), Port Mourn
Kain de Draakberg-Dark Knight lvl8-Avergreen(DitA)
1989-94 I took my team from level 1 to level 27+. I just kept stringing together modules and customized the threats to challenge them.
Basically this. Only I don’t pick the string. I’ll sew the seeds for 2 or 3 modules and whichever one the players choose to pursue becomes the A plot and the others become B or C plots. If they show no interest at all in one of them I’ll let it fade away and redevelop it and reintroduce it again later. But basically let the players decide the direction of the campaign and i more curate the options they are presented with.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting