I am going to be a first time DM in a few months to allow our DM to take a break and actually play himself for once ;) My players will be playing LMoP and I want to use this starter campaign to transition into something homebrew.
For me designing this campaign already has prove to be quite the challange. Maybe my biggest issue is, that apparently I am not a criminal mastermind and thats why I struggle to come up with a great plot for my villain and subsequently fail to give the campaign a little structure I can clinge to. I know that I am not supposed to write a script but instead let my players write the story in the framework I am supposed to provide. However, I think that structuring the campaign in a few smaller portions helps quite a bit so I as a beginner can always come back to this "lifeline", although I know it is likely that I will have to adjust or scrap it completely at a later stage.
Maybe you guys can help me a little with this endeavor of creating this campaign?
Please note that I am not attached to ANY of the following and will gladly throw anything over board if you guys say so.
A little more detail of what I am planning:
I know from my players, that they enjoy (and would love to have in my campaign)
a section of the campaign taking place in a large city to interact with different factions and the possibility to explore the city. I picked waterdeep because I like pretty much everything about this city.
dungeon crawling/exploration and puzzles
challenging encounters
My BBEG:
The enemy is a powerful wizard seeking even greater power. His ultimate goal is to transform into a Lich and from there ascend to godhood. Why do we care? The BBEG seeks this power to become the ultimate ruler over the whole swordcost. I want to also introduce a cult that becomes larger the more powerful the BBEG gets. This is supposed to communicate the rising thread the BBEG poses to the world.
I like the idea of a Lich as a BBEG, because even if he gets killed by the party at a stage I didnt expect them to, I can simply revive him at his phylactery and continue his plans. At the same time however I feel like having a single individual strive for power is maybe a bit boring?
In more detail:
We will start with Lost Mine of Phandelver. Nezznar turns out to not be the BBEG but is tasked by the BBEG with finding a certain artifact he needs for his plans. The artifact is hidden deep below wave echo cave and can be obtained by the party after defeating nezznar. What is the item needed for? No idea - yet (will take advice ;) )
The party will be tasked with bringing the artifact to a scholar in Waterdeep to find out more about it. (This is only to make the party take the item with them on a long journey). I'll have the party pass through a village or two and have then attacked by cult members to try to get the item back. These fights are supposed to be easily manageable.
After a while, the party will be ambushed in their sleep by a force of drow mercenaries who capture them. At this stage the BBEG will for the first time introduce himself to the party without revealing his identity. The BBEG will accompany the drow mercenaries and at this point steal the item from the party. The party will be captured and must escape. I will drop some clues for the party that the BBEG has some kind of operation in Waterdeep so that the party has a reason to continue to Waterdeep.
I am pretty satisfied with this little section so far. There is also lots of room to allow the players freedom to proceed as they like, I think. While keeping a clear goal: escape and get to Waterdeep.
At this point I'm stuck (part of the reason I made this post). I have no idea what the BBEG or the cult are doing in waterdeep and why. Ofc I cannot just have them engage the BBEG here for the grand finale, there must be some kind of plan going on the BBEG is pursuing for the lich transformation. All I know is, that I want my party to do their research and gain the trust of the many factions in the city.
Maybe you guys can give me some much appreciated advice, comments and ideas for the following things:
What do you think about my BBEG and his ultimate goal? Any ideas to further develop him? Is it a good idea to have him turn into a lich during the campaing or would it be better to have him start as a Lich?
What could his actual plan be and what are the steps required? What is the artifact needed for?
Especially, what kind of plan is he pursuing in Waterdeep and why?
PS: After reading through the post again, I do realize that this kind of reads like a request to write a campaign for me. This is not my intention. I've been trying to work out a solid campaign structure for quite a while now and keep ditching different ideas over and over to the point where I am litereally desperate to come up with a solid story outline...
First of all, this is a very good start! Creating homebrew, especially as an inexperienced DM, can be intimidating, and you seem to be getting the hang of it quickly. Now, to answer your questions:
If you're making a level 1-20 campaign, the approach I would take would be to start him off as a lich and make the "transformation" be to ascend to godhood. However, if you are not expecting to see these characters all the way to level 20, I would have the "transformation" be from archmage to lich. As for his character, I suggest fleshing out a backstory and personality description as you would for a player character and, as you would for a player character, discover and grow his personality as you continue your campaign and see his actions.
The artifact might be an element for the ritual to become a lich or god, such as the future phylactery or a legendary gemstone that must be consumed by an ascension spell.
Waterdeep is a huge city. If the goal is world domination, seizing control of Waterdeep could be a good place to begin. This could involve a military occupation of the city, gaining public support and power through city politics, or even gaining power in Waterdeep's complex underground world of crime.
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Panda-wat (I hate my username) is somehow convinced that he is objectively right about everything D&D related even though he obviously is not. Considering that, he'd probably make a great D&D youtuber.
"If I die, I can live with that." ~Luke Hart, the DM lair
I think I'll have the BBEG start as an archmage so that revealing he turned Lich will be a big surprise for the party. Also the party would likely not engage a lich without having found a way to destroy his phylactery first. This way I could have a great (seemingly) final fight against the lich to finish a story arc and can return him as a future BBEG :)
I like the idea of the artifact being a component for the phylactery. What do you think about this: the artifact will be some kind of Soul Container that maybe trapped some kind of evil creature (a demon of some kind). To be able to turn it into a phylactery, the BBEG must find a way to release the creature within.
I also like the idea of gaining controll over waterdeep. The Lich could somehow gained controll over a majority in the council of the Masked Lords. Through this majority he begins to establish a police force and through council descisions the lich gradually gains more and more controll (e.g. stripping rights from all other factions while establishing the "police force" as a means to directly rule the city.) The members of the police force could later on even be developed into the cult of the BBEG, serving as constant adversaries. Opinions? :)
Now what is it the BBEG must accomplish in Waterdeep?
1) release the demon from its prison to prepare its phylactery. Why? To merely do evil is boring. Maybe the BBEG was aspiring to become the next Blackstaff but instead of him, Vajra Safahr took the position because he was deemed unfit and too unpredictable to take this important position. Releasing a major demon into the city would serve both as a means to show that the inexperienced Vajra Safahr isn't up to the task and also a means to take revenge. Does this make sense? I am not quite sure how the blackstaff is selected lore-wise.
2) gather everything he needs to transform to a lich. No idea what at this point ;)
Ps: doing this in a dialoge is actually quite helpful! Looking forward to further ideas and comments :)
Hey! I run pretty much 99% homebrew games so I can feel your pain. You sound like you've got your campaign sort tbh so I just thought id share wisdom.
Top tips.
1) Keep it super super flexible. Dont expect all of your cues to be followed or quests to be picked up. Players are a busy bunch of people so dont be scared of making it up on the spot and making things cannon later.
2) Your BBEG will not care much about your low level adventures. I didnt introduce my BBEG until my players were level 5+. They were busy doing small jobs and learning the ropes of their characters before I shoved important lore and story at them.
3) If you struggle for content use player backstory. Players backstory is the best way to keep playes engaged and 100% focused on the mission. My current campaign is almost 100% backstory driven. The fighters old swordmaster is dying and left them an unsettling note for vengence, the wizard has recived a mystery letter to attend a library at midnight with no explanation etc.
Most importantly just have fun, dont forget it's your game too so make sure you're enjoying it.
I was playing to give each player a bit of backgroud story to tie into the story. Or do you think I should let my players the freedom to chose their own background story?
Sometimes it's not that fun if the players know who the BBEG is from the start. Maybe they've heard his name before, but they shouldn't really know of his plans and intentions until a third of the way through the campaign. You should also introduce a seemingly friendly NPC who joins the players on their quests. Maybe he claims that he's interested in helping them find a magic artefact, or if the quest is for gold, he might help them in exchange for a share of the money. After a big quest is done, have the NPC reveal that he's secretly working for the soon-to-be Lich. It will definitely shock your players - a similar thing happened when I was a player, and the DM nailed the plot twist perfectly. Then the players will realise that for the whole time, they've technically been helping the NPC and his boss. Have the NPC be in the final battle.
That's just one idea to help make the antagonist more interesting. You could also have some sort of secret cult or guild that has two secret bases - one in Phandalin, the other in Waterdeep. It's a good way to "blend" LMoP into your original plot. Maybe the guild has similar intentions to the BBEG, or they used to work for him, and now they also want to kill him.
Don't flesh out too much BBEG backstory until you go through the campaign, so you know how your players might connect or have relations to the antagonist. If not, the BBEG's history and backstory might turn out to not go so well with the story. The more you let your players tell the story, the more they're planning the campaign out for you.
I hope these tips help - and remember, as long as you provide your players with a fun storyline (which doesn't have to be perfect), they'll love it.
Just a quick thing - seems like you’re getting lots of great advice already - but I tend to stay away from having the party captured. If they know, the fight to get there is a bit of a slog, if they don’t they’ll fight tooth and nail to escape, and probably will, unless you throw such powerful enemies at them that it feels unfair. It’s a tricky one, because it’s a really good way to allow your characters to learn about the big bad and get a change of scenery/gameplay in, but I haven’t thought of a way to do it fairly/excitingly yet. Not to mean you couldn’t do something like a fight that’s slightly beyond the party’s level, so at least one gets captured, and then they have to coordinate a rescue from outside, but it might get a little complicated.
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Hi,
I am going to be a first time DM in a few months to allow our DM to take a break and actually play himself for once ;)
My players will be playing LMoP and I want to use this starter campaign to transition into something homebrew.
For me designing this campaign already has prove to be quite the challange. Maybe my biggest issue is, that apparently I am not a criminal mastermind and thats why I struggle to come up with a great plot for my villain and subsequently fail to give the campaign a little structure I can clinge to. I know that I am not supposed to write a script but instead let my players write the story in the framework I am supposed to provide. However, I think that structuring the campaign in a few smaller portions helps quite a bit so I as a beginner can always come back to this "lifeline", although I know it is likely that I will have to adjust or scrap it completely at a later stage.
Maybe you guys can help me a little with this endeavor of creating this campaign?
Please note that I am not attached to ANY of the following and will gladly throw anything over board if you guys say so.
A little more detail of what I am planning:
I know from my players, that they enjoy (and would love to have in my campaign)
a section of the campaign taking place in a large city to interact with different factions and the possibility to explore the city. I picked waterdeep because I like pretty much everything about this city.
dungeon crawling/exploration and puzzles
challenging encounters
My BBEG:
The enemy is a powerful wizard seeking even greater power. His ultimate goal is to transform into a Lich and from there ascend to godhood. Why do we care? The BBEG seeks this power to become the ultimate ruler over the whole swordcost. I want to also introduce a cult that becomes larger the more powerful the BBEG gets. This is supposed to communicate the rising thread the BBEG poses to the world.
I like the idea of a Lich as a BBEG, because even if he gets killed by the party at a stage I didnt expect them to, I can simply revive him at his phylactery and continue his plans. At the same time however I feel like having a single individual strive for power is maybe a bit boring?
In more detail:
We will start with Lost Mine of Phandelver. Nezznar turns out to not be the BBEG but is tasked by the BBEG with finding a certain artifact he needs for his plans. The artifact is hidden deep below wave echo cave and can be obtained by the party after defeating nezznar. What is the item needed for? No idea - yet (will take advice ;) )
The party will be tasked with bringing the artifact to a scholar in Waterdeep to find out more about it. (This is only to make the party take the item with them on a long journey). I'll have the party pass through a village or two and have then attacked by cult members to try to get the item back. These fights are supposed to be easily manageable.
After a while, the party will be ambushed in their sleep by a force of drow mercenaries who capture them. At this stage the BBEG will for the first time introduce himself to the party without revealing his identity. The BBEG will accompany the drow mercenaries and at this point steal the item from the party. The party will be captured and must escape. I will drop some clues for the party that the BBEG has some kind of operation in Waterdeep so that the party has a reason to continue to Waterdeep.
I am pretty satisfied with this little section so far. There is also lots of room to allow the players freedom to proceed as they like, I think. While keeping a clear goal: escape and get to Waterdeep.
At this point I'm stuck (part of the reason I made this post). I have no idea what the BBEG or the cult are doing in waterdeep and why. Ofc I cannot just have them engage the BBEG here for the grand finale, there must be some kind of plan going on the BBEG is pursuing for the lich transformation. All I know is, that I want my party to do their research and gain the trust of the many factions in the city.
Maybe you guys can give me some much appreciated advice, comments and ideas for the following things:
PS: After reading through the post again, I do realize that this kind of reads like a request to write a campaign for me. This is not my intention. I've been trying to work out a solid campaign structure for quite a while now and keep ditching different ideas over and over to the point where I am litereally desperate to come up with a solid story outline...
First of all, this is a very good start! Creating homebrew, especially as an inexperienced DM, can be intimidating, and you seem to be getting the hang of it quickly. Now, to answer your questions:
Panda-wat (I hate my username) is somehow convinced that he is objectively right about everything D&D related even though he obviously is not. Considering that, he'd probably make a great D&D youtuber.
"If I die, I can live with that." ~Luke Hart, the DM lair
I think I'll have the BBEG start as an archmage so that revealing he turned Lich will be a big surprise for the party. Also the party would likely not engage a lich without having found a way to destroy his phylactery first. This way I could have a great (seemingly) final fight against the lich to finish a story arc and can return him as a future BBEG :)
I like the idea of the artifact being a component for the phylactery. What do you think about this: the artifact will be some kind of Soul Container that maybe trapped some kind of evil creature (a demon of some kind). To be able to turn it into a phylactery, the BBEG must find a way to release the creature within.
I also like the idea of gaining controll over waterdeep. The Lich could somehow gained controll over a majority in the council of the Masked Lords. Through this majority he begins to establish a police force and through council descisions the lich gradually gains more and more controll (e.g. stripping rights from all other factions while establishing the "police force" as a means to directly rule the city.) The members of the police force could later on even be developed into the cult of the BBEG, serving as constant adversaries. Opinions? :)
Now what is it the BBEG must accomplish in Waterdeep?
1) release the demon from its prison to prepare its phylactery. Why? To merely do evil is boring. Maybe the BBEG was aspiring to become the next Blackstaff but instead of him, Vajra Safahr took the position because he was deemed unfit and too unpredictable to take this important position. Releasing a major demon into the city would serve both as a means to show that the inexperienced Vajra Safahr isn't up to the task and also a means to take revenge. Does this make sense? I am not quite sure how the blackstaff is selected lore-wise.
2) gather everything he needs to transform to a lich. No idea what at this point ;)
Ps: doing this in a dialoge is actually quite helpful! Looking forward to further ideas and comments :)
Hey! I run pretty much 99% homebrew games so I can feel your pain. You sound like you've got your campaign sort tbh so I just thought id share wisdom.
Top tips.
1) Keep it super super flexible. Dont expect all of your cues to be followed or quests to be picked up. Players are a busy bunch of people so dont be scared of making it up on the spot and making things cannon later.
2) Your BBEG will not care much about your low level adventures. I didnt introduce my BBEG until my players were level 5+. They were busy doing small jobs and learning the ropes of their characters before I shoved important lore and story at them.
3) If you struggle for content use player backstory. Players backstory is the best way to keep playes engaged and 100% focused on the mission. My current campaign is almost 100% backstory driven. The fighters old swordmaster is dying and left them an unsettling note for vengence, the wizard has recived a mystery letter to attend a library at midnight with no explanation etc.
Most importantly just have fun, dont forget it's your game too so make sure you're enjoying it.
Thanks for pointing this out!
I was playing to give each player a bit of backgroud story to tie into the story. Or do you think I should let my players the freedom to chose their own background story?
Mix of both. Give your campaign setting and ket your players describe where they come from and how they came to be where they are today.
Sometimes it's not that fun if the players know who the BBEG is from the start. Maybe they've heard his name before, but they shouldn't really know of his plans and intentions until a third of the way through the campaign. You should also introduce a seemingly friendly NPC who joins the players on their quests. Maybe he claims that he's interested in helping them find a magic artefact, or if the quest is for gold, he might help them in exchange for a share of the money. After a big quest is done, have the NPC reveal that he's secretly working for the soon-to-be Lich. It will definitely shock your players - a similar thing happened when I was a player, and the DM nailed the plot twist perfectly. Then the players will realise that for the whole time, they've technically been helping the NPC and his boss. Have the NPC be in the final battle.
That's just one idea to help make the antagonist more interesting. You could also have some sort of secret cult or guild that has two secret bases - one in Phandalin, the other in Waterdeep. It's a good way to "blend" LMoP into your original plot. Maybe the guild has similar intentions to the BBEG, or they used to work for him, and now they also want to kill him.
Don't flesh out too much BBEG backstory until you go through the campaign, so you know how your players might connect or have relations to the antagonist. If not, the BBEG's history and backstory might turn out to not go so well with the story. The more you let your players tell the story, the more they're planning the campaign out for you.
I hope these tips help - and remember, as long as you provide your players with a fun storyline (which doesn't have to be perfect), they'll love it.
If anybody would like my GMing playlists
battles: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2mRp57MBAz9ZsVpw895IzZ?si=243bee43442a4703
exploration: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0qk0aKm5yI4K6VrlcaKrDj?si=81057bef509043f3
town/tavern: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/49JSv1kK0bUyQ9LVpKmZlr?si=a88b1dd9bab54111
character deaths: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6k7WhylJEjSqWC0pBuAtFD?si=3e897fa2a2dd469e
Just a quick thing - seems like you’re getting lots of great advice already - but I tend to stay away from having the party captured. If they know, the fight to get there is a bit of a slog, if they don’t they’ll fight tooth and nail to escape, and probably will, unless you throw such powerful enemies at them that it feels unfair. It’s a tricky one, because it’s a really good way to allow your characters to learn about the big bad and get a change of scenery/gameplay in, but I haven’t thought of a way to do it fairly/excitingly yet. Not to mean you couldn’t do something like a fight that’s slightly beyond the party’s level, so at least one gets captured, and then they have to coordinate a rescue from outside, but it might get a little complicated.