Hi all, I'm nearing the end of one of my campaigns and have begun thinking about my next homebrew. I work in a very specific way based on a theme, but would love some ideas to help fill in some gaps. I work by assigning goals or descriptions to milestones that would help players achieve their level ups. It is the gaps in the Milestones I'd love some thoughts on filling in. So DMs out there, do you think these milestones are level appropriate? How would you plug the gaps?
The Core Story Concept This campaign will be set in and around a single city and players will have few reasons to venture more than a day away from the city. I want to focus more on an intrigue and internal politics theme for this campaign. It's a homebrew world, but borrowing from a lot of inspirational sources.
The ruler of Hell/Underworld/Fiend Realm intends to turn the city into a gateway between their domain and the material plane. To do this they have recruited servants specifically the current ruler of the city who has been offered massive power, but is unaware that the true plot is to create a gateway to the material plane in their city. The ruler of the city has been given the suggestion that by undermining the harvesting of resources in and around the city, the populace will get so desperate that they will be willing to acquiese to whatever authoriarian laws that are laid down by the city's ruler thus overthrowing the current democratic systems and making indentured servants of their own people.
Act 1 - Arc and Milestones - 'The Black Market' One of the ruling council's members has taken it upon themselves to find out why the food harvests are failing in and around the city. To help with this they are employing would be adventurers to help with the legwork - this will be the party. The council member will of course serve as the party's mentor.
A black market has recently sprung up and is pouring food into the city that has not come from the farms surrounding the city. It turns out that this food is being grown and modified magically to make it addictive (if players are uncomfortable with this part of the theme I'll drop it) and with long term consumption will causing illness among the population.
This arc would conclude with the discovery that the city's harvests have been tampered with (some sort of pollution in the irrigation system for the farms in the area).
Lv2 - Party find evidence that the black market exists. Lv3 - Party waylay/impound/destroy the next shipment of balck market goods Lv4 - Party discover the plan to pollute the local water sources such that the harvests will fail. (They must end the pollution?)
Act 2 - Arc and Milstones - 'The Dragon Cult' Having uncovered the pollution of the irrigation sources for the local farms (and hopefully having put an end to it), the party are granted an audience with the city's ruling council. This next arc introduces some of the seeds that will hopefully pay off later. Kobolds or raiders of some kind have been attacking outlying areas of the city. These attacks have been ordered by a cult that has been assembled in the region. The purpose of the attacks is to retrieve specific information - that the city's ruler is attempting to overthrow the democratic process (reveal the turn and primary protagonist for Act 3).
Following the hero's journey, the party's mentor from Act 1 is murdered by an agent of the cult so that the party can come into their own. The cult is in service to a local dragon who has for all living memory been a protector of the region. The ruler of the city is spinning the lies that the Dragon has been turned evil by this cult. In reality the Dragon has been approached by an agent of theirs who has uncovered the plans to undermine democracy.
Lv5 - Party discover that the rumours of the cult are in fact true (Mentor is murdered) Lv6 - Party avenge the mentor (bring the person who sank a blade into their mentor's heart to justice one way or another) Lv7 - Encounter with the 'Recruiting Party' (the cult do have recruiters who are operating in what appears to be a nepharious way). Lv8 - Lv9 - Lv10 - Eliminate the Draconic threat (either peacefully by uncovering the truth about the dragon and the cult, or by killing the dragon etc).
Act 3 - Arc and Milestones - 'Ruler's End' Having dealt with the dragon, one way or the other, the party discover that the ruler of the city is intending to overthrow democracy. This is the least well structured of the campaign so far, and where I really need some help. I'd love some plant and payoff linking from previous parts if possible. I want the end of this act to be an infiltration of the ruler's residence (castle, fort, keep etc), this will have to be either a break in, or through having the party play along and appear to be in agreement or under the thumb of the ruler. I may also open the avenue for the party to join the 'evil' side here and assist with the opening of the gate to hell.
To complete the ritual that will make the city a gateway between hell and the material plane, the ruler needs a few rare items and the souls of a large number of innocents. I'm thinking that the ruler will attempt at this point to pass laws that will make him a dictator and remove democracy...perhaps persuading the council one way or another might be a good milestone?
Lv11 - Locate the forgotten library (There will be clues to the library location either directly from the dragon's lair, or from another ally in the city...it is here that the ruler's true plans will be revealed). Lv12 - Uncover the ruler's true intentions Lv13 - Lv14 - Lv15 - Lv16 - Eliminate or Assist the city's ruler in opening the gateway.
Act 4 - Arc and Milestones - Preordained This act is planned as if the party will choose to stop the city's ruler, but in the event that they choose to side with the ruler, that is likely to be the end of the story...I might plan more down the line for the alternate option. Essentially, a few days after the end of Act 3, the gateway will open regardless. It will turn out that the city's ruler was a mere scapegoat, and that the ruler's personal servant/assistant Chet, was the real force behind opening the gateway...I will try to leave breadcrumbs to allow players to find this out and eliminate Chet prior to the close of Act 3, in which case Act 4 wouldn't happen. So, there are a few ways that Act 4 simply doesn't ever happen.
In the event that Act 4 does occur, with Chet surviving and the party having stopped or eliminated the city's ruler, the main concept here is that hell comes to earth. Fiends will begin pouring into the city. So we'd be looking at the main goals here being to kill Chet, kill the fiend who is now the guardian of the gate, helping citizens escape, Infiltrating hell, and defeating (one way or another) the ruler of Hell.
Lv17 - Hold the line long enough to help citizens escape the city (citizens might not survive of course, but I'm thinking a few staged battles as the city empties, fleeing from the fiends). Lv18 - Kill/Capture/Negotiate with Chet Lv19 - Successfully Infiltrate Hell Lv20 - Kill/Defeat the Ruler of Hell.
This seems very well crafted level wise and plot wise. I think just foreshadowing would be one of the key things, but with the arcs, it seems very manageable for you to do. Ex: letters to dragon cult found in black market leader’s stuff, deals between dragon cult and council members. I guess the trickiest thing would be linking arc 3 with arc 4 in my head, but it seems really thought out, and I hope you enjoy your campaign!
This seems very well crafted level wise and plot wise. I think just foreshadowing would be one of the key things, but with the arcs, it seems very manageable for you to do. Ex: letters to dragon cult found in black market leader’s stuff, deals between dragon cult and council members. I guess the trickiest thing would be linking arc 3 with arc 4 in my head, but it seems really thought out, and I hope you enjoy your campaign!
Hadn't actually considered linking the black market and the cult, maybe a cultist gets spotted at the black market or lingering nearby and I could work that into the description.
As to linking Act 3 and 4, the thinking was that if the Ruler of the city had been manipulated by Chet, the thinking was that the items needed and the ritual conducted by the ruler was a false trail. If the ruler has been buying up doe blood, and brimstone and such...that's going to leave a false trail to the ruler. Meanwhile Chet has been free to put the real plan into action. He's been able to steal some of the ruler's ingredients, and act with a bit more freedom. So, unless the group happen to notice the clues and find out that Chet is the real bad guy before the close of Act 3 then taking out the city's ruler isn't going to stop 'the plan'. Hopefully that tracks?
I think it'll be difficult walking the line between laying enough clues to give the players a chance to work out that Chet is really a bad guy, but not enough that it gives the game away entirely.
Hi all, I'm nearing the end of one of my campaigns and have begun thinking about my next homebrew. I work in a very specific way based on a theme, but would love some ideas to help fill in some gaps. I work by assigning goals or descriptions to milestones that would help players achieve their level ups. It is the gaps in the Milestones I'd love some thoughts on filling in. So DMs out there, do you think these milestones are level appropriate? How would you plug the gaps?
The Core Story Concept
This campaign will be set in and around a single city and players will have few reasons to venture more than a day away from the city. I want to focus more on an intrigue and internal politics theme for this campaign. It's a homebrew world, but borrowing from a lot of inspirational sources.
The ruler of Hell/Underworld/Fiend Realm intends to turn the city into a gateway between their domain and the material plane. To do this they have recruited servants specifically the current ruler of the city who has been offered massive power, but is unaware that the true plot is to create a gateway to the material plane in their city. The ruler of the city has been given the suggestion that by undermining the harvesting of resources in and around the city, the populace will get so desperate that they will be willing to acquiese to whatever authoriarian laws that are laid down by the city's ruler thus overthrowing the current democratic systems and making indentured servants of their own people.
Act 1 - Arc and Milestones - 'The Black Market'
One of the ruling council's members has taken it upon themselves to find out why the food harvests are failing in and around the city. To help with this they are employing would be adventurers to help with the legwork - this will be the party. The council member will of course serve as the party's mentor.
A black market has recently sprung up and is pouring food into the city that has not come from the farms surrounding the city. It turns out that this food is being grown and modified magically to make it addictive (if players are uncomfortable with this part of the theme I'll drop it) and with long term consumption will causing illness among the population.
This arc would conclude with the discovery that the city's harvests have been tampered with (some sort of pollution in the irrigation system for the farms in the area).
Lv2 - Party find evidence that the black market exists.
Lv3 - Party waylay/impound/destroy the next shipment of balck market goods
Lv4 - Party discover the plan to pollute the local water sources such that the harvests will fail. (They must end the pollution?)
Act 2 - Arc and Milstones - 'The Dragon Cult'
Having uncovered the pollution of the irrigation sources for the local farms (and hopefully having put an end to it), the party are granted an audience with the city's ruling council. This next arc introduces some of the seeds that will hopefully pay off later. Kobolds or raiders of some kind have been attacking outlying areas of the city. These attacks have been ordered by a cult that has been assembled in the region. The purpose of the attacks is to retrieve specific information - that the city's ruler is attempting to overthrow the democratic process (reveal the turn and primary protagonist for Act 3).
Following the hero's journey, the party's mentor from Act 1 is murdered by an agent of the cult so that the party can come into their own. The cult is in service to a local dragon who has for all living memory been a protector of the region. The ruler of the city is spinning the lies that the Dragon has been turned evil by this cult. In reality the Dragon has been approached by an agent of theirs who has uncovered the plans to undermine democracy.
Lv5 - Party discover that the rumours of the cult are in fact true (Mentor is murdered)
Lv6 - Party avenge the mentor (bring the person who sank a blade into their mentor's heart to justice one way or another)
Lv7 - Encounter with the 'Recruiting Party' (the cult do have recruiters who are operating in what appears to be a nepharious way).
Lv8 -
Lv9 -
Lv10 - Eliminate the Draconic threat (either peacefully by uncovering the truth about the dragon and the cult, or by killing the dragon etc).
Act 3 - Arc and Milestones - 'Ruler's End'
Having dealt with the dragon, one way or the other, the party discover that the ruler of the city is intending to overthrow democracy. This is the least well structured of the campaign so far, and where I really need some help. I'd love some plant and payoff linking from previous parts if possible. I want the end of this act to be an infiltration of the ruler's residence (castle, fort, keep etc), this will have to be either a break in, or through having the party play along and appear to be in agreement or under the thumb of the ruler. I may also open the avenue for the party to join the 'evil' side here and assist with the opening of the gate to hell.
To complete the ritual that will make the city a gateway between hell and the material plane, the ruler needs a few rare items and the souls of a large number of innocents. I'm thinking that the ruler will attempt at this point to pass laws that will make him a dictator and remove democracy...perhaps persuading the council one way or another might be a good milestone?
Lv11 - Locate the forgotten library (There will be clues to the library location either directly from the dragon's lair, or from another ally in the city...it is here that the ruler's true plans will be revealed).
Lv12 - Uncover the ruler's true intentions
Lv13 -
Lv14 -
Lv15 -
Lv16 - Eliminate or Assist the city's ruler in opening the gateway.
Act 4 - Arc and Milestones - Preordained
This act is planned as if the party will choose to stop the city's ruler, but in the event that they choose to side with the ruler, that is likely to be the end of the story...I might plan more down the line for the alternate option. Essentially, a few days after the end of Act 3, the gateway will open regardless. It will turn out that the city's ruler was a mere scapegoat, and that the ruler's personal servant/assistant Chet, was the real force behind opening the gateway...I will try to leave breadcrumbs to allow players to find this out and eliminate Chet prior to the close of Act 3, in which case Act 4 wouldn't happen. So, there are a few ways that Act 4 simply doesn't ever happen.
In the event that Act 4 does occur, with Chet surviving and the party having stopped or eliminated the city's ruler, the main concept here is that hell comes to earth. Fiends will begin pouring into the city. So we'd be looking at the main goals here being to kill Chet, kill the fiend who is now the guardian of the gate, helping citizens escape, Infiltrating hell, and defeating (one way or another) the ruler of Hell.
Lv17 - Hold the line long enough to help citizens escape the city (citizens might not survive of course, but I'm thinking a few staged battles as the city empties, fleeing from the fiends).
Lv18 - Kill/Capture/Negotiate with Chet
Lv19 - Successfully Infiltrate Hell
Lv20 - Kill/Defeat the Ruler of Hell.
DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests - 'Better' Player Character Injury Tables?
Actor, Writer, Director & Teacher by day - GM/DM in my off hours.
This seems very well crafted level wise and plot wise. I think just foreshadowing would be one of the key things, but with the arcs, it seems very manageable for you to do. Ex: letters to dragon cult found in black market leader’s stuff, deals between dragon cult and council members. I guess the trickiest thing would be linking arc 3 with arc 4 in my head, but it seems really thought out, and I hope you enjoy your campaign!
Hadn't actually considered linking the black market and the cult, maybe a cultist gets spotted at the black market or lingering nearby and I could work that into the description.
As to linking Act 3 and 4, the thinking was that if the Ruler of the city had been manipulated by Chet, the thinking was that the items needed and the ritual conducted by the ruler was a false trail. If the ruler has been buying up doe blood, and brimstone and such...that's going to leave a false trail to the ruler. Meanwhile Chet has been free to put the real plan into action. He's been able to steal some of the ruler's ingredients, and act with a bit more freedom. So, unless the group happen to notice the clues and find out that Chet is the real bad guy before the close of Act 3 then taking out the city's ruler isn't going to stop 'the plan'. Hopefully that tracks?
I think it'll be difficult walking the line between laying enough clues to give the players a chance to work out that Chet is really a bad guy, but not enough that it gives the game away entirely.
DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests - 'Better' Player Character Injury Tables?
Actor, Writer, Director & Teacher by day - GM/DM in my off hours.