So, I have a campaign that I will be running in, say, 2 months. I have 5 or so players, each of whom will have level 1 characters. The campaign is set in a foreign land which holds powerful magic beneath its surface. One problem: I don't know how to go about this! I have only run three campaigns before this: One which was a pre written (Dragon of icespire peak) one which was deeply flawed (The ending was pretty underwhelming tbh) and one which never got finished. I don't know how to write campaign plotlines beyond "The bad guy is doing bad things" and then have the players make a mad dash to bash the villains head in.
I like to think of it in active terms. The Bad Guy is trying to accomplish something or get something, so they need to have a plan of action to get it. Break it down into steps; first they need X to do Y, and they can only get X by razing the village of Z and excavating X from the secret lost ruins beneath it. Boom, plan of attack.
Now the fun part is that you only have to have a rough outline of the whole plan in your hand, while only actually detailing the first couple steps. This is because we're assuming that at the start of the campaign, the villain is already a few steps in and gathering their evil might, and the players probably aren't going to find themselves getting involved until they see the negative effects of the villain's plan enacted on the world. Once the players involve themselves though, they're going to throw a wrench into the villain's plan, so the rest of the plan will have to adapt to account for the presence of the heroes. From there, your villain's plan becomes a fun kind of back and forth between the villain and the players' reaction to each other's actions. If the heroes successfully defend the village of Z from the villain's forces and the villain doesn't lay their hands on the artifact of X... then what are they willing to do? That's up to you in the time between sessions.
Basically, make sure the bad guy is proactive to begin with, but ultimately reactive to the actions of the players. Don't forget to show the players the impact of the villain on the world. Show them the destruction of Z village if they fail to act in time or don't concern themselves with the main plot, and let that event draw them into your plot and show them the stakes of your campaign.
I advise against thinking of it as "plotlines". That can lead to trying to force the players to follow your expectation of how things are supposed to go. It also encourages you to make everything in the game about The Big Plot.
Instead, think of it in terms of events. There's this thing going on in the background. If left to its own devices, stuff is going to happen. At some point, that stuff is going to be obvious to the players, and they may decide to act on it. If they don't, things are going to get worse until they can't ignore it.
That's the main arc. Meanwhile, the PCs exist in a world. Especially at the start, just throw plot hooks at them. Bandits on the coast road. A haunted tower. Etc. Have some things prepped, and be prepared for the players not to bite on any specific one. Take the ones they show interest in, and develop them further. The bandits are not just an independent band, but are working with pirates to disrupt trade along the coast. Somewhere in the mix, start tossing in a few hooks that are connected to the Big Events developing in the background, just to let the PCs know Something Is Up. Not everything bad should connect back to the main arc, but some things do. Maybe it takes a couple of disconnected ones before they can see a connection: The pirate captain had an unusual tattoo, and so does this seemingly unrelated person fifty miles inland.
It's possible that the players will get into a specific plot hook enough that you need to build it out into an entire secondary arc.
How this works in practice depends on your players, and also you. If they're not very self-directed, you're going to have to be more direct about offering them plot hooks. If you're not comfortable rolling with a self-directed group, then you should set expectations up front with your players that you're going to be offering them specific missions. (A mentor/employer figure helps there.)
(I personally like having several unrelated Big Things going on, and prioritizing/deprioritizing which ones matter more based on their interest. (After all, they're not the only people in the world who can deal with an Ancient Evil. If they're busy battling a serpent cult 100 miles away, some other party can stop the return of the Lich-King.) But that's a lot more plates to keep in the air.)
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So, I have a campaign that I will be running in, say, 2 months. I have 5 or so players, each of whom will have level 1 characters. The campaign is set in a foreign land which holds powerful magic beneath its surface. One problem: I don't know how to go about this! I have only run three campaigns before this: One which was a pre written (Dragon of icespire peak) one which was deeply flawed (The ending was pretty underwhelming tbh) and one which never got finished. I don't know how to write campaign plotlines beyond "The bad guy is doing bad things" and then have the players make a mad dash to bash the villains head in.
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Best Feats: https://www.dndbeyond.com/feats/1512461-soapbox-revised
Best Monsters: https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/3775489-jar-jar-binks, https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/3860024-spare-ribs
I like to think of it in active terms. The Bad Guy is trying to accomplish something or get something, so they need to have a plan of action to get it. Break it down into steps; first they need X to do Y, and they can only get X by razing the village of Z and excavating X from the secret lost ruins beneath it. Boom, plan of attack.
Now the fun part is that you only have to have a rough outline of the whole plan in your hand, while only actually detailing the first couple steps. This is because we're assuming that at the start of the campaign, the villain is already a few steps in and gathering their evil might, and the players probably aren't going to find themselves getting involved until they see the negative effects of the villain's plan enacted on the world. Once the players involve themselves though, they're going to throw a wrench into the villain's plan, so the rest of the plan will have to adapt to account for the presence of the heroes. From there, your villain's plan becomes a fun kind of back and forth between the villain and the players' reaction to each other's actions. If the heroes successfully defend the village of Z from the villain's forces and the villain doesn't lay their hands on the artifact of X... then what are they willing to do? That's up to you in the time between sessions.
Basically, make sure the bad guy is proactive to begin with, but ultimately reactive to the actions of the players. Don't forget to show the players the impact of the villain on the world. Show them the destruction of Z village if they fail to act in time or don't concern themselves with the main plot, and let that event draw them into your plot and show them the stakes of your campaign.
I advise against thinking of it as "plotlines". That can lead to trying to force the players to follow your expectation of how things are supposed to go. It also encourages you to make everything in the game about The Big Plot.
Instead, think of it in terms of events. There's this thing going on in the background. If left to its own devices, stuff is going to happen. At some point, that stuff is going to be obvious to the players, and they may decide to act on it. If they don't, things are going to get worse until they can't ignore it.
That's the main arc. Meanwhile, the PCs exist in a world. Especially at the start, just throw plot hooks at them. Bandits on the coast road. A haunted tower. Etc. Have some things prepped, and be prepared for the players not to bite on any specific one. Take the ones they show interest in, and develop them further. The bandits are not just an independent band, but are working with pirates to disrupt trade along the coast. Somewhere in the mix, start tossing in a few hooks that are connected to the Big Events developing in the background, just to let the PCs know Something Is Up. Not everything bad should connect back to the main arc, but some things do. Maybe it takes a couple of disconnected ones before they can see a connection: The pirate captain had an unusual tattoo, and so does this seemingly unrelated person fifty miles inland.
It's possible that the players will get into a specific plot hook enough that you need to build it out into an entire secondary arc.
How this works in practice depends on your players, and also you. If they're not very self-directed, you're going to have to be more direct about offering them plot hooks. If you're not comfortable rolling with a self-directed group, then you should set expectations up front with your players that you're going to be offering them specific missions. (A mentor/employer figure helps there.)
(I personally like having several unrelated Big Things going on, and prioritizing/deprioritizing which ones matter more based on their interest. (After all, they're not the only people in the world who can deal with an Ancient Evil. If they're busy battling a serpent cult 100 miles away, some other party can stop the return of the Lich-King.) But that's a lot more plates to keep in the air.)