So I have only been DMing a very short time with little DnD experience before (does playing Neverwinter and other PC games count?). I'm mid 30's and have played tons of RPG's, MMO's and read/discussed/breathed fantasy my whole life so I have a good background of general tropes and knowledge etc. Just very new to DnD itself although I have touched on it now and again in the past.
So i Know im really jumping into the deep end starting my own campaign here (with an all family cast, so I'm not overly concerned about letting a group of strangers down). We've all played through the starter set together to get a handle on rules and flow and the like. I know the average response here will likely be "get some more XP first, etc..." which I understand; rather than debate my sanity I'm hoping to focus on the concept I have in my head and gain some honest feedback about the merits and potential pitfalls.
I wanted to part away from the standard world settings and develop my own.
My initial story arc and background is - as basic as I can put it:
There's a world in a Solar system that through unique properties is a massive vortex of energy and magics. Very attractive to anyone. This has, hundreds of thousands of years ago attracted a species of Interstellar and Extra-Planar beings (no spaceships or tech. Not sci fi). Lets call them faction A for now. The A's are not GODS or DEITIES per se - but are powerful beyond mortal reckoning.
The planet itself has been ruled over by Primordial Lords and Elemental Gods whose primary thrones of power exist on an elemental plane; however they have also spread out over the material plane and co-exist there as well.
A war erupted immediately between the A's and the Elemental gods for control of the planet with neither side able to gain the upper hand. The A's main source of power and center of civilization is too far away on a higher plane to effectively oust the elementals and so they wind up in this never ending conflict.
Eventually the A's tire of the attrition and drain on their resources and abandon the conflict - Except for a small faction who stay behind. Artemus, the Great Engineer, develops some form of energy device which will effectively allow the A's to gain more power from worship - much as they have seen happen with other ACTUAL gods and Deities across existence. They hope to, essentially, become the gods on this world and become powerful enough with the limited numbers they have remaining to overthrow the elements.
The A's then seed the world with various other life. They start with some races of monsters but find they dont gain much worship from them. They try elves and discover that the majority of that race actually turn to shamanism and dont make good "stock". Humans do the trick.
This then is the Genesis. .
The world is young, evolving, has no ancient species yet. There arent any "gods" to speak of but the A's are trying to become gods. Elves have only been around for 5 or 6 thousand years. Human existence is only ~3000 years old (accelerated by the A's they are at a Low medieval tech level). Theres no central government but a series of city states; which are ever changing, toppling, etc have sprung up.
My scope is that this entire story, likely over multiple campaigns, will bring the characters from level 1-20 and see them evolve from basic beginnings to actually becoming the focal point for how the world finally "settles". The heroes will literally be the FIRST of the legendary characters on this world...the heroes later generations look back on as the benchmark. Will the heroes allow themselves to follow the influence of the A's and help destroy the Elementals and manifest the A's as gods? Will the heroes reject the A's and side with the Elemental lords (who are actually looking out for the survival of the world)? Will they reject both and seek to ensure that mortals are able to determine their own destiny?
What potential pitfalls do you see with this design?
How many separate campaigns would you do this over ? ( I plan to have someone from the A's and also agents of the elementals slowly creep into the heroes' campaigns and start leading them down different paths; leaving it open for the heroes to choose which path to take..eventually in tier 3 and 4 of the characters more entrenched in coming to the point)
What do you feel a PROPER CHRONOLOGY for a "Young World" is? I keep toying with different timelines but I am still unsure. 3,000 years is a short time, really, for humans to have thrived, built a few city states and come to Medieval level tech. But at the same time I do want a young world feel without Ancient Civs, previous legendary heroes, 5,000 year old dragons etc.
An interesting premise. It made me think of many different things including the story of Gilgamesh and the myth of Prometheus.
As this world’s first heroes, they will have to gain knowledge of spells, magic items etc. from the higher powers. If they want to be more than puppets, they will have to play both sides against each other. A Prometheus type figure that goes against the interests of the higher powers to help the heroes have free will might be helpful.
i think the trap is that the players may feel like they have to be puppets in order to gain power. I don’t know how much of the history you plan to explain to the players and how much you want their characters to know. If the players know a lot more than their characters, you risk metagaming but if the players make assumptions based on a more traditional D&D setting, they may feel railroaded. If your players are willing to spend time trying to figure out how to play the two sides against each other, I think you could have a great campaign.
Even if the first party of characters ends up trapped on a side they hate, they could go out with a finale epic but ultimately futile battle. The next party then starts at first level some time in the future with the legends of the first heroes hopefully guiding them toward a better path.
It’s a great idea. Best of luck with your campaign.
An interesting premise. It made me think of many different things including the story of Gilgamesh and the myth of Prometheus.
As this world’s first heroes, they will have to gain knowledge of spells, magic items etc. from the higher powers. If they want to be more than puppets, they will have to play both sides against each other. A Prometheus type figure that goes against the interests of the higher powers to help the heroes have free will might be helpful.
i think the trap is that the players may feel like they have to be puppets in order to gain power. I don’t know how much of the history you plan to explain to the players and how much you want their characters to know. If the players know a lot more than their characters, you risk metagaming but if the players make assumptions based on a more traditional D&D setting, they may feel railroaded. If your players are willing to spend time trying to figure out how to play the two sides against each other, I think you could have a great campaign.
Even if the first party of characters ends up trapped on a side they hate, they could go out with a finale epic but ultimately futile battle. The next party then starts at first level some time in the future with the legends of the first heroes hopefully guiding them toward a better path.
It’s a great idea. Best of luck with your campaign.
Thats some awesome feedback including the comments about not disclosing too much or risk metagaming and the concept of a Prometheus figure which I had not thought of!
YOu are correct they will have to gain a lot of knowledge and power themselves as they are setting out first in unexplored territory and I had not given enough thought yet to that fact. Indeed they will require gaining knowledge and abilities but if they are getting all of that from one side or the other it could indeed trap them on a path.
If they are the first heroes, then it is possible that they will attract the first bard, whether or not he/she is a PC. They will need a companion to pass on their tales to others.
It might also turn out that the PCs know they are becoming puppets, but do so to gain knowledge and power to pass on to the next generation. Probably not all of them would be cool with it though. Still, it would make for an awesome legend of how the first heroes sacrificed themselves to uncover untold secrets.
Also, they will absolutely have to have legendary items at some point so later adventurers can claim them from dungeons. Imagine: "Ha! I have finally claimed the legendary Sword of Artel, my old level 20 Paladin!" Seriously though, these need to have sufficiently epic backstories in order to give the items that aura of Pure Awesomeness!
Also realize that they may well be legendary heroes simply based on which faction wins and how they choose to tell the story. After all, the victors write history...
The A’s trying to inspire the humans to worship them is very interesting too. How do they do that? Terrifying them so they pray just to stay alive. Give them protection. Gifts. Play on their emotions, love, greed, etc.
The idea of proto-gods that fail to become gods because they totally misunderstand humanity and chose the wrong tactics is intriguing.
Will the A’s cooperate to form a pantheon or compete for worshippers?
You to your players: “I just came up with all these cool ideas...but I can’t tell you about them...yet.”
Sometimes the most interesting part of a campaign is when you recap it after it’s over and see how different your view of it is compared to the players view point.
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So I have only been DMing a very short time with little DnD experience before (does playing Neverwinter and other PC games count?). I'm mid 30's and have played tons of RPG's, MMO's and read/discussed/breathed fantasy my whole life so I have a good background of general tropes and knowledge etc. Just very new to DnD itself although I have touched on it now and again in the past.
So i Know im really jumping into the deep end starting my own campaign here (with an all family cast, so I'm not overly concerned about letting a group of strangers down).
We've all played through the starter set together to get a handle on rules and flow and the like. I know the average response here will likely be "get some more XP first, etc..." which I understand; rather than debate my sanity I'm hoping to focus on the concept I have in my head and gain some honest feedback about the merits and potential pitfalls.
I wanted to part away from the standard world settings and develop my own.
My initial story arc and background is - as basic as I can put it:
There's a world in a Solar system that through unique properties is a massive vortex of energy and magics. Very attractive to anyone. This has, hundreds of thousands of years ago attracted a species of Interstellar and Extra-Planar beings (no spaceships or tech. Not sci fi). Lets call them faction A for now. The A's are not GODS or DEITIES per se - but are powerful beyond mortal reckoning.
The planet itself has been ruled over by Primordial Lords and Elemental Gods whose primary thrones of power exist on an elemental plane; however they have also spread out over the material plane and co-exist there as well.
A war erupted immediately between the A's and the Elemental gods for control of the planet with neither side able to gain the upper hand. The A's main source of power and center of civilization is too far away on a higher plane to effectively oust the elementals and so they wind up in this never ending conflict.
Eventually the A's tire of the attrition and drain on their resources and abandon the conflict - Except for a small faction who stay behind. Artemus, the Great Engineer, develops some form of energy device which will effectively allow the A's to gain more power from worship - much as they have seen happen with other ACTUAL gods and Deities across existence. They hope to, essentially, become the gods on this world and become powerful enough with the limited numbers they have remaining to overthrow the elements.
The A's then seed the world with various other life. They start with some races of monsters but find they dont gain much worship from them. They try elves and discover that the majority of that race actually turn to shamanism and dont make good "stock". Humans do the trick.
This then is the Genesis. .
The world is young, evolving, has no ancient species yet. There arent any "gods" to speak of but the A's are trying to become gods. Elves have only been around for 5 or 6 thousand years. Human existence is only ~3000 years old (accelerated by the A's they are at a Low medieval tech level). Theres no central government but a series of city states; which are ever changing, toppling, etc have sprung up.
My scope is that this entire story, likely over multiple campaigns, will bring the characters from level 1-20 and see them evolve from basic beginnings to actually becoming the focal point for how the world finally "settles". The heroes will literally be the FIRST of the legendary characters on this world...the heroes later generations look back on as the benchmark. Will the heroes allow themselves to follow the influence of the A's and help destroy the Elementals and manifest the A's as gods? Will the heroes reject the A's and side with the Elemental lords (who are actually looking out for the survival of the world)? Will they reject both and seek to ensure that mortals are able to determine their own destiny?
What potential pitfalls do you see with this design?
How many separate campaigns would you do this over ? ( I plan to have someone from the A's and also agents of the elementals slowly creep into the heroes' campaigns and start leading them down different paths; leaving it open for the heroes to choose which path to take..eventually in tier 3 and 4 of the characters more entrenched in coming to the point)
What do you feel a PROPER CHRONOLOGY for a "Young World" is? I keep toying with different timelines but I am still unsure. 3,000 years is a short time, really, for humans to have thrived, built a few city states and come to Medieval level tech. But at the same time I do want a young world feel without Ancient Civs, previous legendary heroes, 5,000 year old dragons etc.
Any advice is welcome.
Thanks - Blakhart
An interesting premise. It made me think of many different things including the story of Gilgamesh and the myth of Prometheus.
As this world’s first heroes, they will have to gain knowledge of spells, magic items etc. from the higher powers. If they want to be more than puppets, they will have to play both sides against each other. A Prometheus type figure that goes against the interests of the higher powers to help the heroes have free will might be helpful.
i think the trap is that the players may feel like they have to be puppets in order to gain power. I don’t know how much of the history you plan to explain to the players and how much you want their characters to know. If the players know a lot more than their characters, you risk metagaming but if the players make assumptions based on a more traditional D&D setting, they may feel railroaded. If your players are willing to spend time trying to figure out how to play the two sides against each other, I think you could have a great campaign.
Even if the first party of characters ends up trapped on a side they hate, they could go out with a finale epic but ultimately futile battle. The next party then starts at first level some time in the future with the legends of the first heroes hopefully guiding them toward a better path.
It’s a great idea. Best of luck with your campaign.
Thats some awesome feedback including the comments about not disclosing too much or risk metagaming and the concept of a Prometheus figure which I had not thought of!
YOu are correct they will have to gain a lot of knowledge and power themselves as they are setting out first in unexplored territory and I had not given enough thought yet to that fact. Indeed they will require gaining knowledge and abilities but if they are getting all of that from one side or the other it could indeed trap them on a path.
Thanks for those insights.
If they are the first heroes, then it is possible that they will attract the first bard, whether or not he/she is a PC. They will need a companion to pass on their tales to others.
It might also turn out that the PCs know they are becoming puppets, but do so to gain knowledge and power to pass on to the next generation. Probably not all of them would be cool with it though. Still, it would make for an awesome legend of how the first heroes sacrificed themselves to uncover untold secrets.
Also, they will absolutely have to have legendary items at some point so later adventurers can claim them from dungeons. Imagine: "Ha! I have finally claimed the legendary Sword of Artel, my old level 20 Paladin!" Seriously though, these need to have sufficiently epic backstories in order to give the items that aura of Pure Awesomeness!
Also realize that they may well be legendary heroes simply based on which faction wins and how they choose to tell the story. After all, the victors write history...
The A’s trying to inspire the humans to worship them is very interesting too. How do they do that? Terrifying them so they pray just to stay alive. Give them protection. Gifts. Play on their emotions, love, greed, etc.
The idea of proto-gods that fail to become gods because they totally misunderstand humanity and chose the wrong tactics is intriguing.
Will the A’s cooperate to form a pantheon or compete for worshippers?
You to your players: “I just came up with all these cool ideas...but I can’t tell you about them...yet.”
Sometimes the most interesting part of a campaign is when you recap it after it’s over and see how different your view of it is compared to the players view point.