I plan to run a campaign that is as effectively anti-murderhobo as possible. And by that I mean it is literally anti-murderhobo. Also very meta.
So, essentially, in this world, PCs have been showing up for years, NOT REALIZING THE WORLD IS REAL. They are mostly murderhoboes who go around killing everybody. Whenever anyone sees a PC coming, they are like, 'Run! Hide! Give them our valuables!' The characters played by my OWN players, on the other hand...would be NPCs.
It starts like this. An NPC (not a main one) steals some "magic stones" (in-world representation of character sheets), and is about to get caught, so he hands them to some random NPCs. PCs show up, and kill the guy who took their stone, and then turn their attention on the main NPCs. The stones give the main NPCs a little power, enough to turn one into a thug and a wizard's apprentice (they plan to be barbarian and wizard). They bring the stones to the place where the NPC who stole the stones was from, and they are told that it is a secret NPC Resistance against all PCs. The NPC who stole the stones was one of their top operatives. The main NPCs are told that the stones are theirs now, for better or worse. The main NPCs can choose to accept the stone (rendering them with the stats of full PCs) or they can keep whatever powers they just gained in the fight. If the main NPCs accept, they become full PCs, with character sheets, INCLUDING A RANDOM RACE. XD. Now, some might not accept, but will still need to travel with the rest for safety reasons, and might accept the stone in a random battle or something. Then they will become the heroes of the NPC Resistance, and attempt to drive all PCs from the world. Sadly, that may mean they themselves will have to leave as well...
Mine is a world where the god have been banished from interaction with the world, and in their absence an army from the nine hells, an army of elemental evil, and a draconic cult are trying to take over. It has some cool combat aspects, lots of politics (trying to get the cities with different agendas to work together), and involves a lot of fun enemies (demons, elementals, dragons etc).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Why do ships ship cargo and cars carry shipments? Why do we have fingertips but not toetips and can tiptoe but can't tipfinger. These are all the questions of the universe.
Another is a desert world that is a few villages. The main plot is that before a big event, it was a lush varied word ruled by a powerful magical empire. The empires remains are now buried under kms of sand and the few people that survived banded together to make villages. Mainly a survival and exploration game, with extreme heat and stuff like the opposite of icewind Dale and then exploring the empires ruins.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Why do ships ship cargo and cars carry shipments? Why do we have fingertips but not toetips and can tiptoe but can't tipfinger. These are all the questions of the universe.
Hi there everyone, I am a very new DM that is now creating a quite different home-brew campaign (Well I think I am :D ) and I am at the point that I feel I need a twist otherwise I feel its going to become boring.
So I am looking for some talented advice of what I can do to keep it interesting or a really fun twist.
So the outline so far this is what I have, but in a very shorted version:
1) Adventurer come to a village after it send out flyers for help because of unusual monsters and beasts terrorising the village- they go do a few side quest and end up finding a dark tower filled with a sorcerer that is creating cursed and mutated creatures and people.
2) They are captured experimented on and wake up in large test tube altered, muted and unique curses and now have new homebrew subclassed based on the class, and now they seek revenge.
3) they find information that similar things have been happening in a near by city so who ever has done this is now on the move, so they go out to find him.
4) After a few searches they find a sorcerer that worked for the Master and evidence of the plan to release a powerful and evil entity that was sealed away along time ago. With the use of 13 magic seal spread around the country but some of them are broken and some yet to be broken.
5) So they travel to sunken temples, ancient volcanic forest and high mountain crypts fighting off dark entity and creatures now drawn to the dark energy seeping out of the broken seals and mend them.
6) So I am at the point they have got to 4 of the 13 and I feel like it just going from one place to another doing more or less the same thing. Should I carry on with this, or change it up or another option.
Here’s an idea I pulled out of thin air last night. It’s a long read and sorry for the typos:
The Blessed Valley yellaV desselB ehT
The valley provides all, and all need not want more than the valley provides.
The valley is large with a deep forest to the north named Black Forest, fertile farmland in the center west, abundant ore in the Dwarven Hills to the east, a large freshwater body called Mirror Lake which hosts a variety of fish in the middle, and two sprawling settlements to the north of the lake and to the south. The northern settlement is named Nen Singil, and the southern is named Rorrim.
The land is bordered by incredibly tall impassable mountains to the west which are always snow capped and is said to hold a massive glacier. It is unclear how many peaks are in this mountain range because of the heavy snow and glacier pushing between the peaks so it’s thought of as just one. From this mountain range the lake is fed by the Helka River. It is also feared the mountain harbors an ice dragon but no one has ever witnessed its existence nor dared to prove it. It is this fear that the mountain was named Ice Breath Mountain.
To the east is a jagged, rocky, unforgiving waste land with no water. No paths exist through as the boulders just get larger, compacted, and difficult to climb. No wagons can get through, and if attempting to climb through the unforgiving terrain it just continues to get harder, drier, hotter, and exhaustion sets in until you can no longer continue. Only turning back gives you the will and strength to make it back to the valley. The incredible urge to turn back from the torture of venturing into this land has given it the name, Hunger Rocks.
The mysterious south is bordered by the Cliffs of Raugh and where the River Raugh from the south of Mirror Lake ends in a wide waterfall marked with many jagged rocks and large light blue crystals that seemingly stand guard to impale all who dareventure through the Raugh Falls. No one has ever been able to scale the cliffs on either side of Raugh Falls to explore the bottom. A thick mist covers everything on the horizon starting a mere 5 feet below the edge. Those that have tried, can only see an inch past their nose by the time they reach 10 feet below the edge. No rope has ever been long enough to reach the bottom and the lower you go, the darker it gets until all you are left with is darkness and an intense fear that only turning back gives you relief.
To the north is The Three Terrors. Even in the blackest of nights, there is a soft red orange glow of the volcanic fields of the Devil’s Mesa. The middle, Mount Rapture, and largest volcano is always erupting as if it’s warning the residents of the valley that their lives are always a blessing it grants. A warm water river comes from the north called Phosphoro River fed by a waterfall exactly in the middle of the mesa. The mesa itself is a shear smooth bedrock wall hundreds of feet straight up. No tools have been able to carve anything into the rock however this is the only place you can observe ancient runes that none can read.
For several generations, many races have lived peacefully in a lush fertile valley. They have no memory of war, disease, or famine. The weather does not vary greatly throughout the year. The variations of weather are just enough for seasonal crops to thrive.
There is no nobility, no king, no sheriff, or tax. All who live in the valley use the valley’s resources to survive and what they have no skill to provide for themselves, they barter with their neighbor.
No one dies by means other than old age in the valley. Even if a resident of the valley is accidentally given a death blow, the body will heal and when they wake they will have no memory of how they were killed even if it was as a result of a fight. Even the person that accidentally or intentionally attempted to kill the other will forget the event or how the event escalated. All who are born in the valley are marked by symbol of the Three Terrors on their right wrist beneath the palm of their hand. Always three dark triangles in a row with the middle being taller than the other two and pointing toward the fingers.
The oldest resident of the valley is a heretic old woman far north in the Black Forest. This region is forbidden as when you venture deeply to the north, the light of the sun can barely pierce the thick canopy as silence and uneasiness takes over. Only getting to the base of the Devils Mesa or the the heretics home does the uneasy feeling go away.
Our adventure starts when a body is found drifting down Phosphoro river without the marking of the Three Terrors. His clothes are foreign to the townspeople, and he wears a leather armor adorned with an animal not seen in the valley of a ferocious feline with wild long hair.
other info:
So the concept was to have an easy starter world to ease newbies into DnD. Kind of default setting and dumbed down item availability.
The blue crystals play and important role as they are part of the spell and are the key to exit or enter the valley.
The mirror theme is an obvious nod to much of this being an illusion.
The heretic is immortal, a bit crazy, and a shitty witch where her spells always yield opposite or unpredictable results. For example, casting a fireball gets you dozens of snowballs firing in all directions from her hands.
There is a pathway out through the devils mesa, but you need the crystals to find it. There are no proper weapons of war in the valley, but the heretic has some from the day of founding.
Your door prize for leaving the valley is PTSD. If you died 100 times…you’ll suddenly remember each one. You’ll also know who did it. It turns out some in the valley are truly disturbed. Serial killers, etc. use your imagination.
If you die outside the valley, because you have the mark someone just needs to take your body back to the valley. Deadpool rules apply…your whole body doesn’t need to be brought back. Biggest chunk of you manifests into the whole in the valley.
Outside the valley, pretty much DM’s choice where to take it. The Three Terrors are just tall mountains or anything you like. Outside the illusion is not what people see while in the valley.
Because the people of the valley (aka children of the corn) have been there generations, native languages such as those from the dwarves and elves have become more of a dialect. So speaking to others outside the valley can yield awkward results. Only common is closest to the common spoken outside the valley.
@FeVolmir: I tried an epic campaign similar to this. I used an Oingo Boingo song as inspiration for an adventure that went through Ravenloft, Spelljammer, Forgotten Realms, etc. ultimately it fizzled because it was so long, require so much preparation, and player retention became a problem.
I’d say this looks like great fun, but keep it light. It’s tough for a new DM to keep everyone engaged and if you’re too bogged down in your campaign details it can become a chore. Have some side quests up your sleeve so there are simple adventures that players can have fun with and feel they accomplished something during the session.
The inspiration I had was “Just Another Day” by Oingo Boingo.
─────═╡ 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 ╞═───── From the void’s cold embrace I rise— swift as shadows, silent as the endless night. Mercy is my blade, mercy is my glory; a light in darkness, a reckoning for the lost. I move faster than fate, carrying the weight of mercy and honor, an echo of power that no silence can contain. Glory is the path, mercy the crown— I am the storm the void whispers of. ───────═╡ ╞═────────
Here’s an idea I pulled out of thin air last night. It’s a long read and sorry for the typos:
The Blessed Valley yellaV desselB ehT
The valley provides all, and all need not want more than the valley provides.
The valley is large with a deep forest to the north named Black Forest, fertile farmland in the center west, abundant ore in the Dwarven Hills to the east, a large freshwater body called Mirror Lake which hosts a variety of fish in the middle, and two sprawling settlements to the north of the lake and to the south. The northern settlement is named Nen Singil, and the southern is named Rorrim.
The land is bordered by incredibly tall impassable mountains to the west which are always snow capped and is said to hold a massive glacier. It is unclear how many peaks are in this mountain range because of the heavy snow and glacier pushing between the peaks so it’s thought of as just one. From this mountain range the lake is fed by the Helka River. It is also feared the mountain harbors an ice dragon but no one has ever witnessed its existence nor dared to prove it. It is this fear that the mountain was named Ice Breath Mountain.
To the east is a jagged, rocky, unforgiving waste land with no water. No paths exist through as the boulders just get larger, compacted, and difficult to climb. No wagons can get through, and if attempting to climb through the unforgiving terrain it just continues to get harder, drier, hotter, and exhaustion sets in until you can no longer continue. Only turning back gives you the will and strength to make it back to the valley. The incredible urge to turn back from the torture of venturing into this land has given it the name, Hunger Rocks.
The mysterious south is bordered by the Cliffs of Raugh and where the River Raugh from the south of Mirror Lake ends in a wide waterfall marked with many jagged rocks and large light blue crystals that seemingly stand guard to impale all who dareventure through the Raugh Falls. No one has ever been able to scale the cliffs on either side of Raugh Falls to explore the bottom. A thick mist covers everything on the horizon starting a mere 5 feet below the edge. Those that have tried, can only see an inch past their nose by the time they reach 10 feet below the edge. No rope has ever been long enough to reach the bottom and the lower you go, the darker it gets until all you are left with is darkness and an intense fear that only turning back gives you relief.
To the north is The Three Terrors. Even in the blackest of nights, there is a soft red orange glow of the volcanic fields of the Devil’s Mesa. The middle, Mount Rapture, and largest volcano is always erupting as if it’s warning the residents of the valley that their lives are always a blessing it grants. A warm water river comes from the north called Phosphoro River fed by a waterfall exactly in the middle of the mesa. The mesa itself is a shear smooth bedrock wall hundreds of feet straight up. No tools have been able to carve anything into the rock however this is the only place you can observe ancient runes that none can read.
For several generations, many races have lived peacefully in a lush fertile valley. They have no memory of war, disease, or famine. The weather does not vary greatly throughout the year. The variations of weather are just enough for seasonal crops to thrive.
There is no nobility, no king, no sheriff, or tax. All who live in the valley use the valley’s resources to survive and what they have no skill to provide for themselves, they barter with their neighbor.
No one dies by means other than old age in the valley. Even if a resident of the valley is accidentally given a death blow, the body will heal and when they wake they will have no memory of how they were killed even if it was as a result of a fight. Even the person that accidentally or intentionally attempted to kill the other will forget the event or how the event escalated. All who are born in the valley are marked by symbol of the Three Terrors on their right wrist beneath the palm of their hand. Always three dark triangles in a row with the middle being taller than the other two and pointing toward the fingers.
The oldest resident of the valley is a heretic old woman far north in the Black Forest. This region is forbidden as when you venture deeply to the north, the light of the sun can barely pierce the thick canopy as silence and uneasiness takes over. Only getting to the base of the Devils Mesa or the the heretics home does the uneasy feeling go away.
Our adventure starts when a body is found drifting down Phosphoro river without the marking of the Three Terrors. His clothes are foreign to the townspeople, and he wears a leather armor adorned with an animal not seen in the valley of a ferocious feline with wild long hair.
other info:
So the concept was to have an easy starter world to ease newbies into DnD. Kind of default setting and dumbed down item availability.
The blue crystals play and important role as they are part of the spell and are the key to exit or enter the valley.
The mirror theme is an obvious nod to much of this being an illusion.
The heretic is immortal, a bit crazy, and a shitty witch where her spells always yield opposite or unpredictable results. For example, casting a fireball gets you dozens of snowballs firing in all directions from her hands.
There is a pathway out through the devils mesa, but you need the crystals to find it. There are no proper weapons of war in the valley, but the heretic has some from the day of founding.
Your door prize for leaving the valley is PTSD. If you died 100 times…you’ll suddenly remember each one. You’ll also know who did it. It turns out some in the valley are truly disturbed. Serial killers, etc. use your imagination.
If you die outside the valley, because you have the mark someone just needs to take your body back to the valley. Deadpool rules apply…your whole body doesn’t need to be brought back. Biggest chunk of you manifests into the whole in the valley.
Outside the valley, pretty much DM’s choice where to take it. The Three Terrors are just tall mountains or anything you like. Outside the illusion is not what people see while in the valley.
Because the people of the valley (aka children of the corn) have been there generations, native languages such as those from the dwarves and elves have become more of a dialect. So speaking to others outside the valley can yield awkward results. Only common is closest to the common spoken outside the valley.
ENJOY!
fire
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
─────═╡ 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 ╞═───── From the void’s cold embrace I rise— swift as shadows, silent as the endless night. Mercy is my blade, mercy is my glory; a light in darkness, a reckoning for the lost. I move faster than fate, carrying the weight of mercy and honor, an echo of power that no silence can contain. Glory is the path, mercy the crown— I am the storm the void whispers of. ───────═╡ ╞═────────
A very simple design that allows the DM to expand as the campaign advances.
There was a war of rebellion (Use the USA Civil War as an example). There are 2 sides, the war just ended and the entire group of players is in the same unit. They do not have to know each other. They can still be whatever class they want same with races. Just expand out the size of the unit to make them strangers, or they could have know each other. Match how friendly/strangers the players are in real life.
DM choice they are on the winning side or the losing side.
They are all from the same Province/County. It has a decent size city and surrounding farmland and small villages aka not everyone knows everyone. This allows the players to be strangers if so desired.
Players can be conscripted or volunteer soldiers. Background can still be whatever a player desires.
Soldiers (& players) are to be mustered out, DM controls what gear they actually have. Have customization due to plunder or everyone has standard issue gear.
The players are all in the same line to be mustered out (that is were they meet). They now have to walk a few/several hundred miles to get back to their homes.
Encounters on the way home is the key. Good way to use food gathering and nature skills & spells.
As this is a war torn countryside, you can have roving bands of creatures and hominoids. You can have wilderness encounters followed immediately by social role play encounters.
Twist potential is ethic questions that need to be decided on the walk home.
Once they reach home, things have changed even if no battles were fought. lots of power vacuums occurred due to conscripted or volunteer to fill units. Previous power/alliances may have changed. Schoolyard bullies are now in charge /grown very rich from corruption etc.
I'm thinking of tossing a modified tarrasque at my players session 1, level 1. Modifications are an anti-flight aura and a ranged attack by shooting spines from its tail as well as the 3E need a wish to actually kill it. Obviously at level 1, this is not a problem that they can solve, but they can go and research/learn about tarrasques then go on quests to find magical weapons and a ring of 3 wishes. By the final fight, the players should basically know the entire stat block except the numbers involved and some vagueness on some details.
I don't know if this is relevant to this thread, but my blog focuses on interesting encounters that can fit into any campaign. (This thread is meant to help new DMs, and I think they'll find it useful, which is why I'm taking the liberty of adding it here.)
DM, writer, and blog master of https://dragonencounters.com/ a blog dedicated to providing unusual, worthwhile encounters for each monster, making each one unique.
Also, suggestions for which monsters might be found together (for people tired of dungeons full of one humanoid race, and perhaps a few beasts and undead.)
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I plan to run a campaign that is as effectively anti-murderhobo as possible. And by that I mean it is literally anti-murderhobo. Also very meta.
So, essentially, in this world, PCs have been showing up for years, NOT REALIZING THE WORLD IS REAL. They are mostly murderhoboes who go around killing everybody. Whenever anyone sees a PC coming, they are like, 'Run! Hide! Give them our valuables!' The characters played by my OWN players, on the other hand...would be NPCs.
It starts like this. An NPC (not a main one) steals some "magic stones" (in-world representation of character sheets), and is about to get caught, so he hands them to some random NPCs. PCs show up, and kill the guy who took their stone, and then turn their attention on the main NPCs. The stones give the main NPCs a little power, enough to turn one into a thug and a wizard's apprentice (they plan to be barbarian and wizard). They bring the stones to the place where the NPC who stole the stones was from, and they are told that it is a secret NPC Resistance against all PCs. The NPC who stole the stones was one of their top operatives. The main NPCs are told that the stones are theirs now, for better or worse. The main NPCs can choose to accept the stone (rendering them with the stats of full PCs) or they can keep whatever powers they just gained in the fight. If the main NPCs accept, they become full PCs, with character sheets, INCLUDING A RANDOM RACE. XD. Now, some might not accept, but will still need to travel with the rest for safety reasons, and might accept the stone in a random battle or something. Then they will become the heroes of the NPC Resistance, and attempt to drive all PCs from the world. Sadly, that may mean they themselves will have to leave as well...
Mine is a world where the god have been banished from interaction with the world, and in their absence an army from the nine hells, an army of elemental evil, and a draconic cult are trying to take over. It has some cool combat aspects, lots of politics (trying to get the cities with different agendas to work together), and involves a lot of fun enemies (demons, elementals, dragons etc).
Why do ships ship cargo and cars carry shipments? Why do we have fingertips but not toetips and can tiptoe but can't tipfinger. These are all the questions of the universe.
Another is a desert world that is a few villages. The main plot is that before a big event, it was a lush varied word ruled by a powerful magical empire. The empires remains are now buried under kms of sand and the few people that survived banded together to make villages. Mainly a survival and exploration game, with extreme heat and stuff like the opposite of icewind Dale and then exploring the empires ruins.
Why do ships ship cargo and cars carry shipments? Why do we have fingertips but not toetips and can tiptoe but can't tipfinger. These are all the questions of the universe.
Hi there everyone, I am a very new DM that is now creating a quite different home-brew campaign (Well I think I am :D ) and I am at the point that I feel I need a twist otherwise I feel its going to become boring.
So I am looking for some talented advice of what I can do to keep it interesting or a really fun twist.
So the outline so far this is what I have, but in a very shorted version:
1) Adventurer come to a village after it send out flyers for help because of unusual monsters and beasts terrorising the village- they go do a few side quest and end up finding a dark tower filled with a sorcerer that is creating cursed and mutated creatures and people.
2) They are captured experimented on and wake up in large test tube altered, muted and unique curses and now have new homebrew subclassed based on the class, and now they seek revenge.
3) they find information that similar things have been happening in a near by city so who ever has done this is now on the move, so they go out to find him.
4) After a few searches they find a sorcerer that worked for the Master and evidence of the plan to release a powerful and evil entity that was sealed away along time ago. With the use of 13 magic seal spread around the country but some of them are broken and some yet to be broken.
5) So they travel to sunken temples, ancient volcanic forest and high mountain crypts fighting off dark entity and creatures now drawn to the dark energy seeping out of the broken seals and mend them.
6) So I am at the point they have got to 4 of the 13 and I feel like it just going from one place to another doing more or less the same thing. Should I carry on with this, or change it up or another option.
Any ideas would be grateful.
Thanks
Here’s an idea I pulled out of thin air last night. It’s a long read and sorry for the typos:
The Blessed Valley yellaV desselB ehT
The valley provides all, and all need not want more than the valley provides.
The valley is large with a deep forest to the north named Black Forest, fertile farmland in the center west, abundant ore in the Dwarven Hills to the east, a large freshwater body called Mirror Lake which hosts a variety of fish in the middle, and two sprawling settlements to the north of the lake and to the south. The northern settlement is named Nen Singil, and the southern is named Rorrim.
The land is bordered by incredibly tall impassable mountains to the west which are always snow capped and is said to hold a massive glacier. It is unclear how many peaks are in this mountain range because of the heavy snow and glacier pushing between the peaks so it’s thought of as just one. From this mountain range the lake is fed by the Helka River. It is also feared the mountain harbors an ice dragon but no one has ever witnessed its existence nor dared to prove it. It is this fear that the mountain was named Ice Breath Mountain.
To the east is a jagged, rocky, unforgiving waste land with no water. No paths exist through as the boulders just get larger, compacted, and difficult to climb. No wagons can get through, and if attempting to climb through the unforgiving terrain it just continues to get harder, drier, hotter, and exhaustion sets in until you can no longer continue. Only turning back gives you the will and strength to make it back to the valley. The incredible urge to turn back from the torture of venturing into this land has given it the name, Hunger Rocks.
The mysterious south is bordered by the Cliffs of Raugh and where the River Raugh from the south of Mirror Lake ends in a wide waterfall marked with many jagged rocks and large light blue crystals that seemingly stand guard to impale all who dareventure through the Raugh Falls. No one has ever been able to scale the cliffs on either side of Raugh Falls to explore the bottom. A thick mist covers everything on the horizon starting a mere 5 feet below the edge. Those that have tried, can only see an inch past their nose by the time they reach 10 feet below the edge. No rope has ever been long enough to reach the bottom and the lower you go, the darker it gets until all you are left with is darkness and an intense fear that only turning back gives you relief.
To the north is The Three Terrors. Even in the blackest of nights, there is a soft red orange glow of the volcanic fields of the Devil’s Mesa. The middle, Mount Rapture, and largest volcano is always erupting as if it’s warning the residents of the valley that their lives are always a blessing it grants. A warm water river comes from the north called Phosphoro River fed by a waterfall exactly in the middle of the mesa. The mesa itself is a shear smooth bedrock wall hundreds of feet straight up. No tools have been able to carve anything into the rock however this is the only place you can observe ancient runes that none can read.
For several generations, many races have lived peacefully in a lush fertile valley. They have no memory of war, disease, or famine. The weather does not vary greatly throughout the year. The variations of weather are just enough for seasonal crops to thrive.
There is no nobility, no king, no sheriff, or tax. All who live in the valley use the valley’s resources to survive and what they have no skill to provide for themselves, they barter with their neighbor.
No one dies by means other than old age in the valley. Even if a resident of the valley is accidentally given a death blow, the body will heal and when they wake they will have no memory of how they were killed even if it was as a result of a fight. Even the person that accidentally or intentionally attempted to kill the other will forget the event or how the event escalated. All who are born in the valley are marked by symbol of the Three Terrors on their right wrist beneath the palm of their hand. Always three dark triangles in a row with the middle being taller than the other two and pointing toward the fingers.
The oldest resident of the valley is a heretic old woman far north in the Black Forest. This region is forbidden as when you venture deeply to the north, the light of the sun can barely pierce the thick canopy as silence and uneasiness takes over. Only getting to the base of the Devils Mesa or the the heretics home does the uneasy feeling go away.
Our adventure starts when a body is found drifting down Phosphoro river without the marking of the Three Terrors. His clothes are foreign to the townspeople, and he wears a leather armor adorned with an animal not seen in the valley of a ferocious feline with wild long hair.
other info:
So the concept was to have an easy starter world to ease newbies into DnD. Kind of default setting and dumbed down item availability.
The blue crystals play and important role as they are part of the spell and are the key to exit or enter the valley.
The mirror theme is an obvious nod to much of this being an illusion.
The heretic is immortal, a bit crazy, and a shitty witch where her spells always yield opposite or unpredictable results. For example, casting a fireball gets you dozens of snowballs firing in all directions from her hands.
There is a pathway out through the devils mesa, but you need the crystals to find it. There are no proper weapons of war in the valley, but the heretic has some from the day of founding.
Your door prize for leaving the valley is PTSD. If you died 100 times…you’ll suddenly remember each one. You’ll also know who did it. It turns out some in the valley are truly disturbed. Serial killers, etc. use your imagination.
If you die outside the valley, because you have the mark someone just needs to take your body back to the valley. Deadpool rules apply…your whole body doesn’t need to be brought back. Biggest chunk of you manifests into the whole in the valley.
Outside the valley, pretty much DM’s choice where to take it. The Three Terrors are just tall mountains or anything you like. Outside the illusion is not what people see while in the valley.
Because the people of the valley (aka children of the corn) have been there generations, native languages such as those from the dwarves and elves have become more of a dialect. So speaking to others outside the valley can yield awkward results. Only common is closest to the common spoken outside the valley.
ENJOY!
@FeVolmir: I tried an epic campaign similar to this. I used an Oingo Boingo song as inspiration for an adventure that went through Ravenloft, Spelljammer, Forgotten Realms, etc. ultimately it fizzled because it was so long, require so much preparation, and player retention became a problem.
I’d say this looks like great fun, but keep it light. It’s tough for a new DM to keep everyone engaged and if you’re too bogged down in your campaign details it can become a chore. Have some side quests up your sleeve so there are simple adventures that players can have fun with and feel they accomplished something during the session.
The inspiration I had was “Just Another Day” by Oingo Boingo.
My god that sounds good
─────═╡ 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 ╞═─────
From the void’s cold embrace I rise—
swift as shadows, silent as the endless night.
Mercy is my blade, mercy is my glory;
a light in darkness, a reckoning for the lost.
I move faster than fate, carrying the weight of mercy and honor,
an echo of power that no silence can contain.
Glory is the path, mercy the crown—
I am the storm the void whispers of.
───────═╡ ╞═────────
fire
─────═╡ 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 ╞═─────
From the void’s cold embrace I rise—
swift as shadows, silent as the endless night.
Mercy is my blade, mercy is my glory;
a light in darkness, a reckoning for the lost.
I move faster than fate, carrying the weight of mercy and honor,
an echo of power that no silence can contain.
Glory is the path, mercy the crown—
I am the storm the void whispers of.
───────═╡ ╞═────────
A very simple design that allows the DM to expand as the campaign advances.
There was a war of rebellion (Use the USA Civil War as an example). There are 2 sides, the war just ended and the entire group of players is in the same unit. They do not have to know each other. They can still be whatever class they want same with races. Just expand out the size of the unit to make them strangers, or they could have know each other. Match how friendly/strangers the players are in real life.
DM choice they are on the winning side or the losing side.
They are all from the same Province/County. It has a decent size city and surrounding farmland and small villages aka not everyone knows everyone. This allows the players to be strangers if so desired.
Players can be conscripted or volunteer soldiers. Background can still be whatever a player desires.
Soldiers (& players) are to be mustered out, DM controls what gear they actually have. Have customization due to plunder or everyone has standard issue gear.
The players are all in the same line to be mustered out (that is were they meet). They now have to walk a few/several hundred miles to get back to their homes.
Encounters on the way home is the key. Good way to use food gathering and nature skills & spells.
As this is a war torn countryside, you can have roving bands of creatures and hominoids. You can have wilderness encounters followed immediately by social role play encounters.
Twist potential is ethic questions that need to be decided on the walk home.
Once they reach home, things have changed even if no battles were fought. lots of power vacuums occurred due to conscripted or volunteer to fill units. Previous power/alliances may have changed. Schoolyard bullies are now in charge /grown very rich from corruption etc.
I'm thinking of tossing a modified tarrasque at my players session 1, level 1. Modifications are an anti-flight aura and a ranged attack by shooting spines from its tail as well as the 3E need a wish to actually kill it. Obviously at level 1, this is not a problem that they can solve, but they can go and research/learn about tarrasques then go on quests to find magical weapons and a ring of 3 wishes. By the final fight, the players should basically know the entire stat block except the numbers involved and some vagueness on some details.
I don't know if this is relevant to this thread, but my blog focuses on interesting encounters that can fit into any campaign. (This thread is meant to help new DMs, and I think they'll find it useful, which is why I'm taking the liberty of adding it here.)
DragonEncounters.com
DM, writer, and blog master of https://dragonencounters.com/ a blog dedicated to providing unusual, worthwhile encounters for each monster, making each one unique.
Also, suggestions for which monsters might be found together (for people tired of dungeons full of one humanoid race, and perhaps a few beasts and undead.)