So yeah I've got the have main overarching plot down. But I've literally just started this and while I want to make a full length campaign out of it, I have to run a one shot in 3 days so I thought I'd make a beta version of it in the form of a one shot.
But yeah I really don't know where to go from here and I'm super stressed. The plot is pretty basic magic item gets stolen everything is going too go downhill now unless the hero's reclaim it. There's more plot to it then that of course but that's the basics. It's set mostly out at sea on a pirate ship with only the very beginning and end having the characters on land.
So yeah any advice is appreciated it's gonna start with 4-6 first level characters, so yeah thank you!
That’s not much to go on. Is the magic item-gone-missing plot for your full length campaign, or for this one shot?
So for this one shot, would you consider setting it in the port town where you want the party to meet up with the pirate ship they’ll sail on? Harbor towns come with lots of options that will add to your time at sea without burning through your sea voyage plot.
It sounds like you need to pull together sea encounters. Like being overtaken by other pirates, passing siren isles, weathering a storm. There are plenty of sea quest tropes out there. Rip them right off for encounter material. The Oddesy, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Pirates of the Caribbean, all of them have perfectly rippable encounters.
I’m happy to help. Don’t stress. But let’s focus on the one shot. We need a setting and plot just for that. Do you have villains lined out for the main adventure already? Like, do they employ sahuagin enforcers that show up at most fights? We could use some of those guys as the main villains this time. That way, it feels like they’re peeling the onion when they really get into your adventure.
First, there are tons of videos on youtube for DMing, and I found a lot of them very helpful.
Second, adoptions is always better than invention. You have already quite a few books for 5e in the same forgotten realms setting. Tons of details of places and NPCs for you to take. You just need to take away their plots, and put yours in, with certain adjustments of course. This will save you a lot of time and ease your stress greatly.
Third, a good campaign always has a good structure. You can look up the dramatic structure online. The most important thing in a campaign is the climax, which should be your finale encounter. You'd better design it to be interesting, and tease-able. Tease it now and then to the players on the table and give them something to look forward to.
Finally and probably the most important, ask what your players want. The goal is to have fun. When your players have fun, you will too. Sometimes your players just need an easy break from their real life and come to the table to virtually smash things. In that case the structure of the campaign can be a little loose (episodic), with each session more like a one-shot, but there is an overarching string behind each one-shot to tie them together (and to build up to your climax).
For your specific ideas, I think episodic approach may be better. Each session is a one-shot where the PCs travel to different places to retrieve some stolen magic items, but each session you can drop some clue leading up to the big reveal at the end.
Yes thank you, encounters are the things I find hardest to figure out. I apolagize for not including more details, I guess thats what I get for asking for help at 3am. I have all the main charactors lined out most of them on paper. Again thank you for all the helpful tips, I really appreciate it.
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So yeah I've got the have main overarching plot down. But I've literally just started this and while I want to make a full length campaign out of it, I have to run a one shot in 3 days so I thought I'd make a beta version of it in the form of a one shot.
But yeah I really don't know where to go from here and I'm super stressed. The plot is pretty basic magic item gets stolen everything is going too go downhill now unless the hero's reclaim it. There's more plot to it then that of course but that's the basics. It's set mostly out at sea on a pirate ship with only the very beginning and end having the characters on land.
So yeah any advice is appreciated it's gonna start with 4-6 first level characters, so yeah thank you!
That’s not much to go on. Is the magic item-gone-missing plot for your full length campaign, or for this one shot?
So for this one shot, would you consider setting it in the port town where you want the party to meet up with the pirate ship they’ll sail on? Harbor towns come with lots of options that will add to your time at sea without burning through your sea voyage plot.
It sounds like you need to pull together sea encounters. Like being overtaken by other pirates, passing siren isles, weathering a storm. There are plenty of sea quest tropes out there. Rip them right off for encounter material. The Oddesy, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Pirates of the Caribbean, all of them have perfectly rippable encounters.
I’m happy to help. Don’t stress. But let’s focus on the one shot. We need a setting and plot just for that. Do you have villains lined out for the main adventure already? Like, do they employ sahuagin enforcers that show up at most fights? We could use some of those guys as the main villains this time. That way, it feels like they’re peeling the onion when they really get into your adventure.
First, there are tons of videos on youtube for DMing, and I found a lot of them very helpful.
Second, adoptions is always better than invention. You have already quite a few books for 5e in the same forgotten realms setting. Tons of details of places and NPCs for you to take. You just need to take away their plots, and put yours in, with certain adjustments of course. This will save you a lot of time and ease your stress greatly.
Third, a good campaign always has a good structure. You can look up the dramatic structure online. The most important thing in a campaign is the climax, which should be your finale encounter. You'd better design it to be interesting, and tease-able. Tease it now and then to the players on the table and give them something to look forward to.
Finally and probably the most important, ask what your players want. The goal is to have fun. When your players have fun, you will too. Sometimes your players just need an easy break from their real life and come to the table to virtually smash things. In that case the structure of the campaign can be a little loose (episodic), with each session more like a one-shot, but there is an overarching string behind each one-shot to tie them together (and to build up to your climax).
For your specific ideas, I think episodic approach may be better. Each session is a one-shot where the PCs travel to different places to retrieve some stolen magic items, but each session you can drop some clue leading up to the big reveal at the end.
Thank you! This is really really helpful, especily the adaption part!
Yes thank you, encounters are the things I find hardest to figure out. I apolagize for not including more details, I guess thats what I get for asking for help at 3am. I have all the main charactors lined out most of them on paper. Again thank you for all the helpful tips, I really appreciate it.