Hello! I have started to create an adventure that will take place in the lands of Cormyr. The only problem I'm having is that I don't know how thorough I should be with history, landmarks, important NPC's, important dates and so forth.
That is why I thought that I should consult the other DM's of the world and see what they think of my ideas, and if they have any feedback on what I have created so far. The background and synopsis of the story are listed below
Thanks a bunch!
Rurik Hammerhand
Background
122 years have past since the devastation of the Goblin wars ended in 1371, year of the Unsprung Harp by Dale reckoning. Much of what had been destroyed is now rebuilt, and even new towns, cities, towers, churches and much more have been born from the ashes.
The year is 1493, the year of the Purple Dragon by Dale reckoning, and Cormyr is not necessarily as prosperous as it once was, but the population has grown significantly in the last 20 years. Only in the capital of Suzail, the population has grown to around 86000 citizens. But with this increase of people a problem has spawned. The Cormyrian forces are just too few to keep the borders checked and the cities and towns defended. This have forced people to take action and create different smaller militias. Because of their smaller size, they are well organized and better prepared to help townsfolk in need. This sadly have made people lose faith in the crowns guards.
In the turmoil of all this, rumors have started to spread about doings in the north and east. Animals have disappeared from their farms and fruits in the orchards are rotting in their trees. Some even say that they have seen lizard-like humanoids lurking around the towns, and people believe that they are the once to blame. Tension stirs the weary Cormyrians and they have started to worry about the peace in the land. They have even started to leave their towns to live in the bigger cities because they think that they will be safer there. Only time will tell if their decisions was the right once.
Synopsis
The adventure will take place in Cormyr and start in the town of Eveningstar. There they will find that sheep have been executed and abducted leaving people with weary minds. This will lead the adventurers to the Helmland in the north to a place called the Forgotten Keep where there will be blackscales and lizardfolk. Among them there will be a blackscale warchief named Zaz’Muuraa, a blackscale Shaman called Chi’zazi and a half-elf male named Thesmar Black. These people will leave the scene for the adventurers to fight of some lizards. After defeating them the group will find flowers of some sort growing in the fort. They are called Black Roses. After consulting and alchemist in Eveningstar the adventurers will be urged to travel to Suzail and ask for help there. After they have discovered what the roses might be used for the adventurers will be sent to the town of Minroe northwest of Suzail where there have been reports of people fleeing from lizardfolk. Once they are there they will find the town overrun with them and will fight to free the remaining that are trapped. The lizards will eventually flee to a nearby cave in the Stormhorns called The Black Vine Cavern. Once they worked their way through the dungeon they will meet Zaz’Muuraa again and fight him. After almost killing him the Blackscale will retreat. When the group have left the cavern they will meet a roaming wood-elf Druid called Whitewing. He will tell them of a plague that have spread northeast of here. He will accompany the adventurers to the town of Arabel who have been hit hard by the plague. After they have arrived they will find that most of the citizens are infected. The group will try to help the people. And to make matters worse, the city will be attacked by and large band of lizardfolk and Blackscales. The group will have to flee and reorganize the small defence force that are able to fight. Shortly they will attack the lizards again and manage to push them out of the city. The lizards will flee to the Vast Swamp and gather themselves at the Lost Refuge. After tracking them down, the group will enter the refuge and defeat Zaz’Muuraa. When they have done that Thesmar Black will appear and give them a warning. He will urge them to give up their fighting and flee Cormyr and never return or fall at the hands of his loyal servants. He will then disappear. Leaving the keep the adventurers will meet the Druid again who will try to convince the group to go back to Suzail to reassemble the Knights of the Purple Dragon. In Suzail the group will eventually find and old captain of the Purple Dragons named Sir Isteval. He will suggest that the group must find the other Purple Dragons who are spread around the land. (In Waymoot they will find Richard Hearthstone, in Marsember Abaforth Metzel, in Wheloon Loriel Abastar and in Thunderstone Azara and Jasmine Dawnstar.) After they have assembled again in Suzail the city will be besieged by Thesmar’s real form as the black dragon Terazamarkos. His servants the Blackscales and lizardfolk attack with full force to try and take out the amassed Purple Dragons. The group will soon fight of the lizards and kill the Shaman Chi’zazi. The black dragon will retreat to Orvaskyte Keep were the final dungeon awaits. After clearing the keep and finally killing Thesmar the heroes will be greatly rewarded by the king of Cormyr himself.
Personal thoughts on the matter as a DM that somewhat frequently uses adventures written by other people:
Don't include any information that the player characters won't find out in the natural course of completing the adventure (and I don't mean "if the pass the right checks" - I mean they will definitely know it no matter what skills the characters are or aren't good at).
Don't include any information that the DM doesn't need in order to run the adventure.
Don't include any information that serves only to inform, rather than serves to facilitate knowing what must be done to accomplish the adventure.
Too many adventures I've seen are stuffed full of information that, at best, is a nice story for the DM to read but isn't actually relevant to the adventure at hand and is never going to transfer to the players unless they are given the book to read or the DM skips the game session of playing the adventure and hosts a lecture on the other tales in the book.
Yeah I can understand why I shouldn't spam players with unnecessary information. I thought that I should try to nail down a few things that I felt were important and then just let the players go bananas. Because I feel that the most fun adventures are the once that players are free to do what they want, but that they need to be aware that things happens while they.... get drunk at a bar for a tenday straight.
But would you say that I need to be more specific with my information, or should I almost be faint about it, forcing my players to discover the "important stuff" themselves. I'm very curious to know what you think! :)
And lastly, do you feel that I need to be specific about history and such. I know that Cormyr have been the center of many adventures in the past, and that there is tons written about the land. I have referred to a few places and people that have occurred once or twice in other adventures. Should I keep that trivial or make it important for the players that they should "be respectful" or "fear" a certain place or npc.
I would definitely like to hear more from you, (and of course other DM's too) and thanks again for your feedback!
Well.... After some thinking (and consulting my DM wife) I have come to answers to the queations I asked. But do you have any tips or something about what to think about and have in mind while I DM?
For writing synopses, try to convert it to more of a treatment of the overall story. Separate each premise or pillar of the story and tie it to the world you created and where perhaps the players can fit in. Also, it's imperative in my view to have character origins and backstories. It's awesome when you can drop in hints and clues for PCs by just tying in their backstories to the encounters.
The Gates of Avalon
An epic tale of good and evil, Heaven and Hell…
But mostly Hell!
Into every realm comes the dread of Evil, its embodiment as The Devil. His fingers reaching out to all mortals to tempt them, enslave them and doom them to an eternity of damnation and suffering. Kyn is no different. Although peace and prosperity have reigned for nearly a century, a series of recent decrees from King Tarrin, third in the Magnus royal bloodline, have left Avalon teetering in disarray. What has befallen the richest kingdom on the continent?
Avalon arose from the legendary victory of Urban Magnus, High Cleric of Pholtus over the forces of Malbogne, Hell’s Champion, at the Th’ull river so many years ago. That defeat banished Malbogne and his master, Arch Devil Moloch, from Kyn for one hundred years. It forced closed the Earthcut, a portal directly into Hell, deep in the Blacksmoke Wood. Since then, with divine power behind House Magnus, Avalon has become a shining jewel on the shores of the Azure Sea. Swelling to a great metropolis, coffers overflowing with gold and other riches and squarely at the epicenter of trade, military might and magic power, Avalon seemed poised to dominate forever.
That has all changed as the Earthcut now spreads its evil tendrils once again into the forest, overrunning the city of Blacksmoke and sending devilkin and possessed creatures rampaging through the Eastern Borderlands. A new and foreboding champion has arrived to lead this evil resurgence. Refugees stream down the King’s Highway, fleeing the encroaching doom. The impenetrable defenses of the capital city are their destination, but the King dreads their arrival with tales of Hell’s invasion. He wants to prevent a panic, but there is something more. He is tormented by nightmares and visions of darkness and death. He is tied to a secret, a dark decision from years ago, which now tears at his sanity every night.
Amid this turmoil, Zorin, the Archmage has returned from a ten-year quest for which no one had known its purpose. He, an ageless wizard of great power, fought by Urban Magnus’ side a century ago to vanquish Hell’s forces. Zorin and his Mage College are the focus of magic power on Kyn, dedicated to concocting new spells and applications of their power. He has returned from across the seas and he too holds a secret which he dares not share.
All the while, as this impossible vortex of circumstance brews, Auria, Avalon’s tenuous trade partner, who holds the realm’s largest gold deposits, grows weary of Avalon and her instability. And Dunsmore, the downtrodden kingdom to the south, still reeling from its sacking by Malbogne a century ago, seeks revenge on their all too fortunate neighbors.
It is here and now that the campaign begins.
An AD&D module in 3 acts featuring:
Deep and detailed history of Kyn, Avalon, House Magnus and Hell itself
Backstories for Player Characters level 6-8
Rich and compelling NPCs, battles, roleplaying scenes and encounters
Extra Planer travel mechanics and rules
Clever tricks, political traps and complex conflicts await the party at every turn
I like what you have done so far. However you can tailor that synopsis into a treatment, which is more about espousing on the story and how the players will be faced with something larger than themselves, but still connected to their origins/backstories. I find that backstories are crucially important to keeping the game moving, but always tied to importance for the player characters. They will perk up when their backstories intertwine with the overall campaign. Here is the treatment for Gates of Avalon, my current homebrewed campaign:
Hello! I have started to create an adventure that will take place in the lands of Cormyr. The only problem I'm having is that I don't know how thorough I should be with history, landmarks, important NPC's, important dates and so forth.
That is why I thought that I should consult the other DM's of the world and see what they think of my ideas, and if they have any feedback on what I have created so far. The background and synopsis of the story are listed below
Thanks a bunch!
Rurik Hammerhand
Background
122 years have past since the devastation of the Goblin wars ended in 1371, year of the Unsprung Harp by Dale reckoning. Much of what had been destroyed is now rebuilt, and even new towns, cities, towers, churches and much more have been born from the ashes.
The year is 1493, the year of the Purple Dragon by Dale reckoning, and Cormyr is not necessarily as prosperous as it once was, but the population has grown significantly in the last 20 years. Only in the capital of Suzail, the population has grown to around 86000 citizens. But with this increase of people a problem has spawned. The Cormyrian forces are just too few to keep the borders checked and the cities and towns defended. This have forced people to take action and create different smaller militias. Because of their smaller size, they are well organized and better prepared to help townsfolk in need. This sadly have made people lose faith in the crowns guards.
In the turmoil of all this, rumors have started to spread about doings in the north and east. Animals have disappeared from their farms and fruits in the orchards are rotting in their trees. Some even say that they have seen lizard-like humanoids lurking around the towns, and people believe that they are the once to blame. Tension stirs the weary Cormyrians and they have started to worry about the peace in the land. They have even started to leave their towns to live in the bigger cities because they think that they will be safer there. Only time will tell if their decisions was the right once.
Synopsis
The adventure will take place in Cormyr and start in the town of Eveningstar. There they will find that sheep have been executed and abducted leaving people with weary minds. This will lead the adventurers to the Helmland in the north to a place called the Forgotten Keep where there will be blackscales and lizardfolk. Among them there will be a blackscale warchief named Zaz’Muuraa, a blackscale Shaman called Chi’zazi and a half-elf male named Thesmar Black. These people will leave the scene for the adventurers to fight of some lizards. After defeating them the group will find flowers of some sort growing in the fort. They are called Black Roses. After consulting and alchemist in Eveningstar the adventurers will be urged to travel to Suzail and ask for help there. After they have discovered what the roses might be used for the adventurers will be sent to the town of Minroe northwest of Suzail where there have been reports of people fleeing from lizardfolk. Once they are there they will find the town overrun with them and will fight to free the remaining that are trapped. The lizards will eventually flee to a nearby cave in the Stormhorns called The Black Vine Cavern. Once they worked their way through the dungeon they will meet Zaz’Muuraa again and fight him. After almost killing him the Blackscale will retreat. When the group have left the cavern they will meet a roaming wood-elf Druid called Whitewing. He will tell them of a plague that have spread northeast of here. He will accompany the adventurers to the town of Arabel who have been hit hard by the plague. After they have arrived they will find that most of the citizens are infected. The group will try to help the people. And to make matters worse, the city will be attacked by and large band of lizardfolk and Blackscales. The group will have to flee and reorganize the small defence force that are able to fight. Shortly they will attack the lizards again and manage to push them out of the city. The lizards will flee to the Vast Swamp and gather themselves at the Lost Refuge. After tracking them down, the group will enter the refuge and defeat Zaz’Muuraa. When they have done that Thesmar Black will appear and give them a warning. He will urge them to give up their fighting and flee Cormyr and never return or fall at the hands of his loyal servants. He will then disappear. Leaving the keep the adventurers will meet the Druid again who will try to convince the group to go back to Suzail to reassemble the Knights of the Purple Dragon. In Suzail the group will eventually find and old captain of the Purple Dragons named Sir Isteval. He will suggest that the group must find the other Purple Dragons who are spread around the land. (In Waymoot they will find Richard Hearthstone, in Marsember Abaforth Metzel, in Wheloon Loriel Abastar and in Thunderstone Azara and Jasmine Dawnstar.) After they have assembled again in Suzail the city will be besieged by Thesmar’s real form as the black dragon Terazamarkos. His servants the Blackscales and lizardfolk attack with full force to try and take out the amassed Purple Dragons. The group will soon fight of the lizards and kill the Shaman Chi’zazi. The black dragon will retreat to Orvaskyte Keep were the final dungeon awaits. After clearing the keep and finally killing Thesmar the heroes will be greatly rewarded by the king of Cormyr himself.
Personal thoughts on the matter as a DM that somewhat frequently uses adventures written by other people:
Too many adventures I've seen are stuffed full of information that, at best, is a nice story for the DM to read but isn't actually relevant to the adventure at hand and is never going to transfer to the players unless they are given the book to read or the DM skips the game session of playing the adventure and hosts a lecture on the other tales in the book.
Oh! Thanks for the input!
Yeah I can understand why I shouldn't spam players with unnecessary information. I thought that I should try to nail down a few things that I felt were important and then just let the players go bananas. Because I feel that the most fun adventures are the once that players are free to do what they want, but that they need to be aware that things happens while they.... get drunk at a bar for a tenday straight.
But would you say that I need to be more specific with my information, or should I almost be faint about it, forcing my players to discover the "important stuff" themselves. I'm very curious to know what you think! :)
And lastly, do you feel that I need to be specific about history and such. I know that Cormyr have been the center of many adventures in the past, and that there is tons written about the land. I have referred to a few places and people that have occurred once or twice in other adventures. Should I keep that trivial or make it important for the players that they should "be respectful" or "fear" a certain place or npc.
I would definitely like to hear more from you, (and of course other DM's too) and thanks again for your feedback!
Well.... After some thinking (and consulting my DM wife) I have come to answers to the queations I asked. But do you have any tips or something about what to think about and have in mind while I DM?
Have I had the right idea in how I write the synopsis btw? I know it's more for my sake and that it should be a summery of the adventure!
Please I would like all the feedback and tips I can get because this my first "major" adventure
For writing synopses, try to convert it to more of a treatment of the overall story. Separate each premise or pillar of the story and tie it to the world you created and where perhaps the players can fit in. Also, it's imperative in my view to have character origins and backstories. It's awesome when you can drop in hints and clues for PCs by just tying in their backstories to the encounters.
The Gates of Avalon
An epic tale of good and evil, Heaven and Hell…
But mostly Hell!
Into every realm comes the dread of Evil, its embodiment as The Devil. His fingers reaching out to all mortals to tempt them, enslave them and doom them to an eternity of damnation and suffering. Kyn is no different. Although peace and prosperity have reigned for nearly a century, a series of recent decrees from King Tarrin, third in the Magnus royal bloodline, have left Avalon teetering in disarray. What has befallen the richest kingdom on the continent?
Avalon arose from the legendary victory of Urban Magnus, High Cleric of Pholtus over the forces of Malbogne, Hell’s Champion, at the Th’ull river so many years ago. That defeat banished Malbogne and his master, Arch Devil Moloch, from Kyn for one hundred years. It forced closed the Earthcut, a portal directly into Hell, deep in the Blacksmoke Wood. Since then, with divine power behind House Magnus, Avalon has become a shining jewel on the shores of the Azure Sea. Swelling to a great metropolis, coffers overflowing with gold and other riches and squarely at the epicenter of trade, military might and magic power, Avalon seemed poised to dominate forever.
That has all changed as the Earthcut now spreads its evil tendrils once again into the forest, overrunning the city of Blacksmoke and sending devilkin and possessed creatures rampaging through the Eastern Borderlands. A new and foreboding champion has arrived to lead this evil resurgence. Refugees stream down the King’s Highway, fleeing the encroaching doom. The impenetrable defenses of the capital city are their destination, but the King dreads their arrival with tales of Hell’s invasion. He wants to prevent a panic, but there is something more. He is tormented by nightmares and visions of darkness and death. He is tied to a secret, a dark decision from years ago, which now tears at his sanity every night.
Amid this turmoil, Zorin, the Archmage has returned from a ten-year quest for which no one had known its purpose. He, an ageless wizard of great power, fought by Urban Magnus’ side a century ago to vanquish Hell’s forces. Zorin and his Mage College are the focus of magic power on Kyn, dedicated to concocting new spells and applications of their power. He has returned from across the seas and he too holds a secret which he dares not share.
All the while, as this impossible vortex of circumstance brews, Auria, Avalon’s tenuous trade partner, who holds the realm’s largest gold deposits, grows weary of Avalon and her instability. And Dunsmore, the downtrodden kingdom to the south, still reeling from its sacking by Malbogne a century ago, seeks revenge on their all too fortunate neighbors.
It is here and now that the campaign begins.
An AD&D module in 3 acts featuring:
I like what you have done so far. However you can tailor that synopsis into a treatment, which is more about espousing on the story and how the players will be faced with something larger than themselves, but still connected to their origins/backstories. I find that backstories are crucially important to keeping the game moving, but always tied to importance for the player characters. They will perk up when their backstories intertwine with the overall campaign. Here is the treatment for Gates of Avalon, my current homebrewed campaign:
Our truth is the lies we love.